A routine way to check if an alpha is in a heat-prone period is usually to look for fever symptoms and test pheromone levels to see if they exceed normal values.

Cases like Gu Sheng’s, where he can fool pheromone tests, are still rare.

After learning that Gu Sheng has severe post-traumatic stress disorder, the specialists said psychological therapy should still be part of the treatment. It’s unclear whether Gu Sheng himself knows that his repeated heats are caused by psychological factors.

“The patient may be experiencing extreme emotional agitation, causing a rapid, short-term surge in pheromones that puts him into a pseudo-heat. Think back—wasn’t every episode preceded by particularly intense emotional fluctuations, after which the heat would break out?”

“It’s very likely that a sudden burst of pheromones in a short time pushed him into a pseudo-receptive period, which gave him some psychological comfort—or you could say a sense of security—and that’s what caused the pseudo-receptivity.”

Hearing the doctor, Zhou Shiyi thought back.

The first time was probably a true receptive period, the second time happened after he got angry, and the third time nobody knows why.

Even though it was after he’d submitted his college choices, Gu Sheng had already been reassured after the exam. Normally, excitement and happiness are positive emotions and shouldn’t have triggered Gu Sheng’s trauma response.

“In short, after this you should also pay attention to omegas whose pheromones match his—use those omegas’ pheromones to make a custom inhibitor for him; that might help a bit.”

Nian Meilan listened, her expression somewhat dazed.

She didn’t know that Gu Sheng’s psychological problems had already become so severe, and that all of this seemed to have come without any warning.

“Okay, thank you, doctor. We’ll be careful.”

Mr. Gu supported his wife’s shoulder, giving her strength, and Nian Meilan covered her face and sobbed softly.

Zhou Shiyi stared at Gu Sheng’s isolation ward, not knowing what he was thinking.

It was already very late, so the Gu family arranged a hotel for Zhou Shiyi not far from the hospital.

They stayed at the hospital to watch over Gu Sheng’s condition.

Zhou Shiyi knew it would be a bit inappropriate to stay any longer, so he politely took his leave.

The Gu family had booked a five-star hotel for Zhou Shiyi; if he remembered correctly, the hotel was also one of the Gu family’s properties.

Zhou Shiyi swiped the door, slid the key card into the slot, turned on the lights, and Gu Sheng took in the whole room.

To ensure Zhou Shiyi a comfortable rest, the Gu family had arranged a room with a large bed, and it was kept immaculately tidy.

Zhou Shiyi connected to the hotel’s Wi‑Fi and looked up some information online.

Reading the materials, Zhou Shiyi picked up paper and pen and began jotting things down.

It was his personal habit: when he faced something troubling and couldn’t find a clue, he’d write down key points on paper. Once linked together, those points would at least give him a rough judgment.

He noted the dates of Gu Sheng’s three susceptible periods. Before those dates he wrote down the times he had seen Gu Sheng at the hospital; from those times he could infer when Gu Sheng’s previous susceptible period had been. After the date of this current susceptible period he drew a question mark, indicating he didn’t know when Gu Sheng’s next susceptible period would be.

Judging by the timeline, Gu Sheng’s first susceptibility period this month was actually normal; the crux lies in the two subsequent susceptibility periods.

A false susceptibility period can fool machines. But it very likely can’t fool the owner of the susceptibility.

So what reason—what caused Gu Sheng to use false susceptibility periods to deceive himself and trick the machines? He must have felt threatened by something, some force that made him willing to harm his own body in exchange for that sliver of safety.

Zhou Shiyi carefully recalled the events that happened during that time.

The second receptive period came just as Gu Sheng was about to leave; at first he seemed reluctant. Was it because he sensed the threat came from his family?

So that’s why he didn’t want to go home. But the way Nian Meilan and Gu’s father behaved today didn’t look like people who knew of someone or something that could threaten Gu Sheng and were doing nothing about it.

It meant that Gu Sheng could gain something from this receptive period that he felt was worth it.

Unable to figure it out, Zhou Shiyi set it aside and stopped worrying about it.

