Chapter 28: The Secretary Sneaks Into the CP Group

…He really felt something was weird.

Luo Ran froze with his chopsticks in midair, feeling that his noodles and egg were no longer as fragrant.

On the other hand, Lillia, who saw through the truth with a single glance, was already numb.

She even wanted to see what else Luo Ran and Lucas could get up to.

Lucas noticed Luo Ran’s stiffness and turned to him with raised eyebrows as if asking what he was doing.

Luo Ran: “…”

He didn’t want to look at Lucas for the time being.

What a headache.

Luo Ran lowered his head to focus on his food, alternating between the soup and noodles.

Lucas frowned, then gave Luo Ran a kick under the table.

“…” Luo Ran almost choked on the soup.

Luo Ran carefully retracted his foot, pretended not to know anything, and kept chatting with Zhou Mingkai as he ate.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. Seeing that Luo Ran ignored him in favour of Zhou Mingkai, he forcefully swept his leg over.

Lucas just wanted to tease Luo Ran a bit but had no intention of speaking openly.

“Fuck, who kicked me!” Zhou Mingkai subconsciously shouted, shuddering.

Luo Ran: “…”

Lillia: “…”

* * *

A profound hush descended.

After a moment of silence, Lucas coldly replied, “Me.”

His action was too big and accidentally affected an innocent.

* * *

It became even quieter.

Zhou Mingkai froze and forced out a smile. “Ah, um, hahaha how fun.”

Luo Ran slapped down his chopsticks and said, smiling, “I’m going to the bathroom, you guys eat slowly.”

He left the canteen, walking towards the bathrooms.

Luo Ran, feeling confused the entire time, opened the article again.

[Ten Things Couples Do When Eating: Have You Fallen Prey to Them?]

…If you’ve experienced the first four! Then you two must be lovers!

And the next four are advanced tasks!

5: Make small movements under the dining table, like holding hands, hooking your legs together, or something~ ooh~

6…

Luo Ran closed his terminal with a smack, refusing to read any more.

He regretted it a little.

…He regretted it a lot.

Now he understood why everyone on the forum misunderstood and kept shipping them together.

Was it because he and Lucas didn’t control themselves well enough and didn’t notice when they were being intimate?

Just as Luo Ran was wondering what to do, he picked up a strong scent from the bathroom.

It was an omega in heat.

Luo Ran frowned slightly.

It was a thick, sweet strawberry fragrance, but regardless of the flavour, this was… too vigorous, right?

An omega in heat would emit pheromones that made alphas lose control. Luo Ran wasn’t an alpha so he wasn’t affected, but he could detect the presence of his same kind.

This wasn’t the scent of a normal omega. It was so strong that it was more like the omega was the one who couldn’t control themselves – it was terrifying to imagine what would happen if there were an alpha nearby.

Luo Ran touched the inhibitor in his pocket and went closer to investigate.

“Mmph…”

Then, Luo Ran’s eyes widened.

He saw Andika leaning against a wall with teary eyes and a flushed face, clutching at the neck of another man.

Not many clothes were left on his body.

And the man who he held wore a military uniform. It was… Lu Cheng.

The two kissed fiercely, and their pheromones surged as if wanting to overturn the roof. Of course, Andika’s pheromones mainly took the lead, forceful and enthusiastic, while Lu Cheng was swept along until his eyes reddened and his movements turned impatient.

Luo Ran, shocked by this scene that should be mosaicked for children, froze in place.

And these two were the people involved.

He never would have thought.

Luo Ran’s thoughts turned rapidly in his mind.

He didn’t know if Andika did this on purpose, or if he really went into heat on accident.

He also wasn’t clear on if Lu Cheng freely chose this, and the two of them had something going on, or if he broke in unexpectedly and was muddled by pheromones.

One was Lucas’ adjutant, the other was a foreign prince.

But Andika’s pheromones were so strong that Luo Ran’s inhibitor couldn’t stop him, nor was it possible for an alpha whose fuse was already lit to restrain himself.

Since there was no way to control the situation inside, Luo Ran averted his eyes and didn’t continue to watch.

He simply left the bathroom and locked the door.

However, he still had some worries, so he stood guard outside.

To prevent the others from looking for him, he sent Lucas a message to say that he went to the warehouse to check on something.

After that, Luo Ran notified another adjutant, Wang Qi, and asked him to unobtrusively bring a pack of inhibitors over.

Luo Ran hesitated, then added, ‘ten tubes.’

He now knew why Andika consumed so many inhibitors. It was obviously due to a pheromone disorder which caused hormonal imbalances and even collapse.

