81
Qi Wei, after contentedly marking his territory, finally released Qi Zhao and went for his checkup. Qi Zhao, left alone, played a maze game on his phone, finding a strange satisfaction in navigating the intricate paths and finding the exit. After two hours, Qi Wei still hadn’t returned.
“…I told you, my condition is better than before,” Qi Wei leaned against the lab table, his tone casual, “I can feel it myself.”
Meng Li and Teacher Wu looked at the report, their expressions unreadable. After quickly scanning it, Meng Li handed it to Teacher Wu and said, “You’ve only improved slightly. If you had shown this much improvement when you first differentiated, it might have been enough to reach a balance, and you wouldn’t be in such a dire state now. But this slight improvement is just a drop in the bucket.”
She crossed her arms, her brows furrowed. “You know your own condition best.”
Qi Wei raised an eyebrow slightly, not denying it, but saying, “At least it’s an improvement. Better than before.”
Teacher Wu, after reading the report, frowned deeply. “Your situation isn’t good.”
He looked at Qi Wei. “You only managed to get through your rut this time because he was by your side. Nothing much has changed.”
Teacher Wu continued, “You’ve attended my lectures, so I don’t need to explain further. You know that even though your rut this time wasn’t as… dramatic, it’s still different from how a normal alpha would experience it.”
Qi Wei understood, but… he looked at Teacher Wu and Meng Li and asked directly, “What are you trying to say?”
Teacher Wu hesitated, but Meng Li said bluntly, “You’ve seen the report, your condition isn’t good, you can see it yourself, you can feel it. Your pheromones have a problem even more serious than just being disordered, you know it yourself.”
Meng Li continued, “Do you still believe in your theory that ’emotions can replace pheromones, that pheromones can be regulated by emotions and psychological state’?”
Qi Wei’s lips curled into a subtle, unreadable smile. “You don’t believe it anymore?”
Meng Li: “No, I do.”
“Your condition is very serious, so serious that no matter how many medicines we tried over the years, old and new, some of which were effective for pheromone disorders, none of them worked on you. But now, after Qi Zhao came into your life, your condition has finally changed.”
Meng Li said calmly, “It’s like a rock we couldn’t break, finally showing a crack, no matter how small. So I still believe it.”
She looked at Qi Wei. “Then if there’s no mistake in this theory, the problem lies with you.”
Qi Wei paused.
Meng Li questioned him directly, “Qi Wei, anyone who sees you and him together would think that he likes you very much, even loves you. He indulges you so much, so why do you still feel insecure, still think he might leave you?”
Qi Wei raised his lowered eyelids, a cold glint in his eyes. He wasn’t releasing his pheromones, yet Meng Li instinctively straightened her back, and Teacher Wu, shivering, took several steps back.
But after a moment of silence, Qi Wei simply said, “You’re crossing the line.”
Meng Li took a deep breath, suppressing her fear, the instinctive fear of a lower-ranking alpha facing a higher-ranking one. She said, “If you still believe your theory is correct, that an alpha doesn’t necessarily need an omega to live a healthy life, then you have to admit that the problem is with yourself.”
It was Qi Wei’s “emotions,” his “psychological state,” that were lacking, which was why his condition was still so dire.
From Qi Wei’s behavior today, Meng Li could see that he was still incredibly insecure.
But as an outsider, she couldn’t understand why.
After all, Qi Zhao had agreed to do things that anyone else would probably run away from.
Having reached this point, why was Qi Wei still insecure?
Meng Li: “Qi Wei, I’m your doctor. You have to trust your doctor.”
But Qi Wei stood up, not continuing the conversation. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. You can continue your research.”
Meng Li gritted her teeth, and Teacher Wu, looking at them, tried to smooth things over, stopping Meng Li from saying anything more. “Take the newly developed medicine home with you.”
He handed Qi Wei a small box. “Injections, directly into your gland. One dose a day, record your condition.”
“Okay.”
Qi Wei took the box and then reminded Meng Li, “Senior, don’t cross the line.”
He smiled politely. “Ah Zhao won’t hide it from me.”
He was saying that if she contacted Qi Zhao, Qi Zhao would tell him.
When Qi Wei came to find Qi Zhao, Qi Zhao was replying to a message.
It was from Tang Huaiyuan, asking about some details of the project.
Qi Zhao, of course, provided “after-sales service.”
Seeing Qi Wei, he quickly finished typing and put away his phone.
Qi Wei lowered his voice before Qi Zhao could speak. “It’s not a big deal.”
He wrapped his arm around Qi Zhao’s waist, having already given the medicine to Qiu Ji, silently signaling him to put it away, out of Qi Zhao’s sight. “My condition is much better than before.”
He smiled and nuzzled Qi Zhao’s neck, inhaling his scent, his body relaxing slightly. “Thanks to Ah Zhao.”
Qi Zhao pursed his lips, still feeling uneasy, and hugged Qi Wei back, his hand resting on his back. He couldn’t help but ask again, “Qi Wei, what exactly is wrong with you?”
If it truly wasn’t a big deal, why not tell him?
As if sensing his thoughts, Qi Wei’s eyelashes fluttered, and he said casually, “It’s not anything serious, just that this condition, as far as we know, is unique to me, so I didn’t mention it, since you wouldn’t be able to find any information about it anyway.”
Qi Zhao didn’t believe his explanation. “But you could have told me.”
