ACBAM 29: Silence

Su Shijin was seeing this side of Gu Weiyang for the first time.

In his memory, Gu Weiyang was either calm and gentlemanly in a suit, or casually handsome and laid-back in leisurewear. No matter the look, he always seemed mild-tempered and easygoing.

This was the first time Su Shijin had ever seen such a pained and twisted expression on Gu Weiyang’s face.

“…Why is he like this?”

After a long silence, Su Shijin finally moved to the glass wall. Just as his fingertips were about to touch it, he pulled back, restraining himself, and asked the nurse, “Do people usually show these symptoms when they lose control during their susceptibility period?”

The nurse shook her head. “Mr. Gu’s condition is quite unique. It’s not simply a case of losing control during susceptibility.”

Su Shijin thought of the message Tan Zhao had sent yesterday. “He still can’t take suppressants?”

The nurse shook her head again. “Suppressants currently have no effect on Mr. Gu.”

“Sedatives aren’t an option either? Then he has to keep going like this until he collapses from exhaustion?” Su Shijin frowned deeply.

The nurse nodded. “Yes. Based on the examination, Mr. Gu’s condition is unusual right now. It’s not recommended to administer any medication, in case the pheromones triggered by the susceptibility period get blocked and can’t be released, which would only increase the pressure on his glands.”

The pressure on his glands…

Su Shijin thought of Gu Weiyang’s damaged glands and wondered whether this loss of control during his susceptibility period would worsen the condition.

“Do you have Mr. Gu’s medical records? I’d like to take a look,” Su Shijin asked.

The nurse shook her head apologetically. “According to the archive room’s policy, medical records can only be accessed by the patient with their ID.”

The man inside the room was tightly restrained, bound to the bed by straps with a bit of elasticity. Several times he struggled so violently that the straps stretched to their limit, nearly snapping, only to yank him back down hard against the bed.

His bloodshot eyes were locked on the glass wall, but his gaze wasn’t fixed on a single point. Instead, it kept moving back and forth across the surface.

Su Shijin looked into his eyes and asked, “He can’t see us?”

The nurse nodded. “One-way glass. We can see him, but he can’t see us.”

“What about sound?” Su Shijin asked.

One of the medical staff monitoring Gu Weiyang reached out and pressed a button at his words. Gu Weiyang’s hoarse screams immediately echoed out from inside the glass room.

The medical staff turned on the microphone on the table and angled it slightly toward Su Shijin, saying, “If you have anything you want to say, you can speak to him through the mic. But given Mr. Gu’s current condition, he might not be able to take in what you’re saying.”

Su Shijin pressed his lips together, then shook his head. “Forget it. I don’t have anything to say to him…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the man struggling inside the room suddenly fell still, his eyes staring intently in this direction.

Both nurses froze for a moment.

The nurse who had brought Su Shijin in glanced instinctively at the time. “Mr. Gu is awake? That can’t be right—it should be at least another half hour.”

Just as she finished speaking, the man in the room gave another restless struggle.

“No, the data shows that the pheromone levels in the room are still above the threshold, with no sign of decreasing,” said the nurse monitoring the readings, thinking for a moment. “Maybe he’s just tired?”

After all, no matter how much stamina an alpha has, Mr. Gu has been struggling for a long time.

Honestly, the way Mr. Gu was struggling, he nearly snapped those restraints several times. Just watching it made their hearts pound with fear and they couldn’t even imagine what would happen if he were actually set loose.

The man in the room furrowed his brows and tilted his head slightly. After a few seconds of inexplicable stillness, he began struggling again.

Su Shijin couldn’t make sense of the data on the screen, but he was worried about Gu Weiyang’s condition, so he could only ask aloud, “What’s going on?”

The moment he spoke, the man in the room fell quiet again, his slightly reddened eyes dazed as he stared at the glass wall.

Then, after a while, Gu Weiyang started struggling again, as if trying to get off the bed, his eyes fixed persistently in the direction of the glass wall.

The two medical staff immediately came up with a theory. “Mr. Gu… is he reacting to your voice?”

“Huh? What?” Su Shijin found it hard to believe. “No way.”

But as soon as he spoke again, Gu Weiyang quieted down once more in the room, tilting his head slightly as if he were genuinely listening to him.

The two medical staff: …

Su Shijin: …

Wait, was he really calming down just because he spoke?

Su Shijin cautiously leaned toward the microphone and called softly, “Mr. Gu?”

The man in the room stirred slightly, giving a faint response.

The nurse beside him widened her eyes in surprise. Clearly, this was her first time encountering something like this too.

“Call Director Luo to come take a look.”

The medical staff monitoring the data immediately called Director Luo, and reminded Su Shijin, “Please keep talking to him a bit more—I’ll record the data during this period.”

Su Shijin opened his mouth, but for the first time, being urged to talk to Mr. Gu left him not knowing what to say.

After holding it in for a while, Su Shijin finally managed to say, “Mr. Gu, it’s me, Su Shijin.”

Gu Weiyang reacted to the sound, forcing himself into a sideways position facing the glass wall. Then, with his eyes open, he continued to stare in that direction.

Su Shijin knew perfectly well that Mr. Gu couldn’t see him, and yet he still had the distinct feeling that the man was meeting his gaze through the glass. His Adam’s apple shifted slightly as he quietly said, “I came to check on you. Are you feeling any better?”

Gu Weiyang, of course, didn’t give any response. Judging from the data being monitored, he wasn’t feeling well at all. His pheromones were raging wildly through the enclosed room, his glands on the verge of bursting, and the physical discomfort had his entire body tensing with strain. If it weren’t for the restraint suit holding him down, he might’ve even resorted to self-harm.

