By the time Chu Tao returned to the hospital, Chu Xingning had already removed the IV.

As expected, Song Mian immediately shouted, “Where have you been? Your brother almost bled out!”

Chu Xingning had just woken up, his eyes bloodshot. Upon hearing this, he weakly raised his arm and tugged at Song Mian’s sleeve.

“I told him to go somewhere to do his homework.”

Song Mian sighed deeply and muttered, “Doing homework, and not even paying attention to the time!”

Chu Tao leaned against the door, holding Jiang She’s clothes, still feeling lightheaded.

His clothes had almost dried, and the sticky, damp discomfort was gone, leaving only the chill that crept deep into his bones.

—

Song Mian brought hot food and fresh, dry-smelling clothes, but Chu Tao felt that he was more comfortable when he was with Jiang She.

Song Mian handed the clothes to Chu Tao: “Hurry up and change in the bathroom. Your brother insists on waiting for you to eat together.”

“Okay.” Chu Tao replied briefly and turned to leave.

Walking down the corridor, he vaguely heard Chu Xingning’s voice from the ward, calling “Mom” in a reproachful tone.

The fluorescent lights in the corridor were very bright, and everything—the walls and the floor—was white. The light bounced around, making it hard to keep one’s eyes open.

On the narrow, long iron benches on both sides of the ward, occasionally one or two elderly people sat, covering their mouths and coughing violently.

The elderly were often dressed in several layers of clothes, bundled up tightly, but occasionally, the collar that was exposed showed that the sweaters were already unraveling.

The unraveling sweaters rubbed against their sagging, lifeless skin, failing to cause any of the irritation they usually would feel.

Chu Tao felt a bit pretentious.

Maybe it was because of the rain or because he had just been to the police station.

Or maybe, he had just realized that someone actually cared for him.

Cared for him, by Jiang She.

He sniffed, tugging at the jacket Jiang She had draped over him.

In fact, Jiang She was different from what he had imagined.

He was pretty good as a friend.

Chu Tao went to the bathroom, took off all his clothes, and put Jiang She’s pants into a bag before heading back to the ward.

The food containers were already opened, but the hospital’s cafeteria food was simple: stir-fried potatoes, stir-fried cabbage, scrambled eggs with pork, and two large boxes of rice.

Chu Xingning had no appetite. Although his fever had gone down, his body still felt weak.

He was forced by Song Mian to eat a little, but after just a few bites, he was done.

Usually, Chu Tao had the biggest appetite and could easily finish a whole box of rice.

But tonight, even he couldn’t eat.

He felt nauseous.

The slippery, tasteless potatoes mixed with the smell of disinfectant in the hospital made him lost his appetite.

Song Mian looked at him in surprise: “Is this all you’re eating?”

“I’m a bit tired,” Chu Tao said, trying to suppress the itch in his throat and hold back his cough.

In the end, most of the food was left over, and Song Mian had to pack it up to take home.

Chu Tao helped Chu Xingning out of the emergency ward and walked toward the car.

Chu Xingning asked in a low voice, “Where did you go?”

Chu Tao lowered his eyes, his fingers tightening slightly, his gaze flickering: “I had some personal matters to handle.”

Chu Xingning’s expression shifted slightly: “If you have anything, don’t bottle it up. I’ve noticed you’ve been a bit off since you changed classes.”

Chu Tao sighed: “How could it not be strange? Don’t you think it’s strange in your new class?”

Chu Xingning paused, realizing that it was indeed odd.

Just like how he wanted to become an alpha, Chu Tao always wanted to be an Omega, but through some twist of fate, he ended up in a “flock of sheep,” and for Chu Tao, it felt no different from staying in a wolf pack.

When they got home, Chu Xingning was planning to do his homework, but Song Mian insisted that he rest and called his homeroom teacher to explain the situation.

The teacher was kind and quickly assured that missing one assignment wouldn’t affect his grades.

Chu Tao went home and threw all his wet clothes into the washing machine.

Song Mian didn’t notice that there was a school uniform mixed in with the pile of clothes.

The washing process was slow, so Chu Tao took this opportunity to start his homework.

As usual, there was one sheet for each subject. Luckily, he had already completed quite a bit at school, so there wasn’t much left to do.

Chu Tao glanced at the clock and shouted outside, “Mom, I’ll hang the clothes in a while, you go rest!”

Song Mian responded while she was on the phone with Chu Jiangmin, complaining.

By 10 PM, Chu Tao had finished all his assignments, stretched his sore neck, and went out to hang the clothes.

Everything was fine except for the cola stains on Jiang She’s pants, which hadn’t come off completely.

It was probably because they had been left for too long, and the cola had soaked into the fabric.

Chu Tao sighed deeply.

