In principle, the production team prohibited guests from visiting other people's rooms for private contact after lights-out.
But there had been private contact tonight.
And, inexplicably, two people had shown up.
Bai Luochuan thought it over and strategically remained silent.
But the knocking showed no sign of stopping.
In fact, it was getting more and more urgent.
Qi Yu frowned in irritation.
Bai Luochuan hesitated for a while.
Then he pointed toward the door and lowered his voice. "I'll get him to leave first, then we can keep talking."
Qi Yu nodded.
Yan Cheng really was too noisy.
If they let him keep making a fuss, the production team's staff would come to investigate, and it would be a little awkward if they discovered Qi Yu hiding in Bai Luochuan's room.
Big Fox sat obediently where he was.
Bai Luochuan walked to the door.
He did not open it.
Instead, he copied Yan Cheng and knocked back against the door. "Stop shouting. It's late, and I'm going to sleep. If you keep bothering me, I'll contact the production team."
That got the threat across.
Bai Luochuan thought he had allowed Yan Cheng to save face, too.
Anyone with even a little sense should have quietly left at that point.
They should not have kept pestering him.
But clearly.
Yan Cheng was precisely the sort of person who had no sense.
The noise paused only briefly before he continued knocking. "Don't give me all that other stuff. I just want to say a few things to you face-to-face. I'll leave once I'm done. I promise I won't bother you."
As the words left his mouth.
Yan Cheng inexplicably felt a sense of déjà vu.
Only after thinking it over carefully did he suddenly remember.
Once upon a time.
Bai Luochuan seemed to have had a similar conversation with him.
Except back then, when those words were spoken, he had been the one inside, while Bai Luochuan stood crying outside the door.
He had also begged him to open it.
Said there were things he wanted to discuss face-to-face.
And then...
Then he had not opened the door.
He had even deliberately turned on his home sound system, letting the blaring music drown out the sounds outside.
He did not know how long Bai Luochuan had stayed there.
He only knew that his manager had called the following morning and told him someone had photographed Bai Luochuan outside his home and posted it online.
His identity as a stalker had been cemented.
His manager asked how he wanted to handle it.
Of course his manager had noticed the ambiguous relationship between him and Bai Luochuan.
Asking how he wanted to handle it meant asking whether they should acknowledge the relationship and give Bai Luochuan a way out.
But Yan Cheng still remembered how decisively he had refused.
He still had a limitless future ahead of him.
And he did not want romantic rumors linking him to a stupid Beta who had nothing.
So he had chosen to let Bai Luochuan take all the blame.
At the time, he had thought he would never regret that decision for the rest of his life.
Who could have imagined that regret would come so soon?
Yan Cheng could hardly stand himself anymore.
But it was as though even heaven was punishing him.
Now he knew he had been wrong.
Yet the door he wanted to knock on would no longer open.
As though he had made up his mind not to comply, Bai Luochuan did not even answer this time, unlike before.
Yan Cheng could not help continuing to knock.
His movements were bigger than before.
As though he had forgotten other people might notice, Yan Cheng no longer cared about anything at all.
Bai Luochuan was unbearably irritated.
He debated whether he should open the door and take a look.
Ideally, he could get rid of the man with a few words.
That would spare him any more of this fuss.
But before he could move, Qi Yu stood up and walked over to him.
First, he took a robe and put it on Bai Luochuan. Then, for no apparent reason, he hugged Bai Luochuan and kissed his forehead before smiling and stepping back twice.
Retreating to a spot that could not be seen from outside the door, he said, "Just open the door, ge. Don't worry about me."
Bai Luochuan was a little baffled.
But since Qi Yu had said so, he did not mind.
He took a deep breath.
Bai Luochuan opened the door in front of him.
He had intended to have a proper conversation with Yan Cheng.
But to his surprise, the instant the door opened, Yan Cheng's face, which had been full of anger, suddenly changed.
As though he had suffered some terrible violation.
Yan Cheng abruptly stepped back.
Then he seemed to feel that distance was still not enough.
He paused, then gritted his teeth and moved several more steps to the side.
He made a point of putting a considerable distance between himself and Bai Luochuan.
Only then did he glare and curse under his breath. "Has Qi Yu lost his mind!? He's in your room right now, isn't he? What the hell is wrong with him!?"
Bai Luochuan: ?
How did he know?
Yan Cheng had suddenly acquired intelligence.
Bai Luochuan found that a little hard to get used to.
Seeing Bai Luochuan's bewildered expression, Yan Cheng froze for a moment, too.
Then he began laughing quietly, like a madman.
He finally understood why Qi Yu had repeatedly said on camera that he liked Bai Luochuan being a Beta.
Because Betas could not smell pheromones.
He would be completely oblivious to those perverted acts of his.
The instant the door opened, an excessively strong scent of vetiver had hit him in the face.
The difference in rank between Alphas made Yan Cheng feel as though he had been surrounded by countless wild beasts. Trembling all over, he had nearly failed to stay on his feet.
Bai Luochuan seemed to have been soaked in Qi Yu's pheromones.
The scent of Alpha pheromones clung all over him.
This was a fairly insane way for an Alpha to mark a mate.
It was just that, in most cases, Omegas could not bear pheromones that intense either, so they would not let their Alphas do this.
Claiming ownership without the slightest restraint.
Qi Yu really was a lunatic.
The smile on Yan Cheng's face turned far more vicious.
Yet he never dared step forward and close the distance between them.
He could only stay where he was.
Through gritted teeth, Yan Cheng said, "Bai Luochuan, do you have any idea what Qi Yu has done to you?"
Bai Luochuan tilted his head.
What could he have done?
Hadn't he just kissed me?
We've been dating for five years. We've seen everything there is to see, whether we should have or not.
What's wrong with a kiss?
Yan Cheng felt as though he were talking to a brick wall.
But he still explained properly. "His pheromones are all over you. That smell is frighteningly strong! Only a pervert would do something like this! Use your brain and stay away from him!"
Pheromones.
Bai Luochuan had read about them in the world setting.
He lowered his head and sniffed himself.
There was indeed a faint scent of vetiver.
But wasn't that Qi Yu's cologne?
I usually use that cologne along with Qi Yu, too. How does that make him a pervert?
Bai Luochuan found it baffling.
And Yan Cheng's commotion finally drew all the staff downstairs and the other guests over.
Feeling everyone's gazes on him.
Yan Cheng decided to go all the way.
He pointed behind Bai Luochuan.
"Qi Yu is in Bai Luochuan's room!" he said. "That counts as breaking the rules, right? Isn't the production team going to do something about it?"
Before you continue