Although inhibitors had temporarily prevented a sudden, intense heat, a heat-phase omega still deeply craved their alpha.
Nan Yi did not want to be clingy, but he could not control his instincts. Thus, after He Yushen left for work, Nan Yi would sneakily gather his clothes—everything from suits and shirts to loungewear and pajamas—and scatter them on the bed like a little rabbit building a nest. He would arrange them in a circle based on the strength of the lingering pheromones, curling himself into the center. Finally, he would clutch He Yushen’s frequently worn black pajamas, lie down in the middle of the bed, and spend half the day in a lazy stupor.
His heat lasted four days, and for three of them, Nan Yi had secretly used He Yushen’s clothes to build his nest. He always made sure to put everything away before He Yushen returned from work. Today was no exception; after He Yushen left, Nan Yi began his nesting routine as usual.
“What are you doing?”
Nan Yi, who had just grabbed the last piece of pajama to climb onto the bed, froze. The familiar voice behind him made his heart tremble. He Yushen, who had already gone to work, had returned to the villa for some unknown reason.
Nan Yi did not even have the courage to look back. His clothes were scattered messily all over the bed, arranged in a circular perimeter. He Yushen stared intently at the stiff, slender back near the edge of the bed.
“Turn around. Look at me.”
He frowned, his tone flat and unreadable. Nan Yi turned around stiffly, still clutching the black pajama top.
“In heat again?”
He Yushen stared suspiciously at his own pajamas. Nan Yi shook his head and dropped the garment back onto the bed.
He Yushen: “!”
He Yushen did not ask anything else. Under his steady gaze, Nan Yi stiffly folded the pile of clothes.
“Leave it. I will have the housekeeper come up to take them for washing later.”
Nan Yi’s movements stopped at He Yushen’s words. He felt embarrassed, thinking He Yushen was disgusted by him dirtying his clothes.
“I am hungry. Come downstairs and cook for me,” He Yushen commanded.
Nan Yi followed him downstairs. Standing behind him, he could smell the scent of mint pheromones. It was even more comforting than being wrapped in the clothes. At first, Nan Yi thought it was just the natural strength of the alpha’s pheromones and not intentional. But when he could still smell that faint mint fragrance even from across the kitchen, he realized He Yushen was actively releasing soothing pheromones.
Nan Yi curled his lips upward, his usually cold-looking eyes crinkling into a smile. He was in an exceptionally good mood today, and the meal he prepared for He Yushen was significantly more lavish than usual.
“Learned to cook in secret?”
After half a month of plain white porridge with eggs and sausages, this was the first time He Yushen saw colorful porridge. This one contained shrimp and diced chicken, and the egg had even been transformed into pumpkin-steamed egg. The beautifully arranged plates looked just like a breakfast made with love.
“The taste is not bad. You really know how to please people. You can use less salt next time.”
They ate their breakfast an hour late, sitting across from each other. After finishing, He Yushen went back upstairs.
As the soothing pheromones gradually faded, Nan Yi began to feel uncomfortable again. Just as he was looking for an excuse to go to the study and bask in the alpha’s pheromones, He Yushen’s assistant arrived with documents.
“Hello, could you take me to the boss’s study?”
A rather cute-looking beta assistant stood near the door after entering, appearing somewhat nervous. Nan Yi, who was looking for an opportunity, did not hesitate to lead him upstairs. Even if he could only get close to the alpha for a few seconds, it would be worth it.
“Come in.”
The study door was tightly shut. After the beta assistant entered, Nan Yi lingered by the door, pretending not to leave. The study was filled with a faint mint scent; perhaps it was just his heat acting up, but he could smell it clearly. Though the pheromones were weak, they made Nan Yi, a low-quality omega, feel very comfortable.
“Come in and help me organize this pile of documents.”
The person at the desk did not even look up, but Nan Yi knew he was being addressed. His face lit up, and his footsteps became noticeably lighter.
“Those on the tea table.”
Indeed, there were many documents on the tea table in front of the sofa. It was inconvenient to organize them while standing at such a low table, so Nan Yi sat down and silently began sorting the papers he could not quite understand.
“Boss, you really cannot go to the company today? The afternoon meeting is very important.”
The beta assistant at the desk was on the verge of tears. He could not figure out why his boss, who was always meticulous about work, insisted on working from home today. He had even forced him to bring all the contracts to the villa; heaven knows how much time that wasted.
“We will hold a video conference at one in the afternoon.”
“At that time, prepare a copy of the printed planning document and the meeting minutes for me,” He Yushen instructed.
The beta assistant felt like he was running out of oxygen; he truly wanted to collapse on the spot.
“Yes, boss.”
But he could not; after all, He Yushen paid a high salary.
“Then I will be heading back, boss.”
Nan Yi pricked up his ears to listen to their conversation. The beta assistant’s tone was noticeably less energetic than it had been downstairs earlier. With one person gone, Nan Yi felt a bit awkward, but he really needed the pheromones here. Although Nan Yi slowed his sorting process considerably, he finished organizing them while He Yushen was in his video meeting.
He stole a glance at He Yushen, who was wearing headphones, and pretended to accidentally mess up the documents on the table. Then, quite naturally, he started organizing them all over again from the beginning.
As time passed, his eyelids grew heavy; the mint scent acted like a hypnotic lullaby. He Yushen spent two full hours in the meeting. After hanging up, he raised the corner of his lips as he looked at the person who had fallen fast asleep on the sofa.
The omega was curled up softly on the sofa, his face flushed with an abnormal heat, a bit of drool even leaking from the corner of his mouth. He Yushen stood up and left the study, returning to his desk shortly after.
Nan Yi’s nap was quite long. When he woke up, he was the only one left in the study. He did not even know when he had fallen asleep. The mint scent in the room had faded significantly; He Yushen must have been gone for a while. But the restlessness in his body had vanished; his heat had finally passed.
Nan Yi sat up excitedly, feeling much lighter. He looked down, confused by the blanket that had slipped onto the floor. Was it the housekeeper who had covered him? He picked up the blanket and placed it on the sofa.
“Auntie, I told you I cannot eat spicy food!”
Nan Yi stood at the top of the stairs, watching the housekeeper, who was in her forties, standing nervously by the dining table. Song Jing’s tone in the living room was not pleasant.
“I only made one spicy dish; Mr. Nan likes to eat it,” the housekeeper explained, lacking confidence.
Nan Yi paused on the stairs. He had never specifically told anyone in the villa that he liked spicy food. Because of He Yushen and Song Jing’s preferences, the previous meals had been quite bland. The new housekeeper, not knowing any better, had made a few spicy dishes, and he had simply helped himself to them a few times. He had not expected the housekeeper to remember his preference.