MVCFO CH15

Lu Cong’s bedroom was fairly spacious, but its style didn’t quite match his personality.

He gave the impression of someone who would prefer a minimalist black, white, and gray decor—but in reality, the room was filled with a variety of colors.

The large two-meter bed had a four-piece bedding set featuring Tom and Jerry. The pillowcases were paired: one with Tom, the other with Jerry. Without a doubt, it was a gift from Lin Xiangqi.

One entire wall was covered by a custom-made wooden wardrobe. Inside, only one row held Lu Cong’s own books; the rest of the compartments were stuffed with all kinds of figurines and plush toys.

There were also some building blocks Lin Xiangqi had started assembling but then handed over to Lu Cong, who finished them and displayed the completed sets there.

On another wall hung various musical instruments: two acoustic guitars, one electric guitar, three ukuleles of different colors. The wall-mounted shelves held flutes, harmonicas, and an African drum. In a corner stood a keyboard that hadn’t been plugged in for a long time.

These were all the sudden hobbies that Lin Xiangqi had whimsically picked up over the years. Not particularly interested in learning by himself, he dragged Lu Cong along.

Though their skills were unpolished due to dabbling in so many things, doing it together made everything more fun.

Their strengths didn’t exactly overlap.

For example, Lin Xiangqi played guitar averagely, barely remembering any music theory, just a few simple chords to accompany himself singing. Luckily, he had a great voice that made up for his lack of technique.

Lu Cong, on the other hand, looked proper and respectable but was utterly tone-deaf when singing. Fortunately, his fingers were nimble and strong, producing clean and sharp strumming and picking, perfectly accompanying Lin Xiangqi’s singing.

Whenever free, Lin Xiangqi would come to Lu Cong to play guitar, drums, and sing. Too lazy to bring his own instruments, he left everything at Lu Cong’s place.

Lu Cong didn’t mind. He cleared out unnecessary furniture to make room for Lin Xiangqi’s antics.

Thus, Lu Cong’s bedroom became a dazzling array of elements, cluttered but vibrant.

Yet the brightest spot in the entire room wasn’t any of those things.

It was a hand-drawn painting on the wall, carefully bound, with a childlike style and strong colors.

It was an eight-year-old Lin Xiangqi’s birthday gift to Lu Cong.

The painting showed the young Lin Xiangqi’s imagination of how he and Lu Cong would look when grown up — both dressed in suits and ties, standing side by side under blue skies and white clouds.

The biggest difference between these two little “adults” was their tie colors.

Lin Xiangqi’s was pink, Lu Cong’s was gold.

According to Lin Xiangqi himself, he liked the gold watercolor pen the most as a child and thought it was beautiful, so he gave that color to Lu Cong.

That same summer when Lu Cong received this gift, he also got a star named after him from his mother.

And a twin-engine armed helicopter from his father — only allowed to fly over a few designated military training bases controlled by the alliance forces.

Of course, there were also various expensive gifts from other relatives, friends, or some unknown people trying to associate themselves with Lu Huo Qiye.

His grandparents smiled and asked eight-year-old Lu Cong which gift he liked best. Without hesitation, Lu Cong pointed to Lin Xiangqi’s painting.

At that time, the adults were just smiling, thinking the child didn’t understand the value of the other gifts.

Lu Cong never explained, but in his heart, the helicopter and the star were equal — both birthday gifts.

But that painting was different. It represented the future he wanted.

Taken over by countless things related to Lin Xiangqi, this was the layout of Lu Cong’s bedroom.

An apparently chaotic order, a room crowded and lively with memories piled up.

A world that couldn’t be neatly tidied.

Lin Xiangqi was as familiar with this room as he was with his own.

He thought he knew every nook and cranny.

Until Lu Cong picked him up onto the desk, forcing him to stand on Lu Cong’s chair, his body uncontrollably leaning backward. He tried to struggle but was held tighter, his escape cut off.

Only then did he realize…

Lu Cong’s desk was actually adjustable in height.

When did that happen?

