Gu Sheng’s sensitivity period hit viciously—his whole body burned so hot he lost consciousness.

It was also the first time Zhou Shiyi had faced the susceptibility period described in the books. He understood why Gu Sheng had turned to him: he was a beta, unaffected by pheromones.

“How is he?” Grandma Zhou was downstairs; when she saw Zhou Shiyi come out, she asked about Gu Sheng’s condition.

“I just fell asleep—Grandma, don’t worry for now.” Zhou Shiyi hadn’t expected an alpha’s heat sensitivity period to be like this.

Everyone in his family is beta, and he had only ever seen descriptions of an alpha’s heat period in books. The last time at the hospital, Gu Sheng’s heat was already winding down, so without experiencing it firsthand he still couldn’t understand.

Alphas are born warriors; when their heat period arrives they feel impulsive and irritable, becoming highly aggressive, accompanied by pain and high fever.

When Gu Sheng came to see him, he said his susceptible period couldn’t be suppressed by any inhibitors, so he needed his help.

The last time at the hospital, the Gu Sheng Zhou Shiyi met had also been one who was about to come out of a susceptibility period, so Zhou Shiyi hadn’t yet realized the serious consequences of this.

“Bang bang, crash.” Hearing the sounds of things hitting the floor upstairs, Zhou Shiyi greeted Grandma Zhou and went up.

Grandmother Zhou was a little anxious, but could only stand by and prepare some food for them downstairs.

An alpha’s proceptive period is long and unbearable, especially for an alpha like Gu Sheng who has to get through it on his own. He had become extremely irritable, full of destructive urges.

When Zhou Shiyi pushed the door open, he saw Gu Sheng sitting on the floor, the ground littered with fragments.

When Gu Sheng saw the door open, he charged straight at Zhou Shiyi.

Zhou Shiyi stayed unhurried, restrained Gu Sheng, and tied up his hands.

He saw the wound on Gu Sheng’s wrist still seeping blood; it must have been caused during Gu Sheng’s struggle.

The straps on the bed had already been shredded into pieces by Gu Sheng; there was nothing else for Zhou Shiyi not to understand.

Gu Sheng now resembled a beast gone mad, wildly aggressive.

Zhou Shiyi was bumped by Gu Sheng and his ribs ached.

He had skillfully restrained Gu Sheng; Gu Sheng still kept struggling, constantly lunging at Zhou Shiyi.

So it went: one person tied down, the other struggling, and in the end both of them were utterly spent.

Zhou Shiyi finally got Gu Sheng under control. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat down nearby; at this point he couldn’t be bothered to tidy up the scene.

Gu Sheng kept struggling on the bed, and eventually he was exhausted and fell asleep there.

The bed he was sleeping on was the single bed Zhou’s parents had prepared for him, so nothing special had been set up on it. Gu Sheng was also very resistant to sedatives, so he had to rely on physical means to tough it out.

There were scratches from Gu Sheng all over Zhou Shiyi’s forearms, but he was too exhausted to deal with them; he propped one hand on his knee and dozed off against the bed.

Half-awake, he sensed the wound on his arm itching slightly.

He opened his eyes and saw Gu Sheng curled up at the foot of his bed, head bowed, cupping Zhou Shiyi’s forearm and licking the wound.

While Zhou Shiyi was asleep, Gu Sheng had somehow freed himself from his restraints without Zhou noticing.

Zhou Shiyi felt his scalp go numb; he grabbed the back of Gu Sheng’s collar and pulled him away.

“Gu Sheng!”

During an oestrus period, it’s not strange for an alpha to act in any number of ways.

Zhou Shiyi didn’t expect that when Gu Sheng broke free of his restraints, he neither ran out nor made any aggressive move; instead he hovered around Zhou Shiyi, licking his wounds.

Although this approach only made Zhou Shiyi’s scalp tingle.

Startled, Zhou Shiyi failed to loosen his hold, and Gu Sheng nearly choked on his own clothes.

He slowly raised his head.

Zhou Shiyi, thinking Gu Sheng had finally come to, relaxed his grip.

