Qiu Sui thought he’d tugged too hard and hurt Shen Zhixiao, so he quickly released the Neck Ring, checking on him apologetically. “Does it hurt badly? Sorry, I didn’t realize…”
Before he could finish, the hand he’d placed on Shen Zhixiao’s neck was seized.
Shen Zhixiao guided his hand back to the spot, slipping Qiu Sui’s fingers under the specially made Neck Ring and pulling. As he spoke, his rolling Adam’s apple brushed lightly against Qiu Sui’s fingers.
“It doesn’t hurt. I like it like this,” he said earnestly, gazing at him and interrupting in a low voice.
Qiu Sui’s fingers were held stiffly by the Alpha, hooked into the Neck Ring. It took him several seconds to process the Alpha’s blunt words, and his earlier worries were flung far out of mind.
He felt the warmth from Shen Zhixiao’s palm, his head heating up uncontrollably. Propping up his eyelids, he tried to pull his hand back, forcing his gaze away from the other man while pretending to stay calm. “As long as you’re okay…”
Watching him withdraw his hand, Shen Zhixiao’s lashes drooped faintly with a touch of regret, but he continued shadowing Qiu Sui.
Spotting the prepared lunch on the dining table, Qiu Sui instinctively glanced at the open kitchen. The utensils Shen Zhixiao had used were still sitting out, uncleaned.
He’d meant to stay and care for the patient, but he’d ended up helping with nothing. Instead, he’d slept until the sun was high in the sky, woken by the other man, with lunch made by hand by the patient himself.
At the thought, Qiu Sui’s eyelids twitched silently. Feeling a bit guilty, he took the initiative to ladle out some soup.
There weren’t many ingredients in the fridge, so Shen Zhixiao had made a few simple home-style dishes—no fancy plating or fancy seasonings—but they looked utterly appetizing.
When Qiu Sui had a good appetite, he ate heartily, polishing off two full bowls of rice with relish. Afterward, feeling stuffed, he sat on the sofa to digest.
Shen Zhixiao leaned against him beside him, their arms brushing. He occasionally cast eager glances his way, but Qiu Sui was glued to his phone, confessing his new relationship to Qiu Shun and Qiao Keren, and didn’t notice right away.
As he typed replies, the Alpha’s soft voice suddenly sought permission in his ear. “Xiao Sui, can I hold you…?”
Qiu Sui’s fingers jolted mid-edit, nearly sending the unfinished message.
Though they’d confirmed their relationship, Qiu Sui still wasn’t fully adjusted to being in love.
His heart skipped as he sensed Shen Zhixiao’s burning gaze. He didn’t dare turn to meet it. Several seconds passed before he let out a shy, muffled “Mm.”
That was consent. Almost instantly, Shen Zhixiao’s hand slipped lightly around his side, under his back, and slowly encircled his waist from the other side in a sideways embrace.
The man’s breath puffed warmly against Qiu Sui’s neck, drawing his focus there entirely. He couldn’t concentrate on his phone at all—until Shen Zhixiao’s polite request came again.
Though whispered softly, it rang loud in Qiu Sui’s tense ears.
“Can I rest my head on you too?” Shen Zhixiao murmured warmly right by his ear.
Qiu Sui’s ear tingled from the puff of breath, heating sensitively.
His grip tightened on the phone. He swallowed dryly, his gaze drifting vaguely ahead as he forced a calm “Mm.”
Shen Zhixiao immediately bent forward, resting his head on Qiu Sui’s shoulder. His tall frame made the pose look a bit comical.
He held Qiu Sui like that, face meekly lowered against his shoulder, finally settling down.
Qiu Sui’s peripheral vision caught only Shen Zhixiao’s hair. After observing uncertainly for a bit, he saw the man had closed his eyes.
Worried Shen Zhixiao might be leaning on him because he felt unwell, Qiu Sui freed one hand from his phone to check the man’s forehead.
The Alpha’s fever had subsided; his palm detected nothing when pressed there.
Shen Zhixiao startled awake at the touch instead, lifting his face to look at him. Qiu Sui withdrew his hand sheepishly and asked with concern, “How are you feeling now? Does your head still hurt?”
Shen Zhixiao nuzzled lightly against Qiu Sui’s shoulder and shook his head gently. “I’m not uncomfortable anymore. It’s just that I still can’t control my Pheromones.”
Qiu Sui frowned worriedly. Tomorrow was Monday—if Shen Zhixiao’s Pheromones kept leaking uncontrollably, he’d have to keep taking sick leave and stay home. And this couldn’t go on forever; he still needed to see a doctor.
But Shen Zhixiao insisted no need for a house call. “My Pheromone levels are already dropping. I should be back to normal soon, and then we can go straight to the hospital for a checkup.”
Qiu Sui couldn’t sense Pheromones, so he couldn’t detect any changes in concentration. He watched, a bit dazed, as Shen Zhixiao borrowed his phone to download a monitoring app and granted him access permissions.
Shen Zhixiao handed the phone back and explained warmly that the app showed real-time data from his Neck Ring.
“This is for real-time location tracking, this is Susceptible Period detection, and here’s the password settings and battery display for the Neck Ring…”
Shen Zhixiao went through each function one by one, swiping to a black lightning icon at the end. He tapped it open and pointed to the debug interface. “This is the protection feature—it lets you remotely control the current in the Neck Ring…”
Qiu Sui choked on a cough at that, the content sounding all too familiar. His face flushed as he clapped a hand over Shen Zhixiao’s mouth, his tone slipping out of control. “I-I already know that!”
