Chasing Husband

At 6:30 in the morning, Si Qi stood in the kitchen, staring at the gradually charring fried egg in the pan, beads of sweat oozing from his forehead. As a business elite with billions of assets under his control, he was helpless against an egg.

"The yolk is broken." Shao Wei's calm voice came from behind.

Si Qi turned around suddenly and saw Shao Wei leaning against the door frame in a dark blue robe. The morning light added a touch of color to his pale face. Since being diagnosed with pheromone disorder last week, Shao Wei's complexion has been getting worse, but he never complained.

"Why did you get up?" Si Qi hurriedly turned off the fire. "The doctor said you need more rest."

Shao Wei walked over slowly and took the spatula from Si Qi's hand. "I'm used to getting up early." His eyes swept over the mess of failures on the counter—three broken eggshells, burnt bread, and half-spilt coffee. "What are you doing?"

Si Qi's ears burned: "Breakfast."

They've been married three years, and Shao Wei has always prepared breakfast. Si Qi didn't even know what Shao Wei liked to eat until yesterday, when he was looking through his medical records and discovered that his partner was allergic to peanuts.

Shao Wei raised his eyebrows slightly: "Why?"

"I said I wanted to pursue you." Si Qi straightened his back, his Alpha pride making him unwilling to admit his clumsiness. "Shouldn't pursuit start with breakfast?"

The corners of Shao Wei's mouth curled up slightly, almost a smile. He deftly dumped the burnt omelet into the trash can and turned back on the stove: "Teach me."

"What?"

"Tell me what kind of breakfast you want." Shao Wei took out fresh eggs from the refrigerator. "Since you want to pursue me, I need to know the standards."

Si Qi was stunned. This was the first time Shao Wei showed any sign of cooperation. Although his tone remained calm, there seemed to be warmth in his eyes, which had always been indifferent.

"Soft-boiled eggs," Siqi heard himself say, "two slices of whole-wheat toast, toasted until slightly burnt, and black coffee without sugar."

Shao Wei nodded and began cooking with brisk movements. Si Qi stood by, watching his slender fingers deftly flip the omelet, the pale blue veins on the inside of his wrist clearly visible in the morning light. He suddenly noticed the wedding ring on Shao Wei's left ring finger—the platinum ring he hadn't taken off for three years, now reflecting a subtle light.

"Your ring..." Si Qi blurted out.

Shao Wei followed his gaze and glanced at his hands: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Si Qi looked away and touched his empty ring finger. He had taken off the ring the day after the wedding, thinking it was just a formality.

Ten minutes later, a perfect breakfast was placed on the table. Shao Wei was about to turn and leave when Si Qi grabbed his wrist and said, "Let's eat together."

Shao Wei looked at him, then finally sat down across from him. The two of them ate breakfast in silence, the sunlight filtering through the window painting bright squares on the floor. This quietness reminded Si Qi of their breakfasts over the past three years—the same silence, yet something had quietly changed.

"I'm going to the hospital for my first treatment today." Si Qi broke the silence.

Shao Wei put down his coffee cup and said, "I can go by myself."

"I'll accompany you."

"The company has been very busy lately." Shao Wei's tone was as calm as if he was discussing the weather. "The contract with the Lin Group needs to be renegotiated."

Si Qi narrowed his eyes: "How do you know about Lin's?"

Shao Wei paused for a second with his chopsticks. "I guess. Their delivery was delayed last week."

Si Qi didn't ask further questions, but he remembered this detail. Shao Wei knew much more about his business affairs than he had expected.

After breakfast, Si Qi insisted on driving Shao Wei to the hospital. On the way, Shao Wei leaned against the passenger window, his brow slightly furrowed. Si Qi noticed that his right hand was unconsciously pressing on his left chest, where the pheromone glands were located.

"Does it hurt?" Si Qi asked.

Shao Wei shook his head, but his pale lips betrayed him. Si Qi reached out and turned up the air conditioning temperature, releasing a small amount of soothing pheromones—sandalwood mixed with a hint of tobacco, which slowly diffused throughout the car.

Shao Wei's body stiffened slightly, then gradually relaxed. Alphas' pheromones, which should repel each other, had become subtly compatible after three years of living together. Si Qi had never imagined that his pheromones could soothe another Alpha.

The hospital's pheromone therapy center was decorated in a warm and comfortable manner, not at all like a medical facility. The receptionist was visibly surprised to see the two of them together.

"Mr. Shao, your partner finally came with you," the nurse said with a smile. "The doctor has always emphasized that this is very important for treatment."

Shao Wei nodded gently without explaining. Si Qi felt a pang of guilt - had Shao Wei always faced all this alone before?

