Chapter 27: Awakening from the Dream

Released on February 5, 2026

This was Qiu Sui’s second dream about Shen Zhixiao.

Unlike the brief dream of the Temporary Mark last time, every second in this dream ticked by as realistically as the second hand on a clock. The scenes were entirely unfamiliar, and every sensation felt vividly real, filling Qiu Sui with an unprecedented sense of shame and tension.

The other man kept licking and kissing his lips affectionately, the wet, warm touch just like a piece of melted soft candy.

He sank into the bedding, feeling his clothes already hooked up to his chest. His arms lifted slightly twice, slipping free from the sleeves. He felt that palm slide along his side waist to his collar, helping him shrug off the shirt caught around his neck.

He tilted his head back and gasped for air, but Shen Zhixiao chased after him eagerly for another kiss, mumbling incoherently with desperate pleas: “Baby… wife… call out to me, baby… call my name…”

Qiu Sui felt the heat of the other’s body pressed against him and shivered sensitively. In that instant, it felt like he might jolt awake from this overly intense dream, but Shen Zhixiao’s unbearable begging echoed in his ears.

This didn’t feel like something that could happen in reality at all.

He looked at the frantic head in front of him and let out a dull hum, shouting the man’s name amid his shame.

“Shen… Shen Zhixiao.”

The man before him instantly grew excited, plunging into a deep kiss that stirred his mouth, then pressing to his neck again to sniff deeply. His hoarse voice echoed by Qiu Sui’s ear: “The scent… it’s fading… no problem… baby, just wait for the Lifelong Mark… it’ll work… it has to work.”

That voice sounded like it was trying to convince something—or someone. Qiu Sui felt Shen Zhixiao’s breath puff against his bitten Gland, and his nape instinctively tingled. He shook his head slightly, not wanting the other to touch there again.

But the next second, a wet sensation erupted at the back of his neck. He opened his eyes in shock, not pleased at all, and jabbed the Alpha hard with his elbow, flipping the unprepared man right over.

Shen Zhixiao hunched over the bed in a daze, claws gripping the sheets. Those reddened eyes stared at him helplessly, his massive frame suddenly seeming small and pitiful as he said, “I didn’t bite, baby. Your Gland hurts—I was just licking it.”

An Alpha’s saliva contained certain restorative components, meant to help the skin heal better after a Temporary Mark.

Qiu Sui looked at that cautious face and unconsciously curled the fingers of his hand flung onto the bed, his gaze drifting vaguely away from the other man.

Soon, the Alpha sniffed, creeping back onto the bed stealthily to hug him tight, gently bringing his head close to Qiu Sui’s nape and pressing against it carefully.

Qiu Sui’s waist and abdomen tensed, his fingers instinctively grabbing the other’s hair as he trembled slightly in the numbing sensation.

That hot, wet breath roamed devotedly over his nape, each pass making his scalp tingle instinctively. Only when the pain in his nape faded to a faint ache did Shen Zhixiao prop himself up to kiss him again.

Qiu Sui’s lips felt a bit numb from the kissing. Knowing exactly who he was kissing filled him with such shame that he wanted to punch himself awake, but the kisses felt too good, making him tilt his chin up involuntarily to respond. It’s just a dream… just a dream…

The other’s hand kept stroking his waist and abdomen lightly, drawing his focus into that comfortable haze.

But even so, he soon sensed something off. Shen Zhixiao rubbed his nose bridge against Qiu Sui’s cheek, kissed his nose tip, and cooed “baby” affectionately.

Qiu Sui had the strange illusion that his life was on the line with this man, his heart pounding wildly in his thin chest.

Down quilts sank deeply under weight, like they breathed—bouncing back when the pressure lightened, compressing down when it grew heavier.

Qiu Sui lay there, his seventy-plus kilos squeezing all the air from the bedding, making the sheets cling seamlessly to it.

Inappropriately, he recalled his first time practicing jiu-jitsu basics. His endurance and stamina were so poor that every session left him utterly exhausted and sore.

Shen Zhixiao’s nose bridge pressed to his ear, thin lips brushing soothing kisses on his temple, broad palm rubbing lightly at his lean, tense side waist, making him relax.

An Alpha in Susceptible Period was always so emotionally sensitive and muddled. Even at this unprecedented closeness, he brimmed with anxiety and unease. Unable to find a place to Mark, he clutched Qiu Sui’s cheeks and broke into panicked, repeated sobs.

Qiu Sui’s eyes grew wet too, but physiologically.

In that frustrating in-between feeling, he stared ahead in shock, his mind foggy as he thought that if this wasn’t a dream, no matter how handsome that face was, he could barely hold back from slapping it.

For an Alpha to give an Omega a Lifelong Mark, he needed to enter the Omega’s Reproductive Cavity and knot inside—a binding act between Alphas and Omegas.

Betas couldn’t be Marked. Even if they had a degenerated Reproductive Cavity, it couldn’t receive a Lifelong Mark. And Betas’ cavities were so regressed they were nearly impossible to find, which was why so many Betas couldn’t reproduce.

