Embrace

Only after confirming that the cameras in the room had been covered tightly did Shen Ranxin crawl under the covers.

The warmth behind him soon wrapped around him in wisps. Unaccustomed to it, Shen Ranxin shifted slightly to the side.

As the heat at his back grew more distant, Shen Ranxin could no longer feel Lu Zhi's body temperature, and nearly half his body was hanging off the edge of the bed.

Lu Zhi stretched out an arm and wrapped it around his waist, effortlessly dragging him back from the edge of the bed.

Falling back into that scorching embrace, Shen Ranxin could feel Lu Zhi's chest pressed tightly against his back, the vibrations from his chest coming through clearly.

"What are you doing?" Shen Ranxin instinctively bent his elbow and pressed it against Lu Zhi's lower abdomen. Gritting his teeth, he said, "You said you wouldn't touch me!"

Lu Zhi brushed the tip of his nose over his gland and inhaled softly. "I'm not touching you. You were about to fall off the bed if you moved any farther... Don't worry, I've injected a sedative. I won't lose control. If you're uncomfortable, you can push me away anytime."

Shen Ranxin fell silent. After a while, he finally asked hesitantly, "Why did you inject that stuff?"

Lu Zhi chuckled. "What do you think?"

"...I don't know." Shen Ranxin avoided the subject and said quietly, "That stuff does a lot of damage to an Alpha's nervous system. You shouldn't inject it anymore. Inhibitors would be a better option."

"Inhibitors don't work on me. They only work on desire triggered by omega pheromones." Lu Zhi said, "And me, Teacher Shen... what I submit to has never been pheromones."

Shen Ranxin closed his eyes. "I have no idea what nonsense you're spouting. I'm going to sleep. Stop squeezing me, it's too hot."

"Now that Teacher Shen has finished asking his questions, it's my turn, right?" Lu Zhi showed no intention of letting go. "Turn your head around."

Shen Ranxin felt as though the air around him had become scorching, making his face grow redder and redder.

"No."

Lu Zhi brushed his nose over the slightly raised gland and said hoarsely, "Teacher Shen, are you tempting me by exposing your gland to me so defenselessly?"

Shen Ranxin instinctively raised a hand to cover the gland on his neck, his voice carrying a tearful edge of gritted fury. "You've already bitten me into this state. What else do you want?"

"Turn around."

"..." Shen Ranxin paused. "Then... loosen your hold a little. You're holding me so tightly that I can't turn over."

Lu Zhi raised an eyebrow and loosened his arm slightly, leaving Shen Ranxin enough room to turn around.

Shen Ranxin turned over with his eyes closed. "If you have a question, ask it quickly."

Lu Zhi lowered his head and looked at the face in his arms.

Not a single lamp was lit in the bedroom. Only faint moonlight spilled in through the window, adding even more definition to Shen Ranxin's peerlessly cool features. His lips had turned somewhat pale from being pressed tightly together.

He reached out and rubbed Shen Ranxin's lips with his knuckles, his expression dark. "Cheng Cheng's gene toxin was in your pocket at the time. Why didn't you take it out?"

Shen Ranxin froze, knowing he meant when Lu Zhi had pinned him against the wall and marked him.

Lu Zhi had been completely out of control then, terrifyingly strong. Shen Ranxin hadn't been able to break free, but he had still been capable of taking that bottle of spray from his pocket.

Cheng Cheng had said that it had been formulated according to Lu Zhi's genetic sequence and would only work on Lu Zhi. In that critical moment, Shen Ranxin should have taken it out.

But why hadn't he?

Shen Ranxin didn't know either.

Maybe it was because he hadn't trusted Cheng Cheng enough.

He had said that the spray would only put Lu Zhi into a coma, but who would go to such great lengths to develop a gene toxin whose only effect was putting someone to sleep?

Subconsciously, Shen Ranxin had felt that it would hurt Lu Zhi, so he hadn't wanted to use it on him.

Even though Lu Zhi's bite had hurt so much then that he wanted to die.