In the clinic, Dr. Li, a gentle Beta woman, connected the pheromone monitor to Shao Wei's neck glands, and a chaotic waveform immediately appeared on the screen.

"The situation is more serious than last time." Doctor Li frowned and looked at Si Qi. "Mr. Shao's pheromone system has been suppressed for a long time, resulting in glandular dysfunction. As a partner, you need to participate more in the treatment process."

Si Qi clenched his fists: "How to do it specifically?"

"First, a temporary marking." Dr. Li's words caused both Alphas to look up simultaneously. "I know this is unusual for an Alpha partner, but research shows that regular pheromone exchange can effectively stabilize glandular function."

Shao Wei immediately shook his head: "No need, we can try other things..."

"Let's do it." Si Qi interrupted him and grabbed Shao Wei's cold hand, "Let's start now."

Doctor Li smiled with relief. "Very good. Mr. Shao, please lie down on the examination bed and relax. Mr. Si, you need to place your teeth close to his glands, releasing pheromones while gently puncturing them. You don't need to go deep like you would for an Omega marker; just superficial contact is all that's needed."

Shao Wei lay tense on the white sheets. Si Qi leaned over his neck, where the faint scent of cedar emanated. This should have been the dominant pheromone of an Alpha, but now it was so fragile that it was almost inaudible.

"Relax." Si Qi whispered, his lips almost touching Shao Wei's skin, "I won't hurt you."

As his teeth gently pierced the surface of Shao Wei's glands, Shao Wei shuddered violently, his fingers clutching the sheets tightly. Si Qi immediately released soothing pheromones, carefully controlling the force of his bite. The scents of sandalwood and cedar intertwined in the air, gradually forming a strange harmony.

On the screen, Shao Wei's pheromone waveform began to stabilize.

"Excellent!" Dr. Li recorded the data with surprise. "This level of compatibility is extremely rare among Alpha couples. It seems your foundation is better than I thought."

After the treatment, a small tooth mark appeared on the side of Shao Wei's neck, surrounded by a faint red blush. He sat in the corner of the clinic, lowering his head to adjust his collar, avoiding Si Qi's gaze. Si Qi noticed that the tips of his ears were slightly red—this was the first time in three years that he had seen Shao Wei show any trace of shyness.

"Treatment twice a week, combined with daily pheromone exchange." Doctor Li handed Si Qi a note. "The most important thing is emotional communication. Pheromone disorder is essentially a psychosomatic illness. Mr. Shao's long-term suppression of his emotional needs is the main cause."

As they left the hospital, the sun was shining brightly. Shao Wei's steps were a bit more brisk than when he came in, but his face was still pale. Si Qi suddenly reached out to shield him from the glare of the sun.

"How do you feel?" Si Qi asked.

Shao Wei was slightly startled: "Much better, thank you."

These three simple words warmed Si Qi's heart. This was the first time Shao Wei thanked him for his actions.

On the way back to the company, Si Qi stopped in front of a flower shop. Ten minutes later, he returned to the car with a large bouquet of blue baby's breath and stuffed it into Shao Wei's arms.

"Here you go." Si Qi said dryly, his ears burning.

Shao Wei looked down at the flowers, his expression fluctuating in a rare moment: "Why baby's breath?"

"The florist said this means... I really like it." Si Qi squeezed out these words with difficulty. His Alpha instinct made him uncomfortable with direct expressions of emotion. "If you don't like it, I can try something else."

Shao Wei's fingers gently stroked the petals. "No, they're beautiful." He paused and added, "The vase in my office happens to be empty."

Si Qi's mouth curled up unconsciously. He knew there was no vase in Committee Member Shao's office.

That afternoon, Si Qi was in a meeting when his secretary knocked on the door and said, "Mr. Si, there's an expedited delivery for you."

Si Qi opened the package and found a platinum wedding ring, the same one he had worn at his wedding, with Shao Wei's initials engraved on the inner ring. He put the ring on without hesitation and continued the meeting as if it were just an ordinary matter.

But when he turned the metal ring on his ring finger, his heart beat faster uncontrollably.

In the days that followed, Si Qi began his clumsy but determined pursuit. Every morning, no matter how early it was, he insisted on having breakfast with Shao Wei; every noon, he called Shao Wei on time to remind him to take his medicine; every night, he insisted on sleeping in the same bed with her, even though at first there seemed to be a galaxy between them.

The change was slow, but it was happening. Shao Wei began to look up when Si Qi came home, put down the book in his hand when Si Qi was talking, and unconsciously moved towards the heat source - that is, Si Qi's direction - in the middle of the night.

However, the improvement in his condition was not as expected. Late one night, Si Qi was awakened by the faint sound of running water in the bathroom. He pushed open the door and saw Shao Wei leaning against the sink, blood splattered at the corner of his mouth, a few drops of glaring red splashing onto the white tiles.

