Chapter 10
An Le: …
His hands were sweating as he held the phone. He switched hands, wiping the sweat, feeling wronged. Who acts like this? Saying they’ll wait, then pressuring him for an answer.
Lu Heng: “Speak.”
An Le pursed his lips, unsure how to answer. He followed Xiao Xiao’s advice and whispered, “I… I… Mr. Lu, can we… date for a while before getting married? I…”
“Fine.”
Lu Heng agreed before he could finish.
After all, this was the person he was going to marry, and he was a problematic omega; he definitely needed to investigate him thoroughly.
Looking at the information in his hand, Lu Heng smiled, “We can date for a while before getting married, but during that time, you must unconditionally help me manage my heat cycles. Is that acceptable?”
If it were a different condition, An Le might have agreed. But the heat cycle and being marked were linked to his trauma, leaving him deeply scarred.
He hesitated, then asked, “Manage your heat cycle… is it… is it like last time in the restroom?”
His voice grew smaller and smaller, almost inaudible at the end.
But even if Lu Heng hadn’t heard, he guessed. Knowing he had left an indelible scar of fear on the omega, he thought for a moment before saying, “I apologize for what happened last time. I lost control that day. In the future, if you’re with me during my heat, while I’m still rational, I can be gentler.”
An Le nervously clutched his clothes.
What to do? Remembering the pain he endured for days after returning from the hospital, and Lu Heng’s somewhat unconvincing assurance, he was even more afraid.
“I…”
An Le hesitated. He didn’t want to help Lu Heng manage his heat cycles, but that was the main reason Lu Heng sought him out.
Without a heat cycle, if an omega is inadvertently marked and then runs away, no one would likely bother looking for them.
An Le hesitated, and Lu Heng patiently waited.
Finally, he unclenched his teeth and whispered, “Okay.”
“Then it’s settled.”
Lu Heng’s voice was filled with pleasure, “Starting today, we’re a couple. We’ll go on dates and engage in all sorts of intimate contact. Be prepared. I’ll pick you up tomorrow at noon.”
Lu Heng hung up.
An Le still held the phone blankly. He felt wronged. Lu Heng was too overbearing. He… was afraid.
But as an omega, to have his alpha initiate intimate contact, he also felt a sense of joy deep down.
These two conflicting feelings arose from the same event, a contradictory yet undeniable fact.
An Le silently put down his phone, picking up his pen to continue his work, but Lu Heng’s voice echoed in his head…
Outside the apartment complex, Lu Heng sat in his car, his brows furrowed.
He had read An Le’s file. As the son of the original wife, he had actually been relegated to living in a storage room for ten years, bullied and abused. It was ridiculous.
However, for an omega constantly suppressed by alphas, it was indeed impossible to rebel in such a family.
Omegas can never truly rebel against alphas; it’s their nature.
However, as a father, An Qiang, the despicable man who allowed his mistress to take his wife’s place, was truly a terrible person!
Lu Heng clenched his fists tightly, crushing the paper in his hands. Finally, suppressing his anger, he curled his lips into a smile, “Go check out this An Qiang. He probably has more than just those few sons he shows to the public.”
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Chapter 11
An Le took a long time to calm himself down before picking up his pen to continue drawing.
Today, he was drawing a school.
A boy’s best friend was absent, and, just like before, he was alone, hiding in a corner, secretly watching the other children play.
But this time was different. A child playing a game accidentally stepped on his foot. Not only did the child apologize, but they also invited him to join in the game…
After finishing the drawing, An Le felt a stiffness in his neck. While massaging it, he picked up his phone to check the time. He didn’t see the time, however, but instead saw a text message that made his face flush.
It was from Lu Heng, asking about his heat cycle.
Lu Heng: “When is your heat cycle? I need to schedule some time.”
The words were blunt, yet surprisingly, An Le didn’t feel any resistance.
However, he didn’t know when his heat cycle was.
Two years ago, when he came of age, his heat hadn’t started before Xiao Xiao rescued him from home. He was immediately given an injection of suppressants, so he had never experienced a heat cycle.
An Le quietly touched the gland at the back of his neck. There was a suppressant patch stuck there; it had been on for almost two weeks and was long past its effectiveness, but he kept it on anyway.
A regular omega suppressant patch lasts for three days, but he always wore his for over half a month because he never experienced a heat. The patches were just for show.
But, while omegas without heat cycles were safe, wouldn’t they be considered abnormal in the eyes of an alpha?
An Le felt worried; sadness filled his beautiful eyes. He buried his face in his arms for a long time before lifting it again.
—
An Le woke up early the next morning.
In the past two years, this was the first time he had interacted with someone other than Xiao Xiao, and it was the alpha who had marked him.
Even thinking about what happened that day still frightened him, but he also looked forward to it.
Therefore, Lu Heng’s words from yesterday caused him to wake up unusually early. He tidied himself up and sat by the window, waiting for Lu Heng to pick him up.
At noon, Lu Heng knocked on his door and took him downstairs.
He rarely went downstairs during the day and being with Lu Heng felt unfamiliar, so he kept his head down and didn’t speak.
The atmosphere in the car was quiet, almost awkwardly so.
Lu Heng: “Why didn’t you reply?”
Lu Heng was sitting to An Le’s left, his voice low. An Le didn’t hear him.
Until a hand rested on his shoulder, making him jump. His face instantly turned pale.
He instinctively wanted to flinch away, but when he turned to see Lu Heng, he restrained himself, because he heard Lu Heng say, “Answer.”
An Le was stunned. He asked timidly, “Answer… what?”
Lu Heng hadn’t noticed anything unusual; he only thought An Le was too timid and nervous. He frowned and repeated his question: “My text message from yesterday. Why didn’t you reply?”
An Le understood. He lowered his head, quietly sniffing, catching the faint, almost imperceptible scent of Lu Heng in the car, and whispered, “I… I don’t know.”
Now it was Lu Heng’s turn to be surprised. He sat up straight from his leaning position: “You don’t know when your heat cycle is?”
An Le nervously nodded: “Mm.”
Lu Heng: “If I remember correctly, you’ve been an adult for two years. How could you not have a heat cycle?”
This time, An Le didn’t answer; he didn’t want to talk.
In his eyes, it wasn’t just alphas who would consider an omega without a heat cycle abnormal. Xiao Xiao had also bought him suppressants, which were illegal drugs that couldn’t be revealed.
Otherwise, Xiao Xiao, a beta, would be arrested for buying such drugs. He couldn’t hurt Xiao Xiao.
Lu Heng: “Speak.”
An Le flinched sideways and slowly shook his head, refusing.
Lu Heng took a deep breath. His eyes hardened, the scar at the corner of his eyebrow seeming even more fierce, but the words that came out made the assistant driving in front of them drop his jaw.
Lu Heng: “Answer.”
“As long as you speak, I’ll hold you like I did last night, and give you my pheromones.”