Han Ziyang dragged a chair over and sat across from Wei Xiaochi, staring at the person lying on the hospital bed, sighing about the unpredictability of life.

Who would have thought that someone who was still a Beta yesterday would turn into an Omega today?

The more Han Ziyang thought about it, the more surreal it seemed. Wei Xiaochi, of all people, had differentiated into an Omega? Where on him could you even find a trace of Omega energy?

Han Ziyang scrutinized Wei Xiaochi from head to toe, his initial critical gaze gradually giving way to curiosity.

Finally, he couldn’t help but blurt out, “Hey, now that I look closer, you’re not half bad-looking.”

Wei Xiaochi unzipped his backpack and took out his glasses case. He showed no special reaction to Han Ziyang’s “compliment” and didn’t even bother to lift his head.

He pulled out his glasses, gently breathed on the lenses as if they were precious treasures, and started wiping them with a glasses cloth. These lenses cost him 4,888 yuan. Luckily, they hadn’t been damaged in the locker room.

Han Ziyang was stunned by Wei Xiaochi’s down-to-earth behavior. Just a moment ago, he thought the guy had delicate features, but now, looking again, he seemed like some rural bumpkin. No, even the young bumpkin in those old tales was at least clever and brave—way better than this sneaky and timid Wei Xiaochi.

How could he possibly be an Omega?

Han Ziyang critically examined Wei Xiaochi once more, trying to figure out what the heavens were thinking by letting him join the ranks of Omegas. To drag down their average attractiveness?

Alphas and Omegas weren’t exactly common in this world. Out of the thousand-plus students at their school, AOs only accounted for about 12%.

This Omega in front of him, though? His appearance was average at best. He didn’t bother grooming himself, and his messy hair drooped over his brows. Yet his eyelashes were surprisingly long, curling slightly at the tips. His lower lash line was also fringed with a fine layer of lashes, which made his pupils look dark and bright as snow.

His eyelids were thin, tinted with a faint reddish hue from his constant fever, giving them an unexpectedly pretty blush. His eyes were slightly slanted, with their inner corners slightly hooked and the outer edges tipped upward, forming a faint crease that split when he looked up.

Han Ziyang was shocked. Wei Xiaochi actually had phoenix eyes!

In Han Ziyang’s mind, phoenix eyes were the hallmark of legendary beauties—charming, expressive, and captivating. Wei Xiaochi’s eyes were delicately shaped, the upturned outer corners giving off an unexpectedly gentle and easygoing vibe.

Noticing Han Ziyang staring at him, Wei Xiaochi couldn’t help but lift his head. As his eyes tilted upward, they did seem to carry a hint of sparkle and allure.

“What the hell…”

Han Ziyang was so startled that he leaned back, eyes wide with disbelief.

Wei Xiaochi had no idea what he was up to, staring back in confusion while continuing to wipe his glasses. He even breathed on them again.

“…”

Han Ziyang felt utterly defeated.

“If I ever think he’s good-looking again, I’ll livestream myself eating shit,” he thought grimly, forcefully averting his gaze in a show of disinterest.

Wei Xiaochi had never been one to create trouble, so when he noticed Han Ziyang’s disinterest, he simply ignored him. After finishing with his glasses, he put them on and got to work on his homework.

The room fell into a long silence. Han Ziyang, not one to handle boredom well, began fidgeting with his chair, making it creak. But the Omega on the bed remained as still as a mountain.

Wei Xiaochi sat cross-legged, using his backpack as a makeshift desk under his workbook, scribbling away diligently. He paid no attention to Han Ziyang’s antics, nor did he dare to.

Unable to stand the silence any longer, Han Ziyang finally broke it. “Hey.”

Wei Xiaochi paused his writing and looked up. “Hmm?”

Han Ziyang looked at him, and Wei Xiaochi looked back. After staring at each other for a while, Han Ziyang still couldn’t figure out what to say.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to say something—it was just that there wasn’t much to talk about with Wei Xiaochi.

Although they’d known each other for a while and Wei Xiaochi tutored them daily, they weren’t actually close. During breaks, Han Ziyang usually fooled around with Jiang Rui and the others rather than hanging out with Wei Xiaochi.

Especially in the past two weeks—God knows why Jiang Zhan had been acting so weird. Anyone who dared talk to Wei Xiaochi would get smacked by him.

