Chapter 45: Gu Xiujue
Gu Xiujue’s gaze moved down the results. Items B through F all said the same kind of thing: how to satisfy an Omega in heat, blah, blah, blah, comparable to adult novels.
He finally reached result G and let out a breath. This was the answer he wanted.
Result G: “First determine whether the Omega is truly in heat. If it is a false heat, have an Alpha apply a temporary mark to provide some comfort. This is not the ideal time for actual bonding. Alphas should be patient. Please, Alphas, be patient. Usually within a month of pseudo-heat, the Omega will enter true heat.
“As for how to tell true from false, the simplest method is to observe the lower area. If insertion meets obstruction and forms a Y-shape, it is a false heat. If insertion is easy and forms a U-shape, the Omega is in true heat. If it is the latter, proceed to bond as soon as possible. P.S. Everyone knows an Omega in heat who receives no comfort can be in mortal danger.”
Reading this, Gu Xiujue pressed his lips together. His brow knit tightly.
“Meow…” The white cat came to a stop in front of him and crouched with obedient grace. It looked up at him with a pair of gentle, watery mandarin-duck eyes. “Meow~~” The soft, syrupy call paired with that pure and noble face…
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Gu Xiujue felt his pulse spike. He stared at the white cat without blinking, a fine sheen of sweat breaking out.
“Meow~~” The cat stood and scooted a little closer until its paw was near his foot.
The black panther paced anxiously back and forth, unable to sit still. “Rr~~” It stretched out a paw, trying to draw the white cat’s attention.
“Meow~~ meow~~” The little one sounded even sweeter. The next move made both the panther and Gu Xiujue’s eyes flare.
That’s right. It flopped down on the spot, employing the belly-showing technique. "Meow~~~" Head tilt attack! Blinking attack! Stretching attack! Tail wagging attack - a four-hit combo!
The silly panther and the major general both suffered a crushing defeat.
At last, a fair, slender hand reached out with a slight tremble.
Fingertips touched warm fluff. His heart quivered, his soul sparked. He was instantly, wholly addicted to petting the cat.
“Meoow~” The white cat hugged his fingers and licked with narrowed eyes.
Gu Xiujue went rigid. His fingers were done for.
He jerked his hand back, ending this mutual teasing of person and cat.
“Meow-ow…” The cat pushed up to chase his retreating hand. The fierceness of the move made Gu Xiujue back away in a hurry.
“Do not come any closer,” he said. “I do not want to play with you.” He looked flustered and kept retreating from the clinging cat.
“Meow-woo~” The white cat circled around his ankles and rubbed insistently at him.
“Rr…” Seeing its master so flustered, the panther came over to steal aggro. “Roar!” A super fierce panther is here! Look!
“Meow?” The bait worked. The white cat let go of Gu Xiujue’s ankle and pounced at the panther.
The panther froze, eyes wide, then bolted.
A dignified beast, being chased around the house by a white cat weighing less than ten pounds, being teased and fawned over.
Gu Xiujue covered his face. His cheeks burned, his heart pounded, his skin felt damp. He wanted…
“Ah!” Li Dong’s voice came from the bathroom, carrying a bad sign.
Gu Xiujue and the panther snapped their heads up at the same time, both staring toward the bathroom. After a beat, Gu Xiujue stood and rushed straight in.
An Omega lay naked on the floor. The visual impact was intense. Gu Xiujue immediately turned away.
Li Dong winced. At a time like this, should he not be rescuing the person in distress?
“Major General Gu…” Li Dong’s voice was weak. He felt dizzy and disoriented, hot blood rushing chaotically through his body. “Please help me up.”
Gu Xiujue froze. He suddenly remembered Omegas were fragile. Delay could be fatal.
“Mm…” A shadow fell over him. Then a large towel wrapped him up.
“I will get a doctor,” Gu Xiujue said in a low voice. He picked Li Dong up, brought him back to the bedroom, and tucked him in from head to toe.
Before making the call, he cautiously searched again: Does calling a doctor help when an Omega is in heat.
Result A: If the doctor is an unmarried Alpha, it helps.
