Translator: Mogumoguchan
Editor: Sarcasm
The skin around an omega’s neck is the most tender. Tight suppressant collars would, at times, chaff their skin, but loose collars are not effective at all.
Omegas faced plenty of other similar inconveniences, making Yan Qiu occasionally miss the days when he was an alpha.
But the spray that Ji Xinglan had given him was very useful, especially for someone like Yan Qiu, who hated trouble. Just a few spritzes and his problem was solved.
Besides, he had long since wanted to change that collar. When he wore that thin black collar, it felt like he had some special kinks, and whenever Ji Xinglan stared at his neck, his gaze always seemed a little off.
But after wearing it for such a long time, Yan Qiu got used to it. That’s why, in the beginning, it felt a little strange when he took off the collar, as if he was running around naked in public. But once he realized that no one could smell his scent, he soon got used to it.
Without his pheromones spreading everywhere, everyone would believe him even if he told them that he was a beta. Yan Qiu felt like he had reclaimed some of his pride as an alpha.
Yan Qiu sat on the bed, reading, while Ji Xinglan’s head was on his lap, his face was practically stuck to his tummy as he mumbled, pretending to be conducting prenatal education.
When he saw that Yan Qiu was ignoring him, he quit what he was doing and picked up his terminal to check the calendar.
Once the end of term exams get over next week, winter holidays will begin.
For a long time, they both had been stuck between either going to or coming back from either home or school. Now that they finally had some time off, Ji Xinglan could not help but wonder where to take Yan Qiu during their break.
He had a lot of places he wanted to go to with Yan Qiu.
“Where do you want to go for our honeymoon? Do you want to go to the north pole to see the aurora? Or do you want to go to the south pole to see the penguins?”
Ji Xinglan reached out and lifted the hem of Yan Qiu’s shirt. He had just managed to unveil a small sliver of the pale waistline when Yan Qiu pushed down on his hand.
Yan Qiu could not concentrate because of Ji Xinglan’s flirtatious acts and was feeling annoyed. He vengefully ruffled Ji Xinglan’s hair and mercilessly rejected his suggestion. “We’re not going anywhere!”
After the winter holidays, he had to sit for the professional exam in April. He did not have the time to fool around.
……
On Monday, the break time that the students usually spent talking to each other, turned into motivational talks for the end of term exams.
The principal stood on the podium to excitedly inspire them. Yan Qiu hid his inconspicuous figure in the crowd and stood among the students with his head bowed.
Standing beside him, Ji Xinglan saw pale fingers going into the pocket and bringing out a small notebook.
“What are you doing?” Ji Xinglan saw a prefect-on-duty coming over to check on the students and used his elbow to give him a nudge.
Yan Qiu looked up and calmly put away the notebook. Once the person left, he took it out again.
Ji Xinglan snuck a curious glance at him. He had good eyesight and from his peripheral vision he saw Yan Qiu memorizing vocabulary.
He chuckled,‘Interesting.’
Everyone knew that Yan Qiu hated studying the most. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be the top thorn in Mr. Yang and other teacher’s sides.
But Ji Xinglan saw all the recent changes in Yan Qiu.
He had really changed a lot.
Even though Yan Qiu never said what he truly thought, refused to admit that he had had a crush on him from the beginning, and still stubbornly stated to being an alpha in front of him, Yan Qiu did not have any sort of temper. His embarrassed expressions when he accepted that he was an omega, for the sake of their relationship, was rather cute.
After all, if anyone treated him this way in the past, with Yan Qiu’s personality then, Yan Qiu would have thrown him on the ground and broken his “third” leg.
Yan Qiu had stated that he would not knit a scarf for Ji Xinglan, but he had knitted one behind his back, even though it came out looking really ugly.
Right now, he has started studying for the sake of being able to work together with Ji Xinglan. If Mr. Yang knew that Yan Qiu was seizing every bit of time to memorize his vocabulary, his jaw would definitely drop in shock.
The sky was covered in a thin layer of clouds, the refraction caused the sunlight to cast layers of gold on the ground. Under the illuminating golden light, Yan Qiu’s face looked gentle and beautiful.
Ji Xinglan stared at him with a gentle gaze.
Love made them both work hard to become better people.
……
Yan Qiu finally put the notebook back into his pocket during the second half of the meeting.
But he still could not listen to the principal seriously, because he detected a faint fruity scent. Yan Qiu felt puzzled. He had just sprayed the scent blocker an hour ago, so how could his pheromones spread out?
He quietly put his hand into his pocket and brought out the spray bottle to apply more scent blocker. Even then, he only managed to somewhat cover his scent.