He recalled Gu Sheng’s third susceptibility period.

Because the timeframe was short, Zhou Shiyi could accurately recall what happened during those days.

During the daytime, Gu Sheng’s mood was still fine. After checking the grades, it was clear that Gu Sheng was genuinely happy, as if he’d achieved the goal he wanted.

His emotions had remained in a joyful, steady state—so when did he suddenly become upset, or feel triggered?

Zhou Shiyi capped his pen and marked that time on the paper.

He leaned back against the chair and suddenly noticed the central air-conditioning in the hotel.

A flash came to his mind — he suddenly remembered that another thing had happened that night.

The air-conditioning in Gu Sheng’s room had broken, so he had been staying in Zhou Shiyi’s room; during that time Gu Sheng had stayed apart because of his rut.

But that night, Zhou Shiyi told Gu Sheng the air-conditioning had been fixed, and for a moment Gu Sheng’s emotions showed on his face — his expression immediately darkened; he really wasn’t happy.

After that Gu Sheng obediently went back to his room, but in the middle of the night Zhou Shiyi again smelled that rich minty scent that surrounded him like pheromones.

Gu Sheng’s pheromones could no longer be said to have a refreshing, awakening effect; Zhou Shiyi could sense that Gu Sheng was in the midst of pain.

Zhou Shiyi pushed open the door and saw Gu Sheng lying in bed, burning and delirious.

If last time it was very likely Gu Sheng’s psychological reaction, then what caused it this time?

Zhou Shiyi suddenly noticed the wound on his wrist; it had already scabbed over, but on closer inspection you could still make out a bite mark.

It was Gu Sheng’s bite.

Every time Gu Sheng went into heat, he had a habit of biting people—either himself or the person caring for him, Zhou Shiyi.

There were a few bite marks on Zhou Shiyi’s body; the new ones and the old ones together looked like someone had been stamping him.

Zhou Shiyi gulped down a mouthful of water; though he didn’t want to admit it, he already had a conclusion in his mind.

He rushed into the bathroom and turned on the shower, standing beneath it as hot water poured over him from head to toe.

With doubts taking root, those memories he had dismissed as illusions surfaced in his mind.

For example, during class, Gu Sheng always liked to look his way.

For example, Gu Sheng’s hot-and-cold attitude toward him, and that strange possessiveness.

He remembered the day he and Gu Sheng signed their three rules; Gu Sheng spoke slowly, ostensibly talking about himself, but he kept watching Zhou Shiyi’s reactions and adjusting his tone at the right moments, trying to win Zhou Shiyi’s sympathy.

In the end he of course succeeded — whatever Zhou Shiyi’s motives were, Gu Sheng still extracted a promise from him.

The clearest instance was that time on the mountaintop watching the sunrise, the way Gu Sheng looked at him.

Zhou Shiyi wiped the water from his face; from the very beginning he had been certain that Gu Sheng and He Yanqing were the official pairing, so he never once considered himself as a candidate.

He had ignored Gu Sheng’s inexplicable attitude toward him, and He Yanqing’s half-suppressed looks whenever he and Gu Sheng were together.

It seemed as if from the start he’d decided to deviate from the original plot—starting with a dream the original body had given him. Zhou Shiyi discovered that whenever he was with Gu Sheng, he was likely to be pulled back into the original storyline.

He’d wanted to keep his distance from Gu Sheng, but now every time Gu Sheng hit an estrus, he ended up in Zhou Shiyi’s bed.

They must be the two protagonists with the least sense of boundaries.

It’s even possible that, in the original story, Zhou Shiyi padded his role so much he could have been a vicious supporting male.

But right now, He’s Yanching still follows the original plot and studies abroad, while Gu Sheng chooses to forgo studying overseas and stays in the country to take the gaokao.

So the major plot points of the original story cannot be changed.

Zhou Shiyi’s mind was in a jumble. He hurried through a messy shower, and when he saw the bite marks on his body, he grew even more agitated.

The newest bite mark was from three days ago—Gu Sheng had sunk his teeth into his collarbone.

