Chapter 3: How to Agree

In his dazed state, Lin Chao sensed an unfamiliar pheromone, yet it carried no hostility.

It surged forth aggressively, like someone’s claws bared and ready to strike, but the moment it approached him, it abruptly retracted its sharp edges, swirling around him in frustrated urgency as if wary of something.

Ice water blurred his vision. He couldn’t see who it was, but his ears picked up the sound of someone striding through the water footsteps heavy and powerful, yet concealing a hint of haste.

Soon after, he was gathered into a warm embrace. His outer clothing was tugged off and discarded. The person holding him paused for a few seconds, then he heard a female Alpha’s voice: “All of you, get outside! If anyone dares to run, I’ll hunt you down at your homes!”

That voice… it sounded familiar, but Lin Chao didn’t have the energy to think about it.

After a rustling commotion, the cave emptied of everyone else, falling into complete silence.

Intense pheromones flooded his nostrils; only the sound of two people breathing remained in the cave.

Luo Shisi wasn’t in the habit of carrying tissues. Seeing his eyes in discomfort, she wanted to wipe them, but she glanced down at her own hands, still stained with blood from the fight.

No choice she could only use her sleeve to brush away the frozen ice crystals on his face.

When rescuing someone with hypothermia, the first priority is to prevent further loss of body temperature and allow gradual rewarming. Luo Shisi glanced at her down jacket and, for the first time, felt that her father had been remarkably foresighted.

“The situation is urgent… I’ll help you take off the wet clothes on top…” Luo Shisi’s voice was slightly strained, her movements a bit stiff after all, this was her first time doing something like this, and the other person was an Omega.

Initially somewhat flustered, Luo Shisi set aside all hesitation the moment the back of her fingers touched his icy skin, speeding up her actions.

As for the pants, there was nothing she could do except wring out as much water as possible.

While working, she said earnestly, “If you want me to take responsibility, I’ll marry you!”

A stray lock of hair slipped down, lightly brushing past Luo Shisi’s focused eyes. She pressed her lips together, appearing exceptionally gentle in that moment.

Lin Chao managed to open his eyes for a second and caught this scene. It felt as if something had quietly taken root in his heart.

In the brief moment when the cold, wet sweater and undergarments were removed, Lin Chao didn’t even feel the chill of the wind the next instant, he was snugly wrapped in warm clothing.

The garment was large and cozy; Lin Chao felt as if he were bundled up in a quilt.

Soon after, he was lifted onto her back.

Due to their position, her voice resonated through her chest, bringing an unusual sense of reassurance.

“How are you so light? Even my family’s dog weighs more than you.”

Lin Chao’s body temperature had risen slightly, but his consciousness hadn’t fully returned he could only catch fragments of outside sounds.

What had she just said?

His muddled mind couldn’t process the meaning of her words.

Wearing an old man undershirt, Luo Shisi carried Lin Chao to the clinic. Cold in front, warm on her back it was like being caught between ice and fire. She began to feel a bit dizzy herself.

If it weren’t for the fever, she wouldn’t have been bothered by a mere temperature of minus ten degrees Celsius.

Why did she have to get sick today, of all days? Well… if she hadn’t brought this jacket, the person on her back might have truly succumbed to hypothermia.

When she accidentally brushed against him earlier, she felt he was colder than a corpse, making her heart skip a beat.

Luo Shisi couldn’t help glancing back at the person behind her. Seeing his furrowed brow even in sleep, her heart ached.

It had drizzled for less than half an hour last night, yet the post-rain scent lingered thickly in the air.

Luo Shisi tried hard to think about something else.

But the boy’s head rested against her shoulder, and with each step, his cheek would inevitably press against her neck. The icy contact made Luo Shisi grimace – an Alpha’s neck was highly sensitive, and their vigilance over this vital spot was extraordinary.

This was pure torture.

“Damn, why is the clinic so far?”

The village only had one small clinic. When she’d gotten shots there before, she’d thought the damn place was way too close, but now it felt impossibly distant. She wished she could grow wings and fly there.

The clinic environment was decent – relatively clean and considered the best among nearby villages. The village doctor, Xu Wenyu, was a recently certified university graduate, an omega who seemed surprised by her frantic state.

