Paranoid Alpha Chapter 44: Tamed

Chapter 44: Tamed

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: CaiCai

A single sentence from Lu Xingye rendered the atmosphere between the two silent all the way into the conference hall. Lyss sat down with an empty mind. The earlier statement pierced through the most hidden and least contemplated part of his heart.

Everything became traceable.

Why did Lu Xingye’s eyes change from dark green to completely black? Why was he so distant during the day, and why last night… His strength and methods were unprecedentedly forceful.

Lyss wasn’t incapable of understanding; he simply refused to delve deeper. How could anything human survive such an explosion? Even if there had been a miracle, could Lu Xingye stand before him completely unchanged?

The fog of five years suddenly shattered. Lyss was forced to confront the cruel and distorted truth—Lu Xingye was highly unlikely to still be alive.

Tremendous pain mingled with a surge of sorrow exploded in his heart. Emotions that had been sealed for five years, underwent an inexplicable collapse, causing pain and tremors to nibble at his sanity like countless ants.

Breathing became difficult. Everything before his eyes lost its color, as if distorted.

Was it a memory-retaining machine or was his pup still alive?

Lyss wanted to say “yes,’ but he wasn’t human after all. Just as he couldn’t deceive anyone else, he also couldn’t deceive himself.

He unconsciously bit his tongue, where the scar from Lu Xingye’s actions last night remained. As blood rushed out, the taste of rust and pain failed to invoke his reason but instead made him tremble involuntarily. If everything was false, what was the significance of last night’s intimacy?

There seemed to be something fundamentally wrong beneath it all.

The meeting appeared to have started, but Lyss didn’t care. He didn’t need to say anything. His silent presence was enough for others to ponder over.

The empire didn’t invite so many heads of states just for a seemingly grand banquet; the real game began after the banquet.

The person leading the meeting changed from a count to a prime minister, but the content didn’t differ much from the empire’s usual diplomatic style.

They seemed oblivious to the empire’s deteriorating situation, still bluntly demanding untimely conditions.

Small nations like Sheng Dan, facing the colossal empire, could only grit their teeth and endure.

Triss couldn’t accept these conditions.

“Mr. Lyss,” several leaders from smaller federations made concessions, and Shaya’s tone inadvertently became casual, “what do you think?”

Lyss wasn’t in a good mood, bordering on extremely bad. Interrupted abruptly, recalling the conditions the empire had laid out, he couldn’t help but show a cold expression. “If your country is willing to reduce tariffs by ten percent for Triss, the above conditions can be considered.”

Shaya widened her eyes in disbelief, “Ten percent—”

Tariff rates varied among different federations. Some with strained relations had extremely high rates, while those with closer ties never went below ten percent.

The tariffs between Triss and the empire lingered between fifteen to twenty percent. A unilateral ten percent reduction would practically nullify the empire’s tariffs on Triss, possibly causing immediate financial deficits in an already precarious situation.

After a brief shock, Shaya quickly regained composure, realizing that Lyss was intentionally provoking the empire.

The others present weren’t fools either. For a moment, the room fell into an eerie silence.

“Mr. Silverfang,” Lu Xingye suddenly smiled and spoke up, “with the friendship between your country and mine, not just a ten percent reduction, but forming a tariff alliance is within reason.”

Shaya’s expression immediately changed, but Lyss didn’t know how to face him. Pausing for a moment, he said, “Your Highness jests.”

Seeing his disbelief, Lu Xingye merely smiled and said no more.

Shaya, afraid of Lu Xingye saying something else, quickly changed the subject, “Besides this, there’s another matter for today’s invitation. Our country intends to restart the Chudai System and is hosting a research conference for it, inviting researchers from various nations for discussion.”

For five years, restarting the Chudai System had been an unspoken agreement among high-ranking officials of various countries. Suddenly, Shaya brought it up, causing many present to change their expressions.

