—

After rambling it out, before he completely lost it, Wen Ran stumbled as he turned to leave. He'd barely turned halfway when he heard Gu Yunchi say, 'What, you thought of another solution?'

'I want to go home first.' Wen Ran stopped walking, didn't dare turn his head. 'Then I'll ask my brother, see if his Pheromone might...'

Before he could finish, Gu Yunchi cut him off coldly: 'Is your brain really broken?'

Even a thick-skinned person can't take being scolded at a time like this. Wen Ran turned his head to look at him, said sadly: 'Can you not yell at me today, wait until I'm better then yell at me, okay...'

'During an omega's Fenqi Period, if they seek out any alpha, regardless of purpose, their behavior will only be seen as asking the other person to sleep with them.' Gu Yunchi's tone was flat. 'You want to commit incest with your brother?'

Wen Ran froze. He should have realized—when he searched 'Fenqi Period,' the keywords that popped up about marking and sexual behavior all spelled out how sensitive this was. He never actually planned to ask Wen Rui, it was just confused rambling, looking for any answer that could pass. And what hit him hardest right now was how he looked in Gu Yunchi's eyes.

No wonder Gu Yunchi called it a 'lame excuse.' His behavior was obviously coming here to beg for sex, yet he ridiculously insisted that just smelling Pheromone would be enough—who would believe that.

Understanding he had no dignity left in front of Gu Yunchi, after a long moment, Wen Ran said blankly: 'I understand.'

'You understand again.'

'This time I really understand.' Wen Ran lowered his head and rubbed his face, but his hand stayed pressed there and wouldn't come down. 'I'm sorry, I have no other choice. What should I do? Why is it like this... I'm really not here to ask you to sleep with me, I just want a little Pheromone, I want to live a normal life...'

Gu Yunchi said: 'Understood.'

Wen Ran raised his red eyes, somewhat startled: 'You believe me?'

'Because you look like your brain has zero sex education.' Gu Yunchi commented, then walked toward the elevator. 'I'm going to sleep, do whatever you want.'

He was actually understood, actually understood by Gu Yunchi. Wen Ran was momentarily stunned, unconsciously followed, asked: 'Then can you let me smell your Pheromone? I won't bother you, ten minutes... five minutes is enough.'

Gu Yunchi neither agreed nor refused, only left him his back. Wen Ran, controlled by physiological instinct, entered the elevator with him. The whole way he stared unblinkingly at Gu Yunchi's wrist, longing for the Wristband's setting to be lowered quickly.

But no, all the way into the room, Gu Yunchi showed no sign of lowering the setting. Wen Ran's heart was itching. Standing behind the slowly closing door, he couldn't help asking: 'Can you lower the setting a bit first?' He squatted against the door, his voice softening. 'I can barely walk anymore, let me smell it first.'

In the dimness, he saw Gu Yunchi turn around and walk toward him, stand for a moment, then squat down.

The distance was very close. If Wen Ran tilted his head up slightly, he could almost touch Gu Yunchi's chin, or his lips.

'Looks like you really want it.' Gu Yunchi said.

The heat radiating from his body enveloped Wen Ran, burning his temperature higher, like he was about to melt. His whole body floated lightly in the air, trembling with the alpha's voice.

'Actually there's a faster way.'

'What...' Wen Ran opened his eyes blankly, his trailing voice cut short—Gu Yunchi had grabbed his ankle.

'Don't you know?' Gu Yunchi's tone dropped lower.

The pajama pants were loose, the hand could easily slip in. Gu Yunchi's hand moved slowly up along the ankle, stroking upward inch by inch.

Wen Ran felt like he'd stepped off a cliff, his thoughts froze. Only the hand from his dream, gripping his ankle, like a frozen photograph, suddenly unfolded in his mind, seamlessly merging with reality.

So the hand in his dream was Gu Yunchi's.

His vision was dark, he couldn't see anything clearly, but Wen Ran could still imagine what it looked like—fair and strong, fingers delicate and slender, knuckles tinged with healthy reddish blood.

The cool palm stroked across his skin, Wen Ran's whole body went numb.

'I don't know...' he was trembling as he spoke.

'There are two things on an alpha's body with high Pheromone concentration.' Gu Yunchi's tone was slow, as if telling a story.