The lingering alcohol had long since faded unnoticed. Qiu Sui tasted sweet honey water in every breath, fingers tugging the other’s hair as he murmured sleepily: “Beta… can’t be Marked… just give up.”

Hearing this amid his emotional turmoil only agitated Shen Zhixiao more. He denied it frantically while hugging Qiu Sui tighter. Qiu Sui’s closed eyes snapped open from the shock, feeling the Alpha’s near-breakdown frenzy.

But he was physically drained. Amid the disorientation, listening to the repeated “baby, wife” cries, his eyes gradually half-lidded again.

When Qiu Sui opened his eyes next, it wasn’t waking from a dream but a sour ache bursting from within, like his soul trembled, leaving him dazed and lost.

His dry lips were licked wet again and again by the Alpha, joyful sounds constantly in his ear: “Baby… mm… wife… let’s get married, tomorrow…”

The Alpha babbled happily in his glee, palms stroking Qiu Sui’s cheeks, eyes, nose repeatedly, waiting for the Mark to complete. His reddened, swollen eyelids drooped as he observed Qiu Sui intently for changes.

None.

Still, nothing changed.

As expected, Qiu Sui heard the other’s whimper again, followed by forceful hugs and kisses.

Deep in the bedding, he lifted his lids to gaze at Shen Zhixiao’s stubborn, tear-streaked face, fingers vaguely tugging the man’s hair. The next moment, he felt the Alpha growing restless again, attempting another Mark…

This dream was way too much for Qiu Sui.

He fluttered his lashes dazedly, sensing bright white light beyond his eyelids. Consciousness cleared slowly as he pried his eyes open, gaze unfocused on the unfamiliar ceiling above.

His reviving brain sluggishly recalled yesterday’s memories… Class ended in the afternoon, left school with Xiao Mu, went to the restaurant for a birthday celebration… drank, got dizzy… then back to the hotel.

Right, it was the hotel.

Qiu Sui’s steady breathing quickly turned chaotic upon waking. He instinctively moved his head, and the next second, a sharp ache tugged through his nape and shoulders.

He let out a dull hum in delayed reaction, wanting to reach up and touch, but found his left hand stuck, unable to move.

He frowned lightly. His senses snapped back belatedly—first catching something off in the thick, indescribable scent filling his breaths.

Then his sharpening hearing picked up breathing that wasn’t his. Before he could react, unfamiliar aches spread slowly through his limbs, along with nameless sensations in certain places.

Qiu Sui’s mind blanked for an instant, then he whipped his head to the side—crashing straight into a glimpse of solid, muscular chest.

He shuddered violently all over. Then he realized his left arm was wedged between that unfamiliar waist and arm, fingers clenched around it, numb.

His breath hitched that instant, head snapping up in unstoppable terror—meeting a familiar, sharp-featured face. The Alpha slept soundly, eyes closed, breaths even.

The moment Qiu Sui recognized him, his body froze solid. He yanked his hand free in panic and sat up, electric aches exploding from his movements through his whole body, making it nearly impossible to prop himself up.

His widened view immediately took in the chaotic pile of clothes, blankets surrounding them… and his own disheveled body.

His brain was forcefully flushed with crystal-clear “dream” memories, every detail hitting like a massive shockwave. His hands propping on the bed went weak uncontrollably, nearly blacking out as he almost collapsed back with a thud.

The Alpha’s even breaths deepened as the warmth in his arms faded—the sign of waking.

Qiu Sui had no time for regret or piecing together last night’s events. On reflex, he scrambled up amid the mess, fumbling for clothes.

But his were long gone to some corner. He grabbed a shirt at random and yanked it on.

Before finding pants, the man on the bed stirred awake. Qiu Sui snatched a blanket to shield himself frantically, staring at Shen Zhixiao in panicked bewilderment, utterly at a loss.

Awakening with Shen Zhixiao was a fresh surge of Susceptible Period Pheromones, instantly thickening the room’s fading scent anew.

His mind foggy, he gazed at the Beta half a step away and instinctively propped toward him.

Qiu Sui gaped in shock, clutching the blanket and scooting back, one hand out in front. His own hoarse voice startled him: “Wait…”

An Alpha deep in Susceptible Period couldn’t parse voices or expressions, pressing forward single-mindedly toward his partner. Seeing the hand extended, he reached joyfully to grab it.

Qiu Sui froze, eyes locking in panic with those full of longing. Remembering last night belatedly, he sensed trouble and tried yanking his hand back.

Shen Zhixiao stared puzzled at the fingers twitching in his grip. After a few puzzled seconds, patience gone, he tugged hard, pulling the other over.

Qiu Sui, caught off guard with his exhausted body from yesterday, had no strength left. He toppled onto the man, flailing to struggle free—the next second, heavy breaths sounded by his ear.

Shen Zhixiao’s nose tip nuzzled his temple anxiously, sniffing back and forth. His voice edged with impatience: “Baby… no scent left…”