Chapter 12

Bathroom.

The showerhead sprayed icy cold water, but the wristband monitoring his heart rate still beeped incessantly. Lu Mingjin ripped it off and tossed it aside. Bai Ruonian was definitely sent to torment him.

=

The sound of water from the bathroom finally stopped.

Bai Ruonian was curled up on the bed in the master bedroom, his fingertips clutching the corner of the blanket. His heart hammered so fast it felt like it would burst through his chest. He never felt this sneaky as a cat.

Why was his heart beating so fast just thinking about cuddling with his owner?

The back of his neck felt a little hot, too.

Bai Ruonian couldn’t figure it out. It wasn’t like he was doing anything improper.

It was just a cuddle.

He tried to psych himself up, but when the bathroom door creaked open and the Alpha walked in, still wreathed in lingering steam, Bai Ruonian instinctively shrank back. Lu Mingjin wore only a towel. Water droplets traced paths down his taut abdominal muscles, sliding into his Adonis belt. Moonlight cut through the room like a thin, sharp blade.

The Alpha’s eyes, upon seeing him, turned amused and unreadable.

“…What are you doing here?”

Lu Mingjin’s voice was low and raspy. His gaze swept across the lump huddled on the bed.

Bai Ruonian pursed his lips and slowly poked his head out from the covers, his hair sticking up in messy tufts. “I-I couldn’t sleep.”

Lu Mingjin didn’t speak. He just walked to the bedside and looked down at him. Bai Ruonian could feel the lingering heat from the Alpha’s body, and that faint hint of pheromones—uniquely Lu Mingjin’s, like an approaching storm, scorching and dangerous.

He swallowed and crawled out from under the blanket, standing barefoot in front of Lu Mingjin. Carefully, he reached out, his fingertips gently hooking the edge of the Alpha’s towel. His voice was incredibly soft. “…I’m scared to sleep alone…”

Lu Mingjin’s breath audibly hitched for a second. His gaze darkened to the color of impenetrable ink. The night breeze blowing through didn’t quell his restlessness; it was like pouring oil on a spark.

The excuse was flimsy, but the person himself was very forward.

“Why?”

He forced himself to ask patiently.

“I’m afraid of the dark…”

Lu Mingjin paused. This was absurd.

Using that as an excuse was laughably ridiculous.

“If you’re scared of the dark, turn on the light. I’m not a light bulb.”

The words were clearly meant to shoo him away. Bai Ruonian’s eyes were glistening, but he stubbornly refused to budge.

In the past, his owner always let him up on the bed….

Lu Mingjin said coolly, “Still staying here? Do you want me to help you break this bad habit?”

He stepped forward. The shadow cast by his tall frame instantly swallowed Bai Ruonian whole. His powerful Alpha aura pressed down without restraint. His fingertips, carrying undeniable authority, almost touched the sensitive skin on the Omega’s nape.

“A week in Confinement. Once you’ve finished counting 518,400 heartbeats, you’ll be cured when you come out.” His tone was casual, but the threat was heavy. He was ready to add, “It’s not that many times even in a year. Want to try?”

He expected the Omega to take the hint and back down. Instead, he was met with Bai Ruonian’s tear-filled eyes.

“You counted?”

“Of course.” Lu Mingjin looked at him, frowning, wondering how one Omega could have such a rich array of expressions.

“518,400… you counted?”

Bai Ruonian repeated the number, as if digesting something, as if confirming something. Suddenly, his eyes widened even further, as though he had just understood a terrible truth.

How could someone who had never been confined remember the exact number of heartbeats?

Bai Ruonian’s voice was usually soft and light, but now it trembled. “Why? Were you confined for a week… or a year…?”

The fingertips that had been about to physically throw the Omega out halted in mid-air.

Lu Mingjin had seen countless reactions—fear, flattery, calculation—but never this one.

An emotion utterly foreign to him.

The heavy scent of gunpowder in the air suddenly turned violent, like a storm futilely battering against a sealed space. It was so thick it almost solidified, pressing down oppressively.

Yet Bai Ruonian seemed completely oblivious. Instead, within that suffocating low pressure, he moved closer with a gesture that was clumsy yet stubborn—carefully, tentatively, leaning towards him. “No. Get out.”

Lu Mingjin’s voice was incredibly hoarse, every word wrapped in scorching breath. Though his mouth said that, his eyes looked ready to devour someone alive.

Seeing Bai Ruonian’s innocent expression, it was clear he had no idea what was about to happen.

He was just an Omega, as defenseless as a kitten, yet here he was, deludedly trying to offer comfort. Lu Mingjin stared at him darkly. “This is your last chance.”

Faced with the Alpha’s slightly aggressive advance, Bai Ruonian didn’t move. His sense of smell was always keen. He caught the scent of hurricane and gunpowder on his owner—that was his pheromone.

What was it Lin Er had said? Alphas need Omegas to neutralize their pheromones, need their cuddles. He wasn’t a cat anymore, he was human. He could do more now.

Deciding to go for broke, Bai Ruonian simply scrambled up from the bed, wrapped his arms around the Alpha’s neck, and said, voice filled with grievance, “I’m not leaving.”

