Chapter 23: I’ll Agree

Within the cabin.

With Xia Yue and Xia Xing urging him on, Xu Tangzhou could only agree to follow their orders in Ling Che’s place.

However, he couldn’t answer the question in place of Ling Che, so Ruby picked a new slip of paper from the box. This time, it was a dare.

Xu Tangzhou unfurled the paper ball and took a peek: “......”

When they were playing games earlier, they had written a few weird and over-the-top prompts for fun. No matter what, someone would pick the short end of the stick. Instead of being picked on by others, why shouldn’t everyone play a bit aggressively and share the pain?

The camera zoomed in on Xu Tangzhou’s slip of paper and captured the expression that flashed across his face.

“What is it?!” Xia Yue curiously grabbed the sheet of paper from Xu Tangzhou’s hand. After reading what was written on it, she puffed out a laugh, “Please choose another guest to perform the classic scene from the movie [Midnight Passion]!! Hahaha!”

[Midnight Passion] was the movie that made veteran actor Ye Zhifan famous 20 years ago. The reason why Ye Zhifan could become a popular male god, aside from his amazing acting skills, was entirely due to this enticing scene.

In the movie, Ye Zhifan’s character, An Mu, had both of his hands injured. Under the dimly lit room, he used his mouth to unbutton his lover’s shirt one by one. The scene was very long and quiet. Ye Zhifan and the other male lead’s silent performance became known as a textbook classic, and it also became a special meme.

Everyone present had seen the movie.

When Xu Tangzhou attended acting class, the teacher also showed him many of Ye Zhifan’s works.

This command made Lu Chengan laugh uncontrollably: “Who wrote it?”

Mi Fei said: “At least it wasn’t me.”

Xia Xing said: “It’s not me either!”

Xia Yue had a sudden realization and thought of the only person who wasn’t present: “Hahaha! If it wasn’t us, then it might’ve been Che Shen!”

Xu Tangzhou: “......”

How could it be?

He said distraughtly: “I. Wrote. It.”

Everyone burst into laughter, and some even laughed while hitting the table. Xu Tangzhou slammed his head onto the table and remembered what it meant to get what you deserved. Choosing something that he wrote himself, how unbelievable!

God knows, he was inspired to write this because he saw Mi Fei next to him write “Choose another guest to use them as a pole, and pole dance around them”!

Everyone said that he couldn’t back out of it.

Xu Tangzhou was truly speechless.

He raised his head and looked around the room. Only Lu Chengan was wearing a dress shirt.

They had lost. Since he already agreed, then he must go through with it.

Xu Tangzhou didn’t understand why they were laughing so hard. Without any expression on his face, he said: “Senior Lu--”

Everyone laughed even harder, and even Mi Fei began to bend down.

Lu Chengan’s face slightly changed as he covered his buttons: “Ah? Zhouzhou, it wouldn’t be proper for me? I already have a lover!”

Mi Fei and Lu Chengan’s AB love was the thorn in the eyes of online black fans. If he were to play this game with Xu Tangzhou, there would be a lot of heated discussions.

Xu Tangzhou continued to speak expressionlessly: “Senior Lu, you misunderstood. I actually wanted Xiao Mi Ge*.”

TN: Idk if I mentioned this earlier, but including both Xiao (little) and Ge (older brother) when referring to other guys is a sign of closeness.

Lu Chengan: “???”

Seeing how Lu Chengan was upset, Xu Tangzhou felt slightly pleased. He slightly smiled: “I wanted to unbutton Xiao Mi Ge by requesting for Senior Lu’s shirt.

Mi Fei was a beta, as well as a male. The only love that was extremely improbable was BO* love. It was so rare, that the possibility of BO love would most likely never happen. Therefore, the best option was for Xu Tangzhou to choose Mi Fei.

TN: Hmm… I must’ve never mentioned that AO = Alpha and Omega, while BO is Beta and Omega… I’ll go back someday and change it.

Lu Chengan let out a breath in relief and pretended to be hurt: “You have injured my self-esteem. Zhouzhou, I thought that you had ‘thoughts’ about me.”

Xia Yue said, "If Zhouzhou truly has any thoughts, it will be towards Che Shen! Senior Lu, how could you be so narcissistic!"

“Tch!” Xia Xing sniffled, “Wasn’t it because Senior Lu was too boring!”

