Accidental Mark

Chapter 39

In this ABO world, the differentiated alphas and omegas usually reduced close physical contact out of politeness. Omega actors in the entertainment industry would be injected with ‘inhibitors’ for a long time. Similarly, if an alpha played against an omega, they would use pheromones masking agents to mask their pheromones smell.

Cheng Xia and Shen Kai had been filming together for many days. The two of them never had any physical contact but Shen Kai still politely used the pheromones masking agent. Therefore, Cheng Xia wasn’t affected in any way when he acted against Shen Kai.

However, Pei Shaoze never used a pheromones masking agent. He was a walking hormone. No matter where he went, everyone could tell in an instant that this adult male was a powerful alpha.

The pheromones from his body smelled particularly good. It was a cold, woody aroma with a faint abstinence. Once the air was full of this smell, the enveloped omega couldn’t help their legs weakening.

Cheng Xia’s body was weak now.

The entire room was full of President Pei’s pheromones: cold, detached and mysterious. People couldn’t help wanting to get closer.

Cheng Xia’s heart was beating so fast that it was almost out of control. This alpha was too close to him and the impact on him was hard to ignore. In his mind, he couldn’t help thinking of the night he met President Pei for the first time. He seemed to have kissed President Pei when his pheromones were out of control… no, he just hugged the other person and kissed the corner of his mouth. Was that a first kiss?

Cheng Xia was in turmoil and simply shrunk back into the blanket, burying himself in it so only his head was revealed. Then he spoke in a trembling voice, “President Pei, you can go back to rest first. Thank you for coming to see me. I’m fine.”

He was trying to keep calm but his voice was shaking uncontrollably.

Pei Shaoze heard Cheng Xia’s slightly trembling voice and was more worried. He carefully touched the other person’s forehead but didn’t feel heat. Then he withdrew his hand and asked gently, “Are you uncomfortable? Tell me.”

Cheng Xia thought to himself, ‘I am uncomfortable all over. It is because you are too close to me and I’m affected by your pheromones.’

The temptation from an adult alpha made Cheng Xia almost unable to hold on.

Pei Shaoze saw he was hiding in the quilt with only his head exposed. His uneasy eyes dodged around and he was obviously very uncomfortable. His forehead wasn’t hot but his face was red like he was boiled. Pei Shaoze got up. “I’m going to see the doctor.”

He walked to the door and met Qin Yu’s eyes through the glass window. Pei Shaoze was stunned for a moment. Then he opened the door, lowered his voice and wondered, “Qin Yu, when did you come?”

Qin Yu glanced at the young man in the room, closed the door and took Pei Shaoze into the corridor. He smiled and said, “You didn’t touch him that night and gave him an inhibitor. It turned out that you wanted to put out a long line to catch a big fish. You want him to like you first so he will be willingly marked by you?” Qin Yu patted his friend on the shoulder with a happy face. “Unexpectedly, you are a master in love.”

Pei Shaoze frowned unhappily. “What are you talking about?”

Qin Yu shrugged in a joking manner. “Last time, you told Lu Xuan and Qianshu that you already have someone you like. Didn’t you mean Cheng Xia? The only omega that has been close to you during this time is Cheng Xia, right?”

Pei Shaoze was silent.

Qin Yu was one of the few people who knew what had happened that night. At that time, Cheng Xia’s pheromones had gone out of control in his villa and he urgently called Qin Yu to bring inhibitors to help. Later at the get together, he made up the excuse of ‘I have someone I like’ to make Lin Qianshu give up. It was normal that Qin Yu would think of Cheng Xia.

He couldn’t say now that he was making it up to deceive Lin Qianshu. First of all, Qin Yu wouldn’t believe it. Secondly, if Lin Qianshu found out then there would be endless troubles. It was better to let Qin Yu continue to misunderstand. He just had to wrong Cheng Xia first and let Cheng Xia be a shield.

Pei Shaoze thought up to here and answered casually, “Think what you want.”

The sentence wasn’t admitting it but it wasn’t denying it either.

