After achieving a breakthrough in their relationship at the Luoshen Hotel and lingering for three days because said breakthrough felt too good, Yun Chuji and Tang Jianxi settled down for a while.
This wasn’t because they were worn out, of course. They were S-rank AOs, after all. If they couldn’t recover from something like this, how would they ever handle a heat that lasted for days on end, nonstop except for sleep?
The reason was, they were waiting for an answer.
The question corresponding to this answer was whether their two-pronged contraceptive method was actually effective.
Since the marking process for AOs is completely different after pregnancy, they waited patiently for five days to avoid harming a potential child, and finally received a negative pregnancy result.
The Vins pregnancy test device could accurately determine an omega’s pregnancy status by analyzing the components in their glands. It was one of the most commonly used devices by omegas in the Empire.
Seeing the red light on the device, Tang Jianxi excitedly jumped onto Yun Chuji. “It worked!”
Yun Chuji was also very happy. Although the physical impact of pregnancy on an omega in this world was far less than on a woman in a two-gender world—with sufficient, high-quality pheromones and a good mood, a pregnant omega could even be healthier than usual.
From what Yun Chuji understood, given the high pregnancy rate in the AO world, almost all newly married young omegas went to work pregnant. Then, after having their first child, they would immediately become pregnant with their second.
This would only stop completely after the age of thirty-five.
This was because, in the eyes of that mad scientist, the quality of childbirth dropped sharply after thirty-five. To satisfy his ideal of human evolution, he designed it so that an omega’s reproductive cavity would gradually atrophy after thirty-five, their fertility declining along with it until it was completely lost at the age of thirty-eight.
As for alphas, given that his own age was well over thirty-five, and spurred by a degree of selfishness to ensure he could leave behind offspring in his envisioned new alpha life, he placed no strict limits on alpha fertility.
His notes read: Under the influence of pheromones, paired AOs will maintain a long-term, one-to-one partnership. This is a cleansing of this debauched era. Healthy and outstanding AO infants will become a generation with a greater future!
Regardless of the intentions of this paranoid man, whose words and actions were so contradictory, his eugenics-infused design had, in practice, freed omegas from a lifetime of being birthing machines and had become the foundation for their continuous struggle.
An important piece of evidence was that within Spartacus, the members’ ages were mostly concentrated in two ranges: 18-24 and 35-43.
And now, what was important for Tang Jianxi and Yun Chuji was that they could welcome a child according to their own desires, not the rules of biology.
They had time to prepare properly.
And they had time to rest.
Yun Chuji lowered her head and nuzzled Tang Jianxi’s cheek with the tip of her nose, whispering, “That’s wonderful.”
As the deputy leader of Spartacus, Tang Jianxi immediately recognized the value of this contraceptive method. But as a citizen of the Empire, she also realized that in the current environment—where the Empire advocated for childbirth and most contraception relied solely on an alpha’s self-control—introducing an effective method would only cause a greater uproar than A-Virtue.
And the Empire was already chaotic enough.
She said with some regret, “It’s a pity. Now isn’t the time to promote contraception.”
Yun Chuji had her own thoughts on the matter. “Actually, aside from the pill being hard to buy, condoms can be custom-made. Promoting them wouldn’t face too much resistance, since they left a very deep mark on history. I’ll hint at it during my livestreams. I believe many alphas also don’t want their omegas to be trapped in pregnancy all year round. You know, the reproductive limit for an AO couple in the Empire is eleven children, but the current average is six children per AO family. That means many alphas are exercising self-control.”
Tang Jianxi lifted her face and asked, “Is that data reliable?”
Yun Chuji replied, “It was released by the Imperial Data Bureau, so it should be.”
Tang Jianxi kissed Yun Chuji’s cheek, marveling inwardly at her growth. She seemed to have completely adapted to this era. However, Tang Jianxi had a different perspective on the issue. “The reasons aren’t just what you said. A bigger factor is that as the cost of marking removal surgery has dropped, the divorce rate for omegas under thirty-five has risen several times over. That’s why so many omegas have been able to escape the fate of being birthing machines.”
Yun Chuji looked at her thoughtfully, then fell back onto the sofa, still holding Tang Jianxi tightly in her arms. She said, “Looking at it that way, the truth is a very complicated thing.”
Tang Jianxi propped herself up, not wanting to discuss these things anymore. She cupped Yun Chuji’s face with both hands and murmured before kissing her, “But feelings don’t lie.”
Yun Chuji parted her lips, letting her stir up a storm inside. The hand on the omega’s back slid up her spine, gently caressing the small gland there.
The scent of pheromones spread through the room.
Tang Jianxi released her lips and whispered against Yun Chuji’s ear, “Since we’ve confirmed it works, and my heat happens to be tomorrow…”
Yun Chuji’s hand gently squeezed Tang Jianxi’s gland. The pressure was so light that it was less of a squeeze and more of a tease. Tang Jianxi’s whole body went soft, and she couldn’t finish her sentence.
