Involuntary Symbiosis Chapter 1

You Have Been Marked by an Enigma

During the meeting, Xiaohui stood up to report on the progress. Holding a tablet, Xiaohui usually spoke in a gentle, soft voice, but when reporting on work, her voice was strong, her delivery well-paced, and the content’s structure was clear and concise. As Nan Ningyue listened to her speak, his peripheral vision caught Wang Ling sitting next to Xiaohui. Wang Ling was staring ahead, his eyes somewhat vacant, his face showing signs of fatigue and a hint of confusion.

After Xiaohui finished her report, Xu Tongxiao briefly summarized the good sales and feedback for the recent product. Not wanting to waste the employees’ time, the two of them concluded the meeting, essentially wrapping up the summary.

Nan Ningyue returned to his office. He asked his Life Assistant, who reported their recent work schedule. Aside from attending a few business seminars, they should have a relatively easy time lately.

After the Life Assistant left, Nan Ningyue and Xu Tongxiao sat on the office sofa to rest before returning to work.

“Senior, how about we go watch the sunrise this weekend?” Xu Tongxiao suggested. “We can go for a morning run while we’re at it.” Indeed, they had been too busy recently, lacking the time and energy for exercise. Nan Ningyue leaned into Xu Tongxiao’s embrace, relaxing his posture. “Sounds good, I’ll follow your lead.”

Xu Tongxiao looked at his lover in his arms. Nan Ningyue had his eyes closed, his skin resting against the black fabric on his chest. His soft hair was pressed into the folds of the shirt, and along with his good mood, he exuded the cool, refreshing scent of snow plum Pheromones. Xu Tongxiao couldn’t resist lowering his head and gently kissing his lover’s hair.

“You’ll follow my lead that much?” Xu Tongxiao asked with a smile, looking at Nan Ningyue.

“Are you not confident in your own suggestion, Tongxiao?” Nan Ningyue listened to the rhythm of Xu Tongxiao’s heartbeat against his chest.

“So you’re quite satisfied, Senior?” Xu Tongxiao always used a slight lilt when calling him Senior. Nan Ningyue smiled, buried in his chest, then sat up straight. Feeling the emptiness in his arms, Xu Tongxiao tugged at the corner of Nan Ningyue’s shirt. “Don’t, Senior.”

“If you keep calling me that, be careful, we might not get any work done later.” Nan Ningyue didn’t pull his hand away; he quite liked how clingy Xu Tongxiao was. He leaned forward, looked into Xu Tongxiao’s eyes, and gave him a light kiss.

The Pheromones of their bond mingled between their lips. The moment they separated, Xu Tongxiao gave a helpless smile. “Time for work.”

“A bit annoying,” Xu Tongxiao sighed. Nan Ningyue didn’t refute him, simply saying, “That’s why office romances aren’t allowed.” Hearing this, Xu Tongxiao laughed aloud. “True. I wish I could stick to you all the time.”

They returned to work. Xu Tongxiao coordinated with the CFO on product marketing funds and then researched market trends to set corresponding market goals. Nan Ningyue reviewed important documents. Due to the promotion of the new product, some of the documents included adjustments to existing production lines, new production lines, and expansion of sales points.

The office door opened, and Wang Ling entered with the important original documents for the existing production lines. Nan Ningyue asked Wang Ling to place them on his desk. After reviewing one document, he looked at Wang Ling and noticed that the other man still looked very unwell. He couldn’t help but ask, “Is something wrong?”

Wang Ling paused, then recovered and replied, “It’s a personal matter.”

Nan Ningyue noticed ambiguous marks on Wang Ling’s neck, especially around the gland area, which looked like they had been roughly treated, leaving some alarming bite marks. He immediately averted his gaze to avoid embarrassing Wang Ling. His intuition told him that this might be related.

“Mr. Nan, I’d like to request a day off,” Wang Ling said, avoiding Nan Ningyue’s eyes. The usually sharp and decisive Wang Ling spoke with a hint of caution.

“Of course.” Nan Ningyue didn’t elaborate. Wang Ling nodded and left.

