Excitement of Prey

In the early morning, the snowstorm slowly subsided.

The sunrise after the snowfall was warm and brilliant, reflecting a radiant, all-encompassing light as it shone upon the snow-white earth.

When Bai Ling woke up, he sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, hugging his knees and gazing out for a while.

He had originally thought his body would undergo many changes after a temporary marking.

He touched the back of his neck and let his brain, still recovering from a night of high fever, savor the sensation for a long time. Only then did he vaguely realize he didn’t feel quite as exhausted.

They said the effects of an alpha’s claiming pheromones varied from person to person.

If the alpha was violent, the omega would become restless; if they were cold and selfish, they would come with a built-in “cooling buff.”

Consequently, almost every omega could sense the alpha’s emotions during the marking to judge if it was done with malice. It wasn’t uncommon for people to head straight to the Civil Affairs Bureau for a divorce the next day if they felt something was off.

Bai Ling couldn’t sense much, so he could only comfort himself with the thought that the old bastard was simply a leak-proof, black-bellied sedative—

The perfect prescription for a damaged good like himself.

When the AI skated in holding a long box, the little bird was bathed in dancing motes of light, seemingly merging into the snowy background.

“Good morning! Master sent me to deliver a new prosthetic; it was rushed over during the night. Master said he wasn’t sure if it would fit the dimensions of your leg bone perfectly, so please try it first. If it doesn’t fit, we’ll record the data and send it back for a custom remake.”

Bai Ling pulled at his collar, which had slipped down his shoulder, and hopped down on one foot while leaning against the wall. The oversized hem of the garment swayed against the top of his thighs.

…It was the old bastard’s pajamas that were the real mismatched size.

He glanced at the box. Unsurprisingly, the prosthetic was a new model from a major mechanical manufacturer. It looked feature-heavy, but Bai Ling wasn’t in the mood to test them one by one.

He hadn’t forgotten that he needed to submit that damned guardian consent form for the competition before nine o’clock this morning.

Bai Ling buckled it on and left immediately.

The straps were a bit loose, so he hiked up the thigh band with one hand while walking barefoot through the carpeted corridor, which felt like the soft moss of a late-spring forest.

In one smooth motion, he kicked open the dining room door, pulled out a chair, sat down, and fixed his gaze on the man sitting at the head of the table.

When the AI arrived, it saw the mechanical little bird with a cold expression and crossed arms, facing off against its cyber master.

However, this confrontation ended with both sides voluntarily yielding.

Yu Chen tilted his head. The brilliant morning light streamed through the skylight, casting an elegant golden rim around his emerald-green pupils. He lifted his wrist, poured warm milk into his cup, and placed it in front of Bai Ling.

Yu Chen spoke gently, “Good morning, darling. Did you sleep well last night?”

Bai Ling lifted his eyes and glanced at him.

Their chairs were twenty centimeters apart. Bai Ling suddenly extended his leg, used the grip of the new prosthetic to hook onto the merman’s chair, and yanked. He instantly moved himself and the chair over and the two chairs collided with a crisp clack, like a toast between two glasses of wine.

Yu Chen smiled imperceptibly. He felt the restless little bird step onto his shackles, deliberately rubbing the protruding bones of his ankle with the sole of its foot.

“The little one is in such high spirits so early in the morning?”

The “little one” crossed his legs and acted spoiled yet fierce: “Feed me.”

It was both a threat and a plea for affection

—A unique brand of indulgence from the little female raptor.

A smile reached the corners of Yu Chen’s eyes. He picked up the warmed seafood porridge, scooped a spoonful from the edge, and held out the golden spoon.

He felt a slight tremor at the end of the spoon followed by the faint clink of small teeth against metal. The little bird took two sips, then suddenly asked in surprise:

“Pickles?”

“Mhm. Little bird pickles.”

Bai Ling: “…?”

Isn’t that the joke Sava, that stinking chicken, teased him with every day? How does the merman know? His scalp prickled as he had a very bad premonition.

While Yu Chen wasn’t looking, Bai Ling quickly tapped his terminal. Sure enough, he saw the conversation about “pickles,” followed by a string of snarky remarks in the group chat:

North, unable to bear the sight, had corrected the files for them and sent them to the group. Bai Ling clicked to load it while taking a sip of seafood porridge. He glanced sideways at the bluish-purple veins on Yu Chen’s wrist and felt a slight itch in his heart, then absentmindedly looked back at his terminal—

Yu Chen frowned slightly. “Did I feed you too fast?”

Bai Ling: “…No.” It was because he had a guilty conscience.

Bai Ling’s eyelids fluttered. Only then did he realize he had accidentally muttered his thoughts out loud.

He hurriedly scrambled for an excuse to brush it off. “It’s… I just made a big mistake. I didn’t notice… that the prosthetic strap was too loose, yeah.”

