Chapter 75: Unmatched

The only exit from the room was the door. It was made of a special material that could effectively block pheromones—no outside intrusion, no internal leakage. Like a sealed can. Xu Lin’s arrival had opened it, and Ji Jinxuan’s pent-up pheromones burst forth.

To prevent his pheromones from spreading and causing chaos, Xu Lin quickly entered and closed the door behind him.

With one more person, the already cramped room felt even smaller.

Xu Lin walked to the bed. Ji Jinxuan still clutched the shirt tightly, but he had lifted his head, following Xu Lin with his gaze as he approached.

Ji Jinxuan must have known his heat was coming and locked himself here. If Ji Jinxuan had not given him that card, this basement would have been an impenetrable vault. Was he planning to ride out his heat here? Why not seek treatment? Why not call a doctor?

Was this a sudden, unexpected episode, or had he spent every previous one in this tiny room?

What about suppressants? Although the doctor had said Ji Jinxuan could only accept Xu Lin’s pheromones, that was three years ago. Given Ji Jinxuan’s skills, surely he would have developed something to suppress it by now.

“Where are the suppressants?” Xu Lin asked.

He was not sure if Ji Jinxuan was even conscious.

Normally, as an Omega, he should not be around an Alpha in heat—it was too easy for pheromones to cause an accident.

But Xu Lin was the exception. He was not worried about Ji Jinxuan, nor about himself. The benefit of their low compatibility showed itself now.

Ji Jinxuan’s intense pheromones smelled faint to him, unable to affect him at all.

Since it was safe, he could just give Ji Jinxuan a few shots of suppressants to calm him down. If he left him alone to wait out the heat, who knew how long it would take. Xiao Zhao was still waiting. There was no point wasting time.

“The suppressants. Where are they?”

Ji Jinxuan was in bad shape, dazed and unresponsive. Xu Lin asked again.

He blinked and glanced at the bedside table.

Good. He was not completely out of it.

Xu Lin walked over and opened the drawer. As expected, he found three doses of suppressants. The clear syringes held a pheromone-based solution.

He took one out and was about to open it when Ji Jinxuan suddenly lunged, snatching it from his hand and clutching it protectively. His movements were quick and desperate, and his nail accidentally scraped Xu Lin’s finger, leaving a faint sting.

He guarded the suppressant as if it were precious.

Xu Lin assumed it must be expensive. “No matter how expensive, you have to use it.”

“No…” Ji Jinxuan was drenched in cold sweat. “If I use it, it’s gone…”

Xu Lin frowned in confusion. Gone? Was it made from some rare, precious material?

“Gone. If I use it, it’s gone.” Ji Jinxuan repeated mindlessly. He took the other two from the drawer and held them tightly, afraid Xu Lin would use them. He still did not feel safe, so he hid them under his pillow.

Sweat dripped onto the bed, his face pale. But he paid no attention to himself, only pushing the syringes deeper under the pillow, murmuring, “Xu Lin’s…

“Xu Lin gave them to me. This is all I have.”

Xu Lin was stunned.

He looked at Ji Jinxuan, then at the suppressants hidden under the pillow. Were these still made from the pheromones he had left in the hospital three years ago?

Twenty milliliters. He had assumed they were long gone. How was there still some left?

That did not make sense.

Unless…

Looking at Ji Jinxuan’s current state, he had a guess. Had Ji Jinxuan simply endured his heats for the past three years? He had Xu Lin’s pheromones, but because each use would deplete them, he could not bear to use them? He refused to use something that could ease his suffering for such a ridiculous reason.

What foolishness.

Xu Lin bent down to grab the suppressants under the pillow, but Ji Jinxuan pressed down on it, refusing to let go. He threw his whole weight on the pillow, pinning it down. Xu Lin’s hand was caught underneath, unable to move.

Xu Lin’s blood pressure spiked. “Ji Jinxuan! Let go!”

Ji Jinxuan did not ease up. “I don’t need it. I don’t want it.”

“Have you had enough?” Xu Lin snapped. “They’re my pheromones. Can’t I use them as I see fit?”

Ji Jinxuan only tightened his grip. “Mine. No, no…”

He was stubbornly refusing. Xu Lin took a deep breath and relented. “Fine. Get up.”

Ji Jinxuan hesitated for a moment, then slowly eased up. Xu Lin pulled his hand free and rubbed his sore wrist. He watched Ji Jinxuan pat the pillow, as if making sure his treasure was safe.

This was not going to work. Who knew how long Ji Jinxuan’s heat would last? If he remembered correctly, the last time in the villa had taken two weeks. There was no time to wait that long now. He could wait, but Xiao Zhao could not.

It seemed he had no choice.

Xu Lin let out a frustrated breath and sat down on the edge of the bed.

He raised his hand to the back of his neck and looked Ji Jinxuan straight in the eye. “Without my permission, don’t you dare do anything to me.”

If Ji Jinxuan could only accept his pheromones now, even if their compatibility was low and it would cause him pain, it was still essentially a form of medication. He was here. Why use suppressants?

