Wei Xiaochi tightened his grip on the pen in his hand and said slowly, “Is there something that can’t be said over the phone?”

“Come out,” Jiang Zhan paused for a moment, then said, “Wei Xiaochi, come out.”

This was the first time Wei Xiaochi heard Jiang Zhan call his name. He froze for a second, but still said nothing.

After a while, Wei Xiaochi heard him say, “I want to see you.”

Wei Xiaochi’s lashes, half-hidden, fluttered slightly as his pale lips tightened.

“Come out.”

Jiang Zhan’s deep voice flowed into the night, carrying an inexplicable persistence and a hint of grievance.

Wei Xiaochi was wearing loose home clothes. When he reached the gate of the community, he saw Jiang Zhan waiting there.

Jiang Zhan was dressed in the same dove-gray leisurewear from the morning, the structured fit accentuating the broad shoulders and narrow waist typical of an Alpha. His long legs looked almost unreal, and he wore a pair of white sneakers that exposed a handsome ankle bone.

When their eyes met, Wei Xiaochi quickly averted his gaze, keeping a distance from Jiang Zhan.

He pushed his glasses up and quietly asked, “Is there something going on this late?”

Jiang Zhan didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped forward and shoved something into Wei Xiaochi’s arms.

It was a backpack, heavy with weight. Wei Xiaochi held it close to his chest, feeling the burden as his arms drooped slightly.

—What’s this?

The community gate was lit by a dim yellow streetlight. The Alpha’s strong features cast a shadow under the light as he looked down at the cracked pavement, awkwardly muttering, “It’s for you.”

The backpack weighed at least six or seven kilograms. Although Wei Xiaochi had no idea what was inside, he didn’t want to accept any more gifts from Jiang Zhan.

The more he accepted, the more he owed.

“Thanks.” Wei Xiaochi tried to give the bag back to Jiang Zhan, “But I don’t need it, I’m fine.”

Jiang Zhan pushed it back into Wei Xiaochi’s arms, placing his hand firmly on Wei Xiaochi’s wrist, not allowing him to push the bag away again.

Wei Xiaochi was forced to hold onto the backpack, staring at the four fingers on the back of his hand. Jiang Zhan’s fingers were long and well-defined, with a faint orange glow on his fingertips.

His index finger restlessly scratched the back of Wei Xiaochi’s hand, rubbing it gently now and then, like an immature child trying to get attention.

“I didn’t say…” Jiang Zhan suddenly spoke.

His tone was stiff, “I didn’t say… you smell… bad.”

If not for the awkwardness in his voice, it would have sounded like a weak excuse.

Wei Xiaochi fell silent, finally understanding why Jiang Zhan came out this late. It must have been about what happened on the rooftop earlier this morning.

Wei Xiaochi couldn’t quite process his feelings at that moment.

Jiang Zhan specifically came over for this, meaning he wasn’t trying to humiliate him. Wei Xiaochi could only say that he was unlucky to have this pheromone.

“It’s none of your business.”

The loose clothes draped over the Omega’s form, making him look frail, pale, and self-conscious.

Wei Xiaochi shook his head lightly, his usual cautious demeanor apparent, “The scent of valerian is indeed unpleasant.”

Jiang Zhan’s heart felt like it was pricked by something, his body tensing up to the limit. The sharp ridges of his shoulder blades almost broke through his skin.

He watched Wei Xiaochi’s breath quicken, deep wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes, his pupils shrinking, and his straight nose became damp with a layer of cold sweat in just a few seconds.

Wei Xiaochi immediately noticed something was off with Jiang Zhan. “What’s wrong with you?”

Jiang Zhan was breathing heavily, his eyes bloodshot. He shakily pulled out a syringe and skillfully jabbed it into the vein of his neck.

As his A-level slowly declined and his rationality returned, Jiang Zhan lowered his head, pressing his forehead gently against Wei Xiaochi’s, resting it on his brow.

Sensing the Alpha’s fatigue, Wei Xiaochi’s fingers twitched, but his heart was like a clear mirror. “Was the Alpha sent to the hospital this morning… was it you?”

