Chapter 2 Pheromones

Chapter 2: Pheromones

"I'm sorry, Major General, I didn't know..."

"I'll give you three seconds. You'd better tell me something important that only Colonel Zhu can decide."

The voice came through the communicator slightly distorted, but the pressure was still immense. Fu Cheng was momentarily lost for words.

"I..."

"Fu Cheng," perhaps because the harsher, more oppressive voice was a stark contrast, Fu Cheng could even hear a hint of gentle reassurance in Zhu Shinian's calm tone. "If there's nothing urgent, let's talk when I get to HQ tomorrow."

"Alright, sir. Get some rest. If you still feel unwell tomorrow, I'll ask for an extension of your leave on your behalf."

Fu Cheng muttered as he hung up, setting the communicator down with regret.

Gu Zhen wasn't wrong to chew him out. Even if it had been truly urgent, every second counted, and there was no excuse for dragging it out with that pointless rambling.

Zhu Shinian couldn't even tell when Fu Cheng had hung up. Pleasure crashed over him like a wave, nearly swallowing him whole in an instant.

"That was rough, huh?"

Though it was a question, Gu Zhen used a declarative tone.

"You're always too nice to people. They have the nerve to call you with some trivial nonsense while you're on leave."

"If he were my subordinate and couldn't handle stupid problems like that himself, he'd be packing his bags to feed the pigs tomorrow."

"Ugh..." Zhu Shinian let out only a pained whimper.

His mind, flooded with pleasure, could barely make sense of what Gu Zhen was saying. In the few moments when he regained some clarity, Zhu Shinian felt a pang of sadness.

Why had he answered that call right then? Why had he let Gu Zhen do that to him in front of his subordinate?

Was it to see him humiliate himself? Or did Gu Zhen get off on how his body reacted when he was tense?

Like playing with a favorite toy—squeeze it from different angles, get different reactions.

.......

"Feeling better?" After he calmed down, Zhu Shinian's consciousness finally cleared a bit. Gu Zhen sat on the edge of the bed, holding an unlit cigar.

Zhu Shinian pushed himself up on his tired body, reaching past Gu Zhen to grab the lighter on the nightstand.

As he moved, Gu Zhen pulled the blanket up over most of his body.

That's when you catch a cold easiest.

Zhu Shinian grabbed the lighter, flicked it once, and reached to light Gu Zhen's cigar.

But Gu Zhen raised his arm, moving the cigar away.

"I told you not to smoke," Gu Zhen said, setting the cigar aside and picking Zhu Shinian up, carrying him to the bathroom to bathe together.

The bathtub was warm; the water must have been prepared by Gu Zhen earlier. Gu Zhen still had his upper body fully clothed. Zhu Shinian leaned against the edge of the tub, waiting for him to undress and join him.

From Gu Zhen's perspective, Zhu Shinian's lower body was hidden beneath the water, while his upper body, once as smooth and white as jade but now covered in red marks, was both erotic and beautiful.

Like a mermaid waiting on the shore for a human to join her.

Zhu Shinian, in his susceptible period, hadn't worn a suppressant patch. The rose-scented pheromones were so thick they almost spilled out of the bathroom.

If an omega came here, they would probably be stimulated into immediate heat.

"If I hadn't strictly warned you last time, would you have tried to tough it out this susceptible period without taking leave?"

"You have leave for your susceptible period, yet you don't take it. Drenched in pheromones—who are you trying to seduce?"

Zhu Shinian didn't respond. Gu Zhen was sometimes like this—even when Zhu Shinian hadn't done anything wrong, he would find a novel angle to get inexplicably angry.

If Zhu Shinian explained anything, it would only make him angrier.

But the military was full of alphas, with only a few betas. Even if some of his pheromones accidentally leaked during his susceptible period, who would react to an alpha's pheromones?

Gu Zhen sat down in the bathtub, letting Zhu Shinian lean against him, and used his fingers to clean him.

Gu Zhen cleaned very thoroughly, and there was no discomfort. Zhu Shinian leaned into his arms, wrapping his arms around Gu Zhen's neck.

He actually enjoyed it when Gu Zhen used his fingers like this, letting out intermittent contented hums.

When they actually had sex, Gu Zhen's need for control was strong, almost never allowing Zhu Shinian to move on his own.

Only in moments like this did Zhu Shinian not feel that intense sensation of being *used*.

Gu Zhen's fingers really did feel good...

When Zhu Shinian felt good, he wanted to kiss.

"Dry off first, then you can kiss on the bed." Gu Zhen gave him a light but firm pat.

"Don't be spoiled. It's already October. You'll catch a cold."

Gu Zhen drained the bathwater, dried Zhu Shinian off, and carried him back to bed.

Zhu Shinian was the same as before—begging for kisses, but his sensitive body would make him cry again after just a few kisses.

Like he was made of water.

"Want to sleep cuddled?" Gu Zhen already knew Zhu Shinian would burrow into his arms, but he asked anyway.

