Chi Shu frowned, carefully recalling his emotional changes towards Yangyang.
When Yangyang first joined Tianhuan, Chi Shu thought he was an Alpha. As a result, on the day he reported to the team, he suddenly presented. Chi Shu sent him to the hospital and witnessed him presenting as an Omega.
This Omega was allergic to suppressants. To prevent pheromones from losing control, Chi Shu reluctantly marked him.
Then, the two began daily training, cultivating tacit understanding…
Chi Shu devoted himself to training, temporarily ignoring the issue of Ye Shaoyang being an Omega. Until the Spring Festival, Ye Shaoyang's phone call disturbed Chi Shu's calm mood.
Invited by an Omega to his home for marking, and even kept for dinner…
Only then did Chi Shu realize that Yangyang actually liked him.
What did marking privately at home mean? Wasn't this almost like privately pledging one's life? Since Yangyang invited him home for marking without scruples, he obviously relied on and trusted him very much.
Since Yangyang had him in his heart, Chi Shu also began to face their relationship squarely, deciding to be responsible for the Omega he marked.
Initially, it was just out of an Alpha's sense of responsibility. Later, months after the mark, he found his heart still raced uncontrollably when facing Ye Shaoyang. Only then did he understand that he actually liked Yangyang too.
In Chi Shu's eyes, his relationship with Ye Shaoyang followed this logical sequence—after marking, Yangyang fell in love with him, then he also fell in love with Yangyang. Mutual affection, confession, being together, engagement.
But today, asking casually, Ye Shaoyang's answer was actually "I only realized we weren't brothers when you sang that song at All-Stars."
All-Stars? That was in the second half of this year.
At that time, Chi Shu had already decided to marry Ye Shaoyang, imagining how to hold the wedding and where to go for the honeymoon. As a result, in Ye Shaoyang's mind, they were still brothers?
Brothers?!
What about the previous markings? What did they count as? Suppressant tool-man?
Chi Shu's mouth twitched, unable to believe this fact. He looked at Ye Shaoyang and asked in a deep voice, "Last Spring Festival, when I marked you for the second time, what were you thinking?"
Ye Shaoyang laughed dryly and explained, "My pheromones were rising at the time, and I just wanted to stabilize as soon as possible, so I called you. First time strangers, second time familiar, you know. Troublesome for you to make a trip during the New Year, I felt quite apologetic, so I kept you for dinner."
Chi Shu: "..."
First time strangers, second time familiar??
While he was blushing and heart-racing, thinking this Omega liked him and trusted him enough to call him and invite him home for marking, this Omega's thought was simply: First time strangers, second time familiar.
Marked once anyway, marking again doesn't hurt.
Good brothers, help a bro out!
Chi Shu's face turned red and white. Turns out, what he once thought as "Yangyang likes me" and "Yangyang relies on me heavily" were all his wishful thinking and over-imagination.
Although Ye Shaoyang called an Alpha to his home, did such an intimate thing as a temporary mark, and kept the other for dinner, Ye Shaoyang really treated the other as a brother.
You aren't just big-hearted; you are missing a string, right?
Chi Shu looked back at Ye Shaoyang. The latter guiltily moved his gaze away and changed the subject: "Cough cough, when I liked you, this process isn't important. The result is liking you, isn't that enough? No need to dwell on it."
Chi Shu asked seriously, "Is it because you presented late that you have no concept of gender boundaries between Alpha and Omega? How can an Omega treat the Alpha who marked them as a good brother?"
Ye Shaoyang explained in a small voice, "Because I didn't study physiology well. In my opinion, we are both guys, just good brothers. I didn't think that much."
Chi Shu: "…"
Both guys??
Ye Shaoyang also knew this explanation made no sense. In the eyes of ABO world natives, even if Alpha and Omega were "both guys," they weren't the same gender. An Omega male could be marked by an Alpha male and even get pregnant; of course, they couldn't simply be brothers.
He couldn't explain that he wasn't from this world, and in his place, men and men were the same gender, so biting the neck was nothing, right?
