Chapter 40: The Instructor’s Beagle Pups Part 1

The protagonist stopped replying.

Lin Jianxi set his phone aside. He had a rough idea of what the protagonist must be thinking right now.

He had never known love and desperately wanted it, so he would definitely seize any chance to meet up.

Lin Jianxi knew full well what would happen to him after that meeting.

But he’d come this far. One more push.

Whether he could protect Shen Yuxiu remained an open question.

The System saw right through it all. It circled him, sobbing, “Handing yourself over like this to someone you don’t love… it must hurt so much.”

Lin Jianxi leaned down and planted a gentle kiss on Shen Yuxiu’s cheek.

He turned to the System. “Who do you think I love? Hell, I don’t even know.”

“…”

Lin Jianxi went on, “Just… don’t make me live too clear-headed.”

“…”

The System was just a digital construct—emotions it could summon or discard at will. But now it didn’t know whether to cry or console him. For the first time in centuries of guiding countless hosts, it felt utterly at a loss.

Hesitantly, the System said, “Shouldn’t you rest? When this world ends, I’ll give you a break.”

Lin Jianxi replied, “Depends on your quotas, doesn’t it? When you recruited me, you said you were way behind on performance.”

“…”

The System fell silent.

That question from the System suddenly made Lin Jianxi curious about how Shen Yuxiu had fallen for him. For someone like Shen to decide he was worth treating well, his feelings had to go beyond mere friendship—edging right up to love.

“Husband,” Lin Jianxi asked, “why do you like me?”

Shen Yuxiu answered quickly this time. “You’re different from everyone else.”

“How so?”

“Every way.” Shen Yuxiu looked at him earnestly. “You’re special.”

Lin Jianxi let out a chuckle.

It was novel, hearing Shen Yuxiu say something like that.

He recalled their first meeting. Shen Yuxiu had barely acknowledged him, but Lin Jianxi hadn’t minded. He’d just carried on as usual.

Like that morning when he got hungry and tried making breakfast. He mangled the cutting board as always and nicked his finger, waking Shen Yuxiu from his nap.

Lin Jianxi knew how busy Shen Yuxiu’s work was, so he simply stood there, looking innocent.

Shen Yuxiu shot him an impatient glance, grabbed the cutting board from the table, and headed for the trash.

Was he going to cook?

Lin Jianxi perked up and leaned in, brushing a kiss against the corner of Shen Yuxiu’s mouth.

Shen Yuxiu froze, the half-ruined board dangling from his hand. He didn’t toss it.

Lin Jianxi teased, “Hm? Why not throw it out?”

“What was that for?” Shen Yuxiu demanded.

“I like you. Wanted to kiss you.”

In the end, Shen Yuxiu cooked a meal with that mangled board. It wasn’t tasty, looked as rigid and unyielding as his personality, and was tough as nails.

Shen Yuxiu could be ruthless in bed.

Lin Jianxi figured it was his nature—plus, he was probably a virgin. It had hurt a bit during the act, and honestly, it hadn’t been all that great.

He knew Shen Yuxiu could tell. After all, with a male body, it was pretty obvious whether he felt pleasure or not.

So afterward, Lin Jianxi would always tenderly kiss his cheek to wrap things up.

Over time, Shen Yuxiu seemed to learn. He grew gentler, more considerate of Lin Jianxi’s feelings. Once, during a rainstorm, he pinned Lin Jianxi against the window—

That had been the first time Lin Jianxi interrupted Shen Yuxiu midway through something.

He’d dashed out to rescue a little kitten—the one they had at home now. That day, Shen Yuxiu’s gaze had been complicated as Lin Jianxi, hair dripping wet, grinned and thrust the kitten toward him.

Jokingly, he said, “Hey, kiddo. This is your dad from now on.”

The little cat meowed.

Lin Jianxi prompted, “You should meow twice.”

The kitten stared up at him with wide eyes, looking uneasy.

That day marked the first time—outside of sex—that Shen Yuxiu took the initiative to hold him.

He pulled Lin Jianxi, soaked to the skin, into his arms. Lin Jianxi couldn’t see his face, only struggled a little. “I’m all wet…”

“So does that make you the mom?”

Shen Yuxiu’s voice was as cool as ever, but there was the faintest tremor in it.

Lin Jianxi shot back, “Yeah, you’re the dad now. What else could I be?”

As they grew more familiar with each other, Lin Jianxi picked up one of his old habits again—drinking.

Shen Yuxiu kept his distance, but Lin Jianxi was used to it. He’d drink alone, and after missions when he came home injured and the pain got bad, he’d numb it with booze.

He’d often drink himself into oblivion.

He knew it was a bad habit, but he couldn’t kick it. If Shen Yuxiu complained, he’d just drink somewhere else.

