The restroom door clicked shut behind me. The sound, a faint echo in the profound, unnatural quiet of the hallway. My ears, which always perceived the office as a symphony of chatter and rhythmic keyboard clicks, registered only a chaotic work place. The hallway was abnormally quiet, a false sense of peace I had come to know all too well; the kind that settled over the cubicles whenever Manager Yi Julian wanted to create a scene.
I didn't have to guess. Yi Julian was a public performer, a man whose bruised ego required a willing audience. He had undoubtedly just finished his act, and now everyone was pretending to be busy, their heads bowed, their movements deliberately quiet.
Wu Qi, bless his beta heart, appeared with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand, a look of quiet concern on his face. He passed it to me, and said "Don't let Julian get to you, Qiushi," he murmured, his voice a low, concerned note meant for my ears alone. "You know your work is perfect."
Lin Quishi nodded and said "Sure, thank you".
I heard the faint click of a door closing down the hall, followed by the soft, rhythmic scuff of expensive dress shoes against the polished floor. The sound grew steadily louder, a deliberate rhythm that cut through the silence. My body tensed. I didn't need to look up. I knew who it was.
Manager Yi Julian, ever since I had rejected his offer at the company's New Year party, Julian had made it his personal mission to humiliate me. From the faint, anxious taps of a coworker's fingers on a keyboard, I heard their frantic, internal thoughts: He's so much better than Manager Julian. This isn't fair. Why does no one say anything?..... I heard their resentment, their whispered frustrations that never dared to become words. My ears had always been my greatest strength, a gift that let me know the truth behind the polite smiles and the quiet resentment.
Julian stopped in front of my desk, casting a shadow over my keyboard. He dropped a file onto my desk with a sharp thud. It was my latest work, the one I had just had Wu Qi submit. "What kind of work is this?" and he continued "This is unacceptable, Lin Qiushi. Did you even look at this?" Julian's voice was sounding very irritated for my ears.
A familiar fire ignited in my gut. My jaw clenched so hard it ached. Julian hadn't even had the guts to look me in the eye when he did shouted at me, since he know very well that work was always been exceptional. The way he had approached me with that cold smile, the public humiliation—it was the work of a coward who couldn't face the fact that his offer had been rejected by me.
My anger, a familiar, steady heat in my veins, was my shield. I bent down, picked up the file, and held it to my chest. "The models are optimized for efficiency, Mr. Yi," I said, my voice a carefully constructed monotone. "They'll save us weeks of manual work."
He chuckled, a short, patronizing sound. "I'm sure they are. But we're a team, not a one-man show. I'm afraid your work will be set aside for now. We'll stick to the old models." He gave me a final, condescending smile before turning and walking away, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the crowded hall, the center of everyone's attention.
The workday ended as it always did, and successfully that bastard Julian ruined my mood for the entire day. But he was a small, spiteful man with a loud mouth and a big title, and his opinions didn't matter. It was normal for me since last year, and reached my home alone. Even though me and Wu Qi live together, he visits his girlfriend every now and than.
Still, there are little things had been bothering me for weeks. My cat, Chestnut, had started hissing at the empty air in the corner of my living room. The reflection of my face in the darkened train window sometimes seemed to lag behind my movements. My phone would randomly show a flicker of static, like an old TV screen, even with a full signal. Each event was small enough to be dismissed, but together they formed a pattern of a world that was subtly coming undone.
With that unsettling feeling still buzzing in the back of my mind, I went to the washroom to wash my face. I splashed cold water on my skin, the shock of it a welcome jolt of reality. I dried my face, draped the towel over the back of the sofa, and headed toward my room, needing to lie down.
My hand closed on the doorknob, and for a split second, I heard the howl, pained howl of a distant animal, a sound that had no place in the quiet apartment.
