On the first day of Yan Ruoyun’s business trip, Beidu City officially entered its autumn rain season. For a whole week, it rained relentlessly—light rain, heavy rain, and torrential downpours.

Fortunately, the change in seasons didn’t affect Lin Zhu much. He maintained a very stable, two-point routine between school and home, spending most of his time indoors reading and studying.

Well, mostly studying biology.

The other subjects were practically identical to his original world, and he had already reviewed them several times over. Only biology, this magical subject…

Every time Lin Zhu opened this textbook, he felt his worldview being shattered and rebuilt. The sheer weight of this brand-new knowledge hit him like a charging wild boar, knocking him flat on the ground.

With a complicated expression, he closed the book.

—So, men can actually lactate?

The ABO world was truly terrifying.

Meanwhile.
Beside him, his deskmate Huang Canran also closed his book with a satisfied expression. Still craving more, he started pitching it to Lin Zhu: “Deskmate, stop staring at that biology textbook all day. I highly recommend you read this novel carefully. Isn’t it way more interesting than a textbook?”

“…Thanks, I’m good.”

One week into the school term, Lin Zhu already knew his new deskmate’s secondary gender. He was also an Alpha, only half a year younger than him, and hadn’t yet completed his secondary differentiation. Therefore, he was still an underage Alpha.

Having heard that Lin Zhu had already completed his secondary differentiation, Huang Canran enviously clutched his novel and quietly asked, “Deskmate, what does it feel like? Is it like what they write in the novels?”

Hearing this, Lin Zhu glanced at the contents of the page in his hand and couldn’t help but make a ‘subway old man reading his phone’ expression. He earnestly advised, “You should really read fewer novels.”

The System popped out to casually chime in: “Art comes from life, but goes beyond it… Besides, it’s not like the content is entirely baseless, right?”

“Look here, this description: ‘The gland fluids flowed down the Omega’s pant leg, soaking a large patch of the bedsheets’…”

The System recited melodically, then stated decisively, “That’s not too exaggerated!”

Lin Zhu didn’t even have the energy to roast it. “How is that not exaggerated? If a situation like that actually happens, they probably just wet their pants, right? Plots like this are an insult to my eighteen years of physiological common sense.”

The System said profoundly, “Host, you must understand… in the ABO world, you’re just a novice.”

Unable to refute this, Lin Zhu fell silent.

Right after, the System added, “If you don’t believe me, you can go review our original novel! The second key plot point is coming up soon anyway!”

Like a nagging old mother, it eagerly advised, “Sigh, if we’re as rushed as last time and have to cram at the last minute… there will probably be a bunch of issues again. I told you, before you two parted that day, you should have smooched the protagonist a few more times!”

“Just think of it as a rehearsal, wouldn’t that be great?”

Suddenly hearing the System mention what happened that night, Lin Zhu spaced out for a moment. He subconsciously raised his hand to touch a small, scabbed wound on the left side of his lower lip.

Yan Ruoyun had bitten him in a fit of anger.

But he was the one who had bitten people first.

And after getting in the car, he was also the one who immediately pulled out his phone and changed Lin Zhu’s contact name to ‘Lin Puppy’.

However, that night Yan Ruoyun still dragged him to the mall. Not only did he buy Lin Zhu a backpack, but he also got him two sets of clothes along the way, and finally dropped him off safely at the gates of his residential complex.

…
Lin Zhu pursed his lips. Thinking of their first kiss that day, he felt like he could smell that cool peppermint scent again… The base note was inexplicably a bit spicy, choking him in a good way.

Today was Friday.

During the break after the second class in the afternoon, the usually energetic high school students looked exceptionally sluggish, practically staring at the second hand on the wall clock to count down the time.

“Argh, why are there still two classes?! I can’t study for another minute!”
“Pfft, have you even studied for a full minute?”
“…Are you asking for a beating?”

In the corner, a small group of Alphas huddled together, discussing where to hang out over the weekend. “Didn’t you check the weather forecast? It’s going to rain for half a month straight. Forget about anything outdoors.”

