Li Xiao asked softly, “Where is the suppressant?”

Watching Li Xiao approach, Song Jin’s gaze was wary. “Given to someone else.”

Given to someone else?

Li Xiao used his mind to ask 09 about the situation tonight.

07: 【Master encountered an Omega in heat and gave the suppressant away! His pheromone levels were already very unstable these past few days, and this stimulation made them erupt. To avoid being affected by the Omega, he even cut himself with a knife, wuu wuu wuu…】

Speaking of which, Li Xiao suddenly remembered that Song Jin had been acting off ever since the day the written exam ended.

The smell of wine he had detected that night really hadn’t come from the ice cream.

A few days ago at the gymnasium, he had been stimulated by a modified Omega again. Although he had been injected with a suppressant back then, it seemed it hadn’t suppressed it completely at all.

Song Jin had been hovering on the brink of his susceptibility period all these days; no wonder he was exceptionally sensitive to his scent.

Back then, Li Xiao had gotten through his own first susceptibility period in a complete daze. Looking back now, Song Jin had been full of flaws, yet he had actually been dense enough to only notice it now.

The pheromones were raging violently, and the aggressiveness was too intense. Even without using instruments to test it, Li Xiao knew how miserable Song Jin was right now.

“Endure it for a bit, I’m going to get a suppressant now.”

“Don’t go!” Song Jin called out to stop Li Xiao. His voice was raspy than usual, and though the volume wasn’t loud, his enunciation was very heavy, as if he were trying his absolute best to restrain something.

Li Xiao turned back to look at him. “You’ve reached your susceptibility period. If you don’t inject a suppressant, the symptoms will keep persisting.”

This wasn’t the school; there wasn’t even a place where they could get a proper rest, and they could even face mortal danger at any moment. If he didn’t maintain his reason at all times, it was highly likely that a single slip-up would lead to an accident.

Li Xiao would absolutely never allow such a possibility to exist.

“What suppressant? It’s completely useless!” Song Jin smashed a fist against the wall. His predator-like gaze locked tightly onto Li Xiao, transmitting a coldness that was also laced with anticipation. “Come over and hold me.”

Li Xiao’s heart nearly melted.

Clearly, his entire body was written with resistance and wariness, yet he still wished to receive his comfort.

This kind of acting spoiled was something that even an immortal probably couldn’t refuse.

Keeping in mind the scent issue Song Jin had mentioned earlier, Li Xiao could only approach cautiously, afraid of stimulating him.

“Am I that terrifying? You don’t even dare to come close?” Song Jin’s expression was stubborn, his tone carrying a grievance that he himself hadn’t even detected.

Li Xiao softened his tone. “I’m just afraid that if our pheromones clash, you’ll feel very uncomfortable.”

Song Jin gritted his teeth. “It’s just pheromones, what’s the big deal?!”

The closer he got, the more Li Xiao could feel how terrible this kid’s state was.

He had never seen anyone whose first susceptibility period symptoms were this intense.

Li Xiao walked up in front of Song Jin. The moment his hand reached out, Song Jin’s fist came at him first.

Li Xiao took two steps back and hurriedly said, “I won’t come close anymore, calm down first.”

But Song Jin had already been stimulated to the point of losing his reason. Having his territory invaded by a formidable enemy was an absolute bottom line that an Alpha could never tolerate.

Determined that he couldn’t drag this out any longer, Li Xiao sent a communication to Qian Can while dodging, telling him to bring a suppressant over.

As Song Jin’s study partner, Qian Can would likely carry a spare suppressant on him.

Inside the vehicle, Qian Can was pinned down by Qin Le, watching with his own eyes as Jiang Hao deftly bandaged the wound on his thigh. Covering his face, he fake-cried, “This young master is no longer pure, wuu wuu.”

Expressionless, Jiang Hao shifted 09 over a tiny bit, aiming it at Qian Can’t wound. “I’m not interested in an old sister-in-law like you.”

“…You’re the old sister-in-law! This grandpa is a pure, top-level Alpha!” Qian Can grumbled and swore as he pulled on his pants.

His terminal vibrated. Seeing that it was Li Xiao, Qian Can scrambled to pick it up. “What happened?!”

Li Xiao: “Bring a suppressant over, it’s for Xiao Jin, quick!”

A suppressant?!

Qian Can’s expression changed. Frantically turning around, he yanked his backpack over, rummaged through it forcefully, and rushed out the moment he grabbed a suppressant.

It was pitch black outside, and the commotion from the rampaging bird flock was massive. Fortunately, the transport vehicle and the wall’s overhang formed an angle where no Crane Eagles flew in, making it relatively safe.