Although* she was sniffling, they were still recording the show and they couldn’t act too out of line. If it was broadcasted, then it wouldn’t leave a good impression.

As a result, Lu Chengan could only take off his dress shirt and give it to Mi Fei to wear. Even if they weren’t able to see Senior Lu’s performance, they could luckily see Senior Lu’s muscles. Lu Chengan was in his prime, and once he revealed his robust body that only wore a top, it led to the Xia sisters whistling in admiration.

*TN: Yes, I asked my 老师. It’s an informal way of saying “although…”

Not bad.

Mi Fei: “Hello? Has anyone asked me how I felt? No one is allowed to watch!!!”

Lu Chengan’s pheromone was the scent of orchids.

No one knew what species of orchid it was, but it was intoxicatingly fragrant.

Ling Che noticed as soon as he walked up to the door.

What were they playing?

Alphas don’t like each other’s pheromones. Even if they were good friends, they were unable to calmly accept others’ pheromones occupying their own territory. At this moment for Ling Che, the cabin was his territory.

But the situation inside the house made his face freeze over.

Mi Fei reclined on the sofa and wore Lu Chengan’s dress shirt over his original clothes. 

At the same time, Xu Tangzhou, with his hands behind his back, was planning on using his mouth to unbutton Mi Fei’s buttons amidst everyone’s cheering. 

TN: The author had a note here [Before locking the chapter, can’t you see that they had 2 layers of clothing on before starting the game]

Xu Tangzhou was a young man, but he was still the most unique one in the room, whether it was for his gender or appearance.

Upon seeing him bending down in front of Mi Fei, the side of his delicate face was seen. His drooping eyelashes were just like a butterfly about to flutter its wings.

“Unbutton it! Unbutton it!”

Among the ruckus, Xu Tangzhou also added a few lines: “Xiao Mi Ge, don’t be afraid. I’m not a good person.”

Mi Fei tightly grasped his collar, and played along: “Please don’t! Don’t defile my innocence!”

Xu Tangzhou became deeply immersed in the play: “Shh, don’t be nervous. Relax. Xiao Mi Ge, I’ll be very gentle with you…”

The few spectators were gleefully watching the fun on the side and didn’t think it was a big deal.

Under everyone’s gaze, Xu Tangzhou lowered his head, parted his lips, and prepared to bite.

“What are you all doing?” Ling Che appeared at the doorway.

Xu Tangzhou: “......”

The room was silent for a moment. No one knew why Che Shen didn’t seem too happy after returning. It was just a phone call, but he appeared to have changed.

Lu Chengan repeated the king’s order that needed to be completed.

Xu Tangzhou already stopped acting and complained: “They made me do it. They said since you weren’t here, they would punish me. We are a team, so I had to do it.”

Ling Che glared at him: “And you agreed?”

Xu Tangzhou was at a loss for words, and suddenly said in realization: “That’s right! Why should I have agreed?! No wonder I felt that my kindness has no place in this world!”

As soon as Ling Che returned, he quickly reigned over the wooden cabin again. 

His pheromone class was high, and the orchid scent that Lu Chengan unconsciously gave off dispersed upon nearing Ling Che.

Ling Che’s expression changed slightly. He returned to his original seat, sat down, and crossed his legs. He patted the seat next to him: “Come here.”

Xu Tangzhou knew that he was being called.

However, why did this seem familiar? It was just like how he called Ruby over.

Xia Yue said in opposition: “No! They’re not done acting yet!”

Lu Chengan also said: “Che Shen, don’t be such a downer. Don’t you want to see Zhouzhou and Xiao Mi’s performance?”

Ling Che didn’t listen to their protests at all. He lazily took the previous slip of paper that had the question on it, and continued the game he didn’t finish: “You were asking me if “Asteroid” was written for my first love, correct?”

It seemed as if he was going to answer.

The dare that Xu Tangzhou had to do while he was gone could only be set aside.

Xu Tangzhou had obediently sat down next to Ling Che.

Unexpectedly, Ling Che raised his hand and gently pinched the back of his neck. Xu Tangzhou trembled slightly, and his heart skipped a beat: What was that for?!

Ling Che’s actions seemed to be nothing more than intimacy between two very good friends.

Only Xu Tangzhou knew that Ling Che seemed to be reminiscing about that temporary mark, because Ling Che’s fingers purposefully touched the bite mark under his collar.