“Gu Sheng, get up first.”

Seeing Gu Sheng’s eyes all bloodshot, Zhou Shiyi suddenly realized something was wrong. Gu Sheng lunged violently; Zhou, caught off guard, was pinned to the ground.

Gu Sheng sniffed lightly at the base of Zhou Shiyi’s neck, as if searching for the best place to sink his teeth.

The feeling was very strange, like being watched by a large carnivore — and now this beast seemed ravenously hungry.

Zhou Shiyi had already prepared the sedative in his hand; in a situation like this, if he couldn’t control him, it was better to give Gu Sheng a shot first.

“Gu Sheng, can you hear me?” When Gu Sheng heard Zhou Shiyi’s voice, some of the bloodshot in his eyes faded; he finally seemed to recognize who was in front of him.

“Zhou… Zhou Shiyi?”

“It’s me.”

Suddenly Gu Sheng lowered his head and bit down on the hand that Zhou Shiyi was using to block him.

“Hiss.” Zhou Shiyi pushed Gu Sheng away, but Gu Sheng refused to let go.

With sharp canines piercing the skin, Zhou Shiyi could feel Gu Sheng’s pheromones entering his body through the bloodstream; it was only then that he could smell Gu Sheng’s scent filling the entire room.

As early as two months ago, the pheromones in Zhou Shiyi’s body had already finished metabolizing, so like other betas, he couldn’t smell other people’s pheromones.

Maybe because this had happened before, Gu Sheng’s pheromones were raging through his body.

What followed was a faint metallic tang of blood from Zhou Shiyi’s wound, tearing a seam through the mint-scented bedroom.

“Mmm.” Zhou Shiyi could feel Gu Sheng greedily licking at his wound, trying to suck more blood from that small cut.

Zhou Shiyi exposed the needle of the sedative, but Gu Sheng suddenly lifted his head.

Zhou Shiyi stiffened; he wasn’t sure whether Gu Sheng had seen the sedative. This was the method they’d agreed on to use at the last moment.

Gu Sheng released Zhou Shiyi’s hands and looked at him steadily, as if he’d found his home. He reached out, wrapped his arms around Zhou Shiyi’s neck, and nuzzled at his shoulder and neck like a spoiled child.

“Zhou Shiyi, I feel so bad.”

Zhou Shiyi sat up; during that time Gu Sheng had been very quiet, like a koala.

The damp warmth of Gu Sheng’s breath hit the back of his neck, causing goosebumps to rise; after a while, Zhou Shiyi actually got used to it.

After great effort, Zhou Shiyi managed to put Gu Sheng on the bed. The moment he set him down, Gu Sheng used both hands and feet to trap Zhou Shiyi on the bed.

Gu Sheng still had some awareness, but very little; he disliked Zhou Shiyi’s movement to leave.

“Go where?”

Zhou Shiyi could only soothe him softly: “I’ll get you something to eat, I’ll be right back.”

“I won’t eat, just hold me, don’t go.”

When he was conscious and clear-headed, Gu Sheng would never say things like this; Zhou Shiyi hesitated for a moment.

His hand was in Gu Sheng’s hair, stroking it: “Alright, I won’t leave.”

He lay down with his clothes on, and Gu Sheng kept burrowing into his arms.

Gu Sheng’s face was flushed bright red; he was so uncomfortable he wanted nothing more than to press up against Zhou Shiyi to get a bit of cool.

It was summer and already hot, and Gu Sheng’s bedroom had a broken air conditioner, so the two of them were sweating profusely in the middle of the night.

While Gu Sheng slept in a half-daze, Zhou Shiyi resigned himself, went into the bathroom, drew a basin of hot water, and gave Gu Sheng a simple wipe-down.

Feeling more comfortable, Gu Sheng rolled over to hug the pillow, mumbled a few words, and went back to sleep.

Zhou Shiyi went downstairs and found the meal Grandma Zhou had left for them in the kitchen.

Footsteps sounded nearby, and Gu Sheng wrapped his arms around Zhou Shiyi’s waist from behind.

He was gone for less than fifteen minutes in all.

