Zhou Younan stepped into the house.
It was warm inside, the temperature several degrees higher than outside, four or five at least.
Unlike its grand and extravagant exterior, the interior was simple, almost understated.
The first thing that caught his eye was the wooden flooring and the dark red walls.
A deep blue sofa sat quietly in the spacious living room, facing a large fireplace. Neatly stacked firewood lay beside it.
Clean, tidy, minimalist, and primitive. That was Zhou Younan’s first impression.
He was a little surprised to find a fireplace here. Using burning wood for heat felt incredibly archaic in this era of advanced technology. He did not like fire. The sight of it made him uneasy.
“The first floor has the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and storage room. Feel free to look around,” Wei Qing said as he walked toward the kitchen.
The kitchen was across from the living room, separated by a sliding glass door. Through the transparent glass, Zhou Younan saw the kitchen walls lined with pots, pans, and utensils gleaming with the cold luster of metal.
When he stepped closer, he noticed several machines he had never seen before. It seemed the kitchen was the most technologically advanced part of the entire house.
The tall man stood inside, sleeves rolled up, long hair tied neatly back. With smooth, practiced movements, Wei Qing took some fresh green vegetables from the refrigerator.
He was going to cook?
A marshal, actually cooking?
With technology so advanced, ready meals and nutrient packs had long replaced traditional food. The raw ingredients were controlled by major families, expensive and scarce. Ordinary citizens rarely had the opportunity, or need, to cook anymore.
After the Zhou family launched its line of nutrient solutions, kitchens had become nearly obsolete. Zhou Younan had even seen housing ads in Torikis boasting apartments that completely omitted kitchen space.
Back on Yaoxing, the Zhou family distributed nutrient supplements for daily consumption. Only during major festivals would they purchase real ingredients and hire chefs to cook elaborate meals.
He had tasted a few dishes before. Some were delicious, but others were worse than the nutrient packs.
In the past, he had been fascinated by cooking, by the idea of transforming raw ingredients into a meal with his own hands. He thought it was a fun and creative act. But since he feared fire, he had never dared get close, only watched from afar.
“Do you want to come in?” Wei Qing looked up at him.
Standing at the kitchen door, Zhou Younan craned his neck curiously. “Are you really going to cook?”
“Mm. I’m just heating up some porridge from yesterday, frying a dish, and cutting some cured meat.”
Porridge? Cured meat?
Those words were unfamiliar to him. His curiosity won out, and he walked into the kitchen.
“What’s this?” he asked, pointing to a metallic box he didn’t recognize.
“That’s an oven,” Wei Qing replied.
“And this one? Is it also an oven?”
“That’s a dishwasher.”
“What about this?”
“That’s a clay pot.”
“And what’s that for?”
“A peeler.”
On and on he asked, and for every question, Wei Qing patiently gave an answer.
“You don’t use fire when you cook?” Zhou Younan asked after a while.
“This is an induction stove. It can be used for frying too,” Wei Qing explained.
Zhou Younan’s eyes lit up as he stared at the steaming pot.
So you could cook without fire!
He smiled, bright and genuine. Looking up at Wei Qing, he said softly, “I like the induction stove. I don’t like fire.”
“Alright,” Wei Qing answered, and then he suddenly leaned in, brushing a kiss against Zhou Younan’s lips, quick, fleeting, gone before he could react.
The smile froze on Zhou Younan’s face.
Wei Qing chuckled. “That posture of yours just now was perfect for a kiss.”
Zhou Younan lowered his head, pressing his lips together. He had let his guard down.
When Wei Qing reached out again, brushing the hair that hung over his forehead, Zhou Younan slapped his hand away and stumbled back several steps.
His hand immediately covered his forehead, his black-and-white eyes filled with alarm and guarded vigilance as he glared at Wei Qing without blinking.
Wei Qing frowned and started toward him.
Zhou Younan’s heart sank. He had acted on instinct just now, forgotten that the man before him was Wei Qing. Slapping his hand away might have angered him.
He was still trying to think of how to handle the situation when a loud boom came from outside.
A deep, echoing sound followed, someone shouting, “Wei Qing!”
Both men turned toward the window.
The mechanical roar of engines drew closer, someone approaching fast.
Wei Qing quickly put the lid over the pot and turned off the induction stove.
Can’t let the porridge burn.
“It’s Wang Wu,” he said to Zhou Younan.
