"Excuse me?" Le An got up abruptly, all men looking at him, purely just interested in his anger. "Mr. Qui, what is the meaning of this? And how come GAC could share my confidential info with..." Le An took a breath and halted, very eager to call them "bunch of assholes" but held it.

  Seeing his threatened stature, Mr. Qui smiled and got up, striding towards him slowly. "Mr. Le An, there's nothing to worry about. Your gender info was shared according to the ministry's approval, so there's nothing against the w here."

  "What about my approval? Such disrespect!"

  One of the omegas behind him put a gss of water in front of him. He stared at the water and the omega's bruised hand. The hand was trembling.

  Le An turned to see his face, the so-called devotion was nothing but fear for life.

  "Your second gender confidentiality is at no risk; no person can ever, ever leak it in this room. You do know we are on the same side when it's about your privacy and safety. You are safe. All these gentlemen signed for this cssified information's reservation."

  Mr. Sis Vale interrupted.

  "But I must say, we are mesmerized by how you had the talent to act unaffected by these many pheromones."

  One of the sponsors added, with a strong alpha gaze. "Mr. Qui mentioned that you've been taking regur pheromone exposure exercise with your S-level guard, but I never thought you were this good at it. No visible reaction for straight 5 minutes."

  "Some omegas behind you are even wriggling and secretly rubbing their legs now. Shameful."

  "Yes, how many of us give off pheromones, gentlemen?"

  They counted. "4."

  "No, I also give off a little, that makes 5. Very good."

  "But if we did give much, I wonder how long Mr. Le An could hide it. Can you share with us?"

  "Well, if you sign another paper." Le An contorted, and right after, a few suppressed ughs erupted from the directors' side.

  As Le An took a step back from the table, looking at them with pure disdain, they stopped talking, as if respecting him. But there was an ugly glimmer in their eyes, showing their true color and their instincts.

  "Please don't misunderstand us. None of us can ever think of such disrespect towards you, Mr. Le An, so we pnned to just leave a whiff. But I must confess, as you hide it very well, I felt seduced to give off some more. Haha!"

  "Not only hiding his nature, but he was also hiding his omega beauty. People always adored his eyes, especially, they were called fierce, alpha eyes. But since we learned the shocking truth, looking now from up close... Indeed, a delicate omega. What is your gender rank, Mr. Le An?"

  Le An felt choked as he answered, looking at the man asking, he was the oldest of them, a well-known figure in the logistics and trading industry. There were rumors about him several months ago, about human trafficking. It was dismissed right after. "I guess you already know, sir."

  "B, right? Splendid! A dominant or recessive? If it is not too private?"

  "I think it is too private, sir." Le An looked cold. "And once again, I highly suspect you already know that as well." They were taken aback for a moment, but as Mr. Qui interfered, they continued in whispers.

  Not only a precious guide, but an omega also! B rank, even his gender rank, is quite powerful. Yes, but recessive right? Recessive excites me. Hmm. I wonder... I wonder what scent his pheromones are... Hah, me too, so curious!

  Mr. Qui was right near him now. "Mr. Le An, I know you are surprised... Please sit for a bit and let me expin."

  He was talking as if soothing him, arranging his chair for him again, but Le An was lost, not even listening fully.

  "This experiment will be a gift given to our country by you. Only if you accept, of course. The whole research is well-designed, the researchers are top researchers in the country, and the equipment is high-level. For any harm, do not worry, no such major harm will occur, and you will be compensated. The budget reserved for this research is huge, and success seems highly possible. No need to say, you will also gain your share for participating. For now, you don't need to sign all items. Just the trial phase. You are obligated to attend. So, we will be gd to receive your first sign today. The whole experiment is ministry-approved already. But it will not be shared with the country."

  "I know this sounds as a whole obligatory and already decided thing for you and you have not given have the chance to consider, even..."

  "But, you know, you could be even driven to worst scenarios, if you weren’t a public figure and higher status people were less humanistic. These gentlemen are here to talk to you face to face, and their main goal is nothing but science and public service. So, receiving your sign is crucial to us because we truly meant no harm, and we see you as a person. We want you to know that. And I know that what's beneficial for your country, you would also gdly say yes, even more gdly if it's been offered to you, better of course. But things were shaped this way. Hope you fully understand the situation you're in."

  "And most importantly... by the research ends, no matter what the outcome is, we will retire you right away, since you have already conducted nearly the whole guiding sessions needed for retiring."

  Mr. Qui took the pen and put it in the file. "Deal?" He took the pen again, squeezing it in Le An's left fist.

  Le An gathered his strength, grabbed the pen, and got up.

  Mr. Qui tried to say, "Mr. Le An, your sign is nec-"

  But Le An dodged it. "Before I sign, I want all reted information to be transferred to me today. Including copies of all signed confidentiality papers. Detailed experiment pn, researchers ID, all approval licenses, a copy of this file you just imposed on me, and a copy of the regutions which the Ministry of Health designed secretly for this intervention. Each of them will be transferred to my wyer."

  "You are trembling, dear..." One of the sponsors looked at him with fake worry. "Sit back down, please. Mr. Qui..."

  Mr. Qui, with profound anger written on his face, looked at Le An, trying to maintain himself. This was not their first argument; on the contrary, Mr. Qui and Le An would always argue, but each knew their hand and the power they could hold against each other. Both of them were too valuable to be dismissed or disrespected easily. "Mr. Le An, I assume you were too shocked to hear and understand the situation you're in just now."

  "No, sir, I clearly understood everything you said, and once I discuss it with my team, I will gdly cooperate with the experiment as you said. But to serve very well, I may bring a few things to the table, also. I assume that's what you mean by saying that you value me, respect me, and see me as a person."

  "For this to be a matter of a deal, I also need to roll up my sleeves before I shake hands with all you gentlemen, right?" He looked at the sponsors, not trying to smile at even.

  But all 6 men quickly nodded, as if finding him cute and not seeing any problem letting him act a bit capricious. "Mr. Qui, you must act better for the treasure of the country! Hah, regur meetings with him must've made you accustomed to talking so carelessly with someone this important... That's not good." "Yes. Don't be cruel, Mr. Qui!"

  Soon, one of the directors who kept quiet until this time started to talk, and a sudden discomfort and silence radiated in the room. Le An knew who this was, he was the famous CEO of the country's best health tech company, also had shares in all guiding institutes. He was the man respected highly among guides, he who brought the guide insurance w and regutions properly. He looked at Le An with a composed face. "Mr. Le An, all files will be transferred to you and your wyers' side as you demand. You can add, inquire about, or remove any issue that has been itemized. All items are open to negotiation. This is your right, and we don't want you pressured. And we directors will also always support your best interests."

  One of the sponsors scoffed loudly, few whispers were exchanged. Le An gave a polite bow to the director’s side. "Thank you, Mr. Yan. I appreciate it."

  "Mr. Yan, have your retives from far away come back to the capital yet? I heard you were dealing with gathering your family whole again?" Mr. Sis asked him with an evil look. Mr. Yan maintained his head low, "We prefer keeping public and private matters to be discussed separately as professionals, Mr. Sis."

  Le An looked at the tense room and felt even smaller. He bowed to everyone, now attention shifting from him. Mr. Qui accompanied him to the door. "We are waiting, then, Le An. And please do rush for your decision, although I think there’s nothing for you to decide… Bye."