Ye Shaoyang coughed lightly and changed the subject: "Not streaming this afternoon, right? I want to take Xiao Bai for a bath. It hasn't bathed for half a year; its fur is dirty."
Chi Shu turned his head to look at Xiao Bai, meeting the cat's innocent eyes.
Looking at Ye Shaoyang again, that look was also particularly innocent, as if saying: Bro, you overthought it.
Chi Shu rubbed his temples with a headache. "Want me to go with you?"
Ye Shaoyang smiled and waved his hand. "No need. There's a pet shop at the gate of the complex; I'll just take it there."
Chi Shu said, "Then I'll prepare dinner at home and wait for you to come back."
Ye Shaoyang changed clothes, put Xiao Bai in the cat bag, and carried it out the door.
He didn't know how to explain that he was marked twice consecutively by Chi Shu yet still treated Chi Shu as a brother, so he simply carried the cat and slipped away.
It was already 4:30 PM. Chi Shu frowned in thought while preparing dinner in the kitchen.
Logically speaking, an Omega marked by an Alpha would develop a dependency on the Alpha. When he marked Yangyang the second time, Yangyang actually still treated him as a brother?
Was he not charming enough? Or did his pheromones smell bad?
Chi Shu was puzzled.
He thought Yangyang liked him first. Now it seemed he imagined a whole lot himself. Ye Shaoyang was missing a string in his head; let alone liking him, he didn't treat him as an Alpha at all!
When he was thinking about when to get married, Yangyang didn't even realize they weren't the same gender?
When he dreamed of various R-rated scenes, Ye Shaoyang still frankly treated him as a good bro?
In Ye Shaoyang's eyes, they were both guys, so biting once didn't matter?
Chi Shu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He had indeed never seen such an Omega.
Ye Shaoyang didn't study physiology well; this was a lack of physiological common sense, right?
In the pet shop at the gate of the complex, Ye Shaoyang started sneezing wildly.
The owner asked with concern, "Handsome guy, what's wrong? Allergic to cat fur?"
Ye Shaoyang rubbed his nose and smiled. "No no, I keep a cat myself. By the way, boss, help me give my Xiao Bai a bath, and trim its nails while you're at it."
Seeing the cat in the bag on his back, the owner immediately said, "Okay, this way please."
Ye Shaoyang took Xiao Bai for a bath. The mischievous Xiao Bai jumped up and down, almost dismantling the pet shop. Ye Shaoyang and the owner joined forces to control it.
Meanwhile, Chi Shu fell into deep self-doubt.
He opened the largest domestic emotional forum, just wanting to post asking netizens, but saw a HOT post floating on the homepage. The post title was "I was marked by my good bro twice, what to do?"
Curious, Chi Shu clicked into this post as if guided by ghosts.
The OP's ID was "Alien." The post content: "I'm a poor student. Didn't listen well in middle school physiology class and didn't know what a temporary mark represented. Once before, in an emergency, pheromones almost lost control, so I pulled my good bro to take a bite. A few months later, I couldn't buy suppressants, and pheromones lost control again. I thought first time strangers, second time familiar, so I let him bite again.
Today I learned that a temporary mark equals DO-ing an incomplete love.
I have no face to see him! [Cracked.jpg]"
Chi Shu: "??"
Why was the OP's situation somewhat similar to Yangyang's experience?
Chi Shu continued reading. Many netizens were teasing the OP for being a scum O, also saying "Let your bro mark you completely and it'll be solved!" "Your bro is truly miserable, treated as a suppressant tool-man by you." "OP is too scummy; Alpha good bro's first time was cheated away by you just like that."
Chi Shu looked up at the posting time.
Wasn't this time the same as when he took Yangyang to the hospital for a check-up?
At that time, the doctor said to sample both their pheromone data. They went to the hospital together. After drawing blood, the doctor even gave them a copy of Safe Marking Science Manual.
The more Chi Shu thought about it, the stranger it felt. This time point… was it a coincidence?
Exactly on that day, the Alien OP posted saying he realized the meaning of a temporary mark was similar to s*x with a condom. If Yangyang previously treated Chi Shu as a bro due to gender cognition disorder, and realized marking was actually a very intimate thing after reading the Safe Marking Science Manual, the logic would fit.
