Chapter Three

Chapter Three

One hug.

Just one.

Bai Chen held that position, his eyes sparkling as he gazed at him, his dark pupils filled with clear longing. The Omega slightly tilted his head, causing a few strands of hair to fall down, like a small brush brushing against his heartstrings.

The Alpha hesitated briefly, then calmly asked, "Is this some kind of test?"

Bai Chen smirked slightly, "...Sort of."

Xie Yilin slowly stood up.

Bai Chen immediately lunged forward, clinging to him tightly.

...It was a hug.

The Alpha went completely still.

He stood motionless, almost petrified. Due to the height difference, the Omega's soft hair pressed directly against his chest. Through the fabric, he couldn't sense the other's warmth, but he clearly felt that the other seemed to enjoy this.

Bai Chen truly loved hugs.

To be precise, he had a condition called skin hunger.

It was a deep psychological craving for physical touch, a small quirk that didn't affect daily life but had become a serious term in psychology.

He fell on the extreme end of this spectrum—yearning for skin contact, hugs, or other forms of close physical touch, which made him feel comforted, secure, and at ease.

Of course, unwanted advances or unwelcome individuals were exceptions.

That's why, back then, when Qiu Pinglu deliberately forced himself close, Bai Chen had been so disgusted that he pushed him away immediately.

Using the camera, the lens, assuming he wouldn't resist... it was vile.

Bai Chen had once deeply considered whether he would find an Alpha in the future, exactly what kind of Alpha he would choose, or perhaps a Beta, or even another Omega... But one thing was absolutely certain: the other's embrace would have to be one he welcomed and enjoyed.

...Just like this one now.

Although the Alpha seemed cold and distant, Bai Chen had boldly voiced his request. The reason was also quite logical—if it was a fake marriage, and both were public figures, there would inevitably be many moments of feigned intimacy. If the embrace disgusted him, then there would be no point in discussing anything else.

After all, Xie Yilin was human.

His embrace was slightly cold, but upon closer contact, there was still an intertwining warmth. The Alpha was tall and upright, his chest broad and solid, like an unyielding iron wall. Just as his profession suggested, he seemed born for this, existing for this purpose.

Bai Chen had heard of his rumors, read those reports, and seen fleeting glimpses of him on the battlefield. High-speed cameras captured his fierce moments, the world awash in blood. Strangely, Bai Chen didn't find it particularly cruel.

Isn't that what a military serviceman should be like? He thought to himself.

However, Xie Yilin was indeed... very cold.

A faintly bitter patchouli scent slowly enveloped them, with hints of resin, herbal freshness, and a cool, minty woodiness, layered and mixed, lingering around them—the Alpha's pheromones were already restrained as much as possible, but they were too close, and the scent was still faintly perceptible.

Unlike Omegas, who only lose control of their pheromones during their periodic heats.

Bai Chen couldn't help but nuzzle again.

It had been a long time since he had such a comfortable embrace; indeed, a real person was better. Those new hugging pillows, though claiming to be 100% realistic with perfect temperature, still lacked something compared to a real, living person.

The feeling was incomparable, so intoxicating it was hard to resist.

The Omega buried his head firmly into Xie Yilin's chest before finally, reluctantly, letting go.

His eyes and brows radiated an indescribable contentment, and his smile grew even wider. Bai Chen straightened up, tilted his head slightly, and murmured softly, "Thank you, Your Highness."

"Now, I only have one last question."

Xie Yilin's arms felt suddenly empty, and then Bai Chen's voice, tinged with a smile, asked, "Can we add one more thing to the agreement?"

"...How about adding a hug? Three minutes a day, maybe?"

The Alpha's brows furrowed slightly.

The warmth in front of him was gone, Bai Chen's slightly higher body temperature fading away. He quickly masked his discomfort, slipping back into his polite smile.

His dimples were perfect, betraying nothing.

The man's light gray eyes darkened a shade.

When Xie Yilin didn't respond, Bai Chen paused, then smiled and said, "I mean it."

"I'm not joking."

Xie Yilin's brows furrowed further, and he fixed Bai Chen with a penetrating gaze, his tone flat, "Is this really that important to you?"

Bai Chen met the Alpha's gaze and nodded solemnly, "Yes."

This mattered deeply to him.

"Then," Xie Yilin averted his eyes and said coolly, "Fine."

***

The next morning, Song Lei, Bai Chen's agent, was banging on the door.

"Bai Chen? Bai Chen? Bai Chen?"

He'd called three times, but each time it went to voicemail. Unable to wait any longer, he showed up at seven.

...Today, they had to figure out how to handle the online backlash.

This was part of his job as an agent.

