Chen Nian put down the final stroke. He spent a few seconds carefully examining it, unhiding other layers, and then starting the layout.

So he arranged five different poses on the rectangular canvas, and he marked today's date next to the outstretched arms of one of the people. The sketching training was completed.

All kinds of strange human postures appear on the same canvas, and only the simplest lines are needed to outline a vivid body shape.

The human figures either stretched their bodies or curled up, showing the lines and shapes of their muscles.

Gui Zhiqi draws faster than him. After all, she is an architecture student who has studied painting seriously for many years. After completing the sketch, she starts drawing various hands.

Of course, picture reference is important, but when you become proficient to a certain level, various shapes will automatically appear in your mind, just like Gui Zhiqi can draw many hand shapes without even looking at her own hands.

The two have different painting styles, so it is difficult to say who is better. However, if you look closely, you can still tell that Gui Zhiqi's basic skills are more solid.

After all, Chen Nian had only studied systematically for more than a month, and to have reached such a level was already an amazing talent that made Gui Zhiqi cry out in jealousy.

Chen Nian let out a gentle breath, and a faint scent of tuberose spread out, a fragrance that even the anti-bite collar around her neck could not stop.

Gui Zhiqi looked at Chen Nian and saw that the boy's cheeks were a little red. She asked in a low voice: "Are you a little bit craving for that?"

"Maybe." Chen Nian responded lazily.

They drew a lot of sexy poses today. If they added facial features and plots, they could post them directly to certain websites that require special permission to access. Maybe they could even make a living from this in the future.

He couldn't help but ask Gui Zhiqi: "Don't you feel anything when you draw these normally?"

"Sometimes, I do. After all, art is pure, and I am dirty." Gui Zhiqi answered honestly, "But it will get better over time. Until now, all I can think about is why I have to paint again today when I just painted yesterday! Why can't my software start to work and help me finish the painting?"

Chen Nian couldn't help but laugh: "It seems that I haven't cultivated to this level yet."

"With your rate of progress, it should be quick." Gui Zhiqi blinked, and suddenly seemed to remember something. She waved mysteriously, motioning Chen Nian to come over.

Gui Zhiqi opened a folder and clicked on the top file in the directory. The video started playing. A young man with only his upper body photographed was facing the camera, showing his beautiful body.

"These are all particularly good painting materials." Gui Zhiqi flipped through the pages and saw many men and women wearing various uniforms and posing in seductive poses. Just looking at them made one's blood boil.

Chen Nian realized, is this the happiness of a painter?

He looked heartbroken and tapped Gui Zhiqi's shoulder: "Okay, I didn't expect you to be like this, Qiqi. Where is your integrity? Where is your morality? Where is your world view? I order you to quickly send me a copy of these things as well."

"The map has been found." Gui Zhiqi happily sent the file to him. She carefully transferred it to the new terminal account. Didn't Chen Ci say that his terminal was still monitored by the White Tower? It would be bad if it was discovered.

It was getting late, so the two packed up their painting supplies and said goodbye at the door of the studio. A special royal attendant would take Gui Zhiqi home.

The desire lurking deep inside seemed to be even stronger. The videos and pictures sent by Gui Zhiqi aroused the lurking desire in Chen Nian's heart. He returned to the bedroom, raised his hand and touched his forehead, always feeling that he had a faint fever.

It seems like it’s time.

Chen Nian took an inhibitor, which was specially developed for Chen Ci's physique. It should be the most effective one so far, much better than the one he bought at a high price from the underground shop.

The transparent liquid was injected into his arm, and Chen Nian casually threw the empty reagent into the trash can. He moved his arm, waiting for the drug to take effect.

Every fever period is an unbearable torture for Omega. Chen Nian is okay. He knows how to use mushrooms and thinks it is pretty good. But I don’t know how his brother managed to get through it since he has always been resistant to using those things.

By the way, it seems that he also promised Shafley to go over and keep him company every night.

