Lan Bo soaked in the seawater with obvious interest, watching Bai Chunian deal with the younger trainees.
The waters around Aphid Island were free of pollution. The clear seabed and sparkling ocean put him in a pleasant mood. Humans who treated the sea kindly rarely earned his disgust.
Eventually the trainees dispersed, leaving only Bai Chunian standing on the shore.
Lan Bo blew him a kiss from afar, letting the sea breeze lift his hair.
With only human genes and technology, it would be difficult to create such an appearance. The Alpha’s bone structure seemed delicately sculpted. His flawless pale skin faintly revealed thin veins beneath it. His sharp eyelids layered slightly at the upturned corners of his eyes.
When he smiled, sometimes he pressed his thin lips together, sometimes revealing a small canine tooth.
Such perfection could not compare to those human children.
The merman admired his own creation without restraint. A child he had personally nurtured was like a treasured work of art he could never tire of. Though every infant of the merfolk tribe received his blessing, this was the first time he had personally raised a child—watching him grow—and he was already eager to take him back to show the others.
A wave pushed the merman onto the sand, leaving him stranded on the beach.
Lan Bo tilted his head back. Water dripped from the tips of his golden hair onto his shoulders, and a layer of warm sunlight covered his body.
Bai Chunian bent down and lifted him into his arms. He grabbed the camouflage jacket hanging beside a beach umbrella and wrapped it around the merman’s tail before quickly carrying him toward the single dormitory building.
“Does my tail make you feel ashamed?” Lan Bo asked while wrapping his arms around Bai Chunian’s neck, his voice sounding slightly hurt.
“No, I…” Bai Chunian lowered his head, the brim of his cap hiding his eyes. “I just don’t want others to see it.”
“Why?” Lan Bo lifted the brim of his cap. “I want the whole world to know that you’re my randi. I saw a program on the television at your house—reporters interviewing celebrities. The celebrities introduced their brood pouches, and the audience was very happy, laughing and crying.”
That particular word stabbed Bai Chunian in the heart again.
He said nothing, continuing forward in silence.
Lan Bo suddenly stopped talking.
“You really hate the word ‘brood pouch,’ don’t you?”
Bai Chunian forced a crooked smile, the amusement in his eyes cold.
“What do you think?”
“I discussed it with that little dog,” Lan Bo said, looking troubled as well. “He told me that in your language, ‘brood pouch’ has no emotional meaning.”
Lan Bo hugged Bai Chunian’s neck comfortingly.
“A brood pouch with feelings… what word would that be?”
Bai Chunian finally couldn’t take it anymore. Supporting the omega’s hips with one hand, he used the other to grip Lan Bo’s chin and force his mouth shut.
“I’m begging you,” he said through clenched teeth. “Can you stop bringing that up?”
The instructors’ single dormitories at the special training base were all standalone villas. By this time, most instructors without evening classes had already returned to rest or grade assignments. An omega with a kangaroo gland, leaning against his garden balcony and sipping wine, casually looked down and saw Bai Chunian carrying a blond, blue-eyed beauty back with him.
“Holy hell,” he muttered, quickly snapping a photo and sending it to the instructors’ group chat.
Combat Instructor – Dai Ning: “【Image】Brother Chu finally figured it out! And he went straight for a foreign girl!”
The previously silent group chat exploded.
Technical Instructor – K: “【Tap to view original image】”
He enhanced the blurry zoomed photo into a high-definition close-up and sent it back. Every eyelash on the foreign beauty in Bai Chunian’s arms could be seen clearly.
Sniping Instructor – Lorenz: “Old K, didn’t you say hackers never edit photos? Last week’s group photo made my face look huge and you didn’t fix it.”
Technical Instructor – K: “I don’t edit ugly people.”