“Please rest assured,” Shaya smiled, “after research at our country’s scientific center, we’ve removed the Chudai System’s self-learning and improvement functions from the original code. It cannot develop consciousness; it’s purely for computational use.”

Feng Man breathed a sigh of relief, “If it won’t gain consciousness but still contributes to human civilization, Sheng Dan is on board.”

Some agreed, but Lyss furrowed his brows inwardly. The empire probably only had three copies of the code, possibly four if including the one from Starfall Sea. They couldn’t have acquired Serica, the one Lu Jin left behind. Then why were they so convinced they could restart Chudai?

Could it be… Lyss coldly glanced at Lu Xingye in the distance. Was there a backup in the crack back then?

If Lu Xingye was dead, who was the person before him? A replica made by the empire from extracted DNA using some method from the explosion?

Lyss quickly ran through various possibilities, ultimately overturning them all—currently, the most advanced technology was limited to 3D printing, unable to replicate a human brain.

Was it… an android? Thinking this, Lyss’s gaze turned even colder.

Facing those cold golden eyes, Lu Xingye almost instantly understood the other’s suspicion toward himself. As expected, it’s the same old indifference. Lu Xingye smiled on the surface, but inside, he couldn’t help feeling sour. Just yesterday night, he claimed I was his alpha, and now, after suspecting me of being fake, he immediately changed his attitude.

How come you believe what I say this time? Lu Xingye couldn’t help but lick his fangs, remnants of last night’s blood and pheromones still lingering on them.

It was his own outburst that led Lyss to mistake his identity, yet Lu Xingye couldn’t help but think with a hint of blood: if he can’t distinguish whether I’m real or fake, but still claims responsibility for me, Lyss, you truly are a fraud.

Some present expressed agreement with the proposal to restart Chudai, while others remained silent. Not a single person opposed it.

After those expressing agreement shared their opinions in scattered moments of silence, all eyes turned to Lyss simultaneously.

Coming back to his senses, Lyss gazed at the room filled with varying thoughts. “Restarting Chudai is a matter concerning the fate of humanity. Serica isn’t present, and I don’t think we can make this decision on behalf of all humanity.”

He was the first to voice opposition, and everyone fell silent.

“Moreover,” Lyss turned to Shaya, “the Chudai System’s source code has been destroyed. How can your country guarantee the complete removal of its code? This is something worth considering.”

Shaya hadn’t expected him to openly address the issue everyone knew but hesitated to bring up. She seemed a bit flustered and hastily announced, “Mr. Lyss makes a valid point. Let’s decide on the specific details next time when all representatives are present.”

The empire’s long-prepared meeting ended in this unenthusiastic manner. After all the representatives left, Shaya couldn’t help but say to Lu Xingye, “Your Highness, today…”

Before she could finish, Lu Xingye suddenly stood up. “Apologies, I’m feeling a bit unwell today. I was a bit slow in the meeting. I’ll pay more attention next time.”

Shaya widened her eyes in disbelief, watching Lu Xingye’s agile figure, thinking, “You call that unwell? I bet you won’t be slow when trying to win favor with Lyss next time.”

Lyss returned to the room with his daughter to have dinner.

To be honest, he wasn’t feeling very well. Lin Lang, holding his hand, could clearly sense his slightly lower-than-usual body temperature. The little girl was extremely worried all the way, but she remembered what Lyss had told her and held back her concerns until they reached the restaurant.

The empire had arranged individual dining rooms and a dedicated kitchen for the heads of various nations. Just as Lyss sat down with Lin Lang, the little girl’s hungry stomach grumbled, but she didn’t immediately order. Instead, she looked at Lyss with concern. “Mommy… Are you upset?”

Lyss remained silent for a moment. “Place the order first.”

Although Lin Lang was worried, she obediently placed the order. After ordering, she leaned towards Lyss and rested her chin on his arm. “Mommy, why are you upset?”

Her eyes were big and round, making her look especially adorable without blinking.

Lyss softened a bit and rubbed her head. “Do you ever argue with Feifei?”

