Chapter 48

Zhou Rong's motto had always been to speak to people in their language and to ghosts in theirs, but at this moment, he struggled for a few seconds before steeling himself and saying, "I don’t really remember."

"...Huh?" Si Nan was stunned. "Didn't you say he deceived your affections?"

Zhou Rong said solemnly, "But I have you now, so my affections have found a home. I don't think about the past at all anymore. To hell with all that youthful folly. Ge now..."

"How can you be so fickle?" Si Nan said, dissatisfied.

The word 'fickle' got stuck in Zhou Rong's throat. His expression was as if he'd swallowed four eggs made of stone. After a long moment, he said aggrievedly, "Organization, I'm begging you, can you please be reasonable, Comrade Xiao Si? It's been eleven years! I don't even remember what he looked like!"

Si Nan: "..."

"Besides, we were only together for a few days back then, there was basically nothing to it, okay? In the end, he even deceived my affections and dumped me. It's a shameful part of my past. Let's just let this memory turn to ash and scatter in the wind..."

Si Nan: "..."

Si Nan's eyes narrowed sinisterly. "Sca-tter... in... the... wind."

From Zhou Rong's perspective, the corners of Si Nan's eyes curved upwards, looking as cold as a knife's edge. He immediately shivered.

"You swear it's really scattered in the wind?" Si Nan asked.

Zhou Rong said piously, "I swear on my parents' names..."

"Are your esteemed father and mother still among the living?"

"..." Zhou Rong said helplessly, "I was raised in a state-sponsored orphanage. Can I swear on the director's name?"

Si Nan said, grinding his molars, "I'll believe you if you swear on the name of the People's Government."

Helpless, Zhou Rong had no choice but to raise his right hand. "I swear on the name of the People's Government, I really have..."

He closed his eyes in pain. After ten seconds of complete silence, he said tragically, "No, I can't. I'll tell the truth. Sometimes I do think about it... just think about it! After all, it was a very painful experience, okay!"

Si Nan was a little satisfied now. He lay back down sullenly, frowning as he pondered something.

Seeing no reaction from him for a long time, Zhou Rong thought he had finally passed this ordeal that every man must face in his life. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief—however, he couldn't inhale again after letting that breath out. Si Nan suddenly seemed to have figured something out and said thoughtfully, "Then does that count as you having a foot in two boats right now?"

Zhou Rong was stunned for a moment, feeling as if he'd just been screwed over by a herd of alpacas.

"Ah!" He suddenly looked straight ahead and shouted, "There's a Zombie!"

Si Nan: "..."

"I'm going to fight a Zombie, be right back!" Zhou Rong shot out of the room like an arrow, scrambling away in his escape.

·

—Obviously, there were no Zombies. There was no one in the deep mountains and old forests to begin with, and it was the coldest part of winter. The moisture in the Zombies' bodies would have frozen solid, making it difficult for them to even move in the mountains at this latitude.

Zhou Rong squatted in front of the stove and made something to eat. The steam fogged up the glass window. He wiped it with his hand and looked out through the dirty, frosted glass. He didn't know when it had started snowing, but large flakes like goose feathers were now drifting down. In the distant valley, the river gave off a faint glimmer of light. The world was serene.

'Do I count as having a foot in two boats?' Zhou Rong subconsciously asked himself.

He tried to recall the face of that young Omega from his first love, but it had truly become blurred in the eleven years of memories that fluttered like a heavy snowstorm. In these years, he had graduated from military academy, gone abroad for peacekeeping missions, been selected for The Central Command, then suffered a setback and was demoted to Unit 118. He had experienced countless firefights, partings, and deaths. His memory was like a stone slate, carved with countless deep marks by time.

Though the memory of that naive affair at eighteen was still there, when he thought of it again, what first came to mind was no longer that specific person, but a sense of the long, distant, and helpless passage of time.

Thinking about it, Si Nan was actually a bit like that young Omega who had deceived his affections in some ways—Zhou Rong pondered this, arms crossed, as he stood before the kitchen window, absently gazing at the world gradually being cloaked in silver.

He was intelligent and slightly cunning, strong-willed, able to hide his thoughts, and possessing an extraordinary persistence for his goals, never giving up until he achieves them. But this could also be a common trait of capable Omegas destined for great things. On closer thought, their appearances might even be vaguely similar.

Zhou Rong shook his head, laughing at himself. 'How could that be possible,' he thought. He turned off the stove, carefully filled an old-fashioned hot water bottle he had found in the storage room, and went upstairs, entering the bedroom lightly.

Si Nan was curled up tightly at the head of the bed, his face buried deep between his knees. Hearing someone push the door open, he flinched back reflexively, curling himself into an even tighter ball.

