Chapter 39: Marking You
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Suddenly lying on top of Gu Liyu, An Lan was startled.
More importantly, Gu Liyu’s arm showed no sign of letting go. An Lan heard a “thud, thud, thud” sound, as if a massive hammer had struck, making An Lan’s arm weak and unable to move.
“Perhaps it hasn’t been tempted,” Gu Liyu said seriously.
An Lan almost choked.
What did Gu Liyu just say?
“Tempt… tempted?”
“Yeah. Because of my father’s influence, many teachers were hired from an early age to teach me to control my emotions, to avoid excessive pheromone release.”
Gu Liyu had a high concentration of pheromones. Even a slight release had an immeasurable impact on other alphas and omegas.
“Besides suppressing other alphas, I’m not good at ‘micro releases.'”
So that’s how it was.
An Lan patted Gu Liyu’s shoulder, and Gu Liyu released his grip.
Lying back next to Gu Liyu, An Lan still felt the weight of Gu Liyu’s arm around his waist.
“If there’s something that moves me, maybe, in a situation I’m not aware of, I might unintentionally leak a bit,” Gu Liyu said.
“Move? But, my friend, it must be quite difficult for you to be moved! Do you know what nickname you have in our school?” An Lan said, realizing he should probably shut up.
“X Aloof,” Gu Liyu replied.
He showed no signs of displeasure, as if “X Aloof” had no negative connotations, merely a neutral description.
“You know?” An Lan turned his face to ask.
“Yeah.”
After all, many classmates discussed this topic rather openly.
“I think you high-quality alphas are a bit cunning. Clearly, you know other classmates are discussing you, but you never express your stance, letting everyone talk. You listen to everyone’s thoughts, but nobody knows your own,” An Lan half-jokingly said.
“Our hearing is exceptional, and we can’t cover our ears. We also can’t stop others from discussing us. The only thing we can do is not to care.”
“Suddenly realized that being an alpha requires a broad mind.”
“In fact… I also don’t like…”
Gu Liyu’s voice was very soft, the last sentence like a mutter.
Don’t like what? Being discussed by others?
Suddenly, An Lan understood.
“You don’t like the term ‘high-quality alpha,’ right?” An Lan leaned closer to him and asked.
Gu Liyu seemed to pause. “How did you know?”
An Lan smiled, directly lying next to Gu Liyu, getting closer to him. “Because I don’t like it either. Originally, with this whole ABO thing, people were divided into three, six, and nine. We betas became the highest category. Many omegas’ goal became finding a strong alpha, a way to showcase their own value… I don’t appreciate that. And alphas, even they are divided into high-quality and not high-quality. People are classified into three, six, and nine. What determines a person’s worth is their gender, not their abilities.”
An Lan realized he had said too much and awkwardly laughed, about to pull away.
Unexpectedly, Gu Liyu suddenly turned over, his arm resting on An Lan’s back, moving closer to him.
“Yes. If someone is attracted to another person, it’s not just because of pheromones. Pursuing the top-tier, high-quality…sometimes it’s excessive.”
Perhaps among so many so-called ‘high-quality alphas,’ Gu Liyu is the one who understands these downsides the most.
Gu Yunli’s excessively high quality led to an extreme reaction, and the only remaining outcome was madness.
And this kind of sigh, Gu Liyu might have only expressed it to An Lan.
“Hey, let’s go to sleep. It’s past two o’clock.” An Lan raised his hand and patted Gu Liyu on the body.
“Yeah, sleep.” Gu Liyu’s arm still rested on An Lan’s body. This guy could fall asleep as soon as he said so. His eyes closed, and in less than a minute, his breathing became steady and long.
Listening to his breathing, An Lan soon fell asleep too.
In a daze, An Lan heard the sound of water, as if it was coming from the bathroom. He rubbed his eyes, raised his hand to touch his side, and indeed, it was empty.
An Lan grabbed his phone from the bedside table, checked the time, and it was only a little past three.
Oh my God, Gu Liyu, why are you taking a shower at three in the morning?
If he didn’t wake up, it would be fine. Once he woke up, An Lan would need to use the restroom. Closing his eyes, he came to the outside of the bathroom and leaned against the wall, waiting for Gu Liyu to come out.
However, after a while, the water was still running. Besides the sound of water, An Lan faintly heard an itching breath.
As if struggling from the darkest crevices of the heart, something was trying to break free. Once it broke through the restraint, it surged out crazily, impacting An Lan’s nerves.
In that instant, he woke up.
He opened his eyes, held his breath, and Gu Liyu, whether he entered the bathroom too hastily or not, hadn’t even closed the door.
The narrow gap suddenly became full of temptation. Initially just lightly tugging at An Lan’s curiosity, he swallowed hard and told himself he shouldn’t look. Gu Liyu was taking a shower inside; how could he open the door?
Then, the temptation multiplied a thousandfold. An indescribable scent overflowed from the gap, turning into an open seduction.
