The medical school experimental building was stocked with numerous medical supplies. Jiang Chicheng said he would take him to get some gauze and change his bandages that night. Shiye, with one hand unable to manage pulling down his pants to use the restroom, had hardly eaten anything all day. Finally, he made it to the evening, eating at the school cafeteria with Jiang Chicheng.
Shiye was starving and ordered a bowl of small wontons, a serving of grilled cold noodles, two meat-filled buns, and four pan-fried buns. Jiang Chicheng, however, seemed to be on a diet or something, only ordering a salad and two eggs.
Jiang Chicheng finished his meal quickly. Shiye struggled to use chopsticks and a spoon with his left hand, so he kept directing Jiang Chicheng—asking him to scoop some soup, then a wonton, and then a piece of grilled cold noodles. It was too hot, so he had to blow on it first.
Jiang Chicheng was quite obedient, occasionally checking if Shiye's hand was okay. Shiye guessed this was out of guilt, so he accepted the feeding while watching the new inspirational idol drama on the big screen, feeling increasingly at ease.
After they finished eating and stepped outside, it had just rained last night, and the temperature dropped today. Many couples were cuddling on the streets, with some already wearing sweaters and tucking their partner's hands into their pockets.
Shiye glanced at the couples, then at the cold, hard alpha beside him, sighed, and quietly stuffed his hands into his pockets.
Noticing Shiye staring at the couples, Jiang Chicheng nudged his arm, asking, “Want to hold hands?”
Shiye hesitated, nodding awkwardly, “I do.”
Jiang Chicheng smiled, “Then let’s hold hands.”
Shiye looked at him, feeling a bit shy. “Is that appropriate...?”
Jiang Chicheng replied, “What’s wrong with that? It’s just practice.”
Shiye turned his head back to the couple, “But their boyfriend is right there. If I want to hold hands, they wouldn’t allow it.”
Jiang Chicheng said, “Tsk... If they won’t let you, I will.”
“Ah?” Shiye turned back in surprise, “Do you know him?”
Jiang Chicheng almost laughed out of exasperation. “Sometimes I really wonder what’s going on in your head.”
Shiye shot him a glare. “Why are you cursing all of a sudden?”
“Just stretch out your hand.” Jiang Chicheng stopped in front of a cluster of maple trees, where the streetlight was obscured by the leaves, making the light a bit dim.
“What are you doing?”
Shiye thought he was going to give him something, so he extended his left hand, palm up.
Instead, Jiang Chicheng just placed his hand on top, interlocking their fingers, and then let their joined hands hang down as he took long strides.
Shiye was being pulled forward, looking up to see Jiang Chicheng's light golden hair tied into a small bun. A maple leaf floated down, landing perfectly on his shoulder.
Shiye took a quick step to help him brush it off.
“Oh.”
“So, you meant to hold hands?”
“I thought you really knew so many people.”
Jiang Chicheng: “………………”
---
The experimental building has a treatment room, which is simpler than in a hospital, but it's enough to deal with Shiye's hand.
Jiang Chicheng made him sit on the bed, removed the gauze to take a look. Thanks to the medication, the swelling in his fingers had decreased somewhat; it no longer looked as frightening as yesterday, but there was still a buildup of bruising under the nails and on the fingertips.
He soaked a towel in hot water and placed it on Shiye's hand, gently massaging the bruise through the towel with his thumb.
At first, Shiye winced in pain, but as the pain became numbing, he started to feel a bit better and engaged in some light conversation.
“Your sister is coming to see me tomorrow, you know?”
Jiang Chicheng could easily guess what he was thinking, so he added a bit of hot water and re-wet the towel, covering it again. “Yeah, you've missed work for two days this week; I’ll have to stay in the lab all day tomorrow.”
Shiye nodded, patting his head. “You're quite responsible.”
Jiang Chicheng dodged his hand, and Shiye recalled something. He said, “Your sister also mentioned that you have to do all the housework this month.”
Jiang Chicheng lowered his head and muttered an “uh-huh.”
Shiye was surprised to find it was true and grinned widely. “I see our place is a bit messy; you should clean up a bit tonight. Wipe the windows and the dust on top of the TV.”
“Okay.”
“And wash the cat bowl, change the cat litter, and give Feifei and the others a bath. Trim their nails, brush their teeth, especially the ones with bad breath that love to lick. Make them smell nice. Before heading out, put Beibei, CC, and Huahua—the ones who love to steal stuff—on the balcony.”
Jiang Chicheng fell silent for a moment, then looked up. “Since it’s for my sister, what do I need you for?”