Though it was a question, Wei Xiaochi already knew the answer in his heart.

Jiang Zhan didn’t answer. His voice was soft, almost dripping with moisture as bubbles of air escaped, “I lied this morning… you don’t smell bad.”

Wei Xiaochi froze for a moment.

Jiang Zhan reached up, removing Wei Xiaochi’s glasses with his hand. His fingers left faint red marks, the tips burning hot as they brushed over Wei Xiaochi’s nose bridge, leaving an abnormal warmth.

Wei Xiaochi’s world immediately blurred.

Then, Jiang Zhan’s palm pressed against his eyes, and Wei Xiaochi was completely engulfed in darkness.

Jiang Zhan leaned in, his nose grazing the crown of Wei Xiaochi’s head, sniffing like he was inhaling a blooming flower, gently taking in the scent.

“It’s comfortable.” Jiang Zhan rested his chin on Wei Xiaochi’s head, his voice firm as he said, “The scent’s very comfortable, not unpleasant at all. I was just talking nonsense earlier.”

Wei Xiaochi swallowed hard, his throat tight, “I looked it up online… it’s not a nice scent. You don’t need to comfort me.”

“I’m not comforting you.” It’s just very nice.

Wei Xiaochi pressed his lips together, “Then why did you say that this morning?”

“Don’t bring up my mistakes!”

“…”

“I was sick at the time, my mind wasn’t clear, I didn’t know what I was saying.”

“…”

Fine.

After that, neither of them spoke. The atmosphere grew quiet and awkward.

Especially for Wei Xiaochi, with his eyes still covered by Jiang Zhan’s hand, and the closeness felt strange.

A minute later, Wei Xiaochi couldn’t hold it in anymore and spoke up, “Uh, can you let go of me?”

Jiang Zhan lowered his head to sniff him again before reluctantly releasing his hand.

Wei Xiaochi stood stiffly in place, watching as Jiang Zhan bent down to awkwardly put his glasses back on.

They were at eye level now. As soon as Wei Xiaochi looked up, their gazes would meet. Feeling uncomfortable, he quickly turned his head away.

Once the glasses were back in place, Jiang Zhan still didn’t pull away, maintaining their proximity.

Wei Xiaochi looked at him, and Jiang Zhan immediately turned his face away.

But then, as if remembering something, Jiang Zhan silently turned back, gazing at Wei Xiaochi with a low, muffled voice, “I have to go back to the hospital.”

Wei Xiaochi was startled. He hadn’t expected that Jiang Zhan had “escaped” from the hospital. Judging by his earlier symptoms, he clearly hadn’t recovered.

“Okay,” Wei Xiaochi quickly nodded, “Be careful on the way.”

Jiang Zhan, clearly displeased, lowered his gaze without saying anything, then turned and walked away.

Wei Xiaochi was still holding the heavy bundle in his arms and quickly called out to Jiang Zhan.

The man’s ear twitched, and he quickly turned around, feigning indifference as he asked, “What is it?”

Wei Xiaochi stepped forward, holding out the bag. “Take it back, I really don’t need it.”

Jiang Zhan’s brows twitched, but before Wei Xiaochi could reach him, he threw a tantrum and walked away.

Wei Xiaochi stared blankly at him, watching as he disappeared into the darkness.

What a spoiled young master.

Wei Xiaochi sighed and took the bag back home.

The lighting in this old neighborhood was poor, so Wei Xiaochi fumbled his way back, turning a corner around a flower bed. Suddenly, two hands reached out from behind and pulled him backward.

Wei Xiaochi’s eyes widened, and he leaned back against a broad, solid chest. The bag slipped from his hands, hitting the ground with a muffled thud.

The person behind him held him tightly, and Wei Xiaochi could even hear the chaotic pounding of his heart.

It was Jiang Zhan.

Wei Xiaochi could smell his pheromones now.

The Alpha’s scent was strange. Wei Xiaochi couldn’t describe it. It was like burning alcohol in the throat, like the scorching sun, like blue flames.

It was the kind of intense, fiery scent that matched him perfectly, but it was indescribable.