Yan Qiu had a feeling that it was not because the scent blockers had expired and lost their effect, but that his estrus had arrived again.
Over the past few weeks, his estrus had come quite frequently. Yan Qiu was a little used to it now, so he was not especially nervous. The principal had already been talking for half an hour, and in a few more minutes, the meeting should end.
Once the meeting adjourned, he would drag Ji Xinglan to a deserted corner and have him mark him.
But Yan Qiu had underestimated how chatty his principal could get. Forget about ending the meeting in a few minutes, it had been more than twenty minutes since, and he had still not finished speaking.
Yan Qiu gradually found himself unable to hold back. His hands trembled a little by his sides, and when he looked, his fingertips had already turned pink.
Fortunately, the scent blockers were quite effective, and did not let his pheromones spill out.
Ji Xinglan turned his head towards him and suddenly noticed Yan Qiu’s reddened face. He seemed to be a little off, so he hooked his pinky around his and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Even with his thick lashes a little moist, Yan Qiu shook his head.
Ji Xinglan stared at him in a daze for a second before he quickly bent closer to Yan Qiu’s neck. In an instant, he understood.
His estrus came at the wrong time!
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Yan Qiu had been enduring for too long, and at the moment, his condition was a little bad. His legs felt weak and he was unable to stand.
Qtlif atf qglcmlqji kjr ralii fcaterljralmjiis ulnlcu tlr wbalnjalbcji rqffmt, Al Wlcuijc delfais vgjuufv Tjc Hle yftlcv j agff cfjgys jcv tjv tlw qijmf tlr tjcvr jujlcra atf agff obg yjijcmf.
Snfc atbeut atfs tjv yffc rajcvlcu ja atf fcv bo atf mgbkv, atfgf kfgf ralii qifcas bo qfbqif rcfjxlcu uijcmfr ja atfw, yea gluta cbk, atfs mbeiv mjgf ifrr.
With his hands placed against the tree, Yan Qiu could feel its thick trunk and a rather coarse bark.
The moment he felt Ji Xinglan’s breath behind him, Yan Qiu turned his head and urged him to hurry up. He pushed his hair to the side. “Hurry up!”
Ji Xinglan acted swiftly. He kissed his nape to calm him down, then resolutely bit down.
……
Clearly, the situation just now was involuntary, but for some reason, Yan Qiu felt embarrassed, as if he had been having wild sex in the open.
It took him another five minutes to properly calm down and spray the scent blockers on himself. Once he smoothed out his clothes, he walked out from behind the tree with Ji Xinglan.
The principal was still going on, yet there was a huge ruckus among the students under the podium.
A number of people had noticed their actions and had now turned their heads to stare at them curiously.
Yan Qiu’s Adam’s apple bobbed. The heat on his skin had yet to fade away. He used the back of his hands to cool his face down while he hid at the back and used the people in front to avoid those probing gazes.
Even though they could not see clearly, they should be able to easily guess what they had been doing.
The students near the back row were narrating things live due to which the forum instantly descended into chaos.
[The school idol suddenly dragged that bitch behind the tree?]
[What the heck? What were they doing under the tree?]
[There’re so many people around? I thought we weren’t allowed to bring our terminals?]
[Drama is more important. Focus.]
[.jpg]
[Look, they’re behind the tree right now.]
[What the heck? What’s with this quality? Is this porn? Does anyone have a clearer image?]
[Don’t you know how to look on your own? Just turn your head around.]
[How can I see the school idol biting his neck?]
[Oh! Is that a temporary marking?!]
[AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH IT’S SO HOT!!!!]
[It’s been two minutes and he’s still biting! Look at his expression!]
[…Mind if I say something? That omega looks kinda cute.]
[I’m just going to politely agree with you here…]
[If I pretend to be going through my estrus right now and ask him to help me, would he bite me?]
[Wake up. You’re daydreaming.]
[Why is he biting for so long? It’s my turn!]
[@Mr. Yang! Come out here and catch them!]
[They’re from the graduate class and have been adults for a while. You lowerclassmen are the ones who will be caught for dating.]
He read to the end before he went to the next page.
That one sentence caused Yan Qiu, who had been caught countless times by Mr. Yang, wept regretful tears in his heart.
……
Just as they finally got through the principal’s speech, the sound of the bell ringing, spread through the speakers situated around the field.
Other heads had also prepared their speeches, but once they heard the bell, they swiftly concluded and let the students leave.
Yan Qiu thought that he would be too embarrassed to face anyone, but to his surprise, the topic of him having his nape bitten died down very soon.
