Chapter 37 Part 1

Wen Yan hadn’t even finished speaking before Liang Shijing shooed him out. Liang Wangyou looked at him curiously. “Father agreed that quickly?”

“He seems a bit busy. We’ll talk tomorrow…” Wen Yan gave an awkward smile. He recalled that Liang Shijing hadn’t seemed angry earlier—he’d just been having a flare-up. The irritability, the headache, the discomfort… it was all normal. In the past, Liang Shijing had only injected Biomimetic Agent, but today he’d gone with an infusion. Perhaps his condition was especially severe this time. Still, Liang Shijing had seemed to need his pheromones badly. Wen Yan decided to wait until tomorrow, when the man seemed in better shape.

As long as it was for Liang Wangyou’s sake, a few harsh words wouldn’t matter.

Lost in such scattered thoughts, the next day arrived. Once Liang Wangyou had left for school, Wen Yan prepared a small dish of especially sweet prunes as a gesture of goodwill. This time, he didn’t barge right in. He waited until Liang Shijing said “come in” before pushing open the door to the study. The room was as dimly lit as ever, and Liang Shijing looked like he hadn’t budged from his chair since yesterday. His clothes were unchanged, the stack of files beside him even taller than before, but the infusion setup was gone.

He must be feeling better now, right? That was what the omega thought. In truth, the reality was the polar opposite—infusions no longer had any effect at all.

“Um… are you busy? Could you spare two minutes…?” Wen Yan asked timidly.

“What is it?” Liang Shijing lifted his head, his voice icy. The waves of irritability and exhaustion rolling off him were impossible to contain.

With that tone and demeanor, the omega couldn’t tell if the alpha was still in the throes of his flare-up. He sniffed the air. The alpha pheromones were faint, oddly reassuring. Emboldened, Wen Yan took a couple of steps forward and set the dish of prunes on the edge of the desk. “There’s something I want to discuss with you.”

The alpha tossed his pen lightly onto the desk and fixed his gaze on Wen Yan’s face. Slowly, he leaned back into his high-backed chair.

Assuming he was still unwell, Wen Yan reached up and toggled the switch on his neck ring. He paused, watching the man’s expression closely. Seeing no change, he pressed on. “Little You always runs into trouble at public places, so I was wondering if we could build an aquarium for him at Oak Bay—like the Botanical Garden. I’d cover all the construction costs. I… I’ve never given him a proper gift before, and next month is his birthday…”

Liang Shijing stared at him coldly, silent.

Wen Yan hurried to explain further. “The private aquarium in the Capital doesn’t allow public access—I’ve already checked. That’s why I thought of this.”

The omega’s voice was soft, laced with the faintest hint of pleading.

The alpha remained expressionless, arms crossed, watching him steadily.

Uh… After a moment, Wen Yan knew it was time to go. Silence meant refusal. Dejected, he nudged the dish of prunes on the desk’s edge, then picked it up and carried it away…

How could anyone be like this?

When he himself was sick, Liang Shijing had been so gentle. Yet after just one night, he’d grown even colder than before. Had Wen Yan kicked him in his sleep that evening? Stolen the covers? He’d tossed and turned all night without answers, his thoughts twisting down one winding path after another. Could the man know he’d watched that video? Wen Yan was utterly baffled but refused to give up.

Clutching his resolve to keep trying despite repeated failures, on the third day he knocked on Liang Shijing’s door once more. The man truly hadn’t moved an inch in three days—at least, he hadn’t left the room. A blanket lay rumpled on the sofa where he’d evidently used it, along with a pile of discarded clothes.

Wen Yan was out of options. He edged closer to the desk. “Please… will you? Just this once?” Liang Shijing’s gaze lacked the sharp aggression of the past two days. He stared intently for several seconds before finally speaking.

“Come here.”

Bewildered, Wen Yan approached. The moment he drew near, an intensely potent wave of alpha pheromones hit him—icy, yet laced with overwhelming dominance. His legs buckled, and he collapsed to the floor.

This is bad… The pheromones are so aggressive… The alpha must have entered his Susceptibility Period…

Liang Shijing swiveled his chair to face him. From his low angle, Wen Yan could only make out the man’s spread legs and the eyes gazing down imperiously. It had been ages since he’d seen that look—the one that treated him like an ant beneath notice. Back at their reunion, the alpha had demanded to know why he hadn’t died out there somewhere. Now, he said nothing. Despite being deep in his uncontrollable Susceptibility Period, he reached down and helped Wen Yan to his feet.

Suddenly, the lights went out, plunging the room into darkness.

The omega panicked. Then the alpha’s feverish hand clamped around his waist, his scorching breath ghosting over the side of Wen Yan’s neck. A slick, heated touch pierced him alongside a stab of pain, drawing a sharp cry from Wen Yan’s lips.

“I didn’t use any force,” Liang Shijing rasped by way of explanation, his breathing ragged.

It was true—he hadn’t. But the omega had always been sensitive to pain.

“Wh-what are you…?” Wen Yan stammered, his gland pulsing wildly. In the haze, he sensed Liang Shijing sinking back into the chair with a long, drawn-out sigh. The hands that had gripped his waist slid up to cradle his cheeks, thumbs pressing into the soft flesh. Their cool nose tips brushed once and parted. Moments later, the alpha pulled him firmly against his side.

