After Chu Tao returned to class, Yang Liu soon came back as well.

Pang Cai craned his neck, peeking through the small glass window in the iron door, but he didn’t see his mom.

With a sigh, he slumped over his desk and closed his eyes to sleep.

Yang Liu never bothered students who slept in class. She couldn’t control them all, and if she tried to handle each one individually, the class will end before she’d teach something.

She noticed Jiang She sprawled out on his desk, a sheet of paper covering his head, with just a hint of his dark hair visible.

One of his arms was stretched out lazily, with his wrist hanging in midair, almost reaching over to Chu Tao’s side.

Chu Tao, with his usual good-natured attitude, even made space for him.

Yang Liu shook her head.

Although she knew these students would likely lead better lives than many without even needing to study, seeing them waste their time at this age was still a pity.

But they were in their rebellious phase, and a real change would require an extraordinary turning point.

For someone like Jiang She, though, only something as drastic as his family going bankrupt might make an impact.

The piercing bell rang for a full minute, jolting some of the students who were sound asleep awake as the Chinese class ended.

Jiang She raised his eyelids, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes again to rest.

Fang Sheng was still struggling against the school’s signal jammer, which had reduced his phone’s signal to less than 2G. He could only open the built-in novel app on his phone and read bits and pieces.

Yang Liu knocked on the desk. “This afternoon, there will be a lecture on sexual education given by an expert from the capital. All freshman and sophomore students are required to attend. It will be held at 1:30 p.m. in the school’s main gym. No one is allowed to be late. This is about your responsibility to yourselves and, in the future, to your Omegas.”

As soon as she mentioned Omegas, laughter rippled through the class with knowing undertones.

Yang Liu’s expression darkened. “All of you, behave! Learning about sexual health isn’t about encouraging early relationships. Make sure you use your inhibitors before the lecture. If anyone intentionally releases pheromones to disturb the Omegas, don’t blame me for marking your name down!”

“Teacher, what if an Omega tries to seduce us? I’d be so scared!”

“Haha, could happen, right? We’re pure and innocent after all.”

“Oh, protect me, protect me! I better guard my… chastity!”

Yang Liu rolled her eyes. Just before leaving the classroom, she turned back and snapped, “Don’t worry; no Omega would be interested in you.”

“Hahahaha, but what about She-ge? Isn’t he the Omega golden melon who’ll end up swamped with pheromones?”

“Scary! She-ge should just chant some calming mantra to control his desires, so he doesn’t end up in heat early.”

Chu Tao quietly put his neutral pen back into his pen case, zipped it up, then folded the newly distributed worksheets and placed them into a paper bag.

He was just about to leave when Jiang She grabbed his wrist.

“Hey!”

Chu Tao turned back. “What?”

Jiang She looked him over, noticing the lack of any change in Chu Tao’s expression, and felt a strange sense of disappointment.

Slowly releasing Chu Tao’s wrist, he asked nonchalantly, “Aren’t you going to chant some calming mantra? Maybe that Mo Xi person is just waiting for this chance.”

Chu Tao replied calmly, “No need. No Omega would like me.”

Actually, he’d said it wrong.

It was that he didn’t think he could ever really like an Omega.

With that, Chu Tao left to go find Chu Xingning.

Fang Sheng looked up, clicked his tongue meaningfully, and patted Jiang She on the shoulder. “A-She, don’t you think the class leader is a bit insecure? He’s pretty good-looking, he can fight, and he’s great at studying. No way no Omega likes him.”

Jiang She shot Fang Sheng a cold look. “Why does it have to be an Omega?”

Fang Sheng blinked. “Oh, right… a Beta would work too. What I mean is, the class leader’s been living in Chu Xingning’s shadow since he was a kid. His romantic luck was probably snuffed out completely.”

Before differentiating, no one cared about gender in relationships, let alone pheromone compatibility.

Appearance-wise, Chu Xingning was indeed more delicate and endearing than Chu Tao.

With them being brothers and somewhat similar, having Chu Xingning around probably made others overlook Chu Tao.

Jiang She tossed a sheet of paper on top of Fang Sheng’s head. “Beta, my foot.”

Fang Sheng crumpled the paper and tossed it into his desk, fixing his hair while sulking a little.

Lately, A-She had been acting oddly irritable, like a girl with PMS.

The midday sun was warm, and the magnolia trees on campus looked like they were about to bloom.

The lecture was scheduled for 1:30, cutting into half of the lunch break, so most people grabbed seats in the gym as soon as they finished eating.

