Dou Changxiao’s hand was covered in blood, which looked alarming, but after cleaning it, the two cuts weren’t very deep. He had indeed been accidentally cut by something.

The doctor treated his wounds and applied a bandage.

Ning Zhu asked him from the side, “How did you end up at our company’s entrance?”

Dou Changxiao: “I got off work early today. I wanted to get…” With others present, he didn’t make his meaning entirely clear, “…done with it sooner, then head back to the dorm to rest.”

However, the doctor still glanced up at the two of them.

Ning Zhu: “……”

Dou Changxiao’s real reason was to save time.

Otherwise, if he’d given Ning Zhu his medicine at Ning Zhu’s place, he’d have had to wait for Ning Zhu to stroll leisurely home from Qisheng, which would have taken much longer.

“I see.” Ning Zhu’s attention focused on the fact that Dou Changxiao wanted to go back to the dorm to rest, and a subtle pang of guilt welled up inside him.

He’d just gotten through his susceptible period; he must be pretty exhausted, right?

Yet he hadn’t given a second thought to how the other person was feeling, making Dou Changxiao make the long trip all the way here on the very same day.

But…

Ning Zhu smiled and said, “It’s a good thing you came today.”

Dou Changxiao said nothing, just stared at him silently.

Until the doctor said, “All done.”

Afterward, Dou Changxiao went to give his statement.

Ning Zhu headed in the opposite direction. By the time he ran into Ji Chi in the waiting area, he had put on a cold expression. “Did you find out anything? What’s that guy’s background?”

Ji Chi replied, “He’s a new hire who started just last week. He has a regular bachelor’s degree, and his previous two or three jobs were all short-term. But since he wasn’t hired for a core department—it’s a more peripheral position—the hiring requirements weren’t very high.”

“Is he an SA?” Ning Zhu asked. “I thought all SAs were like Dou Changxiao.”

Intelligence, physical ability, and appearance… With such a shining example as Dou Changxiao, he’d assumed all top-tier A-levels were exceptional in every way.

“Who?”

“The kid who helped out just now,” Ning Zhu said with a smile. “My medicine.”

Ji Chi: “Your medicine? His compatibility with you…”

“Yeah. I should’ve told you sooner.”

“No big deal. But about the compatibility database—do you still want me to keep looking for you?”

Ning Zhu hesitated for a moment before saying, “For now… keep an eye on it for me.”

He wasn’t sure how long this arrangement with Dou Changxiao would last. Even though he hoped it would last as long as possible.

Ji Chi continued, “But you were wrong earlier. That person isn’t an SA; he’s just an Alpha with extraordinary physical abilities. It was he who, after joining the force, actively introduced himself as an SA. Because SAs are extremely rare, the lies spread to neighboring departments in less than a week.”

Ning Zhu said indifferently, “If Changxiao hadn’t stopped that man just now, and he’d gone to Anjiang Square to cause a disturbance, injuring innocent tourists… combined with the ‘SA’ angle, do you believe that by tomorrow morning, Qisheng’s name would be on the front page of the North City news?”

Ji Chi: “You don’t think this was an accident?”

Ning Zhu gave a cold laugh. “Reaching the susceptible period just one week into the job—clearly an ordinary Alpha pretending to be an SA, even mimicking the criminal cases of those extreme top-tier Alphas during their susceptible periods. There’s no such thing as a ‘coincidental accident’ like that.”

“So you’re saying Qi Sheng’s competitors did it?” Ji Chi furrowed his brow. “Who would resort to such underhanded tactics in a competition?”

“I’m afraid no one else would be capable of it.”

Ji Chi looked up. “The Ren family? …Come to think of it, I’ve heard from a few industry friends that Ren Hongyuan handed a fairly substantial project over to Ren Shaokun to handle. It was practically in the bag, but he managed to blow it—that’s the order with the Lu family that we ended up taking over. But that was nearly two weeks ago. What’s he trying to achieve by pulling this stunt now? Revenge?”

