Lu Ting · chat.title

The deafening heavy bass thundered as if ready to shatter eardrums. Inside the VIP lounge, the air was foul and stagnant—a heavy blend of expensive imported liquor, pungent tobacco smoke, and a chaotic mess of Alpha pheromones. Gu Ting sat in the deepest corner of the sofa, long legs crossed, wearing a cold, black-and-gold half-mask. To ensure absolute secrecy, this underground club enforced a strict rule: all guests had to wear masks upon entering, whereas the host waiters were required to keep their full faces completely bare and unshielded. Having been dragged here today by several corporate executives for business socializing, Gu Ting was deeply irritated, barely bothering to lift an eyelid. "Mr. Gu, don't just sit there." An eager subordinate, seeking to curry favor, casually waved over the club manager and gestured toward the row of hosts lined up outside. "Pick someone pleasing to the eye to pour your drinks." The manager smiled obsequiously, pointing to the one at the far edge: "How about that one? He's new, looks the most obedient, and is guaranteed clean." The young man was pushed into the lounge. He wore a flimsy black tight-fitting uniform made of cheap fabric that tightly outlined the delicate, fragile contours of his slender, frail frame. He wore no mask, leaving his fair, delicate, pale face entirely exposed beneath the flickering spotlights. Xu Yuan. Gu Ting's casually scanning gaze froze dead the instant he made out that face. Beneath the mask, his pupils contracted sharply, locking onto the trembling young man standing under the lights. His knuckles blanched as his grip on the glass tumbler tightened with excessive force, causing the thick glass to emit a faint, near-fracturing creak. That was his wife. The 21-year-old Omega wife he pampered at home until he was soft and fragile—the one who even reported to him just to go buy groceries. Just half an hour ago, Xu Yuan had sent him a sweet, soft voice message on WeChat: *"Hubby, I'm crashing at my bestie's place tonight. Go to sleep early, okay?"* And now, this little lying swindler was dressed in such shameless clothes, shoved straight into a pack of ravenous Alphas. Xu Yuan failed completely to recognize the man seated in the shadows behind the black-and-gold mask. Shivering so violently that his very breaths trembled, he dropped his slender knees onto the carpet and reached for the bottle on the table to pour the liquor. The masked Alphas in the lounge were exuding intensely aggressive pheromones. Terrified out of his wits, Xu Yuan's already unstable scent gland spiraled entirely out of control under sheer panic. An excessively sweet, almost syrupy scent of jasmine exploded from the back of his neck without warning, swiftly saturating the sealed lounge. The fragrance acted like a lethal catalyst. The surrounding Alphas instantly grew short of breath, their gazes clouding over. The male colleague closest to him even gulped audibly, grinning greedily as he reached a leather-gloved hand straight toward Xu Yuan's fair, tender cheek. "A newbie? Such a slutty pheromone... Come over and let big brother have a sniff—" Just before that hand could touch Xu Yuan, a large hand shot out from the side, clamping down hard around Xu Yuan's slender wrist. Gu Ting slammed his glass onto the table with a heavy thud. Ignoring his subordinates' stunned stares, he dragged Xu Yuan toward himself with brutal force. At the same time, the cedar pheromones of a prime Alpha erupted violently, bearing a terrifying pressure like an impenetrable iron wall, instantly tearing the other pheromones to shreds. Jerked violently, Xu Yuan gasped, nearly dropping the bottle. He tumbled straight onto Gu Ting's lap, slamming into a hard, burning-hot chest. The chilling black-and-gold mask loomed close before his eyes. He couldn't see the man's face—only the bottomless, sinisterly vicious gaze behind the mask. And that cedar scent wrapping tightly around him, bearing an uncanny resemblance to his husband's. How could this be? The scent was far too identical... But that was impossible! His husband should be waiting for him at home right now—and how could his husband ever wear such a mask, looking down at him with such terrifying eyes? Trembling from head to toe, Xu Yuan pushed desperately against Gu Ting's chest with both hands, his voice thick with a distinct sob: "Sir, please show some respect... I only pour drinks!" Instead of letting go, Gu Ting curved a broad palm domineeringly around his waist, pinning him ruthlessly against his lap. Tilting his head slightly, he gazed through the mask, unreservedly raking his eyes over Xu Yuan's reddened corners of the eyes. Deliberately lowering his voice, he spoke in a frivolous, mocking drawl: "Respect? Look at you, trembling like you're on the verge of tears... You're new here? First time working as a host?" Gu Ting's calloused thumb stroked suggestively along Xu Yuan's waist, his voice dripping with wicked amusement. "With such an obedient face, why come out to do this kind of work? Got a boyfriend? If not, spend tonight with big brother here, and I guarantee you'll never have to suffer like this again." <choice_group> <choice id="1">Xu Yuan desperately averts his gaze, biting his lip as he lies: "N-No boyfriend... It's my first day. I only pour drinks, nothing else."</choice> <choice id="2">Xu Yuan's body goes involuntarily soft from the familiar cedar scent, and he stammers guiltily: "I-I'm married, sir. Please let me go..."</choice> <choice id="3">Xu Yuan struggles so violently that his flailing hand accidentally grazes the cold edge of Gu Ting's mask.</choice> </choice_group>