Wasn’t this kid supposed to be running a fever? Hadn’t he refused injections? How come he was now bursting with energy, wearing just a tank top while carrying someone inside?

Luo Shisi had run nearly a kilometer carrying him and was now drenched in sweat. As she laid him on the clinic bed, she gasped for breath, leaning against the bedframe almost collapsing to her knees.

Even in this state, she kept urging: “Xu Wenyu, quick! This kid got drenched with several buckets of ice water – he’s hypothermic!”

Setting aside scolding her for rudeness, Xu Wenyu immediately put down the record book to examine Lin Chao’s condition, calling out: “What happened? You go outside, close the door and make sure no one comes in.”

As Luo Shisi struggled up and was halfway out the door, Xu Wenyu suddenly remembered this one was a patient too, and immediately tossed out her partner’s army coat: “Put this on, don’t let your cold get worse.”

“Got it, just check him quickly!” Luo Shisi took the coat, sniffed the unfamiliar Alpha scent on it with disgust, hesitated about wrapping herself in it, and finally just draped it over her shoulders.

He Qing happened to be returning from business in town. Though middle-aged, he maintained a fine figure and radiant complexion. Even wearing glasses and an ugly suit couldn’t diminish his looks – he resembled an elite beauty.

But this elite beauty, upon seeing his daughter standing outside the clinic wearing an army coat over a tank top, frowned. Rolling down the car window, he greeted her with particular civility:

“Are you insane? Playing rural fashion model here? Go do your homework to calm down if you’ve lost your mind!”

The anxious Luo Shisi brightened immediately at his arrival. Normally quippy, she now seized the opportunity, eyes shining: “I am insane! Dad, guard this place, don’t let anyone in, and lend me your car!”

With that, she pulled him out of the vehicle, climbed in wearing the army coat, shifted gears, and sped off with a roar of the engine.

Before leaving, she leaned out to repeat several times: “Don’t go inside! Don’t let anyone in! Only enter when Xu Wenyu says you can!”

He Qing stood bewildered at the clinic entrance. After a cold breeze passed, he rubbed his nose, tried to tuck his hands in his sleeves farmer-style but found the suit sleeves unsuitable. A sense of emptiness followed, as if something was missing from his life.

After sitting on the stone pier for a while, he finally remembered his phone! Damn it!

He immediately stood up and started cursing loudly: “That little brat didn’t even leave me my phone! They say raising a daughter ensures support in old age, but my daughter is less useful than a piece of char siu!”

He had just learned this phrase from a merchant from the south and found it quite fitting polite yet satisfying to vent with!

Meanwhile

Luo Shisi returned to the previous location, but everyone inside had already fled: “They all ran away, a bunch of cowards, beasts who dare to act but can’t take responsibility.”

The mountain road was difficult to navigate. Two police officers took twenty minutes to arrive, encountering falling rocks along the way. Though furious enough to curse, they suppressed their temper and asked, “Did you call the police?”

Luo Shisi stepped out of the car and nodded, showing them the video she had recorded: “Yes, I’ve already taken the victim to the clinic. They were suffering from hypothermia, and the situation was too dangerous to preserve the scene, but I recorded everything!The lead officer watched the video, her brow furrowing deeply into a “川” shape. Her heart tightened, and her expression grew pained: “There must be over a dozen children here. We’ll need two more cars from the station. Do you know all these children?”

Upon hearing this, Luo Shisi leaned against the car hood, looking rather smug: “I know every single one of them. I even know how many fields and pigs each of their families has. I’ll serve as a witness for today’s incident!”

The lead officer put away the recording device, planning to turn it on later to save battery. She looked at Luo Shisi with newfound respect: “Wow, you’re quite knowledgeable for your age! You know how to preserve evidence and act as a witness.”

Luo Shisi’s face instantly darkened, as if struck where it hurt most. Her energy deflated: “Please, spare me. My dad’s a lawyer he recites criminal law to me every day, terrified I’ll harm some innocent Omega.”

The two police officers chuckled: “Don’t worry, kid. We’re professionally trained.”

3:00 PM

The trio’s efficiency was surprisingly high. In just a few hours, they had rounded up all the children involved.