“I hate this, I wanted to go on a trip.”

“I heard there will even be thunderstorms these next two days. I was originally planning to catch a flight to the neighboring Haiqin City to visit my cousin… Whatever, better just stay cooped up at home.”

Those guys weren’t speaking quietly. Lin Zhu happened to catch the words ‘Haiqin City’, and couldn’t help but turn his head to glance at the source of the voices.

Yan Ruoyun had gone to Haiqin City for a business trip these past few days. He was so busy he barely had time to breathe; he would only reply to Lin Zhu’s messages when he finally had a break during meal times.

The male student who just mentioned wanting to go to Haiqin accidentally met Lin Zhu’s gaze. His eyes lit up, and he hurried over. “Hey, Lin Zhu, could you recommend some fun places in the city for us?”

“We’re all classmates, introduce us to some spots!”

Knowing his bad reputation preceded him, and that the other party didn’t have any bad intentions, Lin Zhu simply shook his head and smoothly replied, “It’s better for minors not to go.”

He recalled the original owner’s memories and found that his face practically had three giant words written on it: Giant Sucker.

Those places were a mess—not only were they sketchy, but if they accidentally got scammed out of their money and feelings, it would be way too dramatic.

The Alpha who approached first put his hands together and shook them pleadingly, then asked with sheer curiosity:
“Ahem… I’m just gossiping, but I heard you have VIP cards for every entertainment club in Beidu? And apparently… you frequently order several Omega hosts at the same time to drink with you? Partying every night?”

Over the past few days, Lin Zhu had only gotten slightly familiar with his deskmate Huang Canran and barely spoke to other classmates. To outsiders, he seemed like a mysterious, world-weary cool guy. The type who looked particularly not to be messed with.

Seeing someone proactively strike up a conversation, the rest of the people in the classroom unanimously turned their heads to look.

Pairs of curious eyes swept over Lin Zhu, giving him the illusion of being the center of attention. It was as if he could hear echoing chants of ‘Tea… spilling the tea…’ ringing in his ears.

It was like listening to a chorus of croaking frogs.

After a brief period of interaction, Lin Zhu had roughly figured out the personalities of these classmates in the overseas prep class—they were a bunch of rich, underachieving, playboy ‘sweet summer children’.

Lin Zhu sighed helplessly and quietly clarified, “I do have the cards, but the rest of that isn’t true.”

In truth, the rumors outside were half-true and half-false. But because the ‘scumbag ex-husband’ used to live such a high-profile, absurd lifestyle, some stories just got more outrageous as they spread.

…Thank goodness no one said he was doing illegal substances.

Otherwise, he’d be downgraded from ‘morally corrupt’ to a ‘criminal suspect’.

Hearing this, the male classmate chuckled again and lowered his voice to ask, “Then have you ever actually marked an Omega? Temporary marks count too!”

Yet, no matter how low his voice was, he couldn’t stop everyone else from pricking up their ears and focusing their attention over here.

After all, they were teenage boys and girls; everyone had a natural curiosity and interest in this sort of thing.

Lin Zhu shook his head again, remaining silent. He casually pulled out a textbook and started flipping through it, quietly ending the topic.

He did indeed have his first marking and kissing experience recently, but Yan Ruoyun wasn’t casual gossip for him to chat about after meals, and he didn’t want to casually share his private matters.

Every little interaction with Yan Ruoyun was exactly like that mint candy that dissolved between their lips that night—meant only for the two of them to savor, intimate and private.

The class bell soon rang.

At the same time, Lin Zhu’s phone inside his desk drawer vibrated. The vibration against the desk surface produced a low-frequency, muffled buzzing sound.

This class was English. On the podium, the English teacher had already turned on the multimedia shared screen, ready to start the lecture.

English was Lin Zhu’s strong suit. He quietly spread out his materials on the desk, slipped his phone between them, and unlocked the screen with his fingerprint.

Sure enough, it was a WeChat message from Yan Ruoyun.

