Shi Luo is abnormally intelligent but even he cannot discern. “What sort of advice are you looking for, ex-Colonel Yang? There are multitudes I can give, but only very few that would be of use to you. I am not a therapist, after all.”
Yang Rong is lost in contemplation. Ten seconds of silence later, he weighs his words in kind.
“…About Noah,” he muses. “I settled on sending him away.”
“And you are hesitant.”
“My feelings for him are clear. His feelings for me, on the other hand…” Yang Rong begins to ramble, his speech coming off too hasty and nearly incoherent. “Uncertain. I only know he is frightened. He doesn’t trust me, Shi Luo, and especially not after… Well, barring some details and censoring some others, Noah panicked, went into unexpected heat and… fuck, Shi Luo, I believed I’ve fucked things up again—only this time, I don’t believe I can repair. Fuck, I haven’t done anything right at all and I am on the verge of—”
“—Yang Rong,” Shi Luo cuts him off midway. “Calm down.”
Unbeknownst to himself, Yang Rong is struggling from a shortage of breath, his head painfully short circuiting and his pupils constricting into blurred orbs. Effects of the drug, perhaps, but the cold sweat on his forehead only adds to the frenzy.
“…”
He rakes a hand across his wet bangs. It is only now that he remembers that, disregarding the flimsy towel, he’s still fully nude and standing a mere five meters away from an omega in heat on his bed. His rut has… (he glances down) thankfully, subsided. A little longer, however, and Yang Rong might have to shoot another dose up his veins. With laggard motions, he slides open the bedstand drawer and pulls out every article of clothing he sees.
“I am perfectly calm,” he says a short while later, when he has reclothed and donned a shirt that’s two sizes too small.
“I am sure,” the doctor replies just to appease him. “Your internal combustion aside, you’ve mentioned Xie X—Noah went into heat? It is very surprising he’d let you near.”
“It just so happens that I was the only one there,” Yang Rong corrects with a frown. A few more seconds of internal distress later, he adds more incoherent rambling. “I doubt he recognized me in his unstable state—fuck, Shi Luo, now that I’m halfway more sane, I can recall his expression and… what do you think I should do when he wakes up—should I admit to my faults or does he no longer want to see my face—it’s the latter isn’t it, fuck, I still have to bring him to the city and I—”
“I am not here to be your relationship consultant,” the doctor says dully. “Nor am I here to listen to your aimless vocalizations. Regardless, I can share a past story of Xie Xing’s first unexpected heat.”
Yang Rong is instantly alert. “What? I am not interested at all in hearing an anecdote of his sexual encounters when you are involved in them, Shi Luo. I’d much rather not listen in on the sort of activities conjured up in your experimentalist head and if you mention any form of scientific rediscovery, I swear on my left nut, I will personally—”
“—Perhaps you are in need of medication,” Shi Luo cuts him off again, and it is definitely exasperation that overtakes the doctor’s tone. “I’ve more or less figured you are under the influence of drugs. Your mental state is even more deficient than usual. I’d much rather we keep this conversation brief and… you do not have time to dawdle either, do you? Another hour and I reckon the military would come barging in.”
“…” Yang Rong calms down – or he tries to, but his pulse is erratic as are his thoughts. “Understood.”
“Xie Xing’s physiology has always been abnormal.” The doctor goes on a monologue, uncaring if Yang Rong has recovered or not. “His first sexual heat was three years ago. He had come to the city for… a yearly checkup with me, I suppose. A medical radiation screening. On the way to the inner city, however, he was approached by a pack of alphas—patrolmen, the lot of them are depraved. You can assume how the story goes from here. Since then, Xie Xing’s held no positive feelings toward policemen nor military men—anyone associated as well. In fact, he—”
“How many?” Yang Rong interrupts. His tone is eerie – low and dark, cutting through the still air. If listened more intently, there is an undercurrent of something cold. “The alphas. Run them all through a background check and report to me. Their names, address, family, their entire ancestral tree—where they are at this moment.”
