Chapter 10

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Ling Ran seemed powerless to resist. Jiang Zhiyu simply said that since he was going to marry into the Jiang family, he had to ensure that his health was sound.

Ling Ran assumed that, as an elder to Jiang Shengyi, Jiang Zhiyu would naturally consider the Jiang family’s interests in all matters.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Dr. Xu Guanyi was already waiting with the examination forms prepared.

"Is President Jiang not busy today?" Xu Guanyi asked curiously. "What brings him here to personally accompany the little one?"

Jiang Zhiyu glanced at the little Omega beside him, whose round eyes darted around nervously. He then handed a black card to Zhao Qin, who passed it to Xu Guanyi.

"Do a full-body checkup for him."

Xu Guanyi obediently swiped the black card and selected the most expensive, top-of-the-line examination package. After all, Jiang Zhiyu had plenty of money; all the instruments chosen were the best available.

The test results came back quickly. Xu Guanyi returned to his office to find the little Omega sitting obediently at the desk, accompanied by a tall, long-legged Enigma.

The small office felt cramped under Jiang Zhiyu’s imposing presence.

Xu Guanyi’s expression grew serious as he pinned an X-ray image on the display board.

“Ling Ran, 20 years old, Omega, with a rose-grape pheromone,” Xu Guanyi suddenly asked, “Have you ever suffered from any pheromone-related illnesses before?”

Ling Ran couldn’t make sense of the pale, cloudy mass on the X-ray but noticed a small, unusually dark spot.

“No, I just developed later than usual. I only completed my differentiation at 17,” Ling Ran replied.

Normally, Omegas enter their differentiation phase between 13 and 16 years old, during which their glands and reproductive cavities fully develop. Some cases experience delayed development.

Differentiating at 17 was still within reason.

Xu Guanyi noticed Jiang Zhiyu had been listening quietly the whole time without trying to avoid the conversation. He tentatively asked, “President Jiang, the following discussion may involve patient privacy. Would you like to stay?”

Jiang Zhiyu’s gaze fell on the X-ray, his eyes calm and unreadable.

“Proceed.”

Xu Guanyi pursed his lips. Being the head of the Jiang family, if Ling Ran were to marry Jiang Shengyi, he would have to answer to Jiang Zhiyu sooner or later—better sooner than later.

“This area here is the Omega’s reproductive cavity,” Xu Guanyi pointed to the dark spot on the image. “However, because you’ve long been affected by the fated Omega’s pheromones and have been forcibly suppressing your heat cycles with injections, your reproductive cavity has atrophied due to poor development. It’s now only this small.”

Both men looked at the peanut-sized dark spot on the image.

Jiang Zhiyu hadn’t expected this little Omega to be not only small in stature but to have such a fragile, underdeveloped reproductive cavity.

Could such a tiny cavity truly nurture life and bear offspring for a partner?

“Your heat cycles are also very irregular now. Have you often suddenly fallen into intense heat recently, but found that high-level pheromones calm you down temporarily?”

Ling Ran looked confused, his clear peach blossom eyes turning toward the man beside him.

Jiang Zhiyu replied calmly, “Yes.”

Xu Guanyi looked curious, wanting to ask how he knew this.

Jiang Zhiyu added, “How can we promote further development of his reproductive cavity?”

Hearing the words “reproductive cavity” come from the usually expressionless man’s mouth, Ling Ran felt his heart skip a beat for reasons he couldn’t explain.

He bowed his head low, uneasy and panicked, embarrassed that such intimate matters were being discussed so openly.

Jiang Zhiyu looked at the pale, tender nape exposed before him, where a small, smooth patch was stuck.

Clearly, Jiang Shengyi’s pheromones had long influenced Ling Ran’s body, yet he hadn’t marked him, which had caused this damage.

Still, the little Omega looked like a child caught in the wrong, sulking and on the verge of tears.

Xu Guanyi tried to explain in simple terms: “Don’t be afraid. Atrophy of the reproductive cavity and irregular heat cycles are not incurable diseases. They can be treated. Your alpha partner needs to frequently feed you pheromones and ideally give you a mark—even a temporary one—along with medication. Recovery will be swift.”

Ling Ran gave a muffled “Mm.”

Xu Guanyi went to a cabinet and brought out several items, placing them on the table.

“Also, you might often lose control of your pheromone release and be easily affected by others’ pheromones. It’s best to wear a pheromone suppressor.”

The devices on the table were small, intricate rings of varying sizes.

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Xu Guanyi introduced each: “This is a wristband, this a foot ring, this a neck ring, and this a waist ring. As the names suggest, you simply choose one to wear on the corresponding part.”

Ling Ran still had to live his daily life. Neck and waist rings would be very uncomfortable, so he wanted to choose the smallest-looking wristband.

“I want to—”

Before he finished, Jiang Zhiyu interrupted.

“Foot ring.”

Xu Guanyi immediately responded, “Got it!”

The President’s taste was impeccable. Among these suppressors, the foot ring was the most expensive. As if fearing Jiang Zhiyu might change his mind, Xu Guanyi quickly put the remaining devices back in the cabinet.

Ling Ran felt wronged and pitiful, glancing back at Jiang Zhiyu.

He had clearly wanted the wristband...

Jiang Zhiyu picked up the slender little ring on the table, inspecting it. It had a small display screen divided into several levels, likely capable of blocking other alpha pheromones.

But he wondered if this small device could block Enigma pheromones.

“Can you wear it?” Jiang Zhiyu’s gaze darkened as if glancing at Ling Ran’s pant leg.

