Granny Xu stood up from her rocking chair and smiled, saying, “Sulin is having dinner with Grandma tonight, right?” As she spoke, she walked into the house, “I will have Xiaofang make those fried pork ribs you love.”
Xiaofang was the live-in housekeeper specifically hired by Xu Jiaheng’s father to take care of his own mother and his only son.
Yu Sulin opened his mouth to refuse, but before the words could even come out, his mouth was covered by Xu Jiaheng’s hand.
He lifted his chin to glare at Xu Jiaheng, his eyes rolling upward almost to the ceiling. Xu Jiaheng let out a light click of his tongue, released him, and said, “Let’s talk.”
“I don’t want to talk to you.” Yu Sulin crossed his arms over his chest, putting on an air of refusing to converse, yet he did not turn around and leave either.
“Then I will talk to you,” Xu Jiaheng said calmly.
Yu Sulin choked on his breath and failed to say anything. Xu Jiaheng was exceptionally skilled at using a cold face to retort against him.
“The first-volume physiology textbook for the first year of high school,” Xu Jiaheng said unhurriedly, “Did you read Chapter 3, Section 4?”
Yu Sulin looked at him as if he had seen a ghost, his tone completely matter-of-fact, “Do I look like the type of person who would study on my own initiative?”
Furthermore, he was still in the middle of breaking off relations with Xu Jiaheng. How could he possibly take the initiative to look at that wretched physiology textbook?
Only our little Lin gege could be so righteous and confident even without studying hard.
Xu Jiaheng let out a hum of laughter. Amidst Yu Sulin’s glaring gaze, he turned around, walked toward the living room, and said calmly, “Follow me.”
Yu Sulin did not respond and stood frozen in place. Several cats and dogs seemed to magically sprout around his feet.
Ignoring whether Yu Sulin actually followed behind him or not, Xu Jiaheng walked straight into the living room.
Yu Sulin weighed the pros and cons in his mind. If he did not follow, it was obvious he would have to continue his Cold War with Xu Jiaheng.
If he followed him, there was a chance he could persuade Xu Jiaheng to continue sleeping in the same bed with him.
Driven by the enormous temptation of being able to sleep with Xu Jiaheng again, Yu Sulin followed him.
Two minutes later, he was pressed down in front of Xu Jiaheng’s desk. On the desk lay the physiology textbook he hadn’t finished reading that afternoon.
Yu Sulin glared angrily at the physiology textbook in front of him for five seconds, then turned his head to glare angrily at Xu Jiaheng.
Xu Jiaheng was truly so hateful! Not sleeping with him was one thing, but he actually forced him to read this wretched physiology textbook. How annoying, annoying, annoying!
He only dared to vent his complaints in his heart and didn’t dare say them out loud.
If he made Xu Jiaheng angry, the guy would genuinely ignore him. Wouldn’t that just be adding frost to snow?
If he just put on a show of obedience right now, maybe Xu Jiaheng would let him off the hook shortly.
More importantly, it was almost time for dinner. Earlier when he passed the kitchen, he had smelled the aroma of fried pork ribs.
Xu Jiaheng tapped his knuckles twice lightly against the desktop, his voice cold, “Read the book. There are no words on my face.”
Yu Sulin let out a cold snort, muttered under his breath about who would want to look at him, and turned his gaze back to the physiology textbook in front of him.
His usual study habits were poor, and he often daydreamed during class. At this moment, having zero heart for studying, he found it even harder to stay seated.
Every now and then, he would flip through the later pages of the textbook or doodle on his scratch pad.
After finishing with the textbook and the scratch pad, he started touching and poking things all over the desk, bustling about like a little honey bee anxiously gathering nectar in spring.
Finally, when he accidentally knocked over the pen holder with a loud crash and all the pens rolled onto the floor, he bent down to pick them up. Right then, Xu Jiaheng gave the back of his head a not-too-heavy, not-too-light pat, and a chilly voice whispered right beside his ear, “Read the book.”
Yu Sulin straightened his posture, grabbed a pen that hadn’t rolled onto the floor, and began reading the book earnestly.
