Chapter 73: Does it Not Smell Good?
Shy? Of course he was a bit embarrassed.
If those photos were released, Jiang Yu’an would be the first one to explode.
But for Liang Yuhang, Mu Feng was willing to sacrifice his reputation.
His tone was very calm. “We’re already engaged. This is the only way to reasonably protect you. I don’t mind.”
Afraid that Liang Yuhang would feel burdened, he added, “This is to repay you for all the help you’ve given me before.”
“There’s no need for that.” Liang Yuhang thought for a moment and looked at Jin Ling. “Where is the backup? I’ll have 0717 hack the system.”
Jin Ling was shocked by the working style of these two madmen. “It can’t be hacked. Not even I can do it. The method Mu Feng suggested… I can give it a try, but if he finds out it was me, I’m finished.”
“If you don’t do it, you’re finished anyway,” Mu Feng reminded him. “Still three days. Come to me for the slow-release agent. Your life is in my hands now.”
Caught in a dilemma, Jin Ling closed his eyes. “I’ll try. I can’t guarantee success.”
“You followed the wrong person. Once this is over, you should get out as soon as possible.” Mu Feng still felt pity for him. “If you need money, I can give it to you.”
Jin Ling shook his head. “I just want to be by his side. I have to go now; I snuck out today.”
“That Liang Jingyi fellow—how did he deserve this?” Mu Feng was frustrated. To think such a beautiful Omega was this devoted to such a person.
“He has his good moments; you just haven’t seen them.” Jin Ling’s expression softened slightly as he stood up. “I’ll be in touch.”
Mu Feng was so angry he paced around the room twice. Even though the person was gone, his anger hadn’t subsided.
“Why are you so angry?” Liang Yuhang found it amusing. “It’s not like he betrayed you.”
“I can’t stand seeing piteous people stuck in a quagmire,” Mu Feng frowned. “What’s so good about that guy? I couldn’t find a single virtue even if I used a magnifying glass.”
Liang Yuhang recalled their few harmonious moments. “When he was little, I guess. He was quite cute. He just grew more and more warped as he got older.”
Mu Feng’s face twisted even more. “I can’t imagine that idiot ever being cute.”
“Does it really not matter if the photos are made public?” Liang Yuhang didn’t care about himself. “Aren’t you afraid of the person you like seeing them?”
Mu Feng didn’t know why he remembered that so clearly. He grew so panicked he almost slipped up. “Not likely… besides, there was never a chance anyway. If he sees them, he sees them.”
Liang Yuhang stared at him.
Mu Feng couldn’t stand that scrutinizing gaze. The more he was stared at, the more flustered he became. “Is your rut feeling any better?”
“You’re changing the subject,” Liang Yuhang called him out directly.
“There was never a chance.” Mu Feng mixed truth with lies. “From the moment I got engaged to you, everything in the past ended. I don’t have any other thoughts.”
Liang Yuhang gave a hum of acknowledgment.
He’s given up on that person. Four years of unrequited love—it wasn’t worth it.
He spoke slowly, “Indeed. You deserve better.”
Mu Feng’s eyes widened. “Are you already thinking of breaking the engagement? It’s only been a few days. You change your mind so fast.”
Liang Yuhang: “…………”
Like talking to a wall. Communication is impossible.
“I don’t have those thoughts.” Liang Yuhang reached up and tightened his muzzle. “And don’t you think about it either.”
Mu Feng chuckled twice. He never intended to; this plastic marriage was locked in.
He looked up at the man. “Why are you adjusting the tightness? Is it very uncomfortable?”
A rut was a biological stage. Liang Yuhang felt he couldn’t explain it to an Omega who had never taken a physiology class. “I can endure it.”
Mu Feng thought to himself, No, I have to make some pseudo-pheromones to make him feel better.
“If there’s nothing else this afternoon, can I borrow the base laboratory?” he asked cautiously. “I have a new idea for a reagent.”
Liang Yuhang didn’t bother to press him. “Mhm. Go through the procedure and I’ll approve it.”
After speaking, he added a reminder, “Don’t do anything that hurts yourself. If you faint like last time, I’ll have to punish you.”
“Okay, I know. I have a sense of propriety.” Mu Feng grinned.
Liang Yuhang turned and left. Mu Feng hurried through the procedure and went to the lab. He used existing reagents to mix them on the spot, but because drugs were scarce, the scent was a bit off.
“He shouldn’t be able to tell, right?” Mu Feng leaned down and sniffed. “It’s not that different.”
To avoid discovery, he also used other reagents as a temporary distraction so no one could tell what he was doing.
Jiang Yu’an came upstairs looking for him. The moment he entered, he smelled a familiar scent. “Mu Bao, why are your pheromones everywhere?”
“I lost control a bit; some leaked while I was doing the experiment.” Mu Feng was an expert at lying.
“Wait, that’s not right.” Jiang Yu’an frowned, leaning in to sniff him like a puppy. “You said last time that wasn’t your real scent. What do you actually smell like?”
See? Even Xiao Jiang can’t tell the difference. Liang Yuhang definitely won’t remember.
Mu Feng pushed his forehead away. “It doesn’t smell good. Stop sniffing around.”
