Adaptation (First Update)

Chi Li knelt on the bed, the fingertips touching the back of his neck trembling slightly.

The syringe was tossed into the disposal bin. Si Jinyan stepped forward and caught Chi Li's hand, his gaze lowered as his thumb stroked the back of Chi Li's neck. "Don't be nervous. It's only medicine to counteract the suppressant in your body. There are no side effects."

Si Jinyan's erratic behavior during this period had kept Chi Li's nerves constantly taut. Rather than relaxing at his words, Chi Li's heart tightened. "What do you want to do?"

Si Jinyan saw Chi Li's tension. Ever since his identity had been exposed, Chi Li had always been guarded, with every barb on his body raised.

Si Jinyan answered truthfully, "I want to see the real you in your alpha state."

The wariness in Chi Li's eyes had yet to fade. Si Jinyan pressed on the back of his neck, then added, "I want to see what it feels like with an alpha."

Madman.

Chi Li's heart pounded wildly.

Without the omega suppressant's concealment, the pheromones an alpha released during contact were unpleasant for another alpha. The clash of repelling pheromones would trigger a physiological rejection.

Chi Li's hand hanging at his side clenched.

It would still take time for the suppressant in his body to be fully metabolized. There was another way to speed up its consumption: stimulating pheromone release through the most primitive method.

Si Jinyan released his pheromones, and Chi Li, still in his susceptible period, remained unable to resist. His skin suddenly chilled. By the time he snapped back to himself, he was already in the bathtub, and Si Jinyan had once again taken on his half-human, half-Mermaid form.

Even though he already knew Si Jinyan's identity, Chi Li still could not adapt. The Mermaid tail was slick and cold, its texture both stiff and soft, making goosebumps rise uncontrollably over his skin.

Chi Li struggled to get up, but the next second, the icy tail, like a chain, pressed him back into place.

Chi Li's neck tensed as he tilted his head up slightly.

Every time he was with Si Jinyan in his Mermaid form, it felt as though he were with a wild beast...

Chi Li spoke in a trembling voice. He rose slightly and grabbed Si Jinyan's arm. "Don't do this. Change back."

Si Jinyan's expression darkened. Instead, he wrapped more tightly around Chi Li's neck, though he was not as violent as before.

Scales brushed against the fragile skin of Chi Li's neck. The tip of the tail lifted Chi Li's chin, forcing him to raise his head and meet Si Jinyan's gaze.

A golden vertical pupil flickered faintly within Si Jinyan's eyes, like a sign of impending loss of control. "You need to adapt slowly."

Chi Li could not break free. His consciousness drifted in and out, and he did not even notice when he was fed a nutritional tonic to replenish his strength midway through.

When he came around again, Si Jinyan had given him another injection. The omega pheromones in the room seemed to have faded somewhat.

Chi Li lay on the bed and moved his fingers. He had to admit that being with Si Jinyan like this could indeed help him get through his susceptible period faster.

Getting through his susceptible period sooner was a good thing for Chi Li. Once he learned that resistance would only bring endless torment that would not quite kill him, he gradually stopped struggling.

He shut his eyes tightly and clenched his teeth as he endured it. At least this would help him escape his susceptible period sooner.

The next day, the pheromones Chi Li emitted in the bedroom were no longer as gentle as before. An alpha's original scent gradually revealed itself.

At the same time, Si Jinyan's pheromones were no longer as easy for Chi Li to accept as before. Skin contact brought a faint stinging pain.

Chi Li had not fully passed through his susceptible period yet, so he was especially sensitive to Si Jinyan's pheromones.

Si Jinyan took the breakfast delivered by the butler. As soon as he reached the bedside, Chi Li, still half-dazed in the middle of the bed, unconsciously shifted away from Si Jinyan under the stimulation of his pheromones.

Although there were currently no medical precedents for an enigma marking an alpha, the existing data was enough to roughly draw a conclusion—

An alpha who was not innately suited to receive, when facing an enigma who occupied both the equal and suppressive position, would react much like he would to another alpha. Their pheromones would only repel each other, rather than creating attraction as they did between an alpha in a susceptible period and an omega.

Si Jinyan's brows drew together slightly. Though he had long anticipated this outcome, it still made him somewhat impatient. He set the breakfast on the bedside table.

Just yesterday, no matter how wary Chi Li had been, he would still move closer to Si Jinyan because of Si Jinyan's pheromones.

The moment Chi Li opened his eyes, he met Si Jinyan's dark gaze. He had already been forced into a corner by Si Jinyan, with nowhere left to hide. Overwhelming pheromones swept over him.

The skin exposed to Si Jinyan's pheromones stung. Even his nasal passages and windpipe were painfully irritated, making Chi Li deeply uncomfortable.

Chi Li held his breath and pushed against Si Jinyan's shoulder. "Pheromones."

Si Jinyan held him tighter with strength Chi Li could not resist. "Bear with it."

Chi Li finished breakfast while being held by Si Jinyan.

When they began doing it every day, that was when the real suffering started.

Si Jinyan's pheromones closed in on him from within and without.

Chi Li frowned in agony. "Stop. Don't release any more pheromones..."

The pain caused by Chi Li's rejection response would be inflicted upon Si Jinyan in the same way.

Yet Si Jinyan still did not let go. Chi Li could not break free, and he gritted his teeth, muttering over and over that it hurt.

Si Jinyan's expression gradually darkened. The veins on his arms bulged, starkly visible.

An alpha's body differed from an omega's. Pain was amplified severalfold with brutal clarity, making Chi Li acutely aware every moment of the ordeal that, as an alpha, he was being forced by another alpha...

He did not even have the strength to resist.

When Chi Li realized what Si Jinyan wanted to do, his eyes widened abruptly. He cried hoarsely, "Stop!"