But Han Ziyang hated silence and refused to sit idle. Seeing Wei Xiaochi dive back into his studies, Han Ziyang got desperate. “Hey, can’t you stop writing for a second?”

Wei Xiaochi blinked, puzzled. “What’s the matter?”

Han Ziyang racked his brain for a topic and finally came up with something. He crossed one leg over the other, waggling his eyebrows.

“You must be thrilled, huh? Becoming an Omega gets you one step closer to catching up with Jiang Zhan.”

Though he said it jokingly, Han Ziyang had a sneaking suspicion that, given Jiang Zhan’s recent behavior, even if Wei Xiaochi hadn’t differentiated, things might not have been that far off anyway.

“…”

Why did everyone in the world assume he liked Jiang Zhan?

Wei Xiaochi sighed helplessly. “Believe it or not, I don’t have those kinds of feelings for him.”

Han Ziyang, naturally, didn’t believe a word of it. “Yeah, right. Keep pretending. Do you think you can fool my sharp eyes?”

The Alpha tapped his foot smugly—after all, he was the first to figure out Wei Xiaochi had a crush on Jiang Zhan.

Wei Xiaochi, oblivious to the fact that Han Ziyang was the root of all these rumors, decided it wasn’t worth arguing anymore and buried himself in his work.

But Han Ziyang wasn’t about to let it go. Grinning mischievously, he slung an arm around Wei Xiaochi’s shoulder like they were old buddies.

“Want me to give you some tips?”

Wei Xiaochi leaned away, brushing off Han Ziyang’s arm, his long lashes half-lowered. “No need.”

“Come on, don’t be shy. Why let an opportunity go to waste?” Han Ziyang propped his chin on his hand, studying Wei Xiaochi. “Your looks are… average, at best. But if you spruce up a bit, you might pass.”

Wei Xiaochi smoothed out his wrinkled shirt, entirely unfazed by the low rating of “average” and “might pass” Han Ziyang had given him.

“Here’s the thing.” Han Ziyang reached out and plucked Wei Xiaochi’s glasses off his face. “Stop wearing these.”

Wei Xiaochi, alarmed, scrambled to retrieve his glasses. “Give them back.”

Han Ziyang stepped back, avoiding his grasp.

He examined the glasses, checking the thickness of the lenses, and then asked, “How bad’s your prescription?”

Wei Xiaochi, distressed to see his freshly cleaned lenses smudged with fingerprints, pleaded, “Stop messing around. Give them back.”

But Han Ziyang wouldn’t relent. “Just tell me—how bad is it?”

“Five hundred,” Wei Xiaochi reluctantly answered.

“Five hundred?” Han Ziyang exclaimed. He tried the glasses on but immediately felt dizzy and took them off with a frown.

“Your vision’s pretty bad. You should get corrective surgery or something.”

Wei Xiaochi, half-kneeling on the bed, reached out again but failed to grab the glasses. “I’m not doing that.”

“Why not?” Han Ziyang asked, looking genuinely curious.

Wei Xiaochi slumped back onto the bed, grumbling, “I don’t have the money.”

Han Ziyang snorted. “Is that all? I’ll sponsor you, no problem.”

Wei Xiaochi looked up in surprise.

Actually, the reason he’d asked Jiang Zhan to call Li Suilin over earlier wasn’t just to bring his glasses and backpack. He also wanted to ask about Jiang Zhan. Li Suilin had mentioned before that he’d known Jiang Zhan since they were kids. Judging by how Li Suilin’s mother treated Jiang Zhan, their relationship seemed pretty close.

To Wei Xiaochi, Jiang Zhan’s kindness was almost excessive. He wanted to ask Li Suilin if Jiang Zhan was like this with everyone.

But now, hearing Han Ziyang casually offer to sponsor him, Wei Xiaochi was left puzzled.

Maybe, for these rich kids, money was just paper, something to spend on anyone they liked?

If that was their mentality, it could explain Jiang Zhan’s behavior.

Still, Wei Xiaochi politely declined Han Ziyang’s offer. “No need, thanks.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Wei Xiaochi bit his lip and asked, “But can I ask you a question?”

Han Ziyang rested one hand on the back of his chair and tilted his chin up. “What’s the question? Shoot.”

