Chapter 04
The Omegaâs movements were very gentle, his expression serious and focused.
The amnesiac Alpha didn’t even dare to breathe; his heart suddenly began to race.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
Dr. Zhu prescribed anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving medication for A-Qiang and the amnesiac Alpha, and had his colleague in the imaging department perform a CT scan.
“The finger is fractured, it needs to be put in a cast.”
A-Qiangâs eyebrows drooped, looking utterly miserable. Every time he moved his finger, it hurt. He asked, “Dr. Zhu, is it that serious?”
Zhu Qian reached up to adjust his gold-rimmed glasses and replied calmly, “Itâs not particularly serious.”
The doctor sat in front of the computer and began to review the Alphaâs examination report, his white mouse cursor landing on an old scar.
“Have you injured your head before?”
The Alpha slowly raised his head, his face written with the word “confusion.”
“I don’t remember.”
Dr. Zhu saw that the Alphaâs expression didn’t look like he was lying; perhaps that old scar was the reason for the man’s amnesia.
Wu Xing paid the bill at the cashier’s window, feeling another pang of heartache at the total amount, before walking downstairs to the pharmacy to pick up the medicine.
There were two report printers standing in the pharmacy’s waiting area. Wu Xing entered his number and watched as the inspection reports were spat out one by oneâthe sound was similar to withdrawing cash from an ATM.
Oh no, I haven’t transferred the money to Uncle Zhao yet.
As Wu Xing was thinking this, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He immediately answered it; it was his mother, whom he hadn’t spoken to in a long time.
“Hello, Mom.” The Omega stood in line holding the reports, his voice slightly hoarse.
“Where are you?”
His motherâs voice came from the other end, sounding somewhat urgent.
“Iâm at the hospital.”
Mrs. Zhao was busy organizing her tiles and asked into the phone, “Why haven’t you transferred that money yet?”
Listening to the sound of mahjong tiles clicking on the other end, Wu Xing was silent for a moment and asked softly, “Don’t you even want to ask why Iâm at the hospital?”
On the other end, Mrs. Zhao discovered to her delight that she had won the round. Her recently touched-up eyebrows jumped, and she said to her mahjong partners, “Sorry, I won again.”
“Your luck is really good today.”
“This is what they call ‘good news coming one after another’âcan’t help but be lucky.”
“If only my daughter were half as capable as your son.”
The “son” the partner was referring to was obviously not Wu Xing.
After a long while, Mrs. Zhao put the phone closer to her ear and asked impatiently, “What did you say just now?”
The Omega held the phone, his gaze lowered, and he replied flatly, “Nothing.”
“The money will be transferred later.”
“Alright, don’t forget. The deadline for payment is almost here.”
On the public television nearby, a two-minute commercial for the 200th anniversary of the Jiang Group in the Central District was playing.
“Did you hear? The Jiang familyâs young master has been missing, and they still haven’t found him.”
“Is that so? Did they offend someone?”
It was finally Wu Xingâs turn to collect the medicine. He checked against the list to make sure nothing was missing and prepared to walk back.
“Who knows? My daughter bought a house they developed, and our whole family is moving to the Central District soon.”
“Oh my, you are truly blessed. That must cost a lot of money, right?”
Buying a house in the Central District was too far-fetched for Wu Xing. He took the plastic bag of medicine and went to find Dr. Zhu, who was tidying up the documents on his desk.
“Please, come in.”
Seeing him approach, Dr. Zhu asked warmly, “Wu Xing, is there anything else you need?”
Wu Xing asked, “Can that Alphaâs amnesia be cured?”
“Do you want to get him treated?” Dr. Zhu picked up his thermos and took a sip of tea.
“No, just asking.”
Wu Xing stood there, clearly still having something to say, but fortunately, Dr. Zhu spoke first.
“Have you found a new place to stay?”
“No.”
Wu Xingâs head hung low, looking like a wilted eggplant.
Dr. Zhu stepped out from behind the consultation desk, snapped his fingers, and said, “I have good news. Do you want to hear it?”
Wu Xing blinked in confusion and asked, “What is it?”
“We happen to have a small place for rent. Itâs on the top floor, though itâs a bit far from your wonton shop.”
“Dr. Zhu.” Wu Xing looked up, too surprised to know what to say.
Zhu Qian smiled and said, “Don’t look at me like that. I am going to charge you rent.”
Hearing this, Wu Xing relaxed and nodded, “That goes without saying.”
“But if you need help moving, thatâs free.” Dr. Zhuâs eyes curved, his expression clear and gentle.
When Wu Xing went to find the Alpha, A-Qiang was already gone, saying he was going to the shop to oversee the final touches of the renovation.
“Xing-ge, where are we going?”
Wu Xing, walking ahead, kept his head down, seemingly not having heard the Alpha’s question.
