Zhou Wu watched the alpha with his eyes closed, head buried in his neck as he sniffed fervently, his forehead even flushed a little red. He tried to lean in for a kiss.
Pheromones in saliva were more concentrated, after all.
But Shen Yanzhi actually held back and dodged away.
Zhou Wu blinked, straightening his head again. Shen Yanzhi quickly returned, tugging open his collar and burying his nose inside with urgent need.
“…” It tickled so much.
He was so desperate for pheromones—why not just kiss him?
Zhou Wu tried once more. Shen Yanzhi’s eyelashes trembled in clear conflict, but he still stiffly pulled away.
Zhou Wu had no choice but to lie there and let him sniff for a while. Then, after thinking it over, he said, “Shen Yanzhi, come sleep in my room with me, okay?”
Huh? Shen Yanzhi’s mind was already growing foggy from all the pheromones.
Was he really going to climb through the window into this tiny guest room just to sleep?
But the thought of holding Zhou Wu in his arms all night long… Shen Yanzhi couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
This time, though, he would stay clear-headed. He’d only sniff a little pheromones—no mistakes.
The two of them climbed back through the window.
To make his pheromones stronger, Zhou Wu closed the window and undid his clothes.
Shen Yanzhi sat on the bed, staring at him with a strange expression.
Zhou Wu pulled up the blanket and slipped inside. To his surprise, Shen Yanzhi flinched away a little, muttering something under his breath. Zhou Wu only caught,
“…seducing me…”
“?”
Shen Yanzhi clearly didn’t want to kiss, so Zhou Wu simply hugged him and prepared to sleep. But after lying there a short while, it was Shen Yanzhi who started squirming restlessly under the covers, his ears turning redder by the second.
Zhou Wu glanced down and immediately understood.
But he was supposed to be a fool, so he pretended not to notice.
Shen Yanzhi tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep no matter how hard he tried. He pursed his lips and glared up at Zhou Wu in frustration.
Zhou Wu, ever considerate, pretended to be fast asleep.
In the darkness, Shen Yanzhi stared at him for a moment before finally giving in. He reached down and took it out.
Then he sneaked back into Zhou Wu’s arms to sniff again.
The alpha’s body was scorching hot, his heartbeat thundering loud enough to hear, his nose tip rubbing back and forth over Zhou Wu’s Adam’s apple.
Zhou Wu kept his eyes closed, but his own ears flushed red.
Shen Yanzhi’s breathing soon grew erratic and messy. He clung even tighter, until at last he kissed Zhou Wu’s mouth.
It started as just a light rub, but it quickly spiraled out of control, like he couldn’t hold back anymore—he even tried to nip at his lips.
“…?” Zhou Wu wanted to dodge, but with Shen Yanzhi pressing his entire body down on top of him, he couldn’t pretend to be asleep any longer.
Their eyes met, but Shen Yanzhi didn’t care. Instead, he shoved something into Zhou Wu’s hand.
“Help me…”
“You know how, right?”
Zhou Wu tried to look bewildered, but Shen Yanzhi actually reached for his hand to demonstrate. Zhou Wu’s face instantly turned red. No, no need!
He hurriedly took over, blocking Shen Yanzhi’s mouth at the same time. Shen Yanzhi let out a comfortable, unconscious hum and forgot everything else in an instant.
“Zhou Wu…”
Suddenly, he hugged him fiercely, pressing the back of Zhou Wu’s head down. The entire bedding soon filled with the thick, heady scent of agarwood.
…
The next morning, Su Bai—having barely slept a wink—came looking for Zhou Wu anyway.
“05, you awake?”
He knocked twice on the door, but there was no response.
After a moment’s hesitation, he pushed the door open.
To his shock, there was Shen Yanzhi, sprawled over 05 like a mother hen protectively shielding her chicks, both of them fast asleep.
His arms barely left a few strands of Zhou Wu’s disheveled hair peeking out—not even his face was visible, buried completely.
“??”
Su Bai’s face darkened.
He rushed back out the door, deliberately raising his voice.
“Oh my god, Young Master Shen! How are you… here… too!”
Zhou Wu stirred groggily at last, waking to the stifling heat and discomfort. He shifted uncomfortably.
The moment he moved, Shen Yanzhi’s eyes snapped open. His first reaction was to frown and shoot Su Bai a cold glare.
“Who let you in…”
Su Bai nearly choked on his anger. What about you, then?
The commotion drew the servants quickly. One approached cautiously to report.
“Young Master, the Old Master is back. He requests you go to the study at once.”
Shen Yanzhi froze, glancing at the bright daylight streaming through the window. He cursed under his breath.
Yesterday, he’d accidentally kept kissing until the wee hours of the morning. He’d only meant to nap for a bit before slipping away, but he’d fallen asleep.
