Chapter 29: Alpha with Pheromone Disorder (29)
Shui Que had returned.
The moment he took off his scarf, Song Qin instantly knew what had happened.
That small lip bead—usually hidden in the center of his thin upper lip and barely noticeable—was now visibly plumper after being sucked.
Dangling there between his lips, it was impossible to ignore.
And yet, Shui Que hadn’t noticed anything at all. He only felt that his lips were occasionally dry, so his flushed tongue slipped out to moisten them with a quick lick.
A sheen of moisture settled on his lips.
What had they done?
What exactly had they promised or offered to get Shui Que to tiptoe, tilt his face up, and obediently present his lips for them to suck on?
If it had been before, Song Qin might’ve assumed it was some material incentive. But the black card he handed over last night had completely ruled out that possibility for him.
Song Qin’s gaze was deep and unwavering; ever since Shui Que walked in, his eyes hadn’t left him.
It wasn’t for money.
Then what was it for?
Song Qin didn’t believe any of the other three had any particularly attractive or admirable qualities.
Unless—
Shui Que simply liked the feeling of kissing?
For a moment, Song Qin felt as if he’d grabbed onto a clue. The age gap between them—something he had always intentionally avoided thinking about—suddenly felt glaringly obvious.
Shui Que was still just a newly of-age Alpha.
Song Qin could clearly remember when he was in his third year of high school. The Alphas his age were unbelievably restless—drinking, street racing, getting into gang fights—the violent and arrogant traits of Alphas showed in full at that age.
Back then, there weren’t suppression drugs for Alphas as commonly available as they were now.
They burned off their excess energy in chaos and indulgence.
Song Qin hadn’t joined them. He remembered swimming laps from midnight until dawn in a pool, overflowing with a kind of energy that was hard to even imagine.
But those methods of venting—
Drinking, racing, brawling?
For a frail Alpha, getting involved in things like that was far too dangerous.
Rather than releasing his impulses personally, Shui Que was better suited to simply watch. Just his gaze alone could act like a stimulant for Alphas. After a group of Alphas battled it out through reckless means and decided on a winner, they would surround him, seat him on a luxury sports car, and forcefully hold him down to lick his lips.
Given the Alphas Song Qin had known back then, he wouldn’t put it past them.
They might’ve even taken it further—while the victor was kissing him, the others would crowd around just to see the flush at the corners of Shui Que’s eyes, and the trembling grip of his slender waist.
Then they’d joke crudely, laughing and teasing, asking why he was so pale—was he actually an Omega pretending to be an Alpha?
Most Alphas were always like that—repulsively arrogant.
But in comparison…
If the wild impulses of Alphas at that age needed an outlet, then—
Song Qin could at least accept that Shui Que used kissing as a way to cope.
Adolescent lust and restlessness couldn’t be separated—they came as a package.
At least kissing wasn’t dangerous. It wouldn’t leave him hurt.
He wouldn’t come back from a fight covered in bruises and welts.
That made Song Qin feel a little better.
But then, the thought followed—
Why hadn’t he come to him?
After all, Song Qin had been the one helping with the treatment for his Pheromone Disorder.
His hand tightened unconsciously around the head of his cane, the cool jade digging into his palm.
Shui Que took off his coat and hung his padded jacket on the coat rack.
The door was still open. Even though there was heating inside, he was standing right by the entrance, letting the cold wind blow straight in from outside.
He was wearing a high-neck knit sweater that was loose-fitting. The moment the wind hit it, it puffed out, looking anything but warm. All it did was let in the draft.
Song Qin was about to call Shui Que over, tell him not to stand by the door.
“Brother…”
Shui Que stepped back, glanced outside, then turned back and nervously locked eyes with Song Qin.
His hands were hidden behind his back, looking especially guilty.
A sense of foreboding crept over Song Qin.
“The neighbor’s puppy came to visit us… is that okay?” Shui Que said hesitantly. “It might be staying for a while…”
“The neighbor’s puppy sent as a gift.”
—Song Qin suddenly remembered that phrase.
He had thought the whole “puppy” thing was just a joke.
And the “neighbor,” without a doubt, was Xie Xiangxun.
“How long?” he asked, his voice lowering.
Shui Que mumbled, “I don’t know…”
After kissing Xie Xiangxun at the supermarket, he’d grown increasingly suspicious.
