Zhou Shiyi hadn’t expected to see Gu Sheng in a situation like this.

Gu Sheng had been hiding in the corner between the main hall and the balcony; people came and went, none noticing that someone was concealed behind the curtain.

He was curled up behind the curtain, hugging himself.

As an S-rank alpha, he could, with a casual motion, tear through the circle of people around him and lash out.

But right now it was as if a restriction had been placed on him by the curtain; he could only cower behind the fragile fabric, trembling, as if that piece of curtain could provide him any sense of safety.

A few betas surrounded Gu Sheng, because he didn’t look like he was conscious.

Feeling uneasy, the other betas surged forward, planning to use a human-wave tactic to subdue him, but before they could get close, Gu Sheng fought his way out from the inside.

As a top-tier alpha, Gu Sheng’s physical condition wasn’t something ordinary people could match, and the betas couldn’t hold him down.

Normally betas don’t have the physical strength of alphas, and after a whole night of work everyone was exhausted, so Zhou Shiyi could only join them.

The problem now was that Gu Sheng refused to come out from behind the curtain. That spot had three walls and only a narrow entrance — no one knew how Gu Sheng had found it while he was unconscious.

Gu Sheng was not conscious; acting on instinct he loosened his hands and feet and kicked and fought anyone who tried to restrain him, making it impossible to get close.

Gu Sheng was strong and had learned some striking techniques; everyone who went at him ended up bruised.

Right now he was like an injured wild animal, staying in the den he considered safe to lick his wounds. Any rustle of grass or breeze would make him wary and prompt him to attack first.

Zhou Shiyi called him once: “Gu Sheng.”

Gu Sheng, who had been glaring fiercely at everyone, shrank his pupils at the sound of Zhou Shiyi’s voice and quietly retreated back into that corner.

Shivering behind the curtain.

The other betas around them looked at Zhou Shiyi with utter astonishment. The alpha who had just been so fierce was now obediently cowering there—if anyone else found out, they’d be completely shocked.

Zhou Shiyi was a little surprised too; he had a hunch that Gu Sheng recognized him.

He stepped forward on his own, signaling the others to stay back. He walked over slowly, but Gu Sheng still didn’t move.

“Don’t be afraid,” Zhou Shiyi said softly, approaching little by little.

At the sound of his voice, the curtains trembled even more violently.

Zhou Shiyi soothed him while pulling open the curtain. The curtain resisted faintly at first, then relaxed when Zhou said, “Don’t be afraid, it’s me. You know me, right?”

The person behind the curtain loosened his grip, and Zhou Shiyi was a little surprised.

He slowly drew the curtain aside. Worried that seeing others might trigger a stress reaction, Zhou blocked the probing gazes of the others and saw Gu Sheng fiercely suppressing his urge to attack.

Gu Sheng kept his head down, curled up, and was trembling the whole time.

Zhou Shiyi lightly rested his hand on Gu Sheng’s shoulder. Gu Sheng was trembling violently; when he looked up, he found Gu Sheng gnawing on his own arm with a fierce expression.

Gu Sheng’s coat had disappeared at some point; he was now wearing only a shirt.

On the sleeves of the shirt were teeth marks stained with blood.

Zhou Shiyi was a little stunned. It was obvious these wounds had been bitten by Gu Sheng himself.

If it hadn’t been for the others finding Gu Sheng, he might have just kept biting himself and ridden out this heat until his family came.

Gu Sheng looked like a wounded little beast; only by clamping down on his own limb could he find a shred of safety.

Zhou Shiyi couldn’t quite name the feeling inside—more than anything, he was stunned.

He’d dealt with so many clients controlled by pheromones, but this was the first time he’d seen an alpha with such restraint.

Gu Sheng bit down hard on his own arm; the wound was already seeping blood. Zhou Shiyi firmly held Gu Sheng’s shoulders, one hand braced between his chin and his arm.

He said softly, “Don’t be afraid, it will be over soon.”

Gu Sheng actually obediently loosened his grip like that, and Zhou Shiyi smoothly pulled Gu Sheng’s arm out of his mouth.

Before he could relax, Gu Sheng suddenly lunged forward, and Zhou Shiyi, caught off balance, ended up pinned to the ground by him.

Soon, a sharp pain radiated from around his collarbone.

“Watch out!”

The other betas nearby were startled by the scene; they tried to step forward to help, but saw Zhou Shiyi waving them off, telling them not to come over.

Gu Sheng bit down hard—so hard it felt like he might tear off a chunk of flesh—until the metallic scent of blood mixed with a hint of grassy beta pheromones reached him, and only then did he realize who he had bitten.

Not only that, Zhou Shiyi could feel blood flowing out from the wound, along with something else being injected as Gu Sheng’s canines dug into his flesh.

As time passed, Zhou Shiyi felt alternating waves of cold and heat throughout his body, but his mind remained clear.

He was no longer as ignorant as when he first arrived; he knew this was alpha pheromones entering his body.

Zhou Shiyi couldn’t quite describe the sensation; he only felt that compared to the forcefully injected pheromones, the pain from the wound had become very slight.

He lifted a hand and rested it on Gu Sheng’s head, patting gently. “It’s okay now, the ambulance is already on its way.”

Gu Sheng trembled, his jaw relaxing slightly, but when he heard someone approaching he suddenly clenched his teeth again.

“Hiss.” The same spot was hurt once more, and Zhou Shiyi drew in a sharp breath.

He stroked Gu Sheng’s soft hair with one hand, gently soothing him, while his other hand took the sedative brought by a colleague.

Zhou Shiyi felt the pressure on his shoulder ease, and Gu Sheng murmured something.

