When Xia Wennan emerged from the villa, he saw that Ming Qin and the others had returned to the garden, but none of them had sat back down.
Ming Qin lifted his arms and stretched his waist, saying, “I’m going to bed.”
Yin Zejing’s appearance was like that of a university student with limitless energy. Initially, he’d wanted to grill the remaining skewers, but when he heard Ming Qin’s words, he put down the skewer in his hand and said, “Then let’s go to bed.”
Lu Huaiye and Ming Siyan were standing together, the latter whispering something into the former’s ear. It seemed like they were exchanging good nights.
Xia Wennan approached Ming Luchuan’s back stealthily, deliberately pressing close and softly exclaiming, “HEY!”
Ming Luchuan turned his head and shot him a cold, apathetic look.Xia Wennan was a little disappointed that he hadn’t managed to startle Ming Luchuan. “Let’s head back too,” he furtively muttered.
Before Ming Luchuan could respond, Ming Qin had turned to them with a huge grin on his face as he said, “Your room’s already been tidied up. Tomorrow’s the weekend, so you don’t have to go to work, don’t rush off in the morning.”
Xia Wennan said nothing, looking to Ming Luchuan, and yet Ming Luchuan only uttered a single word to Ming Qin: “Okay.”
Dismayed, Xia Wennan obediently followed Ming Luchuan up to the second floor bedroom.
It was their second time staying the night at the Ming house, and Xia Wennan’s sentiments about sharing a bed with Ming Luchuan had changed considerably. The lights in the bedroom had already been turned off, but Xia Wennan was resting on his stomach, looking at his phone. The fluorescent glow of his phone screen illuminated half of Ming Luchuan’s face, and he could see Ming Luchuan laying face up, eyes open, having not yet dozed off.
“Stop playing with your phone,” Ming Luchuan said suddenly.Xia Wennan turned to look at him.
“You’ll damage your eyes,” Ming Luchuan said inflectionlessly.
Xia Wennan played his phone face down on the pillow but maintained his original posture. “Ming Luchuan.”
“Mm?”
“If you don’t mind it this late at night, can I ask you a personal question?”
“I mind.”
“Mm—sorry. So… have you ever been in rut?”
Alphas’ ruts weren’t voluntarily, but were induced by the pheromones of an omega in heat. This was basic physiological knowledge, and even Xia Wennan knew.
Ming Luchuan didn’t immediately answer his question, but after a long stretch of silence, he finally said, “I’m almost thirty. I’m an alpha.”
Xia Wennan nodded to show that he understood. “And your partner?”
Ming Luchuan turned to look at him, his hair brushing against the pillow audibly.
Xia Wennan didn’t wait for his response before he continued, “I was just thinking how alphas could be lured in by omega pheromones, and regardless of whether they liked that omega or not, their rut would be induced. Actually, I feel kind of sorry.”
“You feel sorry?” Ming Luchuan repeated in the dark.
“Yes. For example, you don’t like dogs at all, right, but you’re injected with this drug for inducing heats in dogs that forces you to mate with dogs. In hindsight, won’t you feel sorry?”
“Xia Wennan.”
“Mm?”
“Apart from chickens and dogs, are there no ordinary humans in that world of yours?”
“That’s not it, this is an analogy. I used chickens and dogs as analogies because they’re the most visually impactful. To put it bluntly, what’s the difference between humans being controlled by pheromones, and a male dog who gets horny when seeing a female dog in heat?”
Ming Luchuan was mute for a long time, to the point where Xia Wennan began to wonder what expression he was wearing. Thus, he lit up his phone screen to sneak a look at Ming Luchuan’s face, only to find that the man was staring at him with his eyes open. Startled, Xia Wennan immediately dimmed the screen.
“You’re right,” Ming Luchuan suddenly said.
Xia Wennan was somewhat surprised. “Ah?”
“There’s truly no difference between animals and alphas and omegas who are completely controlled by pheromones. So in this world, sufficiently powerful alphas must control their own pheromones, rather than be controlled by them,” Ming Luchuan spoke in a solemn manner.
Xia Wennan was curious; he couldn’t help but scoot closer to Ming Luchuan a little, but because the dark made it impossible to tell the distance between them, as a result, he’d shifted too close, and his forehead was almost plastered to Ming Luchuan’s face. He then immediately moved back slightly, asking, “Is it possible to control it?”
Ming Luchuan remained unperturbed. “You know that my dad was once in a relationship with an alpha called Lu Wenxing.”
Not having anticipated that Ming Luchuan would voluntarily bring up his alpha father, Xia Wennan acted like he knew nothing, letting out a soft ‘Ah.’
“Lu Wenxing is a powerful alpha, and my dad really loved him. One is an alpha, and one is an omega—they were together for quite a long time, would you say that he’s never experienced my dad’s heat?”
Xia Wennan didn’t say anything. “I think my dad deliberately used his in-heat pheromones to seduce him. But in the end, until they separated, Lu Wenxing never once marked my dad.”
