The next morning, Xiao Shuqing woke up just after six o’clock as usual. He took Saisa out for a walk and picked up breakfast on the way home: fifty grams of fried dumplings, fifty grams of potstickers, and two bowls of mini wontons.
Holding the large dog’s leash, he unlocked the front door in a thoroughly pleasant mood.
He glanced at the time—7:20 AM. It was right around the time Yu Siyuan usually got up to wash his face and brush his teeth. Perfect timing for them to eat together.
However, the moment the door swung open, Xiao Shuqing froze. Standing right in his entryway was his Omega mother.
Meanwhile, a freshly awakened Yu Siyuan stood by the bathroom door still in his pajamas, looking utterly dazed and at a complete loss.
The young Alpha had clearly rushed out of the bathroom the moment he heard the front door open. Water was still dripping from his face, which he hadn’t had time to dry, soaking his collar.
Xiao Shuqing stood paralyzed on the spot.
A second later, reality crashed down on him: his mother had overstepped his boundaries yet again, using his own key to barge straight into the house.
Instantly, a spark of nameless fury flared up in Xiao Shuqing’s chest.
Massaging his temples, he forced his voice to remain as calm as possible. “First of all, my husband and I might be intimate. Secondly, there is an Alpha living here now—he is my newlywed husband. So, as an Omega yourself, why did you neither notify me nor knock before walking in?”
The blunt reprimand caught his mother completely off guard.
After a long, stunned silence, his mother finally erupted in a roar of indignation. “Do you honestly think I would have designs on your Alpha?”
He pointed aggressively at his own gland. “I have my own Alpha! Your father is my Alpha! Have I lost my mind, that I would lust after my own son’s Alpha? Are you only bullying me right now because my Alpha isn’t here?”
Xiao Shuqing fell silent.
The throbbing in his temples grew significantly worse. How on earth did he leap to that conclusion? He was entirely speechless.
Saisa, who had been squatting by the door, picked up on the toxic atmosphere. The dog quietly balled himself up and crawled under the sofa, doing his absolute best to blend into the background.
Mother and son locked eyes in a tense, frozen standoff.
One second passed. Then two.
In the frigid silence, a tight, strained Alpha voice suddenly spoke up: “I, I would never like another Omega.”
Both Xiao Shuqing and his mother: “?”
Simultaneously, they turned to look at the boy. Their expressions were an incredibly complicated, indescribable mix of bewilderment.
The suffocating tension shattered in an instant.
Finding himself the center of attention, Yu Siyuan stood with his arms pinned stiffly to his sides, his entire body visibly rigid with awkwardness.
With a helpless sigh, Xiao Shuqing pushed up his glasses and waved a hand. “Go change your clothes first, then come have breakfast. It won’t taste good once it gets cold.”
The young Alpha snapped out of his trance.
“Oh! Oh, right!”
“I’m sorry!”
He bolted back into his room, the door shutting behind him with a sharp click.
Xiao Shuqing didn’t even get the chance to call out, “Don’t forget to dry your face,” before the words trapped themselves in his throat.
Yu Siyuan changed with incredible speed. In less than two minutes, he padded out in his slippers and slipped into a chair at the dining table.
Xiao Shuqing handed him his food. “A bowl of mini wontons for each of us. I remembered you eat them with chopped scallions and cilantro.”
The boy immediately accepted the bowl with both hands, exceedingly polite. “Thank you, Professor Xiao. I’m not a picky eater.”
Then, he began to eat quietly.
The atmosphere was harmonious, yet entirely detached.
To be frank, they didn’t look like a married couple at all—they looked like roommates sharing a lease.
And then there was the way Yu Siyuan addressed him: Professor Xiao.
An Alpha calling his own Omega “Professor” or “Mr. Xiao”—especially when this particular Alpha was so docile and quiet. Compared to the older man sitting across from him with his legs casually crossed, who stood a full head taller, they looked more like a student and a teacher.
Specifically, like a high schooler sitting across from his homeroom director.
Xiao Shuqing’s mother looked back and forth between the two of them. Finally, he couldn’t help but chime in again. “You two, fine, I’ll overlook the fact that you’re sleeping in separate rooms for now. But how is it that Ah Qing doesn’t even have a temporary mark on him?”
Yu Siyuan, who was carefully sipping his broth, instantly choked. “Cough—cough, cough, cough.”
Xiao Shuqing let out a long, heavy sigh. He turned his head to face his mother. “Do you actually understand what being marked entails?”
“I am an Omega; of course I know what a mark means! You’re already married, yet you haven’t even marked him. Do you call that a marriage? I won’t hold the fact that you got married behind our backs against you, but look at the life you’re living right now!”
Xiao Shuqing suddenly felt profoundly exhausted.
