Chapter 8
When the two returned to the Gu family, it was already past eight o’clock.
Lin Xiaoran went straight upstairs to take a shower.
After fighting with someone, he was pressed against a tree by Gu Yang and rubbed with all sorts of messy things. What he hated the most was that Gu Yang was suppressing his heat, causing his school uniform to be soaked with sweat, sticky and uncomfortable.
In the bathroom, he took off his school uniform, revealing his fair and slender body, and walked barefoot under the shower.
The hot water slid down his back, and he lowered his head. His wet bangs covered his eyes.
The sensation in his body at this moment was somewhat unfamiliar.
Without the restlessness and helplessness of the heat, his whole person felt light, but it wasn’t the usual non-heat feeling either. There was a foreign element lingering in his glands, but his body didn’t reject it at all. On the contrary, he felt very comfortable and at ease.
This surprised him.
Because suppressants were ineffective for him, and since gender differentiation, every heat was endured by himself. The pain in it was something that people who hadn’t experienced it could never understand.
He still remembered the first time he went to the hospital for a checkup. The doctor told him he was a latent Omega, and when the suppressants were ineffective, he didn’t care. At that time, he was completely indifferent, not knowing how terrifying the physiological torment of the heat was.
Until now, after experiencing it many times, his body seemed to have conditioned reflexes. Whenever it came to heat, he would be very nervous.
But now, he not only didn’t feel uncomfortable, but he felt comfortable, as if being gently cared for by some force. It was the first time he had experienced this.
So, it turns out, heat could also be so relaxed?
He raised his hand, and his fingertips gently touched his glands. The faint tooth marks left by Gu Yang had not faded yet, and the scent of cedar wrapped in the fragrance of sugared pear emanated from here.
The combination of these two scents unexpectedly formed a unique aroma, which smelled quite pleasant.
He didn’t like sweets, so he really disliked the scent of his own pheromones. After mixing with the scent of cedar, the sweet and sticky smell was significantly diluted, with a touch of coolness, making it much more pleasant to smell.
His thin lips curved slightly, and he smiled gently. After bathing, he changed into clean clothes and walked out of the bathroom.
Coincidentally, someone knocked on the door.
He grabbed a towel to dry his hair and walked over to open the door.
Gu Yang stood at the door, obviously just having taken a shower, wearing a light blue T-shirt and shorts, with semi-dry hair swaying in front of his forehead.
He held a spray in his hand and waved it. “Pheromone blocker, do you need it?”
Blockers could mask pheromones and were commonly carried by Alphas and Omegas. After all, releasing pheromones indiscriminately was somewhat unethical.
Lin Xiaoran apparently didn’t need it before, as others couldn’t smell his pheromones. Whether to use blockers or not had no impact at all.
But today was different. He had been marked by Gu Yang temporarily, and even if others couldn’t smell his pheromones, they could still smell Gu Yang’s pheromones on him.
This could be a troublesome matter.
Firstly, Lin Xiaoran didn’t want others to know that he was an Omega because, due to the characteristics of latent Omegas, suppressants were ineffective for them, and Alphas’ pheromones still affected them.
In case someone had malicious intentions and used pheromones to attack him, forcing him to submit, it would be a dangerous situation.
So, after gender differentiation, he communicated with the school to conceal his gender, and the school was very supportive.
If someone smells another Alpha’s pheromones from him, his Omega gender can’t be hidden.
Secondly, when an Omega is temporarily marked by an Alpha, it is the Alpha telling others of their kind that this Omega is theirs, and others can’t interfere. It is a representative act of declaring sovereignty. In high school, it basically meant telling others that they were in a romantic relationship.
But they were not.
Gu Yang didn’t want others to misunderstand, and he believed Lin Xiaoran wouldn’t want that either.
On this point, the two coincided.
Lin Xiaoran threw the towel aside, took the blocker from Gu Yang, and bowed his head, vigorously applying it to the glands on the back of his neck.
Gu Yang originally didn’t intend to stay longer, but for some reason, his gaze suddenly fell on Lin Xiaoran’s glands. The shallow tooth marks were perfectly imprinted on that light pink maple leaf, as if splitting the leaf in half.
He couldn’t help but take a closer look, wondering if that maple leaf was a birthmark. He found it somewhat special, but he didn’t notice that Lin Xiaoran had already finished applying the blocker and was lifting his head, looking at him.
At this moment, Lin Xiaoran wasn’t wearing glasses, and his clear eyes saw everything. When he met Gu Yang’s gaze, he slightly froze for a second, raised his hand, and threw the blocker back. “Thanks,” he said, then turned around to continue towel-drying his hair, seemingly not paying much attention to Gu Yang’s slightly intrusive gaze.
It was Gu Yang who was pulled back to his thoughts by Lin Xiaoran’s voice. While taking the blocker, he felt a bit regretful.
He felt like he was acting like a silly fan.
This must be the aftermath of the temporary mark.
Although it was just a temporary mark, the effect it could have was similar to a permanent mark. It would create a unique connection between the Alpha and Omega.
Gu Yang felt that this aftermath was a bit severe, and now he didn’t find Lin Xiaoran as disagreeable.
Well, he wouldn’t act impulsively like this again.
