It wasn’t just the strong smell of alcohol; there was also the aroma of snacks she’d brought back from the food street next door after seeing the exhibition.
Because of Su Heng’s sudden movement, the plastic bag she was carrying spilled everywhere, pan-fried buns rolling across the floor. The filling was synthetic meat; after the apocalypse and reconstruction, most food was artificial, and a tiny cake made with real eggs was a luxury.
Jiang Ying felt a pang of regret as she heard them hit the ground with faint sounds. Lost in thought, she realized she was a bit hungry.
Then she noticed that a bowl of vinegar in the bag had also tipped over. It didn’t spill on her, but splashed all over Su Heng.
So even in this oppressive embrace, she could smell a strong whiff of vinegar. So sour.
As she leaned against Su Heng’s shoulder and inhaled, he also buried his face in the crook of her neck and made sounds. Grrr… purr… That sound again.
Those fragmentary words finally tumbled out of his throat. He seemed to have said quite a lot, but all she heard was a few words. “…I didn’t drink.”
When he said this, he lowered his stance; the overbearing aggressiveness he’d just shown suddenly disappeared, and his tone even sounded a bit aggrieved. As he spoke, the tip of his tail wrapped around her waist flicked ingratiatingly against her elbow.
“But I smell a very strong alcohol scent.” It was so intense she felt as though breathing it in would get her drunk.
“No. It’s my… pheromone scent.”
Su Heng didn’t understand why it had suddenly become like this. Humans aren’t sensitive to pheromone scents; she clearly hadn’t smelled it before. But after he put on the suppressant patch, not only did he crave contact with her more, his pheromones also started to stir, leaking out like a peacock displaying its feathers.
Jiang Ying was dazed for a long moment before it clicked. So this was the scent of Su Heng’s pheromones? Such a rich, strong alcohol smell—even breathing it in made her throat burn. It felt extremely aggressive, totally at odds with the calm, steady impression he’d first given her, and completely incompatible with his later clingy, cute, big-dog-like behavior.
Once she knew it was his pheromone scent, she finally let go of her worry that her dog had inexplicably gotten drunk.
She tried to ignore the heady alcohol scent making her dizzy, but then another smell began to replace it, sneaking into her nose. It smelled so good…
Jiang Ying’s stomach growled at the fallen pan-fried buns. She was hungry.
Facing her own dog, she wasn’t embarrassed anymore. Jiang Ying patted his tail wrapped around her waist.
Before this, she had no idea that a dog—or rather, a leopard’s—tail could be so strong, easily lifting her off the ground and coiling around her. But even though she trusted him, being lifted off the ground, arms looped around his neck, gave her a slight sense of unease.
Still, wasn’t this just the ritual of a dog recognizing its owner and warmly welcoming them home? Yeah, it seemed that way.
With that thought, her unease was dispelled by joy.
She’d just patted him, and that fluffy tail tickled her palm again. She had to resist the itch and push it away, coaxing him in a sweet voice: “Good doggy, put me down.”
Perhaps the close physical contact had soothed him a bit; Su Heng grew a little more lucid. After hearing her, he paused for a few seconds, then tried to put some distance between them.
But that damned tail seemed to have a mind of its own; it was completely out of his control, firmly coiled around her and refusing to let go.
The dog wasn’t obeying. Jiang Ying adopted a slightly sterner tone: “Su Heng! Put me down.”
The stubborn tail finally moved. It gently set her down on the ground, slowly uncoiling from around her.
As it brushed her back, the fabric of her clothes rubbed against her skin, tickling her. Jiang Ying giggled.
“Good.” When the tip of his tail pulled away, she reached out and gave it a light pinch, but without force, letting it slip from her palm.
Su Heng, who hadn’t even thought to retract his tail, froze for a moment and suddenly felt a bit dejected.
Jiang Ying couldn’t see the fleeting expression on his face. She slowly crouched down to grope around, wanting to pick up the scattered pan-fried buns.
“I’ll do it.”
Su Heng knelt on one knee in front of her and reached out to pick one up. It was absolutely not out of selfishness, nor intentional; it was just coincidence.
He saw her hand also reaching over. After a split-second hesitation, he didn’t stop his own hand.
But just as their hands were about to touch, Jiang Ying seemed to react a beat late and pulled her hand back.
“Okay.” She didn’t put herself through trouble and didn’t stand on ceremony with him. “Then I’ll leave it to you.”
What a good dog who takes the initiative to help his owner, she thought.
She listened to Su Heng pick up the pan-fried buns and put them back in the plastic bag, the rustling sounds, then heard him get the cleaning tools and clean the floor—when he was home alone, did he figure out where all these things were kept?
The smell of vinegar on the floor quickly faded. Then she smelled the vinegar on his clothing and remembered to remind him: “Did it get on your clothes too? Go change into something clean. Ah, what a pity. I’ll order some takeout and we can eat together.”
Su Heng stared at her moving lips for a moment, then his gaze fell to her face. He had just licked there when he briefly lost his mind, and the spot still carried the scent of his pheromones. Intertwined with the catnip smell on her, it made his breathing go unsteady again.
Su Heng averted his eyes and responded with restraint: “Okay.”
