Knocking sounds came from outside the bedroom. Rong Shi’s consciousness returned, and he looked around in confusion.

His back was a bit stiff, his right hand was numb, and he felt warm in his arms. If he listened carefully, he could hear shallow breathing.

Rong Shi rubbed his throbbing forehead, belatedly realizing what had happened.

All sorts of things had dragged on late into the night. After the marking, both of them were exhausted and had simply fallen asleep in the bathroom.

Song Yu’s hair was half-wet, his shirt collar disheveled, and he was sleeping soundly, leaning against Rong Shi’s chest.

Rong Shi ignored the knocking outside and gently pulled open Song Yu’s collar to examine the bitten area on his pheromone gland.

It was a very obvious tooth mark. The seeping blood had already scabbed over, looking quite painful.

He hadn’t expected to actually do it.

His cautious movements still startled the person in his arms.

Rong Shi’s hand paused. For some reason, he felt a bit nervous.

Song Yu arched his stiff body, turned over, and continued to lie on Rong Shi’s shoulder.

“Is it morning?” He spoke with his eyes closed, his voice lazy and hoarse, thick with drowsiness.

“Mmm.” Rong Shi’s hand brushed through his wet hair. He asked softly, “Go sleep on the bed?”

Although 01 had unknowningly turned off the running shower, Song Yu was weak from being marked and had slept all night in soaked clothes on the floor. Rong Shi was worried he would get sick.

There was no movement in his arms for a long time. Rong Shi slipped his hands under Song Yu’s bent knees, preparing to carry him to the bedroom, but as soon as he stood up, he leaned back due to intense dizziness.

Song Yu was already half-asleep and was now fully awake.

He looked up, his eyes hazy with sleep: “What’s wrong?”

Rong Shi endured the bout of dizziness and said helplessly, “Headache.”

Song Yu looked at him suspiciously and tentatively asked, “Hangover?”

Rong Shi: “Mmm.”

Song Yu reached out to massage his forehead: “You were acting like nothing happened last night. I thought you’d sobered up.”

Rong Shi leaned against the wall, enjoying Little Song Cat’s service: “Some things last night… I don’t remember clearly.”

He only remembered drinking, Xiao Yu seeing him back to rest. As for how he brought Xiao Yu back afterward, the finer details escaped him for the moment.

Song Yu’s hand paused, his eyes narrowed slightly. “Forgot? You forgot what you said to me, what you did?”

Of course he remembered those.

Rong Shi saw Song Yu’s slightly annoyed expression and deliberately teased him: “What did I say?”

Song Yu calmly said: “You said you liked me, that I was beautiful, and that you wanted to sleep with me.”

Rong Shi: “…”

He admitted the first two sentences, but the last one—

Rong Shi: “Did I really say that?”

Song Yu scoffed lightly: “You say it and then deny it? So it was all fake?”

Rong Shi: “…”

He was caught in a dilemma. He could only bite the bullet and admit to words he hadn’t spoken: “Probably seriously?”

Song Yu: “I don’t believe you, unless you say it again.”

Rong Shi: “…”

Song Yu raised an eyebrow: “What, is it that difficult for you? You’ve still got your mark on me.”

Rong Shi: “…………”

Song Yu watched Rong Shi’s furrowed brow, his lips opening and closing several times, his face a picture of internal struggle. He almost couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Rong Shi was very straightforward in many ways. He wasn’t one for flowery words or cunning schemes. Once he decided on something, it was hard to change, and Song Yu knew this well.

Precisely because he knew, he loved to tease him about it.

Sometimes Rong Shi could be infuriating when he spoke, but every word of affection he uttered came from the heart, and that was what made him endearing.

“Xiao Yu,” Rong Shi said softly.

Song Yu: “Mmm?”

Rong Shi: “My head is so dizzy.”

Song Yu: “…”

“You really got me there.”

Song Yu leaned in and kissed Rong Shi’s face: “Next time, be sure to tell me before you get drunk.”

Rong Shi: “I won’t drink anymore.”

Song Yu continued to massage him, chuckling: “No, that won’t do. I haven’t seen enough of you when you’re drunk.”

Rong Shi’s gaze fell on Song Yu’s smiling eyes, lost in thought.

“We can make an exception once for our wedding—”

---

Qin Luo had been knocking outside the master bedroom for a long time, but there was no sound.

