Married the Abandoned Puppy Alpha - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Rut

Even if the heat is approaching, I can’t just start going into rut for any random person I see!

Especially not Shi Qingze!!

He Xinglou didn’t dare look at his reflection in the mirror again; his face and lips were a deep, vivid red. He quickly cupped water in his palms and splashed his face ruthlessly with the cold water.

However, as he prepared to apply the suppressor patch, he realized a major problem—

His pheromones were also fig-scented. Now that they were mixed with the fragrance in the bathroom, it was impossible to confirm whether he had placed the patch correctly.

He Xinglou twisted his neck with difficulty, trying to see the back of his neck in the mirror. But this movement clearly exceeded human limits; no matter how much he strained until his neck cramped, he couldn’t see the state of his gland.

He intended to rest for a moment before trying again, but suddenly, he felt a buzzing in his brain. His rationality felt like a feather pillow with its seams ripped open, scattering instantly.

From the bottom of his heart, a different thought emerged: “Why apply the suppressor patch yourself? It’s so much work. Find someone to help you.”

Whether it’s helping you stick the patch, or using… another method…

As if possessed, He Xinglou opened the bathroom door and poked his head out: “Can you help me check if the suppressor patch is on correctly?”

Shi Qingze seemed very surprised, sitting bolt upright in an instant.

Thinking that the fragrance in the bathroom was too distracting for the sense of smell, He Xinglou simply walked out and sat down beside Shi Qingze.

He Xinglou began to complain, though his tone was very soft: “Why are all your toiletries fig-scented? I can’t tell at all now if it’s the fragrance or my own pheromones.”

Shi Qingze turned his head slightly and indeed caught the fresh botanical scent on him, falling silent for a moment.

“Sorry… I didn’t realize that would be an issue.”

He Xinglou lowered his eyes: “No need to apologize. You couldn’t have predicted something like this.”

Having said that, he tilted his head to the side, revealing a section of his slender, white neck.

“Then… I’ll trouble you to take a look.”

Shi Qingze’s gaze uncontrollably locked onto that patch of delicate, smooth skin; his breathing hitched for a beat.

Those toiletries were bought just this morning. Because he had learned the scent of He Xinglou’s pheromones, he had completely replaced his original citrus products with fig-scented ones that mimicked He Xinglou’s scent.

It was an impulse born of a dark, possessive mindset, but he hadn’t expected it to lead to a situation like this.

Shi Qingze was no longer the child he used to be; he realized what was happening immediately.

But clearly, He Xinglou was as lacking in physiological knowledge as ever. Therefore, his Brother didn’t know that the scent on him right now had nothing to do with the toiletries—it was entirely his own pheromones.

He was already in the pre-heat stage. His behavior was being controlled by the instinct to mate, which was why he was subconsciously seeking help from the nearest Alpha.

Perhaps it would only take a slight provocation, a tiny release of Alpha pheromones, to… to…

Shi Qingze bit the tip of his tongue. The metallic taste of blood spread instantly, forcing his rationality back.

He braced himself mentally before leaning in, his body tense.

The suppressor patch on the back of the neck was crooked; it hadn’t even touched the edge of the gland, providing zero suppression.

Shi Qingze moved closer, his breath brushing against that skin, making He Xinglou feel somewhat restless and tempted to stand up.

“Don’t move,” Shi Qingze reminded him in a low voice. “It is indeed crooked.”

He made an excuse for his proximity: “I just wanted to get close to confirm if any pheromones were leaking out.”

He Xinglou sighed helplessly: “Even after all these years, I still can’t stick these things on right.”

“It’s okay,” Shi Qingze’s voice held a trace of a smile. “Let me help Brother re-apply it.”

He waited a moment after saying this. Hearing no refusal from He Xinglou, he reached out his hand, gently peeled off the patch, and smoothed it back on properly.

“There, all done, Brother.” Shi Qingze’s voice carried a raspiness he hadn’t even noticed himself.

He Xinglou didn’t turn around, only giving a muffled “mhm.”

Shi Qingze stood up abruptly: “Don’t you have to go to work, Brother? I’ll drive you.”

He Xinglou didn’t look up; his damp bangs hid his eyes.

“I can go by myself. The money for staying over last night should I transfer it to you now?”

Shi Qingze didn’t act coy, revealing the communicator on his wrist: “Sure, Brother can just transfer it directly.”

The two communicators touched. Without even needing to add each other as contacts, the Star Credits were transferred directly from He Xinglou’s account.

He Xinglou finally composed his expression and stood up with a calm face, as if the slightly intimate moment between them had never happened.

“Then, I’ll be going first.”

Shi Qingze nodded, his tone equally polite and distant: “Goodbye, Brother.”

He Xinglou left without looking back.

Only after hearing the door shut heavily did Shi Qingze move.

First, he leaned forward to look at the empty entryway. After confirming He Xinglou had truly left, his tense body collapsed instantly. He leaned against the wall, breathing raggedly.

