The two top students produced by No. 1 High School were standing in the lobby of the City Central Hospital, saying that all they wanted was a passing grade. Just a passing grade would be enough.
Jing Ximing felt that as long as you lived long enough, you really would experience just about everything.
“If you two actually manage to get a passing grade, go and give a few of the department heads some good news first,” Jing Ximing suggested. “They’ve been worrying themselves sick over you. But if the result is still 0.001%, then keep your mouths shut.”
“Got it.” Both the Gaokao results and the pheromone compatibility results would be released tomorrow. For the moment, Luo Zhiyu genuinely couldn’t tell which one made him more nervous.
Moments on WeChat—
[Knowing Cicada]: So nervous, so nervous, so nervous. Tomorrow, hurry up and come!
[Tangyuan Plays Hide-and-Seek] commented: Why is a prospective student at U University’s School of Fine Arts nervous? With your grades, what is there to worry about?
[Knowing Cicada] replied to [Tangyuan Plays Hide-and-Seek]: Some things still deserve a little nervousness.
[Little Spicy Strip] commented: What the hell are you nervous about? Stop babbling here and trying to set the mood for everyone.
[Knowing Cicada] replied to [Little Spicy Strip]: No, you don’t understand.
[Luo Sixue] commented: Showing off again? What the hell are you nervous about?
[Knowing Cicada] replied to [Luo Sixue]: ??? My own sister?!
[Orange] liked this post.
“Come on, let’s head back first.” Xiao Yan said goodbye to Jing Ximing with Luo Zhiyu. “After we check the results on the website tomorrow, if our compatibility passes, we’ll come back for the test reports.”
The implication was obvious: if they failed, they wouldn’t even bother collecting the reports. They didn’t care about them anyway.
“Bye, Ah Cao! We’re going home!” Luo Zhiyu waved at Jing Ximing. An Alpha in his rutting period gave off far too much oppressive pheromone pressure when taken outside. It was better to hurry up and put him back at home.
Jing Ximing stood where he was, pondering the meaning of the words we and going home for a long time. By the time he finished thinking, he had completely forgotten why he had come to the hospital in the first place.
Xiao Yan couldn’t drive while in his rutting period, so when they left, it was still the uncle who worked as Xiao Yan’s family driver who came to pick them up.
Xiao Yan was much quieter than usual today. From the moment they left the hospital lobby, ordinary people had instinctively kept their distance from them. Even when Jing Ximing had been talking to them earlier, he had stood two meters away.
Everyone was rather afraid of the green-skinned orange.
But Luo Zhiyu was different.
Alphas in their rutting periods can feel a little lonely.
For some reason, Luo Zhiyu suddenly understood the meaning of that sentence. But Brother Yan wasn’t clingy at all.
When Xiao Yan had asked him for the serial number on his pheromone test report earlier, he had seemed to have something on his mind.
[Knowing Cicada]: I’m sleepy.
[Orange]: Do you want to go home? I can drop you off on the way.
[Knowing Cicada]: Are you kicking me out?
[Knowing Cicada]: Your homework is still in my hands. Think carefully before you speak.
[Orange]: Taotao.
[Orange]: Your brother is currently a green-skinned orange with leaves still attached. I’ll be very fierce. I’m afraid I might hurt you.
[Orange]: You told me before not to be fierce toward you.
Did I? Luo Zhiyu couldn’t remember.
[Knowing Cicada]: How fierce are we talking?
[Knowing Cicada]: Let me assess the situation before I decide whether to run away.
He was only saying that.
Xiao Yan hadn’t abandoned him when he was in his heat, so naturally, Luo Zhiyu wouldn’t run away when Xiao Yan was in his rut. He would stay, whatever the cost.
“I see.”
Xiao Yan put down his phone and moved over, reaching across the back seat to pull Luo Zhiyu toward him.