Shiye thought this made sense; saying he liked someone but not helping out when it was time to work was indeed too dismissive.
He thought for a moment. “I’ll sweep the floor and organize things?”
Jiang Chicheng shook his head, drying his hands and squeezing out some ointment onto a cotton swab. “You stay here with me; however long I work, you keep me company.”
Shiye was momentarily stunned, then rolled his eyes. He muttered to himself, “Other people don’t need company while they work. Only you Alphas refuse to let anyone relax while you’re working. It’s like a spoiled little baby; if they open their eyes, forget about getting anything done. You can only revolve around them, and they’re satisfied only if all your energy is focused on them… Ah!”
Jiang Chicheng pinched his arm. “So you can’t help but spill everything on your mind?”
Shiye pouted, even more disdainful.
Can’t even say what’s on my mind.
After changing the medicine, Jiang Chicheng had to head to the lab, sending Shiye home first.
When he got home at 10:30, Jiang Chicheng caught a faint scent of lavender laundry detergent. Looking at the balcony, all the clothes were washed and hung up, and the floors were swept and mopped clean. He frowned slightly and changed into slippers before entering.
Shiye was wearing a long-sleeve pajamas, sitting on the carpet with his back against the sofa, his head tilted against the cushion, sound asleep.
Jiang Chicheng took off his coat and squatted down, noticing the nail clippers thrown beside him. He picked it up and placed it on the sofa.
Shiye probably had just taken a shower; his hair was still damp, and his face had a slight flush from the steam.
“Shiye?”
Jiang Chicheng tentatively called out. Shiye remained asleep, his breathing steady and long, his head tilted at an angle, his neck exposed carelessly to the air.
Jiang Chicheng pressed his lips together, leaned down slightly, and grasped the back of Shiye's collar to sniff. There was a faint citrus scent.
His eyelashes trembled slightly, and amber eyes focused on the smooth, exposed skin of the nape of Shiye’s neck. Suddenly, he relaxed his grip on the collar, and his thumb gently brushed over that skin.
There were no glands there, and it wasn’t as sensitive as an omega, so even when touched, there was little reaction—just a slight shake of the head as if trying to shake off something from his neck.
An alpha was not satisfied with this response, and his thumb and forefinger pinched the soft flesh, rubbing back and forth, slowly increasing the pressure, and following the spinal bone a little higher, approaching the densely packed neurons of the cerebral cortex.
Shiye suddenly shuddered, furrowing his brow, mumbling, “Um… take it away…”
Jiang Chicheng let go, watching as Shiye's breathing became steady and deep again. He stood up to get a blanket from the bedroom, covering him with it, turned off the living room light, and entered the bathroom.
He tore off the gland patch and tossed it into the trash, then lifted his hand to gently stroke that soft, sensitive area. The skin under his palm felt slightly hot, and he could feel deep within him the bubbling sensation, like boiling water surging outward.
According to the medical report, unless something unexpected happened, he would enter his last susceptibility period of the year in half a month.
The alpha susceptibility period isn’t as frequent as the omega estrus period. It only occurs twice a year, and depending on the level of pheromones in the body, the intensity and duration of the susceptibility period vary. Usually, it lasts three to four days.
Jiang Chicheng suspected that he had delayed his differentiation too long, causing a buildup. Every susceptibility period hit him hard and lasted nearly a week. No matter how expensive the suppressants he took, the effect was minimal. It wasn't an exaggeration to say he was tortured to the point of peeling skin every time.
His father favored Jiang Chizao early on and rarely took care of him, while their omega father couldn’t stand to see his younger son in so much pain. He began preparing for an engagement before Jiang Chicheng even reached the legal marrying age.
As long as there was an omega to help soothe him, the pain during the susceptibility period would be greatly reduced. The soothing methods generally fell into three categories: soothing pheromones, temporary marking, and lifelong marking.
No matter which method is used, it will create dependency.
Deep down, Jiang Chicheng still held onto his white moonlight, and his temper was stubborn. He would rather suffer than mark an omega, but his father was equally stubborn. The two had been at an impasse for nearly a year. When Zhou Zhou returned to the country and both families prepared for the engagement, Jiang Chicheng fled again, completely falling out with his father, who angrily declared he would no longer care for him.
Days were quickly approaching.
But this time was different; this time, the person he had been thinking of was right by his side and had promised him in black and white to accompany him through the susceptibility period.
