Drunk On The Night Breeze - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Tao Zhi himself hated going to hospitals. Usually, if he had a headache or a fever, he was very resistant to seeing a doctor, preferring to just find some medicine and tough it out. However, he still brought Ruan Lingfeng to a private hospital—one with fewer people and strong privacy protections.

The nurse at the reception desk asked Ruan Lingfeng to register his information. While doing so, she glanced at Tao Zhi, who had stayed almost inseparable from Ruan Lingfeng’s side since they walked in. She couldn’t help but ask, “Is this your Alpha?”

Ruan Lingfeng’s hand paused as he entered data into the tablet. He was just about to deny it when Tao Zhi spoke up a step ahead of him: “No.”

Ruan Lingfeng turned his head and shot Tao Zhi a look.

It wasn’t that he had any expectations, but he had assumed that given how assertive Tao Zhi had been earlier, he would have answered “Yes.” This was better, though; it aligned perfectly with Ruan Lingfeng’s wishes.

Who knew that Tao Zhi’s next sentence would be: “I haven’t successfully courted him yet.”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…”

The nurse covered her mouth and giggled, then stared at the eyes visible between Tao Zhi’s mask and bangs. “You look a bit familiar… are you that singer, Tao—”

Ruan Lingfeng didn’t have time to deal with Tao Zhi’s nonsense and quickly explained, “People often say he looks like Tao Zhi.”

To his surprise, Tao Zhi pulled his mask straight down. “I am him.”

Ruan Lingfeng, who had been maintaining a polite smile, now slightly furrowed his brows. “What are you fooling around for?”

The nurse let out a “Wow,” her eyes darting back and forth between Ruan Lingfeng, who looked quite displeased, and Tao Zhi. She felt like she had just stumbled upon some earth-shattering gossip. However, she had professional ethics and was tactful: “Let’s finish the registration first, and then…”

She listed a long string of instructions, and the atmosphere in the room softened somewhat.

After Ruan Lingfeng filled out the forms, he prepared to follow the signs to the designated department. Tao Zhi followed him step for step. He had been maintaining a tiny bit of distance, but suddenly, Tao Zhi leaned right in.

Tao Zhi leaned down slightly, leaning toward Ruan Lingfeng’s ear, and asked, “Are you angry?”

Ruan Lingfeng said, “No… I just feel like you were talking nonsense one moment and then immediately admitting you’re Tao Zhi the next… You really have no self-awareness as a top artist. What if those words were leaked by someone… Never mind, I’m not your manager, it’s none of my business.”

“Don’t be like that, you’re my Ge, of course it’s my business.” Previously, Tao Zhi had refused to call Ruan Lingfeng “Ge” no matter what, disrespectfully calling him “Xiao Feng” instead. Ever since Ruan Lingfeng said this morning that he only saw Tao Zhi as a brother, Tao Zhi seemed to have found a new spark—using the title with a touch of sarcasm and repetition. He added, “But I wasn’t talking nonsense. I’m a mature Alpha, healthy in both body and mind. What’s wrong with wanting to pursue an Omega? It’s not immoral, and it’s not illegal. So what if people know? Besides, I never sold myself on a ‘boyfriend’ persona anyway.”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…Stop talking.”

Tao Zhi didn’t listen: “Oh, I see. Is Gege shy?”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…”

Ruan Lingfeng said again, “Don’t call me that.”

“Didn’t you want me to call you ‘Ge’ before? Now you won’t let me, what do you want from me?” Tao Zhi chuckled and lowered his voice to ask, “…Actually, I’d rather call you ‘Wife,’ will you let me?”

Ruan Lingfeng prided himself on his poker face, but upon hearing this, he couldn’t stop his face from heating up.

As a result, he acted even more stern: “Don’t say another word.”

Tao Zhi said, “I like you openly and honestly. In the future, when you agree to be with me, I’m going to tell the whole world. But if you don’t like it, then forget it.”

Ruan Lingfeng reached his limit. He walked forward quickly, entered the doctor’s consultation room, and shut the door directly, locking Tao Zhi outside.

However, Tao Zhi had already promised him that he wouldn’t listen to his conversation with the doctor or pry into his privacy.

Inside the consultation room, the equipment was all-encompassing. Ruan Lingfeng briefly explained the situation to the doctor and then went for pheromone sampling and various other tests. Since the results would take some time, Ruan Lingfeng chatted idly with the doctor.

“Generally speaking, there are a few possibilities. Either your development is delayed, and the glands that secrete pheromones matured later than others… But usually, no matter how late, development is definitely complete by around age twenty; it wouldn’t last until now. Moreover, you said others can’t smell your pheromones, and you can’t sense theirs,” the doctor explained. “I suspect it’s another, more rare situation—a phenomenon that has only been discovered in recent years.”

“What is it?”

The doctor continued: “The latest research shows that the gland structures of a small portion of Alphas and Omegas are slightly different from normal people. They might have more characteristics and functions than average… You can think of it as being more ‘advanced.'”

