The night was hazy and romantic, with only a single lamp left on beside the sofa, casting the room in dim, dreamy light.
“G-General…”
Luo Ran took a deep breath and tried to maintain his composure.
“General, you…”
“Don’t talk.”
Lucas frowned. He was thinking, and Luo Ran’s voice kept interrupting him.
“I…”
“Shh.”
Lucas’s voice was very soft.
Luo Ran clenched both hands into fists, leaning against the door and tightly pressing his lips together without saying another word.
“That night, someone came in.”
Lucas frowned.
“Then we… seem to have kissed against the door. We stayed here for a long time.”
With his back turned to Lucas, Luo Ran said nothing, his face so red it looked as though blood might drip from it.
“I started touching him.”
“His clothes… should have been light-colored.”
Luo Ran’s entire body trembled.
Lucas said, “I don’t know why that person and I kept standing here.”
Luo Ran thought bitterly, That’s because he wanted to escape and desperately grabbed the doorknob. But Lucas had lost his rationality and was in heat, and he was too strong. He forcibly dragged him all the way to the bed.
The scenes and details he had desperately tried to forget were now being described so casually, completely unknowingly, by the other person involved.
Lucas’s hand gently came to rest on Luo Ran’s shoulder, apparently trying to figure out how the two of them had left this place.
The warmth traveled from his shoulder.
Luo Ran began counting the patterns on the door in front of him, afraid of losing control.
After all, a Beta wouldn’t spontaneously become overheated.
“Should have been me pulling him away. That person took the initiative to hug me. We walked toward the bed…”
Lucas turned him around.
Now Luo Ran’s back was pressed against the door, and he was facing Lucas.
Luo Ran hunched his neck and lowered his head, covering his face with his hand. He didn’t want Lucas to see how red his face had become.
“What’s wrong?”
Lucas was startled.
Luo Ran shook his head.
Lucas paused.
Could talking about this kind of thing be making Luo Ran shy?
At first, Lucas found the thought unbelievable.
But he became even more interested.
His secretary had always been rational and professional, even somewhat distant. He was endlessly accommodating toward Lucas, and every task was completed smoothly. Even when it came to matters of romance, Luo Ran remained calm, accepting blind dates with the most peaceful attitude possible.
But right now, Luo Ran had his head lowered. His silver bangs covered his eyes, and his slender fingers covered his cheeks. He looked slightly breathless.
And his ears, hidden beneath his hair, gave him away—
They were red enough to bleed.
It was rare for Luo Ran to be nervous.
Lucas suddenly stared.
Something about the atmosphere felt wrong.
Luo Ran thought Lucas would rein himself in at this point.
He hadn’t expected Lucas to find this amusing instead.
Lucas raised an eyebrow and smiled.
“Are you shy?”
Luo Ran had originally been somewhat flustered. Upon hearing this, he paused, then took a deep breath and, under the oppressive pressure of Lucas’s pheromones, said,
“And then?”
“What?”
Luo Ran said, “Go on. You pulled him onto the bed?”
When things had already gotten this far, there was no point worrying about his dignity.
If I’m going down, I’m going down swinging.
Luo Ran seized back control of the conversation.
“Did you hug him too?”
“Did it feel good? It was your first time, right? Being with an Omega, was it especially…”
“Shut up!”
This time, it was Lucas who became uncomfortable.
Luo Ran raised an eyebrow.
“Do you remember the sounds he made? You…”
“That’s enough! Don’t say it!”
The moment Lucas thought about having done something with some inexplicable person that night, he felt disgusted. It hadn’t been anything romantic in the first place.
His original intention had simply been to retrace the events and find clues.
But with Luo Ran putting it this way, he suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable.
He didn’t know why.
Seeing that he had made his point, Luo Ran stopped while he was ahead. With a smiling expression, he brushed aside Lucas’s hand that had been restraining him.
“I’m going out to get a cup of hot water.”
Luo Ran turned around and walked away.
