Chapter 44: A Strange Ending

Whether Xu Song’an had gone to wash his hands or not, Lin Jianxi no longer knew. He had fallen into a deep sleep, and when he awoke, his body felt heavy and drained of all strength.

Lin Jianxi dragged himself up from the bed and saw Xu Song’an still kneeling at his side. He let out a chuckle. “Not even smart enough to slack off.”

“…”

“Get up,” said Lin Jianxi. “Sit on the bed. I’ll put some medicine on your knees.”

Xu Song’an stared at him in disbelief. Lin Jianxi said nothing more. Following the System’s prompt, he located the bottle of Red Flower Oil, rolled up Xu Song’an’s pant legs, and began gently rubbing his knees.

“Instructor.”

“Mm?”

“I’ve deleted all those videos. Cleaned them out completely.”

“Mm. Good boy. As long as you know you were wrong.”

“So… Instructor, does that mean you’ve forgiven me?” Xu Song’an didn’t seem to register the ache in his knees at all.

“I wasn’t angry with you in the first place. What’s there to forgive?”

“…”

Silence fell between them.

Not being angry was somehow worse than anger itself. Anger, at least, meant you cared. No anger meant indifference—treating the other person like thin air. But that wasn’t what Lin Jianxi intended. He did pity Xu Song’an, though he truly wasn’t upset.

After all, this world belonged to people like Xu Song’an. It had nothing to do with him.

Lin Jianxi only cared about others, never himself. He had no desire to torment himself needlessly, to wallow in pain and discomfort. Besides, once he left this place, no one would even know who he was.

“In the future, if you want revenge, don’t drag others into it. Think about whether it’s really worth it.” Lin Jianxi lowered his lashes. “I don’t blame you for hurting Shen Yuxiu.”

“…”

Xu Song’an hesitated. “…I understand.”

Lin Jianxi felt even more exhausted. When the time seemed right, he sent Xu Song’an out of the room and collapsed face-down on the bed.

He drifted in a haze, losing all track of time. His body grew hotter and more restless by the moment, the discomfort driving him to claw at the nape of his neck with his nails. But the instant his fingers brushed his skin, a hand caught his wrist.

The hand’s owner pressed cool lips to his glands.

“Instructor,” Xu Song’an murmured, his breath warm against Lin Jianxi’s neck, “I’ve become your dog. Punish me however you like—but a dog can’t bear to watch its master suffer. Today marks the start of your heat. It’ll last a week. I’ll give you a temporary mark every day until it’s over.”

The words had barely left his mouth when a sharp pain pierced Lin Jianxi’s nape. He cried out involuntarily, only for the cooling rush of pheromones to flood in afterward, sending him soaring into euphoric haze.

Lin Jianxi trembled from head to toe. Xu Song’an licked soothingly at his nape. “If you don’t like me doing it, I can find another Alpha.”

“…No.”

“Then you’ll have to endure it. I’m sorry.”

“Ah…”

Pain and pleasure intertwined, sending waves of tingling numbness through his body. His mind couldn’t process the overload; it felt ready to shatter. Lin Jianxi’s vision blurred to nothing—he had no idea if he was still on the bed or somewhere else entirely. He clawed desperately at the sheets, the walls; his fingers throbbed until Xu Song’an clasped his hands and whispered not to hurt himself.

Lin Jianxi was losing his mind.

He had never imagined that being marked during heat would feel like this.

And it had to go on for a whole week…

Lin Jianxi couldn’t tell if it was agony or something else entirely. Tears streamed endlessly down his face.

Day and night, the tears flowed. The lightest touch drew cries from his lips. His nape felt raw and ruined from the bites, but Xu Song’an assured him everything was fine—that his body remained as beautiful as ever. Lin Jianxi spent every day in bed, too weak to rise, unsure how he could even if he tried. He had no memory of what he ate, if anything.

The marks came at any moment.

He’d fall asleep only to be bitten awake; he’d stir to consciousness just to be bitten back into oblivion.

By the end of that week, he felt as though he’d died.