Or had it always been adjustable, and Lin Xiangqi had just never used that function before?

Well, that wasn’t the point right now!

The point was that he had almost managed to slip out from under Lu Cong’s arms, but the damn adjustable desk suddenly lifted higher.

His feet dangled midair, unable to touch the ground, losing balance and left at Lu Cong’s mercy.

“Lu Cong…!”

Lin Xiangqi thought he was calm when shouting the name, but his voice betrayed him.

The trembling breath and shrinking tone exposed his nervousness completely.

He swallowed and tried to calm himself, but when he spoke again, his words sounded pitiful: “Don’t do this, can you hear me?”

Lu Cong’s dark pupils reflected Lin Xiangqi’s anxious face. He stared at him for a long time and then spoke softly and lowly, “I hear you.”

“You’re not really listening. I told you to step back, but you…”

Lin Xiangqi lightly pushed him.

Not for lack of trying, but under the overwhelming flood of Lu Cong’s pheromones, he was powerless. “You’re too close. I can’t even breathe.”

Only now did he fully understand Lu Cong’s painstaking reason for secretly taking the suppressant.

When Lu Cong released his pheromones fully, he became very different from the calm and steady Lu Cong he usually was. He must have been overwhelmed by the pheromones.

Instead of helping Lin Xiangqi with the marking properly, he kept closing in, trapping him there, leisurely watching Lin Xiangqi’s dazed expression.

That’s when Lin Xiangqi finally realized what Tang Luyu had been emphasizing — that “Lu Cong’s pheromones were extremely unique.”

Now the entire room was filled with Lu Cong’s scent, like a raging tide surging toward Lin Xiangqi, momentarily engulfing him in darkness and disorientation.

A smell stronger and more fierce than gunpowder, invading his lungs with every breath. The more he smelled, the less it stung, but it was intense — far stronger than anything Lin Xiangqi had experienced in his seventeen or eighteen years.

This wasn’t enough to describe it; Lu Cong’s scent was a hundred times stronger, crashing through his body like a raging fire but without burning him.

If it were just pheromone intensity, that would be okay.

The doctor said Lin Xiangqi’s glands were currently lacking vitality and needed a continuous supply of Alpha pheromones to activate.

So the more, the better; the stronger, the better.

But Lin Xiangqi realized that it wasn’t only the pheromones that had become fiercer. Lu Cong himself had changed too.

“Why can’t you breathe?” Lu Cong’s tone was still as calm and steady as ever, but the words he spoke were completely unlike his usual gentleness. “I didn’t cover your mouth.”

As he said this, Lu Cong’s body leaned toward him, one hand bracing against Lin Xiangqi’s side, the other hand reaching up to his face. His fingertips caressed Lin Xiangqi’s moist lips.

“It’s your pheromones…” Lin Xiangqi trembled and turned his head away, trying to avoid Lu Cong’s hand, but his wide, warm palm cupped his cheek firmly and turned his face back.

“What’s wrong with my pheromones?” Lu Cong’s fingers kneaded his soft lips.

What’s wrong? Of course, there’s too much!

Lin Xiangqi’s glands hadn’t yet developed the ability to actively absorb pheromones. With so much of Lu Cong’s pheromones around, he could only passively sense them — wanting to inhale but unable to take them in, like being starved for three days and staring at a table full of delicious food but not allowed to eat.

He wanted Lu Cong to mark him quickly, to directly inject those pheromones into his body.

But before he could say that, he heard Lu Cong’s accusatory voice say in a low tone: “You don’t want to smell my pheromones, but you can pick up other Alpha’s pheromones.”

Lin Xiangqi: “???”

Why are you slandering me? I want to smell yours!

And who are these other Alphas anyway?

“Shen Qiaolan is nothing. A useless guy who can’t even control his own pheromones. How dare he leave his scent on you?”

Lu Cong cupped Lin Xiangqi’s face and lowered his head, looking deeply into his eyes, his gaze dark and unfathomable. “Yanyan, you still haven’t told me… why did you go see him today? What did you say to him, what did you do? Are you going to see him again tomorrow? Do you still like him?”

