Would You Hate Kissing?
Time seemed to have been pressed by a pause button.
The gurgling flow of water, the faint chirping of birds, and the sunlight pouring down at a slant made one squint involuntarily.
Xie Yun’s mind was still in a daze. Along with a loss of control from tinnitus, an illusion derived from nowhere made him feel as if he could smell a strange and domineering Alpha scent.
It should just be an illusion.
Aside from the two of them, there was only a herd of small deer; there shouldn’t be anyone else around.
However.
What did Brother say just now?
He…
Did he just ask if the person I like is him?
Xie Yun suddenly tilted his face up. His rounded eyes, which slightly drooped at the corners, met those dark pupils that hid swirling whirlpools; his entire heart felt as if it were boiling.
“I…”
Of course I like you.
The person I like most is you.
Xie Yun opened his mouth to respond, but his voice was hoarse. An abnormal, parched heat spread through his limbs, as if he were walking in a desert and could find no source of water.
He inexplicably fell into a fit of restless, feverish palpitation. The knowledge he had learned in physiology class reminded him that this was highly likely a reaction triggered by pheromones. something like a natural response to an Enigma or Rut period.
But his brain was completely unable to think any further.
“…I, I like you.”
Xie Yun propped his elbows against the boat’s surface, his body unsteadily leaning toward Xi Zhiyu’s chest. His vision was clouded by a layer of mist, and his breathing was heavy with violent gasps.
Xi Zhiyu, sitting in front of him, caught him steadily. Beneath his dark bangs, his pupils trembled, and his gaze was no longer as gentle as usual.
Beneath the sky and earth.
The world was vast and quiet. The two teenagers, affected by the loss of control over their pheromones, found even the act of breathing to be extremely intimate.
It wasn’t until this moment that Xi Zhiyu regained his sanity. Realizing what he had done, a heart-burning pain immediately welled up within him.
He had actually released his pheromones at Xie Yun.
Xi Zhiyu’s brow furrowed tightly. While one hand pressed against his own gland, he gripped Xie Yun’s shoulder to provide support, observing that Xie Yun’s condition was already very wrong.
The teenager’s heroic and fair face seemed to be emitting steam, gathering into hot, heavy sweat. His lips were parted, making him look as if he were in pain, struggling even to breathe.
Or perhaps it wasn’t pain, but rather the suppression of some primal instinct. In those amber eyes, a wet, pleading expression flickered.
“…Yun-zai.”
A flash of panic crossed Xi Zhiyu’s eyes as he asked the obvious, “Are you very uncomfortable?”
After saying this, he took a breath. His gaze swept over Xie Yun’s soaked forehead and collar, noticing that the sweat was becoming more and more profuse.
How can he be so wet…
Xi Zhiyu panicked instantly. At that moment, he even suspected he was some villain wielding psychological interrogation techniques, and that Xie Yun’s words of “liking him” were entirely due to his superpower.
He heard it.
He had truly heard the answer he expected from the mouth of his childhood friend, yet he didn’t have time to make any response before he saw Xie Yun slump heavily into his embrace.
It clearly wasn’t like this last time at the mall. Or was it that after entering his secondary differentiation, his pheromones would have such a special side effect on his younger brother?
He was most reluctant to let Xie Yun get hurt, whether physically or mentally. Therefore, having learned of that secret crush and confirming his own feelings, he had always wanted to give a response as soon as possible.
But he hadn’t expected this to happen.
Xie Yun seemed to have lost consciousness, leaning entirely against him. Xi Zhiyu barely managed to retract the release of his pheromones. He lifted the younger boy’s firm back and coaxed, “It’s my fault.”
“Let’s go back to the hotel to rest first, okay?”
Xie Yun frowned. Under the influence of the Rut, his consciousness was blurred, and he seemed to be hallucinating: “Where is this Alpha pheromone smell coming from?”
“You… you’re not worthy of being my love rival.”
“Brother belongs to me alone.”
Xi Zhiyu: “…”
His face turned completely red, as if he were experiencing a sudden confession all over again.
“It’s not someone else, it’s me,” Xi Zhiyu said again. “Let’s go back first.”
It just so happened that the boat had reached the end of one of the routes. Xi Zhiyu had no choice but to take him back to the hotel first.
With technology developed to this day, driverless technology had long since matured. Based on the safety vest chip, one could report their location and call for a scenic area shuttle.
Xi Zhiyu only waited for a short while before a mushroom-shaped shuttle arrived, picked them up, and drove toward the hotel.
