Can’t Pretend Chapter 80: The Origins of the Story

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: SpringBreeze, Kiramekineko

 

“…You do not want a permanent one?” The voice from deep in his chest, almost airy, rang in Xie Quan’s ears like gravel and feathers. It was coarse, slight, and scratchy.

Xie Quan’s white ears were tinged with red, but he had always been resistant in this area. Even if he had just been temporarily marked, his body would only react more strongly to Ji Cheying. Like now, hearing Ji Cheying’s words, he subconsciously had an erotic feeling, but he kept his cool and said, “We’ll discuss it when you’re calm enough after your susceptibility period.”

He did want a permanent one, it was just a matter sleeping with him. It was just that Ji Cheying was in his susceptible period right now, and if he were to take a complete mark, he would be uncontrollable. What’s more, in fact, he mainly wanted to help Ji Cheying through the susceptibility period.

Consider it a favor to him.

A permanent mark. Well, he did think about it before but after hearing Ji Cheying’s words of confession to himself, the thought was put to rest.

When he heard Xie Quan’s words, Ji Cheying couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle. When he was calm enough?

Xie Quan thought he really had the time to discuss this matter calmly?

Then he thought too highly of his self-control.

With the fusion of pheromones, the fever of the susceptible period had not yet completely receded, but the physical pain had been quite soothed. Since it was a new mark, Ji Cheying had more difficulty in enduring Xie Quan’s departure at this time. Even the mere thought of it caused his heart to tighten abruptly, making it somewhat difficult for him to breathe.

But—

Ji Cheying resisted the urge to eat him up. He used twelve percent of his strength to get up and get off of Xie Quan, closed his eyes slightly, and took a deep breath.

Then, he got out of bed, picked up the wheelchair that had fallen to the ground, and walked back to the bed to help Xie Quan over. Xie Quan’s clothes were now in disarray, due to his movements when he was pressed into bed. The hem of his shirt was folded up and pressed underneath him, and now it was stubbornly turned upward, revealing Xie Quan’s lean and slender waist.

Xie Quan’s body was not as thin as it appeared, and his waist also had vaguely visible muscles. As an omega, his bone structure was small, and that muscle didn’t make people think of the word “power”, instead it’s “charming”.

Just after being marked, Xie Quan was now weak, even lifting his hand was a lot of effort. The warm feeling in his body caused him to almost fall asleep in the next second. Seeing Ji Cheying let go of him, his heart was also relieved. After all, if Ji Cheying really wanted to do something, he was afraid that there were not many ways to refuse. It was this kind of vulnerable and unsuspecting appearance that aroused one’s desire to commit a crime.

Ji Cheying pursed his lips, then reached out to Xie Quan’s abdomen. He pulled down the corners of his shirt and straightened it out.

After the person was picked up and placed back on top of the wheelchair, Ji Cheying pushed the person steadily to the door. “Go back to rest.”

Then, he retreated back into the room. The door slammed shut again with a bang.

“…” Xie Quan, who was still dizzy and drained, sat on top of the wheelchair and didn’t react too well. Although it was true that he did not have the intention of completing a thorough marking with the alpha at this moment, wasn’t Ji Cheying’s reaction too desperate? At least let him lie down a little longer?

 

Xie Quan was woken up by a chaotic noise. He sat up from the healing capsule and climbed into the wheelchair himself, carefully avoiding Anna and Sophia who were still on the floor, and then searched for the source of the noise.

It was coming from the street. There was a small wave of people playing something over a loudspeaker. Xie Quan operated his wheelchair and went to the window. Although the window was closed, the commotion of the people on the street outside the house could not be isolated.

Xie Quan listened carefully, the crowd was shouting, “Royals are leading the way in bending the law and looking down on betas. The frontier soldiers are defending their country but are being vilified, where is Heaven’s law!”

Xie Quan frowned, completely unaware of what had happened last night and was a bit cloudy.

Why was there suddenly a protest? And looking at this, it was clear that the public’s emotions had climbed to the top. Royals… Did the Crown Prince Campaign cause this?

Xie Quan stopped in front of the window and listened for a while, when suddenly, there was activity from the front door.

Beep, beep, beep, it was someone entering the code for the gate.

Who was it?

This person had a password, so it must be someone Ji Cheying knew.

So, Xie Quan also simply did not hide, just stopped in front of the window and waited for the gate to open.

And Yan Siyu, who came to check the situation, covered his nose as soon as he entered the door. Although he was constantly using air purifiers, the smell of pheromones in the air still made him a little resistant. No alpha would be happy to have another alpha enter their territory during their susceptible period. By the same token, no alpha wanted to take the risk of rushing into someone else’s territory.

He couldn’t help it, he had to make the trip.

But…

He was slightly puzzled.

Why did Ji Cheying’s pheromones seem to have changed a bit? Was it his imagination?

With such doubts, Yan Siyu walked deeper into the house, which was one floor at ground level and the rest was underground.

He walked a few steps and at the end of the corridor he saw someone sitting at the window. The man was graceful, elegant and handsome, with a cool brow but with an admirable and free spirit. The person’s footsteps were stopped at a place ten meters away.

“You came for Ji Cheying?” asked Xie Quan.

Yan Siyu frowned, a little confused. “You are Xie Quan?”

“Yes.”

Yan Siyu had a few doubts. “As far as I know, Xie Quan should be a beta.”

Xie Quan didn’t explain too much, he just said, “If you’re looking for Ji Cheying, he’s in the room inside.”