[Yan Ruoyun: Returning to Beidu today.]

Immediately after, the phone vibrated again.

The other side sent a casual photo. A bony, slender hand was holding a plane ticket, displaying the seat number, boarding time, and other details. The raw camera shot had no filter, making a scar on the knuckle of the index finger clearly visible.

Lin Zhu used two fingers to zoom in on the photo. He found that the flight was scheduled for this evening, taking a little over an hour in total.

[Lin Zhu: It’s been pouring in Beidu lately, and there are thunderstorms today. Is it safe to fly?]

[Yan Ruoyun: It’s safe. The airline says it probably won’t be delayed. They’ll stop flights after tonight.]

[Yan Ruoyun: By the way, shouldn’t Puppy be in English class right now? Sneaking on your phone?]

[Lin Zhu: …]

The man on the other end had his detailed schedule. He knew exactly what time he left home, what classes he had throughout the day, and when school ended. He knew his whereabouts like the back of his hand.

Recently, Lin Zhu was constantly being called ‘puppy’ by the man. Unconsciously poking at the screen, he casually sent over a meme of a Border Collie wearing a raincoat.

Outside, the wind and rain battered down, while the Collie in the bright yellow raincoat had a world-weary look in its eyes, as if its soul had already drifted into outer space.

After a while.

Yan Ruoyun sent him a GIF meme in return.

The image showed a little kitten completely engulfed in flames, smashing through a wall with overwhelming momentum and charging at the camera with an incredibly dominant aura.

Lin Zhu watched it twice and replied:
[The special effects are really realistic.]

Two seconds later.
Yan Ruoyun replied with two words: [Haha.]

Lin Zhu looked left and right, suspecting he was being mocked, but he couldn’t figure out what was wrong. He was completely baffled.

At this moment, the host’s loyal companion, Mr. System, popped out to clear up Lin Zhu’s confusion. Sighing faintly, it began to explain with a step-by-step approach:
“Host, look, what is in the picture?”

Lin Zhu: “A kitten.”

The System gave him a slow clap: “And look at this cat, what’s happening to it?”

Lin Zhu answered dryly, “It’s on fire?”

The System, which loved popping off digital fireworks for fun, continued in a guiding tone: “On fire. How would you express that using more formal vocabulary?”

Lin Zhu: “…Burning?”

The System concluded:
“—Therefore, this is a little shāo (burning/slutty) cat.” (T/N: In Chinese internet slang, the word for ‘burning’ sounds exactly like the word for ‘slutty’.)

Lin Zhu was utterly confused. It took him muttering it a few times to finally understand the pun in the GIF. His face instantly flushed beet red, and he choked on his own saliva, coughing twice.

But by this time, Yan Ruoyun had already moved on to the next topic.

[Yan Ruoyun: After I get off the plane, I have to attend a banquet, so I won’t come see you tonight. I’ll order delivery to your place later. Don’t wander around outside.]

Lin Zhu stared at the screen conflictedly for a while before obediently following his topic: [Okay. I’ll head straight home after school.]

These past few days of long-distance communication made Lin Zhu deeply realize one thing—Yan Ruoyun was exactly as he described himself, incredibly controlling.

He was very busy, leaving little time to reply to messages.
Fortunately, Lin Zhu proactively reported his daily activities, including his class schedule and what he ate at the cafeteria, often sending a photo along with it.

Yan Ruoyun would read them, but wouldn’t necessarily reply when busy. Even when he did reply, a lot of time had usually passed, so the two of them had essentially been chatting like leaving messages on a bulletin board across time and space.

Despite being so busy, he still ordered dinner delivery for Lin Zhu. The vendors were high-end restaurants that never appeared on food delivery apps. Once the chef prepared the meal, a dedicated staff member from the restaurant would deliver it directly to Lin Zhu’s hands.

The food in the boxes was always piping hot.