Jiang Zhan hugged Wei Xiaochi, burying his face into his neck like a child.

The embrace felt similar to when Wei Xiaochi had his first heat in the locker room. He didn’t know what was going on, but something was definitely off.

The brooding Alpha suddenly nuzzled his neck, gently, affectionately, with a lingering sense of attachment. Wei Xiaochi swallowed hard.

“What’s wrong with you?” Wei Xiaochi asked.

Jiang Zhan didn’t answer, but muttered instead, “I’ve been waiting on the rooftop for you, and you never came back.”

Was it his imagination? But Wei Xiaochi swore he heard a hint of grievance in the accusation. His lips moved, but he didn’t know what to say.

It was clearly Jiang Zhan who had hurt his feelings first, so why was it his fault now?

Not receiving a response from the Omega, Jiang Zhan became dissatisfied and nuzzled Wei Xiaochi again with his nose.

His sharp nose slid over Wei Xiaochi’s Adam’s apple, and Wei Xiaochi instinctively shrank away, stunned by the Alpha’s clingy behavior.

“You… are you in your heat period?”

Aside from that possibility, Wei Xiaochi couldn’t explain Jiang Zhan’s actions right now.

It was said that during the heat period, an Alpha’s personality could drastically change. Some might even become emotional wrecks.

Some became clingy, others acted cute, some even whined or turned into little green teas.

In short, they were unpredictable, with all sorts of strange behaviors. Wei Xiaochi had learned this while researching a while ago, and he was stunned at the time.

The person behind him remained silent, simply burying his face deeper into Wei Xiaochi’s neck.

“…”

It seemed Jiang Zhan had indeed entered his heat period, or else he wouldn’t be acting so strangely.

After seeing Jiang Zhan off, Wei Xiaochi absentmindedly rubbed his neck where his glands were.

Earlier, Jiang Zhan’s nose had been rubbing around his glands, making Wei Xiaochi’s neck feel a little warm.

The bag of stuff Jiang Zhan had given him still wasn’t taken back. Wei Xiaochi carried it back upstairs, feeling both sore and heavy in his arms.

What on earth was in it?

Once he got back to his room and shut the door, Wei Xiaochi opened the zipper. He froze when he saw what was inside, then dumped it all onto his bed.

A variety of chocolates covered the entire bed.

The bag was a standard school backpack, the classic black style, and it was huge. It was packed full of chocolates, weighing at least six or seven kilos.

Once food is sold, it can’t be returned unless there’s a quality issue.

Wei Xiaochi had enough common sense to know this, so when he saw the mountain of chocolates, he sighed.

Why did Jiang Zhan buy him so much chocolate?

Wei Xiaochi picked up one chocolate ball that had rolled to the edge of the bed. He recognized the brand—this wasn’t cheap chocolate, it was even more expensive than the regular brands, like the ones from Dé Fu.

Wei Xiaochi counted the chocolate balls, there were 89 of them, and this was only part of the chocolate mountain.

Jiang Zhan never did things halfway—he always bought a whole pile of things at once.

Ugh.

Jiang Zhan specifically waited until after the nurse had checked on him before he slipped out of the hospital to find Wei Xiaochi.

He quietly came back, not disturbing anyone.

Jiang Zhan’s phone had been confiscated by the homeroom teacher, and his new phone didn’t have anyone’s numbers saved. He only remembered Wei Xiaochi’s and his sister’s numbers.

Slipping into his slippers, Jiang Zhan sat on the couch and called his sister.

After a short while, the call was answered, and a cool voice came through, “What’s up? I can’t imagine this phone call is for anything good. Come on, tell me, what trouble are you in now?”

It was said that the eldest sister is like a mother, and this phrase perfectly described Jiang Zhan’s relationship with his sister, Jiang Tang.

Jiang Tang was twelve years older than Jiang Zhan. Their parents were older when they had Jiang Zhan, and both of them were busy with work, so they didn’t have much time to raise him.

Whenever there was a parents’ meeting at school, it was always Jiang Tang who went instead of their parents.

“I didn’t get into any trouble, I just wanted to ask if you know anyone who makes perfume?”

