Chapter 39: Awkward Check-up

Fu Rangyi was not asleep.

After a simple cleanup for Zhu Zhixi, he opened the guest room closet, intending to change his clothes. But when he opened the drawer, he hesitated. In the end, he went to his own room and, from the bottom of his wardrobe, took out a set of pajamas he had bought two weeks ago.

Back at the Fu family home, Zhu Zhixi had worn his pajamas and said they were very comfortable, asking him to give him a set. Fu Rangyi bought them, but he never found a suitable and ordinary opportunity to give them to him, especially face-to-face.

What should I say? “Didn’t you want these back then?”

Zhu Zhixi would surely grin mischievously and say, “You’re so attentive, you even remember that.”

Just thinking about it was embarrassing.

It was easier to deal with a sleeping Zhu Zhixi.

When he bought them, there were many colors and styles. He was very troubled, not knowing which one Zhu Zhixi liked. So he simply bought one of each. Now he was in a dilemma again. He simply took them all to Zhu Zhixi’s room and compared them.

Surprisingly, every set looked good…

For the first time, Fu Rangyi discovered that he had a choice paralysis. What a time-wasting problem.

“You prefer light colors more, right?” he asked softly. The sleeping person, of course, would not give an answer.

“Let’s go with beige.”

Buttoning them up one by one, Fu Rangyi sat by his bed, tucked him in, and watched him quietly for a while. He reached out, brushed his bangs aside, and finally lifted them, leaning over to gently kiss his smooth forehead.

Then his thin eyelids.

“Compensation…”

He got up and muttered to himself, “I’ll take these.”

Back in his own room, he took a shower, mechanically masturbating in the bathroom. In truth, he wasn’t being very upright and noble. His mind was still full of Zhu Zhixi’s appearance just now. The restless, writhing waist, the slippery rabbit tail, the ankles hooked on his shoulders, the bitten lips, the tears of losing control under the suppression of his pheromones…

A light, soft, high and low voice, like a fine silk ribbon, wrapped around Fu Rangyi’s neck in his memory, causing his veins to bulge, gradually suffocating him. When it was all over, the silky ribbon also gradually withdrew and disappeared.

Everyone has desires. It took Fu Rangyi a long time to accept this fact. It was like a fundamental program written into everyone’s DNA from birth.

Of course, Zhu Zhixi had them too. Before him, Fu Rangyi had been extremely resistant to these things, only avoiding them. This was the first time he had faced them clearly and soberly. He found that the immersed Zhu Zhixi was particularly beautiful, particularly… charming.

Having desires, wanting to relieve them, are all normal. But why did Zhu Zhixi come to hug him after waking up?

He clearly heard Zhu Zhixi say he was coming in at the door, and also felt him lift a corner of the quilt, lie down, press against his back, kiss the back of his neck where he had been bitten, hug him, and say goodnight. It was all like a light and transparent dream, gently falling down and enveloping him.

Fu Rangyi kept his eyes open the whole time. Hearing Zhu Zhixi’s breathing gradually steady, feeling his tightly clutching hand gradually lose strength, he carefully tried to turn over. After two or three attempts, he finally turned over completely, face to face.

The scent of his pheromones still lingered on Zhu Zhixi’s body, but it was much less than when he had been bathing. By morning, it might be even less. At this thought, Fu Rangyi couldn’t help but release some more, controlling it within a range that Zhu Zhixi wouldn’t feel suppressed.

At this moment, he was even somewhat glad that Zhu Zhixi was a Beta and couldn’t smell pheromones. That way, he could hide his possessiveness and overflowing emotions well.

In the darkness, he stared at this pure face. His vision was poor, but his brain filled in all the unclear details little by little.

Such a small face. Fu Rangyi held out his palm and measured it from a distance. One hand could cover it. But he also had a pair of large eyes, onyx-like pupils that would start to get mischievous with just a few nimble turns. His lips were very soft, very kissable, slightly pursed in sleep.

He couldn’t see his teeth. Fu Rangyi thought for a moment, then reached out and gently pinched the tip of Zhu Zhixi’s nose.

As expected, a few seconds later, the sleeping bad guy opened his lips to breathe, revealing his rabbit teeth, smooth and round.