Ten minutes later, Yu Sulin finished reading the final section of Chapter 3.
This section mainly discussed the differences between barrier sprays and inhibitors. There wasn’t much content to it, nor was it difficult.
He was clever by nature, and when he had the mind to learn something, he picked it up very quickly.
He finished reading the last line of text, let out a long sigh of relief, immediately closed the book, and fixed his round, bulbous eyes on Xu Jiaheng’s profile.
Two minutes later, Xu Jiaheng leisurely saved the video he had just finished editing.
“I’m hungry,” Yu Sulin announced.
Xu Jiaheng stood up, and Yu Sulin stood up right behind him.
Xu Jiaheng walked over to the bathroom, and Yu Sulin followed him into the bathroom.
Xu Jiaheng stood in front of the vanity basin and turned on the faucet to wash his hands. Yu Sulin stretched his hands out right above Xu Jiaheng’s hands and washed along with him.
There was only a single faucet installed above the vanity, so Yu Sulin had no way to copy and paste Xu Jiaheng’s actions.
Xu Jiaheng let out a light click of his tongue and swatted away the pair of hands hovering above his. Unfazed, Yu Sulin casually rinsed his hands under the running water for a second and then turned around to leave the bathroom.
Auntie Xiaofang, who had just finished setting out dinner in the dining room, saw the two of them coming down from upstairs and smiled, “I was just about to go upstairs to call you both. Auntie Xu is already waiting for you in the dining room.”
Yu Sulin sniffed the air, his eyes lighting up, “There’s pickled fish tonight!”
Auntie Xiaofang chuckled, “Yes, Jiaheng specifically instructed me to make it.”
Yu Sulin pursed his lips, “Oh.”
Yu Sulin loved eating fish and adored all kinds of cooking styles for it. Before his secondary sex differentiation, he had mentioned wanting to eat fish in front of Xu Jiaheng. Looking at Xu Jiaheng walking ahead of him, Yu Sulin decided to forgive this Xu Jiaheng and drop the idea of breaking off relations with him.
The version of Yu Sulin who was not breaking off relations with Xu Jiaheng peacefully accepted the feeding gesture from Xu Jiaheng—a full plate of fish meat with all the bones carefully picked out!
Auntie Xiaofang was an excellent cook. Yu Sulin ate two large bowls of rice that evening. After finishing his meal, he leaned back into Xu Jiaheng’s gaming chair, rubbed his belly, and thought to himself: If Xu Jiaheng could pick out fish bones for him every single day in the future, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if they didn’t sleep together. Besides, he was already grown up now anyway.
On the computer monitor was the game Xu Jiaheng was going to live stream playing tonight. Yu Sulin scrolled the mouse to take a look, but found it lacking in interest. He had forgotten to bring his phone out, so he just leaned back in the gaming chair, digesting his food and zoning out.
Before long, someone tapped on the desk. Yu Sulin snapped back to reality.
Xu Jiaheng sat down in the chair designated exclusively for Yu Sulin, picked up the physiology textbook and the scratch pad, flipped through them, and looked at Yu Sulin.
Yu Sulin looked back at him. After staring at the other person for three seconds, he looked away and obediently straightened his posture.
Xu Jiaheng was about to test the fruits of his learning.
The tasks Xu Jiaheng assigned him were always personally tested by him once they were completed.
“What is the difference between a barrier spray and an inhibitor?” Xu Jiaheng leaned back against the chair, his gaze resting on the physiology textbook.
“Barrier sprays are mostly mists with various scents. They can only conceal the scent of an AO’s pheromones. Inhibitors are used to suppress the estrus period and the rutting period, and they are generally injected into the AO’s body. They are completely colorless and odorless on their own.”
“When are temporary marks and permanent marks generally used? What is the difference between the two?”