One, the continuous, brutal strikes of reality, caused the girls who dreamed of being Ji Xinglan’s girlfriends, give up. In fact, some of them even began shipping him and Ji Xinglan together. Two, everyone was busy preparing for the exams lately, and they did not have time to gossip.
The usually lively forum gradually quieted down. Unless something major happened, no one would usually be detected over there.
Yan Qiu was also very busy. Most often, he could not even be bothered to go downstairs to eat. Ji Xinglan was the one who fed him. Mrs. Ji found her heart clenching when she saw this. Every night she made different types of soup for Yan Qiu.
After working hard for so long, on the eve before the exams, Yan Qiu finally caught up on all his subjects.
He stared at the final page of the exercise book he had just finished and rubbed his brows. He slipped on the slippers that he had kicked off from under the table, before he stood up and went to the window.
The street lights were already lit and the paper-cut silhouette of an ancient tower in the park nearby, blended into the darkness amid the green trees. Through the misty window, Yan Qiu saw the greyish-blue sky outside and the brilliant stars dotting it.
The news said that this was the coldest winter over the past decade in Yixing City, but Yan Qiu did not think so.
He had an alpha to warm up his bed. This was the winter that brought him the greatest joy.
When Ji Xinglan entered the room, he saw Yan Qiu standing in front of the window.
The temperature of the air-con in the study was dialled too low. Yan Qiu had long since removed his jacket and tossed it on the back of the chair.
Worried that he would get cold, Ji Xinglan put the bowl on the table and picked up the jacket so that he could put it on Yan Qiu’s shoulders.
“What are you looking at?”
Yan Qiu smiled when he saw him. He tilted his head and leaned against Ji Xinglan. “Nothing.”
Ji Xinglan smiled with him and put a hand on his shoulder. He saw the emotions in Yan Qiu’s eyes, and they were more brilliant than the winter night lit by the stars in the universe.
……
“That’s strange. It’s been a week since I last had an estrus period.”
After he finished drinking his soup, Yan Qiu put the spoon by the side and suddenly said this.
This caused him to be slightly worried. Tomorrow, he had to take a full day’s worth of tests. What should he do if his estrus arrived while he was having his test?
With how unlucky he was, it might actually happen.
If something really happened during the tests, he could not ask Ji Xinglan to run over and bite him, right?
Sitting opposite him, Ji Xinglan pushed aside his fringe from across the table. He gave a suggestion. “Do you want me to bite you ahead of time?”
Yan Qiu grabbed a tissue and wiped his mouth while he nodded.
It was a good idea.
If Ji Xinglan bit him ahead of time, at the very least, the mark would be effective for three days, and his estrus would not arrive.
……
Hot steam rose in the bathroom, covering the mirror as well as the glass, making it unable to see them clearly.
Yan Qiu had just finished bathing. He stood in front of the mirror in a bathrobe. As he moved, his tender and refreshed skin rubbed against the bathrobe, giving him an odd sense of comfort. He placed his hands on the basin and turned around to speak to the alpha behind him, “Bite me.”
Ji Xinglan’s hands were already on his bathrobe clad body. When he saw the invitation in his eyes, he hummed and increased his strength.
They had just finished bathing together and things were still heated between them.
Ji Xinglan pulled his hand out. He pressed down on Yan Qiu’s shoulder making him lean partially against the basin. Worried that he would feel uncomfortable when his stomach touched the cold basin, Ji Xinglan put a bath towel in front of him.
As he faced the misty mirror, Yan Qiu’s watery eyelashes fluttered. He looked at the two overlapping figures reflected in the wet mirror.
Suddenly, he remembered the first time he was in the bathroom with Ji Xinglan.
At that time, he was in the same position as now as well. Ji Xinglan’s sweet words had him leaning against the basin and looking up bleary eyed, drowning in pleasure and seeing Ji Xinglan in the mirror.
The passion and the image in front of him caused Yan Qiu’s throat to dry up, and his Adam’s apple trembled.
Now that he thought about it, it had been a month since Ji Xinglan touched him. It was impressive that he was able to hold back for so long.
He felt sharp teeth break his skin and hot pheromones surge into his body. Yan Qiu gritted his teeth and twitched.
A thin layer of sweat broke out on his forehead and his eyelashes layered with mist.
Yan Qiu opened his eyes a little and saw that the mist on the mirror had already faded away. The water droplets had started sliding down like shooting stars. Once the mist completely disappeared, Yan Qiu saw Ji Xinglan’s face clearly in the mirror.
The temporary marking had ended, but the intertwining heat in the bathroom did not fade away.
Yan Qiu knew that both of them were very uncomfortable with all the holding-in, but if things got any more heated right now, he could forget about the test tomorrow.