If Zhou Shiyi hadn’t dodged in time, Gu Sheng would have gone for Zhou Shiyi’s throat.

The neck is a very vulnerable part of the body; fortunately, Gu Sheng hadn’t succeeded this time.

He buried his face in Zhou Shiyi’s chest and bit a few times as if venting his anger—he hadn’t drawn blood, but the bite marks remained.

If Zhou Shiyi hadn’t dodged, Gu Sheng wouldn’t have actually bitten his Adam’s apple; his action didn’t seem like an attempt to vent psychological frustration, but more like a way to assert his possession over that person.

Zhou Shiyi finished his shower and stepped out of the bathroom, drying his hair.

Inside the bathroom, sounds from outside were muffled; only after he left did he realize someone had been knocking at the door.

He couldn’t tell how long the person had been knocking, but the pattern—three knocks, a pause, then more—was persistent enough that it might wake the other residents.

Zhou Shiyi looked out through the peephole and saw Gu Sheng outside.

Gu Sheng’s cheeks were flushed, his eyes fixed, staring at the door. He had wanted to knock again, but whether it was because he was overly sensitive to his own pheromones or not, Gu Sheng’s nose twitched slightly.

He smelled Zhou Shiyi’s scent carrying his pheromones, right there behind the door.

Gu Sheng lowered his hand from the door and looked in through the peephole.

Even though he knew Gu Sheng shouldn’t be able to see him, Zhou Shiyi still had the strange illusion that they were making eye contact.

Gu Sheng was still in a hospital gown, with a jacket hastily thrown over it, standing at Zhou Shiyi’s door and looking utterly pitiable.

Maybe he couldn’t stand, because Gu Sheng swayed slightly; he pressed his fevered forehead against the hotel door to cool it down.

Zhou Shiyi sighed inwardly, and in the end couldn’t bear it — he opened the door.

It seemed he hadn’t expected Zhou Shiyi to open the door so suddenly; leaning against it, Gu Sheng lost his balance and tipped inward.

Zhou Shiyi caught him fully in his arms, his hand touching the skin of Gu Sheng that was exposed—scorchingly hot.

He stepped back a few paces, and following the motion, Gu Sheng was successfully brought inside.

The hotel’s main door, having no obstruction, closed automatically.

The door clicked softly shut, as if someone had pressed the pause button inside.

Gu Sheng wrapped his arms around Zhou Shiyi’s neck, sniffing at him. Aside from the hotel body wash, only the pheromones Gu Sheng had left on Zhou remained; finally, Gu Sheng was satisfied.

“Zhou Shiyi, my head hurts, I feel terrible.”

“Gu Sheng.” Zhou Shiyi tore Gu Sheng away from him, steadied his shoulders, and kept him from leaning back in.

“When the specialists discussed your case today, I was there too.”

The two in the room fell silent for a moment, and Gu Sheng slowly straightened up.

The corners of his eyes were red, he still looked a little ill, but Gu Sheng suddenly smiled and said, “So?”

Zhou Shiyi looked at the person in front of him and felt somewhat unfamiliar.

“Gu Sheng, the doctors say your glands are perfectly normal. The discomfort you feel is entirely psychological. Whenever you perceive a threat, your body reacts for you and enters a pseudo-estrus.”

“Entering a false estrus susceptibility period—although it can fool the machines, it can’t fool you—so when you’re in that false susceptibility period, you’re actually conscious, right?”

Gu Sheng didn’t answer; instead, he pressed Zhou Shiyi’s slightly cool hand with his own burning-hot one.

One cold, one hot — Zhou Shiyi was scorched by Gu Sheng’s body heat.

Gu Sheng held Zhou Shiyi’s hand, not letting him pull away, staring at him without blinking.

He took Zhou Shiyi’s hand and firmly pressed it down against the back of his own neck.

Feeling the slightly raised patch of skin in his palm, Zhou Shiyi seemed frightened by the warmth there.

“Zhou Shiyi, touch it, can you feel it? It’s going into heat for you.”