The dim crystal lamp swayed slightly, the hearth fire crackled with an intense heat, and the two figures were vaguely reflected in the not-so-clear French windows, their voices echoing against the walls.

“Which day was it?” Bai Ling asked.

Faced with his relentless questioning, Yu Chen clasped his hands together and rested his chin upon them. His unfocused gaze focused on Bai Ling’s position based on his voice, causing a sudden, inexplicable shiver to run down Bai Ling’s spine.

Yu Chen spoke in a measured tone: “Tell me, why have you developed such a request?”

“There is no ‘why.’ You said it yourself: if I show you my loyalty, you satisfy all my needs. This counts as one of them.”

Bai Ling remained expressionless, using the merman’s own promise to land a beautiful counter-strike.

Yu Chen’s perfect composure showed a few cracks, subtle, but gradually deepening.

He repeatedly rubbed the cufflink at his wrist, crossing his long legs with feigned nonchalance before changing positions and uncrossing them again. Finally, he reached for the cane leaning against the desk and slowly rose from his chair.

Neither agreeing nor refusing, Yu Chen thoughtfully suggested: “Perhaps you would like to play a bedtime game with me.”

“A bedtime game? The kind involving strenuous exercise?” Bai Ling’s lips curled into a provocative smile.

To his surprise, the dignified and elegant old fish actually nodded. “Yes. Very strenuous. I will do my best to satisfy your needs.”

A flash of astonishment crossed Bai Ling’s face, quickly morphing into a cynical sneer.

—Perhaps this guy isn’t essentially different from any other alpha after all.

Bai Ling reached for his collar with a lackluster expression. “Then where are we going? You pick the spot.”

“I’m used to the study,” Yu Chen replied effortlessly as he walked toward the bookshelf against the wall.

Bai Ling’s expression stiffened. With a hint of mockery, he said, “I thought an old aristocrat like you would be more particular. I didn’t expect you to mix business with pleasure so easily and do such hypocritical things.”

Yu Chen opened the glass cabinet door and turned his gaze slightly toward him. His forest-green pupils reflected a ghostly glimmer behind the glass, his voice deep and mellow:

“I wouldn’t say I mix business with pleasure, but ‘hypocritical’? Certainly.”

Bai Ling knitted his brows and reminded him, “Let me be clear: you must use protection.”

“You certainly have a lot of requirements.”

Bai Ling crossed his arms and threatened: “Just say whether you’re willing or not.”

“And if I say I don’t want to?”

“…Couldn’t you at least give me a perfunctory reply?!Anyway, I’m willing to make an exception for you,” Bai Ling snapped, throwing caution to the wind.

Listening to the sounds of the ruffled up little bird, Yu Chen meticulously went through the logistics of how to handle this “exception,” the specific operations, and even the aftermath. He subtly licked his back teeth and said:

“As you know, I have never been good at patronizing children.”

“Oh?” Bai Ling turned his head, squinting at him.

“I generally prefer to lure them directly.” A low, rich chuckle rippled like aged wine. As he spoke, Yu Chen closed the cabinet door and pulled out a wooden box. Along the way, he snagged a blanket from the back of a chaise lounge, draping it loosely over his powerful arm.

He leaned down unhurriedly and spread the warm, pale camel-colored blanket over a single-seater sofa. Then he asked casually:

“Are you still wearing the sweater I gave you?”

“I took it off.”

“Where did you leave it?” In the dorm?

“On the stool by my feet. Why? I just folded it. Don’t you dare tell me to put it back on; I don’t want to get it sticky with sweat.”

Yu Chen’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. He couldn’t help but imagine the young man shivering as the cold air hit his bare skin and replied:

“No reason. I was just confirming. You may move here in whatever way makes you comfortable.”

Bai Ling just coldly snorted.

Yu Chen sat down on the other armchair immediately adjacent to the coffee table and beckoned with his palm. “Come sit.”

Click-clack. The light, rhythmic sound of prosthetic gears turning filled the room.

The bird plopped heavily into the sofa, the springs groaning twice. He slumped back with zero posture, stretching one long, thin leg across the narrow coffee table to rest arrogantly on Yu Chen’s knee.

Yu Chen felt the weight on his lap, noticing that slender, pale ankle swinging listlessly.