Hence, he steeled his resolve and gritted his teeth to push away the hand in his bathrobe, telling him to stop fooling around.
“Do it after the test tomorrow, alright?” Yan Qiu bargained.
“Tomorrow?” Ji Xinglan was originally a little unhappy when Yan Qiu rejected him, but when he heard what he said, he asked, “I can do whatever I want after the test?”
Yan Qiu had already experienced what Ji Xinglan could do if he gave the standard answer to his question.
Ji Xinglan’s manner of speaking was still as annoying as ever. It was clearly something normal, but when he said it, it just made him feel embarrassed.
Ji Xinglan smiled. Yan Qiu thought that he looked like a fallen angel when he smiled, but he always ended up saying something crass.
Ji Xinglan used his fingers to caress his red and beautiful lips before he drew closer and said, “Then, it’s a deal.”
Yan Qiu looked down. In the end, he did not reject him and just gave an embarrassed okay.
……
That night, Yan Qiu laid in bed and could not even find the strength to turn around. He shut his eyes and fell asleep deeply.
When he woke up the next day, Yan Qiu found that Ji Xinglan had woken up even earlier than he did. The spot beside him was empty.
Once he finished bathing and went downstairs, he saw that breakfast was ready.
Even though there was someone cooking at home, Ji Xinglan still liked waking up early to make breakfast for him. As he looked at the dishes on the table, Yan Qiu suddenly felt apologetic. At most, he only knew how to make sandwiches.
After he finished eating, Yan Qiu wore his shoes and was preparing to go out when Lan Lan came over to nuzzle against his pant leg. It wrapped itself around his leg to prevent him from leaving. Yan Qiu instantly did not know whether he should laugh or cry. He leaned down and petted him.
Recently, he had been in the study all day, and did not have much time to play with the kitten.
“I’ll play with you once I finish the test.” Yan Qiu scratched its chin and wore his shoes to go out.
While they were on their way to school, Ji Xinglan asked him casually, “Are you ready?”
Yan Qiu stared at the receding scenery outside and let out an affirmative grunt.
But honestly, he was not quite confident.
However, compared to this test, the more important test was the final exam two months later.
He found the examination hall based on his exam slip. During the last few minutes before he entered the hall, he stood at the corner of the corridor and spoke to Ji Xinglan.
Ji Xinglan reached out to smooth out his clothes when the bell rang.
When he heard the bell ringing, Yan Qiu stood on his tiptoes and swiftly landed a kiss on Ji Xinglan’s cheek before he turned tail and ran.
Even though the end of term exam for this semester was not as important as the finals, Yan Qiu’s hands still trembled a little when he sat in the exam hall.
He had received Ji Xinglan’s meticulous one-on-one tutoring. Now, he was about to get his level verified.
With breaks in the middle, the exams for the five subjects lasted for an entire day. Yan Qiu had already told Ji Xinglan to go back first, but he kept standing at the entrance to wait for him. During the breaks, he would bring Yan Qiu something to eat before he went back to continue with his tests.
The entire day went just like this. Yan Qiu drank three flasks of warm water and went to the toilet twice.
When the bell signalling the end of the final test rang, Yan Qiu exhaled and put down his pen.
He could not remember when was the last time he had worked so hard.
Other people surged forward, but Yan Qiu was the last one to stand up and hand in his test paper.
When he walked out of the exam hall, he looked up and saw that the horizon was a little red.
Ji Xinglan was standing not too far away in the distance and was waiting for him with his back against the wall.
When he saw Yan Qiu, he put away the terminal he had been toying with and went toward him.
“Why are you so late?”
Ji Xinglan put a hand on his shoulder and ruffled Yan Qiu’s hair.
He did not want to place too much pressure on Yan Qiu, so he did not ask too many questions about his exam. He just answered meticulously when Yan Qiu asked him for answers.
When they reached the schoolgate, Ji Xinglan said, “You worked hard today. Let me reward you.”
Yan Qiu remembered their dialogue in the bathroom last night and pursed his lips in embarrassment.
Yan Qiu thought that he was getting horny and was talking about that sort of reward.
However, they had had a lot of school work lately and it had indeed been a long time since they had been intimate. Yan Qiu wanted it as well. Just when he was about to agree to it, he suddenly heard Ji Xinglan say, “I’ll bring you out for a big meal.”
Yan Qiu’s words died on his tongue. The teasing words took a turn and went back to his throat.
Ji Xinglan did not notice the change in his expressions and asked, “What do you want to eat?”
If they were going to eat, so be it. He liked this reward as well.