Idiot… why did Gu Liyu decide to take a shower at this hour? He wasn’t taking a shower at all…
An Lan’s legs moved uncontrollably, step by step forward, and his fingers touched the door gap. He carefully and slowly opened it.
There was no steam in the bathroom. Gu Liyu was using cold water.
Under the ice-cold water, Gu Liyu’s originally loose sleepwear clung tightly to his body, and the alpha’s powerful and impactful contours carried a kind of forcefulness, surging into An Lan’s sight.
Gu Liyu had his back to the bathroom door, tilting his head, as if he had undergone some torment, seeking redemption.
It also seemed like… he was releasing his crazed destructive desire.
Suddenly, An Lan understood what the other was doing. A nervousness spread in his heart, a dangerous premonition enveloping him, suppressing even his breath.
An Lan took a step back, and at this d*mned moment, the door made a “creak” sound. His heart felt like it was pierced by something sharp, countless nerves cracking along with it. Gu Liyu turned around, and his once cold eyes were now burning, simmering from his skin to his bones and blood.
“Did you see?”
That voice was like the last frenzy of a torch burning in the dark.
An Lan took two steps back in succession, turned around, and ran.
But Gu Liyu’s movements were as swift as a ghost. When his hand grabbed An Lan’s sleepwear at the collar and pulled it backward, the sound of the front buttons snapping off was terrifying, and the sleepwear was torn off, causing An Lan to fall forward due to inertia.
Except for pheromones, he felt for the first time the overwhelming power of a high-quality alpha. Apart from fighting with other kids in kindergarten, An Lan hadn’t crawled and rolled for many years.
His ankle tightened, and his whole person was dragged over. It was scarier than a horror movie!
“Am I not good enough for you?”
The icy voice was filled with desire and landed heavily on An Lan’s heart.
“Or am I not protective enough for you?”
At this moment, Gu Liyu had completely enveloped An Lan. His hands moved up from An Lan’s ankles until they supported An Lan’s shoulders.
“Are you… are you entering a susceptible period? I’ll go get suppressants for you!”
An Lan supported himself with his elbows, attempting to break free from the restraints.
But then, Gu Liyu’s hand clasped his chin, leaning in close to his ear, and said, “I don’t need suppressants.”
The warmth of his palm made An Lan uneasy, and the fingers exerted great pressure, as if intending to crush An Lan’s jawbone.
“I only need you.”
The words were light, but they carried a devastating power, and An Lan’s elbow suddenly swung backward, fiercely hitting Gu Liyu’s chest.
But Gu Liyu didn’t even dodge, completely devoid of pain, and even let out a light laugh.
“I want to mark you.”
An Lan’s heart was completely in Gu Liyu’s grasp, blood unable to flow, and he mustered all his strength to crawl forward. However, Gu Liyu’s arms were still supporting him on both sides. As he moved forward at an unhurried pace, the staircase was already close, but suddenly, Gu Liyu lowered his head. Something touched the back of An Lan’s neck.
“Don’t—”
Fangs ruthlessly embedded themselves in An Lan’s flesh, piercing through his skin and muscle.
The pain shot directly to An Lan’s brain, making him unable to breathe. His arms lost strength, and he fell completely on the ground, the pain making his teeth chatter.
“Why can’t I mark you? Why?”
Gu Liyu turned An Lan over, and his eyes were filled with uncontrollable madness, unease, and paranoia.
Just like what An Lan saw at the end of the hospital corridor that day, the special wristband on Gu Yunli’s hand.
“You are mine…”
“I’m not an omega… I don’t have a reproductive gland…” An Lan’s voice trembled.
He hoped that Gu Liyu would wake up, otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
However, Gu Liyu did not give up. He smiled like a blooming mandala in the darkness, seemingly coaxing gently.
“Then I will truly mark you.”
“W-What?”
At that moment, An Lan’s mind went blank. He couldn’t even comprehend the meaning of those words until Gu Liyu’s kiss descended.
His moist lips carried a cold and resolute aura, forcefully parting An Lan’s lips, who only came to his senses to realize that what Gu Liyu intended to do was probably more terrifying than biting his neck. An unexpected surge of strength came from somewhere within him, and he forcefully bumped his knee upward.
Gu Liyu, too focused on kissing him, didn’t anticipate this strike.
He paused for a moment, as if all traces of tenderness had been destroyed. He looked at An Lan, pinched his cheeks, and forced him to open his mouth.
Next was a fierce and conquering kiss, sweeping through An Lan’s sensory nerves. An Lan’s resistance only resulted in a colder oppression.
Gu Liyu ruthlessly pulled the hair at the back of An Lan’s head, forcing him to tilt his chin up to endure the almost torturous kiss.
“Don’t… don’t…”
“An Lan? An Lan, wake up… An Lan!”
A voice sounded in his ears, as if coming from another world.
It gradually became clearer, like a comforting chord, and the restless heart instantly calmed down.
And the oppressive and coercive Gu Liyu seemed like a static sculpture as An Lan quickly crawled out.
