PMWAIAAPM Chapter 3

Chapter 03

Tan Zhiyu turned and slammed the door, the sound echoing as if the wall itself might crack.

The corridor was empty, leaving him all alone.

Xing Yang let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead in frustration, standing at the door for quite a while.

He knocked on the door: “Zhiyu, after you finish, hand the key back to me…”

Tan Zhiyu had thrown away the key and now had taken his spare key.

“Bang—”

In the next moment, the door swung open, and a bunch of keys was tossed out, landing crisply on the floor.

Xing Yang stood there, staring at the glimmering keyring under the harsh light, pausing for a long time.

His gaze dimmed a bit; maybe it was time to change the password lock.

Building No. 5 of Butterfly Manor had two units per floor.

After Xing Yang and Tan Zhiyu got married, they lived here; they were legal partners and also neighbors.

——

Xing Yang returned to his own home next door, where an orange fat cat lay on the floor, rolling around in greeting.

He squatted down, letting the little chubby cat sniff his fingertips, but the cat seemed to dislike the smell of alcohol on him, meowing once before trotting away with its tail high.

“Heartless little thing,” he chuckled softly.

He often had social gatherings, so his fridge was stocked with hangover remedies, but he rummaged around for a long time without finding any suppressants.

With a slight heat at the back of his neck, he could only use a cold beverage can to cool himself down. His blood felt hot, and the cold stimulated the small gland; Xing Yang winced, his fingers lightly brushing over the slightly protruding gland.

The scent of ebony wood wafted in the air, reminding him of his omega traits.

The heat cycle was coming…

His phone chimed—his secretary sent the schedule for next week along with an invitation to the crew’s opening ceremony.

Speaking of the crew, he thought of Tan Zhiyu.

To be honest, he didn’t understand what had upset Tan Zhiyu today.

Xing Yang was already 28 this year; for an omega, that was a bit old, past the optimal age for reproduction.

His appearance wasn’t the stereotypical omega; instead, he had a sharp, neat short haircut, clean brows and eyes, a mole on the tip of his nose, unremarkable features, and honey-colored skin.

He had been working out for years; his muscle tone was somewhat lean but strong, with a butterfly tattoo peeking out from the open collar, on the area of his collarbone.

The black butterfly spread from the collarbone to his pectorals, forming a stark and undesirable contrast with his not-so-alluring face.

He looked more like a studious student from school, tattooed with a feast of gluttony.

Xing Yang’s parents died young; he was raised by his grandmother and had worked hard for over a decade to achieve his current success. Marriage was the first thing he had thrown into the back of his mind to forget.

He wasn’t sensitive to suppressants and had to endure the heat cycle.

But his glands were too small, and he would not be able to endure, unless someone marked him.

Three months ago, the hospital notified him that there was a matching Alpha.

The compatibility of pheromones? One hundred percent.

Such a case had never occurred before. Over 80% was already considered a high compatibility.

As a highly sought-after star, Tan Zhiyu had been single for many years, taking suppressants until he developed antibodies against them. During his reactive periods, his body couldn’t handle it and needed an omega to resolve his physiological needs.

Their compatibility was enough to soothe with a temporary mark.

Xing Yang had the same reasoning.

They exchanged names and married, all within an hour.

Tan Zhiyu had only one requirement: not to develop feelings for him, and beyond being bedmates, they were not to mistreat their relationship.

“Don’t think just because you’re the boss of a group that I’ll hold you in high regard; I have money too, understand?”

“Understood.”

“Except during special times, our lives do not interfere with each other, got that?”

“Got it.”

Tan Zhiyu was like a dazzling diamond brought up by many stars.

His face had been called a genius face for over a decade, and there was even a term in the entertainment industry that exaggerates to the point of naming it after Tan Zhiyu.

With long, shoulder-length curly hair, fair skin, and green eyes, he could be described as stunningly beautiful, just like his pheromones.

Like a splash of bright red blooming in the mist of Berlin, and the cold air serving as a backdrop to the red roses that accompanied him.

His fair skin and deep-set eyes made him too beautiful.

Xing Yang had to admit he was indeed captivated by Tan Zhiyu’s face.

Though he was busy, he would still catch advertisements on the street and TV; just yesterday, he had seen that beautiful man on television, and today they had received their marriage certificate and entered their shared room, shamelessly engaging in intimacy, marking him, biting at his nape.

He couldn’t tell if it was a hormone-driven attraction or attachment due to the marking of an omega on an Alpha.

Since their marriage three months ago, they had been intimate twice.

The size didn’t match, and it was somewhat painful; as an omega, Xing Yang wasn’t as sensitive as he had imagined.

This month’s heat cycle was approaching, and during such times, he and Tan Zhiyu were at odds. He didn’t know if… when the time came, he would still be willing to help himself.

Xing Yang didn’t understand the reason for his anger.

Was it because he despised him interacting with other men?

But before their marriage, they had agreed not to disturb each other’s lives; the business dealings were his constant work.

He was one of the few omega businessmen in the capital’s business circle, and many wealthy scions wanted to befriend him and arrange a marriage, the Jiang family was no exception.

The Jiang family had helped him during the early days of his startup; their joint appearances at hotels were merely dining out caught on camera, maliciously leading to fabricated news.

Tan Zhiyu should be obsessive about cleanliness.

He had been born as a privileged young master with a golden spoon in his mouth. His looks made him the center of attention; he could win best actor awards for his acting or inherit his family fortune after stepping back from the industry, unlike him.

A businessman who hadn’t even finished high school, uneducated.

Xing Yang knew he wasn’t worthy of Tan Zhiyu.

If it hadn’t been for the pheromone compatibility, perhaps he would find a more beautiful, softer omega instead of a blunt, ugly man like himself.

Alphas disliked their omegas interacting with others; it was nature, not personal concern.

Right?

That was how it was.

Xing Yang let out a bitter smile, shook his head, and took off his coat as he walked into the bathroom.

Cold water poured down from above, calming his heated body. He had a faint scar at the back of his neck, inconspicuous against his honey-colored skin.

Tan Zhiyu had never carefully observed his small gland; he would never notice that scar.

“Tan Zhiyu…”

Water droplets were blocked by his eyelashes as Xing Yang’s hand moved downward, imagining his Alpha.

He wondered if this desire was real attraction or mere infatuation with his partner’s genes.

Tan Zhiyu hated him today because he hadn’t done well enough.

He thought about how to apologize tomorrow.

It was somewhat a loss for such a beautiful person to marry him, yet they were legal partners on the marriage certificate.

In Xing Yang’s heart, Tan Zhiyu was as precious as his wife.

Maybe comforting his wife would solve everything?

Or perhaps he should silently go to work, keeping out of sight and mind?

So troubled.