Chapter 46

Chapter 46

The two of them stopped in an empty area against a wall.

Meng Shijiu straightened up from a crouch, his long hair slightly disheveled as it fell over his shoulders, before the red-haired Alpha behind him gently gathered it.

Meng Shijiu shot a sidelong glance at Cui Suifu.

The Alpha beside him deliberately closed the distance, bringing a wave of heat with him. The corners of his eyes were slightly upturned, his jet-black pupils clear as if freshly rinsed, and the curve of his lips held a sharp edge.

Under the direct glare of the blazing sun, Meng Shijiu suddenly noticed that Cui Suifu's eyelashes weren't the subconscious deep black he'd imagined, but rather a raven-blue hue, cutting a cold, sharp line within the halo of light.

It seemed to declare to him that this person wasn't a bold, heavy stroke in a painting, but a sheathed blade.

They had ditched the training, but the smile the red-haired Alpha showed him was clearly odd.

It was a meaningful, and somewhat familiar, smile.

Meng Shijiu: ...

Meng Shijiu's gaze swept over him casually, quickly drawn by the surrounding scene.

A little further ahead from this spot, exposed beneath the open, shelterless sky, was the familiar, unobstructed view of white flowers.

One patch after another, stretching endlessly.

Meng Shijiu: ...

Almost immediately, Meng Shijiu turned his head to look at Cui Suifu.

That person's smile remained undiminished, even growing a bit brighter. This kind of smile always carried a hint of roguish mischief, yet aside from that slightly frivolous quality, his lips also held a trace of lingering tenderness.

Meng Shijiu suddenly remembered where he had seen this smile before.

It was the same familiarity from when the two of them had fallen from a height onto that grassy field, and Cui Suifu had said to him, "You seem to trust me quite a bit too," laughing silently yet unrestrainedly.

The fierce sun bred a sudden thirst. Meng Shijiu narrowed his eyes, his voice dry and raspy: "How did you manage to get us all the way out here?"

They had only agreed to ditch training, not to escape District 16. Where exactly had they run off to?

And just how *did* they get out? This wasn't just any ordinary area—

This was an official military zone.

A place where even a bird would undergo three rounds of scanning.

Reckless.

Having followed the other through twists and turns, he never expected to be led out of the base. Meng Shijiu tugged at the corner of his mouth, offering a hollow, mirthless smile as he shot Cui Suifu another glare:

"You're getting spoiled."

Hearing his voice, Cui Suifu suddenly leaned in closer. His tall frame cast a shadow over Meng Shijiu, his eyes dark and gleaming as if he'd struck gold: "You're thirsty?"

His tone was breezy, as if they weren't currently at the heavily guarded periphery of a military zone, but back on that grassy field filled with the scent of fresh grass.

Someone's gaze swept over the silver-haired Alpha's flushed lips, heavily suggestive.

Meng Shijiu turned his face away, avoiding the other's scorching gaze, but his voice held a touch more of an impatient rasp than usual: "Get lost."

The wind carried the distant sound of running footsteps past his ears. Belatedly, he realized his throat had indeed gone a little dry.

—But it definitely wasn't thirst.

His brow twitched slightly. The motion of turning his head allowed the silver-haired Alpha to be bathed in sunlight once more, his pale skin taking on a lustrous sheen.

Before his words even finished, Cui Suifu had already leaned in, tilting his head and pressing closer.

As the warm breath brushed past the thin skin behind his ear, Meng Shijiu lazily turned his face. His Adam's apple rolled along the taut line of his neck, tracing a cold, hard arc.

Cui Suifu let out a low chuckle: "What're you dodging for?"

He gently grasped the silver-haired Alpha's slender wrist, rubbing against it once, his palm pressing against Meng Shijiu's steady pulse.

Like a dog denied a bone.

When Meng Shijiu looked up, he met Cui Suifu's eyes, their corners slightly curved—

"Tch." He mercilessly kicked Cui Suifu.

Meng Shijiu walked towards that expanse of empty white.

When his knee touched the ground, it made a faint sound, as if he had fallen into a hunter's trap.

His pale fingertips paused on the flowers that had originally been separated by the railing, his eyelashes lowering along with them.

The base of the stark white petals held an extremely faint pink, like faded lipstick stains on bleached bones.

Tiny thorns hid among the flower stems, now catching on the pad of his finger—like a silent accusation, or perhaps a belated, gentle touch.

"What kind of flower is this?"

The thorn plowed a very shallow red mark on his fingertip. As Cui Suifu knelt down beside him, Meng Shijiu asked offhandedly.

"Don't know its official name." Cui Suifu's knuckled fingers covered his, gently moving his fingertip away from the flower cluster. "But around here, it has a nickname: Boundary Marker."

Meng Shijiu focused his gaze. The pink on the pale petals resembled bloodstains diluted by sweat.

Meng Shijiu: "Boundary Marker?"

"Mhm. Heard from the old soldiers that this kind of flower specifically grows where bones have been buried. The thorns that grow are said to be shrapnel that once pierced through flesh and blood."

Cui Suifu added calmly: "They say these flowers are the people who couldn't be taken away. If you want to pick them, you have to offer blood as a betrothal gift."

Meng Shijiu fell silent for two seconds: "...That sentimental?"

"Hm?"

Meng Shijiu: "I feel like its real name probably has nothing to do with what you just said?"

Cui Suifu suddenly raised an eyebrow, his dark pupils trembling slightly as if somewhat surprised: "You know what it's called?"

Meng Shijiu absentmindedly reached out his hand, seeking that cluster of white again: "I'm thinking."

Cui Suifu didn't stop him this time, simply watching from the side. Unconsciously, his gaze shifted to the silver-haired Alpha's face.