Zhou Shiyi sighed and gently patted Gu Sheng’s arm.

“Let go of me first and eat something.”

Gu Sheng drew a deep breath at the base of Zhou Shiyi’s neck, reluctantly releasing him.

After that, no matter what Zhou Shiyi was doing, Gu Sheng stuck to him like a little tail, staying less than a step behind.

“You—” Zhou Shiyi turned back and saw Gu Sheng looking at him with innocent eyes, faint red veins visible in them, like a big dog being scolded by its owner.

He suddenly couldn’t say a word.

He led Gu Sheng to the dining room and sat him down; Gu Sheng looked at him with one expectant eye, as if guarding his big bone.

Zhou Shiyi ordered a bowl of noodles. Seeing that he was still conscious, it should be fine.

“Ah.” Seeing the noodles in front of him, Gu Sheng still refused to start eating.

Zhou Shiyi paused, picked up the noodles and fed Gu Sheng, who obediently waited to be spoon-fed.

After feeding him a few bites, Zhou Shiyi suddenly saw a sly smile in Gu Sheng’s eyes; annoyed, Zhou lightly tapped his head.

“Eat it yourself.”

“Oh.” Gu Sheng sluggishly rubbed the spot on his head that had been knocked, finally picked up his chopsticks, and finished the noodles himself.

He put the bowl and chopsticks in the sink. Not knowing when Gu Sheng might suddenly lose control again, he could only settle him down first.

Zhou Shiyi led Gu Sheng to the bathroom and helped him put toothpaste on his brush.

Gu Sheng didn’t act up this time; whatever Zhou Shiyi told him to do, he did.

Gu Sheng’s current sensitivity period lasted seven days, and it was then that Zhou Shiyi realized how much Gu Sheng loved to bite people.

The previous scars hadn’t healed yet, and Gu Sheng had already left three bite marks on him.

Gu Sheng bit with real skill, making sure to draw a little blood, then injecting his pheromones.

Looking at the fluffy head in front of him, Zhou Shiyi softly hissed, “Gu Sheng, are you a dog?”

Annoyed, he pushed his fingers into Gu Sheng’s hair, tangling it into a mess.

Hearing Zhou Shiyi’s voice, Gu Sheng lifted his wet eyes to look at him, trying to tell whether Zhou Shiyi was really angry. Reluctantly he wiped away the last bit of blood and placed Zhou Shiyi’s hand on his cheek, rubbing against it lightly.

Gu Sheng knew instinctively that every time he did this, Zhou Shiyi was powerless against him; this time was no different.

Zhou Shiyi saw the red veins still visible in Gu Sheng’s eyes and could only turn his head away, saying nothing more.

By the fifth day, besides needing Zhou Shiyi to hold him to sleep each night and asking Zhou Shiyi to tell him bedtime stories, Gu Sheng had become extremely clingy—progressing from keeping a distance at first to now being satisfied as long as Zhou Shiyi moved within his line of sight.

Zhou Shiyi also learned for the first time how tormenting an alpha’s rut could be, especially for an alpha like Gu Sheng, against whom suppressants had no effect; each rut was a tremendous trial.

Not just for Gu Sheng himself, but for the people taking care of him.

Seven days passed. Gu Sheng had acquired several strap marks on his limbs, and Zhou Shiyi had a few bite marks on his body; both of them were exhausted.

Alphas in rut had uncontrollable physiological reactions—Zhou Shiyi could only pretend not to notice.

Zhou Shiyi ignored the accusing look from Gu Sheng and told himself this was all normal.

By the seventh day, Gu Sheng was leaning against Zhou Shiyi while playing games.

It was a single-player game; he’d tried several times without getting the reward, even spending money didn’t earn him a top score. Gu Sheng was annoyed, sulking to himself.

Zhou Shiyi saw this and, in that same position, used his phone to beat the level.

Seeing his ranking jump straight to first place, Gu Sheng finally felt happy.

“Gu Sheng, your susceptibility period is almost over, right?”

“Mm.”

“Your mother asked when you’ll return.”