Caught completely off guard, Luo Zhiyu fell onto Xiao Yan’s lap. Xiao Yan covered his mouth with one hand while gently rubbing the back of his neck with the other. His fingertips pressed against Luo Zhiyu’s gland, and his neatly trimmed nails mimicked the movements of a temporary mark, pressing against a spot that was fragile and sensitive for an Omega.
When they usually roughhoused, Xiao Yan liked expressing affection—or bullying him—in this way. The difference was that he normally didn’t use nearly this much force.
Luo Zhiyu: “……”
“From here, go straight ahead, then turn at the next corner. Once you’ve passed the street where your art studio is, you’ll be home.” Xiao Yan released him. “Do you want to go?”
[Orange]: You know perfectly well that this is only the beginning.
[Orange]: You’ve grown up. Things are different now. Think it over yourself. I won’t make the decision for you.
[Knowing Cicada]: …I know.
Luo Zhiyu retreated to his own side of the seat and leaned against the car window. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Xiao Yan beside him.
[Knowing Cicada]: Alphas in their rutting periods are so pitiful.
[Orange]: I’ve told you never to feel sorry for an Alpha.
[Knowing Cicada]: But you also said you were different from other Alphas. You think I’ve forgotten all those things you lied to me about? Fairy frowning.jpg
[Knowing Cicada]: Enough. Shut up. It’s just a rutting period. What Alpha doesn’t go through this?
Luo Zhiyu’s patience lasted only five minutes. Not a second longer.
“Come sit over here.” Luo Zhiyu patted the space beside him. “Weren’t you being pretty fierce just now?”
[Knowing Cicada]: How about this? Today, I’ll consider it my own fault for asking for it.
[Knowing Cicada]: Do whatever you want.
[Knowing Cicada]: As for whether I’ll get angry, you don’t need to worry about my feelings for the time being.
[Knowing Cicada]: We’ll talk about it later.
Xiao Yan obeyed and moved over.
The peach scent emanating from the little rascal was soothing to an Alpha’s emotions. It made him want to approach, yet at the same time, fear getting too close.
“Brother.” Luo Zhiyu leaned close to Xiao Yan’s ear and whispered, “An Alpha in his rutting period can do whatever he wants.”
Luo Zhiyu had never intended to leave in the first place. The driver didn’t concern himself with their private affairs. After dropping them off at the apartment, he simply drove away.
“Not leaving?” Xiao Yan opened the apartment door.
By then, Luo Zhiyu had already changed his shoes with practiced ease and claimed his usual half of the sofa.
“Luo Zhiyu.”
Luo Zhiyu pulled open a small drawer in the cabinet and seemed to be searching for something.
“I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.” With the noise of the outside world shut out by the door, Xiao Yan’s pheromones felt even more oppressive than before. Luo Zhiyu, sitting on the sofa, visibly shrank back for a moment, though he said nothing. Xiao Yan noticed it all.
He sighed. “You can eat some snacks and watch TV by yourself. I’ll look for some Type-A inhibitors.”
“Oh.”
Luo Zhiyu tossed something into the air. The last three Type-A inhibitors in the house traced a graceful arc, flew halfway across the room, and landed precisely in the trash can beside Xiao Yan’s feet.
Years of throwing things at people had honed Luo Zhiyu’s skills. His aim was absolutely worthy of the moment.
He glanced around, then spread his hands, his expression carrying a hint of innocence beneath his haughty air.
“Are there any inhibitors for Type-A Alphas in this house? I don’t see any.”
Xiao Yan: “……”
If anyone wanted an example of someone who didn’t know when to quit, there was a perfect one right in front of him.
The orange was practically turning into a roasted orange, yet Luo Zhiyu was still adding fuel to the fire.
“The pheromone compatibility rate is so low. What are you afraid of?”
After all, they wouldn’t be able to complete a permanent mark anyway.
Xiao Yan silently stood up and drew the curtains over the floor-to-ceiling windows. The sudden darkness made the person who had been taking liberties with his words freeze for a moment.
