Grape-scented pheromones

Jiang Yumiao suddenly shivered, feeling as though a venomous snake were watching him from a cold, dark corner.

Feeling the Omega tremble in his arms, Ning Chunchi knitted his handsome brows and tightened his hold around his waist. Then he helped him sit up and gestured to the staff to end the task.

Jiang Yumiao really was getting a little cold. For some reason, he also felt dizzy, and his face was burning.

Had he caught a cold just from going into the water?

That couldn't be right. It was over twenty degrees today. Surely an Omega's body wasn't that frail?

Ning Chunchi was watching Jiang Yumiao's reactions with a frown. He, too, sensed that something was wrong with the Omega when a faint, sweet fruit fragrance suddenly reached his nose.

It smelled like grapes. Very sweet.

Ning Chunchi's pupils contracted instantly. These were... Jiang Yumiao's pheromones!

He keenly sensed a fire rising inside his own body, making him burn as well.

Damn it!

Dazed, Jiang Yumiao had no idea what was happening. All he knew was that a cool fragrance mingling ocean and cedar suddenly enveloped him, instantly soothing his restless mood.

Jiang Yumiao rested against Ning Chunchi's shoulder, burying his face in the crook of his neck and nuzzling lightly. This was where that lovely scent came from.

His expression grave, Ning Chunchi gently patted Jiang Yumiao's back. "Stay alert. We're still filming."

The Omega instinctively agreed with the man's words, but all he could do was nod haphazardly. He didn't look alert in the slightest.

Ning Chunchi knew they couldn't stay here any longer. Right now, he was the only one who could smell Jiang Yumiao's pheromones, but that might change in another few moments.

He pulled Jiang Yumiao ashore on the opposite side, away from the production crew.

Leaving all the cameras and staff behind, Ning Chunchi ran off with his prey.

[????]

[Why did President Ning just take Huhu away?]

[What happened?]

The staff and camera operators watched the guests disappear into the distance, equally bewildered. Fortunately, the two had already completed their task, so the production team temporarily shut down Ning and Jiang's livestream.

On the way, Ning Chunchi received a call from Director Yang asking what had happened.

"Jiang Yumiao suddenly felt unwell. I'm taking him somewhere to rest."

"All right. Contact me right away if it's serious. We have a doctor on the production team."

Ning Chunchi murmured his assent and hung up, supporting the weak-legged Omega with his right hand.

Jiang Yumiao's gland patch probably wasn't waterproof and had come loose after getting wet. On top of that... being held by him must have been too psychologically stimulating, triggering his heat all at once.

Normally, for safety's sake, Omegas would get a long-acting suppressant injection before appearing on a show and carry gland-blocking patches as a second precaution.

But Jiang Yumiao was a novice Omega with practically no basic knowledge. In fact, when he had first transmigrated, this body had already shown signs of an approaching heat, and Lin Xu had quietly reminded him at the time.

Then one thing after another had left Jiang Yumiao overwhelmed, and he had long since forgotten that reminder.

Who could have expected that getting so close to a top-tier Alpha today, combined with his gland patch peeling up and failing after getting wet, would bring all those factors together and cause trouble?

Although Jiang Yumiao was a novice Omega, he had at least read plenty of ABO novels, and he finally realized what was happening to him.

And... he seemed to smell Ning Chunchi's pheromones, too.

Alphas also had to receive suppressant injections before appearing on the show and weren't allowed to release their pheromones at will. It seemed Jiang Yumiao had triggered Ning Chunchi.

Ning Chunchi practically half-carried Jiang Yumiao as he hurried toward somewhere less crowded.

They reached the farthest northwestern corner, close to Island Snow Mountain. There was almost no one around, so Ning Chunchi simply bent down, hooked an arm beneath Jiang Yumiao's knees, and lifted him into his arms.

Nearby was a public restroom that also housed changing rooms, but hardly anyone came here because it was tucked away in a corner.

Carrying the Omega, Ning Chunchi entered a changing room and locked the door.

Jiang Yumiao wrapped his arms around Ning Chunchi's neck. Breathing in the cool cedar scent, he felt a little better and choked out, "I'm sorry. I forgot my heat was coming."

He had caused trouble for Ning Chunchi.

Ning Chunchi tried to put Jiang Yumiao down on a chair, but despite looking fragile, the Omega was surprisingly strong. He clung to his neck and refused to let go.

He could only sit down himself and let Jiang Yumiao sit on his lap.

Ning Chunchi asked, "Do you have any spare gland patches?"

Jiang Yumiao shook his head blankly. He hadn't seen anything like that in the original owner's suitcase, either.

Ning Chunchi sighed softly. Had it been anyone else, he wouldn't have bothered.

The Omega before him had reddened eyes, with tears glimmering at their corners. He looked so fragile that he could be ruined at any moment, yet he held on to Ning Chunchi so firmly, as though terrified of being abandoned, gazing at him like a devout believer.

Seeing him like this, Ning Chunchi couldn't bring himself to abandon him.

Besides, when prey offered itself up, there was no reason to let it go.

He had already told the production team to bring suppressants and gland patches, but it would take them at least half an hour to bring those supplies from outside the main entrance. Neither Jiang Yumiao nor he could hold out that long in their current state.

His only option was to give him a temporary mark first.

Ning Chunchi thought that this time, he really had fallen.

He was actually willing to mark an Omega he had only met yesterday, even if it was merely a temporary mark.

But he was fastidious about intimacy. He would never give out marks casually the way so many other Alphas did.

Perhaps he, too, had been waiting for the perfect prey.

Jiang Yumiao felt the second male lead's hand suddenly stroke his neck. Then his fingertips slid slowly along it, stopping at the gland at the back.

"Mm..." The Omega couldn't help letting out a sound.

A storm brewed in Ning Chunchi's eyes. Fixing his gaze on Jiang Yumiao, he asked, "May I?"

Jiang Yumiao was confused. What was the second male lead asking permission for? Without realizing it, he voiced his confusion.

"May I give you a temporary mark?" Ning Chunchi repeated in a low voice, clinging to his last shred of reason.

He scorned taking advantage of someone in a vulnerable position. Even knowing that Jiang Yumiao liked him, he wouldn't disregard his wishes.

Of course Jiang Yumiao knew what a temporary mark entailed. Unlike a permanent mark, a temporary one lasted anywhere from two days to a week. During that time, the Alpha and Omega would develop a mutual dependence, though naturally it couldn't compare with the soul-deep bond of a permanent mark.

Although he felt unwell, he also understood that, given his Omega physiology and the lack of suppressants, he could only rely on Ning Chunchi now.

So Jiang Yumiao closed his eyes and nodded, giving his consent.

Looking at the innocent, bewildered Jiang Yumiao, Ning Chunchi lost the last of his patience. He had the Omega lean into his embrace and gently lifted his long hair, letting the sweet scent of grapes spread.

Ning Chunchi took one last look, then lowered his head.

The cool fragrance of cedar and ocean, belonging solely to this Alpha, swept over him.

Just like Ning Chunchi himself, it was contradictory and dangerous, yet irresistibly alluring, drawing him in and pulling him under.

Jiang Yumiao drowned in that cool fragrance, gradually losing consciousness.