Bai Long had just lain back down when she saw Liang Shen push the door open and walk in again, not long after he had left.
Startled, she quickly propped herself up with her hands and sat up.
“Dr. Liang, is there something else that needs to be checked?”
“No, no, it’s fine. Just lie back and rest—no need to get up.”
The man quickly waved his hand, signaling for Bai Long not to move. As he approached, the faint trace of pheromones clinging to him unconsciously drifted into Bai Long’s senses.
Bai Long swallowed hard, doing her best to suppress the inexplicable restlessness stirring inside her.
“Um… could you maybe… stay a little further away?”
“The pheromones in your body seem… stronger now.”
Under normal circumstances, an Omega who had used blockers would carry pheromones so faint they were almost negligible. But for Bai Long, everything seemed amplified several times over.
She couldn’t ignore it even if she tried.
Hearing the girl’s words, Liang Shen felt even more convinced this arrangement could work.
He was a double A-rank Alpha, yet even he couldn’t detect Lu Yue’s pheromones.
For Bai Long, with her low rank, to perceive them so clearly suggested their pheromonal compatibility could be as high as eighty percent.
Liang Shen kept his distance while carefully observing Bai Long’s expression.
He sat down by the window.
Perhaps because of the breeze, the pheromones belonging to Lu Yue that lingered on him dissipated somewhat, and Bai Long finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Sorry, I don’t mean anything by it. It’s just that your friend’s pheromones might be… a little overwhelming for me.”
She carefully chose her words, trying to explain without causing offense.
“Of course, it could also be because of my enhancement—my senses are sharper than before, so it might just be a bit much for me to handle right now.”
“I don’t think it’s because of the enhancement. In this entire hospital, you’re the only one who can detect his pheromones even when he’s using blockers.”
Bai Long wasn’t entirely sure what he meant by that and looked up at Liang Shen, waiting for him to continue.
Liang Shen had unknowingly moved a little closer. Even though there was no one else in the room, he still lowered his voice.
“Bai Long, actually… the reason I came back isn’t to run more tests. It’s to ask for your help.”
“My friend has damaged his body from overusing inhibitors during his heats. If he keeps going like this, he might suffer serious long-term consequences…”
He paused here, looking into Bai Long’s beautiful amber eyes, his tone sincere.
“If it’s possible… could you go over and give him a temporary bite mark before his next heat?”
Bai Long’s eyes widened in surprise. After confirming he didn’t seem to be joking, she opened her mouth and took a moment to compose herself before pointing a finger at her own nose.
“You mean… you want me to mark your friend?”
It was no wonder Bai Long reacted this way. Marking an Omega was a deeply personal and significant act.
Even if the Omega didn’t have a partner, they wouldn’t just casually ask a stranger—an Alpha they didn’t know—to do it. It wasn’t safe.
“Dr. Liang, I don’t quite understand. You’re an Alpha too, and you’re his friend. Even if he doesn’t have a partner, shouldn’t something this intimate be entrusted to someone he trusts? Have you… maybe made a mistake?”
“He’s not like other Omegas. Our pheromone compatibility is too low—if I mark him, it would only make things worse for him.”
Liang Shen had expected Bai Long to be confused. He sighed, his expression softening with a hint of regret.
“I know this request is quite sudden, but his condition can’t wait. A double dose of inhibitors is barely working anymore, and his heat is due in the next couple of days. If this continues, I’m afraid his body won’t hold up.”
“As a friend, I’m asking you—please help ease his suffering.”
It was common for Omegas without partners to ask close friends for assistance. As long as it wasn’t a deep mark, there usually weren’t any issues.
But Bai Long wasn’t from this world. To her, marking felt far too intimate—something reserved only for someone you truly loved.
Deep down, she was still quite conservative, and she couldn’t bring herself to agree so easily.
Although Bai Long didn’t answer right away, she didn’t refuse immediately either.
Seeing the girl furrow her brows with visible hesitation, Liang Shen could tell she was still weighing the decision.
It wasn’t a lost cause.
“This would benefit you as well. Your pheromones are still quite unstable—a mark could significantly help stabilize them.”
“Bai Long, you should understand just how agonizing it is for an Omega to endure a heat, especially when inhibitors lose their effectiveness.”
“Besides…”
As he spoke, he casually rested a hand on the nearby table and leaned forward slightly, intentionally or not.
That crisp, cool scent suddenly enveloped her. Bai Long’s body stiffened momentarily.
It was Lu Yue’s pheromones.
Clear and pure, like white snow resting on red plum blossoms under the winter sun.
“You like this scent too, don’t you?”
“Well… I do, but I still think it’s a bit… inappropriate…”
Bai Long reached up and scratched her cheek, looking troubled.
“Thirty thousand.”
“Huh?”
“What if it’s thirty thousand per mark? Would you reconsider?”
?! You’re telling me such a good deal exists?!
“!!! I can do it! I absolutely can!
