Chapter 3

LATER IN THE AFTERNOON.

“Hey, slow down!” a fat, low-class alpha called, running after his son, barely five or six, laughing their hearts off.
Shao You stared sadly after them running around the parking lot, balloons and candies in their hands. The sound of their laughter irritated him. Disgusted him even. And yet he could not look away.

“Young Master,” the young alpha whipped his head towards the middle-aged beta driver staring back at him in the back seat, his daydream of what-ifs tumbling down. “We’re here.”

“Oh,” he mouthed, sitting up.

He wondered how long they had been here for and how long he had been curled up beside the car’s window watching that stranger and his son playing catch, wishing that was him. His life.

Wishing his own father would as much as even smile at him, not to talk of having fun together.

What was his fault really?

Being born?

Since there was no one at home to celebrate his birthday and Sheng Fang had canceled the only plan he had on his calendar, Shao You thought to go to the only place that he could actually feel real peace at. One place devoid of the pressure and emptiness back home.

The library.

He loved reading. Loved the smell of books, the feel of fine paper of all textures against his fingers, the joy of meeting new words and building vocabulary. It made him forget about reality for as long as he held a book. Nothing else mattered.

The driver got out of the car and held the door open for the young alpha. Shao You nodded appreciatively, stepping out of the car.

The sun shone brightly on this day and the chirping birds in the distant trees were unnecessarily loud. Even the air blew wrong to the thirteen-year-old alpha who strutted towards the huge doors of the library, hands pocketed and steps calculated like a fine gentleman. His demeanor was the only cold thing around.

Inside the library, Shao You headed straight towards the private rooms, not a second glance at the few other occupants.

Three years ago, this public library, formerly a death trap at the brink of closure, was renovated by Sheng Fang Biotech under the guise of selflessness. But really he knew it was just to please the public and gain their sympathy and get on their good side.

Sheng Fang was not entirely a good person. Just a shrewd old man with one too many tricks up his sleeves.

The old renovated building had a large parking space, a gigantic reading area shelved from wall to wall with all the best books, old and new, and three private rooms accessible only by the Sheng family or very, very important people.

Shao You was a Sheng, legitimate, so here he was.
Walking back in to the only place that seemed to genuinely welcome him.

Just as he rounded the steep corner, Shao You, who was not looking, crashed hard into another child, his arms instinctively wrapping around the small boy’s waist in a futile attempt to cushion the fall.

The two children tumbled to the ground with the boy landing flat on top of Shao You. He winced at the pain in his back hitting the cold floor rather than the weight on him that felt only close to a feather.

So close, the floral smell of orchids wafted to his nose. Strong, warm and calming.

An omega?

The young boy on him clumsily jumped up when Shao You subconsciously leaned in to inhale the scent more.

“Ah, sorry,” came the quiet apology as he fixed himself up.

Shao You stood up, not a strand of hair displaced, and wiped off invisible dust off his suit.

He looked up at the boy in front of him.

Short, slightly chubby, with big, bright eyes and a stone-cold expression. Still he carried a soft, fragile aura, the way his cheeks were flushed pink against his pale skin just a shade darker than the white, long-sleeved cotton shirt he wore, tucked neatly into his khaki pants.

“Are you okay?” Shao You asked, stretching a hand out as if to touch him. He snarled and moved back, eyes suddenly darkening.

Shao You suspected this fragile-looking person in front of him was an omega but somehow his stare made him, an S-tier alpha’s stomach churn.

He cleared his throat, his hand hanging mid-air. “I’m sorry. Are you okay? I hope you’re not hurt.”

The fall was not his fault at all, still he apologized to the child who looked three to four years younger than him.
The boy remained quiet, just staring him up and down. As if taking in his features.

Shao You scratched his head in confusion. “Do you talk?” he inquired innocently.

Still no answer.

The young alpha grew frustrated at the lack of words from the younger boy in front of him and decided to give up.

“Well,” he said turning to go. “I have to go. Sorry.” Before something caught his attention, furrowing his eyebrows. It was a small blood stain at the elbow of the boy’s shirt.

“You’re hurt,” he announced as if the other could not feel his own pain.
The boy followed his eyes to his elbow, saw the blood stain and only made a small tsk sound.

“You need to get treated. Where are your parents?” Shao You asked him.