It seemed that hand washing really couldn’t be avoided.

But he didn’t want to make it too obvious, so he left Jiang She’s pants in the washing machine for now and hung the other clothes out to dry.

By midnight, when Chu Xingning and Song Mian were both asleep, he sneaked out, filled a basin with water in the kitchen, took some soap, and crouched down to wash Jiang She’s pants.

The night was very quiet, and the streetlights outside were brighter than the ones inside.

Chu Tao’s hands were red from scrubbing, but after a while, the stains were finally gone.

He let out a sigh, wrung the water out of the pants, and stood up, holding his waist.

His head felt dizzy again, and his temples throbbed with pain.

He must have caught a cold.

He hoped it wouldn’t get worse.

While he was pouring the water, he accidentally dropped the basin onto the floor. The sound of plastic hitting the wooden floor was loud, startling him. He quickly listened for any sounds from the house.

Luckily, after a few seconds, no one had spoken.

Chu Tao patted his chest, picked up the basin, shook the pants out, hung them on the balcony, and then quickly returned to bed.

What he didn’t know was that Chu Xingning, who had slept fitfully for hours, happened to wake up in the middle of the night.

He heard the sound of clothes being scrubbed, the sound of water being poured, and the sound of clothes being hung.

Around 2 AM, Chu Xingning got up to use the bathroom. Afterward, he couldn’t help but glance toward the balcony.

A pair of pants, noticeably bigger than Chu Tao’s, hung directly in front of the balcony door.

The light from outside shone into the room, and the rows of clothes hanging looked like curtains in a shadow play.

Chu Xingning saw that there was a “She” written with a marker on the pants’ hem.

–

The next morning, Song Mian drove them to school.

As they passed by their usual bicycle parking area, Chu Xingning instinctively glanced over, noticing only his own bicycle left.

He turned his head, staring at Chu Tao with meaningful eyes.

Chu Tao, oblivious, was barely awake, on the verge of dozing off.

The car stopped at the school gate, and Song Mian reminded Chu Xingning a few more things before letting them get out.

Chu Tao opened his eyes, tired tears in his eyes, yawning.

“Didn’t sleep well last night? Why are you so tired?” Song Mian casually asked.

Chu Tao slid out of the car, tiredly replying, “Maybe I had a nightmare.”

At the school gate, there were many breakfast vendors. The smell of egg-filled pancakes wafted far, and pork tenderloin sizzled on the flat grill. Since the school didn’t allow food inside, a group of students squatted at the gate, eating happily.

But the student on duty was surrounded by a crowd, arguing.

Fang Sheng had his hands in his pockets, tilting his head back, nonchalantly snorting.

“What’s the problem with not wearing the school uniform? Brother She doesn’t wear it when he’s in the mood.”

The student on duty, a freshman from the first year, probably hadn’t heard of Jiang She’s name, stubbornly stopping them from walking in.

After all, the teachers in charge of moral education had instructed that no one could enter the school without wearing a uniform.

Xu Yuan impatiently said, “Hurry up and get out of the way, you can deduct as many points as you want.”

The student on duty hesitated and said, “You… need to leave your student ID.”

The person at the center of the conflict remained calm.

Jiang She didn’t like to waste words with people who didn’t matter. These small fry weren’t worth his effort to handle.

With Fang Sheng and Xu Yuan around, it was enough.

However, since they were at the school gate, they couldn’t go too far, so they exchanged a few more words with the student on duty.

Chu Tao frowned.

He recognized the student on duty—it was a younger student who had auditioned for the broadcast station before.

Chu Tao glanced at Jiang She, whose smile had faded, his lips slightly curling, as if his patience was about to run out.

Chu Tao quickly pushed through the crowd, moving to the front.

“Mo Xi!”

The student on duty looked up and instantly lit up. “Senior!”

Chu Tao nodded, sneaking a glance at Jiang She, then said to Mo Xi, “Just let him go. He didn’t mean to not wear the uniform, he…”

This was a bit difficult to explain, and a trace of awkwardness appeared on Chu Tao’s face.

Jiang She looked at him with a half-smile, while Fang Sheng and Xu Yuan tried to interrupt but were stopped by Jiang She.

Chu Xingning stood behind the crowd, hearing everything clearly.

He and Chu Tao were twins, so they understood each other very well.

Chu Tao stumbling over his words meant he didn’t want anyone to know about this.

Chu Xingning thought back to the school uniform hanging on there balcony at home.

Chu Tao simply said, “It’s all because of me, don’t blame him.”

Mo Xi smiled sweetly, revealing two cute dimples. “I know Senior wouldn’t lie to me, since he’s a friend of Senior, it’s fine.”

Chu Tao nodded shyly, his thick lashes fluttering. “Thanks, I’ll treat you to a meal another time.”

