After Being Aroused By Beauty, I Got Entangled With The Gloomy and Sinister Enigma - Chapter 4

On the other end of the line, it was far too quiet.
Chen Yao could only hear his own breathing, and his already irritable mood boiled over against the other party’s calmness.

The heat he had just forced down surged back again. Pressing against his glands, he struggled to steady his voice.
“Li Ying, if you’ve got something to say, then say it. What, did you turn mute?”

Impatience colored his tone. His glands tormented him nearly to madness, while the culprit toyed with him as though it were all a game.

A low chuckle floated across the line. That deep, magnetic voice teased:
“Just a little pressure and you’re already falling apart…”

But before Li Ying could finish, Chen Yao cut the call.

He stared at the call log, his heart pounding wildly, his body trembling slightly—yet there was a rush of satisfaction, like he’d finally won a round.

Chen Yao wasn’t afraid the photos would spread. After all, what happened between them had been consensual. If Li Ying published them, that would violate his portrait rights, and he could go straight to the police.

Calming his nerves, he took only a couple steps when the phone rang again. Seeing Li Ying’s name, he paused a moment—then hung up and blocked the number.

They’d have no contact in the future anyway. There was no need to keep his number.

With that done, Chen Yao felt a wave of relief and headed toward the parking lot.

In the shadows, a man smiled faintly at the disconnected call. The weak glow of the screen lit up his flawless features; that smile seemed strangely sticky, eerie in the darkness.

He watched as the staggering figure moved down the hall until it vanished, then finally turned and left.

The night had brought rain, and by morning a light fog hung in the air. When the first rays of sunlight slipped through the curtains, the man on the bed opened his eyes and sat up.

After two days of rest, Chen Yao’s body had mostly recovered, though fatigue lingered.

He touched his glands—they were healing. In two more days, they’d likely stabilize.

The doctor had probably given him the worst-case scenario, and in his fog of pain he had chosen a drastic measure to stop it. Luckily, he hadn’t used inhibitors in the end, or the consequences might have been far worse.

Chen Yao rose, washed, dressed, and called his driver.

Yesterday, the luxury brand DM had contacted him, asking him to come to the office to discuss magazine shooting candidates.

As a photographer, usually he shot whatever the client asked. But Chen Yao’s name carried weight in the industry. To collaborate with such a bold, unconventional genius, DM’s CEO had even ceded him veto power over model selection.

When he first picked up photography, his family had kept him under strict watch to stop him from “wasting his life.”

But once he failed to differentiate, they gave up on him.

A Beta was mediocre in every way and carried no commercial value. They had no reason to waste resources on one.

Having agreed on a time with his driver, Chen Yao finished breakfast and headed down to the parking lot.

As he opened his car door, his eyes fell on an uninvited guest—Li Ying.

“What are you doing here?” Chen Yao frowned. His glands, which had finally quieted, now burned faintly again.

Today Li Ying wore a white suit, standing out like a streak of light in the dim underground garage.

His green eyes gleamed with laughter, so different from their first meeting’s icy frost.

“You haven’t gone out these past few days. This is the first time I managed to catch you,” Li Ying said with a small smile, gaze steady, eyes shimmering faintly with joy.

Chen Yao had no desire to deal with him. Li Ying was an Enigma—his pheromones could affect a Beta like him, maybe even trigger secondary differentiation.

Annoyed, Chen Yao shot his driver a look. Li Ying, with feigned innocence, said,
“This has nothing to do with your driver. I forced my way in.”

Chen Yao had already guessed as much. What puzzled him was the change: at first, Li Ying had been indifferent, but now he clung to him like a shadow. What, had one night been so addicting?

Or perhaps his rejection had piqued the man’s interest.

Chen Yao slammed the door shut and strode toward the elevator, intending to call a cab.

His glands were healing, but being confined with an Enigma risked a relapse.

The elevator soon arrived. He stepped inside, but Li Ying followed close behind. The doors shut, carrying them upward.

Chen Yao glanced over, exasperated.
“What exactly do you want?”

When seated, Li Ying’s presence was less obvious. But standing tall in that suit, he seemed like a peacock unfurling its feathers in courtship.

Their shadows blurred against the steel walls as the elevator rose from B2 to the first floor.

When the doors opened, Chen Yao had no doubt Li Ying would continue following.

So instead of suffering through a cab ride, he returned to B2 and climbed into his own car.

Li Ying sat at his side, those green eyes gleaming like a cat’s—bright, intent.

As the car rolled out, Chen Yao lowered the windows all the way, ensuring fresh air could flush out Li Ying’s pheromones.

It was midsummer, July. The wind carried heat, sticky against exposed skin.

“Chen Yao, did you grow up in City A?” Li Ying asked suddenly.

He had investigated after returning home and found a two-year gap in Chen Yao’s records—around age fifteen or sixteen, the same age as when they first met.

At the mention of his past, Chen Yao’s eyes darkened. Irritation flared.
“What’s that got to do with you?”

Instinctive fear prickled at him.

Back then, he’d teased Li Ying, thinking he was just an Alpha. Strong as they were, they still couldn’t match an Enigma—so he hadn’t been afraid. But when he learned the truth, he wished he could beat some sense into himself for being so reckless.

Li Ying narrowed his eyes.
“Just curious. The Chen family only cares about profit. And you, as their only Beta, had no commercial value. How did you survive?”

Chen Yao’s face stayed calm, but his fingers curled tight. He forced a faint smile.
“Li Ying, if you’ve eaten too much, maybe try eating less.”

Li Ying’s curiosity only deepened.
“Tell me, if they knew you provoked an Enigma, what expression would they make?”

Chen Yao chuckled.

So he thought to threaten him? But Chen Yao didn’t give a damn what those old bastards thought.
“They’d probably tremble with rage. If it killed them, so much the better.”

“So you truly don’t care about them.” Li Ying’s tone was almost amused, his gaze shining with childlike curiosity.

“Li Ying, since you’ve investigated me, you should know I’ve always been at odds with them.” Chen Yao’s black eyes glinted with disdain.

Back then, when he was kidnapped, they could have ransomed him back with money—but instead, they left him to die.

For that alone, reconciliation was impossible.

Leaning back, Li Ying sighed.
“Alright, I did know. I just wanted to hear you confirm it.”

He showed no embarrassment at being exposed. Instead, he was perfectly at ease, as if secretly investigating someone was no big deal.

“Then why investigate me at all?” Chen Yao asked. He couldn’t think of anything about himself worth an Enigma’s attention.

“Baby’s so clever—why not take a guess?” Li Ying leaned close, one arm draped over the passenger seat, eyes glinting mischievously.

Like a cat seeking affection, beautiful and insistent.

Chen Yao did want to know what his motive was. After all, it couldn’t possibly be because of him, could it? He had nothing worth all this effort.