Chapter 40: Chapter 38: Shen Zueran’s Heated Seduction

It felt as if a giant hand was crushing his heart, leaving a bitter, aching sensation.

An unnamed resentment surged wildly within him.

’Who the hell was Su Xingye?’

’He was the one closest to Yu Lan now.’

’Yu Lan had come to the Science Research Institute because of *him*.’

’So why was Su Xingye the first one to have intimate contact with her?’

Flames of resentment and jealousy burned in his heart, growing into an overwhelming, twisted inferno.

It even threatened to reignite the rut he had fought so hard to suppress.

Rationally, Shen Zueran knew he needed to calm down immediately. He couldn’t let his thoughts spiral any further.

’If he kept this up, his spiritual power would collapse and he’d go insane.’

But...

’I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.’

’When Su Xingye went into his rut, Yu Lan couldn’t bear to let an Imperial Major General fall, so she went to help him.’

’So what about him?’

’The Director of the Empire Research Institute.’

’Her current, and best, lab partner.’

’If he went into his rut, would Yu Lan soothe him?’

’She would, wouldn’t she?’

’The beautiful little female was so gentle, soft, and kind. Of course she would.’

He thought of her hands, small and smoother than the softest clouds.

Her body, which carried a sweet scent, softer and more intoxicating than the finest honey.

The antlers at Shen Zueran’s temples lingered for longer and longer.

’No, no, no.’

Then, another thought struck Shen Zueran.

’I can’t go into my rut at home.’

’If my rut starts at home, I won’t be able to leave.’

’A male in his rut must stay away from other people.’

’What if Yu Lan never finds out I’m in my rut?’

’Then... I’ll just let it happen in the lab. Right in front of Yu Lan.’

’The soft, kind, beautiful female would surely help him.’

The usually cool and aloof Shen Zueran snapped his eyes open, a flicker of madness in their dark depths.

He rose from the bed and slammed his fist into the hard, cold wall.

Fresh blood streamed from his knuckles.

Instead of pain, a look of exhilarated satisfaction flashed across Shen Zueran’s face.

He was trying to use pain to suppress the onset of his rut.

What a madman.

A male desperate for a female’s attention was capable of anything, stopping at nothing to get it.

Meanwhile...

Yu Lan slept on, completely oblivious.

*

The next morning.

Pale-faced, but with a faint hint of exhilaration in his expression, a neatly dressed Shen Zueran walked out of his villa and boarded a hovercar.

No one could have known what mad thoughts were churning inside the mind of the outwardly aloof, calm, and self-possessed Scientific Research Institute Director.

And Yu Lan, who shared a lab with Shen Zueran, was even more in the dark.

Having gotten home late the previous night, Yu Lan felt a pang of guilt toward the big lion when she woke up. She spent extra time playing with him before finally leaving the house.

This led to a situation where...

Clock-in at the Science Research Institute was at 9 AM.

Yu Lan arrived at 8:59:59.

"HUFF! PUFF! HUFF!"

Flushed from her sprint, the beautiful female was panting, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She placed a small hand over her heart, patting it gently to calm her breathing.

Shen Zueran, who had arrived at the lab early to wait for her, watched this scene unfold and found her unbearably cute.

From her faintly flushed cheeks to her moist, honey-scented lips, everything about her was utterly tempting.

In contrast,

Yu Lan’s reaction to seeing Shen Zueran was entirely different.

"D-Director, you’re here."

Usually, Shen Zueran had all sorts of other matters to attend to and rarely spent much time in the lab.

Yu Lan never expected to be caught red-handed by Shen Zueran the very first time she cut it this close.

Her already pink cheeks flushed an even deeper red. A hint of shyness flickered in her round, amber-colored almond eyes, and she pressed her lips together, looking thoroughly embarrassed.

"Yes, I just got here."

Shen Zueran let out a low chuckle.

It sent a slight vibration through his chest, making his already pleasant, deep, and magnetic voice sound even more melodious.

His laugh made Yu Lan’s face turn even redder.

Her pretty cheeks puffed out as she rushed to explain to Shen Zueran:

"I’m usually early. Today was just an exception."

To her surprise, Shen Zueran was incredibly understanding. Far from scolding her, he simply nodded in approval.

"I know. You had a long day yesterday. I read your lab report; it was very meticulous."

"Lanlan, you’re a hero of the Empire. It would have been fine even if you hadn’t come in today."

"But you came anyway."

"Lanlan, you’re brilliant. I was honored to be able to invite you to join the Science Research Institute, and you are my pride."

He was openly praising her research and taking pride in it.

Yu Lan’s cheeks flushed.

’Why is Shen Zueran being so sweet today?’

The beautiful female had no idea that the mind of the cool, rational, elite male before her was completely consumed with thoughts of how he could get close to her, to hold her.

"Come on in."

Shen Zueran said softly, his dark eyes fixed gently on Yu Lan.

"We still have far too few experimental samples."

"We need to run several more test groups today, record the data, and figure out our next steps for the research."

Just as he’d expected, the moment research was mentioned, Yu Lan’s pretty face turned serious.

She walked up to Shen Zueran’s side, fully engaged, and offered her own hypothesis:

"I believe the current soothing agent needs to be graded."

"We should be providing different formulations matched to the spiritual power Level of each male."

"Take Su Xingye yesterday, for example." At the mention of his name, Yu Lan blushed again, but she pushed through her embarrassment and continued.

"Giving the agent to Durant, who has A-level spiritual power, reduced his spiritual power collapse from 91% to 89%."

"But when we injected Su Xingye, who has a 3S-level, with an agent of the same parameters, it didn’t produce the same results."

"Maybe we should be carefully documenting exactly which component is the key influencing factor."

"If we can identify it, we might be able to create a soothing agent that truly helps males get through their ruts safely."

"Instead of just forcibly suppressing it like we do now."

"Then, all males could freely choose a female they actually like, instead of being forced together just to alleviate spiritual power collapse."

As Yu Lan described this imagined future, her eyes began to shine, her beautiful amber pupils filled with longing.

Watching her, Shen Zueran felt the fire inside him burn even hotter.

’A Yu Lan this kind and beautiful... how could he not love her?’

’How could he not be utterly captivated?’

"Director, am I right?"

Yu Lan’s gaze fell on Shen Zueran.

Suddenly, Shen Zueran let out a muffled groan and collapsed to his knees before the lab bench, as if he could no longer stand.

He looked up at Yu Lan, his dark eyes moist and filled with trust.

"Lanlan, I believe everything you’ve said."

"I’ll support you in continuing this experiment."

"Director, what’s wrong with you?"

Yu Lan was completely stunned to see Shen Zueran suddenly collapse to his knees.

She rushed forward to help him up.

The moment her delicate hand touched Shen Zueran’s shoulder, she realized with a jolt that his body was scorching hot, the heat radiating through the thin fabric of his clothes.

And then,

Shen Zueran’s voice, hoarse and strained with suppression, rasped out.

"Lanlan, I’m in my rut."