“Didn’t you know I’m in my Susceptibility Period?” Liang Shijing’s voice was hoarse as he sank his teeth into the hollow of Wen Yan’s neck.

“Sorry… I just realized…” Tears pricked at Wen Yan’s eyes. Vision was useless in the pitch black, but every sensation was excruciatingly vivid. It hurt… and itched…

Liang Shijing’s palm kneaded and pressed along his back. He buried his face in the crook of Wen Yan’s neck, his tongue flicking lightly over the spot he’d bitten. Wen Yan could tell he wasn’t fully lucid anymore. He didn’t dare move or raise his voice. The alpha hadn’t suppressed him with pheromones, or else he wouldn’t even be able to form words. Then Liang Shijing seized his hand…

Wen Yan shuddered.

The alpha swiftly claimed his other hand as well, gripping both tightly to hold them still.

All his life, the omega had only known the rigid lessons from school textbooks. He had no idea that alphas in Susceptibility Period weren’t just aggressive—they could be this clingy too. Terrified of what the man might do next, Wen Yan clamped down hard on his lower lip, stifling any sound. Liang Shijing’s fever-hot breath roamed over his cheeks. Displeased by his stiffness, the alpha took Wen Yan’s earlobe between his lips and suckled gently. His tongue traced the shell of his ear in slow, deliberate licks, drawing out a maddening pleasure that left him wanting more.

“Pain…” The gland throbbed as if it would burst right through his skin. Wen Yan couldn’t help crying out Liang Shijing’s name in a choked sob. The moment the words escaped his lips, Liang Shijing abruptly released his hands, and the desk lamp flickered on right after, bathing the mortifying scene in unforgiving light. Wen Yan’s face burned crimson as he whipped his head away, but Liang Shijing gripped his chin and forced it back, deftly prying open his mouth for a look.

Wen Yan froze for a moment. He had been crying out from the agony in his gland, yet Liang Shijing thought it was his inflamed mouth that hurt… and at a time like this, he had stopped for that reason…

“It’s almost better now. It doesn’t hurt much anymore…” Wen Yan stammered, trying to cover up the truth.

Their gazes locked, the warm glow of the lamp etching itself into each other’s eyes.

The omega’s nose tip glistened with dampness, his eyelashes were damp, his earlobes damp, and his fingers even more so.

But Liang Shijing had halted every motion, simply leaving him there as his own throat bobbed.

“Didn’t take your medicine on time?”

“I did…” Wen Yan murmured softly.

Liang Shijing smoothed out his rumpled shirt. In the midst of the struggle, one of Wen Yan’s socks had slipped off his foot. Liang Shijing picked it up and slipped it back on for him. Then he gripped Wen Yan’s waist once more and hoisted him up face-to-face onto the desk.

“You took all of them on time?” Liang Shijing exhaled heavily.

“Yes.”

“Then where does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt. I misspoke.” Ever since being set on the desk, Wen Yan had kept his eyes squeezed shut—because no matter where he looked with them open, up or down, he couldn’t escape the alpha’s presence…

“If it doesn’t hurt, then look at me.” Liang Shijing said coolly, as if he were a mere bystander.

Wen Yan had no idea how he survived the next half hour… Every time he closed his eyes, Liang Shijing’s free hand would sneak over to tickle his palm. He had no clue what kind of quirk this alpha had—most people tried to be discreet about things like this, but not him…

In the midst of it all, Liang Shijing reined in his breathing to ask, “What have you been coming to me for these past few days?”

So the alpha hadn’t been listening to a word of his earlier rambling…

“Aquarium… I want to build one at home for Little You… as a birthday gift…” Wen Yan answered in fits and starts. He wasn’t doing anything wrong, yet here he was, terrified out of his mind.

“Why?” Liang Shijing’s questions came short and clipped, every word hissed through clenched teeth.

“He likes it…” Wen Yan’s face scorched with humiliation as he pleaded, “Let me go. Can we talk about it another day?”

“No. Talk now.” Liang Shijing pressed down on his shoulders, shoving him backward. Wen Yan toppled onto the desk, pristine sheets of documents crumpling beneath him like a makeshift bedsheet. The omega’s pale neck arched into view, a vivid red bite mark stark above his collarbone. Liang Shijing’s fever-hot fingertips ground and stroked over it.

“How are you so fragile?”

Wen Yan clamped his mouth shut tight.

“Not talking again? Should I pinch you?”

Liang Shijing actually pinched the palm of his hand.

Pushed to his breaking point, Wen Yan jerked his head around. “I really hate you.”

“That’s your go-to line every time.”

Liang Shijing hadn’t lost his temper despite the repeated interruptions, but his eyes darkened further. He leaned in, nose tip scraping against the sweat beading on Wen Yan’s, then brushing shamelessly back across Wen Yan’s lips. His stare lingered there.

For an alpha, that spot was forbidden ground—the omega’s absolute domain.

One flick of the tongue inside, and he could drink in the pheromones. History could repeat itself… That little yellow pill had been perfected over the New Year holidays, free of side effects now. Everything could return to how it once was… But the alpha held back. Instead, he murmured low, “If I build him an entire sea, will you still hate me?”

“Let me go first!” Wen Yan kicked at him in fury. “Who the hell negotiates like this!”

Another half hour dragged by. The lamp switched off again, and darkness had fallen outside the window.