The air was filled with a rich, cloying sweetness. The moment Zhou Rong entered the room, it was as if a tide of it seeped into his bloodstream through his nose, his throat, and even every pore in his body.

The seduction born from physiological instinct was so intense and direct, it was a massive stimulus to his nerve endings. Zhou Rong's hands were trembling as he stuffed the hot water bottle under the mattress. From the sheer effort of restraining himself, veins were even bulging on the arm hidden by his sleeve.

"..." Si Nan murmured softly.

Zhou Rong's Adam's apple bobbed violently. He leaned down slightly and whispered hoarsely in his ear, "What did you say?"

Si Nan panted, "Go away..."

The corners of Si Nan's eyes were red, his eyes brimming with moisture. Even though it was snowing heavily outside, a fine sheen of sweat had appeared on the tip of his nose. His lips were soft and crimson as if they were on fire, and he trembled slightly with every word he spoke.

Zhou Rong could hardly bear to look at the scene. He closed his eyes and said, "I'll come... back up later."

He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, relying on the sharp pain to maintain his last shred of self-control. Just as he turned to leave, his sleeve was caught.

From his curled-up state, Si Nan extended two fingers and hooked his cuff.

"..." Zhou Rong turned back and grabbed his wrist, asking in a low voice, "What is it?"

Si Nan's wrists were actually very hard, a result of years of combat training that inevitably affected the bones. His fingers were also long and slender. At first glance, one might say they had an artistic air, but in reality, he didn't play any instruments. His fingertips were instead covered in calluses from gripping a dagger, and he had gun calluses on his index finger and the web of his thumb.

He had them on both hands, and they were even more pronounced on his left due to more intensive training.

—The scars and old wounds on these hands recorded more than twenty years of their owner's unimaginable hardship and endurance, completely different from any Omega Zhou Rong had ever encountered or could recall.

"Go away..." Si Nan said through gritted teeth, but his index and middle fingers hooked Zhou Rong's sleeve even tighter, his nails turning white.

"Really going?" Zhou Rong asked softly, making a show of pulling Si Nan's hand from his cuff. "You really want me to go?"

In his daze, Si Nan tried his best to hold on to the fabric, but it was no use. His whole body was as soft as jelly, and his fingers were pulled away bit by bit.

"..." The rims of Si Nan's eyes instantly grew redder, and the moisture in them looked like it was about to spill over in grievance.

Zhou Rong smiled and asked close to his ear, "So, am I going or not?"

He couldn't hear anything Zhou Rong was saying. Si Nan's ears were ringing, the only thing clear was his own heartbeat, pounding in his chest.

He couldn't see Zhou Rong's face clearly, nor was he aware that he was holding the man's hand. All his senses had melted into a scalding, thick liquid. Wherever his perception went, that part of his body would be seared, making him twitch and shudder, shattering his thoughts.

He only knew that a powerful, reliable, and secure presence loomed by the bed, making him want to draw near involuntarily. But when he truly got close, he could feel the intimidating strength and aggression hidden within that presence, like a ferocious beast lying in wait in the darkness, ready to extend its sharp claws at any moment and drag him into an even more uncontrollable abyss.

'It can't be like this...' Si Nan thought vaguely.

He was adrift in a warm sea, unable to regain clarity no matter how he struggled. In his confusion, he raised his other limp hand to his mouth.

He wanted to bite the back of his hand hard, to at least feel a familiar pain. But in the next second, he was caught. Both his wrists were pinned to the headboard, leaving him no room to even protest.

"...Zhou..." he murmured subconsciously, as if a little afraid. "Zhou... Rong..."

Zhou Rong flattened him out on the bed, looking down at him from above, and pressed a knee between his thighs.

"Zhou Rong..." Si Nan couldn't help but call out again, his pupils dilating.

—The end of the word was urgent and trembling, actually a cry for help.

Those two words were like a fuse burning to its end. With a whoosh, Zhou Rong felt like his entire being was about to catch fire.

He propped himself up on an elbow beside the pillow, grabbing the back of Si Nan's head to force him to look up as their lips and tongues tangled in a deep kiss. The taste of blood from his previously bitten tongue, carrying the rich and potent scent of an Alpha's Pheromones, was forced down Si Nan's throat. It was like an aphrodisiac injected directly into his veins, having a fatal effect on the extremely sensitive body of an Omega in their Heat Period.

"...!" Si Nan arched his back completely. Zhou Rong immediately caught his lower back, his hands shaking from excessive excitement. He swiftly stripped off all of Si Nan's clothes and threw them harshly onto the floor.