Wei Xiaochi coughed lightly. “Do you think… he’s been unusually nice to me?”

Han Ziyang, clueless as ever, asked, “Who?”

“…Jiang Zhan.”

“Of course!” Han Ziyang replied emphatically. He’d taken plenty of beatings from Jiang Zhan all because of Wei Xiaochi.

So it wasn’t just his imagination. Wei Xiaochi frowned in confusion. “Why, though?”

The Omega’s puzzled expression seemed so genuine that Han Ziyang blurted out without thinking, “What else? He likes you, duh.”

The words had barely left his mouth before Han Ziyang realized he’d been tricked.

Damn it, this sneaky little green tea bastard had set him up. His acting was way too convincing!

Wei Xiaochi only felt a loud buzzing in his head, his eyes wide open to the limit, and he stood frozen in shock.

It took him a while to regain his voice, and he asked Han Ziyang with difficulty, “Does he… is he good to you…?”

Han Ziyang, based on his understanding of Jiang Zhan, guessed that Jiang Zhan liked Wei Xiaochi. If not, would he always protect him like he was some sort of treasure?

But what if he wasn’t? Or what if Zhan Ge had other thoughts…

If the other person found out that his mouth had slipped and let it slip first, wouldn’t Jiang Zhan peel his skin off?

At that moment, Han Ziyang regretted speaking carelessly. He was now extra cautious with Wei Xiaochi, raising his guard by two hundred percent.

He looked at Wei Xiaochi, who seemed harmless and innocent, and said with a hint of irritation, “Why are you asking this?”

Han Ziyang muttered a few times to himself, as if remembering something, “Of course, Zhan Ge treats me well. Not just well, extremely well. We’ve been at the same school from elementary to high school.”

Han Ziyang was a chatterbox. He originally only wanted to express his importance in Jiang Zhan’s heart, but as he spoke, his feelings started to show.

He had grown late, short and chubby in elementary school, and his mouth was tough, so he often got beaten up, and it was always Jiang Zhan who helped him fight back.

Compared to Li Suilin, the smiling black-hearted snake, Han Ziyang sometimes felt that Jiang Zhan was more like his brother.

As he recalled the rough years he had spent with Jiang Zhan, anyone would have to admire their brotherhood.

“So don’t get cocky,” Han Ziyang poked Wei Xiaochi’s forehead, “I’m telling you, between me and Zhan Ge, you can’t just butt in.”

Wei Xiaochi’s head moved back a little as he was poked, and he raised his arm to shield his face, mumbling, “I don’t want to butt in.”

The door to the hospital room opened, and as soon as Jiang Zhan stepped in, he saw Han Ziyang bending over at the bedside, while the omega on the bed was curled up with his face buried in his arm, looking as if he’d been wronged.

Jiang Zhan’s deep, dark eyes rolled with fury. “What the hell are you doing?”

Han Ziyang jumped, quickly pulling his hand back as if shocked, and moved quickly away from Wei Xiaochi.

“Nothing, nothing at all?” Han Ziyang, looking small and helpless, pressed against the wall and cast a pleading glance at Wei Xiaochi. “Right, Xiao Si… Xiao Chi?”

Seeing Jiang Zhan’s anger, Wei Xiaochi felt scared, and he stiffly nodded. “Mhm.”

Jiang Zhan scanned Wei Xiaochi from head to toe, then turned his gaze to Han Ziyang. When he noticed the glasses in Han Ziyang’s hand, he instantly became furious. “Give him his glasses back!”

Han Ziyang, not daring to delay, quickly offered the glasses to Wei Xiaochi with both hands.

Wei Xiaochi took them and put them on, sitting obediently on the bed, looking like a child who had been caught doing something wrong.

Jiang Zhan asked, “Did he bully you?”

Wei Xiaochi shook his head together with Han Ziyang.

Seeing their perfectly synchronized movements, Jiang Zhan’s face darkened even more, and he shot a glare at Han Ziyang.

Han Ziyang’s back froze, and he gave a fake smile. “Well, I just remembered I have something else to do. I’ll go now, Zhan Ge.”

After that, he quickly made his exit, leaving Wei Xiaochi alone to face Jiang Zhan.

Although Wei Xiaochi knew that Jiang Zhan… liked him, he didn’t dare be too bold. After all, Jiang Zhan didn’t even show any tolerance toward Han Ziyang.

