Chapter 19: He Couldn’t Guarantee What He Might Do to Shen Shuyi Later

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The back-and-forth of Shen Shuyi’s internship made his schedule even more chaotic. Fortunately, the work at Xie Cheng didn’t require him to be in the office all the time. He just needed to collect and organize data. It was officially labeled as a company benefit, but in reality, very few employees actually came for consultations. Even if they did, Shen Shuyi was still an intern without a medical license and couldn’t do much. Ultimately, the licensed physician on staff had to handle everything.

Still, the internship at Xie Cheng was helpful for Shen Shuyi. He got to interact with real cases. The company’s employee benefits were genuine, and they didn’t arbitrarily fire staff who disclosed mental health issues. The physician taught Shen Shuyi a lot of practical clinical knowledge. In contrast, at Huada Affiliated Mental Health Center, Shen Shuyi mostly did mundane tasks and rarely interacted with patients.

Soon, the weekend arrived.

Tan Yu had invited Shen Shuyi to a class reunion.

Since he had already agreed, it was hard to back out.

Tan Yu mentioned that his Omega cousin, who suffered from pheromone dependency, would also be attending. She had apparently been isolating herself in her room for too long, and her family was worried she might spiral. They suggested Tan Yu take her out for a change of scenery.

Tan Yu had gone abroad in his final year of high school and had just returned this year. His family had given him an ultimatum to come back and find a job.

He was a privileged young man from a well-off family. Alphas like him, left unsupervised overseas, were prone to going astray. That was likely why his parents insisted he return early.

Back in high school, Shen Shuyi had indeed felt a bit of affection for him. But that feeling came and went quickly. It wasn’t really affection. It was more envy.

He had also envied Sheng Hengye’s life, but the difference was that Tan Yu carried a natural spotlight.

He was an Alpha, and a very handsome one at that. His grades were good, and he had been class president, often playing key roles in school events.

During a late-night dorm chat in high school, a roommate asked Shen Shuyi if he liked anyone in class. Without thinking too much, he hesitated briefly and said Tan Yu’s name.

The next day, word spread quietly through the class that Shen Shuyi liked Tan Yu.

Teenagers were always eager to gossip about crushes. It was a popular topic.

Luckily, Shen Shuyi had a natural ability to go unnoticed. As a Beta, liking someone as outstanding as Tan Yu was seen as perfectly normal.

Eventually, everyone got busy with senior year and forgot about it.

Even Shen Shuyi preferred not to remember. He considered it a cringe-worthy moment. Sheng Hengye, for some reason, never forgot.

Now, Shen Shuyi understood that what he felt for Tan Yu wasn’t love. He could still distinguish between envy and affection. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have matured at all.

Young people always want to shine. But Shen Shuyi no longer envied Tan Yu. He had accepted his reality as an ordinary Beta. He had also outgrown the desire to stand out.

Society needs ordinary people to function. Otherwise, who would highlight how exceptional the ones at the top are?

So when Sheng Hengye said Tan Yu might have feelings for him, Shen Shuyi was genuinely surprised.

If he hadn’t already married Xie Chenzhou, he might have looked forward to seeing Tan Yu again.

But even if he weren’t married, it wouldn’t have worked.

That was the truth.

Ordinary Betas and top-tier Alphas weren’t meant to be together. Not everyone was like Xie Chenzhou, with unusual taste and absolute control over his marriage.

Maybe Xie Chenzhou didn’t have strange taste. Maybe he just had his own plans and reasoning.

With the mindset of simply attending a reunion, Shen Shuyi accepted the invitation.

Xie Chenzhou’s rut leave wasn’t over yet. Ever since Shen Shuyi told him about the reunion, he had been acting strangely.

Shen Shuyi now lived at the Xie residence. Although they were under the same roof, they didn’t interact much.

Aside from commuting, when Xie Chenzhou and the driver would pick him up and drop him off, claiming he needed fresh air, Shen Shuyi rarely saw him.

Xie Chenzhou mostly stayed in two places at home: the study and the basement.

Sometimes, he even brought work down to the basement.

Knowing it was Xie Chenzhou’s private space, Shen Shuyi had never gone down there since moving in. He respected Alpha territorial instincts.

