Chapter 44
This movement clearly pleased the Alpha. Gu Yang’s hand slid from Lin Xiaoran’s waist, up his back, and rested on the gland at the back of his neck, gently rubbing it. The Omega in his arms couldn’t help but tremble, trying to avoid his hand, but he was pushed down onto the bed by Gu Yang.
“Ouch…”
Lin Xiaoran whimpered as his lips hit the bed. The out-of-control Alpha merely brushed the hurt spot with his tongue, showing no intention of letting go.
Knock, knock, knock!
The sudden knocking startled both of them. They jumped apart, quickly standing far from each other.
Despite their quick movements, they had just barely steadied themselves when the door opened. Aunt Wu walked in, carrying a tray with milk and cut fruit. She was surprised to see Gu Yang. “Yangyang is here too,” she remarked, noticing the test papers on the desk and filling in the blanks herself. “Here to discuss questions with Ranran, I see.”
Fortunately, Aunt Wu was a Beta. Otherwise, the room full of Gu Yang’s pheromones, and Lin Xiaoran covered in his scent, would have been impossible to explain.
“Uh… yes.” Gu Yang’s mind was a mess, so he just nodded in agreement, his eyes involuntarily drifting towards Lin Xiaoran.
Lin Xiaoran had his head down. His freshly washed hair was damp and soft, covering his eyes. Only his high nose and lips, glistening with moisture, were visible. His upper lip seemed to be slightly swollen from the impact, a bit red.
Perhaps feeling uncomfortable, he stuck out his pink tongue to lick the injured spot.
Instantly, Gu Yang’s self-control faltered again, and his pheromones began to seep out.
Lin Xiaoran’s body stiffened, looking up at Gu Yang in disbelief, catching his intense gaze.
His ears turned red, and he glared at Gu Yang before turning his head away, exposing his flushed ears to Gu Yang’s view.
Gu Yang unconsciously licked his lips, feeling dry.
The atmosphere between them was filled with tension, but Aunt Wu didn’t notice. She placed the tray on the desk and softly told Lin Xiaoran, “Ranran, eat something and go to bed early.”
Lin Xiaoran nodded, responding quietly, “Okay, thank you, Auntie.”
Aunt Wu smiled as she left, pulling Gu Yang along. “Yangyang, you should leave too. It’s late, and it’s inconvenient for Ranran with you here.”
Gu Yang snapped back to reality, grabbed the test paper and the Alpha pheromone extract from the desk, and followed Aunt Wu out.
Back in his room, Lin Xiaoran stared at the now empty desk corner, recalling Gu Yang holding the pheromone extract and questioning him. Now, Gu Yang had deliberately taken it away.
Lin Xiaoran touched his neck gland, feeling the deep bite marks left by Gu Yang, deeper than any before. It seemed Gu Yang was very angry when he bit him and then…
Thinking of the kiss, Lin Xiaoran’s heart began to race, and his cheeks heated up.
After a while, he calmed down, lay on his bed, and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.
In his own room, Gu Yang threw the test paper and pheromone extract on the desk and collapsed on his bed, his mind in turmoil.
He had forcibly marked Lin Xiaoran and even kissed him.
Flipping over, Gu Yang buried his face in the pillow, feeling like he was going crazy.
He couldn’t control himself. Unlike seeing Lin Xiaoran with Jiang Chen, the sight of the Alpha pheromone extract triggered a possessiveness in him stronger than ever before.
The thought of Lin Xiaoran injecting another Alpha’s pheromones during his heat, carrying their scent, brought out the worst in him. He couldn’t allow another Alpha to touch Lin Xiaoran. Lin Xiaoran was his.
At that moment, his mind was filled with the idea that Lin Xiaoran was his and should not have any other Alpha’s scent, even through an injection.
He couldn’t stop himself from leaving his mark on Lin Xiaoran.
Gu Yang let out a long sigh, rubbing his temples.
This couldn’t be explained as post-marking syndrome since he hadn’t marked Lin Xiaoran in days. It was something else. He would get angry seeing Lin Xiaoran with Jiang Chen, anxious when they went out for dinner.
This had been happening for a while. The first marking might have been an accident, but after that? He repeatedly told himself not to mark Lin Xiaoran again, yet he always ended up doing it.
If it were any other Omega, would he mark them?
No.
Especially not like tonight.
Gu Yang never thought his self-control was so weak. Just seeing the Alpha pheromone extract near Lin Xiaoran made his pheromones explode uncontrollably.
And he kissed Lin Xiaoran.
