Chapter 56

Chapter 56

One moment he was basking in the joy of having the upper hand in their verbal sparring; the next, An Nuo’s fleeting advantage expired.

In conversations with Lu Yunyan, being on the defensive seemed to be his predetermined fate.

An Nuo hadn't expected the spotlight to suddenly swing back to him.

And Lu Yunyan had admitted it so readily, so naturally?

Shouldn't true feelings be confirmed repeatedly, with much back-and-forth, and even then, spoken with a hint of shyness?

Yet Lu Yunyan confessed so easily—his demeanor alone didn't align with An Nuo's expectations, and the emotions he felt upon hearing it were the complete opposite of what he'd imagined.

An Nuo was bewildered.

Perhaps he had hoped for Lu Yunyan's sincerity—but why, after hearing Lu Yunyan's confirmation, did his heart become strangely still, settling into an inexplicable calm?

Lu Yunyan pressed, "...Hmm? Is that so?"

"It must be, otherwise you wouldn't care about these things or be curious about my answer."

His inner thoughts exposed once more, An Nuo's face immediately flushed. He reached out to push Lu Yunyan away, "...I—I don't know!"

Lu Yunyan's answer hadn't brought An Nuo much surprise, but An Nuo's response instantly delighted Lu Yunyan.

Not "no," but "I don't know."

"I don't know"—didn't that imply confusion?

And confusion meant both possibilities were mixed in?

If both were mixed in, didn't that mean there was sincerity?

If there was sincerity, what more was there to say?

An Nuo truly had genuine feelings for him.

It was because he harbored genuine feelings that he cared whether Lu Yunyan was also sincere, and why he had thrown such a seemingly unreasonable tantrum when he suspected otherwise.

Lu Yunyan couldn't suppress his grin: "So the reason you were angry with me was because you thought I was too calm and unaffected—or if I was affected, it was only by pheromones, with no sincerity involved. Is that it?"

"...No! Don't talk nonsense!"

An Nuo hastily denied it.

His worst fear had materialized—now that Lu Yunyan had seen through him, he could only brace himself for teasing and torment.

An Nuo couldn't bring himself to look up, absolutely refusing to meet Lu Yunyan's gaze. He kept his head down, attempting to dodge left and right.

But no matter which way he turned, Lu Yunyan blocked him, eventually trapping him within the circle of his arms.

"Alright, no need to run. What else is there to say when you look like this? I've already figured it out."

"..."

An Nuo stubbornly refused to admit anything, determined to remain defiant.

Just moments ago, he wouldn't even glance at Lu Yunyan, but now he puffed out his chest like a proud little bird, glaring fiercely at Lu Yunyan.

"...What did you figure out? What do I look like? Don't you dare spread rumors!"

Looking up was even better.

Without a word, Lu Yunyan cupped An Nuo's chin, leaned down, and kissed him directly.

Last night, he wouldn't have dared.

But now that everything was out in the open, it was good—he could kiss him whenever he wanted.

At first, An Nuo naturally resisted, struggling fiercely, but Lu Yunyan held him in the kiss, refusing to let go. Before long, An Nuo was kissed into a daze, too stunned to resist.

In a haze, he was lifted and placed on the nearby table. By the time he finally regained his breath, An Nuo was already clinging to Lu Yunyan's neck, their pheromones mingling in the air.

As rationality slowly returned, An Nuo's face burned with embarrassment.

He kept saying "no, no," but then ended up being kissed senseless—no wonder Lu Yunyan said he could see it all. He really hadn't put up much of a fight.

Pushing lightly at Lu Yunyan, An Nuo, still blushing, felt compelled to put on a show of resistance, "...Let go of me, now."

Lu Yunyan, of course, didn't let go. Instead, he took An Nuo's hand and kissed the back of it.

"This is wonderful," Lu Yunyan said with a smile. "So we're the same, after all."

"..."

They were the same.

Hearing those words, An Nuo felt that the awkward mood he'd been carrying since last night finally found some balance.

"I've always said you can treat me as your true husband. During this time, I'll take responsibility for all your emotions... But I could also sense that you never fully accepted it. You always maintained a rational resistance, never forgetting the agreement."

Perhaps because his heart had been exposed, there was no point in pretending anymore.

Hearing Lu Yunyan say they were the same, An Nuo no longer felt like a drifting island; he had found the security of an anchor.

An Nuo turned his face away, reluctantly admitting, "...Isn't that only natural? I don't want to suffer too much when we divorce someday."

He mentioned divorce again.

He had to say it one more time than Lu Yunyan.

Lu Yunyan replied, "That's still years away."

"Three years from now—can that be considered 'years'? Even if it is, we'll still divorce eventually. You said so yourself."

He said it again.

Two more times than Lu Yunyan.

The first time the word "divorce" came up, Lu Yunyan hadn't paid much attention, nor had it stuck in his mind.

But when it appeared a second and third time, emphasized so repeatedly by An Nuo, Lu Yunyan began to feel that something was off.

Sensing something unusual, Lu Yunyan quickly replayed the previous day's events in his mind. After carefully searching his memories, he found the relevant moment and quickly understood the true cause and effect.

So what had upset An Nuo wasn't the "marking" itself—it was the fact that, while trying to persuade An Nuo, Lu Yunyan had used the phrase "after divorce" in his reasoning.

