Chapter 45

Auston hadn't expected to hear such ridiculous words from Zhou Yao. He let out a derisive snort, his gaze turning icy cold. "Ruan Tang is my Omega. Who do you think you are to stand here and tell me to let him go?"

Zhou Yao's father held a high and powerful position, and he was the long-awaited only son, raised amidst abundant doting. Even when facing Auston, a demon notorious throughout the imperial capital, he wasn't overly terrified.

But Auston's sinister gaze still made his body involuntarily stiffen. He struggled several times before forcing his voice out: "You… if you truly care for him, you should know that you two aren't suited for each other."

"Whether we're suited or not is not for you to decide." Auston shot him a cold look that sent a chill down one's spine.

The disparity in their status was too vast. Even if Zhou Yao wanted to speak, he didn't know on what grounds he could confront Auston.

Zhou Yao was instantly at a loss for words.

Auston let out a mocking laugh. "But I am curious—on what basis and standing does Young Master Zhou say these things to me? Could it be because you were once his fiancé, that you once trampled him into the dust, that you made him suffer the world's scorn for that Ruan Xi?"

"Now you know you were wrong, you regret it, and instead of killing yourself to atone for your stupidity, you still have the nerve to come and pester him? Absolutely ridiculous." It had been many years since anyone dared to speak to him like this, and Auston sincerely admired his nerve. "When you proposed, you didn't even ask for his consent; when you broke off the engagement, you made a terrible scene; and now you still dare say such things in front of me? I truly don't know whether to call Young Master Zhou simply foolish, or utterly selfish and conceited."

He wouldn't even treat a pet he somewhat cared for like this. Yet this Zhou Yao, who professed to care for and love Ruan Tang, pulled such disgusting acts. Auston couldn't help but find it utterly laughable.

He had seen too many of this kind of Alpha and held them in the lowest regard.

Zhou Yao had always been a pampered favored son of heaven; he had never had his face slapped like this before, especially in front of Ruan Tang. But damn it, Auston's every word struck his vital points.

His face alternated between pale and green, feeling as if pricked by needles, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

"If I were him, seeing someone like you showing up day after day to pester me, I would feel disgusted and want to vomit." Auston didn't let him off, enunciating each word with extreme coldness.

Just what kind of man was this Zhou Yao, and what kind of Alpha was he?

In an instant, Zhou Yao's face turned ashen; he was so mortified that he didn't dare to look in Ruan Tang's direction again.

Hearing Auston's words, he didn't know what Ruan Tang must think of him now.

After hearing Auston's words, Ruan Tang watched the always self-righteous Zhou Yao reduced to such a sorry state. For the first time, he felt the pent-up frustration in his heart begin to ease.

He looked again at Auston's face, masked except for his bright blue eyes, and felt that the Alpha before him, even seated in a wheelchair, exuded an incomparable charm.

Unconsciously, Ruan Tang's eyes as they gazed at Auston began to shimmer with starlight.

"Let me tell you all." Auston felt quite uncomfortable under his gaze and immediately looked away, no longer meeting his eyes. His peripheral vision swept over Zhou Yao and Wen Run as he warned them word by word: "This Omega is mine in life and mine in death."

In his eyes, these two men were not even worthy to pester Ruan Tang.

He had originally planned to just casually throw out a harsh warning, but when he caught the starlight in Ruan Tang's eyes and thought about Ruan Tang's feelings for him, he became afraid that Ruan Tang might misunderstand further, getting trapped in thoughts of him…

Intending to scare Ruan Tang a little, he immediately added, "Even if I were to die one day, I would kill him first to be my burial companion."

He himself was not someone worth liking—selfish, willful, cruel, violent, and capricious. He hoped this Omega would see the reality soon and turn back before it was too late.

His voice was sinister and eerie, like a demon crawling out from hell…

It made one's hair stand on end.

But Ruan Tang, strangely, was not frightened at all.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yao instantly perked up as if seizing a lifeline. He rushed forward in a protective stance, urgently speaking to Ruan Tang: "Ruan Tang, do you see? This man is so terrifying and vicious, how can you still stay with him?"

Before he could even get close to Ruan Tang, Auston snapped his fingers. His personal guard, hidden nearby, immediately rushed over and dragged Zhou Yao away from Ruan Tang.

Ruan Tang calmly watched Zhou Yao being dragged away, not at all frightened by Auston's terrifying words. He merely cast a cold glance at Zhou Yao and said without hesitation, "…If that day ever comes, I would be willing to die alongside my lord."

The moment the words left his mouth, even Ruan Tang was taken aback. But after calming down, he felt it was only natural.