It was always like this. First, they forced marriage on him, and now they were forcing a mark. Once he had a mark, would they start forcing him to have children?
With a sharp clack, Xiao Shuqing dropped his spoon into his bowl, his face etched with fatigue. “When did I get married, and why did I get married? Don’t you have any idea in your—”
He wanted to say: Don’t you have any damn sense?
But the final words died in his throat because the Alpha across from him had suddenly scrambled to his feet.
“It’s my fault!” the boy blurted out.
Before Xiao Shuqing could even process what the “my fault” was supposed to mean, Yu Siyuan rushed onward, the words pouring out of him.
“I like Professor Xiao very much. I’ve liked him from the very moment we met! But I’m too terrified to mark him. My father, he developed Solastalgia after his Alpha passed away, and he suffered terribly. Because of that, I’ve always been deeply resistant to the idea of marking someone. But I truly love Professor Xiao! I really wanted to marry him.”
His words sounded exceptionally earnest.
Aside from a slight flutter of his eyelashes and a fleeting glance away during his very first sentence, there wasn’t a single tell in his demeanor that suggested he was lying.
“But if he isn’t marked, Ah Qing’s gland.” His mother hesitated, his tone shifting.
The Alpha blinked, caught off guard. “What?”
Xiao Shuqing cut them both off immediately. “It’s nothing.” He then turned a cold gaze toward his mother. “Mother, I know exactly what I am doing with my own life.”
“If you knew what you were doing, would you have ended up in this state?”
“Enough. My newlywed Alpha is sitting right here, and I don’t want to argue about this in front of him. I’m calling Father to come pick you up.”
Seeing that the conversation was spiraling into another shouting match, Xiao Shuqing pulled out his phone and dialed his father’s Alpha prime.
Even so, it didn’t prevent the inevitable bitter departure.
“Fine! I’ll leave on my own! I won’t disrupt your precious lives!” his mother snapped.
He slammed the door shut with a resounding bang, storming off back to his own home.
Silence descended upon the apartment once more.
At the table, the aroma of the hot breakfast still lingered.
Xiao Shuqing looked over at the completely stunned young Alpha, who had frozen to the point of forgetting to eat the wonton resting in his spoon. Taking a deep, grounding breath, Xiao Shuqing said, “I’m sorry. Go ahead and eat. I’m going to call someone to change the locks.”
Without waiting for a response, he dialed the service line.
“Hello. Could you please recommend a certified locksmith?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Longting Community. Building 5, Apartment 107.”
After two quick phone calls, a technician arrived shortly after with a brand-new digital smart lock.
Following half an hour of drilling and clanking, the locksmith registered both of their fingerprints before wrapping up.
“If you have any issues in the future, just give me a call.”
“Yes, will do. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Goodbye, sir.”
After seeing the locksmith out, the living room was left to just Xiao Shuqing and Yu Siyuan again.
The faint, metallic scent of the installation still hung in the air. From the balcony door, the soft, rhythmic scratching of the large dog wanting back inside could be heard.
“Professor Xiao, you—” The Alpha looked up at him, his words trailing off hesitantly.
Before he could finish his sentence, the phone on the table began to vibrate.
It was Yu Siyuan’s phone.
The screen lit up with a profile picture of a goose. The caller ID read: Senior Zhou.
“I’m so sorry,” Yu Siyuan muttered hurriedly before picking up.
“Ah, yes, right. It’s on my laptop.”
“I’ll be there soon, just give me a minute.”
From the context of the conversation, this was likely the ambiguous romantic interest Yu Siyuan had never brought up since their marriage.
“Um, Professor Xiao, Senior Zhou and I agreed to meet at the university today to work on a project. He’s the Alpha you saw when we ran into each other in the classroom. Our meeting is at ten, so I should probably head out soon,” the Alpha said after hanging up, his eyes scanning Xiao Shuqing’s face cautiously.
“You—” Xiao Shuqing opened his mouth.
He wanted to ask: Did you ever tell him that you’re married?
But on second thought, it felt entirely unnecessary. Whether he told him or not was Yu Siyuan’s private business.
Thus, the words shifted sharply as they left his lips. “Go ahead.”
“Okay. I’ll be back this evening, Professor Xiao.”
“Understood.”
Once the Alpha left, the apartment suddenly felt remarkably empty. Xiao Shuqing stood in place for a long moment before turning and walking into his study.
It was already April 16th.
Going strictly by the calendar, his heat cycle should have arrived by now—in fact, it was already several days overdue.
But it was exactly as the doctor had warned him: You don’t need to worry about losing control next time. With the current state of your gland, it’s going to be difficult for you to even enter heat in the future.