That guy clearly just wanted to kiss him!
And he’d even said it was to help him avoid his ex!
Shui Que had actually been pretty mad about it.
Xie Xiangxun had said he was about to take over the local branch office and would be busy, so he wanted to leave York at Shui Que’s place.
Shui Que insisted that the dog could only stay until he personally returned it.
He figured it wouldn’t be long—he was already 85% through the storyline.
But Xie Xiangxun seemed to think it’d be a long-term arrangement. Saying he looked pleased would be an understatement.
He even used it as an excuse to say he’d visit York at Shui Que’s house later.
“It’ll be staying a long time?” Song Qin’s brows furrowed tightly. “Did something happen to its owner?”
Hopefully, that was the case.
Xie Xiangxun, unable to hold back his personality, strolled right in. “Still so harsh with your words.”
He was carrying multiple bags, and following behind him was a black-and-brown German Shepherd. It held its leash in its mouth and trotted over to sit beside Shui Que.
Shui Que crouched down and half-hugged the dog, then looked up at him. “Brother, is it okay? If you don’t like it, I can keep it in my room. Aside from walking it in the mornings, it won’t go anywhere else.”
“…”
Song Qin couldn’t say no.
He realized Shui Que’s eyes slightly drooped at the corners, and with that expression, he looked especially pitiful.
All Song Qin could do was nod.
Shui Que took York by the leash and closed the door.
Now Xie Xiangxun was inside too.
Song Qin’s frown deepened.
He had only agreed to let the dog stay.
Not the dog’s owner.
But Xie Xiangxun acted like he owned the place, walking in and asking, “Where should I put York’s food?”
Shui Que quickly responded, “In the freezer in my room!”
Seeing how Song Qin didn’t seem too fond of York and was keeping a stiff face, he guessed maybe Song Qin was afraid of dogs.
So he would try not to bother him.
“Where’s your room?” Xie Xiangxun raised an eyebrow, asking with interest, “Will you take me there?”
Song Qin blocked his way with a cold face, his voice as icy as falling shards.
“In the kitchen freezer.”
The faint smile that had lingered at the corners of Xie Xiangxun’s mouth faded completely.
“After all these years, you’re still just as difficult,” he said with a mocking chill. “He’s not your possession.”
“I never thought he was,” Song Qin replied, enunciating each word like his throat had been soaked in ice.
Shui Que was stuck between the two of them, unsure whether to move forward or back, and completely lost on what was being implied between their words.
“Then… let’s just put it in the kitchen freezer?” he quietly tried to steer the topic away, reasoning sincerely, “The kitchen freezer is big.”
Xie and Song parted on bad terms.
Shui Que had never seen such an aggressive side of Xie Xiangxun.
His tone had turned eerily cold as he mocked Song Qin: “You should see a therapist. Can’t you act like a normal, well-adjusted person for once?”
The Xie and Song families used to have a good relationship.
Even when he was a kid, Xie Xiangxun had found Song Qin a little strange—he just didn’t get along with other children.
Song Qin’s eighth birthday party was held at the Song family’s old residence. The Xie family had been invited and had attended to keep up relations.
In Song Qin’s room was a porcelain doll, exquisitely crafted.
Xie Xiangxun had barely touched it—really, it was still in perfect condition, not even moved—yet Song Qin had gone completely berserk and fought him over it.
They were just seven or eight years old—what kid that age didn’t get into a few scuffles?
But Song Qin had gone all out, truly trying to hurt him.
Back then, Xie Xiangxun had been the undisputed leader among kids, but he had never met anyone like that before.
The two of them had fought fiercely, leaving the once-festive birthday party to end in awkward silence.
From then on, Xie Xiangxun realized they were completely incompatible. Song Qin, especially in his teenage years, had a rigid, oppressive personality that sent chills down one’s spine.
He just didn’t seem like a normal person.
His possessiveness and need for control were frightening. Xie Xiangxun wasn’t sure if that had anything to do with how the Song family raised him.
Eventually, he came to believe that the version of Song Qin people saw today was just a façade.
Maybe he had seen a therapist and been treated.
But judging by how tightly he still tried to control Shui Que’s friendships—getting tense over even letting someone look at Shui Que’s room—
He’s acting very well.
That was Xie Xiangxun’s judgment.
