Chapter 3 Menstrual Cycle

Chapter 3: That Time of the Month

Qi Jinsi looked at the light blue crib on the tablet, finding it more and more beautiful. Although he hadn't strayed from an omega's aesthetic under his mother's education, he was indeed influenced by her; he disliked overly complex or gaudy styles.

This minimalist light blue crib suited his taste perfectly.

"Can I have a crib exactly like this one?" Qi Jinsi turned and asked.

The sales associate shook her head. "This is a custom order for a customer. If you want the exact same one, you would need to negotiate with that customer."

Hearing this, Qi Jinsi was about to say he would try to negotiate, but before he could speak, Qi Yanshen clamped a hand over Qi Jinsi's head and politely declined, "No need, we'll just pick one ourselves. Thank you."

"Bro! What gives!" Qi Jinsi snapped, swatting the hand away from his head.

Qi Yanshen didn't get angry. He led his brother toward the omega section with the clerk, explaining patiently, "That's someone else's private custom order. Why would you ask? If they don't want to share but feel too embarrassed to say no, you're just putting them in a difficult position. Just choose one for yourself."

Qi Jinsi realized his brother was right. After a bit of internal struggle, he gave up on getting the exact same one but still loved the color scheme. "Miss, if I pick a model, can I change it to the color scheme in that picture?"

"That's no problem at all. We can do that."

The sales associate replied warmly and accompanied Qi Jinsi to select a style and test it out. During this time, Qi Yanshen didn't step foot inside.

The area was almost entirely filled with omegas; it would be impolite for an adult alpha like him to enter.

Furthermore, as an S-rank alpha, he would unconsciously exert a sense of pressure on the omegas.

Bored, Qi Yanshen sat in the lounge area outside the omega section and messaged his childhood friend to ask what he was doing.

Qi Yanshen raised an eyebrow; his friend replied quite quickly today.

"Lu Yan: Just finished a mecha battle on the holo-arena. A narrow victory. Almost lost my streak."

"Lu Yan: Wanna hop on? Let's have another match."

"Qi Yanshen: Can't right now. I'm accompanying my brother while he shops. I can't get away. You know how the omega in our family is."

"Lu Yan: Understandable. The omega in your family is indeed difficult to deal with. You really have it rough."

"Lu Yan: Before heading to the Academy Star, do you want to hit the black market? I heard there will be a rare high-capacity Energy Cell in a few days with 3,800 units of storage."

"Qi Yanshen: Is the source reliable?"

"Lu Yan: Not fully confirmed yet, but it's likely true. Apparently, the seller is short on cash and in a rush to sell. Not many people know yet, so there's a huge chance to score a deal."

"Qi Yanshen: Alright. Time?"

"Lu Yan: The day after tomorrow at 6:00 PM."

"Qi Yanshen: Good."

"Lu Yan: By the way, I told my father that you, me, and that psycho Jian Fuxu should be assigned to the same dorm."

"Qi Yanshen: You want to bring him in so we can trash a dorm room every month?"

"Lu Yan: I didn't want to either, but Jian Fuxu threatened me directly to get him in. You know he has some experiments he likes to do that aren't suitable for public labs. If you don't want him there, why don't you go talk to that maniac?"

"Qi Yanshen: It's fine for Jian Fuxu to join, but the Academy Star uses standard four-person dorms. There are only three of us. What if the remaining person reports Jian Fuxu? We'll all be disciplined together."

"Lu Yan: They won't. I checked. That roommate is a beta from the Astrographics Department. They probably won't report anything. Besides, you know that crowd from the Astrographics major; they spend almost every day worrying about their graduation star charts."

"Qi Yanshen: I remember there are only five students in the entire Astrographics Department this year, the fewest in ten years. There's actually a beta?"

"Lu Yan: It's a beta. I confirmed it several times. To be honest, this beta is quite impressive. Even that alpha from the Gnosis family didn't handle the exam questions from those old men well; he only barely scraped by through connections."

"Qi Yanshen: That is impressive. I hope we don't offend him. Graduates from the Academy's Astrographics Department are highly sought after every year. My mother had a fight with the Fifth Legion recently, apparently because a stellar cartographer from the Third Legion was poached."

"Lu Yan: I heard. My father said the Commander of the Fifth Legion has been walking around with a black and blue face lately, but he still hasn't released the person. Your mother must be furious."