Qin Yu naturally thought he was right. His friend didn’t mark Cheng Xia that night but was moved by Cheng Xia’s pheromones. He completely let go of Lin Qianshu and started to pursue Cheng Xia. He had always disapproved of Pei Shaoze’s obsession with Lin Qianshu. It was great that his friend was willing to let go of Lin Qianshu and fall in love with others.

Qin Yu narrowed his eyes and spoke appreciatively. “I have long said that Cheng Xia is quite cute. You might not have marked him at the time but don’t worry, I agree with your approach. Marking rashly is a type of harm to omegas. It isn’t too late to take possession of him after he really likes you. It is much better to blend the body and mind together rather than one-sided compulsion.”

This guy really liked to talk just like in the original novel. Pei Shaoze casually hummed and quickly changed the topic. “Go to the ward to take a look. I don’t know if his wound is inflamed but his mood isn’t right.”

Qin Yu nodded and headed to the ward with Pei Shaoze.

Cheng Xia didn’t know Qin Yu. He had been confused when his pheromones went out of control. He remembered that the doctor injected him with an inhibitor but he didn’t see the appearance of the other party.

Pei Shaoze walked to the bed. He gently lifted Cheng Xia up, placed a pillow behind his waist and gave an introduction. “This is my friend Qin Yu. Let him take a look at you.”

Cheng Xia had been more comfortable. He could recover as long as President Pei left the room. Now that Pei Shaoze was approaching again, Cheng Xia’s entire body was shrouded in an alpha’s pheromones and his heart rate started to speed up uncontrollably.

In particular, Pei Shaoze had used the posture of ‘half hugging him’ when helping him up…

Cheng Xia had been leaning in President Pei’s arms just now. Cheng Xia’s ears were red again and lowered his head. “Thank you Doctor Qin.”

Qin Yu looked gentle as he smiled. “You’re welcome. Shaoze’s friend is also my friend.”

He took a step forward and first measured Cheng Xia’s body temperature with an electronic thermometer. It was 36.5 degrees Celsius which was normal. Then he took out the stethoscope and listened to the heart rate. Wait, wasn’t this heart rate too fast?!

Qin Yu glanced at Cheng Xia suspiciously. He saw this young man’s ears were red and understood why the heartbeat was so fast. It wasn’t a heart rate disorder. It was because Pei Shaoze was too close and the young man was nervous.

Qin Yu couldn’t help laughing. “Just to be on the safe side, I had better check your wound.”

Cheng Xia was already wearing a hospital gown. The doctor wanted to check the wound and he had no reason to refuse. He lowered his head and said, “Okay.”

Qin Yu unbuttoned the three buttons of his collar, revealing a delicate and beautiful collarbone. There was a white medical bandage around 5 centimeters below the collarbone. At this time, there was a bright red blood stain on the bandage.

Pei Shaoze’s eyes shrank when he saw the blood stain. It felt like his heart was stabbed by thorns before it was wrapped tightly by the thorns. A strong feeling of distress surged in his heart and it was hard to ignore.

Qin Yu carefully unwrapped the bandage. The wound was around 10 centimeters long and was stitched with more than a dozen stitches. The black stitches formed a sharp contrast with the white skin. It looked shocking and dazzling. The wound wasn’t opened, nor were there any signs of inflammation or pus. There was just some bleeding.

Previously, the bleeding had stopped and Qin Yu hadn’t expected it to seep out again. He hurriedly got up. “It isn’t serious. I just need to change the dressing and re-bandage it. I will push the treatment cart in so just wait a moment.” He turned and went out.

Pei Shaoze came to the bedside and sat down.

The man’s eyes were full of distress and pity. He reached out his right hand to touch Cheng Xia’s wound but he was worried that the bacteria on his hand would infect the wound. His hand froze in the air before he shifted its direction and placed it gently on top of the young man’s head. He gently touched Cheng Xia’s head and asked in a low voice, “Does the wound still hurt?”

Cheng Xia blushed at being touched and replied, “It doesn’t hurt…”

Pei Shaoze thought to himself, ‘The moment of being stabbed must be very painful, right?’ It might not have hurt the heart and lungs and was only on the surface but Pei Shaoze’s anger was once again ignited when he saw the 10 centimeters long stab wound.

