It was just a fleeting touch and his brother quickly straightened up, smiling tenderly at the Omega in his arms and gently stroking his cheek.
Ji Ning seemed a little shy about the light kiss. He lowered his eyes, revealing an incredibly soft expression that Zhou Rin had never seen before.
They looked like a good match.
Even though he didn’t want to admit it, Zhou Rin was well aware he couldn’t compare to his Gege in any way. His brother was so good it was no surprise that Ji Ning liked him. Even if he and his brother had met Ji Ning at the same time, there was no way Ji Ning would ever have chosen him. In front of his brother, he would always suffer a crushing defeat.
Overwhelmed, Zhou Rin couldn’t remember how he left the garden. He remained depressed for the rest of the night and was even scolded by his father for the cold look on his face. In the end, he left the party early and returned to his friend’s house.
Although his mother and sister called him every day to ask him to return to the family house, Zhou Rin didn’t dare. He was afraid of coming across his brother and Ji Ning, and even more afraid of seeing a scene as intimate as the one that night.
Just seeing Zhou Cun kissing Ji Ning’s forehead made his heart ache. If there was anything more…
He didn’t even want to think about it.
A few days later, as Zhou Cun said, Zhou Rin’s school holiday started. But for Zhou Rin, there wasn’t much difference as he didn’t go to school often anyway.
While playing around in a bar with some friends, an absent minded look crossed Zhou Rin’s face. Draining the wine in his glass, he suddenly thought about Ji Ning. He knew Ji Ning must have returned to his countryside hometown to stay with his parents, and that he was away from his elder brother.
His heart suddenly skipped a beat and he squeezed the wine glass in his hand. He turned to a friend that sat next to him and asked, “Can you find an address for me?”
“Whose?” His friend said casually.
“…His name is Ji Ning.” Zhou Rin thought for a moment, then lowered his voice, so that no one else around them would hear, “He’s my brother’s boyfriend and he’s returned to his hometown by himself for a few days. I want to know where his hometown is.”
“What do you want to do?” His friend shrugged his shoulders with a strange look when he heard Zhou Rin’s words, “I mean, you’re not using this as an opportunity to piss people off, right? I’m not helping with that. Even if you and your brother don’t get along, don’t involve his boyfriend, okay?”
“Are you sick?” Zhou Rin kicked his friend’s chair angrily, “Why would I have anything to do with an Omega? After you check him out, send me the address, I’ll help with that favour you asked for before.”
“Alright, I’ll do it.”
His friend thought about it for a while before he agreed, “But don’t involve me if you get into any trouble, I don’t want to go to jail yet.”
“Fuck off.” said Zhou Rin coldly.
His friend was very efficient and had already found out where Ji Ning lived by the next day. It turned out to be a very remote village, which made Zhou Rin frown.
No wonder his brother was always worried about Ji Ning’s safety. Although it was uncommon for Omegas to be forced in small villages, it still happened more often than in the city. Ji Ning’s family was full of old and sick people, so there really wasn’t anyone to protect him.
He packed up some luggage and asked his friend to drive him over there. Along the way, his friend kept asking why he was going to the village, but Zhou Rin didn’t answer. His good looking face remained tense the whole journey.
Honestly, even he wasn’t sure why he was going to the village. Was it because he wanted to meet with Ji Ning? But he didn’t know what he was going to do. Ji Ning already deeply hated him, if he randomly showed up there and caused another misunderstanding, Ji Ning might hate him for the rest of his life.
“…Should just go back.”
Zhou Rin muttered to himself, clenching his hands into fists.
“Don’t joke boss.”
The friend parked the car and pointed to the village in front of them. “We’ve arrived at the entrance of the village already, if you tell me to go back home aren’t you just toying with me? There’s only a dirt road from this point and I don’t want my new car to get dirty so please get out and walk by yourself. Bye bye, I’m going back.”
Kicked out of the car by his friend, Zhou Rin dragged his suitcase along the middle of the road, feeling a little overwhelmed.
