Chapter 8

No matter what, Shu Baiyu ultimately got his wish and stayed at Lu Xingzhou’s house.

According to the original plot, the original character was supposed to formally meet the protagonist Omega at university.

The protagonist Alpha and protagonist Omega had been childhood friends who grew up together. Before they differentiated, the two of them had been extremely close. Shu Baiyu even knew that when they were young, the protagonist Alpha had always treated the protagonist Omega as his future wife.

It was not until the protagonist Omega’s family moved abroad that they were separated.

Only after the protagonist Omega returned to the country and transferred to the protagonist Alpha’s university did they begin interacting again.

After reuniting, the two still maintained their original friendship. Neither of them realized the feelings they held for the other.

Then one day, the protagonist Alpha and Omega were walking together along a path on campus when the original character happened to see them.

The original character had already heard that unauthorized copya transfer student who had recently returned from abroad was unusually close to the protagonist Alpha, so he was already hostile toward the protagonist Omega.

After seeing the two of them together, he immediately regarded the protagonist Omega as a romantic rival and began his daily routine of courting disaster as a cannon-fodder supporting character.

With the “assistance” of him and numerous cannon-fodder Alphas, the protagonist Alpha and Omega eventually recognized their feelings for each other and found their happy ending.

Today should have been the protagonist Omega’s first day back in the country.

By meeting Tao Xi ahead of schedule, Shu Baiyu had altered the plot.

Since outside influences were what eventually helped the protagonists recognize their feelings, it did not matter whether it happened earlier or later, or what method was used.

However, there was still one thing Shu Baiyu could not understand.

Why had the protagonist Omega’s family visited the Lu residence immediately after returning to the country?

Could Tao Xi and Lu Xingzhou also have some sort of childhood connection?

The original novel had not described Tao Xi’s relationship with Lu Xingzhou in detail, so Shu Baiyu did not know.

However, none of that was important.

The most important thing now was separating Lu Xingzhou and Tao Xi.

The protagonist Omega’s parents had left—but they had left Tao Xi behind.

Standing upstairs, Shu Baiyu heard everything clearly. Father and Mother Lu had even specifically instructed Lu Xingzhou to take good care of Tao Xi.

He looked at Lu Xingzhou and Tao Xi sitting on the sofa.

Before he could devise his next plan, Mother Lu spotted him first.

“Xiao Yu!” Mother Lu, Luo Yao, smiled and waved at him. “Come here!”

“Why were you finally willing to visit Auntie today? I invited you before, but you never came.”

The moment Shu Baiyu walked over, she reached out and took his hand. Her gaze moved repeatedly between him and Lu Xingzhou.

“I didn’t know about this at all. When did the two of you become so close? Why didn’t you tell us?”

The original character was engaged to Lu Xingzhou, so Shu Baiyu naturally understood what Luo Yao was imagining.

However, the protagonist Omega, Tao Xi, was still watching, so he did not explain. He merely nodded and gave a quiet acknowledgment.

He could clearly feel Lu Xingzhou’s gaze land on his back.

Shu Baiyu remained standing there, already considering what he should say to smooth things over when Lu Xingzhou spoke up to deny it.

Unexpectedly, even after Luo Yao pulled him down to sit beside her, Lu Xingzhou said nothing.

After Shu Baiyu sat down, he remained silent. Luo Yao did all the talking, and the smile never left her face.

It was Lu Xingzhou who finally interrupted her endless questions.

“Mom.”

“How rude.” Luo Yao looked at him unhappily. “Can’t you see that I’m talking to Xiao Yu? Why are you interrupting us?”

Lu Xingzhou only said what he wanted to say.

“He’s staying at our house tonight too.”

Upon hearing this, Luo Yao visibly became even happier. She could not resist taking Shu Baiyu’s hand again and patting it.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! The two of you should spend more time together.”

She immediately stood and called for the housekeeper.

“I’ll go prepare a room for you!”

Shu Baiyu watched Luo Yao walk away, joy evident even from her back, and fell silent.

In the original novel’s setting, Luo Yao had been very close to Jian Weizhang’s first wife—Shu Baiyu’s biological mother.

They had arranged the engagement between their children long ago.

Now that the first Mrs. Jian had divorced and moved abroad, Luo Yao could only place the affection and longing she felt for her onto the original character.

While Shu Baiyu was distracted by his thoughts, someone suddenly touched his fingertips.

He was extremely sensitive to physical contact. Almost instantly, he pulled his hand away and bailiantales.comturned toward the person beside him.

