MVCFO CH29

When Tang Luyu burst through the door, she had already prepared herself for the worst.

She had mentally reviewed the best treatment plan in case Lin Xiangqi’s differentiation failed—but to her surprise, there wasn’t even a trace of Alpha pheromones in the room.

Startled and unsure, Tang Luyu hurried upstairs. What puzzled her even more was that Lin Xiangqi was lying properly on the bed, safe and sound—and Lu Cong was nowhere to be seen.

She checked Lin Xiangqi’s gland and finally let out a sigh of relief. The immature gland, red-hot in the peak of differentiation, was perfectly intact, showing no signs of having been touched by an Alpha.

Tang Luyu quickly called up the medical staff waiting outside. Lin Xiangqi’s differentiation had come so suddenly, and given his special gland condition, she dared not be careless. After performing basic protective measures, they carefully transferred Lin Xiangqi into the ambulance.

But Tang Luyu didn’t go with them.

A strange unease gripped her.

Lu Cong wasn’t the type to leave things half-finished.

Lin Xiangqi’s differentiation was a major event. Knowing Lu Cong’s personality, he would’ve tried every way to follow along. At the very least, he would’ve kept in touch with her, constantly asking about Lin Xiangqi’s condition.

But now—he was completely out of sight.

Something was very wrong.

With a frown, she called Lu Cong’s phone. The ringtone rang—inside the house.

She turned her head and saw the phone lying on the nightstand.

That gnawing sense of dread deepened.

Her gaze shifted toward the bathroom door, which had been tightly shut this whole time. She began to suspect something.

“Lu Cong, are you in there?” she stepped closer, knocking lightly on the door. “Xiao Qi is fine now. He’s physically stable, and the odds of successful differentiation are over ninety percent. I’ve already contacted the hospital—he’ll be cared for by specialists the moment he arrives. You can come out now.”

She spoke calmly, but no response came from inside.

Just as she began to think Lu Cong might not even be in the bathroom, the doorknob suddenly turned.

Tang Luyu’s tightly wound nerves loosened slightly. As the door opened, she started speaking: “I didn’t expect you to actually hold back. Looks like even with a 100% match, if you’re determined enough, you can still resist. This ought to be written into textbooks, Lu Cong, you—”

Her voice cut off abruptly.

The moment she saw Lu Cong, she gasped in horror and involuntarily took several steps back.

He leaned against the doorframe, dripping wet. His black hair hung down, accentuating his pale, battered face. He looked completely wrecked—bloodshot eyes, cracked lips, bulging veins on his neck, and a gland flaring with angry red streaks.

Tang Luyu could barely find her voice. After a long moment, she exclaimed, “You—how could you inject a high-strength suppressant directly into your gland?!”

That type of suppressant wasn’t like the usual ones. It acted on the gland with brutal force. It wasn’t even available for public use—only supplied from research institutes to the military, reserved as an emergency method of restraint.

Lu Cong had always injected it into his arm, and even that produced excellent results. No one could’ve imagined he would be insane enough to jab that needle straight into his own gland.

To compare the madness of this act—it would be like pouring sulfuric acid down your throat to treat tonsillitis. Unimaginable. Excruciating.

Tang Luyu tried to support him, but the moment she touched his arm, she recoiled in shock.

His forearm was riddled with puncture marks—a record of his struggle not long ago.

Tang Luyu thought she was used to seeing life-or-death situations, but even she was moved by the sight, her eyes stinging.

“I really don’t get you. If it was that painful to stay by his side, why didn’t you just leave?”

What she meant was, if Lu Cong had enough willpower to endure the suppressant’s pain, he clearly had the strength to walk away from the house. What she couldn’t understand was why he would choose to suffer like this.

Lu Cong slowly looked up. Perhaps he misunderstood her words—his expression became momentarily dazed.

Maybe because the suppressant directly impacted his gland, the effects were doubled, dulling his motor and mental responses. He stared at her for a long time before replying, one word at a time:

“He needed me. So I didn’t leave.”

Lin Xiangqi woke up two days later.

Doctors and nurses around him beamed brightly. The moment he opened his eyes, they offered cheerful congratulations.

