Chasing Husband
The snow in Kyoto was colder than I remembered. Si Qi stepped on the thick snow, leaving deep footprints with every step. He looked back at Shao Wei, who was looking up at the falling snowflakes, his ice-blue eyes reflecting the gray sky, and the white breath he exhaled condensed and dissipated in the air.
"Are you tired?" Si Qi asked, reaching out to brush away the snowflakes on Shao Wei's shoulders.
Shao Wei shook his head, but his pale face betrayed him. It had only been two days since he was discharged from the hospital, and his wounds hadn't fully healed. The gauze at the back of his neck stood out against his pure black turtleneck sweater.
"That wooden house..." Shao Wei narrowed his eyes and looked at the distant mountain ridge, "I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."
Si Qi followed his gaze. The mountains were covered in snow, with only one dark brown roof faintly visible—that was the place Shao Wei had suddenly "seen," a coordinate they should have had no recollection of, yet inexplicably familiar.
"Two kilometers to go." Si Qi checked the map on his phone. The signal was already intermittent. "Can you hold on?"
Shao Wei nodded and took a step forward, but suddenly froze on the third step. His pupils contracted sharply, and his whole body trembled as if struck by lightning.
"Shao Wei?" Si Qi immediately supported his shaking body.
Shao Wei didn't respond, his eyes vacantly staring into space, his lips moving silently. Si Qi followed his gaze, but saw only an ordinary field of snow.
"Doctor...white..." Shao Wei's voice was fragmented, "The needle...hurts..."
Si Qi's heart skipped a beat. He cupped Shao Wei's face and forced him to look at him. "What are you looking at? Tell me."
Shao Wei's gaze gradually focused, cold sweat trickling down his temples. "Children...many children...wearing the same clothes..." His hand unconsciously grasped Si Qi's arm with astonishing strength. "What are they doing to us...?"
A cold wind whistled past, carrying snowflakes. Si Qi pulled Shao Wei into his arms, feeling his pounding heartbeat through his clothes. This wasn't Shao Wei's first flashback, but it was the clearest.
"Is it a memory? Or an illusion?" Si Qi asked in a low voice.
Shao Wei shook his head in his arms: "I don't know... but it feels very real. Like... a forgotten dream."
Si looked toward the distant cabin, a strange sense of urgency creeping up his spine. The answer must be there. He helped Shao Wei steady himself, took off his scarf, and wrapped it around his pale face. "Let's walk slowly."
The two continued in silence for the rest of the journey. The snow fell harder, and visibility rapidly decreased. Si Qi held Shao Wei's hand tightly, fearing he would disappear in the snow and fog. Shao Wei's condition fluctuated, and he would frown and press his temples from time to time, but he refused to stop to rest.
"Someone is following us." After walking about a kilometer, Shao Wei suddenly whispered.
Si Qi immediately looked around alertly, but the white snow was completely silent, with only the wind blowing the snowflakes around. "Are you sure?"
Shao Wei nodded, pressing his fingers onto the glands at the back of his neck. "I can sense... the pheromones of strange Alphas. At least three of them."
Only then did Si Qi notice that the glands at the back of his neck were also faintly hot, as if issuing a warning. Since the surgery, their glands seemed to have developed some kind of extraordinary perception ability.
"How far is it?" Si Qi quickened his pace.
"Turn that corner..." Shao Wei pointed to the corner of the mountain road and suddenly stopped, "Wait."
He squatted down and brushed the snow off a large rock by the roadside, revealing the crooked marks carved underneath - two "A"s side by side, surrounded by a heart.
"We carved this," Shao Wei said confidently, his fingers tracing the marks. "When I was a child... but I don't remember when..."
Si Qi stared at the crude graffiti, a sudden pang of bitterness welling up in his chest. He should have remembered it, but his memory was like being locked behind a thick fog. He could only vaguely sense the emotion, but couldn't grasp the specific image.
"We're almost there." Shao Wei stood up, a strange light flashing in his eyes, "It's just ahead."
Turning the corner of the mountain road, the wooden house suddenly appeared before our eyes. It was larger than expected, a traditional Japanese building, but it was obviously in a state of disrepair. The roof was covered with thick snow, and the wood of the porch was already rotten.
Si Qi's breathing quickened unconsciously. This scene was all too familiar, as if it had appeared in his dreams countless times. He looked at Shao Wei and found him also stunned in place, his lips trembling slightly.
“We’ve been here before,” Shao Wei said. “Many times.”
The door to the wooden house was unlocked. When Siqi pushed it open, the old hinges creaked harshly. The room was dark and damp, the air thick with the smell of rotting wood and dust. Sunlight streamed in through the grimy windows, casting dappled shadows on the tatami.
