Chapter Text
Shuai trudged forward with soft, hesitant steps toward the familiar clinic, the summer night air contrasting the heaviness in his chest.
His mind was foggy, clouded by the sting of his fight with Chengyu. He let out a bitter scoff, voice barely above a whisper. “I can only blame myself.” The words tasted like ash, hollow and painful.
The moment Shuai stepped past the clinic’s doorframe, his world twisted.
The air shifted.
Thick, heavy, intoxicating pheromones hit him like a crashing wave, hot and raw, curling around his lungs and throat like fire. His pupils dilated, breath caught in his chest. The scent wasn’t just strong—it was suffocating, consuming.
His knees buckled under the weight of the revelation, his heart hammering painfully in his chest.
Chi and Suowei.
The scent—their scent—saturated the clinic’s walls, clinging to the herbs, the wood, the floors. It was intimate. Sensual. And unrelenting.
Shuai stumbled backward, gripping the doorframe for balance. His heart raced, thudding wildly in his ears. He couldn’t breathe. His fingers trembled, and a cold sweat broke across his back as the faint, buried heat in his body ignited like dry kindling.
No. Not now.
His omega instincts screamed, the suppressed heat buried beneath layers of control suddenly clawing its way out.
His breath caught—he gasped, trying to suck in oxygen that wouldn’t come. His body burned, flushed red and hot. The room spun. He pushed the door open and staggered outside into the night.
The air didn’t help.
He barely made it two steps before his vision blurred. Everything was too bright. Too loud. His stomach churned. He leaned against the wall by the sidewalk, heaving, chest rising and falling in sharp jerks as if his lungs had forgotten how to breathe.
Sweat drenched him. His knees gave way.
Then—
An arm caught him.
Strong. Steady.
"He blinked, dazed, his vision full of light and color. His burning body curled toward the familiar built.
Then the world went dark.
Earlier That Evening
The backroom of the clinic was quiet—at first.
Chi had Suowei pressed against the herb shelf, their mouths locked in a kiss so deep it nearly stole both their breaths. Suowei’s hands had found their way beneath Chi’s shirt, delicate fingers tracing muscle with lazy reverence. Chi growled low in his throat, restraint thinning with every second.
Their heat was slow and simmering, pheromones already thick in the air.
Suowei’s legs wrapped around Chi’s hips as Chi leaned in, kissing his neck, his jaw, his shoulder—eyes dark with hunger. The room pulsed with the scent of desire.
Then Chi froze.
His nose twitched.
A scent cut through the haze like ice through steam.
Familiar. Fragile. Sweet.
Shuai.
Chi ripped himself away from Suowei in an instant, the arousal in his body snuffed out like a candle.
“Shit,” he hissed.
Suowei blinked, startled. “What?”
“Shuai,” Chi growled, already halfway to the door. “His scent—he was here.”
Worry gnawed at Chi’s chest.
They’d triggered Shuai’s heat.
They hadn’t meant for anyone to come by. They thought they were alone.
They were wrong.
Suowei grabbed his coat and ran after him.
By the time Chi and Suowei reached the street, a small crowd had gathered near the sidewalk.
Chi’s heart jumped into his throat.
There—on the ground—someone was holding Shuai.
Before Chi could even react, Suowei shot forward.
“HEY! YOU—LET GO OF HIM!” Suowei yelled from several meters away, pointing wildly. “Who the hell are—”
He stopped dead in his tracks.
“…Oh.” Suowei blinked. “Guo Chengyu.”
Chengyu lifted his head, expression unreadable. Shuai was curled in his arms, Chengyu holding him tightly.
“We’ll take it from here,” Suowei declared, trying to sound authoritative as he marched closer.
But the moment Chengyu’s cold, steady gaze pinned him—sharp enough to slice through his false bravado—Suowei froze mid-step.
His confidence died right there.
“…I—I mean—” He cleared his throat stiffly.
Chi quietly stepped between them before Suowei could make things worse.
Chengyu rose with effortless grace, Shuai still resting heavily against him, unconscious.
Chengyu’s eyes met Chi’s. “I’ll take him with me,” Chengyu said, his voice leaving no room for argument.
Chi saw the possessiveness—and at the same time, the gentle way Chengyu cradled Shuai. He walked towards the two noting the way Chengyu tense. Here. Said Chi passing Chengyu, Shuai's heat suppressant.
Seeing that Chi wouldn’t stop him, Chengyu take the suppressant and turned toward his car.
Chi watched in silence as Chengyu left with Shuai.
Chi locked the clinic door behind them with a sigh.
He walked past Suowei and sank onto the bench.
“If you’re that worried, why did you let Guo take him?” Suowei asked, perching in the chair in front of Shuai’s desk. “I thought Guo was out of town. I haven’t seen him for a while since Shuai’s...” he added, eyes flicking to Chi, gauging his reaction.
Chi looked at him. “He hasn’t visited Shuai?” he asked, frowning.
“No, he hasn’t,” Suowei replied.
“I see…” Chi murmured softly.
“I see… that’s it?” Suowei repeated, jabbing a finger at Chi’s chest playfully. “I commend Guozi for not hitting you after what you did to him.”
Chi snorted. “He did hit me,” he said casually.
Suowei sat up straighter, eyes widening. “He did? When?!”
“Back then,” Chi said, leaning back slightly, letting the memory flicker across his expression. “While he was in rut.”
Suowei’s jaw dropped. “What?! Why?!”
Chi smirked. “Now that I remember… he was livid. The moment he saw me, he launched at me.”
Suowei laughed, shaking his head. “I bet he was.”
Chi’s eyes flicked to him. “How about you? Ever been jealous of Shuai with me?”
Suowei sputtered, indignation rising. “Me?! Jealous of you and Shuai?” He leaned forward, narrowing his eyes. “Please. How about you? Ever been jealous of Shuai and me?”
Chi’s brow twitched, a slow, teasing smile forming. “Touché.”
Then, with a subtle shift, he stood and walked toward Suowei. He gently took Suowei’s hands and guided them around his waist, pulling him close. Suowei froze for a moment, startled by the sudden intimacy, as Chi rested his forehead against Suowei’s.
“Should we… continue what we started earlier?” Chi murmured, voice low and teasing.
Suowei let out a sharp laugh. “You… you’re impossible!”
Chi grinned, holding him a moment longer, the closeness wrapping around them in a quiet, shared warmth, the playful tension between them finally settling into something more intimate.
In the car...
Chengyu immediately had Shuai take his suppressant and released his own pheromones to soothe him, scenting him gently to ease the worst of the heat.
Shuai’s face was still red, damp with sweat, his breathing shallow but steady. Chengyu cradled Shuai's hand the entire ride.
The faintest scent of other alphas still clung to Shuai’s body, and Chengyu hated it.
He hated how pale Shuai looked. How limp. How fragile.
But more than anything—
He hated that someone else had caused it.
“How can they be so careless…” he muttered, almost to himself.
Shuai whimpered faintly in his sleep, curling closer to Chengyu’s chest.
“I’m here.” Chengyu whispered, pressing a kiss to Shuai's hand.
The heat hadn’t broken fully yet, but with the suppression pills—and with Chengyu’s careful touch, calm scent, and gentle restraint—Shuai was finally beginning to settle.
The car was quiet.
Just the soft hum of the engine and Shuai’s breath.
Chengyu gazed at the sleeping omega.
Then, softly—almost like a secret—he murmured:
“I got you.”