Gu Xiujue’s fist clenched once in frustration. He faced the Omega, tone clipped. “Name an Alpha you like. I will contact him.”
“I do not like any Alpha,” Li Dong said, cheeks flushed. He had not been hurt when he slipped in the bathroom, but the itch deep inside drove him half mad. “Why does it feel so awful…”
When the Omega tried to lift the quilt, Gu Xiujue stopped him at once. Or rather, he panicked and gritted out, “Then choose one quickly, or you might…” Die.
“I do not want an Alpha on me.” Li Dong’s eyes widened. Seeing how tense Gu Xiujue was, he finally realized he had gone into heat. F***. Hell mode unlocked. The heavens wanted him dead!!!
“This is not the time for you to be willful,” Gu Xiujue said, face ashen.
From the start, he should not have let this Omega in.
“I am not being willful.” Li Dong wanted to cry. “I really do not want an Alpha to do me.” He also knew that if an Omega’s heat was not relieved, it could be fatal.
There were only two ways for an Omega who did not want to be topped. One was gland removal, which the Empire forbade.
The second was to surgically implant an Alpha or strong Beta’s scent into the body. This was called an artificial bond. It was used to help people with bonding barriers or disabilities.
Li Dong had already decided on the second option. He had everything prepared except for a willing partner to be the scent source.
He had not expected his heat to arrive before he found one. F*ck! Had they not said he still had half a year before maturity?
Useless to say anything now. Li In-Heat Dong asked for help. “Major General Gu, is there a way to ride this out safely. Is there no option other than bonding?”
“No,” Gu Xiujue said. He hesitated, then got up to leave the room, because every second he stayed felt unbearable.
Li Dong fumed to tears. Was the man just going to walk out?
“Wait,” he blurted. “Stand right there.” Help him think. This was life or death. “Hurry and think of something. If heat is not relieved, I might die…”
Gu Xiujue stopped, muscles in his back hard as iron. Yes, an Omega who is not soothed can die.
If not for that, he would not have cared. “Say an Alpha’s name,” he said, turning back with a ferocious look. “Now, do you understand?”
“Why does it have to be an Alpha?” Li Dong strained. “Can it be a Beta?” F*ck, finally understanding what the so-called Omega heat meant. Truly insane!
“As you wish. A Beta is fine,” Gu Xiujue said. He took a deep breath, patience burned out. “Quickly.”
Li Dong’s face went bleak. A Beta would still mean getting topped. Unacceptable.
His mind fought itself for half a second. Then he flopped on the bed and closed his eyes to await death.
“Hey, Omega?” Gu Xiujue stepped to the bedside. Up close, this Omega looked like he was about to stop breathing.
His scalp tingled. He was furious. Why did this have to happen in his home?!
“Omega…” he said. “Omega.”
A panther and a white cat waited quietly at the door and watched the bedside in silence.
Gu Xiujue strode over, shut the door with a bang, and shut out those two hopeful pairs of eyes.
He leaned his back against the door like a trapped beast. There was a way out, yet he could not take it. He could only restrain himself and endure.
An article of clothing saturated with his scent dropped over Li Dong’s face.
“Mm?” Li Dong reached to lift it and see, but then felt cool air along his legs. His bare skin met the open air.
Wait, what was the other party trying to do?
“Major General Gu…” He raised the coat, only to have a hand press it down again. He heard a breath right next to him, fast and ambiguous.
“I am helping you,” Gu Xiujue said. “If you refuse, your life is not my responsibility.” He could not stand there and watch an Omega die in front of him. That was a soldier’s duty carved into his bones.
“How will you help me?” Li Dong panted. Sweat ran over flushed skin. As much as he hated to admit it, this body was craving to be possessed. Ah! Absolutely not.
“Do not worry. I will not violate you,” Gu Xiujue said, a touch impatient. He did not have the ability to mark an Omega in heat anyway. “I will only check what you need.” He prayed it was false heat.
Li Dong knew what kind of person the male lead was. Gu Xiujue was not someone with ill intent. “Mm… go easy. I do not consent to…”
Even with his words knotting, he held to his line.