Shao Wei walked straight to the fireplace and knelt down to examine the hearth. "Someone was here recently... The ashes are still warm."
Siqi looked around. The cabin was surprisingly tidy, as if someone cleaned it regularly. Several landscape paintings hung on the walls, and in the corner stood a low table with an oil lamp and a few old books on it.
"Look at this." Shao Wei pulled out a hidden drawer from under the floor next to the fireplace, which contained a photo album.
Si Qi squatted down beside him, and together they flipped through the album. The first page made them both hold their breath—a photo of two boys, about five or six years old, standing in the snow in front of a cabin, holding hands and smiling shyly at the camera. Though childish, their facial features were unmistakably their own.
"This is impossible..." Si Qi's fingers stroked the photo, "We never saw it when we were kids."
"But we have met before." Shao Wei turned to the next page, which showed a photo of the two of them when they were slightly older, this time wearing the same elementary school uniform. "What did they do to us? Why don't we remember it?"
As he flipped through the album's pages, Siqi felt a wave of dizziness. The photos documented countless meetings from childhood to adolescence, sometimes set against the backdrop of the cabin, sometimes elsewhere. Most unsettling of all, the same man in silver-rimmed glasses appeared at the edge of nearly every photo, sometimes only half visible, but always with eyes fixed on the camera, calm and searching.
Turning to the last page, a yellowed newspaper clipping slid out. The date showed twenty years ago, and the headline read: "Genetic Research Breakthrough: Twin Alpha Project Officially Launched." The accompanying image showed a group of researchers in white coats standing in front of a laboratory. In the center stood the man in silver-rimmed glasses, holding two sleeping babies.
Siqi's stomach twisted. He recognized the birthmark on the left baby's wrist—it was exactly the same as his own.
"We're not just experimental subjects..." Shao Wei's voice was as light as a feather. "We were...created?"
Just then, the sound of snow crunching underfoot could be heard outside. Si Qi immediately stood up alertly, protecting Shao Wei behind him. Pheromones burst out uncontrollably, and the strong scent of sandalwood filled the room.
The door was pushed open, and three tall figures stood at the doorway against the light. Si Qi's muscles tensed, ready to fight, but he heard a familiar voice:
"Finally found you."
Dr. Li walked into the room, followed by two assistants in white coats. She looked exhausted, with snowflakes stained on her glasses.
"Doctor Li?" Si Qi did not relax his vigilance. "How did you—"
"Tracking your pheromone signals." Dr. Li sighed and took out a tablet from his bag. "After you left, I discovered something... I must tell you in person."
Shao Wei walked out from behind Si Qi: "What's the matter?"
Dr. Li opened her tablet and pulled up a set of DNA sequence images. "Your genetic matching wasn't edited... it was designed to complement each other from birth." She zoomed in on the image. "Simply put, you were originally identical twins formed by the splitting of a fertilized egg, but were artificially altered during the embryonic stage to become two separate individuals."
This information exploded in the room like a bomb. Siqi's knees gave way, and he had to hold onto the wall. Twins? That would explain why their glands were so compatible, why those inexplicable sensations...
"That's impossible." Shao Wei shook his head, his voice filled with uncertainty, "We don't look alike..."
"Gene editing can change physical features," Dr. Li said, adjusting his glasses. "But the core sequence can never completely erase the connection. That's why you develop a permanent Alpha bond—biologically speaking, you're re-merging."
Outside, the sound of engines approached from afar. Dr. Li's expression suddenly changed: "They found this place."
"Who?" Si Qi asked vigilantly.
"Watchman." Doctor Li quickly closed the tablet. "You must leave, leave now. There is a path behind the cabin leading to the mountains--"
Her words were interrupted by a sharp headache. Shao Wei suddenly fell to his knees, holding his head in his hands and groaning in pain. Si Qi immediately squatted down and hugged him, feeling the man in his arms trembling violently.
"Again?" Si Qi asked anxiously, "A flashback?"
Shao Wei shook his head, his teeth chattering. "No... this time... they're trying to activate something..." His eyes were bloodshot, and his fingers were clutching Si Qi's clothes. "Chip... I have a chip in my brain..."
Doctor Li and his assistant exchanged a horrified look. Si Qi's heart nearly stopped. "What chip?"
"A tracking chip... or maybe a memory suppressor..." Doctor Li's voice trembled. "I knew they wouldn't rely solely on genes..."
The engine stopped abruptly outside the house. There was the sound of a car door opening and closing, and the footsteps of at least five or six people approaching the cabin through the snow.
