Yu Shiqing paused slightly as he stood up. He lowered his head and looked at Jiang Yu.
“You don’t remember?”
He thought back to what had happened earlier. During a real heat, memories were often fuzzy. But that might not be a bad thing. What happened earlier was just Jiang Yu’s instinctive reaction. It wasn’t necessary to remember everything clearly.
“It’s nothing,” Yu Shiqing said. “It was your heat.”
Jiang Yu looked into his eyes.
“Because of your pheromones?”
Yu Shiqing didn’t give a definite answer.
“That’s possible.”
Even though Jiang Yu had already guessed it, hearing it confirmed made him fall silent.
An Alpha’s heat could only be triggered by an Omega’s pheromones. But on their way back, there hadn’t been a single Omega around. He had been with Yu Shiqing the whole time.
If anything unusual had happened during that time, then he shouldn’t have been the only Alpha to go into heat.
And today, there had only been one unusual thing Yu Shiqing’s susceptibility period.
Jiang Yu couldn’t deny that since this morning, he had been attracted to Yu Shiqing’s pheromones. In the car, in the elevator it had gotten stronger with the increasing concentration of pheromones.
He had actually felt it in the elevator.
He just hadn’t been able to confirm it. It was hard to believe.
Both of them were Alphas. Why would Yu Shiqing’s pheromones trigger his heat? That had never been heard of before.
Jiang Yu frowned deeply. He could still feel the sting at the bite mark on his neck from Yu Shiqing’s marking.
At the same time, he noticed that although his back and shoulders still ached and tingled, the pain wasn’t as bad as before.
Could it be that after this susceptibility period, he had started to slowly adapt to Yu Shiqing’s pheromones?
“Jiang Yu.”
“Hm?”
Hearing Yu Shiqing’s voice, Jiang Yu came back to his senses.
Yu Shiqing hadn’t moved.
“Let go.”
Only then did Jiang Yu realize his right hand was still gripping the back of Yu Shiqing’s collar.
This discovery made his face freeze slightly.
He let go, his hand sliding down from Yu Shiqing’s neck. Then he asked in a serious voice,
“Just now, between you and me did I do anything to you?”
Yu Shiqing patiently waited for him to finish speaking before replying,
“No.”
His answer came quickly, without hesitation.
Yet Jiang Yu’s eyes showed a hint of doubt.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bed beside them it had once been neatly made, but now the sheets were a wrinkled mess, like someone had fought on it wait.
Jiang Yu suddenly realized something.
Why were he and Yu Shiqing on the bed?
But before he could ask, Yu Shiqing had already stood up from the bed.
Jiang Yu followed him with his gaze. He first saw his wrinkled shirt, the hem pulled out of his pants, revealing a firm, toned waist. Even his belt was loose and hanging open.
Jiang Yu’s expression turned even more stiff.
This wasn’t Yu Shiqing’s usual style.
Then what could it mean?
Suddenly, Jiang Yu’s eyes moved up and saw a red mark on Yu Shiqing’s neck.
“There weren’t any heat suppressants here,” Yu Shiqing explained after noticing his gaze. “So, I used the same method from when you were in your susceptibility period.”
He turned away and closed the medical kit.
“Seems like it still works.”
Jiang Yu stared at his back, but the red mark lingered in his mind.
Faint images surfaced in his head shadows of moments, unclear and fragmented, like covered in a gray fog.
Still, those blurry fragments were enough for him to understand why Yu Shiqing didn’t want to talk about it.
“As long as everything’s fine.”
After a long time, Jiang Yu finally spoke. He felt his throat was dry, so he cleared it and broke the silence again.
“Sorry for the trouble.”
Yu Shiqing put the medical kit back on the table, then turned to look at him.
“It was my mistake this time. I dragged you into it.”
Jiang Yu tried to sit up from the bed.
“It’s fine. It wasn’t your fault.”
Yu Shiqing stepped closer and held his shoulder.
Jiang Yu’s eyes once again fell on the red mark on his neck.
Yu Shiqing didn’t notice and said,
“In your current state, you won’t be able to move out until tomorrow.”
“Move out?” Jiang Yu frowned.
“Who said I was moving out?”
Yu Shiqing sat beside him and looked over.
“My pheromones affect you. Aren’t you worried?”
Jiang Yu glanced at the medical kit.
“Are you going to forget your suppressants every day?”
Yu Shiqing smiled.
“Of course not.”
Jiang Yu looked at him and added,
“Your susceptibility period didn’t start tonight, right?”
“It started last night,” Yu Shiqing replied.
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow.
“Then that means as long as you take your suppressant on time, we can peacefully live together even during your susceptibility period.”
Hearing that, Yu Shiqing stared deeply at him, then asked,
“You really don’t mind?”
“I don’t like trouble,” Jiang Yu said, frowning.
“I’ve already gone through the trouble of moving here once. Why bother again?”
He knew what Yu Shiqing meant.
He had said before that he hated losing control during heat more than anything. And what just happened proved that losing control really did happen maybe even worse, since he couldn’t remember most of it afterward.
But strangely…
Maybe it was because he didn’t wake up next to a strange Omega.
Maybe there hadn’t been any serious consequences.
Maybe it just wasn’t as awful as he remembered.
Whatever the reason, ever since he woke up, he hadn’t felt the disgust he expected.
“It was just an accident.”
Jiang Yu said this to Yu Shiqing.
There was a tangled thread in his heart that he couldn’t explain, so he ignored it. He didn’t know who he was trying to convince.
