A Shared Meal

"Don't try anything," Chuntian suddenly whispered as Weifeng stepped inside the bathroom with her in his arms.

"Haha... Do you know how to read my mind?" Weifeng playfully laughed, as if he was really thinking of something rigorous. He put her in the bathtub and squatted on the side while the water filled in.

Instead of responding, Chuntian suddenly went silent. Her attention was focused on her arms and legs, specifically, the marks that Weifeng left on her skin!

The man only watched as her passive expression turned into disbelief. Then, he reached and held her left hand and kissed it. "Does it hurt?"

"No... It's j-just... Hmmm... no matter how I searched my memories, I can't remember you biting me in these places. If I don't see the marks of your teeth, I won't actually think you've done it."

Weifeng grinned, "I can refresh your memories right now."

"Hah!" Chuntian gasped and squinted her eyes. She threw a cynical look at him before she rolled her eyes and sunk her body into the water. "Wash quickly... the meal won't cook magically."

"Okay..."

The cozy atmosphere around them continued. Weifeng wrapped a towel around his waist and threw his clothes on the dryer while Chuntian purposely wore oversize long sleeves.

Chuntian settled on the counter, next to her was a coffee maker. She watched as the man with just a towel on, sliced the meat.

"That size is acceptable. Put them in the pan and add water," she softly said. Her hands were holding a pink apron. She offered him to wear it, however, Weifeng shrugged on the idea and insisted that he would be fine shirtless. "Are you sure you won't use this?"

"I'd rather burn my skin than be seen in that garment," he firmly responded. His hands moved according to Chuntian's instructions. "What's next?"

"We'll wait until the meat is tender enough..." Chuntian pouted and raised the pink apron as if imagining the man wearing it. "You'll actually look cute wearing this. And no one is here to see you other than me. You should reconsider."

"No." Weifeng went to her side and took the pink material. He tossed it away before enveloping her body with his arms, burying his face on her nape. "Your scent is too hard to describe. My senses can recognize it but up until now, I can't put a name on it... a blend of savory sweetness, warmth, comfort... Hmmm... What's this pheromone?"

"Solace."

"Oh. A scent of Solace. That's indeed a fitting name," Weifeng whispered as pondered the sensation of the scent he had been inhaling. However, he suddenly felt confused and stared at his bite mark on the other side of Chuntian's neck. "I can't sense our bond? But, last night we---"

Technically, once a bond is formed, it would only be removed if the mate is dead. His bite mark is there and the bond was formed last nigt. But, now, it's really gone.

Weifeng quickly moved his head to Chuntian's heart to check if her heart was actually beating. 'I'm not hugging a ghost, am I?'

"What are you doing? It probably does not work like the bonds from Alpha and Omega," Chuntian calmly responded and also confirmed that the bond they formed last night vanished. She immediately regulated her pheromones and check the skin on the side of his neck. "But, the imprint is there. I can see it on your skin." She then tilted her head and pointed to her side neck, "Could you see mine?"

After a year of living in this world, Chuntian learned that the process of marking a partner would undergo two steps. First, an imprint must be initiated, and second, a bond must be formed.

But, the imprint was solely for Alpha and Omega. Betas could only put a bond with their mates due to the absence of their pheromones.

If it was in her past world, putting a mark means saying to the world that this person is mine.

And the process of forming an imprint could be considered being in an official relationship. Meanwhile, forming a bond could be regarded as marriage.

However, because of the presence of pheromones, certain rules, and things became complicated in this world.

As such, Chuntian could only conclude a logical reason for their situation. Since she had pheromones but with a different manifestation, it must be that she could only abide by an imprint. Forming a bond is not applicable to her.

"How strange. Its always been known that if the bond is broken, technically, the imprint is also destroyed. Because imprint would never appear if a bond is not formed," Weifeng mumbled and trace the faint red imprint on Chuntian's neck. "It's really here. It's beautiful."

This was really the rules of those who manifested with Alpha and Omega traits. They needed to imprint their mates before they bond to complete their marking.

"Ahh... I've already told you that I manifested as subdominant. It must be the reason why. Anyway, it's probably better if we keep this encounter a secret. Lest we attract unnecessary attention," Chuntian implied. Her tone remained passive but there was an air of authority in her voice.

"Huh? Are you sure? How about our families?" Weifeng stood straight and look at her in the eye. In fact, he secretly felt at ease with Chuntian's suggestion. If the Lan family knew what he had done, he had to give an explanation to his family. But, if they keep their encounter a secret, things around him would be easier.

On the other hand, Chuntian had a different thought in her mind. She knew how crazy the family doctors of the Jinzi Family were. If they find out about some changes in Weifeng's pheromones because he encountered a subdominant, her Lan family would surely be in a difficult situation.

"I won't tell my family. It's up to you if you tell your family," Chuntian simply answered. Then, an uneasy feeling tugged at her heart and she could not help but exhale loudly. "If you feel that your pheromones became weird, contact me. When you marked me last night, my pheromones blended within your body. That could have a weird effect in your pheromones."

This at least was something that her conscience would not allow her to keep a secret. It was a serious matter involving the future of the Jinzi family. The man deserved to know what he had to expect because of their encounter.

"I don't feel weird. Your pheromone is actually the nicest scent I've ever inhaled."

"It's because of the imprint that you feel that way. But, maybe later, you'll feel something weird. Actually, when my father tested me last year, I almost wiped out the entire tester pheromone inside the testing room. That's how he knew that I manifested as subdominant. An abnormal..."

Weifeng thought for a minute. He did not have enough knowledge about the traits of any subdominant. So, hearing Chuntian's revelation actually surprised him. "Are you worried that I would lose my pheromones because of last night and I'll become a Beta? That I could experience a second manifestation of my traits?"

"Worried? That's your problem not mine. It's your worry."

"That's cruel to say. I'm your mate," Weifeng defended with a sigh.

Chuntian scoffed and said, "Heh! How could an Alpha be sensitive with just words? Anyway, my family may be the top in terms of the medical field but I am not a doctor. What I am saying is that it's better if you monitor your traits regularly."

"Fair enough. I'll keep that in mind. And let's exchange contact information. I'll update you every day."

Chuntian looked at him suspiciously again. "Every day? You can just contact me if something is wrong..."

Weifeng only grinned and said, "If I skipped a day and don't contact you, then, something is probably wrong. You better visit me if you can't hear from me."

Chuntian thought about his reason and nodded her head. "Fine. Give me your number later. The school camping should be finished tomorrow. Are you leaving later?"

"Ugh! I'll have to return. When I lost control of my pheromones, some of the students actually fainted because of my fierce scent. I had to check them." Weifeng expressed in a cold voice. He suddenly remembered the Omega that injected him and caused his rut. And before he knew it, Weifeng started recounting the events of last night to Chuntian.

"It's probably a medication like an aphrodisiac." Chuntian listened and only replied after he finished his story. Then, she glance at the pan where the meat is boiling and estimated the time that they had been conversing. "The meat should be tender now..."

"Ohh..." Weifeng hummed and resumed cooking. "What's next?"

Chuntian giggled at the sight of his naked back before telling him the next step. Just like that, the topic of their discussion ended. She prepared two sets of plating on the table while Weifeng put the serving food. Soon after, they sat side by side and started filling in their stomach.

"You are a good cook! This is delicious!" Chuntian commented after a while.

Weifeng chuckled and continued chewing his food. "I just discovered that talent in cooking. Must be because I have a great teacher."