“We’re both Omegas, what does it matter? You’re already sharing a bed with Liang Yuhang, and I can’t even have a sniff?” Jiang Yu’an wore a mournful face and then exploded. “You’ve changed! You’ve really changed right under my nose!”
Mu Feng: “…………”
Professor Liang was right. ‘Exploding dog’ is a perfectly accurate description.
“Sniff then. Sniff all you want.” Mu Feng gave up, spreading his arms.
Jiang Yu’an savored the scent for a while and then said stubbornly, “I want to smell your real scent, not this fake one.”
Mu Feng secretly messaged Lu Zhuo.
[M]: Xiao Jiang is slacking off. Come to the lab and take him away.
Then he looked up with a slight smile. “It’s actually about the same, just a bit more pungent. I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to eat dinner.”
“That dramatic?” Jiang Yu’an was shocked but didn’t forget to compete. “Has Liang Yuhang smelled it? He’s in his rut these days; you must have provided comfort.”
“No, he hasn’t smelled it either.” Mu Feng told the truth this time.
Strictly speaking, there might have been a few seconds when he took off his bracelet a long time ago, but Liang Yuhang surely wouldn’t remember by now.
Jiang Yu’an felt better. He patted Mu Feng with a smile. “That’s good. You’ve held your line. When you decide to reveal it, I want to be the first to smell it.”
Mu Feng nodded repeatedly. “I’ll slap you awake even if you’re sleeping, just to make sure you’re the first to know.”
Lu Zhuo pushed the door open and entered. “Why have you run here to slack off?”
“Did you install a tracker on me? I get caught no matter where I go.” Jiang Yu’an looked dejected. “I only slacked off for five minutes!”
“Not even five minutes is allowed.” Lu Zhuo was very strict. “You’re bad at this yourself, and now you’re holding Mu Feng back.”
Jiang Yu’an ground his teeth. “If you keep this up, I’m really going to give you the cold shoulder.”
“Go ahead. Someone will come crawling back on their own when their waist and back start hurting.” Lu Zhuo mimicked his tone slowly. “Brother, my back hurts, give me a massage.”
Mu Feng couldn’t stop laughing. “Our ‘Missy’ is so high-maintenance? Is he really like that in private? I’ve never heard him act so spoiled.”
Jiang Yu’an ran out with a bright red face. “I’m not playing with you guys anymore! You’re so annoying!”
Lu Zhuo waved his phone. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
Mu Feng raised an eyebrow. “It was the right thing to do. You should keep a tighter rein on him so he doesn’t get too spoiled.”
“What’s with your pheromones? Heat cycle?” Lu Zhuo smiled. “No way. Wouldn’t that be like dry wood and a raging fire?”
“No, I just couldn’t contain them during the experiment.” Mu Feng bit the bullet and explained, “They’ll dissipate in a bit.”
Lu Zhuo walked out a few steps but felt he should nudge things along a little. He turned back and said, “Go soothe Dr. Liang. He’s about to explode.”
It was meant as nothing, but coming from him, it somehow sounded like a tease.
Mu Feng’s cheeks turned slightly red. “Got it. Heading there now.”
Lu Zhuo gave a soft click of his tongue. Look at them. If only a certain someone could be even slightly as perceptive, I wouldn’t have had to hold back until now.
It wasn’t even a matter of being perceptive. Lu Zhuo simply wasn’t among Jiang Yu’an’s options for a boyfriend. There was no way around it.
Mu Feng waited until evening when Liang Yuhang finished work to intercept him at the meeting room door.
“Dr. Liang is so lucky, having his wife go to and from work with him. Unlike us, exiled to the war zone, not seeing home for half a year,” someone nearby lamented.
Liang Yuhang seemed to be in a good mood and didn’t disagree.
He just looked at Mu Feng. “How was the experiment?”
“Not bad. Normal progress.” Mu Feng lowered his voice. “Should we head back to the room first?”
Liang Yuhang felt he was becoming increasingly blunt. “What for?”
“Give you some pheromones.” Mu Feng relayed Lu Zhuo’s original words. “Brother Lu Zhuo said to soothe Dr. Liang because he’s about to explode.”
Liang Yuhang: “…………”
Actually, there’s no need. I’ve endured it on my own for so many years.
But he looked down and saw those bright, shining eyes looking at him.
His heart skipped a beat. “But we aren’t very compatible. It might not be useful.”
“Let’s try.” Mu Feng thought to himself, Compatible or not, with a bit of adjusting, I can get this pseudo-reagent to one hundred percent.
Liang Yuhang didn’t return to the room; that place was too private and it would be easy to lose control again.
“Go to the office,” he said.
Mu Feng followed him in and closed the door, eager to release the latest results of his research from that afternoon.
“How is it? Better?” Mu Feng leaned in closer, his arm lightly circling the man’s waist.
But the next second, he was pushed away. His hands were pinned behind his back as he was pressed against the wall.
“What’s wrong?” Mu Feng’s cheek was against the wall. He was unable to move and struggled to look back. “Does it not smell good?”
That shouldn’t be possible. This was my special blend—fresh, captivating, and provocative. An Alpha should love it.
Liang Yuhang leaned down, his breath touching the boy’s neck. He sniffed lightly through the cold metal of his muzzle.
“Deceiving me with fake pheromones, Mu Feng? I like… your original scent.”
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