“What are you talking about…?”

Lin Xiangqi was completely baffled. He had never seen Lu Cong like this —

Impatient, paranoid, domineering and overbearing. He wouldn’t listen to Lin Xiangqi’s words, didn’t obey his requests, his movements no longer gentle, and his tone sharp and questioning.

“Lu Cong… calm down, you’re not acting like yourself right now…” Lin Xiangqi shrank his neck and stretched out his hands to keep the little space left between them.

Suddenly, Lu Cong grabbed his hands, forcing them down to his sides, making Lin Xiangqi meet those burning eyes head-on.

“I’m not acting abnormal, you are. You want him, so you don’t want me anymore.”

The words sounded pitiful, but Lu Cong’s actions were very forceful. He bent down and bit the tip of Lin Xiangqi’s chin.

Lin Xiangqi tried to pull back, but Lu Cong followed, biting just lightly enough to leave a mark on his fair skin that could fade any time.

“I-I’m not rejecting you, stop biting me.” Lin Xiangqi was flustered, struggling, but his hands were pinned, unable to fight back, so he could only curse: “Are you a dog?”

Lu Cong said, “If you want, I can be.”

Lin Xiangqi: “…”

Someone please save Lu Cong, he’s acting like a pervert.

“Lu Cong, let’s talk about this calmly. First, I understand you might be a little out of it from the pheromones, but you haven’t lost your mind, right? Did you forget I put on a blocking patch today? How could you know I have his scent on me?”

At this point, Lin Xiangqi still held a flicker of hope that Lu Cong had some rationality left and could be reasoned with.

“Also, I really don’t like Shen Qiaolan. I went to see him today to get compensation for Chen Qiutian. And the reason I didn’t tell you is that you said before you didn’t want to hear about Shen Qiaolan. I held back from complaining because I didn’t want to upset you. But look at you — you’ve turned it around on me! Do you have a conscience?”

His tone was serious, his voice raised. Normally, Lu Cong would have already lowered his head and admitted his mistake.

But Lu Cong was clearly not normal now, and he wasn’t intimidated by Lin Xiangqi’s small outburst.

“I don’t want to hear about him, but I don’t want you hiding things from me.”

Lu Cong bit his soft flesh again and again — chin, cheek, earlobe, chin once more.

“So, you’re not to see him again. And better not talk to any other Alpha besides me.”

Lin Xiangqi was nearly losing track of what these light bites even meant. He gasped shakily, feeling the absurdity of Lu Cong’s words was almost funny: “There are Alphas everywhere — if we go to the supermarket, we’d run into several. So you’re saying I can’t even leave the house anymore?”

It was meant as a joke, but Lu Cong’s eyes, pitch black, stared seriously at him, and said firmly, “Good.”

“…Good what?”

Lin Xiangqi was stunned by that serious look, then reacted, turning his gaze away and bumping his forehead lightly against Lu Cong’s shoulder.

“I’m not talking to someone who’s not in their right mind. Mark me quickly, and when you’re back to normal, I’ll settle the score with you.”

“I’m very clear-headed,” Lu Cong said steadily. “Clearer than ever before.”

Lin Xiangqi shivered inexplicably. He didn’t even dare look at Lu Cong. Right now, Lu Cong gave him the feeling of quietly losing his mind in calmness.

He was about to lose control.

“You… you’re not like this normally. The current you isn’t you at all.”

Whether it was a trick of the mind or not, after Lin Xiangqi said this, he felt the pressure from Lu Cong’s pheromones grow heavier.

At the same time, the back of his neck suddenly started twitching in an abnormal way.

His underdeveloped glands suddenly showed surprising vitality, desperately seeking presence, pouring a restless craving into Lin Xiangqi’s mind.

He wanted pheromones — more pheromones — not just drifting in the air but a deeper desire.

“But Yanyan…” Lu Cong’s voice softened, like breath at his ear, sometimes near, sometimes far,

“If this is who I am, what will you do?”