Xu Tangzhou’s mood, which had finally calmed down, became chaotic again. He couldn’t help but clench his fingers into a fist as he began to lightly sweat.

Would everyone find out that he had begged Ling Che to give him a temporary mark?

However, Ling Che said: “This question, you can ask Xu Tagnzhou.”

Xu Tangzhou: “!!!”

WTF?!

Under everyone’s gaze, Ling Che slightly narrowed his eyes. He saw that Xu Tangzhou couldn’t understand, yet his words were just as casual as before: “Zaizai, who I wrote this song for, shouldn’t you know the best?”

“That’s right.” Xia Xing became a little excited, “How could I forget! Zhouzhou, since you have such a good relationship with Che Shen, you should know a lot of his secrets!”

Xia Yue said: “Hold on! Che Shen, then the question becomes, do you have a better relationship with Zhouzhou or Ying Chen*?”

TN: Remember that Ying Chen is (was) Ling Che’s Alpha actor friend~ (He gets quite a short stick tho XD)

Ling Che replied as if he had amnesia: “Who’s Ying Chen?”

Amid the laughter, Ling Che’s expression didn’t change at all. He didn’t have any intention of feeling bad for Ying Chen, and he even took the initiative to bring the topic back on track. He spoke to Xu Tangzhou: “Tell them the answer. Don’t worry, as long as I satisfy them today, they’ll never ask again tomorrow.”

Ling Che’s hand that was on the back of his neck lightly used some strength as if encouraging him.

Those fingertips were slightly cold, but it made Xu Tangzhou’s ears turn red.

He knew absolutely nothing!

If it weren’t for the camera, he would’ve wanted to glare at Ling Che. What in the world was this person doing? Did he resent the fact that they haven’t been exposed yet?

Everyone was brought into his rhythm. They caught Xu Tangzhou and pestered him: “So was “Asteroid” really written for his first love?”

Xu Tangzhou could only bite the bullet and conjure up a story: “Yes. However, it was because they had just broken up, he wrote this song. It’s one of his sadder memories, so don’t keep bringing it up. Otherwise, he’ll hide under the blankets and cry in the middle of the night.”

“That can’t be real!” Everyone wanted to laugh.

Ling Che didn’t say anything, looking as if he wanted to continue listening.

“It’s true.” Xu Tangzhou sprouted nonsense with a straight face, “Because the blanket was too wet from his tears, he wrote the song ‘Sun-dried Memories’. Then when he took down the blankets, he somewhat calmed down and wrote ‘The Scent of Sunshine’. When he covered himself at night, he felt it was very comfortable, so he wrote ‘Soft Night’. Once he finally forgot about their relationship, he finally wrote ‘Light’ which represented walking out of hardship.”

All of the song names were not made up by Xu Tangzhou. They were all hit songs composed by Ling Che. Xu Tangzhou used the song names to forcibly string them together, turning it into a love story of an infatuated male god.

The venue was filled with laughter, but Ling Che didn’t laugh. Amid the increasingly jubilant atmosphere, he gently released the hand that was on the back of Xu Tangzhou’s neck.

For some reason, Ling Che was silent for a few seconds before saying: “No.”

Xu Tangzhou looked at him: “What?”

Ling Che’s expression was very dark. He reached out and ruffled Xu Tangzhou’s hair: “It’s incorrect. It wasn’t written after breaking up.”

Xu Tangzhou was stunned: “Huh?”

Ling Che stood up and said to everyone: “Pardon me.”

Ignoring everyone’s gazes, Ling Che left the living room.

Everyone felt the low pressure emitting from him. However, it wasn’t toward anyone else, but himself.

Everything happened in a moment, just like a typhoon.

*

Filming was over for the day.

The yard was no longer as quiet as before. With the addition of the Xia sisters, even Ruby stopped staying in the house and followed Xu Tangzhou. The two girls liked dogs more than the boys, so Ruby went into the tent to play and have fun.

Xu Tangzhou was on the phone with Huang Qian outside. Huang Qian seemed to have something to say to him. He first asked if recently everything was going well on the show. Then asked if he was getting along with Ling Che. Xu Tangzhou replied that everything was fine. He didn’t tell Huang Qian about the temporary mark. 

