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The moment Shi Qi drew near Shang Sui, her head spun. Instinct told her she was about to be swallowed whole.

Every breath of heat fell into Shang Sui's palm. Shi Qi tipped her neck back and panted softly, like she was asking for help.

'Lin Yan...' Hearing him ask where she wanted to go, Shi Qi answered in fits and starts, 'I want to find Lin Yan.'

'What do you want with him.'

At the sound of another man's name, the dim light in Shang Sui's eyes deepened, yet his voice turned unnaturally gentle as he coaxed, 'I can help you too. I'm a lot more useful than him.'

As he spoke, he clasped Shi Qi's hand as if in invitation and pressed it to his own neck. 'Why don't you try me?'

Shi Qi's brain was burning too badly to turn the corner for a while.

Hearing that Shang Sui wanted to help her, Shi Qi reflexively remembered the filthy comments under her social media account: when you're in Heat Phase you have to go ask him for help, feed him milk candy today and later he can feed you milk.

At first she hadn't understood what milk meant. It was only after a crowd of people underneath went heh heh heh that it hit her all at once.

At the thought, Shi Qi yanked her hand back as if shocked and warned herself, 'No—! Stop!'

She couldn't keep thinking about it. If she did, she was going to...!

How had this happened.

For the first time, Shi Qi felt despair.

If Shang Sui found out, wouldn't he think there was something wrong with her?

Shi Qi frantically tried to soothe herself in her own head.

Having a little reaction during Heat Phase was only natural, perfectly understandable, mid lane Yasuo is banned anyway... anything was fine, just don't think about that stuff anymore!

A peach-blossom flush spread over the Omega's pale neck and disappeared beneath her collar. The gland at the nape of her neck had begun to swell, already betraying its owner's will and impatiently ready to be filled with Pheromone.

After she forcefully slapped his hand away, Shang Sui narrowed his eyes slightly.

For one instant, Shi Qi's resistance made him almost want to give in to the restless impulse stirring in his mind.

A mark alone would not be enough. Better to tie her to the bed and gag her too, so she could not say no again.

The mere picture of it was enough to excite him until even his fingertips trembled faintly and a current seemed to run down his spine.

Jiang Yan's brain did not work well, but his instincts were accurate.

He really was half-mad, not very normal at all.

After that near-loss of control, Shang Sui suppressed the surging want in him and asked with a show of kindness, 'If you go to Lin Yan, what can he do for you?'

Compared with forcing her, he preferred watching Shi Qi step into the trap he had woven bit by bit, until she was completely lost in it.

Sure enough, Shi Qi was caught by the question and looked back at him blankly.

The moment she learned the Inhibitor was useless, she'd instinctively wanted something familiar...

But even if she found Lin Yan, it would not really do anything.

At most, Lin Yan could teach her how to handle it herself. At the very least it would cost a week of energy; she couldn't possibly keep him with her the whole time.

Besides, Omega heats affected one another. If she dragged Lin Yan into this too, none of them would have an easy time.

But... who else could help her?

The five fingers around her wrist loosened without warning. Shi Qi looked at Shang Sui on instinct, not understanding why he had suddenly put distance between them.

Her reaction was like that of a small animal someone had caught, shy under gentle, affectionate strokes and wanting to hide in a corner.

Yet when those hands truly left, she was at a loss before the sudden freedom, peeking out and hoping they would come close again.

'If that's the case, go find him then.' Shang Sui pulled the door open with seeming thoughtfulness. 'Lin Yan is staying in the room at the end of the hall. I've seen him before.'

The moment she put distance between herself and Shang Sui, the dizziness eased quite a bit, but that only brought on a fresh round of torment.

Because she had already tasted what it was like to be soothed, this withdrawal-like clarity left Shi Qi suffering all the more.

For one moment, more than being set aside, she even wanted to be trapped again in the Alpha's sweet scent like before.

'Don't...'

Seeing her step half a foot into the trap without realizing it, Shang Sui's eyes gradually filled with pleasure.

'Not this, not that. Xiao Qi, what is it you want exactly?'

Following the sound, Shi Qi lifted her head and met the Alpha's fox-like eyes.

Her muddled mind turned like rusted gears, always a beat too slow. At last, she realized who could really save her.

'Can you... give me a Temporary Mark.'

Her Compatibility Index with Shang Sui was high. As long as she got enough Alpha Pheromone, her Heat Phase would end quickly.

Shang Sui gave nothing away. 'How do you want me to do it?'

'Bite me,' Shi Qi said haltingly. 'Bite my gland.'

Just one bite?

Shang Sui sighed inwardly.

