Ever since Cheng Li said she might differentiate into a guide, Yuan Mu had been buying things online on and off. Even her clothes had been replaced with fabrics so soft they almost melted against the skin.
But items like suppressants and gland patches were still impossible to get.
“We only managed to buy part of the medicine,” Uncle Zhao said worriedly. Because they needed to keep things hidden, they did not even dare hire a doctor.
Yuan Mu frowned. “I’ll stay inside with her. If anything goes wrong, I’ll contact the rescue team immediately.”
Uncle Zhao nodded. “That’s the only thing we can do.”
The scent inside the room was overwhelmingly rich. The moment Yuan Mu entered, it hit him so hard that his mind blanked for a moment. He climbed down from his wheelchair and slowly made his way toward the bed in a daze.
Grabbing the edge of the bed, he exerted force and pulled himself onto it.
The bed was large, two meters wide and two-point-two meters long. Cheng Li was curled up at the innermost side, completely unaware that someone else had climbed into bed beside her.
She was drenched in sweat. Every inch of her body had been soaked through, and her damp hair clung messily to her face.
Yuan Mu brought over some salt water and placed the straw against her lips. The moment she opened her mouth, she sucked at it desperately. After finishing an entire bottle, she let out a small burp and said pitifully, “Differentiation feels awful.”
Yuan Mu’s heart ached for her. He wished he could suffer in her place.
“I’ll help you change your clothes?” he asked.
“No.” Cheng Li refused immediately. “I’ll change by myself. You change the bedding.”
The gland at the back of Cheng Li’s neck grew increasingly sensitive. Every time something brushed against it, she could not help trembling, her whole body shuddering violently.
At that moment, she had no idea how terrifying the look in Yuan Mu’s eyes was.
It was as though he was desperately restraining something, yet the desires raging within his body screamed endlessly: Pounce on her. Bite through her gland with your fangs. Mark her completely! Make her wholly yours!
Yuan Mu gripped the bedsheet so tightly that the veins stood out on the back of his hand. He forced himself to look away, nearly grinding his teeth to pieces.
By the time Yuan Mu finished changing the sheets and Cheng Li finished changing her clothes, both of them were utterly exhausted.
Cheng Li lay back under the blanket with a nutrient solution pouch between her lips and asked, “Am I going to die from dehydration?”
“No. But the pain might kill you.” The older someone was, the more agonizing differentiation became. Once the body’s organs had fully matured, changing them was practically like carving flesh and shaving bone with a knife.
As he said that, Yuan Mu suddenly felt as though his entire body had begun aching too.
Cheng Li did not even have the strength to roll her eyes anymore. “Whatever happens, happens.”
She had completely given up resisting.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m here with you,” Yuan Mu comforted softly.
Cheng Li scoffed. “Can you suffer the pain for me?”
“Maybe.” Yuan Mu thought to himself that he was already in terrible pain right now. It felt almost the same as when he had differentiated, perhaps even worse.
Inside the room, Cheng Li kept gasping sharply from the pain from time to time. Yuan Mu busied himself constantly, handing her water one moment, nutrient solution the next, then changing the bedsheets again.
If there had still been stray inappropriate thoughts at the beginning, by the end, Yuan Mu was in so much pain that he had gone numb as well. His clothes dried and soaked through over and over again. Only after Cheng Li finally fell asleep with great difficulty did he return to his own room to change into a clean set of clothes.
Afterward, he came back to keep watch over her again.
Having already gone through differentiation once before, Yuan Mu knew that he had differentiated into a sentinel all over again.
He had never heard of such a thing before. He had even searched StarNet just now, yet could not find a single similar case.
By the time his differentiation ended, Cheng Li’s differentiation was nearing its conclusion as well.
When Cheng Li saw him wearing something like a gas mask over his face, she asked in surprise, “What happened to you?”
Yuan Mu blinked and said, “I need to tell you something.”
Cheng Li sat up and looked at him leisurely. “What is it?”
“I differentiated into a sentinel again.” Yuan Mu’s tone was calm, neither disappointed nor happy.
Cheng Li’s reaction was to abruptly shrink backward before ordering him, “Keep your pheromones under control!”
Yuan Mu let out a sigh. He had known this would happen.