No sooner had he spoken than a deafening crash shook the house. The front door burst open, splinters of wood flying in all directions.
Wei Qing pulled Zhou Younan into his arms, shielding him from the debris. Glass shattered and scattered across the floor.
“Wei Qing, are you deaf or just stupid?!” A tall woman in a metallic exoskeleton stomped through the broken doorway.
She ripped off her helmet and threw it aside, hair flaming red like fire.
In three strides she was in front of Wei Qing, seizing his collar and shouting furiously, “How many times have I told you not to summon Chiyan lately? Eight hundred times? Are you a child who can’t sleep without your toy?!”
Zhou Younan, completely ignored, blinked and studied her with cautious fascination. Who was this woman who dared speak to Wei Qing like that?
Her red hair gleamed under the light, her brown eyes blazing with anger, a cigarette dangling from her lips. “What, cat got your tongue?”
Half-hidden under the shadow of his lashes, Wei Qing’s emerald eyes curved into a faint smile. “You really shouldn’t be so rough. You’ll frighten my wife.”
Wang Wu froze as if shocked by electricity. She immediately released his collar and jumped back several steps, slipping into a defensive stance. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she stared at the man’s smiling face.
Calmly straightening his shirt, Wei Qing wrapped an arm around Zhou Younan’s waist and drew him close.
“This is my wife, Zhou Younan,” he said with deliberate leisure, before adding, “And this is Wang Wu, a genius mecha engineer, daughter of former Marshal Wang Han.”
Zhou Younan met Wang Wu’s gaze and offered a polite smile.
Wang Wu frowned slightly, studying him more closely. “You’re… Zhou Mo’s younger brother, aren’t you?”
Zhou Younan knew he and Zhou Mo didn’t look much alike, but her expression was still a little too obvious. He nodded in confirmation.
Wang Wu sniffed lightly. “Omega?”
“Mm,” Zhou Younan replied softly.
Her eyes flicked between them, then her stance loosened. She grinned and said in a teasing tone, “Hey, just so you know, Wei Qing once swore he’d never like an Omega. Don’t let him fool you.”
“Wang Wu,” Wei Qing said, his smile brightening dangerously, “About Chiyan, let’s talk outside.”
“Tch.” She clicked her tongue and drew a gun from her waist, cocking it with a crisp click. “Perfect timing to test this new laser model.”
Zhou Younan looked from her eager expression to Wei Qing’s brilliant smile. Neither of them looked like they planned on “talking.”
Wei Qing opened the pot again, scooped a bowl of golden corn and carrot porridge, and handed it to Zhou Younan gently. “Drink this first. I’ll be back soon.”
“Alright,” Zhou Younan nodded.
Once out of his sight, Wei Qing’s expression darkened instantly. The gentle calm vanished. His pupils stretched slightly, and a dangerous glint flickered within.
As they stepped outside together, Zhou Younan heard Wang Wu’s voice ring out clearly, “You’re in good shape today. Let’s see what’s faster, my gun or your speed.”
Gun?
Would Wei Qing actually get shot?
Zhou Younan hesitated, wondering, if Wei Qing were really to die here under Wang Wu’s gun, what would become of him then…
Would that mean he would finally be free?
The thought crossed Zhou Younan’s mind, and he found it strangely comforting.
He drew back his gaze and looked down at the bowl of corn and carrot porridge before him.
The golden corn kernels, the orange-red shreds of carrot, and the translucent grains of rice shimmered faintly in the warm light. It looked delicious, fragrant, and inviting.
He lifted the bowl and took a sip. A faint sweetness from the carrots spread across his tongue, followed by the refreshing grainy fragrance of rice and corn as he chewed.
It tasted far better than he had expected.
He took another sip, then another. Outside, gunfire cracked through the silence, followed by the sound of fighting. Zhou Younan turned toward the window, but all he saw was pitch-black night. Nothing was visible beyond the glass.
Still, he thought, the porridge that Wei Qing cooked was surprisingly good. For the sake of that bowl of porridge, he hoped Wei Qing would be alright.
He lowered his head again and quietly focused on drinking.
The moment Wang Wu saw the sharp, narrow slits of Wei Qing’s pupils, excitement sparked in her eyes.
“You’re in excellent condition,” she said eagerly. “Let’s see what’s faster now, my gun or your speed.”
Wei Qing gave a cold, dismissive snort. “You talk too much.”
