MVCFO CH33

Every year when the snow falls, Lin Xiangqi’s reactions slow down. He blames it on the cold weather freezing his brain and limbs.

Lin Xiangqi’s fear of the cold is an old story. When he was little and heavy snow fell outside, while other kids were building snowmen and having snowball fights in the streets, he would lock himself in his room with the heater running 24/7, even if it dried out his nose until it bled—he still refused to turn it off.

Luckily, Lu Cong was like a walking furnace, and generous enough to share his body heat with Lin Xiangqi.

So ever since childhood, whenever it snowed, Lin Xiangqi would stick close to Lu Cong the moment they stepped outside, following him automatically without taking a single step away.

Today, by the time they finished their leisurely breakfast, it was already past nine. Remembering that Lu Cong had already asked for leave from their homeroom teacher and seeing the thin layer of white outside, Lin Xiangqi started scheming.

While Lu Cong was washing dishes in the kitchen, he limped back to his bedroom, slid smoothly under the covers, and began lazing in bed.

There’s nothing happier in life than eating and drinking your fill and then going back to sleep. He closed his eyes contentedly.

Less than two minutes later, Lu Cong came upstairs.

Lin Xiangqi shut his eyes tightly, pretending to be asleep, but as he clearly heard Lu Cong’s footsteps approaching, he couldn’t stay calm.

For no reason at all, his thighs started throbbing, as if the blood beneath his skin was boiling, creating the illusion of something rubbing against them again. Lin Xiangqi clenched the blankets, trying hard not to let his imagination run wild.

Lu Cong sat by the bed and touched his forehead, making Lin Xiangqi react dramatically by pulling the covers over his head.

Lu Cong sighed. “Time for school.”

Lin Xiangqi mumbled from under the blankets, “I’m not going.”

“Why?” Lu Cong asked tentatively. “Are you feeling unwell?”

Lin Xiangqi lasted only two seconds before complaining, “I told you I’m chafed, but you didn’t believe me. And now you want me to go to school… Don’t you know how much it hurts?”

His voice sounded so aggrieved it was almost tearful.

“…” Lu Cong was taken aback. Not that he wanted to argue, but from last night until this morning, he’d checked Lin Xiangqi’s body more than once.

He was certain he hadn’t—and couldn’t have—hurt Lin Xiangqi.

After it was over last night, Lin Xiangqi had fallen asleep, and Lu Cong had carried him to clean up and applied ointment. He was sure Lin Xiangqi wasn’t chafed. But knowing Lin Xiangqi’s low pain tolerance and sensitive body, Lu Cong had been continuously releasing Alpha pheromones to soothe him since last night… So how could he still be in pain?

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but Lu Cong chose silence.

He leaned down, getting closer to Lin Xiangqi, and through a gap in the blankets, he saw Lin Xiangqi’s bright red ears. “My bad. Where does it hurt?”

Lin Xiangqi seized the opportunity. “Where you messed with me. It hurts so much I can’t even walk. There’s no way I’m going to school today.”

Lu Cong pressed his lips together and gave a noncommittal “Hmm.” “Sounds serious. I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. Let’s go to the hospital right away.”

Lin Xiangqi hesitated. “Well… that might not be necessary.”

“Then what do you want to do, Yanyan?” Lu Cong asked with a smile.

Lin Xiangqi revealed his true motive. “Right now, I just can’t walk properly. If I rest in bed, I’ll be fine. Just ask for leave until tomorrow.”

“I see.” Lu Cong pretended to think it over before saying, “But if you’re still uncomfortable, you probably won’t sleep well. Let’s apply some ointment first.”

Lin Xiangqi: “Ointment isn’t nece—”

Lu Cong: “Wait for me.”

With that, he got up to fetch the first-aid kit.

Lin Xiangqi poked his head out from under the covers, watching Lu Cong’s retreating figure, and bit his lip in regret—had he overacted? According to the plan, shouldn’t Lu Cong have been guilt-tripped into coaxing him, letting him sleep peacefully?

Just then, Lu Cong, who had reached the door, suddenly paused and turned back to glance at him.

Lin Xiangqi blinked nervously. “What’s wrong?”

Had he figured out his plan to skip school?!

Lu Cong simply smiled without a word before turning to leave.