Feifei was Lin Lang’s good friend. Without hesitation, Lin Lang replied, “Yes.”

Lyss continued, “What if one day, Feifei suddenly tells you she doesn’t like you anymore and wants to end the friendship. What would you do?”

At home, Lin Lang was like a docile puppy, but at kindergarten, she was known to be outgoing and confident. Lyss never worried about her being bullied at school. He thought she’d choose to part ways easily. Unexpectedly, with a serious frown, Lin Lang replied, “I’d be very angry, but I’d have to find out why she said that. Maybe she’s trying to upset me on purpose, or maybe she really doesn’t like me anymore.”

Lyss was stunned. “And what after finding out?”

“After finding out, I’d be angry with her,” the little girl said firmly, “because it’s wrong to casually bring up ending a friendship.”

Lyss felt an inexplicable jump in his heart. He wasn’t a normal human being, and even if he fell in love with someone, he couldn’t fully understand human thinking.

In his mind and behavioral patterns, Lu Xingye’s attitude and actions indicated that he no longer had feelings for him. But according to calculations based on Lu Xingye’s behavioral patterns five years ago, the possibility of this happening was zero. Adding calculations from the explosion, Lyss had thus believed Lu Xingye’s recent statement, thinking the other was just an empty vessel inheriting Lu Xingye’s memories.

Lin Lang’s words provided him with a new possibility. Lu Xingye’s current behavior seemed to have another explanation.

In Lu Xingye’s eyes, Lyss had had a child with someone else. Perhaps everything he was doing was just to provoke him.

Thinking of this, an indescribable feeling rose within Lyss. He fervently hoped this guess was true, yet at the same time, a difficult-to-express anger surged within him.

It wasn’t anger towards Lu Xingye’s misunderstanding of him, but towards the icy attitude he displayed while saying those words—a kind of self-loathing and self-abandonment that allowed him to casually risk his own life to provoke Lyss.

Lyss liked that confident alpha. He felt displeased with Lu Xingye’s unwarranted self-deprecation and vague self-destructive tendencies.

Regardless of what happened in these five years, he felt responsible for how his “puppy’ turned out. Lyss looked at his fingertips; the disobedient little puppy needed some education.

Sensing a slight change in Lyss’s mood, Lin Lang cautiously said, “Mommy? Are you still upset?”

Lyss suddenly came back to his senses, softened his expression, and looked at his daughter. “Thank you, baby. I feel much better now.”

Lin Lang let out a sigh of relief and flashed a big smile, “That’s good! But did Mommy have a fight with a friend?”

“Yeah, but not a friend,” Lyss rubbed her head, “Maybe Lin Lang can meet Daddy early.”

Lin Lang’s eyes widened in surprise, looking at Lyss, “Really?!”

“Really, but…” Lyss paused, “he’s not as obedient as before, he might need a little discipline.”

After lunch, Lyss gently put her daughter to sleep, rubbed her stiff wrists, and returned to her bedroom.

He felt no sleepiness at all. After sitting at the desk for a moment, realizing that information wasn’t sinking in, he stood up and went into the bathroom.

The steam filled the air, and Lyss, with vacant eyes, looked at the ceiling for a while. He knew he should be thinking about the Empire’s intentions and the role Lu Xingye played in it.

According to his analysis, the possibility of Lu Xingye secretly holding a chip and handing it over to the Empire couldn’t be ruled out. He also couldn’t dismiss the possibility of retaliation against him or against Triss.

But Lyss couldn’t do it. Once he included Lu Xingye in his thoughts, his calculations stalled.

Thinking of this, Lyss helplessly closed his eyes, as if to divert his eyes, he opened his eyes to look at the water, and then he saw his legs below the surface of the water, as well as certain traces on the inside of his thighs.

Lyss froze for a moment, and after returning to his senses, he subconsciously braced his legs, and the water he brought with him made a subtle watery sound.

