ISMW Chapter 20

Yun Xunlan didn’t think there was anything wrong with Yu Chen wanting to smell his pheromones, nor did he think there was anything inappropriate about letting Yu Chen smell them.

 

After all, both Yu Chen and he were alphas, and they weren’t gay. So if he wanted to smell, then let him smell—it’s not like smelling would turn them gay.

 

True good brothers could even bathe together naked. How was mutually smelling each other’s pheromones even comparable?

 

It was just that he exerted level suppression over Yu Chen, and Yun Xunlan was concerned that the pheromones released directly from his glands might have pressure that would make Yu Chen uncomfortable, which is why he chose the method of bodily fluid diffusion.

 

After piercing his new ear hole, Yun Xunlan glanced at the blood stains on his fingertips and carelessly took some paper to wipe them away. However, his light brain on his right wrist was very concerned: “The light brain has detected localized bleeding points on your body. Do you need a doctor to be called to bandage the wound? If no response within ten seconds, it will be considered as consent. Ten, nine, eight…”

 

“Not needed.”

 

Why bandage such a small wound? Yun Xunlan helplessly interrupted the light brain’s countdown, crumpled the paper into a ball in his palm, and directed his gaze toward Yu Chen: “Can you smell it? My pheromones.”

 

He heard the alpha’s voice seem even hoarser: “I can smell it.”

 

Yun Xunlan curiously asked him: “Is it like Elianxia’s ice cream?”

 

Yu Chen said: “Not anymore.”

 

The young man let out a long “Ah” upon hearing this, his tone somewhat surprised: “It’s not?”

 

Yu Chen gazed at those golden eyes and slowly nodded: “It’s not.”

 

That ice cream he had melted on his tongue was cold, its scent was also cold, but Yun Xunlan’s pheromones were scorching hot.

 

“Not at all?” The silver-haired alpha was still puzzled. He even leaned his body slightly toward Yu Chen, inviting the other alpha to smell his pheromones. “Check again to be sure.”

 

“Yun Xunlan.”

 

For the first time in front of the young man, Yu Chen called his name in full: “Just give me the paper in your hand. It also has your pheromones on it.”

 

Yun Xunlan lowered his eyes to look at the paper ball in his palm, just about to tell Yu Chen that this was garbage he was planning to throw away, when he noticed the car had stopped. At the same time, Ni Chun’s voice came through the car speaker: “Your Highness, we’ve arrived.”

 

But Yu Chen didn’t move. He stayed in place like a lazy, slack employee, or like a heretic deviating from norms with ulterior motives, extending his palm toward Yun Xunlan, looking at him and calling him directly by name: “Yun Xunlan, give it to me.”

 

In this moment, the identities of superior and subordinate seemed to reverse.

 

Yu Chen became the one holding power and control.

 

His tone was forceful, his manner commanding. All his actions could be called presumptuous and insolent. Every word he uttered was filled with strong aggression, permeated with the hostility of a top-tier alpha toward his own kind during a susceptibility period—he was suppressing Yun Xunlan, yet also continuing to test him.

 

As a prince of the Galactic Empire and a top-tier alpha with powerful pressure, Yun Xunlan shouldn’t, needn’t, and couldn’t be suppressed by an alpha of a lower level than himself.

 

Yun Xunlan should resist, should be furious, should rebuke his insolence and arrogance.

 

Yet Yun Xunlan did none of these things.

 

But he also didn’t show submissiveness or docility in front of Yu Chen.

 

He simply pressed the door button himself, opened the car door, got out, and gently waved to Ni Chun and Lodi who were waiting outside: “You all may go. Let Yu Chen escort me back to my sleeping palace.”

 

“Yes.” Hearing this, Ni Chun and Lodi glanced at Yu Chen and then left.

 

Yu Chen silently followed behind Yun Xunlan.

 

The paper ball was still held in the young man’s palm. After walking a few steps, the silver-haired alpha suddenly stopped in front of a cluster of flowers and said: “My blood is special. Any object contaminated with it needs to be destroyed, so I can’t give you this paper.”

 

After speaking, the handsome alpha bent slightly forward, his silver hair swaying behind him with a silk-like luster in the moonlight.

 

Yu Chen saw him pick a budding lychee rose and hand it to him, golden eyes brimming with gentle smiles: “But this is almost identical to my pheromones. Yu Chen, use it to confirm.”

 

This rose was eventually taken back to the dormitory by Yu Chen.

 

Again, he didn’t turn on the lights, only opened the window and sat against the wall, looking at the rose in his hand, ruminating over every conversation he had with Yun Xunlan tonight, pondering the hidden mysteries in those conversations, and speculating on Yun Xunlan’s intentions when he spoke them.

 

However, unlike before, this time, Yu Chen had figured out the answer.

 

Although this answer was incredible.

 

So absurd that he had ruled it out when he first met Yun Xunlan.

 

But there is only one truth in this world. When you have eliminated all impossible situations, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.①

 

Yu Chen stared at the frail, thin rose in the center of his palm, his fingertips slowly caressing the cold stem, as if stroking someone’s slender neck.

 

But he also felt that person’s nape should be warm, and if bitten, one could feel the pulse throbbing as if struggling.

 

This association made the alpha’s canine teeth, which during the susceptibility period craved more than usual to pierce glands and mark, increasingly itch.

 

However, in Yu Chen’s bedroom, there was only a rose that couldn’t be marked.

