Give me some pheromones

By the time the wedding ended, it was already evening.

After seeing off all the guests, the five of them shared a warm, quiet family dinner.

Yin Baozhu had stayed up all night and bounced around all day, and she was so sleepy during dinner that her face dropped into her bowl several times.

Yin Changjun doted on his daughter. Both amused and distressed, he carried her into the bedroom he shared with his husband to sleep.

Yin Zhengchuan said, "She's too old for you to still let her sleep with you."

Yin Changjun rolled his eyes at him. "How old is she? Only in her teens. Don't forget how you secretly watched a horror movie in your teens and were too scared to sleep alone, so you climbed into our bed in the middle of the night."

Hearing this, Wei Zisu looked up from his meal at Yin Zhengchuan.

Yin Zhengchuan was so flustered that his ears went red. "I was only ten back then! She's already seventeen. How is that the same?"

"How isn't it the same?" Yin Changjun said. "You were both in your teens, weren't you?"

Yin Zhengchuan had no reply. He felt he had thoroughly embarrassed himself in front of his wife.

Qin Qin smoothed things over. "If you watch a horror movie in the middle of the night now, you won't need to come running to our room."

As he spoke, he glanced at Wei Zisu with a smile.

"Right," Wei Zisu said. "I've been brave since I was little. I'm not afraid of ghosts."

Yin Zhengchuan's ears turned even redder, and he shoveled rice into his mouth.

After dinner, Qin Qin called the newlyweds over to the tea table and took out two bank cards.

"This one holds the cash gifts we received today. I've given Zhengchuan the gift register. You two can keep both. The other card is for you, Zisu."

"For me?" Wei Zisu was a little surprised.

Qin Qin nodded with a smile. "That's right. It's your betrothal money. The PIN is on the back. Zisu, I don't know why your parents didn't come, but whatever the reason, we couldn't leave out the betrothal money. Whether you give it to your parents or keep it yourself is entirely up to you."

Beyond his surprise, Wei Zisu was deeply moved. He had never thought of asking for betrothal money in this marriage, and Yin Zhengchuan's parents had never considered skipping that step, either.

Give it to my parents?

That was absolutely out of the question. Wei Zisu didn't even intend to let his parents know the truth about Yin Zhengchuan's family circumstances, lest they use their son to curry favor again, as they had with Sun Liang.

Wei Zisu picked up the second bank card. "Dad, since you said I could give this betrothal money to my parents, I'll give it to you."

As he spoke, he placed the bank card in Qin Qin's hand.

"Now that Zhengchuan and I are married, you're my dad. It's only right to let Dad keep it for me."

Qin Qin was a little surprised. His daughter-in-law had pushed the card back without even asking how much money was in the account. It seemed Zhengchuan had judged him correctly.

Meanwhile, Yin Zhengchuan was grinning so broadly his eyes nearly disappeared, his face practically declaring: The wife I chose is the best!

Qin Qin took Wei Zisu's hand and pressed the card into it, allowing no argument. "This is the custom in Shandong. If you refuse, it means you don't intend to acknowledge me as your dad or become part of this family!"

Wei Zisu thought, Is it that serious?

Yin Zhengchuan picked up the other card containing the wedding gifts. "All right, all right, we'll take it, okay? I've never seen anyone beg someone to accept betrothal money before. What a sight."

As he spoke, he took Wei Zisu's hand to lead him back. "You're exhausted after today, aren't you? Let's head back to our courtyard and let the two old men get some rest, too."

Qin Qin said, "Who are you calling old men?"

"I'm the old man," Yin Zhengchuan said.

Wei Zisu couldn't help laughing. "We'll head back, then. Get to bed early, Dad."

The bank card felt heavy in his hand.

Once they reached their own courtyard, Wei Zisu felt a little hot. He switched on the air conditioner and handed his card to Yin Zhengchuan. "You keep both of them."

Without saying anything, Yin Zhengchuan casually put both cards into a drawer. Turning back, he noticed that Wei Zisu's complexion seemed a little off and asked with concern, "Zisu, what's wrong?"

Wei Zisu touched his forehead with the back of his hand. "I'm a little hot. I'll take a shower first."

With that, he took his pajamas and went into the bathroom.

Yin Zhengchuan stood rooted to the spot, his heart pounding as he caught the orange scent Wei Zisu had left in his wake.

He had been run off his feet all day, busy to the point of exhaustion. Only now, with everything finally quiet, did he realize that tonight... was their wedding night!

He glanced at the footboard of the alcove bed and thought, Am I... still sleeping here tonight?

Rubbing his hands, he paced around the room, running through seven or eight scenarios in his head. He hadn't been this nervous even when heading out on military missions.

"Once Zisu finishes his shower, I'd better hurry up and wash, too. I need to smell nice so Zisu won't turn his nose up at me."

After his shower, Wei Zisu changed into his pajamas and opened the door. Yin Zhengchuan, who was about to go in for his own shower, suddenly realized something was wrong.

The orange scent was so strong!

Wei Zisu's cheeks were flushed pink, and he was bracing himself against the doorframe, panting softly.

"Zisu..."

Yin Zhengchuan instinctively reached out to steady him, but Wei Zisu moved first, suddenly catching his arm. "Zhengchuan, I'm in heat..." he said weakly.

Yin Zhengchuan: !!!

His breathing immediately quickened, and his throat went terribly dry.

"Give me... a suppressant," Wei Zisu said.

Yin Zhengchuan finally snapped out of it. Without another word, he scooped Wei Zisu into his arms, laid him on the bed, and took a suppressant from the bedside drawer to inject him.

Watching the flush slowly recede from Wei Zisu's face, Yin Zhengchuan felt a little disappointed.

Sometimes he really didn't want to be a gentleman. How nice it would be to be a beast.

"Zisu, are you feeling better?" he asked.

Wei Zisu's breathing had steadied somewhat. He nodded slightly. "I'm feeling better. Thank you."

All right, then. For that thank-you from Wei Zisu alone, Yin Zhengchuan still felt it was better to be a gentleman.

The scent of Wei Zisu's pheromones remained strong, without weakening in the slightest. He lay on his side, curled up and hugging himself tightly.

The more often an unmarked omega relied on suppressants to get through a heat, the harder subsequent heats became.

In the ten years since his first heat at seventeen, he had used more doses of suppressants than he could count. Over the past two years, he had even increased his dosage to the maximum. His doctor had said excessive doses could cause side effects and advised him not to increase it any further.

But without increasing the dosage, it was too agonizing.

That last suppressant lasted less than half an hour before he began feeling awful again. His body burned, as though a fire were blazing from the inside out. He was thirsty, craving an alpha's pheromones.

Almost instinctively, he thought of that fresh mint scent.

Yin Zhengchuan had stayed by his bedside all along. Seeing his brows knit again, he leaned down slightly and asked, "Zisu, do you need to go to the hospital?"

Wei Zisu suddenly grabbed the front of his clothes and pulled him down until their chests were pressed tightly together, his face mere inches away.

Yin Zhengchuan forgot to breathe almost instantly. All he heard was Wei Zisu saying, "Please... give me some pheromones."