Little Pink Starfish

“Xiao Liang…”

Lu Taipan carefully held Su Liang in his arms, like he was holding something fragile.

Su Liang also uncontrollably curled up into his embrace.

Back when it was Lu Zhizhao, Su Liang could still force himself to stay calm. But now, feeling the man’s voice and familiar scent, all his willpower, calm, and composure instantly crumbled. Su Liang felt himself suddenly become extremely fragile and vulnerable.

A strange and unfamiliar emotion surged into his heart, even making him feel weak and powerless. Su Liang unconsciously wrapped his arms around the man, burying his face deep into his chest. He greedily inhaled the cold and damp scent on the man, as if doing so could erase the scent of Lu Zhizhao’s pheromones from a few minutes ago—the kind that had tried to stay inside him and made him feel unwell…

The usual pheromone scent that reminded people of icy moss and incense now carried a violent, chilling air.

It was the scent of a wounded, fully crazed snake—or a wild beast on the verge of total breakdown.

At first, Su Liang thought he was trembling uncontrollably from the attack. But after a while, he realized the one truly trembling—was Lu Taipan.

Su Liang tried to gather his strength. He looked at Lu Taipan, and in his eyes, he saw burning, pitch-black flames. Violent spiritual energy kept surging in the air. Though Su Liang couldn’t see spiritual energy, he could feel the madness and distortion in the air.

He smelled the damp blood scent on Lu Taipan.

“You’re hurt?”

The next moment, Su Liang heard Lu Taipan’s hoarse and suppressed question.

The man trembled as he lifted his hand and gently wiped the corner of Su Liang’s eye with his thumb.

Only then did Su Liang realize—he was crying. The intense nausea and pain from the pheromone allergy had triggered a physical reaction, and his tears had flowed on their own.

Those tears no doubt further triggered Lu Taipan’s frenzy.

Su Liang’s lips moved slightly.

He wanted to say he was fine. He wanted to comfort Lu Taipan and tell him everything was okay. But his throat felt like something was stuck—he couldn’t say a single word. In the end, Su Liang closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and followed his instincts.

Not caring about others watching, Su Liang directly hooked his arms around Lu Taipan’s neck, forcing him to lower his head.

Then, he kissed Lu Taipan hard.

The moment their lips met, the Alpha’s scent and the exchange of pheromones instantly overwhelmed Su Liang.

Like fire was burning.

All the collapse, madness, violence… were melted by this fire. The pheromone liquid between their lips tasted like warm, slightly hot honey wine—sweet, hot, enough to soothe nerves tightened by fear.

Su Liang could feel his spiritual energy gradually relaxing. The “white snake” hidden inside his body now seemed stable, but the moment it emerged, a frenzy of black “snakes” instantly tangled with it. Lu Taipan’s violent energy weakened significantly, and soon Su Liang sensed another kind of restless impulse in his spiritual energy.

It was completely different from the man’s usual cold and composed exterior, or the restraint and awkwardness he showed when confessing.

Lu Taipan’s lips were very soft, but his kiss was extremely dominant.

Although this kiss was initiated by Su Liang, he only held the lead for a few seconds—very quickly, the Alpha’s natural greed took over.

The “black snake” chased the “white snake,” coiling tightly around it and refusing to let go.

In the next moment, Su Liang let out a small muffled moan, his whole body trembling like a small animal whose neck had been bitten.

Light streamed in through the broken door’s cracks. Su Liang could see Lu Taipan’s eyes.

In them, he saw a dark flame—scorching hot, as if it could drag another person’s soul in and burn it to ashes.

The long kiss finally ended. Su Liang let out a soft sob.

He struggled for a while before barely managing to separate from Lu Taipan.

He tasted a bit of blood—a sweet metallic taste. He froze, then realized that in his earlier desperation, he had bitten Lu Taipan’s lip.

“…Sorry.”

Su Liang mumbled, voice a little shaky.

“I should be the one saying sorry.”

I didn’t protect you.

Lu Taipan’s voice was extremely hoarse. He leaned his forehead against Su Liang’s and whispered.

The Lord of the Serpent’s Nest stared deeply at the youth in front of him. He could clearly feel the dark beast deep inside his soul—long suppressed by self-control and morality—now taking steps out of its cage.

He had made a mistake. Lu Taipan could hear a voice inside himself—cold and mad.

He should’ve acted like the most stingy, most greedy, and richest tyrant—built a palace as a prison and locked his beloved inside.