But there was no need to say any more. After all, Yun Chuji was already taking action.
After the long heat passed, Tang Jianxi’s scent was practically steeped through with the fragrance of orchids. And just as she had said, her body’s adaptability had improved significantly, which made Yun Chuji indulge a little more. Not that Tang Jianxi wasn’t quite satisfied with Yun Chuji’s indulgence.
Overly affectionate couples like this were annoying enough to single people in the two-gender era; in the ABO era, it was even worse. For one, the ever-present scent of their pheromones was impossible to ignore.
The victimized single person, Xie Xiaoxiao, clicked her tongue. She placed a test tube in the refrigerator, then turned and crossed her arms. “I know you and your little alpha are on great terms, but shouldn’t you cover up your scent before coming out?”
On this topic, Tang Jianxi herself seemed more annoyed than Xie Xiaoxiao. “You think I didn’t try? Regular pheromone-blocking sprays don’t work! I didn’t even realize it until I got to the office. That’s why I came to you to see if you have any more effective sprays.”
Xie Xiaoxiao’s interest was immediately piqued. “Highly compatible AOs actually have this characteristic? Say, Jianxi, for the sake of our many years of friendship, just let me study the pheromone reaction between you two.”
Tang Jianxi refused warily. “Don’t even think about it. With your research fanaticism, you’d say you’re studying the pheromone reaction of highly compatible AOs, but who knows what kind of weird things you’d start researching once we were in your lab.”
Hearing this, Xie Xiaoxiao immediately deflated. As expected, it was hard to fool people you knew well.
She took a vial from a nearby cabinet and lazily handed it to Tang Jianxi. “Here. I made this when I was bored. It should be the most powerful suppressant available right now. If this doesn’t work, then it’d be more reliable for the two of you to just come here and let me study you.”
Tang Jianxi quickly sprayed herself all over. Even now, the memory of her subordinates’ surprised gazes made her ears burn. It was one thing in front of Yun Chuji, but another thing entirely in front of others. She had always maintained her “lofty flower” persona quite steadily.
“How is it? The scent is gone, right?”
Xie Xiaoxiao twitched her nose and said with disappointment, “Yeah, it’s gone.”
Tang Jianxi put the vial in her pocket and glanced around Xie Xiaoxiao’s lab, which, despite being large, felt cramped by all the equipment and chemicals. As if struck by a memory, Tang Jianxi sighed and suddenly asked, “Are you still researching that topic?”
Xie Xiaoxiao’s expression faltered for a moment. Then she casually stuck her hands into the pockets on either side of her clothes. Her gaze became distant and profound, the lazy listlessness in her voice completely gone. “I need to understand all of this.”
“And after you understand?”
“That’s a matter for later.”
Tang Jianxi lowered her eyes, then raised them again. She patted Xie Xiaoxiao’s shoulder and said, “Sometimes, you make me think you could be the second William James.”
“…”
After a moment, Xie Xiaoxiao replied with a wry smile, “I often wonder if I’m doing the same thing he did.”
Tang Jianxi pressed her lips together, then stepped forward and gave Xie Xiaoxiao a hug. “I’ll keep a close eye on you,” she said softly.
After all, I was the one who ignited this incredibly arrogant ideal of yours.
And the me of today is no longer heading down that extreme path.
Because of the pheromone incident that morning, Tang Jianxi left work a little early and happened to catch Yun Chuji’s livestream. Yun Chuji was flipping through the books Tang Jianxi had specially made for her, speaking in a soft, gentle voice about principles that everyone loved but hoped others would be the ones to practice.
Tang Jianxi stood where she was, watching her quietly.
A long time ago, she had discovered that Yun Chuji seemed to have a light source hidden within her. It was so natural, so warm, completely lacking the cheap, ulterior-motive quality of the ubiquitous lights of this era.
As tranquil as a mountain valley.
Tang Jianxi’s gaze naturally prompted Yun Chuji to end her livestream early. She turned off her optical computer and looked up at her omega, her heart beating joyfully. She had almost been unable to suppress her smile during the stream just now.
But she couldn’t. She knew she couldn’t smile like that.
A smile like that would attract unwanted attention.
So, she could only smile like that for Jianxi.
And so she smiled—the corners of her lips turned up, her round eyes forming two crescents. A faint blush was on her cheeks, and two subtle dimples appeared beside her lips.
Tang Jianxi’s breath caught. She felt she should have brought a bouquet of flowers home. That way, she would have something to give, something to soothe the frantic joy in her heart.
What is wrong with me? We’ve been dating for over two months, so why am I getting even more sappy?
Yun Chuji had no such worries. She stood up, walked over to Tang Jianxi, and said sweetly, “Jianxi, I painted a picture for you today. Do you want to see it?”
Tang Jianxi naturally had no reason to refuse. In fact, her pace even quickened a little.
It turned out that it wasn’t just giving a gift that could calm one down from that restless agitation; receiving one worked just as well.
Today, Tang Jianxi had once again learned something new because of Yun Chuji.
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