Shen Zhixiao obediently fell silent, looking at him innocently, which made Qiu Sui feel like he’d overreacted.
Forcing his expression steady, he slowly released his hand. Shen Zhixiao lowered his gaze, pointed at the screen, and continued. “Can you set a password for my Neck Ring? That way, only you can unlock it.”
The pricier Pheromone Suppression Rings on the market not only helped suppress the user’s Pheromones but also blocked external Omega Pheromones—to prevent Alphas from losing control around Omegas in heat outdoors.
Verbal promises didn’t provide real security; it had nothing to do with sincerity or trust. Shen Zhixiao felt they needed something more tangible.
If Qiu Sui controlled his Neck Ring, he could know about his Susceptible Periods and Pheromone fluctuations first-hand, track his every move. Wasn’t that more genuine than empty words?
Qiu Sui’s fragile calm shattered again. He clutched the phone tightly, neck stiffening as he stammered, “I— This isn’t right, your Neck Ring…”
“It’s perfect, baby,” Shen Zhixiao cut in, guiding his hand to open the password settings. He added, “I like you controlling my Neck Ring.”
He opened the input screen without giving Qiu Sui time to react, burying his face in Qiu Sui’s shoulder and urging him on. “I promise I won’t peek.”
“…”
Qiu Sui stared at the screen in bewilderment, wondering if Shen Zhixiao had some kind of kink. The Neck Ring was so personal—if he forgot to unlock it, wouldn’t wearing it to shower or sleep be uncomfortable?
But the Alpha nuzzling his shoulder kept prompting him. Qiu Sui had no choice but to enter a long password. Once set, the Neck Ring could only be unlocked by re-entering it in the app.
Shen Zhixiao tugged experimentally at the clasp. The spot that used to open easily was now securely locked.
Qiu Sui figured he’d regret it, but instead, after confirming, Shen Zhixiao hugged him tighter with a happy laugh. “I like the feeling of you controlling me, baby.”
Qiu Sui’s heart swelled at the sappy words. Shame curled his fingers away from the screen; he was at a loss for words.
With that done, Shen Zhixiao settled back meekly against his shoulder, eyes closing again. Qiu Sui’s heartbeat still raced as he stared at the phone screen.
He checked the monitoring app. He didn’t understand most of the numbers, but Shen Zhixiao had said the Pheromone concentration gauge turning from red to green meant it was back to normal.
It had been a bit high earlier, but now it had dropped over a dozen points. Things really were improving bit by bit.
Qiu Sui let out a breath of relief. Glancing down at the Alpha wrapped around him, he realized belatedly just how clingy Shen Zhixiao was.
He’d vaguely sensed it from the way the man followed him to classes, but there was nothing wrong with that.
A slight smile tugged at his lips as he reopened WeChat to chat with Qiu Shun and Qiao Keren.
Qiu Sui wanted to arrange a time to bring Shen Zhixiao to meet them for a meal. They’d bumped into each other a few times and exchanged polite greetings, but never properly met.
As he thought it over, he realized Shen Zhixiao had gone quiet, eyes closed—seemingly asleep from exhaustion.
The man had gone to bed late last night, gotten up at seven or eight in the morning, and even made lunch. For someone sick, that was overdoing it.
Qiu Sui gently steadied Shen Zhixiao’s drooping head. The man slept deeply, undisturbed by the motion.
Lips pressing together slightly, Qiu Sui adjusted his head straight and smoothed back the hair falling over his face.
Without expression, Shen Zhixiao looked a bit fierce—brows faintly furrowed, thin lips a straight line. Even with eyes closed, his sharp, stern features exuded an imposing air.
Utterly unlike the pretty, gentle Omega type Qiu Sui had once imagined, but he liked it anyway.
Ideal type and what you actually like aren’t the same thing, Qiu Sui mused inwardly.
He’d never stared at Shen Zhixiao’s face so openly from this close. Unable to resist, he lightly brushed the man’s nose bridge. No reaction. Emboldened, he touched the edge of his lips.
Qiu Sui licked his own lips, poking Shen Zhixiao’s cheek lightly. Carefully, he snapped a few sneaky photos with his phone.
Checking them one-handed, he suddenly felt his hand on the man’s face seized.
Qiu Sui’s heart clenched in the panic of being caught red-handed.
Eyes drifting downward bit by bit, he saw Shen Zhixiao still asleep—likely just unconsciously grabbing the fingers on his face because it felt off.
He froze, not daring to move, letting Shen Zhixiao hold his hand. He hid the photos, then slowly exhaled, chatting and reading comics one-handed on his phone.
But soon Qiu Sui grew drowsy too. He dozed off against Shen Zhixiao and woke to find it past three in the afternoon.
Shen Zhixiao looked no different from usual now, his complexion healthy.
Qiu Sui opened the monitoring app and saw the values had turned green. Concerned, he asked, “Are your Pheromones still leaking?”
The Alpha, awake but still holding him without further movement, paused as if checking. A few seconds later, he smiled and nodded. “Back to normal.”
Relieved, Qiu Sui pulled up the hospital booking portal.
There were still slots in Pheromone Emergency. He quickly shoved the phone toward Shen Zhixiao. “We can still book and see the doctor now. Let’s go get you checked out.”
The Alpha seemed to have forgotten about this, his frame stiffening faintly at the booking screen.
