As expected, Ning Xi always managed to catch Song Yize off guard without realizing it.

They hadn’t even known each other for long, and now he was already asking to borrow a school uniform.

The natural light streaming in from outside outlined the cool and delicate features of the young man. Ning Xi’s sharp bone structure, set against his pale, almost translucent skin, was so strikingly beautiful that it seemed almost unreal.

“You don’t need to give me the short-sleeved shirt, just the jacket you’re wearing will do,” Ning Xi said.

Song Yize was momentarily at a loss for words.

He hadn’t expected that Ning Xi had originally been asking for his short-sleeved T-shirt.

Was he really not doing this on purpose?

Song Yize felt that he couldn’t let things slide anymore. He had to make this Omega with no common sense and was really stupid to understand that there was a difference between Alphas and Omegas.

“Ning Xi,” Song Yize said lightly, “I can’t lend you my uniform.”

“Why?” Ning Xi blinked. “How can you just see death and do nothing?”

“It’s not about helping or not helping,” Song Yize sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration. The loose school uniform on his body somehow still outlined his lean, toned waist. “An Alpha lending their personal jacket to an Omega is considered inappropriate behavior.”

He paused before adding, “And also, Alphas shouldn’t be helping Omegas apply suppression patches. That is also casual. Unless…”

His gaze inadvertently fell on Ning Xi’s slender, fair neck. The smooth curve of his nape and the sharp outline of his Adam’s apple were accentuated under the soft lighting, carrying an almost ambiguous undertone.

For a second, Song Yize found himself at a loss for words, even feeling a bit of heat creeping up his ears. “…Forget it. Just go back to class and listen to it for yourself.”

“But you’ve helped me apply suppression patches twice,” Ning Xi said, his tone completely innocent. “So is this kind of thing really that casual for you?”

Song Yize: “…”

If he had known they would meet again, he definitely wouldn’t have helped Ning Xi with those patches that day.

“Then how about this?” Ning Xi said, flashing a smile at Song Yize. “I’ll take your jacket instead of you lending it to me. That way, it wouldn’t count as inappropriate behavior, right?”

“…”

Nonsense.

“Six minutes left.” Ning Xi glanced at the time. Seeing that Song Yize still wasn’t budging, he had no choice but to pull the classic straight guy act and became coquettish. “Aiya, aiya, just for a while. I’ll give it right back after the director sees me, okay~”

Ning Xi was disgusted by his own words.

If this didn’t work, then Bai Xuyu’s whole theory about Alphas liking soft, delicate Omegas was definitely a lie.

If it wasn’t true, then he wasn’t going to bother pretending anymore.

After a brief silence, Song Yize finally responded, “…No.”

What.

“This one won’t do. The scent of my pheromones is too strong,” Song Yize said. “I’ll go back to the classroom and get you a clean one.”

Wow.

So he agreed after all.

As expected, this didi was just ridiculously stubborn.

Ning Xi beamed and nodded in response.

On his way back to the classroom, Song Yize seriously wondered if he had some serious illness.

He’d lost count of how many times this had happened already.

He had no idea why he kept thoughtlessly agreeing to this Omega’s requests. He was clearly crossing the line.

Song Yize’s eyes were a pale shade, and without his glasses, the detached indifference in his expression became even more pronounced.

He was a walking contradiction—cold and unapproachable on the outside, yet impossibly soft on the inside.

Song Yize returned to the classroom and pulled out a spare school uniform from his desk.

When he got back to the office, he handed the uniform to Ning Xi at the door.

“Thanks, thanks, thanks.” Ning Xi took the jacket without hesitation and swiftly put it on.

After putting it on, he even lifted his arm to sniff the fabric. “Your laundry detergent smells pretty nice.”

Song Yize’s ears reddened even more.

This guy was really…

After a brief pause, Song Yize said, “You shouldn’t just casually borrow clothes from other Alphas in the future. Got it?”

“Mm.” Ning Xi nodded. “But it’s fine with you?”

“That’s not…” Song Yize felt like this Omega was incredibly difficult to deal with. “What I mean is, when you have your own Alpha partner in the future, you can just borrow from him.”

“Do I have to have an Alpha partner?” Ning Xi found this worldview bizarre. “Can’t an Omega and an Alpha just be bros? It’s just a jacket. Besides, we’re both guys, what’s the big deal ah?”

Song Yize gave up on trying to correct him.

Fine. Let him live in his own world.

Ning Xi didn’t press further either. He picked up his pen and placed a period at the end of his reflection paper.

Why ah? Why was his luck still didn’t improve even though he worked so hard to stick to the male lead?

Could it be that his misfortune wasn’t because he failed to hug the protagonist’s thigh, but because this world itself rejected him?

If that were really the case, why was he still bothering Song Yize?

Ning Xi turned the pen in his hand and thought.

No, this matter must be properly verified.

—

After a full day of classes, nothing particularly bad had happened to Ning Xi.

Night crept in quietly. The lights in the teaching building were the brightest in the area, forming neat rows of illumination. Inside, students were engrossed in their studies, pens flying across their papers.

As he waited for evening self-study to end, Ning Xi found himself unbearably bored. So, under the excuse of going to the restroom, he quietly slipped out of the classroom.

He strolled leisurely down the corridor, passing by classrooms and peeking inside at the students studying.

Some were diligently working on problems, some stood at the back of the room memorizing, some were napping at their desks, and some were secretly reading novels on their phones under their desks.

