After being moved to tears by the sworn enemy's pheromones - Chapter 28
Shen Jin had not dared to move or resist all along the way until they parted by the roadside. It was only then he diverted half his attention to notice Song Yizhi’s gloomy expression, clearly not in a good mood.
“What’s wrong, Yizhi?” He patted him gently. “If you feel uncomfortable after drinking, when we get back, you can brew some hot tea with orange peel. It should help with the hangover.”
Most omega had weaker alcohol tolerance, so Shen Jin had been keeping an eye on whether he was being pressured by those alpha to drink more. Fortunately, the others did not insist, and Song Yizhi had only had one or two cups, so there shouldn’t be any major issues.
Seeming a bit dizzy, Song Yizhi exerted effort to produce a vague smile. “Mm, I just need some fresh air.”
Shen Jin called for a car using map software and asked Song Yizhi, “Do you want to come back to the university town with us?”
He remembered what Gu Yu had said, so he addressed Song Yizhi with “you” and “us”.
Tao Yan answered for Song Yizhi, “No need, a few of us will take a walk first and then return. You should take Gu Yu back first; he’s drunk.”
“Okay, that works.” Shen Jin instructed him, “Later, make sure to send Yizhi home after a while, or text me the license plate number after he gets in the car.”
Tao Yan nodded, a gentle breeze brushing his serene face, tousling his soft hair.
He glanced deeply at Shen Jin, pulling something out of his pocket. “Oh right, take this.”
Shen Jin took it and found it was a large “watch” with a blue plastic gem embedded in it. “What’s this?”
Undoubtedly, it was another child’s toy.
“Jiang Lan said Gu Yu wanted to come with his boyfriend, so I brought it along to see if he would like it.” Tao Yan lazily smiled. “This is a token of the Earth Protection Team of the Tobacco Factory Third Hospital. As the captain, I’ve turned down many people, but now, you’re the fifth member.”
It sounded like the Tobacco Factory Third Hospital was where they grew up.
Shen Jin was momentarily stunned, then smiled as he held the watch in his hand. “Alright, thanks, Captain.”
Tao Yan lightly raised his chin, signaling him to leave.
When the car arrived, Shen Jin nodded, shoved Gu Yu into the back seat, and left first, so he didn’t see Tao Yan’s darkening face, currently bowing his head and talking to Song Yizhi.
*
Arriving at the university town, Shen Jin quickly sent Gu Yu back to his residence and tidied him up a bit, at least taking care of his rest first.
Along the way, he had been anxious and uneasy, but he managed to stabilize his emotions by thinking that everything was just the dual effect of alcohol and pheromones. He flipped through today’s recording when he returned to the living room.
He touched his neck gland, the mark inside fading day by day, making it clear to him: when drunk, he would wake up, and the temporary mark would expire. The decision he made in a fit of pique with that unfamiliar text message was easy to rectify.
He didn’t even need to rectify it, just wait.
Wait for a few days for the mark to disappear, and Gu Yu would no longer instinctively feel affection and possessiveness towards him. Soon, they would be back to their usual relationship where they fought whenever they met.
Yet the tranquil moonlight still shone through the French windows into the living room, accentuating his growing agitation.
He couldn’t help but curse himself, “Damn, are you really so desperate for an alpha to care for and love you? Why didn’t you just take advantage of him being drunk and hop on, making yourself pregnant and clinging to him for the rest of your life?”
The moonlight gave him no answer, and in the end, he could only toss and turn on the sofa, angrily putting on his headphones and playing two folk songs to lull himself to sleep: “Go to sleep.”
*
The next day was the weekend. When Gu Yu woke up, he saw Shen Jin sleeping on the sofa with his head covered.
His heart tightened slightly, and he hurriedly carried Shen Jin back, along with the blanket. He couldn’t bring himself to scold too loudly, “Is it not enough that you’re coughing?”
Shen Jin seemed to hear him in his daze and mumbled, “It’s all because of you…”
Because of me?
Gu Yu thought, being drunk was indeed dangerous for Alpha in relation to Omega. Shen Jin probably meant he should sleep farther away from him last night.
As he touched Shen Jin’s forehead, Gu Yu whispered softly, “Then why not just throw me onto the sofa?”
The more he thought about it, the more suffocated he felt. He couldn’t help asking, “When you were marking your territory on me, you almost put your leg over my shoulder… How come you never seemed so cautious before, Senior?”
Senior hummed ambiguously, giving no satisfactory answer. Gu Yu had to change his tactic and swapped the thin blanket for a thicker coral fleece one, threatening as he got up, “I won’t heat up the milk for you later.”
Shen Jin didn’t hear what he said, just seemed to really like the coral fleece blanket. He immediately curled up comfortably, hugging the decorative teddy bear that had been sitting on the bedside for a long time.
The teddy bear Gu Yu bought came in a pair, and the one Shen Jin held was the brown one with a handsome black velvet bow tie.
According to the seller at the time, this brown one was an Alpha.
Shen Jin seemed to like it a lot, proudly pouting with its W-shaped mouth.
“… ” Gu Yu couldn’t help but furrow his brows and return to the bedside, looking down as he pulled out the brown teddy bear and casually stuffed it deep into the wardrobe.
Shen Jin made a vague and puzzled hum, but didn’t wake up. Only then did Gu Yu satisfactorily press down on the blanket and went to the kitchen to cook.
The alcohol content from last night was strong, but fortunately there weren’t any lingering effects.
Cracking open two eggs, Gu Yu recalled for a moment. He only remembered drinking a few glasses as usual, but unfortunately got drunk badly—later, others were playing some game, which he didn’t join, but Shen Jin wanted to share potato chips with someone else, which made him angry, so he just grabbed them and took a couple of bites.
Gu Yu licked his lips, almost completely blank in his mind about last night’s memories, only one thing he remembered quite clearly: the potato chips were… slightly milky-flavored, a bit damp, but fortunately tasted okay.
“… Why didn’t Jiang Lan tell me how strong the alcohol was.” He sighed softly, busying himself to make a complex nutritional breakfast, and was about to heat the milk and pour when suddenly he heard a secret sound from outside the door.
He stepped out of the kitchen and caught Shen Jin quietly changing his shoes.
“What are you doing?” He asked, knowing the answer already.
Shen Jin’s bowed back immediately straightened up, “Of course I’m going back to school to study—I still have several tactical analyses to write.”
Speaking with him, Shen Jin didn’t look at all, just asked: “Are you… okay?”
“… I’m fine.” Gu Yu’s tone also stiffened, “I just don’t usually drink. If there’s a chance to drink more… my alcohol tolerance might not necessarily be worse than Senior’s.”
Shen Jin’s hands tying the shoelaces paused, then suddenly accelerated, only daring to mock Senior’s self-esteem in his heart: You want to drink more? I’m afraid that if you drink a few more cups, it won’t just be my mouth you’re kissing.
“Forget it, alcohol tolerance is mostly innate. If you can’t handle it, go sit with the kids over there. At least your reputation as a virtuous woman will spread.” Shen Jin retorted while returning. He sucked in air secretly, couldn’t resist trying, “Last night’s potato chips… what did you think?”
He worried endlessly, wanting to poison himself and leave no troubles, but Gu Yu didn’t take the contact in the game seriously. He just answered, “The taste of the potato chips was fine. What’s wrong?”
Shen Jin looked at him blankly, unable to control the surge of low feelings in his heart, and could only force himself to think again: Right, just playing games, and not seriously anything, why would you care?
But he still couldn’t suppress the big pressure and slammed the door without reason, “I’m leaving, I still think the cafeteria’s breakfast on the first floor is better…!”