"I'll spend another day with you tomorrow, then I have to rush back to the military headquarters. I'll be back the night after. Take a few more days off. You haven't rested in six months, and even a short susceptible period for an S-class alpha can't let you treat your body like this. Everyone else takes the full three days each time."

Gu Zhen reached out and ruffled the fuzzy head in his arms. "The empire is in this state now; even if one or two people work themselves to the bone, it won't change anything overnight. Don't push yourself too hard."

Zhu Shinian seemed to mumble something into his chest, but his whole face was buried against Gu Zhen, making it impossible to hear clearly.

"What are you mumbling about? Like a little puppy grumbling," Gu Zhen said with a rare smile.

"I think I wanted to ask you something, but I can't remember it."

"If you can't remember, don't worry about it. I'll be here with you tomorrow—you can think about it then. I'll also come back to be with you the night after, so you can remember then too."

"Mm." Zhu Shinian let out a soft laugh in his arms.

He was already very tired, and once the mental burden was lifted, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Gu Zhen wasn't sleepy yet. He looked down at the man in his arms, thinking back to that inexplicable call from Zhu Shinian's subordinate earlier. His eyes grew darker.

He picked up his phone, swiped a few times, and sent several consecutive messages to someone unknown.

......

When he woke up the next morning, Zhu Shinian received a phone call and, despite Gu Zhen's displeased gaze, rushed off to the military headquarters.

The higher the rank of an alpha, the less they are affected by the rut period. This is another important reason, beyond combat ability and physical fitness, why they are so favored in the military.

After getting up and taking his suppressants, Zhu Shinian was already back to normal.

"What mission is so important that you have to go?"

After his promotion to Major General, Gu Zhen was transferred to the Command Center. Although the Command Center oversees the Military Department, some low-level missions in the Military Department do not require approval from the Command Center.

"There was an earthquake in St. Gallen a few days ago. A government councilor wants to deliver supplies there. The risk and difficulty are not high, but they need a high-ranking person to accompany them, to show respect for the government councilor. Everyone else probably has other things to do..."

"Has something to do" probably means they don't want to go. The Military Department has always been dissatisfied with the government coming to borrow personnel for all kinds of random tasks. Only Zhu Shinian is good-natured and never minds these things.

St. Gallen is a neutral zone between the Empire and the Federation. The Empire and the Federation are adjacent, and border conflicts have lasted for hundreds of years. The neutral zone was originally created by an old religious figure. Because it is small in area and completely mountainous, it has almost no strategic value. Even when refugees or soldiers flee into the neutral zone, both the Empire and the Federation turn a blind eye to it.

Gu Zhen frowned slightly. Zhu Shinian knew that he had always been critical of the government, so naturally such a matter would not get much support from him.

"The poor... people in District 26 can't even get enough to eat," Gu Zhen said displeased. "And they have spare money to send supplies to the neutral zone to build an image and buy people's hearts. Truly hypocritical and self-righteous."

Zhu Shinian was taken aback by the words and did not answer immediately.

Zhu Shinian was from District 26. Before he was admitted to the Imperial Military Academy, in the history of the capital's twelve institutions of higher education, there had never been a single student from District 26.

District 26 is the most remote and impoverished place in the Empire. Besides District 26, it has another more well-known and more contemptuous name.

The Slums.

"Go ahead." Seeing Zhu Shinian in a daze, Gu Zhen also realized that as someone from the military, it was somewhat inappropriate to talk about the government councilor like that. "Come back early. After finishing the mission, don't return to the Military Department. I'll wait for you at home."

"Yesterday, when I went on a mission to District 15, I bought a few pounds of freshly caught bluefin tuna on the way back. The meat should be good. When you come home tonight, I'll have someone cook it for you."

Zhu Shinian usually loved to eat fish, but perhaps because District 26 had just been mentioned, there was no smile on his face at first.

After two seconds, as if remembering he was supposed to be happy, he curled his lips to reveal a shallow dimple and gave Gu Zhen a very beautiful smile.

Gu Zhen hardly noticed anything unusual about him. He was still preoccupied with the bluefin tuna. This kind of thing is hard to preserve. He had originally planned to have someone cook it at noon, but Zhu Shinian had to go on a mission temporarily and wouldn't be back until evening.

He reached out to help Zhu Shinian put on a suppressant patch. Then he buried his head in the crook of Zhu Shinian's neck to carefully confirm that no more pheromone was leaking out, and then saw him off.

He arrived at the Military Department at 8:25, five minutes earlier than the agreed-upon 8:30. If he hadn't been delayed by saying goodbye to Gu Zhen, he would have arrived ten minutes early.

The councilor was already waiting there. Fu Cheng stood beside him, explaining something in a low voice. Hearing footsteps, the councilor, who was sitting on the sofa, turned his head slightly and looked at Zhu Shinian.

It was a face that Zhu Shinian was very familiar with, but was seeing in reality for the first time.

The alpha was even taller than seen on TV, with a sharp aura. No matter how crowded the place, he was definitely the one who caught people's attention first.

His eyes were very dark, with deep brows and eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips — strikingly handsome features. But the smile on his face didn't reach his eyes, making him look somewhat intimidating.

Author's Note: