Axolotl Translations

Ruan Zhao didn’t hold out for long. Under the other man’s pitiful act and coaxing, he ultimately gave in.

Once again, he was lifted by the waist and settled onto the man’s firm thighs, their bodies pressing flush against each other.

“Zhaozhao…” Qi Xingchen grasped his arm, guiding him to wrap it around his neck. “Hold me tight.”

Ruan Zhao obediently complied, arms tightening around him. His small face was pressed firmly against the man’s chest. A rough fingertip gently traced along the pale nape of his neck, sending waves of tingling numbness through him. When it brushed against the swollen edge of his gland, a sharp sting followed.

Qi Xingchen lingered for a long time, seemingly searching for the perfect spot before making his move. Ruan Zhao trembled even more violently. Tears welled up uncontrollably, trickling down his delicate jaw and dripping onto the man’s shirt.

“C-can you hurry up? If you’re going to lick, just do it already. Stop teasing…”

A muffled hum answered him. The boy’s slender fingers clenched, wrinkling the man’s pristine shirt and leaving behind damp imprints.

……

Liar. He said he’d just lick once…

A complete liar. The biggest, worst liar in the whole world.

Qi Xingchen didn’t treat him like other Alphas treated their Omegas—there were no sharp fangs piercing his flesh, no injection of pheromones. Instead, it was as if he were leaving a mark, licking him over and over, then lightly catching the swollen skin between his teeth, grazing it with a slow, deliberate motion, as if savoring its taste.

“Baby.” His voice carried a strange mix of satisfaction and excitement. The blue ring in his pupils expanded outward, quickly swallowing the deep black of his irises. “I’ve eaten up every bit of your scent.”

He pressed a soft kiss against the boy’s flushed gland. A kiss steeped in possession.

Overwhelmed by the intense stimulation, Ruan Zhao cried uncontrollably, his lashes damp and clumped together. His mind lagged half a beat behind, only grasping the surface meaning of the man’s words. Gasping for breath, he asked, “Y-you… ate it all? Then… does that mean no one else can smell me?”

The only answer he received was a pair of arms tightening around him suddenly, crushing him against the man’s body with such force that it felt as if he were being pressed into his very bones, fused together so they would never be separated again.

……

In the end, Ruan Zhao was carried out.

Both of them were Omegas, both had just come down from their heat—

Yet he could barely stand. Just holding onto the man’s neck took all his strength, his slender arms trembling as if they might slip off at any moment.

Meanwhile, Qi Xingchen held him effortlessly, carrying him securely in his embrace, bearing his weight as he led them away.

Everything that had happened that day—it was all too much. Too intense.

Just the mere memory of it was enough to make his legs go weak and his nerves tremble. For days, Ruan Zhao completely ignored Qi Xingchen. Calls, messages—he dismissed them all, pretending as if Qi Xingchen didn’t exist in this world.

For the nth time, he declined another incoming call. Barefoot, he walked to the mirror and checked the back of his neck. No vivid marks from a kiss, no faint bite imprints from prolonged grazing—his skin was smooth, flawless, as if nothing had ever happened. As if everything that night had been nothing more than an illusion.

Tentatively, he reached up and pressed a finger against the gland beneath his skin. Nothing. No particular sensation at all. His gland had completely retracted beneath the surface. A simple touch no longer provoked any reaction.

Ruan Zhao collapsed onto the bed, hugging his life-sized teddy bear and rolling from one end to the other. For the ten-thousandth time, he lamented: Why did he have to be an Omega? Why couldn’t he have been just a normal, ordinary Beta?

Over the past two days, he had crammed his head full of Omega physiology knowledge and learned one cruel truth—this kind of heat would happen once or twice every month.

And it was completely unpredictable. One moment, he could be eating, studying, playing happily—then the next, he could suddenly be drowning in an overwhelming tidal wave of heat.