Gu Sheng lifted his head from Zhou Shiyi; his gaze sharpened: “You want to drive me away?”

“It’s not that — it’s your mother who’s really worried about you, I—”

Nian Meilan knew Gu Sheng’s rut had come, but she was in City H and tied up with other matters, unable to get here in time.

Gu Sheng didn’t want to hear Zhou Shiyi speak. Turning his back to him, he pulled the blanket over his head and mumbled, “You don’t need to drive me away. When I’m better, I’ll leave on my own.”

Zhou Shiyi was kicked out by Gu Sheng; he frowned slightly at the door panel.

The phone screen lit up silently. Zhou Shiyi took out his phone—it was a message from Nian Meilan.

Zhou Shiyi forwarded Gu Sheng’s reply; Nian Meilan paused for a moment.

Then she sent him a big red envelope.

Zhou Shiyi stared at the red envelope without taking it. He set his phone down, feeling a bit irritable.

During a heat cycle, an alpha emits his pheromones; it’s not just him—everyone present who can smell the pheromones will sense the alpha’s emotions and, subtly, be influenced by them.

Zhou Shiyi was in exactly that situation now. He had been with Gu Sheng for seven days and seven nights; almost every single moment had been immersed in Gu Sheng’s pheromones.

Unwittingly, Zhou Shiyi had been affected too. He felt a little agitated, though he couldn’t quite say why.

He had never told Gu Sheng any of this; he looked up the papers and found that his condition was actually very normal.

As a beta, as long as he stayed away from the alpha or omega whose scent could reach him, things would be much better.

Realizing this seemed to bother Zhou Shiyi, Nian Meilan explained to him that she didn’t mean anything by it—she was just an elder giving pocket money to a younger person.

Zhou Shiyi politely declined. Facing the closed door, he could only turn and leave.

Listening to Zhou Shiyi’s footsteps recede, Gu Sheng pulled back the covers. He stared at that door, feeling deeply wronged; his eyes had turned bloodshot, exactly as they were during his sensitivity period.

Gu Sheng rested for three days, then was about to leave.

“Eat more, just in case you get hungry on the road. You’re carrying so much, it’s not convenient.” Grandma Zhou picked a piece of food for Gu Sheng, and he accepted it politely.

As Gu Sheng dragged his suitcase past Zhou Shiyi, Zhou smelled that strong, aggressive scent of mint again.

“Wait.” Zhou Shiyi frowned and reached out to grab Gu Sheng’s arm.

In the summer, Gu Sheng wore only a short-sleeved shirt, their skin pressed together, both of them trembling slightly.

The warmth returning to his palm was telling Zhou Shiyi that Gu Sheng was not quite right.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Gu Sheng turned back, his eyes wet and a little red around the rims, as if he didn’t understand why Zhou Shiyi had suddenly grabbed him.

He looked so much like he had on the mountain before that Zhou Shiyi’s heart jolted; he suddenly remembered that Gu Sheng’s previous estrus hadn’t completely passed, and that incident at school where a false estrus had suddenly broken out.

“What’s wrong? Xiao Yi, why haven’t you taken Xiao Sheng to the station yet?”

Pressing Gu Sheng down in the chair, Zhou Shiyi took his temperature with a thermometer.

While waiting, Zhou Shiyi found the reagent that could test pheromone thresholds.

The final results were in: Gu Sheng had indeed entered a susceptible period.

Gu Sheng’s face had already flushed; he looked sickly at Zhou Shiyi, as if waiting for Zhou Shiyi to announce the findings.

Zhou Shiyi looked at the numbers on the thermometer, threw it down, and said, “Grandma, don’t go for now, Gu Sheng is still feeling unwell.”

“Oh dear, what should we do, do we need to go to the hospital?” Zhou Grandma asked anxiously.

“Grandma, don’t worry, I’m fine, I’ll recover after a few days’ rest.” Gu Sheng staggered to his feet, and Zhou Shiyi hurried to steady him.

Early that morning, chaos reigned in the Zhou family’s small house.

Gu Sheng wasn’t feeling well, so naturally he couldn’t make it to the station.

