Dou Changxiao hadn’t yet informed Ning Zhu of his quarantine period during his window of susceptibility. The following day, Friday, while he was looking up information on his phone in the department, he saw a message from Ning Zhu.

【Ning Huochong:】 Come over to my place tonight 【Yay】

Dou Changxiao: “……”

He turned off the screen, tucked his phone under the reference book his mentor had given him, and went back to reading.

A few minutes later, he remembered he’d been using his phone to look something up, but he’d completely forgotten what it was.

Dou Changxiao: “.”

Although Ning Zhu hadn’t actually drafted a contract these past two days, he had laid out some detailed rules for Dou Changxiao that he was required to strictly follow during the transaction.

For example, he had to keep his phone on at all times; whenever he was called—even if it was for nothing—he had to arrive promptly. He could arrive early, but he absolutely could not be late.

He was also required to provide Ning Zhu with pheromones at least once a week, under the same conditions.

So, what did this message mean? Was Ning suddenly acting up for no reason, or did he want to be… marked?

Dou Changxiao felt a slight itch between his canine teeth.

He thought that his heat might really be approaching.

After finishing his internship shift that evening, Dou Changxiao drove to Ning Zhu’s place.

He rang the doorbell, but no one answered.

Figuring Ning Zhu hadn’t gotten off work yet, Dou Changxiao couldn’t be bothered to go back to his car. He stood waiting at the bottom of Ning Zhu’s building for over ten minutes before the other party finally showed up.

Old Zhao had driven Ning Zhu home. Spotting the Alpha standing right outside his boss’s door, he recognized him immediately. Once he did, he quickly fixed his gaze straight ahead, as if to demonstrate his professionalism in keeping his boss’s secrets under wraps.

This was the second time this had happened. No one in their right mind would believe there wasn’t even a hint of a romantic connection between that Alpha and Ning Zhu.

The car hadn’t even come to a complete stop when the rear window rolled down. Ning Zhu leaned out and smiled at Dou Changxiao.

Dou Changxiao watched his hair, tousled by the breeze under the streetlight, as he waited for him to get out.

Ning Zhu exchanged a few words with Old Zhao, then got out and closed the door. The car turned around and drove away.

He walked up to Dou Changxiao: “How long have you been waiting?”

“Not long.”

The two walked up the stairs. When they reached the door, Ning Zhu didn’t rush inside; instead, he bent down to fiddle with the fingerprint lock.

Dou Changxiao: “What are you doing?”

Ning Zhu raised his eyes to glance at Dou Changxiao’s skin, slightly reddened by the cold, and said, “I’m setting up access for you. Don’t wait outside like this anymore. Okay, place your hand on the scanner… Why are you staring so blankly?”

Seeing that Dou Changxiao hadn’t moved, he took the initiative to lift the other man’s right hand.

Ning Zhu’s body temperature was slightly higher than average, and the warmth of his palm was equally soothing. When his fingers touched the back of Dou Changxiao’s icy hand, the latter flinched slightly as if burned, then paused imperceptibly, allowing Ning Zhu to grasp his hand as his warm fingers deftly slipped between the gaps.

Ning Zhu, doing the work of two people, teased, “Did you freeze your brain off downstairs? It can’t have been that cold, can it?”

After the fingerprints were scanned, he had Dou Changxiao test whether the registration was successful.

Dou Changxiao successfully unlocked his front door. Hearing Ning Zhu say “All set” in a playful tone, he couldn’t help but glance sideways at him with a faint smile.

There was no one else in the house; Ning Zhu had sent Aunt Lin home early.

“Upstairs, to my room.” He turned on the light and casually instructed as he took off his coat and changed his shoes.

A gaze fell upon him from behind, lingering for a few seconds.

Ning Zhu noticed it and turned to look, but by then Dou Changxiao had already averted his eyes and was heading toward the solid-wood staircase leading to the second floor.

He finished getting himself ready, removing all his accessories—including his watch and the cumbersome necklace. Then he loosened his tie and followed him upstairs.

