Half-awake, half-asleep, Shi Qi felt something brushing between his legs.
It was as if he were submerged in warm water; a tingling sensation climbed up from the soles of his feet. Shi Qi’s toes curled involuntarily, and his body tensed in an instant as if struck by electricity.
“Mm…!”
He let out a muffled groan as he opened his eyes, his flushed face showing a dazed expression.
Shi Qi looked down a beat later. The thin blanket had been pushed aside. Shang Sui was kneeling on the bed, his lips parted, his expression infatuated as he gazed up at him.
Shi Qi exclaimed in disbelief, “What are you doing… uh!”
But soon, he was pulled into the whirlpool once again.
In a haze, Shi Qi saw Shang Sui’s bright red lips and tongue, reminding him of a glistening, ripe pomegranate split at the edge, its juice dripping down.
Shang Sui asked in a muffled voice, “Does it feel good?”
Shi Qi didn’t respond, looking as if he had gone completely blank.
Shang Sui’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.
The Alpha greedily licked his fingertips, swallowing the faint scent of lily of the valley lingering on them. Watching the trembling Shi Qi, he spoke lazily, “Seems like the master is very satisfied with my service.”
A long while later, Shi Qi finally found his voice.
“Not bad.”
He answered reservedly, though the trembling at the end of his words made it not very convincing, “Why didn’t you spit it out?”
Shang Sui looked pleased, “Isn’t that my breakfast?”
“…”
Shi Qi’s ears grew hotter and hotter as he reached out and tugged on the chain hanging from the Alpha’s collar. “Come wash up.”
He was clearly not very steady on his feet. Shang Sui let him tug him along like walking a dog, following him step by step.
At the washstand, Shi Qi splashed cold water on his face, yet the heat on his cheeks didn’t subside.
He lifted his eyes slightly to glance at the person beside him. Shang Sui was washing his face and brushing his teeth, and Shi Qi’s gaze subconsciously drifted to his bright red lips.
He really wanted to kiss him.
Ever since his rut began, he and Shang Sui had been tangled together every day. Yesterday, Shi Qi had completely run out of strength, and Shang Sui hadn’t done anything else, just held him and kissed him from head to toe.
The day before yesterday, were they doing it?
How long had it been since the day of the proposal?
…
Shang Sui turned his face and saw Shi Qi staring at him in a daze.
He lowered his head and leaned in, “Want a kiss?”
Shi Qi snapped out of it as if waking from a dream, eagerly leaning forward, their cool breaths intertwining.
But Shang Sui stopped at the last moment. His fox-like eyes narrowed slightly, gradually revealing a violent, beast-like ferocity, and his pheromones overflowed uncontrollably.
“What’s wrong?”
Shang Sui muttered, “Wandering around nearby early in the morning, how annoying.”
Seeing the confusion on Shi Qi’s face, he quickly returned to his gentle and patient demeanor, “I’ll go take care of it. Wait for me.”
A faint heat surged from deep within his body, his limbs seemed to lose strength, and Shi Qi absentmindedly nodded.
A suspicion surfaced in his mind, but the next second, he felt it was too exaggerated.
It couldn’t be happening so soon, right? He had just gone through his heat not long ago.
Shang Sui went downstairs to the living room and directly pushed open the door.
The bodyguards had been about to ring the bell, but the moment the door opened, their expressions changed dramatically.
Even without deliberately releasing pheromones to suppress them, an Alpha in rut exuded a suffocating sense of oppression, like a storm brewing on the horizon.
One, two, three… Shang Sui’s gaze swept over the five bodyguards present, noticing that the leader was still a familiar face. “What is it?”
“Sorry to disturb you.” The man’s face was pale as he stepped forward. “Madam asked us to check on your condition.”
“I’m fine, you can leave now.”
Under immense pressure, the bodyguard met his gaze. After a slight hesitation, he braced himself and spoke the real reason for their visit. “We also need to check on the other one’s condition.”
Bringing up his Omega in front of an Alpha during rut was no different from a provocation. Any Alpha hearing that would be furious, some even to the point of attacking on the spot.
Let alone Shang Sui had a special rut. The fact that he could still stand there and communicate with them was practically a miracle.
Moments later, Shang Sui suddenly let out a low laugh.
Cold sweat dripped down the bodyguard’s forehead. “We just need to see him… no, he doesn’t even have to show his face, just a phone call will do! It’s been five days already, Madam is really worried about him—”
“Am I being too easy to talk to?”