Not treated—just hiding it perfectly in front of Shui Que.
Otherwise, how could Shui Que think so highly of him?
The freeze-dried raw snacks were sorted neatly by category.
As Xie Xiangxun walked out, York was playing in the courtyard snow.
Seeing both of them coming out, the German Shepherd lifted its head and ran toward them, fur sleek and majestic.
Xie Xiangxun figured the dog was probably sad to see him go. He squatted down to pet York’s head.
But the shepherd raced past him like the wind, wagging its tail pitifully in front of Shui Que.
Xie Xiangxun: ?
Wasn’t this the dog he had raised for five years?
He wasn’t sure, so he looked again.
“York? I’m leaving now. You’re staying with Shui Shui from now on?”
York gave no response, just rubbed against Shui Que’s pant leg.
It looked so ungrateful—like saying, Thanks, stranger, for raising me for five years. Now I’m going with my real owner.
Xie Xiangxun: “…”
He turned to Shui Que and said, “I’ll get going now. No need to see me off—the wind’s strong outside.”
“I wasn’t planning to,” Shui Que replied honestly. “I just came out to call York back inside.”
Xie Xiangxun: “…”
Snowflakes smacked him in the face. He looked like a poor husband kicked out of his house with nothing.
No one cared.
But Shui Que had clearly seen York and still hadn’t gone back inside.
If that wasn’t love, what was?
Ah, how he wanted to kiss him.
“Go back in,” he said. “I’ll come visit York again.”
He said he was coming to see York, but his eyes never left Shui Que.
＊
Snow hadn’t fallen all night. A bright moon hung overhead. Shui Que hadn’t drawn the curtains, and the cool moonlight gently illuminated his figure in bed.
He always slept so neatly, laying flat with perfect posture, but as the night wore on, he’d curl up on his side, knees tucked around the blanket, his beautiful back arching like a bow.
He slept in one little corner of the large bed, as if he lacked a sense of safety.
When it got too warm, his subconscious would kick one leg out to lift the blanket—then trap it again—but he never let the part covering his stomach move.
Maybe because of his small frame, even his feet were smaller than most Alphas. The arches of his feet were pale, soles tinted pink, and on the little toe of his left foot, there was a tiny mole like a black pearl.
That little mole looked like a star. When he turned in the early morning hours, it vanished in the moonlight.
A tall shadow often appeared at midnight, covering his fair sleeping face in darkness.
Shui Que was a deep sleeper and rarely woke up.
Sometimes Song Qin wondered if curling up like that made him sleep more soundly.
Now and then, Shui Que would smile faintly in his sleep, a soft dimple forming on his cheek.
Did he dream about him?
Song Qin dreamed of him all the time.
He also dreamed of a porcelain doll.
He couldn’t quite remember what that childhood doll had looked like—his dreams were vague and blurry.
When he looked closely, he found the doll in his dream looked like a miniature Shui Que.
By the end of the dream, the Shui Que doll shattered into pieces, floating lightly. Song Qin jolted awake, feeling it was a terrible omen.
As usual, he woke in the middle of the night and stared at Shui Que for a long time—until he turned over again.
Then he finally slept, dreamless.
When Shui Que opened his eyes, the first thing he did was instinctively touch his lips. Something didn’t feel quite right.
Just a slight brush with his fingers made him inhale sharply. He rushed to the bathroom mirror, gripping the edge of the sink as he leaned in.
The lip bead, which was supposed to be subtle and hidden again, seemed—maybe it was just his imagination—even more swollen than yesterday.
His lips were dry, and he couldn’t help but lick them.
Wet, red, and pitifully puffy. Even a light touch from his tongue made them tingle and sting.
“Do mosquitoes even exist in winter…?” he mumbled to himself.
【Good morning, Host!】System 77 cheerfully greeted him. It only appeared in its floating orb form when no one else was around, taking the chance to cozy up with its host.
The little orb nestled into the crook of Shui Que’s neck.
The display screen scrolled with a joyful emoji.
【Congratulations, Host! Plot progress is at 90%! Someone has already made a post online exposing your story!】
Shui Que wanted to see the post. But before he could even get excited, he walked around the villa holding his phone—only to find there was no signal anywhere.
And the courtyard gate, leading to the outside world, had been locked.
Huge shoutout to @candycorns2 on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.