Having gotten up in a hurry this morning, coupled with Lin Lang tapping on the door outside, Lyss had only looked at the state of his upper body in the mirror. He was completely unaware that Lu Xingye had left so many marks between his legs as well… So many blush-inducing marks.

Originally, Lyss wanted to divert his attention, but he didn’t realize that this glance had messed up his heart even more.

There are some things that can’t be changed, such as a puppy’s habit of leaving marks everywhere, or the fondness that some people can’t hide no matter how tough they are.

For a moment, it was as if Lyss was back in the same state as last night, but Lyss’s emotions were now more restrained and calm than last night’s joy mixed with uncertainty.

Although he still didn’t understand how Lu Xingye had survived, he gradually understood the reason why the other party treated him so well.

But understanding doesn’t mean he is willing to accept it, Lyss has always been a straightforward person, and it’s the same when it comes to his feelings, he likes Lu Xingye’s hot and straightforward love for himself, and doesn’t like the other party’s presumptuousness.

Since the other party thought that Lin Lang was the child he had with someone else, he could of course just slam Lin Lang’s DNA certificate in the other party’s face, Lyss didn’t want to do that.

Amidst the water vapor, Lyss looked to his fingertips that were hung with water droplets.

Some approaches treat the symptoms rather than the root of the problem, wolfhounds need to be tamed from the ground up.

Since he said he loved him and Lu Xingye didn’t believe him, wouldn’t listen to any explanation, wouldn’t even tell him what had happened in five years, it was necessary that the misbehaving mad dog be punished.

Lyss stood up abruptly and casually picked up the nearby bath towel and walked out of the bathroom.

Standing in front of the sink, halfway through rubbing his hair in the mirror, he suddenly heard a knock at the door.

Lyss casually hung the towel on the side, raised his feet and walked out of the bedroom and pulled open the door.

Seeing the visitor, he held his arms and raised his eyes, “Something wrong?”

The other party did not say a word, the hot kiss suddenly pressed down, Lyss subconsciously wanted to hide, but was buckled around the waist and brought into the arms, he frowned and ordered, “Close the door…”

Lu Xingye gave a disgruntled “tsk” and slammed the door closed with his backhand, making a loud noise, “Bang…!”

Lyss’ pupils suddenly shrunk, subconsciously looking towards Lin Lang’s bedroom, just as his head was twisted over, he was twisted back by someone pinching his chin.

He immediately pressed the person’s shoulder and said, “Let go… Lin Lang…!”

Lu Xingye rather disgruntledly pressed him against the door, and a kiss with a punitive nature directly fell.

His lips and teeth were forcefully pried open, his tongue was sucked to the point of numbness. Lyss’ back was pressed against the door, his body was so soft that he couldn’t stop himself from starting to slide down. Then his waist was again being held in a deadly grip, and the heat of a hand scalded the side of Lyss’ waist through his clothes.

“Mommy…” Lyss’s voice rang out from the bedroom with sleepiness, “What’s wrong?”

Lyss shuddered and violently pushed Lu Xingye on top of him, Lu Xingye was caught off guard and almost bit his tongue when he pushed him.

Lyss was afraid that Lin Lang would come out at this time, he quickly raised his hand and wiped the liquid from the corner of his mouth, softly leaned against the door and pretended to be calm, “It’s still early, baby, continue to sleep.”

“… Okay.” The little girl softly said, and then twisted her head and went back to sleep.

Hearing the bedroom once again fall into silence, Lyss somewhat inconspicuously paused for a moment, and then turned his head with his usual expression, looking at Lu Xingye, with an atmosphere that had clearly cooled down surrounding him.

“… What’s this madness again?” Lyss deliberately coldly lowered his eyes.

His current coldness was a huge contrast to the gentleness with which he treated Lin Lang just now, and Lu Xingye was so jealous and sour that he could barely suppress his fire.

“It’s obvious that you could have pushed me away from the start, but you had to hold back until now.” He couldn’t help but snicker and said, “What is this? Some kind of cheating widow game that the Chief wants to play?”