"Say it... say it again," Zhou Rong panted heavily, one hand slipping down to knead between his buttocks while the other squeezed the nape of Si Nan's neck to make him look at him. "Say my name again, good boy, my treasure, look at me..."

The moment his rough, strong fingers probed the entrance of his hole, the dangerously sloshing pool of heat deep inside Si Nan finally overflowed. It eagerly flowed down his fingers, drenching his inner thighs until they were slick—but even so, the pressure and friction from the fingers were still distinct. Si Nan couldn't bear the stimulation and abruptly arched his lower back with such force that even Zhou Rong couldn't hold him down!

"Does it hurt? Hmm?" Zhou Rong forced him back down, nipping the tip of his ear and asking indistinctly, "If it hurts, call for Rong-ge. Say it again."

The inner walls spasmed unceasingly, as if trying to push out the troublemaking fingers, yet when he really started to withdraw them, it seemed to cry and beg them to stay, slickness flowing everywhere. Si Nan tremblingly grabbed Zhou Rong's upper arm, trying to push him away but lacking the strength. A moment later, he didn't know what those two fingers inside him touched, but he suddenly let out a pained gasp, his fingernails leaving four white scratch marks on Zhou Rong's muscles.

Zhou Rong roughly grabbed the hair on the back of his head, forcing him to tilt his head up. He kissed him intermittently, his tongue caressing Si Nan's lips and teeth in a rhythm that mimicked intercourse, not even sparing the soft spot under his tongue.

"..." Si Nan struggled, wanting to say something, but his mouth was completely blocked, unable to form even a single syllable.

All his nerves were focused on feeling the fingers that delved deeper and deeper into his rear. He wasn't even aware that his lips and tongue were being thoroughly invaded. He pressed futilely against Zhou Rong's shoulder, his knuckles turning white.

'Too deep,' was his only thought in the haze.

He didn't know how deep those fingers had gone, nor how much more he could take; he only felt his inner walls twisting together with all his internal organs. If he relaxed even slightly, more of the liquid that left him helpless would gush out.

Zhou Rong said something, seemingly asking him a question, but Si Nan couldn't hear a thing.

His subconscious made him tense up warily, resisting all possible, unknown harm.

"My treasure..." Zhou Rong repeated softly, finally pulling out his slick fingers and repeatedly kneading the soft flesh of the gland on the nape of Si Nan's neck. "Be good, call out one more time, my treasure..."

Suddenly, the fingers were gone. An unimaginable emptiness instantly swept through his body. Si Nan's waist immediately went limp, and fluid gushed down his firm thighs.

He tremblingly reached out to hug Zhou Rong, but the Alpha pulled back.

'Why? Don't you want me anymore?'

"...Zhou..." In this state, Si Nan was on the verge of breaking down just to squeeze out that single word. It was so hurried that he couldn't even fully express his panic and fear.

Zhou Rong quickly ripped off his pants, and his member immediately sprang out. He grabbed Si Nan's hand, pressed a kiss into his palm, then kissed his way up his wrist, saying in a low voice, "I'm here, don't be afraid, I'm here."

Si Nan was slightly placated. His rear entrance opened and closed unbearably, and was then pressed against by something hard and hot.

Subconsciously, he knew what it was. He struggled to sit up, weak and frightened, but he didn't have enough strength to support his body. Midway, he was easily pushed back down by Zhou Rong, who looked down at the red corners of his eyes from up close. "Do you want it?"

After an Alpha was passively induced into rut, they would immediately release tyrannical and vigorous Pheromones. It was like a flood, completely and unreasonably submerging Si Nan in its embrace.

"Do you want me?" Zhou Rong tempted him gently, his member probing slightly. After the passage difficultly but eagerly swallowed the head, he pulled out again amidst desperate pleas, making Si Nan let out a gasp that was almost a sob.

"Say it, my treasure, say it out loud."

Zhou Rong held his face, constantly wiping away his tears with his thumb, like taming a young, fierce beast he had finally managed to capture, tempting it over and over with sugar and patience. "What do you want? Say it and tell me."

"..." Si Nan was trembling so much he could hardly open his mouth. He didn't know how many times he had been repeatedly tempted and taught before he finally shivered out a single syllable: "...Want..."

Zhou Rong was greatly encouraged. "Want what, hmm? Who do you want?"

"..."

"Tell me who you want. Who am I?"

"Zhou..." Si Nan finally grabbed Zhou Rong's shoulders, then tremblingly touched his face. "...Zhou Rong...!"

The moment that name left his lips, Zhou Rong finally felt the concrete certainty of being chosen. A burgeoning, fierce pride and possessiveness surged up. He gripped Si Nan's fingers with his other hand and thrust forward, burying himself completely inside.

"...Ah...!"