Noticing that Xie Quan’s eyes were hollow and he was still in his wheelchair, he did not go directly to Ji Cheying but asked, “What happened to your eyes and legs?”

“The nano-machine molecular targeting has temporarily blocked the vision and the motor nerves of the lower body.”

Yan Siyu nodded with understanding. “I see. I have a machine in the lab next door, so I’ll borrow it.”

Xie Quan heard that he didn’t go to Ji Cheying and tilted his head suspiciously. “You’re not going to Ji Cheying?”

Yan Siyu said lightly, “I was worried about that fool, so I came. But it seems that you have solved the problem, I don’t need to rush to find him.”

Just now, he felt that the pheromones in the air smelled wrong.

He was worried about his best friend’s susceptible period before, but not now. However, while Yan Siyu was not in a hurry to find Ji Cheying, Ji Cheying came out on his own. He changed his clothes, apparently cleaned himself, with short black hair now drooping smoothly, looking softer.

The aggressiveness in his body did not fade, however.

Even at the sight of Yan Siyu, another alpha, his body’s aura was overpowering, even his pressure was also unconsciously released.

Yan Siyu took another step back and said, “I have no intentions toward your mate.”

Ji Cheying’s face was expressionless. “I know.”

He knew, but now he couldn’t stand any alpha being near his omega.

In the end, Ji Cheying sent Xie Quan back to his room so he could sit down and talk with Yan Siyu.

“Congratulations,” Yan Siyu said first.

“…” Ji Cheying took a sip of water, and then looked obscure, with the insatiable desire to be cathartic, but without any joy at all. “Probably.”

Yan Siyu’s eyebrows raised slightly.

He found out the person he liked was an omega, marked him, would not have to be troubled by the susceptible period, but did not seem to be happy at all? It seems there were quite a few things involved. He did not continue to ask questions though, knowing how to observe the boundaries between each other.

Yan Siyu said simply and directly, “Right now the entire empire is under martial law, you are wanted nationwide.” His fingers gently rubbed his wristwatch. “Of course, they don’t know it’s you.”

Looking at the dark blue mecha that was parked next to him, he said with some regret, “If that thing could have passed into the open, it would have caused a wave of combat mode reform, but unfortunately, for now, you’d better keep that thing well hidden.” He said with emotion, “When the wind passes, remember to lend it to me for a while to study.”

“That won’t do,” Ji Cheying decisively refused.

“Petty.”

“It’s not mine, I have to return it to its rightful owner,” he said slowly.

“Whose is it?”

“Xie Quan’s.”

Yes, the mecha was actually a half-finished product that Xie Quan had left behind in the apartment, and since the architecture and internal structure had been completed, Ji Cheying had let Yan Siyu finish the rest of it roughly according to the design idea. After all, he could not use his own mecha to rescue Xie Quan. Whether it was for military use or for his own use, as long as it was a formal purchase, it was registered, and a casual check would tell who it was.

He then got the idea of Xie Quan’s new mecha.

After half a second of silence, Yan Siyu tilted his glasses. “Where did he get it?”

Ji Cheying didn’t answer directly that it was Xie Quan’s work, but said, “Ask him yourself.”

“Sure.” Yan Siyu took over. “That’s not the only thing I want to ask him, just don’t explode with possessiveness like you just did.”

“…” That he could not guarantee. It took a lot of willpower for him to get himself away from Xie Quan right now. If his instincts had any say, he would have held him in his arms and become inseparable. Ji Cheying was very open about this, so he did not explain, but only asked, “What else do you want to ask him?”

Yan Siyu opened his terminal and threw a photo into the air.

The man in the photo was wearing a silk shirt and a stiff jacket with a white gilt pattern, and his slightly long hair was tied with a jade ring at the side of his shoulders. This man was handsome and noble looking, not an ordinary person at first glance. What’s more, the cold eyebrow ridge, with eyes clear and subtle like an autumn lake, and the delicate and straight but soft nose.

He was extremely similar to Xie Quan.

Ji Cheying looked at the photo and looked serious, “Who is this?”

“His last name is Ansel.”

Ansel was the surname of the emperor.

“Joan Ansel, the elder brother of Emperor Hea, the third prince who lost his power and eventually died because he single-handedly contributed to the beta re-differentiation research.”

 

“Joan Ansel.” Saroyan looked at the picture of the former third prince that had long since disappeared from the palace and was now blatantly made public on the internet last night. Then logically, someone came to his mind. “It’s him.”

No wonder, no wonder he had always thought that person looked familiar before. He had felt that he had seen that person somewhere. Yes, because he had seen this photo before, on top of that royal family tree.

Their eyebrows were too similar.

 

“This omega of yours, I’m afraid, has come from a very strange background,” Yan Siyu said to Ji Cheying.

Meanwhile, there was a network of tech geeks that published a video of the dark blue mecha fleeing. Upon analyzing a picture of the treatment capsule that was brought behind it, the person lying in it was then zoomed in, and there was finally a clear image of the person inside.

Looking at that appearance, the person hesitated, but still published a post online.

[The Mystery of the Dark Blue Mecha Last Night – After analyzing the face of the person recovering in the treatment capsule, it turned out to be—]

Everyone was shocked.

Originally, those on the network went in just to mock and ridicule, but after clicking on the post and seeing the contrast between that recovered face and the one next to it, only then did they realize that it wasn’t a stunt at all.

This, this person actually looked so much like the former third prince!