Tao Xi awkwardly scratched his face and called softly:

“Sister-in-law…”

Shu Baiyu frowned and silently expressed a question mark.

Tao Xi froze after seeing his reaction.

“Did I call you that too early…?”

Only then did Shu Baiyu realize what he meant.

He first quickly glanced at Lu Xingzhou, who was sitting on the sofa opposite them. The other man did not seem capable of hearing their conversation.

Only then did Shu Baiyu nod at Tao Xi.

“Oh, right. You haven’t gotten married yet.”

In Tao Xi’s understanding, since the two of them were already engaged, they were practically a married couple.

He lowered his head and asked quietly, “Then what should I call you?”

Shu Baiyu thought for a moment.

“Shu Baiyu.”

“Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”

Considering the relationship between Tao Xi’s family and Brother Lu’s family, he could not simply address Brother Lu’s partner by name.

Shu Baiyu did not care about such things.

Seeing the protagonist Omega voluntarily approach him, he inwardly noted that the plot had indeed changed.

At the same time, he asked, “Do you still remember Qi Yan?”

Since his relationship with the protagonist Omega had not yet deteriorated, he might as well try bringing the two protagonists together first.

Tao Xi’s eyes lit up when he heard the name.

“Qi Yan! Of course I remember him. I’m going to see him now that I’m back. How do you know him?”

Shu Baiyu paused.

He could not exactly introduce himself as Qi Yan’s ex-boyfriend.

“…”

After considering it for a moment, he began, “I…”

Before he could finish, Lu Xingzhou spoke from the sofa across from them.

“Shu Baiyu.”

Shu Baiyu paused and turned toward him.

Lu Xingzhou stood.

Perhaps it was only Shu Baiyu’s imagination, but his voice seemed slightly colder.

“Upstairs.”

Shu Baiyu: “?”

Lu Xingzhou glanced at him and silently formed each word with his lips:

Pheromone treatment.

Shu Baiyu understood and stood as well.

Tao Xi was very perceptive. His face immediately reddened slightly, and he stammered, “It’s still so early, and you—you’re already going upstairs?”

Shu Baiyu did not understand the meaning behind his words.

“Mm.”

In any case, he had already achieved his goal of bringing the protagonists closer while separating the cannon-fodder Alpha from Tao Xi.

Now he could conveniently Read on BaiLianTales carry out the first part of his smaller plan: becoming familiar with Lu Xingzhou.

They returned to Lu Xingzhou’s bedroom.

Unlike before, the moment Shu Baiyu entered, he detected a familiar, cool fragrance.

He instinctively sniffed several more times before directing his gaze toward Lu Xingzhou.

According to the rules of an ABO world, this scent had only ever appeared around Lu Xingzhou.

It should be his pheromones.

However, when Lu Xingzhou tested him earlier, Shu Baiyu noticed something.

Lu Xingzhou seemed extremely concerned about whether Shu Baiyu could smell his pheromones.

Judging by Lu Xingzhou’s reaction, it would be better for Shu Baiyu to continue bailiantales.com pretending that he knew nothing.

Thus, he walked toward Lu Xingzhou as though he had not noticed anything.

Lu Xingzhou set an alarm and turned to look at him.

“Since this is your first pheromone bath, we’ll start with five minutes.”

While Lu Xingzhou released pheromones that carried neither intimidation nor seduction, his scent would envelop every part of Shu Baiyu’s body.

Under its influence, Shu Baiyu would also unconsciously begin releasing small amounts of his own pheromones.

However, since this was their first attempt, Lu Xingzhou released very little.

A faint, almost imperceptible fragrance gradually filled the air. It was clear and delicate, with a subtle trace of sweetness, and unconsciously attached itself to the other thin scent carrying a refreshing chill.

Lu Xingzhou clearly noticed it.

He lifted his eyelids and glanced at Shu Baiyu, who stood nearby.

The other man showed no reaction.

Lu Xingzhou paused briefly before raising a hand.

“Come here.”

Shu Baiyu was somewhat puzzled, but since this was a good opportunity to grow closer to Lu Xingzhou, he obediently approached him.

Lu Xingzhou merely lowered his eyes and looked at him.

“Take it off.”

Shu Baiyu: “?”

For some reason, Lu Xingzhou appeared slightly impatient. The corner of his eye swept over Shu Baiyu’s neck.

“The suppression patch. Take it off.”

The amount of pheromones Shu Baiyu was releasing under his guidance was far too small.

Even for a first attempt, it should not have been this little.

Shu Baiyu hesitated for only a second before directly reaching up and tearing it off.