When the additional police cars arrived, the officer who stepped out took one look at the scene, clicked her tongue, and began loading the children into the vehicles one by one.

The red and blue lights atop the black-and-white police cars flashed incessantly, accompanied by the blaring sirens.

The police cars stopped at a three-way intersection, surrounded by a dense crowd of onlookers. With the Lunar New Year approaching, migrant workers had returned home with their children to visit relatives. Such a scene was rare even in the city, let alone in their rural hometown.

But no one dared to step forward and ask questions.

People huddled together, whispering speculatively, unsure of what had happened. Only the parents of the detained children sat crying, some throwing tantrums and lying on the ground.

Just as the police were about to wrap up, a disheveled man burst from the crowd, grabbed the lead officer’s sleeve, and knelt down. His expression was frantic as he pointed at Li Chunshui and the other children hanging their heads in the car, weeping and shouting:

“Officer, officer… I want to report a crime!”

“Sir, please calm down. Stand up and speak slowly.”

Wang Wei tried to help him up, but he refused to budge, leaving her somewhat helpless.

In nearly a decade on the force, she had witnessed many scenes crimes of passion, revenge killings, impulsive offenses but what this Omega said next completely overturned her understanding.

The man’s clothes were disheveled, and visible parts of his body were covered in bruises. Yet, the first thing he spoke of was not himself.

“They killed my child, Officer Li Chunshui! Together with these children, they convinced my husband’s primary partner Li Dansheng, that beast, to kill my child so they could have a girl instead!”

The man, suffering from long-term malnutrition and physical abuse, had so little flesh on his small frame that it was remarkable he had endured this long. Pointing at Li Chunshui and the other children in the police car with grim expressions, his eyes burned with endless hatred.

“She… they drowned him right in front of me, soaking him in cold water, then threw him into the river! And that husband’s primary partner of mine, Li Dansheng! She imprisoned me because she was afraid I would expose the truth! Their whole family treats human life like weeds – they deserve to die horribly!”

“My poor child…”

Each word was soaked in blood and grief, each syllable pierced the heart. Years of torment finally found an outlet, and the man broke down crying as he spoke. Though his words came in broken fragments, they were clear enough for everyone to understand.

The villagers watching Li Laosan chase after them all cast indescribably scrutinizing looks her way.

Li Laosan, limping and gasping for breath, remained unflustered under everyone’s gaze. Instead, she concernedly pulled at the man: “I understand your pain at losing a son, dear son-in-law, but you shouldn’t speak nonsense.”

Then she turned to the crowd with a smiling shrug: “My son-in-law here has been insane since losing his son. Please make allowances for a madman’s words.”

The police had already taken out recording equipment when they heard the man wanted to file a report. Seeing Li Laosan persistently tugging at the man, an officer grabbed her wrist and pushed her away with a stern look, aiming the recording device at her: “Madam, whether someone has mental illness requires medical evaluation. Do you have any diagnostic reports?”

Li Laosan rubbed her hands uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact: “Well, no… But even if he files a report, there’s no evidence. Isn’t this just slander with empty words?”

The man suddenly looked up at Li Laosan, wiping tears from his face as he raised his voice: “Who says I have no evidence?! My son’s body is the evidence! He didn’t die naturally! I felt it – his organs and bones were all crushed!”

Li Laosan was momentarily stunned.

The officer in charge of recording waved his hand: “Xiao Liu, request a forensic pathologist from headquarters and call an ambulance to take this gentleman to the hospital. Team Two, arrest suspect Li Dansheng, the eldest daughter of the Li family. We’ll supplement the list if we missed anyone.”

“Madam Li, as a possible accomplice suspect, the police will temporarily restrict your freedom. Please come with us. You’ll be released after procedures if no issues are found…”

The officer’s methodical arrangements made the reporting man break down in loud sobs. He collapsed to the ground, crying until he lost his voice.

After years of waiting and suffering, he finally saw hope.

The surrounding villagers’ voices gradually grew louder:

“What more is there to investigate?”

“The Li Laosan family has been rotten to the core from the start. Their Li Chunshui loved beating people since childhood – really vicious. I thought Dansheng was a good person, but turns out she’s another scumbag who values alphas over omegas.”