'Saliva.' He kneaded Wen Ran's calf, then continued, 'Semen.'

Wen Ran suspected his ears had malfunctioned, his breathing quickened, he tried to see Gu Yunchi's expression, but no matter how hard he tried he could only trace the outline. That hand had already reached his knee. Wen Ran realized he didn't dislike this touch at all, even had a dark little expectation.

It's all because of the Fenqi Period—Wen Ran forced himself to stop all this, grabbed Gu Yunchi's hand, pulled it up, tried to adjust the Wristband setting.

Gu Yunchi let him desperately fiddle with the Wristband while holding his hand. Wen Ran's palm was hot, he fumbled around, still couldn't figure out how to unlock it. He sniffed, felt like he was dying, looked up at Gu Yunchi, asked, trembling: 'What should I do?'

Staring at each other in the dark for a few seconds, Gu Yunchi pulled his hand back, stood up, his tone returned to flat: 'Just giving you some education.'

Two beeps, he turned on the one-way switch and lowered the Wristband setting to the lowest.

Wen Ran froze for a moment, then immediately lowered his own Neck Ring setting. Just one second, the high-compatibility alpha's Pheromone was like an instant-effect medicine, pulling him out of the scalding water, restoring his breath.

The heat that had been tormenting his body for days was finally soothed. Wen Ran blinked, murmured: 'I think this should be enough now, don't worry, those two things you mentioned, I won't be that excessive, I won't ask you to do those things.'

'None of my business.' Gu Yunchi turned and walked inward. 'I'm going to shower.'

He'd only walked a few steps when Wen Ran felt the Pheromone wasn't strong enough anymore, immediately stood up and followed, following to the bathroom door. The surrounding lights automatically turned on, Gu Yunchi turned back: 'You planning to watch me shower?'

'No, no.' Wen Ran stepped aside. 'I'll wait here for you.'

Gu Yunchi glanced at him, walked into the bathroom, closed the door.

The door blocked most of the Pheromone, which made Wen Ran start getting restless again. He waited and waited, the water sound finally stopped, waited some more, the hair dryer sound stopped too, kept waiting, Gu Yunchi still didn't come out.

'Are you done?' Wen Ran really couldn't hold back, said carefully, 'We're going to sleep, you don't need to be that meticulous, right?'

Just as he finished speaking, the door opened, Gu Yunchi came out in sleepwear: 'Showering with a Wristband on, you don't need to wipe it dry?' Then said, 'Five minutes passed long ago, why are you still here.'

'Maybe I need a little more time.' Wen Ran struggled to suppress his urge to lean toward Gu Yunchi, requested: 'Can you let me stay a bit longer?'

Gu Yunchi withdrew his gaze, walked straight toward the bedroom area. Wen Ran followed behind, following to the bedside.

Pressing the remote to close the curtains, Gu Yunchi lifted a corner of the blanket, said: 'Take off your clothes.'

'Huh?' Thinking this was another piece of AO Test essential knowledge—like how Pheromone soothing works best when done skin-to-skin—Wen Ran hesitated as he fumbled for his jacket zipper, then confirmed with Gu Yunchi, 'All of it off?'

Gu Yunchi looked at him with that 'looking at an idiot' gaze: 'The jacket.'

'Oh... okay, okay.'

After taking off his jacket, Wen Ran just stood there stupidly. Gu Yunchi said impatiently: 'Get on the bed.'

Wen Ran, who'd thought he could only sit on the carpet, found this hard to believe, but his body, not wanting to be scolded, moved first—quickly climbed onto the bed and lay on the left side. Gu Yunchi pulled open the nightstand drawer, took out a pill bottle, poured out one pill, bit it in his mouth, then drank some water to send it down, turned off the light and lay on the bed.

Gradually getting dizzy again, his head turning muddled, Wen Ran moved slightly, asked: 'Can I take off my Neck Ring?'

'Are you in kindergarten? You have to ask me about everything.'

'Then I won't ask next time.' Rustling sounds, Wen Ran took off his Neck Ring and set it aside. He touched his Gland, it was hot, and a bit more swollen than usual. Even though they were already very close, it still didn't feel like enough. The strong desire drove him to scoot toward Gu Yunchi, his chin almost resting on the other's shoulder.