 

Fearing the rose might wither prematurely without careful care and treatment, he took his regular drinking cup, put the rose in it, then found and wore his alpha bite inhibitor, gave himself an injection of third-generation alpha susceptibility period suppressant, and finally crouched by the table. In the midst of the strong nausea and dizzy vertigo brought on by the suppressant’s side effects, he continued to stare at the rose in the water cup.

 

“Beep beep—”

 

The communication alert from the light brain interrupted Yu Chen’s appreciation of the roses.

 

“Speak,” Yu Chen answered the call, his voice low and hoarse, unlike his usual self, but the impatient tone was quite characteristic.

 

Pei Xingting looked down at the name on the contact, confirming he hadn’t dialed the wrong number before asking, “What’s wrong with your voice?”

 

Yu Chen replied, “Susceptibility period.”

 

Pei Xingting found it strange: “Your pheromones are out of balance?”

 

Yu Chen’s susceptibility period wasn’t supposed to be recently. How did he suddenly enter a susceptibility period? Or was he stimulated by something?

 

However, as soon as he asked, Pei Xingting immediately remembered the special nature of tonight: “Oh, you saw the SSS mechand Manyuin Hurst, right?”

 

“I saw them,” Yu Chen said, “but the SSS mechthat appeared tonight was just a projection. The physical form is currently unknown.”

 

“Great! We weren’t wrong in our bet. Manyuin Hurst’s birthday gift to Yun Xunlan was indeed the SSS mecha!” Pei Xingting’s tone was very excited. “Next, what you need to do is find a way to gain the Third Prince’s favor, earn his trust, and get him to agree to let you activate the SSS mechonce. Hmm… I know this is a bit difficult, after all, you alphas all like to treat mechas as your wives, and the Third Prince’s is a top-tier 3S wife… So if he really doesn’t agree, we’ll still find a way to activate it secretly in private.”

 

Yu Chen found Pei Xingting amusing: “A mechis just a mecha, how is it a wife?”

 

Pei Xingting felt that Yu Chen saying such things was even more amusing: “Comet-S7 is still your baby, so why can’t a mechbe the Third Prince’s wife?”

 

“Alright, alright, it’s a wife, it’s a wife,” Yu Chen glanced at the roses again, too lazy to argue with Pei Xingting. “Jian Xingchen is his wife.”

 

Pei Xingting: “Jian Xingchen?”

 

Yu Chen: “The name of Yun Xunlan’s wife.”

 

Pei Xingting joked with Yu Chen: “Then his wife’s name is a bit similar to yours.”

 

Yu Chen raised an eyebrow at this remark, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and only asked: “Pei Xingting, you remember when Yun Xunlan asked you to reset the heartbeat monitoring system on his light brain bracelet, right?”

 

Pei Xingting said: “Of course I remember.”

 

“Yun Xunlan said those two instances of rapid heartbeat were because he encountered something that made him happy, so you speculated that he might have someone he likes, or he might be in a relationship.” Yu Chen paused slightly. “So, is he actually… in a relationship?”

 

“Why are you asking this?” Pei Xingting was suspicious and recited Yu Chen’s own words back to him: “Didn’t you say you weren’t interested in or concerned about his emotional status, and that whether he’s in a relationship or not doesn’t greatly affect our plans?”

 

“No,” Yu Chen changed his stance, “Now it has a big impact, and I must pay attention to it.”

 

Pei Xingting asked him: “How could this affect anything? It’s not like he’s dating you.”

 

That might not necessarily be true.

 

—Yu Chen now seriously suspected that Yun Xunlan wanted to date him.

 

But for now, it was just a suspicion without solid evidence, so Yu Chen couldn’t say it outright.

 

“…Don’t ask, it involves military secrets,” he casually made up an excuse to brush it off. “You just need to tell me the answer.”

 

Pei Xingting then replied: “As far as I know… no, but he probably wants to.”

 

Pei Xingting said the last sentence with great certainty.

 

Yu Chen pressed further: “What clues led you to this conclusion? Is it just the rapid heartbeat? You must have other arguments you haven’t mentioned.”

 

“Don’t ask, it involves medical confidentiality,” Pei Xingting retorted, using Yu Chen’s words from a few seconds ago. “You just need to hear the result from me.”

 

Yu Chen: “…”

 

He gritted his teeth: “Fine, we’re both quite ‘fine’ then.”

 

“If it’s fine, I’m hanging up. I’m going to sleep with my wife. Since you’re so concerned about the Third Prince’s emotional status now, I’ll let you know when he starts dating someone. Just wait for the notification.”

 

With that, Pei Xingting immediately ended the communication, as decisively as an HR rejecting an applicant, clearly getting revenge for Yu Chen hanging up on him earlier.

 

“…Damn it.”

 

Yu Chen cursed softly, thinking to himself that while he might not have known if Yun Xunlan had been dating anyone before, he, as the person directly involved, knew best who Yun Xunlan wanted to date next. Did he really need to wait for an outsider to notify him?

 

—Yes, Yu Chen had figured it out. Yun Xunlan’s repeated attempts to meet him alone under various pretexts, the cryptic things he said during their meetings, his insincere praise for Yu Chen’s “vow,” inviting him to smell his pheromones… All these strange behaviors and ambiguous words pointed to one answer:

 

He had successfully caught Yun Xunlan’s attention, and Yun Xunlan was very interested in him.

 

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