Profiling Instructor – Zheng Yue: “Tsk. From Brother Chu’s micro-expressions, you can tell he’s probably had a crush for a long time but wasn’t sure if the other person liked him back, so he didn’t dare confess. The blond omega is even more obvious—‘I love you’ is written all over his face. Makes sense though. Plenty of little omegas and alphas at the training base have always had crushes on Brother Chu.”
Tactics Instructor – Red Crab: “You’re right. Every one of them looks terrified of him on the surface, but the moment he leaves they all deflate. Damn Stockholm syndrome cases. This beauty showing up is a good thing—let those little brats give up their fantasies and focus on studying.”
The instructors’ chat grew chaotic, while Bai Chunian remained completely unaware. He unlocked his door, carried Lan Bo inside, set him in the bathtub, and filled it with cool water so he could soak. He washed away the seawater and sand from Lan Bo’s body.
With his back to him, Bai Chunian silently searched for something in the mirrored cabinet above the sink.
Lan Bo’s tail slowly slid out of the tub and reached toward him. “Turn around. Let me look at you.”
He watched as the alpha took a deep breath and turned, his hands hanging by his sides.
Lan Bo met Bai Chunian’s burning gaze. In those dark eyes there was nothing in the world except him.
Bai Chunian knelt down, lifted the tail resting on the edge of the tub, and gently pressed a kiss to it without any hint of lust.
Lan Bo froze for a moment. The tall, handsome alpha before him gradually overlapped with the reckless little boy he once knew.
After coming down from the operating table, Lan Bo never saw the small alpha who had once clasped his fingers again. It wasn’t until the researchers placed him in a breeding enclosure one day that they met again.
Back then Bai Chunian was thin and frail. His hair and eyelashes were white, his eyes blue, and he still hadn’t fully shed the features of a young white lion cub.
He looked fluffy, lying lazily in the bed barefoot, quietly airing out the pink pads on his feet.
When the researchers brought the omega in, he didn’t become aroused like other adult alphas. Instead, he struggled to shift aside and made space so the omega could lie down and rest comfortably.
The little lion had been injured during daytime training. When he moved, a smear of blood stained the white sheets. Worried Lan Bo might dislike it, he carefully tried to rub it away with his sleeve.
Lan Bo raised his tail proudly. The little lion didn’t understand why, but happily kissed the tip of it anyway.
To Lan Bo, that gesture symbolized submission and respect. Ever since he had been dragged ashore, not a single person had shown proper respect to a fallen king.
This small cat was the most special of all.
Bai Chunian buried his head in Lan Bo’s neck hollow. The two of them tumbled onto the wet bathroom floor together. Their bodies collided, accidentally knocking a glass from the edge of the sink and shattering it. Bai Chunian pulled Lan Bo tightly into his arms as glass fragments cut irregular wounds across his smooth shoulder before slowly healing. Blood mixed with water across the slick tiles.
Lan Bo braced his hands on Bai Chunian’s shoulders. His fish tail explored and wrapped around one of Bai Chunian’s legs, slowly tightening until the alpha had no choice but to spread his legs.
The long tail gleamed faintly under the reflection of the water covering the floor, like an electrified rope binding the alpha’s body. Lan Bo liked this gesture—in his understanding, it represented desire and possession.
“mitub obe?”
Lan Bo rested his chin on Bai Chunian’s shoulder. The tip of his tail slid teasingly into the alpha’s leather belt, gradually moving deeper, slipping beneath his boxer briefs as if searching for something familiar.
“No,” Bai Chunian answered.
His face remained calm, but the tense veins rising along his neck betrayed the strain he was under.
Suddenly Lan Bo shuddered.
Something had accidentally scraped his sensitive tail tip. It wasn’t serious, but the sudden sting made him gasp.
“What was that?” Lan Bo’s eyes widened. “It wasn’t like that before.”
“I grew up,” Bai Chunian said quietly, leaning back against the cold bathroom tiles. Shadows from the light trembled across his lowered lashes.
“Male lions are like that.”
“That’s why I never touched you.”
“I was afraid you’d get hurt.”