Sensitive Heat (2)

Chi Li was tormented into a hazy state of consciousness by the pain brought on by his sensitive heat, only regaining a measure of clarity when an icy yet strong hand grabbed him.

That coolness rescued him from the torment of a living hell.

Si Jinyan had just placed a hand on Chi Li's back, intending to pick him up, when Chi Li—hot as a little furnace—went completely limp and clung to him.

Chi Li could not help wanting to get closer to this source of comfort, wanting more.

Chi Li's hands grasped wildly at something, like a drowning man struggling to seize driftwood. He murmured incoherently, and when Si Jinyan leaned closer, every word that left his lips was blurred beyond recognition.

Only after Si Jinyan held Chi Li tightly did Chi Li settle down somewhat.

Si Jinyan's brows were drawn tight. When he had seen that scene earlier, anger he had not felt in a long time, mixed with worry, had rushed straight to his head.

An omega in sensitive heat, with neither suppressants nor an alpha nearby, and Chi Li had not told anyone. If something had happened and he had not returned, and the butler had not noticed either, was Chi Li planning to tough it out alone?!

Everyone knew that forcibly enduring sensitive heat could cause irreparable damage to the glands, or even the body itself.

Sensitive heat did not come on suddenly; there were warning signs. Si Jinyan recalled how listless Chi Li had seemed over the past two days...

Yet Chi Li had not said a word.

After only a brief moment of calm, Chi Li's pheromones began tangling around Si Jinyan again, like a child seeking more comfort from him.

Si Jinyan moved close to Chi Li's gland and released a large amount of pheromones in response.

Seeing Chi Li like this, Si Jinyan found himself unable to say anything more. Most of the anger in his stomach had already dissipated.

For several hours, Si Jinyan helped Chi Li through the first wave of his sensitive heat. During that time, Chi Li kept muttering to himself—one moment saying he felt awful, the next saying he wanted more, then whining that it hurt and telling someone to get lost.

Si Jinyan listened to every word and satisfied every need, gently kissing Chi Li's forehead. After Chi Li cursed "Get lost" again, Si Jinyan let out an almost imperceptible sigh. "You little ancestor."

Several hours later, Chi Li's temperature finally dropped. Curled up in Si Jinyan's arms, he was much more docile.

At Si Jinyan's instruction, the butler brought nutrient solution and left it outside the door. He knocked softly and asked, "Sir, is Mr. Chi feeling better?"

Si Jinyan looked at the peacefully sleeping Chi Li in his arms. His initial agitation gradually calmed along with Chi Li's slumber. "He's better. Yuan Ru, call Lu Jiu over and have him examine Chi Li."

The butler answered from outside the door.

When Si Jinyan had kicked the door open earlier, Yuan Ru had been nearby as well. Even as a beta who was not particularly sensitive to pheromones, Yuan Ru had noticed that the pheromones in the room were excessively dense. He had only ever seen such an unstable sensitive heat in the Marshal himself, and he could not help worrying about Chi Li.

Only after Chi Li's condition improved did Si Jinyan carefully study his face. His tone sank slightly as he softly reproached the sleeping Chi Li. "Are you stupid? How could you do something this dangerous?"

Perhaps because he heard someone scolding him, Chi Li's eyelashes trembled uneasily, followed by a restless movement beneath his lids.

Half a minute passed before Chi Li slowly opened his eyes.

The moment Chi Li opened them, he saw Si Jinyan's enlarged face directly before him. Their noses were practically touching.

And at that moment, he was still tightly wrapped around Si Jinyan in an inseparable, octopus-like embrace.

The next second, Chi Li caught the scent of two intertwined pheromones in the air. His mind went blank for a moment before his awareness returned.

While eating breakfast, he had suddenly felt something was wrong and returned to his room. Yet his body had grown hotter and hotter while his limbs became utterly weak. Something about this state was wrong. With his remaining awareness, Chi Li had curled up and burrowed beneath the blanket, trying to hide the secret in his heart through that instinctive act.