Luo Zhiyu: “?”
Accustomed to teasing people and then running away, Luo Zhiyu was just getting ready to make his escape when Xiao Yan lunged at him and pushed him straight down onto the soft sofa.
Without any warning, the Alpha’s sharp teeth sank into the back of his neck.
The orange-scented pheromones invaded Luo Zhiyu’s body in an instant.
Only then did he realize that Xiao Yan’s usual behavior really had been nothing more than playful teasing.
Blood welled from the wound and seeped along his fair skin. Afraid that it would stain the collar of Luo Zhiyu’s white shirt, Xiao Yan reached down and tugged at it. In the middle of his rut, his movements were rough and uncontrolled, and the collar tightened around Luo Zhiyu’s neck for a moment.
As Luo Zhiyu coughed and struggled, Xiao Yan reached around his neck and began undoing his buttons one by one.
He had brought this on himself, so he would have to bear the pain himself, too. Luo Zhiyu was stubborn by nature. He knew that begging for mercy under these circumstances would be humiliating, so he bit his lip and refused to speak.
This temporary mark was different from the usual playful ones. Xiao Yan no longer coaxed or teased him. He simply held him tightly in his arms.
After undoing several buttons, Xiao Yan’s hand stopped at the fourth one. Avoiding the button, he slipped his hand beneath Luo Zhiyu’s collar.
The unprecedentedly intimate contact made Luo Zhiyu tremble slightly. The hand that had slipped inside his shirt paused, then gently pressed against a spot on his chest.
Luo Zhiyu: “……”
He struggled, only for Xiao Yan to pin him down more firmly. Xiao Yan’s knee forced his legs apart, pressing him hard against the sofa, while his hands continued to move.
Heat and discomfort—two entirely different sensations—seemed to ignite inside Luo Zhiyu’s body.
Luo Zhiyu bit his lip hard enough to break the skin. Xiao Yan noticed almost immediately.
The little rascal was practiced at teasing people, but when someone actually bullied him, he became frightened and stubborn. What he didn’t understand was that this sort of stubbornness, at the wrong moment, was exactly what could stir an Alpha’s possessive instincts.
“Luo Zhiyu.” Xiao Yan freed one hand and tapped the back of it against Luo Zhiyu’s cheek twice. “You’re the one who threw away the inhibitors. Don’t be stubborn with me.”
Luo Zhiyu wanted to say that he was simply uncomfortable. Who was being stubborn?
But the hand resting against his chest suddenly moved, squeezing him hard enough to make his entire body shudder. A small sound escaped him, and he could no longer keep biting his lip.
“Got it,” Xiao Yan’s voice came from beside his ear. “You’re biting your lip because I’m not trying hard enough.”
Luo Zhiyu: “???”
“…Go to hell.”
Only when Luo Zhiyu spoke did he realize that his voice had changed. It sounded different from usual. Rather than telling someone to go away, it sounded almost like an invitation.
At almost the exact moment he turned his head to glare at Xiao Yan with reddened eyes, Xiao Yan completed the temporary mark.
The pleasure brought on by the sudden rush of pheromones swept through Luo Zhiyu’s entire body. Somewhere deep inside him, something seemed to ripple. He had never experienced a sensation like this before.
The Alpha rose with some agitation, took gauze from the medicine box, and wrapped it around Luo Zhiyu’s neck twice.
Xiao Yan picked up the throw blanket from the sofa, wrapped Luo Zhiyu in it, and bent down to kiss him.
“I’m going to take a shower.”
The keys were on the coffee table in the living room. Xiao Yan had deliberately left them there.
Wrapped in the blanket, Luo Zhiyu sat leaning against the sofa. Several buttons on his shirt had been pulled open beneath the blanket, leaving his clothes disheveled. The lingering sensations in his body still made him tremble slightly, and he remained motionless in the corner.
