Early in the morning, sunlight crept into the room through the gaps in the curtains, leapt onto the headboard, and landed right on Ji Xingjian’s face. He fluttered his eyelashes uncomfortably, opened his eyes slightly, and instinctively moved to turn over and reach for his phone, but suddenly froze.
He seemed to be held in someone’s arms. By his ear came the sound of steady breathing.
With his nerves taut, Ji Xingjian stiffly turned his neck, and an exquisitely sculpted face came into view. Long, dark, deep eyelashes, deep and sharp facial features, a tight and smooth jawline, and sturdy, tense pectoral muscles rose and fell with each breath.
Ji Xingjian blinked in astonishment twice. The soreness throughout his body made him frown involuntarily, and as all his consciousness came rushing back, the tips of his ears turned instantly red, awkwardly turning his head to the other side.
The light was glaring, and Ji Xingjian instinctively raised his hand to block it. The bruised finger marks on his wrist made him pause, and memories came flooding back like a tide.
To celebrate his appointment as a guest professor at the School of Fine Arts of Imperial Capital University, his only good friend had dragged him along for a self-driving trip within the city as the start of the semester approached.
On the final day of the trip, yesterday, they were listening to a band’s live concert on the beach. Just as the performance ended, his buddy was called away by a work phone call. Feeling bored on his own, Ji Xingjian went back to his room to rest.
To create a comfortable atmosphere for guests, the corridor lights were dim and yellowish. Lost in thought for a moment, Ji Xingjian collided head-on with someone at the corner.
That person had a tall build, broad shoulders, and long legs, and was walking very hurriedly. Ji Xingjian was sent stumbling back two steps and, seeing he was about to fall to the ground, a hand caught him just in time.
“Sorry.” A voice, extremely hoarse, came from above his head, as if enduring something with great effort.
Ji Xingjian frowned slightly and instinctively said, “No problem.” Before the word could fully register, the person suddenly stepped forward and smoothly pinned him against the wall.
“?” What was going on?
Ji Xingjian was somewhat bewildered, raising his gaze to meet the lowered eyes of the other person right away. The highly aggressive gaze made his heart tremble, and even his fingertips couldn’t help shaking slightly.
A strong scent of tequila pheromones continuously emanated, stimulating Ji Xingjian’s nasal cavity and his nerves.
As an Omega with genetic defects, Ji Xingjian was very difficult to provoke a reaction from Alpha pheromones, nor would he make an Alpha lose control and produce the urge to mark him. His pheromones were very faint. Even during special periods, they were hard for others to notice, so everyone assumed he was an ordinary Beta.
Although Ji Xingjian believed in love, he did not believe it would befall a defective Omega like himself. Therefore, for twenty-seven years of his life, he had never been in a single relationship, let alone being pinned against the wall like this and looked at with a gaze full of aggression and the desire to mark.
While Ji Xingjian was at a loss, the other person actually lowered his head and leaned close to his neck, sniffing carefully as if confirming something.
Hot breath puffed against his skin, and Ji Xingjian couldn’t help shrinking back, his brain struggling to operate to assess the current situation.
The person in front of him should be an Alpha in the rut phase. Without specially matched inhibitors, he could only draw upon an Omega’s pheromones or even have intimate relations with an Omega.
Thinking of this, Ji Xingjian couldn’t help feeling a sense of relief in his heart. His pheromones were extremely faint, so the Alpha in front of him definitely wouldn’t be able to smell them and would soon let him go.
However, Ji Xingjian overlooked one thing: the other person was a top-tier Alpha, and the pheromones he released were enough to arouse a defective Omega like him.
Under the invasion of the extremely rich tequila scent, Ji Xingjian’s body grew faintly hot, his breathing became hurried, and a certain craving even grew deep within his heart.
“You need to control yourself and stay away from me.” Ji Xingjian was extremely uneasy, raising a hand to try and push the person away, but he couldn’t muster any strength. Wrapped in the other’s intense pheromones, his legs were soft. If the other person wasn’t holding him in a grip, he would have already slumped to the floor.
What was even more fatal was that he was aroused by the Alpha before him, his body getting out of control, his brain a mess, wanting only to press close to the other person and have more intimate contact.
It was the first time Ji Xingjian had experienced such an impulse, and he was completely unable to resist the signals released by his brain. Before he even realized something was wrong, his hands had already climbed onto the other person’s neck. The Alpha, who was close to his limit, kissed him without any pity, carrying a surging wave that forcefully pried open his teeth.
Dry firewood and a raging fire, ignited at a single touch. With his remaining sanity, Ji Xingjian brought the person to his own room. Everything that followed was like a sudden catastrophe, a disaster no one could anticipate.
Sharp pain swept through his entire body, his limbs feeling as if they were crushed into fine fragments, floating amidst the waves. Facing the absolute strength of the Alpha, Ji Xingjian was practically torn apart.
His wrist was gripped tightly with pain, and the air was filled with the rich scent of tequila, as if trying to drown Ji Xingjian in potent liquor, allowing no evasion, no retreat, and not even a moment to catch his breath.
In his swaying field of vision, the lights outside the window were colorful and bright, growing darker and darker until they plunged into complete darkness.
The memory was forcibly interrupted. Ji Xingjian rubbed his burning cheeks, not daring to continue thinking about it. Shifting his gaze, he carefully moved the arm draped around his waist away, holding his breath as he escaped from the embrace of that person, and picked up the clothes on the floor to put them on one by one.
During this process, he didn’t forget to look at the person lying on the bed, terrified of making a noise that would wake him. Fortunately, the other person was fast asleep and showed no sign of waking up.
After dressing, Ji Xingjian stared at the Alpha on the bed for another two moments, once again recalling those eyes in the darkness that exuded primitive savagery, a gaze like a predator watching its prey that made his heart flutter.
When all was said and done, it was he himself who had taken the first step last night, leading to things getting out of hand and resulting in a huge mistake. Come to think of it, he was actually the one who took advantage of the Alpha.
Remorse and guilt arose at the same time.
There was no time to think too much. Ji Xingjian pulled a bank card out of his bag, placed it in the Alpha’s hand, and then dragged his exhausted, sore body to escape the crime scene.
What he didn’t know was that the moment the door closed, the sleeping person on the bed abruptly opened his eyes. Looking at the bank card in his hand, his thin lips curved slightly upward, though it was not a friendly arc.