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Chapter Text

“Mama?” A bell-like voice called out amid the soft hum of classical music and the rhythmic knock of a knife on a cutting board. There had been the murmurs of that little voice switching from role to role as he held council with his stuffed animals, too, but it seemed he had grown bored of that.

“Mm,” Shen Jiu responded, not looking up from his task, but aware that the child was scurrying into the kitchen and ready to react if he heard the telltale stutter of his footsteps signalling the clumsy child tripping.

He must have felt lonely, Shen Jiu realized, cutting a piece of carrot lengthwise instead of into little discs like the others and setting it aside.

“Mama,” his son continued to sweetly call with a lilt to his voice.

“ Mm ?” Shen Jiu asked, a little louder, trying to hide the smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Shen Yuan was now at his side, looking up at him with adoring eyes.

“ Mama, ” Shen Yuan giggled, delighted that he continued to hold the attention of his mother, even as he chopped vegetables for their dinner. He had learned too quickly that Shen Jiu would never let his call for him go unanswered, and he liked making use of that fact often.

He was spoiled, Shen Jiu sighed fondly, putting his knife down and turning to scoop the boy up. He gave him two light swats on his bottom that only made him giggle again, placed his pup on the counter, then turned back to the cutting board and handed him the piece of carrot he had set aside for him. He didn’t bother asking why Shen Yuan was calling him. He knew the sweet child just liked to hear him softly hum in response, as though they were taking part in a simple duet.

He was 4 now and beautifully bright and mild mannered like his father. Even as an infant, as though he knew Shen Jiu was struggling, he considerately slept through nights and rarely fussed or cried. He ate well, and when he did cry, it was an endearing wobble of the lip and big watery eyes that Shen Jiu would immediately placate with silent apologies and a tight embrace, releasing his scent to soothe the pup while hating himself for making such a sweet tempered boy upset.

 At times, when he watched him sniffle and hiccup as he began to calm down, he couldn’t help but think that if Shen Yuan had taken after him, he would fuss just to watch Shen Jiu snap to teach him a lesson. He would cry all night as though to say ‘Were you even going to sleep if I didn't cry? Weren't you just going to wallow in your own self pity about your own choices? I am a reminder for the rest of your life that you’re not worth happiness.’ 

Sometimes, he had nightmares about a pup with his own face screaming and crying until he was red in the face while Shen Jiu helplessly tried to stop him. He would begin to cry and scream at the infant to shut up, and just as things reached their peak, he would shake the child in frustration.

And before him, Yue Qi would look on in horror, manifesting out of thin air, and snatch the bloody pup out of his hands, leaving him alone and without a word. When he woke up, he would be crying and shaking. He would run to Shen Yuan’s bedside on unsteady feet and see the child sleeping peacefully.

This was Yue Qi’s son who always looked at him so adoringly, the way his father once had. When Shen Jiu felt close to breaking, Shen Yuan would smile a gummy smile at him and reach out a hand as though to say ‘You're not alone.’ And so he loved Shen Yuan with all his heart because he was nothing like him and everything like his father.

The only place those similarities could not keep up were in his appearance. The little boy was a replica of Shen Jiu himself, and while he was often praised as a great beauty among omegas, he might love Shen Yuan even more if he looked like his lost lover, too. Maybe he would even refuse to part with him, keeping him as his security blanket, especially those first months after his birth. Instead, Shen Jiu prayed to the heavens that his pup would not endure everything he had.

 Let him share his face, but not his fate. Let him be happy, sweet, and unsoiled by the world. 

Don’t let him end up bitter and broken like me, he prayed every night until Shen Yuan’s personality began to present itself.

At the very least, he had been granted his father’s kind, almond shaped eyes.

“Can I have more, please?” He politely asked, pointing at the carrots Shen Jiu had been carelessly cutting, lost in his thoughts.

“One more. I don’t want you to spoil your meal,” Shen Jiu gave in, passing him a disc a bit larger than the others.

“Thank you, mama,” he smiled, taking the carrot and kissing Shen Jiu’s cheek.

It was peaceful for a moment as Shen Jiu prepared the ingredients and Shen Yuan sat munching on his carrot.

“My god! You would not believe the line at the grocery store!” Shang QingHua huffed as he folded his umbrella and handed the bag of potatoes, ginger, and scallions to Shen Jiu. “Some beta bi-otch,” he caught himself, “tried to beat me to the registers, but-“

“You broke into a sprint with your pup clinging to you?” Shen Jiu guessed, taking the potatoes out of the bag, running them under warm water and scrubbing them.

