Chapter 30
What hooked Shu Ci’s fingertip was actually Lu Wanqing’s pheromones.
Hearing Lu Wanqing’s hoarse voice, Shu Ci also sensed the nearby energy fluctuation.
He was startled and quickly retracted his hand.
At the same time, he discovered that his pheromones surged out almost without hesitation, reflexively resisting Lu Wanqing’s pheromones, their ends entangling and wrestling with a crackling sound.
Strictly speaking, it seemed to be a battle instinct honed by training.
But looking at the two streams of pheromone energy, entangled in a minor scuffle with minimal movement, each containing the other, Shu Ci’s heart pounded; something felt amiss.
Shu Ci concentrated, forcefully retracting his mimicked pheromones, but as with the previous attack training, they were tightly bound by Lu Wanqing, impossible to break free.
He helplessly looked at Lu Wanqing, “Coach Lu, is it necessary to train the moment we wake up?”
Lu Wanqing’s eyes were slightly hazy, but he quickly became alert, the sleepiness dissipating from his eyes.
His gaze fell on the tightly intertwined energy fluctuations, his eyes trembling slightly as he quickly retracted his pheromones.
The honeysuckle reluctantly retreated towards Shu Ci’s gland.
“Was it my imagination?” Shu Ci rubbed his hair, “They seem to get along very well?”
Lu Wanqing stood up and poured a glass of hot water for Shu Ci.
After pondering for a moment, he explained, “You slept for two days, or rather, were in a deep coma. These two days, your pheromones have subconsciously attacked me; you’ve probably become familiar with each other’s attacking aura and energy frequency.”
Shu Ci took the cup, asking, “For a 1% compatibility rate, is this normal?”
Lu Wanqing’s retracting hand paused slightly; he shook his head.
“Individual pheromones and pheromone compatibility are two different fields of study. The former is a mainstream subject; the latter only has research materials that specific individuals can access. Medical students don’t have access to compatibility research until their doctoral studies. So, I’m not quite sure either.”
Shu Ci suddenly remembered Yi Xing Shui saying that Lu Wanqing was her missing senior brother and that he had traded Lu Wanqing a meal to persuade her to allow him to take the speedboat, and he couldn’t help but touch his nose.
It didn’t seem like the right time to bring that up.
Lu Wanqing continued, “In the entire academic world, there are no more than ten elite scholars researching pheromone compatibility; they work at the Pheromone Compatibility Research and Testing Center, and they haven’t recruited new students for many years. Only those chosen by them are qualified to enter this field.”
Shu Ci shrugged, “I understand; knowledge monopoly.”
Alphas choose what Omegasexuals are exposed to and what they aren’t; society also chooses what elite experts with top-tier abilities know and what the lower classes don’t. Only on this basis could the author allow Gu Lan Zhu to expand the Gu family’s territory without scruple, seize resources, and ultimately become the undisputed “Crown Prince of the Business Empire.”
“So, our current situation doesn’t have much precedent to refer to.”
Victims of domestic violence are usually Omegasexuals; no one would proactively attack like Shu Ci.
In an era where high-compatibility marriages are paramount, except for Alphas with poor character and violent tendencies, there has never been talk of couples fighting each other, let alone their situation where their pheromones become more intimate with each fight. This has never been heard of before, let alone explored.
“No, I just slept a little too soundly,” Shu Ci glared at Lu Wanqing, “Can you stop making me sound like an abuser? I’m grateful just to be able to leave a mark on you.”
Lu Wanqing raised his head, “You want to leave a mark?”
Shu Ci was speechless, his ears turning slightly red.
Did he mean that?
“I’ll go prepare breakfast; if you feel uncomfortable, practice mimicry to expend some energy,” Lu Wanqing rolled up his sleeves, glancing at him, “I also have weaknesses. There will be a day when I leave a mark on you. Practice well.”
Shu Ci: “…”
Okay, Coach Lu was still the strict Coach Lu.