Yan Ruoyun might not have even eaten himself, yet he still made sure his little boyfriend got his dinner. Lin Zhu thought for a moment and texted him not to worry about him, but unexpectedly, the other side replied—

[Yan Ruoyun: This is an adult’s clever trick to check up on you. Kids shouldn’t worry about it.]

Lin Zhu didn’t say anything else after that.

Even though he called it ‘checking up’, Lin Zhu could tell that Yan Ruoyun wasn’t actually suspicious of him cheating or smooth-talking his way into hooking up with other Omegas…

The man’s behavior was more like a primal instinct to mark his territory, constantly leaving his own labels and traces on Lin Zhu.

Inherently, this seemed to be a manifestation of extreme insecurity.

But when Lin Zhu closed his eyes and recalled Yan Ruoyun’s words and actions, he felt the man had always acted confident, domineering, and as if victory was already in his grasp.

The one who was often teased until his face turned red, unable to speak… was himself.

Except Lin Zhu didn’t dislike this feeling; he was even faintly addicted to it. But that was a secret not meant for outsiders.

These emotional shifts couldn’t be hidden from the System bound to his consciousness. It had voiced its opinions on the matter several times, looking like it wanted to wave a flag and shout at Lin Zhu:
“Host, you need to step up!”

“You’re getting completely reeled in by the protagonist! Are you conquering him, or is he conquering you?!”

After shouting, it would usually whip out a holographic screen of the original novel and advise Lin Zhu to read it aloud, write it from memory, and recite the entire text.

Lin Zhu: “…………”

Classic System behavior.

However, truth be told.
As the days went by, Lin Zhu unconsciously grew nervous. He felt a subtle anxiety, like an exam was looming but he hadn’t finished reviewing the study material yet.

That evening.

Just minutes after Lin Zhu got home from school, the dinner Yan Ruoyun ordered arrived. As he ate the fine cuisine, he reviewed the original plot with the System.

The System had gotten addicted to playing the role of a teacher, solemnly highlighting the key acting points for Lin Zhu:
“Three elements: Character, Setting, and Plot.”

“Characters: That’s you, Host, and the protagonist. Setting: I won’t over-explain it, just a simple hospital roleplay, very clear and obvious…”

It paused, its tone solemn.
“Given: In the next few days (exact time unknown), the protagonist’s heat cycle will arrive. And the marked protagonist will definitely be unable to endure the biological heat. He will 100% proactively contact—you, Host!”

Holding his premium Japanese food, Lin Zhu chewed, chewed, chewed.

The System’s electronic voice dramatically rose and fell.
“In the second key plot point, Host, you need to play an incompetent, furiously raging scumbag. Facing the domineering Omega who almost deported you and disgusted at how ‘dirty’ you are, you must be furious! You must be twisted! You need to unleash all the unwillingness and resentment you’ve accumulated during this time upon him!”

Lin Zhu, who had been well-fed, warmly dressed, and regularly fed by someone during this time, picked up a piece of sashimi, popped it into his mouth, and chewed, chewed, chewed.

“You have to take advantage of his vulnerability! While he’s delirious with lust, you must pin him down on the hospital bed and ruthlessly mark him, causing the protagonist to lose control and… ahem, embarrassingly soil his pants.”

“At this point, Host, you must use a mocking tone to deliver the key line: ‘Neither of us should judge the other, you’re just as dirty as I am right now!’ Then, you wipe… ahem, that stuff onto the protagonist’s face.”

The System dutifully added,
“Oh right, before or after this key line, you must include a derogatory pronoun, like ‘little sltty cat’, ‘little whre’, or ‘b*tch’. You can choose whichever one you like, Host.”

“How about it? Pretty humane, right?”

Lin Zhu chewed… and couldn’t chew anymore.

Even though he had read the original novel and was mentally prepared, he couldn’t help but roast it with utterly exhausted eyes: “…I’ll never be able to look at cute kittens or puppies the same way again.”

The System: “Uh-huh, so Host, where do you think the acting difficulty lies in this scene? The System will do everything it can to assist!”

