After hearing those words from Kim Taehyun, Jiang Li couldn't even bring himself to enter his lecture hall.
He turned and ran.
The Alpha's voice followed after him like smoke curling through his mind, impossible to escape no matter how fast he moved.
It couldn't be true.
There had to be some explanation.
Maybe Shen Yu was some rare kind of Alpha capable of suppressing his pheromones completely. Maybe that was why no one else could smell them.
But then…
Why could Jiang Li?
The scent of whiskey and rosewood had always affected him too strongly to be ordinary. Every reaction his body had given him whenever he inhaled that scent felt identical to what omegas described when speaking about pheromones.
It had to be pheromones.
It had to.
Yet by the time Jiang Li reached Shen Yu's penthouse building, breathless and trembling slightly from running, another voice crept mercilessly into his thoughts.
But how would you know?
The cruel whisper settled heavily inside him.
You've never smelled pheromones before. To you, they're all just scents.
Jiang Li's steps faltered instantly.
Because the voice was right.
Outside of Shen Yu and that cursed Alpha from his past, he had never truly experienced pheromones before. And even then, his memories of that former scent had long become blurred and buried beneath trauma.
So how could he be certain?
How could he confidently distinguish pheromones from ordinary scent when he had no real comparison?
The questions screamed through his mind like alarms as he unlocked the penthouse door and walked inside.
Silently, he headed upstairs.
Straight toward Shen Yu's office.
His fingers shook as he searched through the drawers until he finally found what he was looking for.
An identification card.
Jiang Li stared at it quietly.
Name: Shen Yu
Gender: Male
His vision blurred slightly.
For several seconds, he couldn't bring himself to look lower. The card trembled violently between his fingers before he finally forced his eyes downward.
And the moment he read the final line, his hand went numb.
The card slipped from his grasp and hit the floor softly.
Secondary Gender : Beta
It was true.
Taehyun hadn't lied.
The realization shattered something inside him so completely that Jiang Li slowly collapsed onto the floor, curling into himself as tears finally spilled uncontrollably down his face.
Everything he had hoped for over the past few months disappeared in an instant.
Gone.
Just like that.
He was broken.
Exactly the way everyone had always said he was.
Not normal.
Never normal.
His breathing became uneven as quiet sobs forced their way from his chest. Through blurred vision, his gaze landed on the black business card Taehyun had slipped into his hand earlier.
And slowly, the Alpha's words began replaying themselves inside his head.
"I could help you, you know."
"I know something that could turn him into an Alpha."
"Don't you want my help?"
"If he stays a beta, he'll never be able to mark you."
"You'll still react to other Alphas forever."
"You and Shen Yu can never truly become mates."
Jiang Li clenched the card tightly in trembling fingers while tears continued streaming down his face.
"I'm sorry…" he whispered brokenly.
"I'm sorry, Shen Yu."
---
Meanwhile, miles away, the constant clinking of a spoon against porcelain echoed quietly through the office.
Round and round.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Coffee sloshed over the rim of the cup from the force of Shen Yu's distracted movements, dark liquid staining both the saucer and the documents spread across the desk. Yet he seemed completely unaware of the mess he was making.
Eventually, the spoon struck too harshly against the edge.
The cup tipped over.
Hot coffee spilled across the papers instantly.
"Ge!"
Lin Yushen jolted upright in alarm and quickly pushed Shen Yu's chair back before the liquid could spill onto him completely.
The chair rolled backward sharply, finally snapping Shen Yu out of whatever daze he had fallen into.
He looked down slowly at the mess covering his desk before muttering a low curse beneath his breath.
Leaning back into the chair, he rubbed tiredly at his temple while Lin Yushen hurried to clean the spilled coffee with paper towels.
The younger omega bit lightly against his lip before glancing worriedly toward Shen Yu.
"Are you okay, Ge?" he asked softly. "You've been acting strange for over an hour now. What happened?"
His almond-shaped eyes were filled with concern.
Shen Yu exhaled quietly before finally looking toward him.
Lin Yushen's shoulder-length black hair had come loose today, falling messily around his face instead of being tied neatly the way it usually was. Shen Yu stood slowly and walked over before absentmindedly patting the younger omega's hair.
"You worry too much," he murmured.
Lin Yushen pouted immediately.
"Don't just—"
His complaint stopped halfway when he noticed Shen Yu casually pouring himself another cup of coffee.
The omega sighed helplessly.
As expected, Shen Yu had no intention of explaining anything.
He would rather change the subject entirely than talk honestly.
And right on cue—
"How's Lin Yuze?" Shen Yu asked quietly. "It's been a while since I've seen him."
Lin Yushen rolled his eyes.
Just like he thought.
"He's fine," he answered eventually, though a smile still appeared on his face at the mention of his child. "Just more troublesome than before. He's been driving me insane lately."
At Shen Yu's faintly raised brow, Lin Yushen laughed softly.
"But I still love him."
He shook his head helplessly.
"This morning he somehow covered himself entirely in milk powder and still expected me not to scold him afterward." His voice softened further. "Are all children this exhausting?"
His words slowly faded into background noise.
Because at some point during the conversation, Shen Yu's fingers had tightened dangerously around the coffee cup in his hand.
Heat coursed violently beneath his skin.
It felt unbearable.
Like molten lava replacing blood inside his veins.
The ceramic cup creaked faintly beneath the pressure of his grip, one second away from shattering completely.
Just a little more—
"Shen Yu!"
Lin Yushen's frightened voice cut through the haze instantly.
Shen Yu blinked.
The younger omega was staring at him now with widened eyes filled entirely with worry.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Lin Yushen demanded, his voice rising. "Stop pretending you're okay and just tell me what's wrong!"
But Shen Yu barely heard him.
Without saying a word, he suddenly stepped forward and pulled Lin Yushen into his arms.
The omega froze immediately in shock.
Shen Yu buried his face against the younger man's neck, arms tightening instinctively around his waist as he inhaled deeply.
The smaller body felt warm.
Comforting.
And for one terrifying second, Shen Yu's mind calmed.
"You smell nice…" he murmured quietly against Lin Yushen's neck.
Then silence fell heavily between them both.