Chapter 35: The Throne Part 1

Wei Tingxia noticed his gaze.

“If you dare bite once more, I’ll knock your teeth out,” he warned.

Under the bright lights, the stress-induced tears in the omega’s eyes had not yet faded, nor had the flush on his cheeks dissipated. He looked moist and soft, extremely enticing.

But Yan Xinfeng could tell he was serious, and he knew Wei Tingxia had the ability to do it, so he could only lick his teeth regretfully and raise his hands in surrender. “I won’t.”

Wei Tingxia continued, “And there won’t be a next time.”

Yan Xinfeng felt even more regretful.

He wondered why he had never thought to take a bite there over the past three years. After all, Wei Tingxia had been constrained by many restrictions back then, so he probably wouldn’t have dared to retort so bluntly. If bitten, he would only grit his teeth and kick, not threaten to knock out teeth.

His regretful gaze lingered on the back of his own hand. Wei Tingxia paused, then abruptly pulled his hand back. He strode quickly to the mirror and indeed saw a clear tooth mark embedded neatly above and below his brow arch.

Wei Tingxia decisively kicked to the side. “Are you sick?”

“I’m perfectly normal,” Yan Xinfeng said. “You’ve seen all my medical reports, and I’ve seen yours.”

At this point, his voice suddenly paused, and his gaze shifted subtly before he continued, “Except for the most recent one.”

That was right. Deep Blue Base conducted a full physical exam for all members every six months, paying even more attention to physical health than the regular Empire military. Wei Tingxia didn’t need to hide his omega identity from them, so he always went through with the exams as usual—until the last one, when some things that shouldn’t have been there appeared on his report.

Mentioning this ignited Wei Tingxia’s anger. With that unsightly tooth mark still on his brow, he whipped around, his gaze sweeping Yan Xinfeng up and down.

“What are you doing here?”

In the dead of night, the legendary leader of the Deep Blue Star Pirates—who was said to be dead—appeared in the deputy commander’s room at Border Military District. No matter how you looked at it, it spelled big trouble.

Yan Xinfeng didn’t answer immediately. He leaned back bonelessly against the cold metal door, arms crossed over his chest, his relaxed posture clashing with the tense atmosphere.

He slowly scanned Wei Tingxia from fingertips to the corners of his eyes, his gaze teasing but his tone serious. “You can come find me, but I can’t come find you?”

“This is a military district,” Wei Tingxia said. “If Lin Wensi finds out, he’ll stuff you into a launcher and shoot you into outer space.”

Yan Xinfeng frowned at that, but not because he imagined his own grim fate being launched away—rather, because—

“Why do you always bring him up?” he asked. “Is he that impressive?”

Wei Tingxia found it baffling. “When did I always bring him up? I only mentioned him once.”

“You must have said it many times in your heart,” Yan Xinfeng said confidently. “What, after racking your brains to get back to Capital Star, you suddenly remembered Lin Wensi at the border and came rushing back in a flurry?”

His words carried barbs, determined to make everyone uncomfortable.

Wei Tingxia didn’t indulge him and nodded directly. “Yes, I came back for him.”

“You!”

Yan Xinfeng took a deep breath. He couldn’t fathom how there could be such an omega in the world. Already marked, yet still flirting around without any sense of family responsibility.

He said indignantly, “Can you touch the tooth mark on your gland before you speak?”

“So what?” Wei Tingxia acted disdainful. “I was raised as an alpha from childhood, as you know. Alphas, well, they always have trouble controlling themselves.”

“Then how come I can control myself?!” Yan Xinfeng retorted. “If you have no sense of responsibility, just say you have no sense of responsibility. Don’t pin the blame on me!”

Wei Tingxia readily agreed. “Right, I have no sense of responsibility.”

Someone in the room was about to die of anger, and it wasn’t Wei Tingxia. Guess who?

Fortunately, System 0188 chose that moment to chime in: [Reminder: Lin Tao is heading back.]

This damn system had stayed silent when Yan Xinfeng appeared, but the moment Lin Tao moved toward the dorms, it detected her. Clearly, it had bad intentions earlier.

But Wei Tingxia still felt a flash of alertness.

Lin Tao was the only one besides him who had seen that medical report, the only person in the world who knew Wei Tingxia’s secret. She couldn’t meet Yan Xinfeng.

With that in mind, Wei Tingxia soaked his towel in water and roughly wiped his face before issuing an invitation. “Want to go to my room?”

Yan Xinfeng lifted his eyelids, not wanting to chat more with this heartless omega. “What for?”

He recalled the gossip circulating at the base before—some reckless lunatic claiming he’d been whored out. Yan Xinfeng had taken it as a joke at the time, but now it seemed he was on the verge of becoming the joke.

Wei Tingxia had no idea what twists were going through his mind. He eyed Yan Xinfeng’s arms crossed over his chest, which accentuated his muscular lines beautifully, and his previously calm desire began to stir again.

Without hesitation, he reached out and groped Yan Xinfeng’s chest before inviting again. “Come on!”

