020

Jiang Yujin didn't know how long he had slept. He stared blankly at the ceiling, and the darkened room brought back unbearable memories.

I'm hungry.

He got up and took his temperature with a thermometer.

The fever has subsided; it's 36.7 degrees Celsius.

On the bedside table sat a palm-sized crystal ball, inside which two snowmen, one large and one small, nestled quietly together.

Jiang Yujin reached out, took it, shook it, and held it in his palm, watching the snow inside slowly fall.

The most worthless gift Jiang Yujin ever received came from Jiang Mo, who had swapped lives with him.

"Very poor quality."

Despite saying that, upon hearing the door open, she immediately and carefully put it back in its original place, then shrank back into the covers and lay down.

The woman who tiptoed in covered him with the blanket that he had kicked off, and then took his temperature with a thermometer. A few minutes later, Jiang Yujin, who was pretending to be asleep, thought she was about to leave. The bed sank down, and Jiang Mo sat down.

Jiang Yujin kept her eyes closed, so she couldn't see what Jiang Mo was doing. Half an hour later, Jiang Mo finally came out.

Jiang Yujin breathed a sigh of relief; if he continued pretending to be asleep, he would really fall asleep.

The bedside table was empty, so Jiang Mo took the crystal ball out...

Jiang Yujin was stunned for a moment.

Wasn't this for me?!

Jiang Mo is taking back the things he gave away. What is he planning to do?

He got dressed, got out of bed, and found his new phone. He didn't know where his old phone was, so he bought a new one.

The screen showed the time as 4 PM. He opened the door like a thief. He lived in a large single-level apartment, and his room was separated from the living room by a long corridor.

The living room lights were on, so it seemed Jiang Mo was there.

The expansive floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of the river, and the city center was directly opposite, providing convenient transportation. The night view was equally impressive, which was why Jiang Mo had chosen to buy this property long ago. The woman standing beside the window keenly sensed his arrival. "Awake? Still dizzy?"

Jiang Yujin walked up behind her, intending to give her a fright.

"I'm hungry," Jiang Yujin said, wrinkling her nose and taking a step back.

The alpha had been drinking and had a smell on him, which he could smell.

Jiang Mo realized this and said apologetically, "Sorry, did the smell bother you? I rarely drink alcohol, little brother."

“It’s okay…” Jiang Yujin rarely opened the living room curtains; when he came back, he would bury himself in his room and do what he liked.

"The night view is beautiful, isn't it? Sometimes standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window like this and not thinking about anything can be very soothing for the mind."

Jiang Yujin remained noncommittal. He had been searching for the missing crystal ball ever since he arrived, but he didn't want to ask Jiang Mo for it.

What you ask for yourself is different from what someone else gives you. It would be awkward if Jiang Mo accidentally left it in his room while taking care of him.

Jiang Mo probably thinks he would steal even a broken crystal ball.

"It really is very beautiful."

A month ago, Jiang Yujin could never have imagined that a month later they would have such a harmonious moment together.

"I'm a little tired. If you don't want takeout, how about I make you a bowl of noodles, little brother?"

"I don't want to eat takeout."

...

Jiang Yujin sat at the dining table and waited for a bowl of hot crab roe noodles, which was unexpectedly delicious.

"This is all we have at home, let's just make do with this meal."

Jiang Mo might not be that bad; at least he provides him with food.

Happy Winter Solstice, Jiang Mo.

"I'll be staying away from home for a few days."

The two of them said it almost at the same time.

Jiang Yujin originally wanted her to leave. He felt that she hadn't treated him badly, but he couldn't bring himself to ask why.

Is it because he's in the way that Jiang Mo wants to move out? He wanted to ask that.

In the end, Jiang Yujin could only awkwardly say, "When are you coming back?"

"After Christmas."

"oh."

There are three days left until Christmas, which makes it four days.

Without Jiang Mo's constraints, Jiang Yujin counted down the days until his liberation.

"Do more practice tests at home, don't open the door to strangers, the kitchen is dangerous so don't cook for yourself, and message me if you run out of money."

"What do you smell like?" Jiang Yujin asked, putting down the half-eaten noodles he had just finished.

Jiang Mo brought over the noodles, and besides the smell of alcohol, there was a familiar scent mixed in with his body.

Jiang Yujin heard about it and was deeply impressed.

"Does it smell like alcohol?" Jiang Mo stopped him from smelling it any longer. "It's new shower gel. I don't know who put it in my bathroom. Didn't you buy it?"

"What? I didn't?" Jiang Yujin remembered what happened in his bathroom at the Jiang family villa and felt a sense of foreboding.

Liang Dongmo is like a persistent ghost. Didn't the security guards in this neighborhood say that not even a fly could get in?

Meeting Jiang Mo's questioning gaze, Jiang Yujin told her to find all the toiletries in the bathroom and throw them away.

"Just throw it away, Jiang Mo. I don't know who put it there."

Jiang Mo nodded thoughtfully, without asking any further questions.

-

Jiang Mo wasn't home, so Jiang Yujin locked himself in the house alone at night. No one bothered him, and he watched a heart-wrenching romance movie until 1 a.m.

As the movie ended and he drifted off to sleep, he heard a noise coming from the entrance hall, and a bad feeling crept into his heart.

