Chapter 13

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After placing the strawberries on the table, Jiang Chenming stretched out his arms to grab the empty plates. Then, he cleaned them with Mo Lingqiu’s help. 

Fan Nian, being the guest, sat and ate the strawberries with ease, looking at the fresh, new ‘couple’ that was busy cleaning up. 

After a while, Fan Nian couldn’t resist the temptation and went into Mo Lingqiu’s room to play games. 

There was a desktop in Mo Lingqiu’s room that had been installed by hired professionals, and it even had the full gaming set. Although Mo Lingqiu rarely played games, the setup still looked cool.

Every time Fan Nian came to Mo Lingqiu’s house, he would play games until the next morning. But, because Jiang Chenming was there those days, he couldn’t stay for too long, so he unwillingly left Mo Lingqiu’s house at 11pm. 

The instant that Fan Nian left, Mo Lingqiu told Jiang Chenming, “Don’t take the words I just said seriously.” 

“What?” Jiang Chenming could roughly guess what Mo Lingqiu meant, but he mischievously pretended not to understand.

Mo Lingqiu noticed that Jiang Chenming was perplexed and thought that he really didn’t understand, so, as his ears turned red, he explained, “When I told Fan Nian that we’re dating. If I didn’t say it like that, Fan Nian would cause you trouble.” 

Fan Nian was his best friend; he definitely wouldn’t allow Mo Lingqiu to have a messy relationship with an alpha. If he hadn’t made up an excuse like that, Fan Nian would definitely blow up in anger. 

“Not a problem. Since it’s for my sake.” Jiang Chenming was in a great mood. 

Mo Lingqiu felt that his response was a bit weird, but he didn’t know in what way. “And…” Mo Lingqiu continued. “I may need your help in the future…” 

Jiang Chenming nodded his head in understanding. “I’ll need to act in front of Dr. Fan, right? I’ll cooperate, so you don’t need to worry.” 

Mo Lingqiu didn’t think that he would end up causing more and more trouble for his student, and he felt a little guilty. “Then, you go and bathe first.” 

Jiang Chenming nodded. He grabbed some clean clothes and went into the bathroom. 

Mo Lingqiu stood in the living room for a little bit longer before he returned to his room and took out a packet of high-calcium milk powder. He made a cup of milk and placed it on Jiang Chenming’s table. 

At the end of October, Mo Lingqiu received Bao Wen’s call that informed him that it was time to do a pheromone stability test at his clinic. 

“Bring Jiang Chenming here when you come,” Bao Wen proposed. “Alright?” 

Mo Lingqiu instantly rejected him. “He went to a competition, so he can’t go.” 

“Okay, then fine.” Bao Wen thought it was unfortunate. “I thought I’d let you guys do the test together, so it would be more accurate.” 

Mo Lingqiu didn’t know what to do about it either. Jiang Chenming’s PE Department teachers were focusing on training him. Although he didn’t have the ambition to become a professional athlete, teachers still liked to bring him around to participate in competitions. 

Jiang Chenming had left the morning before. Mo Lingqiu hadn’t felt anything when he’d first left, but he was beginning to feel restless. His work efficiency had also decreased. 

“I’ll hang up first. We’ll discuss it when he comes back.” Mo Lingqiu decisively hung up the phone after he finished talking. 

In the afternoon, he drove to the clinic and did the pheromone test with Bao Wen’s help. Although the results couldn’t be immediately generated, Bao Wen didn’t let go of his chance to ask Mo Lingqiu lots of questions to roughly understand his recent condition. 

Mo Lingqiu answered everything that he could. When he was asked about the number of heats he’d gone into, he answered, “One.” 

“Only once?”

“En.” Mo Lingqiu nodded. “On the sixth.” 

Bao Wen calculated the date. “Okay, I got it. Any reactions recently when he’s not around you?” 

“…I feel a bit restless, and my work efficiency has gone down.” Mo Lingqiu’s symptoms did not come to a resolution staying together with Jiang Chenming those days. Although he was at ease when Jiang Chenming was around, the restlessness didn’t decrease at all once he’d left. Instead, it became stronger and stronger. 

Bao Wen frowned like he couldn’t really understand the reason. After contemplating for a while, he said, “Let’s do it this way. Come and take a look at the results after they come out in three days, and then we’ll check where things went wrong.” 

“Okay.” 

“Oh yeah, I have two copies of the report from the pheromone examination that you and Jiang Chenming did last week. I initially wanted to send one of the copies to your parents since they’re really worried about you, but…” Bao Wen had purposely printed three copies the last time since he was thinking that he should tell Mo Lingqiu’s parents about the examination, but he was afraid that he was being a busybody and that he would make the people involved unhappy. 

Just as he expected, Mo Lingqiu frowned. His expression turned even colder. “Don’t tell them.” 

Bao Wen didn’t expect that his expression would dip so fast. He quickly explained, “I haven’t told them yet. I’m just asking you. If you don’t want me to tell them, then it’s fine.” 

“We’re just using each other right now. Once our pheromones stabilize, I won’t involve myself with him anymore.” Although Mo Lingqiu was almost thirty years old, he still didn’t intend to let another person enter his life, even if it was a person with a 100% compatibility rate. 

“…Okay.” Bao Wen found a way out and changed the topic. “Jiang Chenming’s coming back in three days? I want him to do a pheromone test.” 

“He’s coming back in a week. I’ll ask him to come here on his own.” 

“That works, too.” Bao Wen didn’t know how to deal with him anymore, and could only agree.

Bao Wen looked at Mo Lingqiu leaving and sighed. He thought that Mo Lingqiu was taking the pheromone compatibility rate too lightly. It was fine if he had met someone that didn’t have a 100% compatibility rate with him, but if he met someone that did, that was destined fate. 

When Mo Lingqiu returned home from the clinic, he had a cold. He didn’t know whether it was because he had opened the window while driving home or not, but the symptoms were severe.  

He decided to take a leave for three days. While he was driving to the clinic, he became even dizzier. 

When Bao Wen handed him the report, he noticed that Mo Lingqiu’s face was really pale and got worried. “Is it okay for you to go home like that? What about calling a driver?” 

“No need for that. It’s also hard to call a driver here.” The second half of his words were true. Bao Wen’s small clinic was located in a remote area. He couldn’t even order food to be delivered there, let alone call a driver. 

Bao Wen laughed. “That’s true. Then be careful when you drive home.” 

“En. There’s no problem with my pheromones right?” Mo Lingqiu took the report and glanced at it. It was filled with words that he couldn’t take in because of his headache. He waited for Bao Wen to tell him the results. 

“It’s almost the same, but it’s calmed down more than last time. The fluctuation also went down.”  Bao Wen suggested, “For now, stay with Jiang Chenming more. If you guys can’t see each other, the pheromones on your everyday items can be comforting, too.” 

“…Okay.” Mo Lingqiu understood. Wasn’t he saying that he should hug Jiang Chenming’s clothes to calm his restlessness? But that was almost impossible for him. 

On his way back, Mo Lingqiu’s driving wasn’t stable, and he almost got into an accident. Fortunately, the other driver had sharper senses and avoided the accident. 

When Mo Lingqiu got home, his feet moved like they were floating and his head became even heavier from the cold. He groggily held onto the wall and walked into Jiang Chenming’s room. 

He threw the report aside and lifted Jiang Chenming’s blanket. He sniffed the bitter almond pheromones that lingered and tightly wrapped himself in the blankets before falling into a deep sleep.