Chapter 32: Marking
For a moment, Lu Zhi thought he had misheard. He was like a traveler walking in the desert for a long time, dying of thirst, who suddenly encountered rain from the heavens but dared not drink, fearing it was a mirage.
“Are you still lucid?”
He heard his own voice, abnormally hoarse. His heart felt unusually heavy, thumping loudly. For a second, he suspected he was dreaming—how could there be such a beautiful fantasy? The stinging pain from the inhibitor ring’s shock made him realize this was reality.
Perhaps Tang Xingye was just delirious from the fever to offer such an invitation.
Tang Xingye: “Come here.”
Lu Zhi squatted halfway to adjust his height so Tang Xingye could look down at him. He approached cautiously, afraid of scaring the other.
He had seen Tang Xingye at the birthday banquet. He felt anger, uncontrollable jealousy—why choose Zhou Lin? He recalled every sentence Tang Xingye had ever said countless times.
If he hadn’t made that mistake that day, what would have happened?
Tang Xingye’s palm moved from the wrist, following the muscle lines of the arm, stroking upward bit by bit. It was as light as a feather, a touch carrying curiosity, as if confirming his existence.
Knuckles white as shells, fingernails round and pink—the path they traced stirred up a fine, dense itch.
The warm touch enveloped him, grazing his arm, following the rhythm of his breath and heartbeat, finally landing on Lu Zhi’s collarbone and resting gently on the inhibitor ring.
Lu Zhi’s entire attention was drawn by that hand; he dared not move.
With a click, that hand turned off the electric shock switch.
“I am very lucid. I want to know, are you willing?”
Tang Xingye raised his eyes, meeting those blurred, trembling eyes.
“Are you willing to give me your pheromones?”
Tang Xingye lifted the broken hair at his neck, actively exposing the softest, most private place.
Lu Zhi’s breathing slowed. Kneeling by the bed, he was like a devout believer prostrating in worship.
The red and swollen gland looked like a ripe berry waiting to be sucked.
His senses became dull and viscous. Everything around became irrelevant; there was only the person in front of him and his own heavy heartbeat.
He released a little bit of pheromones, patiently comforting.
The cocoa-scented pheromones, almost tangible, caressed and kneaded that touch of red.
Tang Xingye’s brows gradually relaxed. The unbearable burning eased slightly, but immediately, a more intense craving swept over him.
Not enough. He needed more pheromones.
His lips parted slightly, his expression dyed with a trace of trance, his eyes retaining the last bit of clarity.
Tang Xingye looked at Lu Zhi and issued a command: “Bite me.”
Lu Zhi’s pupils constricted abruptly. Veins pulsed; he endured no longer.
He climbed up to Tang Xingye’s neck, lowered his head, extended his canine teeth, and ruthlessly bit into the fragile gland, injecting pheromones into it.
A floating sensation of comfort washed over him. Tang Xingye’s vision blurred into a haze, and he let out a soft gasp.
His lips parted, revealing the tip of a bright red tongue.
The gland swelled up. His whole body was now soaked in the scent of cocoa pheromones, like being marked by an animal.
Suddenly, faint sounds came from outside, like someone speaking. Tang Xingye’s consciousness was chaotic, unable to process this information.
When he realized it, his long eyelashes trembled.
The whimpering sound he made seemed amplified. He bit his lip, trying to swallow the sound back into his stomach.
Can’t cry out. Can’t be heard.
At that moment, powerful pheromones poured in, and Tang Xingye couldn’t control a muffled groan.
Lu Zhi observed Tang Xingye’s expression, thinking it wasn’t enough, and pumped his pheromones in more forcefully.
But seeing the lips bitten red, he suddenly understood. His hoarse voice asked quietly, “Are you afraid there’s someone outside?”
Receiving an answer, Tang Xingye covered his mouth with his hand. Lu Zhi was slightly stunned.
With the pheromones he was releasing now, no one would dare approach the vicinity.
The Beta frowned slightly, tears clinging to his trembling lashes. His wet eyes couldn’t help glancing toward the door.
Very beautiful, very obedient.
Lu Zhi suddenly birthed a bit of bad intention. His hand slid down from the shoulder, carefully pulling the person into his arms, guiding the other to lean against his chest.
“If you’re afraid, just lean on me.”
Lu Zhi’s fingers brushed away the hair sticking to the face, licking the gland, and injecting his pheromones again.
Perhaps because he knew someone was outside, Tang Xingye’s senses amplified every touch. Caught off guard by the lick and then the bite, he couldn’t suppress a comfortable groan.
The burning sensation was gradually fading, transforming into a warm spring wrapping around him, cozy and warm.
His mind returned slightly. Realizing there was no one outside at all, he leaned against the wall and glared at Lu Zhi.
Lu Zhi was actually far less calm than he appeared; his brain was dizzy.
