When Yang Liu entered the classroom, Pang Cai was stumbling to get up from the floor, a trail of blood still dripping from his nose.

He wiped the blood from under his nose and glared at Chu Tao with bloodshot eyes.

Chu Tao stood in front of him, panting heavily, the zipper of his school uniform undone, his clothes hanging loosely on him.

But his complexion was still pale, and he had no injuries. He kept his head slightly lowered, lifting his eyelids in a contemptuous glance at Pang Cai.

If Pang Cai made any move, he would immediately step forward and beat him again without hesitation.

Pang Cai, now defeated, could only glare, seeing no one to support him, and he dared not continue fighting Chu Tao.

He hadn’t expected that a weak-looking guy, who seemed to have just recently evolved to an Alpha, would have such swift fighting skills.

An Alpha, why would he even learn Taekwondo? Damn!

The back rows of the classroom were a mess—desks were crooked, and people had gathered to watch the commotion. Exercise books, pens, and crumpled pieces of paper were scattered everywhere.

The entire classroom looked like a chaotic marketplace from a historical drama, with no discipline whatsoever.

Yang Liu shrieked, her voice sharp, “What’s going on?! Are you trying to rebel or something?!”

Chu Tao reined in his hostility, pulling his gaze from Pang Cai, and turned to walk toward the podium.

The students silently parted to make way for him, their expressions subtly changing.

Chu Tao took a quick glance with the corner of his eye and realized that, at this moment, he had truly integrated into this class.

He stopped in front of Yang Liu, calmly stating, “This person broke my chair and left some shoe prints on it, trying to show me who’s in charge. I dealt with him.”

Yang Liu looked at Chu Tao, paused for a few seconds in silence, then coldly said, “Go outside.”

Chu Tao hesitated, nodded, and walked directly toward the door.

Jiang She’s gaze followed him all the way until he pulled the door open and left.

Yang Liu glanced at the timid and disheveled Pang Cai, rolled her eyes, and said, “Find someone to accompany him to the infirmary, and everyone else, tidy up the tables and clean the floor. The math teacher will be here soon.”

No one moved.

Yang Liu yelled irritably, “Did you hear me?”

Only then did everyone begin to move.

This group of alphas couldn’t stand Yang Liu’s screams.

Yang Liu was a woman, and an Omega at that, which made her the most delicate creature in this world.

The school had assigned her to manage the class, knowing these alphas wouldn’t dare act too recklessly in front of her.

If anyone were to bully a female Omega, it would be a disgrace.

Yang Liu’s gaze shifted back to Jiang She, and she looked at him with suspicion, asking, “Jiang She, does this have anything to do with you?”

Jiang She helplessly spread his hands, lazily responding, “You can’t blame every messy thing on me.”

Seeing that Jiang She wasn’t at the center of the conflict, Yang Liu withdrew her gaze and sternly monitored everyone as they cleaned up the desks and chairs.

Fang Sheng leaned toward Jiang She and whispered, “It seems like Teacher Yang really likes Chu Tao. Why else would she let him stand outside?”

Jiang She chuckled lightly, “She’s protecting him. She knows Pang Cai’s family isn’t easy to deal with and fears that Pang Cai might cause trouble for Chu Tao in the future, so she’s giving him face first.”

Fang Sheng clicked his tongue. “Teacher Yang is quite thoughtful.”

Jiang She said, “You go change Chu Tao’s chair.”

Fang Sheng paused, puzzled, and asked, “Why do I have to change it?”

Jiang She raised an eyebrow and countered, “Does this have nothing to do with you?”

Fang Sheng muttered, “I think you’re nicer to Chu Tao than to me.”

He grumbled as he reluctantly pulled out the broken chair and replaced it with a good one in front of Chu Tao’s desk.

Chu Tao stood outside the classroom, rubbing his face hard.

His blood flow gradually calmed down, and his breathing became steadier.

This was the first time in his school life that he had been sent outside to stand as punishment.

He hadn’t known what it felt like before and thought it was the most humiliating thing in the world.

But now, all he felt was how unusually quiet and cool it was outside, clearing his mind like never before.

In the center of Building C at Huainan No. 1 High School, there was a huge sky window. Leaning on the railing, one could see the ground floor below.

Two red banners hung down from the top floor, dozens of meters long, with words like “Strive Hard” written on them.

