Chapter 21: I’m So Bad~

“It’s me.” Ji Laili responded without hesitation.

He turned around and shut the door tightly, ensuring no trace of pheromones could leak out.

Only after securing everything did he let out a sigh of relief—only to meet Shen Yu’s unwavering gaze.

Ji Laili explained, “If I don’t close it properly, other Alphas might catch the scent and come looking.”

Like that dog-nosed Lei Po, for example.

“…Why are you here looking for me?” Shen Yu stared at him, slightly dazed.

“My friend picked up a faint trace of pheromones outside, and I guessed…” Ji Laili carefully chose his words. “You might be in trouble, so I came to help.”

Help me?

An Alpha saying they wanted to “help” someone who was undergoing secondary differentiation, someone who could potentially become an Omega—

It almost sounded like a claim, a subtle mark of possession.

But… this was Ji Laili.

Shen Yu studied him, but beyond pure concern, he couldn’t detect any ulterior motives.

Steadying his voice, he asked coolly, “And how exactly can you help me?”

Ji Laili didn’t hesitate. “I can stand guard outside and stop anyone from coming in—Alpha or Beta. No one will find you.”

He had clearly thought this through before arriving.

On his way here, Ji Laili had been considering—

How can I help Shen Yu?

No matter how he thought about it, there wasn’t a good solution. He couldn’t ease Shen Yu’s pain, couldn’t suppress his symptoms.

The only thing he could do… was stand at the door and keep all threats away.

Ji Laili smiled, his eyes curving. “At the very least, you won’t have to worry about someone else finding you.”

Shen Yu’s gland burned, sending a tremor through his chest. He pressed his lips together, saying nothing.

Then suddenly—

The cold, slightly sweet scent of pheromones erupted violently, thickly saturating the entire sealed room.

Even Ji Laili could smell it now.

The pheromone concentration spiked so sharply that it overpowered him instantly—despite the fact that he had endured two waves of pheromone training earlier that day without flinching.

But under Shen Yu’s pheromones, he completely folded.

Ji Laili wrinkled his nose, raising a hand to cover it. His voice was muffled. “Are you okay?”

No. Not at all.

Shen Yu’s chest rose and fell slightly, his black eyes damp. Through the haze, he saw Ji Laili shielding his nose.

Earlier, during training, Ji Laili had been unfazed by two entirely different pheromone releases—he hadn’t even reacted.

Why now? Why only to mine?

Did he find my pheromones unpleasant?

“…Does it smell bad?”

His voice, usually crisp like shattered jade, was now hoarse and dry, his breath weak, words dragging slowly.

Ji Laili had to listen twice before making out what he said.

And yet Shen Yu still repeated the question, insistently seeking an answer.

Ji Laili sighed, a bit helpless. “I have rhinitis.”

Hadn’t he already said that when they first met?

Shen Yu looked up at him but didn’t say whether he believed it or not.

Ji Laili had a feeling he didn’t. Otherwise, why ask again?

So, he widened his eyes, trying to appear serious. “It’s true!”

“I would never do anything to you. But if you’re still worried…”

Ji Laili’s gaze fell on the wristband he hadn’t removed yet. Suddenly, he felt like he had the perfect proof of his innocence.

Without hesitation, he rolled up his sleeve and held out his wrist.

The young Alpha’s hand and forearm appeared in Shen Yu’s vision.

Even though Ji Laili wasn’t moving, Shen Yu was instantly reminded of the surveillance footage.

He closed his eyes.

“Don’t close them.” Ji Laili frowned slightly, urging, “Hurry up and take a look.”

What was he trying to do?

Shen Yu’s eyelashes fluttered before he obediently reopened his eyes.

His pale face, tinted faintly with red due to his position, gave off an inexplicable sense of obedience.

…Damn.

Had the pheromones messed up his brain?

Ji Laili shook his head to clear his thoughts, then tilted his chin toward his wrist. “This is the suppression wristband Instructor Aige issued. If I lose control, I’ll press it immediately.”

