The first rays of dawn struck the treetops, startling the resting birds. Their wings stirred the air, leaving behind gently swaying branches.
The doorknob rattled. The person lying in bed furrowed his brows slightly, his pale cheek brushing softly against the man’s broad shoulder. The mattress rebounded beside him. Shi Yuxing hastily pulled the blanket over his head, let out a long “Mm,” and planned to sleep in a little longer.
“Gu Lingzhou! Open the door!”
“Open the door!!!”
The door panel was slapped until it creaked. Shi Yuxing rubbed his eyes and poked half his head out.
He saw a burst of hormones flowing along Gu Lingzhou’s deltoids, biceps, and forearms. The ring hanging from his chest swayed, striking his retina sharply—jolting him considerably awake.
The door was opened, and the voices, freed from their muffling barrier, became clearer and louder.
Then another steady male voice followed: “You forgot the rules.”
Raindrops shattered the night. Suddenly, a flash of lightning split through the rolling clouds, striking the mountaintop directly, shaking rocks loose and trembling the earth. The traveler fell in sync with the falling stones into the abyss.
Shi Yuxing pressed his lips tightly together and shrank back under the covers. The chaotic noise outside disturbed his heartbeat, which wouldn’t stop racing, flooding his cheeks with blood. Such heat—perhaps this was what people with alcohol allergies described as flushing when they drank.
“I am the master of this house—Shi Yuxing’s legal husband. Rules? Hmph—rules only bind the useless.” The General’s voice carried absolute authority, but the person across from him was no ordinary opponent.
Three pairs of eyes refused to yield to one another, their tension bleeding out. The person hidden under the covers touched his inner thigh—that bastard must have bitten him again last night, otherwise why would it hurt so much there?
The aggressive woody scent seeped through the gaps in the blanket. Shi Yuxing immediately covered his nose—it was too pungent. He curled up, drawing his knees toward his stomach, which only made his inner thigh ache more.
The faint rustling and the bulging blanket gradually quieted the argument. Gu Lingzhou turned his head, kneeling on the sheets, and touched the trembling lump beneath the blanket. “Yuxing, are you okay?” The movement beneath his hand stopped for a few seconds, then came a soft “Mm.”
Was that a yes or a no?
“Wifey, where does it hurt? I’ll get the medical kit.”
The person under the blanket shifted, his voice so soft they only caught a few syllables: “My leg hurts.”
Da Ling sat down on the other side of the bed and gently lifted a corner of the covers.
The porcelain-white, slender fingers beneath looked like translucent, lustrous jade, faint pink at the knuckles. With slight pressure, the veins hidden beneath the fair skin bulged in small arcs, tinged with blue-purple.
“Mm…” Someone touched the back of his hand. Shi Yuxing swatted it away—like one of those old-fashioned coin banks where a claw would reach out and take your money the moment you placed a coin on top. The next second, he retreated deeper under the covers. The ache in his inner thigh tightened, as if a beating heart had taken root there. Hiding its own heartbeat and breath, it tugged at his body and thoughts. Shi Yuxing had an urge to cut it out—that pulsing beneath his skin was like a worm, taking root, feeding, about to break through the soil.
After a moment, the person beneath the covers stirred. He’d finally used up all the oxygen and pushed himself out. Messy strands of hair hung over his weary, moist brows and eyes. He only revealed one pair of eyes and his nose, listlessly saying: “So tired.”
He hadn’t even gotten up yet, and Shi Yuxing already felt drained of all strength. The last time he’d been this exhausted, he’d fainted during surgery.
“Is it a fever?” Da Ling reached out to feel his forehead. Shi Yuxing obediently closed his eyes, radiating a quiet, ill appearance. The alpha’s hand rested on his forehead, and the tip of his nose caught the fir scent on his wrist—gentle, lingering, and clearer than ever before, a faint chill containing a refreshing comfort.
Xiao Zhou rushed out frantically and hurried back with the medical kit, pulling out the temperature gun.
“37.2 degrees. Not a fever either.” He stared at the number on the screen, then shifted his gaze to the person sitting on the bed. His teeth ground together, eyes blazing. “It must have been you—you hurt wifey last night! I’ll kill you!” With that, he lunged and grabbed Gu Lingzhou’s neck, pretending to strangle him to take his place.
Shi Yuxing pressed down on the blanket, revealing the skin below his neck—covered in light and dark red marks. Xiao Zhou’s murderous intent only multiplied, gripping tighter: “Today, either you die or you die!” Gu Lingzhou didn’t let him run wild and quickly subdued him. Pinning the struggling, cursing person beneath him, Gu Lingzhou this time cut off any chance of a counterattack. Besides the ring, his smooth, powerful upper body gleamed in the sunlight.
He hadn’t left a single scratch on Gu Lingzhou last night? Shi Yuxing turned his head and said to the person on the other side: “I’m thirsty.”
At that, the alpha got up to fetch him water. He looked back at the sunlit side—Gu Lingzhou had Xiao Zhou half-pinned against the side of the bed, his eyes fixed on Shi Yuxing, brimming with smugness. Shi Yuxing took a deep breath: “Help me up.”
Xiao Zhou broke free instantly, helped Shi Yuxing sit up, and tucked the blanket around him, his face full of distress. “Gu Lingzhou, are you a dog? If you want to eat chicken necks, go buy some—don’t torment wifey.”
Shi Yuxing patted Xiao Zhou’s hair. “It’s fine. Those don’t actually hurt.”
“Really?” The young alpha’s eyes glistened with tears as he dabbed ointment on the red marks on his neck. “Then where does it hurt? I didn’t hear you clearly just now.”