“It does not hurt,” the boy replied this time around. His voice though firm was so small and quiet, barely audible.

Shao You ignored his nonsense. How could it not hurt? “Where are your parents?”

“Alone.”

Alone? Shao You’s eyes widened a fraction. How could this small, fragile-looking omega be alone in such a huge library? No children were allowed alone. His case was different.

“Alone?” He echoed, glancing around the vast space. The young boy nodded. But he was not pitiful. In fact, he looked like he did not care.

Shao You thought for a while. He hated blood the most.

“Come with me,” he grabbed the thin wrist of the boy, pulling him. The latter flinched at the contact and tried to pull back but the young alpha’s grip was firm on him. “Just come with me.”

Shao You brought him to the private room and made him sit at the table. He then went behind one of the shelves and brought out a first aid box. Somehow someone had thought to add a first aid measure to the beauty of the entire place after a paper cut once.

He stared at the face of the boy as he walked back. His face was unmoving and he stared back coldly. Such a prideful little omega, he thought.

Sheng Shao You put the box down on the table and plopped down in the chair beside him.

“Let me see,” he asked in a gentle tone.

The look in the eyes of the young omega shifted to something softer but he did not move. Shao You sighed in frustration and grabbed his injured hand, softly. He lowered his head and slowly pulled the sleeves of the boy’s shirt up a little over his elbow as gentle as he could be.

The cut came into view. Luckily it was just a small cut and only the boy seemed to have too much blood to spare.

Shao You put the frail hand down on his thigh saying, “It must hurt.”
He opened the first aid box, took out a piece of cotton and gently cleaned the cut, almost oblivious to the intense eyes boring into his skull. He was meticulous. Shao You had seen wounds been treated many times and knew his way around treating a cut this small. Even if this was his first time.

“How old are you?” he asked, putting the cotton away. He looked up at the young omega, waiting for an answer.

“Eight.”
“Eight?” He put the hand down again, scrambling in the box for the ointment. “You’re so young. I’m twelve. Today is my birthday.”

At the mention of his birthday, Shao You sighed and ducked his head, suddenly reminded again of his misery. But he did not dwell on it, shook the feeling off and put on a small smile.

The smell of orchids once again wafted towards him. He inhaled the heavenly scent, dabbing the cotton bud in the mint ointment.
“Your smell is good. Omega.”

The boy did look at him but remained silent. The expression on his face unreadable. Sheng Shao You hummed, caressed the skin below his elbow a bit and told him in a small tone. “It will hurt a bit. Be good.”

The quiet boy nodded, earning a satisfactory smile from Shao You. When he applied the ointment to the cut, he quickly leaned in and blew air on it, just as he had seen his school nurse do once for a friend.

Shao You paused and looked up, meeting the distant eyes of the boy. He tilted his head and smiled, “Does it hurt?” Shao You asked him.

“No.”

“Good,” Shao You put away the ointment, grabbed a band-aid and carefully put it over the cut, pressing down on the edges.

“Done,” he announced, proud of his handiwork as he let go.

Silence. The boy pulled back his hand, rolling down the sleeves carelessly. Shao You made the face at the act but let it go anyways. Maybe this poor, fragile omega did not really feel much pain.

That hot afternoon, alone in that private library room, two young boys sat staring at each other. It was so quiet one could even hear a pin drop.

“Do you not know how to say thank you?” Shao You was first to break the silence, holding eye contact and tapping his little feet impatiently.

Manners. Little children, especially pitiful omegas, had to have manners. Thank you, please and bowing are necessary.

“Thank you.”

The young alpha’s eyes lit up as he broke into a charming grin. “Adorable,” he uttered, getting up. He carried the first aid box. “I’ll put this away. Wait here, I’ll be back.”

He disappeared behind one of the shelves to hide the first aid box again.

But when Shao You came back, he was gone. The young, fragile omega was gone. The room was empty and he was nowhere to be found. He had not even heard the door open or close.

He was not in the hallway nor anywhere else around the library no matter how long Shao You searched and searched. It was as if he had disappeared into thin air. Like he hallucinated the encounter and he existed only in his memory.

And that was the last time Sheng Shao You ever saw him.

Or thought he would.

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Thanks for reading.
Next update: May 23rd
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