Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Li Yang’s breath hitched.

The overpowering mint scent felt like ice shards piercing his throat and nostrils, chilling him to the bone and making his scalp tingle. Soon, he was lightheaded, struggling to draw air.

It took Li Yang a full five minutes of standing still to recover, like a suffocating fish finally returned to the ocean. His limbs were stiff, almost immobile. When he tried to move, he stumbled awkwardly, nearly falling.

Something was wrong. Weakly bracing himself against the wall, Li Yang wondered if it was the pheromones—his consciousness felt heavy, sluggish.

“Ying Xi?” Covering his nose and mouth, Li Yang realized with alarm that he shouldn’t be able to sense such an intense pheromone presence.

He pressed his lips together, quickly scanning the room. After another minute, he finally managed to acclimate to the overwhelming pheromones and began searching for Ying Xi.

Then, his skin suddenly prickled with pain—a searing heat alternating with the sensation of a thousand needles.

Li Yang had no choice but to stop, examining his body in confusion.

Fortunately, the strange, uncomfortable sensation faded as quickly as it had come. Rubbing his arms, he gritted his teeth and pushed open the bedroom door.

“Yangyang?” Ying Xi, who had just finished using a suppressant, met his gaze. A flicker of complex emotion—perhaps disbelief, quickly replaced by relief—crossed Ying Xi’s eyes.

“Are you okay?” Seeing that Ying Xi appeared normal, his eyes clear and not lost in the instinct-driven haze of a rutting Alpha, Li Yang finally exhaled, his pounding heart settling.

“I’m fine.” Ying Xi smiled, dropping the empty injector into the trash. His voice was low. “Just a pheromone imbalance. Needed a suppressant.”

Li Yang took two steps forward, his gaze catching on the five empty suppressant vials in the trash.

His eyes widened. Pointing at them, he asked nervously, “Why did you use so many? Is that normal?”

“I’m not like other Alphas,” Ying Xi explained with a wry smile. “I have to keep using them until my pheromones stabilize.”

“But—” Li Yang sniffed the air, realizing the once-overpowering mint pheromones had rapidly dissipated, fading until they were completely undetectable.

The abrupt change made him question whether the overwhelming scent had just been a hallucination.

“Stable now,” Ying Xi said quietly. “I’m fine.”

Then, his lips curved slightly. “But Yangyang… you don’t reject my pheromones?”

“I don’t know why I could sense them so strongly this time, but no—I’m not repelled. I don’t dislike it.” Li Yang’s attention lingered on the five suppressants. “Is this… your rut? Or—?”

“Pheromone dysregulation.” Ying Xi lowered his eyes. “My levels spiked too high, fluctuated too wildly. But it hasn’t happened in a long time. Perhaps because I’ve been around too many people lately.”

“I see.” Li Yang sat beside him. After a quiet moment, his mind cleared enough to recall something, and he frowned. “Why did you think I’d be repelled?”

“Before this, anyone exposed to my pheromones in this state would have severe reactions—violent rejection, even fainting. Some nearly died.” Ying Xi’s voice carried a hint of guilt. “That’s what I meant when I mentioned it to your family.”

“I didn’t have any of those reactions. It was just… a lot to take in at first.” Li Yang rested his chin in his palm, murmuring, “So that means… we really are the most compatible pair.”

“Yes.” Amusement warmed Ying Xi’s tone. “That’s why I’m endlessly grateful to have met you. To be with you.”

Li Yang affectionately ruffled his hair.

“Will this trigger your rut?”

“No.” Ying Xi burrowed into Li Yang’s arms, his voice steady. “I released a lot of pheromones earlier, and with the suppressants, my levels will stay low for at least half a year.”

“That must’ve been hard.” Li Yang cupped his face, planting a brief kiss on his lips.

“More kisses?” Ying Xi’s gaze darkened, lingering on Li Yang’s flushed lips. His voice dropped to a husky whisper, bordering on a whine. “Yangyang, it’s not enough.”

As if enchanted, Li Yang leaned down again, capturing Ying Xi’s lips.

Their eyes met—then Li Yang immediately covered Ying Xi’s piercing stare with his hand. Timidly, he licked at those soft, cool lips, his face burning.

Still embarrassed, Li Yang tried to pull back—only for Ying Xi to seize the initiative.

Trembling, Li Yang struggled to breathe but didn’t resist. He steadied his unsteady legs, attempting to reciprocate.

The room grew warmer, the air heavy with tension.

When the kiss finally ended, Li Yang’s face was so hot he could barely lift his head, wanting to disappear.

“Let’s go,” he mumbled, too flustered to walk beside Ying Xi. He hurried back to his own apartment first, splashing cold water on his face to cool the feverish reaction.

Lying in bed, Li Yang still couldn’t bring himself to look at Ying Xi directly.

Ying Xi, however, stared at him openly, his gaze growing bolder by the second.

Li Yang opened his mouth to speak, then stopped. Rolling over, he grabbed his phone, desperate to dispel the awkward tension.

With nothing to distract him, he soon paused. Glancing sideways, he confirmed Ying Xi wasn’t watching before surreptitiously googling a question.

Countless answers flooded the screen. Li Yang clamped his phone shut in alarm, terrified of being caught. It took him a long while to work up the nerve to look again.

“Omegas don’t feel pain, but Betas are in agony—don’t get with an Alpha! Listen to me! You HAVE to listen!”

“If they’re normally-proportioned, it’s manageable. If not? Run. Betas aren’t Omegas, after all.”

“Run! Seriously, don’t do it.”

