SZAR Chapter 58

Chu Xiu froze.

From Yi Xi’s brief words, Chu Xiu caught a glimpse of his attitude toward this marriage — desolate, lifeless, and resigned.

The Chu family used despicable methods to soil Yi Xi’s brilliance, and Chu Xiu himself was the dust that Yi Xi could neither escape nor brush off.

Chu Xiu almost couldn’t maintain his smile.

His expression was forced; he lowered his head to avoid Yi Xi’s gaze and gestured toward the report in the secretary’s hand. “Sorry, may I see it?”

Yi Xi handed it over: “Of course.”

Chu Xiu read it carefully. Yi Xi’s medical results were terrible. Rows of dangerously high readings lined up across half a page in glaring red. Not even Chu Xiu’s own fully corrupt father in his previous life had ever had anything this extreme. Just looking at the report, it seemed Yi Xi didn’t have much time left.

The most prominent items were the mental sea and pheromones; both results were far above the baseline, with some indicators exceeding it fivefold.

The consequences of prolonged neglect and overdosing to suppress instinct were extremely severe. Beneath this seemingly radiant exterior, Yi Xi’s body was riddled with hidden injuries. If the Stellar Group weren’t wealthy enough to carefully maintain him every day, even a mild cold could have taken his life.

Chu Xiu gripped the paper, his fingertips trembling, pressing hard enough to crease it. It took him a long moment to regain his voice.

“…How could it be this serious?”

The boy stood there, completely disheartened, his voice trembling slightly, as if he were holding not Yi Xi’s medical report but his own. From Yi Xi’s perspective, all that could be seen was the drooping top of his head, his chestnut tufts limp and lifeless, exuding obedience and fragility.

Yi Xi was momentarily stunned.

“Cointreau, you…”

He hadn’t expected Cointreau to react like this. The health condition of the Stellar Group’s ruler was public knowledge on StarNet. He had seen countless partners feel pity or gloat, but someone so visibly upset that even their tufts of hair drooped, Cointreau was truly unique.

Yi Xi couldn’t help but smile.

He reached out and placed his hand on Chu Xiu’s head, rubbing it gently. His voice was soft: “It’s okay, Cointreau, it’s not just a day or two.”

He gestured toward the medical room: “I’m going to show the doctor the report. Can you wait for me here?”

Chu Xiu didn’t respond.

Assuming his silence meant agreement, Yi Xi pushed the door of the examination room open, then turned to close it. It clicked but didn’t shut completely. When he looked out, Chu Xiu was leaning against the door, forcing himself into the narrow gap.

Yi Xi said: “Cointreau? Can you wait for me by the door?”

Chu Xiu muttered: “No.”

He squeezed himself into the room, tilting his head up to look at Yi Xi: “I want to hear what the doctor says first.”

Yi Xi lowered his gaze. The boy, stubbornly sticking out his neck, eyes filled with earnestness, looked like a little bird pretending to be strong. Yi Xi sighed and gave in: “Alright, then come in.”

The attending doctor was a very senior female physician, his hair and beard already streaked with gray. From the moment he received Yi Xi’s report, his furrowed brows never relaxed, and he kept sighing repeatedly. Chu Xiu fidgeted nervously in his seat, while Yi Xi seemed long accustomed to it, even lifting the teacup on the table to take a sip.

“Sir,” the elderly doctor pushed up his glasses. “This isn’t the first time I’ve warned you. Your medication dosage is already beyond the safe limit. Increasing it even slightly could have unpredictable consequences.”

Yi Xi nodded. “I know, but I have no choice.”

Hormonal drugs had severe dependency issues; after prolonged use, the body gradually adapts to lower concentrations. To achieve the same effect, the dosage had to be doubled.

The senior doctor clearly knew Yi Xi’s condition well. He quickly wrote two lines of notes: “If you insist on using it, do not exceed this maximum. Of course, as a doctor, I must remind you: avoid it if you can.”

Yi Xi smiled. “Thank you.”

Though he verbally expressed gratitude, the doctor knew he wouldn’t heed it. The refined ruler of the Stellar Group appeared gentle, but in certain matters, he was more stubborn than anyone.

Chu Xiu bit his lip, saying nothing.

