Zhao Yesi only glanced at Lu Huangzhi before returning his attention to the game. After defeating a small boss, he realized Lu Huangzhi was still standing at the door, clutching a bunch of things, including his favorite Zhizhi Taotao. Zhao Yesi thought of the workers who had to feed piglets after a long day at work, except that most workers weren't as handsome as him.
Zhao Yesi's movements of picking up potato chips became 0.5 times faster, and he said, "Didn't I ask you before?"
Lu Huangzhi looked at Zhao Yesi's face wrapped in the hat.
"You said I could play games and eat snacks at your house," Zhao Yesi said, sizing up Lu Huangzhi's expression. "Is there any need to be so surprised now? Damn, you're not going to sue me for trespassing, are you?"
Lu Huangzhi finally responded, lowered his eyes and changed into his indoor slippers: "I was just thinking about something."
"Hmm? What are you thinking about?"
Lu Huangzhi walked over to Zhao Yesi, squatted down, and touched Zhao Yesi's head through his furry hat. "I wonder why Senior is so...macho."
Zhao Yexi was so distracted by the word "macho" that he forgot to rebuke Lu Huangzhi for touching his head. "I've become a macho man?" He pinched his arm and said happily, "I seem to have grown some muscles."
Lu Huangzhi chuckled, took the game controller from Zhao Yesi, and handed Zhizhi Taotao over. "Eat more, and when you grow a little bigger, I won't feel so guilty when I bite you."
"You still feel guilty about biting my neck?"
"Yeah." Actually, biting his neck wasn't a big deal, it was mainly because of his body's reaction. Getting horny in the face of a high school student always made him feel like an animal.
"Then forget it," Zhao Yesi said coldly, "I think I'll still be like this in ten years."
He inherited his baby face from his mother. Although his mother is almost fifty years old, if you ignore the wrinkles, her face is still the same as when she was young.
Lu Huangzhi raised his eyebrows and said, "Then I will try my best to see if I can overcome this psychological barrier."
"That's not necessary. Once the inhibitor is developed, no one will need you to bite me." Zhao Yesi opened the bottle and took a big sip of the milk cap.
After eating too many snacks in the afternoon and drinking Zhizhi Taotao, Zhao Yesi took two bites of rice and put down his chopsticks. He packed up his snacks and said, "I'm going home."
Lu Huangzhi said: "Do you want to take a bite before going back?"
"You're still addicted to biting, aren't you?"
Lu Huangzhi smiled and said, "I was afraid that you wouldn't be able to sleep tonight and would come knocking on my door."
Thinking of his shameful behavior of asking for a bite last night, Zhao Yesi's face flushed, "My susceptible period is over!"
"Well, let's go to the lab to check it out tomorrow."
Zhao Yesi picked up the remaining cup of Zhizhi Taotao and replied perfunctorily, "I understand."
Lu Huangzhi asked: "What are you doing with my milk tea?"
"You milk tea?"
"I bought two."
"I thought both cups were mine." Zhao Yesi said in confusion, "Don't you dislike sweet drinks?"
Lu Huangzhi smiled and said, "I like it now."
"Oh." Zhao Yesi put Zhizhi Taotao back, hesitated for a while, turned around and said, "Thank you for these two days." He woke her up from the bed in the middle of the night and bit her, and today she brought him food and a cup of Zhizhi Taotao. Although these were all small things, they were still worth a "thank you".
Zhao Yesi had his back to Lu Huangzhi. Lu Huangzhi could not see his expression, but could only see the black and white cow-like pattern on his back.
Lu Huangzhi wanted to laugh. But Zhao Yesi had finally made up his mind to thank him, and if he didn't act serious, Zhao Yesi would definitely get angry. "You're welcome, it's my duty," he said. "Serving the people?"
Zhao Yexi sneered, "You're such a smart student. By the way, I bought you something and put it on your computer desk. Just think of it as a birthday present."
Zhao Yesi hadn't originally planned to give Lu Huangzhi a gift. Giving him a birthday present wouldn't have been enough to justify the eighty-plus entries in his grudge book. But he had recently caused Lu Huangzhi to lose a pair of sneakers worth hundreds of thousands of yuan. Although Lu Huangzhi hadn't mentioned it to him, he didn't like owing anyone anything, so he bought him a small gift worth a few thousand yuan as compensation.
