Lu Youze originally thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep, as it was hard to imagine anyone could rest after so many chaotic things happened. But once he lay down, drowsiness quickly overcame him. The pheromones in the room, belonging to the Alpha, were not aggressive. Instead, the scent of hyacinth wrapped around him gently. He felt his eyelids growing heavier, and soon, he fell asleep.

Lu Youze slept very comfortably. He woke up around lunchtime, or more precisely, he was woken up by someone during lunchtime.

“Lu Youze,” Gu Xuanhao walked straight to the side of Lu Youze’s bed, and without hesitation, slapped him on the head. He smiled and scolded, “Are you a pig? The sun is about to set, and you’re still not up?”

Because the sleep had been so comfortable, Lu Youze turned over, intending to go back to sleep. But when he heard that the sun was setting, he immediately opened his eyes and sat up from the bed.

He clearly remembered that the opening ceremony was at 4 PM. His first reaction upon waking was to grab his phone from the bedside and check the time. It clearly displayed 1:45 PM, so there was still a long time before 4 PM. Relieved, Lu Youze sprawled back onto the bed.

He was both sleepy and tired and wanted to sleep a little longer.

“Gu Xuanhao, don’t disturb me,” Lu Youze covered his head with a pillow. His voice still carried the nasal sound of just waking up. Even though his voice was deeply masculine, it somehow sounded a little coquettish. “Let me sleep a little more.”

Gu Xuanhao didn’t try to shake him again. Instead, he lay down next to him, hands behind his head.

“Lu Youze, what do you think of my brother?”

Why would this clueless, single-celled, straight man with a strong attachment to his brother want to talk about Gu Xuanze now? But hearing Gu Xuanze’s name immediately drained most of the sleepiness from Lu Youze, and his body tensed up noticeably.

“Mr. Lu Youze, I like you. Can I pursue you?”

Gu Xuanze’s words of confession suddenly rang in his ears. The room was filled with the scent of hyacinth pheromones, and the deep, sexy confession made Lu Youze’s heart race. On top of that, being in a special period, he didn’t know why his heartbeat accelerated again, and his body began to feel warm.

Is it happening again? Lu Youze grew nervous. He didn’t understand Omega’s heat period and was afraid that he would turn out like yesterday.

“Lu Youze, control your pheromones,” Gu Xuanhao frowned. His voice was more stern than before. Honestly, the pheromones of a marked Omega were unpleasant for another Alpha.

Lu Youze rolled his eyes. His body longed for Gu Xuanze’s embrace, and this instinct made him feel scared. Is this how it is in the ABO world? It’s terrifying!

“If you’re not happy, leave,” Lu Youze transferred his fear into anger towards Gu Xuanhao. He considered the other a friend and spoke plainly, without his usual roundabout way. “I still think you’re disturbing my sleep.”

If it had been any other time, Gu Xuanhao would have probably already started a fight with Lu Youze. But this time, he didn’t move, still lying next to him.

Seeing that Gu Xuanhao didn’t speak, Lu Youze couldn’t be bothered to argue further, even though he wanted to kick him out. But after spending some time with him, Lu Youze understood his personality well. With Gu Xuanhao’s thick skin, he wouldn’t leave unless he wanted to, no matter how much Lu Youze urged. Moreover, Gu Xuanhao seemed to be prepared, not simply here to show off his brother, but to talk about something important.

Lu Youze started to feel a headache, and the heat in his body intensified. It wasn’t as uncontrollable as in the early morning, but it still made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He was so hot that sweat covered his forehead, his hair clung together, and his clothes were soaked. All in all, he was feeling miserable.

The pheromones left behind by Gu Xuanze in the room had mostly dissipated, and the hyacinth scent, which was faint to begin with, was barely detectable. Lu Youze suddenly felt a loss of security. If it weren’t for his strong will, he might have gotten up to find Gu Xuanze.

So this is what “marking” feels like. Just a temporary mark, and he subconsciously relies on the other person. If it were permanent, wouldn’t that mean becoming an Alpha’s accessory? Thinking this, Lu Youze’s face turned pale. He was afraid of becoming like that.

“Lu Youze, are you okay?” Gu Xuanhao, still pondering what to say, suddenly turned to find Lu Youze’s face pale. He was startled. “Why is your face so bad?”

Lu Youze couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He thought, “If you just roll out of here, I’d feel much better,” but he only thought it. After all, it would be like talking to a brick wall, and he didn’t want to waste his energy.

Outside the room, Gu Xuanze, who had been standing against the wall, released his pheromones after hearing Gu Xuanhao’s words. The scent of hyacinth once again filled every corner of the room, and Lu Youze relaxed a lot. His body felt a little better.

Gu Xuanhao, however, didn’t feel as comfortable. The hyacinth pheromones were gentle and clingy to Lu Youze, but they were aggressive and unpleasant to him, an Alpha.

This was why it was hard for two Alphas to be together. It wasn’t because of society’s opinions, but rather because their pheromones would naturally repel each other due to their Alpha instincts. No matter how deep their feelings were, it would eventually end in discord.

Unfortunately for Gu Xuanhao, he couldn’t release his pheromones because he was afraid of disturbing Lu Youze nearby, even though a marked Omega wouldn’t be affected by another Alpha’s pheromones.

“Big brother,” Gu Xuanhao couldn’t hold back and yelled at the door. “If you keep this up, I won’t care anymore.”

Gu Xuanhao felt wronged. Who was he doing all this for?

Actually, Lu Youze had known that Gu Xuanze was outside as soon as he started feeling better. But because he was too embarrassed and still couldn’t understand the dynamics between AOs, although it was only a temporary mark, he wasn’t sure how to face Gu Xuanze if the confession wasn’t just a joke.

The more troublesome thing was that the TV drama was about to start filming, and as the male lead and second male lead, they had a lot of scenes together. They needed to figure out how to handle their awkward relationship, or it would be bad for the show.

“Lunch is ready.” Gu Xuanze stood at the door, looking at Lu Youze with a calm expression, completely ignoring Gu Xuanhao’s complaints. “I just wanted to ask if you guys want to come down to eat?”

After a moment of silence, he glanced at Gu Xuanhao and spoke indifferently: “Looks like you two still have something to talk about. I’ll go down first.”

With that, he turned and left, walking away with ease, his composure impressive and devoid of any awkwardness.