Now all the odd and awkward behavior since then fell into place.

No wonder An Nuo's point of contention was his own "calm" and "unaffected" demeanor.

They had just gone through a sweet rut period, a clingy, affectionate phase, and after barely two days of calm, he had brought up "permanent marking" one second, followed by "after divorce" the next—taken separately, it might seem insignificant, but when put together, it felt emotionally disjointed.

Though it was just a small, trivial detail, An Nuo had high emotional needs, so it was perfectly normal for him to dwell on such a jarring little detail.

Because it happened simultaneously with the "marking," Lu Yunyan had focused entirely on the marking, worrying only that An Nuo was unwilling to agree, and overlooked everything else.

Now he finally understood.

No wonder An Nuo was willing to agree but asked for "emotional reparations" in return.

No wonder An Nuo cared so much about the difference between "sincerity" and "pheromone influence."

Because what An Nuo cared about most, what he had emphasized all along, was actually this bit of *emotion*.

Once he figured this out, Lu Yunyan didn't just feel enlightened—his spirits soared uncontrollably.

An Nuo truly had him in his heart.

It wasn't him overinterpreting, nor was it groundless fantasy.

It was real.

An Nuo had genuinely developed feelings for him.

Even though this step had been part of Lu Yunyan's plan from the start, and he had always been confident he could reach this point, the moment it was confirmed, Lu Yunyan found himself far happier than he had anticipated.

Now he really had to talk himself into staying calm and not get carried away.

Calm, calm.

At this stage, he still needed to maintain his composure, absolutely not tipping his hand, not scaring An Nuo away.

He had to wait until An Nuo fully realized he had fallen, until the answer was no longer a confused "I don't know," before he could make his move decisively.

With the right answer in mind, responding was no longer difficult.

Lu Yunyan looked at An Nuo, his gaze deep with affection: "What if I said my sincerity doesn't want me to divorce you?"

"..."

An Nuo's eyelashes fluttered slightly.

But his heart quaked intensely.

The part that had hurt and bothered him the most—Lu Yunyan had finally found the right answer to fill it.

Whether it was sincerity or sameness, only these words were the only acceptable answer in An Nuo's heart.

But he absolutely refused to show it.

An Nuo feigned a scoff: "...Who knows what's true or false with you? It's all just your words anyway."

"Yes, it's all my words, but it's all true."

What had been said couldn't be changed, only amended to make up for it.

"I said the mark could be removed after divorce, but maybe we won't end up divorcing, and you'll never need to remove it?"

Lu Yunyan's direction was correct, but saying it so suddenly was still too much. An Nuo was clearly taken aback, unsure how to react.

Lu Yunyan watched closely and course-corrected: "I don't know if this comes from sincerity or pheromone influence—maybe both... If you insist on divorcing me, I can accept it. So, do you want to divorce me?"

Shifting the conflict to An Nuo naturally redirected his focus.

"...Huh?"

An Nuo instinctively let out a confused sound.

Lu Yunyan asked again: "I said, do you want to divorce me?"

"..."

An Nuo regretted it—he should've stayed silent and played dead to brush it off.

Now he had to give some kind of answer.

But An Nuo also chose to dodge the question: "...I don't know."

Lu Yunyan had expected this response. After testing the boundaries, he replied with restraint: "Then let's not linger on this matter, okay?"

"We'll deal with the future when it comes. At least for now, we *are* the same, right?"

"..."

They were the same.

Perhaps Lu Yunyan couldn't understand it, but these words truly gave An Nuo a lot of strength, steadying him amid his confusion and bewilderment.

"Don't be angry, baby. This time it's my fault. Let's seal it with a kiss and make up, okay?"

"..."

It sounded polite, asking "okay," but in reality, he gave An Nuo no chance to respond. Lu Yunyan cupped his chin and kissed him again.

The kiss was heavy and urgent, as if he didn't want An Nuo to breathe, determined to kiss him senseless.

Then, while An Nuo was dazed and disoriented, his fingers skillfully undid the buttons of his collar, casually sweeping over the gland below his collarbone.

He had held himself back for a long time, unable to touch this spot. During the rut, he had forcefully suppressed the urge to puncture and mark it countless times.

Today, he no longer needed to restrain himself.

He could use his canines to pierce the skin, inject his pheromones, and permanently mark An Nuo as his own, claiming him with his exclusive mark.

Just the thought excited him.

Since An Nuo had agreed to the marking in the car, Lu Yunyan naturally wanted to complete it as soon as possible, to prevent complications.

But the sensation of his gland being directly touched jolted An Nuo back to awareness.

He wasn't stupid either. Realizing what Lu Yunyan intended to do, he mustered unexpected strength and shoved Lu Yunyan back hard.

"...You—what are you doing?!"

Lu Yunyan was taken aback but remained largely unflustered.

Because he was set on marking An Nuo then and there, and nothing could stop his decision.

Unhurried, Lu Yunyan resembled a gray wolf that had locked onto its prey, ready to drag it back to its den to enjoy slowly.

With his arms braced on either side of An Nuo, trapping him in place, Lu Yunyan said, "I'm marking you. Didn't you agree to it?"

"Not now... I'm not prepared..."

Lu Yunyan leaned in, nuzzling against An Nuo's ear, and murmured, "Keep talking, baby. I love it when you talk like that."

"..."