Because of his sudden heat, Mo Lingqiu’s original two days off around the Qingming Festival had become five.
When the whole school found out that Mo Lingqiu hadn’t come to school for that many days, and that Jiang Chenming had also taken the same leave, they started to speculate over whether or not Mo Lingqiu’s heat had come.
Once everyone had almost guessed the correct answer—even dreaming up various places and ways they could have spent the heat—Mo Lingqiu finally appeared on University A’s campus, the sixth day after the holiday.
When students passed by him, the bitter almond pheromones around him were obviously a bit strong, but because it was magically blended with his sweet milk scent, it didn’t feel out of place.
Mo Lingqiu was wearing a crew neck shirt, with the gland on his nape generously exposed. There wasn’t a bite mark, though, further confirming what everyone thought—he was indeed permanently marked.
Not long after, Jiang Chenming appeared on the North Campus and made a trip back to his dorm.
“Here.” Jiang Chenming put the snacks he brought on Fatty’s desk.
Fatty was flattered. “You actually came back?”
“Didn’t you go on a trip? Why did you take a long leave?” asked He Jia from Bed No. 2. He ran to Fatty’s side, taking a packet of snacks from the bag and opening it.
“An accident happened,” said Jiang Chenming, but, judging by the expression on his face, the accident didn’t seem like it was a bad thing at all.
Lao Si knew from one glance what had happened. Not to mention, he was someone with a girlfriend, so he could somewhat empathize. “You and Teacher Mo, hm?”
With that question, Fatty and He Jia immediately stared at him, hoping to hear his answer.
“Hmph. I came back today to bring you guys some snacks. I’ll probably come back more once in a while. Don’t miss me too much, all right?”
“Tsk, you haven’t come back since last semester, okay?” Fatty said, voice full of disdain.
Jiang Chenming laughed. “Then I’ll just never come back again. Give me back my snacks.”
“Hey, hey, hey! No!” Fatty quickly reached out and snatched back the snacks. Since he’d already given them the snacks, how could he take them back?
“Just kidding.” Jiang Chenming waved his hand. “All right, I just came back to see you guys.”
“You’re leaving?” Lao Si looked surprised.
“Yeah, I’m going to pick up Teacher Mo. I have to take him for a medical check up,” Jiang Chenming said, standing up straight.
He Jia was stunned. Loudly, he yelled, “Shit! You’re fucking awesome, aren’t you? It’s not what I think, right?”
Jiang Chenming hesitated, but still denied it in the end. “No. It’s only a regular checkup, don’t think too much.”
With those words, Jiang Chenming left the three of them dumbfounded in the room.
When he got back to the school Mo Lingqiu cancelled the sick leave in the system and then packed up the things in his office. He made full use of the time and assigned some tasks to Yang Sheng and Liao Nan. As he was leaving the office, Jiang Chenming happened to be walking down the hallway.
“Ready to go?”
“En.” Mo Lingqiu nodded his head.
“It’s raining outside,” Jiang Chenming noted, shaking out his still dripping umbrella.
“Then… how about we go another day?” Mo Lingqiu hadn’t even told Bao Wen that he was going for the checkup. Since the weather was bad, why not just go another time?
“It’s okay, we’re driving there anyway. I’ll drive, you rest for a while.”
Ever since Mo Lingqiu’s heat had ended, he hadn’t had much time to rest; he’d rushed back to school to cancel his leave. It was only the second day after his heat had passed and his waist was still sore.
“Tomorrow and the day after happen to be the weekend. You can still sleep well once we get home,” Jiang Chenming said, wrapping his arm around Mo Lingqiu’s waist, skillfully massaging where he was sore.
The two of them left the Chinese Language Department office building and walked to the parking lot, close together under the umbrella.
Jiang Chenming took the car keys that Mo Lingqiu handed to him and sat in the driver’s seat. “Teacher Mo, take a nap. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”
“En.” Mo Lingqiu was really sleepy. He tilted the passenger seat back, half-squinting his eyes at the rain that was incessantly knocking on the outside of the car window, slowly sinking into sleep.
The rain was quite heavy. Jiang Chenming tried to take the wider roads, for safety reasons, and he drove slowly. Thankfully, there weren’t that many cars on the road and the two of them arrived safely to Bao Wen’s clinic.
Mo Lingqiu got out of the car, stumbling in his half awake state.
Luckily, Jiang Chenming had opened the car door for him and held on to him well.
When they entered the clinic, Jiang Chenming placed his wet umbrella into the umbrella basket at the entrance and then followed Mo Lingqiu inside.
Bao Wen was lying on the clinic sofa sleeping. He opened his eyes when his sensitive ears heard footsteps. “Aiya, why are you guys here?”
“We…” Mo Lingqiu thought about it for a moment, not knowing how to talk about the rut or the permanent marking. He didn’t continue.
Jiang Chenming took the initiative to say, “We want to re-check Teacher Mo’s pheromones.”
Bao Wen froze for a minute, sensing something. “Were you permanently marked? I’ll check it out for you.”
Mo Lingqiu followed Bao Wen to the lab where the blood would be drawn, trying to stay calm.
When he was almost at the lab, Bao Wen turned his head to Jiang Chenming. “Do you want to get checked out, too?”
Jiang Chenming shook his head. “I’m not in a hurry. Look at Teacher Mo first.”
