"How did you two meet?”
Once Dr. Chen asked this question, Jiang Chicheng opened up like a floodgate, talking about his childhood, starting from when he wore split-crotch pants. He kept going on and on, becoming dry-mouthed, grabbing his thermos to take a sip of water before continuing until he mentioned that they both got accepted into the same university and met again.
Two hours passed, and he was still holding onto Dr. Chen, showing him pictures of the cat his roommate found on his phone.
Dr. Chen noticed the hem of the boy's shirt in the photo, a red-and-white baseball jersey, and then looked at the baseball jersey Jiang Chicheng was wearing, which was noticeably tight around the sleeves.
“Did you both buy the same clothes?”
“Oh, this shirt is his. I like the smell of the laundry detergent on his clothes,” Jiang Chicheng said, tugging at his shirt and sniffing the collar.
This was a lie full of holes.
Dr. Chen lowered his head and began taking notes again.
An alpha's marking instinct is imprinted in their genes. The so-called marking is akin to a dog urinating to mark its territory. The higher the status of the alpha, the stronger this primal instinct, leading to a greater dependence on pheromones.
However, beta individuals lack pheromones; they cannot mark or be marked.
They will always follow their free will, unable to settle in the nests created for them by alphas. But once they leave the nest, the exclusive label attached by the alpha will dissipate within three days, often driving their alpha partners mad and leading to tragedy.
In comparison, BO relationships are more aligned with today’s mainstream views. With the development of O-authoritarianism, many omegas long to escape a life dominated by marking, focusing more on the realization of personal value.
Rather than severely alpha-centric O-authoritarianism, omegas are more inclined to seek like-minded beta partners, ensuring their physical and mental freedom while alleviating the waves of heat during estrus.
“What are you writing?” Jiang Chicheng leaned over to see.
Dr. Chen smiled and discreetly put away his paper and pen. “Mr. Jiang, it’s not the smell of laundry detergent you like. It’s the scent of your own essence on your roommate's clothes, isn’t it?”
The smile in Jiang Chicheng’s eyes vanished for a moment, a chilling coldness spreading over him before receding like a tide. He leaned back into the lazy sofa and tapped on the nearby airline box, where a small cat meowed.
Jiang Chicheng nodded with a smile. “Yes.”
“You imagine him walking into a crowd wearing clothes that smell like your pheromones, and that excites and reassures you, right?”
Jiang Chicheng rested his chin on his hand, frowning slightly. After a moment, he replied, “In my imagination, he is either alone or by my side.”
Dr. Chen lowered his head and drew two horizontal lines under the words “possessiveness,” adding a few more words: “strong exclusivity.”
“From your description, it’s clear that he trusts you greatly. Have you ever tried to express your feelings to him?”
“He’s straight, likes omegas, and his attitude towards alphas is a bit…” Jiang Chicheng’s expression became difficult to describe, and he finally shrugged, “irritable.”
Dr. Chen adjusted his glasses, frowning. “If that’s the case, your spontaneous behavior might cause some disruption to his normal social interactions.”
Jiang Chicheng leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, his hands crossed under his chin. “Dr. Chen, I think you should be more concerned about the troubles this spontaneous psychology and behavior are causing me.”
Dr. Chen apologized and gestured for him to continue.
Jiang Chicheng took a deep breath, recalling past experiences, his smile gradually fading. “Due to the nature of my profession, I usually get home around ten at night. By that time, he is either playing games or already asleep. I have early classes in the morning and wake up at seven, and he is still sleeping at that time.”
Dr. Chen paused his pen, sensing the faint scent of pheromones in the air. It was a particularly unique fragrance, neither a strong scent nor woody, but a rare sweetness, deep and distant, with a slight medicinal aroma, exuding a refreshing coolness.
He recalled the scent he had encountered on a rare pheromone sample.
---
Chen Xiang
“We live under the same roof, yet we seldom meet. Most of the time, we just watch TV together, and we hardly communicate at all.”
The scent grew stronger, like the rich fragrance of flowers.
This also indicated that the alpha in front of him was experiencing intense emotional fluctuations.
“Since we reunited, I’ve been diligently playing the role of a ‘good brother’ with a normal sexual orientation every day. But you know, if he actively talks to me, I could be excited all day; if he smiles at me, I can’t sleep all night. I like him so much that I wish I could never leave his side, but I have to endure and restrain myself, all because he’s a damn straight guy!”
With a dull thud, his fist slammed into the lazy sofa.
The pressure from the S-grade pheromones made Dr. Chen feel slightly dizzy. The cat was scratching at the airline box restlessly, meowing.
Dr. Chen skillfully pulled out a barrier mask from the drawer and put it on, quickly jotting something down in his notebook. He looked up with a half-smile, asking, “Can I take this to mean that you like him, but you don’t want to be the one to be penetrated?”
The emotions swirling in Jiang Chicheng’s eyes shifted from anger to doubt, then to surprise, eventually calming down.
He nodded with a smile. “Yes.”
“Perhaps you could try changing your perspective…”
An hour later, Jiang Chicheng stepped out of the consultation room, chatting and laughing as he bid farewell to Dr. Chen and scheduled the next appointment.
At nine in the evening, it was already pitch black outside.
Jiang Chicheng left the neighborhood and squatted by the roadside to light a cigarette. The flickering ember burned between his fingers as he exhaled a cloud of white smoke. He then opened his phone and tapped into the pinned WeChat chat box to receive a transfer.