The delicate silver hair swayed in the gentle breeze, setting off the shimmering golden patterns within those jade-green lakes.

That face, usually wearing a distant, casual smile, was now immersed in prolonged silence, making Cui Suifu think of light, drifting snow.

...and then it actually made him think of the perpetual glaciers on the snowfield under such a blazing sun.

"Shouldn't human memory be like a book you've finished reading?" he suddenly spoke up.

"At least you'd remember some of the plot that happened."

Cui Suifu stared at the other's focused profile, his expression gradually growing complex, turning inquisitive, "—Why does it seem like you're rereading it?"

A mountain breeze swept between them, carrying away the pale petal, but it couldn't lift the suddenly heavy silence.

If See were here, he'd most likely assume the host had received unfamiliar memories only after arriving in this world, affected by various uncertainties, and not remembering some memories was normal—a system bug.

But since Cui Suifu knew nothing, sometimes he was closer to the truth instead. Meng Shijiu pushed himself up to sit, tilting his head slightly: "Maybe because... abilities affect memory?"

Cui Suifu was quick-witted. He leaned in closer, whispering, "Your ability? Like when you landed safely on the lawn?"

Meng Shijiu said without hesitation: "Yeah."

The red-haired Alpha's Adam's apple bobbed, his fingers instinctively tightening around Meng Shijiu's wrist again, growing tense: "Affects memory? What does that mean?"

Meng Shijiu thought for a moment: "...It slowly erases the overwritten memories. From only I remember, to no one remembering at all."

"It might also affect memories that already existed."

Cui Suifu didn't know the specifics of his ability, only getting the gist. He frowned: "It has that big an impact?"

Meng Shijiu: "It doesn't affect me."

Meng Shijiu: "I have a great memory."

Even if erased, he'd recover them, just like the memories of his rut and See that were lost due to the plot's influence.

Cui Suifu asked suddenly: "—So, did you recall it?"

Meng Shijiu finally turned his head: "What?"

Cui Suifu: "The flower's name."

Meng Shijiu met his gaze and said calmly: "Bonekiss. Its meaning is 'a kiss that not even life or death can part'."

As he spoke, Meng Shijiu saw the Alpha across from him smile silently again, like a hint of mischief in his eyes, as if he couldn't help but show his hand.

Cui Suifu: "Right."

Meng Shijiu: "..."

Of course, Cui Suifu knew what this flower was called.

—He didn't say it outright because the name sounded like teasing, sweet yet sharp, like a love poem. He worried that if he kept talking so freely, he'd really piss the other off.

The red-haired Alpha poked the other's waist lightly, like a dragonfly touching water, and as the other dodged, he took half a step back.

Meng Shijiu stood and brushed the grass off his clothes. Lowering his eyes, his lashes threw a cool look at Cui Suifu:

"Got nothing better to do?"

But Cui Suifu was like a dog entranced, wagging an invisible tail, and he leaned close to the other's shoulder again.

Just moments ago, he was afraid of getting kicked again by the silver-haired Alpha, yet now he was sticking close again. His bright, unruly features came close to the other's face, his smile gentle: "...Just one touch."

Cui Suifu was simply too restless.

The person he liked, a flower carrying an extremely ambiguous meaning, and Meng Shijiu's eyes that were clearly written with irritation.

He repeated: "Just one touch."

Before the words fully left his mouth, he had already lowered his head and gently brushed his lips against the corner of the other's mouth—like a wild bird dipping its feather in morning dew to touch the lake's surface.

Having succeeded, Cui Suifu straightened up again, his gaze burning as he looked at the silver-haired Alpha: "Since we're already out anyway."

He licked his lips, grabbing Meng Shijiu's hanging fingertips and giving them a little shake: "Want me to show you something?"

Having earned a free date opportunity, of course he had to make good use of it.

...

Meng Shijiu stared at him silently until Cui Suifu's heart raced under that gaze, gradually losing his confidence. Only then did the silver-haired Alpha slowly say: "Sure."

"But before we go—there's one more thing."

Cui Suifu smiled: "Mm? What?"

Meng Shijiu curled the corner of his lips. Cui Suifu saw a trace of a strange, almost eerie look suddenly appear in those clear, jade-green lakes.

His temple twitched.

The silver-haired Alpha slowly withdrew his smile, abruptly grabbing the other's collar, pulling him down, and biting the corner of his mouth.

Cui Suifu instinctively tightened his grip on the other's lower back, hearing his own heartbeat drown out all the distant noise.

A kiss.

Then, crackle and pop—under the clear, boundless sky, a torrential downpour suddenly arrived.

Bonekiss, toxicity level two, with a weak aphrodisiac effect.

As the S-class Alpha second prince of Lottelance, tempered through countless trials, Cui Suifu had long been immune to this level of toxicity. But these were precisely See's real bugs.

In the original book's setting, "Meng Shijiu's" Alpha level wasn't that high. Even after merging into Meng Shijiu's body, even after being tested as having an S-class Alpha physique, he couldn't truly possess non-existent traits.

Like regenerative abilities, like immunity to bonekiss.

If you asked when Meng Shijiu found out, it might be meaningless.

Meng Shijiu said his only weakness was the scent of oleander flowers.

But the first lock that kept him in this world was Jue Ning's unintentional revelation of Alpha gender advantages—when bleeding wounds visibly healed.

The second lock was the rain that brought evolution.

The third lock was the unconditional trust of someone like Cui Suifu.

"Even a storm warning isn't this sudden," Meng Shijiu kicked him, reminding him, "Do your pheromones attract rain?"

"They do," Cui Suifu pressed the other into his embrace again, lowering his head to bite his earlobe, "But right now, I'd rather attract you."

"Then you'd better give up," Meng Shijiu laughed, pushing him away, "Take shelter from the rain."

Cui Suifu: "..."