“Perhaps because of this, ordinary people cannot perceive the pheromones of these Alphas and Omegas. Even if they can smell a scent, they would only treat it as the smell of an ordinary object, rather than a pheromone scent that creates sexual attraction. The reverse is also true. It’s just that these cases were very rare in the past; after all, if an AO with this trait never meets another of their kind, they might never discover they are actually fully functioning. Coupled with limited medical technology, they are often misdiagnosed with pheromone deficiency and sensory dysfunction.”

“It was only because a couple like that went for a consultation abroad about ten years ago… it caused a huge stir in the medical community. But in reality, I’ve never actually encountered one myself; I’ve barely even heard of it, since these people are so few and far between in the population. The probability of some rare diseases is one in twenty thousand; the probability of someone with an abnormal gland structure appearing in the population is one in a hundred thousand. To actually meet, and then to have an intersection… betting on these odds is worse than expecting to win the lottery.”

“If you really are one of them, our instruments here might not be able to detect it. When the results come out later, let’s not rush to a judgment. We will send your sample to a laboratory capable of performing this specific test.”

Even though the doctor used relatively plain language to explain, Ruan Lingfeng was still a bit dazed. What did this mean? Was it saying he might have been misdiagnosed? He wasn’t “defective,” but might actually be a bit more “advanced” than others?

The doctor asked again: “You discovered this because you could smell an Alpha’s pheromones and had a heat period, right? …If I may ask, do you know the situation of that Alpha? For instance, can others smell him?”

“I’m not quite sure… ah,” how would he know if others could smell Tao Zhi? But suddenly, Ruan Lingfeng thought of something. “It seems they can’t.”

He remembered the first time they met. A group of them were in a meeting room, and Tao Zhi’s pheromones seemed to be going haywire. Ruan Lingfeng felt dizzy and asked someone to open a window for ventilation. When he asked the others, they said they felt nothing.

Could such an extremely low-probability event truly happen to him…?

The doctor said, “Then maybe it really is the case.”

Ruan Lingfeng digested these words for a while, but there was still something he didn’t understand: “But Doctor, if I have pheromones, would I not be able to smell them myself?”

“That? That’s actually normal,” the doctor explained. “Although it’s also a rare case, it’s more common than what I just told you… This is called ‘Abstract Pheromones,’ meaning the pheromones do not manifest in the form of a scent.”

“Abstract Pheromones?”

“For example, if someone’s pheromone type is ‘Ice,’ then during their heat period, they are equivalent to a cooling air conditioner… they can only feel the cold, but cannot smell a scent.”

“…That’s possible,” Ruan Lingfeng recalled carefully. Even if having no scent was normal, he hadn’t felt that his pheromones manifested any other characteristics. “But I don’t seem to have any other sensations either.”

“No rush to determine the pheromone type. Let’s see what your situation actually is first.”

Ruan Lingfeng nodded. “Alright… thank you, Doctor.”

Because it was a private hospital, the initial test results came out quickly. Sure enough, as the doctor said, using the instruments and equipment here, he could still only be classified as having pheromone deficiency and sensory dysfunction.

But the fact that he could smell Tao Zhi’s scent was real. His heat period was real. And Tao Zhi saying he could feel his pheromones… was also real.

The doctor looked at the results and said, “There should be an issue with these results. We will send the samples elsewhere for testing first and contact you when there are results.”

However, regardless of whether it was a special case, the situation during a heat period was generally the same. After doing an allergy test, the doctor prescribed some suppressants Ruan Lingfeng could use and gave other instructions.

Finally, he added: “Of course, using too many drugs and suppressants is still not good for the body. It’s best to spend the heat period with the company of your Alpha.”

Ruan Lingfeng listened attentively and said his thanks.

He should have gone out to get his medicine, but after some thought, Ruan Lingfeng spoke up: “Doctor, sorry, I have one more question.”

“I want to know… after an Alpha has a relationship with an Omega in heat, is it possible for them to undergo some changes?”

The doctor asked, “What kind of changes do you mean?”

Ruan Lingfeng recalled Tao Zhi’s behavior before this. Even though he was clingy then, he always felt that Tao Zhi was standing behind an invisible line—wanting to touch him but hesitating.

How could he be like he is now? Throughout this entire day, Ruan Lingfeng had been bombarded with countless “straight balls” (direct confessions)… if he said he felt nothing, that would be a lie…

He had to admit, he had been hit.

Ruan Lingfeng chose his words carefully: “It’s just the feeling that he is… very directly expressing his… liking for me? It wasn’t like this before…”

“Of course,” the doctor said. “Alphas are very protective of their ‘food,’ especially toward an Omega they have established a connection with. Whether or not a mark has been made, under the influence of hormones, an Alpha’s possessiveness will become stronger.”

“I see… I understand, thank you.” Ruan Lingfeng lowered his eyes. As expected, it was just the influence of hormones. Perhaps it would be the same if he were replaced by any other Omega… he was just a coincidence. Ruan Lingfeng tucked away the small bit of joy that had just emerged.