Chapter 57

Chapter 57

An Nuo was truly impressed by Lu Yunyan’s perceptiveness.

He quickly shut his mouth, not uttering another word, and instead pushed against Lu Yunyan with his hands.

But he couldn’t push him away at all—before he could even straighten his arms, his freedom to speak and breathe was stolen once again.

Truly worthy of Lu Yunyan—his ability to change expressions was terrifyingly swift.

It was as if he had a split personality, with the other persona specializing in risqué behavior, always catching An Nuo off guard when he least expected it.

But An Nuo wasn’t genuinely resisting all that much.

It was true that he was unprepared, but after putting up a token resistance for a few moments, he considered it enough.

Then, without further struggle, he half-heartedly allowed Lu Yunyan to continue kissing him, pliant and obedient, choosing to indulge Lu Yunyan’s antics.

And Lu Yunyan was happy either way.

If An Nuo resisted with all his might, he would find it thrilling and exhilarating.

If An Nuo resisted weakly, he would also find it thrilling and exhilarating.

If An Nuo didn’t resist at all and obediently allowed himself to be kissed, then he would be even more thrilled, absolutely pumped.

Just like now.

An Nuo’s gentle and compliant acceptance only fueled Lu Yunyan’s wild and domineering plunder, as if he wanted to devour the pretty one in his arms whole.

Earlier, he had only tentatively unbuttoned the collar, but now he was outright tearing the clothes off without ceremony.

Hearing the sound of fabric tearing, An Nuo was stunned and quickly punched Lu Yunyan several times.

He’s insane!

Why tear the clothes!

What did my clothes ever do to him!

He really liked this shirt!

Later, he would definitely make Lu Yunyan apologize to this shirt!

But even as these complaints ran through his head, the distance between them didn’t increase in the slightest—Lu Yunyan held him tightly.

Marking outside of heat could hurt a bit.

Since the body doesn’t secrete substances to numb the pain during ordinary times, the sensation of skin being pierced and something embedding itself into the flesh had to be endured fully conscious.

Yet many couples still enjoyed marking during such times.

Overall, the wound was small, the pain was bearable, and it allowed them to feel every detail of the process more vividly.

As if enduring this pain for each other could become a "proof of love."

Lu Yunyan was focused and swift. An Nuo, still lost in the haze of the kiss, suddenly felt a sharp, needle-like pain, as if jabbed hard by a parrot’s beak—only then did he realize that Lu Yunyan had already gotten down to business, going for his gland.

He could take it, but it really hurt.

Honestly, as the sharp pain spread through his body, An Nuo just wanted to kick Lu Yunyan away.

But in those first few seconds, his body was completely numb and rigid, as if some large predator had bitten through his spine. He was still alive but couldn’t move—only pain remained, and his sense of security was rapidly draining away.

An Nuo was so frantic he wanted to cry.

Resistance was still his biological instinct’s first choice.

But Lu Yunyan held him tightly, his strong arms firmly encircling An Nuo, his resolve to mark him stubborn and resolute.

In reality, it only took mere seconds, but entangled with pain, every second felt excruciatingly long.

An Nuo started crying, struggling instinctively: "No, no, I regret it, I don’t want it anymore…"

But it was already too late.

At this point, even if Lu Yunyan wanted to regret it, it was too late.

If marking were compared to an alpha’s plunder of an omega, the omega was not merely a passive recipient without any means of resistance.

While the alpha plundered, the omega would also counter-invade the alpha.

The omega-specific scent fluids would enter the alpha’s mucosa through the canine teeth, until fully absorbed.

From then on, Lu Yunyan would forever remember An Nuo’s pheromones and respond only to his scent.

No other omega’s pheromones would ever tempt him again.

Especially during rut, even the proudest, most defiant alpha would become a prisoner of pheromones, humbly begging his omega for salvation.

As an alpha, in that moment, Lu Yunyan’s body would also resist, naturally rejecting this invasion.

But the embedded canine teeth were like locked in place, immovable—the situation was no longer under Lu Yunyan’s control.

Until those seconds passed, and the marking was finally complete.

An Nuo’s breathing was trembling, almost broken, tears falling uncontrollably from the biological response.

So this was what being marked felt like.

After the sharp pain subsided, the wound began to feel faintly numb and tingling.

He could feel the alpha’s pheromones seeping into him, rapidly circulating through his body. His heart felt as if it were floating in air, pounding faster.

His entire body grew hot uncontrollably, blood circulation under his skin speeding up, yet his fingertips were cold, weak, and trembling.

Different parts of his body had different sensations—separate yet working together.

It was strange and weird.

A thin layer of sweat formed on his forehead. It took a long time before Lu Yunyan heard his voice: "...Are you okay? Did it hurt a lot?"

"..."

An Nuo came back to himself and only then noticed that Lu Yunyan was wiping his tears.

But his skin felt so numb he hadn’t noticed anything before.

An Nuo shook his head, his voice came out shaky: "It doesn’t hurt anymore, but it feels... so weird..."

"What's strange?"

An Nuo answered in a daze, "...I suddenly feel like you smell amazing."

"..."

Lu Yunyan truly never expected that one day, he would be flirted with by An Nuo.

He gave a light chuckle, "Anything else?"

