Chapter 1

“Ruan Tang, come away with me. I know I can't give you anything right now, but... but I swear, I'll treat you well in the future...”

The young Alpha looked at the Omega before him, nearly overwhelmed by nerves; even speaking a single sentence seemed to take all his courage.

He didn't even dare to look at the Omega again.

And the Omega sitting across from him was, without a doubt, a universally acknowledged beauty...

Pale skin, slender build, features that were supremely handsome and refined—his bearing was both prominent and aloof, yet it made one unforgettable at first sight, captivating to the extreme.

A strange incongruity only added to his overwhelming charm.

But at that moment, the beauty named Ruan Tang, upon hearing the young Alpha's words, gently furrowed his brows, extremely surprised: “Go with you? Lu Yang, what kind of joke is this?”

Ruan Tang had never imagined that a plotline like something out of a drama—where a well-born Omega is asked to elope by a poor young man—would happen to him, and that the one making the offer was Lu Yang of all people.

A junior colleague at the research institute with whom he had a passable relationship.

“Ruan Tang... I've heard about your marriage to that person. As long as you nod, no matter the cost, even my life, I will take you away—escape to the ends of the earth, to a place where the imperial family and the government can't find us...” Hearing Ruan Tang's voice, Lu Yang's tone grew more impassioned.

As if he saw himself as Ruan Tang's savior, the only one in the world who could rescue him.

Ruan Tang looked at the Alpha youth completely immersed in his own narrative and finally couldn't help but sigh, interrupting him very coldly: “Lu Yang, I don't know what misunderstanding you have of me, or what you've heard from where...”

“But I must tell you, I appreciate your good opinion, but I do not hold the same feelings for you. Therefore, I will not and cannot go with you.”

“Give up this hope. Consider today's words unsaid by you and unheard by me. Let's stop contacting each other.” With these words, Ruan Tang's jade-white hand set down his cup, and without hesitation he stood up and turned to leave.

Watching Ruan Tang's retreating figure, emotions shifted in Lu Yang's eyes. Finally, his hand clenched into a fist as he stared resentfully at Ruan Tang's back, barely restraining his grief and anger as he demanded: “Why? Are you really that kind of Omega who despises the poor and craves wealth and status, just as they say?”

“For wealth and status, you'd rather marry Duke Auston than go with me?”

He had never believed the outside rumors about Ruan Tang—so beautiful, so aloof, even if his temper wasn't the best, how could he be the black-hearted lotus willing to do anything to climb higher as the rumors said?

But now, Ruan Tang's rejection stirred a subtle shift in Lu Yang's heart.

After all, everyone knew what kind of person Duke Auston was... the choice between him and Auston, if not for power, was obvious.

And Ruan Tang had made the opposite choice from what any normal person would—if not for power, then for what?

This Omega really was as cold-hearted and stone-cold as the rumors said.

“I don't see why I need to explain my private affairs to you.” At Lu Yang's narrow-minded assumption, Ruan Tang was almost speechless. He merely glanced back at him lightly and then turned to leave: “Think whatever you like.”

Over the years, faced with countless prejudices and misunderstandings from others, Ruan Tang had explained many times, but after explaining so much, no one believed him.

Gradually, he became too weary to bother explaining.

Lu Yang watched Ruan Tang's disappearing figure with resentment, but not far away, a Beta walked over and spoke coolly.

He was a colleague of both Ruan Tang and Lu Yang at the institute.

“See, what did I tell you? Ruan Tang would never go with you! Omegas like him don't care about true hearts or feelings—all they care about is power and status.”

“He may be the first beauty of the Imperial Star, but he's also the First Black-Hearted Lotus of Imperial Star.”

“You've just been deceived by his appearance. He's not as good as you thought. An Omega like him is beyond your reach...”

Lu Yang listened to his colleague's words, his lips twitching slightly, but he no longer spoke up to defend Ruan Tang or argue on his behalf as he once had.

Where there's smoke, there's fire.

Perhaps the evaluations he'd heard about Ruan Tang in the past were all true.

...

“Fifth Young Master, the master requests your presence in his study.” As soon as Ruan Tang returned home, the Ruan family's steward came over to convey the master's orders.

Ruan Tang had been expecting this and replied softly: “Alright, I understand.”

Ruan Tang was born into the Ruan family, one of the most prominent families in the Ausfia Empire.

Although the family had once declined, thanks to the illustrious military achievements of Ruan Tang's father, Marshal Ruan Ming, the Ruan family regained its former prominence within just a few decades.

Ruan Tang was the youngest son born from Ruan Ming's lawful wife, and a precious Omega. With such a background, even if Ruan Ming himself was a philandering lecher with countless lovers and illegitimate children, with the protection of his mother and siblings, he should have been surrounded by stars and born to privilege.

But it seemed that Ruan Tang had used up all his good fortune at birth, because from the time he could remember, his luck had been consistently bad.

First, his eldest brother, the family heir, was severely wounded in battle and became a vegetable, still unconscious to this day. Then his Omega elder sister went mad from heartbreak over love, and even his mother suffered a shock that left her bedridden, dazed and confused day after day.

Ruan Ming was fickle and heartless, never a devoted or faithful Alpha.

After his lawful wife lost her sanity, he quickly used the excuse that the household needed someone to manage it and that his wife was mentally unstable to apply for dissolution of his marriage with Ruan Tang's mother.

And from among his many lovers, he chose one with several children to become his new wife and enter the household.