Something in Lu Huangzhi's chest thumped hard. He heard himself ask, "Did you buy this yourself?"
"Are you stupid? How could I go out during my susceptible period?" Zhao Yesi rubbed his ears. "I asked my friend to bring it for me, but I chose the gift... Well, that's it. Bye." After saying that, he left impatiently.
After walking out of Lu Huangzhi's apartment, the ubiquitous smell of grapefruit floating in the air suddenly disappeared, and Zhao Yesi was still a little uncomfortable.
How about buying some grapefruit-scented incense and putting it at home? He really likes the smell of it.
Lu Huangzhi found the gift left by Zhao Yexi - an exquisite royal blue velvet gift box, inside which was a pair of simple and elegant platinum men's earrings.
Lu Huangzhi sat on the gaming chair, tilting his head slightly, looking at the earrings in his hand, feeling his heartbeat that couldn't be slowed down. The corners of his lips curved as he whispered, "Fuck."
It seems like... I'm going to fail.
On the first day Zhao Yexi returned from vacation, Guan Chengji called him into his office.
"How is your health?" Guan Chengji asked.
Zhao Yexi was full of energy, and smiled with his fangs showing. "Thank you for your concern, Professor. I'm not sick, I'm just susceptible to the disease. Once the susceptible period is over, I'll be fine."
Guan Chengji nodded and said nothing more. As his senior disciple, Zhao Yesi could tell he was hesitating about something. He tentatively called out, "Professor?"
Guan Chengji asked, "How often does an Omega's susceptible period occur?"
"Normally it's 30 to 40 days."
Guan Chengji said in a businesslike tone, "Do you think you can accept a long-term business trip or assignment in your current situation?"
Four words immediately popped up in Zhao Yesi's mind - workplace discrimination.
He understood, of course, that Guan Chengji didn't mean that. His master was genuinely concerned for him. During their menstrual period, most women, unless experiencing excessive cramps, could remain at their posts without interruption. But before the advent of inhibitors, once the susceptible period arrived and pheromones went haywire, they had to stay at home or in the hospital. Going out would only cause trouble for others and society.
After learning that he had differentiated into an Omega, Zhao Yexi knew that he would definitely have to face this problem. That was why he urgently hoped that the Boonie Bears laboratory would quickly develop an inhibitor to benefit all Omegas and win a Nobel Prize.
Zhao Yesi said: "I think I can do it."
Guan Chengji was silent for a moment, then said, "Lu Huangzhi's 'Draft of ABO Responses to Colleges and Universities' has been approved. The institute plans to pilot it in a high school first, sending three people to the university to promote the draft."
Zhao Yexi thought for a moment. Most people in the department were currently working on projects. Only he, Lu Huangzhi, Bu Chunzhai, and Gong Juren hadn't been assigned to any external missions. From what Guan Chengji said, he was going to pick three of the four of them.
...Is there any need to choose? Lu Huangzhi is an Alpha, and he was the drafter of the draft, so he definitely has to go. Bu Chunzhai and Gong Juren are both undifferentiated Betas, without the trouble of a susceptible period. The only one who would be excluded is him, an Omega.
Zhao Yexi looked like he'd been screwed. Guan Chengji said, "I recognize your abilities. It's just that the high school we chose is quite remote, with limited medical resources. This assignment will take at least three months, so I have to consider your physical condition."
Zhao Yexi was unwilling to accept this. If he gave in the first time, he would have to do so countless times in the future. He couldn't accept this.
It suddenly occurred to him that Guan Chengji probably didn't know about the latest research at the Boonie Bears Laboratory.
Zhao Yesi asked, "Professor, will Lu Huangzhi go?"
Guan Chengji said: "If nothing unexpected happens, yes."
"If he goes, I can go too," Zhao Yexi said. "He can help me solve the problem of being susceptible to infection."
In the men's restroom of the office, Lu Huangzhi was washing his hands with his head down, and saw Gong Juren walk in from the mirror.
Gong Juren turned on the faucet next to Lu Huangzhi and said, "The new earrings look great."
Lu Huangzhi was too lazy to talk. He wasn't a talkative person to begin with. 90% of his conversations in the office were with the senior student across from him, and the remaining 10% were necessary work-related exchanges.
Gong Juren was used to Lu Huangzhi's aloofness. In his opinion, a male god should be like Lu Huangzhi, in order to arouse people's desire to conquer him.