Still, after that sleep, Shen Yanzhi’s condition looked visibly much improved.
…
In the study, Father Shen had already heard his son’s “declaration” from Mother Shen—something about never intending to marry Zhou Wu, let alone deep mark him.
He found the whole thing utterly laughable.
He knew his son had his nose in the air, so there might have been some sincerity in those words at the time. But the entire plan was utterly untenable.
Did he think he could stay chaste during the other’s heat period? Or keep a cool head during his own susceptible period?
And with a person like that constantly by his side, which noble family’s daughter would still be willing to marry in?
The end result would be the same anyway. One slip-up, and he’d be stuck with a fool for life.
So when Shen Yanzhi walked in with a displeased expression, Father Shen wasted no time launching into a scolding, his words dripping with sarcasm.
“Shen Yanzhi, are you fooling yourself, or do you think the rest of us are idiots?”
He sneered. “You think marking is something you can control just because you say so? When does an accident happen—on your schedule?”
“If you’re really that determined, get surgery to remove his gland and be done with it! Only if you can bring yourself to do that should you come talking to me about that nonsense of ‘just keeping him by your side’!”
Shen Yanzhi paused, stunned.
“What’s wrong? Can’t bear to?” Father Shen fixed him with a piercing stare. “Then that means you do want to deep mark him.”
“I don’t.”
“What do you mean you don’t? You won’t remove his gland, you’re always tangled up with him—deep marking is inevitable. And children are sure to follow! Don’t come crying to us about marriage when that happens.”
Children?
Shen Yanzhi’s face paled noticeably. As a top-tier alpha, he’d never even considered that he himself could get pregnant.
“There won’t be any.”
Father Shen grew even more furious, his tone turning icy. “You don’t want children, yet you sneaked into his room last night? What about the next time? Or the time after that? Accidents are bound to happen!
I’m telling you, the Shen Family has no need for some child of dubious origins. We can’t afford that kind of scandal.”
Shen Yanzhi went rigid. What nonsense—he hadn’t let him c… last night.
But his father’s words weren’t entirely without merit. Remove the gland?
If it was gone, Zhou Wu wouldn’t be able to mark him anymore. He wouldn’t be able to affect him like this. It really would be beneficial for him.
But… Shen Yanzhi’s mind suddenly flashed with the image of Zhou Wu smiling as he pounced into his arms.
Even a fool would come to hate him with every fiber of their being if tricked into having their gland removed, wouldn’t they?
“Not talking anymore?” Father Shen’s tone softened a touch, but the pressure in his voice deepened even further.
“Clear your head and think it through carefully. If you can’t manage it, let him go now. It’ll be better for everyone involved.”
Shen Yanzhi met his gaze and replied with cold defiance, almost out of sheer spite. “I never said I couldn’t.”
His words left Father Shen momentarily speechless.
“…What did you say?”
“I said my business is none of yours.”
His parents hadn’t even dredged up any “illegitimate child” to use against him yet, which meant they were fresh out of leverage.
He was utterly weary of this little game of probing.
Shen Yanzhi turned on his heel and walked out.
The study door swung open.
Lifting his eyes, Shen Yanzhi spotted Zhou Wu standing blankly in the corridor a short distance away, clearly waiting for him.
His hardened expression eased without him even realizing it.
It’s fine, he assured himself. Nothing like what Father had warned about could possibly happen. Last night, nothing had occurred between them at all. Clearly, as long as they didn’t cross that one particular line, Zhou Wu wouldn’t suddenly fixate on marking him the way he had before.
Mother Shen, standing nearby, took in Zhou Wu’s utterly clueless demeanor—the way he smiled at Shen Yanzhi without a hint of what had just transpired.
She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d lost her mind, because a flicker of absurd pity stirred within her.
What on earth had this poor child done to deserve catching her son’s eye?
By now, with Shen Yanzhi so stubbornly fixated, they no longer dared to simply send Zhou Wu away.
Keeping him right under their noses felt like the only option that brought even a shred of peace of mind.
Mother Shen had originally intended to fit Zhou Wu with an Inhibitor Collar, but Shen Yanzhi shot it down with unyielding resolve. “He can’t wear that!”
“If he’s not wearing a collar, are you planning to don the Anti-Bite Mask yourself?”
Shen Yanzhi fell silent. “…That wouldn’t work anyway.”
“I won’t wear it either.”
Mother Shen was at a loss for words.
In the end, they settled on a compromise: a Monitoring Bracelet capable of tracking pheromone concentrations in real time, strapped to Shen Yanzhi’s wrist.
Should the surrounding pheromone levels spike too high—or if he tried to remove it—an alarm would blare instantly.
But would it really make any difference?
Su Bai had done his utmost to head out for tutoring gigs, desperate for the relief of out of sight, out of mind.