The July night wind still carried lingering heat. Without the cool air of the air conditioner, the school uniform jacket on his body started to feel a little stuffy.

But as the breeze passed by, it lifted the faint scent of ebony and citrus from the fabric, mixing it with the humid night air.

The heat hadn’t fully dissipated, but it was strangely comfortable.

As Ning Xi walked, he reached the end of the hallway.

There weren’t many students here, and those who were present sat far apart, seemingly taking some kind of test.

He leaned in to take a peek, just about to sigh about how “the younger students” were so diligent, when he suddenly spotted Song Yize sitting in the middle of the room.

Ning Xi violently shrunk his head back and hid behind the wall.

Why was Song Yize here? Wasn’t he supposed to be in the experimental class?

That’s not right either ah. Why am I hiding ah?

Ning Xi realized that his reaction just now had been a little strange. There was absolutely no reason for him to feel guilty.

So, he peeked out again.

But this time, Song Yize was also looking at him.

Wearing glasses, his lenses obscured some of the usual coldness in his expression. He had broad shoulders and long legs, sitting straight as he took his test. His uniform collar was buttoned all the way up, revealing a sliver of cold, pale skin and the contours of lean muscle.

The moment their eyes met, Ning Xi didn’t know what to do. Then, he silently retracted his head again.

This kid wasn’t taking his exams seriously.

Ning Xi chose to stay hidden, patted his own face, and hurried back to his classroom.

As for Song Yize, who was now taking the exam, the corner of his mouth hooked up into a barely noticeable smile.

He himself might not have realized it, but at that moment, his eyes were filled with a brilliant light.

Adjusting his wrist slightly, he continued writing.

En.　　

Every question went well.

His luck was pretty good today.

—

Ning Xi’s dorm had already been arranged a day in advance by his butler.

After evening self-study, all he had to do was follow the room number to find his dorm.

Normally, students could choose to commute, but during the self-study period, the school enforced a lockdown policy, requiring every student to stay on campus.

With his dorm key in hand, along with his unfinished self-reflection essay, Ning Xi made his way toward the dormitory building.

This novel’s world was much more complicated than he had imagined.

The dormitory building wasn’t just divided into male and female sections—it was further categorized into Alpha, Beta, and Omega dormitories.

Following the flow of students, Ning Xi found the male Omega dormitory and located his assigned room and went to the door.

It was a six-person dormitory with tables under two beds. As soon as Ning Xi entered, he saw the student committee inside doing homework.

The student committee of Class Seven, Hu Yangcai, looked up at the sound of the door opening. He was surprised when he saw Ning Xi, “Ai! Ning Xi! It’s actually you ya!”

Yo, wasn’t this the little logic genius?

Ning Xi said, “Student committee, we’re in the same dorm ah.”

“Yeah, I’m usually a day student, but I applied for a dorm temporarily,” Hu Yangcai said. “Normally, I’m the only one here. When I came back today and saw an extra bed, I was wondering who it was for—turns out it’s you, Classmate Ning ah.”

Ning Xi nodded, took off his uniform jacket, placed his belongings on the desk, and walked over to Hu Yangcai. “Are you doing practice problems?”

Hu Yangcai sighed heavily. “Yeah. We have a mock test tomorrow, a weekly quiz the day after, and in three days, the second full-length mock exam for the self-study period. Seriously, it’s making people anxious.”

The exam schedule is quite a lot ah. Ning Xi thought.

“Classmate Ning, since you just transferred here, you’ll get to experience our school’s brutal ranking system firsthand. Our top student is practically inhuman—no matter how absurdly difficult the mock exams are, his total score has never dropped below 680!”

Ning Xi nodded. Impressive. Not bad.

“Hey, I see you’ve brought something back too. Are you going to review with me?”

Ning Xi looked at the self-reflection essay on his desk and lazily replied, “No, I’m here to write my self-reflection.”

Hu Yangcai: “…”

Just as he paused, Hu Yangcai said, “It’s only your first day ya. How did you already get in trouble!”

Ning Xi didn’t feel like he had caused any trouble. He just wanted to turn in his self-reflection and get his phone back as soon as possible.

He glanced at the scratch paper Hu Yangcai had filled, yet still hadn’t managed to solve the problem. “Can I take a look?”

“Oh, sure.” Hu Yangcai handed him the test paper.

Ning Xi reached out to take it, but the moment his fingers made contact, the sharp edge of the paper sliced his skin, leaving a thin but deep cut.

Blood welled up immediately from the fresh wound, making Hu Yangcai jump in surprise.

“How did it cut all the way? Wait here, I’ll get something to stop the bleeding.”

Ning Xi was just about to say it was fine when he accidentally stepped on air, lost his balance, and crashed into the ladder.

The next thing he knew, the metal hook on it scraped his arm.

Ning Xi: “…”

This was too tragic, too tragic.

With his flesh and skin wounded, he couldn’t help but hug himself.

Hu Yangcai just returned with a first-aid kit, only to see that Ning Xi’s arm was now bleeding even more. He quickly grabbed an iodine swab to disinfect the wound.

But as he approached Ning Xi, he instinctively paused.

Ning Xi looked at his expression as if something was wrong and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Hu Yangcai couldn’t help but glance at Ning Xi. His movements and tone were both a bit uncertain.

“…Why do you smell so strongly of an Alpha’s pheromones?”