Behind them, the late-arriving Yuan Zhoulu and Fei Bo’an did not smell the scent of a strange Alpha’s pheromones and were left standing there like wooden chickens.
Yuan Zhoulu: “Are you sure Xie Yun said he was going to confess today?”
Fei Bo’an: “Yeah.”
“…Alright.”
“Did they go back to the hotel? It seems your… top-student brother took him back.”
“How is he just our Zhiyu taking him back?!”
Yuan Zhoulu contemplated life on the paddleboard, “Those two are so, so pure.”
Fei Bo’an thought so too: “Yun-zai is an Alpha. Could it be that he was the one who suggested going back to the hotel?”
“Holy crap…”
The more Yuan Zhoulu thought about it, the more he felt it was possible. “Is it necessary for Peanut-zai to be in such a hurry to mark him?!”
The two of them almost threw their oars away, wishing they could sprout wings to protect the young couple’s relationship. But from the looks of it, they couldn’t quite determine whether this was a pure or wild first love.
Meanwhile.
The mushroom shuttle moved further and further away from the forest scenic area. Xie Yun was inexplicably radiating a sharp, hostile aura, except when he heard Xi Zhiyu’s gentle voice, at which point he turned into a ball of clingy cotton candy.
“Brother—”
Xie Yun squinted at him. The sweat on his forehead actually slid down his cheek. His head kept nuzzling toward the brother beside him. “I feel uncomfortable, what’s happening?”
“You might have heatstroke.”
In this October season, Xi Zhiyu talked gentle nonsense while wiping his sweat, adding, “Close your eyes and rest for a bit.”
He freed up one hand to hold his phone, sending messages to the group chat explaining the physical situation and that he and Xie Yun were heading back to the hotel first.
Then he contacted Doctor Qiao Sen, explained the situation, and received the shocking conclusion: “It is possible he has entered an early Rut period.”
Xi Zhiyu’s face turned pale. His fingertips tightened, but Xie Yun beside him kept causing trouble, obediently nuzzling into the crook of his neck: “Mm.”
“I’ll listen to Brother… I’ll sleep for a bit.”
Sleeping wouldn’t solve the problem.
Even Doctor Qiao Sen was deeply puzzled. Recently, the symptoms had been well-controlled, and the pheromone levels had always been within the normal range. Such an accident shouldn’t have happened.
Xi Zhiyu lowered his eyes and typed guiltily.
xzy: I lured him into confessing to me. xzy: At that time… xzy: I was a little angry.
For a person of his temperament to use “angry” to describe himself was rare.
Even the doctor, his senior, was astonished. The “typing…” status appeared and disappeared countless times; it was clear the person on the other side was startled.
Xi Zhiyu took a deep breath and turned his head to look at his handsome childhood friend, who was leaning on his shoulder, moaning in suppressed pain.
The young man recalled being on the boat; with countless emotions intertwined, the reason he used “angry” to describe it was simply because he couldn’t accept a certain possibility.
That after his secondary differentiation into an Alpha, Xie Yun wouldn’t like him anymore.
Because of this, the pheromones he released uncontrollably reached a terrifying level. Seeing the screenshot of the bracelet interface sent by Qiao Sen, he couldn’t help but gasp even after preparing himself mentally.
xzy: Sorry. It’s my problem. xzy: How can I help him through the Rut?
After a while.
Qiao Sen sent three solutions:
High-intensity suppressants specifically for Alpha Rut periods.
An enclosed treatment pod for Alphas to undergo the Rut.
Saliva relief from the Omega who triggered the Alpha’s Rut; this requires continuous, multiple, and high-concentration contact.
For an S-class Alpha, the first two options the medication and the treatment pod were not available on the island. Only the last solution was easily achievable.
His gaze fixed on the final option. With his ears burning, Xi Zhiyu typed to ask.
xzy: I am still considered an Omega right now, right? Qiao Sen: Yes, you are until the secondary differentiation is complete. Moreover, since you triggered the Rut… Qiao Sen: The natural pheromones of the target of the Rut are the most effective.
Xi Zhiyu’s Adam’s apple bobbed: “…”
The target of the Rut?
A certain image had already uncontrollably surfaced in his mind.
Before the Rut ended, Xie Yun would be forced to accept countless kisses intimate contact in the name of “saliva symptom relief.”
The wind of the island at sea blew his bangs up, revealing deep-set eyes. His deep affection was filled with guilt, and even his voice carried a slight huskiness.
“Yun-zai.”
Xi Zhiyu lowered his head bashfully. His lips inadvertently brushed against the tips of Xie Yun’s hair, his ears flushing red. “…Would you hate it?”