Bo Chengjing was handling emails when he felt Shen Zhinian staring fixedly at his back. He turned his head to look at him.
Shen Zhinian met his gaze and stared right back.
Sensing that something was off with the younger man’s expression, Bo Chengjing asked, “What is it?”
Shen Zhinian looked again at the back of Bo Chengjing’s neck, feeling completely certain those were the bite marks of two little canine teeth.
Bo Chengjing’s skin was very fair, but those two small bite marks were still tinged with pink.
They must have scabbed over and then peeled off, leaving two pinkish impressions behind.
After dinner, Bo Chengjing had changed into home clothes. Unlike a button-down shirt that could cover the back of his neck, the collar of his loungewear sat somewhat low, making the marks crystal clear.
And this position was right where an Omega’s gland was located.
He was an Alpha; who on earth would bite him in that spot?
Unless, while being intimate with some Omega, he had let the other person bite him.
A fire seemed to be instantly lit inside Shen Zhinian’s body, burning his heart, liver, spleen, and lungs until every inch of him ached.
“Zhinian?” Seeing him stay frozen, Bo Chengjing waved a hand in front of his eyes.
The next second, Shen Zhinian grabbed his wrist, glaring at him with cold eyes as he demanded, “Where on earth did you go these past few days?”
Bo Chengjing watched his sudden emotional shift.
“Where did you go?” Shen Zhinian asked persistently.
“The neighboring city,” Bo Chengjing said.
“With whom?” Shen Zhinian pressed. “Did you go on a business trip, or did you go on vacation with someone?”
As he spoke, Bo Chengjing could sense a lingering grievance hidden beneath his cold, angry tone.
“Why ask like that?” Bo Chengjing asked.
“Who bit the mark on the back of your neck?” Shen Zhinian’s slender eyes burned with anger. “Didn’t you say you’d tell me if you started dating someone? Is this how you’re notifying me?”
Bo Chengjing was speechless.
Yet that speechlessness, in Shen Zhinian’s eyes, translated into impatience.
“And now you’re getting impatient,” Shen Zhinian said.
Bo Chengjing looked at him, took a deep breath, and then chuckled.
“You’re even laughing,” Shen Zhinian said in shock. “I’m angry at you right now. Can you show some respect?”
“Do you want me to bite you back to help jog your memory about everything you did after getting wasted?” Bo Chengjing said with a very friendly, amiable smile.
Shen Zhinian’s anger, grievance, and shock all froze on his face. The gears in his brain froze right along with them, and it took him a long while to utter, “What did you say?”
“I said, with that tiny alcohol tolerance of yours, you actually dared to drink,” Bo Chengjing said. “You got drunk, blacked out, and now you’re trying to shift the blame. I should probably give you a beating so you actually learn your lesson.”
Shen Zhinian looked into Bo Chengjing’s smiling eyes, paused, turned his neck, and looked at the bite marks on the back of his neck once more.
Two pinkish little dots.
If Bo Chengjing were an Omega, a bite depth like this would already count as a temporary marking.
Right now, Bo Chengjing’s entire body would be scented with his pheromones.
Thinking of this, Shen Zhinian startled himself. How could Bo Chengjing possibly be an Omega!
Stricken with sudden guilt, he instinctively released Bo Chengjing’s hand, lowered his gaze, and made a show of brushing some non-existent dust off his trousers.
Bo Chengjing raised a hand to touch the back of his neck.
He had known about the scab, and he had known when it peeled off, so he hadn’t paid it any mind and had almost forgotten all about it.
He hadn’t expected the younger man to spot it anyway.
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember,” Shen Zhinian said in a low voice.
“With that alcohol tolerance of yours, I never expected you to remember,” Bo Chengjing said.
Shen Zhinian remained silent for a few seconds. Then, as if having made a firm decision, he spun his chair around, turned his back to Bo Chengjing, and said, “If you’re mad, bite me back.”
Bo Chengjing watched as the younger man lowered his head slightly, exposing the prominent cervical vertebra at the back of his neck, his eyes filled with shock.
An Omega’s nape housed their gland, which an Alpha would bite during a temporary marking.
Yet taking an action like that generally occurred only between extremely intimate Omegas and Alphas.
Furthermore, most Alphas were relatively domineering and disliked anyone touching the back of their neck.
If someone touched it, especially biting it, the most likely time for such behavior to happen was when an Alpha was flirting with their own Omega.
Thus, because Shen Zhinian had bitten the back of his neck and said those things, it naturally forced him to overthink.