Mo Xi responded cheerfully, “Sure! I’m going to report to the broadcast station next week, I’ll have to ask Senior for more guidance in the future.”

“Mm, don’t be polite.” Chu Tao, with his pleasant voice, had joined the broadcast station as soon as he entered school.

He did broadcasting for a year in the first year, and by second year, they gradually gave opportunities to the new first years.

Mo Xi was a sweet-voiced Omega, so it wasn’t surprising that he could join through Chu Tao.

Mo Xi suddenly seemed to remember something, and pulled out a bottle of strawberry-flavored yogurt from his bag.

“Here, Senior.”

Chu Tao raised an eyebrow, slightly confused. “For me?”

Mo Xi nodded, nervously clutching the strap of his bag. “Didn’t you say that yogurt is great for soothing the throat?”

Chu Tao couldn’t help but laugh. “But I’m not on broadcasting right now.”

Mo Xi was taken aback, embarrassed, and scratched his head.

Chu Tao pushed the yogurt back to him. “You keep it, I’m going to the classroom now.”

Chu Tao turned and quickly walked to find Chu Xingning, who then slowly made his way over to him.

“Brother, let’s go.”

Chu Xingning nodded, turning his head to glance at Jiang She’s direction.

As the school’s dream Alpha, Chu Xingning’s good looks were no exaggeration.

Mo Xi was already considered a rather attractive Omega, but compared to Chu Xingning, he instantly paled in comparison.

Every frown and smile from Chu Xingning drew the attention of many restless Alpha students.

Fang Sheng exaggeratedly grabbed Jiang She’s arm, muttering, “Damn, Chu Xingning is really a beautiful guy!”

Jiang She, being tugged by him, glanced back at Chu Xingning without a word.

He was handsome, yes, but not quite as good as Chu Tao.

Fang Sheng turned and grinned at Chu Tao. “Class president, how about introducing us to your brother?”

Chu Tao retorted, “Don’t you already know him?” He then turned to Chu Xingning and added, “These are some of my classmates.”

Chu Xingning pursed his lips and nodded cautiously.

Fang Sheng stepped aside to make room for Jiang She at the front, eagerly introducing, “This is Brother She, want to add…”

Jiang She raised his hand to cover Fang Sheng’s mouth. “Let’s go to the shop.”

Fang Sheng mumbled, “What shop…”

Jiang She dragged him away, and Xu Yuan, after glancing at everyone, hesitated for a moment before quickly following Jiang She.

Chu Tao knew that Chu Xingning didn’t like being the center of attention, so he quickly said goodbye to Mo Xi and hurriedly pulled Chu Xingning toward the teaching building.

Their classes were in different directions, so when they reached the hall, they split up. Chu Xingning went left, while Chu Tao turned right.

Just before parting, Chu Xingning hesitated. “You…”

Chu Tao looked up and blinked.

Chu Xingning narrowed his eyes: “Forget it, it’s fine.”

Confused, Chu Tao went upstairs and returned to the classroom, placing his backpack on the chair.

The other chair in the room was still scattered around, a result of Pang Cai’s handiwork, and it was still beside him.

Chu Tao rubbed his face.

There had been so much happening yesterday.

He hadn’t sat for long when Jiang She and his group walked in.

These people were usually lazy and laid-back, showing up to school whenever they felt like it.

Chu Tao was quietly reading the text when he paused upon seeing Jiang She.

Today, Jiang She was wearing a black tracksuit, with the zipper down to his chest, revealing a white T-shirt underneath.

The black color made him look slimmer, and the tracksuit fit better than the school uniform, which enhanced Jiang She’s attractiveness even more.

No wonder some Omegas privately called Jiang She a “dreamboat.” With that body and face, who wouldn’t want to have a little something with him?

But Chu Tao quickly lowered his gaze and continued reading.

As he was reading, Jiang She casually sat on his desk, crossed his legs, and with a meaningful tone called out, “Senior Chu.”

Chu Tao took a deep breath, closed the book, and looked up at Jiang She. “Don’t cause trouble for Mo Xi. He’s just doing his job as required by the school.”

Jiang She’s gaze dropped, landing on Chu Tao’s slightly red lips. “Mo Xi? That little Omega has been eyeing you for how long?”

Chu Tao furrowed his brows and rebutted, “What nonsense are you saying?”

He had only met Mo Xi once during an interview, and at that time, he hadn’t even gone through his differentiation process, so there was no way to talk about liking or disliking anyone.

Jiang She let out a scoff, clearly annoyed, wishing he could shut Chu Tao’s mouth.

He carelessly said, “I’m not bothering him, but can I bother you?”

---

The author’s note: “Just admit you’re jealous!”