Only I can look at him.

Only I can touch him.

…

And at the moment that thought flashed in his mind, Lu Taipan suddenly felt a wet sensation brush past the corner of his mouth.

He froze slightly, and realized—it was Su Liang, who had leaned forward like a small animal comforting its injured companion, gently licking the little bleeding cut on his lip.

Lu Taipan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. And for at least this moment, all those dark emotions erupting like a volcano vanished instantly.

“Don’t be angry, Mr. Si.”

Su Liang’s voice was soft.

He stared fixedly at Lu Taipan, but no matter how hard he tried, Su Liang’s gaze still blurred.

“Don’t go crazy either… I just need to sleep a bit.”

He gently added that, then adjusted to a comfortable position—and passed out in Lu Taipan’s arms.

---

A few hours later.

“It’s been so long… Xiao Liang better not really be in trouble…”

Xue Yinhua leaned miserably against a corner of the wall, peeking around nervously toward the empty space outside the medical room. The normally shapeless and sneaky viper had now sunk into despair, mumbling to himself.

After Su Liang fainted, he had been taken directly to the treatment room on the Serpent Nest’s spaceship. This treatment room had once served as an emergency center during the Canaan War; its medical capability wasn’t any weaker than that of the main estate in the central star region.

Logically speaking, Su Liang had only suffered mental trauma, with no visible physical injuries. He should’ve woken up quickly after entering the treatment room.

But several hours had passed, and the door of the treatment room remained tightly shut.

This abnormal situation made everyone’s nerves tighten unconsciously—especially Lu Taipan. His spiritual energy, which had just been calmed earlier, began leaking again. The entire waiting area outside the treatment room turned into a vacuum zone. Any Alpha who got even slightly close would feel difficulty breathing and confusion in their movements.

For a moment, Xue Yinhua genuinely wished Black Mamba were there. At least then he’d have someone to talk to, someone to help him vent. But thinking about the time he and Black Mamba handled the gravely injured Lu Zhizhao, and the terrifyingly dark expression that man had shown, Xue Yinhua again felt a little thankful Black Mamba wasn’t here now.

…After all, he hadn’t seen that Black Mamba in a long time. And a truly angry Black Mamba was terrifying.

Xue Yinhua shivered and let out a sigh.

The other vipers couldn’t get close at all due to Lu Taipan’s overwhelming spiritual pressure. They could only stand guard from a distance. But Xue Yinhua, watching the man in front of him, still felt that Lu Taipan probably wouldn’t go berserk—

As long as Su Liang was okay.

If Su Liang really had a problem, Xue Yinhua figured, no matter how hard they resisted, none of them would survive a single strike from Lu Taipan.

Unintentionally, Xue Yinhua thought of that young master still lying in the intensive care unit. Even though he had no fondness for the guy, thinking about his current miserable state still made Xue Yinhua feel a little scared.

Fortunately—just as everyone’s mental pressure was about to reach its limit, the sealed door of the treatment room finally opened.

“Lord Serpent…”

The medical officer in a white coat staggered slightly as he stepped out. Even though he was a Beta, he was still affected by the spiritual pressure released by the Lord of the Serpent Nest—he could barely breathe.

Thankfully, Lu Taipan immediately restrained his leaking spiritual power, allowing the medical officer to breathe normally.

The Serpent Lord stood up and fixed his eyes on the medical officer.

“Report.”

He ordered.

“Master Su Liang’s condition is very stable. He just had an extremely severe allergic reaction to Master Lu Zhizhao’s pheromones. He’s not in any life-threatening danger. However…”

The medical officer carefully chose his words while watching Lu Taipan.

“However?!”

“Considering how unusually severe his allergic reaction was, we conducted a more in-depth physical examination to rule out any hidden risks. After comparing it with detailed medical records previously sent from the Serpent Nest, we discovered that there had been a major error in the past judgment of Master Su Liang’s secondary gender.”

“He’s not a Beta. He’s an Omega with an extremely rare differentiation type.”

The medical officer pushed his glasses up his nose. Fine sweat dotted his skin. He looked both nervous and excited.

“His classification is so unique that the instruments kept misreading his data. Although I don’t usually like to use such non-academic terms for classification, in this case, it might make things clearer—Master Su Liang’s current differentiation is very close to the public mythological concept of a ‘Sigma’.”

“Sigma?”

