“He’s really impressive. Ning Tangsheng is currently the youngest family head in the upper echelons of the sector. Under his management, the Ning family’s business has multiplied several times over these past years.”
Su Liang’s quiet murmur suddenly reached Lu Taipan’s ears.
“He’s also a distinguished alumnus of Xingchuan University…” Su Liang added, somewhat awkwardly, upon noticing Lu Taipan’s gaze, “I’ve read articles about him.”
“If we’re only talking about growing wealth, even the butler could do better than him.”
Lu Taipan’s gaze darkened slightly. He responded with a composed tone, as if he hadn’t noticed the slight jealousy in Su Liang’s voice.
“If he had turned out to be an Omega instead of a Beta, your engagement could’ve been seen as a win-win—”
“He was never someone I would consider.”
Lu Taipan cut in calmly.
Su Liang bit his lip, clearly a bit flustered.
“But he…”
Before he could finish, his quiet protest was interrupted by the low murmur of a man who seemed to be holding back a laugh.
“Xiao Liang, you’re jealous.”
Lu Taipan spoke rather bluntly.
Su Liang froze.
A second later, a wave of shame surged from the tips of his toes all the way up to the top of his head.
So this was jealousy?
Only now did Su Liang suddenly realize the absurdity of what he had just said. The “praise” he had offered Ning Tangsheng was so awkward, even recalling it made his face flush.
Why had he spouted such weird nonsense?
He should know better than anyone that the man before him could never have any sort of ambiguous relationship with Ning Tangsheng. In his past life, Su Liang had personally witnessed Ning Jiayi’s wedding to Lu Zhizhao, and at the time, Snake Den’s Master Lu Taipan had remained utterly alone—with not even a single rumored partner.
He hadn’t even been by Lu Taipan’s side back then, and yet the man had never once been linked to Ning Tangsheng. Why would he now?
And thinking back, even in the corridor earlier, Ning Tangsheng hadn’t really done anything—just stole one lingering look before leaving. That was all.
Su Liang wanted to bury his face in his hands.
Back then, when Lu Zhizhao and Ning Jiayi were practically kissing in front of him, he hadn’t felt a thing.
But now? He found himself irrationally bristling like a cat just because someone looked at Lu Taipan for a second too long.
“…I’m sorry.”
Su Liang lowered his head, face burning with embarrassment.
“Earlier, I just… maybe I was a little… a little jealous.”
His voice stumbled over the words, and even the back of his neck was red.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t admit his mistake—it was just so embarrassing.
Lu Taipan’s gaze grew even deeper.
Especially as he looked at the soft pink flush on Su Liang’s face, his Adam’s apple bobbed.
“I accept your apology,” he said hoarsely, with a smile tugging at his lips.
Su Liang was certain—it wasn’t his imagination.
Lu Taipan looked very pleased that he’d admitted to being jealous.
“I never mind your jealousy,” Lu Taipan added—clearly just twisting the knife in deeper.
“In fact… next time, you can personally put the bite inhibitor on me before I leave the house. That way, no one can even look at me.”
“Mr. Si!”
Su Liang widened his eyes in outrage.
Lu Taipan’s smile deepened. His dark eyes shimmered with something predatory.
“Well, now that you’ve cooled off… can I finally check your back? I really am a bit worried.”
Su Liang was silent for a moment, his voice faint: “We’ve got real work to do this afternoon. And you did say you wouldn’t do anything else.”
Lu Taipan: “Mm.”
“Just looking, right?”
“Just looking.”
He promised sincerely.
That day, when Lu Taipan and Su Liang arrived at the N-Farm survivor sanctuary, they were slightly behind schedule.
As they exited the shuttle, Su Liang moved slower than usual.
“Be careful—”
Seeing Su Liang’s knees buckle slightly, the Alpha behind him immediately reached out to steady him.
And felt the boy flinch slightly under his palm.
“Don’t… don’t get too close.”
Su Liang mumbled with tightly pressed lips, forcefully pulling away from Lu Taipan’s support.
The delicate Omega still had a faint red tinge at the corners of his eyes, and a barely-there mist of tears.
He had been delayed in Lu Taipan’s office, struggling for quite a while to scrub off the Alpha’s overly aggressive pheromone scent just to finally step outside.
“Ahem. Alright.”
Lu Taipan seemed to realize he’d gone too far and was being extra well-behaved in front of Su Liang. Even so, there wasn’t much of a smile on his face.
The tall, imposing, and normally cold Snake Den master actually looked… a bit sheepish.
He could swear, when he pulled Su Liang into the office to check the marks on his back, he hadn’t meant to do anything else—but in the end, he still lost control.
He raised his hand and touched his own shoulder. Just last night, he’d bitten Su Liang there. But earlier that day, the crying Omega had retaliated with a vicious bite of his own.
Even now, Lu Taipan’s shoulder still ached faintly—but the pain was satisfying.
He regretted not keeping his promise.
But if given another chance… Lu Taipan knew he probably still wouldn’t be able to control himself.
His rut was worsening.
His pheromone addiction was worsening.
He was worsening.
He’d really have to pressure the equipment department to develop a new-generation bite inhibitor.
He felt like he was losing grip on the deepest desires of an Alpha.
