Chapter 129 I Can’t Smell the Pheromones

Chapter 129: I Can't Smell Pheromones

Every look Zhao Jinzong gave Chen Su now felt unbearably cruel to Chen Su.

The agonizing feeling of being about to be abandoned coiled around his neck, squeezing his throat, suffocating him. Chen Su's emotions surged violently out of control. In a fit of rage, he slammed the pen down!

The pen and its case separated, the cap flying off as it rolled across the floor.

Silence surrounded them. The atmosphere was so quiet that the sound of the rolling pen was distinctly clear.

When Chen Su came to, the irreversible damage was already done.

He was stunned and horrified, staring at the pen that had stopped rolling.

He was silent, his heart turned to ashes.

Chen Su's thin lips moved. It felt as if a pool of blood in his throat was choking back the words that surged to his lips. In the end... he couldn't get a single word out, nor did he dare to meet Zhao Jinzong's eyes.

Zhao Jinzong stood up, bent over, and picked the pen up from the floor.

Chen Su watched him reassemble it. "Sorry..."

He had lost control again.

Zhao Jinzong put the pen back together, set it on the table, then reached out and pulled Chen Su back into his arms, pressing him gently against his chest. His large hand guided Chen Su back onto his own lap.

Zhao Jinzong wasn't angry with Chen Su, even though he had just thrown the pen.

Chen Su said again, "I was... in a bad mood earlier."

Zhao Jinzong asked, "What about now?"

Chen Su frowned slightly. "A little better."

Zhao Jinzong wrapped one arm around Chen Su's waist and rested the other on his leg, tapping his fingers lightly a few times.

He picked up where they left off. "Ask me."

"..." Chen Su knew what Zhao Jinzong meant, but pretended not to.

"Chen Su."

Zhao Jinzong's tone wasn't commanding—it was more one of helplessness.

Chen Su still stayed silent. "..."

Zhao Jinzong's voice turned deeper. "If you don't ask, you'll never know the answer."

Chen Su replied, "It doesn't matter."

Zhao Jinzong frowned and kissed Chen Su on the lips. It was more of a rough bite than a kiss. He bit Chen Su's lip repeatedly, their blood mingling, and the Enigma didn't stop. Chen Su didn't flinch away in pain. He just parted his lips to breathe and let Zhao Jinzong kiss him.

Zhao Jinzong pressed the back of Chen Su's head, refusing to let him pull away. He kissed him thoroughly, and when he was satisfied, he pulled back, a glistening string of saliva connecting them, licked his lips, and stared with deep, furious eyes.

"Chen Su." Zhao Jinzong let go of the back of Chen Su's head and hugged him tighter, his hand pressing into Chen Su's lower back.

That spot was very low on his back. Chen Su was wearing loose suit pants without a belt, and the waistband was stretched open.

He could feel the warmth of Zhao Jinzong's hand on his skin.

"Ah..." Chen Su didn't dare move. He just stared at Zhao Jinzong's chin, unable to meet his eyes but also unable to look away. Without realizing it, his hands had landed on Zhao Jinzong's shoulders, his fingertips tightening.

Zhao Jinzong said, "I can't smell pheromones."

Chen Su: "...?"

Chen Su froze. He lifted his eyes, full of shock.

Zhao Jinzong... couldn't smell pheromones?

Chen Su's eyes fell on the monitor on his own wrist. So... this monitor's pheromone detection function was meant to make up for Zhao Jinzong's inability to perceive pheromones.

So... Zhao Jinzong hadn't deliberately carried so many other people's pheromones on him.

He just couldn't smell them.

Zhao Jinzong hadn't wanted revenge on him...

And Zhao Jinzong wouldn't develop feelings for him based on pheromones...

Chen Su's head was buzzing.

After a long silence, Zhao Jinzong asked him, "So it still doesn't matter if you don't know the answer?"

Chen Su's face was drained of color. His fingers on Zhao Jinzong's shoulder tightened. "It does."

"So?"

"I'll ask you from now on."