If one day Auston were to die, he was willing to be buried alive with him.

As soon as he said this, both Wen Run and Zhou Yao looked at him in shock, completely unable to imagine that Auston's help in his time of trouble had affected him so deeply.

Hearing the Omega say such a matter-of-fact thing, Auston was also startled. He hadn't expected that Ruan Tang wouldn't be afraid of this either.

Never having been confessed to like this, Auston listened to Ruan Tang's words that were almost a confession and instantly became flustered. He no longer dared to look at Ruan Tang. Instead, he signaled his guards to bring Zhou Yao before him, forcing him to lower his head and bend his back humiliatingly.

Zhou Yao was instantly terrified and completely panicked.

He had never directly faced Auston before. Because of his father, he had crossed paths with Auston a few times, and this legendary 'Bluebeard Duke' had never done anything to him.

But at this moment, he could clearly feel that Auston Camshire was truly a man-eating demon.

Auston clamped down on his jaw, forcing him to look at him in utter humiliation, and sneered, "Who the hell do you think you are to swagger in front of me?"

His powerful Spirit Pressure directly assaulted Zhou Yao.

Zhou Yao had been a favored son of heaven for two lifetimes; he had never experienced such humiliation or such a vast disparity in power. Under Auston's Spirit Pressure, his entire body began to tremble, and he couldn't even hear clearly what Auston was saying.

At that moment, he truly felt that Auston could kill him at any time, yet he had no strength to resist or even struggle free.

He almost thought that in the next second, Auston would really kill him.

"I still have some old ties with Marshal Zhou, so I won't touch his hard-won precious only son." Auston watched him struggling for life under his grip, completely powerless, then snorted and suddenly let go. "But the old marshal spent his entire life in the military only to end up with a son like this. I truly feel sorry for him."

The moment he was released, Zhou Yao's mind went blank. His entire body involuntarily felt an overwhelming relief of having escaped a calamity.

"Someone, take the eldest Young Master Zhou back and report everything well to Old Marshal Zhou! I'm sure the old marshal will properly discipline this young master who lacks self-awareness." With that, Auston snapped his fingers and had Zhou Yao dragged away.

He gave Old Marshal Zhou the face not to directly touch his son, but he would have someone escort Zhou Yao and recount all of Zhou Yao's deeds before the old marshal.

Auston believed that Old Marshal Zhou was a wise man who would surely give him an explanation and teach this overconfident young man a lesson.

Ruan Tang watched Zhou Yao being hauled away, and was about to say something to Auston: "My lord…"

"Hurry up and leave!" But Auston didn't give him a chance to finish. He shot him a glare, pushed his wheelchair, and urged him to go.

Ruan Tang acknowledged with an "okay" and prepared to follow Auston's wheelchair out.

Wen Run, however, stood behind him, his face pale, calling out, "Ruan Tang…"

"Wen Run, I've already said everything I needed to say. I will not forgive you, and I don't want to see you again." Ruan Tang didn't turn to look at him, only paused and said coldly: "But—if you truly are Ruan Yue's son, I permit you to visit your mother when I'm not there."

He would never forgive Wen Run, nor would he forgive anyone who had hurt him.

But if Wen Run really was Ruan Yue's son, Ruan Tang felt he had no right to separate them or to prevent their reunion. After all, if Wen Run was truly Ruan Yue's son, contact with him might be beneficial to Ruan Yue's condition…

This was something Ruan Tang had wanted to say to Wen Run ever since he learned of his background.

Since they had the chance to meet today, Ruan Tang decided to say it outright… From now on, even if they were blood relatives, they would go their separate ways, never to entangle again.

"…Okay, I understand. I won't bother you anymore." Wen Run's heart ached, but he still said slowly: "When I have time, I will visit the young lady."

He knew he didn't deserve to beg for Ruan Tang's forgiveness. Since Ruan Tang had already made his choice for his future, as long as Ruan Tang was safe, Wen Run would no longer appear before him to disturb him.

Ruan Tang said nothing more and immediately walked away.

Wen Run watched his back, knowing that this time, they truly could never go back to how they once were.

…

Ruan Tang and Auston boarded the duke's estate hovercar one after the other. Sitting inside the hovercar, the two faced each other in silence. Finding it dull, Auston took the initiative to speak to Ruan Tang: "That Zhou Yao was your former fiancé?"

Ruan Tang was speechless: "…"

"Doesn't my lord already know?" Ruan Tang felt that he often really couldn't understand this madman's way of thinking. "Why ask something you already know?"