Jiang Tang, who was putting on her delicate lipstick, scoffed, “What do you mean, ‘makes perfume’? You mean a perfumer, not some country bumpkin.”

“I know quite a few.” Jiang Tang was puzzled. “But why are you looking for a perfumer?”

Just then, a child’s voice came over, “Mom, is that a call for ‘Qiu Qiu’?”

Jiang Tang responded with an ‘mm’, “It’s your uncle’s call.”

Soon, a little girl took over the phone, “Qiu Qiu.”

Jiang Zhan sighed, “You idiot, it’s your uncle.”

“Qiu Qiu.”

“Uncle.”

“Qiu Qiu.”

“You fool, it’s your uncle.”

Jiang Tang rolled her eyes as she watched them argue over “uncle Qiu Qiu” for over a minute.

Just as they were arguing, Jiang Zhan’s phone buzzed twice. He lazily lifted his eyelids and saw that it was Wei Xiaochi calling.

He quickly hit the answer button before Wei Xiaochi hung up.

When Wei Xiaochi dialed, a mechanical female voice reminded him that the user he was calling was already on another call. He didn’t know that Jiang Zhan had already picked up and quickly hung up.

Just two seconds after he hung up, his phone vibrated again.

Jiang Zhan, annoyed, said, “Why’d you hang up?”

“Did you pick up?” Wei Xiaochi was stunned, regretting not checking before hanging up. He had wasted nine cents.

His plan was to get the cheapest phone plan, which didn’t include any bonus talk time, so receiving calls didn’t cost anything, but making calls was nine cents per minute.

Wei Xiaochi didn’t dwell on it too much and asked Jiang Zhan, “Did you go back to your room?”

Jiang Zhan gave a restrained “mm.”

Lying on his back on the couch, Jiang Zhan placed his hand on his nose, where he could still detect a faint trace of Wei Xiaochi’s pheromones.

Now that he knew Jiang Zhan had returned to the hospital, Wei Xiaochi felt relieved.

Glancing at the pile of chocolates on the bed, Wei Xiaochi casually picked up a handful. “I opened the bag, and it’s all chocolate. There’s too much, I can’t eat it all.”

Jiang Zhan’s usual response came, “Try to eat as much as you can.”

For the past few days, they had been eating lunch together, and Jiang Zhan often gave Wei Xiaochi half of his food.

When Wei Xiaochi said he couldn’t finish it, Jiang Zhan would always say, “Try to eat.”

But even trying, Wei Xiaochi couldn’t possibly finish so many chocolates. Eating ten a day would still take a long time.

Jiang Zhan didn’t want to waste time talking about chocolates. He was more interested in the person who had given Wei Xiaochi the chocolates.

Suddenly, Jiang Zhan asked, “What did you mean by that thing you said this morning?”

Wei Xiaochi was still caught up in the previous topic, confused. “What thing?”

Jiang Zhan kicked the couch with his foot, irritated. “You said someone liked your pheromones. Who liked them?”

Wei Xiaochi was stunned for a moment, then remembered what he had said this morning to Jiang Zhan: “Even if it smells bad, it’s not for you. Someone will like it eventually.”

Wei Xiaochi awkwardly lowered his head and scratched his ear, “No, there’s no one.”

He meant “eventually,” as in someone would like it in the future.

Jiang Zhan didn’t let it go. “If there’s no one, why would you say that? There must be someone. Was it the one who gave you the chocolate?”

“…”

Jiang Zhan wasn’t letting it go, even though he had just casually mentioned it earlier.

Who else would give him chocolate besides Jiang Zhan?

Wei Xiaochi had completely forgotten about Xu Yang, because he had seen it as a payment for services rendered.

Jiang Zhan pressed, “Was it him? Tell me honestly.” He added at the end, “I’m just asking.”

Wei Xiaochi hesitated, jotting down the symptoms of the heat period on a piece of paper.

Earlier, he had searched online for information about the heat period, gaining a basic understanding of this special time for an Alpha.

An Alpha in their heat period is highly sensitive, and Wei Xiaochi’s pheromones might make Jiang Zhan feel a sense of dependence—that was the nature of Alphas.