“…”
It seemed he had worried for nothing. Unlike other Alphas, this girl didn’t appear to feel that being hired for marking was a blow to her dignity—as long as the money was right.
Seeing that Bai Long had already been won over by the power of money, Liang Shen nodded.
He told her to get some rest, left her with a room number, and then headed straight out.
Bai Long’s mind was a whirlwind. On one hand, she felt she had acted too rashly—how could she agree so easily to something as serious as marking an Omega?
On the other hand, she couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement.
Before, she had never really understood why Chen Lan and others were so obsessed with Omegas. But now, with her heightened senses, Bai Long was truly experiencing that hard-to-contain restlessness.
It should be fine, right? It’s just a temporary bite mark, after all.
She was an Alpha, young and full of energy.
“It’s okay, Bai Long. You’re not initiating this—he invited you. You’re just making a mistake any Alpha in the world would make…”
She kept trying to reassure herself like this.
After dinner, the emotions she had finally managed to calm were once again stirred up by Liang Shen’s suggestive gaze.
Since she had already agreed, Bai Long had no choice. With flushed ears and tightly fisted sleeves, she mustered her courage and headed up to the third floor.
Likewise, from the moment Liang Shen left until now, Lu Yue hadn’t closed his eyes to rest either.
Bai Long was nervous—he, on the other hand, was simply too uncomfortable to sleep.
The inhibitor’s effects were wearing off.
Just as Liang Shen had said, even the double dose hadn’t lasted long this time. What’s more, the heat that should have arrived in another two days had started early.
It had just begun—starting from the gland and spreading downward like vines, digging their roots deep into his body.
The pain left the man’s face pale.
Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead and the tip of his nose without him realizing. His eyelashes were damp, and the eyes beneath them were tinged with red.
Under the light, he carried a strangely fragile, almost tormented beauty.
When he finally regained a sliver of strength, Lu Yue’s eyes flickered, his gaze falling on the inhibitor placed nearby.
As a precaution, Liang Shen had left an extra dose for him.
The veins on the back of his hand stood out from how tightly he was clenching his fist.
But before he could even reach for the inhibitor, footsteps approached from outside.
Then they stopped, followed by a few soft knocks on the door.
“…Mr. Lu.”
Bai Long’s voice was soft, and if one listened closely, a faint tremor of nervousness could be heard at the end.
Hearing the girl’s voice, Lu Yue was taken aback for a moment before remembering that, this time, he might not need the inhibitor.
He had found an Alpha who could provide a temporary mark for him.
The realization left him momentarily dazed. Pressing his thin lips together, he forced himself to slowly sit up despite the pain.
His straight back resembled a pine tree, with strands of hair falling over his forehead, partially obscuring the emotions in his eyes.
“Come in.”
Lu Yue’s voice was low, like a night breeze brushing past the ear—devoid of any warmth.
Yet, for some reason, Bai Long felt her ears grow warm.
QwQ Not only do his pheromones smell amazing, but his voice sounds incredible too…
She didn’t have much experience interacting with Omegas, so hearing Lu Yue grant her permission to enter only made her more nervous.
This ward was specifically designed to block pheromones. Earlier, she had only caught faint traces, which she could still manage to handle.
But when Bai Long gently pushed the door open, before she could even step inside, she was enveloped by the overwhelming pheromones that rushed toward her, freezing her in place.
Pheromones! Pheromones! Pheromones!
The word flashed across her mind like a full-screen alert, blaring a dangerous warning!
What she had smelled on Liang Shen earlier was just a faint trace. Now, the crisp scent of white cedar, carrying the coolness of rain, completely enveloped Bai Long’s exposed gland.
She had overestimated her self-control and underestimated the compatibility between them.
Just before her own pheromones were about to flare up in response to Lu Yue’s, Bai Long gritted her teeth, lowered her head, and didn’t dare look toward the bed.
“I-I’m sorry! Excuse me!”
Without waiting for Lu Yue’s reaction, her face flushed red as she bowed deeply in his direction.
“Wait…”
Before he could finish speaking, Bai Long turned and dashed away as if fleeing from some mythical beast.
Lu Yue stared blankly as the girl’s figure disappeared from sight, staying frozen in place for a long moment, unable to look away.
Even when enduring the agony of his heat, the man had always gritted his teeth without a single sound. Now, disbelief mingled with an indescribable sense of defeat.
She ran?
She actually left an Omega in heat behind and ran?!
Lu Yue’s expression darkened severely, his neck flushed crimson—whether from pain or fury, it was impossible to tell.
His chest heaved heavily, his slender, well-defined hand bracing his body.
With his other hand, he reached for his phone on the bedside table, pressed a shortcut key, and dialed directly.
【Mr. Lu, how may I assist you…】
“Go to Room 205 and bring that person named Bai Long here.”
The man’s handsome face was as cold as if covered by a thin layer of ice, each word spoken through gritted teeth.
“I want to see which of us is truly incapable.”