The Sickly Omega Is No Longer Pretending to Be Good/Obedient - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Jingle the Bells “Is He Treating Him Like a Child?”

Shen Qiudu completely passed out before another assistant, rushing with news, could enter the tent.

Due to his defective scent gland, Shen Qiudu would immediately fall into a coma whenever he experienced extreme emotional distress.

As the doctor explained, this was Shen Qiudu’s body automatically initiating a protection state.

Unless Shen Qiudu felt he was in a state of high security in the future, this defense mechanism would activate without warning at any moment.

After an unknown period, Shen Qiudu regained consciousness. Although he didn’t immediately open his eyes, he could sense that he had been brought back to the villa by Wen Jiangchu.

At this moment, Wen Jiangchu was sitting on a rattan rocking chair by the window, tightly holding Shen Qiudu in his arms, swaying gently, and lightly patting his back to soothe him.

Shen Qiudu’s feet hung down on the same side, and he lay docilely nestled in Wen Jiangchu’s embrace. Sunlight streamed through the window onto his pale cheek, and his hands had even instinctively wrapped around Wen Jiangchu’s neck.

Shen Qiudu had seen this posture before.

It was the first time he had left his room, inspecting the living room for possible escape routes and chances. He unexpectedly saw Wen Jiangchu’s growth trajectory from childhood to youth on the photo wall.

Each photo documented all the major and minor events in his life, from just learning to walk to successfully differentiating into an Alpha while simultaneously securing the top spot in his school year.

Even though Shen Qiudu hadn’t felt this kind of uninhibited favoritism for a very long time, at first glance at those photos, he knew that Wen Jiangchu’s family loved him more than anyone else. Below every photo were clear dates, photographers, and reflections on the moment.

“A-Chu learned to walk today! It’s clearly Grandma’s credit, but Mom insisted A-Chu learned by watching her and demanded a kiss from A-Chu.”

“A-Chu is one hundred days old! Presenting the Huatian Tower—checked!”

“A-Chu found a kitten for the first time. Welcome the new member to the family!”

“A-Chu’s first day of school! Kindergarten starts! We hope that in the future, on the tenth day, the hundredth day, and the thousandth day, we will all be by A-Du’s side.”

“A-Chu is still well-behaved and obedient in high school. His only worry is having too many love letters, which have filled the kitten’s bed. Thankfully, Mom found out in time…”

“A-Chu differentiated into an Alpha! We’re so happy for A-Chu!”

“But A-Chu, whether you are an Alpha, Beta, or Omega, please remember that we will always, always be by A-Chu’s side. No matter what kind of A-Chu you are, we will love you unconditionally—Your family loves you very much.”

…

Shen Qiudu stood by that photo wall for a long, long time, until half of his body started to feel numb, yet he remained motionless.

The internal lies he had told himself for so long finally began to silently fester. Like a withered tree in winter, its exterior looked fine, but the roots in the mud had long since started to rot and stink.

He greedily took deep breaths of every bit of air, trying to draw in tiny bits of the oxygen of love, but all he got was the dirty water splashed up by passersby stepping on it.

Shen Qiudu had known for a long time that Wen Jiangchu and he were from different worlds, but he still lacked preparation.

The gap between people could actually be this huge.

So, when Wen Jiangchu tried to use reason to suppress Shen Qiudu’s collapsing emotions, he completely lost control. All the envy, jealousy, and pain instantly poured out.

And Wen Jiangchu simply endured his accusations and unwarranted complaints, yet in the end, still protected him carefully in his arms, taking him away from his unbearable past.

Shen Qiudu’s heart began to waver. He didn’t understand what Wen Jiangchu wanted by doing this.

So, even though he was awake, he dared not move an inch.

Wen Jiangchu’s way of holding him was modeled after how his mother held him when he was a child.

But what did it mean for Wen Jiangchu to hold him like this?

Was Shen Qiudu just a rebellious, disobedient child to him?

Is that why he was so patiently indulging him, being kind to him unconditionally and without asking for anything in return?

But this was too strange.

Shen Qiudu didn’t understand.

If so, then Wen Jiangchu was even more of an oddity.

Having lived in the slums for so long, all his thoughts revolved around how to earn more money, when he could take his mother away, and… how to survive the impending Easy Susceptibility Periods.

Only now did he allow himself to think about these things.

To think about the topic of “love.”

…

Suddenly, Shen Qiudu heard a faint sound.

The door had been pushed open from the outside; someone had entered.