“You and I are both Alphas. There’s nothing to be concerned about.”
That’s what he said.
But things that already happened were never easy to dismiss with just a sentence.
Later, when Yu Shiqing was washing up, he saw the bite mark on his neck in the mirror. When he turned his head, he met Jiang Yu’s gaze.
Jiang Yu quickly looked away as if he hadn’t seen anything.
The room instantly fell into a strange silence.
Luckily, Jiang Yu recovered most of his strength after their brief talk. He could manage the bathroom on his own.
Yu Shiqing returned to his study afterward.
The next day, when they saw each other again, Jiang Yu acted normal.
“Morning.” He greeted him, then went to the bathroom.
When he came out, he was frowning.
“What is it?” Yu Shiqing asked.
Jiang Yu turned and pointed to his neck.
“Is it obvious?”
It was a bite mark, just like the one on Yu Shiqing’s neck, only in a different spot.
“Very obvious,” Yu Shiqing replied.
Jiang Yu glanced at him.
“Looks like I’ll have to cover it up.”
He still had two concerts left. The bite mark was clear and in an ambiguous spot. It would easily stir people’s imagination.
Just then, Yu Shiqing’s phone rang. It was a call from Ren Bai.
Ren Bai had woken up in the morning and suddenly remembered that he still had Yu Shiqing’s suppressant in his pocket. He called and rushed over before even eating breakfast.
When he arrived, the living room was empty. As he walked further inside, he finally heard sounds from the bedroom.
He entered the walk-in closet and saw both Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu.
Seeing that both of them were perfectly fine, Ren Bai let out a sigh of relief and handed the suppressant to Yu Shiqing.
“Sorry. I was so focused on Tan Yanfei yesterday that I completely forgot about your susceptibility period. Nothing bad happened last night, right?”
“No,” Yu Shiqing replied.
Ren Bai patted his chest in relief.
“Good. I was really worried something would go wrong if you didn’t take your suppressant in time. It would’ve been bad if you and Jiang Yu ended up fighting.”
Hearing that, the bite mark on Jiang Yu’s neck began to sting slightly.
He glanced at Yu Shiqing, lifted his collar, and wrapped a scarf around his neck.
Ren Bai noticed and asked,
“Jiang Yu, are you cold?”
Jiang Yu glanced at Yu Shiqing.
“He’s not feeling well today,” Yu Shiqing said.
“Not feeling well?” Ren Bai asked.
“Are you sick? Want some medicine?”
“No need. He just needs rest. He’ll feel better this afternoon.”
“Then why aren’t you resting? Why are you here looking for a scarf.”
He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes wide.
“Yu Shiqing, what happened to your neck?”
Jiang Yu, feeling guilty, turned and walked away from the conversation.
Yu Shiqing stayed calm.
“Mosquito bite.”
“Don’t joke. There are no mosquitoes in this weather!”
Ren Bai walked up to take a look. After just one glance, he was shocked.
“Yu Shiqing! Don’t tell me you secretly started dating someone!”
Jiang Yu walked even farther away.
Yu Shiqing looked at Ren Bai.
“You’re with me almost every day. You should know that’s not possible.”
“Not during the New Year!”
Ren Bai turned to Jiang Yu.
“Jiang Yu, you were with Yu Shiqing during that time, right? Did he go out? Did any Omega come to see him?”
Jiang Yu adjusted his scarf and replied calmly,
“No one.”
Ren Bai still wouldn’t give up.
“Then what about last night? Do you know who left a bite mark on Yu Shiqing’s neck?”
He glanced over and clicked his tongue.
“Too wild. No self-control at all.”
Jiang Yu: “…”
He finally turned to look at Ren Bai, his black eyes sharp.
Ren Bai felt a chill.
He took a step back.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m not interested in Yu Shiqing’s private life,” Jiang Yu said coldly.
Then he quickly changed the subject.
“What’s this?”
Ren Bai had a feeling he said something wrong, but didn’t know exactly what. He followed Jiang Yu’s gaze.
It was a storage cabinet in the walk-in closet narrow, and easy to miss.
“It’s Yu Shiqing’s cello,” Ren Bai said, opening it.
“He’s been playing since he was a kid and even won several awards.”
Inside was a cello case. A few trophies and certificates were casually tossed underneath it.
“You’ve had your trophies stolen once and you still store them like this?”
Jiang Yu looked at Yu Shiqing.
“I didn’t know you could play the cello.”
“It’s just a hobby. Not as professional as you,” Yu Shiqing replied.
“You won awards and you still say that?” Jiang Yu’s eyes lit up.
“Maybe I can ask you to be the guest for my final concert.”
Ren Bai grew curious.
“A cello guest?”
“Accompaniment,” Jiang Yu said.
Ren Bai remembered how Jiang Yu performed solo with just a piano yesterday.
“What do you think?” Jiang Yu asked Yu Shiqing.
Yu Shiqing looked at him and smiled.
“As long as you ask, I’ll say yes.”
That sentence made Ren Bai twitch slightly.
It didn’t sound like much, but Ren Bai had never heard Yu Shiqing say something like that to anyone before.
Jiang Yu’s lips pressed slightly together.
He didn’t think too hard about what the words meant.
But when he met Yu Shiqing’s eyes, which now held a softened smile, the tingling at his neck felt like it tugged at something deep in his chest.
Jiang Yu’s fingers tightened slightly on the scarf.
And just like that, he instinctively avoided thinking more about it.