So he let go with satisfaction.

Suddenly, Zhu Zhixi moved, mumbled something indistinctly, and pulled his hand away. But the next second, he squeezed towards Fu Rangyi on the bedsheet.

This made Fu Rangyi feel uncomfortable. He had almost always slept alone, from childhood to adulthood. Even so, he instinctively opened his arms and let Zhu Zhixi crawl into his embrace.

That always smiling face was buried in his chest, with waves of warm breath. The side of his neck just happened to rest on his arm. He could even feel the pulsation of Zhu Zhixi’s artery.

So strange. Fu Rangyi was a little at a loss. Afraid of waking him, he could only gently put his other arm on Zhu Zhixi’s waist.

He didn’t sleep well all night and completely ignored his own overexcitement, attributing his insomnia to Zhu Zhixi.

The sleeping Zhu Zhixi was just as restless as when he was awake. He could change his sleeping position seven or eight times a night, using him as a large bolster pillow, hugging him in various ways. But according to his observation, Zhu Zhixi still liked the face-to-face, buried-in-the-chest hug the most.

As dawn broke, he finally felt sleepy and fell asleep holding Zhu Zhixi’s warm body. In a daze, he vaguely dreamed of his teenage self, with a puppy of his own. The first time he held it in his arms, he had a sweet and sound afternoon nap.

When he woke up, Zhu Zhixi’s eyes were still closed. His first reaction was to reach out, groping left and right. There was only him on the large bed.

“Hmm?” He sat up, dazed for a moment, and realized that this was indeed Fu Rangyi’s room.

Phew, I thought he had taken me back again.

Soon he heard some noises, seemingly from the living room. His suspended heart relaxed a lot.

I thought he went to work by himself.

Lifting the quilt, Zhu Zhixi got out of bed. He was about to go downstairs barefoot, but when he looked down, he was stunned.

His own slippers were now neatly placed by the bed.

Slipping on his slippers, he pushed the door open and saw Fu Rangyi walking towards the master bedroom. He had already changed his clothes—a beige knit shirt with dark mocha-colored trousers, wearing glasses, looking much like he did when he was teaching.

The two met in the narrow hallway, their awkwardness in sync.

Zhu Zhixi scratched his hair, wanting to turn around but then turning back.

“I didn’t make breakfast today,” Fu Rangyi spoke first.

“Oh.” Zhu Zhixi nodded, his eyes lowered. “Are you going to be late for work…”

Fu Rangyi was quiet for a moment, then chuckled softly. “I knew you forgot.”

“Hmm?” Zhu Zhixi looked up.

I didn’t forget. I remember it clearly, that’s why it’s so awkward. Just looking at you makes my brain go into a crazy rewind.

However, Fu Rangyi said, “You have a check-up today. You have to go to the hospital on an empty stomach.”

Zhu Zhixi had a sudden realization. “Ah… right, the check-up.”

He had indeed forgotten completely.

He quickly washed up and changed his clothes. He folded the pajamas he had taken off, looked at them for a while, touched them again, and did not return them to Fu Rangyi.

On the way from home to the hospital, both of them were very silent, and they both tacitly avoided mentioning everything that had crossed the line last night.

Zhu Zhixi was ashamed of his debauchery last night. He felt as if he had been possessed by something unclean. Even a fox spirit wasn’t as promiscuous as he was.

At this thought, he couldn’t help but bump his head against the car window.

“Headache?” Fu Rangyi looked over.

Zhu Zhixi quickly shook his head. “No.”

Fu Rangyi didn’t ask any more questions, looking straight ahead, focusing on driving.

Zhu Zhixi secretly glanced at his profile.

He found that he really didn’t have the talent to be a fox spirit. He had already used all his tricks with the help of alcohol, but Fu Rangyi still stopped at the limit. Although he had been compromising and trying his best to satisfy him, he had also always been refusing.

Refusing to kiss, refusing his invitation, repeatedly reminding him of the fact of their fake marriage, until he lost his head and brought up the word “death,” only then did Fu Rangyi waver.

To Fu Rangyi, his own death was actually very unacceptable.

This, in turn, frightened Zhu Zhixi.