Thinking of something, Chi Li's eyes flew wide open. He released Si Jinyan, then reached up to touch the back of his neck, which was already swollen beyond recognition.

Chi Li's heart pounded wildly. "You..."

"What about me?" Perhaps displeased that Chi Li had leaped away from him the instant he woke up as though he had seen a beast, Si Jinyan asked with a frown.

Seeing Si Jinyan like this, Chi Li calmed down. Si Jinyan had not discovered anything.

He had already retreated to the edge of the bed and secretly let out a breath of relief, only to be dragged back by Si Jinyan the next moment.

Frowning, Si Jinyan pulled Chi Li into his arms. "Your sensitive heat isn't over yet. What are you fussing around for?"

As soon as Si Jinyan spoke, that burning heat surged up again, and Chi Li's breathing grew more rapid.

Having Si Jinyan around really was much more comfortable. Chi Li proactively burrowed deeper into his arms.

"Were you still planning to tough it out alone? Are you angry with me?" Si Jinyan's tone was slightly stern, carrying a trace of reprimand.

Si Jinyan was referring to the political marriage.

By pure coincidence, Si Jinyan had misunderstood, and Chi Li simply let him continue misunderstanding. He said nothing, but his body instinctively pressed a little closer to Si Jinyan.

Si Jinyan seemed quite satisfied. When he spoke again, his tone was much gentler. "I had Lu Jiu come examine you. Something isn't right with your sensitive heat."

As he spoke, Si Jinyan's brows furrowed slightly. Chi Li was an omega, yet his sensitive heat had erupted so violently and suddenly, as though it had been forcibly suppressed for a long time before bursting out all at once.

Chi Li's heart skipped a beat upon hearing that. Even he could not say for certain whether there was a problem. Would Lu Jiu discover something?

Thinking back, Chi Li found it strange as well. When the researchers had tested this omega modification agent, they had anticipated such a possibility. Yet when Chi Li had tested it back then, nothing as sudden as this had happened.

Chi Li did not want to see Lu Jiu, but Si Jinyan's words left no room for refusal.

Chi Li had no choice but to adapt as things came, doing his best to stabilize before Lu Jiu arrived.

By the time Lu Jiu arrived, Chi Li had already fallen asleep again from exhaustion.

Lu Jiu examined Chi Li, then went with Si Jinyan to the room specially set up for Si Jinyan's examinations.

Si Jinyan asked, "How is he?"

Lu Jiu looked puzzled. "It's rare for sensitive heat to become this severe. Has he recently taken or injected any suppressive medication?"

After a moment of silence, Si Jinyan answered, "Probably not." There were no such medicines at home, and online purchases would require approval through Si Jinyan's supplementary card.

Lu Jiu said, "It is indeed unusual. Maybe he was affected by you. Other than his sensitive heat coming on more violently than usual, I did not find any problems. Just stay with him more."

Only then did Si Jinyan let out a breath of relief.

Lu Jiu changed the subject. "But you—your sensitive heat just ended. Why didn't you tell me?"

Knowing he would get nothing out of Si Jinyan, Lu Jiu did not press further. Si Jinyan never reported this sort of thing to him; only when it became severe enough to spiral out of control would Si Jinyan tell Lu Jiu and ask for an injection.

Lu Jiu said helplessly, "Come on. Since I'm already here, I'll examine you too."

The room was fully equipped with medical examination facilities. Lu Jiu had insisted on moving them here in the first place, so he could conveniently catch Si Jinyan at home and make him get checked.

When the results came out, Lu Jiu was somewhat surprised. Si Jinyan's pheromones were far more stable than he had expected. It seemed the omega kept by Si Jinyan's side had indeed been helping.

Lu Jiu said, "These numbers are good this time."

Si Jinyan was not surprised in the least.

Lu Jiu said, "Chi Li deserves a lot of credit."

Only then did Si Jinyan nod. "Yes."

Lu Jiu looked over the data repeatedly and remarked with admiration, "Keeping him by your side will be very good for you."

At that, Si Jinyan's brows creased almost imperceptibly.