"Qi Yanshen: She is indeed very angry. Lately, if it weren't for my father keeping her in check, I feel like she would have overturned the entire Fifth Legion."

"Lu Yan: Your omega father's suppression of your mother is as effective as ever."

"Qi Yanshen: Your family isn't much better. Didn't your father cut off over half of the Eighth Legion's power supply through his brother back then because he suspected your father of cheating? In the end, your father had to beg and cry to explain himself. We're two of a kind."

"Qi Yanshen: Anyway, let's stop chatting. My brother is finished."

"Lu Yan: Alright, remember, the day after tomorrow at 6:00 PM."

"Qi Yanshen: Mm."

Qi Jinsi walked over and saw his brother still replying to messages. "Chatting with Brother Yan again?"

Qi Yanshen confirmed and stood up. "Where do I pay?"

The sales associate pulled up the payment interface on her tablet. After paying and confirming the address information again, they left. Although Qi Yanshen wanted to go home quickly, his brother dragged him around the mall for another two hours.

By the time they finally returned to the military compound in the western suburbs, it was quite late, and their mother had already returned.

As soon as Qi Jinsi saw his mother, he deflated and hid behind his brother, not daring to come out.

Their alpha mother, Qi Lan, did not have short hair like most alpha women; instead, she kept it long, though she kept it in a neat bun every day. Although her features were somewhat soft-looking, her perennial expressionless face combined with the aura of someone in power made her quite intimidating.

Seeing her younger omega son hiding behind her eldest son, Qi Lan felt frustrated. "What are you hiding for? Stop acting so much like an omega."

Taking advantage of the fact that his mother couldn't see him, Qi Jinsi muttered softly, "But I am an omega..."

Qi Yanshen's heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, he saw his mother's face darken.

Just as she was about to scold him, a soft male voice interrupted her: "Qi Lan."

His mother froze. She turned to look at her partner, who had appeared unnoticed at the top of the stairs. Her eyes darted away, her confidence vanishing. "I'm just afraid Jinsi will be easily bullied if he's like this..."

Yun Huaifeng had a gentle smile on his face. He was dressed simply in a white shirt and casual trousers, looking quite frail.

But Qi Lan felt even more panicked inside.

Yun Huaifeng came downstairs, sat beside Qi Lan, poured a cup of tea, and took a small sip before saying, "Leave your work attitude at the door."

Qi Lan nodded obediently.

"I am also an omega, and I don't think it's necessary for Jinsi to act like an alpha. Besides, his chemistry and pharmacology studies are going very well right now."

Qi Lan continued to nod, but her head had unconsciously lowered.

"Come to my room tonight."

Qi Lan stiffened. After a moment, she continued to nod. Just as she was thinking of making an excuse to go out later, Yun Huaifeng continued.

"No 'emergencies' today. Push everything aside, and don't you dare try to hide in the study."

With her way out blocked, Qi Lan listlessly mumbled an 'mm-hmm.' She was in for a tough night.

Seeing his dad was there, Qi Jinsi happily rushed into his dad's arms to act spoiled. Qi Yanshen also sat down nearby, giving his mother a comforting look.

Unfortunately, he was powerless to help. After all, the medicine on Dad was potent enough to kill alphas like them, and he wasn't about to mess with that.

During the family dinner that evening, Yun Huaifeng suddenly announced that in a few days, he would be taking Qi Jinsi to the research institute and might be gone for a month.

The three of them reacted differently. Qi Lan let out a silent sigh of relief, finally getting why her partner wanted her in his room. Qi Jinsi, on the other hand, was thrilled, vowing to be on his best behavior at the institute. Qi Yanshen was already figuring out if he could crash at his buddy's place tomorrow, then return to submit some paperwork and head straight to the Military Academy Star.

They finished dinner, each lost in their own thoughts. Afterward, Yun Huaifeng said, "Kids, don't stay up too late," and then led Qi Lan back to their room.

Qi Jinsi and Qi Yanshen exchanged a knowing glance. Qi Jinsi leaned in mysteriously and whispered, "How many days do you think Mother will have to wear her hair down after this?"

The bite marks wouldn't fade immediately, so she'd definitely need to cover them with her hair. And if Dad noticed the marks disappearing too quickly, Mother would probably be pinned down for another round.