He hadn’t completely passed through his differentiation period—over the next few dozen hours, his gland would continue secreting pheromones uncontrollably.

But from a medical standpoint, he had already differentiated successfully.

“Congratulations! The differentiation went very smoothly. Your gland is in great shape, and your body’s indicators are excellent!”

“After waking for the first time during the differentiation period, it’s best to sit up, chat, or move around a little. Letting your gland secrete while you’re conscious is beneficial to your recovery.”

“Let me say it again—congratulations! It’s wonderful you succeeded!”

Lin Xiangqi listened in a daze.

He had just differentiated. It wasn’t like he had major surgery—or gave birth—so why was everyone reacting like it was some huge miracle?

“Do you know? Your pheromone level is extremely high. You’re a rare top-tier Omega!”

That finally gave Lin Xiangqi a bit of a clue.

Oh—so it was because he had differentiated into a highly rare, top-grade Omega.

It was said that top-tier Omega pheromones had valuable medical properties—powerful calming and healing effects, even the ability to dull pain for any Alpha who inhaled them, without anesthesia.

Tang Luyu herself was one of those rare top-tier Omegas—one in a million, the genius of her generation. Straight out of school, top hospitals fought to recruit her. She turned them all down, eventually joining the military at the alliance’s request. But her personality didn’t suit the military, so she later returned under the alliance government’s invitation. After years of brilliance, she suddenly retired at her peak.

Rumor had it that her retirement was because she had been permanently marked. Her pheromones changed after that, and the person who marked her was supposedly a subpar Alpha, which diminished her once-legendary healing ability.

But regardless, Doctor Tang’s first thirty-some years had been a legend. Even the most powerful people bowed their heads to ask her for help.

Every time a new top-tier Omega appeared in the alliance’s medical field, it was a headline-making event.

Though Lin Xiangqi wasn’t in medicine, the doctors and nurses around him were still very enthusiastic. Some even began recommending their alma maters.

“You should try applying to Huafu! It’s one of the top three medical universities in the alliance!”

“No way! You haven’t been top three in five years! Xiao Lin, come to my alma mater—Changjing Medical. We’re ranked alongside the Capital University Medical Department as the strongest! If you’re interested, I’ll introduce you to my mentor—”

Each was more enthusiastic than the last.

Lin Xiangqi had recovered from the initial daze, but couldn’t join in the excitement. His gaze kept scanning the room, his ears on high alert. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find the one person he wanted to see. In a small voice, he asked:

“Thank you for your suggestions. I’ll think about it carefully. But… could you tell me… where is Lu Cong?”

The doctors paused.

“Who? Lu Cong? Is he your guardian?”

Lin Xiangqi was stunned.

When they said they didn’t know Lu Cong, it confirmed that he hadn’t been here at all.

After chatting briefly with the doctors and nurses, Lin Xiangqi found out that he was staying in Tang Luyu’s private hospital. Tang Luyu had arranged for a team of professionals to care for him, while she herself only showed up a few times a day to conduct his examinations. As for the rest of her time—nobody knew what she was doing.

Other than Tang Luyu, no one else had come to visit.

For Lin Xiangqi, not seeing Lu Cong upon waking up was already strange enough.

What was even stranger was that Lu Cong hadn’t appeared at all.

Without really knowing what he was doing, he lifted the blanket and got out of bed.

He wanted to look for Lu Cong, but then quickly realized—he had no idea where to start looking.

“Oh, right!” one of the nurses suddenly remembered something and said, “Someone did come to visit you these past two days, but she didn’t sign in. It seemed like she was Director Tang’s guest, so I’m not sure who she was.”

“A woman?” Lin Xiangqi paused, unable to match that description with anyone he knew.

“Xiao Lin, don’t worry. We notified the director the moment you woke up. When she gets here, you can ask her.”

That’s what they said, but Lin Xiangqi couldn’t settle down.

By all accounts, he should be happy—he had successfully differentiated into an extremely rare and exceptional Omega. Even the doctors said his body was in excellent health. The thing he had feared most in the world was no longer a threat.

But in this moment that should have been celebratory, the absence of Lu Cong made it all feel completely meaningless.