He was the pampered child of a rich family and had never been to the countryside before. He looked at the dirt road in front of him, then down at the white trainers on his feet. His expression twisted slightly. The shoes he was wearing were out of print, if they were damaged, no amount of money could buy another pair…
Zhou Rin, who had never experienced a situation like this, felt a little lost. He opened his suitcase and rummaged inside, wanting to wrap his shoes with clothes, but all the clothes he’d brought were his favourite. Because he knew he might meet with Ji Ning, he had subconsciously wanted to show his best appearance but he hadn’t expected to encounter difficulties before he even entered the village.
Didn’t he say his parents were recuperating here? How could they recover from illness in such a place?
Zhou Rin was still disorientated when he saw an old woman approaching from another road to enter the village.
The woman was very old, with a hunched waist and a thin and short figure. She walked erratically, holding a large pumpkin, when she suddenly stumbled and fell forward.
“Be careful!”
Zhou Rin immediately forgot about his dilemma and rushed forward, grabbing the woman firmly in one arm and catching the pumpkin in the other to stop it from falling into the muddy water.
“Oh, you scared me…” The old woman opened her eyes wide and patted her chest like she was calming her heart. When she recovered, she thanked Zhou Rin, “Thank you so much, young man. Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
Zhou Rin had always been awkward when people gave him compliments, so he lowered his head. His shoes were covered in mud but his heart relaxed slightly at the sight of them. At least they had died for a noble cause.
“My grandson came back two days ago for the first time in ages. He likes to eat pumpkins, so I went over to the field to pick one for him. I didn’t expect it to be so heavy to carry. Thank goodness you were here, what a good child.”
The old woman praised Zhou Rin repeatedly with a wide smile. Zhou Rin became more uncomfortable the more she spoke about him, so he quickly found an opportunity to interject, “I’ll help you carry the pumpkin, where do you live?”
“Ah, what a good child. Then, grandma will thank you. My home isn’t far from here, just a few minutes walk.”
The old lady thanked him again. Zhou Rin held the pumpkin in one hand and dragged his suitcase with some difficulty across the dirt road with the other. The old lady followed behind, and after a while asked him.
“You look handsome and well dressed, are you from the city? Why have you travelled all the way out here?”
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.
“…” Zhou Rin hesitated for a moment, but answered her truthfully, “I’m looking for someone.”
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“I’m looking for…”
Zhou Rin was about to say Ji Ning’s name, when the Omega himself walked out of the house. The Omega looked just as surprised as he was to see Zhou Rin approaching with the old lady and called out in shock.
“Zhou Rin?”
“Ningning, do you know this child?”
The old lady appeared a little surprised as she turned to look at Zhou Rin again, “You said you were looking for someone, did you come to find my grandson?”
“I…no…”
Zhou Rin had no way to anticipate this outcome. He blushed red at her question, his palms sweaty and so flustered he couldn’t respond. Although he’d come all the way here, he really hadn’t been mentally prepared to meet Ji Ning at all.
“What are you doing here?”
Ji Ning’s expression had turned cold in an instant. He walked between Zhou Rin and his grandma, his eyes frosty, “How did you find this place? Did you ask someone to look into me?”
“Don’t be so self absorbed, why would I be here for you?”
Zhou Rin was annoyed that Ji Ning spoke like that to him, but he was mostly annoyed with himself. It was just like Ji Ning guessed, he really had investigated his address, and he didn’t even know why he’d done it.
But he really hadn’t tried to plot against Ji Ning, he was just worried about him. His only purpose was to see him, he would never do anything bad to Ji Ning.
In the face of Ji Ning’s questioning he didn’t dare speak the truth, so he just denied him with a disgusted face before falling silent. He put the pumpkin down on the ground, as if he didn’t have anything to do with Ji Ning and didn’t speak again.
“Don’t argue so loudly.”
Seeing that the two of them not only knew each other, but also seemed to have a bad relationship, the old lady persuaded her grandson first, “Ningning, what’s the matter with you? You usually have such a good temper, why do you treat him like this? He’s a good child, and he’s younger then you, so you should…”
“He’s a good child?” Ji Ning repeated in disbelief, “Grandma, you don’t know. He’s actually…”
“I’m sure of it.”