Gu Xiujue parted his legs. The fingers braced on Li Dong’s knees trembled.
Under the light, that private place looked shy and alluring. It had never been so brazenly exposed to a stranger’s eyes.
He averted his face a fraction. A sweet scent surged into his nose and flooded his mind.
At this moment, his face flushed, heart racing, covered in hot sweat.
He struggled and suffered while fearing the Omega was in life-threatening danger.
“I feel uncomfortable,” Li Dong said. “If you really have to do something, then hurry…” It felt like ants in his bones were about to tear him apart.
The Beta’s scent on the coat could not meet his need. Li Dong flung the coat aside and sat up, legs fallen wide open, cheeks flushed and damp.
Gu Xiujue forced himself to look. He gave himself a military order in his mind. Do this properly.
First, check.
But what tool should he use to examine?
He glanced at his long fingers. The nails were trimmed neat and round, but he still could not imagine using something that hard to examine such a delicate place.
“Hurry,” Li Dong said. “I am dying…” A fierce desire surged up from his core, the desire to be taken. He wanted to die.
A dignified top…
Kneeling by the bed, Gu Xiujue pulled the Omega to sit on the edge and lifted those long legs onto his shoulders.
A Beta major general with no experience of Omegas decided to use his tongue to check whether it was Y or U.
Li Dong was badly startled. The position was humiliating. He understood at once what the male lead intended. How did the other convince himself to do something so shameless?!
No matter. Gu Xiujue held the Omega’s hips firmly to stop his squirming. He brought his handsome, cold face close. His lips aligned with the Omega’s most intimate place.
Li Dong clapped a hand over his mouth and shook all over. Mm, f*ck!
This was honest-to-goodness licking.
He tasted the Omega and his face went blazing red. Then he took a greedier breath of that unique sweetness and, as if he had been born knowing how, began to suck at those soft petals.
Trembling overtook Li Dong. He ground his teeth hard so filthy moans would not escape.
When Gu Xiujue felt the Omega’s legs tighten and clamp around his face, something in him snapped. He focused on the hidden bud between the petals and sucked harder.
“Ah…” Tears sprang to Li Dong’s eyes. In his mind he cursed, F***, F***, F***, just kill me. Any more and he would turn into a bottom!
Wet, eager sounds filled the room as Gu Xiujue ravaged the petals with his mouth and tongue. The Omega shook uncontrollably. More sweet liquid seeped from the flower’s heart and all of it was taken into his mouth.
One of Li Dong’s hands braced the bed behind him. The other buried in Gu Xiujue’s black hair. His knuckles blanched from the grip, and even that paled next to how he bit down to stifle every sound.
At last the tip of Gu Xiujue’s tongue traced to the small entrance he had been soothing from the outside.
“Mm… ah…” Li Dong’s eyes flew open. Something had entered. It pressed in and out, nudging at the tight little opening. The fear of being breached made him shudder.
Halfway in, the tongue met resistance. He could not slide in fully.
Good. It was a false heat. No need to fear that the Omega would die without an Alpha.
He could have withdrawn in triumph, but instead he wickedly kept the tip of his tongue pressed to that narrow passage and did not leave.
Li Dong’s expression twisted. He felt himself clench around the major general’s tongue. The man sucked at him in steady pulses.
“Just kill me already, kill me!” Li Dong cried out weakly, head thrown back.
So this was what being a bottom felt like. No matter what his mind said, his body was howling to be taken.
At that shallow dip, Gu Xiujue kept pressing with his tongue. Every push made the Omega yelp, the illusion of being deflowered beating at his nerves.
“Enough…” Li Dong gasped. “Major General Gu!” Sweat ran like rain. He shook his head and tried to push the man’s face away, to drive out the tongue invading his most private place.
An Omega’s soft strength could not move a strong Beta in the least.
Gu Xiujue’s face stayed buried between Li Dong’s legs. His mouth and tongue indulged in that tender place without restraint.
“Ah… ah…” Li Dong slumped helplessly on the bed, legs still hanging over his shoulders, a pathetic sight.
Bah!