Shang Sui’s overflowing pheromones surged like a volcano on the verge of eruption, pressing down recklessly the moment his words fell!
The bodyguards surrounding him were forced to retreat repeatedly, some so overwhelmed they couldn’t even stand steadily.
“Shang Sui?”
A clean voice suddenly shattered the standoff. The Omega stood at the stairway, dressed in an oversized shirt and pants, exposing a section of fair, slender neck.
Compared to the oppressive atmosphere, his whole person seemed to be glowing.
The moment his name was called, the Alpha instantly retracted his raging pheromones, like a wind-up toy that had been switched off.
“You saw him, right? Go back and report.”
Shang Sui looked calmly at the lead bodyguard, appearing even more terrifying than before. Perhaps due to the overwhelming psychological pressure, the bodyguard mistakenly thought Shang Sui intended to gouge his eyes out.
But in the end, Shang Sui simply closed the door.
“Who were those people outside?”
Shi Qi had sensed the riotous pheromones upstairs, and when he came downstairs, he saw a group of people slumped crookedly around outside.
“People from home came to check on the situation.”
The one leading them was a bodyguard from Shang Yao’s side, someone he was fairly familiar with, and it seemed they had rushed over from the capital overnight.
Why these people had suddenly appeared here was not within his range of concern for now. The unpleasant smell lingered at the tip of his nose, and Shang Sui frowned, showing a look of disgust.
Several of them had been Alphas just now. During rut, one was extremely sensitive to pheromones, and smelling the scent of other Alphas irritated and unsettled him. “They stink. Hurry and give me a hug—”
Shi Qi noticed the chain swaying around his neck and couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for him. “You went to see people looking like that?”
Shang Sui’s attention wasn’t on that at all. He hugged Shi Qi and obsessively pressed his face to his fragrant neck. “It smells so good. I really like you.”
Feeling him rubbing against him like a dog, even trying to lick him, Shi Qi stood still where he was.
After a moment, Shi Qi hummed softly.
Before Shang Sui could go even further, Shi Qi thought of something. “Does your phone still have battery? I want to make a call.”
Hearing that he wanted to contact the outside world, Shang Sui pretended not to hear, clinging to him without moving.
Shi Qi patted him.
Reluctantly, Shang Sui handed over the phone that had been left by the entrance.
Shi Qi’s own phone had been off for two days, and Shang Sui’s phone only had the last bit of battery left. Seeing the date, Shi Qi nearly thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
It had actually been five whole days.
He was just as dazed during his last heat. When he was with Shang Sui, it felt like there were only the two of them left in the world, completely unable to sense the passage of time.
Shi Qi glanced through the contacts and chose to call Shen Qianyu.
The call was picked up after only two rings, Shen Qianyu’s rarely anxious voice coming through, “Shang Sui, you finally—”
“It’s Shi Qi.”
There was a pause on the other end, followed by a few hurried words. Shi Qi hesitated and turned back to look at the man clinging to him. “Shen Qianyu told me to stay away from you.”
“…”
“…”
Both Alphas on either end of the call fell silent.
Shen Qianyu hadn’t expected Shi Qi to be so blunt, unsure whether to say he was careless or simply trusted Shang Sui too much.
As expected, Shang Sui clung to him even tighter. “No, no, I don’t want to be separated from you.”
“Wait for me.” Shi Qi ruthlessly pried him off, and seeing that he still wanted to come over, temporarily muted the microphone.
He hesitated for a moment, then leaned in and lightly pecked the corner of Shang Sui’s lips. “Be good.”
Shang Sui’s fingers instinctively touched the spot where he had been kissed.
He finally backed off, reluctantly saying, “Hurry up, okay?”
Shi Qi walked alone to the study on the first floor and unmuted the microphone. “Can you hear me?”
“Shang Sui is in rut now.” Shen Qianyu had been breaking out in cold sweat for Shi Qi just now, and only relaxed when he heard his voice. “It’s different from usual. You can’t trust him too much.”
Before Shi Qi could say anything, Shen Qianyu changed the subject. “Forget it, as long as you’re okay. Shang Sui’s rut usually lasts around five days. I returned to the capital three days ago, and to be safe, I sent people to Yishan yesterday to check on the situation.”
Shi Qi suddenly remembered something.
At almost the exact same moment, Shen Qianyu said, “That person saw the wristband being thrown into the garden.”
“We thought that Shang Sui had…” Shen Qianyu skipped over the cruder wording. “I notified Ms. Yu and Mr. Shang. They were very worried and sent people to Qijiang overnight. They’ve wrapped up work and should be on a flight to Qijiang by now. They also contacted your family.”