Qi Yanshen rubbed his chin, doing the math based on Dad's state. "Probably about half a month. After all, Dad used an inhibitor once, and his last heat was four months ago."

...

Upstairs

"Be gentle today. No biting down hard."

The alpha's voice was feeble, almost pleading.

Yun Huaifeng didn't reply. He just held Qi Lan at the door, nuzzling against her neck. His voice held a hint of feigned grievance.

"My heat is here. I've already cleared your schedule for the next two days. Don't you dare run."

Hearing this, Qi Lan felt a phantom ache in the gland on the back of her neck...

Yun Huaifeng was slightly shorter than Qi Lan. He tipped her head down while removing his own omega pheromone isolation bracelet, along with Qi Lan's alpha pheromone isolation bracelet.

He whispered low in her ear: "Lanlan... my Lanlan. You. Can't. Run. Away~"

...

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"Mother, I'm going to the Military Academy Star early today with Lu Yan for training."

In the study, Qi Lan had her black hair down, covering her gland. Her face was expressionless, as if she hadn't just helped her partner through his heat an hour ago. She gave a light hum of acknowledgment.

Qi Yanshen caught the scent of omega rose pheromones that even the isolation bracelet couldn't fully mask. He silently wondered how many bites it took for his mother's scent to smell more of roses than tequila.

Qi Yanshen couldn't help but ask, "Is Dad still asleep?"

Qi Lan nodded.

*Wasn't that an obvious question?*

Qi Yanshen continued, "Mother, are you sure you shouldn't hurry back to the room? Dad will panic if he wakes up and doesn't see you."

Qi Lan knew her son was subtly reminding her to return to the room. Seeing it was about time, Qi Lan tossed a 'Be careful' over her shoulder, took some food, and went back upstairs to care for her partner.

After all, omegas often felt quite unwell following their heat.

Watching his mother's retreating back, Qi Yanshen had to laugh. His mother was such a contradiction—acting indifferent and cold towards Dad on the surface, yet in reality, she took care of him better than anyone else.

As Qi Yanshen walked downstairs, he reached out and ruffled the hair of his omega brother, who was outside getting some air. It was fluffy and felt nice.

"Don't stay out too long; you might catch a cold."

Qi Jinsi pouted. "I know, now hurry up and go. Remember, don't fool around, or Dad might punish you."

*If it weren't for the place being filled with the scent of rose and tequila, I wouldn't be staying outside. Do you think I want to be out here in the cold wind?*

...

After leaving the house, Qi Yanshen first changed into black clothes, put on a synthetic face mask, and headed straight for the red-light district in the North District.

He scowled at the sight of the dirty, chaotic streets. Although he had grown accustomed to the disorderly, neon-lit chaos here, it still made him uncomfortable every time. Better to get what he needed quickly.

Qi Yanshen wound his way through the red-light district and finally stopped at a downward staircase. It was a short flight of stairs, visible from top to bottom, but it ended in a dead end blocked by a metal plate.

Qi Yanshen approached. When he was one or two steps from the bottom, he kicked a hidden button on the vertical face of the staircase—impossible to see from above.

The next second, the metal plate slid aside, opening. Qi Yanshen quickly stepped inside, and the metal plate swiftly closed behind him.

"You're late. Ten minutes and thirty-five seconds late."

Lu Yan, dressed in a black windbreaker, wore not only a synthetic face mask but also a half-mask. Seeing Qi Yanshen enter, he fell into step beside him as they headed towards the black market auction house, voicing his question.

Qi Yanshen didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "When does the auction start? Which lot number?"

Lu Yan didn't press further. "Five o'clock. The sixteenth lot."

Having gotten his answer, Qi Yanshen fell silent. They walked to the auction venue without another word, using virtual identities to enter a small private booth.

Only after thoroughly checking the booth for any listening devices or cameras did Qi Yanshen speak. "Dad's heat. Mother couldn't get away. Hard to report."

Hearing this, Lu Yan sighed in understanding. "No wonder. I was wondering why you had Uncle Yun's rose pheromone scent on you. How's your mother holding up?"

Qi Yanshen glanced at the auction catalog casually. "She let her hair down again."

Lu Yan sighed. Another alpha bitten by an omega.

After waiting a while longer, the auction began. They paid no attention to the earlier lots, their target clear and singular.

Lot Sixteen — High-Capacity Mech Energy Tank.