Married the Abandoned Puppy Alpha - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Shared Journey Home

The moment He Xinglou opened his door, the scent of simulated pheromones rushed out to meet him.

He immediately sensed that things were going south and hurriedly said, “Wait outside for a moment”

Before he could finish, Shi Qingze suddenly ducked like a slippery eel, arching his body to slip right under the arm He Xinglou had raised to block him.

The scent of pine was easily identifiable. Standing inside the room, Shi Qingze turned back with bright eyes, the corners of his mouth curving upward uncontrollably.

He Xinglou coughed twice and started pretending to be busy: “I’ll go… open the window for some ventilation.”

Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped toward the window, Shi Qingze discovered something else behind him.

“Brother, is this my necktie?”

He Xinglou stiffened in horror. He whipped around to see Shi Qingze reaching out, hooking a crumpled tie off the bed with his index finger.

It was indeed Shi Qingze’s tie.

He Xinglou had secretly tucked it into his luggage while preparing for his long-distance interstellar journey.

It was also the “tool” he had intended to use for nesting before going downstairs—pity that after two months, the Alpha pheromones on it had completely vanished, rendering it utterly useless.

He Xinglou’s brain felt like it was about to explode. He crossed the room in two large strides and snatched the tie away.

Trying to cover it up only made him look more like a guilty thief.

Shi Qingze, surprisingly easy-going, didn’t press the matter. He looked around again and prepared to pick up the scarf on the pillow: “The color of this scarf…”

“Enough, enough!” Xinglou begged for mercy, “Stop… stop looking around.”

Only then did Shi Qingze burst into laughter.

“I’m very happy to know that my brother was missing me too.”

He tilted his head again, his gaze serious and innocent: “So, Brother was using these things to nest”

Who would have thought that after playing the role of a righteous, reliable elite for so long, he would show his true colors now? He had reverted to that sly, mischievous kid who insisted on making things difficult for He Xinglou’s pride.

He Xinglou’s face was burning. He shouted with feigned severity, “Know when to stop! Don’t say another word. I’m opening the window right now.”

This time Shi Qingze obediently fell silent, but just as He Xinglou was about to pull back the curtains, an embrace carrying the scent of pine closed in, wrapping his entire being into Shi Qingze’s arms.

Xinglou froze, not daring to turn around.

A slightly husky, low voice drifted past his ear: “The real me is already here. Brother doesn’t need to nest anymore.”

A slightly cool nose tip brushed against the side of He Xinglou’s neck; Shi Qingze was meticulously sniffing his scent.

“Brother, we’ve been apart for so long. There isn’t a trace of my pheromones left on you. No wonder Alphas and Betas who don’t know their place keep approaching you, even though you’re wearing the ring.”

He really is still brooding over that, He Xinglou thought helplessly.

He tried to soothe him: “I planned to return tomorrow anyway. I’ve finished most of the work today, and I won’t have any contact with them in the future.”

The head resting in the crook of his neck shifted, the fluffy texture of hair rubbing against his cheek.

“I don’t want that,” Shi Qingze muttered. “I want to use a faster method to let them know that Brother isn’t someone they can dream about.”

His heart rate quickened uncontrollably. He Xinglou felt inexplicably hot, and the Alpha pheromones surrounding him seemed to grow denser.

He licked his dry lips: “Then… what do you want to do?”

Shi Qingze pressed his face against the back of He Xinglou’s neck and whispered something in a voice so muffled it was unrecognizable.

“What did you say?” Xinglou turned to ask.

He heard Shi Qingze sigh, and then felt a gentle bite directly on the back of his neck.

Right where the Omega gland was located.

At this point, even someone without a lick of physiological knowledge would understand.

“We’ve been married for a year,” Shi Qingze’s voice sounded a bit aggrieved. “But I still haven’t marked Brother.”

He Xinglou could feel a tidal heat surging within him. The sweet, clear scent of fig spread uncontrollably, naturally merging with the Alpha pheromones in the air.

Only when an Omega is willing to accept an Alpha’s mark do their pheromones fuse together.

This was an invitation.

He instantly heard heavy, hurried breathing behind him.

He Xinglou struggled slightly, turning around within the arms wrapped around his waist to stand face-to-face with Shi Qingze.

He reached up to tug at the button on Shi Qingze’s chest. His eyelashes trembled several times before he whispered, “Then… Do you want to try final marking?”

His response was an impatient kiss.

Those words were like opening a floodgate. The hands on his waist suddenly tightened, and Shi Qingze picked him up directly, spinning around to press him back onto the bed.

The movement left He Xinglou dizzy. He was still clutching that necktie in his hand, so Shi Qingze gave a soft laugh and wound the tie around He Xinglou’s wrists.