He silently shook his head in his mind and turned to leave.
“Meow~”
White Sugar suddenly ran out from behind him, completely ignoring him, and with its short legs, it quickly ran towards Lin Xiaoran.
“White Sugar!” Gu Yang felt a twinge in his heart, hurriedly scooped it up.
The little guy was anxious in his hands, meowing at him, showing its little milk teeth, and wiggling its legs vigorously.
Gu Yang was afraid of making it uncomfortable, so he quickly comforted it, saying, “Okay, okay, I’ll let you go, but you’re not allowed to run.”
“Meow~” The little thing looked up at him with big eyes, being very obedient.
So Gu Yang let go and put it on the ground. The little one actually kept its promise, sitting on the ground, wagging its tail, and didn’t turn to run towards the enemy.
This made Gu Yang, the old father, somewhat gratified. He looked up at Lin Xiaoran, feeling a bit proud in his heart.
Lin Xiaoran had finally dried his hair at this moment, sitting on the chair by the desk, bending down, clapping his hands lightly, and calling out, “White Sugar, come here.”
He was wearing a pure white cotton T-shirt, with a slightly loose neckline. In this posture, his collarbone led to a piece of fair skin.
Gu Yang couldn’t help but look away, starting to regret his impulsive marking of Lin Xiaoran. He felt that this mark made him notice some details that he wouldn’t normally pay attention to.
As he was lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice that the little guy, upon hearing Lin Xiaoran’s voice, had already forgotten him, turning around and running to Lin Xiaoran.
Being picked up and cuddled by Lin Xiaoran, it squirmed comfortably, narrowing its eyes and making sweet meows.
So when Gu Yang emerged from his sense of defeat, the human and the cat had once again become inseparable, and he had become the third wheel.
Not happy!
Just as he was about to declare his sovereignty, the aunt downstairs already called them for dinner.
Lin Xiaoran had no self-awareness of snatching someone’s love, and he got up, holding White Sugar, and walked towards the door. As he passed by Gu Yang, he kindly reminded, “Dinner, didn’t you hear?”
As the sound fell, White Sugar followed suit and meowed at him, as if echoing the phrase “it’s dinner.”
Gu Yang: “…”
Watching Lin Xiaoran go downstairs with White Sugar, Gu Yang couldn’t help but grind his teeth.
Wrong, even with the temporary mark, this guy Lin Xiaoran still looks annoying!
Lin Xiaoran naturally couldn’t hear him grinding his teeth. Carrying the cat downstairs, he could already smell the aroma of the food throughout the house. Auntie had already prepared a table full of dishes, waiting for them.
Seeing him coming downstairs, she immediately served him soup, chatting with a smile, “Ranran really likes White Sugar, huh?”
“Meow~”
Before Lin Xiaoran could speak, the little guy spoke first. Tilting its head, it meowed at Auntie, as if proudly saying, because I’m cute.
Auntie laughed heartily, reaching out to pat its little head. “Our White Sugar is getting cuter and cuter. When it was first picked up by Yangyang, oh my, it was barely alive. Yangyang stayed up the whole night, and the little one woke up. As a result, Yangyang was so tired that he didn’t even go to school the next day.”
Wasn’t him not going to school a regular thing?
Lin Xiaoran silently added a sentence in his mind.
But he didn’t expect that White Sugar and Gu Yang had such a fate. No wonder every time he saw Gu Yang holding White Sugar, he looked like a father whose son had been stolen.
Just as Gu Yang came downstairs at this moment, his amber eyes flashed with resentment as they swept over him, landing on White Sugar.
Suddenly, Lin Xiaoran felt that Gu Yang’s expression was a bit amusing. He pursed his lips, suppressed the smile, and whispered to the little one’s ear, “Go and comfort your dad.” After speaking, he bent down and put the little guy on the ground.
The little one looked up at him, not knowing whether it understood or not. It actually turned around and ran towards Gu Yang, rubbing its furry head on his legs, and making cute meows.
Successfully fooled the old father’s heart, he instantly forgot how it had betrayed him just now. He quickly bent down to pick up the little one, cuddled it a bit, and sat down contentedly to finish the meal.
On the opposite side, Lin Xiaoran held the bowl and sipped the soup one mouthful at a time. His gaze quietly passed through the edge, landing silently on the Alpha sitting opposite him. He felt that the current Gu Yang seemed a bit different from the one he knew before.
However, it seemed unrelated to him.
“Yo, having a meal?”
The two were having their meal, and Gu Xiuyuan came back from outside, smiling and greeting them.
Auntie hurried over to take his coat, asking, “I’ve made soup; do you want some?”
“Sure, I didn’t eat much for dinner.” As he spoke, he washed his hands and sat down in the main seat. Unbuttoning his shirt cuffs and rolling them up, he chatted with Lin Xiaoran while smiling, “Ranran, there’s something Uncle wants to ask for your help. You see, Gu Yang’s grades are not ideal. You two are in the same grade, and I heard from your mom that your grades are exceptionally good, always ranking first in the class. So, I want to ask you to encourage Gu Yang more, study together with him. You’re the same age, you can chat well, and studying together won’t be boring. This way, it won’t delay you, right?”