Thinking of this, Chen Nian put down the neural adapter he had just picked up and went to find Shafley next door to ask him how the puzzle was going.

He knocked gently on Shafley's door, and the smart butler opened it for him automatically. Chen Nian walked straight into the house without noticing a red light flashing next to the smart control screen at the door.

That was the indicator light of pheromone concentration. The Omega pheromones emanating from his body were detected sensitively by the sensor.

As soon as Chen Nian stepped into the bedroom, Alpha, who was leaning against the head of the bed holding a computer, raised his head.

“I am here.”

"Yeah." Chen Nian sat down on the edge of the bed without any hesitation. For many people, the bed is the most private area, but he had no idea how many times he had slept on Shafley's bed.

Shafley's nostrils twitched slightly, and he smelled the scent of tuberose, which was richer and hotter than ever before.

Chen Nian: "How is the decryption going?"

"Many players explored all the coordinates of 901 in the game, but found nothing. I unpacked it this afternoon and found a txt file with 901 in its name. I am now parsing the contents."

Shafley turned the computer towards Chen Nian, and Chen Nian felt dizzy as he looked at the mess of English numbers and symbols on the screen.

“Is there a hidden message here?”

"Yes, there are usually some cryptographic rules, or there are other keys that have not been found, so I am now looking for other clues on the forum while deciphering this document."

Chen Nian was confused and couldn't help but move closer, trying to find clues. He really didn't know how Shafley came up with these ideas.

The moment the boy approached, Shafulai subconsciously held his breath, then quickly resumed it. He clearly felt that Chen Nian's pheromones were different from before. The boy's ears turned slightly red, and his bright amber eyes were covered with an imperceptible layer of light water.

"Are you having a fever?" Shafley asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Yeah." This is not a secret that cannot be told. Everyone knows that Omegas have a specific fever period. The Omegas who have already bonded will stay with their Alphas to spend a few sweet days. As for those who have not bonded, they can only rely on inhibitors and endure it.

Shafley was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "Have you taken the suppressant?"

Chen Nian's gaze moved from the computer screen to Shaflay's face, and he easily noticed that Alpha's eyes were evasive.

"What answer do you want to hear from me?" Chen Nian lowered his voice, with the last syllable rising slightly, like a feather scratching his heart. "Whether I was beaten or not, does it make any difference? Don't I have to get through it all by myself?"

"Or... Your Highness can help me solve it?"

With those seductive words, Chen Nian approached inch by inch, and Shafulai could only lean back, but he was leaning against the head of the bed, where could he hide?

Finally he was forced to stop. There was only a few centimeters between the tips of their noses. If Chen Nian moved a little closer, he would be able to kiss her directly.

Shafulai knew that he should not dodge, but Chen Nian's blatant seduction made him feel afraid. The boy was in the prelude of a special period, and he didn't know if he had taken inhibitors. What if the kiss would lead to other more extreme situations?

Of course he wanted to spend a night with Chen Nian. That was a scene that appeared in his beautiful dreams many times. But now he was just one of the suitors. Even if he had an absolute advantage compared to others, it did not mean that he could do whatever he wanted.

Shafley's throat moved up and down, and was caught by Chen Nian. The boy raised his hand, lightly touched the Alpha's neck with his fingertips, and stroked the Adam's apple under the skin.

Chen Nian lowered his eyelashes, as if playing with something nonchalantly.

"Do you know what Gui Zhiqi and I drew today?" Chen Nian asked softly. He raised one of Shafley's hands and placed it in front of his eyes, examining it carefully.

It was a very beautiful hand, slender and strong, with distinct joints. There were thin threads at the base of the fingers from long-term use of weapons. Chen Nian had seen Shafuli shooting before. Alpha's hand holding the gun was very steady, and he hit the bull's eye in the distance one after another.

It can also type out complex, incomprehensible code, make that little game he's played several times, or put a peeled lollipop into his mouth.

It's like magic.

Chen Nian opened her lips and, under Shafley's slightly nervous gaze, put his two fingers into her mouth.