He felt that Huang Qian would go ballistic upon finding out. He might even buy a plane ticket the next day and fly over, in fear that Xu Tangzhou’s career would be ruined.

If that would happen, even if it wasn’t obvious before, it would be very obvious.

He didn’t want everyone to find out.

“We get along… fairly well?” Xu Tangzhou blushed a little. He was already marked. It wasn’t just “fairly well”, at least Ling Che didn’t kill him.

He thought that Huang Qian was still worried about Ling Che’s attitude toward him. He truthfully told Huang Qian: “We have already reached a consensus. Properly record the show and try to cooperate as much as possible. When the cameras are off, we usually don’t talk much.”

Huang Qian still seemed as if he wanted to say something, but he hesitated. Upon hearing Xu Tangzhou speak, he finally said: “Is that so, then that’s fine. I’ll tell you after you return.”

Xu Tangzhou hung up the phone and happened to meet Lu Chengan and Mi Fei heading back to their room to sleep after going out for a walk. 

Mi Fei waved to him from afar.

Xu Tangzhou waved goodnight back and went into the house.

On the other side, Mi Fei told Lu Chengan: “I think that I’m dumb. Today…”

After hesitating for an afternoon, Mi Fei still told his lover what he had chanced upon in the afternoon. Putting aside the matter of whether or not he could hide this earth-shattering secret, it seemed that Ling Che himself didn’t seem to care at all. He waited for a whole afternoon, yet Ling Che didn’t remind him not to say anything.

Unexpectedly, Lu Chengan said: “I already knew.”

Mi Fei was surprised.

After diving at the beach, Lu Chengan found out about everything at the dinner table.

Betas weren’t sensitive to pheromones. Even if someone went into estrus, they wouldn’t be able to detect changes in pheromones. But Lu Chengan was a genuine Alpha. Not even the slightest change of pheromone would be able to escape his nose.

Since Xu Tangzhou used pheromone blockers earlier, both Omegas and Betas would have no scent. But that night, Xu Tangzhou suddenly had the addition of Ling Che’s scent on his body. This could only mean that he had been marked by Ling Che.

Moreover, it was a temporary mark.

Because the time was so short, they couldn’t have the opportunity to do more.

After hearing that, Mi Fei realized: “I had thought that they weren’t familiar at all. But now, was I being too nosy?”

“You had good intentions.” Lu Chengan patted him, “Don’t tell anyone else about this, but don’t feel guilty for telling me. Even if you didn’t say anything, everyone else would also know.”

Mi Fei finally understood.

If Lu Chengan could detect a change in Xu Tangzhou’s scent, then the Alpha program staff should also know too.

How big could a single program group be?

The gossip would be known to everyone within a single night.

Ling Che didn’t plan on keeping it a secret. Everyone understood, but they didn’t dare tell others. They signed a non-disclosure agreement, and they knew what should and shouldn’t be said. Their lips were sealed.

After all, it was bold Ling Che to dare to play like this on the show.

*

The “obviously temporarily marked” Xu Tangzhou was completely unaware of everyone’s speculations.

After hanging up the phone, he walked through the yard and passed the rowdy tent. Upon entering the living room, he bumped into Xia Yue who had just come out of their bathroom.

Xia Yue was neatly dressed, and her hair was blown dry.

Seeing Xu Tangzhou, she told him: “Zhouzhou, you’re back? I’m done washing, you can use the bathroom now.”

Seeing the figure of the girl skipping away, Xu Tangzhou: “......”

What's with this weird feeling?

He was about to go back to his room, but as soon as he entered the corridor, he became frightened by a tall figure.

Ling Che stood by the doorway, leaning on the doorframe while playing on his phone. The rings on his slender knuckles weren’t as beautiful as his hand. No matter the angle, it could make half of the fanbase shriek.

Seeing Xu Tangzhou return, the celebrity who was immersed in his own world looked up: “Where did you go?”

Ling Che was waiting for him?

Xu Tangzhou wasn’t sure, since this had never happened before.

Since Ling Che was acting strange tonight, he simply replied: “I was just calling my agent.”

Ling Che put his phone away into his pocket and asked indifferently: “Huang Qian? What did he say?”

Xu Tangzhou said: “He only asked if everything was going well for us, and how work was.”

On the phone, Situ Ya told Ling Che that Huang Qian was shocked upon hearing about this. Huang Qian agreed to tell Xu Tangzhou the truth after the filming was completed so that the two people’s relationship wouldn’t be affected.