Ling Ran involuntarily shrank back, nodded, then took the foot ring from his hand.

He quickly rolled up his pant leg, revealing a pale, delicate ankle that flashed before his eyes for a moment before being covered by loose black pants again.

Ling Ran stood, saying, “Thank you, Uncle. I’ll pay you back once I get home.”

“Hm,” Jiang Zhiyu took out his phone and handed it to him. “Add me as a contact first.”

Ling Ran obediently took out his own phone, added Jiang Zhiyu on WeChat, and labeled him “Uncle.”

Xu Guanyi silently twitched his mouth watching the two.

Did Jiang Zhiyu really care about such a small amount of money?

Or was he just using the excuse to get the kid to add him on WeChat?!

*

Ling Ran, wearing the foot ring, was safely sent home by security.

Just inside the door, he ran into Ling Su, whose face was dark as iron.

Ling Su had just seen through a surveillance app that Ling Ran had gotten out of a strange Rolls-Royce, nearly furious enough to curse him out, but restrained himself, worried about the bad influence.

Now, he vented his anger directly at Ling Ran.

“Who just dropped you off? I warned you again and again—you’re about to marry Jiang Shengyi, so why are you hanging around with those disreputable alpha scum outside?”

Ling Ran held the medication prescribed by Dr. Xu, his face pale. But his brother ignored his discomfort, only worried if the engagement with Shengyi could still go ahead.

Thinking of the intimate scene between Jiang Shengyi and Yin Chu in his mind, Ling Ran felt an even tighter pain in his chest.

“I didn’t...” he began.

Ling Su, enraged, suddenly raised his hand and slapped Ling Ran hard across the cheek.

A bright red palm mark appeared on the fair, delicate cheek. Ling Ran turned his head away; the bag in his hand dropped to the floor.

“How dare you talk back? Mom and Dad aren’t in the country now, and they told me to discipline you well! You don’t come home at night, and when I say something, you talk back several times? You think because you’re marrying into the Jiang family, you’ve grown wings and can ignore your family?”

Ling Ran’s cheek burned painfully, but none of it compared to the pain in his heart, which was just a fraction of what he felt.

Everyone in the family treated him merely as a tool for alliance. Didn’t he already know?

So why was he still hurting now?

Even if Jiang Zhiyu had brought him home, so what?

Even if Jiang Shengyi had truly been unfaithful, so what?

No matter how much the Ling family forced him, he would marry Jiang Shengyi on schedule.

No one would care to ask if he was feeling unwell or sick.

His eyes stung fiercely as he picked up the medicine bag and silently went upstairs.

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Ling Su continued to curse behind him, disparaging everything about Ling Ran. After he went upstairs, Ling Su immediately called overseas to complain to their parents.

Ling Ran collapsed onto his big bed, burying his head deep in the covers.

He touched his already slightly swollen, burning cheek and closed his eyes.

It’s okay, it’s okay.

He told himself silently, don’t cry, it’s pitiful.

After lying there for a while, a WeChat message suddenly popped up.

Ling Ran wiped his tearful eyes and reached for his phone. It was from Jiang Zhiyu.

[Uncle]: Have you taken your medicine?

Ling Ran’s eyes widened, blurry from tears. He climbed out of bed, took all the boxes of medicine from the bag, and followed Dr. Xu’s instructions to take them one by one. Only then did he quickly reply.

[No Grape]: Taken.

[Uncle]: Send me a photo.

Ling Ran took a picture of the opened medicine boxes and obediently sent it.

There was no further response, and Ling Ran finally relaxed slightly.

Just as he was about to lie back down, another message arrived.

[Uncle]: I meant the foot ring.

Ling Ran: “!”

*

At Jiang Corporation headquarters, a special meeting was underway.

Jiang Shengyi had just finished reporting on the Southeast Asian project. Several department managers congratulated him, but the man sitting at the head of the table remained silent.

“This expansion into Southeast Asia is primarily to build brand awareness and establish the Jiang name there. So I plan to increase the investment by two percentage points, mainly for local advertising and to secure endorsements from well-known celebrities,” Jiang Shengyi added.

Manager A, a longtime subordinate of Jiang Zhisong, nodded repeatedly. Now sitting at headquarters, he naturally supported the second branch.

“General Manager Shengyi makes a good point. I think increasing the investment by two to three points is a necessary cost. I agree unconditionally.”

Manager B, someone Jiang Shengyi had recently recruited, also nodded. “I agree as well.”

Jiang Shengyi smiled with pride. He was confident this cooperation would be a huge success. With Ling’s support abroad, he aimed to dominate the overseas Southeast Asian market single-handedly.

Managers C, D, and E remained silent, cautiously eyeing the silent man at the end of the table.

Jiang Zhiyu toyed with his phone, rotating the sleek black screen between his long fingers. His eyes were dark, unreadable.

The secretary beside him noticed everyone’s sharp focus on Jiang Zhiyu, yet he seemed distracted by his phone.

Suddenly, the black screen lit up—a new WeChat message arrived.

The secretary dared a glance at Jiang Zhiyu’s phone and was stunned.

[Little Grape]: photo.jpg

From the secretary’s angle, the image was unclear—only a slender, pale ankle was visible. The skin was so fair the ankle joint showed a faint blush.

So delicate, it wouldn’t fill a hand.

Tender, dewy, almost begging to be grasped.

Around the ankle was a thin ring of black metal, contrasting starkly with the pale skin, breaking the pure impression with a seductive allure.

The secretary: “!”

What kind of niche play is this?!