Wang Wu’s grin widened. Without hesitation, she raised her gun, aimed straight at him, and pulled the trigger.
Wei Qing’s reflexes were lightning fast. His hand shot out, catching her wrist before she could fire a second time. The barrel jerked upward, and the shot went wild.
A loud crack echoed through the forest as a branch snapped and fell somewhere in the distance.
But Wang Wu wasn’t done. With her free hand, she flicked her wrist, and a slender blade shot out from her sleeve, stabbing toward the arm that held her.
As one of the empire’s top mecha engineers, Wang Wu was a prized asset of the Tyron Empire and a personal favorite of the emperor himself.
To ensure her safety, her entire body was fitted with hidden weapons, from the soles of her feet to the tips of her teeth, every inch of her was built for battle.
Wei Qing had to release her, stepping back swiftly to avoid the blade’s strike.
“Try this, Wei Qing. A new particle-beam weapon,” Wang Wu said with a sharp smile. She swung a long rifle from behind her back, braced it firmly with both hands, and squeezed the trigger.
She had once explained the principle to him: the gun accelerated charged particles through a high-energy accelerator before firing them in concentrated bursts.
This new weapon was incredibly fast, deadly precise, and devastatingly destructive.
As the black barrel of the gun pointed straight at him, adrenaline surged through Wei Qing’s body.
Ever since Zhou Younan had said he liked him, Wei Qing had felt a strange exhilaration burning in his chest. For the first time in years, something warm and bright had settled in his heart.
He had gone out of his way to seize that grand hall Zhou Younan liked so much, thinking it would make up for the terrible things he had done before.
Apologies had never been his way, he could not say sorry, not even when he wanted to. So instead, he tried to make up for it in other ways.
When Zhou Younan’s eyes had lit up at the sight of the wedding hall, Wei Qing’s chest had filled with satisfaction. For that moment, he thought he had been forgiven.
But then Zhou Younan refused to use the six-pointed star in the ceremony.
Why?
Did he really like him, as he said he did?
That white heart painted on the ground, somehow, it had made Wei Qing uneasy, as though something was off.
And after the ceremony, on the aircraft ride home, Zhou Younan had quietly asked to return alone to Yaoxing.
Why was he in such a hurry to leave? Why did he want to get so far away from him?
He said he liked him, yet everything he did made Wei Qing’s instincts scream in warning.
Wei Qing had wanted to leave a good impression. He had tried to act polite, refined, gentle, the perfect version of himself.
But that was not who he really was.
What he truly loved was destruction.
What thrilled him was the rush of violence, the scent of blood, the satisfaction of breaking his enemies apart with his own hands.
That was who he was.
And yet, he could not use those methods on Zhou Younan. The man was too delicate, too slender, too easily broken.
So how was he supposed to deal with him?
For once in his life, Wei Qing felt at a loss.
It was as if he were holding an eggshell sculpture in his hands, beautiful, fragile, intricate. He wanted to see what patterns were carved on its surface, but if he applied even the slightest pressure, it would shatter completely.
He had no choice but to handle it with the utmost care.
Omegas, by nature, needed to be treated gently. Zhou Younan was thin, quiet, and almost fragile. He needed to be protected, handled softly.
But Wei Qing had never been gentle. It simply wasn’t in his nature.
His eyes narrowed further, pupils thinning into the slitted shape of a beast. His fangs and nails lengthened, a faint gleam catching on their edges. From the top of his head, a pair of furred animal ears emerged, twitching sharply.
He dropped low, both hands touching the ground, body coiled and tense, the posture of a cornered predator, wild, furious, like a cat with its fur standing on end.
The bright green of his eyes gleamed in the dark as he fixed his gaze on the gun barrel before him. The faintest sound from the weapon’s accelerator rang in his sharp, sensitive ears.
His hearing was beyond human now. He could even hear, through the walls of the house, the faint clink of porcelain and the soft rhythm of Zhou Younan sipping his porridge inside.
My catnip, he thought silently.
How should I treat you, so that your heart will truly belong to me?