There wasn’t a hint of light in Lin Zhu’s eyes. His whole body radiated a bizarre, half-dead aesthetic. “…From here… to there. I think it’s all a difficulty.”

The System wanted to cheer its Host up, but the situation was truly not optimistic. It couldn’t help but sigh faintly,
“Ah… true.”

“After all, Host, your dirty talk skills don’t even compare to the protagonist’s. At least he knows ‘little burning cat’. That metaphor was incredibly smooth.”

Seeing Lin Zhu’s eyes grow increasingly dead, the System changed the subject and started praising him again, “At least Host has a very proper learning attitude! You diligently browsed the adult AO videos I recommended!”

It asked, “Did you learn anything from them, Host?”

A few days ago, the System had urged Lin Zhu to prepare for his second acting mission. It downloaded a bunch of explicit AO videos from who knows where, which the host could watch directly through the holographic screen, complete with high-quality audio and video.

Overnight.
A few more terabytes of mental garbage were added to Lin Zhu’s brain.

He watched a few of them.
The videos were just a mess of tangled limbs, but Lin Zhu only felt bored and repulsed; they didn’t stir any particular feeling in him.

Because of this, the System suspected him of being frigid, its tone as heavy as if the world were ending.

“Host, to be honest, ever since you suddenly went into rut last time and actually managed to hold back from marking the protagonist, I’ve been suspecting this…!”

Lin Zhu: “…”

The System: “Host, say something!”

Lin Zhu: “…Um, I don’t really want to discuss this kind of issue with you. By the way, aren’t you an AI?”

The System: “AI have feelings too, AI have love too.”

Lin Zhu: “But AI don’t have little wieners.”

The System was silent for a moment, then let out a sharp, shocked shriek: “Host, why are you making dirty jokes at me?! I am a pure, innocent System! You’re supposed to be saying this stuff to the protagonist!”

By the end of the review session.
The human and the System sighed heavily in unison.

Suddenly, the System spoke up again:
“Ahem… so it’s like this, Host. Considering your flaws in the acting department, after the last mission ended, Headquarters specially upgraded my system modules and added an external component.”

The System briefly introduced the newly added module: the ‘Character Synchronization’ sub-system.
“This external module… can assist the Host in immersively experiencing the scumbag ex-husband’s intense emotions. It increases realism and improves acting efficiency!”

After listening, Lin Zhu frowned and asked, “So you’re saying this module will make me empathize with the character, thereby affecting my own emotions?”

The System: “It’s possible.”

Lin Zhu wasn’t very receptive to this model and asked again, “…Can I choose not to use this module?”

The System said resentfully, “You can’t. Even though it was a bug in the task evaluation sub-system, Headquarters seems to think it was my fault, so they didn’t give me administrative access.”

Within the System space.
The silently running sub-system generated redundant data once again.

[Main System ‘N001’ is requested to face its own violent behavior, let go of rebellious emotions, refrain from shifting blame, and strictly execute tasks according to System guidelines.]

The System said coldly: “Go bleep yourself.”

Lin Zhu’s head was full of question marks: “What did you say?”

The System smoothly changed its tune. “I said, what are you eating.”

Without waiting for Lin Zhu to reply, it seamlessly changed the topic, its tone lively and optimistic:
“Anyway, let’s just try using it first! If the results are bad, I’ll submit a report to Headquarters and apply to have this module revoked!”

Lin Zhu was half-convinced, half-doubtful. “Okay.”
“…”

Because of reviewing the script, Lin Zhu felt mentally exhausted after his meal. He quickly went to take a shower to clear his head.

Coming out of the bathroom, he habitually grabbed his phone and opened WeChat to check—
A red dot lit up above Yan Ruoyun’s pinned profile picture, indicating two unread messages.

He clicked in and found that the first unread message was actually a photo of Yan Ruoyun.
Below it was a straightforward line of text.

[Yan Ruoyun: Someone sent me this photo of the event.]

In the photo, the banquet venue was luxurious and dazzling.

