CHAPTER 5

Professional Boundaries

Night settled over the Li residence like a familiar shadow.

When Li Tingxiao stepped inside, the servants bowed in silence and took his coat, but he immediately sensed it—

a change.

The house was not as cold.

The lights in the main hall were still on.

Soft.

Warm.

He walked in.

And stopped.

On the large sofa beneath the chandelier, Song Yuxin had fallen asleep sitting upright, one arm protectively around Li Chen.

A children’s storybook rested open in his hand, slipping slowly as sleep deepened.

Chenchen’s face was buried in Yuxin’s chest, fingers gripping his shirt as if afraid he might disappear.

The scene was… careless.

Untrained.

Completely lacking in etiquette.

Yet—

this was the first time Li Tingxiao had ever seen Li Chen fall asleep outside his room.

Without waking from a nightmare.

Without calling for him.

As if he finally felt safe enough to sleep anywhere.

Tingxiao stood there for a long time.

The faint scent in the air reached him again.

Rain.

Jasmine.

Soft.

Not seductive.

Not deliberately sweet like the high-grade Omegas in elite circles.

This one was—

clean.

Alive.

Real.

His jaw tightened.

Cheap suppressant.

Low-quality fabric softener.

And still—

it reached him.

He stepped forward, carefully lifting the slipping book from Yuxin’s hand so it wouldn’t fall and wake them.

His fingers brushed the back of Yuxin’s knuckles—

warm.

Human.

He withdrew immediately.

“Uncle…”

Chenchen stirred.

Tingxiao’s voice lowered instinctively.

“Sleep.”

The child relaxed again, but his grip on Yuxin tightened.

As if choosing.

Something unfamiliar moved in Li Tingxiao’s chest.

Not anger.

Not displeasure.

Something far more dangerous.

Later that night, in his study—

Zhou Kairui placed a document on the desk.

“The background check.”

Li Tingxiao did not need to open it.

“I know.”

Still, he read.

Secondary gender: Omega.

Registered at birth.

Later concealed.

No official pairing history.

Work records. Medical purchases.

Cheap suppressants.

Irregular heat cycles — endured alone.

The paper in his hand made a faint sound.

So that’s how he survived.

Zhou Kairui spoke carefully.

“Only the two of us know. His file has been sealed.”

Silence.

“As expected from someone in your industry,” Zhou added, “you noticed immediately.”

Yes.

As the president of L.T. Cosmetics, Li Tingxiao had spent years evaluating fragrances.

Top notes.

Heart notes.

Base notes.

Synthetic.

Natural.

Artificially enhanced Omega pheromones designed to attract Alphas in high society—

he had smelled them all.

None of them had ever affected him.

Not once.

So this reaction—

had nothing to do with experience.

His eyes darkened.

“His scent is unstable because of low-grade suppressants,” Zhou said. “Shall I arrange—”

“No.”

Too fast.

Zhou Kairui stopped speaking.

Tingxiao closed the file.

“I will handle it.”

Professional.

Controlled.

Rational.

This is simply biological sensitivity.

Nothing more.

He leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly.

“A cheap Omega scent,” he said to himself coldly,

“is not enough to make me lose control.”

He had built an empire through discipline.

He would not break it—

because of one person.

Yet—

that faint trace of rain and jasmine still lingered in his memory.

Different.

Not cloying.

Not designed to please.

It was like its owner.

Stubbornly dignified.

And that—

was precisely why it was dangerous.

The next morning—

Yuxin was in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, arguing gently with the chef.

“Children need balanced nutrition,” he said earnestly. “Too much sugar is bad.”

Chenchen sat on the counter, swinging his legs.

“Gege, Uncle never lets me eat sweet buns.”

“That’s because he loves you,” Yuxin replied without thinking.

The room fell silent.

Li Tingxiao had entered.

He heard it.

Every word.

Yuxin turned and immediately straightened.

“Sir.”

Back to distance.

Back to contract.

But there was flour on his cheek.

And warmth in the air.

Chenchen jumped down and ran to Tingxiao.

“Uncle! Gege made breakfast!”

Gege.

Not caretaker.

Not employee.

Tingxiao’s gaze shifted to Yuxin.

“You are adapting quickly.”

“It is my responsibility,” Yuxin replied.

Always that word.

Responsibility.

Never home.

Never family.

A deliberate line.

Tingxiao walked closer.

Close enough that the faint scent reached him again.

Both of them stilled.

For a fraction of a second—

their eyes met.

Yuxin lowered his immediately.

Professional.

Careful.

Distant.

And for the first time—

Li Tingxiao felt the urge to close that distance.

He stepped back instead.

“Prepare Chenchen. I will take him to the company this afternoon.”

“Yes, Sir.”

A pause.

“Thank you,” Tingxiao added.

The words were quiet.

Almost unfamiliar.

Yuxin looked up in surprise.

That was the first genuine sentence not tied to a command.

And it stayed with him long after Tingxiao left the room.

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