“Binghe likes adventure!” Shang QingHua argued. “He was laughing the whole time! Right, buddy? We won?”

“Yes!” The cheerful toddler cried out, wriggling around in his mother’s arms. He probably didn’t even know or care what Shang QingHua had said. As soon as they had arrived, his big, brown eyes had locked onto his favorite playmate. “Pay Yaya!”

Despite being a little chatterbox like his mother, he hadn’t gotten the hang of pronouncing his consonant clusters just yet or being able to pronounce Shen Jiu’s little pup’s name either, reducing his request to play with a-Yuan to ‘Pay Yaya’ and often referring to Shen Yuan as ‘Yaya.’

Shang QingHua had been devastated when it had been his first word, calling BingHe an unfilial son, while Shen Jiu had begun to cry from laughter as the pup continued to let out an endless babbled string of “Yayayaya’s,” clapping his little hands in excitement and shrieking with joy when Shen Yuan kissed him and praised him in his own clumsy way.

It took another week of practice before Shang QingHua managed to get a meaningful ‘mama!’ out of him. Naturally, the little airhead forgave every grievance after that and proudly told everyone that BingHe called him mama, leaving out that it wasn’t his first word.

“Mama,” Shen Yuan also called out to him, looking towards the two year old that was tottering towards him with a smile.

Shen Jiu scoffed affectionately and dried his hands to carry Shen Yuan off the counter. The two pups reunited in the middle with a tight hug and laughter before Shen Yuan guided BingHe out of the kitchen, hand in hand.

He was like Shen Yuan, with a father who didn’t pay much mind to the consequences of sleeping with an omega without protection. Unlike Shen Jiu’s encounter, however, Shang QingHua had been bold enough to confront the alpha and tell him he was pregnant, only for the man to sneer at him and accuse Shang QingHua of scheming the whole incident to trap him.

“As if I had any control over it!” Shang QingHua had hiccuped. “As if it wasn’t his rut that started everything! I didn’t even know that bastard, why would I want a family with him! Why is it my fault?! Why is it the common fate of omegas to be fucked and tossed aside?!” He shouted, angry at the world.

But he stubbornly kept his pup who not only looked like him, but also acted just like him in his liveliness.

“Good,” Shang QingHua had spat in the hospital as he cradled his pup. “I don’t want to have anything else to do with that son of a bitch.”

They had helped each other, had kept each other grounded and on their feet, treating the other’s pup like their own. Shang QingHua, who now worked at a daycare, would get the pups ready and take them with him in the mornings and take them back home in the afternoon. Shen Jiu, who worked in the city’s library, would have breakfast ready before he left at 6 and pick them up at 4, with dinner ready by the time Shang QingHua got back complaining about late parents.

On weekends, it was Shang QingHua’s turn to cook, and like this, they got through life, bills, and raising pups.

“Here, I’ll help you get the food started,” Shang QingHua said, hip bumping him out of the way.

“Started? It’s your day, I just didn’t want BingHe and a-Yuan to starve because you forgot to make sure we had the ingredients for the meal you planned,” he dismissed, drying his hands and going to sit at the kitchen island. “Hurry up. I’m hungry.”

“You’re a monster!” Shang QingHua grumbled, rummaging around for the peeler. “After everything I do for you-“

“The peeler is on the counter. I was using it.”

“Oh, thanks. Anyway, it would be much faster if we worked together-“

“You would get in my way,” Shen Jiu brushed off. “Besides, it’s your turn.”

“Oh, what a rule-abiding citizen,” Shang QingHua mocked as he angrily scraped at the potatoes with the peeler.

“At least I don’t race old women for a spot in the checkout line,” Shen Jiu responded. “And be careful before you peel your finger.

“She was young enough to run!” He shouted, then seemed to remember something and became hesitant. “I… saw something else in the checkout line.”

“What? A kid whose candy you could steal?” He snorted, deciding to not give Shang QingHua his full attention any longer and go through his phone instead.

“He got voted the most eligible alpha,” Shang QingHua mumbled, so quietly, it seemed he didn’t even want to say it.

“An asshole like him? Standards have really-“

“Not mine…. yours ,” Shang QingHua clarified with a pitying look waiting for him when Shen Jiu snapped his head up. He walked over to the grocery bag and took out the magazine, then placed it in front of Shen Jiu.

And there was Yue Qi on the cover. His Yue Qi who once promised him the world with nothing but debt and determination to his name. His Yue Qi who would have given up his ambitions and rendered his many talents useless in exchange for a simple family life.

