Small Clinic

The side effects of being marked by an Enigma far exceeded Li Mao's expectations.

He had planned to sell his pheromones the next day, scrape together enough money, and get the mark removed immediately. But the moment he closed his eyes, he slept like the dead, half-conscious in bed for two or three days.

He scared He Che so badly that the boy kept coming in to check whether he was still breathing.

In the end, Li Mao woke up a little and cursed him out.

Li Mao opened his mouth and claimed that he had only just gotten a taste of sex, yet he was already ferocious, with astonishing stamina. Three days and three nights, in and out seven times, fighting on the front lines for days without closing his eyes.

Now that he had finally found a chance to catch up on sleep, that little brat needed to get lost and stop disturbing his sweet dreams.

He Che had never tasted the pleasures of the flesh and had no idea how much truth there was in that statement. Still, an old tree blooming after twenty-five years of pent-up vigor did sound somewhat convincing... right?

So, seeing that Li Mao had no major problems aside from sunken eye sockets, a pale complexion, and perhaps a touch of kidney deficiency, he gave him a few reminders before heading to school to register.

That left behind a sharp-tongued but soft-hearted empty-nester, gazing mournfully at the back of the kid he had raised for six years as he set off on his "long journey."

It was only from the South District to the north side of the city, but never mind that. He simply felt like playing the melancholy character for a while.

Li Mao lounged in bed, reveling in his new persona as a melancholy handsome man for most of the day. It was not until he received a call confirming that He Che had safely arrived at school that he grimaced and climbed out of bed.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he lit a cigarette and sent a message to the contact the bald man had given him that day.

[Fang Ming referred me. Send me an address. Green apple-scented Alpha pheromones.]

The other party replied quickly. There was no nonsense, only an address.

[Liu Yong Clinic, Alley 19, Blossom Road, South District.]

Li Mao scratched the corner of his forehead with his index finger.

The bald man had mentioned it before. Private hospitals did not want unnecessary trouble. Originally, the plan had been for the Alpha they found to sign a waiver, while the hospital provided the venue and medical staff. In the end, it had turned into direct transactions for finished pheromones.

What medical connections did people like them have?

Extracting pheromones was somewhat difficult. If it went wrong, the glands could even suffer permanent damage.

Finding a clinic with that kind of technology was quite a feat on the bald man's part.

Still, why did this unknown little clinic feel like some black-hearted sweatshop...

They were not going to dig out his glands and sell them for three thousand yuan, were they?

After agonizing over it for a long time, Li Mao still sent them another message.

[Do you have time today?]

As usual, the reply came at lightning speed, making it feel even more like some unscrupulous doctor was sharpening a knife and waiting to butcher his Alpha glands.

[Come directly in an hour.]

[OK.]

After sending that last message, Li Mao stubbed out the cigarette in his hand.

He tossed his phone onto the pillow, picked up a hair tie from the bedside table, gathered up his long hair—which had turned into a bird's nest after two days of sleep—and casually tied it into a bun, exposing the small, pale stretch of skin at the back of his neck where his gland was hidden.

Li Mao got out of bed and stripped off every wrinkled piece of clothing he had been rolling around in.

He looked down at himself, then lifted his arms and legs, checking how many of those messy marks remained on his body.

Only after seeing that most of them had faded did he finally let out a breath of relief.

That idiot Enigma had been a little crazy and had gone rather hard in bed.

But aside from the mark, he did not seem to have intended to inflict any permanent harm.

The marks on his body had been green and purple that day, and some of the bite marks had even seeped blood, making them look rather frightening. Still, Enigma had held back somewhat. After two days, they had faded without a trace.

Since he was the only one at home, Li Mao happily put another cigarette between his lips and swaggered into the bathroom for a shower.

Once he was all clean, it was time to go make money!

At the thought of those pheromones worth three thousand yuan, Li Mao even scrubbed himself with more enthusiasm.

Liu Yong Clinic was not too far from Li Mao's home. He arrived after walking for a little over ten minutes.

When he reached the clinic entrance, Li Mao did not rush inside.

He lowered the brim of his baseball cap and stood beside a utility pole not far from the entrance, smoking while observing the clinic's surroundings and the people coming and going.

The little clinic's exterior was simple. A faded sign bearing the large words "Liu Yong Clinic" hung above the door.

From the outside, the clinic looked a little dim, with the sort of atmosphere that made one feel as though sticking out their neck would get their gland sliced off.

But several Alphas who seemed to be there to sell pheromones, just like him, came out one after another. Each had a small medical bandage on the back of their neck, and their expressions seemed normal enough. It looked fairly safe.

After taking the last drag from his cigarette, Li Mao put on a mask and sunglasses, pulled his hat brim down until it nearly covered his entire face, then headed toward the clinic.

There was no helping it. He had no other choice now.

If he delayed any longer, his body would completely transform from an Alpha into that Enigma's exclusive Omega. By then, a single tube of pheromones would not solve the problem.

"Ding—"

The instant Li Mao pushed open the clinic door, a crisp bell rang above it.

"Is... is anyone here?" Li Mao glanced at the empty reception desk and called into the back.

Before long, a middle-aged man in a white lab coat emerged from inside.

The moment he saw Li Mao, he was clearly startled.

Selling pheromones was not exactly something to be proud of, but it was legal and aboveboard. Even proper hospitals had donor groups who donated regularly...

There was no need to dress more tightly wrapped than a bank robber...

The middle-aged man did not quite understand, but nobody turned down money.

He sat down on a stool and asked Li Mao, "You're the green apple-scented Alpha Fang Ming referred, right? He told you the price already, didn't he? Your heat is not coming up anytime soon, is it?"

Pheromones were unstable during a heat. An Alpha who had their pheromones extracted during that period could very easily lose control during their heat due to a lack of pheromones.

Li Mao obediently sat on the stool across from the doctor, nodded, and answered, "Yes. He told me. Three thousand. And no, no heat lately."

The doctor gave an "Mm," picked up his pen and wrote something down, then ordered, "Give me your ID. Take off your hat, mask, and sunglasses too. I need to confirm whether you're really an Alpha."

"Oh, okay..."

Li Mao did not really understand the logic behind his own outfit either. He took his ID from his pocket and placed it before the doctor, then silently removed everything covering his face.

When the middle-aged man saw Li Mao's exceptionally beautiful face—one rarely seen on an Alpha—a glint seemed to flash through his eyes behind his lenses.

But it was quickly concealed by his habitual gesture of pushing up his glasses.

And Li Mao, caught up in a strange sense of shame, had lost his usual sharpness for once and accidentally missed the man's little movement.