“Are you satisfied with your partner’s sexual performance?”
Qiu Zheng chose — very poor.
“Pfft~” Xu Cheng couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. Realizing it was inappropriate, he quickly tried to stop, but the more he tried, the funnier it got—until he met Wen Yan’s cold stare and hurried to fix it. “It’s fine, it’s just this one zero, what does it matter? Everything else is full marks! Overall, very satisfied!”
No… still too funny. “How about… Can I help you contact a doctor?”
“I don’t have a problem.”
“Whether you have a problem or not, your sister-in-law would know best.”
“I said I don’t have a problem.”
“Come on, brother, I’m doing this for your own good. Maybe you’re just too tired and your body’s worn out?”
Wen Yan stopped arguing. He took out his phone, opened Qiu Zheng’s chat, and just stared at it. He didn’t know how long he sat there until a new message notification popped up.
It was from his group chat.
He didn’t have many friends, and there were only a few people in the group. At the moment, Xu Cheng was spamming messages.
“Guys, I’ve got shocking gossip—Wen Yan can’t perform!”
“Wen Yan can’t do it.”
“My sister-in-law confirmed it herself.”
“Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha—”
At first, people were replying with “LOL” and “Really?”, until someone realized, “Wen Yan is in this group.”
Wen Yan watched as Xu Cheng hurriedly deleted message after message before finally looking up and meeting Xu Cheng’s guilty, speechless eyes.
“Sent to the wrong group, wrong group.”
“No, wrong content, wrong content.”
“I was talking nonsense.”
“But bro, don’t forget about that investment.”
Wen Yan couldn’t be bothered with this idiot. He lowered his head and stared at his phone for a while longer before finally typing, word by word, into Qiu Zheng’s chat:
“Are you home yet?”
Of course Qiu Zheng was already home.
She had originally planned to have the driver drop her off at the entrance of her complex, but he insisted on taking her all the way downstairs.
The driver had a kindly, elder-like smile on his face. “Miss Qiu has been with the young master these past few days, right? The scent of the young master on you… is still quite obvious.”
Qiu Zheng had been ready to insist, not wanting to attract attention, but after hearing that, she obediently sat back down like a quail, not saying a word.
She knew he was being tactful, not mentioning the mark directly—but that temporary mark must be very obvious.
So embarrassing.
When they arrived, she said thank you and hurried upstairs back home.
Her apartment was small. At the entryway, a little cabinet was cluttered with miscellaneous items. She rummaged through a drawer and pulled out some pheromone masking spray, dousing herself several times.
Only when her nose was filled with the scent of jasmine did she finally feel a bit more at ease.
After confirming her unease about her gland and noticing no physical discomfort, she hadn’t thought much about the marking at first.
But now, her displeasure toward Wen Yan made her realize—this had happened without her consent.
So she had no intention of replying to his message.
Let it sit.
At the research institute, the staff noticed something was off with Professor Wen.
His rut period wasn’t a secret—every time it happened, he would disappear for a few days.
This time, he had been gone longer than usual.
They had even discussed whether this rut had been unusually intense, wondering what kind of suppressants he used.
Yes, everyone assumed he used suppressants to get through it.
But when he returned today, everyone was stunned—the scent of an omega on him was unmistakable.
What he had been doing these past few days was obvious without saying.
The long-barren iron tree had finally blossomed. Their lab might soon have good news.
At first, everyone thought it was a good thing. But today, several people had already gotten scolded.
“What’s going on? Why is the professor still so irritable even after getting an omega?”
They gathered and whispered among themselves.
Exactly—before, when he was sharp-tongued, they’d privately complain that he needed an omega.
So what’s happening now?
“It was better when he used suppressants. At least for a few days afterward, he’d actually be in a good mood. Not like this.”
Indeed, after previous rut periods, those few days were the easiest time—he might not look different, but he was the most approachable.
Great. Does the professor just not like omegas at all?
Wen Yan had conducted plenty of research on marking.
No matter the angle, all evidence showed that marking affected omegas far more than alphas.
