"Yueyue!" Liang Yuhan froze on the sidewalk, as if his brain couldn't process what his eyes had just seen.
"It's you… Yueyue," he whispered, before sprinting across the street like a lunatic.
He had been searching for Ying Yue for three months. Three long, bitter months since the day she was dragged into the Chen mansion and forced to seduce Chen Zixuan, the only heir of the Chen family. That day, she vanished from his world.
Now she was right in front of him.
"Please—listen to me, Yueyue. Please, I need you back." Yuhan grabbed for her hand, desperate, but Ying Yue pulled away, her fingers slipping out of his.
"I've been to your house so many times. Your friends won't let me in. Just once… please, listen!" His voice cracked as he caught her wrist. She stopped walking but refused to face him.
"Call me YING YUE," she snapped, her shoulders shaking. "Don't call me Yueyue." Tears slid down her cheeks.
"How can I face you?" she whispered, voice trembling. "Another Alpha saw me. I.." Her throat closed. "I seduced another Alpha, Yuhan." The words broke into sobs.
"I don't care. I'll take you back. Please," Yuhan dropped to his knees, clinging to her. He felt ridiculous, humiliated, but he couldn't stop himself.
Ying Yue set her jaw, turned, and walked away.
"Ying Yue!" Yuhan stumbled after her, heart thundering in his chest
The motorcycle came out of nowhere and slammed into desperate yuhan. He exploded in then his world went black.
"Yueyue…" he mumbled into the darkness, reaching out as if she might still come back.
---
When he opened his eyes, he saw a ceiling he recognised too well.
"Yueyue," he croaked.
"Wow, even half-dead and broken, you're still calling her name." Li Hao's sarcastic voice cut through the haze.
Yuhan blinked. His oldest friend stood over him, rolling his eyes as he adjusted the bandages.
"Are you good?" Li Hao asked, helping him sit up in the little backroom of his pharmacy.
Yuhan pushed to his feet, wincing, his leg still throbbing as he fell to the ground.
"That's one hundred yen," Li Hao said, palm out, pretending to be stern. But when Yuhan's face crumpled, when the tears came silently, Li Hao quickly dropped the act. He crouched down and put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"What's wrong? Is it because of Ying Yue?"
"She left me… for good now" Yuhan clutched at his chest like he could hold the pain in.
"I'll take my revenge." His voice turned sharp, his tear-stained face hardening. "I'll destroy the monster who took her from me."
"Yuhan…" Li Hao tried to steady him. "You're an Alpha. You can't let this eat you alive."
"Whose side are you on?" Yuhan snapped. "Your best friend's… or the bastard who stole his lover?"
Li Hao sighed. "If you put it like that, I'll have to surrender to you." He stood and walked off, muttering, "Are all Alphas this stubborn?" But his tone was softer than his words.
---
Liang yuhan and li Hao had been inseparable since high school, ever since the day they stood up to the same bully. That night, like always, they climbed onto the rooftop of Li Hao's little pharmacy.
A transparent board stood in front of them. Yuhan slouched on a bean bag, his bandaged leg stretched out carefully. Li Hao stood tall, glasses sliding down his nose, marker in one hand, cane in the other as he stood directly in front of the board.
"Are you ready?" Li Hao asked, theatrics in full swing.
Yuhan nodded.
Li Hao spun the board around dramatically, tapped it with the cane, and declared, "This operation shall be called… Operation Chen Yuhan!"
"Wait, wait....why did you mix our names together?" Yuhan protested as a funny sound played in the background.
"Well, you're planning to make him fall for you, and I couldn't think of anything else."
"Why are you making him the top then?" Yuhan shot back, pouting.
"He's an Alpha too. What do you expect me to do?"
"Then let's change the name," Yuhan said with sudden determination.
His eyes glinted as he announced proudly: "Operation Liang Zixuan!"