“Do you remember what I said earlier? The Lu Group’s newly appointed CEO might be considering ending their partnership with the Ren family. Ren Shaokun isn’t just seeking revenge out of spite; he’s afraid we’ll snatch the biggest piece of meat right out of the Ren family’s mouth.” Ning Zhu slowly curled the corners of his lips, though there was little trace of a smile in his eyes.

Ji Chi took note of his expression and realized that Ning Zhu was already planning to snatch the prize right from under Ren Shaokun’s nose.

He knew full well that Ning Zhu and Ren Shaokun had a long-standing feud.

But this time, he sensed that the other man’s anger seemed to stem from more than just their past grievances…

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Dou Changxiao stepped out of the interrogation room. The first thing he did was check the time on his phone. Considering his current situation, he estimated he had only an hour and a half left.

His pheromone levels were rising even faster than expected, as if the man surnamed Ning had catalyzed the process.

Ugh… His ID and some supporting documents were in his car. He’d have to go back to get them. Time was running out.

He clenched his teeth.

Walking into the lobby, he looked up and saw a tall figure waiting for him outside. The other person’s smile was gentle and warm.

Dou Changxiao: “……”

One hour and twenty-five minutes.

Hurry up.

“Changxiao?” The smiling, sensitive-phase catalyst stepped toward him and said a few more words.

One hour and twenty minutes.

Stay away from Ning!

Dou Changxiao ignored him and struggled to walk out of the police station.

Left behind, Ning Zhu stood there bewildered for a few seconds, but quickly forgave his sugar baby for offending his sugar daddy. He sauntered after him, asking, “How are you getting back?”

Dou Changxiao: “I’ll take a cab. You should go.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I’ll just take a cab with you then. I’ll walk you home.”

“No need.” His voice rose slightly. “No!”

Ning Zhu: “…………”

“What are you two standing here for?”

Ji Chi’s puzzled voice came from behind them.

Ning Zhu turned around and said, “…We were discussing how to get back. I offered to walk him home, and then this guy said, ‘No!’”

He imitated Dou Changxiao’s loud “No!” perfectly, down to the last detail, even adding a few extra decibels for dramatic effect.

In a sarcastic tone.

Dou Changxiao: “……”

Ji Chi thought for a moment, then said to Dou Changxiao: “Classmate Changxiao, is that you? Where are you headed? I can give you a ride.”

Dou Changxiao glanced over at him.

The glance seemed casual enough, yet Ji Chi inexplicably felt that the look in his eyes wasn’t exactly friendly.

Dou Changxiao quickly turned away, his tone flat: “Thanks. No need.”

Ning Zhu shot him a frustrated glance.

“Thanks”? He acts all proper in front of others, but why is he so rude to his sugar daddy?

Ji Chi smiled and didn’t press the matter. He turned to Ning Zhu and said, “Then you can ride with me. It’s getting late, and who knows how long we’ll have to wait for the driver to pick us up.”

Ning Zhu thought for a moment and was about to speak when a somewhat cold voice cut in first: “He said he wants to share a taxi with me.”

Ning Zhu: “…”

He couldn’t help but want to say something, but when he saw the medical tape on the back of Dou Changxiao’s hand, he swallowed his words after all.

Never mind. Who hasn’t had a moment of madness?

What if this kid got bitten by a dog on the back of his hand and came down with rabies?

Ji Chi’s gaze darted back and forth between the two of them, finally settling meaningfully on Dou Changxiao. He said nothing more, simply waved his hand, and turned to walk away.

Ning Zhu took a deep breath, composed himself, set the destination, and hailed a ride-hailing car.

The car was a bit slow to arrive; it took five minutes to show up.

Ning Zhu opened the back door and got in. Dou Changxiao instinctively followed him into the back seat.

The moment the door closed, he suddenly realized that sitting too close to the catalyst in the back seat could easily accelerate the reaction. Dangerous.

Dou Changxiao moved to open the door and sit in the front passenger seat.