He pressed a hand to his chest; the heartbeat within was as rapid as a rainstorm. The heat throughout his body began to rise uncontrollably, turning into a prairie fire in an instant.

Just being near He Xinglou’s neck gland had actually triggered his rut prematurely.

“At least I didn’t lose my composure in front of him again,” Shi Qingze thought, closing his eyes in pain.

If he had acted as recklessly as he did during his differentiation two years ago, he probably would truly never see his Brother again.

Thinking of the two-year void between them, Shi Qingze would rather bite his tongue until it bled while talking to He Xinglou than repeat the same mistake.

The heightened senses of the rut allowed him to clearly distinguish the pheromone scent in the air; his physical reactions became increasingly out of control.

After a few sharp gasps, Shi Qingze finally rushed into the guest room where He Xinglou had slept and wrapped himself tightly in the blankets.

Both Alphas and Omegas exhibit nesting behavior during ruts and heats. Unfortunately, He Xinglou had only slept there for one night. The scent on the sheets was microscopic; no matter how deep Shi Qingze buried himself, he couldn’t satisfy the hunger in his heart.

He took the pajamas He Xinglou had neatly folded and clutched them to his chest with all his might.

“Brother,” Shi Qingze called out softly in the darkness, his tone filled with an unappeasable sense of grievance.

He wanted nothing more than to rush out the door right now, bring He Xinglou back, lock him up, and forbid him from ever leaving again.

He was the one who had abandoned him in the first place, so it was only logical to make it up to him now, right?

But whenever Shi Qingze looked into He Xinglou’s eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to say a single harsh word.

“Brother.”

Shi Qingze curled up, burying his face in the pajamas, letting the pain of the rut flay him alive.

…

Meanwhile, on the other side, He Xinglou was pressing his forehead against the table of a dessert shop with a look of despair.

“You let Shi Qingze help you apply a suppressor patch???” Song Xiao looked like he was dreaming.

Lin Shuyan had already forced a confession out of Song Xiao regarding everything that happened yesterday.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and commented with a poisonous tone: “It’s practically as if you’ve become a married couple.”

“Don’t even mention it. Blame the settings of this world; I didn’t expect an Omega’s heat to be so uncontrollable,” He Xinglou lamented.

He didn’t even dare to admit that while Shi Qingze was helping him with the patch, he had actually felt a hint of… disappointment.

A hint! Of disappointment!

What on earth was he disappointed about?! Under the control of the heat, could he actually have been looking forward to some other development with Shi Qingze?!

His two friends were long used to his wild way of speaking and retorted: “This setting has existed since the beginning of the Interstellar Era. Why don’t you go back and flip through a history book and blame the space race of the ancient era?”

He Xinglou sucked on his juice sulkily and remained silent.

Song Xiao said with frustration: “You should have contacted me directly! I wasn’t even asleep at 3:00 AM; I was playing games with Xiao Nian all night! If you’d called me, I definitely would have picked you up!”

Lin Shuyan waved his hand to interrupt him, then looked at He Xinglou seriously: “From what you guys told me, Shi Qingze doesn’t seem to hold a grudge against you. Why don’t you just marry him?”

“How could that work?!” He Xinglou slammed his juice down. “I already did him wrong in the past. He was a minor back then; how can I make demands of him now?”

The two friends spoke in unison: “Quiet! Do you want people to misunderstand and send you to jail?!”

He Xinglou: “…”

Lin Shuyan sighed again: “But this can’t go on. You dodged one search, but can you guarantee you’ll dodge the next? If you hadn’t run into Shi Qingze last night, we might never have seen you again.”

He Xinglou was also quite shaken: “I’m trying to find a way, but marriage is something where you have to find someone reliable. I don’t want to commit marriage fraud just for a residency permit.”

“Then what else can be done? You can’t just wait for someone to fall from the sky and marry you!” Song Xiao said urgently.

“The search officers didn’t find you yesterday, so they will definitely keep investigating! How much longer can you hide?”

He Xinglou was at a loss for words.

He had told Shi Qingze he was going to work, but the search officers had already found his information. Now he didn’t even dare go to work. He was truly… at a dead end.

What else could be done? Maybe he should just turn himself in to stop living in fear every day.

Except… his two friends would definitely not allow it.

Just as He Xinglou was struggling, his communicator suddenly vibrated.

Lin Shuyan noticed the movement keenly: “Is it Shi Qingze?”

He Xinglou looked at the interface, his expression turning strange.

“No, it’s that blind date partner you introduced to me.”

Lin Shuyan looked embarrassed: “The Omega one?”

He Xinglou nodded and simply showed the interface to the both of them.

[Mr. He, I still want to try after all. I’m not trying to harass you, it’s just that my family is pushing me extremely hard. How about… we have a marriage of convenience?]

He Xinglou started to laugh, looking at his stunned friend in front of him: “See? Didn’t someone just fall from the sky?”