Lu Taipan’s eyes sharpened immediately. He looked coldly at the medical officer, carefully assessing his mental state.

He had to confirm the doctor hadn’t gone insane.

Sigma—also known as the Omega of Omegas.

Sigmas possessed extremely powerful spiritual strength. Once bonded with a partner, that partner’s spiritual power would receive an unlimited boost. Most remarkably, the partner would never again have to worry about spiritual sea collapse due to mental overload. Sigma’s spiritual force perfectly compensated for this natural flaw in high-level Alphas.

In legend, Sigmas also had almost succubus-like physiques. Being bonded to one meant experiencing pleasure beyond human imagination. Most importantly, unlike regular Omegas, Sigmas had a unique trait:

They could be marked by any gender—not just Alphas.

Under the right conditions, even Betas or other Omegas could permanently mark them like an Alpha could.

Additionally, they were said to be extremely fertile, giving birth easily, and their offspring were all born with top-level spiritual rankings.

However—no matter how magical or idealized Sigmas sounded, to most people, it was meaningless.

Because Sigmas were considered mythical creatures—like centaurs or mermaids imagined by ancient humans. It was just a fantasy turned into fiction.

But now—Lu Taipan stood before his trusted medical officer and heard him say:

Su Liang is a Sigma.

“You’re sure?”

After confirming the medical officer was completely sane and confident in his words, Lu Taipan finally asked calmly.

He paused, then quickly added: “If he’s a Sigma, does that pose any risk to his body? He was attacked earlier and showed severe symptoms. He’s been in the treatment room far longer than standard recovery time.”

“Actually, that’s what I wanted to report next.”

The medical officer’s expression turned serious.

“Previously, we thought Master Su Liang had completed his differentiation. But because he’s a very high-level and uniquely-typed Omega, his differentiation has actually been ongoing. During today’s deeper body scan, we discovered he’s developing a gestation sac.”

“Master Su Liang is already an adult. But now, his mature body is growing a brand new organ. This puts a major burden on him, and his pheromone state is extremely unstable and sensitive. Yet in this state, he was attacked by another Alpha—and had a severe allergy to that Alpha’s pheromones. If we don’t start treatment immediately, his differentiation may be damaged.”

Lu Taipan, who had managed to stay calm when hearing Su Liang was a Sigma, now changed expression at this.

“What kind of damage? Will it harm his health? Why haven’t you already started treatment?!”

“The gestation sac is an extremely sensitive organ for Omegas. Any external drug stimulation could interfere with its normal growth. Once it’s damaged or doesn’t develop fully, the Omega’s differentiation will be incomplete—this can cause serious pheromone disorders, like pheromone instability. Lord Serpent, no one understands the pain of that condition better than you. We must avoid that outcome.”

“Especially since Master Su Liang is growing a gestation sac as an adult—regular treatment methods are no longer suitable. The only feasible method now is natural therapy.”

The medical officer glanced at the Serpent Lord and gave a small cough.

“That is—an Alpha with extremely high compatibility with Master Su Liang must release a small amount of natural pheromones or give a temporary mark to suppress the allergen and regulate his Omega pheromone flow…”

Lu Taipan was stunned for a moment.

The medical officer added, “Of course, natural therapy also carries risk. I checked Master Su Liang’s previous treatment records. He has already undergone several small-scale pheromone release therapies—and the provider each time was… you.”

“This means that even if you suppress this current allergy, there’s a high chance he’ll develop pheromone dependence on you, especially since his body hasn’t fully matured yet.”

“His case is very unique. We can’t give a clear estimate on when his differentiation will complete—it could be months, even years. During that time, he might display intense dependence and craving for you.”

The medical officer cautiously observed the Alpha before him and then finished his explanation with a complex expression:

“Since both treatment options have serious side effects, we need Master Su Liang—and you—to discuss and make the final decision together.”

“I understand.”

Lu Taipan said in a deep voice.

Then he looked at the treatment room door.

“How is he now? Can I go see him?”

“We’ve temporarily alleviated the allergic reaction, but I think Master Su Liang is still very weak. The effect of the surface-level suppressants won’t last long, and he’s likely still unconscious. You may go in and see him, but if anything seems wrong, please call us immediately.”

After speaking, the medical officer quickly stepped aside.

Lu Taipan straightened his back, but his steps were slightly hurried as he entered the treatment room.

---

Pinky says: Heheh….. Sigma.