"Shao Wei!" Si Qi rushed forward and supported his shaking body.

Shao Wei quickly turned on the tap to wash away the blood and wiped the corners of his mouth with a towel: "It's okay, just bleeding gums."

"Do you think I'm a fool?" Si Qi's voice trembled, and he stroked Shao Wei's pale face with his fingers. "How serious is it?"

Shao Wei avoided his gaze: "It's within controllable range."

"Tell the truth!" Si Qi almost growled.

After a moment's silence, Shao Wei said softly, "The doctor said...if there's no significant improvement within three months, gland removal surgery may be necessary."

Gland removal meant permanent loss of pheromone production, tantamount to castration for an Alpha.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Si Qi's voice was hoarse.

Shao Wei lowered his eyes: "I don't want to affect your work. The company has been in a difficult situation recently."

This sentence stabbed Si Qi's heart like a knife. Even at this time, Shao Wei was still thinking about him.

That night, Si Qi forcefully held Shao Wei in his arms until they fell asleep, releasing soothing pheromones throughout the night. In the middle of the night, he felt the body in his arms tremble slightly, and a wet touch against the crook of his neck—Shao ​​Wei, the always calm Shao Wei, cried silently in the darkness.

Si Qi didn't point it out, but simply hugged him tighter. This was the first time he saw Shao Wei's emotional breakdown, and it was also the first time he realized so clearly how good this seemingly indifferent Alpha was at hiding his pain.

The next day, Si Qi canceled all his meetings and drove Shao Wei to a hot spring resort outside the city. When Shao Wei looked at him quizzically, Si Qi simply said, "The doctor said relaxation will help with treatment."

In the steaming hot spring, Shao Wei's pale skin finally showed some color. The two of them soaked in a separate open-air pool, surrounded by snow and overhead by a clear blue sky.

"Here..." Shao Wei suddenly said, "It looks like the place where we first met."

Si Qi was stunned. Their first meeting was at a blind date arranged by their two families three years ago at a high-end restaurant.

Shao Wei seemed to see his confusion and whispered, "A month before that, during the snowy season in Kyoto, you helped a stranger block a falling sign."

Memories flooded back. Siqi had indeed done something like this when he was on a business trip to Japan, but he couldn't remember who he had saved.

"Is that you?"

Shao Wei nodded, his expression blurred by the reflection on the water. "I thought at the time, this Alpha is very special."

Si Qi's chest tightened. It turned out that their fate began earlier than he had imagined. It turned out that Shao Wei's choice of him was not entirely due to family arrangements.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Shao Wei looked up at the mountains in the distance and said, "There's nothing much to say."

This was Shao Wei, the Shao Wei who kept everything to himself. Si Qi suddenly realized that if he didn't take the initiative, all of this person's worries would disappear along with his life, and he would never have the chance to understand.

That evening, at the resort's restaurant, Si Qi ordered a bottle of expensive red wine. After the waiter left, he pulled a small box from his pocket and pushed it toward Shao Wei.

"Open it and take a look."

Shao Wei hesitantly opened the box, revealing a pair of sapphire cufflinks that shone like the deep sea in the candlelight.

"I want you to wear it to the charity dinner next Wednesday," Si Qi said, "and come with me."

Shao Wei's fingers gently stroked the gemstone: "Why is it blue?"

"Like your eyes." Si Qi looked straight at him. "When the sun shines on the snow, it's this color."

Shao Wei's eyes widened slightly, the closest thing to surprise Si Qi had ever seen him look. Then, unexpectedly, the corners of Shao Wei's mouth lifted in his first real smile.

"Thank you," he said, almost inaudibly. "I love it."

At this moment, Si Qi felt something solid melting in his chest. He suddenly realized that what he wanted was not only to cure Shao Wei's illness, but also to see this person always have light in his eyes and a smile on his lips.

On the way back, Shao Wei fell asleep in the passenger seat. Si Qi carefully turned up the air conditioning, his eyes scanning his lover's peaceful sleeping face. For the first time in three years, he allowed himself to use the word "lover"—"lover."

Yes, Shao Wei was his lover, and he was determined to spend the rest of his life proving it.

However, fate seemed to have other plans. When they returned home, an urgent letter from the hospital lay on the hallway table. Si Qi opened it and his face paled instantly—Shao ​​Wei's latest test results showed that his glandular function was rapidly failing, and the doctor recommended immediate hospitalization.

Si looked forward to seeing Shao Wei, who was taking off his coat, but seemed oblivious to the coming storm. How could he tell this man, accustomed to bearing everything alone, that he might only have less than a month left?