…

~~~

The lingering aftereffects were so profound that even after the week ended, Lin Jianxi huddled at the foot of the bed, his eyes vacant as he stared into the distance.

Xu Song’an had changed his clothes for him these past days, bathed him too.

Xu Song’an would caress his body but never pushed further. Still, Lin Jianxi couldn’t shake the sense that in this world, a mark carried the exact same weight as full intimacy—identical in its intensity, perhaps even more maddening.

He sat there like a broken doll at the bed’s edge, letting Xu Song’an dress and groom him. Xu Song’an coaxed him to eat and always asked permission before doing anything but marking him.

Right now, for instance, Lin Jianxi sipped at his porridge in a daze.

Xu Song’an sat nearby. “Instructor, may I eat now?”

Sometimes Lin Jianxi would share a piece of fruit, and Xu Song’an would take it gently from his fingertips with his teeth. Most of the time, though, he simply nodded, too drained to speak.

This strange routine dragged on for a full month.

Lin Jianxi’s mental state slowly mended, but it never quite reached its former sharpness.

The sight of any Alpha—even one who wasn’t Xu Song’an—stirred an odd reaction in his body and mind. His nape would ache with discomfort.

The System explained: “In this world, one Omega pairs with a single Alpha. If an Omega bonds with two, their body grows dissatisfied with just one Alpha’s mark. Physiologically, they’ve tasted the thrill of mixed pheromones and now crave more of that blend. That’s why other Alphas affect you like that.”

“…”

Lin Jianxi shrugged on a jacket and lit a cigarette on the balcony. He let out a hollow laugh from deep in his throat. “Heh…”

His lashes drooped; his hand shook violently. After a long pause, he replied, “Shuttling through your little worlds, I get nothing out of it. The one thing that’s endless and freely given is sex.”

The System hesitated. “…Well… this is a high-H limited genre. What can I do? There are other types, like power fantasies, but that’s not my department, heh heh.”

Lin Jianxi could only sigh in helpless frustration.

He finished his cigarette and sank into a squat. Suddenly, arms wrapped around him from behind.

Lin Jianxi no longer cared. When Xu Song’an held him, he went fully limp, leaning back against the man’s chest. Xu Song’an brushed the lightest of kisses along the side of his neck. “Instructor, when are you coming back to teach us? Your month’s vacation is over.”

“It’s over,” Lin Jianxi repeated. “If it’s over, then let’s head back.”

“That’s great. We don’t like the new instructor at all…” Xu Song’an sniffed at the scent on his neck. Lin Jianxi felt it but pretended not to notice, pulling another cigarette from his pack.

He had just put it between his lips when teeth clamped down, making him yelp.

The cigarette trembled between his teeth. Riding that odd sensation, Lin Jianxi continued, “Who’s running the company now?”

“Shen Yuxiu’s assistant handled it for a week. After he woke up, he took over business again.”

Lin Jianxi chuckled. “You didn’t try to steal the company from him.”

“Making him suffer was enough. I didn’t want to make you sad again…”

“Good boy.” Lin Jianxi exhaled a puff of smoke. “Let’s go back tomorrow, then.”

The news of Lin Jianxi’s return to work quickly spread to the trainees and Shen Yuxiu’s ears.

After waking up, Shen Yuxiu had been searching for him nonstop, but Xu Song’an was skilled at hiding his tracks. Even when Shen Yuxiu learned he was at Xu Song’an’s place, he couldn’t find him. Once the message went out, Lin Jianxi picked up his phone, untouched for a full month. He charged it and turned it on.

Messages flooded in like a burst dam.

Lin Jianxi couldn’t reply to them all. He only picked out Shen Yuxiu’s, telling him he was doing fine and not to worry.

But everyone knew Lin Jianxi wasn’t doing well. His scent was too distinctive. Now that it clung to Xu Song’an, no matter where Xu Song’an went, others knew what had happened between Lin Jianxi and him.

They also knew Lin Jianxi’s body had been eroded by two kinds of pheromones.

Lin Jianxi could imagine the looks on the trainees’ faces when he saw them again, but he didn’t care. The plot had reached this point, nearing its end. There was nothing left worth his concern.

~~~

He returned to the training field, his frame even slimmer. Gone were the suits he used to wear; now he donned the same training gear as the trainees, topped with a jacket.

It was autumn, and the wind carried a chill.

He walked to the front of the group and locked eyes with the Lead Instructor.