The feeling of being whored grew stronger. It was normal for marked AOs to be affectionate with each other, but Yan Xinfeng suddenly thought not going to Wei Tingxia’s room might be the better choice, so he stayed put.

“I think it’s fine here.” He glanced around. “Though the military district is dirt poor, at least it has a roof so you won’t get drenched.”

As if Border Military District were a slum. Wei Tingxia rolled his eyes, ignoring his deflection. He grabbed Yan Xinfeng’s wrist and dragged him upstairs.

Once he got the man into the room, Wei Tingxia slammed the door shut, went to the window to peer outside, then planned his escape route in advance.

“When you leave later, remember to climb out the window.”

Yan Xinfeng: “…”

He didn’t speak at first. He touched his own gland to confirm the marking traces were there before drawling, “Am I that disgraceful that I can’t be seen?”

“What do you think? If we recycled your paper wanted posters, we could supply exam papers for an entire elementary school’s finals.”

What a sharp-tongued remark.

Yan Xinfeng sauntered to the largest piece of furniture in the room, swung his legs up, and lay on the bed, propping himself up slightly to watch Wei Tingxia by the window.

The bed board seemed salvaged from some scrapped mecha. As Yan Xinfeng lay down, he caught the mingled scent of disguised alpha pheromones and steel.

He watched Wei Tingxia secure the window, watched the glaring white lights outside divide the omega’s figure into light and shadow—the lit parts starkly pale, the shadowed ones almost indistinguishable.

The room wasn’t large, just right for one person, a bit cramped for two. Because they were so close, Yan Xinfeng always felt like he could hear Wei Tingxia’s heartbeat.

But hearing a heartbeat didn’t help. Wei Tingxia had a shrewd heart; he didn’t keep his thoughts in his heartbeat. Yan Xinfeng never knew what he was thinking.

His silence alerted Wei Tingxia. Once he confirmed Lin Tao wouldn’t run into Yan Xinfeng even if she returned, he slowly walked to the bedside and asked, “What are you here for?”

Yan Xinfeng answered without thinking. “To see if you’ve hooked up with Lin Wensi.”

The words sounded jealous, or like using Lin Wensi as an excuse to dodge the real issue.

“What’s it to you?” Wei Tingxia frowned. “Let me say it again: you’re a star pirate, and this place is full of Empire soldiers. If you’re discovered, you won’t even be able to escape.”

“Is that concern for me?”

Yan Xinfeng reached out to hook Wei Tingxia’s waist, his tone lazy. “After sleeping with you for three years, I’ve finally gotten something in return.”

Seeing him like this infuriated Wei Tingxia, as if he were the only one caring about this star pirate’s life.

“Get serious!”

He straddled Yan Xinfeng’s abdomen, reached to pinch his neck, and shook him hard, gritting out, “If you really get launched away, how am I supposed to explain it?”

A star pirate in the Second Prince’s room—Wei Heng and Wei Shu would love that headline.

Yan Xinfeng let him shake. His Adam’s apple rolled under Wei Tingxia’s palm, but his face showed no pain or panic.

The hand that had been flat on the metal bed board naturally clasped his side waist when Wei Tingxia straddled him. His fingertips rubbed that sensitive soft flesh through the thin fabric, now and then, intimate and soothing.

“Explain?” Yan Xinfeng said evenly despite the pinch, even with a hint of amusement, though his breathing grew slightly heavier. “Simple. Just say I fell for you at first sight and couldn’t help coming to harass you.”

Wei Tingxia sneered. “I’m an alpha.”

No alpha ever fell for another alpha at first sight.

Enraged, he added three more measures of force, his knuckles whitening slightly, but the alpha beneath him kept a steady, powerful pulse that transmitted through his skin, scorching his fingertips into a faint tremble.

“Then teach me?” Yan Xinfeng’s hand brushed Wei Tingxia’s brow. “I’d like to know how to say it too.”

He leaned in as if affectionately and kissed the back of Wei Tingxia’s thumb, but his tone suddenly turned dangerous.

“I thought I’d found a kindred-spirit omega, but instead he stabbed me in the back when I wasn’t looking, dumped me on Insect Mother Planet, then sauntered back to the Empire to play Second Prince…”

Wei Tingxia’s hand on his neck stiffened abruptly, then slowly released.

“Are you mad that I stabbed you,” his voice sank with a hint of probing, “or mad that I’m the Second Prince?”

Yan Xinfeng’s brow arched, crisp and direct. “Can’t it be both?”

Wei Tingxia let out a short laugh.

His unease and faint guilt lasted only a few seconds before an annoyance Yan Xinfeng couldn’t quite fathom took over.

“If you’re mad about both, I’ll just choke you to death.” Wei Tingxia said slowly. “Don’t assume you’re the victim here.”

“Am I not victim enough?” Yan Xinfeng countered, listing his woes. “I picked you up from outside the base back then, took diligent care of you, gave you everything you wanted, treated you like a god. Then you tricked me into a sham marriage and hurt me during it. Have you no conscience?”