“It’s already this late, how are they not up yet?”

Thinking about Song Yu’s situation, he hadn’t slept well all night.

Not using an inhibitor and not marking an Omega, relying solely on willpower to get through it was too difficult. He wondered if His Highness was feeling better now.

The master bedroom door remained closed, but the outer room door was knocked on first.

“Young Master Qin, good morning.” The Shen family butler stood outside the door and respectfully said, “Breakfast is ready in the second-floor dining room.”

Qin Luo tilted his head to look at the master bedroom, then closed the door and went to the dining room.

He had rushed over to deliver medicine yesterday, skipping dinner. He was starving.

In the bathroom, Song Yu, in front of Rong Shi, casually stripped off his damp clothes, mixed with sweat and blood, and turned on the shower to wash.

Rong Shi reached out to test the water temperature, adjusted it a few degrees on the sensor, and then turned on the bathtub’s water storage system.

“After you wash, soak for a bit. Don’t catch a cold.”

Song Yu waved his hand with his back to him, languidly drawling, “Got it, go take your medicine.”

The hangover medicine Qin Luo brought was in the living room.

The two took turns showering and felt much refreshed.

Song Yu was blow-drying his hair when he caught Rong Shi looking at him in his peripheral vision. He looked into the mirror and smiled at him: “Do I look good?”

Rong Shi: “Beautiful.”

Song Yu teased: “Then you complimented me too late. If it were earlier, maybe I would have let you do something else.”

Rong Shi: “…”

Fearing Song Yu’s clothes would rub against the wound on his pheromone gland, Rong Shi found a band-aid in the medical kit.

Song Yu tilted his head and pulled open his collar to cooperate.

“No wonder Omegas like being bitten; it feels pretty good.”

Rong Shi: “…Didn’t it hurt a lot?”

Song Yu: “It hurt, yes, but that’s why it felt good.”

Rong Shi: “…”

This logic, he couldn’t comprehend.

After applying the band-aid, Song Yu adjusted his shirt, then suddenly thought of something.

“How long does the mark’s effect last?”

“At most one day,” Rong Shi explained calmly. “However, your immunity to He Nian’s pheromones can last a long time.”

The pheromones of two Alphas could not essentially merge, meaning they couldn’t linger.

But when agitation caused by a certain stimulant was suppressed, the body’s instinct would no longer react strongly when exposed to that stimulant again.

In simple terms, in the He Nian incident, Rong Shi suppressed Song Yu as a competitor. Song Yu was the losing party. When he sensed He Nian’s pheromones again, his body’s instinct, to avoid risk, would no longer respond.

“So, you’re my exclusive inhibitor now?” Song Yu chuckled.

Rong Shi patted his head: “Just an emergency inhibitor.”

For any Alpha, marking the person they liked was a very happy thing.

However, their situation was special. Unless necessary, once was enough.

---

In the dining room, Qin Luo was happily eating when Elder Shen suddenly walked in with a large group of people.

Before he could greet them, Elder He and Zhao Chu also followed with a large group of people.

Elder He slammed the table with a thunderous sound.

“It’s already ten o’clock! It’s been twelve hours since my Nian Nian disappeared. You must give me an explanation now!”

Elder Shen’s face was cold: “I sent all the servants to search all night and have fulfilled my duty as the host. If you have any further dissatisfaction, you may directly contact the guard team.”

“He disappeared at your place! Who else should I ask if not you?!” Elder He roared. “Either you find my grandson, or you call your grandson out for a face-to-face confrontation!”

Zhao Chu and his group, who enjoyed watching drama, chimed in.

“Such a grown person wouldn’t disappear for no reason. His terminal is unreachable; something must have happened.”

“If it escalates to the guard team, it will look bad. Elder Shen, you should quickly let Song Yu come out and clarify.”

“If it was mutual, it’s actually nothing. There’s no need to hide from everyone.”

“As long as he comes out and admits his mistake, this matter will be over. Don’t blow a small matter out of proportion.”

Listening to their conversation, a mouthful of egg got stuck in Qin Luo’s throat, neither going up nor down.

What the hell were these people talking about?! Make His Highness come out and admit his mistake to them? Where did they get the nerve?

He forcefully threw the egg yolk he didn’t eat into the bowl, then angrily walked to Elder Shen’s side and glared at the others.