To be honest, when Han Ziyang used the word “like” to describe Jiang Zhan’s attitude toward him, Wei Xiaochi’s brain went completely blank.

For a moment, he even thought that kind of like was the kind of like between AOs.

But then he quickly dismissed that ridiculous thought. After all, how could that be?

He didn’t argue with Han Ziyang’s negative comments about his appearance because, deep down, he thought they were true.

No one had ever praised Wei Xiaochi’s looks, and he didn’t care much about it. He never had the time or energy to care.

He was ordinary in appearance, ordinary in personality, with no special traits or talents. The only thing he was good at was studying. Wei Xiaochi couldn’t think of anything else that made him stand out.

If he turned Han Ziyang’s description of “liking him” into Jiang Zhan “being fond of him,” it seemed more plausible.

From the time they had spent together, Wei Xiaochi had realized that Jiang Zhan’s bad temper was really bad, but it wasn’t as terrifying as the rumors said. He often acted unreasonable, but he had never hit him.

Jiang Zhan seemed like the kind of person who was tough on the outside but soft on the inside, with a strong sense of justice. He cared about the vulnerable.

When Han Ziyang was part of the vulnerable group, Jiang Zhan helped him fight and protected him.

Wei Xiaochi, being part of the vulnerable group as well, had received Jiang Zhan’s attention and care.

Thinking back, Jiang Zhan was pretty good to the people around him. He knew that Li Suilin liked electronic products, so every time his brother-in-law’s company had a release event, he would send Li Suilin a gift.

Seeing the alpha’s gloomy face, clearly in a bad mood, Wei Xiaochi would have normally kept quiet, but today he took the rare opportunity to face it head-on.

He proactively explained, “Han Ziyang came to bring me something.”

This was something Jiang Zhan had ordered, so he naturally knew Han Ziyang’s purpose. Wei Xiaochi was just making small talk.

Although his skills weren’t high, they were effective enough to prompt a response from the alpha.

Jiang Zhan’s brow twitched, his eyes flashing with anger. “Bring something? Why were you two so close?”

The word “like” that Han Ziyang had used earlier had indeed affected Wei Xiaochi. He felt that Jiang Zhan was acting a bit jealous.

In the past, if Jiang Zhan had asked like that, Wei Xiaochi would have just thought he was a bit quirky and often got angry over trivial things.

But now, Wei Xiaochi awkwardly looked away. “No, no, we weren’t that close. He poked my forehead, and I blocked it.”

He lowered his head, stammering, not even sure what he was saying.

Jiang Zhan stepped forward, holding Wei Xiaochi’s chin in his hand. Looking down, he saw that his forehead was indeed starting to turn red.

This made the alpha even angrier. Gritting his teeth, he asked, “Then when I asked you if he bullied you, you said no?”

Wei Xiaochi looked up at the handsome face in front of him, his eyes flickering. “That… wasn’t bullying. He didn’t mean anything bad.”

That comment was like poking a hornet’s nest. Jiang Zhan’s already ugly face darkened even more.

Wei Xiaochi had a stack of thick study guides on his lap, a mess of review materials—about twenty or thirty books, all quite heavy, resting heavily on his knees.

He stole a glance at the alpha sitting on the sofa.

The alpha had long eyebrows, deep eyes, and a handsome, imposing face, but his expression was extremely foul, his thin lips pressed in a tight line. When he noticed someone was looking at him, he glared back.

Wei Xiaochi quickly looked down, fiddling with the exercise books, pretending to be busy. He had only glanced at him by accident earlier.

Ten minutes ago, Wei Xiaochi thought he was in big trouble, but Jiang Zhan hadn’t exploded. Instead, he handed him a pile of practice books, sat on the sofa, and didn’t bother him.

After lunch, Jiang Zhan said he had something to do and went out. Wei Xiaochi thought he was going to handle something, but when Jiang Zhan returned, he brought back a ton of study materials.

Wei Xiaochi had already gone through all the past years’ exam papers, and he had bought a lot of study guides. When it came to this, he never hesitated to spend money.

His life was boring—no hobbies, no friends. Though he didn’t treat studying as entertainment, it definitely took up most of his time.

Some of the study guides Jiang Zhan bought were ones Wei Xiaochi already had, and some were too basic for his current level of study.