In the back rows.

When Chu Tao and Chu Xingning arrived at the entrance of the gym, Fang Sheng eagerly waved them over.

“Class leader, bring your brother over here to sit with us!”

Jiang She followed Fang Sheng’s gaze and looked straight at Chu Tao.

Chu Tao knew that Fang Sheng was really hoping to sit next to Chu Xingning.

He murmured, “Brother, if you’re not comfortable, we could…”

Chu Xingning’s face was cold as he glanced toward Jiang She. “Who said I wasn’t comfortable?”

He wanted to see for himself how these guys usually treated his brother.

Making him wash their clothes, picking fights with him—it was outright humiliation!

As his older brother, he couldn’t just stand by and let Chu Tao be treated like that.

Chu Tao raised his brows in surprise. “Are you sure?”

Chu Xingning grabbed Chu Tao’s hand, positioning himself in front protectively. “What’s there to be afraid of?”

Chu Tao wrinkled his nose, unable to figure out exactly how this was all happening, but let Chu Xingning lead him over.

Jiang She was sitting at the very edge, leaning back lazily with one arm draped over the empty seat beside him.

He glanced at Chu Xingning, sensing a faint hostility.

Fang Sheng, upon seeing Chu Xingning, lit up like a sunflower seeing the sun. “Class leader’s brother, sit next to A-She.”

Chu Xingning agreed, “Alright.”

Jiang She frowned.

Quickly, Chu Tao said, “I’ll sit here,” and swiftly claimed the spot.

Chu Xingning paused, his expression darkening, and remained silent.

Jiang She had his hand resting on the seat. Even when Chu Tao sat down, Jiang She didn’t move his hand. Thankfully, Chu Tao was cautious and only sat on half of the seat; otherwise, he would have ended up sitting right on Jiang She’s palm.

But even so, Jiang She’s ring finger was brushing against the base of Chu Tao’s spine. A centimeter lower and it would be…

Chu Xingning clenched his fists.

“All students, please sit down and stay quiet. The lecture is about to start. If you don’t have a seat, find an empty one and scan the QR code on the PPT to check in under your class name.”

The signal-blocking devices were temporarily turned off.

“Teacher, we didn’t bring our phones!”

“The school doesn’t allow us to bring phones, so how can we scan?”

“Yeah, I didn’t bring mine!”

“Alright, those who don’t have a phone, report your name to your class leader after the lecture. No more talking now.”

After repeatedly emphasizing the rules, the noise in the gym finally quieted down.

Fang Sheng sneered, “Whoever organized this is an idiot. QR codes? If it was just sent to a group, anyone could scan it whether they’re here or not.”

Xu Yuan grumbled, “What nonsense. Disrupting my sleep. Stuff you’d learn from flipping through some adult content—they think a school lecture is going to teach anything. By the time the school’s sex ed catches up, humans will be extinct.”

Fang Sheng added, “Exactly. All theory, no practice, isn’t gonna cut it.”

Chu Tao turned and took a deep breath, tapping Jiang She’s arm. “Move your hand.”

Sitting on only half the chair was uncomfortable, and he’d hoped Jiang She would get the hint and move his hand, but he didn’t. Chu Tao had to awkwardly remind him.

Jiang She looked up, raised an eyebrow, and said playfully, “It’s not bothering you. Go ahead and sit. I don’t mind the weight.”

Chu Tao wasn’t heavy. In fact, he was on the thinner side for an alpha.

Chu Tao knew Jiang She was starting to act out again, but this time he couldn’t just go along with it like before.

Especially with Chu Xingning watching—his interactions with Jiang She felt a bit strange.

“I mind, so move it.”

“Tsk.” Jiang She curled his fingers slightly, letting the pad of his ring finger brush against the base of Chu Tao’s spine before reluctantly moving his hand to the desk, muttering, “So heartless.”

Chu Tao’s palms were sweaty, as if every nerve ending had gathered at the base of his spine, a tingling sensation flickering through his chest.

He pretended like nothing had happened.

---

—

Author’s Note: Chu Tao, bite him hard! Don’t let him take advantage!

Thank you to the lovely readers who sent in likes or nutrients from 2020-03-16 00:09:07 to 2020-03-17 01:46:37~

Special thanks to those who sent “land mines”: Ling (2), Monik, and Wang Xiaohua Mengmengda~ (1);

And thank you to those who sent “nutrient solution”: Mo Zhu (1 bottle);

Thank you so much for your support! I’ll keep working hard!