Though his mother was overbearing and hyper-controlling, he had been right about one thing: Xiao Shuqing really didn’t have a handle on his current situation. Or rather, he knew exactly what was happening—he just simply didn’t care to fix it.
Opening the drawer, the original medical certificate and the Alpha healing pheromones prescribed by the doctor were lying quietly inside. Even the collection of trinkets sent to him by Yin Yu was neatly arranged at the very bottom.
The doctor’s instructions had been straightforward: Start applying it when the date arrives, regardless of whether your heat has started or not, and wait for your follow-up appointment at the end of the month.
But what would happen after applying it?
Once his heat cycle normalized, would he just keep constantly injecting himself with suppressants, or would he actually find an Alpha to mark him?
Xiao Shuqing’s grip tightened involuntarily around the vial of pheromones.
Forget it.
When reason couldn’t settle a matter, one could always consult instinct—even if it sounded a bit childish.
So, after having dinner that evening, Xiao Shuqing sat alone in the dining room and opened a bottle of wine.
Two glasses in, a wave of heat began to rush to his head. Lately, his gland issues had been wreaking havoc on his sleep, and he had been drinking a bit too much coffee. His temples throbbed painfully, accompanied by a faint, lingering wave of nausea.
He couldn’t drink any more.
Setting down his glass, he stood up to return to his room.
Remembering his original purpose for drinking, he made a conscious detour to the study to take a look. Yet, the moment he uncapped the bottle of pheromones, a sudden wave of dizziness hit him. His hand slipped, and a vial shattered straight onto the floor.
Xiao Shuqing: “!”
Forget it.
Whether it was reason or instinct, neither stood a chance against destiny.
Any theory was mere fantasy when confronted with reality—just like right now. He decided to take the practical route: surrender.
Still, it truly deserved its reputation as a therapeutic Alpha-healing pheromone; though it was colorless and odorless, the dizziness in his head and the churning in his stomach seemed to ease slightly.
Xiao Shuqing cleaned up all the broken glass. After a moment’s thought, he simply turned on the robot vacuum, leaving it to sweep and mop the floors once more. Then he headed back to his own bedroom, shut the door, and went to sleep.
Xiao Shuqing woke up at three in the morning to use the restroom.
The robot vacuum had already finished its work and returned to its charging dock. Saisa, who had been asleep, was woken by the commotion; the large dog fluttered his eyelids to look at him, then immediately plop-flopped back down.
A new email notification popped up on his phone screen: [Re: Draft Prenuptial Agreement – XY-FH]
Clicking it open, he found it was Yu Siyuan’s reply.
I have no objections. Thank you for your hard work, Attorney Nie and Mr. Xiao.
— Yu Siyuan
The email had been sent on April 17, 2023, at 2:46 AM.
Xiao Shuqing looked at the clock displaying 3:09 AM in the upper right corner.
The kid was still awake at nearly three in the morning, reviewing their prenuptial agreement emails?
When he had stepped out of his room moments ago, he had immediately switched on the hallway light, so he hadn’t noticed. Now that he turned it off, he realized the light in Yu Siyuan’s bedroom was still on. Judging by the brightness bleeding through the gap under the door, it was likely the main overhead light.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Xiao Shuqing knocked directly on the door.
The door swung open. The boy’s eyes were bloodshot from staying up late as he looked up at him. “Professor Xiao, you’re awake.”
His voice carried a hint of grievance.
Xiao Shuqing: “?”
Didn’t the kid just go out on a date with an Alpha? Why was he so bothered by the fact that he had been sleeping? Could it be that the date hadn’t gone well, so he was taking it out on him by extension?
As the thought crossed his mind, a phone screen was suddenly shoved right in front of his face.
“Professor Xiao, you said that I am not allowed to release any Alpha pheromones in the apartment, nor am I allowed to bring a partner home. Then why did you not only let an Alpha in yourself, but also get Alpha pheromones all over the place?”
“The living room, the kitchen—he didn’t even spare Saisa’s dog bed!”
The kid confronted him with flushed, indignant eyes. His whole body was practically puffed up with rage, looking like a little pufferfish about to pop.
Xiao Shuqing: “!”
Shoot. He had forgotten to ventilate and clean the place after breaking the synthetic Alpha pheromones.
Not only had he failed to clean it up, but he had also turned on the robot vacuum, allowing it to take those pheromones and meticulously mop every single square inch of the apartment’s floors from start to finish, without missing a single corner.
No wonder Yu Siyuan couldn’t fall asleep even at three in the morning. And why he had spent the whole night analyzing the prenuptial agreement.
However.
“You actually went through Saisa’s dog bed?” Xiao Shuqing asked, shifting his gaze over to the large dog, who was currently wagging his tail while resting with his eyes closed.
The young Alpha visibly froze, his entire body turning rigid.