The man showed absolutely no signs of fatigue from his long journey. He was the epitome of elegance from head to toe, as if every single strand of his hair was perfectly posed.

He was standing in front of a crystal fountain, holding a glass of champagne. He wasn’t specifically looking at the camera; instead, his chin was casually half-raised, the rim of the champagne flute gently resting against his lips…

The fragmented light and shadow from the crystal fountain behind him spilled over his body, making the man in the center of the frame look so breathtakingly handsome he didn’t seem real.

“…Did you take the wrong meds??”

Lin Xiujie looked in confusion at the dozens of photos taken from the exact same angle in his phone gallery, suddenly unable to understand what his childhood friend of over twenty years was thinking.
“Don’t you hate taking pictures the most? Every time we take event photos, you’re always so impatient!”

Nothing like just now, being so nitpicky… one moment saying the angle was wrong, the next complaining about the lighting. After taking dozens of photos back and forth, he meticulously pointed out one of them and bluntly commanded,
“Send it to my WeChat.”

Yan Ruoyun ignored him completely. He handed over the glass he had specifically used as a prop for the photo:
“Hold this for a second.”

For the next little while, he just tapped away at his phone. First, he applied several filters to the photo, then he started texting someone—who knows who—while an incredibly unusual smile actually crept onto his lips.

Lin Xiujie’s EQ and IQ were perfectly fine, so he quickly formed a guess. His eyes filled with shock as he said, “Wait a minute…! You don’t have something going on, do you?”

But before he could get Yan Ruoyun’s answer, he suddenly felt a waft of fragrant wind from behind. Immediately after, someone slammed hard into his back, causing him to stagger!

Lin Xiujie subconsciously turned his head and found that the person who bumped into him was an Omega in their early twenties. He looked somewhat familiar, likely a recently popular celebrity artist.

The Omega was also holding a drink, and half of it had now splashed onto Lin Xiujie’s back. He was instantly frightened to the point of red eyes, apologizing profusely, “I’m sorry, I’m really so sorry… I didn’t mean to!”

At the same time, he flusteredly grabbed some tissues, trying to wipe the man clean.

The Omega had red lips, white teeth, and an exceptionally superior appearance. He acted terrified, with tears hanging on his eyelashes as if they were about to fall, looking incredibly pitiful.

Regardless of whether the other party did it on purpose, Lin Xiujie wasn’t in the mood to make a fuss. He backhanded the glass Yan Ruoyun had just given him right back, speaking at a rapid-fire pace:
“I’m going to change clothes, I’ll be right back!”

With that, he turned and marched toward the guest rooms on the second floor, as if terrified that if he were too slow, Yan Ruoyun would run away.

The surrounding guests who witnessed this scene whispered amongst themselves.
“Hit a wall. I told you there’s nothing wrong with the marriage contract between the Yan and Lin families… Look how affectionate those two are?”

“Heh, engaged for twelve years and still not married. No wonder so many birds and bees are throwing themselves at the young Master Lin.”

“Why do you care about their business?”

“Why shouldn’t I care? My eldest son talks about the one from the Yan family every single day…”
“…”

Yan Ruoyun heard them but pretended not to. He didn’t take any of it to heart, his attention entirely focused on the small screen in his hand.

The other side constantly displayed ‘Typing…’.

An image of a blonde teenager with a face full of distress, agonizing over how to reply to the text, had already surfaced in Yan Ruoyun’s mind. Thoroughly amused, his mood instantly brightened as he took a sip of the alcohol in his hand, patiently waiting for a response.

Precisely because of this, he completely failed to notice that not far away, the Omega who had retreated to the corner of the venue was revealing a look of pure horror.

He clutched his manager’s hand tightly, saying in panic:
“…How could this happen?! That drug only acts as a normal aphrodisiac for Alphas, but the same dosage on an Omega will directly force them into heat!”

“I don’t want to get blacklisted!”

An Omega being forced into heat in public, versus an Alpha getting slightly aroused after drinking a spiked beverage, were entirely different magnitudes of disaster.

He had really screwed up big time!