But now, there was no reply on his phone. His message had sunk like a stone into the sea.
Meanwhile, he himself…
An indescribable restlessness had filled him ever since they separated.
Separation anxiety—the term crossed his mind, and he let out a soft scoff, as if the idea applying to him was absurd.
He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in his office.
From there, he could see the entire information hall of the lab, with each research room branching off.
He watched the busy crowd, trying to calm himself this way. Then he took off his coat and changed into his lab coat.
Before entering the lab, he took out his phone and gave the chat with Qiu Zheng one last look.
Still no reply.
He put the phone into his desk drawer and turned to leave.
After a couple of steps, as if reconsidering something, he turned back, retrieved the phone, and slipped it into his lab coat pocket before heading into the lab.
Qiu Zheng spent two comfortable days resting.
Her comment section became unusually lively because of a deleted comment.
Perhaps deleting it had upset the other party—they began spamming relentlessly.
“Why delete comments? Feeling guilty?”
“The style is obviously similar! A lot of settings are borrowed from Wu Lan, right? Too scared to admit it?”
“One or two similarities is fine, but this many?”
“Delete more! Let’s see whether you’re faster at deleting or I am at posting.”
…
It looked like they had been posting for days—Qiu Zheng just hadn’t seen it because she’d been “busy.”
She sighed.
Whatever. Her emotions weren’t as stirred as when she first saw that name. In fact, seeing the other person rally fans over made her feel even better.
This kind of attention… Why not count it as exposure she gained?
Just as she was scrolling, a new message notification popped up. It was a friend request—from Wen Lin.
Why was she adding her?
Qiu Zheng neither accepted nor rejected it, pretending she hadn’t seen it. But the other party kept sending requests.
She had no choice but to accept.
The moment she did, messages flooded in.
“Zhengzheng, what are you doing?”
“Want to hang out?”
“I’m at a café near you.”
“Just a coffee!”
“Come on, come on.”
“It won’t take long.”
Before Qiu Zheng could even type a refusal, the other side seemed to anticipate her thoughts and sent a stream of pleading messages.
Wen Lin even sent a photo—it really was the café across from her residential complex. She wouldn’t even need to drive.
With the other party already at her doorstep and pleading so much, Qiu Zheng couldn’t refuse a beautiful woman like that and agreed.
She didn’t bother dressing up much—just threw on a coat and went out.
The café wasn’t a big one in the city center, just a small shop with a long narrow table by the window and a few high chairs beside it.
From a distance, Qiu Zheng spotted the striking beauty by the window at a glance.
There were usually few customers inside, and since it was a weekday, Wen Lin was the only one there.
She noticed Qiu Zheng too and waved enthusiastically.
As Qiu Zheng entered, Wen Lin had already come over, linking her arm with a smile. “It’s our first time hanging out, so I didn’t know what you’d like and didn’t order in advance.”
Qiu Zheng was actually a regular here—sometimes she’d grab coffee during late-night writing sessions. She ordered her usual first, then asked, “What about you?”
“I’ll have the same.”
Seeing Wen Lin about to pay, Qiu Zheng quickly grabbed her hand with one hand while taking out her phone with the other. “It’s right by my place—how can I let you pay?”
Wen Lin smiled and didn’t insist. “Then next time you come to my place, I’ll be the host.”
“Deal.”
Although Wen Yan had repeatedly warned her about alpha and omega dynamics, standing in front of Wen Lin, Qiu Zheng only felt, “This is just a woman.”
They chatted about TV dramas, cosmetics, even novels, with no barriers at all.
When Wen Lin asked why she hadn’t added her despite leaving contact info, Qiu Zheng answered honestly.
Wen Yan wouldn’t allow it.
“I knew that brat had bad intentions.”
Wen Lin huffed, then her eyes darted mischievously. After getting the coffee, she first took photos of the drinks—then, not satisfied, pulled Qiu Zheng in for a selfie.
“Come on, Zhengzheng, let’s take one. I want to post it on my Moments.”