Completely helpless

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Hearing this, Bai Ling instinctively took half a step back, as if a current of electricity surged through his entire body. His long eyelashes fluttered rapidly.

This was indeed slightly beyond his threshold of tolerance.

In his previous life, Bai Ling had always used to think of himself as a beta. Usually, he would take standard precautions to prevent viral infections and simply vent his desires in a hurried, superficial manner. As for something like an uterus, the one in his belly was defective and atrophied, completely unusable. Naturally, he had never thought he could do anything with it.

But things were different in this life.

He had already passed an unfertilized egg once, which proved that his uterus had received ample nutrition and was currently developing normally. Without intervention, it was fully functional.

Bai Ling couldn’t imagine what that would feel like…

He had only heard the omega nurses in the legion describe it, claiming it felt like your limbs going numb and your soul leaving your body. The entire person felt as if they were floating among steam-heated clouds, sweating profusely and growing so light-headed that they forgot their own name. Of course, the prerequisite was that the alpha possessed immaculate technique; if they didn’t, it would only result in a disaster on earth.

Bai Ling felt a bit apprehensive.

It wasn’t that he was unwilling. Since he had already given the word, he certainly wouldn’t flee at the final hour. But humans always harbor worry and hesitation when facing the unknown. No matter how little he cared about his own body, he still had to calculate the risks. For instance, what if he couldn’t take it and broke, causing the other party to fall into a state of self-blame and madness?

Steadying his mind, Bai Ling asked tentatively, “If it feels wrong, can I call it off halfway through?”

Yu Chen’s gaze lingered over his fine, pale collarbones several times. His posture remained dignified and his tone thoroughly sincere: “Once the arrow is shot from the bow, there is no turning back. I will be completely helpless to stop.”

What a fine phrase. Completely helpless.

The corners of Bai Ling’s mouth pulled down. “I don’t believe you. Your self-control is so powerful, you can’t even bend the arrow a little for me?”

He rarely made demands. Saying this was practically a form of acting spoiled.

Yu Chen lowered his eyes, stroking the soft leather cover of the auction catalog. His touch was so meticulous and intimate that it made one’s hair stand up in reflex, mapping the texture of the glossy paper into his mind. Weighing his words, the man offered an analogy:

“When I encounter exhilarating work, I can operate at a high capacity for seven days and seven nights without a wink of sleep.” He paused, a gentle curve appearing in his lips while an unhidden, deep possessiveness pooled in his eyes. “Right now, I have that exact same feeling toward you.”

The feeling that once he caught him in his arms, he wouldn’t let go until he was thoroughly and utterly satisfied.

Bai Ling instinctively averted his gaze; his palms wet with sweat. He braced his walking stick awkwardly as his foot shifted, leaving behind little pits into the plush carpet.

Responsibility. This truly is a parental style of taking responsibility.

Laying out the ugly truths upfront, ensuring the child was warned of every single aspect, and highlighting every risk and consequence. The underlying implication was perfectly clear:

The choice belongs to you, but the control belongs to me.

In the end, Bai Ling moved his stump with a slight tremor, carefully shifting two steps forward. Like a bird stepping into the edge of a snare to peck at breadcrumbs, he dropped his wrist and quietly pinched the corner of the man’s shirt. With a touch of longing and a hint of hesitation, he said:

“…Does the inspection of merchandise we mentioned earlier still count?”

Yu Chen looked him up and down. Having just finished his bath, the younger man was still radiating heat, droplets of water occasionally falling from the tips of his hair. If one were to grip the back of his neck, forcing him to fold his body over and kneel, it wouldn’t take long to thoroughly soak the sheets. An omega’s physique was engineered that way. Easily aroused, with a soft lower abdomen and high internal endurance; biological evolution had gifted them with yielding, pleasant bodies precisely to increase their conception rate. Moist and supple, accommodating continuous activity.

Yu Chen pondered for a moment, then rose from the sofa. The pinched fabric of his shirt slid clean through the falcon’s fingers. The spring cushion let out a faint creak as he brushed past the bird, ignoring the sudden stiffness that seized the younger man’s body for a split second.

