CHAPTER 4

It was not just a literal bite, but the kind of bite that goes far deeper and lasts longer than this action. The scientific name is “temporary marking.”

While curling his toes in shame and burying his entire head in the pillow, Tong Che couldn’t help but reminisce about the dream. The dream was actually very short, so short that there was no cause and passage, only a result. Maybe it was because he came into contact with Mu Hanfeng at a banquet yesterday, but the background of Tong Che’s dream was a dinner party.

But what was different from reality was that in the dream, as soon as Mu Hanfeng entered the door of the banquet hall, he saw Tong Che, and after that, without saying a word, he tugged him by the wrist and went to the corner.

Tong Che also found it unbelievable in his dream and was about to ask Mu Hanfeng what he wanted to do, when he saw that his always cold iceberg face had a smile that was almost gentle, but at this moment, this smile smelled dangerous, and before Tong Che could react, he listened to Mu Hanfeng speak, as he said with bewitching eyes:

“Tongtong, you are so fragrant, I really want to bite you.”

Tong Che didn’t know whether he was confused by Mu Hanfeng in the dream, or whether he didn’t actually reject it in his heart, but in any case, when he reacted, his whole body was already clasped in Mu Hanfeng’s arms, and the neck collar used to suppress pheromones was also removed by Mu Hanfeng.

Then, after that, there was an unprecedented tingling pain at the back of his neck. Although Tong Che could not see, he could clearly feel something very sharp piercing his glands. It was Mu Hanfeng’s canine teeth.

The air was instantly filled with the smell of the sea and green coconut as if he was on a summer beach.

The sea must have been the smell of Mu Hanfeng’s pheromones; while Tong Che’s own pheromones, on the other hand, were green coconut.

It was light and sweet.

Omega’s physical instincts made the dreaming Tong Che have the urge to run, but he couldn’t run at all, and only when he had the intention of running, the hand that was wrapped around his waist tightened silently.

As if to pacify him, the Alpha behind him paused for a moment, after which Tong Che clearly felt his glands being gently licked by Mu Hanfeng. It was just a light and quick lick, followed by the canine teeth piercing his gland once more.

This time, however, Tong Che felt that the stinging sensation was getting weaker and weaker, replaced by a feeling he had never experienced before like floating on a cloud. His head was heavy, yet his body was so light that it felt like it could fly.

This feeling was unfamiliar, but it didn’t make him feel disgusted; on the contrary, it had a different kind of excitement that made Tong Che’s scalp tingle.

……

The alarm clock woke Tong Che up just as he was feeling euphoric. He couldn’t help but raise his hand and touch the back of his neck. At a certain moment, a strange thought came to Tong Che’s head. It was as if he thought he’d really feel the teeth marks on the back of his neck.

However, the truth was that the skin on the back of his neck was perfectly clean and the glands were intact. In fact, it wasn’t that Tong Che had strange thoughts; it was really because this dream felt so real. Whether it was Mu Hanfeng’s smile, Mu Hanfeng’s hug, the smell of Mu Hanfeng’s pheromones, or the feeling of being temporarily marked…

It all felt very real.

Tong Che was so engrossed in his dream that he didn’t even notice that the bedroom door had been opened. He couldn’t help but mutter to himself, “So it feels so good to be marked.”

“What’s so good?” Ruan Tang’s voice suddenly rang out, startling Tong Che.

Tong Che sat up sharply and looked at Ruan Tang standing by the bed, saying, “When did you… when did you come in?”

“Just now,” Ruan Tang looked at Tong Che strangely, “I even knocked on the door and said I was coming in, but I didn’t hear your answer, so I thought you were still sleeping.”

Although Ruan Tang was Tong Che’s assistant, she didn’t live with him. She only came to Tong Che’s house every morning to cook breakfast for him and take care of the daily chores.

Tong Che had a very busy schedule and would set his alarm clock for 7:30am when he had to catch up on his morning notices. But occasionally, he would just hit the alarm clock and fall back to bed because he was too sleepy.

