Work Text:
All his life, Sheng Shaoyou had been convinced that there were only two kinds of Omegas.
The first kind wanted money, and the second wanted attention.
Some wanted expensive gifts; others wanted constant reassurance that they were the most beautiful person in the world. In practice, the two types differed far less than they themselves liked to admit.
Sheng Shaoyou had grown so accustomed to such behavior that he usually stopped paying attention to it after the first few dates. After a few weeks—at most, a few months—he would lose interest, they would lose patience, and whatever relationship they had would end just as painlessly as it had begun.
Every Omega who entered his life was, in one way or another, remarkably similar to the last.
Which was why, when he returned home one Friday after a fourteen-hour workday, the only thing Sheng Shaoyou expected was silence.
Maybe a cup of tea, if Chen Pinming was merciful enough to do one more thing for him that day.
He was definitely planning to take a shower. He could feel how badly he needed one.
Other than that, he hoped for eight uninterrupted hours of sleep. Exactly as much as his body required before he would be capable of facing the idiots he had to work with all over again tomorrow.
Fate, however, had other plans.
The door opened before he could even reach for the handle.
“Welcome home.”
Sheng Shaoyou froze.
Hua Yong stood in the doorway with a wide smile on his lips, looking almost as though he had just won some sort of Most Perfect Spouse of the Year competition.
He was wearing a pale, soft sweater that slipped slightly off one shoulder, revealing the mark that had adorned the back of his neck for months now—and one Hua Yong was exceedingly proud of.
A bonding mark. A mating bite. An Alpha’s mark.
People called it different things.
The fact remained unchanged: from the moment that mark had appeared on his skin, from the moment Sheng Shaoyou had marked him as his mate, Hua Yong had been bound to him for life.
And Hua Yong took every possible opportunity to show it off and remind everyone around them that it was him.
That he had become Sheng Shaoyou’s Omega.
That he would be his partner forever.
From the kitchen came the smell of freshly cooked rice, roasted meat, and something sweet and vanilla-scented, and the tension lodged between the S-class Alpha’s shoulders immediately began to melt away.
“Come here. Let me take your coat.”
Hua Yong raised his hands toward him.
Sheng Shaoyou froze halfway through taking a step.
“What…?”
“I said I’ll take your coat off.”
Hua Yong tilted his head slightly as he repeated himself, looking almost unbearably adorable in that moment.
“I heard you…” Sheng Shaoyou said.
He couldn’t decide what words were supposed to come next, so he simply fell silent without ever finishing the sentence.
His brain was working far too slowly after so many hours spent at the office. For a moment, he had apparently even forgotten exactly who was supposed to be waiting for him at home.
Hua Yong stepped toward him, and Sheng Shaoyou instinctively opened his arms, already prepared for the inevitable embrace.
Hua Yong never denied himself a hug.
He quickly collided with the Alpha’s chest and inhaled his scent. The Omega’s nose wrinkled slightly when he noticed the dozens of unfamiliar smells clinging to his Alpha’s shirt.
Hua Yong pushed Sheng Shaoyou away just enough to pull him farther inside at the same time, and the door clicked shut behind them.
“Well? Why are you still dressed? Hurry up, dinner is waiting.”
Hua Yong waved impatiently at him.
Sheng Shaoyou smiled faintly and obediently followed his mate’s orders.
Hua Yong was adorable when he tried to be angry.
“Hua Yong… are you feeling all right?”
He finally asked when the Omega took the coat from his hands and hung it neatly by the door before kneeling in front of him.
Hua Yong untied his shoes, helped him slip his feet out of them, then placed them neatly side by side against the wall.
“I’ve never felt better.”
Hua Yong smiled softly, his eyes narrowing with obvious satisfaction.
That did not reassure Sheng Shaoyou.
Not even slightly.
Quite the opposite.
He had the distinct impression that there was something he wasn’t understanding, some crucial piece of information he had somehow missed, though he couldn’t tell whether it was because he hadn’t been paying enough attention or because his exhausted brain was simply refusing to process whatever was happening.
Eventually, he gave up.
He followed Hua Yong into the dining room, where a place had already been prepared for him at the table.
The food was beautifully arranged and smelled incredible, but Sheng Shaoyou frowned when he noticed there was only one place setting.
One plate.
One pair of chopsticks.
At Hua Yong’s instruction, he sat at the head of the table.
His beloved Omega did not sit beside him.
Instead, Hua Yong settled on the floor beside his legs and rested his head against Sheng Shaoyou’s knees, humming quietly while a thoroughly confused Sheng Shaoyou ate his dinner.
At one point, Sheng Shaoyou was almost convinced Hua Yong had fallen asleep.
But the moment he finished eating and put down his chopsticks, the Omega immediately sprang to his feet, cleared away the dishes, and dragged him toward the bathroom, where a bathtub full of steaming hot water was already waiting for him.
Once again, Hua Yong did everything.
He undressed Sheng Shaoyou and practically forced him into the bath.
The hot water worked wonders on his exhausted, tense muscles, but even as his body gradually relaxed, his mind returned to working at full speed, desperately attempting to understand what exactly was happening.
There were several possible explanations for Hua Yong’s behavior.
He could have forgotten some anniversary.
Or perhaps it was Hua Yong’s birthday, something Sheng Shaoyou regularly forgot when work consumed too much of his attention.
Maybe today was International Make Your Alpha’s Dreams Come True Day and Hua Yong had enthusiastically decided to participate.
Perhaps he had lost a bet.
Or maybe he had simply missed Sheng Shaoyou terribly and wanted his presence and attention.
