Chà Chà Novel

The Parched Land — Chapter 34

In the end, they went no further.

Perhaps Min Zhi felt guilty about his earlier roughness. Everything that followed became gentler, slower. The room no longer held that fierce, restless heat. Instead, a softer warmth lingered between them, like the steam rising from a hot spring.

Exhausted in body and mind after crying, Fang Fengzhi grew drowsy beneath his gentle kisses. His responses slowed. His lips drifted closed, then parted again as he struggled to stay awake.

But the kiss stopped.

Min Zhi slowly drew away.

Fang Fengzhi opened his eyes in confusion. When the man leaned close again, he instinctively shut them. In the darkness, he felt a kiss settle on his eyelid.

“Go to sleep.”

Something inside him eased.

The hand around Min Zhi’s waist gave one weak little tug, then relaxed.

A moment later, he was asleep.

The Omega’s breath brushed Min Zhi’s face, soft as a breeze. He remained close, looking down at the sleeping man.

Fang Fengzhi seemed to have gained a little weight lately. There was a slight fullness to his cheeks, and his complexion had taken on a healthy warmth.

For some reason, the sight awakened a peculiar hunger in Min Zhi.

It rose from deep within him, urging him closer, making him want to hold that softness between his teeth—to possess it in some disturbing, instinctive way.

Of course, he would not do that.

Even if he were some enormous beast, he thought, he would only hold Fang Fengzhi gently, unwilling to surrender the taste of him.

Then he went still.

His own thoughts repulsed him. His expression darkened.

Without a word, he rose and returned to his bedroom.

The lights were still on. The physical aftermath of their closeness had not faded. He went straight to the desk and took out a small bottle of medication.

It was made specifically for Enigmas and Alphas. It temporarily blocked their sense of smell, preventing Omega pheromones from affecting them.

Min Zhi swallowed several tablets.

Less than two minutes later, he could no longer smell anything.

He left his room and returned to the guest bedroom.

Fang Fengzhi was sleeping even more deeply now, his chest rising and falling evenly.

Min Zhi approached the bed.

In the dim bedside light, the first thing he noticed was the little mole on Fang Fengzhi’s eyelid. The darkness blurred it, yet he felt certain it must be vividly red.

His heart faltered.

His gaze wandered over the flushed face and lingered on the slightly swollen lips.

That hunger returned.

Fang Fengzhi still drew him in.

He could not smell pheromones now. Whatever this was, it could not be their scent.

Simply looking at him was enough to make Min Zhi want to come closer.

He stepped forward and bent down, following the impulse.

His lips touched Fang Fengzhi’s cheek. A few seconds later, he gave it a light bite.

“Mm…”

Fang Fengzhi made a vague sound without waking.

Min Zhi stopped.

The strange ache in his teeth remained, as though only holding on to Fang Fengzhi could soothe it. He clenched his jaw and fought the impulse.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.

It was a long while before he opened them and bent down again.

Seeing the marks he had left earlier, he reached out. But remorse did not prevent another boundary from being crossed. He left another bite against skin that was already sore.

Fang Fengzhi stirred, moved his legs, and woke.

“What is it…?”

He was plainly still half asleep, unable to understand what Min Zhi was doing.

Min Zhi straightened and drew the covers over him, his expression composed.

“Nothing.”

Then he turned and met those hazy, sleepy eyes.

His heart gave a sudden, heavy beat.

He covered Fang Fengzhi’s eyes with his hand.

“Go back to sleep.”

Drowsiness soon overwhelmed the lingering discomfort. Fang Fengzhi drifted off again.

Only when his breathing steadied did Min Zhi withdraw his hand.

He watched him for a few seconds, then abruptly rose and left.

Afraid of waking him, he moved quietly, his footsteps almost soundless. Yet his entire body was rigid, his jaw clenched, the veins at his temples standing out.

He silently closed his own bedroom door.

Then he suddenly drove his fist into the wall.

His breathing was harsh. His expression had turned frighteningly dark.

Keeping his hand clenched, he shut his eyes.

A long time passed before he opened them.

He kept telling himself to exercise restraint.

Restraint.