A cool, eerie voice sounded beside him: “Trying to avoid me? You’re not allowed to go.”

“……”

Ning Zhu turned his face to stare at him, then laughed helplessly. “Am I going to eat you or something?” If he remembered correctly, wasn’t he the one whose ear had been nibbled on last night?

How strange. Ning Zhu couldn’t figure it out. This kid was perfectly fine when he was chasing that fake SA.

Dou Changxiao: “……”

……Fifty minutes.

The muscles on the side of his face tightened again and again. Finally, Dou Changxiao turned his face away to look out the window, trying to distract himself.

A catalyst is a substance that, before and after a chemical reaction… neither its mass nor its chemical properties undergo any change…

His thoughts began to grow muddled.

Fortunately, Ning Zhu didn’t initiate any further conversation with him.

The car sped forward, and twenty minutes later, a building that looked very familiar to Dou Changxiao appeared before him.

He stared at the imposing structure for a full thirty seconds as it gradually came into view.

Dou Changxiao stiffly turned his head back.

“…Where did you set the destination?”

“Huh? S University. Didn’t you say you wanted to get back to the dorm early today to rest?”

Dou Changxiao heard the sound of the countdown hitting zero.

His lips twitched. “…Bastard.”

Ning Zhu: “…?”

Was that directed at me?

The muscles in Ning Zhu’s face were twitching with restraint, but he finally couldn’t hold back: “Damn it! You little bastard, don’t push it too far. Is that any way to treat a sugar daddy?! I appreciate you showing up out of the blue today and doing me a huge favor, but you shouldn’t be taking advantage like this!”

The driver up front heard the words “sugar daddy” and glanced at the two of them several times through the rearview mirror, but didn’t dare say a word.

The air seemed to freeze.

After a long while, Ning Zhu turned his gaze back to the person beside him.

Dou Changxiao leaned weakly against the seat, every bone in his body radiating despair, his eyelids drooping limply.

Ning Zhu: “…”

He took two deep breaths and adopted the most humble posture of his life: “Um… excuse me… where exactly… is that bastard?”

Dou Changxiao glanced at him, seemingly reluctant to speak, but answered nonetheless.

His voice sounded hollow: “My car is parked downstairs at your company.”

Ning Zhu: “……”

Is such a trivial matter really worth calling me an asshole?

He deeply regretted his earlier groveling. He closed his eyes and ground out through clenched teeth, “Driver, please turn around and head to Anjiang Plaza.”

Dou Changxiao: “No need. Let’s just go straight to your place.”

“?”

This time, it was Dou Changxiao who took a deep breath and spoke in a subdued tone: “Can I stay at your place for the next couple of days?”

Seeing his attitude, Ning Zhu’s tone softened slightly. “…Why?”

Dou Changxiao’s nostrils flared slightly. “I’ve got a bit of a… cold.”

Ning Zhu: “Hmm.”

So?

“I’m really sick. I don’t want to infect my roommates.”

Ning Zhu: “…”

Oh… You don’t want to infect your roommates, so you’re traveling all this way to spread the virus at your sugar daddy’s house?

And what exactly is our relationship anyway? You’re sick and coming to me for shelter? Isn’t that a bit backwards?

Ning Zhu locked eyes with Dou Changxiao for a moment, his expression subtle. Although the unexpected incident with that fake SA had made him quite forgiving toward Dou Changxiao at the moment, he might even agree to whatever outrageous demands the other might make.

But he could clearly sense that Dou Changxiao was acting out of character today—he was on edge.

He thought warily for a few seconds before speaking slowly: “I refuse…”

“Please,” Dou Changxiao said, his eyes cast down.

“…………”

Ning Zhu fell silent.

He froze for a moment, pursing his lips repeatedly, his expression awkward as if he wanted to say something.

Yet, despite opening and closing his mouth several times, he couldn’t manage to utter a single coherent sentence to Dou Changxiao. In the end, he had no choice but to concede and change their destination.