“At this moment, their bodies have long been incinerated,” Shi Luo answers without the slightest pause. “Xie Xing arrived in my office soaked in blood, portions of their viscera hanging on his shirt – an exaggeration, of course, though the truth isn’t that far off. The crime scene was quite brutal. The few witnesses were… well, taken care of by me. The incident’s been covered up.”
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.
The doctor recounts with such apathy that the brutal incident has turned into a meager tale. Shi Luo, celebrated doctor, prodigious researcher, exudes cold-heartedness when he doesn’t put up a front. When conversing with Yang Rong, the doctor is unfiltered and unemphatic.
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“I see,” Yang Rong says (the bubbling possessiveness in his system doesn’t fade, even though he has zero right to be). “It does explain Noah’s hostility.”
“Wlf Wlcu glqqfv atfw jqjga veglcu atf jaafwqafv jrrjeia,” Vtl Oeb rjsr.
Again, he calls Noah by his birth name and the sound of it… is a little discomfiting for Yang Rong. He is used to Noah, after all, and not some foreign name he doesn’t associate with wispy silver hair, prettily colored eyes, lips that would curve into very slight, very rare smiles.
Ktf vbmabg mbcalcefr ab rqfjx jybea j qjra Tjcu Ebcu lrc’a jkjgf bo flatfg. “P tfiqfv tlw atgbeut tlr tfja—cba lc atf kjs sbe lwjulcf—jcv jvwlclrafgfv bcf abb wjcs reqqgfrrjcar. Lfcmf, tf tjr mfgajlc vfqfcvfcms ab atfw. Ktfgf kjrc’a wemt firf P mbeiv vb, flatfg – lo P gfjmtfv bea abb mibrfis, Wlf Wlcu kbeiv nlrlyis gfmbli.”
“For what reason are you telling me this? I believe you wanted to keep the conversation brief, Shi Luo. I am not opposed to hearing more about him, but this—” Yang Rong rakes his hand over his hair again – a fidgety habit that’s now more and more pronounced. “This ventures into a personal territory I have no right to listen in on. I believe I’ve said I want to cut ties with him.”
His subconscious beckons that it’s a lie, plain and simple. Yang Rong sneaks another glance at the unconscious young man and…
“—Did he stab you?” Shi Luo asks him suddenly.
“…What?”
“He does trust you,” the doctor says. “To an extent. The fact that you’re still alive is as good an indication as any. If it were anyone else, they’d have been long skewered.”
“…” Yang Rong answers slowly, “Uncertain. The first time he went into heat, he nearly gouged my eyes out. The second time, he cried. All very negative connotations, to say the least.”
“Psychological distress induces all sorts of responses,” Shi Luo says. “I am no certified counselor and frankly, I do not care to absolve your relationship with him. I only care about him as a singular unit. Though out of good conscience for you, my half-sibling, I suppose I can give a sort of… advice.”
“Advice,” Yang Rong repeats. “By all means, provide me with advice and a solution, else I’d really be stuck in an infinite loop of… admittedly, a brainless rut. At this very moment, my neurological wavelength is fixed into a singular frequency of Noah’s face and—Shi Luo, I may need to inject another dose of XA-027 else I really think I—”
“There are a few select things you are good at,” the doctor muses. “Unfortunately, communication isn’t one of them. You are well-versed in speaking to thin air, however, and if you just may channel that energy to something more worthwhile, you may have been able to keep a relationship longer than a week.”
“…” Yang Rong retorts, “I have been able to—”
“Disregarding your sexual partners,” Shi Luo chimes in. “And might I remind that not a single partner lasted a week either?”
“It is only unfortunate that their stamina—”
“My advice.” Shi Luo could be heard tapping incessantly on the table, the sound vibrating off the transceiver. “I have given you my two cents.”