And still, he made one mistake after another.

He took out the cigarettes buried at the bottom of a drawer. He rarely smoked; the packet was still almost full.

He placed one between his lips.

The lighter clicked softly.

After taking a drag, he stepped onto the balcony.

Winter was approaching. The night wind was cold, sweeping much of the heat from his body the instant he walked outside.

He had always believed pheromones were the source of every mistake.

Now that excuse looked like nothing more than a lie.

He was not interested in Omegas.

Yet even without being able to smell pheromones, he still wanted Fang Fengzhi.

When had it begun?

When he saw the wound on his forehead?

When Fang Fengzhi called for him in pain?

Or earlier still?

He did not know.

By the time he noticed, it was already too late.

Min Zhi lowered his eyes and crushed the half-smoked cigarette into the ashtray. The ember died. Tobacco broke through the flattened paper, unable to regain its original shape.

The heat in his body seemed to have faded.

But something inside him was still burning.

He had not forgotten.

Fang Fengzhi was Fu Baiqi’s spouse.

The next morning, Fang Fengzhi woke still sore from the night before.

A tube of ointment stood on the bedside table. Min Zhi must have left it for him.

After applying it, the discomfort eased considerably.

Neither of them offered an explanation for what had happened.

Why had they crossed that boundary when neither was under the control of pheromones?

Neither spoke of it.

When Fang Fengzhi went downstairs, Min Zhi was already ready to leave, bag in hand.

Half an hour earlier than usual.

He heard the housekeeper ask, “Aren’t you having breakfast today?”

“No. I have something to attend to.”

Fang Fengzhi showed no reaction.

That evening, the housekeeper told him Min Zhi would not be home for dinner. Even late into the night, he had not returned.

Sitting in the living room, Fang Fengzhi revised some work a colleague had sent him. He thought Min Zhi probably would not come home at all.

He was almost finished when he heard the garage door.

He paused.

A few minutes later, the lock turned, and the light in the entryway came on.

Those sounds seemed to fill the villa all at once, making it feel less empty.

His eyes remained on the screen, but his hands stopped moving.

Gunsmoke entered the house with its owner.

Fang Fengzhi looked up. Min Zhi approached, stopping a short distance away.

“Still working?”

The cool distance in his voice made Fang Fengzhi falter.

“Ah… yes.”

Their eyes met.

Min Zhi looked away first.

He checked his watch.

“It’s late. Get some rest.”

Then he turned and went upstairs without looking back.

Fang Fengzhi soon lowered his eyes and resumed his work.

He understood what Min Zhi meant.

After that, they kept their distance by unspoken agreement.

They rarely talked and seldom ate together.

More and more, they became like strangers.

The bite marks on Fang Fengzhi’s neck slowly healed. He could feel Min Zhi’s pheromones gradually fading from his body.

As they diminished, his body began craving them, as though trying to hold on to what it was losing. It felt like the discomfort of lacking some essential nutrient.

Sometimes he grew feverish, especially at night. The absence of pheromones kept him awake until morning.

But he did not ask Min Zhi for help.

And so the scent on him grew fainter.

There was almost no gunsmoke left.

One evening, Min Zhi encountered Fang Fengzhi on his way home from work.

Neither spoke. They merely exchanged polite nods and walked toward the door, one behind the other.

Strangely, even at this distance, Min Zhi could detect only the faintest trace of his own pheromones. Beyond the chamomile, the scents of unfamiliar Alphas were stronger.

More than one.

He remembered that Fang Fengzhi took the subway home. Picking up other Alphas’ scents in a crowded carriage was hardly unusual.

Min Zhi narrowed his eyes and looked at the back of his neck.

The gland was hidden beneath his collar. Through a small gap, only part of it was visible.

The wound was almost healed.

He suddenly stopped.

That feeling had returned.

The ache in his teeth.

The unbearable hunger.

Fang Fengzhi walked a little farther before noticing that the footsteps behind him had ceased.

He turned, looking at Min Zhi with faint confusion. His eyes seemed to ask why he had stopped.

But he said nothing.

He only looked at the man once, then turned away and continued on alone.