Shen Qiudu’s body involuntarily tensed, and his closed eyelids slightly trembled.

To avoid being noticed by Wen Jiangchu, he had no choice but to frown, pretend to be disturbed by the sound of the door opening, and let out a soft moan.

Sure enough, Wen Jiangchu believed him, lowering his voice: “Keep your voice down; he’s still sleeping.”

“Didn’t the doctor say his body’s protection mechanism only lasts for an hour? Why hasn’t he woken up after nearly two hours now?”

It was a man’s voice. Judging by the sound, it seemed to be the person who had been reporting the work in the tent earlier.

“He went through too much today. A little extra rest is good.”

“But do you have to keep holding him like this? What kind of sight is this… I really don’t get you.”

“The doctor said my pheromones could relax his protection mechanism, and this position makes him feel more comfortable.”

“But you’ve been holding him for far too long, and in this position… aren’t you afraid he’ll misunderstand that you have ulterior motives for him?”

The man chuckled immediately after speaking, dismissing his own point.

“I must be dizzy. Someone like you, who can be completely scammed by a street beggar out of all their cash, probably wouldn’t scheme anything.”

“Especially since this guy has nothing.”

Wen Jiangchu remained silent, but Shen Qiudu could feel him watching him.

After a while, Wen Jiangchu finally spoke, but deliberately changed the subject.

“Have Qiudu’s parents been found?”

“No. His father is an old escape artist. The second the fire broke out, he dragged his mother onto a ship leaving the city. If the captain hadn’t coincidentally seen them, we wouldn’t have known their whereabouts.”

“Has the ship docked?”

“It has. We sent people to chase, but we were too late. A group of people was waiting there early and secretly took them away before our people arrived. We’re still investigating who they are.”

“However, it shouldn’t be the Song family. In that case, you need to be more careful. The enemy is in the dark, and you are in the light. Don’t easily trust others.”

“As for this fellow, are you sure you want to keep him close? After all, his family is implicated in the Song family’s arson case. If his trace is found, the Song family will definitely silence him.”

“You and the Song family are already at odds. If he causes trouble for you, what will you do?”

“Don’t worry. No matter what, I will protect him.”

Shen Qiudu could feel Wen Jiangchu’s hand on his shoulder tightening, as if afraid he would vanish in the next second.

The man sighed, disappointed: “I really don’t understand you. Why do you insist on picking up a weak, troublesome Omega with a missing scent gland? You could have any kind you want.”

“Unless… you want to use his life to strike a deal with the Song family? If so, I have nothing to say. After all, someone with his family background is just a source of trouble if kept.”

“If you ask me, you’ve done enough for him. If he really becomes a burden, just send him back. If you can’t bear to, I’ll do the dirty work. How does that sound?”

Shen Qiudu’s fingers instinctively tightened on Wen Jiangchu’s collar.

Sure enough, his initial guess was correct.

And the man was right: who would unconditionally care for someone like him if he lost his utility?

Except for his mother, but now, his mother was also gone.

Who else could he trust? Only himself. Only by constantly brainwashing himself could he avoid being tricked and sinking into these false fantasies.

Therefore, rather than ending up hurt and utterly disappointed, it was better to never trust anyone from the start, force himself away from Wen Jiangchu, ignore the details, and pin the blame onto the other person.

This was the only truth Shen Qiudu had learned from living in the slums all these years.

Only this way could he protect himself from harm.

Only this way could he survive.

But they were wrong.

Shen Qiudu wouldn’t be so foolish as to cling to someone when he knew he was a burden. He would leave.

As long as he found an opportunity, repaid everything he owed Wen Jiangchu, and used whatever means necessary, he would leave.

He didn’t want to be abandoned again.

“Xu Zhouye, you’ve been rambling too much today.”

“I don’t need your judgment on how I handle things.”

This was the first time Shen Qiudu had heard someone like Wen Jiangchu speak with such a cold and ruthless tone.

But before Shen Qiudu could think too much, the door was knocked upon again.

It was Butler Liang’s voice, seemingly needing to discuss the details of the post-fire reconstruction work with Wen Jiangchu.

Wen Jiangchu carefully rose, gently placing Shen Qiudu on the bed, and tucked in the blanket to keep out the cold air.

Only after completing all this did he turn and leave the room.

Just as Shen Qiudu breathed a sigh of relief and tried to open his eyes, a slightly flippant male voice suddenly spoke—

“Stop pretending. I know you’re awake.”