He vaguely heard Gu Yunchi's breathing get heavier, and a soft tsk. Before Gu Yunchi could open his mouth to tell him to get lost, Wen Ran mumbled: 'You let me sleep in your bed, you're really nice.'

Gu Yunchi paused unusually, then said: 'Your standards are low enough.'

Couldn't hear what he said at all, his ears buzzing. Wen Ran sniffed Gu Yunchi's Pheromone, kept moving closer: 'I don't know why I suddenly went into Fenqi.' Nowhere to confide, only daring to hint at it in moments of unclear consciousness: 'And the symptoms are so severe, like after Fenqi starts, my body isn't mine anymore.'

'When an Omega is affected by Alpha Pheromone, they're easily induced into a Fenqi Period, especially between high-compatibility pairs.' Gu Yunchi tilted his head to avoid Wen Ran's dazed voice as he spoke.

'During Fenqi, I'm always thinking of you.' Wen Ran kept talking to himself, his face already pressed against Gu Yunchi's neck. 'I really couldn't hold back, that's why I came to find you, sorry.'

The omega's breath sprayed against the skin on the side of his neck. Gu Yunchi raised his hand to cup that constantly approaching face, turned his head to stare at him: 'What do you want me for.'

Wen Ran, blocked from advancing, made uncomfortable grunting sounds, took over ten seconds to register Gu Yunchi's question, answered: 'Want your Pheromone, smells really good.'

Gu Yunchi pushed Wen Ran's face back, Wen Ran persistently lay back down next to him, asked: 'Why aren't you calling me a sexual harasser anymore.'

'You're just someone who loves sexually harassing everywhere, what's the point of saying it.'

'How could I...' Like a dog, Wen Ran's nose sniffed across Gu Yunchi's cheek, nose tip, lips, chin one by one, saying, 'I don't do it everywhere, only with you.'

His upper body was almost already pressing on Gu Yunchi's chest, with a tendency to keep climbing up his body, finally stopped by Gu Yunchi supporting his waist. Wen Ran's sleepwear was already messed up, the hem bunched upward, Gu Yunchi's palm pressed against his waist without obstruction: 'Didn't you say smelling Pheromone would be enough, what are you doing now.'

'I don't know, that's what the doctor told me.' Not understanding why his brain got more muddled after smelling Pheromone, Wen Ran was also troubled, still confused: 'I think, maybe since I started dreaming about you, things got weird.'

Their heartbeats slammed heavily against each other through their chests. Gu Yunchi's breathing was heavy, his fingers dug into Wen Ran's hair: 'What did you dream about me doing.'

'Dreamed you touched me.'

After staring at him for a while, Gu Yunchi finally spat out a few words: 'You really are...'

'After waking up, the symptoms got worse.' Wen Ran lowered his head, his lips unconsciously brushing against Gu Yunchi's neck and ear everywhere, 'And I drooled, really scary.'

His hand suddenly tightened, Gu Yunchi grabbed Wen Ran's hair and forced him to raise his head, their chins touching. Gu Yunchi's voice was a bit hoarse: 'No need to say everything out loud, I don't want to hear it.'

Wen Ran opened his mouth, asked blankly: 'Are you angry?'

'Regret.'

Convinced he was angry, Wen Ran obediently lay down on his shoulder, said: 'Sorry, I won't bother you anymore, go to sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, remember to forgive me.'

So it went quiet. After delivering a string of outrageous and absurd confused remarks, Wen Ran also felt tired, smelling Gu Yunchi's Pheromone, pressed against his shoulder, he fell asleep quickly.

Omegas in Fenqi do make many illogical behaviors and say many direct, unfiltered things. Gu Yunchi, who had received complete physiology education, knew this well, but still couldn't fall asleep until the early hours of the morning.

When Wen Ran woke up, he was buried in the blanket. He dug himself out, Gu Yunchi wasn't there. He listened carefully for a while, no sounds in the room, probably went downstairs.

After tidying the pillow and blanket, Wen Ran put on his Neck Ring, slipped on his jacket, went to rinse his mouth and wash his face.