He silently followed Yi Xi out of the consultation room, his tuft of hair almost drooping flat against his scalp. When Yi Xi paused mid-step, he bumped straight into him.

“Hiss—”

Yi Xi looked back, smiling. “You’ve been zoning out for a while. What are you thinking about?”

Chu Xiu’s mind was a mess, he was thinking of their disappointing engagement, Yi Xi’s lingering illness, and his concealed identity, but when he spoke, it came out as: “I’m thinking about what to have for lunch.”

By now it was past mealtime, and the hospital cafeteria was out of food. Yi Xi handed the report to Secretary Lin to store, then gestured politely: “Perfect timing, Cointreau. May I have the honor of inviting you to a meal?”

In Chu Xiu’s previous life, he had received such invitations countless times. Usually, the other party would place a hand on his waist and subtly hint at a hotel room, and Chu Xiu would politely refuse with a smile. But this time, Yi Xi really just happened to want to invite a child he liked to a meal.

Secretary Lin took the test report and went ahead. Chu Xiu and Yi Xi walked side by side, pressing the elevator button for down. It was just past noon; the medical staff were on break, patients were napping, and the long corridor held only the two of them.

The elevator doors slowly closed, forming a confined space. Yi Xi pressed the button for the first floor and turned to Chu Xiu: “Central Hospital hasn’t been renovated in a long time. It’s still the old-style elevator, a bit slow.”

Chu Xiu crossed his arms and nodded obediently, but in his mind he thought: Good, slow is better.

They each stood on opposite sides of the elevator. Chu Xiu was unusually quiet, but Yi Xi acted as if he didn’t notice, chatting amiably with a gentle, calm demeanor. He talked about trivial things like the weather, nothing that intruded on Chu Xiu’s privacy, but enough to keep the conversation from going cold.

Then Yi Xi suddenly sensed something off.

There was a faint scent of Cointreau in the air.

Subtle, yet enough for Yi Xi to notice.

Cointreau is an orange-flavored liqueur, with 40% alcohol, not so strong as to burn the mouth, not so weak as to lose its essence. It balances warmth and lightness, carrying a sweet-and-sour aroma, like the fleeting, exquisite years between youth and adulthood, green but fragrant with maturity.

As the ruler of the Stellar Group, Yi Xi had never lacked access to fine liqueurs. He had tasted countless premium Cointreaus, but never one like this: simultaneously cool and warm, bitter yet sweet.

Yet the scent in the elevator didn’t come from a stored bottle, it came from a male’s pheromones.

How could there be a male’s pheromones here?

The concentration was extremely light, like that of a young male who hadn’t undergone second awakening. Otherwise, Yi Xi would have already thrown up or collapsed.

He reached back to touch the nape of his neck.

Yi Xi was extremely sensitive to male pheromones. Partly because of his PTSD, strong male pheromones made him nauseous and partly because long-term over-injection of hormones had suppressed his natural instincts almost completely. Like a tightly drawn cord, even a slight tug could snap it. For an ordinary female, such faint pheromones would be negligible. For him, they were like sparks falling on dry tinder, capable of igniting a blazing fire in an instant.

Yi Xi felt suffocated, as if someone had his throat in a grip. His legs involuntarily began to weaken. He braced himself with one hand on the elevator wall and reached to press the nearest floor button. Behind his golden-rimmed glasses, his beautiful eyes unconsciously carried a trace of panic. “Stop!”

The old elevator buttons weren’t very sensitive. The floor button lit briefly, then quickly went dark.

Chu Xiu noticed Yi Xi’s unusual state and instinctively wanted to support him. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Yi Xi extended his hand to him, struggling to steady himself. He wanted to smile, to say it was nothing, and hurry them out, but the instant he touched Chu Xiu, his body went weak. He nearly collapsed to the floor.

The scent of pheromones grew even stronger.

He clung to the wall with effort and looked up at Chu Xiu, his eyes betraying shock.

This wasn’t leftover pheromones from the previous male in the elevator. The source of the scent was the young, inexperienced boy in front of him.

But how could that be? Most males are arrogant and careless, all talk and no skill. Yet this chestnut-haired, obedient, polite boy, who worked at a bar to pay his school fees. He… could he really be a male?