Yet looking at Shen Zhinian’s current behavior, where on earth did it look like someone open to overthinking?
It felt like two kids. You hit me once, so I’ll let you hit me back to call it even. Only then could they happily continue playing together.
Besides, they were two Alphas right now. You bite me once, I bite you back.
What kind of quirk was that?
Bo Chengjing tapped him lightly on the head. “Am I crazy? Why would I bite the back of your neck for no reason?”
Shen Zhinian shrank his neck from the tap, turned around, and looked at him. “Alphas biting the back of the neck, isn’t that instinctive, engraved right in their genes?”
“Alphas bite Omegas. Are you one?” Bo Chengjing said.
Shen Zhinian replied, “You can just think of me as an Omega.”
“Think of you as an Omega to do what?” Bo Chengjing played along with his words.
The moment he said it, both of them fell silent.
To do what?
To do it.
Shen Zhinian’s brain automatically completed a self-asked, self-answered loop.
Aside from that answer, he had another answer. To bite people.
However, the nature of it was pretty much the same.
Who bit people’s napes for fun?
Unless the two of them were deep in the throes of affection, or the Omega was in heat.
Either way, none of that fit their situation.
“Ahem.” Shen Zhinian gave a light cough and said, “That, um…”
“Which that?” Bo Chengjing’s voice turned somewhat stern.
“Just…” Shen Zhinian looked into his cold, sharp eyes, having no idea how to continue.
“Just what?” Bo Chengjing continued to ask in a cold tone.
Shen Zhinian kept his mouth shut.
Bo Chengjing gripped the back of his neck to press him downward, giving him two light pats on the back. “Keep talking nonsense and I’ll crack your skull open.”
“My bad,” Shen Zhinian grabbed his wrist and conceded immediately.
“Are you changing your ways?” Bo Chengjing asked.
Shen Zhinian pulled Bo Chengjing’s hand away from the back of his neck, planted his feet on the floor, pushed his chair back, and uttered two words: “Not changing.”
“Hiss.” Bo Chengjing drew in a breath. “Get over here.”
“No way,” Shen Zhinian backed his chair up further.
“Three, two…” Bo Chengjing started.
Shen Zhinian slid right back over in an instant, pressed his hands onto Bo Chengjing’s arms, and said, “Brother, my bad, my bad. Changing, I’ll definitely change.”
Bo Chengjing looked at him.
Shen Zhinian slowly squeezed his arm and called out in a low voice, “Brother.”
Bo Chengjing: “Let go.”
Shen Zhinian instantly withdrew his hand.
Bo Chengjing asked, “Are you going to finish this assignment or not?”
“I am.” Shen Zhinian straightened his posture and powered on the computer. “This assignment is super simple. I learned it when I was three.”
Bo Chengjing chuckled. “You just say whatever comes to mind, quite the braggart aren’t you?”
“Is a guy not allowed to talk big anymore? It’s not breaking the law,” Shen Zhinian said.
Bo Chengjing said nothing.
Shen Zhinian added, “Brother, you’re the one who taught me how to read.”
An image of a tiny Shen Zhinian flashed through Bo Chengjing’s mind, making his voice grow even gentler. “Finish your assignment quickly, and go to sleep as soon as you’re done.”
Shen Zhinian didn’t reply, his fingers tapping across the keyboard.
Bo Chengjing also clicked open an email. “If you dare stay up late playing games tonight, I’ll cut the internet cable at home.”
Shen Zhinian pressed his lips together.
Bo Chengjing demanded, “Did you hear me?”
“Oh.” Shen Zhinian tapped quietly on the keyboard for a while as lines of code appeared on the screen one by one. After a moment, he said, “Brother.”
“Hmm,” Bo Chengjing responded while replying to an email.
Shen Zhinian asked, “Has anyone with the last name Ye tried to talk business with you recently?”
Bo Chengjing’s hands paused. He looked at him, thought for a moment, and said, “Ye Qinghe’s family?”
Shen Zhinian nodded. “He was making a phone call in the dorm without hiding it from anyone, and I overheard some things.”
“What is it?” Bo Chengjing asked.
“His family seems to want their daughter to… while you guys are discussing the partnership…” Shen Zhinian looked at him, using his eyes to convey the rest.
Bo Chengjing: “…”
“Ye Qinghe is really unwilling, he thinks they’re courting death,” Shen Zhinian said. “Anyway, just keep your guard up.”
“Hmm,” Bo Chengjing said. “Got it.”