His mind had wandered.
Was it because he had nibbled on Lu Wanqing’s neck in his dream? Why did he always think of another level when talking to him?
Shu Ci thought messily, his unruly hair a mess. He hadn’t noticed that during his heat cycle, his limbs were weak and limp, and he just wanted to stick to the bed. After sitting for a while, he lay down hugging the blanket.
He stared at the ceiling, condensing his energetic pheromones, recreating the shadow puppet show from his dream.
Lu Wanqing came in with breakfast. Seeing him engrossed in his play, he didn’t call him out but effortlessly went to the bedside, pulled down the wall-mounted stand, released a little pheromone, wrapping it in his palm, helping him sit up.
When Shu Ci came back to his senses, he found that Lu Wanqing was feeding him breakfast!
He almost sprayed the food out, “I…I’ll do it myself.”
Lu Wanqing lowered his eyes, looking at his limp arms, “Don’t force yourself; you can go back to sleep after eating.”
During his sleep, Lu Wanqing had Cui You bring spare medical equipment; after examination, it was discovered that Shu Ci’s physical functions were overly exhausted and he needed at least two more days of sleep to fully recover.
Wait, Lu Wanqing had been feeding him these past few days?!
Besides his shock, Shu Ci’s heart was pounding; he couldn’t help but regret not having admired his handsome face during those meals. As he opened his mouth to the spoon, he used his peripheral vision to admire Lu Wanqing’s excessively handsome face.
Lu Wanqing’s movements were smooth and effortless. The spoon stopped in just the right position; he didn’t need to strain his neck or abdomen. He was already skilled at avoiding physical contact between them, so during the whole process, Shu Ci was dazedly admiring his picturesque face without any discomfort.
After eating, Shu Ci felt sleepy again. He lay on his side, squinting at Lu Wanqing as he gave the plate to the robot, leisurely washing his hands, turning to meet his gaze.
He remembered the eyes of the shadow puppet in his dream, and he opened his mouth, “Lu Wanqing.”
Lu Wanqing approached, squatting by the bed to meet his gaze, “Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
His tone was calm and gentle, like a spring breeze doctor making rounds.
Shu Ci’s heart trembled slightly.
Shu Ci gripped the pillow, then released it, “That day, why were you near the Central Hotel?”
He stared at Lu Wanqing, seeing the fading fragments of light in his eyes.
He was talking about the day he was transported here.
The day in the original book’s timeline that he was ravaged by Gu Lan Zhu and marked.
He hadn’t thought much about it before, but now, looking back, Lu Wanqing’s presence at that location and time was extremely puzzling.
Someone wandering the streets in the middle of the night could have been because he discovered his newlywed wife wasn’t home, but in that case, the first reaction would usually be to call, find someone, or call the police.
But Lu Wanqing hadn’t done anything.
He simply parked his car there, leaning against it, as if waiting for something.
Shu Ci suspected that Lu Wanqing should have known what he would experience with Gu Lan Zhu that day.
“You knew where I was that day, right?” he asked.
Lu Wanqing paused, nodding.
Shu Ci held his breath, “You knew he was looking for me, and you knew what he wanted to do to me, right?”
Lu Wanqing lowered his eyes. This time, he didn’t nod, but Shu Ci read a tacit acceptance in his expression.
“But you didn’t do anything,” Shu Ci paused, his voice softening slightly, “Because you knew, just like we couldn’t resist getting married, you couldn’t stop him from doing anything to me, right?”
The cabin was quiet, only the rhythmic sound of waves lapping against the hull.
He lay on his side looking at Lu Wanqing, taking in his momentary shocked expression.
Without any verbal answer, Shu Ci’s understanding of expressions was enough to understand Lu Wanqing at this moment.
During their first meeting and confession, Lu Wanqing hadn’t shown any “husbandly” anger at his ordeal.