He then made a deal with Ruan Tang that if she came in at seven forty and found out he wasn’t up yet, she could just come into the bedroom and wake him up.

“No,” Tong Che felt even more ashamed when he realized he had been so engrossed in his dream that he hadn’t noticed Ruan Tang walking in. With these words, Tong Che jumped out of bed and prepared to go into the bathroom to wash up.

Who knew that as soon as the bathroom door was opened, Ruan Tang asked from the back, “Brother Che, what were you talking about?”

Tong Che slipped on his feet and almost fell on the floor, but fortunately, he reacted quickly and held onto the wall in time, saying, “Nothing. I said that it would be great if I could sleep and wake up naturally.”

This was a very reasonable and realistic statement, and Ruan Tang believed it. She did not forget to admonish him, “Be careful, Brother Che. Look how sleepy you are. You were about to fall down.”

Tong Che nodded vaguely and hurriedly went into the bathroom before closing the door. After being stirred up by Ruan Tang, the ambiguous emotions brought on by the dream earlier were dispersed. He even had the time to sigh that the dream was indeed a dream. He was clearly not in heat at all in the dream, but he could still be marked by Mu Hanfeng without any problem. In practical terms, it is usually when an Omega is in heat that he can be marked by an Alpha, otherwise, it would be very painful and uncomfortable.

However, when it comes to the issue of heat: Tong Che habitually counted the date of his last suppressant hit as he brushed his teeth. He would be in heat every day, but he didn’t need to take the suppressant every day. The suppressant he is using now is the enhanced version that Solace introduced last year. Previously, with ordinary suppressants, one-shot lasted for three days, but with the one Tong Che is using now, one shot lasts for a week.

The last time he took the suppressant was on the 5th of November, and today, the 11th, was exactly the seventh day.

On the seventh day, the suppressant would still be working and would not expire until the morning of the eighth day. But he wanted to be on the safe side. By the seventh day, his body would have already begun to show some of the symptoms of estrus, such as excessive sweating, hotness, tightness in the chest, and even difficulty in breathing, though not very obvious.

Therefore, normally, Tong Che would not wait until the morning of the eighth day to make up for the suppressant but would give himself another shot on the seventh day.

After brushing his teeth, Tong Che set up his electric toothbrush on the sink, remembering that he would have to take the suppressant after washing up later while looking down and turning on the tap to wash his face. But the moment he lowered his head, he suddenly paused. It was the seventh day, but he didn’t have any symptoms at all!

Tong Che turned off the tap, slowly straightened up, and turned his back to look in the mirror behind him in an awkward position. But once again, it turned out that there was really nothing unusual about the back of his neck.

He couldn’t resist bouncing three times on the spot, but found that he still didn’t feel any discomfort and even had more energy and strength than yesterday as if he had just taken an anti-depressant!

This realization surprised and puzzled Tong Che at the same time.

“Brother Che-” Ruan Tang’s trailing voice from outside the door inquired, “Did you sleep in the bathroom?”

“Come out quickly, my breakfast is about to be ready—”

Tong Che returned to his senses and replied, “I’ll be right there,” and walked out after he had hurriedly washed his face. He picked up a slice of whole wheat bread and took a bite, but his mind was still spinning about his estrus.

Probably because he was so absorbed in his thoughts, Ruan Tang could see it and casually asked him, “Brother Che, what are you meditating on early in the morning?”

Tong Che subconsciously said, “Hmm?” He originally didn’t want to say anything, but then he thought that Ruan Tang was also an Omega, so he tried to speak up, “Nothing. I was just wondering if there were any other means to suppress our estrus period besides suppressants.”

“Other means?” Ruan Tang didn’t eat a sandwich today: instead, she ate thick toast coated with strawberry jam. She had something in her mouth and her speech was a bit slurred, “Yes, there is one. You must know about it, Brother Che.”

Tong Che hurriedly asked, “What is it?”