Jiang Yujin hurriedly returned to her room, locked the door, and hid in the closet. She wanted to send a message to Jiang Mo or call the police, but when she checked her pockets, she cursed herself for being so forgetful. In her haste to hide, she realized she had left her phone on the living room sofa outside.

He was afraid of being discovered, so he didn't even open the wardrobe a crack, not even a slit. In horror movies, that crack is more terrifying than the inside of the wardrobe.

In his panic, he touched something cold in the narrow, dark cabinet.

Ah, it feels like...

Jiang Yujin remembered; it was the necklace he had forgotten in the corner, a birthday gift from Liang Dongmo.

When he first got it, he really liked it. There's a reason it's expensive; anything that can be measured in numbers is good. After Liang Dongmo went missing, he stuffed it deep inside his wardrobe and forgot about it.

He held the rose necklace in his hand, his mood calming down a bit. Perhaps the thief had taken a lot of valuables from Jiang Mo's room and was about to leave, so he wouldn't have come to his room at all.

"Squeak—" The door to his room opened easily.

Jiang Yujin's heart leaped into his throat again. He dared not make a sound, not even a whimper of fear.

As if it were premeditated, the visitor opened the wardrobe door without turning on the light.

The uninvited guest, knowing there was an omega alone at home hiding in the closet, had no intention of teasing him and couldn't wait any longer.

Did you miss me?

The rich pheromones of peach oolong tea wafted over him, and Jiang Yujin's horrified expression was cut short by a passionate kiss.

Liang Dongmo had been causing trouble for a long time, and when they met again, he actually tried to scare him.

Jiang Yujin wanted to question her, but Liang Dongmo's kiss made it hard for him to breathe, and he struggled to speak. He used his right hand to try and slap her.

Liang Dongmo, familiar with the situation, wasn't about to take another slap for no reason, and quickly dodged: "Baby, haven't you learned to breathe properly yet? Have you had fun staying with your sister these past two weeks?"

Liang Dongmo waited secretly, and the opportunity for Jiang Mo to go out provided her with great convenience.

"Take off the mask, I don't want to..." Jiang Yujin remembered that she had sent Liang Dongmo a breakup message, so now that they had broken up, they couldn't do those things anymore.

"Why?"

Liang Dongmo pressed down on him, his hot breath telling him that his susceptible period had arrived.

"It's so ugly."

If people found out, they would think he had a fetish for ugly things, but Liang Dongmo didn't care and wore it every day without feeling ashamed.

"Didn't you see the message I sent you? We've already broken up, Liang Dongmo." Jiang Yujin didn't dare to move, afraid that the alpha would do something bad.

"Baby hasn't answered me yet. Have you been happy living with your sister for the past two weeks? Baby seems to really like your sister who isn't related to you by blood. If she can do it, why can't I?" Liang Dongmo deliberately emphasized the phrase "not related by blood," habitually playing the victim. "I'm in my vulnerable period, baby, can you help me? Didn't we agree on that before?"

"She's just my sister, not as despicable as you think. Liang Dongmo, get out of here, it's over between us, who wants to have your child..."

With such a disparity in strength, Jiang Yujin couldn't push her away and could only say in exasperation.

The joke I made at the restaurant was taken seriously by only myself.

Under the absolute pheromone suppression of the alpha, Jiang Yujin, as an omega, obviously couldn't maintain his willpower for long.

"You like this older sister so much? Didn't you say you hated her or were disgusted with her before?" The woman tried to negotiate with him. "How about I take the baby to your room and see if there's anything that attracts you? You can take anything you like. I'll talk to you and pay for it, okay? Consider it compensation for not being able to contact you for a while?"

"Get away from that room."

Jiang Yujin said weakly that at this moment he was like a hero, even if he had to offer his wretched body to the malicious invaders, he would still guard the last piece of sacred land without leaving his side.

Alphas are much fiercer than usual during their vulnerable period. This is just the beginning. They enter their vulnerable period unconsciously. Liang Dongmo only brought a few nutrient solutions.

The lights weren't allowed to be turned on, and Jiang Yujin relied on nutrient solutions to get through Christmas Eve. She fainted several times during the night, barely managing to sleep for a while before being woken up again.

Liang Dongmo was tireless in his efforts to torment him.

"I don't want to break up, so there's no way we can break up." These words, like a curse, planted the seeds for what would soon come true.

Liang Dongmo regained consciousness and bit his gland, wanting to mark him for life.

The omega froze in fear, clutching Liang Dongmo's collar with both hands. "Really...? I don't want to, I'm still in school..."

"Don't mark me, Liang Dongmo, I don't want to..." Jiang Yujin pleaded fearfully.

"Please, I really don't want to..."

He had never experienced true and lasting love, and his adoptive parents had not set a good example for him.

Jiang Yujin, facing an alpha whose true appearance he had never seen before, was constantly worried that she might suddenly disappear.

After being marked for life, an omega has to rely on an alpha for the rest of their life unless the mark is removed. In the long run, the glands can only be removed.

Jiang Yujin couldn't stand either of them.

He promised his mother he would study hard and not just submit to an alpha.

"You should have the right attitude when asking for help!"

Liang Dongmo imitated his tone to scare him.

"You don't want your sister to know that you were having an affair with a strange alpha while she was out, right, baby? And if you accidentally get pregnant with that alpha's child, you'll probably be kicked out of the house and end up on the streets. What will you do if you can't find a job to support yourself and have a child? The school won't accept a student with such a bad record as you anymore..."