Chu Xiu was startled and reached out to steady him. “What’s wrong?”

Yi Xi sharply brushed him away, his voice cold: “Go away. Don’t come near.”

He was already at his limit. Any stronger concentration of pheromones could have catastrophic consequences.

Chu Xiu had never seen Yi Xi like this. Half-kneeling on the floor, his golden-rimmed glasses crooked to the side, he supported himself with one hand on the elevator wall, clutching his chest with unbearable pain. Chu Xiu never expected Yi Xi to so sharply push his hand away.

Yi Xi had no strength left. The back of his delicate, tender hand had reddened. Chu Xiu didn’t understand what he had done wrong and stood frozen in the corner, puzzled. “Yi Xi?”

Yi Xi lifted his head. The boy pressed his lips together, looking both confused and helpless. His beautiful peach-blossom eyes widened, almost turning into almond shapes, giving him a slightly wronged expression.

He struggled to steady himself against the elevator wall, shaking his head. “It’s not your fault.”

Just then, the elevator chimed, and the doors slowly opened.

Yi Xi forced himself to walk out, gripping the wall with his fingers. Veins bulged on the backs of his hands.

The elevator had been a confined space. Chu Xiu, near his second awakening, had poorly controlled the pheromones escaping from his body. Yi Xi, extremely sensitive to pheromones, was pushed to the limit, that was why the problem happened.

Once out in the hallway, the airflow dispersed the pheromones, making them faint. The situation improved slightly. For a normal female, the effect would have faded immediately, but Yi Xi was at his absolute limit. If an ordinary female’s craving for pheromones was like a small stream, he was a bursting mountain flood or a tidal wave. Once the barrier was removed, it wouldn’t dissipate easily.

He gasped for breath in the hallway and motioned to Chu Xiu. “Take me to the sixth floor.”

The sixth floor housed the hospital’s specialist Department of Mental Sea and Pheromones, where he could find a doctor to administer the injection.

Chu Xiu’s face darkened.

Hearing Yi Xi say sixth floor, he seemed to understand. He reached out, caught Yi Xi as he swayed, supporting him upright, then angled Yi Xi’s body so his neck was as far from him as possible. “You want that hormone injection, don’t you?”

Yi Xi looked pitiful. He painfully readjusted his crooked glasses on the bridge of his nose. “I have to. I have no choice.”

“You’ll die if you increase the dose!” Chu Xiu suddenly shouted.

His chest tightened painfully, like fire burning inside. Cointreau’s pride in self-control crumbled in the face of Yi Xi’s calm, understated tone. Chu Xiu’s heart throbbed painfully. Just thinking of the word ‘die’ made him tremble uncontrollably.

Why?

Why?

Why is it that those filthy clients, those depraved, rotting gamblers, and even a perfunctory, fake male host like him get to live, yet someone as pure as Yi Xi has to die in this way?

Yi Xi paused, as if he couldn’t understand where Cointreau’s anger came from. He forced out a reassuring smile, his voice warm and gentle as always, with only a faint whisper of air: “It’s okay, it won’t happen. I’ve always lived like this.”

He had always lived like this.

Chu Xiu’s emotions were even more unstable than Yi Xi’s. Yi Xi’s indifferent attitude became the last straw, and Cointreau could no longer maintain the composure of a head bartender. He wanted to shout, wanted to be angry, but with his identity, a bartender reliant on a benefactor, a despicable schemer who had used his family to trick someone into marriage, what right did he have to question Yi Xi’s decisions?

Yi Xi didn’t notice at all. He was struggling to stay upright. “Help me upstairs, Cointreau. I have no choice.”

Chu Xiu’s Adam’s apple trembled, and he spat out a cold, sharp question: “Why no choice?”

He lowered his head to look at Yi Xi leaning against him. “Does my pheromone make you sick?”

He had seen it on StarNet: Yi Xi couldn’t tolerate the pheromones of any male insect, he would feel disgusted, even want to vomit. But Chu Xiu was different. At the early stage of his second awakening, his pheromones had a calming effect, never strong enough to make Yi Xi gag. If Yi Xi allowed it, he could be a perfect substitute for medication.

Yi Xi froze.