“If you want to get checked out, then you can do it together.” Bao Wen was too lazy to separate their checkups.
Mo Lingqiu gave him a deep look. Jiang Chenming shrugged his shoulders, quickly walking forward. “Okay, then we’ll do it together.”
After drawing both their blood, Bao Wen let them go out to wait for the results.
More than ten minutes later, Bao Wen came out with the test report. “The results are good.”
He spread out the comprehensive test report in front of them and patiently explained, “Xiao Jiang’s pheromone rejection was cured before, and so has yours, so you don’t have to worry about coming into contact with other people in the future.”
“That’s fine, then.” Although he rarely got close to people, with his pheromone rejection gone, at least Mo Lingqiu’s wouldn’t have that inexplicable feeling of panic and fear in the company of other Alphas.
“Your pheromones have basically stabilized. I can’t be sure if you’re cured now, but if your heat comes on time in three months, then there won’t be any more problems,” Bao Wen said.
“Okay.”
“Remember to come back for another checkup in three months, or you can give me a call to let me know.” Bao Wen handed Mo Lingqiu the examination report.
“En.”
“Don’t worry, Dr. Bao, I will definitely take the initiative to come see you with Teacher Mo in three months,” Jiang Chenming solemnly promised from where he was standing to the side.
“Oh, right, you just ended your heat a few days ago?” Bao Wen asked again.
Mo Lingqiu was caught off guard by the question. He took a moment to slow down before answering. “Ah… right.”
“Did you use contraceptives?” Bao Wen asked, looking at Jiang Chenming.
“En, he took the pill on the eighth day.”
“Good.” Bao Wen nodded his head in satisfaction.
Jiang Chenming’s heart tightened. “Is there something wrong?”
“No, it’s just that you haven’t been able to fully determine if his pheromones have stabilized, so it’s not good to get pregnant for the time being,” Bao Wen explained with a smile. “Since he’s taken an emergency contraceptive pill, nothing will happen.”
“That’s good, then.” Jiang Chenming breathed a sigh of relief. His heart dropped back in place from where it had been lodged in his throat.
“If your heat comes on time in three months, then you won’t need to ask me. And don’t take the pill again if you want to get pregnant,” Bao Wen reassured.
Mo Lingqiu’s face started to get red. He kept a straight face and didn’t respond.
Jiang Chenming hummed. “No problem. We’ll work harder.”
“Don’t worry. If you guys really want to conceive, with your pheromone compatibility rate, there’s no doubt that you guys can do it.”
“Aren’t… Aren’t you exaggerating too much?” Mo Lingqiu’s face became even redder. He would only feel more ashamed if he continued listening to his words.
“It’s actually…” Bao Wen wanted to say, a fact.
Jiang Chenming quickly interrupted him. “Dr. Bao, we understand. When Teacher Mo gets pregnant, we’ll definitely treat you to a meal.”
“You’re still such a clever child, with your good judgment.” Bao Wen laughed. “Lingqiu, quick, look at your boyfriend.”
Mo Lingqiu wanted to go over and sew his mouth shut. Jiang Chenming grabbed his hand. “Dr. Bao, we’ll head out, then. Thank you for your blessing.”
“Okay. See you later at the banquet.” Bao Wen smiled wide.
Jiang Chenming pulled Mo Lingqiu out of the clinic. After holding up the umbrella, he looked in his arms at Mo Lingqiu. “Teacher Mo, let’s get in the car first, hm?”
Mo Lingqiu’s expressionless face flushed. Bao Wen’s words had greatly stimulated his psyche. The thought of actually getting pregnant during his next heat made him feel both anticipation and nervousness. He also felt incredibly embarrassed.
When the two of them got into the car, Jiang Chenming threw the soaked umbrella onto the back seat floor. He started the car and started driving towards the elevated road.
“Teacher Mo, should we go buy some ribs later and stew them?”
“Add some corn.” Mo Lingqiu wanted to drink corn and pork rib soup.
“Okay.” Jiang Chenming laughed. “Teacher Mo, during your next heat, we…”
“We’ll see how it goes, not taking contraceptive pills anymore,” Mo Lingqiu interrupted.
In three months, if he really went into heat, Jiang Chenming would naturally knot him.
In fact, after taking the pill the day before, Mo Lingqiu felt regret. He thought that if he could get pregnant, it would be a gift from God; he shouldn’t refuse his goodwill, even if his goodwill hadn’t come yesterday.
But, if it came three months later, he didn’t want to insincerely reject it anymore. His two doctoral students that he supervised, Yang Sheng and Liao Nan, were going to graduate this year, so he could suspend his work for a while if he really won that lottery.
Jiang Chenming was caught off guard at his answer. In fact, what he had wanted to say originally was that if Mo Lingqiu still wanted to use contraception, he would prepare it in advance instead of panicking like he’d done this time.
“Then we have a deal, Teacher Mo.”
“…Okay.” Mo Lingqiu raised his hands to block his completely red face.
Despite the fact that it was raining—and so heavily—he was in a surprisingly good mood.
His mobile phone next to him lit up for a moment. Mo Lingqiu came back to his senses and picked it up, seeing that he’d received a message from Fan Nian.
My target is three hundred million: Mo Lingqiu! Take me in for a few days!!! I’m at your doorstep, come back soon!!!