Xu Tongxiao had also noticed. He turned to Nan Ningyue. “I hope Wang Ling hasn’t gotten involved with that person.” When Xu Tongxiao thought of that person, he couldn’t help but worry, not just for Wang Ling himself, but because it might trigger other issues.

“Who?” Nan Ningyue looked at Xu Tongxiao.

“Fu Yaren,” Xu Tongxiao said. “Did you smell that strong Pheromones barrier on Wang Ling?”

“I didn’t sense it,” Nan Ningyue recalled. He realized that the other employees had been looking at Wang Ling with complex expressions, but Wang Ling, in his poor state, hadn’t noticed their gazes at all.

“It might be related to my constitution.” Nan Ningyue guessed it might be due to his special physical makeup. Fu Yaren—that name reminded him of the “important figure” who hadn’t shown up at the business exchange meeting he attended in M Nation.

“Fu Yaren, the capitalist from M Nation?”

“Yes, an Enigma,” Xu Tongxiao confirmed. “A refined egoist.”

“He started his footing domestically, but later moved abroad. It’s normal that you haven’t heard of him before,” Xu Tongxiao explained.

He had met Fu Yaren once before. It was at a private gathering of corporate tycoons. Xu Tongxiao, only in his second year of high school, wore a well-tailored haute couture suit with a branch-shaped silver brooch pinned to his chest. He was accompanying Xu Xiaorong, dealing with people, when a tall figure approached them. A dark gray suit perfectly showcased the man’s physique. The moment Fu Yaren appeared, others’ eyes intentionally or unintentionally shifted toward him. Fu Yaren walked up to him. Although Fu Yaren had tried his best to contain his Pheromones in public, Xu Tongxiao was still overwhelmed by the intense scent of bitter absinthe, which caused a cold sweat down his back. Maintaining a calm expression, he politely offered a toast to Fu Yaren.

Seeing his composure, Fu Yaren seemed to find something interesting. He moved closer to Xu Tongxiao, returned the toast, and then toasted Xu Xiaorong. Xu Xiaorong, also an Alpha, naturally couldn’t tolerate the Enigma’s Pheromones, but his expression remained unchanged. He stepped forward naturally, seemingly politely returning the toast to Fu Yaren, but also instinctively shielding Xu Tongxiao behind him. He took a sip of wine and asked Fu Yaren, “How is your esteemed father?”

Fu Yaren smiled upon hearing this. “My Omega father hasn’t been feeling well recently. I thank you on his behalf.” After speaking, his gaze shifted to Xu Tongxiao and he asked, “And this is?”

“My son,” Xu Xiaorong introduced, then humbly added, “He’s only in high school, not as accomplished as you are at such a young age.”

Fu Yaren could see Xu Tongxiao being protected behind Xu Xiaorong. He smiled and said, “Not at all, we are different. Uncle is much more formidable than I am.” He paused, then smiled at Xu Tongxiao. As he left, he brushed past Xu Tongxiao’s shoulder. Xu Tongxiao smelled the strong scent of bitter absinthe on him. The man spoke, “Your brooch is very beautiful.”

Xu Tongxiao looked down at his brooch, the cold sweat on his back still lingering.

Later, he told his Omega father about the incident. Lin Tongtang, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and holding a thick book, listened to Xu Tongxiao’s account, then sneered, “An arrogant fellow.”

Lin Tongtang then recommended a movie to Xu Tongxiao—the story of a highly educated girl deceived by a wealthy man, where the girl was merely the most ordinary of the hunter’s many conquests.

“So? Did you fall for him?” Nan Ningyue rested his chin on his hand, smiling at Xu Tongxiao. Xu Tongxiao shook his head helplessly. “You’re teasing me again. How come you’re not jealous at all?”

“He flirted with you, but you didn’t harbor any intentions, so I’m not jealous,” Nan Ningyue said, slowly moving the hand supporting his chin toward Xu Tongxiao, then cupping Xu Tongxiao’s face. His eyes were dark and complex. “No matter what, he was flirting with my person.”