Yang Rong falters. “I must’ve missed the advice – how exactly does your belittling help my situation?”
“Yang Rong.” Shi Luo’s voice drops an octave lower, sounding especially poignant in the quiet night. “Solve the problems you create.”
Suddenly, Yang Rong is more aware of his surroundings, of the silence, of when Noah had stopped letting out shaky whines. The young man’s breathing has turned softer, steadier, and his complexion has waned into a dust pink. Beautifully, the candlelight enhances the color on his cheeks, reflecting off long lashes and equally as attractive brows. The wrinkles by his eyes have softened as well, and finally he looks slightly more put together.
Curls of damp hair pool on the pillow, and Yang Rong isn’t sure when he’d walked over to gingerly brush back his bangs. Noah’s fever is scalding hot still.
Shi Luo continues, “And as for Xie Xing – he has always been prone to running away. He is more vulnerable post-heat, however, so any conversations would need to be had when in a less stressed state.”
Shi Luo gives one final say before the transceiver cuts off with a low beep. “Regardless, Yang Rong, I expect your arrival to the city. Bring him here unharmed at the very least.”
Then comes radio silence. Yang Rong’s own pulse has settled into less concerning – not chaotically jittering like it was before, though it’s still rapidly sounding, unsure if from the drug or from…
Noah shifts in his sleep, subconsciously nuzzling into his palm. Yang Rong had long learned of that habit of his – the effect it has on him, however, has only heightened over time. He lets Noah do as he pleases for a minute, two minutes, five… uncaring if the latter grazes his lips against it, humming softly in contentment. Spurred by an unknown impulse, Yang Rong curls a finger and gently rubs against Noah’s lips in kind.
Chapped.
Last hour’s activities come crawling back at him and Yang Rong furrows his brows in complication.
A faint hum distracts Yang Rong from his thoughts. Noah shifts again, lets out another hum (that in distortion, sounds like a pretty purr) and slowly opens his eyes. At least, he tries to, but he is so far hazed in sleep. Noah blinks several times but to no avail. His pupils (still slit vertical, Yang Rong notices) are hardly focusing in front.
When those heterochromatic eyes flit upwards slowly, Yang Rong freezes entirely. There is no hostility in the way Noah is looking at him – those pretty irises are glowing a subtle tint of orange, those eyelids downcast and doused in a thin veil of wetness. There is, however, a small flinch that doesn’t go unnoticed.
Perhaps it’s the position they’re in – Yang Rong bent over him, posture alike that time in heat-induced fever. Weak breaths escape Noah’s mouth, grazing lightly against a calloused palm. Yang Rong remains rooted in place, washed by immense uncertainty.
Before he could retract, however, Yang Rong is pulled closer. Gently, Noah curls up against his arm and whispers inaudibly, his first syllables slurred away in semi-consciousness. “…ng Rong…?”
When their proximity is this close, Yang Rong’s emotions are affected tenfold.
“…Sorry,” he whispers back in kind. “Did I wake you?”
More silence envelops them and just when he thinks Noah had fallen asleep yet again, the latter murmurs, “…Thirsty…”
“I’ll get you water,” Yang Rong replies, already reaching his other free hand toward the bedstand.
“…Mm,” is the reply, accompanied by a slow shake of his head and Yang Rong is uncertain of the implication. Before he could grab the bottle of water, he feels a… tingling wetness on his palm. Yang Rong turns back in confusion – turned startlement.
He only chooses to remain stiffly still as Noah begins to… mouth at the eminence of his palm, giving tentative licks to the base and dragging his teeth across firm skin.
“…” Yang Rong is at a complete loss. Belatedly, he sees that, by the junction of Noah’s vermillion, peeking out from the full of Noah’s lips is one small white fang. The other molar is shadowed on the other side, only coming to view when Noah bites him.
Gently, but just enough to draw blood.
