Out of Control Overnight: The Irritable Top Alpha Goes Mad Searching for His Wife - Chapter 8

Qingqing is so delicate, how will he find a partner later?

Shen Qing’s heart leapt into his throat. He hurriedly pulled his clothes on, and remembering his current condition, he quickly applied a scent-blocking patch. At that moment, the door was pushed open.

His trousers were only halfway up.

Shen Qing looked at the person entering with utter consternation. His long, thick eyelashes trembled violently. The bathroom was thick with steam, and his eyes were misted over with moisture. He froze for half a beat before frantically pulling up his pants.

“Lu Shijuan!” He sounded truly angry. “I am taking a bath. Could you not wait outside?”

After snapping at him, Shen Qing pursed his lips. His fingertips were still trembling uncontrollably. He had been a hair’s breadth away from being discovered.

Lu Shijuan did not say a word. His mind was filled with the fleeting image of pale, tender skin and the sight of his friend’s now-flushed ear tips. It was so cute, so beautiful, that he simply could not look away. He leaned lazily against the doorframe with his arms crossed. After a long silence, he spoke gloomily. “You are sick. I was afraid you would faint in the bathroom.”

Shen Qing’s breathing was unsteady. Not daring to meet the other man’s gaze, he could only say indignantly, “I did not faint. I answered you just now!”

Lu Shijuan stared at him wantonly. He even felt a sense of regret; if he had moved just a bit faster, he could have helped his friend get dressed. Come to think of it, he had never helped Shen Qing dress before. At this moment, he was entirely unaware that this strange regret had already strayed far beyond the bounds of normal friendship.

“I was just taking precautions. Otherwise, by the time I came in after you fainted, it would have been too late.”

Shen Qing loved him, but he had not loved him to the point of losing his mind. Regarding the lack of boundaries typical of straight men, he rubbed his temples with a headache and decided to move past the subject. “What did the doctor say? Is your checkup report out?”

However, while he wanted to avoid the topic, Lu Shijuan was relentless. He took a step forward, entering the bathroom shrouded in damp mist, and reached Shen Qing in a few strides. “Put the checkup aside. Xiao Qing, your hair is still dripping. I will help you dry it.”

Shen Qing was not short for a Beta, but at 179 cm, there was a full 12 cm difference between him and the 191 cm Lu Shijuan. Standing behind him now, Lu Shijuan could almost effortlessly lock him in his arms without leaving a single gap.

A scent-blocking patch could stop most pheromones, but Lu Shijuan’s pheromones were too overbearing. At such a close distance, Shen Qing could still smell that faint, lingering scent of wine. Right now, he truly needed Lu Shijuan’s pheromones, and even more so, the man himself. For a fleeting moment, Shen Qing wanted to sink into him, even if only for a minute.

But just as he relaxed his body, intending to lean against the other man, he suddenly noticed the image in the mirror. There was a mark on Lu Shijuan’s collarbone.

Shen Qing’s body stiffened. “Lu Shijuan, what happened to your neck?”

Lu Shijuan was wearing a black shirt with the top two buttons undone, revealing sharp collarbones and a glimpse of a firm chest. Hearing the question, he let out a displeased tsk, and his expression began to darken. “I was bitten.”

Shen Qing remembered it, of course, because he was the one who bit him. At the time, in his desperation to make the man calm down, he had put up a lot of resistance. But because he remembered it, he felt something was wrong. “That wound? It does not look like a bite.”

Lu Shijuan’s face grew even darker, and a terrifying, violent aura flared in his eyes. “After I was bitten by that dog, I scratched at it a few times myself.”

The thought of being marked by an unknown person made Lu Shijuan incredibly irritable. The white peach pheromones that were originally addictive had begun to make him feel loathing.

“Do you dislike it? If you dislike it, I will just cut this piece of flesh off.”

He spoke casually, but Shen Qing’s pupils shrank. “Lu Shijuan, are you crazy?”

Lu Shijuan was indeed crazy. He was afraid Shen Qing would despise him, so he constantly suppressed the violence in his bones. It had been agreed long ago that the two of them would be lifelong friends, yet he had ended up with someone else midway. Even if it was not voluntary, Lu Shijuan considered himself entirely at fault.

His emotions had been malfunctioning from the very beginning. A person with emotional malfunctions cannot distinguish between friendship and love; he simply felt that he had betrayed his friend and their years of companionship. To make amends and keep Shen Qing by his side, he would do anything.

“I am not crazy. I am just disgusted.” Lu Shijuan refused to admit his madness and suddenly said gently, “Xiao Qing, do not worry. Once I find that person…”

He mumbled the rest of the sentence, seemingly afraid of scaring the other man. Shen Qing did not hear it clearly either, but he did not dare to ask further. He was afraid that if he knew the truth, he would lose his composure.

Both men harbored their own secrets. Shen Qing’s slight pheromone dependency was gradually suppressed by the ruthless words Lu Shijuan had uttered. Soon, the only sound left in the bathroom was the whirring of the hair dryer.

“Xiao Qing, is it cold? I will have someone turn up the heat.”

Shen Qing was wearing a black high-collared wool sweater of the same brand as Lu Shijuan’s black shirt. Standing together, they looked so harmonious that Shen Qing could not help but curl his lips slightly. Still, he was more worried about the other man’s health.

Black is slimming, and now Shen Qing looked even thinner and more fragile. Lu Shijuan frowned and could not resist gesturing at Shen Qing’s waist. “I could snap this with one hand. Have you been eating properly lately? Shen Qing?”

Shen Qing was dazed until his name was called. He snapped back to reality. “What?”

Lu Shijuan’s frown deepened. “At the office, I will watch you eat. When you go home, do you eat dinner properly? Answer me.”

Lately, Shen Qing truly had not been eating dinner properly. In the month before his differentiation, he had no appetite. He only managed breakfast and lunch because Lu Shijuan was watching him, and sometimes he would even sneakily throw the food away when the other man was not looking. He had not noticed the change in his weight, but looking at himself in the mirror now, he had indeed lost a few pounds.

“You are daydreaming while I am talking to you. Xiao Qing, what are you thinking about? Forget it, I will not settle the score for the past right now. From today on, I will watch you eat all three meals.” After saying this, he added sternly with a cold face, “You will eat exactly as much as I prepare for you!”

Shen Qing pursed his lips and gave a small nod. His response clearly did not satisfy Lu Shijuan.

His hair was mostly dry now. Lu Shijuan put down the hair dryer and reached out to pinch Shen Qing’s cheek. “Do not just give me lip service. Did you hear what I said clearly?”

The skin under his thumb was delicate. Lu Shijuan inexplicably thought back to the image that flashed when he opened the door earlier. The fair skin, steamed by the hot water, had been tinged with a light pink. He had been itching to touch it then, but Shen Qing had moved too fast. Fortunately, he was very good at securing benefits for himself, and now, he had finally touched it.

The sensation at his fingertips made him reluctant to let go, but as a red mark appeared on the cheek he was pinching, Lu Shijuan paused. After a long moment, he teased with a smile.

“Xiao Qing, why are you so delicate? You get a mark from just a casual touch. Being this delicate, you are not suited to find a partner.”