Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Li Yang poked curiously, feeling nothing unusual, yet a sudden thought flashed through his mind.

—Was he undergoing a second differentiation?

He froze. Snapping back to reality, he stared at the mirror in disbelief, continuing to examine himself.

The posture felt too strange, and an indescribable soreness spread from his lower back down to a certain area.

He jolted upright, immediately straightened his back, legs stiff as he walked to the bed and lay down, staring blankly at the ceiling.

He had expected the pain to last much longer, but it disappeared within two minutes.

Li Yang tossed and turned with vigorous movements—yet felt nothing.

Why wasn’t he tired? Why didn’t it hurt as much as before?

Resting his chin on his hands, he lay on his stomach, kicking his legs up as he tried hard to recall what had happened afterward.

Complete blankness. Not a single memory surfaced—only the sound of his own continuous crying remained.

Li Yang buried his face in his hands. Now, he couldn’t even cry if he wanted to.

He rubbed his lower back, testing his flexibility, confirming that his body indeed felt light and relaxed, with no trace of fatigue.

The door opened, and the aroma of food drifted in. Li Yang lowered his hands and turned his head.

Ying Xi, dressed in pajamas, entered with a tray, ready to feed him.

Li Yang quickly waved his hands and sat up. "I’m not sick."

"Sorry," Ying Xi said, lowering his gaze, his expression filled with guilt. "I shouldn’t have done that yesterday."

"I was the one who started it, right?" Li Yang responded with unexpected calm, mainly because his physical condition wasn’t nearly as bad or uncomfortable as he’d imagined. "It’s fine. How’s your head…?"

He wanted to ask if the wound on Ying Xi’s forehead had healed, but when he saw the red scratches covering his cheeks and neck, he stared in shock.

"What happened? Did I do this?"

Ying Xi covered his neck and nodded.

Li Yang was too stunned to eat. It wasn’t until Ying Xi fed him a bite that he snapped out of it, hastily taking the spoon.

"Sorry about that," he said awkwardly, scratching his head and pressing his lips together apologetically. "I don’t remember much. When did you wake up?"

"At night," Ying Xi replied quietly, his expression subtle.

Li Yang nodded, remembering it had been midday...

Wait.

"Night?" Li Yang’s mouth hung open for a long moment before he managed a weak whisper. "How did it last until night?"

No wonder he had no memory—he must have passed out.

Li Yang’s face flushed bright red instantly.

"Are you still tired?" Ying Xi’s gaze swept over his body.

Li Yang: "I don’t feel particularly tired, which is why I’m wondering if you did something?"

"Hot compress and massage," Ying Xi replied briefly.

That explained it.

Li Yang ate with dawning understanding, though he still felt somewhat awkward. He never imagined he’d one day discuss such things so casually with Ying Xi.

"We should go to the hospital," Li Yang suddenly leaned closer, showing Ying Xi the swelling on his neck. "This is swollen. Do you think I might be undergoing a second differentiation?"

In his line of sight was a fair, slender neck, a faint scent of lemon brushing past his nose.

Images of last night’s turbulent, intimate moments flooded his mind. Ying Xi didn’t know where to look, eventually fixing his gaze on the dark mole beside Li Yang’s collarbone.

"No," he said firmly.

Li Yang asked why.

After a brief silence, Ying Xi replied, "I bit it."

"..." Li Yang blinked, needing several seconds to process. "Even if you bit it, it wouldn’t swell this much, would it?"

"Still, we should go to the hospital," Ying Xi said, looking away. "This time was different. I’ve never lost control like that before—maybe there was an issue with the suppressants."

Li Yang spoke slowly, "I feel like I’ve been acting strangely too."

After finishing their meal and changing clothes, they went to the hospital.

"Mutual influence?" Inside the office, Li Yang asked, puzzled. "You mean my partner and I influenced each other, leading to the loss of control?"

"Correct," Dr. Xu nodded slightly. "The two of you are quite unique—one is a high-quality Alpha, the other a pheromone-producing Beta. On top of that, your compatibility is exceptionally high, which led to this situation."