Si Qi picked up Shao Wei, who was already unconscious from the pain and blood oozing from his nostrils. Doctor Li quickly led them through the kitchen to the back door.
"There's a research station in the mountains," she handed Siqi a note. "Here are the coordinates. There are people there who can help you."
"Aren't you going with us?" Si Qi asked.
Doctor Li smiled bitterly: "I have to hold them back. Let's go!"
Si Qi rushed into the snow, Shao Wei in his arms. Behind him, he heard the sound of the front door being kicked open and stern voices questioning him. Without even turning back, he sprinted down the path Dr. Li had pointed. Shao Wei convulsed in his arms, blood staining the collar of his black sweater.
"Hold on..." Si Qi panted, the snowflakes hitting his face like countless knives, "It's almost there..."
Shao Wei's eyes were half-lidded, pupils dilated, and his lips moved as he uttered a few broken syllables. Si Qi leaned over to listen, only catching a few words: "Laboratory... Snow... Escape..."
The research station was closer than he'd imagined. A low concrete building, half buried in the snow, with no sign at the entrance. Si Qi shouldered the door open and stumbled inside.
The interior was warm and bright, a stark contrast to the stark exterior. Several people in lab coats turned in surprise, and one of them recognized them immediately.
"Finally here." The man took off his mask, revealing a weathered face. "We've been waiting for many years."
Si Qi placed Shao Wei on the nearest stretcher, turned around and grabbed the man by the collar: "Save him. Now."
The man didn't resist, but nodded calmly. "Silver Fox, prepare the operating room. We need to remove the inhibitor chip."
A female researcher immediately took action. Si Qi let go of his hand and looked at them in confusion: "Who are you? How do you know——"
"We're former researchers from the Twin Project," the weathered man said. "To be more precise, we're defectors. I'm Dr. Chen." He pointed at Shao Wei. "The chip in his brain was implanted by us under duress. It's used to suppress his memories and monitor his physiological data."
Preparations for the operation proceeded swiftly. Si Qi stood aside, watching Shao Wei being wheeled into the inner room, his heart aching.
"Will he be okay?" Si Qi asked in a hoarse voice.
Dr. Chen hesitated. "The chip has partially fused with your brain tissue. Removing it is risky... but if you don't remove it, the Watchers will continue to track and control you."
"control?"
"Activating the chip at a specific frequency can cause severe headaches, memory loss, and even glandular dysfunction," Dr. Chen said seriously. "We believe Shao Wei's pheromone disorder is the result of their long-term low-frequency stimulation."
Si Qi recalled the timeline of symptoms recorded in Shao Wei's notebook—each exacerbation occurred precisely around key business negotiations. This wasn't a coincidence, but deliberate sabotage.
"Why?" Si Qi clenched his fists. "Why do you treat him like this?"
Dr. Chen sighed. "Because you broke the rules. The union of Alphas was not planned, let alone the creation of a permanent bond. The Watchers believe this is a dangerous mutation that must be controlled or eliminated."
The lights in the operating room came on. Si Qi was stopped outside and could only watch the busy figures inside through the small window. Shao Wei lay quietly on the operating table, like a broken doll.
"There's something else you should know," Dr. Chen said, turning around before entering the operating room. "The chip not only suppresses memories... it also releases false memories. The photos you saw in the cabin... those meetings never happened."
Si Qi was struck by lightning: "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that you were indeed arranged to meet a few times in your childhood, but not as frequently as shown in the photos. Most of the images are synthesized so that you can accept each other subconsciously." Dr. Chen pushed his glasses - silver-rimmed glasses, Si Qi suddenly noticed, were exactly the same as the ones worn by the man in the photo.
"It's you..." Si Qi took a step back, "You are the person in the photo."
Dr. Chen nodded, a trace of guilt flashing in his eyes. "I used to. Now, I just want to make amends."
The operating room door closed, isolating Si Qi from the outside. He slid down to the floor, his back against the cold wall. Countless fragments flashed through his mind—his mother's diary, Lin Mu's threats, Dr. Li's warnings, the words in Shao Wei's notebook, "Life is inherently meaningless"... If even memories were false, what else could he believe in?
Outside the window, the snow was falling harder. In the distance, the roar of an engine was heard, drawing closer. Si Qi stood up, wiped his face, and walked toward the door. No matter who came, no matter how many people there were, he wouldn't let them get close to Shao Wei.
The Alpha's pheromones boiled within him, carrying with them an unprecedented strength and determination. This time, he would protect his own half of his body, at all costs.
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