The sanctuary was located somewhere deep within Sector One—extremely hidden and heavily guarded. It was under Snake Den’s control, though quite far from their headquarters.
The survivors rescued from Zone 48 were relocated here because the Den’s HQ was filled with high-level Alphas, which could dangerously trigger the fragile survivors’ PTSD.
Here, they were cared for by armed androids, Beta medics, and nurses. The external security was impenetrable.
The entire setup was designed to keep these traumatized Omegas as far away from Alphas as possible—so they could recover in peace.
Following that rule, Lu Taipan paused at the waiting area once inside the base.
“I’ll wait here,” he said softly.
His voice was gentle enough to drip water.
Su Liang ignored him completely and walked off with the Beta nurse.
The tension between the two was palpable. Even the young nurse couldn’t help glancing back at Lu Taipan nervously.
“Did you and Snake Master… have a fight?”
She finally whispered.
“No,” Su Liang replied flatly. “I just learned a new lesson today.”
“A lesson?”
“…Alphas are all dogs.”
He said through gritted teeth.
Leaning against the metal wall, Lu Taipan watched silently as the slender youth disappeared down the corridor.
Yeah… he was probably really angry.
Lu Taipan sighed, a little regretful—but not completely.
Only after Su Liang’s figure vanished did he take a deep breath, sit properly in the uncomfortable waiting room seat, and begin working through his mountain of tasks.
The tenderness he’d shown Su Liang was replaced by a chilling seriousness.
A few minutes later, he paused and tapped his earpiece.
“Butler.”
“Yes, Master?”
Even the AI butler sounded drained—no jokes, no sass.
“Contact General Lin Yifei. From the Ninth Legion.”
“Understood.”
Soon, Lin Yifei’s groggy face appeared on the holo-screen—he looked like he’d spent the night working in his office.
“…Wow, rare to hear from you first.”
“I need the full report from the last N-Farm investigation. Every detail about how your men got involved, how they were discovered, their current condition—everything.”
Lin Yifei blinked away his sleep, his expression turning sharp.
“You found something?”
Lu Taipan nodded.
“Ning family is very likely the true owner behind N-Farm.”
His tone was calm—but the words were explosive.
Even Lin Yifei froze for a moment before reacting.
“If this is a joke, it’s really not funny… The Ning family, involved in that?”
“No. Not just involved. They’re the actual controllers.”
“…Do you have proof?”
The General’s voice was unsteady—not because he was emotional, but because the Ning family wasn’t just any noble house.
They were an ancient bloodline, deeply rooted in the Alliance’s economy and pharmaceutical industry.
Lu Zhen’en had risked everything to protect Lu Zhizhao—not just for him, but for the Lu-Ning engagement.
Since Lu Taipan’s retreat from public life due to pheromone instability, the Ning family had practically caught up to the Lu family in influence.
And now—this prestigious family was secretly running a human trafficking ring?
Lu Taipan simply looked at him coldly.
“The Ning family has too many Omegas.”
“There’s no such thing as perfect genes. It’s impossible that every one of their children ‘just so happened’ to differentiate into Omegas—exactly when it was most useful.”
He explained how the family always had an Omega ready—custom-made like factory products.
“I’ve been investigating them for a long time,” Lu Taipan said. “I used to think they were just shady partners. But after rescuing those survivors from Zone 48… you should see this.”
He sent Lin Yifei a detailed report.
Lin’s expression darkened as he read.
“I’m calling for a military tribunal. These scumbags deserve the death penalty!”
Lu Taipan shook his head.
“No. I’m not handling this through the Earth Union.”
He was calm.
“I’m taking this directly to the Galactic Affairs Council.”
“…Because the Supreme Commander’s lover is also a Ning.”
Lin Yifei slammed his fist on the desk.
He breathed heavily, then steadied himself.
“You’re right. But for the Galactic Council to act, your evidence needs to be solid—and what you’ve got probably isn’t enough.”
“I know.”
The survivors were the only living proof—but even they had their glands removed. Their trauma made them unable to even approach Alphas.
Their testimony could be dismissed as unreliable.
“I’ll find what we need,” Lu Taipan said simply.
“Ning family… cannot be allowed to continue.”
His calm tone hid a terrifying killing intent.
Lin Yifei nodded.
“Ninth Legion will cooperate.”
Normally, they’d end the call there.
But for some reason, both men sat in silence.
“…Do you have something else?” Lin asked, puzzled.
Lu Taipan stared at his tired face and said, quietly:
“Ning Tangsheng came fishing for information today. Xiao Liang saw him…”
“And?”
“…He got jealous.”
“…Huh?”
Lu Taipan gave him a glance.
“…Forget it. You wouldn’t get it.”
And he hung up.
Moments later, the butler spoke softly into the earpiece.
“General Lin has sent you a barrage of messages—all filled with profanities. I’ve blocked them for you.”
“Noted.”
Lu Taipan continued working as if nothing happened.
Then he casually added, “By the way, your request for new android shells—I approved it.”
“Approved?! You mean—you’re letting me get the new models?!”
The butler’s voice rose with shock and joy.
“If I could cry, I’d be crying now. Am I dreaming? No, I’m an AI—I can’t dream. What happened, Master?”
“If I’m being honest…”
“I’m just really happy today,” Lu Taipan said.
Little Pink Starfish 
Leave a comment