Xiao Yan was using the last of his self-control to give him a chance to leave.
The Type-A inhibitors lay quietly in the trash can near the living room entrance. No one went to retrieve them.
The temporary mark had slightly calmed the Alpha’s agitation. After showering, Xiao Yan had just finished drying his hair when he saw the little boyfriend he had assumed would already have fled burst into the bathroom, still wrapped in the blanket.
Luo Zhiyu’s gaze drifted briefly over Xiao Yan’s lower body before darting elsewhere.
“Get out.” Luo Zhiyu pointed toward the door. “I’m taking a shower too.”
“Taotao…” Xiao Yan’s gaze softened. “Let me wash you. You can’t get the wound on the back of your neck wet.”
Luo Zhiyu said nothing, as though he had silently agreed.
Xiao Yan helped him remove his disheveled clothes and trousers, raised the water temperature, and carefully avoided the wound at the back of his neck. He really did carry out the whole process as though he were simply helping.
Luo Zhiyu almost believed that Xiao Yan had genuinely come to help a perfectly capable person like him take a bath out of the goodness of his heart.
That was, until Xiao Yan dried the water from his body and, instead of bringing him clothes, wrapped him in the blanket again, lifted him horizontally into his arms, and tossed him onto the bed.
“Does your neck still hurt?” Xiao Yan asked, glancing back at him as he went to close the bedroom door.
The gentleness he had displayed earlier vanished completely. What showed in his eyes now was nothing but desire.
“It hurts.” Luo Zhiyu sat up. “I’ll settle the score with you tomorrow.”
What he meant by settling the score tomorrow was that Xiao Yan could do whatever he wanted today.
Luo Zhiyu had barely finished speaking and hadn’t even managed to sit upright before Xiao Yan pushed him back onto the bed. Xiao Yan leaned over and kissed the corner of his eye. Almost at the same instant, Luo Zhiyu felt something pressing between his thighs.
He blinked.
The place where his neck had been bitten suddenly began to tingle with a dull, numb sensation. A tear he hadn’t managed to hold back fell onto the back of Xiao Yan’s hand.
“Scared enough to cry?” Xiao Yan pinched his cheek.
Luo Zhiyu had thought that, given Xiao Yan’s usual good temper, he would probably say something like, Should we just forget it?
He hadn’t expected the green-skinned orange to be this fierce. Xiao Yan simply raised a hand and turned him over.
“Normally, seeing you cry makes my heart ache. But today, I just want to bully you.”
Luo Zhiyu: “……”
…
Luo Zhiyu cried until he was exhausted. Lying against Xiao Yan’s shoulder, he occasionally gave a small, involuntary shudder.
Xiao Yan said nothing more. He gently stroked Luo Zhiyu’s back, offering what amounted to an apology and comfort.
By the time Xiao Yan carried him off to clean him up, Luo Zhiyu was completely worn out. The bath he had just taken had essentially been wasted. He fell asleep in the bathtub, and when Xiao Yan fished him out, he could vaguely hear himself mumbling nonsense.
“Maybe this is what they mean by excessive indulgence…”
Even when he was so thoroughly exhausted that he could barely think straight, he still managed to make people laugh. That, too, was apparently a natural talent of his.
Luo Zhiyu, who still had no idea what had happened, took over the entire bed and slept soundly.
Xiao Yan sat beside him with his laptop, keeping him company.
[Orange]: Sorry for bothering you so late. I have a question, and it’s a little urgent. You can reply tomorrow morning.
[Qian Shuyu]: I’m not asleep. I’m gaming! My nightlife has only just begun. Go ahead, tell me.
[Orange]: Is it impossible to complete a permanent mark when the pheromone compatibility rate is low?
[Qian Shuyu]: ???
[Qian Shuyu]: Oh my god. Is this what I think it means?
[Qian Shuyu]: Trust me. I’ll chase up the results tomorrow morning. There’s absolutely no way your compatibility rate is low!