The one who entered the room before Tang Luyu was Qi Ye.

The moment he saw her, Lin Xiangqi—who had been practicing gentle exercises with the nurse—sprang to his feet.

Then it hit him. The woman the nurse mentioned must’ve been Lu Cong’s mother, Qi Ye.

“Auntie!” He bounced over and hugged her. “When did you get back?”

Qi Ye hugged him lightly. “Two days ago.”

Lin Xiangqi hadn’t seen her in a long time. Though he was thrilled, he also knew how busy she was and thought this was an odd time for her to return.

He assumed she came back specially because of his differentiation, and felt a little guilty. “You really didn’t have to come all this way. You’re always so busy…”

“Actually, I should be asking you that.” Qi Ye adjusted her glasses and put on a deliberately stern face. “Something this big, why didn’t you tell us?”

Lin Xiangqi puffed up, justifying himself, “Because I knew you’d rush back if I did! If I made you delay your research, it’d be like delaying the future of the entire Alliance! How could I dare?”

Qi Ye lightly poked his forehead. “Don’t be so dramatic. No project runs on just one person. If I take leave, someone else will take over. From now on, you must tell me if anything big happens. Got it?”

“Oh, okay.” Lin Xiangqi agreed, but almost instantly blurted out the question that had been weighing on his mind. “Auntie, where’s Lu Cong? Is he outside?”

“Lu Cong…” Qi Ye looked at him, then suddenly sighed, saying no more.

Lin Xiangqi grew anxious. “What’s wrong with him?”

Qi Ye hesitated, adjusting her glasses again before sighing heavily: “Sigh.”

Lin Xiangqi panicked, clutching her sleeve. “Please tell me—where is he? What happened?!”

Qi Ye stammered, dodging the question. “Xiao Qi, Lu Cong… he might be… close to the edge…”

She deliberately kept it vague.

“…What?!” Lin Xiangqi nearly forgot to breathe. Given the memories he had from the original timeline, her vague answer triggered the worst-case scenarios in his mind.

“How can this be so sudden… No! Lu Cong can’t die—not now!”

Even as he denied it, tears rolled down uncontrollably, shocking Qi Ye.

“There, there, don’t cry.” Qi Ye lifted her sleeve to wipe his tears. “I was just teasing you. He’s fine. Really—he won’t die.”

But Lin Xiangqi didn’t believe her. He was convinced Qi Ye was just trying to comfort him. “No wonder he didn’t come see me… no wonder he wasn’t there when I woke up—sob sob…”

He cried so hard he started hiccupping.

For a moment, he even wondered—what was the point of trying so hard to change his early death if Lu Cong was going to die anyway?

He had survived with great effort, only for Lu Cong to die. How was he supposed to live the rest of his life?

Lu Cong couldn’t die.

Lu Cong knew that if he left, he wouldn’t survive either.

“Hic—sob—hic…”

Lin Xiangqi was now crying and hiccupping uncontrollably.

No matter how many times Qi Ye explained she was joking, he couldn’t stop crying.

Suddenly—bang!—the door flew open with a loud kick.

Lu Cong stormed in with a thunderous expression.

He was dressed in a special hospital uniform, a metal restraint collar fastened around his neck, and a muzzling device strapped to his face—the kind specifically designed for Alphas. His usually dark eyes were blood-red today.

He pulled the trembling Lin Xiangqi into his arms and soothed him with a voice gentle beyond belief: “Don’t cry. I’m fine. Don’t be scared.”

Once Lin Xiangqi finally stopped crying, Lu Cong wiped away the tear tracks from his face. Then he looked up, staring coldly at Qi Ye and said with no emotion:

“This is what you meant by ‘not making a mess’?”

Qi Ye adjusted her glasses with a guilty look, glancing elsewhere but keeping her posture upright and chin raised. She didn’t seem very apologetic as she murmured, “Unplanned disruptions sometimes lead to unexpected new breakthroughs. Nothing wrong with that.”

Lu Cong: “Please don’t meddle.”

Qi Ye: “Please stop being a coward.”

Lin Xiangqi blinked, completely confused by their exchange. “…Requesting to join this conversation.”