Grandma was usually easy to talk to, but on this occasion she became unusually stubborn.
“I won’t listen to gossip, or whatever misunderstandings you have with him, I’ll only believe what I’ve seen of him. I went to pick pumpkins for you just now and almost fell over. It was this child who caught me and helped me carry the pumpkin back. Look, his shoes are all dirty now, and it’s obvious they’re not cheap. I’ll have to clean them in a bit.”
“There’s no need to clean them, these shoes are worthless. I bought them from a stall for fifty yuan, I’ll just go back and buy another pair.”
Zhou Rin anxiously said. How could he let an old woman clean his shoes for him, not to mention she was Ji Ning’s grandma! He waved his hands repeatedly and insisted his out of print shoes were worthless.
Hearing his grandma’s words, Ji Ning was slightly taken aback. Then his eyes fell on Zhou Rin and he came back to his senses, blaming his grandma in distress, “Grandma, I told you before that it rained recently and the road outside is slippery. Don’t go out, I can pick pumpkins by myself, why did you go out again…”
“You can’t pick at all, the ones I pick are sweeter.” Grandma smiled and patted Ji Ning’s hand, “I think you have some misunderstandings with this boy, he really is a good child. You should get along well and not argue.”
“Yeah…”
Ji Ning glanced at Zhou Rin with a complicated expression. Zhou Rin couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He picked up his suitcase and said to the old lady, “I’m relieved that you’re alright, so I’ll leave first.”
“Don’t go, you’re shoes…”
“It’s fine, they’ll just get dirty outside again.”
Grandma still wanted to keep him, “Then who are you looking for? Have a meal here and I’ll ask Ningning to take you to them.”
“…” Several expressions flitted across Zhou Rin’s face until he finally gritted his teeth and said, “I actually seem to have come to the wrong place. The person I’m looking for isn’t here, so I won’t bother you.”
“Seeing that your shoes were so clean before, did you come here by car?”
The old lady asked. When he nodded, she said, “Then you can’t leave today. There are no villages nearby. The person you’re looking for might be somewhere else, but the last bus has already left. You’ll get lost walking by yourself, so why don’t you stay at my house for one night, then take the shuttle bus tomorrow.”
“It’s alright, there’s no need…”
Zhou Rin still shook his head, deciding to call his friend and ask him to come back to pick him up. Ji Ning hadn’t said a word, but after staring at him for a while, he suddenly said,
“Stay.” He lowered his head and said in a quiet voice, “We’ve got spare rooms, there’s no problem having you stay here. I’ll clean your shoes.”
“…”
Zhou Rin ended up staying.
After learning that he’d helped grandma and was Zhou Cun’s younger brother, Ji Ning’s family specially prepared a delicious dinner for him. At the dinner table, grandma kept persuading Zhou Rin to eat more. Faced with her enthusiasm, Zhou Rin was overwhelmed and ate three bowls of rice in a daze. It wasn’t until he was about to vomit that grandma finally took pity on him.
After dinner ended, Ji Ning cleaned the dishes. Zhou Rin wanted to help him, but it was obvious he had never done housework before. He refused to let his hands get dirty when he cleaned the table and even put tissues around them in order to protect them. Ji Ning slapped his hands away and pushed him aside.
“Don’t touch it, just leave it alone.”
As Ji Ning scolded him, he put away the tableware and chopsticks. When he tried to take Zhou Rin’s bowl, Zhou Rin slapped his hand back and said, “I don’t need you, I’ll do it myself.”
“I don’t want you to break my family’s bowl.”
Ji Ning glanced at him and took the bowl. Zhou Rin pursed his lips, feeling like he was being looked down on and followed behind Ji Ning. He walked to the back room and insisted, “I’ll wash it.”
“I cooked half the food you ate and now you know how to be reserved?”
Zhou Rin frowned, “I can give you money.”
