Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Su Xingze hid under the covers, glad Lu Xingwen hadn't chased after him. His heart pounded like a drum, the sound even louder in the silent room.

The room was too quiet, making the sound even more pronounced.

He hid for a bit, slowly calming down. He'd gotten up early and been running around all morning, so he poked his head out and took a nap.

The nap didn't last long. When he woke up, Dr. Zhao was knocking on the door and pushing it open.

A bunch of other people came in with him.

Aunt Zhang was worried sick and came over to check on him, but her movements were hesitant, like she was scared.

Su Xingze smiled and said, "Aunt Zhang, I'm fine."

It had been ages since Xiaoze had talked to her like this. Before, every meeting was either him cursing at her or throwing punches.

Mr. Lu was right—Xiaoze could go back to his old self. Xiaoze had always been well-behaved and kind to others. As long as he didn't like that damned Alpha, he wouldn't turn into a different person.

Aunt Zhang grabbed Su Xingze's hand, her eyes getting misty. "Good, that's good."

Her sharp eyes suddenly caught something off. She stared at the mark on Su Xingze's neck for a long moment. "What happened? It's already fall—are there still mosquitoes? These wild ones are vicious, biting a bump that big."

Su Xingze covered his neck with his hand and nodded along. "Yeah, the wild mosquitoes these days are way worse than before."

Lu Hean pushed Lu Xingwen in a wheelchair, coming in last. Hearing that, he looked down at his brother. A bump that big, from a mosquito?

His brother moved that fast?

"Cough, cough..." Lu Xingwen coughed, and his face went pale. He was holding a bowl of chicken soup wontons, and the smell was amazing.

Under Su Xingze's watchful eye, the wontons got set on the bedside table.

Su Xingze's eyes lit up right away. "Thanks."

"No problem." After he spoke, Lu Xingwen's eyes got wet. He was thrilled inside but scared of showing it, so he held it back hard, veins popping on his forehead, fists clenched behind his back, knuckles cracking.

He missed Su Xingze so much, wanted to pull him into his arms. But he was even more scared of losing him.

Lu Xingwen sat in his wheelchair, looking sick and drained.

With him in that state, Su Xingze couldn't exactly hold a grudge. Seeing how pathetic he looked, he'd let it slide for now.

Su Xingze asked, "What'd you eat to get so sick?"

He looked really bad. And being hospitalized right next door, it had to be serious food poisoning.

"I didn't eat anything weird." Lu Xingwen turned his head, scared he'd lose it and lunge at Su Xingze. He quietly stepped back. "It's a pheromone thing."

His voice came out low from fear, and with all the dodging, he paused for a few seconds before finishing.

He shot Lu Hean a look, signaling him to take over.

Lu Hean got it. "Yeah, it's a pheromone issue. My brother presented as a top-tier Alpha, and for years no Omega has helped him regulate. So his pheromones piled up and went haywire, causing neuropathic pain. Sometimes he loses it. He's been gone a lot lately because he's scared of losing control and hurting you."

"So he lost his mind, ate something bad, and got poisoned? Came to the hospital to get his stomach flushed?" Su Xingze looked at Lu Hean, waiting.

"Uh..." That worked too. Lu Hean nodded. "Yeah, when he loses it, he'll do anything."

Honestly, that wasn't totally wrong. Most of it was right, and the result was fine. It was just the active and passive parts that were flipped, since Lu Xingwen took the medicine on purpose.

"Sorry." Lu Xingwen finally spoke, pulling a box of badass-looking chocolates from his pocket and smiling sheepishly. "These were your favorites. Hope you still like them."

The box was all black, with a skull and chains printed on the wrapper. The clasp was a bright red heart, half missing.

Lu Hean sucked in a breath. That style was from seven or eight years ago—way outdated.

Su Xingze's eyes flickered. He grabbed it fast and shoved it under his covers. This was a gothic horror-style chocolate he'd wanted back in his first year of high school. All the pieces inside were handmade, and you could get them shaped into different characters based on what you asked for.

Back then, he didn't have the cash to afford it. He'd spent forever sketching out a design, planning to buy it after high school graduation. He never thought five years would fly by like that.

Su Xingze knew Lu Xingwen was apologizing for what happened this morning. He was in a good mood now, so he smiled. "It's fine, I forgive you!"

After all, it was all the pheromones' fault. If not for the pheromones going out of control, Lu Xingwen wouldn't have done that to him.

Lu Xingwen was blinded by that smile and almost couldn't stop himself from standing up.

Dr. Zhao cut in, reminding him, "No chocolate for the next two weeks."

"Then let's start with the wontons." Lu Xingwen opened the lid, scooped one up, and held it to Su Xingze's mouth. "It won't taste as good once it's cold."

Su Xingze totally agreed. He took a big bite of the plump little wonton, grinning wider. "Today's wontons taste even better."

Back in high school, he wasn't as sharp as Lu Xingwen, especially with math. Every time Lu Xingwen explained a problem, he'd spend hours mulling it over.

He was stubborn and liked to overthink stuff, so he'd often miss meals. That's when Lu Xingwen would make his favorite wontons and crispy fried pork, feeding him one bite at a time.

"It's a little hot." Su Xingze swallowed what he had and quickly glanced at the bowl.

Lu Xingwen's hand shook, and the next wonton he scooped up almost dropped back in the bowl.

Su Xingze's eyes were bright, like stars on a summer night. His lips opened and closed, shiny with oily gloss. Every time he talked, his pink tongue would swipe across his upper lip, and his Adam's apple would bob.