“Actually… even Alphas struggle. It’s tough.”

“?? Wait, explain that last one.”

“Asked my friends—Alphas and Betas alike reported if their partner knows how to soothe them, it doesn’t hurt at all. If it hurts, change partners.”

“Check the original question—they’re asking about the first time. Your scenario doesn’t apply. Omegas included, 99% of first times hurt.”

That… terrifying.

Li Yang’s eyes went wide, his scalp prickling. Quietly setting his phone aside, he gave up on the idea entirely.

Better wait until he was fully prepared.

“What are you looking at?” Ying Xi suddenly snuggled closer, wrapping his arms around him.

The radiating heat made Li Yang shiver. Remembering what he’d read, he stammered, “N-nothing important. Sleep time.”

The warmth made him fidgety. Li Yang gently pushed Ying Xi’s arm away, noticing how his gaze lingered on a plush toy, deep in thought.

Li Yang almost said he didn’t need it—they were together now. But recalling the warnings and Ying Xi’s predatory gaze, he reconsidered.

Best to keep it there for now. For peace of mind. He’d remove it once he’d done enough research.

Li Yang reached out, turning off the light. Darkness swallowed the room, and sleepiness overtook him. Slowly, he closed his eyes.

Li Yang tossed and turned fitfully, his whole body felt like his limbs were tied and thrown into the icy depths of the ocean, unable to fight it, left to drown.

He gulped for air, yet couldn’t draw any in.

A suffocating, prickling heat surged through his body, crawling up his spine before rushing upward and concentrating at the nape of his neck.

The burning made Li Yang’s soul quake. He knew he was asleep, that all these sensations existed only in his dream, and he desperately tried to wake up—yet his awareness turned syrupy and leaden, impossible to rouse.

Li Yang even realized he was scratching at his nape, trying to alleviate the stinging heat.

But it only made things worse.

After the scorching heat came an endless, unbearable itching, followed by a pins-and-needles sensation that spread like an electric current from the base of his spine.

Li Yang’s limbs instantly turned weak, his palms damp with sweat.

This was too strange.

He desperately willed himself to open his eyes and wake up, but instead, he sank deeper into the dream's suffocating darkness.

He panted unevenly, the air refusing to fill his lungs. His body struggled against the torment, thrashing until spent, only to be overwhelmed again and again by that bizarre sensation.

Then, he caught the barest hint of mint—and his eyes snapped open.

Everything was pitch black. Li Yang blinked, terrified, unsure if he had truly woken up.

The pain at the back of his neck confirmed this was real.

He exhaled in relief, thinking back on the bizarre symptoms. Just as he thought to get up and grab an inhibitor, the pain at his nape vanished.

The oppressive weight from his dream dissipated as well.

Rubbing his temples, he sniffed the air—no trace of Ying Xi’s pheromones.

The mint scent earlier had just been part of the dream.

Li Yang cautiously got out of bed, showered, and tiptoed back into the room. As he lay down and closed his eyes, something wasn't right.

It was too quiet—so quiet he couldn’t even hear Ying Xi’s breathing.

He opened his eyes again, but before he could investigate, a large hand suddenly reached out and closed around his throat.

In the darkness, Ying Xi tossed aside the stuffed animal, effortlessly crossed the boundary, and yanked Li Yang flush against him.

He seemed unconscious, acting purely on instinct, his warm lips scorching hot against the back of Li Yang’s neck, seeking his scent gland.

Li Yang’s thoughts short-circuited. Only when he caught another faint trace of pheromones did he realize something was wrong and began to struggle.

Ying Xi’s grip was too strong—Li Yang could barely squirm, barely managing to turn his head away to avoid Ying Xi’s lips.

“Yangyang…” Ying Xi slurred unconsciously, his lips stubbornly trailing over the sensitive skin of Li Yang’s nape, his hot breath drawing shivers from Li Yang. “I like you so much.”

Li Yang knew that—but right now, the situation was… just plain weird.

The contents of his earlier phone search flashed through his mind, and his spine stiffened.

Whether it was fear unleashing his strength or Ying Xi’s light bite triggering a fight-or-flight response, Li Yang slapped a hand over his mouth and nose, then threw a wild punch with full force.

A dull thud later, Ying Xi’s grip loosened—he went still, his breathing behind Li Yang steadying.

Li Yang licked his dry lips, turned on the light, and only relaxed after confirming Ying Xi had merely been knocked out.

His punch had connected solidly with Ying Xi’s forehead, which was now swelling visibly—proof of the sheer force behind it.

Li Yang fished out a scent patch and applied it to the back of his neck before carefully observing Ying Xi.

No movement.

He was completely unconscious, his pheromones no longer leaking.

Just to be safe, Li Yang didn’t sleep for the next few hours, instead bundling up in the comforter and sitting by the bed, watching Ying Xi the entire time.

At daybreak, he set the blanket aside, threw together a go-bag, and decided to stay across the hall for a couple of days—at least until Ying Xi’s condition stabilized.

Leaning down, he gently patted Ying Xi’s shoulder, seeing if he could rouse him for a conversation before leaving.

“Ying Xi? Wake up.”

After a brief silence, the man on the bed stirred slightly, his eyelids fluttering open.

Meeting Li Yang’s concerned gaze, Ying Xi sat up, cradling his head.

The swelling on his forehead was obvious. Seemingly puzzled by the injury, he touched it a few times before beckoning lightly to Li Yang, who stood at a distance.

“Yangyang, why are you so far away? My head hurts… Can you come here and tell me what happened?”