Shen Jiu couldn’t let him do that. He didn’t give him a choice, forcing him out of his arms with a lie and escaping with anything he could fit in a duffel bag that night because Yue Qi was so close and couldn’t afford to be distracted by something like Shen Jiu.

And here he was… 5 years later still so handsome, but now in an expensive suit on a prestigious magazine that must have cost Shang QingHua more than the groceries he brought home.

Shen Yuan really did have his affectionate eyes.

“Good for him,” he said in a breathless voice.

Chapter Text

“You’re so stupid,” Shang QingHua repeated the sentiment he had voiced at least a hundred times since Shen Jiu had known him. “If you told him the truth… Yue-ge’s a good person. He would take you back and treat it like the universe had-“

“Mind your own business!” Shen Jiu snarled, slamming the magazine down and leaving the room, making a beeline for his and Shang QingHua’s room so that his pheromones didn’t upset the pups. He couldn’t even slam the door shut out of fear of startling the children who were playing happily.

“Wait! There’s an interview with him inside! Read it!” He called after him just before he had shut the door, but Shen Jiu refused to let his curiosity make him hopeful.

If Yue Qi didn’t come looking for him when he was successful, if he didn’t even fight for him when Shen Jiu ended things… What words could speak louder than actions? Wasn’t he a burden with how quickly Yue Qi achieved success without him tying the alpha down? Besides, he scoffed, Yue Qi probably didn’t even remember him. He probably had his pick of models and actors and dainty little omega heirs who didn’t know a day of hardship in their lives. Their sweet scents weren’t undercut by the pervasive trauma that never left one’s mind. 

Shen Jiu could never understand how Yue Qi could stand his scent, especially when he was in heat.

He ignored the memories that flooded in trying to counter his cynicism—of adoring eyes, gentle touches, a warm embrace, and endless declarations of love that… didn’t exist in reality anymore.

At least, not from his alpha, he grounded himself, remembering the little pup who loved him so much. He could feel the weight and warmth of his body in his arms from how often he held him, he thought, looking down at his hands, remembering how the length of two hands had been enough to hold him when he was newly born, so tiny and undersized from Shen Jiu’s difficult pregnancy.

He could hardly believe he had nurtured that fragile pup into what he was today, he thought with  a flicker of pride that vanished as soon as it came because it surely wasn’t because of him.

It was because he was Yue Qi’s son, so he was bound to be strong and beautiful and loving.

Yue Qi would probably have many more of those kinds of strong pups with whatever person he chose to marry-

Shang QingHua stormed into the room and pulled Shen Jiu into a tight hug, releasing his honey sweet pheromones to soothe him. “You’re so stupid,” he repeated again.

“The food-“

“It’s simmering!” He shouted, pulling back with a glare, “Why won’t you let yourself be happy?”

“I’m happy,” Shen Jiu lied, turning away at the accusatory look on his friend’s face from the very potently bitter pheromones in the air.

“Jiu-ge, he still loves you! There’s an interview in the magazine where he’s asked why he’s still single and he doesn’t hold back! You’re the reason! His childhood friend who he still loves and can’t move on from!”

Shang QingHua spoke as though he were reciting an overused fairy tale that even children could no longer believe. He spoke with a glimmer in his eyes and an excited smile on his lips like all Shen Jiu had to do was accept what he was told and live happily ever after. He probably believed it, too. 

He lived in a fantasy world from all the novels he read and the daydreaming he retreated into when he was a neglected child. Having nothing let you dream of something. It was probably why he was so hurt when his prince charming threw him out of his bed.

Shen Jiu was different. He didn’t have nothing . He had hell. When all you see are devils with convincing masks, even the kindest of smiles is suspicious. Even his alpha’s smile meant nothing anymore, and for Shang QingHua to suggest that salvation awaited a wretch like him…

It infuriated him.

“ So what ?!” Shen Jiu snapped. “Am I meant to walk up to him and tell him that now that he’s rich and famous I want him back?! That I was just kidding when I ran off in the middle of the night back then? Why don’t you focus on getting your own son a father since his real father didn’t want you or him,” he snarled, shoving Shang QingHua away.

“Hey, you’re not going to push me away like that!” He shouted, grabbing Shen Jiu by the shoulders. “You’re trying to make me mad so I’ll leave you alone, but I won’t! You’re right, BingHe’s dad doesn’t want anything to do with us and I’ll have to live the rest of my life knowing that, but I’ll be damned if I let you live this kind of loveless life with me when Yue Qi has always loved you! You could have a real family-“

“And what if he doesn’t want me anymore when he realizes I lied to him and kept his pup from him? What then? He’s always wanted pups; he would hate me if he found out I stole one from him,” Shen Jiu wrapped his arms around himself and lowered his head. “Wouldn’t he fight me for custody of a-Yuan? He’s all I have left. Shang QingHua, you don’t understand; it’s too late.”

