Chapter 26: Scraping Against the Barbs

Late at night, the villa was unusually quiet.

Ning Jiu turned on his phone flashlight and tiptoed down from the second floor.

He lay on the floor and reached under the sofa for the plastic bag of suppressants he had hidden there.

The cool tiles were quickly warmed by his flushed cheek, and the crinkling plastic made a crisp sound as he tugged it free.

The fox teacher had been right.

The kitty was indeed in omega heat.

Ning Jiu handled it in time.

Before the pheromones could wildly stir his body, he had already injected the suppressant into his gland.

He sat on the floor, curled up, waiting for the medicine to take effect and battle against his omega instincts.

“Wau!” (Boss.)

A black shadow darted out from the darkness and jumped in front of him.

Coal Ball had smelled the familiar scent and rushed over from his light sleep.

The dense, prickling pain was an inevitable part of the injection fighting omega pheromones.

The kitty let out a muffled groan, biting his lower lip as his body trembled.

With Hua Che’s reminder, and with the suppressant candy having played an important role earlier, it was not as unbearable as last time.

Yet compared to the sharp stabbing pain, the waves of emptiness after the suppressant and pheromones settled, along with the swelling ache at the gland on the back of his neck, were even harder for the poor little omega to endure.

Would it be better after being marked?

Ning Jiu knew nothing about omega physiology.

He only knew suppressants could help him survive heat.

He picked up the phone he had tossed aside and opened Hua Che’s chat window.

“Little White Kitty: Fox teacher, I’ve injected the suppressant.”

A reply came quickly.

“Pink-Haired Fox: How do you feel?”

Ning Jiu thought for a moment and typed two words: “It hurts.”

The input method suggested a crying emoji.

The kitty tapped it without thinking.

“Little White Kitty: It hurts [crying emoji].”

On the other side, it showed “typing…” for a long time.

Finally, Hua Che sent a sticker: patting little kitty’s head.jpg.

“Little White Kitty: Fox teacher, what do I need to do to get Daddy’s mark?”

“Pink-Haired Fox: ?”

Another sticker followed—a pink cartoon fox with a giant flashing question mark over its head.

“Pink-Haired Fox: Kitty, what do you think mouths are for? To talk.”

“Little White Kitty: But… Daddy never said he wants to mark me.”

“Pink-Haired Fox: Does he know you’re in heat?”

“Little White Kitty: He doesn’t.”

“Pink-Haired Fox: …”

Six dots appeared in the chat box.

Ning Jiu felt at a loss.

“Pink-Haired Fox: That’s enough. You’re an even bigger blockhead than President Mu. All five of you blockheads should be carried out together.”

Ning Jiu could almost see the furious pink fox.

He couldn’t help laughing and rolled from his side onto his back on the carpet.

“Little White Kitty: Isn’t fox teacher a blockhead too?”

“Pink-Haired Fox: I’m the only one among you who isn’t.”

Soon another message came.

“Pink-Haired Fox: What you need to do now is immediately, right now, go to President Mu’s room, wake him up, and tell him you’re in heat and feel terrible.”

Ning Jiu stared at the long message.

“Little White Kitty: Will that really work?”

“Pink-Haired Fox: Guaranteed. Don’t you trust your fox teacher?”

The suppressant and pheromones finally finished their battle.

The barrier patch was firmly stuck over his gland, covering the dried blood at the injection site and suppressing much of the scent.

His body was still weak.

As he climbed the stairs holding the railing, his knees trembled.

Coal Ball followed behind with short legs hopping step by step, soon falling behind.

“Wau…”

Ning Jiu leaned against the railing and smiled back.

“Ma, Ma’ao wua. Miao mu ao.” (Kitty is fine. Don’t follow.)

Gathering courage, he opened Mu Jingyi’s bedroom door.

The hallway light spilled into the dim room.

There was no nightlight on this time.

The darkness only revealed faint outlines.

The kitty’s night vision worked well.

Ning Jiu walked to the bedside and knelt on the thick carpet.

“Daddy…”

His voice after the suppressant was soft and light, almost blending into the darkness.

The alpha slept deeply.

He was not woken.

Ning Jiu stared at his closed eyes and lost the courage to call again.

Perhaps any alpha would be like this.

The swelling pain at his gland had not fully faded, reminding him of why he had come.

The emptiness became harder to bear.

Following instinct, he reached out.

Remembering last time’s lesson, he did not try to tear off Mu Jingyi’s barrier patch.

He only lowered his head and gently rubbed his nose against the hand hanging over the bed’s edge.

“Wu en… Daddy, touch kitty… Ni Miao…”

His language system grew confused, mixing cat speech with human words.

He stuck out his tongue and lightly licked Mu Jingyi’s fingertip.

The warm, wet tongue brushed against human skin, leaving it damp.

As he grew more muddled, the licking became less careful.

His tail stood high, swaying as he leaned closer.

His cheeks grew hotter.

A shallow cut formed where the barbs scraped Mu Jingyi’s finger.

A bead of blood seeped out.

“Mm…”

Mu Jingyi frowned and woke from restless sleep.

He opened his eyes to see a pair of round eyes glowing in the dark.

He reached out and turned on the bedside lamp.

“Ning Jiu?”

The omega’s cat ears were flattened against his hair.

Tears slid down his flushed cheeks, glistening in the light.

He lowered his head like a child who had done wrong, gripping his clothes tightly.

“Daddy, I’m sorry…”

“I’m not blaming you. What’s wrong?”

Mu Jingyi, though awakened, showed no anger.

He reached out to lift the kitty’s chin and wipe his tears.

But Ning Jiu misunderstood.

He held Mu Jingyi’s wrist with both hands and tilted his head to lick the bleeding finger again, cleaning away the tiny drop of blood.

The pink tongue carefully touched the thin wound.

The slight sting from saliva on fresh skin was nothing compared to the impact of the scene on Mu Jingyi.

The kitty’s eyes were still moist.

He licked the wound with such care, completely unaware of how seductive it looked.

“Daddy… kitty didn’t mean to…”

The innocent blue eyes blinked.

Mu Jingyi shifted to the other side of the bed and patted beside him.

“Don’t kneel on the floor. Come here.”

Ning Jiu climbed onto the soft bed.

He was pulled by the waist and wrapped into an embrace.

“Daddy… aren’t you angry?”

“Angry about what? This tiny scratch that’ll heal soon?”

The kitty burrowed into his chest.

“Kitty, tell me what’s really wrong.”

“I just… feel too awful…”

“Where does it hurt?”

The tears finally fell.

“Omega suppressants… really hurt. Daddy still comes to kiss me. I could’ve taken one less injection…”

Mu Jingyi’s heart felt pierced.

“Heat? Why didn’t you tell me? Who bought you suppressants?”

“Aunt Chen… and Hua Che. That candy was from Hua Che. Daddy took it…”

The taut string in Mu Jingyi’s mind snapped.

“You told Aunt Chen. You told Hua Che. You told so many people, but not me?”

Ning Jiu nodded stubbornly.

“Why?”

“You’re sir. You’re Daddy. You’re master. But isn’t marking something that happens between lovers? The factory said we weren’t made to be someone’s lover. You’re not my alpha. You never treated me as your omega…”

His voice trembled.

Tears brimmed over.

“Daddy never said you love me!”