He obediently headed to his room, with Jiang Ying following behind. She turned into the bathroom halfway.
Through the door came the sound of running water, and the patting of water on her face. Was she… washing her face? Then the pheromone scent he’d left there would be washed away too.
Su Heng’s steps faltered; the sense of loss circling his heart surged and sank, growing stronger.
He returned to his room, closed the door, and finally filtered the sound out of his ears.
Now he had to figure one thing out: why, after putting on the suppressant patch, did his heat symptoms seem to have gotten worse?
He took out his phone and started searching online.
From being treated as subhuman in the Bayer Empire with no rights at all, to the Federation overthrowing the Empire and gradually accepting beastmen, it had only been three short years since the Federation’s founding and reforms. Their time having normal residency rights in the Federation was extremely limited; even accessing the internet required detailed identity verification, and online purchasing rights hadn’t been opened to beastmen yet. As of now, the information available online for beastmen was pitifully scarce.
He entered his symptoms into the browser search, and even the AI’s smart prompt was: Interfering information has been blocked for you. Please visit an offline beastman clinic for consultation.
—The internet was flooded with brainwashing rhetoric from the Extreme Resistance Faction, impossible to stamp out. The higher-ups in the Federal Government, unwilling to cause trouble and bear responsibility, chose a blanket ban.
In contrast, the Beastman Association existed precisely to assist the Federal Government in promoting a positive image of beastmen and encouraging public acceptance.
When Su Heng was still in the Erga Empire, the intelligence department had sent back Qu Sheng’s letter. While working undercover in the Federation, Qu Sheng was also dedicated to securing more benefits and protections for fellow beastmen in the Federation.
But ultimately, the Beastman Association was only a facade, and his efforts yielded little result.
Su Heng pulled back his thoughts, his gaze falling on the heat suppressant patch in his hand. He couldn’t wait to go to a beastman clinic, not to mention all the tedious paperwork involved in a beastman getting medical care.
Scrolling down the search page for a while, he finally found a beastman forum with an abysmally low ranking. He clicked in; there were quite a few posts, and under the highly discussed ones, new replies popped up every couple of minutes.
If he remembered correctly, that letter had also mentioned it. The founder and operator of the forum was a female citizen of the Federation; it was she who had anonymously contacted Qu Sheng to help create the site. Out of protection and respect for this lady, Qu Sheng hadn’t investigated her identity.
As Su Heng recalled this, he searched the keyword “heat cycle” in the search bar. Related posts appeared with titles like “Beastman Clinic Visit Guide,” “Beastman Pharmacy Compilation,” etc. He looked through them one by one and clicked on a post titled “How to Suppress Heat Cycle Symptoms.”
He scanned the entire post; most of it was what his friends had told him before he came to the Federation. None of the text addressed his current issue.
He thought for a moment and clicked on the personal center. The site didn’t have too many restrictions on beastmen registering accounts; they just needed to prove they were a beastman. But if a human wanted to apply, they had to provide various materials proving they were pro-beastman and had at least one beastman friend, relative, or partner.
Su Heng completed the registration in no time. He returned to the forum page and posted a new thread—【Used a heat suppressant patch, but why is it having no effect and instead making the symptoms worse?】
The forum seemed to give new posts a certain amount of push traffic, and soon his message center started blinking. Su Heng clicked in to check.
ID ‘A Little Bear’ commented: I’ve never encountered this situation…
ID ‘I’m Not Fluffy’ commented: What brand is it? Could it be a counterfeit? Lately, the Extreme Resistance Faction has been making a lot of that stuff; I’ve seen on the forum that many people have fallen for it. But I haven’t seen suppressant patches yet—they’re not cheap to make, so I thought they hadn’t started on those.
ID ‘Dragon’ commented: What species are you? Maybe you didn’t buy the right type?
Su Heng looked down to check. It was the biggest beastman medical brand on the market, the Heavy Beast Special Edition, and he’d verified the authenticity—no issues.
ID ‘Dragon’ commented: Then I don’t know, bro. Why not go to a beastman clinic? It’s a bit of a hassle, but if you show your forum membership, you can get a discount.
Su Heng waited a while longer, deciding that if he really couldn’t get an answer, he’d consider going to a clinic. After a bit, a message lit up again. It was a private message from a golden ID.
【Admin 01】: Hello, could you roughly describe your symptoms? We might be able to offer some help here.
Admin? Su Heng frowned and cautiously checked the other party’s account info. There was no introduction. He couldn’t go into too much detail with a stranger, so he only provided his general information and the situation he was facing.
After a long while.
【Admin 01】: Perhaps you’re allergic to the suppressant patch.
【Admin 01】: But to determine exactly which component you’re allergic to and whether you can switch to other suppressant drugs, you’ll need to go to a professional beastman clinic for further evaluation.
“…” Su Heng thought of the worst possibility. He was silent for a moment, then typed a line.
【Su】: What if none of them work?
The reply took even longer this time. Just as he had considered all the possible “consequences,” the other side finally sent a response.
【Admin 01】: Male beastmen are mostly passive rut triggers. Perhaps, you could undergo desensitization therapy targeting the person who triggers this state.