Of course, there was a brief window of warning, just enough time to find a safe place and inject a suppressant. But even inhibitors weren’t foolproof.

For those with sensitive constitutions, their effectiveness was greatly diminished. And if an Omega injected suppressants more than twice a month, their body could enter a temporary resistance period—meaning the drug wouldn’t take effect for at least thirty minutes or more.

Ruan Zhao buried himself under the covers, sulking for a while. The doorbell rang persistently for some time before he finally dragged himself up to answer it. He thought it would be Qi Xingchen.

But when he checked the video intercom, he was surprised to see his older brother, Ruan Ci. Stunned for a second, he quickly unlocked the door.

Standing there was a tall, well-built Alpha, dressed in a perfectly tailored professional uniform. His suit jacket was impeccably pressed, without a single wrinkle in sight, exuding an air of elegance and nobility. He looked like he was about to walk into an important meeting that could influence the entire economic market.

However… in his left hand, he carried a neatly arranged fruit platter, and in his right, an oversized bag of snacks—this down-to-earth contrast slightly disrupted the dignified image he had carefully cultivated.

Ruan Zhao took the snack bag from him and peeked inside—everything inside was his favorite. “Brother? What are you doing here?” he asked, puzzled.

Ruan Ci’s sharp gaze swept over him, scanning him from head to toe. Ruan Zhao was dressed in a pale yellow pajama set with a little cat design. The hood even had two small, adorable cat ears. His hair was a messy, tousled fluff, making it clear he had just crawled out of bed.

In the quiet room, the Alpha’s cold voice rang out. “What time is it?”

Instinctively, Ruan Zhao lifted his head and glanced at the quartz clock on the wall. “Uh… t-ten-thirty.”

“You just woke up?”

Ruan Zhao averted his eyes, his gaze darting away guiltily. Under his brother’s stern questioning, he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.

“I’ve been up for a while. I just… haven’t changed out of my pajamas yet,” Ruan Zhao mumbled.

Ruan Ci reached out and tugged on the little cat ears behind Ruan Zhao’s hood, pulling him to his side with ease. His voice dropped, filled with quiet pressure. “Still trying to fool me?” He pressed his cool fingers onto the stubborn cowlick at the top of Ruan Zhao’s head, snorting. “Your hair’s sticking up like crazy. You think you can just flatten it and I won’t notice?”

Ruan Zhao: “………”

It must’ve been from all that rolling around under the blankets earlier! Ruan Zhao felt wronged. But he had nothing to say.

Then, the very next second—Ruan Zhao straightened up, speaking with righteous indignation. “Fine! I just woke up, so what?”

So what if he got up a little late? It wasn’t like he did this every day. Was it worth Ruan Ci snapping at him over such a trivial thing?

Ruan Ci narrowed his eyes, his tone carrying a hint of mockery. “So, you skipped school just to nap at home? You were going to sleep all the way until noon? And now you even have the nerve to talk back? You’re so impressive—should I give you a prize, little brother?”

With each sharp question, Ruan Zhao’s earlier bravado deflated bit by bit, like a balloon pricked by a needle. His fingers anxiously twisted the hem of his clothes, and under Ruan Ci’s sharp gaze—as if it could see right through him—he finally mumbled weakly, “I… I was sick. I didn’t skip school on purpose.”

Ruan Zhao wasn’t lying. Not after what happened during his heat that day.

For two or three days straight, Ruan Zhao felt sore and weak all over, barely able to get out of bed. Every little task at home had to be handled by the system and the little housework robot.

And yet, all he and Qi Xingchen had done was… kissing, licking, and cuddling—nothing beyond that. But somehow, the aftereffects hit him like a truck. It felt almost like… those Omegas who had been fully marked.

Remembering the bits of information he’d accidentally come across before, Ruan Zhao’s cheeks quickly flushed, blooming into a soft pink.