To be honest, he also thought An Nuo smelled good—not just good, but also sweet and enticing.

An Nuo blinked, "Also... I feel like the mood swing is pretty drastic. You should seriously keep kissing me, please..."

"..."

Is this the effect of a permanent bond?

It seemed completely normal, nothing out of place, but for An Nuo to take the initiative and make such a request was something Lu Yunyan would never have imagined.

"Okay."

But since An Nuo had brought it up, Lu Yunyan wasn't about to refuse, lowering his head to kiss him again.

The atmosphere became thick with intimacy.

It was hard to pinpoint exactly where the intimacy lay, but it was undeniably there.

It seemed as though all the negative and passive emotions had been washed away during the marking, and they could feel each other’s emotions gradually rising, their breaths growing quicker.

"Looks like we won’t be able to make dinner tonight."

Hearing this, An Nuo, whose mind had gone blank from the kissing, snapped back to his senses.

Because he remembered Shi Yu.

Tonight’s dinner wasn't with just anybody—it was with Shi Yu. How could they not go?

Especially if they were blowing it off for something like this.

Would he even be able to face Shi Yu after this?

An Nuo pulled away, "...Why? What are you trying to do?"

"What do you think?"

The scene from not long ago played out again.

Lu Yunyan said, "Keep asking, baby. I really like it when you ask—it’s really hot."

"..."

An Nuo was honestly defeated.

A few days ago, facing his heat cycle, An Nuo’s situation was special and severe, so everything that happened felt inevitable.

But An Nuo also knew that once this line was crossed, there would be no going back. It was bound to happen eventually—there was no escaping it.

But it had only been a few days.

The interval was way too short.

The short time was enough to make An Nuo feel embarrassed, but under the influence of the bond, he had to admit he was just as helpless against it.

Reason told An Nuo to at least be practical, so he asked seriously, "...No, no, what if I get pregnant?"

But Lu Yunyan treated it like a game, getting more turned on the more he heard, "Say more, baby. I love hearing it."

"..."

In the end, they still didn’t make dinner.

An Nuo was full of regret.

An Nuo was utterly regretful, so much so that it felt like his gut was churning.

What exactly happened back then?

What on earth occurred?

Was there some invisible spell at work?

Did Lu Yunyan set this up?

Did he use some arcane energy to trick him?

He remembered clearly that he was throwing a fit and being stubborn with Lu Yunyan—how did things suddenly take that turn?

Not only did he end up marked, but he also missed the dinner he had scheduled with Shi Yu?

Wait?

Isn’t that totally unreal?

Their new home, though they hadn’t even moved in yet, had already been "broken in" by them, and they didn’t leave until late into the night.

The next day, An Nuo went to work sore all over.

From time to time, he had to rub his waist, massage his legs, and press his shoulders, stiff as a robot dipped in seawater.

But the most uncomfortable and noticeable part was the marking site below his collarbone.

The mark was deep and would probably take three or four days to fully heal.

During this time, it was no different from a normal wound—it hurt, itched, and could get inflamed. Getting it wet was especially painful.

That morning, An Nuo had put on a bandage, but it might have caused an allergic reaction on the surrounding skin because he kept feeling itchy.

He couldn’t help but want to scratch it, but scratching the wound only made it hurt.

An Nuo felt that being an omega was just too difficult.

It made it hard for him to focus at work; he kept slacking, secretly scrolling through social apps to search for posts about similar experiences, trying to figure out if the itching was a normal post-marking reaction or if his skin was allergic to the bandage.

But he didn’t find any answers—instead, the recommended posts were all about scientific contraception methods and weird pregnancy test reviews.

It made An Nuo even more on edge.

He felt like the next step would be picking an abortion clinic.

And at a time like this, Lu Yunyan was still texting to bother him.

Lu Yunyan: "Whatcha doing, baby?"

An Nuo: ?

What else could he be doing besides working? Like he'd be cooking hotpot in the office?

An Nuo ignored him.

Lu Yunyan: "Missing you, baby."

Lu Yunyan: "Kisses for you, baby."

Logically speaking, the marking should create a deeper emotional bond between an alpha and an omega.

Especially on the first or second day after a permanent mark, some couples even need to stick together constantly, can't bear to be out of each other's sight.

But that wasn't the case for An Nuo.

Maybe the wound hurt too much, the skin around it was too itchy, and the related posts recommended online were too terrifying. Seeing Lu Yunyan's messages, An Nuo only felt harassed and annoyed, along with resentment over how hard Lu Yunyan had bitten him.

An Nuo: "Get lost!"

Definite, forceful, and cold.

Lu Yunyan: "?"

Lu Yunyan: "What's up, baby? Who made you angry?"

Seeing Lu Yunyan's messages, An Nuo felt inexplicably irritable, wishing he could charge into the office, string Lu Yunyan up, and beat the crap out of him.

It wasn’t until Sean returned from outside and gave An Nuo a couple of looks.

Normally, An Nuo was somewhat afraid of him, out of a weaker person's instinctual deference to a stronger being.

But today, he was extra confrontational. Not only did he glare back, but he also asked, "What're you looking at?"

Sean paused for a second, but his tone remained as cold as ever: "...Are you running a fever? You don't look right."