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Escape from Zhou familyChapter 2 · Bride To BeChapter 3 · Attacked on SpaceshipChapter 4 · FiancéChapter 5 · Wild one Tastes betterChapter 6 · Cousin, Zhou MoChapter 7 · Wedding DressChapter 8 · Wedding Hall disputeChapter 9 · Marshal Fainted!Chapter 10 · CATNIP!Chapter 11 · His Pheromone is Catnip!Chapter 12 · The show beginsChapter 13 · He likes me!Chapter 14 · He is crazy!Chapter 15 · Auditorium, I brought it. Do you like it?Chapter 16 · Only I can bite your lipsChapter 17 · Wei Qing grabbed his wristChapter 18 · Your posture just now was perfect for kissingChapter 19 · This is… Wei Qing’s leopard?Chapter 20 · Let’s do what newlyweds should do.Chapter 21 · Release your pheromones and overwhelm meChapter 22 · Zhou Younan, I miss you.Chapter 23 · The promise to bite your lip isn’t just for yesterdayChapter 24 · You beast! You enormous beastChapter 25 · My patience is almost at its limitChapter 26 · Touch Wei San? Pluck its feathers?Chapter 27 · Doesn’t Wei Qing like you a lot?Chapter 28 · You’re the dog, your whole family are dogsChapter 29 · How did things turn out like this?!Chapter 30 · Zhou Younan, I love everything about youChapter 31 · Cheetahs do react to catnip.Chapter 32 · Second PrinceChapter 33 · Immersed in the fluffy touchChapter 34 · What can you do to help if you stay?Chapter 35 · Sand WormChapter 36 · I gave Wei Qing a capsuleChapter 37 · His vulnerable period has arrivedChapter 38 · Reason has long since been burned awayChapter 39 · I can’t believe I did that! I’m insane!Chapter 40 · The person I want to protect is my wifeChapter 41 · Zhou Younan, you can only be mineChapter 42 · Until the last star in the universe is annihilated.Chapter 43 · The light in Wei Qing’s eyes dimmed.Chapter 44 · Family?Chapter 45 · The green capsule was in his palmChapter 46 · Zhou Younan was filled with fearChapter 47 · Brother won’t abandon youChapter 48 · What a piece of trash!Chapter 49 · Zhou Younan, are you looking at me?Chapter 50 · Zhou Younan feared Xu QiChapter 51 · Zhou Younan, you’re such a foolChapter 52 · You really don’t want to marry me?Chapter 53 · My braceletChapter 54 · Zhou Younan, I can’t mark youChapter 55 · A symbol of brotherhoodChapter 56 · How old are you?Chapter 57 · Abnormal!Chapter 58 · Did you give Wei Qing the capsules from the tin box?Chapter 59 · Brother, I’ve made up my mindChapter 60 · Doing things for you is my wishChapter 61 · You’re the first person I’ve ever liked, Wei Qing.Chapter 62 · Childhood sweetheartChapter 63 · He can’t live without youChapter 64 · Teacher RigenChapter 65 · Were they running togetherChapter 66 · You two kidnappersChapter 67 · GiftChapter 68 · Don’t look back, just carry onChapter 69 · Maurice Jin is already a thing of the past for meChapter 70 · I finally found youChapter 71 · Who’s your wife?Chapter 72 · How would he interpret his leaving?Chapter 73 · Wei Qing was Wei San?Chapter 74 · Maurice Jin had been assassinated?!Chapter 75 · Turn your face towards the sunChapter 76 · Wei Qing’s eyes were brightChapter 77 · Pheromones are a double edged swordChapter 78 · Don’t stareChapter 79 · He’s the Empire’s MarshalChapter 80 · So WeakChapter 81 · Are you alright?Chapter 82 · Was he really that kind of person?Chapter 83 · He remembered his forgotten goalsChapter 84 · Come on, shoot me in the heartChapter 85 · Why are you unhappy again when I touch you?Chapter 86 · Don’t you even like me anymore?Chapter 87 · Wei Qing transformed into Wei San.Chapter 88 · I’ll give you my love, and I’ll give you my lifeChapter 89 · Just do it for me, okay?Chapter 90 · Don’t bother me until you explain clearlyChapter 91 · I want to stop your time when you still love meChapter 92 · Damn it! Zhou Younan! You just waitChapter 93 · From the very beginning, I had no choiceChapter 94 · From the very beginning, I had no choiceChapter 95 · A gunshot rang outChapter 96 · I grew up in the research instituteChapter 97 · You complete liar! You’re despicableChapter 98 · You will always be the only one in my heartChapter 99 · You are actually the same as meChapter 100 · Zhou Younan, I’m leavingChapter 101 · How could a big cat possibly resist the allure of catnip?Chapter 102 · The EndChapter 103 · Extra: 1