Chapter 14: Differentiation

The air was thick with the faint, bitter scent of a medicinal plant.

His suppression patches had run out, and Cheng Si hadn’t had a chance to buy new ones. He certainly hadn’t expected Wen Xi to invite him upstairs tonight. Now, his pheromones were leaking uncontrollably, and the back of his neck felt like it was on fire. He looked instinctively at Wen Xi, who had already removed her suppression bracelet, terrified that she would find him repulsive.

Wen Xi looked up. Her expression was actually quite pleasant. Holding a cigarette between her slender fingers, she stared at him without blinking, her gaze feeling almost tangible.

“If you’re not planning to leave, then sit closer.” Wen Xi patted the spot beside her, took two more drags of the cigarette, and then crushed it out.

Cheng Si did as he was told. The moment his backside touched the sofa, he was pulled down against the cushions. A pair of warm lips pressed against his, and her damp breath sent a wave of goosebumps across his skin.

The film on the projector began to play. The AO protagonists spoke a foreign language he didn’t quite understand; his nearly blank brain could only process the gasping moans that seemed to come from the male Omega. It created a sense of cognitive dissonance.

How could Wen Xi watch this kind of film? Even if she was an Omega, she clearly had the strength to dominate an Alpha. Why would she watch something where an Omega was being “turned over and X-ed”? Especially since the Omega on screen sounded so miserable, his voice high and nearly shattered.

They kissed for several minutes. Wen Xi’s long, wavy hair draped entirely over Cheng Si. It wasn’t until her lips felt numb that she reluctantly pulled away, resting her head against his chest. She listened to his chaotic heartbeat while continuing to watch the “educational” film.

On the screen, the protagonists had reached the point of total honesty. The Alpha’s powerful arms hoisted the Omega up, whose head rested exactly against the Alpha’s chest. The camera suddenly zoomed in; the Omega tilted his head back, his jawline tensed in a beautiful arc.

The vivid colors, the flushed skin, and the licking techniques—everything was being displayed to Wen Xi without reserve.

“His isn’t as nice as yours,” Wen Xi remarked with objective clarity.

Cheng Si hadn’t yet recovered from the kiss. His fingers, gripping the sofa, were trembling slightly. Hearing this, he looked down at Wen Xi. The girl was staring at the moaning Omega with intense, inquisitive interest.

“If mine is nicer, then why are you watching him?” Cheng Si asked in a low voice. Wen Xi glanced at him with amusement. “If I don’t look at him, will you let me look at yours?”

Her tone was casual, and it was hard to tell if it was a joke or a probe, but Cheng Si barely hesitated before nodding. “Fine. I’ll let you see.”

He stripped off his school jacket so quickly that Wen Xi suspected he had been waiting for her to say that.

The room lights weren’t fully on; only the floor lamp by the sofa cast a warm yellow glow over Cheng Si, making his muscles appear remarkably defined, brimming with vibrant vitality. His abdomen was tight without a trace of excess fat. His waist was so slim it hardly seemed like someone about to differentiate into an Alpha. There was a small mole on his side that rose and fell with his rapid breathing, carrying a suggestive allure.

Despite his decisive movements, an overwhelming sense of shame kept Cheng Si from meeting Wen Xi’s eyes. Thus, he didn’t see that Wen Xi’s pale skin was slowly turning pink because of him.

The impact of seeing it in person far exceeded the photos.

It really is pink. Wen Xi gave a soft “tsk.”

“Do you want to…” An extremely raspy voice broke the silence. Wen Xi looked up and saw Cheng Si covering his eyes with one hand, the shadow of his eyelashes trembling. “Do I want to what?”

“…” Cheng Si’s cheeks were burning. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his reactions had nowhere to hide. After muttering for a long while, he still couldn’t bring himself to say “Do you want to taste it?” Instead, he stiffened his back and puffed out his chest, using his height to bring that faint pink hue right to her lips.

Then, the next second— Ahhh—! Unexpectedly, the male Omega on screen let out a shrill, crying moan.

Without looking, Cheng Si knew the Omega had been completely “entered.” This moment snatched away all of Wen Xi’s attention, leaving the pink he had so carefully offered pushed to the side.

Her lips were slightly parted, her eyes wide, and the tips of her ears were red. Even her resting fingers had tightened—this was clearly the reaction of someone watching this kind of film for the first time. Even someone as cold and proud as Wen Xi couldn’t hide the shock in her eyes.

f*ck. Cheng Si cursed inwardly. He regretted not stopping her from the beginning. Why did she need to watch anyone else for this? He would teach her. He was more than capable of teaching her.

“Stop looking at him.” Cheng Si spoke in a muffled voice. As Wen Xi turned back, for the first time in his life, he did something borderline offensive: he cupped the back of her neck and pressed her face into his chest.

“…” Something was pressed into Wen Xi’s mouth, something as hard as a small pebble. Before she could fully react, Cheng Si gripped her wrist and guided her fingers over the other, pitiful side. Wen Xi’s breath hitched.

Cheng Si’s face was so red it looked like it would bleed if pinched, but he had no intention of stopping out of shame. Wrapping his hand over her fingers, he pressed, rubbed in circles, and pulled. Then, with lowered lashes, he pleaded in a low, husky voice: “Can you kiss it the same way you kiss me?”