Sheng Shaoyou had absolutely no idea which possibility was the most likely.
And frankly…
He was too tired to figure it out.
He decided he would seek professional advice as soon as he had gotten some sleep.
+++
Aside from Hua Yong himself, Sheng Shaoyou’s best source of information regarding Hua Yong was his assistant—his loyal support in manipulation, business management, and obtaining information Hua Yong wanted but could not acquire through any remotely legal means.
Chang Yu.
“Chang Yu, tell me honestly…” Sheng Shaoyou began the following morning, the moment he left the apartment after yet another display of Hua Yong’s strange behavior.
Not that he was claiming it had been unpleasant.
Hua Yong’s attention had been one hundred percent focused on Sheng Shaoyou.
He had been practically perfect.
So affectionate. So sweet.
The best wife Sheng Shaoyou could ever possibly possess.
He simply wanted to understand why.
“Has Hua Yong hit his head recently?”
Secretary Chang, sitting beside Sheng Shaoyou in the car on their way to ShengFang at Sheng Shaoyou’s explicit request, merely raised one eyebrow.
“No more than usual,” the Alpha replied calmly.
“Then why is he acting so…”
Sheng Shaoyou stopped halfway through the sentence, suddenly uncertain whether he really wanted to disclose details of their private life even to Hua Yong’s assistant.
“Oh.”
The man froze for a moment.
Then fell silent.
Which naturally captured Sheng Shaoyou’s attention even more.
Before he could ask anything, however, Chang Yu sighed with the weary resignation of a man who had spent years watching disasters unfold and had long since stopped caring.
“He discovered a new forum thread.”
“What forum?” Sheng Shaoyou asked, bewildered.
“A forum for… hmm…”
Chang Yu hesitated.
“Stay-at-home Omegas.”
Sheng Shaoyou felt his eyelid twitch.
“Excuse me?”
His voice dropped into a low, dangerous register.
“Well, technically speaking, Mr. Hua is a stay-at-home Omega. He found the subject extremely interesting. Apparently, he decided to educate himself.”
Chang Yu shrugged lightly.
“Tell me everything.”
Sheng Shaoyou’s demand was immediate.
“He’s been watching tutorials since six in the morning. Starting with One Hundred Ways to Make Your Alpha Happy, How to Build the Perfect Nest for Welcoming a Healthy Baby, and Fifty Recipes That Will Make Your Alpha Fall Even More Deeply in Love with You, all the way to Is Kissing Your Husband Every Day Enough to Extend His Lifespan, or Is Morning Horizontal Exercise a Better Path to Longevity?”
Sheng Shaoyou slowly closed his eyes.
He sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“I understand.”
Another sigh escaped him as he began mentally preparing himself for whatever Hua Yong might throw at him until he finally grew bored of pretending to be the perfect wife.
+++
That evening, when Sheng Shaoyou returned home, he quickly realized that there was absolutely nothing he could have done to prepare himself for what Hua Yong had waiting for him.
His perfect wife…
After Hua Yong once again ambushed him at the door, removing the coat from his shoulders and the shoes from his feet, Sheng Shaoyou stepped into the living room.
And saw what his Omega had prepared for him that day.
A freshly arranged blanket lay across the sofa, still warm and saturated with Hua Yong’s pheromones.
Soft pillows had been placed beside it.
On the coffee table stood a cup of warm tea.
His favorite.
Beside it was a small plate of cookies—far too sweet for Sheng Shaoyou to sincerely enjoy, but they were the same delicate butter cookies Hua Yong used to bake for him before they became mates.
Therefore, Sheng Shaoyou now considered them his favorite cookies.
Looking at everything in front of him, Sheng Shaoyou felt his heart perform a somersault inside his chest.
“Hua Yong?”
He called softly.
He knew his Omega couldn’t be far away.
“Yes?”
Hua Yong appeared beside him almost immediately, as though he had simply been waiting to be summoned.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“What is going on?”
Sheng Shaoyou reached for him, and Hua Yong eagerly fell into his arms like a magnet being pulled toward metal.
“Nothing is going on,” the Omega assured him softly.
“Hua Yong.”
Sheng Shaoyou pressed gently.
“Nothing.”
Hua Yong stubbornly buried his nose against Sheng Shaoyou’s chest.
“Tell me.”
Sheng Shaoyou insisted.
“I just…”
Hua Yong began, then fell silent for a moment.
“I want you to come home and feel like someone is waiting for you.”
The entire speech Sheng Shaoyou had prepared about Hua Yong’s unusual behavior—and about how Sheng Shaoyou did not expect him to behave like some perfect housewife—vanished from his mind.
Instead, he fell silent.
Because Hua Yong wasn’t joking.
He was looking at Sheng Shaoyou with absolute sincerity.
As though he genuinely believed this was his responsibility.
As though it were the most obvious thing in the world, something he should have been doing all along.
As though he didn’t understand that, to a man who had spent his entire life surrounded by coldness, business deals, and obligations, the simple words I was waiting for you sounded more intimate than any declaration of love ever could.
“I noticed you’ve been tired lately…” Hua Yong continued more quietly. “You come home late. You skip meals. You fall asleep in the car, or on the sofa with documents still in your hands. So I thought…”
The Omega gave a small shrug and lifted his eyes to meet Sheng Shaoyou’s.
“…that I could take care of you, the way a wife should.”
He paused.
“I can be your home.”
Sheng Shaoyou fell in love for the second time.
Perhaps even harder than he had the first.
His Omega was perfect.
He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Hua Yong’s forehead.
Hua Yong smiled in satisfaction, hearing no protest whatsoever from Sheng Shaoyou.