Is Chapter 23 really that innocent?

The perfume she was wearing at that moment became a clumsy cover-up.

How do you explain this?

Lin Yao was tongue-tied. He had laid out the evidence himself, but he just hung his head and silently wiped it with a napkin.

Xie Yunhuai told the waiter to leave first, then glanced at the person opposite him: "Did you bite him?"

Xie Xingchen immediately denied it, saying, "Of course not, I was flirting with the Omega I have a crush on. Did Lin Yao go to see an Omega too?"

Lin Yao hummed in agreement, his ears turning bright red from lying: "What a coincidence."

"You're an Omega too?" Jiang Qiran said regretfully. "I like you so much, why don't you consider me?"

Upon hearing this, the Xie brothers raised their heads in unison and spoke at the same time.

Xie Yunhuai: "You like Lin Yao again? Wasn't he my brother just last week?"

Xie Xingchen: "Are you really interested in him, or are you just pretending?"

Jiang Qiran said innocently, "Yeah, is that not allowed? I've always been a womanizer. Besides, with Lin Yao's face, it's not surprising that I'd fall for him. Why are you two making such a fuss?"

Xie Yunhuai: "...Infatuated with a girl."

Xie Xingchen: "...Awesome."

The former mocked, the latter remained silent.

Lin Yao hung his head and said dryly, "Thank you for liking it."

Very polite.

After saying that, he wiped his face and deflected, saying, "But I don't have anything to like about me. I have a bad personality, I'm prickly, I don't know anything about romance, and besides, I mess around with Omegas... mess around with them."

They even added new, fabricated charges to the list.

Xie Xingchen thought to himself that this was too lovable, too cute without realizing it, he just wanted to kiss him to death.

Jiang Qiran blinked her bright, almond-shaped eyes and pressed, "So you really messed around with an Omega today? How did it happen? Where did it happen? Were you good at it?"

With Xie Xingchen.

In the car.

They bite each other.

The technical skills are average.

It even made the person bleed.

Can I say that? Of course not.

Lin Yao's face turned bright red in an instant.

Xie Xingchen leaned back in his seat and said, "Don't make things difficult for him. I can tell you the story of how I messed around with my Omega and caused my brother to be warned by the traffic police."

Originally, Xie Yunhuai only wanted to change the subject, but Xie Yunhuai said calmly, "Go ahead and tell me, I'm interested in listening."

Lin Yao: ".........."

The almanac says it's not a good day to go out; you'll use up all your embarrassing moments of the year by going out today, and you'll be reborn as soon as you leave.

Xie Xingchen picked and chose, his words a mix of truth and falsehood: "My illness flared up, and it wasn't appropriate to do anything too much in the car, so I just comforted him a little. Since I couldn't do anything and it was too unbearable, I let him bite me to satisfy my craving, that's all."

Lin Yao narrowed his eyes.

Satisfying your craving?

He just claimed he would give himself a chance to get revenge.

That scoundrel, he's definitely up to no good.

Jiang Qiran stuffed a piece of watermelon into his mouth: "Wow, that's exciting!"

"It's good that you found an Omega who can handle you." Xie Yunhuai didn't ask who it was, but said, "But your self-control is getting better and better, being able to stop when things are about to escalate."

Xie Xingchen said lazily, "It's rare to hear you say something sensible."

Xie Yunhuai slowly finished the soup in front of him before saying in a low voice, "After all, I'm your brother. I've seen you when you have an attack of your illness, and it really hurts me."

Lin Yao blinked slowly.

For this cold-faced man to utter the word "heartache," the situation must have been truly dire.

However, Xie Xingchen has been very restrained these past few days, and even when he says that his illness is about to flare up, he does so with great ease.

Lin Yao rarely asked such a question: "His illness sounds like Omega pheromones are very effective, so why didn't we find a suitable match for him to soothe it before?"

Xie Yunhuai asked, somewhat abruptly, "Can you tell me?"

Xie Xingchen shrugged slightly: "Go ahead and say it, we're on the same side."

"I've tried it. A weak Omega will be forced into an endless sensitive period by him and simply can't withstand it."

Xie Yunhuai explained, "Purely comforting him is just a temporary fix. He will demand more because of the Omega's approach, and if he doesn't release his pent-up desires, he can only control himself through self-harm."

Self-abuse.

He never mentioned that.

Xie Xingchen is a liar.

Therefore, when he releases his pheromones, it puts him into an even more unbearable torment, or rather, he has become so pathological that he has begun to enjoy this kind of physiological self-torture.

It's a bit pitiful.

He actually felt pity for Xie Xingchen.

There were still people on the other end of the line. He kept his head down and sent a message to someone he had just removed from his blacklist.

