Chapter 109 – The Duke is in his susceptible period / The cat appears

Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen

Hearing this, Tang Qing was momentarily stunned.

An Alpha’s rut?

In Tang Qing’s original world, there were no strange secondary genders like ABO.

When he first arrived in this minor world, he found it very unfamiliar.

Tang Qing’s father was an Alpha, his mother an Omega, his elder brother Tang Bo was an Alpha, and his two half-siblings were Omegas. In such a family, he was actually very lucky—he never differentiated and remained the most ordinary Beta.

As a child, Tang Qing had secretly hoped he could differentiate as a handsome Alpha like his brother Tang Bo, and if he could grow a few centimeters taller, that would be even better.

Failing that, being an ordinary Beta would be fine too.

But from a biological ABO perspective, the probability of Tang Qing not differentiating was very low. And judging by his delicate looks, he was most likely to differentiate as an Omega.

Some classmates had once said enviously, “Tang Tang, you’re already so pretty now; you’ll definitely differentiate as a peerless beauty Omega!”

…Peerless beauty Omega.

That was truly terrifying.

Tang Qing was willing to trade his half-siblings’ happiness for the rest of their lives in exchange for not differentiating as an Omega¹lmao trade other people’s lives is a joke commonly used by netizens. Ex: “I am willing to trade my brother’s love life for riches”.

In this bizarre world, male Omegas could get pregnant!

He really couldn’t imagine one day suddenly becoming a peerless beauty Omega and gaining the ability to bear children.

To the pure-minded Tang Qing, this was far too wicked.

_(´°`」 ∠)_

Although Tang Qing found this world surreal, he had attended biology classes and learned that Alphas experienced “that time of the month”—no, it was called a rut—every month²I told you guys he’s having his period.

During their monthly rut, some Alphas had mild reactions, while others became frantic and needed an Omega’s pheromones to soothe them. The higher the compatibility between the Omega and Alpha, the better.

Xie Qingzhi was clearly the type with severely disordered pheromones, going mad-dog crazy during his rut. Moreover, he was an S-class Alpha, so only an S-class Omega could match him.

Now, S-class Omegas were as rare as national treasures. Xie Qingzhi wouldn’t even consider lower-grade Omegas, so every rut, he just endured it through sheer force.

Tang Qing felt somewhat hesitant. As Xie Qingzhi’s nominal wife, it would be inappropriate to ignore his husband during his rut.

But he was just a Beta—could he even be of any help to Xie Qingzhi?

He recalled seeing in short videos that when girls had their periods, besides bringing them brown sugar ginger tea and warm packs, the most important thing for a boyfriend to do was to find a quiet place to sit and not get in their way.

Xie Qingzhi probably didn’t need brown sugar ginger tea… right?

So Tang Qing decided to skip directly to step two.

Thus, Tang Qing collected the cleaned bowls and chopsticks and silently went to the painting studio to paint.

Butler Li’s gaze, initially full of anticipation, shifted to disappointment as he watched Tang Qing’s actions, and finally settled into speechless complexity.

The Omegas sent by Her Majesty the Empress would immediately release their pheromones and try to get close the moment they heard the Duke was in rut. Even with the Duke’s notorious reputation, there were plenty of Omegas unafraid of death—after all, becoming the Duchess would mean a class leap and endless wealth and privilege.

But now, this Beta Duchess was truly… treating money and power like dirt…

Tang Qing arrived at the painting studio and spread out the canvas. School started next week, and he still had one more detailed mecha illustration to finish.

He closed the door, calmed his mind, and began painting.

“*BANG!*”

A heavy object hitting the wall came from next door.

Tang Qing paused slightly, then continued detailing his painting.

“*Crash-clatter…*”

The sound of shattering glass.

Tang Qing blinked and kept working on his piece.

“*BOOM!*”

A loud explosion.

Tang Qing helplessly set down his brush. He felt like he was doing homework in Syria.

What on earth was happening next door?

Xie Qingzhi wouldn’t actually tear down the Duke’s residence, would he?

If I just sneak a quick look, I probably won’t be discovered, right?

Tang Qing thought for a moment, then took off his clothes and folded them neatly.

A beautiful, majestic, long-haired silver Maine Coon appeared.

Cats are natural lurkers, with soft, thick paw pads that make no sound when they touch the ground. Even a large breed like the Maine Coon adheres to the liquid nature of felines, slipping easily and flexibly through cracks and gaps.

He slipped out through the studio window, followed the path around the courtyard, and arrived outside the study.

The noise inside was still ongoing.

The cat stealthily peeked into the study.

Inside was chaos—the floor covered in shards of glass, even the bookshelves had toppled over.

But at the center of the disaster, the S-class Alpha suffering from pheromone imbalance was still irritably grabbing anything within reach and smashing it to the ground.

Was… was he turning mad?

Tang Qing looked more closely and realized Xie Qingzhi wasn’t smashing things randomly; he was throwing them along a certain trajectory.

The round cat eyes narrowed slightly. Cats have excellent dynamic vision, and he could clearly see a small, furry creature darting between the bookshelves.

It was actually a little mouse!

Tang Qing was still puzzled. It was just a mouse—was such a dramatic response necessary?

The Duke sat on a sofa, relentlessly throwing objects at the little mouse. Beneath the silver mask, his expression was ferocious, his gray-blue eyes filled with ruthlessness, veins bulging on his arms.

