Chapter 35: The Temporary Mark

Shen Zheming’s voice came from above. Lu Shi could feel the vibration of his chest against his ear.

The weightlessness made him instinctively reach out. After a blind fumble, he could only grab the coat draped over him to keep it from sliding off, while his other hand helplessly clutched the fabric at Shen Zheming’s chest.

No matter how strong his willpower, staying with an Alpha in heat for so long inevitably affected him.

Lu Shi’s whole body now felt weak and sore. His dizziness left him with no energy to struggle.

Seeing that they were about to leave, he gave up and buried his face deeper into the folds of the coat.

Forget it. Pride wasn’t worth making a scene. Shen Zheming had come all this way and didn’t even mind that Lu Shi was covered in cold sweat and a bit of cream. The least Lu Shi could do was not be ungrateful or difficult.

The S-level Alpha’s pheromones wrapped around him layer by layer. They carried an intense pressure, cold and harsh, obliterating any trace of Lu Shi’s residual scent.

Everyone watched as Shen Zheming walked out with someone in his arms.

Shen Zheming glanced at Shen Luo. Though they had bickered since childhood and always tried to one-up each other, he had to admit they had good chemistry in critical moments.

Shen Luo immediately understood the meaning in his eyes.

On top of that, she had met Lu Shi twice. He was essentially her patient. When the news broke tonight, she had feared it was a data leak from her hospital, which had put her in a bad mood.

So she had no goodwill for these onlookers.

Her glasses flashed. A cold, sharp look swept over the crowd. “Tonight, you only came here to eat. You saw nothing. Otherwise, you’re going against JuShang Group. Got it?”

A deathly silence fell around them. The few who had come out to watch the excitement all regretted it. This was JuShang Group. Who would dare to offend them?

Chen Youxuan clenched his jaw so hard his cheeks went rigid.

He had been so close to success. Who could have predicted that the Shen siblings would show up halfway, and that Shen Zheming would personally escort Lu Shi out?

Chen Youxuan had been observing and studying Shen Zheming since high school. He had never seen any Omega get this close to him.

So all his meticulous planning over several days, arranging the celebration cake, bribing the waitstaff, was it all for nothing?

Shen Luo suddenly remembered something. “Ah, right. Don’t leave in a hurry after dinner. I’ll arrange for people to investigate what happened tonight. I hope you’ll cooperate.”

Chen Youxuan’s face turned pale. His hand moved toward the phone in his pocket.

Tonight’s plan was supposed to be foolproof. He was confident that no one could trace it back to him. But if the Shen family got involved, he wasn’t so sure.

No, he had to contact that person immediately and discuss countermeasures. The information about Lu Shi came from that person, and tonight’s trending news push was also bought by them. No matter what, he couldn’t let the fire burn him.

Chen Youxuan stood in the corner, all his attention on his phone. He didn’t notice Shen Luo watching him quietly.

So this was the fake young master of the Chen family.

Shen Luo had gotten straight A’s in psychology in college. Her gaze swept over Chen Youxuan from head to toe, taking in his tense expression.

No one was paying attention to him. What was he feeling guilty about?

Once they were outside Bihai Chenwan, the night wind was strong. Lu Shi didn’t want to dirty Shen Zheming’s coat, so he only held it loosely, preventing it from touching his sweat-soaked hair. But it nearly blew away.

The exposed skin of his ears was red. He had never been treated like this before and didn’t know how to act.

By “park the car,” Shen Luo meant not blocking the main entrance. As soon as they came out, she saw the car haphazardly parked by the fountain in front of the restaurant.

Once inside the car, Lu Shi stretched his legs, finding a comfortable spot for his injured ankle. He smiled at Shen Zheming. “Thanks, Shen Ge.”

The restaurant’s yellow light filtered in through the gap between Shen Zheming and the car door, illuminating Lu Shi’s pale face. The smile on his lips seemed strained. A faint redness covered his eyes.