【01】: Even if we have a high match, just a temporary tag won't make you feel good, right?

Xie Xingchen's phone vibrated on the table.

He looked at the pop-up message, then glanced at the person sitting next to him. It felt strange and pleasant that someone he had blocked for three years had taken the initiative to send a message, especially since they were sitting together.

He slid his fingers away, without denying it.

[xxc]: I'm not really sure, I just wanted to help you.

【xxc】: Temporary marking will make you feel better, won't it?

Lin Yao remained silent.

The guilt that had just begun to surface in my heart grew even stronger.

He had a clear conscience, as the agreement was for mutual exchange.

Now I've become someone who unilaterally takes advantage of others, and I'm so ungrateful that I've bitten their necks, leaving me with a huge debt of gratitude without even realizing it. I look like a heartless ingrate!

It was better when we were at odds and had no common ground.

They can beat someone up or curse someone out without any psychological burden.

Lin Yao looked at his reply and felt a little annoyed.

【01】：How can I make you more comfortable?

【01】: I don't like owing favors. Let me find a chance to repay them.

The sensation of something vibrating as it's sent creates a sense of hidden tension.

He turned off the screen and saw the two people sitting opposite him looking at him with probing eyes once again.

Jiang Qiran rested his chin on his hand: "You and your Omega have such a good relationship. You're even texting sweetly while you're eating."

"No, it's not that good either." Lin Yao mumbled incoherently, clutching his phone. "We might break up tomorrow."

Xie Xingchen commented on him: "You're a scumbag."

Lin Yao managed to steer the conversation back to the beginning, warning Jiang Qiran: "Yes, I'm a scumbag, so you absolutely mustn't like me."

Xie Xingchen couldn't stop laughing.

Lin Yao glanced at the person next to him out of the corner of his eye. The person was casually playing with his phone in his large hand. He had clearly read the message, but he wasn't replying. How annoying.

What's the meaning.

Do you want people to feel so guilty that they can't sleep at night and end up slapping themselves in the face?

He unusually took the initiative to send the other party several messages in a row.

【01】: Don't pretend you didn't see it

【01】：I know you saw it, reply.

Just as Lin Yao finished sending the message, he saw Xie Xingchen's fingers flying across the keyboard, typing nimbly.

This time, they replied instantly.

My phone vibrated several times in a row, and replies popped up one by one.

As for the content, I really want to call him a slut again.

【xxc】: Okay, then I'll reply to you seriously. My illness is very troublesome; besides coming directly...

[xxc]: Of course there are other ways.

Lin Yao watched as he saw the list of options pop up one by one, and he wondered how many times Hong Wen had appeared today.

Damn it, you beast.

Feet too?

That's insane! How does he know so many weird and wonderful tricks?

Never mind, let him suffer to death from that disease on his own.

【xxc】: French kissing, embracing kissing, kissing can also relieve tension.

【xxc】: Or, how about holding hands? Want to give it a try?

[xxc]: If you can't even do this, then don't bother saying you're helping me.

Lin Yao's eyes widened when he saw the last message.

Holding hands, how come it's suddenly so innocent?

He thought of Xie Xingchen's temporary markings, the suppressants he always carried, and the silenced gun at Langzhuang...

Regardless of his motives, he had indeed helped him many times by sheer coincidence.

Disliking him and repaying a favor are not contradictory, Lin Yao thought.

【01】: Okay, next time you're not feeling well, let's try holding hands.

It's just skin contact, nothing to worry about.

He sent his reply like this.

When he came to his senses, he found the person next to him watching him, still in a lazy posture, with a meaningful and amused look in their eyes.

Lin Yao began to regret it.

He was definitely waiting to see us fail, and we actually fell for it. You really can't be too kind.

"Are you two hiding something? Something's not right," Jiang Qiran said, squinting his eyes inquiringly.

Lin Yao sat up straight and said seriously, "No, you've mistaken me for someone else."

As he spoke, he felt the tablecloth move slightly, something brushed lightly against his little finger, and then a burning heat covered the back of his hand.

Cardiac arrest.

Lin Yao turned his head and looked at Xie Xingchen in a panic.

Now is not the time! Can't you consider the occasion?

As their eyes met, they felt his palm being turned over, and the other's slender fingers slowly interlocking.

"Nothing's wrong, I just suddenly feel better," Xie Xingchen said lazily, "so I'm very happy."

In the open, surrounded by a noisy crowd, an elegant tablecloth covered everything, and they sat shoulder to shoulder in the most secluded corner.

Their movements were awkward, their fingers intertwined.

Lin Yao's heart pounded like thunder.