The first-aid kit at Lin Xiangqi’s house was identical to the one at Lu Cong’s, and all the supplies inside had been stocked by Lu Cong, so he found it easily. But he didn’t bring it upstairs right away.

Truthfully, Lu Cong hesitated for a moment.

Was what he was about to do the right thing?

Would he push Lin Xiangqi too far and backfire?

When it came to Lin Xiangqi, Lu Cong had always taken things slow. If he wanted to change something, he would test the waters and lay the groundwork, making sure Lin Xiangqi was mentally prepared.

Lu Cong knew Lin Xiangqi was used to their old dynamic. Faced with a suddenly impulsive and assertive version of him, someone like Lin Xiangqi would easily panic and choose to avoid the problem.

Lu Cong hoped his initiative could bring a new turning point, but at the same time, he worried that moving too fast might scare Lin Xiangqi away.

But hesitation wouldn’t help here.

A choice had to be made.

Continuing to play along with Lin Xiangqi’s oblivious act and slowly boiling the frog might maintain stability, but it could also lead to nothing changing in the end.

The old Lu Cong had undoubtedly been overly cautious. As Tang Luyu once said, he wouldn’t make a move unless he was certain of victory, afraid of startling his prey.

But now, the reason he dared to take risks was that he’d found a breakthrough.

Lin Xiangqi had never truly rejected him. Whether it was the excessive marking at the beginning or the repeated kisses afterward, Lin Xiangqi had always given Lu Cong the impression of playing dumb while knowing exactly what was going on.

Lu Cong understood Lin Xiangqi. He knew what Lin Xiangqi looked like when he genuinely resisted something. If Lin Xiangqi dug in his heels, not even ten oxen could pull him back. If he hadn’t agreed in his heart, there was no way he would have yielded to anyone.

Lu Cong had been playing along with his oblivious act, originally planning to let Lin Xiangqi gradually accept things in a gentle way.

But at the hospital, after they cleared up the old misunderstanding, Lu Cong realized something almost immediately—Lin Xiangqi’s feigned ignorance had a reason behind it.

He wasn’t truly trying to play dumb. It was because of that sentence Lu Huo had said years ago, which had subconsciously drawn a warning line in his heart.

Lin Xiangqi himself might not even have realized how much psychological burden those words had placed on him, making him seem carefree in his interactions with Lu Cong afterward, when in reality, he was constantly second-guessing himself.

Whenever his emotions began brushing against that dangerous boundary, Lin Xiangqi would recall the implicit warning behind those words. So, to avoid angering Lu Huo or putting Lu Cong in a difficult position, he would unconsciously “correct” himself.

Lin Xiangqi had always been the type to leave room for everything, which explained why he sometimes seemed oddly slow to grasp things that were otherwise obvious.

Perhaps it wasn’t that he didn’t understand—it was that he didn’t dare to.

This logic made perfect sense.

Once Lu Cong pieced this together, he quickly changed his approach. No longer adhering to restraint and reservation, he became fervent and assertive instead.

This wasn’t just because he was impatient—he was also worried that if Lin Xiangqi continued muddling along like this, scaring himself in his own mind, things would only grow more complicated.

He couldn’t let Lin Xiangqi keep retreating. He couldn’t give him any more time to pave an escape route for himself.

If Lin Xiangqi dared to take a step back, Lu Cong would chase him down with two. If Lin Xiangqi pretended nothing had happened, Lu Cong would make sure to lay everything out in the open.

He wanted to force Lin Xiangqi to see his own heart sooner.

Lin Xiangqi had nearly fallen asleep waiting for Lu Cong.

When Lu Cong finally walked back into the room, he lazily lifted his eyelids, giving him a displeased look. “What took so long? I thought you went home.”

At first glance, it sounded like a complaint, but in reality, his tone was dripping with coquettishness. He didn’t notice it himself, but Lu Cong heard it loud and clear.

“I called the homeroom teacher again.”

Lu Cong walked over, drew the curtains, and turned on the warm yellow lights in the room before sitting down leisurely. He pulled out a fair, slender leg from under the blankets.

Omegas were indeed naturally more delicate than Alphas—their skin was soft and smooth, tender enough to bruise at the slightest pinch. Even though Lu Cong was holding his ankle as gently as possible, there was still an illusion that he could shatter him with a careless touch.