“Zhou Shiyi.”

“Mm, I’m here.” Zhou Shiyi held the heating body of Gu Sheng, and heard Gu Sheng call his name.

“Zhou Shiyi.”

“Mm.”

“Zhou Shiyi, Zhou Shiyi.” Gu Sheng wrapped his arms around him, eyes reddened and dangerous; only when he heard Zhou Shiyi’s voice did he feel any security.

He had meant to bite him a little, to let Zhou Shiyi know how fierce he was, but seeing the bite mark on Zhou Shiyi’s wrist, Gu Sheng suddenly couldn’t bear it.

He sat facing Zhou Shiyi, his head resting on Zhou Shiyi’s shoulder; he could see the clean nape of Zhou Shiyi’s neck, and his canines tingled.

He thought, why isn’t Zhou Shiyi an omega? Then he could mark him, so anyone would know at a glance that Zhou Shiyi belonged to him.

But staring at Zhou Shiyi’s smooth nape, Gu Sheng suddenly felt a twinge of resentment.

Zhou Shiyi always felt Gu Sheng’s breath on the back of his neck was a little cool. He meant to speak, but a sharp pain suddenly came from his shoulder.

Gu Sheng bit him spitefully, and when he smelled the familiar metallic tang of blood, he then, as if to placate him, licked the drop away.

He felt guilty; looking up at Zhou Shiyi’s almost indulgent expression softened Gu Sheng completely, and he could only call Zhou Shiyi’s name again and again.

Zhou Shiyi kept answering him again and again, until both their voices grew a little hoarse.

From angles Zhou Shiyi couldn’t see, Gu Sheng’s eyes were full of possessiveness and a determination to have Zhou Shiyi at all costs.

He thought, Zhou Shiyi, why are you so good to me? If you hadn’t been so good to me, how would I have become so audacious?

Before and after an alpha’s estrus period, their emotions swing wildly; they’re easily triggered and can enter a secondary estrus period.

Nian Meilan knew Gu Sheng was now in a secondary estrus period and didn’t dare provoke him; she could only urge him to take care of himself.

Gu Sheng lay on Zhou Shiyi’s bed, replying to Nian Meilan’s message.

His original bedroom’s air conditioner had broken, and in summer he couldn’t be left alone—besides, he was in a sensitive period—so one night, pillow in hand, Gu Sheng knocked on Zhou Shiyi’s door.

Zhou Shiyi, almost indulgently tolerant toward Gu Sheng, let him in and allowed him to enter his room.

Zhou Shiyi absentmindedly stroked Gu Sheng’s soft hair while operating the computer with one hand.

The fund Zhou Shiyi had invested in had started making him profits, so at least he didn’t have to worry about living expenses.

When the time came, Zhou Shiyi left the computer to Gu Sheng.

Gu Sheng entered his information on the interface. There were too many people accessing the site at the same time, so the connection was very slow. Watching the little loading icon spin and spin, Gu Sheng felt unusually nervous.

He waited until the interface popped up, and Gu Sheng still couldn’t believe it.

“Zhou Shiyi, my grades are out.”

Zhou Shiyi leaned over and looked at Gu Sheng’s results.

Gu Sheng had performed unusually well this time—he’d already surpassed A University’s previous cutoff score.

“Mm.” Zhou Shiyi ruffled Gu Sheng’s hair, feeling genuinely happy for him.

Gu Sheng laughed twice and then screenshot his grades and sent them to the family group.

As soon as he posted his grades, the whole group exploded.

Gu Sheng’s phone vibrated nonstop; when he opened it he received quite a few red envelopes.

In the class group chat, after a period of silence, messages started pouring in again.

Some did well, some did poorly — overall, after the exams they all had a sense of where they stood.

Once the results were out, it was time to think about choosing universities and majors.

Zhou Shiyi had known for a long time that Gu Sheng intended to apply to A University. He ruffled Gu Sheng’s hair: “Have you decided what major you want to apply for?”

Gu Sheng pulled Zhou Shiyi’s hand away from messing with his hair and held it in his own.