But ever since Shen Shuyi mentioned the reunion, Xie Chenzhou had been spending even more time in the basement.

According to Uncle Qian, when Shen Shuyi wasn’t home, Xie Chenzhou could stay in the basement all day without coming up. Meals were left at the entrance for him to collect. Uncle Qian worried he might be shutting himself in too much.

Shen Shuyi suspected it might be due to unstable pheromones from his rut, but Uncle Qian was certain that wasn’t the case. Since Uncle Qian knew Xie Chenzhou better, Shen Shuyi didn’t press the issue.

At least in front of Shen Shuyi, Xie Chenzhou behaved normally. Otherwise, Shen Shuyi would have suggested he see the company’s licensed psychologist for a checkup.

On the day of the reunion, Xie Chenzhou offered to accompany Shen Shuyi with the driver.

Before leaving, he even changed into a formal outfit suitable for attending a banquet.

Shen Shuyi asked if he had an event to attend. Xie Chenzhou said no.

He just wanted to dress like that.

Since he had already accompanied Shen Shuyi to and from work several times, Shen Shuyi didn’t think much of it and got in the car with him.

The reunion was held at a high-end club.

The venue had a public bar, private dining rooms, and karaoke lounges. It was purely for entertainment and operated on a membership basis. Only the wealthy could afford to come.

Shen Shuyi had never been to a place like this. No one had ever invited him, and he didn’t have the spending money for it.

As they entered, a staff member approached. Catching the scent of Shen Shuyi’s pheromones, he looked troubled.

“Sir, you might not notice it yourself, but your pheromone scent is quite strong. If you enter the club, it could affect other guests. We’ll need you to use a dispersal spray and wait a moment before going in.”

Shen Shuyi had never encountered this before. No one had ever told him his pheromones were strong enough to affect others.

Maybe the club had stricter standards. He didn’t ask further and took the spray from the staff member, stepping aside to apply it.

Outside the club, under a tree, Xie Chenzhou watched Shen Shuyi spraying himself and frowned anxiously. He began pacing.

Soon, Shen Shuyi was allowed inside.

Xie Chenzhou stood under the tree with a tense expression, then walked toward the entrance.

Inside, a staff member greeted him. Xie Chenzhou gave his name.

“Xie Chenzhou.”

The staff member’s face changed.

“President Xie, the front desk wasn’t notified of your arrival. Did you reserve a room?”

Xie Chenzhou didn’t answer. He walked forward.

“Open one.”

The staff member followed quickly.

“Of course, right away.”

This club was actually owned by Xie Cheng. Although it wasn’t part of their core business, before Xie Chenzhou took over, the company had a wide range of scattered ventures. Many were unprofitable. In the past two years, he had streamlined operations, and this club had remained due to its decent performance.

Still, Xie Chenzhou didn’t manage it personally. It was run by hired professionals. He only came here occasionally for business meetings and rarely stayed long. Most visits were because others requested his presence.

The staff member knew the club belonged to Xie Cheng but had never seen Xie Chenzhou in person. He didn’t doubt his identity, though. The aura was unmistakable.

What puzzled him was why Xie Chenzhou’s pheromone scent was so similar to that Beta who had just entered.

Almost identical.

The staff member was a low-grade Alpha. He had damaged glands and wasn’t easily affected by pheromones. As a result, his ability to distinguish scents was limited. He couldn’t detect low-concentration pheromones at all.

So he only suspected, not confirmed.

And since the guest was Xie Chenzhou, he didn’t dare ask questions. He had the front desk open a private room and escorted him to the elevator before returning to his duties.

Knowing that Shen Shuyi had just used dispersal spray to erase the pheromones he had left on him, Xie Chenzhou was overwhelmed with anxiety. Alone in the elevator, his nails dug into his palms.

He had to reapply his pheromones to Shen Shuyi.

He had to.

Otherwise, he couldn’t guarantee what he might do to Shen Shuyi once inside the club.

He wanted to mark him.

He wanted to mark him hard.

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**Note: sorry guys for the late update. I have an exam on Wednesday and it really stressing me out . I might not upload tomorrow 😓😓

Translator note: 📌

I will be posting 2 chapters everyday at 9:30 PM ~ Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) zone.

Thank you for reading 💖 see you again in the next chapter~ cherries 😘