Chu Tao leaned against the wall, adjusting his disheveled uniform.

Since he switched classes, his uniform had often been a mess.

Fortunately, he quickly realized the situation—survival rules in this class full of wild students were different from those in an ordinary class.

He didn’t have to be too patient or restrained. The more he held back, the more people disregarded him.

Now, he was extremely glad he had learned Taekwondo for five years.

Although it wasn’t for his own sake.

Chu Xingning had poor health and looked good, so their parents were worried he’d be bullied and sent him to learn Taekwondo—partly to improve his health, and partly to protect himself.

Chu Tao only went along as a training partner for his older brother.

In the first year, their parents only paid the tuition for Chu Xingning, so Chu Tao couldn’t attend classes. He could only stand outside with the other parents and watch the coach teach the children how to punch and kick.

Bored, he secretly followed along to learn.

Chu Xingning’s moves were always soft and lacked aggression.

Other kids could kick the target pads that the coach held, but Chu Xingning couldn’t.

Chu Tao, anxious, took advantage of the break time and asked to try.

He wasn’t usually brave enough to step forward because he knew he hadn’t paid for classes, so he didn’t think he had the right to speak with the coach.

But the coach was kind and, knowing he was Chu Xingning’s younger brother, allowed him to try two kicks.

Chu Tao kicked better and more accurately than any of the trained children.

The coach, impressed, couldn’t help but tell Song Mian and Chu Jiangmin, “Your kid is really talented! He’s very flexible, almost like he’s studied dance. Maybe you should let him train as well.”

Song Mian felt conflicted. She thought it would be unfair to pay for two sets of classes.

If Chu Tao could kick so well just by watching, then he didn’t really need to pay for lessons.

At that time, Chu Tao wasn’t particularly interested in Taekwondo, but Song Mian’s hesitation made his heart ache a little.

Later, when he ranked in the top five in his grade, Song Mian asked what reward he wanted, and he said he wanted to learn Taekwondo.

This might have been the only time he subtly resisted his family when he was young.

The class began the math lesson, and the teacher started explaining derivative functions.

Chu Tao had already previewed the lesson, but since he couldn’t see the blackboard outside, he couldn’t remember some of the formulas clearly.

After listening for a while, he realized he couldn’t keep up, so he stopped struggling.

He decided to just look at the tutoring book after class.

Chu Tao closed his eyes for a moment, squatting by the wall.

His fists clenched, and he felt an itch and pain on the back of his hands.

Looking at them, he noticed shallow cracks had formed, almost magnifying every wrinkle in his skin.

He didn’t like to apply hand cream in winter and had been washing his hands with cold water, and after the fight, his skin had become even drier.

Chu Tao frowned and placed his palm against the back of his hand, using the warmth from his palm to soothe the cold skin.

“Hey, are you from Class Three?”

Hearing the voice, Chu Tao looked up.

He saw a petite Omega with big eyes.

He knew the person was an Omega because they weren’t using suppressants.

The sweet scent of their pheromones spread freely.

The person looked down, crossing their arms and giving Chu Tao a disdainful look.

The person was indeed good-looking, and their pheromones smelled nice, but unfortunately, although Chu Tao was physically an Alpha, he had no interest in Omegas at all.

But if it were another Alpha, one couldn’t be sure that they wouldn’t have other thoughts about this bold and daring Omega.

“Is there something you need?” Chu Tao said indifferently.

Su Jingtong was momentarily stunned by Chu Tao’s appearance.

Anyone who could attend class in the Class 3 was surely an Alpha, but this Alpha was really good-looking, almost too good-looking to be an Omega.

Clearing his throat, Su Jingtong said proudly, “I’m Jiang She’s boyfriend.”

Chu Tao lazily lowered his eyes and said impatiently, “Oh.”

Su Jingtong was shocked.

When others knew about his relationship with Jiang She, they would usually treat him a bit better, but this person clearly didn’t care at all about Jiang She.

How could anyone in the class 3 treat Jiang She like this?

In disbelief, Su Jingtong asked, “You know who Jiang She is, right?”

Chu Tao responded impatiently, “He’s the person sitting behind me.”

Su Jingtong froze for a moment.

High school boys loved sports, and the basketball and soccer fields at the school were almost always packed.