Shi Qi finally realized why there had been a group of bodyguards outside first thing in the morning.
Things had spiraled in an unexpected direction. He quickly explained, “I was the one who threw the wristband.”
“…”
Shi Qi felt a bit guilty. “Sorry, I didn’t think it would cause such a big mess.”
Shen Qianyu stayed quiet for a while, trying to process this news. “I didn’t think this through. I never expected you would…”
When he heard the wristband had been thrown away, his first reaction was that Shang Sui had lost control during his rut and forcibly discarded the wristband.
Without a safety mechanism, Shi Qi might have been tormented to the point of being half-dead. It would be considered lucky if he could make it out alive.
He had considered every possibility, except the one where Shi Qi had been the one to throw the wristband.
Shen Qianyu thought to himself: You two really are a match made in heaven. When you go crazy, you’re just as bad as he is.
“It’s fine as long as you’re okay. I’ll explain the situation to them.”
After finishing his explanation, Shen Qianyu added sincerely, “You’re really impressive.”
As Shi Qi was making a phone call, someone silently approached the study.
Three minutes and thirty-seven seconds, thirty-eight seconds… Why isn’t it over yet?
With Shi Qi around earlier, Shang Sui had managed to maintain a barely stable state. But the moment he could no longer smell the Omega’s scent, it felt like withdrawal.
His perception of the world fractured, broken into distorted blocks of color, like spilled paint. Only where Shi Qi was did things feel real.
He wanted to let loose so badly.
Shang Sui forced himself to suppress the urge to destroy. His fingers gripped the edge of the wooden cabinet until he realized he was about to crush it, and quickly let go.
If he lost control without holding back, he’d look like a lunatic.
His reason and instincts wrestled back and forth. His eyes burned from the strain, and the wild, unstable aura around him made him seem like a trapped beast in a cage.
As soon as Shi Qi stepped out of the study, he saw Shang Sui standing silently in the corner, half his face swallowed in shadow.
He quickly understood why Shang Sui looked so reactive and couldn’t help but laugh. He asked knowingly, “Are you upset?”
“I don’t want you talking to other people. I don’t want them looking at your face.”
Shang Sui spoke with a muffled nasal tone, his hoarse voice particularly alluring.
Shi Qi paused, then moved closer without thinking. “You really do look wronged.”
Shang Sui grabbed his hand, as if both acting spoiled and pleading. “Don’t hate me.”
“You’re in your rut. Intense emotions tend to get amplified. It’s perfectly normal.” Shi Qi paused briefly. “But more importantly…”
The scent of lily of the valley floated through the air. The originally clean and gentle fragrance grew increasingly humid, revealing a clinging sweetness unlike usual.
Earlier, overwhelmed by emotion, Shang Sui hadn’t noticed the change. Now, seeing it, he asked in surprise, “Are you…?”
Catching the discomfort in Shi Qi’s expression, Shang Sui was certain of his guess.
Shi Qi’s heat had only recently passed. It was more likely that the extreme stimulation over the past few days had triggered the strongest possible physiological response.
The thought that Shi Qi was also starting to lose control stirred something in Shang Sui. Without realizing it, he tightened his hold, wanting to draw him into his arms.
“Your rut still hasn’t ended. It’s because you haven’t been fully satisfied, isn’t it?” Shi Qi suddenly changed the subject, pointing out his condition with sharp precision.
Unlike most Alphas, Shang Sui’s rut could only end when he was either completely satiated or utterly exhausted.
But five days had already passed with no sign of relief. It was hard not to call that greedy.
Shang Sui quietly admitted, “As long as it doesn’t end, you’ll keep staying with me.”
Shi Qi looked at him for a long moment.
Shang Sui felt unsure, uncertain whether he was about to grow impatient.
“There’s a way we can both return to normal soon.” Shi Qi said slowly, enunciating each word, “Let’s make a permanent mark.”
Shang Sui’s pupils contracted. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming.
Struck by overwhelming joy, he froze and instinctively murmured, “But… we haven’t even gotten married yet…”
“If you dare not marry me, I swear I’ll kill you,” Shi Qi said, his whole body going limp. His face was unnaturally flushed, but his voice rang out clear as ever.
Before Shang Sui could react, Shi Qi added, “Until the glandular degeneration is cured, I won’t get pregnant.”
Only a permanent mark could heal his glandular illness.
