SMS CHAPTER 33

Zhen Ning opened his eyes.

He felt as if he had just experienced a long yet blissful dream—gentle and comforting, as though his entire body had been submerged in warm water.

The moment he awoke, the first thing he saw was the snow accumulating on the trees outside the window. For a fleeting moment, he thought he was still sixteen or seventeen, back in that late winter with heavy snowfall.

However, a faint pain lingered at the back of his neck, his limbs felt weak and powerless, and the room was filled with the mixed scent of sour apricot and white tea… most of it emanating from his own body.

Zhen Ning blinked slowly. The realization hit him.

So… six years had already passed.

He was no stranger to the sensations of a heat cycle after all these years. Yet this time, though the restlessness in his body persisted, it wasn’t as unbearable as it had been before.

That was because another gentle white tea scent had spread through his bloodstream, soothing the near-uncontrollable physiological instincts within him.

—In the bathroom, Yan Chengfeng had marked him.

The moment Zhen Ning realized this, his body stiffened slightly.

He knew suppressants couldn’t be used frequently, but to maintain peak concentration and competitive form, he had injected himself with a one-day suppressant before the match against ZC. He hadn’t just wanted to win; he had wanted to crush the opposition in an overwhelming victory.

However, a heat cycle doesn’t simply disappear—it can only be delayed or advanced. With prolonged and frequent use of suppressants, his pheromones had already been pushed to their breaking point, teetering on the edge of an uncontrollable outburst. This was, without a doubt, Zhen Ning’s own oversight.

He struggled to prop himself up, only to realize he was in an unfamiliar room.

As he turned toward the doorway, his gaze met Yan Chengfeng’s.

Yan Chengfeng had been standing there for an unknown amount of time.

For a brief moment, surprise flickered across his face, only to be replaced by uncertainty. He simply stood there, staring at Zhen Ning in a daze.

The atmosphere was subtle and awkward, much like the ambiguous intertwining of their pheromones in the air—a clear reminder of what had transpired in the bathroom.

After a moment, Zhen Ning spoke, his voice hoarse. “How long was I asleep?”

Yan Chengfeng’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “…Almost a full day.”

On the surface, he appeared calm.

But in truth, Zhen Ning had been unconscious for nearly an entire day and night, and no matter how hard Yan Chengfeng called out to him, he hadn’t woken up. Every second of that time had been pure panic for Yan Chengfeng.

It was his first time marking an omega.

And not just any omega—this was the person who had once been his most important friend, the person he both loved and hated. Even Yan Chengfeng himself couldn’t clearly articulate whether the resentment he had carried over the years outweighed the longing he could never bring himself to admit.

Back in the bathroom, the situation had been urgent, and then Zhen Ning had gone and added fuel to the fire by saying, “I have never regretted it.” Yan Chengfeng had been both angry and anxious, and in the end, he had finally made up his mind and bitten down.

The temporary mark was formed. But immediately after, the body in his arms had gone limp. When he looked down, Zhen Ning had already turned pale and lost consciousness.

Fortunately, Dr. Zheng returned from out of town that evening.

It seemed he hadn’t expected such a serious issue to arise during the short time he had been away.

After performing a basic physical examination on Zhen Ning, he sighed.

“There’s nothing serious—just a normal heat,” Dr. Zheng said. “But he’s been pushing himself too hard. With high-intensity training depleting both his physical and mental reserves, combined with an insufficient diet and lack of rest, it’s easy for his body to become overdrawn.”

The next second, Dr. Zheng seemed to pick up on something in the pheromones lingering in the air. His expression grew complicated as he glanced at Yan Chengfeng. “You two, this is…?”

Yan Chengfeng immediately understood what he meant and nodded stiffly.

Dr. Zheng froze for a moment before sighing and muttering, “Young people nowadays…” He then proceeded with a more detailed examination of Zhen Ning.

“…You bit down pretty hard.” Dr. Zheng was momentarily stunned. “You don’t actually need to bite that deep next time. As long as the pheromones enter the glands, it’s enough.”

Yan Chengfeng felt like he was about to catch fire. He stiffly nodded again, but his thoughts suddenly snagged on the phrase “next time.”

Would there be a next time?

And… would it still be him next time?

“But in any case, the temporary mark did its job in soothing and stabilizing him. Otherwise, this would have been much harder to get through.”

Looking at Yan Chengfeng, Dr. Zheng hesitated before adding, “However, a heat isn’t something that lasts just a single day—it’s a process. During this time, the omega’s pheromones will continue to fluctuate, so—”

Yan Chengfeng already knew what he was about to say.

“I know,” he replied hoarsely. “During this period, I’ll… I’ll stay with him.”

The word “stay” burned on his tongue, and even the tip of it trembled slightly as he spoke.

After Dr. Zheng left, Yan Chengfeng took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to Zhen Ning’s pale, peaceful face as he remained unconscious.

Why wasn’t he waking up?

Frustration churned inside him as he recalled how light Zhen Ning had been when he carried him out of the bathtub earlier, so light that he had felt like a weightless feather.

The thought only made Yan Chengfeng more irritated.

He started pacing furiously in the hallway outside the room. Every so often, he would return to the bedroom to check on Zhen Ning’s condition, then resume pacing. He repeated this routine countless times until Zhen Ning finally woke up.

After their brief exchange “How long was I asleep?” and “Almost a full day,” silence settled between them.

The air was quiet and delicate.