Detecting the mockery in his tone, Auston's face darkened slightly. He shot Ruan Tang a glare and sneered, "Nothing. I just think you had pretty bad eyesight in the past, to even fancy a piece of trash like that."

Although he didn't think much of himself as an Alpha, Auston still considered Zhou Yao the worst of the worst.

If it were him, if he truly loved an Omega, even if the whole world turned against them and called the Omega a black-hearted lotus, he would still stand by his beloved's side and protect them. Even if he were truly a black-hearted lotus, he would destroy evidence for him and hand him the knife… Even though he didn't believe in love, Auston felt that only doing this would be worthy of uttering the word 'love.'

As for an idiot like Zhou Yao, Auston really couldn't be bothered.

And Ruan Tang had even been engaged to him. How infuriating.

"My eyesight was indeed terrible before." Ruan Tang wasn't bothered by his criticism; he just stared straight at him and said: "But as long as I learn from my mistakes and my eyesight is better now, isn't that enough?"

Ruan Tang sincerely thought Auston was a good person. Although he didn't see Ruan Tang as a partner, only as a toy, if he could treat a toy this well, then if he truly found someone he loved, he would surely treat that person indescribably well…

Ruan Tang didn't know what Auston was like in others' eyes, but he believed that if Auston became someone's partner, he would be the best and gentlest partner in the world.

Although Auston was crazy, he still had some intuition in this regard. Ever since Ruan Tang tried to take off his mask, Auston had sensed that this Omega definitely had improper thoughts about him.

But he didn't take the bait. He just taunted, "I don't think you're much better now either."

Auston thought Ruan Tang was definitely not a normal Omega.

"Actually, there wasn't much between Zhou Yao and me. Back then, I had just been jilted by Shen Mozhi, and the Genetic Matching Bureau matched me with him. Our family backgrounds were similar, and both sets of parents were satisfied with each other. To cover up the disgrace of my previous engagement, my father quickly arranged for us to be betrothed." Ruan Tang knew Auston didn't want to continue this topic, so he didn't persist. He explained the circumstances of his engagement to Zhou Yao.

Auston snorted but said nothing.

The marriages of uncherished aristocratic Omegas were mostly exchanges of benefits between families, not subject to their own will. From Shen Mozhi to Zhou Yao to himself, it was all the same. This was the norm for marriages in the entire Dias aristocracy—most Omegas were merely tools for alliances.

Auston had known this all along.

"I didn't overthink it at the time. I felt it didn't matter who I married, so I agreed to the engagement, hastily. Actually, when I think about it carefully, there was never any emotional foundation between us…" Ruan Tang didn't mind his attitude and continued reminiscing.

Although he had been engaged several times, it was laughable—Ruan Tang felt that only after meeting Auston did he truly fall for someone for the first time, genuinely like someone…

In the past, he had always known that his marriage was not his to decide. So he never cared about who his spouse was; anyone could do. He only sought a peaceful corner where he could protect himself, his mother, and his siblings.

It was only after meeting Auston that he, for the first time, wanted to choose an Alpha for himself.

When Auston saved him from danger countless times and stood up to protect him, he became his choice, not a forced compromise. He wouldn't trade him for anyone else; he was certain it had to be him, and he wanted him.

Even though he didn’t even know his appearance or the scent of his Pheromone.

Auston shot him a glance and interrupted directly: "Why are you explaining so much to me for no reason?"

He didn't want to know about Ruan Tang's past at all.

"Nothing. It's just that my lord suddenly asked about Zhou Yao. I thought my lord was jealous." Ruan Tang waved his hand and teased.

In truth, Auston often gave him a certain illusion, but he was soberly aware that it wasn't real.

As expected, as soon as Ruan Tang said this, Auston immediately let out a sarcastic laugh. "Me? Jealous of you? Are you dreaming? I'm just afraid your brain isn't clear and you'd stumble over that Zhou Yao again and again."

As if he had heard the funniest joke.

Ruan Tang had always been very clear about this point. Because there wasn't a trace of infatuation in Auston's eyes when he looked at him; it felt almost the same as how he treated Simba. So even if the entire imperial capital was rife with rumors that Auston was deeply infatuated with him, Ruan Tang still managed to stay lucid.

He knew that Auston's kindness and the way he put him on a pedestal were not because he liked him that much. It was just Auston's personality—to love someone would make them live, to hate someone would make them die…

Being nice to him was just because he found his face pretty, his scent pleasant, and his stories could make him happy and comfortable. Someone or something like that, he was willing to indulge.

In others' eyes, Auston changed the entire mansion's climate for him, bought him the most expensive things, and provided him with the best of everything whenever he wanted. They must think he was deeply in love. But in reality, it was just that Simba couldn't speak. If Simba could talk, Ruan Tang believed Auston's personality would treat him the same way.