Even after leaving the office, a faint smile still lingered at the corners of his lips.
What a stupid idiot.
He actually wanted to tease me? He should have looked in a mirror first and taken a good look at his own thick skull.
Although saying all of that out loud had really been embarrassing, Lucas’s reaction had instead made Luo Ran feel much less ashamed.
Luo Ran patted his flushed cheeks.
Meanwhile, inside the office, Lucas was still standing blankly in front of the door.
Only after a moment did he belatedly realize—
He had just been teased back by his own secretary.
And completely outplayed!
Lucas bared his teeth.
He had discovered something.
He had never managed to win an argument against Luo Ran.
But it didn’t matter.
He might not be able to beat Luo Ran with words, but he could beat him physically!
He was going to grab that man and give him a beating!
Have a fight and teach him how to behave!
“Ding.”
Just then, Lucas received a message on his terminal from Luo Ran.
—General, I won’t be staying over tonight. I didn’t go home yesterday, so I need to go back today to check on things and tidy up.
—Good night, General. Sweet dreams.
Lucas: “…”
Little bastard…!
Little bastard Luo Ran had no idea he was being cursed at. After two days, he finally managed to return to his little apartment.
For the sake of convenience for both work and his personal life, Luo Ran had moved out of his parents’ place and bought a small apartment near the company. The apartment wasn’t very big, but it was comfortable. Luo Ran had decorated it with an artistic, elegant style—fake candles, teardrop lights, wall decorations, shelves, blankets… Every corner was pretty enough to be photographed.
Luo Ran paused, then took out that set of clothes from his briefcase.
After who knew how long, he had finally managed to smuggle it back to a safe place…
Lucas’s coat.
…He wasn’t a thief.
He was simply doing his duty as a secretary by bringing the coat home to mend it.
Once he decided to do it, Luo Ran immediately fetched a needle and thread and began carefully repairing the small hole near the hem.
Luo Ran sat at the table, concentrating as he passed the needle through the fabric, stitch by stitch.
Lucas’s coats and military uniforms were all handmade. These clothes never went out of style, no matter how many years passed, so repairs also had to be done by hand. Luo Ran had been doing it all these years.
Lucas’s pheromones still lingered on the coat.
Luo Ran lowered his head, originally intending to inspect the damaged area more carefully, but then he caught a stronger scent.
His nose was filled with that heavy tobacco fragrance, as though Lucas were standing right in front of him.
There was no one around.
Luo Ran paused, then couldn’t resist leaning a little closer.
The fabric was almost touching his nose.
Luo Ran slowly closed his eyes.
…
No. This isn’t right.
Luo Ran jolted and hurriedly moved the coat away.
Like a guilty child who had just done something naughty, Luo Ran stuffed the coat into the closet and hid it away.
After washing up and changing clothes, Luo Ran lay down in bed, but soon felt somewhat uncomfortable.
He had been temporarily marked a few days ago, and yesterday he had spent an entire night in the same room as the Alpha who had temporarily marked him. Now that he was sleeping alone, his body was having trouble adjusting, and his pheromones were restless and unsettled.
This was an Omega’s innate dependence.
Luo Ran adjusted his breathing, trying hard to calm his muddled mind.
Just how long is the effect of this temporary mark going to last?
This was getting ridiculous.
After lying there for a while longer, Luo Ran finally couldn’t take it anymore. He sat up and took the coat he had originally hidden away out of the closet.
Just… just for one night…
Once the effects of the temporary mark wear off, he won’t be like this anymore.
Luo Ran hugged the coat as he lay in bed, closing his eyes, his ears faintly red.
It’s absolutely just an emergency measure…
The night gradually deepened.
The silver-haired man used the coat as a pillow and slowly fell asleep. With no work to do, he hadn’t tied up his long silver hair either, so it spread across the blankets, illuminated by the moonlight shining in through the window.
He looked incredibly beautiful.
…
The next day, the Falling-Ice delegation arrived.
They came earlier than the date they had announced, but the Empire was still able to prepare everything quickly.