As they were approaching S Hospital, Fu Rangyi spoke again. “Li Qiao said it will take some time for the results to come out. You don’t need to feel too burdened. Just treat it as a routine annual check-up.”

“Mmm, I know.” Zhu Zhixi nodded, watched him park the car, also unbuckled his seatbelt, and was about to open the car door to get out.

“Wait a minute,” Fu Rangyi suddenly called out to him.

He turned his head. Fu Rangyi leaned over and gently planted a kiss on the corner of his mouth.

“Daily mission,” Fu Rangyi quickly sat back, pushed his glasses, and said with his head down, “I forgot when I left.”

In that instant, his twisted heart melted again.

He found that he had even forgotten to check the countdown, even though so much had happened last night.

[42 days 3 hours 39 minutes 07 seconds]

Until they reached the designated floor, Zhu Zhixi was still staring at his palm.

Something’s not right. Why does it feel like intimate contact isn’t as effective on the countdown anymore? Last night he…

…his hand was even inside. How did it only go back half a day?

Does this also have drug resistance?

As he was pondering, he suddenly heard someone call Fu Rangyi’s name. He looked up and saw that it was Li Qiao.

He was wearing a white coat, striding towards them, waving his right hand that he had taken out of his pocket.

“He’s out of jail?” Zhu Zhixi asked Fu Rangyi.

Fu Rangyi nodded. “Mmm, you can tell from how smug he looks.”

Li Qiao walked over with a grin. He seemed to be about to say something, but as he got closer, he paused, his nose twitching.

“Hmm?”

Before he could even utter a single gossipy syllable, Fu Rangyi immediately interrupted, “Shut up.”

“Tsk.” Li Qiao rolled his eyes at him, looked at Zhu Zhixi, and held out his hand. “Long time no see.”

Zhu Zhixi slapped it away, not shaking it. “Why do I feel like nothing good ever happens when I see you?”

“Why else would people say you two are a couple? You both talk so harshly, and you’re both so averse to seeing a doctor.”

“Alright,” Fu Rangyi lifted his chin. “Which item do we start with?”

“Let’s draw blood first.”

The heavy check-up task began. Zhu Zhixi became a little white mouse, sent onto an assembly line filled with the smell of disinfectant, going from one check-up to another, exhausted.

Li Qiao pulled Fu Rangyi aside, grinning and raising his eyebrows. “Fake marriage? You’re kidding me. I go to jail for a bit and the world changes when I come back?”

“You’re overthinking it,” Fu Rangyi said with a blank expression. “We didn’t do what you think we did.”

“Didn’t do it?” Li Qiao sneered. “Only a ghost would believe that. Last night your bracelet went crazy, desperately sending me messages. I was watching a movie with Teacher Xiao Yang, and my phone vibrated like a damn toy for half an hour!”

Fu Rangyi: “Turning off your phone to watch a movie is basic movie etiquette.”

“You’re turning it back on me now?” Li Qiao was speechless. “Why don’t you just delete me? You have a new emergency contact now anyway.”

Fu Rangyi didn’t hesitate for a second. “Okay.”

“You’re really heartless!”

“If I were heartless, I wouldn’t have introduced you to an Omega.” Fu Rangyi frowned just thinking about it. “If I wasn’t married, Teacher Yang would have thought I was asking her out.”

“Serves you right. How many love letters did I collect for you back in school? You owe me all this.”

Fu Rangyi nodded perfunctorily several times. Li Qiao bumped him with his shoulder. Belatedly, he remembered his panicked look while turning off his phone in the movie theater last night and lowered his head to smile.

Zhu Zhixi came out and saw this scene. He was stunned for a moment, thinking how handsome he looked when he smiled.

But soon, the smile on Fu Rangyi’s face faded, and he walked towards him.

“This is done, right? Next…” Li Qiao flipped through the list. “Let’s go to the reproductive department.”

So the three of them went to the reproductive department together. As they walked through the corridor, a young doctor came out of one of the rooms and brushed past them. Zhu Zhixi felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

The other person seemed to recognize him too. When he turned his head, the other person also turned his head, looking at him.

“What’s wrong?” Fu Rangyi asked.

“Nothing.”

Li Qiao led them to Clinic 09. A professor in his fifties was sitting inside. He greeted them warmly, “Director Wang, good morning!”