How could Cheng Xia, whom he cared for so carefully, be stabbed while filming the drama? Based on the angle and depth of the stab wound, the other side’s attack wasn’t light! He knew that Cheng Xia was wearing a cashmere sweater and a vest at that time. If it was just done using the intensity of filming then it shouldn’t have been able to pierce the sweater.

A trace of cruelty flashed in Pei Shaoze’s eyes at the thought that there was a person full of malice toward Cheng Xia hidden in the darkness. He quickly put away his sharpness as he gently held Cheng Xia’s pale fingers and spoke in a deep voice, “Don’t worry, I will investigate this matter clearly and give you justice. Just recover at the hospital first. On the crew’s side, I’ve negotiated with Director Liu to let him film other people’s scenes first. Your scenes can be made up later.”

Cheng Xia nodded and didn’t try to get away from the other person’s hand.

On the day of the opening ceremony, President Pei had accidentally touched his hand. Cheng Xia had hurriedly retracted it but this time, Cheng Xia couldn’t bear to let go regardless of whether President Pei did it intentionally or unintentionally.

The alpha’s fingers were slender and strong. They could wrap around his entire hand and it made him feel warm. This type of warmth seemed to penetrate through his skin, move along the capillaries and reached his heart.

In fact, Cheng Xia had panicked the moment he was stabbed. He might’ve fought with others when growing up but it was never the level of handling a knife, let alone seeing blood. Was it a mistake or a deliberate act?

Cheng Xia wasn’t certain and didn’t know how to check next. Now hearing Pei Shaoze say he would investigate it, Cheng Xia sighed with relief and let go of his worries.

President Pei always did what he said. His promises were never just talk. Cheng Xia believed that the matter would be resolved soon the moment President Pei came forward. He just needed to wait for the result in the hospital with a peace of mind. This alpha had the power to convince others he was the best in everything he did.

His pheromones smelled so good, his attitude was gentle and he did things simply and neatly… Cheng Xia felt that apart from his father, President Pei was the best alpha in the world.

[Cheng Xia’s good impression of you +1.]

[Cheng Xia’s good impression of you +1.]

[……]

Pei Shaoze was slightly startled by the continuous notifications in his mind.

Ever since the good impression score reached 70 points, it never rose again no matter how much he looked after Cheng Xia. He didn’t know why but today it rose 10 points and the good impression rose to 80 in one breath.

Pei Shaoze was a bit uncomfortable. Seeing the system notifications in his mind reminded him that Cheng Xia was just the protagonist of a book. He approached Cheng Xia and took care of Cheng Xia in order to reach 100 points of good impression, complete the mission and return to his original world. He almost forgot this setting.

In particular, when he saw Cheng Xia’s injury today, he wasn’t thinking of his task. He was distressed, nervous and caring—how could he be so irrational?

Pei Shaoze frowned as he wondered if he had been too busy lately that he became anxious. Just then, a system notification appeared in his mind again.

[Cheng Xia’s good impression of you has reached 80 points and you can choose a reward.

A. Extend the task time by 5 years.

B. Get 100 million yuan of funds in your private account.

C. The system will automatically select a movie script for you that will become a hit next year.]

There was actually a reward when the good impression reached a certain stage?

Pei Shaoze was a bit surprised as he looked at the notification box in his mind again. He had to choose one of the three rewards. He could do many things with 100 million yuan but with Pei Shaoze’s investment vision, he wouldn’t be short of money in the later stages. As for the script, he could personally select it. It seemed that option A was the most appropriate.

Pei Shaoze double checked. “The extension of the task time is based on the original time?”

System 1022 came out. [Yes, I have to remind you that the higher the degree of good impression, the harder it is to increase. You should’ve noticed it too. It might take several years to go from 98 to 100. A good impression of 100 isn’t so easy to achieve.]

Pei Shaoze was decisive. “Okay, I choose A.”

The system added five years to the five years he already had, which was 10 years.