“That Lu Wenxing,” Xia Wennan asked cautiously, “Why was he and your dad together if he didn’t like him?”
“It’s not that he didn’t like him, he just didn’t think that my dad was a suitable marriage partner. Maybe there are innumerable people passing through Lu Wenxing’s life, and my dad was just one of them. Regardless of whether these people were omegas or betas, Lu Wenxing was always able to control his physiological instincts and wouldn’t mark them. Only when he believes he has found the right person will he choose to mark them completely.”
“Do you hate him?” Xia Wennan inquired softly, his face pillowed sideways.
Ming Luchuan’s voice had a deep, even timbre. “Rather than hate, it’s more that I can’t stand the man.”
“Why? You said that he’s a powerful alpha.”
“His power is solely physical. His alpha pheromones have a higher degree of purity, so he’s able to oppress most alphas and is attractive to most omegas, and he even has more control of his pheromones than most. But at the same time, he’s useless. He can’t control his desires.”
As far as Xia Wennan could remember, this was his first time having such a conflict-free, heart-to-heart talk with Ming Luchuan, and he instantly felt that the initially clear image of Ming Luchuan in his eyes had been abruptly blurred. Perhaps Ming Luchuan was not simply a husky in wolf’s skin, but a husky in wolf’s skin with his own beliefs and ideas.
“Sexual desire, material desire, appetite—these superficial desires sound fine and dandy, but in truth, they only give you a temporary sense of satisfaction. It’s like physical stimulation, you have to continuously amp up the intensity to be able to feel new stimulation, so none of it is particularly meaningful, and the more you indulge, the harder it is to achieve it. Do you think I should look up to someone like Lu Wenxing, a man who can’t even control his lower body?”
Xia Wennan lifted a hand to clutch at his hair as he asked, “Then what about you? Are you a powerful alpha who can control your pheromones and desires?”
“I can,” said Ming Luchuan. “And to answer your first question, whether or not I’ve been in rut—it doesn’t at all matter who’s heat pheromones it was, because I won’t be controlled by pheromones, nor would I not be able to control myself against the simplest desires.”
Xia Wennan couldn’t help himself from asking, “So are there any deeper desires that can compel you?”
Ming Luchuan was silent for a pause. “Of course there are.”
A question leapt to the forefronts of Xia Wennan’s mind. “Does that mean you’re not a virgin?”
“Hmph,” Ming Luchuan sneered. “Would you like to turn on the lights so you can get a good look at that mole on your ass and clear your head?”
When Xia Wennan emerged from the villa, he saw that Ming Qin and the others had returned to the garden, but none of them had sat back down.
Ming Qin lifted his arms and stretched his waist, saying, “I’m going to bed.”
Yin Zejing’s appearance was like that of a university student with limitless energy. Initially, he’d wanted to grill the remaining skewers, but when he heard Ming Qin’s words, he put down the skewer in his hand and said, “Then let’s go to bed.”
Lu Huaiye and Ming Siyan were standing together, the latter whispering something into the former’s ear. It seemed like they were exchanging good nights.
Xia Wennan approached Ming Luchuan’s back stealthily, deliberately pressing close and softly exclaiming, “HEY!”
Ming Luchuan turned his head and shot him a cold, apathetic look.Xia Wennan was a little disappointed that he hadn’t managed to startle Ming Luchuan. “Let’s head back too,” he furtively muttered.
Before Ming Luchuan could respond, Ming Qin had turned to them with a huge grin on his face as he said, “Your room’s already been tidied up. Tomorrow’s the weekend, so you don’t have to go to work, don’t rush off in the morning.”
Xia Wennan said nothing, looking to Ming Luchuan, and yet Ming Luchuan only uttered a single word to Ming Qin: “Okay.”
Dismayed, Xia Wennan obediently followed Ming Luchuan up to the second floor bedroom.
It was their second time staying the night at the Ming house, and Xia Wennan’s sentiments about sharing a bed with Ming Luchuan had changed considerably. The lights in the bedroom had already been turned off, but Xia Wennan was resting on his stomach, looking at his phone. The fluorescent glow of his phone screen illuminated half of Ming Luchuan’s face, and he could see Ming Luchuan laying face up, eyes open, having not yet dozed off.
“Stop playing with your phone,” Ming Luchuan said suddenly.Xia Wennan turned to look at him.
“You’ll damage your eyes,” Ming Luchuan said inflectionlessly.
Xia Wennan played his phone face down on the pillow but maintained his original posture. “Ming Luchuan.”
“Mm?”
“If you don’t mind it this late at night, can I ask you a personal question?”
“I mind.”
“Mm—sorry. So… have you ever been in rut?”
Alphas’ ruts weren’t voluntarily, but were induced by the pheromones of an omega in heat. This was basic physiological knowledge, and even Xia Wennan knew.
Ming Luchuan didn’t immediately answer his question, but after a long stretch of silence, he finally said, “I’m almost thirty. I’m an alpha.”