At this point, Tong Che hadn’t thought at all about what Ruan Tang was talking about. He really thought there was some way he didn’t know and maybe he had used it by mistake in the past two days to keep himself from having estrus. Ruan Tang swallowed the contents of her mouth and took another large sip of hot chocolate before saying, “It’s just a temporary marking, ah.”

Tong Che: “… ”

Tong Che couldn’t say anything.

Tong Che: “…”

His mind went blank for a second.

Temporary marking.

Those two words, so ordinary in physiology class, suddenly felt like they had weight now. Heavy enough to press straight into the back of his neck where nothing actually existed.

He lowered his gaze slightly, staring at his own fingers as if they belonged to someone else.

“That’s impossible…” he muttered under his breath, more like convincing himself than responding to anyone.

But the problem was—he had no other explanation.

Ruan Tang tilted her head, still chewing, completely unaware of the storm forming inside him. “What’s impossible?”

“Nothing.” Tong Che’s voice snapped back a little too quickly. He reached for his soy milk and drank it in one go. “I just… remembered something wrong.”

Ruan Tang blinked. “Oh.”

She accepted it immediately and went back to her breakfast.

But Tong Che didn’t.

Because now that the word had been said, his thoughts refused to calm down.

Temporary marking.

Alpha pheromones temporarily suppressing an Omega’s heat response.

And the “Alpha” in that dream…

Mu Hanfeng.

His grip tightened slightly around the cup.

Crazy.

It was just a dream.

It had to be.

—

After breakfast, the topic was forcibly dropped when Ruan Tang started rushing him for his schedule. But even during the makeup session, Tong Che kept zoning out.

The makeup artist lightly tapped his cheek. “Brother Che, don’t move.”

“Sorry.” He immediately apologized and sat still again.

The word came out too naturally.

So naturally that the stylist laughed. “You always apologize so seriously. You’re not in school anymore, you know.”

Tong Che gave a small smile, but didn’t answer.

Not in school anymore.

That didn’t mean anything had changed.

—

The chocolate commercial shoot was set in a bright studio. Warm lighting, sweet props, soft background music—everything designed to look effortless.

Tong Che performed on cue perfectly.

Smiling, biting chocolate, lowering his eyes at the right moment.

The director clapped once. “Good, keep that expression. That’s the one.”

“Okay.”

He repeated it again.

And again.

But between takes, his thoughts kept drifting back.

No heat symptoms.

Seventh day.

Normal Omega physiology shouldn’t be like this.

Unless—

His hand paused mid-motion.

Unless something really had interfered with it.

“Cut!” the director called. “Brother Che, your focus is off.”

“Sorry.” He immediately recovered.

But his eyes had already darkened slightly.

—

By the time the shoot ended, it was already afternoon.

In the car, Ruan Tang was scrolling on her phone while eating snacks. “Brother Lou said your schedule is changing again.”

“Hm.” Tong Che leaned against the window.

“He said it’s a cohabitation variety show.” She paused, then looked up suddenly. “Wait—Brother Che, do you know what that means?”

“I know.” He replied quietly.

But his tone wasn’t as calm as usual.

Cohabitation shows were simple in concept.

Living together.

Filming daily life.

Close contact.

Unscripted interactions.

And in his industry—

That often meant trouble.

Ruan Tang suddenly sat up straighter. “It’s not the normal kind, right? The rumor ones?”

“I don’t know yet.”

But even as he said that, his phone vibrated.

Caller ID: Lou Gui.

Tong Che answered.

“Brother Lou.”

On the other end, Lou Gui’s voice was unusually serious. “Xiao Che, I was going to wait until you finished the shoot, but this needs to be confirmed early.”

“What is it?”

A short pause.

Then—

“This cohabitation show has one confirmed fixed guest.”

Tong Che didn’t speak.

Something in his chest tightened slightly for no reason.

Lou Gui continued, “Mu Hanfeng.”

The car was still moving.

But for a second, the sound outside seemed to disappear.

Even Ruan Tang, sitting beside him, noticed the change in his expression and stopped eating.

“…Who?” she mouthed silently.

Tong Che didn’t answer her.