But he didn’t know why.

Wang Qi arrived not long after.

Lucas’ adjutants were always very reliable in their words and deeds. Luo Ran took the inhibitors he handed over with thanks.

Wang Qi glanced curiously at the bathroom behind Luo Ran. “Did something happen to an omega? Do you need me to help?”

“You’re an alpha, so it’s not convenient for you. I’ll go,” Luo Ran said. “Don’t tell others.”

“Yes!”

Andika’s situation wasn’t one that could be easily solved, so Luo Ran guessed that Lu Cheng would use 15 to 45 minutes to calm themselves down then find some inhibitors to tide over the rest.

Sure enough, half an hour later, Luo Ran heard someone trying to open the door.

As soon as Luo Ran opened the door, he came face to face with a nervous Lu Cheng.

“M-M-M-M-Madam!” Lu Cheng was so nervous that he blurted out his thoughts.

Luo Ran: “…”

Luo Ran handed him the bag in his hands.

“Take care of it in the bathroom, don’t make trouble.”

Although Luo Ran’s voice and expression were as gentle as ever, his awe-inspiring demeanour made Lu Cheng stiffen in anxiety and embarrassment. “Okay…! S-Sorry.”

Luo Ran watched Lu Cheng go back in and, seeing that the matter was just about resolved, left them to it and left first.

* * *

One hour later, in the warehouse office.

Luo Ran sat behind the desk while Lu Cheng stood stiff as a board.

“S-Sorry…” With Luo Ran silent, Lu Cheng blushed bright red and said, “I’m sorry to the admiral! I’m sorry to the Empire!”

Luo Ran wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. “Explain first, did you accidentally pass by or…?”

As Lucas’ adjutant, neither Lu Cheng’s abilities nor character were in question. Luo Ran also trusted him after so many years of working together.

Now, he only wanted to know how the prince was involved.

“I-It wasn’t an accident.” Lu Cheng took a deep breath. Thinking that a man should be brave, and anyways, at most he’d be fired, he said loudly, “He and I got together during the banquet!!”

Luo Ran: “…”

Luo Ran asked, “The banquet for the emperor’s birthday?”

It was the night that Lucas was drugged, and also the night Andika was found to have strange movements, used both contraceptives and inhibitors, and stayed overnight at the hotel.

“Yes…” Lu Cheng hardened himself and continued, “I fell in love with him at first sight at the banquet, so, so I couldn’t help following him. Then I found that… he suddenly felt unwell and ran to a corner of the garden, it seemed like he was going into heat… he kept taking inhibitors but they didn’t work, so I wanted to take him to the hospital.

“Then, he suddenly…”

There was no need to keep talking.

Luo Ran looked at him helplessly.

Unlike omega who were keenly aware of their own bodies, most alpha only knew the generalities of their physiology and didn’t think much on the topic.

Since Andika didn’t even use inhibitors, then when an alpha went up to him, they naturally…

“I looked for him later, and he happened to be in heat again, so we did it again… then he drove me away and we haven’t seen each other since,” Lu Cheng said, scratching the back of his head. “He came to ask me for help today.”

Luo Ran frowned. “Then why didn’t Prince Andika say so? He doesn’t intend to formalize your relationship?”

“He doesn’t like me…?” Lu Cheng replied in a dumb tone.

“What doesn’t like you.” Luo Ran reminded him with a soft smile, “Do you know who will suffer if this spreads?”

“He’s an omega…”

Luo Ran interrupted him. “Yes, he is a soft and weak omega, while you are an alpha who can overpower him at any time. He is here for marriage talks, but had improper relations with you, an alpha. Think, how will Luobing and the royal family react?”

Omega had always been protected by law. For example, when Luo Ran said his SSS omega friend was unwilling to reveal his identity to refine the UNK, the research institute didn’t dare to ask questions, much less investigate, for fear that they would be accused of oppressing omega.

Omega were innately advantaged in both law and public opinion. No matter who had taken the first step, the Empire would have a deadly weakness as long as Andika spoke up.

Lu Cheng was shocked.

“We don’t know why he suddenly has a pheromone disorder. We also don’t know his intentions, and whether the night he spent with you was accidental or on purpose,” Luo Ran said.

Lu Cheng straightened his back and said, “I understand! I swear that I will not betray the admiral, nor will I conceal any information! If anything happens in the future, I am willing to resign with absolutely no complaints!”

After a brief pause, Lu Cheng added, “But I don’t think Prince Andika would use this to make a fuss.”