“Zhou Shen, lend me a bit of your academic god aura.” Gu Sheng said with a smile.

Zhou Shiyi smiled too; between the two of them, that line was like a code only they could understand.

“Mm, I’ll lend it to you.”

In the end Zhou Shiyi never saw which college Gu Sheng applied to; all he knew was that Gu Sheng signed up for a finance-related major.

When the gaokao results came out, things were lively for a few days.

Gu Sheng’s final score earned him second in his grade and fourth in the province. The provincial top scorer wasn’t from their school, but this result still brought a lot of prestige to Mingde High.

They wouldn’t have to worry about next year’s enrollment quota.

A couple of days after submitting his college choices, Gu Sheng entered another receptive period.

Zhou Shiyi gently set Gu Sheng down, carefully pulled the blanket over him, worried that after sweating so much a gust of cold wind might give him a chill.

He got up, opened his computer, and searched for cases like Gu Sheng’s.

Even if Zhou Shiyi were duller, he would know that three estrus-like periods wouldn’t happen in a single month.

Cold light fell across Zhou Shiyi’s face. He propped his chin on his hand and sank into thought.

This time, while Gu Sheng’s condition had eased a bit, Zhou Shiyi took the opportunity to have someone take Gu Sheng to the city hospital.

The one driving was Zhou Shiyi’s neighbor, related to the Zhou family in some way, and also a beta, so he wasn’t afraid of smelling Gu Sheng’s pheromones.

Come to think of it, he still had to call Zhou Shiyi “little uncle.”

“Little uncle, don’t worry, I’ve been driving for years, my skills are solid. Hey, everyone buckle up.”

Zhou Shiyi nodded, helped Gu Sheng into the back seat first, and then got in himself.

Gu Sheng was curled up in Zhou Shiyi’s arms, wrapped in a blanket and held to his chest by Zhou Shiyi, feeling a little drowsy.

He listened to Zhou Shiyi talking with the people in front, and he wearily closed his eyes.

It wasn’t until they got off the bus that Zhou Shiyi woke Gu Sheng.

“Uncle, you two take care, call me if anything comes up. I’ll be in the city these next couple of days.”

“Mm, okay, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” The man smiled, waved, and drove off.

Zhou Shiyi escorted Gu Sheng into the hospital and, looking over Gu Sheng’s test results, fell into thought.

The values showed that Gu Sheng was indeed currently in a susceptible period; he was admitted into the alpha isolation ward.

Gu Sheng’s attending physician, looking at Gu Sheng’s medical report, called in the other doctors to review it together.

Finally the doctor asked as usual, “Do you mean to say he went through three heats in one month?”

Zhou Shiyi nodded.

“It’s like this — our equipment here isn’t advanced enough, so we first sent his samples to City A. Once their results come back, we’ll be able to reach a definitive conclusion,” the doctor explained the situation to Zhou Shiyi.

“Why don’t you come back tomorrow? Tomorrow we’ll have a panel of specialists — the best doctors from across the country are here. If even they can’t find a way, then we really don’t have any better options to offer.”

“Okay, thank you, doctor.”

Zhou Shiyi held Gu Sheng’s medical chart and stopped outside the isolation room.

The moment he reached the door, Gu Sheng—almost as if by telepathy—turned his head and looked at him.

Gu Sheng looked a little haggard now, but his eyes still lit up when he saw Zhou Shiyi.

“How is it?”

“The doctor said the results will take some time, but there’s a specialist consultation tomorrow — they’ll send your case then.” Zhou Shiyi walked over, sat on the chair by the bedside, and peeled an apple for Gu Sheng.

Nian Meilan had heard the news about Gu Sheng and had already driven over.

The next day, the specialists convened to discuss Gu Sheng’s case, and just then the results from City A came in. The experts displayed the findings on the screen.

After discussions by more than thirty specialists, they concluded that Gu Sheng had only gone through one real heat this month; the other two episodes were likely him feeling unwell and a psychological effect that made him mistakenly believe he was still in heat.

And because Gu Sheng’s condition was unusual, it even fooled the routine tests.