“Let me see.” The small spoon returned to the celadon bowl with a crisp clink.

The “seeing” Yu Chen referred to involved accurately grasping the little bird’s residual limb. He traced the interface where stainless steel met flesh and bone, feeling it inch by inch. Then, with a flick of a fingernail, he pressed a knuckle into the gap.

The sensors on the new prosthetic were incredibly sensitive.

As that hyper-realistic sensation flooded in, Bai Ling instantly bit his lip. The muscles at the root of his thigh tensed up, and he turned his head away in embarrassment.

It feels so strange…

“The interface is indeed loose by about a centimeter; it’s too big for you.” Or rather, the little bird’s leg is too thin.

Cradling that handful of supple flesh in his palm, Yu Chen couldn’t help but let his mind wander. He allowed his prominent knuckles to slide repeatedly within the gap of the prosthetic, testing the variance in space at different points.

Bai Ling, meanwhile, fell into a daze. He felt a bizarre sensation—as if he were a child being taken to a store by a parent to buy shoes. His “parent bird” was poking a finger into the heel of his shoe, standing up to calmly tell the clerk that there was a finger’s width of space and the fit wasn’t right for the child…

The shame made him want to bolt out the door.

Bai Ling tried to change the subject. “Actually, it’s not a big deal. It’s normal for the size to be a bit off. I’ll just find some foam to fill it in later and tie it up with a zip tie. Sometimes when it’s tied too tight, the circulation cuts off and my leg goes numb when I stand up, but I’m used to it.”

“But I can’t let you suffer,” Yu Chen said matter-of-factly.

Bai Ling’s grey pupils shook slightly. With his breathing out of rhythm, he looked up.

He watched as Yu Chen thought for a moment before unbuckling a warm, brownish-red calfskin belt from his own waist.

Yu Chen gave it a testing tug between his hands. Although the high-quality leather showed some wear, its texture remained excellent, soft yet resilient.

It’s suitable as a temporary replacement for a prosthetic strap.

Bai Ling watched blankly as the man leaned down. With his deep green eyes lowered and a soothing expression on his face, Yu Chen’s golden hair, resembling waves of a shimmering sea, flowed into the gaps of the steel framework due to his posture. It brought a concentrated burst of light to that dark, cold place.

Even though most of the limb had been severed, the muscle lines at the base of the thigh remained visible, a testament to the soldier’s long-term, high-intensity training. The curves were smooth, lean, and resilient.

As Yu Chen gripped it, a thought surfaced in his mind.

…This is a perfect place to leave fingerprints or other marks.

The little bird’s leg was too thin; the existing belt holes weren’t enough. Yu Chen measured the circumference of the leg with his long fingers—one palm’s width, two…

He casually pulled a fountain pen from his pocket and uncapped it. Controlling his strength and angle with his fingertips, he gripped the sharp nib and meticulously, swiftly punctured a series of neat, small holes.

Finally, he guided the pin of the metal buckle accurately into a hole, producing a soft thwip sound.

For some reason, when Bai Ling heard that sound, he couldn’t help but curl his toes.

Yu Chen tightened the buckle a bit further, adjusting the length. The little bird’s thigh was slightly squeezed by the leather belt, creating a soft swell of flesh that Yu Chen found hard to let go of, his heart itching with desire.

But suddenly, his palm brushed against a raised scar.

Following that scar, he discovered even more small indentations and pits, spreading like climbing vines across the bird’s leg.

The corners of Yu Chen’s eyes twitched, and his voice turned ice-cold. “Who gave you these scars?”

Bai Ling looked down and said nonchalantly, “Oh, that? Those aren’t scars, they’re my tattoos. Back when we had to go into live combat, we were getting injected with indwelling painkiller needles every day. There were so many needle holes it looked ugly, so I just tattooed a blessing over them.”

Intrigued, Yu Chen asked, “What kind of blessing?”

With his leg still held by the man, Bai Ling instead relaxed his posture and leaned back against the chair. He cast a sidelong glance at the merman, a smirk playing on his lips that was far too cynical for his age, the look of a seasoned, roguish veteran.

“Safe travels.”

A bold, arrogant, and reckless bird. So defiant he didn’t care for the opinion of any alpha who might see those words.

Yu Chen’s expression froze for a second. A flash of heat surged up his spine, sparked by the thrill of being stared down by a bird of prey as if he were the prey.

His smile deepened. “I like it very much.”

The bird hooked a finger into his collar, pulling him close to his lips to whisper flirtatiously:

“When I was getting it done, I kept wondering… what kind of expressions would those alphas have when they saw it? Would their scalps go numb? Would the psychological pressure suddenly skyrocket?”

Yu Chen teased, “And what did the first alpha who saw it have to say?”

Bai Ling bit his lip and turned his face away slightly. “…You said you liked it.”