But a few were books Wei Xiaochi had wanted to buy but hadn’t gotten around to. He picked them out and placed them on his right-hand side.

Having tutored the “study-challenged” group for nearly a month, Wei Xiaochi had a general sense of their strengths and weaknesses, so he picked two basic sets of questions for Jiang Zhan.

The remaining dozen or so books were useless.

When Wei Xiaochi’s gaze fell on the sofa again, the alpha was looking back at him. His eyes were like a shark sensing blood, which made Wei Xiaochi’s heart skip a beat.

Wei Xiaochi braved the silence, “These practice books are for me, right?”

Jiang Zhan didn’t respond, his pride too high to say anything.

Wei Xiaochi swallowed, lightly patting the remaining stack of books. “These can be returned. I already have them.”

“These two.” Wei Xiaochi pushed them towards Jiang Zhan. “They should be useful for you.”

As soon as Jiang Zhan saw that Wei Xiaochi had left him two books, he couldn’t hold back. The corners of his mouth twitched.

The encyclopedia said that Omega’s hormones go haywire during differentiation, making them easily upset and needing their emotions to be well cared for.

Seeing Wei Xiaochi in the hospital room, bored out of his mind and still fixated on studying, Jiang Zhan bought him some study guides to pass the time.

Who knew the other person would even want to share those with him?

Jiang Zhan had no interest in studying at all and looked at Wei Xiaochi in an indescribable way.

Wei Xiaochi forced a smile, trembling as he handed him a pen, and invited Jiang Zhan, “Wanna do some questions together?”

He added thoughtfully, “If you don’t understand, I can teach you.”

The exam was on Wednesday, and if Jiang Zhan failed a subject, the basketball game would be a real problem.

If it were anyone else asking Jiang Zhan to study, he would’ve told them to “scram.”

Wei Xiaochi also thought this moment felt surreal. He and Jiang Zhan were sitting face-to-face on the hospital bed, a small desk between them with one of them working on each side.

In front of the alpha was a practice book, and Wei Xiaochi had marked a few questions that might appear on the test on Wednesday.

The questions wouldn’t be exactly the same, but based on Wei Xiaochi’s past exam experience, the question types should be similar.

Jiang Zhan rested his elbow on the desk, holding a pen between his index and middle fingers, nervously turning it back and forth.

Wei Xiaochi watched the pen for a while, then cautiously leaned forward. “Is there anything you don’t understand?”

Jiang Zhan, expressionless, pointed to a question.

Wei Xiaochi took the book and glanced at it, then placed the book sideways between them, leaning his body toward Jiang Zhan as he patiently explained.

The omega’s head hung low, revealing a pale, delicate neck. Since they were sitting close, their shoulders brushed against each other.

Jiang Zhan slowly leaned in, his chin gently resting on Wei Xiaochi’s left shoulder.

The shadows on the wall intertwined, like a pair of affectionate lovers.

Jiang Zhan’s nostrils twitched, unable to resist rubbing his face against Wei Xiaochi’s collar, his eyes showing a trace of tenderness.

He smelled so good.

In the morning, Wei Xiaochi passed the two tests and, as expected, went back to school on Monday.

Since his differentiation, his senses had become much sharper. He could vaguely sense the presence of other alphas or omegas.

It wasn’t their pheromones, just their presence.

Before, Wei Xiaochi could tell the difference between AOs based on body type and appearance, but now he could rely on intuition. It was a strange feeling.

He wasn’t sure if others could feel his changes too, but he thought they probably could.

He didn’t pay much attention to others, but Xu Yang had looked at him several times today. It seemed like he had noticed, but Wei Xiaochi didn’t mind.

If others noticed, they noticed. He hadn’t intended to hide anything.

At noon, Wei Xiaochi followed the crowd to the cafeteria. As soon as he stood in line, someone grabbed the collar of his shirt from behind.

Wei Xiaochi instinctively tensed his shoulders, then turned around to see the handsome-faced alpha.

Jiang Zhan frowned in displeasure. “Why are you running so fast?”

Wei Xiaochi was stunned for a moment. “I wasn’t running.”

Jiang Zhan didn’t say anything and simply pulled Wei Xiaochi toward the cafeteria’s third section.

The food here was expensive, and Wei Xiaochi had never gone to that part of the cafeteria before. But now, he was being dragged there by Jiang Zhan like a little chick being carried away.