Shaflay's breathing stopped for a moment.

The moisture and warmth in the mouth are instantly transmitted to the cerebral cortex through the nerves. The soft tongue presses against the fingertips and slides gently to outline the curve of the fingertips.

Chen Nian lowered her eyelashes, as if savoring the Alpha's fingers.

Shafulai stared at Chen Nian in disbelief. The boy was kneeling on the bedding, his upper body leaning forward slightly. His shoulders and back were relaxed, which suddenly reminded him of last night.

When he sat on the metal chair and peeled off the candy wrapper, Chen Nian also used the same posture, opened his lips and waited for the sweetness to come in.

At that time, his brain was out of control, and he imagined what it would be like if it was something else in his mouth -

Chen Nian's teeth gently bit the base of Shafulai's finger, and the tip of his tongue felt a tiny scar somewhere. It was left when Shafulai bit his finger in front of him a week ago.

Drops of blood were squeezed out forcefully. Now the wound has healed, leaving only tiny uneven spots that were keenly detected.

Chen Nian raised his eyes only after they were all wet. He stared at Shafla, who was so nervous that he couldn't breathe. He stuck out two fingers and licked the corner of his lips with the tip of his tongue.

Every small gesture, every touching expression, is so tempting.

"I'm always bad at drawing hands." Chen Nian said slowly, "Do you think I'll make progress if I practice again tomorrow?"

Schaffrey could not give him an answer.

He was already drowning in the rich Omega pheromones, which were apparently gentle floral scents, yet were filled with intense aggressiveness.

Chen Nian seemed amused by his reaction.

The boy stood up, picked up the computer that had slipped to the side without him noticing, and put it back on Shaflay's lap. "Okay, you continue to work. I won't disturb you. I'm really feeling a little uncomfortable. I'll go back and take care of it first."

Chen Nian stretched lazily, and the hem of his shirt was pulled up, revealing a small section of his fair and smooth skin.

Then he disappeared from Shafulai's sight with brisk steps.

What does this “go back and deal with it” mean?

It seemed as if some parts of Shafla's brain had rusted and it began to become unable to turn around. He was struggling to think, but his mind was going further and further down the wrong path.

Chen Nian left, but the pheromone smell of tuberose in the room was still so strong.

Shafla was upset and wanted to open the window for some fresh air. Even though his leg was still injured, it couldn't stop him from doing so, because if the fragrance of the flowers didn't dissipate, something bad would happen to him.

Shaflay was about to stand up and glanced over, but suddenly stopped -

There was a small wet spot on his bed sheet.

Chen Nian closed the door of his bedroom. He leaned against the door, raised his head, and let out a long breath.

In the eyes of others, he was the one who had absolute initiative throughout the whole process, but only Chen Nian knew that he almost got himself into trouble just now.

Wasn't he using the most effective suppressant? Why does it look like it didn't do much?

Chen Nian unbuttoned his shirt and walked towards the bathroom with shaky steps. He had to take a quick shower and then spend the night with Little Mushroom.

The bathroom door was closed behind the boy, not noticing that the ventilation system had been secretly opened without permission.

The air in the two adjacent rooms began to exchange.

This is not the first time that the smart butler has done such a bad thing, and it is very familiar with the whole process.

It has discovered something very serious.

Even though the relationship between the two princes had quickly heated up and they had even done many shameful things, the princess still did not have any mark of His Highness Shaflay on her body.

The smart housekeeper's computer couldn't figure out the exact reason. They were clearly in love and had an engagement, so why didn't they mark the relationship? And there wasn't even a temporary mark. It was too much!

So it decided to make its own contribution to the early birth of the little prince.

Tonight is destined to be extra long.

When Caige'ou found out that Bengchaimailu was online, he was surprised. There was a time difference of several hours between them. It should be three o'clock in the morning for Lao Beng now.

It was the first time he saw the vice president stay up so late.

[Private Chat] Cai Geou: "What's wrong with you today? Are you unable to sleep because of cryptography research?"

