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 eyes lowered as his thumb brushed over the back of Chi Li's neck. "Don't be nervous. It's only medicine to neutralize the suppressant in your body. There are no side effects."

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

Si Jinyan saw Chi Li's nervousness. Since his identity had been exposed, Chi Li had always looked wary, like he had thorns raised all over his body.

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

The vigilance had not faded from Chi Li's eyes. Si Jinyan pressed on the back of his neck, then added, "I want to try what it feels like with an alpha."

Madman.

Chi Li's heart pounded wildly.

Without the concealment of the omega suppressant, the pheromones released by an alpha during contact were not pleasant for another alpha. The clash of mutually repellent pheromones would trigger a physiological rejection response.

Chi Li's hand hanging at his side clenched into a fist.

It would take time for the suppressant in his body to be fully metabolized. There was another way to accelerate its consumption: stimulating pheromone release through the most primal 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 abruptly came back to himself, he was already in the bathtub, while Si Jinyan had once again taken on a human form with a fish tail.

Even though he already knew Si Jinyan's identity, Chi Li still could not get used to it. The slippery, icy fish tail, its texture both stiff and soft, made his hair stand on end uncontrollably.

Chi Li struggled to get up, but the next second, the cold fish tail, like a chain, pressed him back down.

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

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

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

Si Jinyan's gaze darkened. Instead, he further coiled around Chi Li's neck, though not as violently as before.

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

The golden vertical pupils flickered in and out of sight within Si Jinyan's eyes, like a sign that he was about to lose control. "You need to get used to it slowly."

Chi Li could not break free. His consciousness drifted, and he did not even notice when he was fed a nutritional supplement 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 understood that resistance would only bring endless torment that would not quite kill him, he gradually stopped resisting.

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

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

At the same time, Si Jinyan's pheromones were no longer as easy for Chi Li to accept as before. Contact with his skin caused a faint stinging pain.

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

Si Jinyan took the breakfast delivered by the butler. Just as he reached the bedside, Chi Li, still half-dazed in the center of the bed, was stimulated by the pheromones and unconsciously shifted away from Si Jinyan.

Although there was currently no medical precedent for an Enigma marking an alpha, the existing information was enough to roughly draw a conclusion—

An alpha who was not naturally built to receive, when facing an Enigma in an equal or dominant position, would react as though facing another alpha. Their pheromones would only repel one another, rather than create attraction as they did between an alpha in a susceptible period and an omega.

Si Jinyan's brows furrowed slightly. Though he had anticipated this outcome, it still made him somewhat impatient. He placed 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 to hide, as overwhelming pheromones swept over him.

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

Chi Li held his breath and pushed against Si Jinyan's shoulder. "The 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 what they did every day, that was when the real suffering began.

Si Jinyan's pheromones pressed in from both inside and out.

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

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

Yet Si Jinyan still did not let him go. Chi Li could not break free and could only grit his teeth, muttering that it hurt.

Si Jinyan's expression gradually darkened. Veins bulged visibly on his arms.

An alpha's body differed from an omega's. Pain was magnified several times over with stark clarity, making Chi Li constantly aware throughout the process that, as an alpha, he was being...

He did not even have the strength to resist.

When Chi Li realized what Si Jinyan wanted to do, his eyes flew wide open, and he screamed hoarsely, "Stop!"