The mouse was tiny and moved with extreme agility, slipping through gaps in the cabinets, evading every throw.

After observing covertly for a while, Tang Qing noticed something strange.

Sometimes the mouse scurried very close to Xie Qingzhi. Most people would stand up and kick or stomp on such a small creature.

But Duke Xie Qingzhi remained motionless.

He only looked on with a steely gaze, hurling various expensive decorations at the tiny mouse.

Could it be…

Could it be…

This tyrannical, ruthless Duke was actually afraid of mice?

And such a tiny one at that?

Tang Qing was shocked by his own thought.

A Duke who, during his monthly rut, got bullied by a mouse.

It seemed… almost pitiable?

Watching the furry, gray³As I type this, I accidentally missed the R and was like ‘gay little mouse’ little mouse scurrying around under his nose, Tang Qing felt an itch in his furry paws.

The rodent-catching gene etched in his DNA was activated.

Still, he figured Xie Qingzhi was just trying to catch the mouse. Such a big Alpha would eventually catch it—surely he wouldn’t tear down the entire Duke’s residence over this.

Tang Qing tried hard to suppress his feline instincts and prepared to turn away.

Just then, with a “squeak,” the little mouse, hunted all day, scrambled desperately toward Tang Qing in its panic.

Whoosh~!

Faster than thought, the Maine Coon’s large, furry paw moved before Tang Qing’s brain could react. A flash of pink pads, and the mouse—smaller than a teacup—was smacked flying with one slap.

The large cat’s adorable, pretty face seemed to show a hint of embarrassment, as if it couldn’t believe it had accidentally exposed itself.

He nonchalantly lifted his big, furry head, a pair of beautiful amber eyes round and large like glazed beads, meeting Xie Qingzhi’s gaze directly.

“Meow~”

For such a large cat, his voice was unexpectedly sweet and sticky.

Xie Qingzhi looked at this majestic blue tabby Maine Coon, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

“It’s you.”

Tang Qing was taken aback.

Did Xie Qingzhi recognize that this cat was Tang Qing?

Does he have X-ray vision or something?

Xie Qingzhi stepped over the broken glass on the floor and walked toward Tang Qing, extending his hands.

Tang Qing hesitated for a moment, then pushed off with his hind legs and leaped toward Xie Qingzhi.

Xie Qingzhi caught the large cat in his arms, feeling the warmth and dense fur fill his embrace.

Fortunately, he was an S-class Alpha with excellent physical conditioning; otherwise, being pounced on by a thirty-pound cat might have made him stagger.

“Meow.”

The often-temperamental royal mad dog was unexpectedly gentle with this large cat.

The Alpha’s voice was deep and hoarse:

“You’ve come to Imperial Star too?”

Tang Qing was puzzled, unsure what Xie Qingzhi meant.

Maybe he mistook him for another cat?

Tang Qing innocently blinked his beautiful large eyes, pretending not to understand, and placed his two furry front paws on the man’s broad shoulders, nuzzling his big, furry head against his neck.

A full-blown coquettish scene.

“Meow.”

During the movement, the silver mask on Xie Qingzhi’s face fell to the ground, revealing his true features.

The man had a tall nose bridge, deep-set eyes, narrow phoenix eyes, and well-defined, three-dimensional facial features—a very handsome appearance.

However, the right side of his face was disfigured, a patch of it occupied by crimson, grotesque scars, looking terrifying and frightening.

For a moment, Xie Qingzhi panicked.

Would he scare this large cat?

Tang Qing was indeed surprised for a moment—thankfully, a cat’s face doesn’t reveal too much expression.

But after the surprise, what surged in his heart was heartache.

The man had such a large scar on his face.

It overshadowed the handsomeness of the man’s entire face.

It must have hurt so much.

The beautiful Maine Coon gently nudged the man with its large head, rubbed against the terrifying scar on his face, and even tried to lick him with its tongue.

Without any reservation.

Perhaps, in the eyes of animals, humans aren’t judged by beauty or ugliness?

Feeling the cat’s comfort, Xie Qingzhi’s expression calmed considerably.

For the first time, a living being had seen his face without showing disgust or disdain.

And it was such a beautiful and pure creature.

Xie Qingzhi’s heart felt as if it had been gently brushed by a furry paw.

The man gently pushed the cat’s large face away, unwilling to let it touch his ugly scar.

His hands stroked the furry back of the large cat, feeling the soft, dense long fur.

The Duke couldn’t help but turn his head and carefully bury his flawless cheek into that fur, taking a deep breath.

Tang Qing pretended to be a cat that understood nothing, quietly staying close to Xie Qingzhi.

The man and the cat held each other for a while.

But then, the Alpha’s rut flared up again…

S-class pheromones filled the room, the air thick with the Alpha’s rich cedar scent.

Xie Qingzhi’s movements suddenly stiffened, veins bulging on his forehead as he struggled to control himself and avoid harming the cat in his arms.

Tang Qing was a Beta and shouldn’t have been able to sense Alpha pheromones.

Yet, the pheromones flying wildly around the room made his head spin.

It felt awful.

Tang Qing’s whole body grew feverish, as if he was about to lose control…

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• 1
  lmao trade other people’s lives is a joke commonly used by netizens. Ex: “I am willing to trade my brother’s love life for riches” ↩︎
• 2
  I told you guys he’s having his period ↩︎
• 3
  As I type this, I accidentally missed the R and was like ‘gay little mouse’ ↩︎