A long time ago, a popular thread appeared on a forum titled, “Which Alpha Player Do You Think Is the Most Clingy During Their Rut?”
The comments section was filled with various answers.
[It has to be Wound, the top laner of last year’s North American championship team! Watching the documentary, I found him to be such a gentle alpha. Every time I see him playing with his partner, it’s so sweet. He’s probably the clingy type in private too, 5555[mfn]5555 means crying[/mfn]!]
[Dosage, that jungler from Fried Skewers, might be the opposite of clingy. Didn’t his omega ex-boyfriend write a lengthy post exposing him? Saying that during his rut, he was super controlling, the kind who would lock his omega in a room and not let them see anyone…]
[Seeing everyone seriously analyzing these alpha players, I suddenly thought of someone whose style is completely different, and I couldn’t hold back my laughter, hahaha.]
[I think I know who you’re talking about…]
[That trash-talking, stubborn straight alpha cancer? Forget the rut—with that mouth of his… I’d bet he won’t even get to hold an omega’s hand in this lifetime 🚬🚬]
At the time, Tao Luo showed the post to everyone in the training room, gleefully planning to mock Yan Chengfeng.
She was laughing so hard she was nearly in tears. “Yan Kitchen, the netizens say you’ll never find an omega and might not even have a rut. What’s your take on that?”
However, Yan Chengfeng wasn’t angry at all.
He merely glanced at the comments and scoffed. “Rut? Only alphas who are love-struck and mentally weak have ruts.”
Alpha ruts are rare, unlike omega heat cycles, which occur frequently and on a regular schedule.
The experience itself is not pleasant. While omega heat is physically unbearable, alpha ruts are more about psychological and emotional unease. During this time, alphas become vulnerable, sensitive, and irritable, plagued by overwhelming anxiety and a desperate need for companionship and reassurance from their omega.
The onset of a rut is unpredictable, typically occurring after an alpha’s official differentiation. It might happen once a year, or not at all.
Some say that an alpha’s first rut signifies they’ve “truly awakened.”
It happens because they’ve fallen for someone—because they’ve started reacting to a specific omega, their mind restless, their body aching for that person’s comfort and closeness.
Now, standing in the alley, staring at Zhen Ning, Yan Chengfeng’s eyes suddenly widened.
“No way…”
His mind buzzed, but he still subconsciously retorted, “Y-you don’t understand anything. It absolutely can’t be a rut. Don’t talk nonsense…”
Zhen Ning didn’t speak. He simply gazed at him quietly.
Yan Chengfeng’s pheromones usually carried a crisp, refreshing white tea scent, but at this moment, the fragrance was so intense that Zhen Ning felt weak in the knees.
“I might not understand everything,” Zhen Ning said softly, “but I do know that your pheromones are out of control right now, Yan Chengfeng.”
Yan Chengfeng’s body stiffened sharply. He panted heavily, unable to speak for a long moment.
In the quiet alley, they faced each other in silence, the only sound being Yan Chengfeng’s labored breathing.
Zhen Ning watched him for a while, then exhaled and prepared to withdraw his hand from Yan Chengfeng’s face to retrieve his phone from his pocket.
However, the moment Yan Chengfeng sensed the movement, he immediately grabbed Zhen Ning’s wrist, asking warily, “Where are you going?”
“…I’m calling a car to take us back to the base,” Zhen Ning replied.
Yan Chengfeng’s chest rose and fell slightly. After a moment, he turned his face away and slowly released his grip.
Once Zhen Ning finished booking the car, he looked up and found Yan Chengfeng still staring at him.
Before he could say anything, the alpha muttered in a gruff voice, “…It’s all your fault.”
Zhen Ning: “…”
Under the dim streetlights in the alley, the alpha’s face was flushed red to an absurd degree. His eyes were hazy, his expression unfocused. Yet his expression was both aggrieved and frustrated as he stared at Zhen Ning with expectant eyes.
“It’s all because of you that I ended up like this.”
Yan Chengfeng turned his face away, took a deep breath, and gritted out, “It’s because I marked you. Your pheromones affected me and made me like this.”
Zhen Ning: “…”
That was a lot of blame to take.
As Yan Chengfeng spoke, his body unconsciously leaned closer to Zhen Ning.
He felt an inexplicable sense of grievance, convinced that these unfamiliar changes in his body were entirely Zhen Ning’s fault. He was at a loss and bewildered, yet he didn’t dare think too deeply about why.
“I’ve never marked any other omega before, so it has to be because of you. I never had a rut before. It’s all your fault…”
His breath was hot and unsteady, each word falling somewhere between a complaint and a sulky grumble. His gaze, burning with intensity, remained locked onto Zhen Ning’s face.
Yan Chengfeng had no idea what he was saying.
He didn’t understand the significance of an alpha telling an omega, “It’s because of you that I’m in rut.”
His mind was nearly clouded with heat.