O.o: [Middle Finger].jpg
He stared at the screen, motionless, until the automatic screen timeout occurred. Just as he was about to take another drag, the screen suddenly lit up, accompanied by the blaring ringtone.
Jiang Chicheng’s hand trembled, and the cigarette butt fell onto his clothes, scorching a small black spot on his baseball jacket. He quickly patted it twice, extinguished the cigarette butt, and picked up his phone, seeing “Jiang Chizhao” in big letters on the screen. He frowned.
“What’s the matter now?”
On the other end was a cold female voice. “Did you eat gunpowder? Why are you talking to your sister like that?!”
Jiang Chicheng clamped the phone between his shoulder and cheek, vigorously rubbing the black spot. “…”
Not hearing his response, Jiang Chizhao softened her tone. “I heard you’re renting a place outside. I’ll be going to your school tomorrow to discuss a project and will drop by to see you.”
Jiang Chicheng clicked his tongue, pouring some water over the spot while continuing to rub. “…”
“I just found out a few days ago that Dad froze your card. Do you have enough money? Is there anything you want me to bring you?”
“…”
“If you don’t speak, I’ll hang up.”
“Meow.”
The cat in the airline box let out a meow and Jiang Chicheng realized, hurriedly saying, “Wait, sis, buy some cat treats and canned food. Get plenty!”
“Beep—”
---
Shiye
When Shiye usually finished his training early, he would work at a pet shop on the commercial street. Today, after dinner, it was already past seven, and he planned to head home to sleep. But as he reached the bus station, the store manager suddenly sent a group message, saying a new batch of pet supplies had arrived and needed unloading.
There was only one female beta and one male omega on duty at the pet shop that day.
Shiye replied to the message and turned to scan a shared bike beside the bus station, stuffing his phone into his pocket.
By nine o’clock, the last box of supplies was moved to the storage room on the second floor of the pet shop. Shiye leaned on the box, his arms sore and numb, and his back was so tired he could hardly straighten up. He cursed under his breath three hundred times, vowing never to do this hard work again, when a soft male voice sounded from behind him.
“Xiao Ye.”
Shiye immediately straightened his back and turned around, pretending to be relaxed.
The omega store clerk, named Duo Duo, stood behind him with big, bright eyes and a fair face that looked tender enough to pinch. When she smiled, two dimples appeared on her cheeks.
She held a cup of milk tea, looking at Shiye with a cheerful expression. “You must be exhausted, right? If you hadn’t helped tonight, Ruirui and I probably wouldn’t have finished until eleven. This is for you.”
Shiye wiped his hands on his apron and took the milk tea. “Oh, it’s nothing. It’s not tiring at all.”
“Let’s take a break together.”
Duo Duo sat on a box not far away while holding her milk tea. Shiye also sat down, maintaining a certain distance between them.
Shiye attended high school in town, where his class was composed entirely of betas, with only two omegas in the entire school. In college, his class was filled with hulking alphas, so he had hardly ever interacted with omegas.
In his impression, omegas were all incredibly gentle and beautiful, with slender waists that could be encircled by one arm, soft and delicate, their bodies weak and easily injured, requiring careful protection.
Now, for the first time alone in a room with an omega, he felt a bit awkward. He remembered to take a sip of milk tea after being asked a question.
He inserted the straw and took a sip.
It was a bit too sweet.
He rarely drank milk tea and didn’t like overly sweet foods, but omegas seemed to enjoy these sweet beverages. He glanced at the milk tea’s name and silently noted it down.
“Xiao Ye, you go to Nanhu University, right? What’s your major?” Duo Duo turned to look at him.
Shiye scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed as he said, “I’m not good at studying, so I’m majoring in Physical Education.”
To his surprise, Duo Duo’s eyes lit up, and she shifted closer. “You’re a sports student! Wow, no wonder you’re so strong!”
Shiye felt even more embarrassed and didn’t dare to meet her gaze. “It’s nothing, after all, I’ll be relying on this for a living.”
Duo Duo blinked her watery eyes and moved even closer. “I’ve heard that sports students have great physiques. Xiao Ye, do you have abs?”
The distance between them was no more than an arm's length, and Shiye's cheeks began to flush. “I… I do.”
“Can I touch them?”
“Uh… Huh?!”
“Just through your clothes. Please! My brother is an alpha, and he’s turned into a ball. I’ve never touched anyone’s abs in my life!”
The omega clasped her hands together, her rosy lips slightly pouting, and her brows furrowed as she looked at him with pleading eyes. Shiye was completely defenseless against this.
“Well… I guess, if it’s okay.”
The omega smiled sweetly and leaned closer, lowering her head to reveal her delicate, fragile nape, where the gland is located. Shiye didn’t even dare to look at it and instead focused on the ceiling.
When the omega reached out her hand, Shiye caught a whiff of a sweet strawberry scent that grew increasingly stronger. He suddenly realized it might be the omega’s pheromone, and his face instantly flushed, as if it were on fire, causing him to hold his breath.
“Duo Duo! We have a customer!”
The omega's hand hadn't reached out yet; the movement stopped as they impatiently murmured a complaint, calling out, “Coming!”
Duo Duo quickly got up and left. The lingering pheromones dissipated, and Shiye let out a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead that had formed due to nervousness. His mouth felt dry, so he picked up the milk tea and took another sip, grimacing slightly.
It was still too sweet.
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