The elevator doors opened, and BDH-339 greeted them: 'Good morning, my baby. To commemorate your first night together with the young master, I've had the chef prepare a large batch of delicious Croissants. Please follow me to the dining room to enjoy them.'

'I need to go home.' Chen Shuhui was on a business trip these past few days, but afraid Aunt Fang would ask, Wen Ran planned to leave early: 'What time is it now?'

'Just half past six.'

Last night he probably slept before ten, woke up early enough, hoping he wouldn't run into Aunt Fang when he got home. Wen Ran sniffed the Croissant smell in the air, swallowed his saliva, said: 'Then I'll head back first.'

'Okay! I'll pack it up, wait for me!'

This time they packed fifteen, in a very large paper bag. 339 stuffed the bag into Wen Ran's arms: 'Please take it home and enjoy slowly, I'll contact the driver for you right away.'

The Croissants were still warm, holding them in his arms gave a feeling of complete happiness. Wen Ran smiled stupidly, but in a blink saw Gu Yunchi drinking coffee walking back into the living room from the Rear Garden, while on a phone call.

'Yes, slept early yesterday.' Gu Yunchi walked up to Wen Ran, looked him up and down, 'For dinner, it might be in a couple of days, he's not feeling well these past few days.'

After hanging up, Gu Yunchi was still looking at his Mobile Phone. Wen Ran looked up and asked: 'Who's not feeling well? Grandpa Gu?'

'You.' Gu Yunchi raised his Mobile Phone higher and higher, 'My Violin teacher asked me to go to his house for a meal when I'm free, told me to bring you, you know each other?'

'Is his surname Zhang? Last time at Lu Heyang's birthday party, we talked.' Still remembering the nervousness of being told by Zhang Fangyi that he looked neither like Wen Ningyuan nor Chen Shuhui, Wen Ran felt uneasy, looking at the Mobile Phone that was blocking Gu Yunchi's face, asked: 'Why did he ask you to bring me?'

'Who knows.' Gu Yunchi said.

A few clicking sounds came from the Mobile Phone, Wen Ran was startled: 'Are you taking a photo?'

'Screenshot.'

'Do you need to hold it that high for a screenshot... you're taking a photo, right? Can I see it?'

Gu Yunchi didn't deny it this time, openly handed the Mobile Phone to Wen Ran. Wen Ran looked down at the screen, found it was indeed a photo of himself, taken from above, with 0.5x wide angle on, making him look big-headed and small-bodied, eyes very big, a bag of Croissants hooked in his right arm crook, expression blank, clothes and hair messy, looking like he had an IQ problem.

'...' Wen Ran politely asked him: 'Can you delete it? You made me look kind of like an alien, it's weird.'

Gu Yunchi said: 'You already look like an alien.'

'Okay.' Wen Ran didn't understand why Gu Yunchi wanted to take this kind of weird ugly photo, but he wouldn't print it out and plaster it all over the Preparatory School, so whatever. He hesitated, said: 'Thank you for yesterday, I feel much better.'

'I feel terrible.' Gu Yunchi turned off his Mobile Phone, took a sip of coffee and said.

'Huh? Was my sleeping posture bad and disturbed you? Or did I say something wrong? I remember falling asleep as soon as I got on the bed last night.' Not knowing what happened, but apologizing first anyway, Wen Ran said: 'Sorry for keeping you from sleeping well.'

Gu Yunchi's gaze paused, he put down his coffee, lowered his eyes to look at him for a few seconds, finally said: 'You really do harm people deeply.'

What puzzled Wen Ran even more was that Gu Yunchi was going to send the deeply-harmful him home.

'You're going out this early to exercise?' Wen Ran asked, 'So you're just giving me a ride since it's on the way?'

'Not on the way.' Gu Yunchi changed his shoes, walked out the door without looking back.

Confused and puzzled, Wen Ran also walked toward the entryway, passing in front of 339, only then realized it hadn't spoken. Wen Ran bent down: '339, I'm going home, goodbye.'

On the screen, 339's tears and drool flowed together: 'I really... I really feel so happy... you and the young master... please let me... savor this beauty alone...'

Not understanding what it was happy about, Wen Ran straightened up, carrying a bag of Croissants, went to chase Gu Yunchi.