But to Ruan Ci, his younger brother looked anything but sick. His pale skin was tinged with healthy color, his bright eyes glistened with vitality, and his whole being seemed practically glowing… there wasn’t a trace of illness to be found.

Ruan Ci reached out and touched his forehead. His temperature was perfectly normal. Lying, faking sickness, skipping class… Ruan Ci’s eyes darkened little by little as he considered how to properly discipline his disobedient little brother.

But suddenly, he caught a faint, unfamiliar scent clinging to Ruan Zhao. It was a fragrance he had never smelled before.

Cool and subtle, with a fresh undertone.

Unlike the typical Alpha pheromones he knew, it wasn’t sharp or aggressive, nor did it impose its presence forcefully. Instead, it was gentle, like an invisible net that quietly and firmly wrapped around the boy before him.

“Zhaozhao…” Ruan Ci’s face was unreadable as he asked casually, “Did you get yourself a boyfriend?”

Ruan Zhao instantly stiffened, his long lashes fluttered twice, a flicker of surprise surfacing in his eyes. As if he were wondering—how did he know?

Seeing that expression, Ruan Ci didn’t need to ask any more. Everything clicked into place. His suspicion confirmed, his face darkened. His voice turned cold. “You’re covered in his scent.”

Ruan Zhao instinctively raised his sleeve and gave it a sniff. All he could smell was laundry detergent. “Nothing,” he mumbled—then abruptly stopped. The way he reacted made it as good as a confession. Realizing that, his face froze completely.

He glanced up at his brother, cautiously sneaking a peek… only to hear his brother’s icy voice cut through the air the next second: “How far did you two go?”

Being asked that kind of question by his older brother… Ruan Zhao wanted to curl up and disappear. The shame and awkwardness hit him like a wave, and if there had been a hole in the floor, he would’ve gladly jumped in.

His first instinct was to run. But Ruan Zhao’s cat ears were still in Ruan Ci’s hand. He barely took one step before being yanked right back.

“My dear little brother skips school for three days straight… just to shack up with some guy in an apartment?”

The sheer bluntness of it made Ruan Zhao’s entire face flush bright red. He muttered under his breath, “I didn’t.”

Ruan Ci gave a cold, mocking smile. “Didn’t what? Didn’t mess around with another man? Or didn’t soak yourself in his scent?”

“I told you before—you can date whoever you want. You can talk to Alphas, you can even spend money on them if you want… but you’re absolutely not allowed to do anything inappropriate with them. Did you just forget everything I said?”

Ruan Zhao tried to explain, “He’s not like those other Alphas. And we didn’t do anything inappropriate.”

His lips pressed together, and a trace of hurt crept into his expression—he clearly couldn’t understand why his brother was reacting this way. “We just kissed.”

Ruan Ci’s voice turned even colder. “You think kissing doesn’t count as inappropriate? How long have you even known him—a month? Two? Start kissing a few days in, and the rest is bound to follow sooner or later.”

“Give it a bit more time, and what—you’re gonna sneak home, steal your household ID, and go register for marriage with him?”

Ruan Zhao didn’t dare say a word. Because if he counted it out carefully… he and Qi Xingchen hadn’t even known each other a full month. There was no way he could let Ruan Ci find that out.

The room fell into a brief, heavy silence. Then Ruan Ci spoke again, softer this time. “Zhaozhao, it’s not that I don’t want you to fall in love.”

Seeing that stubborn look on his little brother’s face, he could only ease his tone and try to reason with him. “I just don’t want you getting hurt. I’m scared you’ll get taken advantage of, somewhere I can’t protect you. You’re an Omega. Physically, you’re just not as strong as an Alpha. If he ever tried to force something… you wouldn’t even be able to fight back—”

Ruan Zhao cut him off. “So… because I’m an Omega, you’re worried I’ll be bullied by an Alpha…” That part, he could understand.

“But…” He hesitated, then added, “My boyfriend’s an Omega too.”

Ruan Ci: “…?”

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