“You’re giving up without even trying,” Shang QingHua grumbled, dropping his forehead onto Shen Jiu’s shoulder. “You weren’t like this.”

“I have something to lose now,” Shen Jiu responded, raising Shang QingHua’s chin to look him in the eyes. “Besides… isn’t what we have now good?”

Shang QingHua sighed, but let Shen Jiu kiss him, softly at first, then increasingly hungry. 

“We only have 10 minutes,” he mumbled, getting off the bed to lock the door and stripping off his clothes.

Shen Jiu felt a great sense of relief when he saw his closest friend and occasional lover give in. He quietly laughed as he stripped off his own clothes and welcomed Shang QingHua back into the bed with him.

Even if he didn’t have his alpha, Shen Jiu took refuge in knowing he had this cute, silly omega who cared for him.

This omega who would never leave him because he was just as unwanted as Shen Jiu.

After their conversation, Shen Jiu wanted to feel desired and cherished. He spread his legs and offered himself up to Shang QingHua, who kissed him sweetly.

“You’re really letting me top?” He laughed, trailing his lips down to mouth at Shen Jiu’s rosy nipples and taking one between his teeth. “You never let me top!”

“That’s because you cum too fast,” Shen Jiu scoffed playfully, flicking Shang QingHua for his bite. “But since we’re on a time crunch so you don’t burn the food…”

“I wanna eat you out,” Shang QingHua let him know, raising Shen Jiu’s legs onto his shoulder and travelling further down the bed.

“You’ll ruin your appetite,” Shen Jiu teased with half lidded eyes, then sat up to watch as Shang QingHua brushed his hair behind his ears and poked out his tongue before lowering his head towards Shen Jiu’s leaking entrance with a cheeky smile.

Even if the little idiot had no technique, which Shen Jiu would never admit was not the case, he was one of the few people Shen Jiu could completely let himself go with, making it that much easier to lose himself to the sensation of Shang QingHua’s hot, wet tongue greedily lapping up his slick.

He stifled his moans with his hand, tossing his head side to side to try to endure until Shang QingHua’s jaw finally began to ache and he moved back up, letting Shen Jiu’s legs drop limply around him as he lined himself up.

His omega cocklet wasn’t big, but it was enough, especially with the soft praises and pathetic whimpers that escaped Shang QingHua as he fucked into him, always conscious of Shen Jiu’s own pleasure. He made sure to mouth at his earlobe, to stroke Shen Jiu’s leaking cocklet, and to do his best to move in a way that made Shen Jiu curl his toes and throw his head back. Something in the way he desperately enjoyed and praised him, looking like he was at the epitome of ecstasy with another omega beneath him made it that much more pleasurable for Shen Jiu until they were both coming clear slick.

Shang QingHua was always eager to please, since the first time when he had complained about his lack of sex life and let Shen Jiu spread his legs and fuck into him.

Maybe it was because his first sexual encounter had ended the way it had, but the poor little omega had endlessly asked if it felt good, if he was doing well until Shen Jiu had shut him up with a kiss. After they had come down from the afterglow the first time, Shang QingHua had asked again if it was good with rapidly blinking eyes and a wobbly lip.

“You were really cute,” Shen Jiu had reassured him. “You felt good and your scent is mouthwatering. Alphas are just beasts without a conscience. They think every hole is the same, it doesn't matter who’s attached to it.”

Shang QingHua nodded and hugged him around the stomach. “You’re really the most beautiful omega I’ve ever met,” Shang QingHua whispered against Shen Jiu. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. If I were an alpha, I would've mated with you in a heartbeat and treasured you our whole lives.”

Another one of his fairy tales.

“But we’re not. For now… just take care of me, and I’ll take care of you.”

“Yeah! Who needs alphas?!” Shang QingHua cried out, flailing angrily until Shen Jiu swatted him.

Now, Shang QingHua gave him one last kiss before standing and running to the attached restroom to get a damp towel to wipe him off. As he walked away, Shen Jiu saw the marks his nails dragged down Shang QingHua’s freckled shoulders and back, along with several bites in those places, too. 

Shang QingHua liked to be treated roughly during sex, though Shen Jiu couldn’t understand why. At the very least, it wasn’t exactly a burden for Shen Jiu to comply.

“I can do it,” Shen Jiu hummed, taking the towel from his lover. “Go make sure the food isn’t burnt.”

