Little Pink Starfish

Su Liang and Lu Taipan were, at this moment, completely unaware of the chaos erupting on Starnet—at least for now.

But even if they did know, they probably wouldn’t care too much.

Appearing publicly at Golden Night and announcing Su Liang’s presence had already accomplished Lu Taipan’s goal. There was no reason to stay any longer.

There were plenty of outstanding Alphas at the gala—but there were also plenty of outstanding Betas and Omegas. Even if Lu Taipan tried to restrain himself, his Alpha instincts—especially his possessiveness—were difficult to suppress. Not long after ditching Lu Zhizhao, Lu Taipan and Su Liang decided to leave.

Given how much attention they were attracting, the Grand Marshal personally granted them clearance to avoid the main entrance—which was completely blocked by reporters—and instead exit through a little-known side door.

That side path just happened to wind through the carefully maintained gardens behind the Governor’s Mansion.

Tonight’s moonlight was beautiful. From far away, the music drifting from the ballroom sounded soft and dreamlike. The night air was fragrant with flowers, and the person at his side happened to be the one he liked—Lu Taipan was pleased to see Su Liang’s tense shoulders finally begin to relax.

The atmosphere was perfect. In this moment, the garden felt like it belonged to just the two of them.

Every time Lu Taipan recalled how Su Liang had stood up for their relationship in front of everyone, his desire for Su Liang only grew stronger.

He reached out and gently placed a hand on Su Liang’s shoulder.

“Xiao Liang…”

He sighed softly.

“What?”

“My pheromone dependency—”

But before Lu Taipan could finish his low, raspy confession, an angry voice rang out from the shadows of a nearby tree.

“Lu Taipan is so disgusting!”

Third Legion Commander Lin Yifei was currently lounging with his legs crossed near a flowerbed in the quiet back garden of the mansion, a floating screen projected in front of him.

On the screen was his adjutant, dressed in Third Legion uniform, being bombarded by Lin Yifei’s emotional rant.

With his own officer, Lin Yifei had no intention of holding back. He was letting it all out.

“…I can’t stand those crusty old Alphas who suddenly find love and start acting like spring chickens! It’s like he got possessed by a peacock. His pheromones are so overwhelming now!”

“Sure, we used to fight a lot, but I never thought he was that kind of guy. Think about it—how many years has he been brooding in his creepy den, never saying a word, and now tonight, boom, he turns into some doting husband act? I want his sweet little Omega to see what he’s really like with us!”

“It’s so unfair! That dusty old man Lu Taipan found a matched Omega? And not just any Omega—sweet, soft, obedient, young, beautiful… seriously?! And me?! I’ve been going on blind dates every damn year and I’m still single! WHY?!”

In his shouting, Lin Yifei didn’t notice the strange look suddenly crossing his adjutant’s face.

Because two figures had already emerged from the shadows behind him.

“Commander—” the adjutant began, but was cut off by another round of Lin Yifei’s howling.

“Don’t try to talk sense into me! Just let me vent or I’m going to explode!”

The towering Alpha waved his arms dramatically.

“I want an Omega too… sob sob… I want a cute little beauty too… sob sob…”

“Commander. Please look behind you.”

The adjutant pressed a hand to his forehead and bluntly interrupted.

“Behind me?”

Only then did Lin Yifei feel something was wrong. He turned his head—

And locked eyes with a very awkward-looking Su Liang… and the ever-expressionless Lu Taipan.

Lin Yifei: …

Lu Taipan: …

Su Liang: …

In the quiet garden, Lin Yifei tried to act casual and lit a cigarette with a blank face.

“Uh… were you two just out for a walk? Or leaving already?”

He tried to sound chill. But Lu Taipan, for once, actually seemed… oddly polite.

“Taking him home to rest.”

“…Oh.”

Lin Yifei coughed lightly.

As a commander, Lin Yifei’s mental perception was extremely sharp. Normally, no Alpha could get near the garden without him noticing.

But Lu Taipan wasn’t just any Alpha.

What’s worse—he’d found an Omega who could perfectly regulate his spiritual overflow. That’s why Lin Yifei hadn’t sensed anything at all… and why he had, unknowingly, screamed his heart out like a fool within full earshot.

So this was the benefit of having a spouse? Even eavesdropping became effortless…

Lin Yifei silently wept in his heart.

Thankfully, Lu Taipan wasn’t one of his venomous friends and didn’t dwell on the scene.

After watching Lin Yifei’s expression cycle through shame and despair, he and Su Liang turned to leave.

But just as they reached the edge of the garden, Lin Yifei suddenly called out.