Dou Changxiao stood just inside the bedroom door, and Ning Zhu followed closely behind. He turned his face and scanned Ning Zhu from head to toe, noticing the other man’s bare neck. But this time, Dou Changxiao didn’t look away; he stared silently, taking him in.

The shirt, the tie, the collarbone—the stray strands of jet-black hair scattered across the back of her neck looked soft. If his nose brushed against them during the marking, it would probably feel itchy.

Ning Zhu scanned the overly spacious bedroom, furrowing her brow as if dissatisfied. “Let’s go to the bathroom.”

“……”

Dou Changxiao: “…What?”

Ning Zhu: “The bathroom. It’s a bit smaller. I want to smell your pheromones. I texted you yesterday, didn’t I? You’re supposed to provide this service to me at least once a week.”

“……” Having spent so much time with Ning Zhu, Dou Changxiao had grown quite accustomed to his emotional ups and downs; at this moment, he accepted it with unusual calm.

When dealing with someone named Ning, if you harbor even the slightest unwarranted expectation of this guy, the only one who ends up screwed is yourself!

Dou Changxiao adopted a businesslike demeanor as he walked into the bathroom, where a faint scent of toiletries lingered. It was the same scent he’d detected on Ning Zhu.

He cast aside all his jumbled emotions, decisively deactivated the wristband’s barrier, and opened the one-way passage without a trace of sentiment. The cramped space was instantly filled with a sweet, coconut-like fragrance.

The moment Ning Zhu caught that scent, his mind relaxed. It was an indescribable sensation.

Perhaps because their pheromones were so perfectly matched, his consciousness grew soft and limp within Dou Changxiao’s scent, slipping into a warm, comfortable place.

Normally, in such an overly comfortable environment, Ning Zhu would grow wary, but at this moment, the nerves in his body that were constantly on alert were being bathed in the Alpha’s pheromones, one by one becoming numb and shutting down. Realizing that the person bringing him this sensation was Dou Changxiao, he no longer forced himself to struggle out of that comfortable zone, instead letting his consciousness lazily sink deeper into it.

He thought, no wonder he’d fallen asleep in Dou Changxiao’s car last time.

The pheromones in the room were already thick enough, yet as Ning Zhu soaked in them, he still felt unsatisfied, craving more as if addicted. He tried making a request: “Can you turn it up a bit more?”

Dou Changxiao: “…What do you take me for, a showerhead?”

Ning Zhu imagined Dou Changxiao’s glands on the side of his neck spraying pheromones like a showerhead, and his head lolled against the wall as he burst out laughing.

“……” Dou Changxiao had a pretty good handle on his character by now; seeing Ning Zhu chuckling to himself, he knew exactly what the guy was thinking and clenched his jaw slightly.

Actually, to get a stronger scent, the space didn’t necessarily have to be cramped. The closer you got to the Alpha’s scent glands, the more intense the scent became. Ning Zhu moved a little closer to Dou Changxiao and, sure enough, the coconut scent on him grew even sweeter.

He wanted to get even closer, but as he hesitated, he thought of Dou Changxiao’s status… Ning Zhu thought to himself: Never mind getting close—even if I kissed him or did something else, this guy would have to put up with it.

He cast aside his hesitations, braced one hand against the sink, and leaned in without a care in the world, rubbing the tip of his nose against Dou Changxiao’s collar twice like a puppy.

He could clearly feel the other’s body stiffen.

“This much is fine, right?” Ning Zhu acted first and asked for permission afterward.

A moment passed.

“……Mm.”

Ning Zhu took advantage of the situation, lifting his head slightly to reach for Dou Changxiao’s scent glands with his nose.

His nose stopped just before it touched the skin on the side of the other’s neck—almost there, but not quite. It was measured, but not overly so.

Perhaps because he was so close to the gland, Ning Zhu suddenly felt that the pheromones the other person was releasing seemed to grow sweeter in an instant.