With tears streaming backward, he thought that one day, he’d f*ck Gu Xiujue until he couldn’t get out of bed.
The other had played with his body like this today. When the time came, he’d repay tenfold, making the other's body pay blood for blood.
The man who had prepared to die came back to life on the spot.
Dear heavens.
Omegas were too fragile. They were easily hurt. Even a brush against the skin had to be gentle. Touching the most delicate places was even more dangerous.
After a long internal struggle, Gu Xiujue gave up various unsafe options and chose an embarrassing method. He managed to confirm the Omega was in false heat. That was worth celebrating. No one would die.
Li Dong fell into a state where he could not control himself. He held Gu Xiujue in place and begged him to keep soothing.
However, at this time, his mind was extremely clear. D*mn it! Supremely humiliating!
Gu Xiujue’s face, hidden from view, was scarlet. The most shameful person in the whole scene was him. No one else could compete!
Both of them were perfectly lucid, and both of them moved as if they were not.
They sank together.
No need to think too much about it.
Ahhhhhhhhh, as if, as if, as if!
Two cooked shrimp, the areas of contact increasing, until one shrimp’s legs gave out and it became a dead shrimp.
Bang. Gu Xiujue shut himself outside the bedroom and slid bonelessly to the floor, dazed.
His black hair was damp. His eyes were unfocused. His heart pounded.
His black panther cradled a dozing white cat in its paws and watched him with worried eyes from across the room.
After a long time, Gu Xiujue pushed himself up, turned on the lights to banish the darkness, and dragged his weak limbs into the shower.
Even there, the air still held an Omega’s sweetness.
The scent had thinned, enough to be wistful rather than flood-triggering.
As the water ran, he suddenly remembered what Huo Leishao had said days ago. What is an Alpha? An animal of desire that turns into a lunatic when faced with an Omega in heat.
Even a Beta could be affected by Omega pheromones. If an Alpha had stumbled into this today, he truly would have gone mad.
He snapped his eyes open, shut off the water, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
He crossed the quiet living room. The panther watched him, puzzled.
The white cat still slept. Gu Xiujue glanced at it. “Hush.” He signaled the panther to hold back whatever it was thinking.
He pushed open the bedroom door.
A unique scent of Beta and Omega mingled all around.
This mixed smell was intoxicating.
Li Dong lay on the bed, hugging Gu Xiujue’s jacket, sleeping soundly.
“Omega,” Gu Xiujue said. “Wake up. You should go home.” He stood at a distance from the bed with a stiff, unwilling face.
“Mm?” Li Dong opened his eyes a slit, brain thick with sleep. “Major General Gu…” He promptly dozed off again.
“Hey.” Gu Xiujue frowned, anxious. He stepped closer and bent down. “Omega.”
Li Dong slept like the dead and did not respond.
Gu Xiujue paced in place, then pulled up his contacts. Only Huo Leishao could answer.
“Give me the contact details for the family of the Omega who dumped you. I need them immediately,” he messaged.
“Xiu, you mean Huanhuan?” Huo Leishao lit up at being contacted first, even if it was about the Omega. “Of course I know it is XXXXX. What is wrong? Are you still hung up on him, jealous?”
He knew Gu Xiujue could not live without him. They would reconcile sooner or later.
“Thank you. Goodbye,” Gu Xiujue replied. He was in no mood for Huo Leishao’s nonsense. With the number in hand, he immediately sent the Omega’s family a reassurance.
“Hello, this is Gu Xiujue. Your Omega is with me. He is safe, please do not worry. My address is XXXXXX.” If they wanted to see him right away, they could come and pick him up.
Night had fallen. The Chu family had been frantic with worry.
They finally exhaled when they received the message. “Thank you, Major General Gu. Huanhuan is alright, yes. We will come at once.”
“He is fine,” Gu Xiujue said. “He just had some alcohol and cannot hold his liquor.” His face flushed as he lied and tried to forget everything from that afternoon.
The noise woke Li Dong a second time. He looked irritated. False heat left him exhausted.