Tang Xingye, perhaps due to passion or perhaps anger, had a thin flush on his brow and eyes. The tails of his eyes were soaked with moisture, and clear tears wet the charming mole.
Glaring at someone like this… he was beautiful enough to make one’s mouth go dry.
Lu Zhi swallowed. Unable to resist, he leaned forward, wanting to kiss Tang Xingye’s jaw.
But he was blocked by slender fingers. His body acted faster than his brain; he took Tang Xingye’s knuckles into his mouth. Seeing no refusal, he grew bolder, slowly licking from the fingertips to the knuckles.
Sucking on that red mole that had always hung on the tip of his heart, obsession surfaced on his handsome face. He then took it into his mouth, gradually becoming fierce, grinding as if to swallow Tang Xingye into his belly.
“Stop.”
Tang Xingye issued the command again.
Lu Zhi let go reluctantly, his tongue still unconsciously lingering, the wet knuckles drawing out sticky saliva.
Tang Xingye looked at the other, who resembled a large, obedient dog. Only the deep gaze staring tightly exposed the suppressed aggression of an Alpha’s instinct. “I want to see your tongue.”
Lu Zhi opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. There was a tongue stud on it, just like the tear mole.
Tang Xingye’s eyes moved slightly. So that’s the thing that was chafing me.
“Baby, do you like it? A mole just like yours?”
Lu Zhi looked at Tang Xingye’s beautiful features, his gaze becoming sticky and obsessive, making no secret of his desire.
Lu Zhi’s obedience was a bit ticklish. Tang Xingye’s heart trembled slightly. Subconsciously, he wanted to crack a joke to ease the atmosphere. “You rich people follow trends getting this pierced; doesn’t it hurt?”
“Baby, it doesn’t hurt. Because I got it to make you feel comfortable.”
These words were a bit heavy. Tang Xingye’s eyelid twitched.
—Because of him?
Tang Xingye didn’t trust others, nor did he trust being outside. Going to the other’s home wasn’t safe either. In case there were pinhole cameras or surveillance, he didn’t want to leave any video evidence.
Thinking it over, only the dorm had the highest safety.
He sought out Lu Zhi because he knew about the other’s disorder; he was the most suitable candidate.
Lu Zhi treated him as an Omega to soothe his condition, and he treated Lu Zhi as a pheromone extraction machine. It was fair.
Continue?
Continue skirting around the issue?
Tang Xingye looked up, scanning Lu Zhi, and asked the question he had always been curious about. “Since when did you know that Sugar (Candy) Heart was me? Don’t tell me you went to get a tongue stud knowing full well I was biting you, taking revenge on you, and catfishing you?”
After speaking, Tang Xingye paused. He was always alert; it seemed something was about to be pierced.
“From the beginning.”
“I knew it was you from the very beginning.”
The thin window paper tore open, letting in a flood of light.
Tang Xingye was stunned. Time seemed to stand still. He asked softly, “Why? You knew and still continued?”
Not because he fell for the fabricated persona of “Sugar Heart,” but because he knew it was him, yet saw through it without exposing it?
Lu Zhi: “I like you.”
Tang Xingye scanned his face. After a long while, he confirmed this was the only answer.
Incomprehensible. Truly incomprehensible.
Knowing from the start that the other party approached with the intent to revenge and disgust him, Tang Xingye would definitely have thought of every way to strike first and retaliate against such a person.
Lu Zhi knew he was petty, yet continued with this catfishing game.
He recalled every detail of “L” towards Sugar Heart—from remembering every word he said, to roundabout ways of sending fruit, caring if he had eaten, and playing along with those messages.
On the day his identity was exposed, when he chose Zhou Lin, Lu Zhi had ample time to calm down and plan revenge. Yet he did nothing, only wearing the collar inhibitor ring, guarding the door the next day waiting for him.
With these details stacked together, Tang Xingye could only think of that classic line from Maugham’s The Painted Veil.
Tang Xingye’s palms sweated. “You knew I was duplicitous, seeking revenge for the smallest grievance, yet you still like me…”
Lu Zhi interrupted him, his tone carrying unprecedented seriousness and sincerity, along with a hint of urgency. “Baby, don’t say that about yourself. You are very good; you deserve the best in this world.”
“Your little temper, your vindictiveness—I like it all. With me, you can always do these things righteously.”
Tang Xingye didn’t understand. He thought Lu Zhi was still treating him like the Omega “Sugar Heart” and pedestalizing him.
Tang Xingye felt very strange. Like walking in the snow for a long time, and suddenly someone ran over to warm him up, putting his frozen, trembling hands on their heart to heat them, saying they did it because they liked him.
But he didn’t hate it.
He was silent for a moment. “You don’t need to do these things.”
“But I want to, Baby.” Lu Zhi held his hand, pressing it against the switch of the inhibitor ring on his neck, once again handing his lifeblood over to Tang Xingye. “I like you. I want to be good to you.”