The Lily-of-the-Valley Fragrance spread, light and faint. The previously composed Alpha stiffened abruptly. Lu Mingjin’s breathing turned ragged. His canines itched; the blood in his veins roared. His palm gripped that slender waistline, about to apply force, but he pulled back at the last second.

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

Bai Ruonian lifted his face and nodded. “Yes.”

“You know jack shit.”

Even young Alphas have moments of losing control. Lu Mingjin cursed. He grabbed two Suppressant Patches from the bookshelf, seized Bai Ruonian’s wrist and pulled him back. Breathing heavily, he pushed aside the fine silver hair on Bai Ruonian’s nape, ignored his struggles, and mercilessly slapped a patch onto his gland.

The touch of his calloused fingertips on the Omega’s soft gland sent a jolt through Bai Ruonian’s brain. His whole body trembled uncontrollably, and his legs gave out, sending him tumbling into Lu Mingjin’s arms.

Lu Mingjin quickly applied one to himself, face blank as he watched the still-trembling Omega.

“Understand the consequences now?”

A newly differentiated Omega, looking like his gland hadn’t even fully developed. Setting aside whether he could handle him, he probably couldn’t even endure regular intercourse. Just the slightest touch overstimulated him this much.

Knowing nothing, how could he act as the nail later?

Bai Ruonian was completely dazed.

He didn’t know what was happening to him. All he knew was that when Lu Mingjin touched his nape, his legs went weak.

He stared blankly at Lu Mingjin, eyes still brimming with physiological tears, lashes trembling. Yet he still rested his chin on Lu Mingjin’s shoulder.

Lu Mingjin stiffened.

For genders like Alphas and Omegas, bearing such distinct animalistic traits, that gesture was pure, instinctive dependence and trust.

With the Suppressant Patch on, Lu Mingjin couldn’t even chalk this up to Nesting Instinct.

Hard to understand.

In the darkness, Lu Mingjin stared intensely at Bai Ruonian’s glistening eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed. In the end, he silently flipped the blanket open and pulled the person into his arms.

“Sleep.”

Resting in the Alpha’s embrace, Bai Ruonian’s eyes sparkled.

See, he knew his owner liked to cuddle.

All talk, body so honest.

It was so comfortable and warm next to his owner.

Permission granted, the Alpha had just laid down when the Omega snuggled over like a small animal. His head rested in the crook of the Alpha’s arm, his legs curled up against his waist. Lu Mingjin’s entire body tensed, but Bai Ruonian was utterly unaware. He even contentedly nuzzled the Alpha’s shoulder and mumbled softly, “…So warm.”

Lu Mingjin: “…”

He suspected this Omega was doing it on purpose.

Omegas naturally ran cold, hands and feet always icy, so he instinctively gravitated towards the heat source. He even unconsciously rubbed his cheek against the Alpha’s shoulder. His breathing gradually evened out.

But Lu Mingjin didn’t sleep a wink all night.

Bai Ruonian’s sleeping posture wasn’t honest. Sometime past midnight, he was practically sprawled on top of him. His sleep robe had ridden up into a mess, the collar wide open, revealing a pale expanse of chest. The Alpha’s palm rested against the small of his back; the silky feel of his skin made his knuckles stiffen.

The most fatal thing was—

Bai Ruonian’s nape was right near his lips.

In sleep, the Omega’s gland was slightly swollen, emitting a sweet, secretive Lily-of-the-Valley scent, like a silent invitation. Lu Mingjin’s canines itched. His Alpha instincts screamed at him to bite down, to mark him, to possess him—

But ultimately, he just took a deep breath, gently peeled the octopus-like Omega off him, rolled out of bed, and headed for the balcony.

He needed another cold shower.

—Or maybe he should just pull an all-nighter at Military Command.

The next day.

Bai Ruonian woke from the sweetest sleep he’d had since turning into a human.

He stretched, only to find his owner gone.

The room was quiet, only the Little Robot diligently cleaning. He padded barefoot onto the floor and ran to the study, the living room, checking each room one by one. Finally, he had to accept the fact.

His owner had left long ago.

The Smart Housekeeper lit up blue at the right moment. “Major General Lu departed for Military Command at 04:17. He left a message citing urgent military affairs.”

Bai Ruonian sighed. His fingers unconsciously twisted the belt of his sleep robe. His owner was busy, he understood, but this early?

He… didn’t do anything wrong yesterday, did he?

He had done everything exactly as Lin Yi and the others taught him.

His Terminal rang out at an inopportune moment. Bai Ruonian didn’t register the sound clearly until a large screen popped up before his eyes.

Caller ID: Bai Shouyi.

Bai Ruonian’s hand froze for a second.

So it was that “Father.”

He didn’t know if it was the original host’s body reacting or what, but his heart clenched painfully.

Bai Ruonian still remembered. This was the man who had slapped the original host so hard his hearing was damaged, sending him to oblivion.

This was the man who, by his hospital bed, introduced Bai Jianyin to everyone and arranged to marry him off to the Chief Executive of District One.

The other party persistently kept calling. Without much thought, Bai Ruonian hit reject.

But a communication window popped up again soon after.

Bai Ruonian couldn’t make out the sound clearly, but the constant buzzing made his fur stand on end.

Right… block…

Just as he was about to block the number, a brief text message came through.

[Little Bai, your mother is sick and wants to see you. Come back home and visit, okay?]