Thinking of the kiss, Gu Yang touched his lips.
Lin Xiaoran’s lips were soft and tender, with a sugary pear scent, just like in his dreams. So… delicious.
And Lin Xiaoran was so compliant, closing his eyes, hugging his neck, his thick eyelashes trembling nervously, his lips obediently parting, and his tongue tentatively wrapping around his.
Recalling this, Gu Yang couldn’t help but lick his lips, savoring the memory, a smile unconsciously spreading across his face.
Gu Yang snapped out of his foolish grin and flipped over, burying his face in the pillow, inwardly screaming: “Gu Yang, are you really falling for Lin Xiaoran?”
Once the thought emerged, it was unstoppable. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Only this could explain all his recent inexplicable behavior.
But…
He sat up, rubbing his temples with frustration. “Gu Yang, you’re such a genius. How could you have someone you like and still fall for Lin Xiaoran?”
Did he really change his feelings?
No, right?
After all, he had carefully prepared a gift for their fourth anniversary.
Remembering the gift, he got up, opened his computer, logged into the Seventh World, and found a recently edited video in his clips. He clicked on it.
The video showed two game characters, a white-clad swordsman and a blue-clad musician, sitting by the Starfall Lake, surrounded by fireworks. One, two, thousands of fireworks lit up the sky. As the fireworks faded, the scene shifted to the two at the Edge of Infinity, facing each other, one standing, one sitting. Suddenly, the swordsman lunged at the musician, who lightly strummed his instrument, effortlessly blocking the attack.
They fought back and forth, clashing for over three hundred rounds. The swordsman was struck by the musical notes, staggering. Just as the outcome seemed clear, the scene shifted again to the two standing in the arena…
This ten-minute video was the result of Gu Yang meticulously editing from thousands of solo matches and a few rare outdoor “dates.” It took him almost three months to create.
It was the first time he put so much effort into a gift for someone. Even though he had never met the person, he knew he liked them and looked forward to meeting them after graduating from high school.
Their initial encounter wasn’t anything special. Back then, they participated in guild activities, often fighting bosses. They were in different guilds at the time, and during one boss fight, Gu Yang was called in as reinforcement and ambushed Wuhuanxingyi.
That ambush brought him trouble.
He couldn’t remember which side won the boss fight but clearly remembered Wuhuanxingyi sending him a friend request afterward.
Without hesitation, he accepted, thinking they had some connection—Wuhuanxingyi, “a few autumns.”
After adding him, Wuhuanxingyi did nothing but constantly challenge him to duels.
Gu Yang was usually easygoing and lazy, playing games to relax. At that time, he rarely participated in the arena and disliked dueling.
After two days of constant challenges, he was exhausted, but Wuhuanxingyi persisted despite repeated defeats.
Gu Yang had no choice but to make excuses to avoid him. Wuhuanxingyi didn’t push but came back the next day.
Even after a week of refusals, most people would understand Gu Yang’s disinterest. But Wuhuanxingyi didn’t get it and kept inviting him to the arena.
Gu Yang still remembered his feelings that day—frustrated yet guilty. His constant excuses made him feel petty, while Wuhuanxingyi seemed unaffected.
So, that night, he agreed to three matches, after which he sent a message: “I’m tired, not playing anymore.”
Wuhuanxingyi didn’t reply, just exited the arena. But the next day, he was back for more.
From then on, three arena matches became their routine. Gu Yang stopped avoiding him, and Wuhuanxingyi didn’t push for more.
When did he start liking him?
Gu Yang vividly remembered isolating himself for three days, feeling abandoned by the world.
One day, he logged into the game and saw Wuhuanxingyi’s name. Without thinking, he sent a duel invitation—one match, two matches, countless matches.
They fought in silence, all night long.
Afterward, the morning sunlight streamed in, warm and fresh. Gu Yang looked outside, feeling slightly better. He was exhausted and slept until the next morning.
When he woke up, he knew it was time to move on.
From that day, he always looked forward to Wuhuanxingyi’s messages. Even when busy, he’d log in just to reply.
Wuhuanxingyi spoke little and was dense. On Valentine’s Day, Gu Yang invited him to team up for the holiday event, setting off fireworks at Starfall Lake. But Gu Yang knew Wuhuanxingyi saw it as mere boredom.
Thinking about it, this guy was quite similar to Lin Xiaoran.
Could it be because of this similarity that he liked both of them?
Scumbag!
Gu Yang cursed himself, about to log off when Wuhuanxingyi came online and sent a message: “Arena?”