His kindness to him was like encountering an adorable kitten. Initially forced upon him, with some disdain or even disgust, but after getting along and discovering that some of his own soft spots were hit, he began to spoil and protect it. It had nothing to do with romantic feelings.

Ruan Tang had a good measure of himself. Apart from his face, he knew he was quite unremarkable, with nothing that could truly make Auston fall madly in love with him.

"Of course I know I'm dreaming, cough…" Ruan Tang faced this reality with composure, but due to catching a chill last night, he suddenly sneezed and started coughing.

Seeing this, Auston immediately furrowed his brows. He grabbed Ruan Tang's hand and found it ice-cold. He scolded, "Why are your hands so cold? I told you to keep warm, but you just don't listen. I've always said you Omegas have weak constitutions."

His face was full of disdain for Ruan Tang being unable to even take care of himself.

As he spoke, he immediately turned up the temperature inside the car. Despite being someone who was very sensitive to heat, his first instinct was still to prioritize Ruan Tang's comfort.

Ruan Tang took in this detail, feeling that even a normal Alpha would rarely be this patient, attentive, and considerate toward an Omega.

Therefore, even knowing that Auston didn't love him, how could Ruan Tang not fall for him?

Ruan Tang silently looked at Auston's profile, saying nothing.

Noticing the gloom on his face and worrying that the delicate Omega was feeling down, Auston squinted at him for a while, then pulled a piece of candy from his pocket and suddenly popped it into Ruan Tang's mouth.

Ruan Tang was startled by the sudden motion, but immediately the sweet taste of the candy flooded his tongue and taste buds, sweetening his whole being and lifting his mood considerably.

Ruan Tang asked him in confusion: "My lord, why did you suddenly feed me candy?"

Even if he was treated like a pet, he wasn't a real one. There was no need to carry supplies for scheduled feeding at all times.

"Vincent said that when you Omegas are in a bad mood, eating something sweet can cheer you up." Auston looked at him with distaste and said without thinking: "I saw you were in a bad mood today, and you were disgusted by that brain-deficient idiot. I was just afraid you'd cry."

Ruan Tang looked at him like that and couldn't help but lift the corners of his mouth. "My lord, you're so gentle."

It's no wonder he had misunderstood Auston.

"…Don't overthink it." Auston had never felt he was associated with the word 'gentle' in his life. His expression twisted as he said: "I'm nice to you only because it makes me happy to be nice to you, not because I want to make you happy."

He was truly afraid this brain-deficient Omega would fall too deeply for him and get hurt badly, so he decided to make it clear to Ruan Tang.

He was just someone who acted willfully and only loved himself. Ruan Tang must not misunderstand.

Ruan Tang said nothing. Watching him, the smile at his lips grew stronger.

He only felt that the Alpha before him was incredibly adorable. Marrying Auston had once been a forced, drifting choice for him. Even though he knew that the path arranged by this Alpha's parents was a dead end, he had never thought of changing anything, only wanting to live his own life well.

But now, looking at the Alpha in front of him, Ruan Tang suddenly had a new thought—

Auston's personality was just so willful and unreasonable that the world couldn't accept him. Ruan Tang no longer wanted to change him; he wanted to become stronger himself to protect him.

In the past, he had tried his best to stay away from the chaos, not wanting to be a pawn in others' hands. But now, looking at Auston and their current awkward and precarious situation, Ruan Tang suddenly wanted to enter the game, to fight for him, to become the one moving the pieces.

Seeing Ruan Tang eating the candy with relish, Auston felt a bit tempted. He also unwrapped a piece of the candy that Omegas supposedly liked and popped it into his mouth, wanting a taste.

But as soon as it hit his tongue, being a savory-lover, he found it unbearably sweet. Finding it cloying, he immediately frowned and spat it out. "Pfft, what is this? So sweet, and you Omegas like it? Aren't you afraid it'll choke you? As expected, you Omegas have different taste buds from normal people."

Ruan Tang: "…"

"…My lord, you bought this candy and you put it in my mouth." The condescended Omega felt he should defend himself.

Moreover, from what he knew, this candy was actually used to replenish sugar and nutrition for Omegas who had severe fluid loss during their Heat Period. It was concentrated, so of course it was cloyingly sweet…

But faced with such an unreasonable madman, Ruan Tang felt he had no one to reason with. He could only swallow his words and bear it quietly.

Gentle ideal type? Bullshit.

It was only Ruan Tang who didn't despise this crazy, unreasonable fool. What right did Auston have to look down on him?