And yet he still stumbled upon them crammed into the corner of the bathroom.
Shen Yanzhi had submerged the bracelet-clad hand in the sink, while his other cradled Zhou Wu’s face, nibbling away.
Zhou Wu’s cheeks bore the marks of his bites, his ears flushed red. Spotting Su Bai, he turned and greeted him as casually as ever.
“Little Bai.”
Shen Yanzhi promptly twisted Zhou Wu’s face back toward him, irritation at the interruption plain on his face. “…Get out!”
“Stop barging into Zhou Wu’s room all the time.”
Su Bai: “…”
As if you don’t show up more than anyone!
He closed the door with deliberate quiet.
The gadgets of the wealthy came loaded with far too many bells and whistles.
He shook his head in exasperation. Why on earth make the bracelet waterproof?
In a rotten mood, Su Bai wandered into the garden, where he found Mrs. Shen sipping tea and letting out a heavy sigh.
The two settled into chairs side by side, an unspoken understanding passing between them. Su Bai took a sip from his cup and remarked offhandedly,
“05 doesn’t get any of this. He just instinctively gravitates toward pheromones.
“He likes Young Master Shen’s, sure—but he’d like anyone else’s just the same.
“Though I doubt Young Master Shen minds either way.”
Mother Shen regarded him, her expression hesitant. She understood his point perfectly.
…
Several weeks later, the academy reopened its doors.
The drama from the cruise ship had long since become common knowledge.
The specifics might have been murky, but the image of Young Master Shen and that commoner named Zhou Wu holing up in a room together for an entire day without emerging had solidified into the year’s juiciest scandal.
Fortunately, the only one who knew Zhou Wu had marked Shen Yanzhi was the private doctor—and Shen Yanzhi, as the patient, had bound him to a confidentiality agreement.
By now, Zhou Wu’s second gender wasn’t so obvious anymore.
The entire academy assumed Zhou Wu was Shen Yanzhi’s new plaything.
But he’s an idiot! Some just couldn’t stomach it.
Facts were facts, though: Shen Yanzhi took Zhou Wu everywhere he went. In class, he insisted the boy sit right beside him.
Witnesses even reported seeing Young Master Shen, mid-problem-solving, idly take Zhou Wu’s hand and toy with his fingers—the gesture dripping with casual intimacy.
No way!
Who wouldn’t want a front-row seat? Gossip-hungry students devised endless excuses to parade past Young Master Shen’s classroom, swarming like persistent bees.
“Did you catch it? Their pheromones… they’re blending together!” One omega returned and hissed in excitement, her voice laced with envious awe.
“So Young Master Shen really marked him? Ahh… it’s kinda sweet, isn’t it?”
Sweet? What a pack of brainless fools.
No one chafed at the rumors more than Hua Jing.
His elaborate cruise ship scheme had backfired spectacularly, alienating Qiu Ye completely. He’d gained nothing and handed everything to Zhou Wu on a silver platter. What a disaster.
Refusing to let it go, he screwed up his courage and tried approaching Shen Yanzhi again near the banquet hall.
Shen Yanzhi’s immediate response? He hooked an arm around Zhou Wu and yanked him safely behind his back, well away from Hua Jing.
The move screamed wariness, as if shielding his possession from some contaminating filth.
Hua Jing went rigid, his flawless smile cracking into pieces.
As if—he could steal away a fool?
Even more shocking, Shen Yanzhi’s protective bubble didn’t stop at omegas.
A cluster of alpha noble scions, straight off the sports field and radiating heat with pheromones seeping out, spotted Shen Yanzhi and Zhou Wu. They moved to exchange greetings.
Zhou Wu glanced their way on reflex. Young Master Shen’s brow furrowed, and he waved them off without ceremony.
“That’s enough. Put your clothes on.”
The alpha young masters froze on the spot, scrambling to dress before exchanging baffled stares.
What had they done to irk Young Master Shen?
“I got it!”
Amid the campus-wide gossip frenzy, only the die-hard shippers emerged unscathed. One guy’s eyes gleamed. “Young Master Shen won’t let anyone near Zhou Wu—alpha, omega, doesn’t matter?”
“Oh my god, so possessive.”
Hua Jing: “…”
Out in public, Shen Yanzhi was the picture of dominance, summoning Zhou Wu with no more than a crook of his finger.
But the moment they slipped into a private room alone, he buried his head against Zhou Wu’s shoulder, nuzzling desperately to breathe in his scent.
Truth be told, he’d spent this whole time feeling profoundly unfulfilled, aching to push things further. Yet he held back, terrified of tripping over some invisible boundary that would send Zhou Wu into that marking-obsessed frenzy again.
All he could do was endure it…
He truly couldn’t understand it. Even after all this time, why were the symptoms of his pheromone deficiency still showing no signs of improvement whatsoever?
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