The Lead Instructor’s gaze was full of disdain. “You think you can lead trainees in this state?”

Lin Jianxi shrugged. “Close enough.”

The Lead Instructor scoffed. “Close enough? An Omega played out like this should be home resting. What, you here to show off how fragile you are? Or pull some attention-seeking stunt with your personality disorder?”

“…”

Lin Jianxi glanced at the trainees.

Xu Song’an stood at the back, watching him intently. Some trainees sneaked waves at him, then pointed at the Lead Instructor and rolled their eyes.

Lin Jianxi tried to call them to attention—“At ease!”—but it came out as a hacking cough before he could finish. Before he knew it, the trainees swarmed him, blocking him off completely. They thrust water bottles at him; a few patted his back.

The Lead Instructor sneered.

Lin Jianxi waved them off. “Back to positions. Training time.”

The trainees obediently returned and began the day’s exercises.

~~~

Later, the Lead Instructor noticed something was off.

Normally, when trainees got caught slacking, they’d make excuses or grudgingly take their punishment.

But with Lin Jianxi, whenever a trainee slacked off, he’d stroll over, and they’d shove their face forward, offering it up for a smack.

Lin Jianxi was startled himself.

Before he could even swing hard, the trainee would grab an insulated cup from the ground and hand it over. “Instructor, where’s your stick? No strength? Use this.”

System: “…Baby, you’ve trained a bunch of masochists.”

Lin Jianxi: “…………”

Tell him about it.

Not just the trainees—Xu Song’an was one too. Shen Yuxiu… who knew if he was, but he always seemed to enjoy getting hit.

Lin Jianxi started wondering what had gone wrong.

But it worked out fine. He barely had to lift a finger. The trainees trained themselves, only slacking when they wanted a whack. His job had never been easier.

Still, the trainees lost all sense of boundaries.

Maybe because they knew he could handle multiple pheromones, outside of training hours, they were always touching him. Chatting away, they’d lean in to nip his neck. When crowds gathered, hands were everywhere—ruffling his hair, on his shoulders, kneading his fingertips.

Lin Jianxi would call for Xu Song’an, who’d block them then. If he didn’t, Xu Song’an would just stand at the back, face like ice, smoking.

System chimed in again: “Classic masochist. Even tolerates wearing a green hat.”

Lin Jianxi: “Keep talking, and I’ll pluck you bald.”

System: “…”

~~~

The day Lin Jianxi reunited with Shen Yuxiu, Shen Yuxiu pulled him into a hug and kissed him. Lin Jianxi blinked awake in a daze and spotted Xu Song’an leaning against a tree not far off. His heart skipped.

His legs went weak from the kiss; he clung to Shen Yuxiu’s neck just to stay upright. Only then did Xu Song’an saunter over, wiping the saliva from Lin Jianxi’s lips. “Done kissing, Instructor?”

Shen Yuxiu ignored Xu Song’an and asked instead, “Want more, Jianxi?”

System: quick verdict—“Your husband’s a masochist too.”

Lin Jianxi: “…”

A bit lost, Lin Jianxi mumbled, “No more.”

Then Xu Song’an would ask, “Wanna go with me or him?”

“…” It felt weird.

Caught between the two, Lin Jianxi spotted Xu Hui passing by—like a lifeline—and called out to him. “I’ve got business with Xu Hui. You two go ahead.”

The corners of Xu Hui’s mouth twitched as he stepped up and took his hand.

~~~

A month later, he discovered Xu Hui was the one who’d dragged him to the storage room and gotten him drunk during that mission. He just couldn’t express himself—or maybe past experiences made him hold back—so he only showed his true self with the lights off.

“…” Sigh.

Lin Jianxi’s body never fully recovered. Supervising training wore him out easily. Curled under a tree, he’d drift off without realizing. When he woke, the trainees were arguing.

“I’ll carry him back.”

“Piss off, you’ve hogged him enough. My turn.”

“Shut it, both of you. Let the Instructor choose.”

Lin Jianxi closed his eyes again.

The trainees around him fell silent.

Lin Jianxi sighed inwardly.

The ending to this world felt a little strange.

But once it was done, he’d get a break. Whatever. No punishment anyway.

(World Three Complete)