Shafley gave a vague "hmm" in reply. He wasn't obsessed with studying the code to that extent, but it was true that he couldn't sleep.

The dose of inhibitors he had taken had exceeded the maximum limit, but he still couldn't control himself. He could only try to divert his attention by doing other things.

Shafley knew what was going on. When he realized that the pheromone concentration in the bedroom was abnormal, he went to check the ventilation system and of course discovered what the smart housekeeper had done.

He turned off the ventilator with veins popping out of his head and severely reprimanded the smart housekeeper again.

However, the desire that has been aroused cannot be easily extinguished.

Shafulai didn't know what Chen Nian was doing on the other side of the wall that made the smell so strong and the pheromones conveyed a clear sense of desire.

...Actually, it can’t be said that he didn’t know, he could definitely imagine it.

Only when you wear the NeuroAdapter can you temporarily disconnect from your body.

Shafley played all night without any retreat, and finally fell asleep in the morning when he was really sleepy.

Chen Nian stayed in his bedroom the whole day after that. According to the waiter who brought him meals, the princess didn't eat much.

Shafley was a little worried after all. After hesitating for a while, he made up his mind to send a message to Chen Nian.

【Are you okay? 】

It took a long time before I received a reply from the boy.

[Yes, that's great.]

Shafley stared at the words and pondered their meaning. Was Chen Nian speaking sarcastically, or was he genuinely expressing his joy?

【Why, are you worried? 】

The boy sent another message.

[Isn't this normal? Don't tell me you haven't seen this before. But if you want to accompany me... you can send me a voice message. I'm willing to listen to your voice.]

After reading the last sentence, Shafley's hands holding the terminal were shaking.

Ever since the game was given away, Chen Nian's teasing of him had become a habit, but this was the first time she had said it so bluntly.

Listen to his voice...?

Shafley knew that there were situations where the two parties could do it over the phone when they couldn't meet in person. He also saw some interesting dirty talk in the forum. Could it be that... could it be that it would come in handy now? !

No! No way! His relationship with Chen Nian hasn't reached that stage yet!

Shafulai clenched his fists tightly. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had never seen such a fight before. It was so blatant and so tempting.

Is Chen Nian like this when facing other people?

Just thinking about this possibility made Shaflai feel an irrepressible bitterness in his heart, even to the roots of his teeth.

In the end, he just sent a period.

Chen Ci holds the last wild flower in his hand. There is no need for exquisite packaging. Simply gathering these wildly growing flowers together is natural and beautiful enough.

He walked into the yard and saw Zhuomacuo cleaning the sheep pen. Chen Ci handed the flowers to Zhuomacuo.

"Is it for me?" Zhuomacuo was surprised. Chen Ci nodded. She took the flower and her brows were filled with joy.

"It's been a long time since anyone gave me flowers." Zhuomacuo put the flowers on the feed bucket in the sheep pen and smiled at Chen Ci, "Thank you."

Chen Ci rolled up his sleeves and cleaned up with Zhuomacuo. Miraculously, flower arranging and cooking were skills that Chen Ci had previously considered useless, but now they actually came in handy during the journey.

He taught Fu Tianhe to play the old piano in the ruins, sent matched wild flowers to Zhuomacuo, and cooked a meal for those who helped him when needed.

Many of the things he learned really came in handy and were no longer just "bride lessons" designed to please someone.

Chen Ci and Zhuomacuo packed up the sheepfold together. It was almost dark again. Zhuomacuo stood up, looked at the grassland in the distance, and asked, "Has Xiaofu not come back yet?"

Chen Ci: "Not yet, I'll bring him a meal later."

Fu Tianhe was doing maintenance at the watchtower. At the celebration party last night, he heard that the searchlight was a bit broken, so he volunteered.

Hearing that he could do mechanical repair, Zhang Zhiming was extremely happy. Now he didn't have to spend money to hire someone from outside to fix it.