Pei Shaoze’s original plan was to help Cheng Xia take off in the entertainment industry within 5 years, help Cheng Xia invest in dramas and movies and make Cheng Xia a first-tier superstar so that Cheng Xia trusted him completely. The good impression would reach 100 points and he could go back.

At that time, he didn’t have any feelings for Cheng Xia. He just regarded Cheng Xia as the protagonist of a book, just like the NPCs he encountered when playing a game. He was a talking paper person.

Now he couldn’t help feeling distressed just seeing Cheng Xia’s injury. How could he be willing to leave Cheng Xia alone?

They had got along for so long that in Pei Shaoze’s eyes, Cheng Xia was no longer a ‘paper person’ from a book. He was a living and lovely young man. He was sunny, optimistic and worked hard. He could play the piano. He read the novel several times and found tutorials to learn how to make origami in order to gain this opportunity. His lively interpretation during the audition made the original author and the director applaud him. He also made good desserts. Before the Spring Festival, he personally made 16 types of desserts with different shapes and flavors for Pei Shaoze.

How could such a Cheng Xia be a paper person? Originally, Pei Shaoze wanted to protect Cheng Xia just for the task. Now he wanted to protect this person from the bottom of his heart.

Adding 5 years of time had little effect on him. The system said that the time in his original world was suspended and he would return to the night when he was drunk. Therefore, he could stay here for a few years and protect Cheng Xia during this time. Before leaving, he would take Cheng Xia to the top so that Cheng Xia would become someone who couldn’t be bullied in the entertainment industry.

Pei Shaoze thought up to here and couldn’t help reaching out his fingers to tidy up Cheng Xia’s hair.

Cheng Xia lowered his head and didn’t dare look at President Pei, his heartbeat ridiculously fast.

The room was very quiet. After a while, Cheng Xia spoke softly. “President Pei, do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend? I am an omega after all. I’m afraid that there will be a misunderstanding if you come see me late at night…”

Pei Shaoze was startled. It felt like a child pulling him and asking, ‘Big Brother, have you ever been in love?’ It made him feel dumbfounded for a while.

However, Cheng Xia asked very seriously and obviously had concerns in this regard.

Pei Shaoze answered patiently. “I have no boyfriend or girlfriend. There is no one to care about my personal affairs. Don’t think about it. I didn’t just come to see you because I am the producer and I’m responsible for the safety of the crew and actors. It is also because…”

Cheng Xia looked up at him with bright eyes. “What else?”

Pei Shaoze answered honestly. “I’m worried about you.”

The man’s eyes were gentle like a parent watching his injured child.

Cheng Xia quickly lowered his head. An adult alpha told an adult omega, ‘I flew back to see you because I am worried about you.’

Was there any need for extra explanation? Wasn’t this almost like a direct confession?!

Cheng Xia’s heart seemed to be knocked lightly by something. The pounding sound was especially clear in the quiet room.

Cheng Xia’s head buzzed. The alpha’s gentle eyes were watching him and his entire body burned uncontrollably. At this moment, he even had a strange impulse—he wanted to rush into President Pei’s arms, hug this gentle and reliable alpha tightly and announce to the world, ‘President Pei is mine, don’t grab him!’

This thought frightened Cheng Xia. He became even more embarrassed and lowered his head shyly, almost burying his head in his chest.

Pei Shaoze thought the young man felt guilty so he lowered his head like this. In the past when he criticized his sister, his sister would lower her head and not speak out of guilt.

The two men’s understanding of a relationship between A/O were obviously different.

Qin Yu returned to the ward and saw this scene: Pei Shaoze was sitting on the side of the bed and gently holding Cheng Xia’s hand, eyes gentle and full of distress. Cheng Xia’s head was hung very low and his ears were redder than before.

An alpha gazed tenderly at the omega on the hospital bed and the omega blushed shyly.

‘Tsk tsk, too eye-catching.’ This scene was like the scene of the AO idol drama ‘The Overbearing President Falls in Love with Me.’

The author has something to say:

After all, President Pei doesn’t know much about ABO. He mainly checked all the information on the entertainment industry and doesn’t know about it.

Proofreader: Cat