“What’s with all this? Who dares to badmouth my brother behind his back?”

The others, seeing it was Young Master Qin from the main Qin family, didn’t dare to step forward for a moment.

The Qin family’s allegiance to the Second Prince was public knowledge. Whoever offended the Second Prince, the Qin family would bite.

Zhao Chu said sarcastically, “Song Yu hooked up with He Nian at Old Shen’s birthday banquet, making it known to everyone, and you still don’t let people talk about it?”

Qin Luo: “…Hooked up with whom?”

Zhao Chu: “He Nian.”

Qin Luo chuckled: “Who doesn’t know how much he likes Rong Shi. Why would he hook up with trash like He Nian? Any sensible person would know who’s better, right?”

At his words, the others subconsciously compared the two.

He Nian was born into a great noble family, good in academics and handsome, a perfect match for any other great noble, and barely qualified for royalty.

Rong Shi was born a commoner but had the Qian family’s support. He was strong himself and impeccably handsome. If not for being tied to Song Yu, which great noble on Imperial Capital Star wouldn’t want to marry their Omega to him?

Although the two were of different genders, if forced to compare, He Nian was indeed slightly inferior.

Being belittled, Elder He lost face and became even angrier.

“During the league, everyone could see he had a liking for my Nian Nian!”

Qin Luo inwardly cursed: “Whose dog eyes saw that? Why didn’t I see it?”

Elder He: “You—!”

“Strange, why are so many people looking for me?”

Amidst the argument, Song Yu’s voice came from the staircase. Everyone immediately looked over.

Song Yu was dressed in a crisp shirt and trousers, his golden hair fluffy and slightly messy.

Compared to his elaborate attire last night, he looked more casual and approachable today, with a more youthful charm.

Song Yu tilted his head to look at Rong Shi beside him, his tone puzzled: “Didn’t you tell them I had an urgent matter?”

Rong Shi’s expression was calm: “I did, but they didn’t believe me.”

Song Yu walked over unhurriedly, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Zhao Chu and Elder He.

“What, do you need something from me?”

Zhao Chu looked at his composed expression, his heart sinking, instinctively feeling that something was wrong.

If this continued, it probably wouldn’t end well.

He tilted his head and winked at Elder He, but the latter didn’t even look his way.

Elder He gritted his teeth. The situation had escalated to this point. Even if he couldn’t humiliate the Shen family, he at least had to get his grandson back.

Elder He: “Were you with my grandson last night? Where is he now?”

Song Yu chuckled: “Your grandson can’t take care of himself, so you come ask me?”

Elder He didn’t speak. Qin Luo interjected.

“Brother, they’re convinced you were fooling around with him last night and made him go into estrus.”

Receiving Song Yu’s half-smile, Elder He’s face was mortified: “As long as you tell me where he is, I can overlook everything else.”

“Yesterday was my grandfather’s birthday. Even if I like to play around, I wouldn’t be short on time?” Song Yu’s face showed mockery. “Besides, I already have Rong Shi. Why would I fancy him?”

The position of the onlookers was always the least firm. With Qin Luo and Song Yu’s words, others also felt that He Nian couldn’t compare to Rong Shi.

An Omega who casually went into estrus at someone else’s banquet, if not due to irresistible factors, was simply too promiscuous.

Why would the Second Prince, who could have anyone he wanted, get entangled with such an Omega?

Elder He was both annoyed and angry, growling: “Then where did he go?! The Shen family still can’t produce the surveillance footage!”

Just as he finished speaking, a dark-skinned Beta, dressed as a servant, rushed in and reported to Elder Shen: “Master, we found Young Master He, but—”

Elder Shen looked at the unfamiliar servant’s face and, with his hands behind his back, said nothing.

Elder He and Zhao Chu’s expressions changed.

They just felt that something wasn’t right.

Before the servant could finish, Song Yu interrupted.

“Where is he? Take us there.”

The Beta pursed his lips, hesitating to speak.

Rong Shi’s gaze swept over him. He spoke before Zhao Chu could: “It’s good that he’s found. We don’t need to go there.”

“How can that be?” Song Yu scoffed, “I’m this old and I’ve never been verbally abused for so long. I want to see who He Nian found so desperate, to ruin my grandfather’s perfectly good birthday banquet like this!”

Rong Shi’s expression was hesitant: “Since that’s the case, let’s go.”