---
Shiye woke up the next morning after sleeping on the carpet in the living room. His back was sore, and his neck felt a bit stiff, but thankfully, Jiang Chicheng had the decency to cover him with a blanket, so he wouldn’t catch a cold.
Shiye looked over at the white Persian cat circling him and reached out. “Feifei, come here.”
Its fluffy tail swayed like a feather duster as it walked over. Shiye picked it up and began inspecting Jiang Chicheng's work from last night.
He sniffed the fur; it smelled nice. Looking at its paws, they were all clean and pink. He opened its mouth to sniff; there was no bad smell.
Very satisfactory. After tossing the cat aside, he got up to tidy himself. After washing his face, he secretly used Jiang Chicheng's lotion. Although it didn’t seem to make much difference.
Xiaomai said she would come around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. When the doorbell rang, Shiye was busy putting a little hat on the cat. He put the cat down and opened the door, only to be greeted by a bouquet of pink carnations filling his vision.
Shiye widened his eyes, taking a step back in a bit of confusion, as the bouquet followed right into his arms. He wanted to retreat again, but behind the flowers appeared a pair of crescent-shaped eyes.
“Here you go.”
Shiye dazedly reached out. “This... this is for me?”
Xiaomai nodded, skillfully stepping inside and bending down to change into the guest slippers. “I passed a flower shop on the way here and wrapped it myself. Pretty, right?”
“Pretty.”
Shiye lowered his head to sniff it, feeling a bit embarrassed. He never expected that in his life, he would receive flowers, let alone from an omega first.
“This is the first time I’ve ever received flowers... What kind of flowers are these?”
“These are carnations. Their language represents warm blessings and love.” Xiaomai said while holding another bag of things, she walked around the room and placed her items in the fridge.
Love…
Shiye held the flowers, standing there, mulling over the word, with his ears hidden behind the bouquet slightly turning red.
“How's your hand?” Xiaomai asked.
Shiye came back to his senses, inviting her to sit on the sofa, carefully placing the flowers in the center of the table, and pouring a glass of water for her. "It's much better now. Jiang Chicheng said it will be less swollen in a couple of days."
Today, Xiaomai was also dressed very beautifully, wearing a slightly fitted off-white sweater that outlined her figure, paired with a denim skirt. Her hair was braided on both sides, cascading down her back like a curtain of thick black hair, making her look obedient yet a bit playful, and she carried a faint citrus scent.
"He really was too careless," Xiaomai complained, then blinked her eyes. "Can I see it?"
Shiye nodded and extended his bandaged hand. Just as he was about to unwrap the bandages, Xiaomai had already cupped his hand with both of hers.
She furrowed her brows, carefully unwrapping the bandages. The injured hand felt completely different in an omega's hands than in an alpha's; it was itchy, like little ants were crawling over it.
Shiye's back tensed up nervously.
As the bandage came off, Xiaomai's brows knitted even tighter. "It's pretty serious."
In fact, the swelling had reduced a lot over the past two days. Yesterday, Jiang Chicheng had massaged it, and the bruising had faded a bit. Shiye had been around the athletics field since he was young and had seen his fair share of serious injuries, so he didn’t think much of it. Xiaomai, having likely been well-protected since childhood, must have found the injury alarming.
"Maybe you shouldn’t look."
Worried about scaring her, Shiye tried to pull his hand back, but Xiaomai grasped his wrist, her soft palm making his entire forearm tense.
"Does it hurt a lot?" Xiaomai lifted her worried gaze.
"It hurt a lot at first, but it’s not so bad now…"
Before Shiye could finish his sentence, he saw Xiaomai lower her head, leaning closer to his hand, her hair obscuring his view of what she was doing. Reflexively, Shiye curled his fingers, his heart racing.
The swollen fingertips, having been wrapped in the moist ointment for so long, were incredibly sensitive, and even the faintest breeze felt magnified when exposed.
Suddenly, he felt a cool sensation on his fingers, a gentle breeze. It was Xiaomai softly blowing on them. After a while, he felt gentle pressure applied to the swollen area—light and not painful—almost like a hundred little ants were gently nibbling at the soft flesh, creating a tingling sensation. Then, the pressure increased slightly.
Shiye couldn't help but shudder, suppressing the urge to pull his hand back. He opened his mouth, his voice trembling.
"Xiaomai… please don’t touch it."
When Jiang Chicheng looked up, he saw Shiye's cheeks flushed, his nose sweating, and his eyes darting around. Ever since that night when Xiaomai had held his hand, he had begun to have some doubts, and now he had just received confirmation.
It turned out, Shiye’s sensitive spot was indeed his fingers.
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