Finally, there was movement inside—the soft shuffle of rabbit slippers on the floor. The door clicked open, and Bai Chen's disheveled head appeared, yawning as he recognized Song Lei. "Brother Song, why so early..."

Song Lei barged in, flopped onto the sofa, and pulled out his laptop. "Quick, we need to talk..."

"Talk about what?" Bai Chen shut the door, turning around with a puzzled look. "What's there to discuss?"

"How to handle the PR crisis!" Song Lei snapped, frustrated. "I didn't sleep a wink last night! Not a single wink! And you're acting like it's no big deal? Look at these trending topics—people are saying all kinds of crazy stuff!"

"If you don't say something soon, the rumors are going to spiral out of control!"

"People are coming out of the woodwork—monsters, demons, even feng shui masters... and now they're saying you can cast spells!"

"What even is... a spell?"

Bai Chen blinked, finally coming to his senses, and heard Song Lei slap his thigh vigorously, "Damn, these people really know how to spin a yarn!"

"Listen to this one—Bai Chen has always been like this, I went to the same school as him, this guy is aloof and arrogant, thinking he's above everyone else, many Alphas are into him, but he never responds to any, I suspect he might actually be a Beta..."

"And this one—I also think, logically, such a good-looking Omega should have plenty of admirers, right? Then why hasn't he been in a relationship? The mating heat of adult Omegas is so unbearable, I don't believe a real Omega can last until 22."

"And this one—I have evidence, Bai Chen has been in the industry for three or four years, right? Yet no one knows what his pheromone smells like! Although this is personal privacy, there's not even a hint about it! Absolutely none!"

"...In summary, we have reason to suspect that Bai Chen is either not an Omega at all, or he's holding out, aiming to land a big catch."

"Laughing my ass off, with all this online bashing, Bai Chen can only marry some eighty-year-old Alpha from a backwater planet who barely uses the internet, right? I wonder how he'll get through the mating heat?"

The last few sentences were downright vicious.

Song Lei's voice trailed off as he read, and the latter half simply faded away, "Bai Chen, I've already had someone write up a PR statement for you."

"I know you dislike Qiu Pinglu, so this statement will just say it was a misunderstanding caused by different camera angles, nothing else, okay?"

"Just listen to me this once, hurry up and post it, okay?"

Bai Chen slowly walked over, sat down next to Song Lei on the sofa, and looked at his screen.

The social media platform was like a chaotic mess, everything was there. And once it gained momentum, it wasn't something that could be easily quelled.

Just a nudge.

In the eyes of those with ulterior motives, it had already turned into deliberate harm, years of deception, deep scheming... and so on. As if Bai Chen was some kind of heinous criminal, with sins too numerous to count; as if he could be listed among the Empire's top ten villains.

How absurd.

Bai Chen silently smirked, "Brother Song, I got it."

"Just a small misunderstanding, clear it up and it's fine."

He immediately logged onto a social media platform, clicked on the post button in the upper right corner, and typed away. After finishing, he showed it to Song Lei, "Is this okay?"

Song Lei glanced at it, "...What?"

He was surprised, his eyes wide, "Did you write this yourself?"

Compared to the PR text he had spent money and favors on, this response was actually better. With just a few sentences, it cleared up the misunderstanding, and even ended with a witty joke.

"Great, great, just post this." Song Lei was very pleased, clasping his hands together, "I'll contact your fans..."

"Knock knock knock..."

At that moment, Bai Chen's door was knocked on again.

Quickly plastering on a smile for the annoyed agent, Bai Chen got up to open the door, wondering if he should get a smart doorbell. Outside the door, an Alpha who seemed to have stepped out of a winter storm stood at the entrance, dressed in a very formal deep black military uniform.

This made him look majestic, solemn, like a distant and unattainable towering snow mountain.

Bai Chen was stunned for a moment, subconsciously glancing at his bear pajamas and bunny slippers... well, no need to look to know, his hair was a mess like a ball of fur, not yet tidied.

Song Lei couldn't see this side, and asked loudly, "Bai Chen? Who's here?"

The next second, he saw Bai Chen dash into the bedroom like the wind, slam the door shut, followed by various noises inside, and a few minutes later, the door opened again, and an Omega in a crisp white shirt, carrying a small jacket, with neatly combed hair walked out, completely transformed, a new person.

Song Lei was dumbfounded, "You... you are..."

His eyes couldn't help but follow Bai Chen to the door, and at a glance, he saw Xie Yilin outside. Song Lei immediately got a shock, "Bai, Bai Chen, you..."

The Omega didn't stop, just slightly turned his head, smiling, "I'm going to get married."

"Don't worry, it's not an eighty-year-old Alpha."