After the examination, Lu Jiu showed no intention of leaving.

Si Jinyan asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Yes." Lu Jiu organized the documents, sat down in a nearby chair, and said, "You agreed to the political marriage?"

Si Jinyan gave a quiet "Mm," clearly not taking it very seriously.

Lu Jiu sighed. "Once you enter that political marriage, the Emperor will definitely make further demands for you to produce an heir. Have you considered that?"

The air fell silent for a moment.

Without waiting for Si Jinyan's response, Lu Jiu continued, "If your child is successfully born, that child will perfectly combine human and Mermaid bloodlines. What he will go through—you should understand better than anyone else."

Mermaids were vastly superior to humans in many respects. In the eyes of the greedy, they were perfect money-making machines and killing machines. Not to mention the current ruler, whose greed and lust for power were written all over his face.

After saying all that, the burden on Lu Jiu's shoulders eased slightly. Given his position, he should not have said any of it.

He had participated in that project and witnessed how Si Jinyan had endured those inhumanly painful experiments. If new Mermaids were born in the future, Lu Jiu would still be ordered to continue carrying out the project.

The affection Lu Jiu felt for Si Jinyan had grown. From the perspective of a friend, if there was any chance, he did not want Si Jinyan to continue enduring this suffering.

After a long time, Si Jinyan finally said, "I won't give them that chance."

Si Jinyan's expression was calm, but his tightly clenched right hand at his side betrayed his anger.

Only then did Lu Jiu stand and pack up his things. "It's good that you know. As for the rest... I don't know what else I can say."

After pausing, Lu Jiu added, "And Chi Li can help you. If possible, try to keep him by your side."

Chi Li's sensitive heat lasted nearly half a month.

After the most intense period, which required a continuous infusion of Si Jinyan's pheromones, passed, Chi Li was finally able to get out of bed. But he was still unstable at times, and during those moments he still needed more of Si Jinyan's pheromones.

Worried about Chi Li, Si Jinyan specifically brought him to the Federation government.

Chi Li, on the other hand, gained another opportunity to get closer.

Geng Ji was about to report on his work when he spotted someone unexpected. "Oh, what a rare guest."

Chi Li had just received a dose of Si Jinyan's pheromones. Wrapped in Si Jinyan's coat, he sat listlessly on the sofa. Hearing Geng Ji's voice, he merely lifted his eyelids and greeted him.

Si Jinyan frowned. "He isn't feeling well. Don't provoke him."

Geng Ji raised his brows in surprise.

Over this period, several subordinates who had frequent contact with Si Jinyan went from initial surprise to gradually becoming accustomed to Chi Li's presence, and then increasingly respectful of him—except for Geng Ji.

One day, after Si Jinyan got off work, he saw Chi Li reading an article about the Empire's famous architecture and asked, "Want to go out and have some fun?"

Chi Li paused, then nodded. His eyes curved into crescents as he smiled. "Sure."

Si Jinyan had the driver return first, then personally piloted his private spacecraft and took Chi Li around the Empire.

Chi Li visited the Empire's largest shopping mall and entertainment center, and saw its oldest buildings...

That evening, as they passed a garden, the two happened to encounter a couple proposing.

There were many people in the garden, and the surroundings buzzed with noise. The moment the proposal succeeded, cheers rang deafeningly through the air. Flying robots used the night sky as a backdrop to display dazzling images, while camera robots recorded the scene.

Drawn in by the excitement, Chi Li could not help slowing down to look a little longer.

Si Jinyan was still holding a whale-shaped cotton candy. When he saw Chi Li slow down, he stopped as well.

It was winter. Both wore scarves that covered half their faces. Si Jinyan rarely went out, and he had not deliberately concealed himself this time.

Yet the following day, a piece of news that nearly shocked the entire Empire seized the headlines—The Empire's Marshal, soon to enter a political marriage with the princess, had been exposed meeting his lover in a park!

Having just finished breakfast, Chi Li was sitting on the sofa browsing his light brain when he saw the headline. His eyelids jumped in shock.