When I opened the door, a blinding white light seared my vision. The sudden feeling of cold was a physical blow, a harsh contrast to the warmth of my home. I stumbled back, my eyes trying to adjust to the overwhelming brightness, as a bitter wind howled in my ears. The familiar sound of my own apartment vanished, replaced by the crisp, sterile silence of a place I did not recognize.
I blinked, and the image sharpened. I was no longer in my room. I was standing in a vast, unending field of pure white snow under a grey, sunless sky. My heart hammered in my chest, a frantic drum against the deafening silence of this frozen world. There was no path to follow, no sign of life, no explanation for what had happened to me.
And in the distance, I saw a lone figure, in white piece of clothes, standing over a dark, still form. They were the only sign that I wasn't completely alone, the only thing that felt real. Drawn by a sense of desperate hope, I started walking towards them.
While approaching to that figure I understood it was a woman in long white dress which kind looking like outdated. As I got closer, I finally heard a sound that cut through the silence like a beacon in the dark. It was the rhythm of a heartbeat, slow and steady, which felt like light in the dark cave for me where I was happy for a moment that I'm not the only person here and, I could ask her what is happening here and where I am?.
She stood beside the wolf. Now I understood: the painful howl I had heard back at my home might have been this very wolf's. I finally reached her, standing a few feet away, completely mesmerized. The horrifying sight of the dead wolf and the terrifying situation I was in vanished from my mind, replaced by the captivating image of her beauty. She was tall, perhaps as tall as I was, and had a mix of sharp and soft features that hinted at a mixed-race. Her hair was as black as midnight, a stark contrast to her pale skin. Her thick eyebrows framed eyes that were dark and calm, but teary, and her lips were a light pink like delicate petals. I could only stand there, captivated, my mind struggling to process the angelic beauty that stood before me.
Suddenly, a voice cut through the silence. It was a clear, calm sound that pulled me from my trance and forced me to blink, my gaze fixed on her.
"What are you looking at?" she said, a faint, amused smile touching her lips. "I know I'm beautiful, but you don't have to stare at me like that."
My consciousness finally returned, the cold biting at my skin and the dead wolf at her feet snapping my attention back to the grim reality.
My consciousness finally returned, the cold biting at my skin and the dead wolf at her feet snapping my attention back to the grim reality. The woman raised a curious eyebrow, waiting for a response. I opened my mouth to speak, but the words caught in my throat. My mind was a whirlwind of questions: Where am I? Who are you? What is this place?
She seemed to sense my inner turmoil. A soft smile touched her lips, and she reached a hand toward me, not to touch, but in a simple gesture of welcome.
"Hi," she said. "I'm Ruan Baijie. And you?"
The warmth of her presence seemed to cut through the freezing air. I swallowed hard and found my voice.
"Lin Qiushi," I managed to say. "My name is Lin Qiushi."
"Lin Qiushi," she repeated my name softly, then her eyes met mine. "Are you an omega?".
The question hit me like a physical blow, a bolt of ice through the chill. How did she know? I couldn't smell a thing; my omega nature had always been an abstract concept, defined by an absence of sensation rather than a presence.
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Author talk *********************
By now you might have understood that this is the Lin Qiushi first door snow village, and the story might be similar to the story but I want to add some extra my own thoughts like focusing on the couple more than the doors. so the story will be more about Nanzhu and Qiushi.
Not yet ended, and there are chapters coming in future but not yet decided the number but I don't want it to be too lengthy, so I'll try my best to finish it with in 10-15 chapters.
If you like it please let me know 🤗
***************** Characters that are introduced in the chapter *****************
Character : Lin Qiushi - Omega - Male - 182CM tall, have keen ears could here clearly what others can't, but cant release or get effect of other's pheromones.
Character : Ruan Baijie - female - 180- 185CM tall, beautiful and elegant.
Character : Wu Qi - Beta - Male - 176CM tall - Lin Qiushi friend.
Character: Yi Julian - Alpha - Male - 180 CM tall - Lin Qiushi Manager - playboy - egoistic