Lu Xingwen glanced down at himself and shifted in his seat.

This time, he blew on it carefully before offering it. It had a fresh meatball and a little dried shrimp for flavor.

Su Xingze swallowed it in one go. "Xiaolu, you really know me."

Lu Hean snorted, sick of the lovey-dovey stuff. "Of course it tastes good today. He made it himself."

"No wonder." Su Xingze leaned in closer, opening his mouth wide. "Another one! No—I'm eating this whole bowl!"

Dr. Zhao had been trying to jump in but couldn't get a word in edgewise. He waited until Su Xingze finished the medicated wontons. "I need to teach them gland maintenance. You two should step out."

Aunt Zhang went "Oh" and wiped her tears, all excited. "Xiaoze, what do you want for dinner? Aunt Zhang will cook it for you."

"Chestnut chicken stew!"

"No!" Catching Su Xingze's look, Lu Xingwen coughed twice and turned to the aunt who was about to head out. "Aunt Zhang, didn't you cut your hand slicing veggies yesterday?"

Aunt Zhang looked at her finger—no injury. But she caught on fast and nodded eagerly. "Right, I hurt my hand. Can't stew chicken."

"Chen Chen, I'll stew it for you." Lu Xingwen reached over and ruffled Su Xingze's hair. "Let's see if my cooking's gotten rusty."

Lu Hean knew his brother could cook and jumped in, "Then I'm coming over for dinner today..."

Lu Xingwen shot him a look and pulled half a card out of his pocket.

Lu Hean quickly corrected himself: "I'm heading to Xingrun for dinner. I've made plans with Mom and Dad to eat together. Bro, you and sis-in-law can enjoy the chestnut stewed chicken together."

Lu Xingwen was really pleased with being called "sis-in-law" and handed him two cards. Lu Hean pocketed the cards and was out of the hospital room in a flash.

Dr. Zhao finally got a word in. He opened the medical chart, first showed them the gland injury, then pointed to the two-thirds side: "This side's skin is in good shape, so it can be marked."

Lu Xingwen: "Wait, isn't marking not allowed?"

Su Xingze's gland had been cut into two pieces, with a glaring red line down the middle that made Lu Xingwen's heart ache.

"You can't mark him for the next few days. But I'd recommend marking once a week and injecting pheromones. That way, the gland heals faster, and the scar might even fade away."

"Day to day, you don't need to mark. Just sharing a room, hugging, licking, and kissing—that's all fine."

Su Xingze's face went bright red: "Huh?"

Lu Xingwen nearly short-circuited just picturing it.

He asked, not exactly thrilled, "Doc, is there any other option?"

The doctor went "Mm" and said, "AO intercourse. You don't need to mark to get a heavy pheromone exchange going."

They hadn't even bitten each other's necks yet, probably! And anyway, he and Lu Xingwen were just roommates with benefits—how could they do something like that?

Su Xingze asked, a little nervous, "Have we ever actually done it like a real couple?"

I mean, one of them was busy chasing some scumbag, and the other hadn't marked him once in all these years—no way they'd slept together.

Lu Xingwen gritted his teeth, looking pained: "No."

Su Xingze breathed out. He knew it—they were just life partners.

Who the hell gets married for three years and never marks their partner? Even life partners could do a temporary mark.

"So we're just life partners, then?" Su Xingze waited for Lu Xingwen to explain what they were.

But Lu Xingwen mulled it over for ages and still couldn't say it. The words were right there on his tongue, but they just wouldn't come out.

"Chen Chen, you're sleepy. Get some rest. I'll go next door and stew the chicken." Lu Xingwen pushed the wheelchair and quickly left the hospital room.

Stew the chicken? His room had a kitchen too! Why not stew it here?

"Dr. Zhao, is my kitchen broken?" Su Xingze asked curiously.

Dr. Zhao went to check and said, "Nope."

All the pots and pans were brand new, still in their packaging.

"Oh." Su Xingze was even more puzzled.

Dr. Zhao went off to work, and Su Xingze really did feel sleepy. Ever since his gland got hurt, he got sleepy super easily and could conk out for an hour or two.

He curled up under the covers, hugging the chocolate, happily thinking that when he woke up, chestnut chicken stew would be waiting for him.

Xiaolu made the best chestnut chicken stew!

The water in the next room's bathroom ran for a good half hour.

But there wasn't a single drop of condensation on the glass or windows—because Lu Xingwen was showering in ice-cold water.

One hand braced against the wall, the other shoved between his legs, he desperately tried to calm the ache building up.

But it was useless. Su Xingze was right next door—how the hell was this supposed to work!

Lu Xingwen grabbed the box cutter from the sink and slashed a gash into the side of his neck, right where his collar usually hid it.

That was an Alpha's gland—hypersensitive. That cut hurt just as bad as taking a knife to the chest.

Blood mixed with the cold water and swirled down the drain in seconds.

The Alpha tossed the box cutter into the trash and pressed hard on the wound over his gland.

It hurt.

A pain that tore through him, gut-wrenching and raw.

So this was what Chen Chen went through, huh? His gland had been sliced open too. Lu Xingwen had seen it—the cut was about the same length as the one he'd just made.

The whole bathroom reeked of pheromones. Lu Xingwen jabbed a strong suppressant straight into the wound, then flipped on the exhaust fan to clear every last trace of the scent.

When he walked out, he looked exactly like the Lu Xingwen Su Xingze had always seen. He even called his assistant to have some free-range chicken and chestnuts sent over.

==========Author's Note:==========

Why does Xiaolu have a wife? Because he goes after what he wants and takes it!