"Is my body better? Or is his?"
"You’re only allowed to look at my muscles."
At ten in the morning, bathed in the glow of the sun, Li Zhenting and Li Zi finally deigned to open their eyes.
As her consciousness settled into a calm clarity, Li Zi recalled some of the things a certain someone had said the previous night. Suddenly, she felt the urge to tease him again.
Li Zhenting was sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to her, pulling on his trousers. Li Zi reached out from under the covers and poked the dimples in the small of his back.
"So overbearing, are we?"
The man’s muscles tensed instantly. He didn't turn around, maintaining his posture as he muttered stiffly, "...Yeah."
Watching his reddening ears, Li Zi continued with relish, "The instructor’s physique is indeed quite good. After all, they have to train every day in the army."
The shame blooming in his heart instantly dissipated by half. Li Zhenting whipped his head around and glared at her.
"Huh?"
"I work out every day too, okay?!"
"Cough."
Li Zi nearly burst out laughing, quickly masking it with a cough.
"Mm-hmm, you work hard too."
"What do you mean, 'you work hard too'? Are you patronizing me?"
Li Zhenting was thoroughly displeased. He grabbed Li Zi’s hand, which was resting on his back, and pressed it against his abdomen.
"You think you can get these just by working 'hard'? Do you have any idea how much time I spend on my core every day?"
Then he guided her hand to grip his pectoral muscles.
"Do you know what kind of stuff I have to eat to maintain this? Stuff even a dog wouldn't touch!"
Li Zi curled her fingers, letting her fingertips sink into the soft yet elastic muscle.
"The feel is quite nice."
"Hmph, right?" Li Zhenting arched an eyebrow. "At least you have some—" *taste.*
"But your pecs seem smaller than before?"
"???????"
The man stared at her in shock, his eyes even flickering with a hint of grievance.
"Of course they won't look as big without exercise! They’ll pump up after a few sets!"
Seeing Li Zi’s skeptical "is that so?" expression, Li Zhenting’s cheek twitched. He felt his dignity being profoundly insulted.
He threw down a challenge: "You just wait."
Dropping Li Zi’s hand, he scrambled to the empty space beside the bed, planted his palms on the floor, and rapidly hammered out dozens of push-ups.
"Whew... see?"
Due to the exertion, his muscles had indeed begun to swell and flush. He pointed at his results and accused her, "Get it straight—I'm huge."
Li Zi was nearly going insane trying to hold back her laughter. How could this idiot be so cute? It made it impossible to stop teasing him.
She suppressed the upward curve of her lips and struck a thoughtful pose. "Indeed... though it seems the instructor’s natural state is also very..."
"Li! Zi!"
The man exploded.
"What exactly are you looking at? I don't think you're at military training; I think you're at a beauty pageant! Do you have any self-awareness at all, looking at other men's bodies so casually?"
His chest heaved with rage. He took two steps forward and leaned over, pinning Li Zi down.
*That’s enough cat-teasing for today,* Li Zi thought.
She finally stopped hiding her smile. With a swift motion, she flipped him over and pinned him beneath her. Ignoring his struggles, she pinched his waist—the most sensitive area of his body.
"Didn't I say it last night? You're the best."
"This narrow waist." Her hand wandered upward. "This chest with my tattoo."
"This body—it all belongs to me. And I only like things that belong to me."
Li Zhenting’s furious expression slowly froze as a crimson flush crept up his cheeks.
"You just love bullying me."
"Do I?" The girl looked at him with a charming, innocent smile.
"Tsk..." Li Zhenting turned his head away, refusing to acknowledge her.
Li Zi’s hand began to wander downward restlessly.
"You—!" He arched his back, his abdominal muscles tightening. "Aren't you going to get up?"
"My rut is starting this month. I was going to take suppressants yesterday, but then you showed up." The danger in her eyes gradually became apparent. "No need for them now."
Li Zhenting condemned her with a fierce look. They had been at it like that all last night, and it had barely been any time at all—she wanted to go again?
*You were the one who wouldn't let me stop last night,* Li Zi replied with her eyes.
Fine...
Li Zhenting gave up the struggle, resting his hands on Li Zi. As a Beta, he had already deprived Li Zi of the chance to spend her rut in perfect comfort; he couldn't very well let his own lover rely on suppressants when he was right here.