“No way! We still have time, and anyway, what am I? Some inattentive alpha? I can clean my omega up!” He puffed out his chest proudly.

Shen Jiu bit back a smile and slapped his hand away. “No, you’re not an inattentive alpha. You’re an omega who was making dinner for our pups. Clean yourself up, get dressed, wash your hands, and get their food ready. I was going to shower anyway.”

“Why do you have to tell me to wash my hands? Of course I was going to wash my hands,” he grumbled as he picked up his clothes and retreated into the restroom.

*********

Once inside, Shang QingHua let his careless attitude slip away.

He had already decided the moment he read that interview that he would do everything in his power to get Shen Jiu his happy ending. Even if he had to stand outside of Cang Qiong Peak’s building all day and wait for Yue Qi to come out, he was set on talking to him and making things right for them.

He chanted his resolution like a mantra, even as the four of them gathered around like a real family for dinner. He told himself not to be selfish for Shen Jiu, Shen Yuan, and Yue Qi’s sake, no matter how much he loved their little patchwork family made of rejects. He had seen first hand how much the two loved each other and had used them as proof to himself that fated pairs and soulmates existed.

How could he have expected it when he stumbled upon Shen Jiu after going to the hospital for a sprained wrist looking so dim, frail, and pregnant? Most startling of all, he was alone.

Shang QingHua had immediately approached him, wrapping his arm around his waist for support with the way he looked like a strong breeze would knock him over. He sat him down at the hospital’s cafeteria and instructed his hollow gazed friend not to move while he got them food.

It felt like hours before he got Shen Jiu to eat, and even longer before he got him to speak.

The pup wasn’t doing well. He wasn’t getting enough nutrients from Shen Jiu, his friend was living in an omega shelter, he had to take a break from his schooling to tend to his pregnancy, and he and Yue Qi had broken up. 

He had hit an absolute rock bottom and was much more alone than Shang QingHua had assumed. It was heartbreaking to see that this person he had last seen looking confident and stunning had been reduced to such a state. 

Shang QingHua decided that he couldn’t let him waste away like this.

It didn’t take as much coaxing as he had expected to get Shen Jiu to return with him to his single bedroom shoebox apartment that he paid off working as a server for a catering company while he went to school. At the very least, there was no mold, the heating and AC were good, and nothing was prone to breaking. This nice detail was achievable by the extra tips he always got from wealthy guests that allowed him to move somewhere small, but cozy.

After a month of living with him, surrounded by his familiar pheromones and being fed home cooked meals in a place he could safely nest, Shen Jiu had begun to look so much better. His lab results were stable, and there wasn’t as much fear that a-Yuan wouldn’t make it.

Their budget was a bit tight with the pup coming soon, but Shang QingHua was able to get him all of his necessities just in time, even though he had to drop out of school and get a second job, but it was fine! He could always go back, just like he had told Shen Jiu when he had blown up at him after finding out. Besides, it wasn’t like Shen Jiu could work as pregnant as he was or like he could do much until a-Yuan was a little older.

And things had been fine. After Shen Yuan turned 1, Shen Jiu had gone back to school and worked part time, while Shang QingHua went back to his normal schedule of school and working as a server. Another year later, Shen Jiu got a career as a librarian and Shang QingHua was so close to graduating.

But then… he had met Mobei Jun at an event.

Chapter Text

It had been another fancy party he was meant to work at on a regular Saturday. He had gotten ready, had kissed Shen Yuan goodbye and told Shen Jiu he would be getting back late, then ran off to catch his bus.

It was dully familiar in the clinking of glass, rich people laughter, and the summoning and dismissals with a flick of the wrist and absolutely no eye contact. Occasionally, someone would be benevolent enough to drop a bill onto his tray as if it were trash.

Shang QingHua would humbly bow his head as a thank you, now knowing better than to interrupt their very important bragging fest with a verbal one. He would dip away and walk around the room, tucking his tips into his pocket. Once or twice, someone would ask him what was in this or what was in that, and then hum in disinterest when he told them.

The only difference that night had been the large, strikingly handsome alpha he had spotted across the room that towered over everybody: Dark hair, cold blue eyes, sharp features, with an expression meant to warn everyone off. The sight of him had struck Shang QingHua dumb long enough for someone to snap their fingers in his face rudely and ask for a refill.

He made quick work of it and shook his head at his ridiculous fantasy of catching his eye. He had seen plenty of handsome alphas and was now certain he wasn’t getting some Cinderella ending.

In any case, working this job had taught him one fundamental truth: rich people were assholes. Even if they did show any interest, it would be shallow. They wanted a fun time with lower status omegas like Shang QingHua before marrying someone they thought was actually in their league. He’d get his heart broken if he was too naive. 