The suppression patch was pink—the same kind Lu Xingzhou had selected that morning.

Shu Baiyu did not immediately throw it away. Instead, he held it in his hand and lowered his head to examine it.

He had actually wanted to ask this for a long time.

In ABO settings, Omegas constantly wore these things on their necks. Would they not leave sticky residue behind?

However, when he touched the skin with his fingers, he did not seem to feel anything unusual.

When Lu Xingzhou saw Shu Baiyu touching his gland directly in front of him—and with Lu Xingzhou’s bite marks still imprinted upon it—his body immediately stiffened slightly.

“…What are you doing?”

Having received his answer, Shu Baiyu shook his head.

“Nothing.”

Although Lu Xingzhou did not understand the purpose of his actions, he obviously knew what such behavior implied according to common sense.

He could not help frowning.

“You’re forbidden from doing that again.”

Shu Baiyu disliked the commanding tone in his voice, but he still gave an indifferent “Oh.”

His attitude was far too perfunctory, and Lu Xingzhou noticed immediately.

The corners of his long, narrow eyes rose slightly, as though Shu Baiyu would never understand how serious his actions were unless he was made to suffer a little.

The selfie he had abruptly sent earlier was the same.

With this thought, Lu Xingzhou’s throat unconsciously became slightly dry, and his gaze toward Shu Baiyu deepened.

Shu Baiyu did not notice anything unusual.

He continued exposing his gland to the Alpha without the slightest precaution.

At some point, Lu Xingzhou had moved extremely close to him.

If Shu Baiyu raised his head, he could almost strike the bridge of Lu Xingzhou’s nose.

Lu Xingzhou lowered his eyes and looked at the round crown of Shu Baiyu’s head.

His Adam’s apple rolled once.

However, the words he spoke did not fit the current atmosphere at all.

“…What were you talking to him about downstairs?”

The moment Lu Xingzhou brought up something involving Shu Baiyu’s main mission, Shu Baiyu became vigilant.

As a result, he initially failed to notice the hand touching the back of his neck.

“Just ordinary conversation.”

Lu Xingzhou’s eyelids remained lowered, and his mind was clearly not focused on the question.

His fingertip finally landed silently on the slightly raised gland.

When it passed over the bite marks, he abruptly pressed down lightly.

A violent shudder instantly ran through Shu Baiyu’s entire body, as though electricity had passed through him.

The sudden pleasure made even the tip of his heart tremble. He immediately lost his initial opportunity to slap Lu Xingzhou’s hand away.

The lingering tremors alone made his tailbone feel numb, itchy, and hot.

Lu Xingzhou appeared surprised by the intensity of his reaction.

Then the corners of his lips rose slightly, while his eyes remained fixed on Shu Baiyu.

“What’s wrong?”

Shu Baiyu’s fingertips were still trembling.

For that brief instant, his entire body had felt as though it would turn numb and melt into softness.

Even now, he remained somewhat shaken.

The hand at the back of his neck had already withdrawn, brushing past as though the contact had been unintentional.

Shu Baiyu did not understand this kind of common knowledge.

Even so, he knew that his reaction had been caused by Lu Xingzhou suddenly pressing his gland.

He followed the apparent source of the numb sensation and touched the back of his neck again.

Then he raised his head and looked at Lu Xingzhou, his pitch-black eyes darkening slightly.

“What happened just now?”

“It’s a problem with your body,” Lu Xingzhou replied without changing his expression. “I tried to make you release more pheromones, but your body reacted strangely.”

Shu Baiyu’s brows knitted together.

He could not understand why the original character’s body had so many problems.

Lu Xingzhou continued, “It may be because of the pheromone disorder. It should improve once you receive treatment.”

Shu Baiyu nodded without investigating further.

Because his gaze was lowered, he missed the deep, fleeting look Lu Xingzhou cast toward him.

Five minutes quickly passed.

At that moment, Luo Yao’s voice sounded from outside the door.

“Xiao Yu, are you in there? Auntie has prepared your room. Come downstairs and have some fruit.”

Shu Baiyu instinctively touched the back of his neck again before raising his head.

“Do you have a suppression patch?”

Lu Xingzhou’s gaze swept over the bite marks on his gland, which had become faintly red again.

“No.”

“Oh.”

Shu Baiyu did not pay much attention to it.

He pulled up his zipper and went downstairs.

Lu Xingzhou remained behind alone in the bedroom.

A faint trace of sweetness seemed to linger in the air, while the sensation from that moment appeared to remain on the tips of his teeth.

He sniffed lightly.

…

Lychee.