Xia Wennan nodded to show that he understood. “And your partner?”
Ming Luchuan turned to look at him, his hair brushing against the pillow audibly.
Xia Wennan didn’t wait for his response before he continued, “I was just thinking how alphas could be lured in by omega pheromones, and regardless of whether they liked that omega or not, their rut would be induced. Actually, I feel kind of sorry.”
“You feel sorry?” Ming Luchuan repeated in the dark.
“Yes. For example, you don’t like dogs at all, right, but you’re injected with this drug for inducing heats in dogs that forces you to mate with dogs. In hindsight, won’t you feel sorry?”
“Xia Wennan.”
“Mm?”
“Apart from chickens and dogs, are there no ordinary humans in that world of yours?”
“That’s not it, this is an analogy. I used chickens and dogs as analogies because they’re the most visually impactful. To put it bluntly, what’s the difference between humans being controlled by pheromones, and a male dog who gets horny when seeing a female dog in heat?”
Ming Luchuan was mute for a long time, to the point where Xia Wennan began to wonder what expression he was wearing. Thus, he lit up his phone screen to sneak a look at Ming Luchuan’s face, only to find that the man was staring at him with his eyes open. Startled, Xia Wennan immediately dimmed the screen.
“You’re right,” Ming Luchuan suddenly said.
Xia Wennan was somewhat surprised. “Ah?”
“There’s truly no difference between animals and alphas and omegas who are completely controlled by pheromones. So in this world, sufficiently powerful alphas must control their own pheromones, rather than be controlled by them,” Ming Luchuan spoke in a solemn manner.
Xia Wennan was curious; he couldn’t help but scoot closer to Ming Luchuan a little, but because the dark made it impossible to tell the distance between them, as a result, he’d shifted too close, and his forehead was almost plastered to Ming Luchuan’s face. He then immediately moved back slightly, asking, “Is it possible to control it?”
Ming Luchuan remained unperturbed. “You know that my dad was once in a relationship with an alpha called Lu Wenxing.”
Not having anticipated that Ming Luchuan would voluntarily bring up his alpha father, Xia Wennan acted like he knew nothing, letting out a soft ‘Ah.’
“Lu Wenxing is a powerful alpha, and my dad really loved him. One is an alpha, and one is an omega—they were together for quite a long time, would you say that he’s never experienced my dad’s heat?”
Xia Wennan didn’t say anything. “I think my dad deliberately used his in-heat pheromones to seduce him. But in the end, until they separated, Lu Wenxing never once marked my dad.”
“That Lu Wenxing,” Xia Wennan asked cautiously, “Why was he and your dad together if he didn’t like him?”
“It’s not that he didn’t like him, he just didn’t think that my dad was a suitable marriage partner. Maybe there are innumerable people passing through Lu Wenxing’s life, and my dad was just one of them. Regardless of whether these people were omegas or betas, Lu Wenxing was always able to control his physiological instincts and wouldn’t mark them. Only when he believes he has found the right person will he choose to mark them completely.”
“Do you hate him?” Xia Wennan inquired softly, his face pillowed sideways.
Ming Luchuan’s voice had a deep, even timbre. “Rather than hate, it’s more that I can’t stand the man.”
“Why? You said that he’s a powerful alpha.”
“His power is solely physical. His alpha pheromones have a higher degree of purity, so he’s able to oppress most alphas and is attractive to most omegas, and he even has more control of his pheromones than most. But at the same time, he’s useless. He can’t control his desires.”
As far as Xia Wennan could remember, this was his first time having such a conflict-free, heart-to-heart talk with Ming Luchuan, and he instantly felt that the initially clear image of Ming Luchuan in his eyes had been abruptly blurred. Perhaps Ming Luchuan was not simply a husky in wolf’s skin, but a husky in wolf’s skin with his own beliefs and ideas.
“Sexual desire, material desire, appetite—these superficial desires sound fine and dandy, but in truth, they only give you a temporary sense of satisfaction. It’s like physical stimulation, you have to continuously amp up the intensity to be able to feel new stimulation, so none of it is particularly meaningful, and the more you indulge, the harder it is to achieve it. Do you think I should look up to someone like Lu Wenxing, a man who can’t even control his lower body?”
Xia Wennan lifted a hand to clutch at his hair as he asked, “Then what about you? Are you a powerful alpha who can control your pheromones and desires?”
“I can,” said Ming Luchuan. “And to answer your first question, whether or not I’ve been in rut—it doesn’t at all matter who’s heat pheromones it was, because I won’t be controlled by pheromones, nor would I not be able to control myself against the simplest desires.”
Xia Wennan couldn’t help himself from asking, “So are there any deeper desires that can compel you?”
Ming Luchuan was silent for a pause. “Of course there are.”
A question leapt to the forefronts of Xia Wennan’s mind. “Does that mean you’re not a virgin?”
“Hmph,” Ming Luchuan sneered. “Would you like to turn on the lights so you can get a good look at that mole on your ass and clear your head?”