Chu Xiu pressed further. “Tell me. When you smell my pheromone, do you want to vomit?”

Yi Xi didn’t want to vomit.

Cointreau smelled good. The orange blossom blended into the strong alcohol, giving it a bright, youthful scent. Its concentration was just right, not too strong, not too faint, reminding one of fizzy orange drinks in midsummer, or lightly flavored alcohol mixes. It was a scent no one could dislike.

But Yi Xi couldn’t say that to Cointreau.

He said, “No, I…”

He wanted to say: “I’m too much older than you, I’m from your uncle’s generation.”

He wanted to say: “I’ll have a male master soon.”

He even wanted to say: “You’re so young, and such a polite male zerg, many female zergs will want to marry you. Years from now, if you remember that you give your first pheromone comfort to me, you might regret it.”

But he didn’t say a single word.

Because Chu Xiu didn’t want to hear it.

Chu Xiu didn’t care about anything. Yi Xi didn’t dislike his scent. He wouldn’t feel sick or want to vomit from exposure to his pheromones. That was already enough.

He wrapped his arms around Yi Xi’s waist and forcefully led him out. The young man’s body was still slender, but his arms were surprisingly strong. Yi Xi’s body went soft; he tried to push Chu Xiu away but couldn’t break free.

Chu Xiu was taking him outside the hospital.

Yi Xi looked disheveled: his silver-gray suit had a button undone, his glasses were crooked, and his neatly styled hair was slightly messy. Luckily, it was midday and there weren’t many people around. His breathing was rapid. “Where are you taking me?”

“My place,” Chu Xiu said concisely. “Nearby. Five minutes.”

He and Carey had rented an apartment next to the hospital, a small two-bedroom unit, fully furnished, with bed and blankets ready. Chu Xiu hadn’t had his second awakening yet, so some features weren’t usable, but for simple pheromone comfort, it was enough.

Yi Xi was almost dragged into the room.

He fell back onto the soft bed, glasses removed and set aside, suit buttons undone. Chu Xiu leaned over and lightly kissed him, infusing his mouth with pheromones carrying the scent of alcohol.

The unfamiliar sensation filled Yi Xi’s body. He tensed like a fully drawn bow. His dark brown eyes lost focus, yet years of calm self-control still reminded him: what he was doing was extremely wrong. An older female zerg, soon to marry someone else, with a young male zerg who hadn’t had his second awakening. this was morally improper. So he placed his hand between Cointreau and himself, pushing back until his spine met the headboard.

“Cointreau, stop.” Yi Xi frowned. “This isn’t right.”

Chu Xiu lowered his gaze, almost greedily studying the person beneath him. Yi Xi’s hair was soaked with sweat, strands sticking to his forehead. Chu Xiu removed his glasses and finally noticed his high, elegant nose. The excessive pheromone stimulation had reddened the corners of his eyes; the normally calm, gentle gaze now carried rare helplessness, with a faint, forced attempt at composure.

He could bet that Yi Xi had no idea how captivating he looked right now.

Cointreau had seen countless beauties in his previous life, but none like this Yi Xi, so mesmerizing that he could barely breathe.

Yi Xi didn’t notice the small, well-behaved boy’s intense gaze. He still tried to reason: “We can’t do this, Cointreau. Take me to the hospital!”

Chu Xiu asked, “You want to go back to the hospital for the injection?”

“Of course, I must—” Yi Xi began.

He didn’t get to finish; Chu Xiu’s hand covered his.

“You—”

A bartender’s hands are like a celebrity’s face, they’re their showpiece. Chu Xiu’s fingers were long and elegant, nimble and practiced. In the bar, when he idly rolled walnuts, it was such a simple motion, yet some customers would watch him just for that. Now, with Chu Xiu doing the same with Yi Xi, he was left utterly speechless.

There was nowhere to retreat. His back pressed against the wall, he lifted his head in shock, as if he couldn’t understand how the gentle, obedient Cointreau had become like this, but he saw Cointreau looking at him with the same innocent expression.

Chu Xiu pursed his lips, unceasing in his movements. When he looked at Yi Xi, his expression was confused yet pure. His beautiful peach blossom eyes opened wide, and the corners of his lips drooped in mock hurt.

“…I just want to make you comfortable.”