“My leg—my inner thigh,” Shi Yuxing frowned, looking at the culprit. “Did you bite my gland?”
The man standing tall and upright with an impeccable posture took a deep breath, his chest heaving. His previously steady gaze flickered with a trace of evasion. Gu Lingzhou walked to the other side, grabbed his hand, and kneaded it. “Let me rub it for you.”
Rub your grandmother! Shi Yuxing’s back teeth clenched. He yanked his hand back, tempted to slap him. After a moment’s consideration, he forcibly suppressed the urge.
Just then, the door pushed open and Da Ling returned with the water. Shi Yuxing took the cup with both hands and thanked him.
Three pairs of eyes scrutinized his entire body like tangible weight. Shi Yuxing struggled to swallow the water, his skin feeling as uncomfortable as if it had been licked by a cow’s tongue. He was about to retreat under the covers when Xiao Zhou suddenly remembered something and patted his pocket. “I almost forgot—there was a call this morning for you. They said to call back when you woke up.” He placed Shi Yuxing’s phone in his palm.
“Who?”
“The contact says ‘Director Jiang.’”
Hearing this, Shi Yuxing’s knuckles protruded as he lit up the screen and called back immediately.
The other side answered quickly. Perhaps it was the innate nervousness researchers feel toward their mentors. Shi Yuxing exhaled, pushed away the ears crowding in, and put it on speaker. “Director Jiang, you were looking for me? Sorry, I just woke up.” He pressed his index finger to his lips, signaling the others to shut up.
“Xiao Shi, long time no see. I heard there was a medical dispute at Imperial Hospital a few days ago. You weren’t hurt, were you?” Director Jiang’s voice was kind and steady. Gu Lingzhou didn’t understand why he was so nervous.
Shi Yuxing forced a smile. “I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”
“Good to hear. Well, I’ll be returning to the Imperial Planet soon. Do you have time? Let’s have a meal together.”
Shi Yuxing’s mouth twitched. “I generally have time on weekends. Whatever works for you.”
A pause on the other end. “Mm. No one’s around you, right?”
Shi Yuxing, surrounded by people: “…………”
“Since no one’s there, I’ll be direct. I’ve been researching gland transplantation lately—you know, it’s a very unstable project. I need an assistant.” Jiang Chusheng’s words reached several pairs of ears. Shi Yuxing took a deep breath. “Director Jiang, I’d love to participate in this research, but the hospital might not be able to spare me right now.”
“You don’t need to come here. Your director has already invited me over. We should be able to meet in a few days.” His heart jolted. Shi Yuxing’s lips parted slightly—he hadn’t expected to work alongside his mentor at the same hospital.
“If it’s convenient, bring your partner along to the meal. I’d like to meet him too. I still have some ties with the current head of the Gu family.” As soon as the words landed, the person on this side of the phone held his breath, his eyes scanning the three alphas.
“I’ll discuss the rest with you when I arrive. That’s all for now. Bye.”
Director Jiang finished in one breath. Shi Yuxing hastily said his goodbyes, hung up, and was immediately startled by three faces closing in—dropping his phone. “Wh-what? Don’t look at me like that. I’m not bringing any of you that day. I’ll tell my mentor you’re all busy.” The three visibly deflated. Shi Yuxing cleared his throat. “We’ll deal with future matters in the future. Right now, I need to get out of bed.”
He threw off the covers. On the inside of his pale, glowing thigh, overlapping scabbed bite marks were starkly visible, mingled with purple-black bruising—enough to make anyone frown.
“Gu Lingzhou.” This time, it was Da Ling who spoke first, his tone sharp as ice—as if he wasn’t even saying his own name. A swift, brief rush of wind, and from some unknown direction, a force came down fast and precise. Gu Lingzhou was slammed to the floor with a dull thud. “I think I need to reiterate—Yuxing’s unwillingness cannot be forced. Your actions last night seriously harmed him. Me hitting you is not excessive.”
Shi Yuxing’s mouth fell open, his hand hovering in front of it, unable to make a sound.
“Good hit! Beat him to death!” Xiao Zhou cheered behind him, bundling all the grudges from being pinned by Gu Lingzhou into those words.
His toes, tipped with pale crescents, touched the cold floor. Shi Yuxing got out of bed to pull them apart. “Stop fighting—if the military finds out he has facial injuries, they’ll come after me.” That wasn’t a lie. If Gu Lingzhou were disfigured, not only would the military investigate whether he had violent tendencies, but Grandmother and public opinion would crush him too.
Back when Gu Lingzhou had a bandage on his head, special envoys had called to check on the situation. That face couldn’t be harmed.
“I’m not beating him—I’m setting rules for him.” Da Ling turned his head and saw his mangled gland, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He immediately looked away, speaking sternly: “Otherwise, when we’re gone, he’ll keep hurting you. Be good and go put your shoes on.”
Shi Yuxing had been about to mutter—how is this not beating him, you’ve got him pinned to the floor—but when he heard the latter part, he swallowed his words. Indeed, this guy needed to be taught a lesson. Who sneaks around in the dead of night while someone’s sleeping…
He didn’t dare think about it too carefully—it was too embarrassing.
A sharp fir scent suddenly filled the air. Xiao Zhou, who had just been kneeling by the bed to help him slip on his shoes, turned his head to the other side. “Keep it down over there.” When he looked back up, he saw Shi Yuxing topple backward.
“Wifey!” Xiao Zhou frantically touched his scrunched-up face. “Wifey, what’s wrong?” The two on the other side, whose pheromones had been clashing intensely, both froze at once. One released the other, instantly withdrawing the murderous intent they’d been ready to unleash seconds ago.
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