He struggled for a moment but eventually obediently followed Jiang Zhan. “I’ll treat you to this meal.”

Wei Xiaochi had lost count of how much he owed Jiang Zhan. If he kept paying him at the rate of two hundred per day for tutoring, he’d probably still be paying Jiang Zhan until he graduated from college.

Han Ziyang appeared out of nowhere, asking, “What are you treating for? Is there any for me?”

Jiang Zhan shot him a glance, and Han Ziyang immediately felt a chill run through him, shutting up without another word.

The third section of the cafeteria wasn’t lacking in people, but thankfully, there were enough servers, and the food line moved quickly. Soon, it was Wei Xiaochi’s turn.

He ordered quickly, a serving of rice and stir-fried cabbage.

The cafeteria worker called out, “17.”

The dishes here were twice as expensive as the regular ones, and Wei Xiaochi’s heart bled a little. But he still generously said, “I’ll pay for both of us, he already paid for himself, so we’ll just pay together.”

Wei Xiaochi stood aside, preparing to swipe his card, but before he could, Jiang Zhan had already paid for both their meals.

Wei Xiaochi felt uneasy about taking advantage of the situation, muttering, “I said I’d treat you.”

Jiang Zhan tossed out a casual “next time” and led Wei Xiaochi to find a seat.

Seeing Wei Xiaochi’s plate with just a serving of stir-fried cabbage, Jiang Zhan’s face darkened. “What are you, a cat? Only this much?”

As an alpha who was a carnivore, Jiang Zhan had ordered three meat dishes—sweet and sour ribs, steamed pork, and a stew. Without saying a word, he piled half of each dish onto Wei Xiaochi’s plate.

Looking at the mountain of food in front of him, Wei Xiaochi was stunned. “I can’t eat this much.”

“Then eat as much as you can.”

Han Ziyang, carrying his own plate, was about to sit down when he saw this scene and immediately felt a pang of jealousy.

He had known Jiang Zhan for so long, but he had never managed to take a single piece of meat from Jiang Zhan’s plate.

What kind of “best brother” was this? Friendship’s over.

Han Ziyang, angrily holding his plate, stormed off.

It wasn’t just Han Ziyang—Li Suilin was also extremely annoyed with Jiang Zhan.

As soon as class ended, even if there were only ten minutes, this alpha, who was protective of his food, would wander over to Class 1.

During the long break in the morning, who knew where Jiang Zhan had taken Wei Xiaochi? Unless it was necessary, the omega, who usually preferred staying in the classroom, rushed back just in time for the bell.

In the afternoon, during the second class’s break, Li Suilin blocked Jiang Zhan at the stairwell.

Li Suilin stood in front of him, and whenever Jiang Zhan moved to the left, he did too; when Jiang Zhan moved to the right, so did he.

Jiang Zhan, looking displeased, asked, “What do you want?”

“I should be asking you that,” Li Suilin pinched the space between his brows. “I’m asking you, can you act normal for once?”

Wei Xiaochi had just differentiated, and it was normal for Jiang Zhan to be possessive, not wanting other alphas to have their eyes on him.

But Jiang Zhan’s actions clearly went beyond what was normal. If Wei Xiaochi could shrink down, Li Suilin figured Jiang Zhan would probably try to carry him in his pocket every day.

Jiang Zhan didn’t want to listen to his lecture. Impatiently, he said, “Move.”

“You think I want to care? Your current behavior is completely off,” Li Suilin said seriously, which was rare for him.

“On the day Xiao Chi differentiated, you smelled his pheromones a lot. You’ve been staying together for the past couple of days—have you thought about what will happen when his next heat comes?”

Li Suilin couldn’t even imagine what Jiang Zhan would do to Wei Xiaochi during his heat if his possessiveness was this strong already.

Jiang Zhan’s alpha value was already high, which made it hard for him to control himself, especially since he didn’t want to control his overwhelming possessiveness toward Wei Xiaochi.

Wei Xiaochi might be slow to catch on, but any sharp omega would’ve already run off by now.

Seeing people around them watching, Li Suilin lowered his voice, his tone becoming deeper.

“For his safety, you’d better keep your distance and stop inhaling his pheromones.”

Author’s note:

The dog is about to enter his heat.