Alpha’s pheromones?

Ning Xi lifted his shirt and leaned in to take a sniff.

There was no scent whatsoever ah.

“Hey, let me treat your wounds first.” Hu Yangcai dabbed a cotton swab on Ning Xi’s bloodstains and said, “It might hurt a little, bear with it.”

These minor injuries weren’t a big deal to Ning Xi. Watching Hu Yangcai skillfully clean his wounds, and noticing the fully stocked medical kit, he asked, “Student Committee member, do you always carry a first-aid kit with you?”

Hu Yangcai didn’t respond immediately. After applying a bandage, he finally said, “…I’m pretty clumsy and often get small bumps and bruises, so I keep it on hand.”

Ning Xi glanced at Hu Yangcai’s bandaged hand. Under his short-sleeved school uniform, faint traces of large bruises were visible.

Were those really caused by accidental bumps?

“All done!” Hu Yangcai finished bandaging him and said, “It’s not deep, so it won’t leave a scar.”

Ning Xi quickly thanked him.

“But, Classmate Ning ah, I have to ask,” Hu Yangcai straightened up and said, “why do you have an Alpha’s pheromones on you ya?”

“Do… I?” Ning Xi sniffed himself again. He wasn’t sure if his sense of smell was off or if there was another reason, but he couldn’t even detect the scent of soap on himself ah.

“You do.” As expected of a standard Omega, Hu Yangcai leaned in and took another sniff before saying, “I’m pretty sensitive to pheromones. This scent smells like… ebony.”

He furrowed his brows and added, “And there’s also a hint of citrus. This pheromone seems really familiar ah… I feel like I’ve smelled it before…”

Ah.

Ebony and citrus—that was exactly Song Yize’s scent.

“Oh, It’s Song Yize’s pheromones.” Seeing Hu Yangcai looking pained from thinking too hard, Ning Xi decided to just tell him.

“Oh, right!” Hu Yangcai smacked his forehead, suddenly realizing.

But the next second, something felt off. He practically lunged at Ning Xi, shouting, “Wait! You said you have Song Yize’s pheromones on you!”

Ning Xi was a bit confused by his reaction. “Mm…”

“Holy shit.” Hu Yangcai was in shock. “You actually managed to get someone as amazing as Song Yize as your boyfriend. I always thought he was just some immortal competition machine who only knew how to study and had zero interest in Omegas.”

Ning Xi: “?”

What kind of metaphor was that?

And how did Song Yize become his boyfriend?

“…Song Yize isn’t my boyfriend ah,” Ning Xi said. “I’m a straight man.”

Hu Yangcai looked regretful. “But it’s Song Yize ah. How could you be straight?”

Ning Xi: “?”

That logic was truly something else.

As expected of the male lead in a novel—was everyone looking at Song Yize through a fan filter?

That said, Ning Xi actually didn’t know much about Song Yize beyond his basic measurements, appearance, and the fact that he had excellent grades.

Maybe he should ask a little—Hu Yangcai seemed pretty well-informed.

“Is Song Yize really that popular at school?” Ning Xi asked, sitting up a bit.

“Of course ah.” Hu Yangcai nodded. “He’s a top-tier Alpha—handsome, smart, and completely clueless when it comes to romance. He’s turned down so many pure-hearted little Omegas, I’ve lost count.”

Obviously. The female lead hadn’t even appeared yet ah.

“And besides, he doesn’t look very approachable, so he’s the type you can admire from afar but not get too close to,” Hu Yangcai said.

Then, his tone suddenly changed, his face full of gossip. “How did you two meet?”

“We?” Ning Xi scratched his head. “It was kind of an accident…”

“Oh, oh, oh!” Hu Yangcai straightened his back. “A fateful encounter!”

Ning Xi: “?”

“Did you transfer schools because of God Ze?”

“…I did come looking for him… but in between…”

“A love for him alone!”

“…It was due to circumstances beyond my control. I ran into some problems I couldn’t handle…”

“A reunion after a painful separation!”

“No, I don’t even know him that well. I had no choice but to seek him out,” Ning Xi said, rubbing his forehead.

“Ah.” Hu Yangcai looked disappointed. “So it turned out to be a contract relationship.”

Ning Xi: “…”

He patted Hu Yangcai on the back and said in a serious tone, “Yangcai, let’s just wash up and go to bed early.”

Hu Yangcai glanced at the alarm clock—it was already almost 11:30. Realizing he hadn’t finished reviewing yet, he quickly said, “Oh, oh, oh! I still need to study. You go ahead and rest!”

With that, he slowly slid his chair back to his desk, opened his workbook, and started working on problems again.

Ning Xi pulled out the chair in front of his desk, rested his arms on the table, and looked at the self-reflection paper lying on it, along with Song Yize’s school uniform beside it.

He picked up the uniform and brought it to his nose for a sniff.

This action did seem a bit perverted, but Ning Xi was seriously trying to figure out where the scent on this uniform was coming from.

The crisp woody aroma wrapped around a faint citrus note—compared to the artificial, over-washed scent of laundry detergent, it was indeed much fresher.

Ning Xi glanced at the time. Would Song Yize still be studying at this hour?

If borrowing a school uniform from an Alpha was really such an inappropriate thing for an Omega to do, he should find a time to return it.