He’d seen it first hand, after all; one of his coworkers had fallen for that false charm. He had come in with some expensive trinkets—shallow things that were practically disposable when one considered the alpha’s vast wealth, but just expensive enough to make his coworker think they valued him. He would come in absolutely delighted and in love some days, or crestfallen and defeated other days.

His mood depended entirely upon the whims of the alpha and the attention they felt like showing, completely inconsiderate of his coworker’s feelings until he had collapsed into tears one day as they set up. Shang QingHua’s manager had escorted him away, but Shang QingHua heard that it was because his so-called alpha had been at some other event with his wife.

He must have suffered through sleepless nights and a lack of appetite for days with how frail he looked and how beaten down he was. Maybe he even tried to confront his lover and had been faced with the cold, hard truth.

After months of stringing him along, when he saw his coworker, he treated him like he was nothing and nobody. He even had a pup that his coworker saw with his own two eyes at that event, running happily into his father’s arms.

He must have realized that everything he wanted with that alpha was taken and had always been unavailable to him…

Shang QingHua didn’t see that coworker after that anymore, but he learned a valuable lesson.

At least, he tried.

Despite telling himself that he wouldn’t pay any more attention to the handsome alpha, Shang QingHua caught himself searching for him several times, his eyes always scanning the room, or sometimes lingering when he did spot him.

*********

“Stop it!” He hissed at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. “People are going to think you’re some kind of gold digging omega if you keep looking at him like that!” He groaned, lowering his head and rubbing water on his face.

He’d felt like he was in some odd trance ever since he caught sight of that alpha!! He bumped into too many people, kept forgetting orders, and had even dropped an (empty) tray when he was instructed to bring a glass of wine to the alpha by his omega.

Because of course he had an omega, and one who knew him well enough to know his taste in wine—one who could probably taste the difference in wine. Shang QingHua sighed, grabbing a paper towel to dry his face. How could an alpha like that be single for long? He surely had dozens of omegas pursuing him, even as a married man.

He shook the thought away again. What did it matter if he was married! He didn’t stand a chance! He had to get back down to earth, he scoffed, throwing his trash away and heading out, only to knock into someone.

Despite having done nothing wrong and it having been the other person’s fault for walking so close to the door, Shang QingHua had been trained to apologize to their rich clients, and so that was what he began to do.

It caught in his throat, however, when he realized just who he had knocked down, then returned even more sincerely.

“Sir, I’m so sorry! Are you okay? Let me help you up!” He offered, already taking the man’s hand to help him—his left hand, grabbed without any other intentions, but clearly announcing something important to Shang QingHua.

There was no ring.

Mobei Jun, who was nameless to him then, staggered to his feet. His hand was on his head and he didn’t look well at all. Maybe he was drunk, Shang QingHua theorized, noting his obvious lack of control over his pheromones, but that was odd. Having paid so much attention to him, the alpha showed disinterest in every drink brought by except for the one Shang QingHua offered. It had filled him with jealousy at that moment, but now that lay forgotten. How could he be particular to a drink, enough to grow a taste for it, and accept it if he were a lightweight?

Something was clearly wrong.

“Do you need to go to the hospital?” Shang QingHua asked, knowing it was likely the case. When he tried to pull back to grab his phone, the man’s hold tightened.

“No, I need to go to my room.”

“Is there someone who can take you? Your omega?” He hinted, trying to get the truth out of him in spite of the current situation. Maybe it was the hope still alive inside of him that thought this answer would mean something.

“My omega? Is that an offer?” The man asked, yanking Shang QingHua back into his arms. 

There was a peculiar absence of flirtation in his tone, as if he were completely serious, expecting a yes or a no—clear cut.

It made him feel incredibly agitated. Something was really wrong here.

“Take me to my room.”

“I-I think I should call someone,” Shang QingHua squeaked out, giving a tentative tug to get out of the man’s hold. If he could only choose between yes or no, then the answer should clearly be no, but the alpha took the choice from him.

“No!” The man snarled, his grip becoming painful. “I will not share what is mine. Take us to my room.”

Maybe he would pass out by then, Shang QingHua lied to himself, silently agreeing to the alpha’s request despite Shen Jiu’s voice ringing in his head, warning him about rich alphas, of their callous nature, and their manipulative charisma, accentuated by the memory of the devastated sobs and heartbreakingly bitter pheromones from his old coworker.

He wrapped an arm around Mobei Jun’s waist and let the man wrap his own around Shang QingHua’s shoulder as guilt and anxiety ate at him.