For a split second, he truly began to consider devouring this immature, sub-adult bird, regardless of the cost, and refusing to stop halfway.

“If I start shouting later, don’t you dare stop,” Bai Ling said after a thought; he felt it was necessary to fulfill his duty of disclosure.

“…What kind of shouting?” Yu Chen was preoccupied, calculating the odds of coaxing the little bird back to happiness after the “violent” incident.

Bai Ling counted them off on his fingers for him: “There might be random strings of profanity, talk of wanting to run away, that sort of thing. Don’t take it personally; I have a lot of bad habits.”

“Also, don’t squeeze my stomach too hard. I’ve had a gunshot wound in my abdominal cavity; I’m not sure if it’s fully healed yet. But don’t be all wishy-washy because of that; just follow your normal pace and process.”

Disclosing things clearly beforehand was a necessary principle for adults.

Otherwise, if something happened, it would be awkward for everyone.

Bai Ling wasn’t particularly practiced in executing this set of principles. It was only because his partner was this troublesome merman that he racked his brain for these “terms and conditions,” just to avoid the man nagging him later or lecturing him on “honesty.”

If it had been any other alpha…

“Do you say that to other alphas too?” Yu Chen’s voice sounded deceptively calm, but there was a faint hint of an approaching storm hidden beneath the surface.

“Not really,” Bai Ling said without a second thought.

“Only a warning for me?”

“Because you care.”

In an instant, the string in Yu Chen’s mind that had been about to snap relaxed back into a gentle tension.

He dragged the sofa forward a bit, tucking his knees under the coffee table.

Then, leaning down, he snatched that restless prosthetic limb. He gave the joint a light squeeze, causing Bai Ling to let out a small whimper, looking very much like a glitching system error.

Finally, he curled his long fingers around both ankles and rested them on his own knees. On the left was human warmth and softness; on the right was the icy cold of machinery. This way, the bird could nestle comfortably and relax his posture.

It was as if he were tending to a fledgling.

Bai Ling truly couldn’t wrap his head around it. “What kind of fetish is this?” he asked curiously.

Yu Chen brushed his wave-like long hair behind his ear, leaned in to pick up a box, and said with a straight face, “It’s a strategy to make the enemy lower their guard first.”

Bai Ling liked that phrasing, “the enemy.”

Yu Chen unfolded the box and laid it out on the coffee table. Bai Ling took one look and bounced up in shock. “This is the exciting game you were talking about?”

Before him was a black-and-white chessboard of fine, smooth texture. The lines were crisp, and the pieces felt warm and silky to the touch, clearly an antique ivory set with years of history.

In a way… it truly was a vigorous sport. A vigorous mental sport!

“This is it?!” An angry flare of being toyed with surged within Bai Ling. He knew this guy wouldn’t be so easy to talk to for no reason; he had been waiting for him here all along.

Fuming, Bai Ling kicked the merman’s thigh, pulled back his legs, and prepared to leave, only to be accurately seized by a palm as firm as iron pincers. He struggled twice but couldn’t break free, so he tried a desperate move and attempted to flip the table over.

Yu Chen seemed to have anticipated his reaction. His reflexes were lightning-fast as he propped his knee up, knocking the tipping coffee table back into place. However, the chess pieces slid down the momentarily slanted surface, clattering as they scattered across the floor.

A surge of spite blocked his chest, and Bai Ling couldn’t stop himself from interrogating him: “If you can’t do it, don’t agree to me so readily!”

“I said I’d take you to play a game.”

“You treacherous old venomous snake, using rhetoric to mislead me!”

“I’m gratified that you’ve gained a deeper understanding of me.”

“…Shameless, absolutely shameless! You made me talk for so long over there.” In front of the merman, Bai Ling found it easier to feel embarrassed and pathetic. He angrily averted his gaze. Strands of hair soaked in cold sweat clung to his temples, and even his teeth were chattering.

“…You old bastard, why are you teasing me again?”

“Your reproductive cavity is injured. I don’t want to cause you abdominal pain,” Yu Chen stated, citing the objective situation.

“Couldn’t you just be a bit gentler, dammit?” Bai Ling’s eyes were bloodshot as he turned to glare at him with hatred.

“I can’t control myself.” This was the subjective condition, and the most important reason.

Bai Ling: “?”

He couldn’t help but freeze, thinking he had misheard.