Seeing Li Yang still looked confused, Dr. Xu added, "For example, if your partner loves apples, and you happen to be an apple, you’re the ultimate attraction to him. The same goes for you—your partner is equally compelling to you. So, the two of you have been influencing each other continuously."

Li Yang self-consciously massaged his neck. "Then is there something wrong with my gland?"

"It’s still in an atrophied state," Dr. Xu said. "If you’re not experiencing any discomfort, no treatment is necessary."

Then he turned to Ying Xi. "Next time, as the partner, you need to be more careful. You can’t keep biting that atrophied gland to inject pheromones. Betas can’t be marked, but given that the Alpha lost control, this behavior is understandable."

Li Yang froze.

No wonder Ying Xi had looked so strange—he had been biting him in an attempt to mark him.

"I’ll control myself better," Ying Xi stated firmly. "This kind of overreaction won’t happen again."

"How do you two feel now? Have you noticed any differences? Have your partner’s symptoms improved?" Dr. Xu asked bluntly.

"Yes," Ying Xi nodded.

Dr. Xu continued, "If the two of you develop dependency later on, that’s normal. Don’t worry about it. Also, while it’s highly unlikely for Betas to conceive, I’d still recommend using—"

Li Yang, who had been thinking he hadn’t noticed any changes, abruptly interrupted, "I understand, Dr. Xu. That won’t be necessary."

The topic had shifted too abruptly. He lowered his head, slightly embarrassed.

Dr. Xu chuckled. "I’m glad you’ve found the person you need most in each other. Moving forward, keep monitoring. If anything unusual happens, feel free to come see me immediately."

They both agreed and left the hospital.

Li Yang soon realized he could no longer smell others' pheromones.

At first, he didn't think much of it, but over the next two weeks, aside from Ying Xi’s pheromones, he couldn’t sense anyone else’s at all.

To confirm this, Li Yang deliberately called Wen Yun out for a test, confirming it.

Though he found it strange, he mostly felt relieved.

Others' pheromones were toxic to him—not smelling them was a relief.

“Then this is a good thing,” Wen Yun said after hearing about Li Yang’s recent experiences. “Otherwise, you’d be suffering every day. Congrats on turning into a regular Beta.”

“But…” Wen Yun hesitated. “Do you know you’re reeking of Ying Xi’s pheromones?”

“Am I?” Li Yang lowered his head, sniffing around but catching no scent.

“I’m an Omega—my ability to sense pheromones is stronger than yours,” Wen Yun stopped him. “Every part of you carries his pheromones, though barely noticeable.”

At this, Wen Yun excitedly leaned in, wiggling his eyebrows. “Did you and Ying Xi do something? The kind of steamy stuff they write about in novels?”

Li Yang admitted bluntly, “We did all that could be done.”

His calm tone left Wen Yun utterly stunned. After half a minute of recovery, he asked, “So… how was it?”

“What?”

“Were you two compatible?”

Taken aback by the question, Li Yang chuckled. “I don’t know.”

He hadn’t been fully conscious at the time—everything was too chaotic to recall the details.

Wen Yun sighed. “I was hoping to ask you for material for my story.”

“You’re writing a novel?” Li Yang was surprised.

“Yeah. After reading so many and not finding the kind of story I wanted, I figured I’d just write it myself.” Wen Yun rested his chin in his palm, muttering, “But even if you could describe it, it wouldn’t be usable—it’d all get asterisked out anyway.”

Li Yang laughed at his words.

“Still working part-time?” Wen Yun glanced at the busy crowd around them, sighing. “Time flies. Summer's practically over already.”

“Three more days,” Li Yang said. He’d already told his boss he’d be leaving then.

“Let’s meet up before school starts. We missed the graduation gathering, so we can have a small get-together,” Wen Yun suggested.

“You two are staying local for college, but I’ll be 400 miles away. I probably won’t be back until holidays.”