How could it be this hot? His chest and lower abdomen felt like they were on fire, and he had no idea how to find relief. All he could do was instinctively move closer to Zhen Ning.
“I don’t know… I feel awful.”
Yan Chengfeng’s expression was both dazed and irritable. Though his tone was still fierce, there was an almost pleading look in his eyes. “I don’t care. You’re the reason I’m like this. You… you have to figure something out.”
At that moment, he resembled an overly clingy, large animal—pressing close, his body radiating heat, craving touch, longing for comfort.
Zhen Ning silently took a deep breath and started, “Listen to me, you—”
But his voice abruptly stopped.
In the next instant, the distressed alpha in front of him lowered his head and buried his face against Zhen Ning’s neck.
“…I feel terrible.”
Perhaps overwhelmed by the fever, Yan Chengfeng’s scorching breath brushed against Zhen Ning’s ear as his voice trembled. “I don’t know why I’m like this. I… I couldn’t find you in the crowd just now, and suddenly, I felt so awful.”
“Zhen Ning,” Yan Chengfeng murmured urgently, repeating his name. “Zhen Ning, it’s all your fault…”
Zhen Ning’s body gave an almost imperceptible shudder.
Yan Chengfeng was already dizzy. Instinctively, he sought to get closer, drawn to the faint presence that belonged to Zhen Ning.
His legs barely held him up, and as he staggered, he leaned heavily against Zhen Ning.
“It’s because you lied to me earlier. You said you’d wait for me, but you left…”
“You asked me to help you before—you asked for a temporary mark. You made me like this. I’ve never been close to an omega before, and I’ve never had a rut…”
“You said you’d always stay with me back then, but you abandoned me and left. Just now, you promised to wait for me, but you left with someone else again. Y-you’ve lied to me so many times…”
Even though his mind was foggy, Yan Chengfeng’s mouth kept moving. His brain felt like mush, but the words wouldn’t stop spilling out.
He even began dredging up old grievances.
“…Stop talking,” Zhen Ning said. “Let me explain first.”
But Yan Chengfeng, feeling both upset and miserable, blamed Zhen Ning for his state and instinctively resisted, “I won’t shut up. I want to say—”
Suddenly, he fell silent.
He raised his head, staring directly into Zhen Ning’s eyes. Zhen Ning’s eyelashes trembled slightly, but he said nothing, simply meeting his gaze calmly.
Zhen Ning released his pheromones.
In Yan Chengfeng’s memory, Zhen Ning had always kept his pheromones strictly suppressed. This was the first time he chose to release them in front of him.
At the same time, Zhen Ning lifted his other hand. His fingertips trailed from Yan Chengfeng’s hair, gently tracing down to his brow, slowly outlining his features.
Then, his hand gradually slid lower, gliding along the bridge of Yan Chengfeng’s nose before finally resting on his cheek.
What is Zhen Ning… doing? Yan Chengfeng thought hazily.
The previous two temporary marks had been intimate, yet they had felt more like tasks, with even the post-marking warmth being brief.
But now, the scents of white tea and sour apricot mingled in the air, intertwining. Zhen Ning patiently caressed Yan Chengfeng’s face, stroke by stroke, as if soothing the ruffled fur of a distressed, oversized animal.
“…Yan Chengfeng.”
Through the hazy blur of his thoughts, Yan Chengfeng faintly heard Zhen Ning’s voice. “Your pheromone concentration is way too high right now. If someone happens to come into the alley, it could be very dangerous.”
“So before the car arrives, I need to help you suppress it. Do you understand?”
Yan Chengfeng felt so comfortable that he barely processed the meaning of Zhen Ning’s words. His mind clung to only one thought—if Zhen Ning could keep touching him like this for just a little longer, that would be perfect. So, he mumbled a vague response.
He felt Zhen Ning’s hand pause for a moment.
After a while, he heard Zhen Ning murmur, “…You’ve grown a lot taller.”
Yan Chengfeng froze.
He knew he had grown taller. In the three years Zhen Ning had been gone, Yan Chengfeng had spent his days either devouring food or pushing himself to the limit in training. He wanted boundless stamina and energy so he could train harder and achieve results as quickly as possible.
So that when Zhen Ning saw him again, he would see how much he had changed.
In his dazed state, Yan Chengfeng didn’t immediately understand why Zhen Ning would look at him and suddenly say something as seemingly unrelated as, “You’ve grown taller.”
He only saw Zhen Ning tilt his face upward slightly.
The clock struck twelve, and in the distance, cheers erupted from the crowds—celebrating the arrival of the new year.
But the small alley remained quiet.
Zhen Ning cupped Yan Chengfeng’s face and kissed him, soft and unhurried.
Author’s note:
Kiss each other fiercely with your tongues!
Ohh diff type of behaviors during rut, and aaa mc in this chapter, dangg (*/ω＼)_(:з」∠)_