It seemed that Huang Qian kept his promise, and he hadn’t told Xu Tangzhou yet.

In addition, Huang Qian told Situ Ya a few more details.

Starting from the age of 18, Xu Tangzhou lost his memories of the previous five to six years. In other words, his childhood modeling career on the runway, everyone he knew during that time, and everything that happened during that time were completely forgotten.

Aside from remembering specific events, he had no issues studying and doing daily tasks. After taking a year off from school, he went to college, received the Mist advertisement, and entered the entertainment circle.

Huang Qian said the reason why Xu Tangzhou wanted to become an artist was simple and straightforward. 

“I want to earn money.” Xu Tangzhou told Huang Qian.

At that time, Situ Ya felt perplexed about this issue: “How did you not realize that he had amnesia? Shouldn’t you know him well? How many years did you say that you’ve known each other?”

“Four years.” It wasn’t that Ling Che didn’t notice anything unusual, it was only because he didn’t want to know more.

The time when Xu Tangzhou had left him gave him a huge blow. It was already impressive that they could be on the show together even after seeing Xu Tangzhou again.

Situ Ya understood Ling Che very well, but she was still amazed at how prideful he was: “My goodness!”

Ling Che couldn’t endure his agent’s mockery.

He cooly informed her: “So what? I still temporarily marked him today.” After a while, he added, “It was him who begged me for it.”

Xu Tangzhou went into pseudo-estrus because of his pheromone sensitivity and also refused to say anything, despite holding back until he got a nosebleed. It could be summed up as begging to be marked.

The silence was transmitted across the phone, and Ling Che had hung up before Situ Ya would furiously shout and refuse to allow them to participate together in the show.

Aside from writing songs, Ling Che also had achievements in “how to quickly and accurately hang up the phone before the other person could scold me.”

Afterward, Situ Ya called again, and it seemed the height of her anger had passed. She was slightly calmer: “I asked for you, memory loss is very complicated, and it's not certain when they would remember anything. Try not to do anything rash. First finish recording the show, and then we’ll figure it out. However, the cause of the amnesia is probably from the mark cleansing operation.”

Ling Che understood.

Because the AO lifetime mark couldn’t be removed, the mark-cleansing operation can be considered as an act against the natural order. Not only was it costly, but the failure rate was extremely high, and few people would choose to take such a risk. Even if the surgery was successful, it may leave behind many aftereffects. The glands were located in the complex network of cerebral nerves, and memory loss wasn’t an impossibility.

Why would Xu Tangzhou take such a risk to do this?

Was it because Xu Tangzhou was forced and wanted to go back to Ling Che, or was it because Xu Tangzhou had a rough life after he left?

No matter what the reason was, it wasn’t important anymore.

After giving him a temporary mark, Ling Che knew what he wanted and wouldn’t let go.

More importantly, the Xu Tangzhou in front of him already couldn’t answer him anymore.

He could only investigate.

Xu Tangzhou knew that maintaining a good relationship was the first priority, and getting a temporary mark was the goal.

Xu Tangzhou stood in the corridor for a while. Upon seeing that Ling Che didn’t continue after he finished speaking, he took the initiative to curry favor and ask: “How come you haven’t slept yet? Was it because you’re in a bad mood tonight?”

Xu Tangzhou was too good-looking.

Upon removing his icy shell and anxiously asking a few questions, Ling Che could easily imagine the childhood him -- easily becoming shy, and would shy away all day with a single touch. He would only return to normal after a while of kissing and hugging.

Ling Che would purposefully watch Xu Tangzhou be at a loss, and then he would embrace the other for the entire day until Xu Tangzhou would obediently let himself be coddled, finally quietly pleading with him.

After thinking for a long time, Ling Che had made up his mind. He disdainfully denied: “I’m not in a bad mood.”

Xu Tangzhou had “I believe it” written all over his face.

“Outside is too noisy. I can’t fall asleep from the noise.” Ling Che frowned and said to him, “My head also hurts.”

Xu Tangzhou also felt that it was a little noisy: “Oh.”

Especially since Xia Yue and the others seemed to have considered this as a temporary hotel. He had an illusion that he and Ling Che were owners of the hotel. One was an ill-tempered boss, the other was a temporarily marked manager.

