My Crazy Alpha
At 3:17 AM, Shao Wei finally fell into a peaceful sleep after his fever subsided. Si Qi carefully lifted his head from his shoulder and quietly stood up. The back of his shirt was soaked with sweat, and it was hard to tell if it was Shao Wei's or his own.
The only sound in the ward was the rhythmic beeping of the monitoring equipment. Si Qi stood by the window, gazing at the early morning Swiss night, his thoughts drifting back to the vague words "the boy in the garden" that Shao Wei had said while suffering from a high fever just hours earlier. Those words, like a thorn, pierced the depths of his memory, yet he could not recall their specific meaning.
His thoughts were interrupted by the vibration of his phone in his pocket. It was an incoming call from an unidentified number.
"Who?" Si Qi lowered his voice and walked to the corridor before answering the phone.
"Mr. Smith." A mechanical voice with a changed voice came from the other end of the phone. "Don't trust Albert. He is using you."
Si Qi's back straightened instantly: "Who are you?"
"Your spouse's illness wasn't naturally occurring." The other person ignored his question. "Check the Project A-Ω files. The password is the date you and Committee Member Shao first met."
The phone suddenly disconnected, leaving Si Qi standing there, his heart pounding. Wasn't it their wedding three years ago? But the "garden" Shao Wei mentioned during his fever... could there have been an even earlier encounter?
Footsteps were heard at the end of the corridor. Si Qi quickly put away his phone and saw the night nurse pushing a medicine cart towards him.
"Mr. Si, you should rest." The nurse kindly reminded, "Mr. Shao's condition is stable. We will check every hour."
Si Qi nodded: "I'll go lie down in the family lounge for a while. If there are any changes, let me know immediately."
The family lounge was a small room, less than ten square meters, with only a narrow bed and a simple desk. Si Qi closed the door and immediately opened his laptop. The institute's public Wi-Fi didn't require a password, but the internal system was clearly firewalled. He tried several common hacking tools and was surprised to find that Albert's team's security system was riddled with holes.
Ten minutes later, he logged into the institute's internal server. He searched for "Project A-Ω," and an encrypted file immediately popped up on the screen. Siqi entered the date of their wedding three years prior—no effect. He then tried the date of their first official meeting before the wedding—still no effect.
"The boy in the garden..." Si Qi muttered to himself, and suddenly a distant memory surfaced in his mind - when he was twelve years old, his father took him to a summer banquet hosted by a multinational consortium. In a private garden, he met a little boy...
He entered the date for that summer, and the file opened.
The content displayed on the screen froze his blood. This was a twenty-year research project specifically focused on the pheromone interactions between Alpha-Alpha pairs. And the most recently updated case study prominently read "Subject S&W"—the initials of Si Qi and Shao Wei.
The document detailed data on every pheromone exposure they had over the past three years, including physiological changes after the susceptible period. Most shockingly, Shao Wei's "condition" was explicitly described as "an expected third-stage rejection reaction," and the research goal was to "verify whether forced pairing between top-tier Alphas could produce new pheromone mutations."
"This is impossible..." Si Qi's fingers trembled uncontrollably. Were they designed experimental subjects? Was Shao Wei's illness man-made?
The document ended with a list of sponsors involved in the research. Siqi paused at the third name: Shao Biotechnology, Shao Wei's family business.
Footsteps were heard again in the corridor. Si Qi quickly closed the file and cleared his browsing history. When there was a knock on the door, he had already regained his composure.
"Mr. Si?" It was the voice of the night nurse. "Mr. Shao is awake and wants to see you."
Shao Wei was in much better condition than before he went to bed. Although his face was still pale, his eyes were clear. Seeing Si Qi come in, he smiled slightly: "You look worse than me."
Si Qi sat down beside the bed, suppressing the turmoil in his heart: "How do you feel?"
"Much better." Shao Wei said softly, his eyes falling on Si Qi's tense fingers. "What happened?"
Si Qi hesitated. Should he tell Shao Wei the truth he had discovered now? But what if it only made his condition worse? "Nothing, just tired." He finally said, holding Shao Wei's hand. "You said something when you had a high fever... About 'The Boy in the Garden'?"
Shao Wei's pupils shrank slightly, and then he lowered his eyelids: "It's just... nonsense."