“There’s no need.” Ji Ning’s pretty fingers touched the rim of the pot. Without looking at Zhou Rin, he said, “You don’t need to use money for everything.”
Zhou Rin fell silent and watched Ji Ning wash the dishes quietly. For some reason, he wasn’t sure what to do with himself, so he took out a menthol cigarette from his cigarette case and tried to light it.
“Don’t smoke in the house, smoke outside.” Ji Ning warned.
Zhou Rin ignored him and lit the cigarette, exhaling a white cloud that carried a minty scent before saying, “It’s not a cigarette, it’s a burnable mint that covers the smell of pheromones.”
As he spoke, he curled the corner of his lip, forcing himself to ignore the faint aroma in the air that made his heart beat faster. Trying to cover up his reaction, he said, “Your home is full of your pheromones, it smells really bad.”
“…”
Hearing him say that, Ji Ning frowned slightly. Zhou Rin raised the hand holding his cigarette for a while, suddenly feeling a little uneasy. Worried that Ji Ning would end up hating him even more, he wanted to leave the room quickly, when Ji Ning said softly.
“That night…were you actually trying to help me?”
Zhou Rin was taken aback and didn’t know how to answer him for a while.
“Because I’ve suddenly realised that I don’t actually know what kind of person you are.”
Ji Ning looked directly up at Zhou Rin, reflecting the Alpha’s face in his clear eyes.
“I was dazed that day and barely aware of anything around me. When you suddenly approached me, even though I didn’t smell your pheromones, I assumed you were an Alpha. I was scared so I drove you away.”
“But looking back on it, if you really wanted to do something to me, there was no way I could have resisted. I also don’t think the other people there were associated with you.”
When he saw that Zhou Rin didn’t respond, he continued, “After that night, I heard some rumours about you and already had a bad impression. However, when I think about it, none of those rumours were about your private life, and I’ve recently learned that Omega pheromones cause you a lot of discomfort.”
“We’ve never got along since I’ve moved into your house, but like my grandma said, seeing is believing. You’ve helped my grandma today and were an honest guest at my house. After seeing your actions, I don’t think you’re a bad person.”
“So that night, you actually…did you actually want to help me?”
“…”
Zhou Rin lowered his head, the menthol cigarette he held burning slowly towards his fingers. He didn’t speak and his expression remained blank but his eyes felt itchy.
He never usually cried, but with only a few words spoken by Ji Ning he felt the sudden urge to sob.
“You’ve only just realised?”
After a long time, Zhou Rin lifted his head, a stubborn twist in his mouth as he took a drag from his cigarette and said sarcastically.
“I’ve been wronged by you for so long and I’m already pissed off. Do you really think Omegas are so precious that all Alphas turn into dogs at their feet? Don’t think so highly of yourself.”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
Zhou Rin’s merciless sarcasm made Ji Ning’s face flush red, and even the corners of his eyes reddened. His cold expression fell away for the first time in front of Zhou Rin, replaced with slight anxiety and panic. The aggrieved Zhou Rin instantly felt his heart soften and he felt that he’d gone too far.
“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry…”
Ji Ning didn’t seem angered or embarrassed by Zhou Rin’s words, he just looked very guilty after learning the truth and apologised to Zhou Rin over and over, “No wonder you hate me so much. I really am sorry, I completely misunderstood you…”
“It’s alright, it’s fine.”
Zhou Rin’s face burned hot and even his ears turned bright red. He felt very shy with all the attention but couldn’t help the secret joy that filled his heart. He averted his eyes and said vaguely, “As long as you know.”
Ji Ning was still very ashamed and couldn’t stop himself from apologising to Zhou Rin. Zhou Rin couldn’t stand it any longer and fled outside to smoke, completely embarrassed. After silently smoking for a while, he laughed out loud, his mood unusually light.
That night, Ji Ning’s family went to bed early, leaving only Ji Ning and Zhou Rin watching TV and playing with their phones.