“I guarantee not even the slightest trace is leaking out.” A sentinel’s gland was located inside the body and very small, making it extremely easy to control.
Seeing the distrust in Cheng Li’s eyes, Yuan Mu felt genuinely wounded. Helplessly, he said, “Should I leave and let you take care of yourself?”
Cheng Li nodded repeatedly. “I’m almost fine. I don’t need you taking care of me anymore.”
The words sounded heartless, like she was tossing him aside after using him. But there was no helping it. Between sentinels and guides, sentinels were the dominant side.
The moment Cheng Li thought about how a guide, once completely marked, would never be able to leave the sentinel who marked them for the rest of their life, she wanted nothing more than to curse this damn world to hell!
The differentiation lasted a full eight days before finally ending. Cheng Li safely made it through the differentiation period without incident.
“This is a gland patch.” Yuan Mu handed her a box.
Cheng Li accepted it and asked, “Do I really have to wear this?”
“Unless there are no sentinels around you, otherwise…” Yuan Mu slowly looked her up and down, his gaze brimming with aggression.
Cheng Li sighed helplessly. “I’m not in heat. Can the smell of pheromones still drive sentinels crazy?”
“Not exactly,” Yuan Mu replied.
Just as Cheng Li was about to relax, she heard him continue, “But casually releasing your pheromones is no different from exposing your private parts in public.”
Cheng Li could not help cursing aloud. She wished a lightning bolt would strike her straight back into the apocalypse.
“If you don’t like gland patches, we can go buy spray instead. That can mask the scent of your pheromones.” Watching her conflicted expression, Yuan Mu secretly found it amusing.
Cheng Li neither agreed nor objected, her brows still drooping gloomily.
“But for now, put on the gland patch first.” Yuan Mu opened the box and took one out. He had bought it from a guide at an outrageous price.
Almost instinctively, Cheng Li swept her hair aside and turned her back toward him.
Yuan Mu’s breathing faltered. Looking at that soft patch of skin, fire ignited in his eyes. The canine fangs in his mouth emerged uncontrollably, and his body stirred restlessly.
“Why aren’t you putting it on? Is it too high up? Then I’ll crouch lower.” Cheng Li bent her knees slightly.
Yuan Mu was almost annoyed enough to laugh. Even if she had not differentiated before, surely she should not lack common sense to this extent?
He gently pressed the gland patch onto her skin, then said in a deliberately provocative tone, “Cheng Li, don’t tell me you don’t know that showing your gland to someone is basically inviting them to bite it and have sex with you?”
Cheng Li instantly turned to stone, her eyes widening into perfect circles.
Yuan Mu let out a soft laugh. “That’s why you need to learn how to put on gland patches yourself. Of course, if you’re willing to let me do it for you, I’d be more than happy to.”
“You can get lost.” Cheng Li clenched her fists.
As Yuan Mu drove his wheelchair away, he said, “If you lack common sense, then learn it. If your head’s empty, stuff more knowledge into it. Don’t go out there making a fool of yourself.”
Fortunately, the person she had done this in front of today was him. If she had done it to someone else, he probably would have wanted to gouge that person’s eyes out.
‘Tch. This damned possessiveness of sentinels.’
Back then, he had never truly understood it. But now…
He could not escape it either. He could not control it. Forget it. He would just let it be.
The moment Yuan Mu left the room, Cheng Li slammed the door shut with a bang. Her chest rose and fell violently with anger as she gritted her teeth. “Damn it, this is what happens when you suffer from being uneducated.”
Starting tonight, she was determined to study everything related to sentinels and guides. Until she fully filled in this gap in her knowledge, she refused to step out of her room.
However, early the next morning, Yuan Mu came knocking on her door.
“I’m planning to make a trip to the black market. Want to come with me?”
“To buy suppressants?” Cheng Li remembered they had talked about this before.
“Yeah. You’re already an adult now. Every month, you’ll go into a bonding heat, also commonly called hea-”
“Shut up. No need for the explanation, I know.” Cheng Li sounded indignant.
“That’s good then.” Yuan Mu’s tone carried a trace of disappointment before he asked again, “So, are you coming or not?”
“Of course I am!”