Zhen Ning leaned back against the headboard. After a long pause, he asked, “Tao Luo and the others—”

“For now, only Dr. Zheng and I know. Dr. Zheng will probably tell Li Feng, and Li Feng… will most likely come up with an excuse to brush them off.”

Yan Chengfeng added, “In any case, you don’t need to think about that right now. Just focus on resting.”

After a moment, he saw Zhen Ning give a very slight nod.

Was he… still feeling unwell? But what could I even do? Yan Chengfeng wondered, almost in a daze.

Recalling the word “stay” that he had said to Dr. Zheng earlier, Yan Chengfeng shuddered, barely perceptibly.

He had no idea what kind of relationship he and Zhen Ning had now. It was obvious they weren’t a couple, but due to some strange twist of fate, a subtle and awkward bond had formed between them.

Yan Chengfeng felt like he should say something.

But after holding it in for a long time, he couldn’t figure out what would be appropriate. Asking, “Are you still feeling unwell?” felt redundant.

“Do you need me to help with anything?” That seemed like a better question, but knowing Zhen Ning’s cold and tough personality, there was an 80% chance the answer would be “No.”

After fumbling for a long time, Yan Chengfeng finally blurted out stiffly, “Are… you hungry?”

He saw Zhen Ning freeze for a second.

“Dr. Zheng said your condition is special, and you need to replenish your energy.” Yan Chengfeng lowered his head. After a moment of hesitation, he added, “Is there anything you feel like eating? I… can go pick it up.”

“I don’t really have anything else to do right now,” he said dryly.

Zhen Ning gazed at Yan Chengfeng’s face in silence.

The boy who had once worn a carefree, proud smile had changed so much in these three years.

He had become awkward and sensitive, and Zhen Ning knew those changes were all because of him.

Now, Yan Chengfeng was like a hedgehog. The years they’d spent apart had made him put up sharp, bristling quills whenever he faced Zhen Ning again.

If Zhen Ning so much as took a single step back, Yan Chengfeng would instantly spiral into a more volatile stress response, his quills growing even sharper.

But deep down, he was still soft.

At certain moments, Yan Chengfeng would tentatively pull back those quills, if only for a short time, and clumsily express his concern, all while pretending to be indifferent. He thought this made him appear strong, as if he were shielding himself from being hurt again.

But if Yan Chengfeng truly didn’t care, if his hatred were as pure as he tried to make it seem, if those quills were really as hard and sharp as they appeared, then he wouldn’t be acting so conflicted now.

Zhen Ning remained silent for a long time, making Yan Chengfeng begin to second-guess himself.

He was really putting himself out there. He knew full well that Zhen Ning probably didn’t even want to see him right now and expected another flat rejection.

But after a moment, Zhen Ning blinked, turned his face to the side, and, unexpectedly, smiled faintly.

Yan Chengfeng froze, thinking he must have imagined it.

Zhen Ning was still visibly weak, curled up on the bed, his cheeks flushed, his smile barely there. But it was stunningly beautiful.

After a long pause, Yan Chengfeng finally heard Zhen Ning speak softly.

“Is Ah-Jiang’s Stir-fry… still open?”

–

Ah-Jiang’s Stir-fry, just about to close for the night, welcomed a hurried new customer.

Three years was enough to change a person, and it could certainly change a humble little eatery as well. The owner had changed, the decor was different, and even the cheap menu had been replaced. What used to be a menu hanging on the wall was now a QR code for ordering. Yan Chengfeng felt dazed.

Since Zhen Ning had left, he had never stepped foot in this place again.

In truth, he knew there was no reason to hold a grudge against food. But he just couldn’t bring himself to cross the threshold of the restaurant.

Now, after years away, the menu had undergone major changes. The dish names were strange and unfamiliar. Yan Chengfeng furrowed his brow as he stared at it for a long time before finally deciding to call over the waiter.

He didn’t have much of an appetite himself and was only here to order a meal for Zhen Ning.

Yan Chengfeng asked, “Do you… still serve the combo meal with twice-cooked pork and tomato tofu?”

The waiter: “Yes, we do.”

Yan Chengfeng pressed his lips together, hesitating before asking, “Could you separate the combo? Instead of the twice-cooked pork, just make it a large portion of tofu with rice?”

“That can be done.” The waiter’s expression was slightly odd as he looked at Yan Chengfeng. “But are you sure?”

Yan Chengfeng felt unsettled by the waiter’s look. “…What’s wrong?”

“Well, our chef hasn’t changed all these years, so if you’re an old customer, you probably remember that our tomato tofu is very mild in flavor,” the waiter explained with a smile. “Tofu doesn’t absorb much seasoning, so it’s mainly used to balance out the richness of the meat. If you order just tofu with rice, it might taste a bit bland. Would you like to add another dish to go with it?”

Bland? Yan Chengfeng froze.

Years ago, when they had eaten the combo meal together, Zhen Ning had never mentioned the word “bland.” What he had said was, “I don’t like eating meat,” and “The tofu is delicious.”

Yan Chengfeng murmured, still in a daze, “No need. I have a friend… who only likes your tofu.”

“Is that so? Alright, I’ll let the kitchen know.”

The waiter smiled as he jotted down the order, then joked casually, “Your friend has a pretty unique taste. Over the years, I’ve met plenty of customers who wanted to remove the tofu and just have the twice-cooked pork with rice, but I’ve never come across someone who wanted to remove the meat and have only tofu with rice…”

He spoke as he walked toward the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Yan Chengfeng sat at the table, his mind wandering. After a moment, his head snapped up sharply.

---

Author’s note:
Straight alpha’s sudden awareness