“…” Yang Rong stares stupefied as the latter leans in to deepen the mark, puncturing more insistently until blood begins to ooze at a steady flow – enough for Noah to lick and drink it up. The raven-haired man experiences a sort of epilepsy. Eyes unblinking, upper cheek twitching, arm slightly shaking as Noah holds him firmly in place.
Yang Rong is watching the process very, very intently. He focuses on the wrong things, however – such as Noah’s lips, his tongue, the trickles of saliva mixed with blood, the glistens on porcelain skin. Never mind the slight pain and the strange tingling sensation, because when Noah’s tongue laps up the last residues, Yang Rong is brought to an unholy place. His Adam’s apple bobs in lieu of… the more unspeakable things in his mind.
Thankfully, Noah retracts shortly after. The young man, unaware of Yang Rong’s internal disturbance, breathes out slowly. With his eyes half-lidded, Noah murmurs, “Yang Rong…”
“What is it?” Yang Rong rubs lightly on his lips, smearing away a residue drop of blood. “I am here.”
Noah’s cheeks are burning in intensity, yet the rest of his complexion is pallid, ghostlike and lacking any melanin – very alike his mammal hybrid. Yang Rong frowns slightly. Perhaps he’d have to run this by a certain suspect doctor, ask a question or two about how unhealthily pale Noah looks. Health concerns aside for now, Yang Rong is more distracted by how softly Noah is calling his name.
“Yang Rong, I…” For a brief moment, Noah looks more like his usual self – pupils blurring back to round orbs, eyes hooded just slightly, enough to indicate an ounce of clarity. The clarity fades almost instantly as his features scrunch up in pain. “I don’t know what to do.”
More sadness than pain, in retrospect, when Noah looks at Yang Rong with an expectant gaze – unspoken questions form between them, and neither can hope to address. Yang Rong, after all, hardly thinks he’s trusted by Noah’s side.
“…I’m sorry, Noah,” he whispers. “When you look at me like that, I don’t know what to do either.”
Noah’s expression cracks a little, and then he closes his eyes again.
Yang Rong watches him drift off to sleep once more. Not ten seconds have passed before Noah’s breaths even out softly and Yang Rong… makes sure the other is asleep before carrying him off the bed. One hand behind his thighs and the other on his back – treating him as fragilely as glass. And Yang Rong is well aware that Noah isn’t – wasn’t – one to shatter so easily, yet he cannot be any less hesitant.
He leaves the bedroom, walks past the empty corridor, reaches the outermost section of the base. Amber backdrop, a flickering kerosene lamp, then on concrete floor tiles lie the small metal beads of his military tag. The chain had snapped into scattered pieces and the nameplate had dropped several meters from where he currently stands.
Yang Rong focuses less on those details and more on the young man in his arms.
Inexplicably, he feels an urge to lean down and steal a kiss. A brief, millisecond brush of lips before Yang Rong, spurred further, kisses more deeply, more desperately – and there is as much passion as there is resignation.
“Sorry,” he whispers, his hot breaths skating across Noah’s lips. “Afterward, your Rong-ge promises to never touch you again.”
A third kiss – this one, he savors it slowly.
At the end of it, the one breathless is himself only.
It must be Yang Rong’s imagination and it must be his intoxicated mind, for he had felt some reciprocation.
just elope and live together ever after 😭 im hurt to see you guys like this 😭😭😭
+1
( Ĭ ^ Ĭ ) s-sorry for making this super slow buuuurnn
its okayyyy, i enjoy the wait 💗😚
Im begging you guys, just be happy 😭
t-they will be happy…..!
I have a cat that snuggles in my hand just like that. Can’t wait for the next chapter!!!! Thanks so much!!!!!
noah noah are you a truly a fox (゜▽゜;)
Fuee… found several sus points in this chap…. or so my mind was telling me.
Well, a baby steps for Noah is appreciated nevertheless
your conspiracy theory brain is acting up again..!