Jiang She disliked the sweaty scent of others and hated having anyone block his view, so the seat in front of him was always empty.

This person could actually sit in front of Jiang She?

Su Jingtong couldn’t figure out his background, so he cautiously said, “I made cherry cake for Ah She. Could you take it to him and tell him I’m waiting for him outside the lecture hall?”

Outside the lecture hall, there were rows of thick, round support pillars, creating secluded spaces perfect for couples to whisper to each other or engage in intimate acts.

Chu Tao was already annoyed and didn’t feel like listening to this couple’s love talk.

“Why should I help you? You take it to him yourself.”

Su Jingtong had never encountered such a blunt refusal from an Alpha before.

Moreover, he hadn’t sprayed suppressant, and his pheromones were freely attracting the attention of nearby Alphas.

“What’s your attitude! I’m Ah She’s boyfriend!” Su Jingtong said, his voice rising in frustration.

The classroom walls weren’t very soundproof.

Chu Tao could hear the lecture inside, and naturally, they could hear his conversation with Su Jingtong.

He had already been called out to stand as punishment and didn’t want to cause trouble or add more issues for the teacher.

Chu Tao took a deep breath, feeling he could no longer endure.

Sure enough, idiots really are made for each other.

One made him wash clothes by hand, the other treated him like a servant.

Chu Tao pushed against his knee, stood up, and leaned against the wall.

He glanced at Su Jingtong with a sharp look in his eyes: “You…”

Just then, the classroom door was kicked open from the inside, the door swayed twice and slid helplessly to the side, while the plastic glass on the door trembled.

Jiang She walked out with a dark expression, his face cold as he struggled to hold back his anger.

“Who the hell is your boyfriend?!”

Chu Tao: “…”

His words were cut short because he realized that Jiang She’s statement had far more impact than his own.

Su Jingtong immediately reddened, stammering, “Ah She…”

Jiang She glanced at him and then glared back at Su Jingtong, “Get lost, don’t come looking for me again.”

Su Jingtong flinched and tugged at Jiang She’s sleeve. “Ah She, I really don’t like Liang Yitian, it’s because you won’t mark me, I just wanted to make you jealous… I really do love you.”

Chu Tao rolled his eyes inwardly.

A classic case of a “white lotus”^[1]Internet slang in china means, girls who are innocent looking but with an evil heart logic.

Jiang She sneered. “Who do you think you are? Am I your husband? Why should I mark you?”

Su Jingtong mumbled, “Ah She, didn’t you always like my pheromones?”

Jiang She shook off his hand, his eyes filled with a cold, sharp edge. “Tch, stay away from me, your pheromones are suffocating.”

Chu Tao silently agreed.

It was suffocating to him too.

Not only did this person not spray suppressants, but they also wore perfume.

The blend of pheromones with the heavy scent of essential oils made him feel nauseous.

Su Jingtong, startled by Jiang She’s glare, nearly dropped the cake in his hand.

In fact, when he was with Jiang She, Jiang She never really paid him much attention.

He constantly walked around Jiang She’s vicinity without using a suppressant—any Alpha would understand what that meant.

But Jiang She was always polite to him, never marking him and always sticking with Fang Sheng and Xu Yuan.

Su Jingtong rarely had the chance to be alone with Jiang She.

He had truly staged the drama with Liang Yitian just to provoke Jiang She.

He hadn’t expected that Jiang She wouldn’t give him a single chance.

Previously, Liang Yitian had said that he and Jiang She would never last—he wasn’t as good-looking as Chu Xingning, nor as talented as Fu Kaiyi. The Jiang family would never accept someone like him.

Now, it seemed Liang Yitian was right.

Su Jingtong trembled, crushing the cake in his bag before turning and running away.

Chu Tao felt that the world had finally quieted down, and the tense nerves in his body could finally relax.

However, Jiang She didn’t return to the classroom immediately. Instead, he glanced sideways at Chu Tao.

Chu Tao, half-closed eyes, felt that Jiang She was a bit baffling.

Why hadn’t he gone back yet?

Was it not warm enough in the classroom, or was the chair uncomfortable?

He really didn’t know how to appreciate what he had.

Jiang She suddenly spoke irritably. “I’m single.”

Chu Tao: “Hmm.”

Hmm???

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The author’s note: Chu Tao: “What does this have to do with me?”