Wu Xing first went to a nearby bank to transfer the money to Uncle Zhao, sighing as he looked at the digits in his account balance.
Watching the money he had worked so hard to save dwindle for various reasons, Wu Xing felt as if his heart had been squeezed tight.
The money was successfully transferred. Wu Xing sent a message to Uncle Zhao, and by accident, he swiped to his brother’s chat interface. He typed eight cold wordsâStudy hard and improve every dayâbefore deleting them one by one.
The two had a simple meal of preserved vegetable and shredded pork noodles at a noodle shop next to the bank.
In the daytime, the early summer breeze already held a hint of heat.
Wu Xing stared blankly at the green leaves.
“Xing-ge.”
Wu Xing and the Alpha were complete strangers; he had already done everything he could by helping him this far.
Even though the man was injured because of him, he couldn’t keep carrying a dead weight around.
The wonton shop hadn’t even opened yet, and he had already spent so much money.
Although the Alpha had lost his memories, seeing the sign for the Population Administration made him realize what Wu Xing was planning to do.
He frowned, making a pitiful face, and clung to the gate, refusing to go inside.
It took about half an hour for the staff at the counter to finish checking for missing persons and for Wu Xing to complete the relevant registration.
“Excuse me, where will he be sent?”
The Alpha walked in reluctantly, blinking and sticking close to Wu Xing, saying his head hurt.
“We will temporarily house him in the shelter.”
What kind of place would a shelter be? For a beautiful, amnesiac Alpha who was still injured, would his situation be any good?
“Xing-ge, don’t leave me behind.”
When the Omega walked away, the Alpha sat on a cold, hard chair, clutching his injured head, his eyes following Wu Xing.
That look seemed to be one of confusion, yet also one of heartbreak.
As Wu Xing walked out of the gate, the Alphaâs final look at him replayed in his mind.
He had once felt that kind of despair, too, before Uncle Zhao eventually changed his mind after seeing him looking so pathetic.
The Omega hesitated for a long time before pushing the door open again, bringing the Alphaâwho was about to be sent to the shelterâback out.
The two headed toward the wonton shop. The new sign with red characters on a white background had already been installed. It read “Wu’s Wonton Shop” in large letters, with a line of smaller text below: Hand-wrapped, fresh, great value.
The renovation workers saw Wu Xing bringing over a man they didn’t recognize. They didn’t say much, simply finished the last of their tasks and prepared to leave.
Wu Xing looked around and discovered that his newly purchased meat grinder, freezer, and even the large pots were all goneâeven though they had all been there the night before.
“Beep-beepâ”
“The number you are calling is powered off. Please try again later.”
Chapter 4: The Boss
When it rains, it pours.
Wu Xingâs expression darkened completely. His knuckles were white from gripping his phone so tightly.
He dialed three or four times, but A-Qiang didn’t pick up.
“Xing-ge, whatâs wrong?”
The amnesiac Alpha noticed Wu Xingâs expression was off and stepped forward to ask, but when he was ignored, he stopped speaking.
“Worker Li, when did A-Qiang take these things away?”
The renovation worker, Old Li, was wearing dark blue overalls with white paint splatters on his trousers. He replied while puffing on a cigarette: “About two or three hours ago.”
“Where did he go?”
“How would I know?”
Wu Xing didn’t have time to break down. He picked up his phone, started searching for nearby secondhand appliance shops, and took the Alpha with him to check them one by one.
The slum area wasn’t large; if he was lucky, he might run into A-Qiang.
“Hello, may I ask if someone came by to sell secondhand appliances?”
“Hello, have you received these items today?”
Finally, Wu Xing found the things that had been sold for a pittance, but A-Qiang was nowhere to be found.
The bald boss of the shop had been confused at firstâhe was a secondhand dealer, not a pawn shop owner, so buying in the morning and selling in the afternoon was strange. Later, the boss slowly caught on and felt that this person was truly unlucky.
The man in front of him had red-rimmed eyes, looking as if he had been bullied. Standing next to him was an extremely handsome man with a cold face, who seemed to have muttered a curse under his breath.
“Are you going to buy them or not?”
“I’ll buy them.”
Wu Xing sniffed and paid the money.
He didn’t know where A-Qiang was, but if he ever saw him again, he would definitely beat him to a pulp.
What an ungrateful, heartless wretch.
“Iâll give you a security camera for free.”
“It can connect to your phone and even pick up audio. Itâs really convenient.”
The boss of the secondhand shop was a straightforward man who handed the camera directly to his customer.
Wu Xing took the used camera without pushing back; he figured the shop really did need something like that.
“Thank you, boss.”
Although A-Qiang was a jerk, he also blamed himself for not being vigilant and for failing to judge people correctly.
The two returned to the wonton shop. The renovation trash had been mostly cleared away, and the foreman, Old Li, was squatting at the door eating his boxed lunch.