When he had found out about Shang QingHua’s job, Shen Jiu had been very stern in his warning against his ever being alone with one of those alphas, no matter what they said, what they promised, or what they threatened—even long before the incident with his coworker.

Shang QingHua would find out why later on.

First, he had to suffer enduring his own reason to stay away from this kind of man.

It wasn’t immediately obvious.

**********

Once Shang QingHua had managed to open the hotel room and get Mobei Jun in with a relieved sigh, the man had grabbed him and kissed him, closing the door behind them.

It was one unlike anything Shang QingHua had ever experienced—hungry, rough, and passionate. It made his legs go weak and a whimper slip out along with any common sense as the alpha praised his submission between kisses. He told Shang QingHua how well he suited him, how pretty he looked near tears. He wanted to stretch his little hole and make him scream and cry on his knot.

By then, he was too lost in the rich, crisp pheromones of the man who had him pinned against the door to realize the danger he was in. He nodded along happily and parted his lips to take more of him, moaning along as the large alpha humped against him, rubbing his large cock against Shang QingHua’s stomach.

Before he knew it, he was flipped onto his stomach, his body jerking with every hard thrust as he screamed and begged for more through tears, enjoying the stretch and feeling of being filled by such a powerful, dominating alpha who was just his type.

Even moreso, he enjoyed the grunted praises that called Shang QingHua perfect for him, that called him his, that swore to fuck him pregnant and mate him so they could do this again and again. Mobei Jun even began to call him his pretty wife as he reached his climax with his knot growing inside of Shang QingHua. What a good mother he would make, what a good omega, taking him so well.

By the end, Shang QingHua had fallen for it, certain that Mobei Jun was different—that he was his alpha.

***********

“What the hell is this?!” The man snarled the next morning, shoving Shang QingHua onto the floor. “You really dared to crawl into my bed?”

“N-no, I,” Shang QingHua whimpered, trying to ignore the pain in his hip, “you don’t… remember?”

“Would you have drugged me if you wanted me to remember? You-“ He paused, his face contorting in disgust as he realized something. “The server from yesterday. You spiked the drink you gave me… I’d heard omega whores worked closely with rich alphas to attach themselves to one, but I’d never heard of one as shameless as you.” He grabbed Shang QingHua’s arm harshly and yanked him closer to smell his wrist. “Did you induce your heat?”

Shang QingHua hiccuped, shaking his head.

“Good,” he sneered. “No need for any bastards. Especially not with your likely prison term-“

“I didn’t drug you!” Shang QingHua cried out, drawing the line. He had already suffered this man’s physical and verbal abuse after an entire night of dreaming of their future together. At the very least, he wasn’t going to go to jail for something that wasn’t his fault.

“Do you think I’m stupid? Why would I roll around with a common omega if not because you put something in that wine? Especially one as pathetic as you.”

“Call me what you want, but there are cameras all over this hotel!” Shang QingHua shouted back, standing to gather his rumpled clothes. He didn’t want to see this man, smell their intertwined scents, any longer. “If anyone can claim anything, I can claim that you raped me! I tried to help you get back to your room safely and you tugged me in!”

The alpha chuckled darkly, his scent becoming threatening. “Is that your game? How much do you want?”

Shang QingHua shook his head with tears in his eyes. It was just a comment made in anger. How did it come to being hated this much by a man who treasured him so sincerely the night prior?

“I’m not a liar,” he whispered, putting his uniform back on under a hateful gaze before leaving the room.

********

He headed straight for the bathroom once he got home, scrubbing his skin raw and getting all of that alpha’s cum out of himself through tears. He couldn’t believe he’d let himself hope and dream about something so stupid and unattainable. He should have minded his business and left the man to writhe through his induced rut on his own. Now, he had to see the marks on his skin until they faded and be forced to remember when he thought he had a sweet mate and a happy life ahead of him.

Instead, he’d made an enemy of a powerful man.

Shang QingHua was fired that morning while on the bus back home and had been told he was blacklisted from ever working anywhere that so much as resembled a place wealthy clients would approach. Despite his experience, no other caterers or hotels at the same level would hire him. He’d have to go back to barely scraping by at shitty jobs that paid dirt.

It was one mistake. Why should his life end like this? He sobbed, crying without restraint until Shen Jiu burst in.

Shang QingHua saw him freeze when he noticed the marks on his body and knew he assumed the worst when his enraged scent flooded the small bathroom—but he controlled himself for Shang QingHua’s sake.

He shut off the water and held out a towel for Shang QingHua, then sat him down on the toilet seat to dry his hair while Shang QingHua sniffled.