With his hands bound and held above his head, He Xinglou was inevitably embarrassed. He panted sharply a few times, biting his lip as he allowed the other to proceed.

“Are you cold?” Shi Qingze asked in a thick voice.

The corners of He Xinglou’s eyes were already tinged with red. He shook his head: “…Not cold. Hurry up.”

Synchronized with his urge, the fig-scented pheromones were fully released, pulling the Alpha into a fragrant Eden.

…

The next day, as soon as He Xinglou walked into the office building, the surrounding survey team members all fell silent.

He pretended not to notice their strange behavior, but his face, buried in a high collar, flushed uncontrollably—he hadn’t expected the final marking to actually happen last night. He was surely covered in Shi Qingze’s scent now; it would be hard for anyone not to know.

The first to snap out of it was a survey team member, who walked over hesitantly: “Xinglou, did… did something happen to you? Last night”

He turned to scan his own team members, trying to find the fellow who might match this pheromone scent.

“No,” He Xinglou tried his best to appear calm and natural. “My husband came to see me.”

Everyone’s eyes widened, and their ears perked up.

“Xinglou’s husband?! It’s so far, how did he get here?”

“What does he look like? So he’s an Alpha…”

The group started chattering, about to swarm him out of curiosity, when suddenly footsteps sounded at the door. An arm reached out and pulled He Xinglou directly into an embrace.

Shi Qingze’s eyes lightened in color as he looked at the crowd with a faint smile: “Hello everyone. My wife is grateful for the care you’ve shown him during this time.”

Only then did everyone notice that the scarf He Xinglou had been wearing lately was gone. The tall Alpha beside him indeed had light gray eyes, and his gaze was wound tightly around He Xinglou.

One could almost hear the sound of hearts breaking in the air.

He Xinglou had never been so high-profile in front of outsiders. He waved at them awkwardly: “Then… I’ll head into the office first.”

With that, he dragged Shi Qingze away.

Yet Shi Qingze was being incredibly wicked now; even as he was being dragged away, he turned his head to smile provocatively at the crowd. If He Xinglou hadn’t been gripping his hand, he might have even ungracefully flipped them off.

He Xinglou: …Stop showing off!

He said he was wrapping up work, but the tasks actually took only thirty minutes. Since Shi Qingze was there, he immediately began helping him pack, acting as if he wanted to bundle He Xinglou up and take him away the very next second.

“How are we going back? You flew your own starship here, didn’t you?” He Xinglou asked, enjoying the break.

Now that they were finally together, he didn’t really want to travel back in separate ships.

Shi Qingze seemed to have planned this long ago, answering without hesitation: “Brother will come with me. But we’ll need more fuel, so we need to transfer the energy from your ship. As for your starship, we can set it to low-energy auto-mode and let it return to the Imperial Capital by itself.”

He Xinglou caught something odd: “Go with you? Are we not going back to the Imperial Capital?”

“Mm…” Shi Qingze kept him in suspense, curling his lips. “Brother will know once we get there.”

Perhaps Shi Qingze’s arrogant display of dominance worked; the survey team kept their distance during the farewell, showing more boundary awareness than ever before.

He Xinglou shared some redundant data with them as a token of thanks before stepping onto the starship amidst everyone’s reluctant gazes.

He took note of the starship’s set route; it was a very distant coordinate, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

“We’ll still need the hibernation pods. This trip will likely take about three months of stasis,” Shi Qingze said while placing the sunflowers into a preservation chamber.

He Xinglou looked at him in confusion: “That long? What about your company?”

Shi Qingze laughed softly: “I’ve handled everything. I’ve already notified them that I’m taking a long leave.”

“This isn’t very good. What if by the time you wake up, the Shi family heir has changed again? You’ll have nowhere to cry.”

“Wouldn’t that be perfect?” Shi Qingze knelt before him with feigned piteousness, resting his chin on He Xinglou’s lap. “Then I could spend all my time with my brother.”

“Only… I’d have nothing left then. I’d have to rely on my Brother to support me.”

Xinglou imagined the scene and said readily, “That’s fine. Wouldn’t it be just like our old life?”

After saying this, he and Shi Qingze shared a smile.

It would just be a return to those days of relying on each other, watching the sky and the earth, and counting the stars.

In the past, He Xinglou only felt that trying to reclaim the past from the river of time was like “carving a boat to find a lost sword”—futile. But as if destined by fate, he had become the only success of that time travel experiment. Now, after all the twists and turns, he had truly succeeded once more, finding the sword of his dreams.

He lay peacefully in the hibernation pod. Before falling into a dream, he felt a soft touch on his forehead—it must have been Shi Qingze’s kiss.

“Goodnight, Brother. When you wake up, you’ll see home.”

This time, He Xinglou dreamed of Earth again.