Until then, even if his reproductive cavity was completely filled, he wouldn’t conceive. There would be no need for protection—they could complete the mark freely.
Understanding the implication, Shang Sui’s gaze darkened.
All hesitation vanished from his face. His voice trembled slightly, revealing uncontrollable excitement. “You’ve really decided?”
Shi Qi was direct. “To the bed.”
The two of them tugged and pushed their way upstairs. Shang Sui kicked open the bedroom door and laid Shi Qi down on the bed.
He had cleaned the room earlier and changed into fresh linens, but there was still a faint trace of the previous intimacy in the air.
The scent seemed to stimulate Shi Qi. As soon as they entered, he pressed himself against Shang Sui. Seeing him reach for the collar around his neck, Shang Sui cooperated and lowered his head.
Just as Shi Qi grabbed the leash, Shang Sui placed his hand on Shi Qi’s waist. “Want to get on?”
Shi Qi had never done anything like this before. After a brief pause, he bent his knees and sat atop the Alpha’s firm waist. “I’ll give it a try.”
The small red mole at the base of the Omega’s thigh looked like a cherry nestled atop whipped cream. Shi Qi’s cheeks were just as red as that rouge-colored mark—whether from heat or something else was unclear.
Noticing Shi Qi subtly shifting his posture in discomfort, Shang Sui teased mischievously, “Master, can you be a little gentler with me?”
Shi Qi lowered his gaze and saw the pale neck of the Alpha encircled by a pitch-black collar, the corners of his eyes tinged with a decadent flush of red.
His heartbeat quickened uncontrollably. Shi Qi grabbed the leash. “Depends on my mood.”
As if realizing that, as the one in control, he ought to take a bit more initiative, Shi Qi hesitated briefly, then mimicked Shang Sui’s usual manner, lowering his head to peck lightly at his lips.
The soft contact felt like being licked by a small animal. Shang Sui chuckled, and the vibration in his chest made even Shi Qi feel the tremor.
Before Shi Qi could react in embarrassment and irritation, Shang Sui suddenly said, “Let me tell you something.”
“Alphas in special rut periods are assigned a legal guarantor. Once married, their Omega partner automatically becomes their primary guarantor, above all others.”
“I’ve heard about that.” Shi Qi’s fingers gently brushed against Shang Sui’s heavy eyelashes, like touching the wings of a beautiful butterfly. Yet his words carried a threat, “So you’d better listen to me. If not, I’ll send you straight to a holding facility.”
“Of course.” Shang Sui smiled and wrapped his long, slender fingers around Shi Qi’s slim waist. “But what I really wanted to say is—there’s a reason why marriage takes precedence over any other relationship. It’s because during the special rut, an Alpha can only recognize a single pheromone.”
During these special ruts, an Alpha could still perceive both Alpha and Omega pheromones, but would be immune to all of them.
Yet once bonded with an Omega, a curious natural law would take effect: the special rut would no longer remain an exception outside the three genders, but instead permanently tethered to that Omega’s pheromones, with even less resistance than an ordinary Alpha.
“If we make a permanent mark. I’ll recognize only you. Every rut from now on, I’ll need your pheromones to calm down, or I won’t be able to get through it.”
Without the presence of the Omega with the permanent mark, even if an Alpha endured their rut to the point of total exhaustion, they would only wake up in a hypersensitive and volatile state, utterly out of control.
Shi Qi pressed, “If your rut never ends, what happens to you?”
“If it happens too many times, I’ll die.”
Shi Qi opened his mouth, wanting to say he had never heard of such a case.
But he quickly realized: for a special-rut Alpha, to form a permanent mark with someone meant placing their life in that person’s hands. Of course it would be kept secret.
In other words, he and Shang Sui were mutually marked.
“Do you want to?” Shi Qi’s heart was pounding faster and faster. “Mark me.”
“More than anything.”
“Then I’ll tell you a secret too.” Shi Qi locked eyes with him. “Because of my glandular degeneration, my permanent mark can’t be removed. I can only recognize you.”
He felt Shang Sui’s body go taut in an instant, his breath cut short, obviously overwhelmed.
Shi Qi gradually tightened the leash in his hand, his angelic, innocent face curving with a faint smile. “If we ever separate, neither of us will be okay.”
The scent of lily of the valley entwined intimately with the sweetness of honey. In Shang Sui’s eyes, Shi Qi saw the same thrill that burned in his own.
“Sounds perfect.” Shang Sui smiled as well. “Let’s stay tangled up like this forever.”
Author’s note: I can’t handle it, babies 