–

The next morning, Ning Xi struggled to get out of bed.

The early morning light slipped in from the dormitory balcony, making the room bright. The weather was still stiflingly hot, but perhaps the air conditioner had been set too low last night—his nose felt a little itchy.

Hu Yangcai had already finished washing up on the balcony. When he walked back in and saw Ning Xi slowly climbing down from the top bunk, he said, “Good morning, Classmate Ning ah! Hurry up, we have to go for running exercises.”

Ning Xi thought he had misheard. “You said what?”

“Running exercises ah.” Hu Yangcai stretched his limbs. “We have to gather and run every morning, then go to morning reading, and after that, we eat breakfast.”

Ning Xi’s entire being was a big emo.

So this was what being a high school student was like—both full of energy and incredibly saddening.

“I twisted my foot. Can I skip morning exercises?” Ning Xi checked the time. It was just past six.

“You twisted your foot? Then you should rest. But the student council takes attendance for morning exercises. You don’t have to run, but you still need to show up,” Hu Yangcai said.

Well, it can only be like this.

Ning Xi slowly climbed out of bed, rubbing his barely opened eyes, and looked at Hu Yangcai. “Student Committee member, can I borrow a school uniform?”

Hu Yangcai wiped his face and said, “Aren’t you wearing your boyfriend’s uniform?”

“What boyfriend…” Ning Xi was a little grumpy from just waking up. He pulled out a chair and sat down, his voice hoarse from sleep, sounding even a bit impatient. “He’s not my fucking boyfriend.”

As soon as the words fell, Ning Xi met Hu Yangcai’s surprised gaze.

Ning Xi tugged at his hair, paused for two seconds, and reluctantly added, “…I’m not good enough for him.”

Hu Yangcai let out a sigh of relief and stepped forward to comfort him. “Don’t think like that. After hearing your story last night, I feel like it wasn’t easy for you two to end up together. Don’t be so hard on yourself—you’re great too!”

No, what story ah?

Did he say something last night?

“Oh,I’ll lend you my uniform then.” Hu Yangcai took a school uniform out of his locker and asked, “Classmate Ning, do you have any suppressant spray or something similar?”

Ning Xi thought for a moment, then pulled a bottle of freshening spray from his bag—it had been packed by the butler. “Is this it?”

Hu Yangcai said, “Well, this will do.”

With that, he pressed down the nozzle and sprayed the uniform.

“This will help suppress my pheromones a bit,” Hu Yangcai said with a smile. “I don’t know if you noticed, but my pheromones smell like grass.”

Ning Xi took the uniform but didn’t really notice any scent.

Well, he was just an ordinary human who had transmigrated into this world—it made sense that he wasn’t sensitive to pheromones.

“Then, hurry up and wash up. We have to be on the field by 6:20,” It was only then that Hu Yangcai said,. “I’ll head over first. You just need to come and sit on the side.”

Ning Xi nodded.

After getting himself ready, he walked out of the dormitory.

It wasn’t even 6:30 in the morning, yet the sun was already hanging quite high in the sky. This should have been the coolest time of the day, but the rare breeze that brushed past still sent a shiver through Ning Xi as he strolled leisurely toward the track.

Ning Xi always had a lazy, unhurried walk. He never carried himself too stiffly, nor did he seem overly lax.

His back was straight, and his posture was upright, yet he carried an air of arrogance—like a young master from a wealthy family taking a morning stroll.

He walked at a steady pace to the track, arriving just in time. Instead of joining the formation, he casually sat down at the side, watching groups of students line up for their morning run.

Ning Xi could tell that a large number of students weren’t enthusiastic about this activity.

The student council was busy checking attendance before the run, and a few people stood at the sidelines with forms in hand, seemingly grading each class.

The student council was really a tedious organization.

Sitting on the ground, Ning Xi stretched his legs out and swung them lazily, watching the students in identical uniforms gather on the field.

Soon, a familiar voice rang out, signaling the start of the run.

As the students passed each checkpoint, Ning Xi heard them shout out their class slogans.

“Left foot Tsinghua, right foot Peking, Tsinghua and Peking, we’ll take them all!”

“If you can’t get through the bone-chilling cold, how can you get a high exam score!”

“No pain, no exhaustion, then senior year is pointless! No fight, no struggle is the same as living in vain!”

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Listening to these slogans, Ning Xi couldn’t help but feel the fiery passion of youth stirring within him.

He shifted positions and continued watching the students under the vast blue sky and fluffy white clouds.

The morning sunlight wasn’t too harsh yet, and it was actually quite comfortable on his skin. As Ning Xi watched, he suddenly became a bit sleepy again.

Before Ning Xi could close his eyes, a shadow loomed over him.

Ning Xi subconsciously tilted his head up.

Song Yize was standing behind him, looking down. Broad shoulders, long legs, a sharp jawline—even from this unfortunate angle, his features were strikingly refined.

His presence completely enveloped Ning Xi in his shadow, and the faint scent of ebony and citrus drifted over.

Ning Xi had assumed that Song Yize would ask something like “What are you doing here?” He had even prepared a cautious response in advance.

But to his surprise, Song Yize didn’t ask that.

He opened his mouth, his voice—calm and steady, like a breeze with a hint of depth.

“Where did you get that uniform?”