After taking just two steps, Qian Can detected the dense Alpha pheromones. His heart thumped, and his legs went so soft he almost fell to his knees right there.

His skin felt like it was being pricked by needles—a dense, stinging pain. Qian Can cursed under his breath, “Boss! What’s wrong with you?!”

Walking up to the half-ajar, dilapidated room door, Qian Can heard fighting sounds coming from inside. Without even thinking, he rushed in, only to be forced back in the next instant by a long leg sweeping over.

“Stay far away, throw the suppressant over,” Li Xiao’s voice echoed from within.

“Then I’m throwing it, get ready,” with that, Qian Can tossed the suppressant inside.

Inside the room, Li Xiao noticed the suppressant and took a step toward it. But just as he was about to reach out to catch it, he was kicked away by Song Jin.

“…”

Before Qian Can could even pull back, he was almost hit square in the forehead by the flying suppressant.

“That was close!”

The suppressant was caught by Qin Le, who had chased after him. Qin Le shouted into the room and threw the suppressant inside once more.

Yet the room seemed to be fitted with springs. The moment it was thrown in, it bounced out; thrown in, bounced out. After four or five round trips, the airdrop completely failed to land.

Qin Le: “…”

Just how much does the Boss hate suppressants?

Qian Can secretly gathered his strength, preparing to give it a fierce hurl. Before he could even throw it, he heard the metal room door being kicked until it rattled loudly.

The three of them took a step back from fear.

Jiang Hao: “Brother Song has warned you, be careful.”

Qian Can: “…”

How the hell is anyone supposed to deliver this?!

Qian Can gritted his teeth. “Boss Li, show some strength here!”

Li Xiao: “It will hurt him.”

Inside the room, Li Xiao was afraid of tearing Song Jin’s wounds, so he couldn’t let his hands and feet loose at all.

Sensing that the pheromones were becoming increasingly pungent, Li Xiao seized Song Jin’s attacking right hand, spun behind him, and restrained him tightly within his embrace.

“You don’t want to inject the suppressant?” Li Xiao asked in a low voice.

The familiar embrace and voice allowed Song Jin to recover a fraction of his reason. A powerful sense of satisfaction and rejection coexisted, as if wanting to tear him to pieces. In a daze, he remembered the feeling he had when he smelled those two Omegas’ pheromones earlier.

Startled, Song Jin broke free from Li Xiao’s grip with a sudden surge, drawing his military blade to slice toward his own gland.

Li Xiao barely managed to seize his wrist, shouting under his breath, “What are you doing?!”

Song Jin: “I don’t want to be thinking of you on one hand while being attracted by someone else’s pheromones on the other!”

This kid was always so passionate and direct, making it hard for one to cope. Li Xiao snatched Song Jin’s knife away, drawing him over to hold him tightly. “As long as one is an Alpha, they will be attracted by Omegas. Don’t blame yourself, this isn’t your fault.”

Song Jin wrapped his arms around Li Xiao, his voice low and suppressed. “But I don’t want to think about them ever again!”

“Shall I help you press it down?” Li Xiao asked softly.

Song Jin looked up at him. “How?”

Li Xiao: “A temporary mark.”

Song Jin: “But I’m an Alpha?”

Li Xiao touched his face, his expression serious. “An Alpha can be marked too. Do you want it?”

Song Jin looked deeply at him, brutally tearing open his own collar. “Come.”

Li Xiao hooked onto Song Jin’s collar, stroking the back of his neck. “It will hurt a lot, don’t bite yourself.”

“Hurry up,” Song Jin urged.

When his canine teeth pressed against that patch of skin, Li Xiao could clearly feel the person in his arms trembling slightly.

“Ngh!”

A sudden pain shot through the side of his neck, and Song Jin abruptly gripped Li Xiao’s clothes tightly.

The invasive onslaught of powerful Alpha pheromones instantly met instinctive resistance. The two sets of pheromones battled fiercely, turning his body into a battlefield with absolute disregard for his survival.

Song Jin felt as if a bolt of lightning had pierced through him, the pain making his fingertips go numb.

Li Xiao didn’t dare bite too deep. He licked over the tooth marks he left behind; amid the metallic tang of blood, there was also a pleasant fragrance of wine.

“How do you feel?”

“It hurts like hell,” drenched in sweat, Song Jin leaned against Li Xiao’s shoulder, panting. “Why didn’t you just bite me to death?”

Song Jin couldn’t stand steady, so Li Xiao smoothly held him as they sat down to lean against the wall, rubbing the head on his shoulder. “Nonsense.”

“But really, I’m not thinking about those two Omegas anymore. How did you do it?” Song Jin nuzzled against Li Xiao’s neck. Even though he could smell the pheromones, he wasn’t as resistant to them as before, and his mood cleared up instantly.