“I really…”
Ji Ning broke the silence, but Zhou Rin immediately made a gesture for him to stop speaking, “Stop. I’m really tired of listening. I don’t want to hear any more apologies from you, okay?”
“Okay then.” Ji Ning glanced at him and said, “I’ll find a way to compensate you later.” After saying that, he checked the time on his phone and said, “It’s getting late, let’s wash up and go to bed. You want to take a shower first?”
Zhou Rin nodded and took some items into the bathroom. Although the village was old fashioned, Ji Ning’s house was well built and the bathroom was modern. After all, before the business went bankrupt, there was plenty of money to build a nice house for the Ji grandparents in the countryside.
The reason why he didn’t want Ji Ning to shower first was because he thought that seeing Ji Ning come out of the bathroom relaxed and wet would be too big a test. In such a small and enclosed space, the pheromones would be even more intense.
“…”
Zhou Rin stripped off his clothes and stood under the shower to wash. Once he was finished, he turned the water off and wiped the extra moisture from his skin, slicking his hair back from his face. He heaved a deep sigh, pressing his naked back to the cold wall tiles. The chill of the tiles helped the blush on his face to dissipate a little.
But he could still smell it…
Even though Ji Ning hadn’t entered yet, he’d already spent a few days here and the sweet smell of Omega lingered inside the small bathroom.
The rest of his family were Betas, so the trace of pheromone was unusually pure. It was a scent Zhou Rin was attracted to and his Alpha instincts were slowly becoming restless. His heart beat faster in his chest, sending more blood through his body.
It was the scent of someone he liked.
Zhou Rin really wanted to smoke in order to mask the smell, but he’d left his cigarettes outside the bathroom. Therefore, he could only turn on the shower again, dousing himself in cold water. He didn’t bother putting his clothes back on, wearing pyjamas low on his hips and a towel around his neck.
But just as he reached for the bathroom door handle, his movements suddenly froze.
Pine scented pheromones slowly filled the bathroom, growing steadily richer, catching Zhou Rin by surprise as he stood motionless inside the bathroom.
He was actually in rut.
The sudden emotional tide made Zhou Rin feel hot all over. He covered his mouth and nose, panting slightly, the cool water droplets that covered his body heating up. His cheeks flushed as he pressed his arms and forehead against the wall, not daring to leave the bathroom.
His whole life, he’d always taken his medication on time. It was only tonight that he’d forgotten. Maybe the mood tonight had been too intimate, or the warm water made him more sensitive to pheromones, or maybe there was another reason, but he didn’t have time to get to the bottom of it now, he only knew that-
He was in rut. He didn’t have his suppressants with him, and his senses were drowned in the only pheromone he was attracted to, with the Omega he loved waiting outside the door. He was so close to him.
“…Zhou Rin?”
Ji Ning seemed to have sensed the pheromones he was releasing. He stood outside and knocked on the door, asking, “Are you…”
“Yes.”
Zhou Rin’s sanity collapsed a little at the sound of his voice. He squatted on the floor and buried his face into his arms, trying to suppress the tremor in his voice as he explained to the Omega outside the door just how bad his situation was, “And I didn’t bring any injections.”
He was already in rut. Taking suppressants would no longer be effective, he had to be injected, just like Ji Ning was the first time they’d met.
“I’ll borrow one for you. We have another Alpha in the village, he should have some injections.”
As soon as Ji Ning finished speaking, he left. Zhou Rin was left dazed for a moment, before worrying that as an Omega, it would be dangerous for him to go to an Alpha’s home in the middle of the night. He pushed open the bathroom door, only to find that Ji Ning was already gone.
“Fuck!”
He exclaimed angrily and stood at the gate of the compound, waiting for Ji Ning to return. If Ji Ning didn’t return in five minutes, he was going to go out after him.
However, Ji Ning soon returned from the next house over, holding a sealed needle in his hand. He looked slightly surprised to see Zhou Rin squatting by the door and asked him, “Why did you come outside? Go back in.”