Si Nan immediately curled up, but Zhou Rong had entered too fast and too deep. He pulled out almost immediately, only to slam back in hard!

Si Nan had encountered more Alphas than anyone in his life, and his education in anatomy and combat had made him very clear on what the erection of a natural possessor like an Alpha was like. But right now, tormented to the point of collapse by his heat, he had no idea how ferocious Zhou Rong's organ was when fully erect—if he had seen it, he might have struggled to escape immediately.

"Ah... Ah!" Si Nan choked out unbearably. "Stop... Ah! No!"

The entrance that had struggled to even accept two fingers was suddenly stretched to its limit by a massive object. Moreover, Zhou Rong had instantly thrust to the hilt, pressing firmly against an even more hidden entrance deep inside amidst lewd, wet sounds. His movements paused.

"Really don't want it?" Zhou Rong panted heavily, grinding against the soft flesh, making the pitiful little entrance suffer even more.

When he had thrust in so recklessly, it had been excruciatingly painful, but the pain was laced with a strange pleasure, like an electric current lashing all the nerves in his body. When the movements truly stopped, the current didn't weaken. Instead, it intensified and concentrated entirely in his lower body, making the passage clench desperately, even beginning to suckle and curry favor with the huge member.

Si Nan had no idea what he was doing anymore. Zhou Rong had only stopped for a few seconds before he instinctively thrust his hips up, letting out an uncomfortable moan.

"Faster..."

Zhou Rong made a move to pull out. The friction created by the withdrawal was unbearably stimulating to the hot, tight passage. Si Nan immediately threw his head back with all his might. "...No, no... Faster!"

"What is it you want, exactly?" Zhou Rong laughed, kissing his throat adoringly. "Why are you so hard to please, hmm?"

Si Nan couldn't hear anything. His fingers twisted the bedsheets tightly. The next moment, he was once again filled completely.

He couldn't even make a sound before he was swept into an abyss of a violent storm. His flat, firm abdomen was stretched taut from accommodating the overly large member. Every thrust was so swift and fierce that it made his internal organs twitch.

Pain and pleasure became a thorny whip, lashing his weak body repeatedly, drawing blood from his nerves.

Si Nan didn't know how long this near-death, lengthy process lasted. His consciousness broke several times in the middle, and not even his orgasm brought him back to clarity.

But Zhou Rong paused slightly during his orgasm, kissing his lips unceasingly, as if exceptionally excited by having received some kind of reward.

Then he picked Si Nan up, carried him to the corner of the room, and had him kneel facing the wall, not forgetting to lay a thick blanket under his knees.

After his climax, his body was too weak to support any weight. Si Nan couldn't kneel at all and was about to collapse. But then Zhou Rong grabbed his lower back to support him. Zhou Rong knelt between his thighs and, in this rear-entry position, once again plunged his member into the much-abused entrance.

"Ah... No!" Si Nan jumped in shock, though the movement was minuscule. "No, Zhou... Zhou Rong!"

His awareness of the danger came far too late. In this position, his entire body weight was supported on his forcibly separated knees, his wrists were grabbed by Zhou Rong and pressed against the wall, and the space to struggle behind him was completely blocked, cutting off the last sliver of hope for escape.

And this position instantly allowed the member to enter to an indescribably terrifying depth. The Omega's reproductive cavity, slightly open after his orgasm, was brutally forced into by Zhou Rong!

This was true copulation.

Si Nan's back trembled violently, but Zhou Rong was practically berserk. He continuously pressed against him, kissed him, and bit his nape, ruthlessly invading the tight passage that had never been opened before. Liquid flowed down Si Nan's thighs like an open floodgate, emitting an unbearably seductive, cloying scent that seeped steadily into the blanket.

"Si Xiaonan, my Si Xiaonan," Zhou Rong repeated over and over like he was possessed, urgently licking and kissing his nape in the moment before he knotted, his voice hoarse. "My dear... my Si Xiaonan."

Si Nan whimpered, then suddenly lost his voice.

Zhou Rong's final thrust completely conquered the reproductive cavity. Then the tip of his member knotted, swelling rapidly, viciously locking the small, tender opening in place as his semen, thick with potent Alpha Pheromones, burst forth.

In that same instant, he finally bit into the nape of Si Nan's neck, his sharp canines sinking deep into the gland.

'I love you, my Si Xiaonan.'

Zhou Rong hugged Si Nan tightly from behind, repeatedly kissing his sweaty hair, his closed eyes, and the moist corners of his lips, feeling a change in both his own and the other's Pheromones.

A frantic joy and satisfaction erupted from the depths of his soul. Zhou Rong realized he had finally, thoroughly, and completely marked his Omega, his partner.