Even though he smiled, there was no curve in his brows. It looked more like stubborn persistence.

Forced bravado. He thought he had built an indestructible fortress, but in reality, a slight push would make it crumble.

Shen Zheming held the car door and looked down at him for a few seconds.

Something tugged at his mind.

He said, “I’ll take you back first.”

Bihai Chenwan had professionally trained designated drivers. Shen Zheming called one.

On the way, Shen Zheming had already informed Shen Luo. He had only asked her to drop him off, but she had ended up following him.

Since that was the case,

Shen Zheming: I’m commandeering the car. I called a taxi for you.

Shen Luo:

Maybe it was the security of the enclosed car, or maybe it was trust in Shen Zheming. Lu Shi’s nerves, which had been taut all night, suddenly loosened. A wave of sore fatigue enveloped him, and his head grew heavy.

He leaned against the car window, trying to suppress his pheromones.

Earlier, outside, the wind had been cold, so he hadn’t felt much. Now that the wind was gone and the cold air blocked, a strange heat rose all over his body.

His fingers trembled slightly. Lu Shi clenched his fist hard, digging his nails into his palm.

The driver was a Beta, unable to smell the chaotic pheromones in the car.

The car drove smoothly for nearly twenty minutes. Lu Shi, exhausted in both body and mind, opened his eyes to look at the scenery outside.

It was indeed the way back to his apartment, but the car turned left at the intersection before reaching his apartment, heading toward Shen Zheming’s home.

A partition had been raised inside the car. Lu Shi couldn’t see the driver upfront.

“Shen Ge, did we take a wrong turn?”

Shen Zheming, who had been sitting silently in the back without looking at his phone or closing his eyes, said, “No. Your pheromones have been leaking. Let’s go to my place first to get a shot and stabilize you.”

Since he had to isolate during his heat, Shen Zheming had kept the injection at home, just in case Lu Shi needed it.

Lu Shi knew something was wrong with him too.

That was how inferior Omegas were. Once they inhaled an excessive amount of Alpha pheromones, they passively entered a pseudo-heat state.

From getting into the car until now, his mind was barely clear, but his body was already out of control. Subtle tremors ran from his shoulders down to his lower back.

The car drove to the entrance of an upscale residential complex. The scenery outside stopped. The driver finished his task, said goodbye to Shen Zheming, and left.

Lu Shi pressed his head against the window, trying to cool down with the cold glass. But it didn’t help much.

“Shen Ge.” Lu Shi tried to keep his voice steady. “Aren’t you going to ask what happened tonight?”

If it were him, after saving someone, he would immediately ask what was going on, curious about everything that happened tonight. But Shen Zheming was even quieter than usual, as if he didn’t care about the whole affair at all.

Shen Zheming said, “You’ll tell me when you want to.”

Even if he didn’t say it, he could easily find out.

Shen Zheming picked up his coat that had fallen on the seat and turned sideways to open the door and get out.

Suddenly, someone tugged at the coat draped over his arm.

“Shen Ge, can we not go up? I don’t want to hurt so much today. Isn’t there another way?”

Shen Zheming paused for two seconds and looked at the person grabbing him.

As if sensing something, his eyes deepened. He swallowed. “What way?”

Physiological instinct made Lu Shi move closer to the source of the pleasant scent in the car.

He really hated injections. The medicine was too painful. Every time, it hurt so much that his face went pale and he wanted to hit the wall.

So a bitter smile curved at the corner of his mouth. Every breath carried an unbearable tremor.

“Seeing that someone already stripped me down tonight, can you bite me? I promise… no third person will ever know. I’ll keep my mouth shut and won’t drag you into trouble.”

His fingers tightened on Shen Zheming’s clothes as if begging. His voice was small, but in the silent car, it was extremely clear.

“Shen Zheming, help me. Give me a temporary mark.”

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Enemies on a Single-Log Bridge

AcademyBattleBL

Read Now →
Not interested