“Simply put, in this courtship game, you lost to me,” Li Xiao helped him wipe the sweat off his face. “To avoid risks, your survival instinct forced you to exit the courtship state.”

Song Jin thought about it for a moment and understood.

He had entered his susceptibility period because of those two Omegas, and Li Xiao, acting as a formidable enemy, had defeated him, gaining dominance over those two Omegas.

As the defeated party, he had to withdraw from the competition in order to survive, so his susceptibility period was suppressed.

“More useful than a suppressant,” Song Jin’s voice was raspy, sounding a bit fatigued. “I wonder if it would be better if you bit me a few more times.”

Li Xiao chuckled. “One time isn’t enough?”

Song Jin: “It’s a bit painful, but it feels pretty good.”

“Don’t flirt with me,” Li Xiao’s fingers ran through his hair, planting a kiss on his temple. “You are not allowed to harm yourself ever again in the future. If your gland gets ruined, you won’t be able to feel my pheromones anymore, you dummy.”

Song Jin: “Isn’t that just perfect? You won’t have to smell my pheromones either.”

Li Xiao offhandedly replied, “But the one I like is you as an Alpha.”

Song Jin stiffened, straightening up to look at him. “The last person who talked tough has already been slapped in the face.”

Li Xiao: “You think I’m like you?”

Song Jin: “…What do you mean? We didn’t fight enough just now?”

Li Xiao stroked his face. “I’ve always been very clear that the person I fell for is an Alpha who is a match for me.”

Song Jin raised his hand to grasp it, kissing his fingers. “Then when it’s your susceptibility period, it’ll be my turn to bite you.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Li Xiao: “I can use a suppressant.”

Song Jin lifted his gaze, a pair of beautiful eyes staring intently at him. “No way. I won’t allow you to think about any Omega.”

Li Xiao: “…That’s not what I told you just now.”

Song Jin: “You are you, and I am I.”

Li Xiao: “…”

This brat is ruthless to himself, and ruthless to others too.

Outside the door, Qian Can and the other two had been crouching, not daring to leave out of fear that something would happen to Song Jin. As a result, they had unexpectedly spectated the entire marking process.

Qian Can stared with wide eyes, unable to believe it.

Qin Le tapped Qian Can’s shoulder, silently gesturing for a retreat.

The three of them quietly returned to the vehicle, and only then did Qian Can realize he had been holding his breath.

“What do we do?! What am I supposed to say when I go back?!”

Qin Le pulled out the capsule blanket from his backpack, opened it, and found a comfortable position to lie down. “What do you mean what do we do? Act like we didn’t see anything.”

Qian Can: “But the Boss suffered a huge loss.”

Qin Le: “Didn’t you hear the Boss say he’d bite back next time?”

Thinking about it, Qian Can found it made sense; biting each other back and forth wouldn’t count as suffering a loss.

Having thought it through, he lay down to rest with peace of mind.

“Getting bitten by an Alpha really seems to hurt a lot.”

Qin Le: “You want to experience it? Little Jiang—”

Qian Can cursed under his breath, “Believe it or not, this grandpa will bite you!”

Jiang Hao lay down on another row of seats. “I don’t like biting old sisters-in-law.”

Qian Can: “This young master is going to get angry!”

Before the three of them fell asleep, a single thought flashed through their minds simultaneously.

When looking for a partner, absolutely do not look for an Alpha. Day in and day out, you’re either on the way to being beaten to death or on the way to being bitten to death.

An Alpha-Alpha relationship was exclusively for top-tier big shots.

Inside the dilapidated, empty room, Song Jin leaned against Li Xiao, chatting idly off and on.

After this whole day, his physical energy consumption had been massive, compounded by reaching his susceptibility period and getting bitten by Li Xiao; his stamina was almost completely depleted.

Yet while his body was exhausted, his spirit was still in a highly excited state.

“I liked that sentence just now, say a few more words of it,” Song Jin said in a low voice.

Li Xiao had 07 fetch the medical box and was treating the wounds on Song Jin’s hands. “Which sentence?”

Song Jin held up his hand. “The one where you said you like me as an Alpha.”

Li Xiao: “There’s only that one sentence, I can’t make up any more.”

Song Jin: “…”

Song Jin’s teeth itched with annoyance. “Then say that sentence one more time.”

After finishing bandaging one wound, Li Xiao lifted his gaze to meet his eyes.

Just as Song Jin was ready to hear the confession once more, Li Xiao suddenly leaned in and kissed him.

It was a touch-and-go kiss, and Li Xiao spoke seriously, “Let’s truly be together, shall we? This time, it’s not a marriage game.”