He exposed the back of his neck. The person above him immediately leaned in, opening her mouth to sink her canines into that soft flesh.
"Ah—"
Li Zhenting gasped in pain. No matter how many times it happened, he could never get used to this sensation. He wondered what it felt like for Omegas when their glands were bitten for a mark. For him, he could only feel waves of electricity mixed with the primal unease of a prey animal having its weak point seized, crashing through his brain and body.
Li Zi remained obsessed with his "gland." Perhaps this was the biological instinct of an Alpha during their rut; she kept shifting angles, nipping, licking, sucking, and rubbing, as if trying to find some unique scent within it.
A numbing heat began to spread from deep within Li Zhenting’s body at some point. He shifted uncomfortably, unfamiliar with this inexplicable reaction.
"Don't... don't keep staring at that spot to bite."
He gripped Li Zi’s neck, trying to lift her head, but forgot that an Alpha’s nape was a place that must never be touched—especially during their rut.
Sure enough, Li Zi raised her head as he wished, but her eyes were already flushed red from the stimulation of her pheromones, filled with the coldness of a proud, powerful predator who had been offended.
She grabbed the tank top Li Zhenting had intended to wear from the edge of the bed, twisted it into a rope, and bound his hands to the headboard.
"This is your punishment," she judged.
"Don't go too far now..." Li Zhenting was getting a little scared.
But Li Zi, who was usually quite gentle with him, only offered a cold, temperatureless smile.
"My dear Ting-ge, you have to be obedient."
"Whatever you do, don't move."
*Buzz, buzz.*
His phone, charging on the nightstand, vibrated twice. The screen lit up with a WeChat message from Liu Yan.
[Li-ge!!!!]
[I'm moving in with her!!!!]
No one paid attention. The owner of the phone was currently pleading for mercy from his own master.
"Too deep!"
"Don't—"
A minute later, it *buzzed* twice more.
[Ah, I didn't make myself clear.]
[I'm planning to move in with Tianwu. It should be in about a month.]
[So I wanted to talk to you about the work at the shop.]
[I'm actually quite a mess right now...]
No reply.
The person in the room rolled over, hands bound in the air, forced to rely on his trembling legs for support.
"Xiao Zi, I beg you..."
[Li-ge, are you there?]
[Actually, I don't know if this is the right decision.]
[Sigh.]
[I really like Tianwu, but I feel like everything is moving too smoothly and too fast.]
[Sometimes I feel like I don't actually know her...]
"My phone... keeps vibrating."
The man, captured by a beast that had nearly lost its reason, finally found an excuse to attempt a temporary escape. His hopeful gaze shrank back in fear when it met the beast’s cold, blue-tinted eyes.
He tried to crawl forward quietly. *Just an inch. I'll just move an inch.*
He was immediately yanked back with force, leaving behind only a mournful cry.
The phone in his hand was still ringing. Liu Yan was taking advantage of the gap while Yu Tianwu happily went to remove her makeup to pour his heart into the chat box.
[Li-ge, what do you think?]
[If I tell my dad that the person I found is an Alpha, will he be pissed off to death?]
[Puppy-crying.gif]
[Help meeee.]
[Li-ge, what are you doing? Hurry up and reply.]
He had no idea that the "Big Brother" he was pining for was currently being led to explore a "Peach Blossom Spring" that had never been visited before.
The stimulation was too great; he had lost his senses.
He was the one who most wanted to scream "Help me" right now.
Several hours later, Liu Yan finally received a reply from his Big Brother.
[Scram.]
[Stop flaunting your relationship to me.]
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 易感期 | Rut | A period of heightened aggression and sexual drive for Alphas in the ABO setting. |
| 抑制剂 | Suppressant | Medication used to control the symptoms of a rut or heat. |
| 桃花源地 | Peach Blossom Spring | A literary metaphor for a hidden paradise; here used as a euphemism for intimate areas. |
| 秀恩爱 | Flaunting a relationship / PDA | Literally "showing affection," often used to describe couples being lovey-dovey in front of others. |
| 汀哥 | Ting-ge | An affectionate/intimate way for Li Zi to address Li Zhenting. |
| 小恣 | Xiao Zi | An affectionate way for Li Zhenting to address Li Zi. |