“What did Old Qin say?” Lin Xiangqi’s attention was immediately diverted, not even bothering to question what Lu Cong planned to do with his leg.

Lu Cong remained unfazed. As he peeled off Lin Xiangqi’s pants and scooped out a dollop of cool ointment to apply to his skin, he replied calmly, “He said taking leave is fine, but you have to finish the assigned problems at home.”

“What problems?—Hiss, that’s cold.” Lin Xiangqi shrank back, but his ankle was firmly held by Lu Cong, leaving him no escape. He reminded him, “It’s not my calf that hurts. Why are you applying it there?”

Lu Cong replied smoothly, “Really? I remember biting here.”

Lin Xiangqi was speechless. “…”

Lu Cong’s thumb, coated in ointment, glided from the top of his foot up to his calf, then to his knee. With each spot he passed, he explained the reason.

“Bit here, and also here.” He paused, then pointed at a red mark. “This is from holding you too tightly—left a bruise. These areas should all be treated to avoid scarring.”

Lin Xiangqi’s ears burned. Covering his face, he planted a foot on Lu Cong’s shoulder. “Just apply the ointment. Stop talking.”

“Alright.”

Lu Cong suddenly became obedient, falling silent as instructed.

But his movements grew unbearably slow—it was impossible to tell whether he was applying medicine or just caressing him.

When the cool ointment finally reached the most affected areas, Lu Cong leaned down and blew gently on them.

Lin Xiangqi shuddered in shock. “What are you doing?!”

“You said it hurt here. Even though it’s not broken, the marks are deep.” Lu Cong rubbed the ointment into his inner thighs with a solemn expression. “So red. Poor thing.”

“Uh… I’m not in pain…” Lin Xiangqi squirmed but was easily pinned down. He could only plead, “…It tickles. Lu Cong, let’s skip the ointment here.”

He was on the verge of confessing.

Truthfully, he hadn’t been in pain for a while.

Though the prolonged friction last night had left his inner thighs sore, Lu Cong had taken good care of him. The Alpha’s pheromones had an excellent soothing effect—for an Omega, as long as there were no bleeding wounds, a good night’s sleep was usually enough to recover.

Lin Xiangqi stubbornly refused to admit it, and Lu Cong didn’t call him out. Instead, he lowered his head and kissed the reddened skin. “Be good, Yanyan. The ointment will help.”

“Mmph.” Lin Xiangqi bit his lower lip, afraid to open his mouth lest strange noises escape.

It was hard to describe the feeling.

Lu Cong was too close, forcing him to recall the sensation of being enveloped in damp heat the night before.

Lin Xiangqi had to admit—honestly—that it had been an unprecedented kind of pleasure. Even if he hadn’t understood why Lu Cong had done it at first, he couldn’t deny that the feeling was addictive.

So weird…

He actually had the urge to release his pheromones.

Lin Xiangqi clapped a hand over the back of his neck. Though he wasn’t entirely sure what this instinctive glandular reaction meant, at least he stopped it in time.

“Lu Cong—!” Swallowing hard, Lin Xiangqi forcibly pulled himself back from the brink of surrender. He rolled over and sat up. “You’re taking too long. Give me the ointment—I’ll do it myself.”

Lu Cong looked at him with harmless gentleness. “Can you even see?”

Lin Xiangqi averted his gaze, putting on a breezy act. “I just need my hands to reach. No need to look.”

Lu Cong added, “You’re still uncomfortable. You should rest. Let me handle it.”

Lin Xiangqi started spinning lies. “I’m much better now, really. This ointment you brought works wonders—I’m not in pain anymore. I can apply it myself.”

After a long pause, Lu Cong finally said, “Fine.”

He pulled out a large bottle hidden in the first-aid kit and handed it to Lin Xiangqi.

Lin Xiangqi reached for it, then froze, his expression instantly stiffening.

Lu Cong asked knowingly, “What’s wrong, Yanyan?”

Lin Xiangqi’s cheeks puffed up in anger. He sprang up from the bed, pounced on Lu Cong, and planted himself on his rock-hard abs. Gripping the bottle, he demanded furiously, “What kind of ointment is this?! Tell me what this is!”

Lu Cong, worried Lin Xiangqi might topple over in his excitement, kept a steadying hand on his waist. Only then did he smile leisurely and say:

“Moisturizing body lotion.”