“Works for me.” Li Yang agreed readily, pulling Wen Yun and Ying Xi into a group chat to discuss where to meet.

Wen Xinci seemed to have bugged their phones and bodies. Before the three could finalize their plans, he messaged both Li Yang and Wen Yun separately.

“School’s starting soon. Don’t you guys want to hang out?”

Li Yang didn’t reply, while Wen Yun sent back just dots.

Wen Xinci immediately caught on. “You’ve already planned a meetup without me, haven’t you?! I’m coming too—don’t even think about ditching me!”

“If you know we don’t want you there, why invite yourself?” Wen Yun asked.

“I don’t care. I’m joining your little group, no matter what,” Wen Xinci shot back. “Tell me the location once you decide. You better not leave me out.”

Noticing Li Yang laughing with Ying Xi, Wen Yun hammered out a reply.

“You’re not still into Li Yang, are you? He’s already taken by Ying Xi—they’re head over heels. If you can’t let go, then don’t come.”

“…I said I’m joining your group, didn’t I? I’ve been over him. Besides, I have a boyfriend now. I’ll introduce him to you guys next time.”

Wen Yun sent a skeptical lip-pursing emoji.

To everyone’s surprise, Wen Xinci actually brought his boyfriend to the gathering.

He was a Beta—handsome, considerate, and very cheerful.

After scrutinizing him, Wen Yun had to ask why Wen Xinci had chosen a Beta.

“Because I want to. I just like Betas,” Wen Xinci said with a shrug.

Wen Yun gave a thumbs-up. “Damn, bold move. If I dated a Beta, my dads would whoop my ass to next Tuesday.”

“Just to clarify, I have nothing against Ying Xi—it’s just that, generally, Alphas just aren't my type,” Wen Xinci explained. “I prefer Betas.”

“Wait a second.” Wen Yun suddenly realized something, grabbing his head dramatically. “So now, in this group of four, I’m the only single one? Don’t do this to me.”

The others cracked up.

Li Yang, unusually, gave drinking a shot.

In his memory, liquor was harsh and nasty, but this time, the drink he ordered had a touch of sweetness—not burning his throat or upsetting his stomach.

He ended up having several glasses.

By the time his face turned as red as if he’d rolled in a blush palette, he had to put his glass down, stumbling dizzily into the corner of the sofa.

“You’re drunk,” Ying Xi caught him, watching as his cheeks puffed and his eyes glazed over. Unable to resist, he reached out to stroke Li Yang’s face.

The cool touch was a relief against his burning cheeks. Li Yang pressed into Ying Xi’s palm, his body limp yet still insisting he wasn’t drunk.

After all, Wen Xinci looked normal—just duplicated.

That didn’t count as being drunk.

Wen Yun lost it laughing at Li Yang’s drunken mumbling, pulling out his phone to record him. “Li Yang, say it again—are you drunk? How many Wen Xincis do you see?”

“I’m not drunk. Three Wen Xincis… no, five.” Li Yang clumsily fumbled with his eyelids, trying to see clearer, but gave up and face-planted into Ying Xi’s chest.

“There really are five. Ask Wen Xinci what’s going on—did he evolve mid-meal?”

He had no idea what he was saying, his thoughts tumbling out unfiltered.

Wen Yun was dying laughing, while Wen Xinci pointed at his own face, floored by Li Yang’s certainty.

“If you’re seeing multiples of me, how is that my fault?”

Li Yang could hear and understand him—he just couldn’t process it.

After a long brain lag, he blinked. “…Oh. So it’s my problem?”

“Exactly. You’re drunk,” Wen Xinci sighed. “Never touch alcohol again.”

Li Yang shook his head in refusal: "No, this liquor is really good."

He grabbed the bottle he was drinking from, trying to remember its name for next time.

Ying Xi thought he wanted more and reached out to take the bottle: "Li Yang, no more drinking."

"I won't drink anymore. What's the name of this? Help me remember." He placed the bottle into Ying Xi's pocket, but the heavy bottle immediately made his clothes sag.

