Love Reality Show Battleground

He walked over as if possessed, bent down to pick up the magazine, and casually flipped through a couple of pages before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

He had barely had any opportunities these past few years, let alone shot a magazine cover.

This magazine had probably been printed by some obscure marketing account.

It was about the love-hate entanglement between him and Cheng Cheng, the protagonist shou. Every word painted him as a lovesick simp willing to sacrifice everything for love, all to highlight Cheng Cheng's irresistible charm as everyone's sweetheart.

The magazine cover was also a composite of two photos, one of him and one of Cheng Cheng. Cheng Cheng's half had simply been folded over, making it look like a solo cover of him.

So Lu Zhi had collected this magazine because of Cheng Cheng.

He curled his lip and looked at the several tightly packaged little pink squares on the floor.

Extra-large, too.

He instinctively glanced down at his crotch. "..."

Shen Ranxin let out a cold laugh.

What an act. Hilarious.

He even brought this stuff to a dating show. Damn gay, disgusting!!

*

When Lu Zhi came out of the bathroom, he saw Shen Ranxin standing before his suitcase, one brow raised and a mischievous smile on his lips.

His looks were cool and aloof, with a faintly seductive red tint at the corners of his phoenix eyes. When he raised his brow like that, he seemed to gather all the world's allure into himself.

Lu Zhi narrowed his eyes and stared at the gland at the back of Shen Ranxin's neck.

Even while he had been inside, he had wanted to bite down on that gland and recklessly inject it with his scent.

Two Alphas' pheromones could not blend. Even if he bit Shen Ranxin ten thousand times, Shen Ranxin's gland would never retain a scent that belonged solely to him.

At the thought of it, Lu Zhi's eyes reddened slightly.

He wanted so badly to see those defiant brows and eyes stained an alluring pink. Those pupils, brimming with tears, would surely be breathtakingly beautiful.

Shen Ranxin did not notice him. Lu Zhi simply leaned against the doorframe, crossing his long legs as he pulled a lollipop from his pocket and placed it in his mouth.

His sharp canine teeth crushed the candy viciously, and an explosive orange fragrance instantly flooded his mouth.

It smelled a little like Shen Ranxin's pheromones.

Unlike Lu Zhi's aggressive scent of strong brandy, Shen Ranxin's pheromones smelled so pleasant they hardly seemed like those of an Alpha.

Lu Zhi nearly inhaled in intoxication as he caught the scent of Shen Ranxin's pheromones lingering on his clothes.

A steady woody fragrance mixed with the sweet-tart scent of orange blossom. It smelled light and clean, ebony's calm perfectly blending with cedar's crispness. Every trace of it seemed to seduce him.

Shen Ranxin had no idea that Lu Zhi was having an orgasm in his head.

He raised a brow, crouched down, and pulled a jar of Lao Gan Ma from his suitcase.

After a while, perhaps deciding that the Lao Gan Ma was too conspicuous, he pulled out a tube of wasabi as well.

He carefully opened one of the pink squares before him, squeezed wasabi into it, then took out a simple food sealing clip and restored the little pink square to its original state.

Only after injecting wasabi into every pink square in Lu Zhi's suitcase did he put away the now-empty tube of wasabi, drag his suitcase away, and leave at a brisk pace.

Lu Zhi, who had witnessed the entire process from the side: "..."

That was ruthless.

*

Instant Heartbeat was an extremely popular dating reality show. With Shen Ranxin's current standing, he normally would not have qualified for a guest spot.

After all, among the six guests, the other five were no small names.

There was either Cheng Cheng, the nation's omega and a hugely popular idol in the entertainment industry.

Or Lu Zhi, the young master of Beijing's elite circle and a top-tier Alpha, who had won countless fans with a single photo published in an economics magazine.

There was also some all-rounder niche singer, who was an omega too.

Shen Ranxin could not remember his name. He only knew that although the public did not care much for his songs, his face had unexpectedly made him wildly popular, driving up song sales and catapulting him into stardom.

There was an up-and-coming Alpha esports player. No one knew how good he was at games, but his most famous feature was a pair of hands fans called "the ultimate hand fetish."

Shen Ranxin did know the last one: the famous actor Fang Yu. He was technically Shen Ranxin's senior. They had crossed paths once when Shen Ranxin had still been an extra. He was a classically handsome man with strikingly upright features.

He had the persona of an old cadre. His peach blossom eyes made him seem as though he wore a faint smile even when expressionless. He had an excellent body, all lean muscle. It was hard to imagine that he was an omega.

As Shen Ranxin went over the information on all the guests in his mind, he dragged his suitcase toward the three-story villa serving as the filming location.

The moment he entered the villa, he noticed someone already sitting in the living room, head lowered as he spoke to a staff member beside him.

Hearing someone come in, he lifted his slightly messy little orange curls from the equipment. His puppy eyes were large and bright, his skin fair, and a small dimple appeared beside his lips when he smiled. He gave off an intense youthful energy, like a lively and cheerful junior from a high school campus.

As expected of a top-tier omega. Cheng Cheng was actually twenty-three this year, but he looked adorably youthful, making people instinctively want to protect him.

Cheng Cheng smiled. "Ran, you're here."

Shen Ranxin raised a brow, swiftly slipping into work mode as he smiled gently. "Mm. What are you doing?"

"Testing the equipment. Filming's about to start." Cheng Cheng tilted his head and patted the spot beside him. "Ran, can you sit here with me?"

Shen Ranxin was wholeheartedly maintaining his simp persona. Without suspecting anything, he put down his suitcase and walked right over.

As he sat down, Cheng Cheng suddenly leaned closer, wrinkling his little nose as the light in his eyes dimmed. "Ran, you smell awful."

Shen Ranxin paused and tugged at his collar to sniff it.

The scent of brandy mixed with cedar's cool fragrance drifted into his nose.

Shen Ranxin said awkwardly, "Sorry, it seems my pheromone scent leaked out. I'll go take care of it."

Cheng Cheng lifted his head and suddenly reached out to touch the back of Shen Ranxin's neck. His cool fingertips brushed against the slightly heated gland. "Hurry back. Filming is about to start, and it wouldn't be good to show up smelling like a dog."

Shen Ranxin: "..."

Was his simp smell really that strong?!

He asked a staff member for several suppressant patches, then got up and went to the bathroom.

When he came back out after dealing with it, he found several more people on the sofa.

Lu Zhi lounged lazily on a single sofa to one side, looking down at his phone. Cheng Cheng sat nearby, seemingly saying something to Lu Zhi.

Lu Zhi's finger scrolling across his phone abruptly paused. He looked up at Shen Ranxin, his eyes carrying an amused, half-smiling expression.

Shen Ranxin nodded in satisfaction.

As expected of the male and female leads. They could get together perfectly well without him throwing his life away to help them along!

"Ran!" After Cheng Cheng finished speaking, he got up and returned to his own seat. Seeing Shen Ranxin, he raised a hand and called out, "Come over here. Everyone's here already. Let's introduce ourselves!"

Shen Ranxin walked over. As he passed Lu Zhi, Lu Zhi suddenly grabbed his wrist and yanked him down!

The next moment, the liquor scent he had only just gotten rid of curled around him again. Shen Ranxin fell into Lu Zhi's arms.

Warm knuckles pressed down against the gland at the back of his neck through the suppressant patch.

"What did you put on?" Lu Zhi held his neck in his grasp. "Let me see."