“Why were you going out in the middle of the night-”
Seeing Ji Ning approaching, Zhou Rin stood up. He wanted to reprimand him, but because Ji Ning was doing it for his sake, there was nothing he could say. However, he still said coldly, “Don’t you know how dangerous it can be?”
“No.” Ji Ning was slightly stunned, before he laughed and said, “I went to my second uncle’s house and his wife and children are all at home, how could something go wrong? Okay, I’ll give you the injection now.”
He walked toward Zhou Rin with the injection in his hand. Zhou Rin was not at all prepared for that and had to endure both the surging tide of emotions, and the urge to strangle the Omega. He pointed to the ground, “Just drop the needle there, I’ll do it myself.”
“Okay.”
Ji Ning listened and put the needle on the floor. Zhou Rin leaned forward and picked it up. He tried to inject the needle into his arms but his hands were shaking too badly. The sharp needle scratched at his skin, creating shallow gashes that dripped blood, but he was unable to correctly inject the inhibitor correctly.
“Let me help you.”
Seeing him struggle, Ji Ning stepped forward. His face was flushed slightly due to the influence of Zhou Rin’s pheromones, but his state was stable and there were no signs of his heat starting. He must have recently taken his suppressants.
“Don’t come any closer…”
As he approached, the hazy scent of epiphyllum appeared. Zhou Rin closed his eyes, the corners of his eyes turning red.
“Anyway, you hate Omega pheromones, so it doesn’t matter if I approach you.” He heard Ji Ning say, “It’s alright, let me help you.”
He felt Ji Ning’s soft fingers touch the back of his hand.
Bang.
His eyes snapped open as he pressed Ji Ning against a wall, his eyes blood red. Restraint and longing filled his face as he said in a hoarse voice.
“You don’t know anything.”
The author has something to say: This chapter is about young master Zhou’s country metamorphosis and a countryside romance.
What’s the matter, obviously this wealthy and powerful author CEO is setting up a backstory.
P.s. big darlings can go and comment on the chapter. There are great writers stationed there and the fragments written are very satisfying ^q^
I do find the little tsundere Zhou Rin so cute – he’s been wronged by Ji Ning, especially in the next chapter, ah it hurts to read (つд⊂)
Where have all my comments gone – I’m a simple translator, I need attention to live!! ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
C’mon, give us a lil spoiler, what happens in the next chapter? 👀
ummmmm….it gets worse before it gets better
Ok but Zhou Rin pulling a countryside romance and getting the grandma on his side 👀 he’s slowly growing on me. Huo Wuling is still my fave tho, sorry sir
once grandma likes you, you’re basically married~
I miss Huo Wuling so much, it feels like I haven’t seen my baby in ages (T⌓T)
“…endure both the surging tide of emotions, and the urge to strangle the Omega,” Zhou Rin is so fucking funny, I can’t- he’s so pathetic (endearing) lol the way he spied on them like a loser -> immediately wanting to cry after getting One (1) taste of kindness from Ji Ning -> him trying to look his best in front of Ji Ning but failing (epically). This chapter was really fun to read. And most importantly, something about Ji Ning is sooo good here. Giving older/mature vibes. He knows he has him wrapped on his lil finger.
I keep saying ‘He’s so pathetic’ out loud while translating these chapters, it’s almost embarrassing how badly everything goes for him, I’ve never seen such a shameful male lead (╯·╰)
Ji Ning on the other hand…he has an ‘older sibling’s hot friend’ appearance in these chapters~
the fact that ji ning gave up being with zhou rin just cuz he was disgusted by the idea of getting pregnant EVEN THO HE DIDN’T EVN HAD A 2ND THOUGHT ABOUT GOING THROUGH ALL THOSE INHUMANE TORTURE BY THE OTHER PROTAGS is still funny to me. Our zhou rin really is so miserable…
and he didn’t even have to risk getting pregnant?!? All he had to do was not sleep with Zhou Rin, he could have still been nice to him?? He’s punishing Zhou Rin for a crime he wasn’t even given a chance to commit, my poor baby ml!!
Ahhhh so pathetic……
Ok but why was that last bit kinda spicy though?