Li Yang took it back out and asked Ying Xi to take a photo instead. His face pressed against the cool tabletop as his ears were ringing.

He could understand the conversations around him, but the words went in one ear and out the other, without registering in his mind.

The bright lights hurt his eyes. Li Yang blinked, and the moment he closed them, he passed out.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when he groggily opened his eyes again.

The familiar ceiling and room—this was his and Ying Xi’s home.

Li Yang sat up, reeking of booze to the point where even he couldn’t stand it. Disgusted, he stumbled to the bathroom and fell asleep in the bathtub with the water still running.

When Ying Xi pushed open the bathroom door, he found Li Yang completely underwater in the tub, water having long overflowed.

He hurried over to pull him out and turned off the faucet.

"Li Yang, wake up."

Li Yang refused to open his eyes until water trickled down his forehead and into them. He immediately rubbed his eyes in discomfort, trying to sit up in the tub.

His drunken body had no strength, and he slipped back down instantly. At the last moment, Ying Xi slipped an arm around his waist and lifted him out of the tub.

"Wait—" Suddenly lifted up, the warmth at his lower back spread through his entire body. Li Yang panicked and clung to Ying Xi’s head, his words slurring.

"This is too high up. Put me down. I haven’t... washed... washed yet."

"I'll help you." Ying Xi held him with one hand and turned on the shower with the other.

"You’ll help me?" Li Yang paused, his dark eyes clouded with confusion.

Only when Ying Xi set him down did he snap out of it, stopping Ying Xi’s hand. "N-no, no."

He shook his head, slurring his words as he struggled to wash himself, only to slip and let out a startled cry. Instinctively flailing, he grabbed Ying Xi’s hair.

The force was too strong, and he heard a soft "hiss."

Li Yang let go in horror and frantically checked Ying Xi’s hair. "Did I pull out your hair? Let me see how many fell out."

His vision kept doubling. He blinked rapidly, trying to focus, but eventually gave up.

"I can’t see. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry."

"It’s fine." Ying Xi caught his hand, chuckling. "Doesn't hurt. Just surprised me."

"I’m sorry." Li Yang didn’t seem to hear him, still apologizing as he bent slightly, as if trying to bow. "Sorry, sorry, hair. I didn’t mean to pull you."

Ying Xi paused. Now he's apologizing to my hair? Li Yang really was completely wasted.

Unable to hold back a laugh, he cradled Li Yang’s face.

Li Yang blinked blearily, completely unaware of what he was doing. Water trailed down his pale cheeks, disappearing into his soaked clothes.

His thin white shirt clung tightly to his body, rendered transparent by the water, outlining his form and pink-tinged skin.

Drops of water slid from his hair onto his forehead, then down to his eyelids. Li Yang blinked uncomfortably, his damp lashes fluttering. His dark eyes shimmered with a glossy sheen, as if veiled in a beautiful mist.

Ying Xi couldn’t resist leaning down to give his cheek a playful nip. "Let’s bathe."

"Don’t bite me." Li Yang mumbled, covering his face and turning away, as if afraid Ying Xi would do it again.

But he didn’t struggle further, standing pliant under the spray with a slight hunch.

The warm water made it hard to keep his eyes open. Li Yang’s mind quickly fogged over again, his body swaying as he weakly braced himself against the wall.

Ying Xi turned off the shower and told Li Yang to raise his hands.

"Why raise them?" Li Yang asked, confused, but obediently lifted his arms, chuckling drunkenly. "I raised them. Now what?"

His strength was gone. The moment his hands went up, he lost balance and tumbled straight into Ying Xi’s arms.

Feeling hands undoing his clothes, Li Yang defensively crossed his arms, warily asking, "What are you doing?"

Before Ying Xi could answer, he laughed and dropped his hands, his voice soft and gentle. "Never mind, never mind. You’ve seen everything already. Look all you want."

His fair skin was smooth like milk, begging to be marked.