Cough. His mind ran awry.

Ling Che said: “Come give me a massage.”

Xu Tangzhou: “???”

Ling Che haughty looked at him: “Why do you have that expression? Do you not want to massage?”

The unspoken words were simply: Do you still want my temporary mark?

Definitely a straight A cancer!

A precious bone was tossed to Xu Tangzhou, as he quickly began to flatter: “No no, I want to massage! I really want to massage! I’ll massage wherever you feel uncomfortable!”

As long as Ling Che was in a good mood, nothing else matters!

Ling Che took a step back and entered the room first.

Xu Tangzhou followed closely behind him, as his body slowly became warmer. It was the first time that he had entered Ling Che’s room. The scent of an Alpha was obvious. He felt as if he was like a little white rabbit trespassing into another’s territory, easily able to be pushed down and have this and that done to him by wild beasts.

Shameless.

Xu Tangzhou didn’t know how many times he had already cursed at himself.

His mind raced around as he expressionlessly stood in the middle of the room, trying to look emotionless. Those filthy thoughts were only in his brain so no one would ever hear them!

“Sit.” Ling Che lightly spoke. The low pressure around him had almost disappeared.

“En.” The moment Xu Tangzhou replied, he heard a “click” sound. He followed the sound and discovered that Ling Che had unplugged the camera’s power.

Ling Che was just like this. He only allowed himself to be recorded when he wanted to, and he refused to be recorded when he didn’t want to. Other people always had to cooperate with him. His family was the sponsor of the show. He was the core of the show, and no one dared to disobey.

On the other side, the screen went dark.

Everyone who was getting ready to connect the events on the screen with the shocking gossip from today: “......”

Everyone cursed internally: “Fuck.”

When Ling Che walked over, Xu Tangzhou subconsciously stepped back. Was this a side effect of being marked?

He even suspected that Ling Che hadn’t had any experience before. How could anyone bite for so long while making a temporary mark? Ling Che even paused for a while before letting go, which made him almost cry.

If Ling Che bit him again, he might not be able to bear it.

Ling Che didn’t do anything.

He only laid down sideways on the sofa and rested his head on Xu Tangzhou’s lap, commanding Xu Tangzhou: “Just massage the temples. No need to do anywhere else.”

From Ling Che’s body, a faint aroma and his pheromones could faintly be detected. Xu Tangzhou’s heartbeat slowly sped up: “Ok.”

He sincerely agreed.

After speaking, Ling Che closed his eyes and waited to be served without saying any additional useless words.

Xu Tangzhou remembered that Huang Qian had said, “Ling Che’s hair is off-limits. Don’t touch his hair.” Now, it seemed that it wasn’t too serious. He wasn’t not allowed to touch it.

He hesitated for a moment and tentatively placed his hand on Ling Che’s hair: “Is this okay?”

The hair was extremely soft, in stark contrast to what Ling Che was like.

It was like… brushing a lion’s fur.

“Yes.” After massaging a few times, Ling Che’s eyebrows slowly began to relax.

So, Ling Che really called him here to massage?

Xu Tangzhou sighed. If he doesn’t give a mark, at least he could help stick on a gland patch or something.

Not long after Xu Tangzhou thought that Ling Che had fallen asleep, he stopped.

However, Ling Che grabbed his hand: “Xu Tangzhou.”

Xu Tangzhou’s face immediately flushed red: “What’s wrong? Y-you didn’t fall asleep.”

“I’m not a pig, wanting to sleep all day long.” Ling Che opened his eyes. There was no sleepiness within those amber eyes.

Thump, thump. 

It was the first time Ling Che had used this tone to joke. It was as if they had known each other for a long time.

Staring at each other, his heartbeat started accelerating.

Was it his or Ling Che’s? Xu Tangzhou couldn’t figure it out. 

“I heard that you lost your memory.” Ling Che said, “You can’t remember anything?”

Did Huang Ge say that?

Xu Tangzhou thought that it was, and he replied: “Yes. My memory has several years missing. Sometimes when I meet my classmates on the road, I don’t recognize anyone.”

The doctor said that his recovery depended on the situation.

Ling Che continued to ask: “Then from when did you know me?”

Xu Tangzhou didn’t dare to talk about the things he did in his dreams. He thought about it and said: “It should’ve been around four years ago. When I first saw you, it was when your hair was still a little longer.”