The first symptom Jiang Zhan showed was suspicion, creating imaginary rivals.

It sounded dramatic, but based on Wei Xiaochi’s analysis, it seemed to be tied to the aggressive instincts that Alphas have, making them act more combative towards their own kind.

Wei Xiaochi wrote it down—suspicious.

Over the course of the call, Wei Xiaochi added more characteristics of Jiang Zhan’s heat period to his list.

Suspicious, violent, controlling, possessive…

Wei Xiaochi thought for a moment and added another—likely to exhibit clingy behavior.

Jiang Zhan’s mood mostly seemed negative, which was a bit frightening.

On Friday, Jiang Zhan didn’t come to school, but Li Suilin showed up in class, confirming the rumors that Jiang Zhan was the one sent to the hospital.

Without Jiang Zhan’s supervision today, Wei Xiaochi tried to keep his distance from the Alphas, afraid his pheromones might leak without him realizing.

Although Jiang Zhan had said his pheromones smelled nice, and he didn’t seem to be lying, Wei Xiaochi still wasn’t entirely convinced.

The results from the differentiation form clearly showed he was Valerian, and Valerian didn’t exactly smell pleasant, so Wei Xiaochi still had doubts.

What if Jiang Zhan just had a unique taste and actually liked this scent?

The last class on Friday was gym, and the math teacher had hoped to take over, but everyone convinced Li Suilin to talk to the math teacher, and they got off easy.

Wei Xiaochi didn’t mind the gym or math class; he was just focused on studying in the classroom.

It was hot outside, so the gym teacher didn’t make them run laps. Instead, they did ten minutes of exercise before disbanding.

On his way back to class, Wei Xiaochi overheard two girls walking by, arm in arm, talking about wanting chocolate and cold water, heading toward the convenience store.

Hearing “chocolate” made Wei Xiaochi’s mind race.

Seeing the girls walk further ahead, he silently followed them.

When they were almost at the store, his heart started beating faster, but remembering the consequences of not getting rid of the chocolates, he closed his eyes, gathered his courage, and quickened his pace.

Wei Xiaochi mustered up the courage to speak to the girls, “Are you guys buying chocolate?”

He took a chocolate ball from his pocket, round and full, with gold wrapping and a string of English letters on it.

“Ten yuan for six pieces.”

Hearing this, the two girls stopped in surprise and looked at Wei Xiaochi.

Wei Xiaochi was the class’s top student, so everyone knew him, but he had barely spoken to these two girls in the two years they had been classmates.

One of the girls with short hair asked, “Is it this brand? Ten yuan for six pieces?”

Wei Xiaochi’s ears turned red, and he nodded firmly.

The two girls whispered to each other, and then the short-haired girl looked up and said, “Okay, if the packaging is intact, I’ll take five yuan’s worth.”

Wei Xiaochi glanced at the short-haired girl. “Can you wait for me here for a minute? I’ll be right back.”

The girl nodded, and Wei Xiaochi sprinted back to class.

Jiang Zhan had given him that bag of chocolate, and he had brought it all to school. He didn’t want Fang Yuan to find out because he couldn’t explain where the chocolates came from.

Fang Yuan didn’t let the twins eat sweets because she was afraid of them getting cavities, so Wei Xiaochi had only given them two pieces each this morning.

Now that summer was here, and the temperature was rising, he had to either eat the chocolates quickly or refrigerate them.

Since he couldn’t possibly finish them alone, the only solution was to sell them quickly.

Wei Xiaochi, panting from running with the heavy backpack, only had a small amount of sweat on his nose.

Of course, the two girls weren’t standing still waiting for him. They had gone to the store to buy water and were now waiting for him under a tree.

Wei Xiaochi opened his backpack and took out three pieces of chocolate to give to the short-haired girl.

The girl carefully inspected the chocolates to make sure they weren’t fake, then pulled out her phone to pay Wei Xiaochi.

The other girl, seeing the open zipper of his bag, peeked inside and saw it was full of chocolates. She gasped, “Where did you get all these chocolates? Does your family run a supermarket?”