Qi Wei’s eyes curved into a smile. “You’re right, my mistake.”
He said, “I’ll tell you now.”
Qi Wei thought for a moment, then said, “They call this condition ‘pheromone dysregulation’.”
Qi Zhao tilted his head slightly. “Is that different from a pheromone disorder?”
“…How should I put it,” Qi Wei pulled Qi Zhao down to sit beside him, his arm around him, “take pheromone release as an example. A pheromone disorder might cause an inability to release pheromones, or in some cases, uncontrolled release, inability to accurately convey the intended signal, and even pheromone sensory hallucinations.”
“But pheromone dysregulation is similar to losing control. Generally, losing control means uncontrolled pheromone release, or difficulty stopping the release. But dysregulation, besides these symptoms, also has a more prominent characteristic: it sometimes controls me, making my actions involuntary. Even when I’m not in rut.”
This was similar to mental illness; sometimes, it wasn’t that they wanted to do certain things, but their emotions, beyond their control, dictated their actions, causing harm to others.
Qi Zhao roughly understood. “…Like those times you told me you were losing control?”
Qi Wei nodded. “Yes. So you see, I’m much better now, right? I haven’t lost control in a long time, unless I’m in rut.”
Qi Zhao, for some reason, still couldn’t fully believe him. “Hmm…”
Qi Wei continued, “That’s the problem, so I said it’s not a big deal, just a little troublesome. After all, sometimes I can’t control my pheromone territory, and sometimes I can’t control myself.”
Qi Zhao stared at Qi Wei. “Is that truly all?”
Qi Wei smiled faintly and kissed Qi Zhao, a hint of helplessness in his voice. “It’s true. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry too much. And because this problem is combined with my nesting behavior and omega aversion, the treatment is more complicated.”
He wrapped one arm around Qi Zhao, his other hand cupping his face, his rough fingertips tracing his features. “Ah Zhao, with you by my side now, and with the medication, I’ll recover soon.”
Qi Zhao, for some reason, didn’t feel reassured, but rather, a strange unease.
Because… it felt like Qi Wei wasn’t truly talking to him.
This strange feeling made Qi Zhao frown slightly, and he hugged Qi Wei. “…As long as you’re okay.”
He said, “It’s fine even if some problems aren’t solved. As long as it doesn’t make you uncomfortable or endanger your life.”
Qi Wei hugged him tighter and hummed softly in agreement.
He said to Qi Zhao, “It’ll be fine, Ah Zhao. Don’t worry.”
Qi Zhao nodded, and they went home.
The weather in the north was getting colder, and the heating was already on at home.
The entire smart home system was a new product released by Qi Corp last year, with automatic temperature control. It would turn on the AC in the summer and the heating in the winter.
But Qi Zhao, being a young, healthy adult, sometimes found the heating too strong, even with the windows open for ventilation, especially when sleeping with Qi Wei.
Perhaps because they had red meat for dinner tonight, Qi Wei felt a little sleepy after taking his medicine and hadn’t pestered him too much, so Qi Zhao was actually woken up in the middle of the night by the heat.
He knew Qi Wei was asleep because the way Qi Wei held him when he was asleep was different.
Besides lying on top of him, he would also hold him very tightly.
But now, he was just holding him in a loose embrace, still trapped, but with some room to move.
Qi Zhao wanted to adjust the smart control system, to lower the temperature at night.
But as soon as he moved, his arm reaching out from under Qi Wei’s embrace, the alpha was startled awake, tightening his hold and grabbing his arm, flipping him over and pinning him down on the bed.
Qi Zhao froze.
The motion-sensor lights turned on, the dim light illuminating Qi Wei’s face, the usually gentle expression now replaced by a dark, dangerous look.
“…”
Qi Zhao’s lips moved. “Qi Wei?”
Qi Wei seemed to be still half-asleep, his voice unusually cold and deep, sending shivers down Qi Zhao’s spine. “Where are you going?”
Qi Zhao sensed something but could only suppress it for now. “…It’s too hot.”
He softened his tone. “I wanted to adjust the thermostat.”
Qi Wei stared at him, as if trying to confirm whether he was telling the truth. Qi Zhao, sensing his suspicion, added, “Or you can go, I’ll wait for you here.”
Qi Wei calmed down slightly, his sharp edge softening. He lowered his head and kissed Qi Zhao, who didn’t resist, and only then did he return to his usual self. “Okay.”
His voice was soft and gentle. “You sleep, I’ll go adjust it.”
Qi Zhao agreed, and Qi Wei got up and left.
The bed was quite far from the door, but Qi Zhao’s mind was racing, his sleepiness gone. After Qi Wei left, he wanted a glass of water.
—He was truly thirsty from the heat.
So Qi Zhao got out of bed, went to the study to pour himself a glass of water, and on his way back, he glanced at the doorknob, and for some reason, he tried it—
It was locked.
Qi Wei had locked it with a key.
Qi Zhao’s eyes widened in disbelief, stunned.
Qi Wei…?
Qi Zhao suddenly thought of something and turned to look at the security bars on the open window.
Usually, for a better view, most people wouldn’t install security bars, relying on the community’s security.
But Qi Zhao had noticed, when he first moved in, that all the windows in Qi Wei’s house had security bars, the kind that wouldn’t even allow a finger through.
He had thought it was for security, especially since there were probably many company secrets here.
But now it seemed…
This place was like a giant cage.
Trapping him.