“Temporary marks and permanent marks are mostly used during an Omega’s estrus period. An Alpha can complete a temporary mark by biting open the gland of an Omega in estrus and injecting pheromones. A permanent mark requires the Alpha to ejaculate inside the Omega’s body and tie, which completes the process. The higher the pheromone match rate, the smoother the permanent marking process will be. The difference between the two is that temporary marks can only last for one to two days, briefly alleviating an Omega’s estrus fever. Permanent marks, on the other hand, are lifelong marks. The Alpha and Omega who complete a permanent mark will be influenced by their pheromones and will need each other more and more.”
“Is people’s secondary gender considered privacy?”
“Yes.”
“Can AOs have intimate contact?”
“No, unless they are romantic partners or a married couple.”
Listening to Yu Sulin’s answers, Xu Jiaheng knew clearly that Yu Sulin was answering entirely based on the contents of the physiology textbook.
He did not understand why AOs couldn’t have intimate contact, nor did he understand what the phrase ‘the higher the pheromone match rate, the smoother the permanent marking process will be’ meant.
He was like a clean sheet of white paper, completely untainted by dust. The things in his mind were very simple; when he heard one, it meant one, and when he heard two, it meant two, making him pure to the extreme.
Xu Jiaheng suddenly felt a bit disheartened, closed the book, and stopped asking further questions.
Just as Yu Sulin was feeling quite pleased with himself over his flawless answers, he saw Xu Jiaheng close the book. He blinked, looking bewildered, “Are you not going to keep asking questions?”
Lifting his gaze to look at Yu Sulin’s face, which still retained a subtle trace of baby fat, Xu Jiaheng suddenly reached out with cool fingers and pinched the flesh of his cheek. Yu Sulin’s lips involuntarily puckered outward, making his speech muffled and unclear, “Mmph, mmph, mmph, mmph…”
“Do you know why AOs cannot sleep in the same bed?” Xu Jiaheng’s voice lacked any fluctuation, as if he were asking a very ordinary question.
“Mmph, mmph!” Realizing he couldn’t speak clearly, Yu Sulin nodded furiously. He knew, he knew, he knew.
Understanding what he meant, Xu Jiaheng still didn’t let him go right away. He moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, but a moment later changed his mind. A trace of a cold gaze swept past Yu Sulin’s ignorant expression, before he finally released his cheek. He pinched Yu Sulin’s earlobe and rubbed it fiercely a couple of times as if venting his frustrations, before completely pulling his hand back.
“What are you doing? It hurts!” Grimacing in mild pain, Yu Sulin gently rubbed his own earlobe and shot Xu Jiaheng a resentful glare.
“Did you forget what you said two days ago?” Xu Jiaheng said flatly.
The moment past events were brought up, Yu Sulin immediately felt guilty again.
He had said that he hated Xu Jiaheng.
Obediently admitting his mistake, Yu Sulin mumbled, “I’m sorry, Jiaheng gege. I shouldn’t have said I hated you that day.”
Hearing this, Xu Jiaheng remained silent.
Pressing his advantage, Yu Sulin continued, “Gege is the best to me. I like Jiaheng gege the most! Gege, please don’t be mad anymore.”
As he spoke, he boldly grabbed the hem of Xu Jiaheng’s shirt and shook it slightly. Seeing that Xu Jiaheng didn’t push him away, he added, “I was just too sad and upset that day. When you said you wouldn’t sleep with me anymore, you really wouldn’t sleep with me anymore, and I couldn’t accept it for a moment, which is why I said those things. I won’t ever say I hate you again, so don’t be mad anymore, okay?”
Xu Jiaheng looked at him, “Do you really want to sleep with me that much?”
Yu Sulin’s eyes lit up. Believing that Xu Jiaheng was about to change his mind, he nodded vigorously, “Yes! Very much! Super much!”
Xu Jiaheng replied, “Got it.”
Yu Sulin asked, “?”
What did ‘got it’ mean? What was that supposed to mean? Had he just seen the corners of Xu Jiaheng’s lips lift up ever so slightly a moment ago? Was Xu Jiaheng smiling? Was he not mad anymore?
Tentatively, he asked, “Then does that mean we can sleep together in the future?”
Who would have thought that Xu Jiaheng would shake his head and ruthlessly reply, “No.”
Yu Sulin fell silent.