“Omega, your family is on the way,” Gu Xiujue said. “Please get up now and dress and wash.” He added coldly, “You caused me a great deal of trouble. I hope there will not be a next time.”
“Your attitude is honestly disheartening,” Li Dong mumbled. He flung back the quilt, stood, and walked past Gu Xiujue with his bare body under the major general’s coat.
Gu Xiujue’s tense expression on his face immediately collapsed after Li Dong left.
In the living room they waited while time ticked by.
“Here is your coat,” Li Dong said. Dressed, still bleary, he added lazily, “Thank you for today, Major General.”
He had thought a heat would kill him. He had not expected to ride it out so easily. That was worth celebrating.
“You are welcome,” Gu Xiujue said. “Your family is not here yet. You can sit and wait.” He brewed a hot drink and handed it over without expression.
“Thanks,” Li Dong said with a yawn. “So sleepy.”
Gu Xiujue said nothing. He carefully raised his walls again. He could not take more contact.
Li Dong sipped the fragrant, sweet drink. “Too sweet.” He lay down on the table to doze.
Soft hair pooled by his hand.
Gu Xiujue’s gaze flicked between the Omega and the panther curled up with the white cat.
The panther dipped its head and licked the cat between the ears, then looked at Gu Xiujue with open provocation.
This scene was truly stimulating. His master was going out of his mind. He wanted panther stew for dinner.
Even so, Gu Xiujue’s face stayed still. Calm as still water.
He had a soldier’s steadiness, rational and cool on the battlefield. He never let emotion show and he never let anyone see inside.
Twenty minutes later, Chu Huanyan’s family arrived.
Gu Xiujue got up to open the door and woke Li Dong first. “Your family is here.”
Li Dong had been sleeping lightly. He drained the warm drink on the table, then stood and headed out.
“Thank you for your hospitality today, Major General Gu.”
The Chu family gave thanks and collected their person. It took only minutes.
Gu Xiujue leaned against the door and watched the vehicle carrying the Omega recede into the night.
“You had a false heat today,” he messaged. “That means you will enter a true heat within a month. Choose your Alpha soon. That is my advice.”
The message jolted Li Dong awake.
False heat.
“Huanhuan, what happened today?” Mother Chu asked, squeezing his hand in worry. “Have you reached maturity?”
The doctor had said six more months, but she had always worried it could come early.
“Mom, if I have, what should we do,” Li Dong asked, testing the waters.
“Of course we would invite suitable Alphas to your coming-of-age,” she said. “You can ask the one you like to dance and see how you feel. That is how you find your Alpha.”
Sure enough. Li Dong exhaled silently. In the end it still came down to getting topped.
Was there any Alpha in the world who did not want an Omega.
“Mom,” Li Dong said. “What if the person I choose is not an Alpha. Would you be heartbroken. For example, a Beta who might not be fertile…” Every condition pointed at Gu Xiujue.
“You like Major General Gu?” Mother Chu with an incredulous expression. “Do not be reckless, Huanhuan. I do not approve of you choosing him out of spite.”
“It is not spite,” Li Dong thought. It was because Gu Xiujue was a shou who despised Omegas. That might actually make him the best partner to spend a life with. Anyone else would not do.
“What happened today?” Chu Mama asked. “Did he mark you?” Her son did not look marked, although it could have been a temporary mark.
No, a Beta could not mark an Omega. They could never truly bond. The only exception was artificial bonding through pheromone implantation.
But no Omega would be foolish enough to undergo that for a Beta. There were always outstanding Alphas for Omegas to choose. Betas simply did not have the traits that attracted Omegas. This was an innate mate preference and could not be shaken.
“He did not mark me,” Li Dong said, sounding a little annoyed as he remembered the shameful part. “Forget it. We will talk later. There is still a month.”
Back home, he replied to Gu Xiujue’s reminder: “Major General Gu, thank you for the warning. I will settle this damn heat within a month.”
Gu Xiujue stared at the message several times, then lowered his wrist.
The panther lay at his feet, ears drooping. It looked exactly like its master. Very, very dejected.
IsitRo: This chapter killed my throat from squealing too hard, do you understand?! 👀🙈
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