He was practically teaching her—hand in hand—how to toy with him.

Wen Xi saw through his intent. Her dark eyes were bright; the excitement in her brain made her overlook his slight offense. Fine. Let’s play.

Cheng Si never expected Wen Xi to be such a fast learner. She understood instantly and even improvised. Before long, he was forced to let go of her hand and fell back onto the sofa, drained of strength. His chest was a sticky mess, and a tingling sensation surged from his heart to his limbs. He had to grit his teeth to keep from making sounds like an Omega.

“Cheng Si.” Wen Xi had finally played enough. She looked down at him; they were both being very honest with their bodies. She hadn’t forgotten the “business” of the night. “What you said on Star-Chat… I want to see it with my own eyes. I want to see how you grip it and how you move it.” It wasn’t a question; it was a statement, as if she knew he wouldn’t refuse.

Cheng Si indeed had no intention of refusing. However, before he could nod, a sudden sharp pain erupted at the back of his neck. His limbs went weak and numb. All the discomfort that had built up over the past few days came crashing down at this moment of extreme arousal.

Wen Xi frowned. Just as she was about to ask what was wrong, she caught a whiff of an unusual pheromone scent in the air. That unidentified plant fragrance had suddenly become intensely seductive.

A bitter smell, mixed with the heat of burning wood—its presence was too strong to ignore. Most importantly, she was certain: this was not the pheromone of an Alpha.

Wen Xi’s expression shifted instantly. She glared at Cheng Si.

In a short time, Cheng Si’s cheeks had turned a feverish red. He struggled to lift his head, the corners of his long eyes wet. He looked at Wen Xi in a daze. “Why am I… like this?”

“You. Are. Differentiating,” Wen Xi said, syllable by syllable.

She calmed down, pulled out her phone expressionlessly, and called an ambulance. Just as she hung up, his large frame tangled onto her. She couldn’t dodge in time and was pulled into a full embrace from behind.

“Wen Xi… Wen Xi…” Cheng Si called her name frantically, his consciousness beginning to scatter. His body followed its instincts to find a way to relieve the heat and ache. He pressed his messy head against her, sniffing desperately. He caught a faint, biting fragrance that felt like ice and snow entering his pores, giving him a brief moment of relief.

“…” Wen Xi stood there, feeling at a loss for words. The room full of Omega pheromones made her irritable. She raised her hand to push his encroaching body away.

But Cheng Si clearly misunderstood. He leaned weakly against her shoulder, rubbing his burning cheek against her cool palm. Then, he stuck out his tongue and licked her hand like a dog trying to please its master. Wen Xi’s spine went rigid. Her usually effortless self-control was now teetering on the edge of collapse.

Since her own differentiation, apart from occasional play with Luo Wanran or restrained care from Pei Huanzhou, she hadn’t even touched an Omega’s hand. Even when she approached Cheng Si, it was because she held a dismissive attitude toward the influence of Omega pheromones.

Now that she was experiencing it firsthand, she realized how terrifying it truly was. Such a blunt, potent Omega pheromone made her blood boil, filling her head with wild, frantic thoughts.

Wen Xi’s gaze went cold, her mood sinking. This can’t go on. Just as she was about to look for her suppression bracelet, Cheng Si slumped into her lap.

Whether by accident or instinct, he bared the back of his neck to her without reservation. He murmured in a daze, “Wen Xi, can you look for me… what’s wrong here? I’m so uncomfortable…”

Wen Xi: “…” One look, and she averted her eyes.

It was too swollen. She didn’t know if every Omega was like this during differentiation, but based on the medical info she’d seen, this level of swelling meant he was in a severe state of “heat.”

The tips of Wen Xi’s teeth began to itch uncontrollably. Every cell in her body was screaming a frantic alarm.

“What kind of ‘Alpha’ are you supposed to be?” Wen Xi’s eyelids lowered as she gripped Cheng Si’s jaw, forcing him to look up. Her low voice held a hint of gritted teeth. “Are you playing me?”

The only response was the labored breathing of a newly differentiated Omega. When the pheromone scent reached its peak, the spiciness and bitterness felt like a jagged, dull knife churning through Wen Xi’s brain, until even the back of her throat tasted of it. Tempted beyond reason, her self-control nearly snapped. She began to lean down.

Buzz—! Her phone vibrated piercingly.

Wen Xi snapped out of it, thinking the ambulance had arrived. She grabbed it and saw it was the restaurant that served the cream of mushroom soup.

“Hello,” Wen Xi answered.

“Is this Miss Wen Su?” The manager’s voice sounded frantic, accompanied by a familiar sound of crying. “Miss Wen Su, Mr. Pei is drunk at our shop. He keeps crying and calling your name, and he won’t let anyone get near him. We didn’t know what to do, but we saw a contact labeled ‘Wen’ in his phone and called. Could you please come over?”

Wen Xi’s grip on the phone tightened. All her senses flooded back. She looked at the unconscious Cheng Si with cold detachment. Without any hesitation, she said to the person on the phone: “I understand. I’ll be right there.”