The Empire’s diplomat Gabriel, along with Lucas and the representative sent by the Imperial family—the Third Prince, Zhou Mingkai—received the large delegation from Falling-Ice at the embassy.
While Gabriel was negotiating with them, Prince Zhou Mingkai, standing at the back of the group, tilted his head toward Lucas and whispered,
“Your future marriage partners. Look, those two have been staring at you the whole time. You’re pretty damn lucky.”
Zhou Mingkai’s tone was sly and mischievous.
They had only just arrived, and the matter concerning UNK hadn’t even been settled yet, so naturally no one had brought up the marriage alliance. But sooner or later, it would inevitably be discussed.
Across from them, the Falling-Ice princess and prince who had accompanied the delegation stood obediently and quietly to one side, occasionally sneaking glances at Lucas.
The two Omegas were both delicate and beautiful. The older sister was elegant and noble, while the younger brother was adorable.
They really were “lucky.”
Lucas replied coldly, “Say another word and I’ll cut your tongue out later.”
Lucas had always been on good terms with the Empire’s Second and Third Princes.
The Second Prince had previously served in the military alongside Lucas. As for the Third Prince, Zhou Mingkai was a flirtatious, pleasure-loving playboy Alpha who loved making friends everywhere and flirting everywhere. He had even been bold enough to become friends with Lucas.
As for the First Prince, there was a significant age gap between them, and he was much more serious and calculating, so they rarely interacted.
“I’m really not lying. They really are looking at you. Right, Secretary Luo?”
Zhou Mingkai threw Luo Ran a flirtatious wink.
Zhou Mingkai was famous throughout the Empire for his love of chasing romantic interests. He could move through a field of flowers without getting a single petal on him. He didn’t only like Omegas—he was very fond of Betas too.
Lucas coldly shifted his feet and completely blocked Luo Ran from Zhou Mingkai’s view.
Zhou Mingkai: “…”
Zhou Mingkai: “Brother, seriously?”
Lucas’s tone seemed to have ice shards mixed into it.
“Stay away from my secretary.”
Zhou Mingkai turned his head away resentfully.
Sheesh.
Luo Ran couldn’t help laughing helplessly.
Afterward, Gabriel led the Falling-Ice delegation to a hotel banquet.
The banquet had ostensibly been arranged to welcome the Falling-Ice delegation, but it also became a social gathering between the two countries.
People came and went at the banquet, cups clinking as they exchanged drinks.
Lucas stood to one side, with people constantly coming over to toast him and take the opportunity to build a relationship.
Lucas stood there coldly, barely giving them any response. Luo Ran, on the other hand, smiled and politely blocked every toast for him.
“Let’s go upstairs.”
Lucas had stood there for a while. Now that he had made an appearance, he didn’t want to stay any longer.
“Okay.”
On the way back to the lounge, Luo Ran paused. He tilted his head and leaned toward Lucas.
“General, are you angry with me?”
“…”
He can even tell?
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
Luo Ran smiled sweetly.
“How did the General get angry?”
Lucas said nothing.
“General.”
Luo Ran curved his lips and called out to him again.
Lucas bared his teeth.
“I want to beat you up.”
“Then go ahead, General. Beat me until you feel better.”
Luo Ran stood up straight and held out his hands.
“Where does the General want to hit me?”
Lucas looked at the person in front of him.
His features were delicate and handsome, his brows and eyes gentle, with a tiny beauty mark at the corner of his eye. Lucas thought he looked much better than those whatever-princess-and-prince people.
He was tall and slender, with a slim, firm waist that looked like it might snap with a single hit.
Then Lucas looked at the hands being held out to him. The fingers were long and slender, the skin fair. If he used even a little force, they might leave red marks.
Lucas: “…”
Luo Ran smiled.
“Not going to hit me anymore, General?”
Smack!
Lucas viciously slapped Luo Ran’s palm, then turned around and strode away.
Luo Ran couldn’t help laughing.