What a pity.

He had thought that while she was not fully clear-headed, Shi Qi might want to sleep with him.

Still, for a certain dazed little fool, being able to ask for a Temporary Mark at all was already no small thing.

When he said nothing, Shi Qi could not help asking, 'You don't want to?'

Ever since they had met, Shang Sui had always indulged her. Shi Qi had never imagined she might be refused.

She waited and waited without getting a yes. The shame amplified many times over by Heat Phase, the hurt of being turned down for the first time... all kinds of feelings were stirred together, and with them rose a thread of unreasonable grievance.

Shi Qi even thought irritably: it's just one bite. It's not like she was asking Shang Sui to sleep with her, so it wasn't much of a loss for him, was it?

Her mood was already under the sway of hormones. She had no idea where such a temper had come from, enough to temporarily override even her instinctive dependence on an Alpha.

Shi Qi bit down hard, heat stinging at her eyes, and headed for the door regardless. 'If it really won't work, then forget it. I'll figure something out myself—'

Before Shi Qi could take another step, a long, strong arm hooked around her waist and pulled her back into an embrace.

Shi Qi staggered and nearly lost her footing.

Shang Sui lifted her from behind, kicked the door shut, and with the hand he had to spare slid the lock into place in one clean motion. That answered quite clearly whether he was willing.

Feeling the searing heat from the skin pressed tight against hers, Shi Qi lowered her head. Her already flushed cheeks looked ready to steam.

Through the haze, she suddenly felt that something was off.

She knew she wasn't heavy among boys her height, and there was a real difference in build between her and Shang Sui, but how could Shang Sui lift her with one hand...?

As the Alpha carried her, her slippers fell to the floor with crisp little sounds. Shi Qi's pale, slender feet could not reach the ground and kicked uselessly twice in midair.

Before she could think further, Shi Qi was tossed onto the bed.

The hotel's neatly made bed carried a calm scent of ebony. The moment she thought of whose bed it was, Shi Qi instinctively shrank toward the corner.

'Come closer.' Standing by the bed, the Alpha asked with a smiling face, 'Where do you think you're hiding?'

Shang Sui's bathrobe had been tugged loose, exposing a broad sweep of skin. He did not care in the least, only took his time looking over the curled-up figure on the bed.

Under his gaze, Shi Qi grew dizzy again, and the heat inside her came rushing back once more.

She gave a faint little sound, then in her daze slowly crawled toward Shang Sui.

Too cute.

He wanted to kiss her so badly.

For one instant, Shang Sui even wished she were more thoroughly out of it, so he could do as he pleased under cover of her not knowing.

He could not hold himself back. He reached out, closed a hand around that snowy, delicate ankle, and before he knew it tugged harder than he meant to.

'Mm...!'

Shi Qi floundered twice like a baby seal that had taken a spill. The Alpha who had been waiting all this time came down over her, and that sweet, rich scent enclosed her whole.

Drawn in by Shang Sui's Pheromone, she grew hotter and hotter. Her mind came back a beat late, and only then did she realize he was pressing on her like a small mountain, so heavily she could barely breathe. There was no getting away.

So heavy...

How could Shang Sui be this heavy?

And one of his hands was still braced on the bed. He was not even putting all his weight on her.

Shang Sui looked down at her, the broken strands of hair at the nape of his neck falling with the motion. The muscles at his waist and abdomen were taut, the lines clear and deep, as flawless as sculpture.

Flustered, Shi Qi looked away—only to run straight into the beautiful butterfly at his collarbone again.

'Want to touch it?' Shang Sui asked suddenly. 'You seem to keep looking here.'

As he spoke, he caught Shi Qi's hand and pressed it to his collarbone.

With each breath Shang Sui took, the string of butterfly tattoos seemed ready to beat its wings and fly, as if alive enough to melt.

The skin beneath her fingers was warm and fine, steeped in light like running water. At such intimate distance, every inch of texture stood out in perfect detail.

Shi Qi stared at him as if spellbound.

So beautiful...

Beautiful everywhere.

Perhaps because her mind had finally burned clean through, after Shang Sui let go, Shi Qi's fingers drifted lower as if guided by something else.

And then of all times Shang Sui gave a soft 'Mm?' and asked in a flippant tone, 'Taking the chance to cop a feel, baby?'

Shi Qi came awake as if from a dream. Her whole body jerked as though stung by a scorpion, and she snatched her hand back at once.

The Alpha on top of her let out a pleased laugh. No matter how one looked at it, there was mischief in it, and even that intimate form of address sounded like he was making fun of her.

...