"We met when we were kids, right?" Si Qi asked directly, "When I was twelve, at the Shao family's summer banquet."
Shao Wei's fingers trembled slightly in his palm: "You... remember?"
"I just remembered." Si Qi didn't mention the file password. "We played in the garden all afternoon."
A flicker of nostalgia flashed in Shao Wei's eyes. "You gave me a mint candy... and said it would make people brave." He smiled wryly. "I was so timid back then that I didn't even dare to sit on the swing."
The floodgates of memory suddenly opened. Siqi vividly recalled that thin boy, as quiet as a shadow, yet with the most captivating smile. They'd shared secrets in a corner of the garden, promising to travel the world together when they grew up...
"Why didn't you tell me?" Si Qi's voice was hoarse. "You knew it was me when we arranged the marriage."
Shao Wei's gaze drifted out the window. "I thought you'd forgotten it long ago. It was just one of countless banquets for you... and..." He paused. "What difference does it make whether you remember something arranged by the family or not?"
Si Qi's chest tightened. He wanted to tell Shao Wei that he remembered every detail, his shy smile, the maple leaf he had slipped into his pocket when they parted—a leaf still preserved in his desk drawer. But Albert's documents and the mysterious phone call hung over him like a shadow.
"Wei Wei Shao," he finally chose a more pressing question, "Do you know about Project A-Ω?"
Shao Wei's body visibly stiffened: "Who...told you this?"
This reaction confirmed Si Qi's suspicions. He squeezed Shao Wei's hand tightly. "I just discovered something. Our marriage...your illness...may not be natural."
Shao Wei closed his eyes and sighed: "I knew... I couldn't hide it for long..."
"You knew?" Si Qi was incredulous. "You knew this was an experiment?"
"I don't know everything." Shao Wei opened his eyes, his eyes filled with deep fatigue. "Three years ago, before the marriage, my father told me that I had to accept this match, saying that it was related to the future of the family. Later, I started to show symptoms, and the family doctor injected me with some medicine... It wasn't until six months ago when I overheard a conversation between my father and Albert that I suspected something was wrong."
Si Qi's anger almost burst out of his chest: "They are using you as a test subject?"
"We," Shao Wei corrected. "Top-tier Alpha pairings are rare, and two heirs to ancient families are an excellent example." He smiled wryly. "The irony is, I thought at least the feelings were genuine...your vague concern for me..."
"It's all true!" Si Qi practically shouted, "God, Shao Wei, how good of an actor do you think I am to be able to pretend for three years? I collected everything you used and remember every word you said... This has nothing to do with that damn experiment!"
Shao Wei was stunned, his eyes flickering with uncertainty: "But if it weren't for the experiment... you wouldn't have chosen me..."
"I will," Siqi said firmly. "I chose you when I was twelve. I chose you when I gave you that mint candy in the garden."
Tears welled up in Shao Wei's eyes, but he quickly blinked them away. "Siqi... no matter what the purpose of the experiment is, my condition is real. The pheromone disorder has entered the late stage..."
"There must be a way to reverse it." Si Qi said firmly, "Since it is man-made, there must be an antidote."
Shao Wei shook his head and suddenly grabbed Si Qi's hand: "Promise me one thing...if...if I can't make it, fulfill our agreement."
"What agreement?"
"In the garden..." Shao Wei's voice faded, "Go see the aurora... for me..."
Before he could finish his words, a violent coughing fit suddenly struck him. Si Qi quickly pressed the emergency call button, and medical staff rushed in quickly.
"Pheromone levels are fluctuating again!" the nurse shouted. "We need a stabilizer injection immediately!"
Si Qi was asked to leave the ward. Through the glass window, he saw Shao Wei curled up in pain on the bed while the medical staff busily prepared medicine. What shocked him most was that Albert had appeared in the ward at some point, personally operating an unfamiliar instrument.
"What is he doing?" Si Qi stopped a nurse who was hurrying out.
"A new treatment," the nurse replied hastily. "We need to take a pheromone sample from you to support the treatment."
Si Qi frowned: "Mine?"
"Yes, Professor Albert said that the original pheromones of the spouse must be used as a medium..."
The nurse's words reminded Si Qi of a description in the file: Phase III treatment requires a pheromone extract from the dominant Alpha, potentially leading to permanent dependence on the receptor Alpha...