“An Lan, you’re having a nightmare, wake up quickly!”
With that voice, An Lan suddenly opened his eyes, and Gu Liyu, with one hand supporting his ear, looked at him.
He overlapped with the Gu Liyu in the dream, shocking An Lan, who without hesitation pushed him hard. He rolled off the bed, pulling the blanket down with him.
“An Lan!” Gu Liyu’s voice, cold but tinged with urgency, as if the unchanging melody suddenly hit a wrong note.
An Lan stopped abruptly, suddenly realizing that this Gu Liyu and the one in the dream were not the same person.
He had just had an absurd nightmare, where the Gu Liyu in the dream wanted to forcefully mark him.
His rapidly beating heart gradually calmed down. He took a deep breath, turned his head, and saw Gu Liyu sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at him.
Compared to An Lan, Gu Liyu seemed more at a loss.
“Sorry… I scared you…”
Gu Liyu’s fingers pressed on the bedside table, and the dark room slowly brightened, but the light wasn’t glaring; it was soft and comforting.
“It should be me who scared you. You were sweating and shouting ‘don’t.’ In your dream, I did something terrible to you, right?”
An Lan was stunned; he didn’t expect Gu Liyu to be so perceptive.
“Don’t be afraid. I won’t come near you. The reason you have nightmares is probably because of my pheromones.” Gu Liyu said.
“Your pheromones?” An Lan looked at him in disbelief.
“Usually, I control my pheromones very well. But because we discussed the scent of my pheromones for a long time, maybe subconsciously, I wanted you to smell it. So, after I fell asleep, I couldn’t control it.” Gu Liyu explained.
An Lan understood. Even if he was an inferior alpha, alphas naturally repelled each other. When Gu Liyu’s pheromone concentration reached a certain level, it was enough to overpower him.
“Before, even if I fell asleep, I could control it flawlessly. But tonight… we chatted happily before sleep, so I relaxed. You can sleep here, and I’ll go to the sofa downstairs.”
Gu Liyu opened the bedside table, revealing a small box. It was undoubtedly suppressants.
“Don’t… don’t take that thing.” An Lan spoke up.
“What?” Gu Liyu looked over.
“I… I have read some reports about your father… he used a lot of potent suppressants, and in the end, he developed resistance. I’m not afraid of you, so don’t take it.” An Lan said.
“No, you are afraid of me. And… you should be afraid of me.” Gu Liyu put the small box into the pocket of his sleep pants and walked towards the stairs.
“I told you I’m not afraid of you!” An Lan’s voice raised an octave.
Gu Liyu, with his back to him, said in a slightly helpless tone, “You released a lot of your own pheromones. What used to be a good smell suddenly became sharp and filled with caution.”
Pheromones don’t lie.
An Lan stood there, realizing one thing. This nightmare was caused by pheromones. Neither of them was at fault, but An Lan had a premonition that once Gu Liyu walked away, there would be an insurmountable gap between them.
Gu Liyu would become more distant, and he would lose him.
“Don’t misuse suppressants. I’m not an omega who can be easily bullied by you.” An Lan stood up and threw the blanket back on the bed.
He walked over in three or two steps, grabbing Gu Liyu’s arm.
“I couldn’t control my pheromones probably because you were by my side. Even the most naive alpha is still human and tends to be greedy, wanting more. Do you understand?”
Gu Liyu didn’t turn around, and his voice sounded calm, but An Lan could feel a slight tremor.
Gu Liyu’s fear was not of the uncontrolled pheromones but of himself.
He didn’t want to become the second Gu Yunli, hurting the people around him.
“I said, you don’t need this thing.” An Lan persistently took the small iron box away. He tightly held Gu Liyu’s wrist, pulling him back. “Cover yourself with the blanket, go to sleep!”
“An Lan.” Gu Liyu repeated An Lan’s name with a somewhat helpless tone.
“If I have another nightmare and wake up, can we talk then? I can’t just let you stamp me with a Beast-like mark every time you’re fierce to me in a dream, right?”
“Beast-like mark?” Gu Liyu finally turned his head, his eyes filled with disbelief.
“Yeah, beast-like mark. You scared me so much that I was sweating. If not a beast, is it an angel?”
The dream was too absurd; Gu Liyu actually wanted to mark him.
Temporary marking wasn’t enough; he wanted a permanent bond?
“And, after all, I’m the one having nightmares. You as the…” An Lan quickly corrected himself, realizing Gu Liyu didn’t like the term superior alpha. “Shouldn’t you have a sense of territory?”
“What kind of territorial awareness?”
“To protect your classmates and friends.”
Gu Liyu stood there, obviously still adapting to An Lan’s logic.
“Hey, wait! If my nightmares are caused by your pheromones leaking out, there must still be a scent now. Lie down quickly, expose your neck, and let me smell it!”
Thinking about the scent of Gu Liyu’s pheromones, An Lan seemed to forget the pain of his wounds. He even arrogantly pressed down on Gu Liyu’s shoulder, pushing him towards the edge of the bed.
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