Gu Yang typed “Okay” but hesitated, thinking of Lin Xiaoran, then deleted it and typed: “Sorry, logging off.”
He quickly logged out, collapsed on the bed, and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.
He liked both. What now?
Unable to sleep, Gu Yang tossed and turned. Downstairs, Lin Xiaoran couldn’t sleep either. He wanted to solo with Jiduqiu but found Jiduqiu had logged off.
Lin Xiaoran checked the time—it wasn’t even midnight. Usually, Jiduqiu would either be offline or just logging in. Why log off now?
Strange!
But Lin Xiaoran didn’t think much of it. He simply wanted to distract himself with some gameplay. He randomly challenged a top player from the rankings and played several matches before finally feeling a bit sleepy. He logged off and went to bed.
Meanwhile, Gu Yang spent the entire night awake, only managing to doze off in the early morning and sleep until noon.
After dragging himself out of bed and getting ready, he really didn’t feel like going out, especially since he didn’t know how to face Lin Xiaoran. But with his grandmother insisting on lunch, refusing was not an option. She came to his room before the meal, physically dragging him out.
Having spent the entire night not figuring out whether he liked Wuhuanxingyi or Lin Xiaoran more, Gu Yang felt uneasy just sitting across from Lin Xiaoran at the dining table, especially after kissing him the night before.
Fortunately, there were others present, so the atmosphere remained relatively normal.
Lin Xiaoran ate quietly, occasionally picking up dishes with his chopsticks.
Despite not knowing how to face him, Gu Yang’s gaze kept drifting to Lin Xiaoran. Seeing the chapped skin on his lips reminded him of last night’s kiss, making his throat involuntarily tighten.
Sensing Gu Yang’s gaze, Lin Xiaoran looked up, meeting his eyes.
Caught in the act, Gu Yang, already feeling guilty, quickly averted his gaze and focused intently on his meal.
After finishing, Gu Yang stood up immediately, greeting his grandparents and heading upstairs, only for Lin Xiaoran to call out, “Gu Yang, come walk with me.”
Uh, can I skip it?
Gu Yang’s lips moved as he tried to think of a reasonable excuse to refuse, but his grandmother quickly answered for him. “Go on, Yangyang, Lin Xiaoran is asking for you.”
So, Gu Yang had no choice but to follow Lin Xiaoran outside.
They walked through the garden and arrived at the East Lake.
In late October, the autumn air was thick, with a thin layer of yellow leaves scattered around the lake. The two walked in silence, the crunch of leaves underfoot crisp and clear.
After a long time of walking silently, Gu Yang’s mood gradually calmed.
He glanced at Lin Xiaoran, who was looking down at the fallen leaves. The afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees, casting a warm glow on his fair face, making him look stunning.
“Last night…” Sorry.
Before Gu Yang could finish, Lin Xiaoran looked up and interrupted him. “It’s okay, I understand it’s due to the marking.”
Gu Yang: “…”
Pausing, Gu Yang suddenly felt irritated. “You think it’s because of the marking?”
In a way, it was better if Lin Xiaoran thought that. After all, Gu Yang himself wasn’t sure how to face him. But hearing Lin Xiaoran brush off last night’s events so casually made him feel frustrated.
Lin Xiaoran, oblivious to Gu Yang’s internal struggle, simply looked at him in silence, his clear eyes conveying the question: Isn’t it?
Of course not!
When I marked you, I wasn’t thinking about it. I was just angry and didn’t want you using any other Alpha pheromones. I only wanted you to carry my scent.
This response nearly slipped out, but Gu Yang held it back.
How could he say that? It would be like confessing his feelings, and what about Wuhuanxingyi? It wouldn’t be fair to Lin Xiaoran either, since his feelings weren’t limited to just one person.
Still, both of them were quite clueless in this aspect!
Gu Yang, frustrated, replied, “Yes, it’s a side effect of marking. But I still need to apologize.”
Lin Xiaoran nodded, accepting the apology.
Although he had come to terms with it, thinking Gu Yang’s unusual behavior was likely due to frequent marking, Lin Xiaoran didn’t hold it against him. Gu Yang was ultimately trying to help.
But from the way Gu Yang had been avoiding him all day, Lin Xiaoran figured that Gu Yang probably still had unresolved feelings, so he took the apology as necessary and accepted it.
Gu Yang, however, felt a pang of discomfort seeing Lin Xiaoran’s nonchalant attitude towards last night. Did Lin Xiaoran really have no feelings for him?
Clearly, he had been quite engaged during the kiss, even actively embracing his neck. Was it just a result of the marking?