But strangely enough…

Ever since he started drinking, Shen Yuxiu had gotten nicer to him. He’d even prepare hangover remedies. Whenever Lin Jianxi passed out on the floor, Shen Yuxiu would carry him back to bed. He’d wake up cradled in his arms, with Shen Yuxiu massaging his aching head from the night before…

~~~

Lin Jianxi fished a cigarette from Shen Yuxiu’s pocket and bent slightly, gesturing for him to light it.

The System spoke up. “Because when you black out, you say things. Do things.”

Lin Jianxi paused mid-motion.

Yeah, that tracked. He remembered doing plenty in the First World after blacking out.

The System continued, “The first few times you passed out on the floor, he ignored you completely. Later, someone drugged you because they wanted you, so he was going to carry you to the bedroom.”

Lin Jianxi: “…”

“But that time, you told him—”

“No matter how your career goes, always stay safe, okay, Husband?”

“Husband, I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“Husband, don’t be sad. I do feel it—I just take longer to get there than most.”

“Husband, you smell so good.”

“Husband, I’m aching. When are you going to bite me? I want you to…”

“Husband, I cleaned the living room, but then I smashed my face on the floor, so here I am…”

“Shen—Yuxiu.” He gazed up at the ceiling in a daze, at the figure looming over him. “Next time, I don’t want to know the ending ahead of time.”

“What ending?”

He wrapped his arms around the other’s neck and suddenly smiled. “The author spoiled the novel’s ending for me ahead of time. There’s no point chasing it anymore—it just feels so empty.”

Lin Jianxi’s arms slowly loosened as he murmured in a daze, “I feel like I’m standing in the middle of a busy street with cars speeding past. I know a crash is coming, but I’m stuck right there in the center…”

“You’re drunk.”

“Oh… yeah… I like drinking. Thanks for putting up with me. I love the feeling of forgetting everything. I’d rather keep losing my memory over and over, so every day feels fresh and unknown.”

“…”

~~~

“Every time, you hit him with a bunch of nonsense or straight-up confessions of affection,” the System said. “Gradually, he started carrying you back to your room each time, listening to you ramble and even responding.”

“Oh… I see.”

Lin Jianxi clamped a cigarette between his teeth and leaned in close to Shen Yuxiu, inhaling the scent at the nape of his neck.

Then he sank his teeth in gently.

Nothing. No sensation at all.

Shen Yuxiu let him bite. Lin Jianxi chuckled softly. “Doesn’t that hurt?”

“It hurts.”

“If it hurts, you should tell me. Or at least ask why I’m biting you.”

Lin Jianxi bit down again.

“It hurts. Why are you biting me?” Shen Yuxiu slid a hand to the back of Lin Jianxi’s neck and pressed down just a little. “If you like it, feel free to bite more often.”

“I don’t like it. I just wanted to know what it feels like for an Omega to bite an Alpha.” Lin Jianxi grinned. “But there’s nothing to it. So what does it feel like when you bite me?”

“Very comfortable.”

“How comfortable?”

“Extremely comfortable.”

Lin Jianxi: “…”

~~~

Lin Jianxi sat alone in his bedroom, a thick stack of employer files laid out beside him.

He’d already made his selections. All that was left was for the trainees to arrive for practical training tomorrow.

He clutched a bottle of liquor in one hand while his phone buzzed relentlessly in the other.

—Instructor, I’m so nervous

—Instructor, does practical training come down to luck? Like if my employer has a lucky day and nothing goes wrong

—Instructor, will the ambulance be waiting outside for me? [crying]

Lin Jianxi lacked the energy to reply to each one. He pushed himself to his feet and headed to the bathroom to slap on a fresh inhibitor patch.

Then he threw on some proper clothes and made his way to the training field.

The trainees’ restless anxiety turned the already sweltering field into a pressure cooker. Eyes darted everywhere, some pleading silently for rescue.

But there was no good reason to quit.

This was their only path forward—their entry conditions had sealed it that way.

Just like the Protagonist.

Lin Jianxi stared up at the sun, but a growing numbness and chill seeped into his bones.

If the Protagonist had been a little luckier, he wouldn’t have turned out so extreme. If Shen Yuxiu hadn’t craved love so desperately, the Protagonist wouldn’t have been quite so unlucky.

It was all scripted. Only he could see how it ended.

Lin Jianxi stepped in front of the trainees and flashed a smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll be waiting for you outside. Sometimes luck isn’t a blessing—letting your guard down this time just makes the fallout from bad luck hit even harder next time.”

The trainees nodded eagerly.

“Take the day off. Want to head out for some fun? You’re free to leave the training camp.”

They nodded even more vigorously.

Lin Jianxi waved them off. “Then go on.”

“Instructor, come with us!”

“Yeah! We’ve known each other for ages, but we’ve never hung out with you outside.”

“We’re teacher and student on the field, but off the clock, we’re friends!”

“I won’t join you,” Lin Jianxi said. “I’ve got work to finish.”

Not with his heat period closing in—it would be too inconvenient.

The trainees looked crestfallen for a moment before pleading, “Just for a little while! We haven’t seen what you’re like outside the camp. What if we can’t recognize you after we leave?”

Lin Jianxi still said no.

Besides practical training, he had one more pressing matter to handle.

Shen Yuxiu’s other little brother.

An incredibly timid guy. A place like the training camp would probably shatter his nerves. Lin Jianxi wanted to give him a heads-up while he still had time off.

After all, once practical training wrapped up tomorrow, the kid would dive straight into training.

Lin Jianxi went right to the boy’s dorm room and pushed open the door.

The young man sat ramrod straight on his bed, his wounds mostly healed. From the side, he bore a resemblance to Xu Song’an—but with a cooler edge.

“When no one’s around, you should relax and do what you want,” Lin Jianxi said. He shut the door behind him, dragged over a chair, and sat down in front of the boy. “Doesn’t sitting like that get tiring?”

The boy bit his lip.

Lin Jianxi said, “Open your mouth.”

The boy obeyed without hesitation.

Lin Jianxi pressed his fingertip against the boy’s teeth. “Bite.”

“…”

“It’s okay. I told you to do it. I won’t scold you or punish you.”

The boy’s teeth closed slowly—

“Hiss…” Lin Jianxi winced, his brows knitting together. “That hurts.”

The boy released him instantly and grabbed his hand in a panic to inspect it. Lin Jianxi pulled away. “I felt that pain. Why won’t you let yourself feel it?”