Zhao Chu had a conciliatory remark stuck in his throat. Seeing everyone else leave, he could only follow.

The further they walked, the more panicked Elder He felt.

Song Yu’s words implicitly laid all blame on his grandson, hinting at accountability, yet he showed no panic about finding the person, appearing well-prepared.

Regardless of what truly happened last night, Elder He was certain he wouldn’t gain any advantage against Song Yu.

The Beta servant led everyone to the temporary quarters for servants, explaining: “This is where the Shen family provides rest for servants on shifts. We thought the esteemed Young Master He would never come here, so we didn’t check last night—”

Walking along the covered walkway outside the building, the scent of pheromones wafted from three to five meters away.

Everyone’s faces showed subtle expressions, and they began to whisper—

“This smell, isn’t it perhaps—”

“Tsk, tsk, young people nowadays are too open-minded.”

“At least be more discreet when you’re a guest at someone else’s house, right?”

“And they even hid in the servants’ room to do it. Is that a kink?”

Elder He listened to the whispers around him, his face growing increasingly dark.

The Beta servant stopped in front of a door, his face stiff as he respectfully said, “The pheromones are strongest here, but we haven’t gone inside to look.”

Elder He pushed his way to the front of the crowd. After confirming it was the same scent from last night, his face cycled between red and green.

“Knock on the door,” Rong Shi said calmly to the servant.

“Knock on what door?” Song Yu said unhurriedly, “Smash it open.”

“Wait!”

Song Ke’s assistant rushed from behind the crowd to the front, spreading his arms to block the door. He said to Song Yu, “It involves privacy. Should we knock first?”

His heart pounded wildly, his hands trembling with panic.

He had clearly checked here last night, and there were no pheromones at all!

Why were His Highness’s pheromones here now? And mixed with He Nian’s!

“Privacy?” Song Yu scoffed. He grabbed the assistant’s hand and yanked it back, simultaneously kicking the door hard. “Fooling around in my grandfather’s house, and you talk about privacy with me?”

The buildings here were older, and the doors were ordinary wooden ones.

But no matter how bad they were, they at least had locks, so they shouldn’t open with just one kick, right?

The thought had just crossed the onlookers’ minds when the door easily swung open.

It wasn’t even locked?!

As soon as the door opened, the Alpha and Omega pheromones became even more concentrated, mixed with some subtle scents.

At the same time, some even more subtle sounds came from inside.

Half of the people who came were from the older generation. They immediately knew what was going on.

Song Yu pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, covered his nose and mouth, and walked inside.

---

After his consciousness returned, He Nian felt someone on him and thought the plan had succeeded. But after an entire night, it wasn’t until he was permanently marked that he realized the person wasn’t Song Yu.

He struggled fiercely but couldn’t escape. Releasing maximum intensity pheromones only led to more brutal treatment and offered no control whatsoever.

What had gone wrong?!

Why wasn’t it Song Yu?!

He was clearly an Omega exclusive to Song Yu!

His vision kept blacking out, but his mind was exceptionally clear.

He Nian felt like a lump of mud, being kneaded at will, yet unable to resist in the slightest.

“So you really are here.”

Song Yu’s voice suddenly exploded in his ear. He Nian stiffly turned his head and saw Song Yu standing at the bedroom door, looking at him as if he were a piece of dirt.

No! Don’t look!

He Nian’s forced composure completely shattered the moment he saw Song Yu.

The people standing outside hesitated whether to enter.

Thinking that since Song Yu had gone in, there was nothing wrong with them following.

Suddenly, a scream erupted from the room.

One scream after another.

The voice was hoarse and clearly tearful, making people’s hearts pound with dread.

Some people, fearing something had happened inside, immediately rushed in.

Song Ke’s consciousness was brought back somewhat by the continuous screams. He instinctively looked around but saw a group of people standing at the narrow bedroom doorway. He stiffened, looked down at his own state, and his mind exploded with a boom.

---

Half an hour later, Elder He, Zhao Chu, and a few other individuals sat in the Shen family living room, their expressions varied, the atmosphere heavy.

The rest had found excuses to leave after discovering the incident involved Song Ke.

Song Ke’s drama wasn’t something to casually indulge in; they might get noticed by the higher-ups!