"The list of people assigned abroad should be out by now," Gong Juren said. "I think we should add each other on WeChat."
Lu Huangzhi said: "Why."
Gong Juren smiled and said, "It makes communication easier."
Lu Huangzhi took out a piece of paper and wiped his hands. "If you have anything, talk to the work group."
"Then I'll form a small group?" Bu Chunzhai said, "Just the three of us."
Lu Huangzhi asked as usual: "When did you come in?"
Bu Chunzhai also replied as usual: "Gong Juren and I came in together."
Lu Huangzhi threw the crumpled paper into the trash can: "The list hasn't been officially released yet."
Bu Chunzhai said, "It should be the three of us. Xiao Zhao is an Omega after all, and long business trips are too tiring for him."
"He didn't say it was hard, so you don't have to work hard for him."
Gong Juren said: "I understand that you want to see him as a normal man. But in fact, he is no longer the same as other men."
"Really?" Lu Huangzhi said lightly, "I don't think so."
If he really had to go on a business trip with Gong Juren and Bu Chunzhai for three months, he might have to consider going home to inherit the family business.
When Lu Huangzhi returned to his workstation, Zhao Yesi had already come out of Guan Chengji's office. He probably knew what Guan Chengji and Zhao Yesi had said, and the unhappy look on the headmaster's face was exactly as he had imagined.
Lu Huangzhi tore a page from his notebook, drew two strokes on it, folded it and handed it to Zhao Yesi.
Zhao Yesi took it with disdain. He was in his twenties, how could he be childish? If he had anything to say, wouldn't it be better to just talk on WeChat?
However, there was not a single word on the paper, only two scribbled, chibi-style drawings. In one, a little person sat on another's lap; in the other, a little person lay on a sofa, his upper body overlapping another's.
Zhao Yexi sat up straight, crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it at Lu Huangzhi, typing away on the keyboard.
[Is he a tough guy? ??? ?]
[You're a tough guy: Why are you drawing pornographic pictures during work hours?!]
[He's a tough guy: Just draw it, why are you showing it to me?!]
[Huang: I just drew the scene of me marking you, and will hand it over to Xiong Chumo later. Do you think it's pornographic?]
[He's a tough guy: 0.0]
[It's a tough guy: Lu Huangzhi, can you please do something earthly? I really hate you, you know.]
【Huang: It’s better to bother me than to bother about other things. 】
Zhao Yesi was stunned for a moment, then looked at Lu Huangzhi. Lu Huangzhi was wearing glasses and looking at the computer with a cold expression. Most people would not be able to tell that he was slacking off.
Lu Huangzhi wore the earrings he gave her.
[It's a tough guy: What does it mean? ]
【Huang: It means, to make you happy.】
What a tough guy! (Old man looking at his phone on the subway.jpg)
[It's a tough guy: This is the first time I've seen such a way of making people happy.]
Honestly, did he really seem to be coaxed a little bit? Lu Huangzhi was right. He was much less annoying than workplace discrimination.
After work, Zhao Yexi and Lu Huangzhi went to the Boonie Bears lab together. Lu Huangzhi asked, "What did Professor Guan say about the assignment?"
Zhao Yesi said gloomily, "He said he needs to think about it again."
"You really want to go?"
"yes."
"I want you to go too," Lu Huangzhi said, "but you have to consider the practical issues."
Zhao Yesi blurted out: "Don't I have you?"
Lu Huangzhi smiled and said, "You don't have me, you have my pheromones."
"Yes, yes, with your pheromones, my susceptible period won't be a big problem."
Lu Huangzhi was rarely speechless. Normally, he was the one who choked Zhao Yesi to the point of being speechless, but this time, the situation was reversed.
"If I can't go this time, I probably won't be able to go anywhere in the future." Zhao Yesi looked out the window melancholy. "What if the inhibitor takes decades to develop? Then I'll have to sit in an office for the rest of my life."
Lu Huangzhi said: "I will mention this matter to Professor Liang tomorrow."
"Will it be useful to find Professor Liang?"
"There should be," Lu Huangzhi said, "Professor Guan will listen to him."
Zhao Yexi expressed serious doubts about this.
When the two arrived at the laboratory, Xiong Chumo was already waiting for them with a notebook.
"How have things been these past two days?"
Zhao Yesi said, "It's okay. Lu Huangzhi bit me twice, and it alleviated a lot of my symptoms. I felt like I had a bad cold for two days."