“It’s not what you think,” Shang QingHua whispered. He ashamedly retold the events and apologized at the end.

“Why are you apologizing? How is it your fault?” Shen Jiu sighed. “Anyway, go back to school. I can figure this out on my own. We’ll struggle for a little bit, but you’ll graduate soon.”

Shang QingHua nodded, but he could do nothing about the immense guilt.

He shouldn’t have ever even looked at that alpha.

**********

If only his connection to the alpha had ended there.

Two months passed without any sign of his heat before Shang QingHua bought several pregnancy tests to find out what he already knew.

By chance, he had also caught sight of the root of all his problems on a magazine in the checkout line, along with his name.

Mobei Jun. CEO of Northern Desert Industries. It seemed the magazine was covering a vicious feud with his uncle and speculating how it would impact his company’s stocks.

He bought the magazine at the last second with an apologetic smile to the cashier, then read it as he waited for his test results at home.

There were mentions of their clash for ownership of the company left by Mobei Jun’s father, of scandals that Mobei Jun claimed his uncle orchestrated or staged, of arrests against his uncle, lawsuits, and a final anonymous report that his uncle had him drugged at a certain event in an attempt to be convicted for assaulting an omega.

Once he’d read that section, Shang QingHua felt as though his blood had turned to ice.

Couldn’t that have only been the event where Shang QingHua had met him?! So, then, if Mobei Jun knew that much, he must know it had nothing to do with Shang QingHua-!

No, Shang QingHua caught himself.

It didn’t matter. Mobei Jun had still ruined his life and treated him horribly.

But maybe when he found out the truth…

Shang QingHua remembered sweet murmured praises and felt his cheeks warm up. He… really liked that loving alpha. Was it so hard to believe that he was in there?

*****

He was so stupid back then.

He should have felt the matter was over and decided to go his own way with his pup growing inside of him, but the senseless hope took over his waking thoughts and dreams. Shang QingHua had deluded himself into believing that he and Mobei Jun could talk it out and maybe…

Shang QingHua didn’t even want to remember the stupid daydreams he had. He blocked that off, had killed that person—

No, Mobei Jun had the day Shang QingHua decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and tell him about their pup.

***********

Shang QingHua’s knees buckled and his eyes began to water. His instincts screamed at him to escape, to run because this person was a threat to himself and the pup growing inside of him. He needed to get away from him, his pup could die. He might kill them, he was going to hurt them. The overwhelming fear was so intense Shang QingHua felt like he was going to throw up as it consumed every cell in his body until he could do nothing but tremble.

Shang QingHua tried to crawl towards the door, forcing himself to move so he could escape, but he didn’t make it very far before his path was interrupted by a pair of long legs that hinted at an imposing man and his face was grabbed by a proportionally large hand.

“Truly no better than an insect, a leech,” Mobei Jun snarled, making sure that Shang QingHua looked him in the eyes and saw the immensity of his disgust as he said it. “Get rid of your bastard pup or I’ll take them and everything left of yours until even scum has a better name than you.”

Shang QingHua wanted to shake his head, but he knew that agreeing, even if he didn’t mean it, was the only way out. Biting his lip and blinking back tears and whimpers, Shang QingHua nodded, seeing his pathetic visage reflected in Mobei Jun’s eyes.

Once he had, Mobei Jun left the room, slamming the door behind himself.

It took Shang QingHua several minutes to compose himself enough to be able to stand on trembling legs.

He didn’t remember how he made it out of the building or what happened in between until he arrived at the hospital. It was dangerous for an omega in Shang QingHua’s condition to have been overwhelmed by such aggressive alpha pheromones in an enclosed space for so long.

They rushed him in for an ultrasound, and that sound of the little beating heart still inside of him brought him to ugly tears of relief.

He was still crying as he whispered soft reassurances to his pup and himself when Shen Jiu rushed into his hospital room with little Shen Yuan in his arms. 

They stayed with him throughout the night, sleeping on the recliner beside his bed, too worried about him to leave.

That alpha could never have been this.

But Yue Qi was exactly this.

Shang QingHua had seen the way he and Shen Jiu interacted and the lengths they would go for each other. As hopeful as Shang QingHua had been, Shen Jiu was equally hopeless in his belief that he could be happy with an alpha who treasured him. He had rejected Yue Qi before he found out about the baby because he was scared the man would reject him first.

Loving Yue Qi that much, Shen Jiu knew he wouldn’t survive that blow. Shang QingHua knew it, too, but it was abundantly clear that that wouldn’t happen after he saw the interview and he was determined to get Shen Jiu his happy ending.