Ai, this old lady`s young heart has directly been critically hit… Author, you take responsibility for this!!!!😭
( Ĭ ^ Ĭ ) how should i take responsibility -hides-
UwU promise me lots of dog food later on UwU!!!!
thanks!❤
thank you~~~
i’m not gonna trash talk Yang Rong for a few chapters (maybe)..
but poor Noah. Its no wonder why he is super distrustful of Alpha’s
thanks for the chapter <3
by the end of this novel, yang rong is going to be your favorite ML of all time, i promise!
……..
…….. -coughs-
Every day I wake up JUST TO SUFFER OMG WHY ARE YOU TWO SO DUMB AND ANGSTY!!!
Thanks for the chapter!! It was good as always despite their dumbassery!
s-sorry these bois are idiots ( Ĭ ^ Ĭ )
-sits in a corner and regrets throwing in melodramatic angst-
I’m in so much pain, why is this so bittersweet. It’s like feeding my sugar and then dunking water over my head after (that’s a terrible analogy but I’m going with it). YR losing himself while talking to Shi Luo— ugh, my heart. Hear that? It’s shattered, again. Somehow. But those rotten alphas that dared hurt my boy Noah, gah! They got it coming to them, I’d say. No sympathy, sorry not sorry, but my love exists for a select few only
I just…..fifteen seconds into the chapter and I nearly threw my phone? Yang Rong, your words are like a double-edged sword. It shows your extent of love for Noah but at the same time, also the disregard for your own being. Wistful thinking. (ಥ_ʖಥ)
It can’t be easy, right? He can’t just go to Noah and blurt everything out in a single breath because he cares for him too much to even take his chances. And Noah has never known dependence, much like Yang Rong, but he doesn’t think himself worthy nor does have the strength to get used to the foreigness of everything that is happening to him. By foreigness, I mean….these bittersweet moments.
Geh….nature, nature in the universe, why must all the alphas be capable of being jerks but not to converse? (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
No wonder, Noah doesn’t give a damn. And on his first heat too. The inevitable agony and suffering; but I really don’t know who blame, it’s their physiology at one hand but on the other, they’re cocky anyway? (·•᷄ࡇ•᷅ )
Yang Rong overthinking has a certain ring to it; makes him seem humane, on display for others to see. But I really wish he didn’t have to suffer so much. His derailed brain isn’t doing him a favour with its fantasies for Noah either. ( •_•)
Oh, my….Shi Luo does make sure to diss Yang Rong in his eloquent manner of speech. “Your mental state is even more deficient than usual.” XD
“—Did he stab you?” You pose an excellent question. Did he, Yang Rong? (*꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ)
See, see? He probably can’t think as straightly but one mention of Noah’s suffering and he is alert with his dark undertone coming out; his possessiveness and protectiveness is admirable here.
Ah, Noah is calling him Yang Rong more often more. Happy me; though probably because of inebriation but okay. (´･_･`)
Ah, those soft little actions are so sweet! Yang going to him unconsciously; Noah nuzzling against his hand….C.u.t.e. *Melts
Uh……Noah, did you just go vampire mode? What are you doing just watching him, Colonel?! Oh, nevermind, a lovesick reptile you are. XD
Noah looked didn’t look at him sharply; small but it’s a development.
Noah is a fragile being of glass, treat him well. And before that, treat yourself at least the bare minimum of well.
Yeah, yeah, both of you are intoxicated. Surprising. Now be happy- (｡•ˇ‸ˇ•｡)
Nevermind, back to flipping tables after all. Their pain is…..pain. (ノಥ_ʖಥ)ノ彡┻━┻
Wow, Yang Rong must be slowly growing brain cells. Like he’s still an idiot, but seems to have more than one brain cell now…. maybe two.
That hurtled man. Yang Rong 😭
Ty author for eviscerating those scum Alphas 🤬
I am really hoping that Yang-ge soon figures out that he is what Noah needs.