With the new wife and the conversion of several illegitimate children into legitimate ones, Ruan Tang's position as the youngest child left behind by the first wife became awkward.

He was neither Ruan Ming's first child nor his most favored one.

In this cold, large family, stripped of his mother's and siblings' protection, he had to struggle to survive alone, isolated and helpless.

Although Ruan Ming didn't mistreat this child from his first wife, he didn't hold Ruan Tang in much regard either...

Especially after Ruan Tang's engagements fell through multiple times, being jilted and repeatedly clashing with Ruan Ming's most beloved son, Ruan Xi, the father-son relationship plummeted to freezing point.

This time, if it weren't for...

Ruan Ming would never have taken the initiative to speak to Ruan Tang.

“I suppose you've already heard that your Pheromone Matching Rate with Duke Auston is as high as 95%, and that the imperial family intends to form a marriage alliance with our family, selecting you as the Duchess.” Ruan Ming tapped his finger lightly on the desk, looking at Ruan Tang with an air of indifference.

He was an ambitious Alpha. From a down-and-out young master of a declining family to the Marshal of the Empire who restored its glory, his life, if written into a novel, would certainly be a wildly popular Gary Stu novel.

He had over twenty children in his lifetime, among them five Omega offspring.

Whether illegitimate or legitimate, including the least favored Ruan Tang, they were all firmly held in his grasp and raised as marriage tools to strengthen the family and exchange benefits.

Ruan Tang was the child he liked the least, but there was no denying—

once, among all these Omega children, Ruan Ming had placed the highest hopes on Ruan Tang.

For no other reason than Ruan Tang was not only the most beautiful of all his children, but also had extremely pure Omega genes, with a high Pheromone Matching Rate with any high-level Alpha—above 90%.

No matter how much Ruan Ming disliked him, he had to admit that this son was a rare commodity, a good tool for marriage alliances.

But unexpectedly, despite Ruan Tang's superior qualities in all aspects, he himself was frustratingly unambitious...

From his fiancés to those he was discussing marriage with, every one who spent time with him ended up not liking him, instead turning to Ruan Xi—another Omega son of Ruan Ming who was inferior to Ruan Tang in both talent and appearance...

This happened repeatedly, time after time.

Ruan Tang's reputation grew worse and worse, to the point where Ruan Ming almost felt this son would be a dead loss in his hands, but unexpectedly a new opportunity came so quickly...

Only then did Ruan Ming have some thought of breaking the ice with this son.

“With such a big stir you've made in the Imperial Star, I'm afraid even if I said I hadn't heard, you wouldn't believe me.” Ruan Tang walked up to him coolly and aloofly, his eyes looking at his biological father filled with coldness.

Ruan Ming looked at Ruan Tang coldly and sternly, commanding formulaically: “Since you've already heard, I won't waste more words... Her Majesty the Empress is very fond of you, and His Grace Duke Auston has also agreed to this marriage.”

“The wedding date is set for two weeks from now. Prepare yourself and attend your wedding on time.” He said indifferently.

As an autocratic patriarch, he didn't even have the slightest desire to discuss it with Ruan Tang.

“Duke Auston...” Ruan Tang repeated the name, looking coldly at Ruan Ming, and let out a mocking laugh: “The empire's notorious Bluebeard Duke—countless Omegas have been scared to death or driven mad by him... For the sake of benefit, you've chosen such a marriage partner for your own biological son. Father, you truly have a ruthless heart.”

He had long known that Ruan Ming was cold-hearted and didn't care about him, but he hadn't expected him to be this ruthless.

“Duke Auston is the eldest son of the Emperor and Empress. Although he is disabled in both legs and his face is scarred... I don't see anything about him that isn't good enough for you.” Ruan Ming frowned impatiently, looking at Ruan Tang with displeasure.

Hearing this, Ruan Tang let out a sarcastic laugh: “Heh.”

As expected, he should never have harbored any unrealistic expectations toward Alpha creatures...

In Ruan Tang's eyes, a partner being disabled in both legs or having a disfigured face was really not a defect at all, as long as their character was sound... But this Duke Auston...

He was indeed the eldest son of the Emperor and Empress, but after a accident at the age of ten that left him disabled in both legs and with a disfigured face, his entire personality changed drastically, becoming gloomy and violent.

According to various rumors, he was a complete perverted lunatic with a strange hobby of torturing people and animals...

It was said that to cover up his special perversions, the Emperor placed the empire's torture department under his control.

Having gained such power, the duke became even more rampant, reviving ancient tortures from antiquity... Corrupt officials and death row prisoners who fell into his hands—some were flayed alive, others had their brains cut open and hearts and livers ripped out... not one retained a complete corpse, utterly monstrous to an appalling degree.

Every year it drew outcry from large numbers of human rights activists, who privately called him the imperial family's mad dog.

Only because none of his methods were used on ordinary people was there no way to charge him with a crime.

There were countless legends about him throughout the Imperial Star. It was said that in his ducal palace, because of his own physical defects, all the servants except robots were disabled—none were whole. If normal people wanted to work in his mansion, they first had to become disabled...

It was also said that his palace housed countless ferocious birds and beasts for him to torment and abuse.

In past years, the Omegas that the Empress tried to push into his household for him to marry had been scared to death or driven mad beyond count.

Even for such a universally acknowledged lunatic, Ruan Ming could still speak highly of him and push his own biological son into his maw.

Ruan Tang truly felt like laughing.

This father of his truly didn't care at all whether Ruan Tang lived or died.