Song Yu slowly took a sip of tea. Seeing Song Ke, who had tidied himself up, walk down from upstairs, he forcefully placed his teacup on the table.

“Elder He, your obedient grandson seduced my brother at my grandfather’s birthday banquet, bringing utter disgrace to both the Shen and Song families. I will not let this matter go.”

Elder He’s face was grim, his lips pale.

He knew clearly that Song Yu was placing all the blame on his grandson, hinting at accountability, yet he was utterly helpless.

Admitting it meekly would at most be humiliating, with some compensation. But if he pushed the blame onto the First Prince, the consequences would be unimaginable.

“I’m sorry, it’s my failure in upbringing. I am willing to compensate.” Elder He bowed his head, gritting his teeth as he admitted his mistake.

His grandson was clearly the biggest victim, yet now he had to bow down and apologize to the perpetrator.

Song Yu tilted his head to look at Song Ke: “How do you think this should be resolved?”

Song Ke’s face was sullen. He dared not look directly into Song Yu’s eyes.

He had successfully “snatched” the Omega Song Yu liked, yet he couldn’t hold his head high because so many people had witnessed the indecent scene.

His undignified and disgraceful state had been seen by all!

Those people must be mocking him now!

The more he thought this, the more irritated Song Ke became: “Resolve what? It was just a bit of fun. What’s the big deal?”

Seeing Song Yu’s sarcastic gaze, Song Ke flushed with anger.

“Please don’t just barge into other people’s rooms next time.”

Rong Shi calmly said, “If Elder He and Elder Zhao weren’t so anxious, there wouldn’t have been so many kind people going out to look for him.”

Song Ke was so enraged that half his rationality flew away. Hearing this, he turned to confirm with his assistant.

The assistant was also flustered, thinking about how to salvage the situation, and didn’t really grasp Rong Shi’s words before nodding.

Hearing this, Song Ke immediately glared furiously at the two old men.

“Just wait until I get my hands on you two!”

Zhao Chu wanted to smooth things over, but Song Ke strode away with his assistant.

His face turned ashen. He slumped back into his seat.

He had intended to curry favor with Song Ke by putting pressure on the Shen family and Song Yu. Now, however, his attempt had backfired spectacularly, and he had been severely kicked.

Song Yu took the tissue Rong Shi handed him to wipe the tea from his hands. He then said to Elder Shen, “Grandfather, I’ll leave this matter to you. Xiao Shi and I have other things to do, so we’ll be heading back today.”

By handling the entire situation but returning the final decision-making power to the Shen family, Elder Shen looked at the two young men, feeling comforted.

The Shen family wasn’t incapable of handling this matter; it was just that they lacked status and influence, inevitably suffering some grievances.

But now, the two young ones had reclaimed both face and dignity, and even forced these people, who usually flaunted their power in front of the Shen family, to bow down and admit their mistakes.

It was incredibly satisfying!

His Shen family’s cubs were all excellent!

Song Yu and Rong Shi left hand in hand. Only a few elders remained in the living room.

Elder Shen’s gaze swept over Elder He and Zhao Chu, and he spoke with full confidence: “Now that things have turned out this way, are you satisfied?!”

---

Seated in the hovercar, Rong Shi and Song Yu, who had just appeared composed, slumped into their seats.

Qin Luo set the navigation in the front seat. Through the rearview mirror, he saw them looking like deflated balloons and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong with you two?”

Song Yu leaned slightly against Rong Shi’s shoulder, his eyes half-closed, feeling sleepy again.

“Tired.”

Although the hangover medicine had helped, Rong Shi’s head still ached, likely from lack of sleep combined with the hangover.

Feeling the warmth of Song Yu’s forehead, Rong Shi frowned. Why was his body temperature so high?

He gently pressed his hand on Song Yu’s forehead, listening to 01’s report.

[Body temperature 39.5, you have a fever.]

He did have a fever.

Rong Shi adjusted his sitting posture to make Song Yu more comfortable.

Song Yu, drowsy, murmured: “First time having such a high fever in my life. You’re too brutal.”

Rong Shi said earnestly: “I heard the first time always causes a fever.”

Song Yu: “Are you sure the ‘first time’ you heard about is the same as my ‘first time’?”

Rong Shi: “…”

---

Author’s Note:

Rong Bunny: Failed to bluff.

Song Cat: Don’t think I don’t understand, hmph.

Rong Bunny: …