“Say something,” Xu Lin urged.

Ji Jinxuan did not understand but nodded slowly.

The next second, Xu Lin tore off the suppressant patch on his neck.

His pheromones burst forth, quickly filling the tiny room and mingling with Ji Jinxuan’s.

Xu Lin had never known what his pheromones smelled like. A faint, sweet-tart fruity scent. Later, during his military exam, he had seen the result on his report.

“Wild raspberry.”

Li Mu had once said, “It suits you.”

Xu Lin had not agreed. It was just a fruit. How could it suit him?

He knew what it was. In some parts of District Thirteen, it grew. Small, red berries hidden among green leaves, unremarkable.

There was a saying about it. Wild raspberries were called that because the elders said snakes loved to eat them. They were snake food, so snakes often lurked nearby. The snakes would crawl over the berries, leaving venom and scent, marking them as claimed.

They were berries marked by snakes. If you picked them, you would incur the snake’s enmity.

Now that he thought about it, perhaps there was some truth to it.

As soon as he smelled Xu Lin’s pheromones, Ji Jinxuan seemed to be hit by an invisible force. He curled in on himself, his brow furrowing deeper in pain.

Xu Lin knew his pheromones were not good for Ji Jinxuan. But now, this bad thing was the only thing that could help him. Fate had its ways of toying with people. Perhaps even Ji Jinxuan found it frustrating.

Ji Jinxuan’s hair was soaked, his body as if pulled from water, his hands clammy. Before long, he lay on his side, exhausted.

Xu Lin did not look at him. He sat still on the bed, staring at the door, releasing his pheromones.

He waited for Ji Jinxuan to improve.

Soon, the hem of his shirt moved slightly, as if blown by a breeze.

But there was no wind in the room.

He looked down. Ji Jinxuan was gently hooking his index finger around Xu Lin’s clothes. He looked up at him, asking for permission.

Without Xu Lin’s consent, he dared not move.

Seeing Xu Lin had no strong reaction, he grew bolder, adding another finger, then another.

Until his whole hand had grasped the corner of Xu Lin’s shirt.

He held on tightly.

He edged closer to Xu Lin.

Closer.

His face pressed against Xu Lin’s leg. Through the fabric, Xu Lin could feel his burning breath.

His brow was furrowed, his breathing erratic, his face pale.

The closer Ji Jinxuan got to Xu Lin, the more uncomfortable and painful he became.

Yet he still chose to move closer, inch by inch.

Without hesitation.

If the only way to ease one kind of pain was to cover it with another, more agonizing one—Ji Jinxuan, there was probably no one in the world like you.

The method was grueling, but the results were good.

Ji Jinxuan soon calmed down.

Seeing him improve, Xu Lin withdrew his pheromones and reapplied the suppressant patch.

Ji Jinxuan closed his eyes, exhausted, and fell asleep.

His hand still gripped Xu Lin’s shirt, even in unconsciousness.

Unable to get up, Xu Lin simply took off his shirt. Fortunately, he had a T-shirt underneath. He left wearing only that.

He closed the door behind him and stepped out of the basement. Checking the time, he saw two hours had passed.

He took a moment to catch his breath and lit a cigarette.

Just as he was about to check on Xiao Zhao, a staff member passed by, suddenly covered his mouth and nose, and paled.

“Mr… Mr. Xu Lin!”

“What’s wrong?” Xu Lin was confused. He sniffed his arm. Was the cigarette smell that strong?

The man shook his head frantically, his voice muffled. “The scent… there’s… uh… pheromones on you!”

He did not say it outright, but Xu Lin understood immediately.

His compatibility with Ji Jinxuan was low, so he was not sensitive to his pheromones. Even at their strongest, they smelled faint to him.

But to others, it was different. Ji Jinxuan was an S-grade Alpha. Xu Lin had been alone with him in that room for so long that he was probably carrying a toxic cloud.

No wonder the man reacted that way.

“Sorry.”

Feeling guilty, Xu Lin quickly left the building and returned to the dormitory.

He showered for half an hour, still uneasy, then called for several bottles of pheromone neutralizer and sprayed himself thoroughly. The whole process took over an hour.

Worried that Xiao Zhao would be looking for him, he rushed out.

As he reached the bottom of the dormitory building, he stopped short.

Who would have thought that three hours ago, Ji Jinxuan had been writhing in the throes of his heat, and now he stood before Xu Lin, perfectly fine.

He looked perfectly composed, so much so that Xu Lin briefly wondered if he had been faking it. But he knew that was impossible. Ji Jinxuan’s mouth could lie, but his body could not. The physical pain he had shown was real.

So he had recovered already? Was his recovery always this fast?

Pushing aside the flicker of doubt, Xu Lin walked around him and left.

Ji Jinxuan followed behind him.

Xu Lin stopped and turned around.

Ji Jinxuan was trailing two meters behind.

When Xu Lin looked at him, his eyes curved upward, clearly in a good mood.