Remembering she still needed Shang Sui's help in a moment, Shi Qi could only swallow the urge to kick him even if he was being such a bastard.

Besides, what was wrong with touching him once?

Because she danced, she had abs too, and she even had a V-line. Every time Lin Yan saw it, he itched to touch; he had put his hands on her countless times.

Ignoring the heat in her face, Shi Qi said with feigned calm, 'You can touch back too.'

'Then I won't be polite.'

With that, Shang Sui pinned a hand at her waist.

After entering the hotel, Shi Qi had not had time to change; she had only taken off her coat. She was wearing a white sweatshirt set, and the hem came up with absurd ease.

The moment she felt that long, deft hand slip inside like a snake, Shi Qi could not bear it. 'Don't touch there, it's too ticklish—'

Before Shi Qi could twist her waist away, Shang Sui lifted himself slightly and turned her over.

With one hand he pinned the back of her head, and before she could react, he bit straight into the gland that had long since gone hot.

As feverish as she was, it was something that Shi Qi had managed to keep bickering with him this long.

'—Mmgh!'

Shi Qi's eyes flew wide in an instant, her whole body going taut, and her mind was left with nothing but a cry for help.

Help, help...!

As if afraid she might stop breathing, Shang Sui did not keep her pinned. Instead he slid a hand to her neck and half-forced her chin up, helping her breathe.

When the Pheromone began to pour into her, Shi Qi's fingers scratched helplessly over the bed until at last they seized the sheet in a trembling grip.

Her dark gray eyes slowly lost focus and even grew damp at the edges.

Bang bang, bang-bang-bang—

Someone suddenly knocked at the door. Lin Yan's anxious voice came through from outside. 'Shang Sui? Qin Shuhe told me you're in there. Shi Qi's condition doesn't seem right!'

When no answer came after a long moment, Lin Yan knocked more and more frantically. 'Shi Qi? Shi Qi, are you okay—'

Ah, honestly...!

Shang Sui barely kept himself in hand and forcibly crushed down the fury of being interrupted.

Irritated, he shoved a hand through his hair, baring his smooth forehead. The slightly overlong strands soon fell again, half-veiling his eyes.

Shang Sui unlocked his phone and called Lin Yan. As he rose, he did not forget to rub Shi Qi's head in reassurance. Once the call connected, he set the phone by the dazed Omega's ear.

'Come on. Talk to your friend.'

'Tell him you're fine. Tell him to leave.'

Shi Qi was trembling all over and had no strength left to think. She could only do as Shang Sui told her.

'I'm fine—'

Her face was buried in the bed, and without meaning to she let out faint little sounds, like stifled sobs she could not resist.

As Alpha Pheromone entered her body, even though the mark was not yet complete, the feeling of being permeated down to the bone left Shi Qi—already tortured by the heatwave—as if she were floating on clouds. More than pain, it was a comfort so intense it seemed to melt her mind itself.

Lin Yan had gripped his phone tight from the instant the call connected. Hearing Shi Qi's voice, he froze outside the door.

He had waited downstairs forever without once seeing Shi Qi. It was only after an offhand question that he learned that the genius Qin Shuhe had actually sent Shi Qi, in Heat Phase, to Shang Sui's room.

He was the only one who knew the truth of their relationship. No matter how Qin Shuhe shouted after him, 'Stop worrying! I bet the two of them have already gone from fighting at the head of the bed to making up at the foot of it!', Lin Yan hurried back anyway.

'Holy shit! You two are... ?'

Remembering Qin Shuhe's damned line about fighting at the head of the bed and making up at the foot, Lin Yan lost control. 'Fuck!'

But he quickly came to himself. There was no better solution than this.

With the two Heat Phases coming so close together, this one was bound to be abnormally fierce. He had even been afraid Shi Qi would not be able to handle it alone and would end up in the hospital.

In the end Lin Yan choked out, '...Remember to use a condom.'

It was then that Shang Sui, who had said nothing until now, took the phone. 'Don't worry. I'll take good care of her.'

Deliberately or not, Shang Sui put weight on the words good care when he said them.

Lin Yan's hand twitched, and he heard it as take her good and hard.

'...Finished with the call?' Hearing the sound of the hang-up, Shi Qi turned her head in a haze and cast Shang Sui a sidelong look.

Her dark gray eyes were wet, light shifting in their depths. She looked like a beautiful, high-born cat still waiting to be stroked.

'Yes. Good girl.'

Shang Sui praised how she had done just now and tossed the phone aside.

He pressed down the hand Shi Qi still had clenched in the sheet and slid his fingers in between hers one by one. Looking down at her, he smiled. 'Let's continue.'