“Still morning? It’s almost noon. I was just thinking of asking a student to order lunch for me,” Director Wang said, pushing up his reading glasses. His gaze fell on Zhu Zhixi and Fu Rangyi who had just come in.

Li Qiao smiled and introduced them, “This is my friend, Xiao Zhu and Xiao Fu. I’ve already spoken to you about them.”

He then said to Zhu Zhixi and Fu Rangyi, “This is the big shot of the reproductive department, the famous Professor Wang Da. Look at these pennants.”

“You and your glib tongue.” Director Wang looked at the two of them, scanned the list. “Married, right? Have you had sex recently?”

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere in the clinic suddenly changed. Zhu Zhixi and Fu Rangyi both froze, neither of them speaking. Li Qiao hid behind Director Wang, trying to hold back his laughter.

No one spoke. Director Wang was a little puzzled. He looked up and asked again, “Have you had sex recently?”

Zhu Zhixi scratched his face and said in a very small voice, “No…”

“No?” The shock in Director Wang’s voice was very obvious.

Fu Rangyi said calmly, “Only foreplay, no actual intercourse.”

How can this person talk about such things as if he’s giving a report… Zhu Zhixi was even more embarrassed.

After hearing this, Director Wang nodded, typed a few words, and then asked, “So when was the last time you had foreplay?”

Fu Rangyi: “…Last night.”

Zhu Zhixi lowered his head like a student admitting his mistake. In the morning, they had both avoided mentioning it. Now, it was being publicly executed.

Damn Li Qiao. At this thought, he began to grit his teeth.

“So why didn’t you continue?” Director Wang, with the heart of a benevolent doctor, asked patiently. “Did you, uh, encounter any obstacles?”

Zhu Zhixi: “…”

Fu Rangyi paused for a few seconds and said in a low voice, “No. It’s just…”

He hesitated for a few seconds, then spoke again. “There was nothing at home, no lubricant or condoms, so…”

Is that the reason? Zhu Zhixi shouted in his heart.

It’s clearly because you didn’t want to. It’s a matter of your own subjective will.

Let alone whether we had them or not, even if I were lying in a pool of lubricant last night, you wouldn’t have done it.

“Mmm, being cautious is a good thing, very good.”

Director Wang, drawing on his years of medical experience, began to rationalize the matter himself. “One of you is an S-class Alpha, and the other is a Beta. In this aspect, you’re not very compatible. You need to be very well-prepared before you can proceed, otherwise it’s easy to get hurt. Let alone a Beta, a while ago an Omega came in, brought by a top Alpha. Tsk tsk, the person had fainted. It was so intense. Hey, they seem to have a follow-up appointment today…”

The topic was getting further and further off track, and a little scary. Fu Rangyi reminded him, “Director Wang, is there anything else you need to ask?”

“Oh, I got sidetracked. Since there’s been no actual sexual intercourse yet, let’s do an ultrasound and a B-scan first.” He wrote out a slip and handed it to Zhu Zhixi.

Fu Rangyi was about to accompany him when he was suddenly called back.

“Hey, wait a minute. The Alpha needs to come back. You need to be examined too.”

“Me?” Fu Rangyi frowned in confusion and looked at Li Qiao.

Li Qiao, who had been enjoying the show, suddenly remembered. “Right, I forgot to say. I made an appointment for you too. Professor Wang is also a great expert in treating Alpha’s rut period. Let him take a look at you.”

After he finished, he said to Professor Wang, “His last rut period was induced by an Omega, and it was quite severe. I tried a few new drugs, I don’t know if there are any side effects.”

“Mmm, looking at the historical data, it was indeed quite severe. It’s not good if it continues to develop like this. There’s a risk of lesions,” Professor Wang said, standing up. He found that Fu Rangyi was too tall, so he pointed to the chair across the desk. “Sit.”

Fu Rangyi was a little at a loss about this sudden examination, and he was not very willing, especially not in front of Zhu Zhixi. So after he sat down, he turned back and said to Zhu Zhixi, “You go do the ultrasound first.”

But Zhu Zhixi walked back instead. “No, I want to accompany you.”