Looking back now, it wasn’t indifference, but a helpless resignation.
“Have you ever read that kind of story? A cannon fodder character in a novel dies, and at the time of their death, they realize that their world is actually a book, and they were just a negligible tragic supporting character; then they are reborn at the beginning of the story and decide to live unrestrainedly.”
Director Shu didn’t say anything more after that.
The direction of this type of story can be bizarre; whether it’s a supporting character’s counterattack or a salted fish lying flat, they can all turn the “supporting cannon fodder” mentioned in a certain book into the “protagonist” of this story, ushering in a new life.
Shu Ci always felt that Lu Wanqing seemed to be such a supporting character who had awakened to the plot.
“I can’t be unrestrained,” Lu Wanqing said, twitching the corner of his mouth, “I can’t even answer your questions.”
Shu Ci’s heart thumped heavily, “It’s okay, I understand.”
He had already answered enough.
His words “I can’t be unrestrained” were a comparison to those supporting characters, implying confirmation of Shu Ci’s guess.
His words “I can’t answer” instead of “I don’t want to answer” meant it wasn’t a matter of will, but a matter of ability.
Was someone preventing him from answering?
Could it be that, just like he was forced to get married, he didn’t even have the chance to admit to being controlled by the plot?
Shu Ci suddenly remembered Zhao Qian bringing a helicopter down from the sky to take him away.
Perhaps this world was under the influence of the plot, forcefully forcing him onto the track of a tragic romance novel; no matter how many different events occurred, he had to return to the main storyline.
“What about you?”
The dark blue in Lu Wanqing’s eyes deepened. He hadn’t expected that his first time accompanying an Omega through a heat cycle would reveal his secret.
He carefully asked, but didn’t get an answer.
The Omega, having overused his brain in thinking, fell back asleep.
…
The first heat cycle was turbulent and lengthy, seven days and nights spent in repeated attacks, training, eating, and sleeping.
Since Shu Ci had unearthed a little secret that day, he never mentioned it again.
Lu Wanqing remained calm and silent, as before.
Cui You led the team away on the fifth day of Shu Ci’s heat cycle, leaving them with ample supplies on the island. By the time Shu Ci stood on the shore, full of energy again, they hadn’t even finished all the self-heating meals.
Shu Ci did a set of radio gymnastics, launching a pheromone attack on Lu Wanqing.
Lu Wanqing was on a call with He Lian, frowning to block it, then, no longer restraining himself, played with him, tying him up tightly.
After a while, seeing Shu Ci blushing, he loosened his grip.
“After we go back, you can’t use it casually, nor provoke Gu Lan Zhu,” Lu Wanqing’s gaze swept across his flushed cheeks, “Come with me.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not that crazy yet,” even he himself didn’t realize how relaxed, trusting, and spoiled he was around Lu Wanqing. “Where are we going?”
Lu Wanqing turned to him, “To inherit your island.”
He Lian’s call was about this.
The heir needed to initiate the inheritance process on the island and then return to City A for subsequent procedures; since he was already there, He Lian hoped they wouldn’t waste time, completing it all in one go.
Shu Ci excitedly followed, “How much is this island worth? Can I become a billionaire Omega?”
The island inheritance procedure was in front of the main building in the center of the island. He Lian sent the coordinates, indicating that Shu Ci should stand there; there was an automatic identification system that would perform authorization and handover.
Lu Wanqing walked to the coordinates and saw a black crystal embedded in the center of the ground.
This was a rare substance extracted from rare ores mined by Far Reach, entirely black but reflecting different colors under different light and sunlight, a high-priced darling at auctions, with fewer than ten in the world.
One of them was on this deserted island, exposed to the wind and sun, being stepped on.
…Simply acting as a positioning marker.
Lu Wanqing gestured for him to go over, “Billionaire? You can be bolder.”
Author’s Note:
Lu Wanqing: My wife has something, and my father-in-law has something, too.
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