Zhao Jinzong warned him, "If you don't ask, there won't be a future."

Chen Su nodded. "...Okay."

Chen Su looked at Zhao Jinzong and smiled, then cried. He rested his head on Zhao Jinzong's shoulder, bitterness pouring out from deep inside him.

Before coming, Chen Su had already prepared himself for the possibility of not being able to see Zhao Jinzong.

He had come without telling him first—Zhao Jinzong had no obligation to see him. He hadn't planned to tell him either. He just felt so miserable that he couldn't stand being in the capital for another minute. He wanted to be near Zhao Jinzong, to try his luck at seeing if he could meet him.

When Chen Su finally saw Zhao Jinzong, he felt both happy and sad—especially when he saw Zhao Jinzong's suitcase.

He wondered if Zhao Jinzong was about to go meet Lu Xun.

He wondered if his arrival made him look like a clown.

He also wondered: If Zhao Jinzong told him that their reunion was nothing but revenge, what should he do? Could he still stay? Would all his efforts and his determination to join the Federation become a joke?

Chen Su thought about all these things.

He couldn't stop himself.

But at least... the answer was completely different from what he had imagined.

Zhao Jinzong simply couldn't smell pheromones.

Zhao Jinzong had never intended to take revenge on him.

Zhao Jinzong just wanted him to ask.

Chen Su was so afraid of losing Zhao Jinzong that he never dared to ask.

All the pent-up emotions that had been building up for so long came crashing down.

Chen Su leaned against Enigma's shoulder, holding him tightly—making up for the hug and farewell he had missed at the airport last time.

He choked out, "I'm sorry..."

When he had smashed the pen earlier, he hadn't meant to snap at Zhao Jinzong.

Zhao Jinzong gently patted his back, coaxing and soothing him, then turned his head to kiss Chen Su's neck. "It's okay."

"Mm." Chen Su paused, then went on, "Last time I asked if you would marry someone else, and you didn't give me an answer. I lived in constant fear... I used to want an answer, but later I stopped wanting one, and I didn't dare to want it."

That's why Chen Su had become overly wary of Lu Xun's appearance.

Zhao Jinzong had once written a marriage application for Chen Su because of their compatibility, and he feared Lu Xun might receive the same application.

Zhao Jinzong stopped moving. "I'm angry."

Chen Su rarely asked, "Why?"

Zhao Jinzong took a deep breath. "In your eyes, I'd go marry an alpha with 99% compatibility. Chen Su, some things don't need an answer."

Chen Su should know best about Zhao Jinzong's resolve and love.

Chen Su was at a loss for words. "..."

Zhao Jinzong continued, "You could tolerate me marrying another alpha, even prepare a wedding gift for me, yet you say you're pursuing me."

No one pursues someone like that.

It was only natural that Zhao Jinzong was angry at such words and refused to answer.

Chen Su admitted his mistake. "It's my fault..."

Chen Su's perspective was completely different from Zhao Jinzong's. Only after learning the truth did he have a sudden realization.

Zhao Jinzong ignoring him meant he was mad.

Zhao Jinzong not refusing meant he was okay with it.

Zhao Jinzong holding him and allowing him to get close meant he liked him.

Zhao Jinzong's mind wasn't that hard to read after all.

Chen Su apologized again. "I won't act like this from now on..."

Zhao Jinzong hummed in response. "With me, you're allowed to lose your temper sometimes. You don't have to always apologize."

That night, Chen Su asked many questions. He asked Zhao Jinzong what he was doing back in the capital.

Zhao Jinzong said he was looking for him.

He asked Zhao Jinzong how he had gotten through that year when Chen Su was gone.

Zhao Jinzong didn't answer.

Chen Su unbuckled Enigma's belt of his own accord and asked again.

Zhao Jinzong still didn't say, but Chen Su still managed to satisfy him.

Chen Su asked question after question and finally, exhausted and lying on Enigma's bed, he simply turned over and lay down, telling Enigma to handle it himself.