Chen Ci went to the kitchen to pack up the lunch boxes and headed to the outpost, which was not too far from the direction where they had repelled the primitive creatures early in the morning.

Da Congming followed Chen Ci and provided him with protection.

When Chen Ci arrived, Fu Tianhe was doing maintenance. He had already repaired the broken searchlight and was checking other equipment at the outpost.

Facts have proved that Fu Tianhe is a very capable engineer. Seeing how skilled he is, Zhang Zhiming entrusted everything to him with confidence.

Seeing Chen Ci, Fu Tianhe stood up and asked, "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to bring you your meal." Chen Ci put the lunch box on the table beside him. Fu Tianhe's phone was covered in grease, so it was inconvenient for him to take it.

When he came to his senses, he found that Fu Tianhe seemed to be in a daze.

After a long time, Alpha sniffed. Chen Ci couldn't help but wonder, did he just... cry?

Why?

Fu Tianhe was deeply moved.

He had been working away from home for so long, but this was the first time someone came to bring him food.

For countless days, he would come back from the factory, cook some noodles and vegetables at home for a meal, and then go to the garbage dump to pick up parts and assemble them.

I've long been accustomed to being alone.

But when September came, everything was different.

Even though the two of them were displaced and lived in a strange place, he still felt at home.

Seeing the young man staring at him with a frown on his face, Fu Tianhe knew that Jiuyue probably didn't understand. After spending a few months together, he already knew Jiuyue very well.

Many times, things have to be explained clearly so that September can appreciate the emotions contained therein.

"I'm very touched. Thank you for bringing me food." Fu Tianhe looked around to make sure there was no one around. He took a step forward and kissed Chen Ci's lips. "I'll go eat after I finish what I'm doing."

Chen Ci nodded. He moved a small stool and sat next to him, watching Fu Tianhe work.

After Fu Tianhe replaced the badly worn parts, he went to wash his hands. He carefully washed away the stains between his fingers and finally sat down next to Chen Ci.

In fact, he had already finished his work. He just needed to say hello to Zhang Zhiming who was on duty and then go back to Zhuomacuo's home.

But Jiuyue has delivered the meal, why doesn’t he eat here?

Fu Tianhe opened the lunch box, and the two of them sat around the small table and ate the dinner that Chen Ci had brought them.

"By the way, I've studied this thing carefully." Fu Tianhe took out a blue water drop from his pocket and placed it on the table. Alpha poked it with his finger and said, "Hey, move a little, stop pretending to be dead."

Blue Water Drop: …………

It closed the baffle reluctantly, covering the camera.

Fu Tianhe: "This thing is very intelligent, a bit like a micro-butler, it has been collecting information and transmitting it to the host, but I don't know who it is contacting."

Chen Ci: "How far is this place from the blue alum?"

"About two or three hundred kilometers." Fu Tianhe answered, and suddenly realized something, "You mean, this thing works for Lanlu?"

Chen Ci nodded, raised his hand to flick the water droplets, and said, "Speak."

The blue water drop was trembling. It had no ability to speak at all!

"But why would Lan Lu want to monitor us?" Fu Tianhe couldn't figure it out. "Could it be that... the news of our encounter with the Sea King was known to Beacon?"

"That should be the case." Chen Ci couldn't tell Fu Tianhe clearly, otherwise his identity would be completely exposed. Now he was completely sure that the laser that hit Sheila was the work of Beacon. From the moment he left Cinnabar and boarded the cruise ship, he had been under the surveillance of Beacon.

No, maybe even earlier.

Standing on a beach in an abandoned suburb, he saw a mirage of collapsing moonlight in the sky from afar, and for the first time he felt like he was being watched.

The beacon had known of his escape, his travels, his adventures.

Chen Ci suddenly wanted to mess this thing up.

But he held back and began to think about the deeper meaning behind it.

From this perspective, his whereabouts should be safe and Beacon will not be at risk, after all, he has an important mission.

Now that he was allowed to leave, it meant... there were things more important than Ashes that needed him to accomplish.

What could it be?