Luo Ran nodded. They’d been investigating Andika this whole time, and he really was trying to hide it.

This situation wasn’t simple.

“Don’t worry, if that’s really the case, it isn’t as if the Empire has no solutions.” Luo Ran lightly tapped the desk. “However, you shouldn’t contact him for the time being.”

Lu Cheng hesitated, but complied. “Yes.”

After Lu Cheng left, Luo Ran quickly contacted the intelligence and investigation teams.

It was already deep into the evening when he finished the necessary arrangements, and the various highnesses from Luobing and the Empire had all left.

Once Luo Ran returned home, he read some documents, followed up on the intelligence team’s progress, then prepared to go to bed.

He habitually took a look at the forum.

But his mentality was a bit different when he saw the CP topics this time.

…A bit ashamed.

After a moment of hesitation, Luo Ran decided to join the forum’s ‘CP chat group’ to gain a better understanding of how everyone thought and where his own blind spots were.

…Then change his behaviour.

He and Lucas couldn’t go on like this.

Luo Ran searched for half a day before he managed to find the group ID and apprehensively applied to join.

Soon, the moderator One Tender Blossom* sent him a private message.

So Rong Duo is actually a moderator, Luo Ran thought.

One Tender Flower: Dear, you want to join the Secretary x Admiral is Real chat group, right?

False Truths: Yes.

One Tender Flower: It’s like this, we’re worried about fakes mixing into the group, so we need some verification!

False Truths: Okay.

Luo Ran waited for the verification method with trepidation.

One Tender Flower: We don’t need much, you just need to show evidence that you’re a fan of this ship! First of all, charity donations are a must. Otherwise, it can be things like posting top-tier threads on the forum, or receipts from purchasing their merch!

Luo Ran: ???

They had merchandise?

Luo Ran hurriedly went to the online marketplace to take a look.

#LuRan couples mug

#LuRan keychain

These were still normal.

#LuRan R18 book

#LuRan 4 admirals and 1 secretary playtogether

Luo Ran: “…”

Was it what he thought it was?

Was it?

Was it?

Luo Ran felt as if struck by thunder* and immediately placed an order.

He wanted to see exactly what it was.

Then, Luo Ran searched up the donations and found that it was a charity fund the CP fans set up to send warmth and financial assistance to poorer families and other special groups.

Luo Ran felt a little moved.

This wasn’t so bad. Since they did it in his and Lucas’ names, it was a good thing for Lucas’ public opinion. After all, there were so many rumours of his brutality floating around.

Luo Ran invested a large sum of money, then sent a screenshot of his receipt to One Tender Flower.

One Tender Flower: Wow!! It looks like our new friend is a local tyrant! But, um, looking at the date, it seems to have been donated today… I’m a bit uncertain about this (・・;)

One Tender Flower: Does dearie have any better evidence? Maybe something you’ve bought before? Not something from today~

Luo Ran racked his brains and thought hard.

He was clearly the person himself, yet he had to painstakingly search for personal verification like this.

It’s too hard.

It took a long while before he thought of something.

Luo Ran scrounged up Lucas’ jacket, then took a photo of it to send.

False Truths: It’s the same style as the admiral’s, I bought it from a reseller. I can send more photos from other angles.

So after many hardships, Luo Ran, the righteous master, was finally allowed in.

A crowd of people warmly welcomed him in as soon as he joined the group, including the other moderators.

Nana: Welcome, new friend!

Triumphant Once Again: Welcome, welcome! Newbie, let’s do the ritual together!

False Truths: What ritual?

Triumphant Once Again: Please recite three times: secretary x admiral is real!!

Luo Ran: “…”

Triumphant Once Again: Hurry hurry hurry!

One Tender Flower: Newbie, are you daydreaming? So slow~ hurry up and say it!

False Truths: Secretary x admiral is real.

Triumphant Once Again: Can you be a bit more enthusiastic?! It’s like you haven’t had lunch yet!

Luo Ran: “…”

False Truths: Secretary x admiral is real!!!

False Truths: Secretary x admiral is real!!!

False Truths: Secretary x admiral is real!!!!

Luo Ran thought to himself, I must have gone off the deep end when I decided to join this group.

Footnotes:

One Tender Blossom [一朵娇花]: the second character, 朵 (duǒ), is the same as in Rong Duo’s name (容朵)Struck by thunder [五雷轰顶]: lit. five thunderbolts hit [your] head; to my knowledge this expresses extreme shock, but Baidu is also giving me stuff about Daoism and heavenly punishment, so if any friends can help out that’d be appreciated