So Yan Qiu thought about it and said, “Barbecue!”
He did not quite like the high-end restaurants. The waiters were so attentive that it felt like, if allowed, they would feed him his food. He felt restrained when he ate in those places.
Ji Xinglan felt a little resigned. “Is that all you want to eat?”
He said that he wanted to take him out to eat yet Yan Qiu did not take the chance to empty his wallet. He just said that he wanted to eat barbecue. Seriously, he was a little too frugal.
But Yan Qiu did not think much about this. He just wanted to order ten more skewers of meat.
“There is one restaurant behind the school. Xie Yu and the others always go there at night after they finish playing.” Yan Qiu was hungry after a whole day’s worth of tests. He felt his stomach rumbling when he thought about barbecue. “Speaking of which, it has been a long time since I ate barbecue. I miss it.”
Ji Xinglan did not respond. He just quietly started up the car. But Yan Qiu stared at his side profile and a thought popped up in his mind. Ji Xinglan was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, so he might have never eaten barbecue from roadside stalls before. Hence, he asked tentatively, “Do you want to eat it?”
“It’s fine as long as you want to eat it.” Ji Xinglan smiled in resignation. He shrugged and cast Yan Qiu a glance. “Let’s go and have some barbecue.”
Just like that, they drove a luxurious car worth a few million RMB to a roadside stall behind the school.
The barbecue stall Yan Qiu mentioned was located at the end of the road and in an inconspicuous corner. It had a small entrance and when it was busy, it would sometimes occupy the pedestrian road outside by setting up a temporary tent there and setting up tables and chairs under it.
It was not time for supper yet, so there were only two tables occupied in the stall.
After they went in, Yan Qiu chose a rather clean table and sat down. Recently, he had been together for too long with Ji Xinglan and had become quite a clean freak. He first grabbed a tissue paper and wiped the table clean.
Ji Xinglan did not try to control what Yan Qiu ordered. He just watched Yan Qiu use the pencil to write on the menu.
When the boss brought nine metal trays out, he finally found something wrong.
The skewers were sprinkled with a thick layer of condiments and it gave off the tempting smell of junk food.
“You can’t eat spicy food while pregnant.” Ji Xinglan pushed his hand down.
“I didn’t add spice on it,” Yan Qiu said with his chest puffed out.
For the sake of the baby’s health, he had controlled himself and was not eating anything spicy.
Ji Xinglan was rendered speechless by his skewed logic and could only shake his head in resignation. He picked up a paper cup and poured warm water for Yan Qiu. “Eat less and don’t drink alcohol.”
“Aren’t you eating?” Yan Qiu was happily eating away the skewers when he noticed that Ji Xinglan had not moved his hands at all.
Ji Xinglan did not eat these things. When Yan Qiu urged him, he forced himself to pick up a skewer of sausages.
Yan Qiu found it hilarious when he saw how he acted.
In the past, he had never once thought that the noble, prideful, and clean Ji Xinglan would one day climb over walls, play truant, and eat barbecue by the roadside with him.
Ji Xinglan only ate the barbecued sausages and stopped after he drank some water. He watched the piled up food on the metal tray and said, “Don’t eat so much greasy stuff. We won’t be doing this again.”
Yan Qiu agreed with a perfunctory hum without even registering what Ji Xinglan said. Right now, he had already figured out Ji Xinglan and knew that he might be stubborn with his words, but was actually a very soft-hearted person.
Ji Xinglan leisurely put the emptied cup on the table before he looked up and said to Yan Qiu while he was gulping down his food, “My father is coming home next week.”
Mogumoguchan: Wait, so that’s FIVE tests in one day? …Yeah, thank goodness I’m not born in China.
Sarcasm: Me too!
Biting behind a tree sounds pretty hot. In a way, it’s a nice thing to do for a bunch of students who are studying hard and could use a distraction!
Thank you for the chap 💕
Thanks for the chapter. They do get sweeter the more they interact. Looking forward to the dad’s visit.
I hope JX will tell the parents the reason why he didn’t do the permanent mark so they know the pain the cause him is much deeper.. And I love how they became more sweeter each day
We have 8 test In my country for 4 hours
Thanks for the chapter! 🤣❤️
Tbh having to do so much tests in a day is like ripping off a band aid, painful but fast.
Even though we’ve been getting a lot of JXL and YQ at home, a certain person’s absence is still noticeable…. Hmmm..what’s keeping you so busy XY??????
I want BBQ too 🥺
Ohhhh, we used to have 8 tests in one day with only an hour break for lunch…. Dang, I don’t miss being an elementary and highschool student at all. I wonder how I ever even survived that before hahahaha