That wasn’t exactly a nice thing to say, and Lyss glanced up at Lu Xingye.

The wolfhound, who had finished his harsh words, suddenly felt a bit weak, and pretended to calmly avert his head.

In the next second, his eyes suddenly widened – Lyss tugged on his ear and pulled him in front of him, raising his head and kissing his lips, which were slightly opened in surprise.

But the mercy offered the gods is only for a moment, before Lu Xingye had time to savor it, Lyss suddenly pushed him away, and then raised his golden eyes to give him a nonchalant look, “If you don’t want to, then get lost.”

After saying this, without even returning his head, he turned around and walked into the bedroom.

Lu Xingye froze in place for three seconds before coming back to his senses, a hot and burning sensation suddenly came from his chest, it’s hard to say whether he was jealous of the deceased husband of Lyss’s that he had never met, or whether he hated himself for not saying what he wanted to say just now.

But no matter what, at least one thing can not be denied – he will still follow Lyss, regardless of the memories.

Lyss had just walked into the bedroom and reached to close the door with his backhand when it was jammed hard in place. He looked sideways slightly, and before he could say anything, a stinging pain with a moistening sensation came to his neck.

He frowned slightly, making a move to push the person behind him, and just as his hand hit the shoulder of the person behind him, he was carried up by someone around his waist.

The bedroom door slammed shut abruptly, without making a noise this time, but Lyss had no time to praise the other man’s progress before he was thrown onto the bed in a heap.

Lyss’ entire body was trapped between the bed and couch, and was kissed by Lu Xingye pressing his shoulders.

Compared to last night’s pandering, today’s Lyss acted extraordinarily cold, so cold that Lu Xingye was angry and mad, and vaguely aggravated.

Lyss had the intention to cure him, and treated the situation as if he did not see his aggression. He raised his hand and bit his fingers, he was still unwilling to let any sounds out.

Lu Xingye saw the situation even more aggrieved, holding Lyss’s wrist directly pressed on the head of the bed, forcefully ordered, “Out loud.”

The golden eyes with watery intent looked at him without a trace of emotion, “Do it or get out…”

Lu Xingye’s eyes widened incredulously, seemingly in complete disbelief of his own ears, and after coming back to his senses, he blurted out, “You didn’t have this kind of attitude in my bed before.”

“You said it yourself, you’re just a fake…” Lyss said with a hint of a nasal voice, but the words came out with a coldness, “Do you think you’re worthy of comparing yourself to him?”

Those who were favored were often emboldened, and it wasn’t until the gods deliberately withdrew their mercy that he realized how ungrateful his once favored self was.

Lu Xingye was angry and aggrieved, his eyes reddened for a moment, and he didn’t say another word for the rest of the day.

An unexpected storm came and Lyss slowly closed his golden eyes. In the bottom of his heart he “tsked” with anger at him acting like this. Lu Xingye did not dare to open his mouth to explain and resolve the problem, so it seems that next time, we will have to use stronger medicine.

The consequence of deliberately angering the puppy is that it was already four o’clock in the afternoon when Lyss opened his eyes again.

Lyss quietly looked at the ceiling for a few seconds, and after feeling the cleanliness and dryness of his body, he sat up with a calm expression. Not surprisingly, he did not see Lu Xingye beside him.

He wasn’t panicked or in a hurry, naturally a wolfhound couldn’t be tamed as easily as a puppy, and to be so angry but still know to give him a bath before he left seemed to be somewhat fruitful.

What Lyss didn’t expect was that he had just stepped out of the bedroom after changing his clothes when he heard a cautious yet familiar voice coming from the living room, “Miss Lin Lang… Have you ever thought about finding yourself a stepfather or something?”

Lyss couldn’t help but show some barely visible smirk after a pause, it was his miscalculation, no matter how much he flashed his fangs, it was still just a bluff. Whether it was a wolf or a canine, it was still his pup at the end of the day.

Author’s Message:

Trying hard to be a stepfather to his own daughter is a pretty bombastic approach…