Chi Shu's heart shook, and he continued flipping through the post.
The time this "Alien" OP first posted was the day Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang went to the hospital for re-examination and got the science manual.
Chi Shu remembered this date clearly because they were secretly photographed by paparazzi that day, and Master even helped them resolve the paparazzi issue and told them to be careful.
Alien's second reply: "Our unit had team building recently. Everyone went out for dinner together. My bro was egged on by everyone to sing a song. When singing rather ambiguous lyrics, he looked at me inexplicably. Could he like me? Am I overthinking?"
Chi Shu glanced at the time—
It was the All-Star entertainment match, the day he was punished to sing.
A strange feeling grew in his heart. Although the OP deliberately coded it, vaguely saying "colleague" and "team building," this timeline and story development were indeed exactly the same as theirs.
Alien's third reply: "Thank you brothers and sisters, I got together with my bro."
"Several colleagues went on a business trip. My bro suddenly had a susceptibility period. After all, he helped me solve my pheromone problem before; I couldn't leave him alone, so I stayed to take care of him. Result: got kissed by him, and he confessed he liked me. I thought, I don't dislike him either, so we just got together."
The posting time was exactly the day Ye Shaoyang was competing in Korea and won the championship. Chi Shu got drunk and triggered a susceptibility period. Yangyang stayed to take care of him, and he couldn't control himself and forcibly kissed Yangyang.
Confessed the next morning, accepted by Yangyang.
Then the "Alien" OP posted this reply.
Chi Shu: "..."
Hospital re-examination, All-Star singing, susceptibility period first kiss, confession confirming relationship—the times all matched!
It was impossible for a couple's emotional experience time points to overlap completely with theirs, right? Moreover, this "Alien" OP's careless narrative style was exactly the same as Ye Shaoyang's.
And the weird idea of "first time strangers, second time familiar" when being marked was also exactly the same as Ye Shaoyang's!
Sorting out the event context and timeline of the entire post carefully, wasn't it just Chi Shu and Ye Shaoyang's story? Was there another Omega in this world as missing-a-string as Ye Shaoyang?
Ye Shaoyang, this is the post you made, right??
Holding back laughter, Chi Shu replied in the post: "OP, your cover is blown. As the Alpha who has always been treated as a good bro and human suppressant by you, should I feel honored?"
Seeing this reply, netizens popped out to watch the drama one after another.
[Holy crap! Did OP's bro appear?]
[Ahhh, the party involved? That good bro who marked the OP?]
[Interviewing this Alpha mister, are you two really together?]
[What do you think about him treating you as a bro?]
Chi Shu replied: "We are together. I will tell him that I never treated him as a good bro."
In the evening, Ye Shaoyang washed Xiao Bai clean and carried it home.
He found Chi Shu wasn't quite right. Although Chi Shu's expression was still gentle, that look was like seeing through something, making one's back hairy.
Ye Shaoyang carried Xiao Bai out and said, "Took a bath, cat fur became fluffy."
Chi Shu patted the kitten's head. "Mn, come eat."
The food on the table was sumptuous, prepared by Chi Shu personally.
Ye Shaoyang gorged himself heartlessly. After eating and drinking his fill, he actively went to the kitchen to clean up the dishes.
A moment later, Ye Shaoyang walked out of the kitchen, meeting Chi Shu's deep gaze.
Chi Shu said, "Yangyang, I found a very interesting post. Come take a look."
Ye Shaoyang thought it was a game-related post and followed Chi Shu to the study curiously, leaning close to Chi Shu's laptop. Looking closely—
Alien OP: What should I do if I was marked by my bro?
Red title, HOT post on the emotional forum.
Ye Shaoyang froze in place.
Isn't this the post I made? Why was it dug out by Chi Shu!!!
Chi Shu gently hugged Ye Shaoyang's waist from behind, his voice calm: "This OP had an Alpha mark him twice, yet actually treated the other as a good bro, even saying first time strangers, second time familiar. Quite like you."
Ye Shaoyang: "..."
Can you not strip my vest (expose my alt) to my face? Give some face!