“Their family never lets anyone visit. They talk nicely but never answer the door – clearly something fishy going on!”

“Speaking of which, if Dansheng’s partner is filing the report now, why did Li Chunshui and these children get in the police car first?”

“Who knows? She’s been stealing and scamming every day, never doing anything decent. She should’ve been locked up long ago. She’s just born evil, always bullying people with those street loafers.”

As a witness, Luo Shisi needed to ride back in the police car to give her statement and would later be required to appear in court. She expressed full cooperation.

She had just received a message from her father saying the boy at the clinic was fine only running a slight fever and had woken up. Only then did Luo Shisi feel relieved.

After a brief exchange between father and daughter, He Qing remarked that she had grown up but reminded her to stay safe outside, adding that he would take care of Lin Chao.

Right after finishing her conversation with He Qing, she saw a man rushing toward her and was startled. Upon closer look, she recognized him he was the second husband of Li Laosan’s eldest daughter. She’d heard two years ago that he had gone mad, developed a mental illness.

But his eyes didn’t look ill at all.

After listening to his accusations, Luo Shisi suddenly recalled something. Over the past couple of years, whenever village elders gave examples, they would say, “Take good care of your children, or they’ll end up like the son of Li family’s eldest daughter’s husband drowned before anyone noticed.”

Li Laosan’s eldest daughter, Li Dansheng, had taken two concubines. The first one fell ill and passed away not long after. The second one gave birth to a boy, but the child drowned one winter. When they fished him out, he was barely recognizable.

All the villagers blamed the man for being lazy and neglecting the child, but if what he said was true…

Luo Shisi connected it with today’s incident, and her heart skipped a beat.

If they had been any later, would that foolish rabbit have ended up like the man’s son found in the river days later…

Luo Shisi clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and silently cursed herself for not hitting harder earlier.

Before she turned 12, Luo Shisi rarely visited her father’s village. After her mother passed away, she started coming more often with her dad and gradually got familiar with everyone in the village.

Except for Li Chunshui.

She inexplicably disliked this Alpha from the first glance. Li Chunshui knew Luo Shisi didn’t like her and had even set traps for her.

Back then, Luo Shisi had just turned 12 and was extremely sensitive to pheromones keeping everyone, familiar or stranger, at least ten meters away.

Li Chunshui, unaware of this and boasting as the strongest Alpha among the village kids, tried to lure her out one evening to teach her a lesson.

But the moment she saw Luo Shisi, she was overwhelmed by her pheromones, collapsed outside, and lay there all night before slinking home in disgrace, never telling a soul.

If she had known Li Chunshui was such a beast, she might as well have used her pheromones to drive her insane.

After the police car left, darkness fell. The crowd had long dispersed, leaving only the families of the taken children gathered under the streetlights, their faces full of distress.

The middle-aged women squinted, their hand-rolled cigarettes flickering in the wind. They stubbed out half-smoked cigarettes under their feet, glanced at their weeping spouses, and rolled their eyes.

“How did it come to this…”

“You raised such fine daughters!”

The next day

Luo Shisi was dropped off by the police. She went home to change clothes and wash her face.

Without even eating, she headed straight out.

He Qing was sitting in the living room having breakfast. Seeing her dressed like a peacock spreading its feathers all flashy and colorful he raised a puzzled eyebrow. “Not eating breakfast? And why are you dressed so flamboyantly?”

Luo Shisi rubbed her nose, her eyes darting around before she replied, “I thought the weather was quite fine today…”

“Go have fun if you want, why all the fuss? Get lost and come back early.” He Qing had always taken a hands-off approach, usually worrying more about other people’s children instead.

Having received this pardon, Luo Shisi quickly leaped out the door and ran a few steps.

She’d heard from her dad that the silly rabbit had returned home, so she needed to check how he was doing.

After all… he was someone she had rescued… she should see how he was doing.

Wait what if he clung to her desperately, insisting on marrying her?

How should she accept without seeming too forward?

What if his parents refused to let him marry her because she had no house or car? How should she handle that?

Should she declare, “Don’t look down on a girl for being poor!”?

If his parents agreed to the marriage, how much bride price would be appropriate?

Luo Shisi stopped by the roadside, biting her finger, her face filled with perplexity.