“If I become incapacitated, that should put you at ease, right?”

Shen Yu’s dark eyes stared blankly.

His gaze trailed down from Ji Laili’s well-defined forearm to the suppression wristband.

“… …”

For some reason, his heart clenched.

“I’ll definitely press it in time!” Ji Laili was still reassuring him.

His bright, shining eyes locked onto Shen Yu, hoping to gain his trust.

Under such a gaze, Shen Yu slowly nodded. The moment he did, Ji Laili beamed with joy, even lowering the hand that had been covering his nose.

Ji Laili was true to his word—he was genuinely concerned about other Alphas coming over.

After discussing the plan with Shen Yu, he slipped out as quickly as possible.

The moment he left the pheromone-saturated space, his nose felt significantly better.

Rubbing his itchy nose, Ji Laili jogged to the corridor at the front of the enclosed room, standing guard to prevent anyone from getting too close.

Standing directly in front of a single door was too suspicious, so this was a safer approach.

But dog-nosed Alphas were everywhere. Sure enough, not long after he stationed himself, a few Alphas appeared.

They spotted Ji Laili and immediately looked surprised.

“Bro, you here too?”

These guys were unfamiliar faces. They exchanged glances before moving in closer, whispering, “Haven’t seen you around here before.”

“You here to get a taste too?”

Get a taste…?

Ji Laili instantly understood. His expression turned subtle for a moment.

New students, tormented by their own pheromones, likely wouldn’t be here—meaning these guys were upperclassmen.

And upperclassmen would be even more capable of recognizing Shen Yu.

The three Alphas in front of him continued probing about the situation inside. “Has it not been cleaned up yet? I just caught a really strong pheromone scent.”

One of them twitched his nose as if he wanted to push past Ji Laili.

“It hasn’t, actually. This training was stricter than usual, so there’s been a lot more pheromone release.”

Hearing that, the three Alphas couldn’t hold back any longer and tried to move around him.

But Ji Laili quickly added, “Instructor Aige is personally overseeing the re-cleansing of the enclosed rooms. He was furious—had me looking for a few people to help out.”

His eyes curved into crescents as he smiled, looking at the three Alphas with satisfaction.

“Perfect timing! Since you guys are here, let’s go together.”

A cold sweat broke out on the three Alphas.

Instructor Aige.

What military academy student hadn’t suffered under him?

They had all been rebellious hotheads once—

Only to be tormented by Aige so badly that even hemorrhoids weren’t spared.

A sharp hiss—just thinking about it made them uncomfortable.

“Uh—my roommate’s about to give birth—no, no, wait—not give birth, he’s about to puke! I gotta take him to the medical bay!”

“I—uh—our dormmate, he—he’s terrible at holding a chamber pot, he can’t puke properly!” The second one blurted out in panic.

Ji Laili made a disappointed sound. “Oh, I see.”

“So you’re all leaving? What about you, bro?”

He turned to the last Alpha. “Instructor Aige is still waiting. If we take too long, he’s gonna get even angrier.”

The remaining Alpha was drenched in cold sweat.

His two teammates had already used the good excuses, leaving him so panicked he almost morphed into King Kong on the spot.

Ji Laili leaned in and whispered, “Actually, I came out looking for people because today’s freshman training didn’t go well. The instructor was pissed, and the Alphas handling the clean-up got caught in the crossfire—so that’s why…”

Before he could even finish—

“I—I have something to do too!”

The Alpha took a deep breath and, with sheer humiliation, declared, “My hemorrhoids burst! I need to go rest!”

“Huh? Wait—”

Ji Laili watched as all three figures bolted off in a panic.

For good measure, he called after them a few times, waving as if he genuinely meant to chase them down.

The more he acted, the faster they fled—until they disappeared entirely.

Satisfied, Ji Laili finally stopped.

Squatting down, he propped his chin in his hand and sighed dramatically.

“I’m so bad~”

Then, after a pause—

“Wait, no… Instructor Aige is the real bad guy. Look how scared they were!”