Prompted by the nurse, Su Shijin had no choice but to keep talking to Gu Weiyang as if speaking to himself. “When you’re awake, could you let me see your medical records? Seeing you locked in here without knowing anything… It makes me uneasy.”

Inside the room, Gu Weiyang blinked, as if he had heard what was said. His gaze suddenly wavered.

Su Shijin racked his brain and said, “I still have work this afternoon, I’ll be heading back soon.”

The alpha shifted in frustration, his bloodshot eyes stared fiercely at the glass wall, even his breathing grew heavier.

The nurse quickly interjected, “Don’t tell him you’re leaving.”

Su Shijin took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm, and lied with a straight face, “Alright, then I won’t leave later.”

The alpha, satisfied, quieted down.

Su Shijin: …

He pointed at the alpha in the room, a bit in disbelief. “This is what you call not understanding speech?”

Su Shijin couldn’t help but think that even in a normal state, Gu Weiyang might not be as straightforward as he was right now.

Just then, the isolation door opened, and Director Luo entered with two nurses, cutting off Su Shijin’s question.

“What’s going on?” Director Luo was a man in his forties, wearing glasses and not particularly tall. When he saw Su Shijin, he instinctively gave a small nod. “And this is?”

“Mr. Gu’s significant other, Mr. Su,” replied the nurse who had brought Su Shijin in.

“Mr. Su, hello, hello,” Director Luo quickly extended his hand in greeting.

Since Su Shijin had trouble with his legs, he remained seated in his wheelchair and returned the handshake lightly. “Hello.”

Knowing Director Luo had come for Gu Weiyang, Su Shijin moved back a little to give them space.

The two nurses from earlier explained the situation to Director Luo in detail. Director Luo glanced at the data on the screen, raising an eyebrow slightly. “The pheromone levels haven’t dropped, and yet he’s conscious?”

“Not exactly conscious,” the nurse monitoring the data motioned toward the room. “If he can’t hear Mr. Su’s voice, he goes right back to how he was.”

Dr. Luo looked at Gu Weiyang, who had grown agitated again, and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, as if something had just occurred to him. He turned to Su Shijin. “You’re Mr. Gu’s significant other?”

Su Shijin nodded, now able to accept that title with relative calm.

Dr. Luo nodded in understanding. “Were you the one who did the pheromone compatibility test with Mr. Gu a few days ago?”

Su Shijin hesitated. “If he didn’t do it with anyone else, then I suppose it was me…”

Su Shijin’s words were transmitted into the room through the open microphone, making the alpha on the bed widen his eyes, as if he wanted to say something but his mind seemed too foggy to form the words.

Dr. Luo chuckled. “If that’s the case, then Mr. Gu reacting to your voice makes perfect sense.”

Su Shijin was puzzled. “Because of our compatibility rate?”

But with such a thick layer of glass between them, what use could compatibility rates possibly be?

Su Shijin hadn’t caught even the faintest scent of alpha since he came in. Whatever material the glass was made of, it completely blocked everything. Honestly, it felt like he wouldn’t even need the suppressant collar around his neck.

To his surprise, Director Luo shook his head at his question. “No—but the fact that it’s you is what matters.”

Su Shijin grew even more confused by Director Luo’s vague response, but the director seemed to be in a very good mood. “Would you like to go in and see Mr. Gu?”

The nurse beside him immediately looked alarmed. “Director Luo, Mr. Su is an omega. The pheromone concentration in that room is too high, if it affects him…”

Director Luo waved his hand repeatedly, cutting the nurse off. “I know, I’ve taken all of that into account, that’s why I’m asking for Mr. Su’s opinion.”

He looked at Su Shijin like he was looking at a brand-new research report. “To be honest, letting you in is also a way for me to gather more data.”

“The pheromone concentration in the room is very high. Even though you’re wearing a neckband suppressant, Mr. Su, your body may still be affected due to being an omega. If you don’t want to take the risk of entering a room with such high alpha pheromone levels, that’s completely fine. You can stay here and keep talking to Mr. Gu.”

“It’s just that the data we collect that way might not be as conclusive.”

In the last sentence, Director Luo pretended to lower his voice as if talking to himself but Su Shijin heard it loud and clear.

Director Luo watched Su Shijin’s expression carefully and offered reassurance. “It’s totally fine if you don’t want to go in, really. It’s just that if you did, it might make it easier for me to observe Mr. Gu’s monitoring data. Of course, I don’t mean to pressure you in any way. Or you could simply come a bit closer and talk to him more from here—that works too…”

“Stop.” Su Shijin raised a hand to cut Director Luo off, feeling a headache coming on from all the talking.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and said, “I took a suppressant last night. I shouldn’t be affected by Mr. Gu in the short term.”

Director Luo lit up with surprise. “If that’s the case, then it’s even better.”

Su Shijin got the message. Director Luo kept saying, “No pressure, it’s fine, whatever works for you.”

But what he actually meant was: Go in. Go in. Go in.

Su Shijin glanced at the alpha inside the room, let out a helpless sigh, and took out his phone to request leave from work.

In just the few days since he’d met Gu Weiyang, Su Shijin had completely lost count of how many times he had taken time off.

For someone like him, who loved his work, it was practically unthinkable.

He was the type who, even with a swollen ankle that couldn’t touch the ground, would still be planning to go in to work the next day.

“Alright.”

Su Shijin finished requesting leave, put his phone back in his pocket, and looked up at Director Luo. “I’ll go in, open the door.”