Nan Ningyue was also an Alpha, and although his constitution was special, his possessiveness toward his partner and his sense of territoriality were no weaker than any typical Alpha’s.

Hearing Nan Ningyue’s words, Xu Tongxiao was delighted that his partner was displaying possessiveness toward him. He rubbed against Nan Ningyue’s hand, then gently kissed Nan Ningyue’s palm. He released his ginger Pheromones to appease his partner. Nan Ningyue’s lips curved slightly upward. “Alright, Fu Yaren. I understand.”

Wang Ling sat on a metal chair in the hospital, tightly clutching the queue number slip. A corner of the slip was deeply crumpled from his grip. He also held the results from the dermatology department he had already checked—all results were negative. He breathed a sigh of relief. A chilling shiver enveloped him; the temperature had dropped today, and perhaps he wasn’t dressed warmly enough. This reminded him of the previous night. He had dragged his nearly broken body onto the bed, his hand feeling like a lump of mud as he struggled to tap the phone screen to order blocker medication.

Cold water mixed with the capsule slid down his throat, offering a meager sense of security. Cold air seeped into his quilt. He curled up, picked up the air conditioner remote, and increased the temperature.

The mechanical female voice calling his name interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and saw his name displayed on the hospital’s smart screen. He entered the Alpha Department.

It was a male Beta doctor. He looked at the information on Wang Ling’s slip—Pheromones Marking Cleansing. He assumed it was an Alpha who no longer wanted to continue life with his Omega. As a doctor with professional ethics, he didn’t ask further questions. He followed the standard procedure and examined the Alpha gland. Wang Ling’s neck gland was covered in bite marks and ambiguous traces, which looked freshly added.

The doctor was slightly confused about Wang Ling’s reason for the cleansing. Generally, if an Alpha allowed an Omega to bite their gland, it meant they were very fond of their Omega. The doctor refrained from asking too much, simply using a needle to extract glandular fluid from Wang Ling’s gland for testing. Wang Ling remained silent despite the pain on his gland. The doctor injected the glandular fluid into a sealed glass tube.

“Alright, wait an hour, and then you can collect the test results,” the doctor instructed Wang Ling. Wang Ling acknowledged this. The doctor handed him a cotton swab and kindly said, “You’re bleeding a little. Press down on it.”

Wang Ling took the swab and nodded his thanks. He pressed the swab onto his gland. Pain radiated from the needle puncture, spreading across the entire gland. He sat on the metal chair outside, using his left hand to reply to work messages on his phone.

Perhaps Nan Ningyue had instructed Xiaohui, or perhaps Xiaohui had arranged it herself, but his work chat interface was still paused at yesterday’s messages.

He put his phone away. At the same time, the smart mechanical female voice called his name again. He checked the time and realized it hadn’t been an hour yet, barely half an hour. He entered the department. The doctor was looking at the test results on the computer screen, his brows tightly furrowed.

According to the standard procedure for Alpha Marking Cleansing, the Alpha’s glandular fluid is extracted for testing, and then, based on the Pheromones fusion status, medication is injected to alter the receptor for the received Pheromones. Besides the gland, Omegas also need to cleanse the Marking in their reproductive cavity, which generally carries a higher risk.

The doctor looked at the test results on the screen. He looked at Wang Ling, his expression serious, and asked, “Do you know the person who Marked you?”

Wang Ling thought of the face pressed against his lower abdomen the night before last. A surge of malice rose within him. He calmed himself and replied, “No.”

The doctor felt a headache coming on. His frown deepened. He told Wang Ling, “You have been Marked by an Enigma. Enigmas are rare, and there are no clinical trials for Marking Cleansing. I need you to confirm again: were you permanently Marked by him? If it was a temporary Marking, I can prescribe some Enigma-specific Alpha suppressants to help you through your heat cycle. Once the temporary Marking fades, you won’t have to worry anymore.”

He didn’t have the authority to prescribe that suppressant and could only refer the patient to the director.

Wang Ling forced an ugly smile.

“Permanent. He Marked me completely.”