The first glance he saw Ling Che on TV, and he felt captivated.

At that time, Ling Che was a little gloomy. He was the type who was handsome. When he had long hair, it wasn’t the slightest bit out of place or feminine. It had a type of masculine allure, which was why Xu Tangzhou thought he was like a vampire. At that time, Ling Che was writing bleak songs, and playing with sad emotions. Even now, rock bands would revere his light rock songs as classics.

Listening to Xu Tangzhou’s description, Ling Che knew approximately what time he was talking about.

It was after they broke up.

Xu Tangzhou actually lost his memory that early.

“I liked the song ‘Excuse’ that you wrote at that time.” Xu Tangzhou told him. “And also ‘After You’ sung by Mi Fei the other day. I liked your style from that time. Of course, your style now isn’t bad, it’s just different.”

Ling Che had short hair now. His brows and the bridge of his nose were high. There were no imperfections even if he didn’t brush his hair. Some people say that a single one of Ling Che’s shadows was prettier than ordinary people.

Xu Tangzhou gave a few examples of some of his classic works, but Ling Che asked: “What else?”

For Xu Tangzhou, their chatting position was intimate.

One was sitting, and one was lying on the other person’s lap while talking with their heads close. This was something that only couples would do.

He didn’t have time to think about the changes. He only felt that it was due to the temporary mark, so the distance between them has shortened. There’s a saying, between a temporarily marked Omega and their Alpha, there would be a hint of dominance and submission because of the power difference. This kind of relationship wouldn’t be uncomfortable, and there would even be thoughts of wanting to be closer to one another.

Was this the case for him now?

“What about me?” Ling Che sat up and looked at him, “Didn’t you say that you like me a lot, and you attended this show because of me?”

Xu Tangzhou became petrified.

What did he mean? Settling scores after a temporary mark? Or could it be he misunderstood that he was only trying to get a mark?

Xu Tangzhou finally reacted and anxiously said: “It’s true.”

“I’ll agree.”

Ling Che didn’t ask any further questions, looked away, and awkwardly said those two words.

Xu Tangzhou: “???”

This time, he had a brain full of question marks. What did he agree with? Agreed to allow his participation in the show? Wasn’t it a bit too late? He was already participating!

Ling Che’s domineering tone didn’t fluctuate much: “Three requirements. First, don’t regret it. Second, don’t be too intimate with others. Third, come and give me a massage every night, otherwise, I won’t give you any pheromones.”

So he was talking about the temporary mark!

Xu Tangzhou suddenly realized: “Ok!”

A temporary mark would only last a few days, and its effect varies from person to person.

Xu Tangzhou could take medicine after returning home. So to be on the safe side, he needed to be shameless and ask for a temporary* mark. He didn’t expect that Ling Che would be so agreeable.

TN: Yup, the word is temporary, checked with the traditional ver.

“I promise I’ll do it!” Xu Tangzhou was a little excited, “I will never ever break any of those rules! How are you so nice? I haven’t liked you for nothing!”

Seeing the person before him suddenly lighten up, Ling Che’s eyes deepened a bit. Clearing his throat: “...... Got it. Keep a low profile while recording the show.”

“I’ll never ever tell anyone else!

Xu Tangzhou immediately promised.

“I didn’t mean--” Ling Che resigned, “Never mind.”

Speaking of the show, a big weight finally lifted off his heart. He didn’t need to worry about entering pseudo-estrus at random. Xu Tangzhou finally had the energy to think about this.

After the two of them arrived at Surilan, they didn’t discuss their future plans. While the atmosphere was good, Xu Tangzhou gave an inventory of their current funds to Ling Che. They could still live in the free cabin for another day, but they had less than 3000 left.

They could check in at a scenic spot tomorrow, but they still had to live for 4 more days. They were clearly poor.

They might have to learn from the Xia sisters and rent tents if their plans fell through.

“Tents…” Ling Che thought about it, “No need to consider it for now. We can think about how to get the money used for your pheromone blockers back.

Xu Tangzhou wondered: “How?”

Ling Che said: “Wait.”

He told Xu Tangzhou, “There should be results by tomorrow.”

*

Xu Tangzhou didn’t realize something was off until the third day of recording.