Professor Wang smiled and put on his gloves. “Oh my, you two have a good relationship. Just got married not long ago?”

Fu Rangyi nodded. “Mmm.”

“AB relationships are not easy. Betas are physically strained, and psychologically, many Alphas lack a sense of security…” As he spoke, Director Wang walked around behind Fu Rangyi. “Because you can’t mark them, you see. For Alphas, marking is their nature…”

Then he was dumbfounded.

The back of this young top Alpha’s neck actually had a circle of deep teeth marks, red and even scabbed in some places.

He looked at Li Qiao, then turned to look at Zhu Zhixi, and even tilted his head to look at the already sullen-faced Fu Rangyi. “This…”

Zhu Zhixi awkwardly raised his hand. “I did it…”

Li Qiao finally couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing, then quickly squatted down.

Director Wang also laughed dryly. “Haha, young people these days are really different from our time. Hiss… you play quite novelly. But this, I still have to say, a Beta cannot mark an Alpha. You know that, right?”

Faced with this earnest admonition, Zhu Zhixi nodded in embarrassment. “I know.”

“That’s good. Many Betas don’t know anything. You’re not bad. You’ve at least listened in physiology class.”

Fu Rangyi suddenly laughed.

Director Wang touched the gland. “It’s fine. From the outside, the gland doesn’t seem to have any lesions. It’s still quite good. We’ll need to do pheromone and gland fluid tests for the rest.”

After speaking, he sat down.

“Then…” Zhu Zhixi raised his hand again. “Will my biting him stimulate his gland?”

“Open your mouth and let me see.”

Zhu Zhixi obediently opened his mouth. “Ah—”

“With your small teeth, it’s not a big deal. If you’re afraid of inflammation, just apply some iodine to disinfect it after biting.”

Li Qiao, hiding behind the desk, laughed even harder. “I have iodine over there, plenty of it. Want me to send some to you two?”

Fu Rangyi couldn’t stand it anymore. “Shut up.”

Just as he was digging his toes into the ground, Zhu Zhixi’s phone suddenly vibrated. He took it out and saw that it was actually Zhu Zeran.

“Sorry, I’m going out to take a call,” he said in a small voice, pulled open the door, went out, and answered the phone.

Before he could speak, Zhu Zeran fired off like a machine gun, “Zhu Zhixi, you’re something else. A few days and you fall right into the reproductive department? What are you doing there? Taking a stroll? I’m warning you, if you dare to use that undeveloped reproductive cavity of yours to have a baby for that kid, you just try. Believe it or not, I’ll have Lao Zhu break your legs…”

“No, what baby?” Zhu Zhixi was completely baffled after hearing this. “What are you talking about? Zhu Zeran, are you crazy? How can you just make things up? Are you projecting because you got some Omega pregnant?”

Just after he finished retorting, a figure appeared around the corner of the corridor. Zhu Zhixi looked up and was startled.

Wasn’t this the machine gun himself?

Wait, why is he dragging someone? He’s dragging him along like a human trafficker.

Without daring to think too much, Zhu Zhixi quickly opened the door, went back into the clinic, and slammed it shut. In the clinic, Fu Rangyi had just taken off his shirt. The few people looked at each other.

“It’s nothing…” Zhu Zhixi laughed twice, panting as he turned around. “Well, I ran into someone.”

Fu Rangyi wasn’t embarrassed. After all, last night, let alone looking, a certain someone had even washed his face with his chest.

He asked, “What person?”

Remembering Fu Rangyi’s previous “evaluation,” Zhu Zhixi laughed dryly. “A… very rude person.”

Knock, knock, knock—there was a knock on the door.

---

Author’s Note:

Zhu Zeran receives a WeChat message from an informant:

[Xiao Chen from S Hospital Reproductive Department: President Zhu, is this your brother? He’s at the reproductive department? I remember he just got married not long ago? Is there good news? Congratulations to you.]

Good news? Congratulations???

Zhu Zeran’s head throbbed after reading it. He muttered, “You damn brat, if it wasn’t for Mom going through hell to give birth to you, I wouldn’t bother with you…”

The person he was dragging beside him couldn’t help but laugh at the show. “Zhu Zeran, are you being a brother or a father? So controlling…”

“Shut your mouth.”