"No!" Si Qi pushed the door open suddenly, "Stop the treatment!"
Everyone turned to look at him. Albert’s expression quickly changed from surprise to anger: “Mr. Si, please do not interfere with the medical process!”
"I know about Project A-Ω," Si Qi said coldly, "and I know what you are doing. Stop treating Shao Wei immediately."
The ward fell silent. Albert's expression darkened. "I don't know what you're talking about. If you continue to obstruct, it will cause irreversible harm to the patient."
"It was you who hurt him!" Si Qi strode towards the bedside, but was stopped by two medical staff.
At this moment, Shao Wei, who was lying on the hospital bed, suddenly opened his eyes and said weakly but clearly: "No...don't...need treatment..."
A trace of panic flashed in Albert’s eyes: “Mr. Shao, you don’t understand how critical the situation is——”
"I...refuse..." Shao Wei insisted, then he coughed again, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Si Qi couldn't bear it any longer, and pushed away the people who tried to stop him. He rushed to the bed and hugged Shao Wei in his arms: "Enough! Let's quit this damn experiment!"
Albert's expression turned ferocious: "You signed the agreement! The research must be completed!"
"What agreement?" Si Qi sneered, "We don't even know about it!"
"The family representative has signed." Albert suddenly revealed a strange smile. "And it has come to this... Do you think there's any turning back?"
He pressed a button, and the ward door suddenly locked automatically. The medical staff looked at each other, obviously unaware of what was happening.
"What are you doing?" Si Qi protected Shao Wei behind him.
"Complete the experiment." Albert's voice suddenly turned cold. "The third phase requires two steps: the pheromone collapse of the receptor Alpha, and..." He looked at Si Qi, "the forced marking of the dominant Alpha."
Si Qi felt a chill: "What?"
"Temporary marking between Alphas is theoretically impossible." Albert said calmly, as if lecturing. "But if the pheromone system of the receiving Alpha has collapsed to a critical point, and the dominant Alpha releases the original pheromone under extreme emotions..."
Shao Wei trembled in Si Qi's arms: "No... Si Qi... he will... control you..."
Si Qi finally understood the true purpose of the experiment—it wasn't to study Alpha pairing, but to create a method for one Alpha to control another. And Shao Wei's illness was designed to make him vulnerable enough to be controlled...
"Madman!" Si Qi roared, thinking about how to break out. The ward had no windows, and the only exit was locked. His phone had fallen to the ground in the chaos.
Albert took out a syringe from his pocket: "Don't worry, it won't be painful. It's just a small help to put you into a susceptible state..."
Si Qi calculated the possibility of knocking everyone down. But Shao Wei was too weak, and he couldn't take the risk. At this moment, the ward's fire sprinkler system suddenly activated, and cold water poured down from the ceiling.
Everyone was stunned. Then, the fire alarm blared loudly, and the door unlocked automatically. A familiar figure stood at the door—the hotel receptionist, holding a small electronic device.
"This way!" she shouted, her accent completely different from the voice changer on the phone, but her eyes were just as sharp.
Si Qi picked up Shao Wei without hesitation and rushed to the door. Albert tried to stop her, but the woman grabbed him and pinned him against the wall.
"Hurry up!" she said to Siqi, "There's a car waiting for you in the underground parking lot!"
Si Qi didn't have time to wonder where this unexpected help came from. He carried Shao Wei through the chaotic corridor and took the employee elevator directly to the underground parking lot. Sure enough, a black Mercedes-Benz was waiting there with its lights on.
The driver, a burly man wearing sunglasses, wordlessly handed him an envelope and started the car. Si Qi settled Shao Wei into the back seat before opening the envelope. Inside was a single photograph—two boys standing in a garden, one of him and the other a young Shao Wei. On the back of the photo was an address: Rose Manor, on the shores of Lake Geneva.
"Who sent you here?" Si Qi asked the driver.
The driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror and finally said, "Mr. Shao. He said you would know where to go."
Mr. Shao? Shao Wei's grandfather? Si Qi looked down at the semi-conscious Shao Wei in his arms and suddenly realized that this conspiracy might be far more complicated than he had imagined, and the only answer might be hidden in that lakeside manor.
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