Chapter 37 Fifteen Days

Chapter 37: Fifteen Days

Zhao Jinzong coaxed, "I'll feed you."

Chen Su remained still, sniffing carefully at Zhao Jinzong, then frowned. An alpha in heat nearly lost all reason, and any trace of another person's pheromones on their partner would irritate him.

Zhao Jinzong sensed Chen Su's discomfort, releasing his own pheromones to mask the scent on his body.

Only then did Chen Su slowly open his mouth.

During his heat, Chen Su needed to be coaxed and would even comfort himself. After eating, he fished out a piece of candy from Zhao Jinzong's drawer. Without even peeling off the wrapper, he casually tore it, slipping his tongue inside to snatch the candy before rolling it out, leaving the wrapper on Zhao Jinzong's desk.

Zhao Jinzong watched this intently.

Chen Su glanced at the wrapper. "You throw it away."

Zhao Jinzong chuckled, reaching for the coat hanging on the chair back and draping it over Chen Su. Outside, night had fallen, and the staff of the General Bureau had long since left. Chen Su, radiating heat pheromones with swollen lips, wouldn't be seen by anyone.

Under the coat, Chen Su reached out and held the Enigma's hand.

Zhao Jinzong looked down at him, tightened his grip on Chen Su's hand, and slipped them both into his pocket.

In the car, Uncle Wen asked softly, "General Administration, Tanzhou asked what kind of leave form it is?"

Zhao Jinzong said flatly, "He'll call to ask. Just drive."

"...?" Uncle Wen suppressed his confusion. "Alright."

Uncle Wen drove toward the Zhao residence.

Chen Su leaned against Zhao Jinzong, who held him firmly by the waist, preventing any attempt to escape, determined to continue what had started in the office.

The alpha's pheromones were in chaos. Chen Su pressed his back against the partition, biting his left hand in its leather glove to stifle any sound.

When the car arrived at the Zhao private estate, Uncle Wen was ordered to take another car and leave.

Inside, no lights were on. The butler wasn't there.

Zhao Jinzong traced and sketched, while Chen Su refused many times, only to be coaxed again. The strong, sexually charged face was close, always kissing him, biting his neck.

Zhao Jinzong urged Chen Su to let him stay a while longer, to hold out a bit more.

Chen Su repeatedly acquiesced.

Some time later, the Enigma's phone, which had been sitting on the center console, finally rang. Tanzhou was calling.

Zhao Jinzong slowly picked up the phone, pulled Chen Su, who was leaning against the partition, into his arms, put it on speaker, and placed it back on the console.

Tanzhou asked, "Jinzong, what leave form?"

"Chen Su's."

"What's wrong with him?"

Zhao Jinzong raised an eyebrow. "His heat. He's with me."

Chen Su had long lost his senses. The sound of another alpha's voice only annoyed him. Ignoring the pain, he reached for the back of Zhao Jinzong's head, pressing Zhao Jinzong's moving lips to his own neck, demanding he hang up and kiss him.

Zhao Jinzong kissed Chen Su's neck. "Not now."

Chen Su couldn't hear a word.

Zhao Jinzong smiled, turning his head aside, and said to Tanzhou, "Seven days off."

Tanzhou: "………………"

The Four Bureaus had regulations: a marked person could take five days during their susceptible period, an unmarked one three days. Someone like Tanzhou, one of the Four Bureaus' directors, could take seven.

Tanzhou said coldly, "Your person—why don't you write it yourself?"

Zhao Jinzong looked at Chen Su, who was sulking because of the call with another alpha and was about to leave. He clamped a firm hand on Chen Su's wrist, pulling him back into his arms with a strong grip and teasing him.

Zhao Jinzong said, "It's not according to regulations."

It was unclear whom that remark was meant for.

Tanzhou: "……………………" He hung up.

Once the call ended, Chen Su stopped trying to leave. The cold look in his eyes faded, and he looked down at the Enigma, his lips slightly pursed. After a long pause, he said, "It hurts."

His wrist was sore from being gripped.

"Don't leave," Zhao Jinzong said, loosening his hold, rubbing Chen Su's wrist.

Chen Su raised his hand, stroking the Enigma's sharp, handsome face, his gaze gentle, his movements compliant.

Exhausted, he was laid flat on the back seat. Zhao Jinzong, lowering himself, leaned over and rubbed Chen Su's lips. "Good."

The Enigma's special commanding ability ensured maximum cooperation from their partner.

Those seven days, Chen Su was not in his right mind.

Especially the first two or three days, during the peak of his heat, he wouldn't allow Zhao Jinzong to leave even for a step. Later, when his reason finally began to return and he tried to refuse, Zhao Jinzong would just raise an eyebrow, coax him, open his arms slightly, and beckon him over.

Chen Su felt he might have been under some control—he could never refuse Zhao Jinzong.

After seven days, Chen Su thought it was finally over...

But then, Zhao Jinzong's susceptible period began.

The Enigma's ferocity during his susceptible period was nothing to scoff at. This continued for two more weeks—fifteen days total. They ate and slept together, almost never apart. The trash bin was piled high with golden boxes, wild and absurd.

In those fifteen days, Chen Su's understanding of Zhao Jinzong grew by leaps and bounds. He learned Zhao Jinzong's favorite positions, that he liked to rest on top of him, his preferred tea, his meal times, his dietary restrictions...

It was the closest, most intimate moment he'd ever had with Zhao Jinzong.

But Zhao Jinzong still didn't mark him, not even during his own susceptible period.

The chance of a second marking had probably dropped by a few percentage points.

On the morning they fully regained clarity, Zhao Jinzong acted no different from his susceptible period, his gaze even carrying a hint of warmth.

Chen Su, however, kept his head down, silent.

The intimacy of those fifteen days was still vivid. Would it be too cold, too heartless to bring up ending things now?

Chen Su didn't know, so he said nothing.

He also wanted to hold onto this relationship, but it felt too extravagant and fleeting. He knew the ending better than anyone.

After the meal, the butler prepared a set of clothes for Chen Su and handed them to him with a smile.

The butler hadn't been to the villa for fifteen days. Looking at the hickey on Chen Su's neck, he knew exactly what had happened.

Chen Su changed his clothes very roughly, his neck reddened by the tie, and the motion of putting on leather gloves seemed somewhat cold and ruthless.

After he went downstairs, Zhao Jinzong was already seated in the Rolls-Royce. With his handsome, sharp features, upright back, and the silver tassels that symbolized his authority, he seemed to be waiting for something.

There were two drivers at the door. Uncle Wen walked over and looked at Chen Su: "Mr. Chen, which car would you like to take?"

Taking the Rolls-Royce meant making the relationship with Zhao Jinzong public; taking the Bentley meant keeping it private.

Chen Su got into the Bentley.

The hickey had completely disappeared. The absurd, dreamlike three months were over.

From the Zhao private residence to the Drug Supervision Bureau, Chen Su had never felt the journey so long. He gazed out the window at the cold wind and the people walking in the drizzle with umbrellas.

During this time, Zhao Jinzong's special treatment of him, supporting him and covering for him, taking care of his rest and meals—every detail was still vivid in his eyes, like scenes from a movie replaying in his mind.

Chen Su's nose stung. He kept rubbing his leather gloves. It was reluctance, longing, and pain. His back curled slightly as he slumped against the leather seat.

The sky was overcast.

Before getting out of the car, Chen Su sent a message to Zhao Jinzong.

Chen Su: "Three months are up, and the hickey's gone. I'm not looking to start a new relationship for now. I'm sorry."

"Mr. Zhao, I think it's best we don't contact each other anymore."

"Thank you for looking after me during this time."