Ying Xi’s eyes darkened. He sighed, steadied Li Yang, and quickly washed him.

Li Yang was usually quiet, but the booze made him chatty. Standing docilely under Ying Xi’s care, he kept talking nonstop.

He couldn’t even remember what he was saying, circling back to topics he'd just finished moments ago.

"Ying Xi." Li Yang suddenly pinched Ying Xi’s nose. "Are you real or fake?"

Ying Xi swiftly dried him off, bundled him into a robe, and handed him a toothbrush, smiling. "Of course I’m real."

"No, there's three of you. You’re fake." The drunk finally realized he was seeing double. Standing in front of the mirror, he brushed his teeth with his eyes closed, mumbling, "Only one is real. I must be dreaming."

After finishing his routine and drying his hair, Ying Xi scooped Li Yang up easily and carried him to bed.

His own clothes were drenched and uncomfortably stuck to his skin, so Ying Xi headed back to the bathroom to wash up.

The moment Li Yang touched the bed, he grew excited, rolling around until his loosely tied robe came undone.

His body was fully exposed under the light—a dangerously tempting sight. Ying Xi immediately covered his eyes, hastily retying the robe and buttoning it up for good measure.

Li Yang didn’t care what he was wearing. Only when he tired himself out did he stop, breathing softly as he nestled under the blankets. "Let's sleep, Ying Xi."

When he got no response, he called again, "Ying Xi, come to bed. Goodnight."

Ying Xi didn’t answer.

The shower ran for half an hour.

By the time he came out, Li Yang was already asleep, clutching a stuffed animal. His long lashes rested peacefully, casting delicate shadows on his skin—a far cry from his earlier drunkenness.

Ying Xi caught himself staring for a long time before snapping out of it. He dried his hair out in the living room before returning to the bedroom, clicking off the main light and leaving just a bedside lamp glowing.

As he lay down, he tried to pull the toy away, but Li Yang automatically held on tighter, refusing to let go.

Ying Xi smiled, gathering both into his arms.

Perhaps sensing the familiar scent, Li Yang released the plush toy and let his fingers linger on Ying Xi's waist, leaving them there without moving.

Ying Xi closed his eyes and groped for the bedside lamp to turn it off.

Before long, the hand under his clothes started wandering, sliding upward along his waist, gliding over his abs, and finally coming to a stop on his chest.

In the darkness, Ying Xi opened his eyes, keenly aware of the warm breath against his skin. He leaned in and kissed Li Yang's cheek.

"You're too warm," Li Yang mumbled, turning his head away in protest, though his hand remained where it was.

Ying Xi chuckled. "I hope you remember all of this when you wake up tomorrow."

And indeed, when Li Yang woke up, he remembered—vivid enough to play back like a movie in his mind.

Holding his throbbing head, he was stunned by his own audacity the night before, regretting how much he had drunk.

At least he'd just been handsy, not completely out of control.

Otherwise, it would have been far too awkward.

Li Yang quickly dressed and stepped into the living room.

Ying Xi had just finished preparing breakfast and gestured for him to eat.

"Sorry about last night," Li Yang said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was actually pretty clear-headed, just couldn’t control myself. Sorry I put you through that."

"So, you’re saying that touching and kissing me was something you actually wanted to do?" Ying Xi propped his chin on his hand, catching the key point in his words, his lips quirked in a teasing smile.

"God, when did I kiss you?" Li Yang's dark eyes widened in shock as he scrambled to recall.

Aside from messing around in the bathroom and bedroom, he was sure he hadn’t done anything else.

...Well, there was that moment when he had groped Ying Xi in his sleep, but he definitely didn’t recall kissing him.

"In the middle of the night, you suddenly straddled me, planted a kiss on me, and even forced my arms over my head so I couldn’t struggle," Ying Xi said, pointing to the small bite mark at the corner of his mouth. "This is where you bit me when I tried to resist."

Before Li Yang could react, Ying Xi deliberately dragged out his words, speaking slowly, "So Yangyang's into restraint play, is he?"