Now that he had recovered all his memories, those hazy, blurred faces became clear. His old family and friends all crowded before him.

They said they had received his letter and were relieved to see his life in the future had found its track. Everyone gave him a hug—no crying, only blessings.

Consequently, when He Xinglou woke up, a smile was still lingering on his lips.

The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was a golden yellow as bright as sunshine. Then, Shi Qingze’s face peeked out from behind a bouquet.

“Brother, we’ve arrived.”

Xinglou gathered his spirits and took the bouquet from him.

“Why so grand?” He couldn’t help but laugh, looking down at the vibrant flower heads.

“Because we’re going to offer flowers.” Shi Qingze led him to the window.

Looking out the porthole, He Xinglou saw a few unfamiliar planets and a massive mountain of monuments floating in space. The material of the stacked inscriptions was familiar, looking as if it were made of titanium alloy.

“Can you tell me now where exactly we are?”

“This is the first observation base successfully established after humanity achieved space travel,” Shi Qingze said briefly. “Brother, come with me first. After we land, I’ll tell you the story of this place.”

The two put on their spacesuits and landed on this lead-gray man-made mountain of monuments. It was far from any star; the light was pale and cold, and the universe was vast and dark. Only the bouquet of sunflowers in He Xinglou’s hands provided a splash of color in the world.

Ice soon coated the petals, encasing the sunflowers like amber. He Xinglou placed them in the central courtyard of the monument mountain. Leaning down, he could see the alloy surface covered in dense text names of people written in various languages.

Xinglou suddenly realized: those must be the recorded names of everyone who participated in the space travel project. For a moment, he wanted to search for familiar names, but looking up, the entire asteroid-sized monument was covered in text; it would likely take years to finish searching.

Shi Qingze was calling him from up ahead. He Xinglou walked over and saw the ruins of a giant space telescope, with categorized chip storage banks beside it.

“Found it.” Shi Qingze searched through the recording dates on the chip bank and pulled out the first one on record.

The space telescope was long out of repair and unusable, but after loading the chip, one could still see the previously saved images through the lens.

Shi Qingze looked at him expectantly: “Brother, take a look.”

He Xinglou couldn’t guess his plan at all and was utterly perplexed. But when he leaned into the observation lens, a patch of familiar shimmering blue covered his vision.

Through the lens… he saw Earth.

The Earth recorded on this chip had not yet encountered the catastrophe. What met his eyes was the blue planetary surface, with white snow covering the poles and the seven continents and five oceans sketching out intricate patterns.

Xinglou’s hands began to shake.

The observation distance in his vision suddenly zoomed in, as if his pupils were being pulled closer to Earth. He saw the Himalayan mountain range like the veins of a leaf; he saw the Great Barrier Reef like a deep blue ribbon; he saw the Great Rift Valley like an imprinted totem; and he saw the glittering lights of the opposite shore.

He shifted the lens. Palm Jumeirah in Dubai was a jellyfish floating on the sea; the outlines of the pyramids were as innocent as geometric figures drawn by a child. The Yangtze River, the Yellow River, and the Three Gorges Dam were silent as ever, and the ancient Great Wall meandered long.

That was the Earth of He Xinglou’s most familiar homeland.

“Shi Qingze” He Xinglou suddenly looked up, his irises covered with a layer of shimmering moisture.

Shi Qingze smiled softly and finally explained.

“In the early days of space travel, human technology couldn’t achieve light-speed flight. Therefore, it took humans three hundred years to reach this place. They built a monument here and installed space telescopes to observe Earth. However, during the first observation of Earth, they made a startling discovery.”

He Xinglou gazed at the blue backdrop within the lens: “Light takes time to travel. And in this place so exceptionally far from Earth, what can be observed… is the Earth of the past.”

Shi Qingze put an arm around his shoulder to comfort him: “The space travel project required the efforts of dozens of generations. By the time humans reached this place, several generations had passed, and no one had truly seen what Earth originally looked like. But after seeing the images in the telescope, everyone could identify it immediately. That was humanity’s former homeland.”

“Those images of the long-gone past are exceptionally precious, so they were all saved within the monument. The human journey continued, taking several hundred more years to reach the Imperial Capital system, finally ending the exile and settling down. But the coordinates of this place have always been recorded in history. If later generations arrive here, they will surely be able to see humanity’s home.”

Shi Qingze said softly, “Brother, I’ve brought you home.”

One might not be able to return to the past, but one can trace back the memories of the past. Even if things have changed and people have gone, things that truly existed will never be forgotten. They will always be protected by love, cherished in the heart, becoming a piece of homeland that cannot be destroyed by anything.

He Xinglou shed tears with a smile and turned to embrace Shi Qingze.

“Now, it’s time for us to go home together.”

End.