After a pause, he tilted his head slightly and heard Gu Sheng say, “Zhou Shiyi, don’t give me the sedative.”

Gu Sheng’s face was buried against Zhou Shiyi’s shoulder the whole time, his expression unreadable.

Feeling the thin fabric on his shoulder being soaked by scalding liquid, Zhou Shiyi finally gave in, telling someone to bring the first-aid kit and fishing a pheromone-blocking patch out of it.

During that time, Zhou Shiyi remained perfectly still.

He sat on the floor while Gu Sheng straddled his legs, his face buried in Zhou’s neck the whole time.

Zhou Shiyi could only hold the exhausted Gu Sheng with one arm while struggling to tear open the packaging of the pheromone-blocking patch with the other.

Gu Sheng’s breath hit the exposed skin of Zhou Shiyi—wet and hot, impossible to ignore.

There was a small needle in the center of the pheromone blocker patch, hiding an inhibitor; when pressed against the gland, the needle would pierce the skin and the drug would enter the gland to take effect.

Zhou Shiyi carefully leaned toward the back of Gu Sheng’s neck. The gland there was slightly warm and reddened, so it was easy to find.

When he applied the pheromone blocker patch, Gu Sheng shuddered and then went still.

Zhou Shiyi only then realized how intimate their position had been.

Outside, the ambulance doors were open. Medical staff in white coats and masks carried stretchers into the scene, placed those who had already lost consciousness onto them, and methodically loaded the injured into the ambulance.

Their spot drew attention too; one of the medics came over and asked, “Can you handle things here yourselves?”

Space in the ambulance was limited; those who could stand were told to make their own way to the hospital.

Zhou Shiyi lowered his head and found that Gu Sheng had already fainted; large patches of red rash covered his body, looking terrifying.

Zhou Shiyi hurriedly raised his hand to signal, “Doctor, there’s another one here. Come take a look!”

The doctor rushed over, saw the rashes on Gu Sheng, and was startled as well: “This is an allergic reaction. If severe, it could be life-threatening. Quick, bring a stretcher.”

They brought over the stretcher, but it was extremely awkward.

Gu Sheng’s hands gripped Zhou Shiyi tightly and wouldn’t let go; he couldn’t break free at all.

Zhou Shiyi scooped Gu Sheng up and ran toward the ambulance. The doctor froze for a moment, then quickly reacted, shouting for the people around to move aside.

Allergies can be minor or serious, but when they’re as severe as Gu Sheng’s, prompt medical treatment is necessary.

They kept holding him as they loaded him into the ambulance; Gu Sheng never let go. It took several doctors working together to pull one of his hands away.

There wasn’t time to do anything else now, so in that position they hooked Gu Sheng up to oxygen.

Zhou Shiyi still couldn’t break free. The doctor said helplessly, “It’s urgent. You come with us too.”

He said that as they spoke, another injured person was brought up, and the doctor performed a brief treatment in the cramped space.

The ambulance sped to the hospital without any obstruction.

When they arrived, the hospital was already prepared; as soon as they reached it they were immediately wheeled into the emergency room.

The Gu family had been waiting there early; all the injured had been sent to the hospital nearest the scene.

They hadn’t found Gu Sheng in the manor and knew something was wrong, so they came here hoping for luck—never expecting to actually see him being wheeled into the hospital with tubes attached to his body.

Nian Meilan’s legs went weak; Gu’s father and Gu Jinyan supported her, preventing her from collapsing to the floor.

“Shengsheng, what’s wrong?” They ran after the hospital bed but didn’t dare get close, afraid of interfering with the doctors’ treatment.

“Which of you are the patient’s family?”

“We both are.”

“One of you go handle the admission paperwork, don’t all just stand here.”

“I will.” Gu Yuan’s right hand had already been restrained, so he left first.

But when they reached the emergency room doors, a big problem arose.

Gu Sheng refused to let go.

Zhou Shiyi hadn’t had a chance to pull his hand away the whole way; being dragged here, there was no way they could both be allowed into the emergency room.

“Gu Sheng, let go.”

Doctors and nurses took turns trying to pry his fingers open but couldn’t; the situation was urgent. Zhou Shiyi couldn’t care about anyone else’s stare and said to the unconscious Gu Sheng,

“Gu Sheng, listen to me, let go.”

Still unable to break free, Zhou Shiyi had to grit his teeth and say, “I’m not leaving. You go on in first.”

Zhou Shiyi gave a few gentle tugs and finally managed to pull his hand free from Gu Sheng’s grip.

The arm that had been engorged the whole time felt a bit numb after being withdrawn.

Gu Sheng was also successfully taken into the emergency room.

The monitor outside the emergency room door displayed “In Emergency.”

Zhou Shiyi shook his hand, trying to ease the discomfort.

On his arm was a handprint as if someone had branded him.

A purplish-black palm mark wrapped around Zhou Shiyi’s arm in a circle, like a mark left by a demon’s grab. At the fingertips of the print were wounds where nails had dug into the flesh, blood seeping out.

It was clear how much force Gu Sheng had used at that moment.

The Gu family was a little taken aback, but the most important thing right now was Gu Sheng’s safety; they stood outside earnestly answering questions about whether Gu Sheng had any allergy history or drug allergies.

Gu Yuan also returned from the hall and waited with them for Gu Sheng to come out.

Only then did he notice that, besides the Gu family, there was another somewhat familiar face.

He asked in surprise, “Is that you?”

Zhou Shiyi also had some impression of him and nodded. Seeing that Gu Yuan didn’t know how to address him, he said, “My name is Zhou Shiyi.”