He wore a short-sleeved shirt that day. There wasn’t a dress shirt to cover up the bite mark, so he covered it with a gland patch. No one from the program group asked him what happened, even though he had already thought of an excuse.

But what exactly seemed off, he couldn’t figure it out.

After eating breakfast, he didn’t have the opportunity to go outside to meet others, Ling Che stopped him: “Zaizai.”

Xu Tangzhou stopped in his steps, and he had a light blush on his face.

Every time Ling Che called him like this, he felt embarrassed. If he was used to it, then it would be fine, but Ling Che would occasionally say it once or twice. Xu Tangzhou was certain that those words would likely appear when Ling Che was in a good mood.

“What’s wrong?”

“Come here.”

Xu Tangzhou looked back and saw Momo and the following cameraman tacitly leaving. Only they were left in the wooden cabin’s dining room.

What’s going on?

He walked in front of Ling Che, with Ling Che’s scent still on his body. This made Ling Che feel pleased.

In order not to waste resources while not recording, all of the cameras were off. There were no eyes to stare at them now. But Xu Tangzhou felt even more nervous than when the cameras were on.

It was because he was reminded of the last time they were alone away from the camera’s gazes. Ling Che… marked him like that.

Ling Che’s hand lifted his collar, and he glanced at the crooked gland sticker: “Put on another one.”

Xu Tangzhou was a little embarrassed. He wasn’t careful. If the patch was crooked, it would be easy to discover the bite mark.

“You want to help me?”

Ling Che: “What did you think?” 

The two entered the room. Xu Tangzhou took a gland patch from his pocket and gave it to Ling Che.

When their fingertips touched, a tingling sensation ran through them, causing Xu Tangzhou’s ears to turn red.

Ling Che noticed it.

Without a word, he first took off the previous patch and glanced at the bite mark.

It was his oversight last night. If it wasn’t for being unable to sleep after Xu Tangzhou had left, leading him to search on the internet for what to do after a temporary mark, he wouldn’t know that Omega glands would be easily infected if not properly cared for after being bitten.

One such piece of advice from doctors was that Alpha’s saliva was composed of many effective enzymes to promote the self-healing of bite marks. Partners can use saliva to heal the bite mark.

As for how to heal it, of course, it’s by licking them like how a cat licks its cub.

The person in front of him was so sensitive, his ears turned red despite not doing anything. If he decided to do it that way, what would happen?

Ling Che was thinking that, but his speech was indifferent: “Your bite mark turned red, it might be infected.”

Xu Tangzhou was looking downward, so he couldn’t see Ling Che’s expression. However, he knew where Ling Che was looking.

He was so nervous, his palms began sweating: “I think it will g-get better by tomorrow.”

It was your fault for biting! Xu Tagnzhou silently cursed. He even bit very hard!

His rich theoretical knowledge was all thanks to Qiu Yin. He even knew what Alphas needed to do for him to get better quicker.

Just as he thought about it, there was suddenly a warm and soft dream-like breath on the back of his neck.

Instinctively, he couldn’t stop himself from suddenly trembling: “Ling Che?”

Ling Che embraced his waist from behind to prevent him from sliding down.

Only replying with a lazy “En”.

TN: Chinese terms as pinyin in this chapter

"Ge" (older brother, could be used as a respectful address for male acquaintances) 

“Shen” (literally: god, but mainly for a highly respected and revered figure)

"Xiao" in front of names means little, but it's a way of addressing people you care about who are younger.

"En": Sound of agreement, kept in pinyin

See glossary for more info.

Chapter 22 | TOC | Chapter 24

T/N: So what did you think Ling Che agreed to? :)

TLDR of personal updates: Class is over!!! [I also made English Covers for "After you" and "Like you", but... I'm lazy to create a page for it here... Here are the links tho!)

Also, I’ll try my best to finish this series ASAP!

Side note that my translation account twitter gets updates first! (I sometimes forget to put it on novelupdates...) https://twitter.com/littlemoontl 

I usually don't go on my tling account unless I post updates, so if any questions either email or go to my main account (where I usually chat about other stuff) 

Hello hello~ Please support the author at jjwxc, there's an Audio Drama S1 and a Season 2, and a simplified physical (You'll need to click on the ones that say 小行星)!

There's now a Spanish translation too! Gracias a Kuchiki Risa por traduciendo! (Español)

(Just a heads up that if there are any errors, feel free to reach out to me!)