Xiong Chumo typed quickly and asked, "Where's Lu?"
Lu Huangzhi glanced at Zhao Yesi and said, "Same as usual."
Xiong Chumo nodded, and asked his assistant to take Zhao Yesi to the next room to test the data of various hormones.
After Zhao Yesi left, Lu Huangzhi asked, "If an Alpha marks an Omega, will it have an impact on their psychology and behavior?"
Xiong Chumo pushed up his glasses. "That's an interesting question. Did you sense anything?"
Lu Huangzhi thought for a moment and said, "I think Zhao Yesi is very cute."
A male researcher who wished to remain anonymous interjected, "Did you think he wasn't cute before you tagged him? To be honest, I thought he was cute the first time I saw him."
Lu Huangzhi raised his eyes and glanced at the male researcher, and said slowly: "I thought he was cute before, but these two days I think he is...especially cute. I hate sweet things, but I like the sweetness of his pheromones. I don't know if it's because of the side effects of [Marking], or because..." Lu Huangzhi paused and didn't continue.
Xiong Chumo pressed on, "Besides being cute, is there anything else?"
"I don't like him smelling like another Alpha. I want him to be covered in my pheromones." Lu Huangzhi said as rationally as possible, "I want to protect him, take care of him, and even... have him all to myself."
Xiong Chumo and the male researcher exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised. Xiong Chumo asked, "Student Lu, are you really against our student Zhao..."
Lu Huangzhi smiled and said, "Maybe."
He had always known that his feelings towards Zhao Yexi were different from his feelings towards others, but he had never really thought about the specifics. The last time He Yanzhao asked him if he liked Zhao Yexi's type, he'd replied that he wasn't really into it, but that he just thought the junior high school student was interesting, and that teasing him would brighten his mood. But now, Zhao Yexi brought him not only good moods, but also a few negative emotions—jealousy, worry, and a sudden, uncontrollable heartbeat that left him bewildered.
"But it shouldn't have been so exaggerated before." Lu Huangzhi said.
The male researcher said, "Your psychological changes aren't necessarily unrelated to [Marking]. Similar situations occur in many mammalian groups. Once a male leaves his scent on a female, he'll consider her his exclusive property and will chase away other males who attempt to approach him."
Xiong Chumo asked, "What about classmate Zhao? Does he have any special feelings for you?"
Lu Huangzhi thought about Zhao Yesi's behavior in the past two days and said, "He seems to be a little clingy. I don't know if it's my illusion." Rather than saying that Zhao Yesi is clingy to him, it's better to say that he is clingy to his pheromones.
Xiong Chumo said, "So, you want to know if your excessive concern for classmate Zhao is caused by the [Mark]?"
"Um."
Xiong Chumo snapped his fingers and said, "It's very simple. Just wait a week."
Next door, Zhao Yexi's test results had already been transferred to Xiong Chumo's computer. Pointing to one of the data points, Xiong Chumo said to Lu Huangzhi, "The [Mark] you gave Zhao is temporary. Look, this is the level of Alpha pheromones in Zhao's body. At a normal metabolic rate, Zhao will be able to completely metabolize the pheromones you left in his body in a week. If by then, you still want to protect him and monopolize him, then hurry up and pursue him."
The male researcher said sympathetically, "I think Mr. Zhao is a straight man who won't be easily enlightened. I wish you good luck."
Lu Huangzhi: “Hehe.”
"But you did remind me," Xiong Chumo said thoughtfully, "If everything is due to the effect of pheromones, then if an Alpha were to mark an Omega they don't know, or even dislike, would those protective and possessive desires still arise?"
The male researcher said, "To draw conclusions, we need more volunteers who, knowing the risks, would voluntarily cooperate with us in the control group experiment."
Lu Huangzhi's thoughts weren't on the same wavelength as the other two researchers. He was pondering a question. "You just said that biting through the gland is only a temporary mark. What about a permanent mark?"
"I suspect there is," Xiong Chumo said. "In addition to the glands on the back of the neck, Omegas actually have another place in their bodies that can apparently absorb and permanently retain the pheromones of Alphas. But I don't have any evidence to prove my suspicions, so I won't spoil the story for now."
The male researcher said, "If it's [Permanently Marked], the Omega will be inseparable from the Alpha's pheromones for the rest of their lives."
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