A faint, restrained sound escaped from the other’s throat—part hum, part soft gasp—brief and barely audible. But Ning Zhu was too close; he heard it nonetheless.

He hesitated, feeling he might have gone too far, and began to pull away.

But just then, Dou Changxiao spoke as if nothing were amiss: “…My sensitive period is coming up soon. I’ll be going to the quarantine facility then. Just letting you know in advance.”

“Quarantine? So you’re an SA after all.” Ning Zhu was distracted by the topic he’d brought up.

He’d heard that SAs were required to quarantine during their susceptibility period and was familiar with some of the details, so he asked, “When?”

“I’m not entirely sure.” Dou Changxiao only gave Ning Zhu a rough estimate. “It’ll be in about two weeks, though it could be longer or shorter. “The regulatory agency will sync my bracelet’s real-time data in advance. Eight hours before the window of susceptibility begins, my pheromone levels will gradually rise by about 20%, and that’s when they’ll come to notify me.”

Ning Zhu sighed, feeling a touch of envy.

His pheromones were often erratic, making it impossible to predict when he would go into heat.

Once, there was only a month between two heat cycles. That time, Ning Zhu hadn’t been carrying an inhibitor and nearly got into trouble. Since then, he’d kept an inhibitor in his car, his office, and anywhere else he spent time regularly.

The air was silent for a few seconds as both of them stopped speaking at the same time.

Ning Zhu could hear Dou Changxiao’s breathing—each inhale and exhale was unnaturally slow. Like a hunter hiding in the grass, holding his breath for fear of startling his prey.

He felt inexplicably unsettled by this comparison, and at the same time, the posture of leaning to one side for so long was starting to feel uncomfortable.

Just as he was about to step back a bit, someone suddenly placed a hand on Ning Zhu’s hip, providing an extra point of support to share the weight.

Just when he was getting sleepy, this kid handed him a pillow.

However, Ning Zhu lingered for only a few more seconds, silently praising Dou Changxiao’s professional competence, before standing up straight, content.

The scent of coconut had lulled him into drowsiness; he wanted to curl up with a thick, fluffy blanket and sleep—preferably one that smelled of coconut.

Ning Zhu considered switching all his toiletries and cleaning products at home to the same scent and asked casually, “When is the filing deadline?”

“In the next couple of days. It’ll take some time for approval after we submit the report.”

Ning Zhu lowered his eyes in thought.

His heat period should be coming up soon; it should coincide with Dou Changxiao’s fertile window. But he didn’t dare to gamble on it.

“During your quarantine, if I suddenly need you, you won’t be able to come, right?”

The answer should be no, but for some reason, Dou Changxiao couldn’t bring himself to answer when Ning Zhu asked it that way.

Ning Zhu fell silent as well.

Having the medication locked away out of sight made him feel utterly insecure.

“I’ll sign for you,” Ning Zhu decided without further ado. “You’ll stay with me during your sensitive period.”

Dou Changxiao: “……”

He said coolly, “You’re letting an Alpha spend their sensitive period at your place?”

Seeing the displeased look on his face, Ning Zhu smiled and said, “I’m giving you a comfortable place to stay, and you’re actually unhappy about it?”

He thought for a moment, then added, “I’ve heard that many SAs’ heat periods can be dangerous, but you probably aren’t one of them.”

Dou Changxiao: “……Why?”

Ning Zhu: “Just a guess. After all, your pheromones smell very docile.”

Dou Changxiao: “.”

He stared at Ning Zhu. “Are you sure you want to make a bet?”

“Hm?”

“A bet on whether I’m well-behaved or not.”

Ning Zhu froze for a moment, staring at Dou Changxiao’s youthful, handsome face. The other man also tilted his head slightly to look at him, his jet-black eyes seeming to churn with something even darker than his irises. It was somewhat unsettling.

Yet for some reason, even though he clearly sensed the danger, he couldn’t muster even the slightest bit of wariness toward the person standing before him.

He smiled, his tone still light, and said, “Then let’s bet.”