Tang Xingye felt his ears burning from being called “Baby” over and over. “Don’t call me that.”
Lu Zhi pursed his lips but agreed. “Okay.”
Tang Xingye: “I don’t like you. But it’s not dislike.”
It was his first time rejecting someone’s confession. He felt a bit troubled, unsure how to express his meaning tactfully.
Lu Zhi saw through his emotions. His cool brows carried a trace of steadiness: “It doesn’t matter. It’s enough that I like you.”
“Don’t have a psychological burden. Don’t apologize. Liking you is the most normal thing.”
“I have never hidden that I like you, that I have desire for you.”
Tang Xingye was afraid of hearing some filthy language: “…Alright, stop talking.”
Lu Zhi stopped the topic with a hint of regret.
Tang Xingye’s brain was a bit muddled. What was my plan again?
Oh, if Lu Zhi didn’t agree, I would take the soothing agent first, then ask Lin Mo or Ji Chen if they were willing. If worst came to worst, I’d go to the Fertility Department to find someone.
…
When the sound of water started in the bathroom, Lu Zhi couldn’t help letting his imagination run wild. Water droplets rolling from the snowy neck, down the slender waist, disappearing into the lumbar dimples.
Those long, pale, lonely legs trembling, flushing with a peach-blossom pink, crystal water droplets covering them, waiting for someone to suck them off.
Lu Zhi quickly put away his indecent thoughts and tidied up Tang Xingye’s messy bed. Suddenly, he noticed the corner of a paper sticking out from under the pillow.
He pulled it out hesitantly and found it was a notebook.
He lowered his eyes, feeling a bit disdainful of his unethical behavior, but his hands didn’t stop.
On the title page of the notebook, the name “Tang Xingye” was written in elegant handwriting. Below it was a line of small characters: “It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge.” Lu Zhi couldn’t help but chuckle; this really fitted Tang Xingye’s character—cold on the surface, calculating inside.
He quickly scanned the contents. It turned out to be Tang Xingye’s little grudge book, detailing everyone’s “crimes.”
[Who is Lin Mo trying to blind by turning on the lights to study at 2 AM? Pretending to be relaxed on the surface, but engaging in cutthroat competition behind the scenes. Hypocrite!]
Lu Zhi nodded in agreement. Disturbing Tang Xingye’s rest—too detestable!
But among the dormmates, the one he worried about least was Lin Mo—that study brain, soaking in the lab all day.
[What is Ji Chen pretending for? So proud just for winning an award in a calligraphy competition? What’s the use of good handwriting… Wait until I secretly imitate it and stun everyone.]
Lu Zhi remembered Tang Xingye standing in front of the calligraphy display board for a long time that day. So he was studying Ji Chen’s work. The image of Tang Xingye with a poker face, inwardly disdainful yet secretly taking notes, surfaced in his mind, and the corners of his mouth curled up unconsciously.
[If Zhou Lin is explaining a problem, just explain the problem; why get so close? The pheromones are making me dizzy… (Handwriting blurred by water stains) Wait until my GPA surpasses yours, let’s see if you can still smile!]
Lu Zhi felt relieved; Tang Xingye disliked Zhou Lin too.
But the text blurred by water stains caught his attention—was that tears? Tang Xingye would cry because Zhou Lin got too close? This thought brought a strange feeling to Lu Zhi’s heart.
[Can Lu Zhi shut up? The whole class is staring at you, causing me to only write three lines of notes… (Recording 2:30:45) This case analysis is actually amazing; I’ll reluctantly save a copy.]
Tang Xingye didn’t discriminate; he attacked every roommate equally in the dorm.
Since Ji Chen had been absent for the first month of school, Tang Xingye mentioned him very little in the earlier parts.
He continued flipping and found more and more records about himself. After he had almost bitten Tang Xingye, the other party spitefully recorded every interaction.
[Lu Zhi is a stupid, arrogant, obscene mad dog! He disgusted me on purpose!]
The corners of Lu Zhi’s lips hooked up into a smile unconsciously, his finger pulp gently rubbing the handwriting.
He suddenly remembered a point from psychology class—hate is the opposite of love, while disgust and obsession share the same neural pathways.
What is the difference between this “dislike” and liking?
The more “complaints” there were about him, the more Lu Zhi felt a secret joy and satisfaction. Even if these words were full of disdain, they revealed Tang Xingye’s special attention to him.
Tang Xingye, someone who loved studying so much and soaked in the library all day, was willing to distract himself to record so many things. Doesn’t that prove Tang Xingye likes him?
Tang Xingye loves me super much!
A smile appeared in Lu Zhi’s eyes. He quickly flipped to the latest page, expecting to see more sweet “disdain,” but was caught off guard by piercing words.
[Hate Lin Mo the most.]
Lu Zhi’s smile froze.
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