Thud. The walking stick clattered to the floor.

Yu Chen was suddenly caught from behind around his lower back. Immediately, a pair of trembling arms wrapped tightly around his waist, holding him fast, refusing to let him leave.

“If you’re unwilling, you can just say so.”

Yu Chen looked down at those slender, tightly interlocking hands. A falcon’s claws were naturally thin; when curled up in distress like this, they looked entirely devoid of flesh. He supported the person behind him with one hand, turned his body, and bent down to pick up the walking stick, sliding it back into the falcon’s grasp.

Bai Ling’s pupils dilated slightly as he looked up into his face, his heart hammering like a drum.

“Don’t panic, dearie,” Yu Chen murmured, gently kissing the bird’s temple. In his presence, any nervous sensitivity would receive its corresponding care. “Your hair is still wet; if you sweat later, you’ll easily catch a cold. I’ll go fetch a bath towel to dry you off, and it can also serve as a lining.”

“I’m sorry…” Bai Ling said blankly.

A feverish, morbid flush bloomed across his face. Enduring a powerful wave of bashfulness and panic, he forced himself to stand steady. But when he spoke again, his voice had already turned hoarse:

“I don’t really know the normal procedure. I might act strange.”

“What kind of strange?” Yu Chen lifted the young man’s pajamas, methodically tracing his fingers along the indentation of his spine, feeling him arch his back in a panic like a cooked shrimp.

Bai Ling bit his lower lip, remaining silent.

Yu Chen pinched the slick sweat on his fingertips and asked, “Over-amplifying my reactions?”

“Mgh…”

A soft murmur escaped Bai Ling’s lips, apparently in agreement. But the man gripped his waist, steadying his body, and said indulgently:

“That is perfectly normal. I am your guardian, and I share a bond with you through our mark. Naturally, you will depend on me when we are alone.”

“Will it… always be like this in the future?” Bai Ling asked hesitantly.

“It will be even more intense in the future.”

Bai Ling’s throat moved slightly. He knew that the “future” the man spoke of referred to a knotted, complete bond.

In these matters, the merman lacked even a shred of hesitation when it came to being frank; he didn’t even bother to sugarcoat it. The man could easily have used sweet words to coax him, telling him not to worry, or promising that it would only hurt for a moment and that everyone went through the same thing.

But Yu Chen insisted on breaking it down piece by piece to clearly explain it to him. This matter, that matter. Everything he would encounter upon reaching maturity, whether messy or embarrassing, he had the right to know here with Yu Chen.

Bai Ling suddenly grasped the necessity of the [Guardian System].

During the differentiation phase, a guardian, upholding their responsibility, must pass down the entirety of their experience. Their existence was not meant to weave a fantasy dream for the adolescent omega; rather, it was meant to shatter unrealistic expectations, demystifying the act of marking and rendering it realistic. It served as a striking alarm, preventing an omega from being tricked and getting marked by an unprincipled Alpha during their heat.

This was an education of a mature mind. And its influence would accompany the omega for a lifetime, stamping a deep imprint into their consciousness.

With his eyes trembling slightly, Bai Ling watched his guardian open the mahogany cabinet, inside of which various sizes of bath towels were stacked with immaculate, flawless precision.

Yu Chen was tall enough to be almost eye-level with the top of the cabinet, making it completely effortless for him to reach the large bath towel on the highest shelf.

As he walked past the bedside, he casually grabbed a camel hair blanket. He had originally instructed the small robot to bring that specific blanket to warm Bai Ling’s feet; chosen for its exceptional thickness and density, it was massive when spread out, more than enough to wrap both of them inside.

Seeing him bypass the bed without stopping, Bai Ling froze for a moment. “We aren’t doing it here?”

With a casual tuck, Yu Chen stuffed the warm, plush blanket into Bai Ling’s arms. He then bent low, sliding his arm beneath the base of Bai Ling’s thighs to effortlessly scoop him up by his lower back.

Bai Ling clutched the blanket, and the blanket pressed against the merman; they moved outward like a sandwich.