This guy flirted all day long without ever making a move; he had begun to suspect the man was too old or had drunk too much wastewater, leading to functional impairment.

But now he was saying he couldn’t control himself?

“Are your expectations for my willpower a bit too high, you little brat?” Yu Chen’s tone was slow and casual, carrying the irresistible deterrent force of a parent. He lowered his eyes and placed his hand over Bai Ling’s, slowly rubbing the slender wrist bone with his thick calluses, feeling as though it would snap with just a little pressure. “If I let go and laid a hand on you, you wouldn’t even think about leaving the house this week.”

Bai Ling’s eyelashes trembled as he turned his face away. He felt the gaps between his fingers grow incredibly damp, and he could hardly sit still.

…Fuck.

He just remembered the two fingerprints left on his old prosthetic, deep indentations with a force that seemed ready to crush him.

The claim that he wouldn’t be able to leave the house did seem to have some credibility.

Yu Chen added meaningfully, “If you don’t want to compete anymore, I can carry you back to the bedroom right now. Why would I trouble myself when it comes to my own enjoyment?”

Bai Ling bit his lip in silence. It was true; he had forgotten about the match and rushed over without a care.

Besides that, there’s another reason—

His impression of venting needs was still stuck on the common practices of his past life.

Capture alpha, tie them up, use them, throw them in the trash. He hadn’t considered at all that an alpha could have subjective agency here.

Bai Ling looked the merman up and down again with lingering dissatisfaction, noting the way the man’s forearm rested on the armrest and how his legs were elegantly crossed, his long, straight suit pants without a single wrinkle.

Dammit… I can’t beat him.

Otherwise, I would have tied him up and made fish head soup a long time ago!

“I think I hear your little brain plotting something wicked?” Yu Chen raised an eyebrow with great interest.

Bai Ling didn’t bother beating around the bush with him and directly threw out a solution: “There are always more solutions than problems. How about you stay still, let me tie you up, and once I’m done, I’ll let you go?”

It was an incredibly offensive and lawless “suggestion.”

Yu Chen wasn’t surprised at all that he would think this way.

How could a female who would carve “Safe Travels” on his own leg have any regard for an alpha’s dignity or face?

But the more arrogant the falcon was, the more delighted Yu Chen felt. Within his decades of decadent morbidity, a long-lost surge of conquering desire rose within him.

For this kind of female, discussing his first alpha was meaningless.

Only by winning his over and becoming his last alpha can one be considered the hallmark of a top-tier male in the food chain.

“That works.”

Yu Chen calmly leaned forward, pushing the chessboard toward Bai Ling. His long, golden, seaweed-like curls cast a dense shadow over the black-and-white grid that symbolized the struggle for power.

“Beat me, and you can do whatever you want with me.”

Seeing a turning point, Bai Ling immediately straightened up and cautiously followed up: “Anything? Whatever I want?”

Yu Chen smiled and nodded. “Yes.”

A flash of pride appeared in Bai Ling’s eyes. “Then you’ve really miscalculated.”

He considered himself a veteran of the chessboard, with at least 50 years of experience across two lifetimes. In his middle age, he had become increasingly formidable, once playing through the interstellar network without finding an equal.

Counting carefully, he had only ever lost to one person in this life.

That was his former guardian, Mr. D.

This old bastard merman is absolutely going to lose everything in this round!

Bai Ling’s mood suddenly became cheerful again. He leaned down with Yu Chen to pick up the pieces, muttering as he set the board: “Ah, I wonder what color of rope and burlap sack you prefer.”

The merman replied with total nonchalance, “I like green. Black works too.”

Bai Ling huffed. As expected of a century-old piece of fish skin, tough as nails and completely impenetrable.

The ivory chess pieces were placed one by one, each taking its position within the grid.

Suddenly, Yu Chen seized his hand, halting his movement. Curving his lips, he said, “Wait. Since this is a fair competition with mutual stakes, what if you lose?”

Bai Ling curled his lip. “If I lose, then—”

---

Author’s Note:

I’m here! Posting the first update now, and another this afternoon. After resting for a while, my heart rate is much more normal. Waaaah, thank you everyone for your patience and for refreshing the page.

Old Fish: High-level hunters always appear in the form of prey.

Bird: Exactly, I am the hunter.