“By the way—I heard you’re investigating ‘The Farm’?”

He asked casually.

Lu Taipan didn’t deny it.

“That’s right.”

Lin Yifei shrugged. “A while ago, a few of my people got tangled up in one of their messes. I thought they were just a bunch of illegal bio-experiment freaks, but I ended up losing seven men.”

He smiled slightly, tone light.

But his eyes were ice cold.

“Seven. One of them was an AO couple with a bond match of over 90%.”

Lu Taipan’s gaze sharpened.

He knew Lin Yifei could seem carefree, but the Third Legion was the second most elite force after Snake Den. For them to lose seven…

“That place runs deeper than I thought. We got those people back with no physical injuries—but every single one’s spiritual sea was shattered. They’re completely ruined. Now they’re just being kept alive in life-support pods.”

Lin Yifei’s voice dropped. “The Alpha in that couple went insane. The Omega… we couldn’t even recover all the pieces. He was physically torn apart by his own Alpha.”

Arms crossed, Lin Yifei delivered the facts flatly.

Only those who knew him well would recognize: the calmer he looked, the more fury he was holding back.

“It’s a mental stimulant. Your people were hit with Farm tech.”

Lu Taipan concluded immediately.

Lin Yifei didn’t deny it.

“Ever since, we’ve been trying to figure out what they used. But we came up empty. Our intel banks have no record of any psychic stimulant that could do this. Right before total collapse, every one of them experienced a two to three rank jump in mental strength. Which is what killed them.”

He gestured.

“No idea what that stuff is—but it’s definitely tailored for high-level Alphas. You guys are strong, sure, but you’d better watch your back. Don’t let those bottom-feeders take you out before Canaan ever gets the chance.”

It wasn’t the kindest wording—but Lu Taipan recognized it as a sincere warning.

“I understand. Thanks.”

…

After leaving the Governor’s Mansion and getting into the hovercar, Su Liang looked grim.

“Forcing an Alpha’s mental rank past the limit… sounds like a weapon meant for someone specific.”

“It could be,” Lu Taipan nodded. “Maybe even something designed for Snake Den specifically.”

“It’s not a new trick. Back when we were at war with the Canaanites, they were experimenting with similar drugs. They even had a few working prototypes. But the stuff was too unstable. Eventually, they shelved it.”

He glanced at Su Liang’s tense expression and gently brushed a hand against his neck.

“Worried about your boyfriend again?”

The question caught Su Liang off guard.

Then he remembered what he’d said earlier, in front of everyone:

“What right do you have to question my boyfriend about how he feels about me?”

It had been the first time he’d publicly admitted that Lu Taipan was… well, his.

Under Lu Taipan’s teasing gaze, it was hard to stay serious.

“Mr. Lu, you—”

Shouldn’t you be worried about more important things?!

At that moment, his so-called boyfriend leaned in and kissed the corner of his lips.

“Don’t worry. Your boyfriend will be very careful. After all, I’m a man with a family now… Madam.”

Wet, sticky kissing noises echoed through the hovercar.

Ever since abandoning the bite suppressor, Lu Taipan had become more and more shameless—more greedy, more unrestrained.

Su Liang lay half-slumped in the car seat, waist completely limp, covering his eyes with his arm as he let out muffled whimpers.

Though Lu Taipan was gentle this time—knowing Su Liang still hadn’t fully recovered—his ways of “absorbing Omega pheromones” were still… unconventional.

Even after it ended, Su Liang was still dazed.

He didn’t notice the communicator had been ringing until it buzzed again.

The caller was Su Nuan.

“Jie?”

Su Liang bolted upright, frantically fixing his clothes.

“Xiao Liang… why are you crying?”

“Cough, I—I drank a little, might’ve had a mild reaction. Why are you calling me all of a sudden? Something happened?”

He couldn’t even look his sister in the eye on the screen.

Underneath the projection, he couldn’t help but kick Lu Taipan’s leg.

Lu Taipan instantly tensed up, watching Su Nuan with rare unease.

“I’ll tell you why I’m calling! You—! Are you trying to kill me with rage?!”

Just as expected, Su Liang got an earful the very next second.

“Jie, I was going to tell you, but I didn’t know how—”

After all, dating his ex-boyfriend’s uncle—who also happened to be the Snake Den’s terrifying leader—was not the kind of news you casually dropped.

Su Liang shrank back, trying to explain.

But then Su Nuan said something he didn’t expect at all.

“That bastard Ning Jiayi bullied you for so long—and you never told me?! You almost drove me insane!”

Su Liang: “…Huh?”