The short-haired girl stretched her neck to look over. “Are all the chocolates in your bag?”

She squatted down, pointing to the backpack, “Are they all chocolate balls? Do you have any other kinds? Can I take a look?”

Since the short-haired girl had paid quickly, Wei Xiaochi didn’t want to lose a potential customer. He nodded.

The short-haired girl took the backpack, and when she saw it was packed with chocolates, her eyes went wide. “So many.”

For a chocolate lover, just looking at piles of chocolates, even if they couldn’t eat them, was satisfying enough.

“This is too awesome.”

“Does your family run a supermarket?”

“What brand is this? I’ve never seen it before.”

“I’ve never seen most of these.”

The two girls chattered excitedly, their voices drawing attention from others. Soon, a group of people gathered around, all amazed by Wei Xiaochi’s chocolate stash.

Before long, Wei Xiaochi was surrounded by a circle of people, some of whom came from wealthy families.

“This brand of chocolate is super expensive. I had it at my cousin’s house last Christmas, and it tasted really rich. How much is this?”

A delicate-looking Omega was holding a box with black paper and gold lettering. The packaging clearly looked expensive.

Wei Xiaochi didn’t recognize the brand, but hearing that it was expensive, he pursed his lips and hesitated before replying, “Twenty-five.”

“…”

The Omega paused for a moment. “It’s that cheap? Can I open one and taste it first?”

The Omega was probably worried about buying a fake one. Wei Xiaochi completely understood. With Li Suilin around, he wasn’t worried about any Omega scamming him for a box of chocolates.

The Omega tasted it, then paid fifty yuan for two boxes.

Another rich kid in the class bought two boxes, and when Wei Xiaochi said he wouldn’t sell any more, the deal was done.

In just one morning, Wei Xiaochi sold four boxes of expensive chocolates. There were only a few chocolate beans left, but Wei Xiaochi was already satisfied.

At lunch, Wei Xiaochi took the chocolate bag to the cafeteria to grab some food, and in the afternoon, he sold a few more pieces of chocolate.

In the morning, Jiang Zhan had blood drawn for some tests. In the afternoon, the results came back, confirming that he had entered his heat period early.

Jiang Zhan’s attending physician was an old family friend, and Jiang Zhan had been seeing him for medical care since he was a child. This sudden onset of the heat period was completely unexpected.

Jiang Zhan had gone through his differentiation at thirteen, when he was diagnosed as a high-A Alpha, and had been treated by this doctor for a year. His condition had remained stable, with his pheromones never running out of control.

This was his first heat period, and the hormonal imbalance was clearly causing chaos.

Although he was sitting quietly in the hospital room, even playing with his phone as though everything was fine, it was actually a complete mess. He never knew when his pheromones might explode again.

Zhang Linchang, chuckling, casually said, “I heard from Old Li that you brought a freshly differentiated Omega in for hospitalization last time.”

Jiang Zhan paused and hummed in response, a single syllable that was light as cherry-flavored sparkling wine, tinged with a subtle hint of pink.

Zhang Linchang noticed the reaction and understood. “Is it a student from your school?”

“Mm.”

“I see on the medical records, he’s eighteen this year.”

“Mm.”

“Even though he differentiated late, his glands are developing quite healthily.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Zhan refused to say anything else. Zhang Linchang, seeing he wasn’t getting anywhere, bluntly said, “If your heat period is related to him, you should have him come to the hospital.”

Jiang Zhan paused again, then slid his finger across the phone screen, typing just two words: “No!”

He put his phone on the table and intentionally pushed it toward Zhang Linchang before lying down with his back to him.

Zhang Linchang glanced at the lit-up phone screen, where a contact called “Chi Chi” appeared.

He couldn’t help but laugh and shook his head before picking up Jiang Zhan’s phone and walking out of the room.

Author’s Note:

I think Jiang Zhan’s spoiled attitude was nurtured by these people.

He can do whatever he wants, but if he doesn’t want to deal with his heat period, he has to bear it.

Our Chi Chi won’t spoil his bad habits. A coward always beats a spoiled brat.

Hahaha