Under the alpha’s expectant gaze, Wei Xiaochi couldn’t help but lick his dry lips, his neck flushing with a deep, spreading blush.

Jiang Zhan stared at the moistness on his lips, his heartbeat quickening as he leaned in slowly.

Alpha’s eyes blurred with desire, he lowered his head to chase the omega’s scent and captured those softly colored lips in a kiss.

Wei Xiaochi’s eyes widened in shock.

Unlike their brief kiss last time, this time his lips were fully enveloped, the other’s damp breath hot against his face, burning like fire.

Wei Xiaochi’s already frayed nerves snapped instantly, his eyelashes trembling under the weight of his emotions.

Jiang Zhan cradled Wei Xiaochi’s face, pecking at his lips again and again.

Wei Xiaochi was petrified throughout, his heart working overtime while everything else seemed to stop, eyes wide open staring at Jiang Zhan.

Noticing Wei Xiaochi’s gaze, Jiang Zhan suddenly snapped out of it and stopped.

Their noses nearly touching, they locked eyes, the air around them so hot it seemed it could ignite.

Alpha’s ears turned red, his eyes misted with desire, uncontrollably he leaned in again.

Wei Xiaochi’s mind buzzed, instinctively raising his arms to hold him off.

The rebuffed Jiang Zhan looked astounded, his gaze drifting away from Wei Xiaochi unnaturally.

“What, what are you doing?” Jiang Zhan looked down, his voice sticky sweet, tinged with a hint of coquetry.

He paused, then added, “I’ve been thinking, since you like me, maybe… we could try.”

“…”

Wei Xiaochi was still processing Jiang Zhan’s words when the rooftop door suddenly burst open.

Wei Minzhen, with twitching eyelids both shocked and furious, bellowed, “What are you two doing?”

Seeing the two glued together, Wei Minzhen couldn’t believe someone was daring to date right under his watch.

Didn’t they respect him as the dean at all?

Just as Wei Minzhen had spotted Jiang Zhan entering the lab building from his office window and came to check, fearing a repeat of past incidents, he caught them red-handed in a teenage romance.

“Still hugging?” Wei Minzhen, furious to the point of nearly throwing his shoes, shouted, “Glued together with 502 adhesive? Hands off!”

Wei Xiaochi turned pale, trembling like a leaf. Never in his school years had he been caught by a teacher for misbehavior.

Jiang Zhan reacted swiftly, pushing Wei Xiaochi out of Wei Minzhen’s line of sight, and stepped forward to lift Wei Minzhen’s shirt over his head, covering his face.

Holding Wei Minzhen down, Jiang Zhan glanced at the stunned omega, “Aren’t you going to run?”

Wei Xiaochi, like a sprinter at the sound of a gunshot, ran as soon as Jiang Zhan signaled.

Jiang Zhan watched Wei Xiaochi flee, his brows furrowing deeply.

Once Wei Xiaochi was out of sight, Jiang Zhan finally let go of Wei Minzhen, his expression cold.

Wei Minzhen, lifting the shirt from his head, face dark with rage, veins throbbing.

He had dominated No. 2 High School for over a decade, even the most unruly students submitting under his strict rule. Never had he suffered such humiliation.

“You think I can’t handle you?” Wei Minzhen roared, “Who was that just now?”

Jiang Zhan, hands in his pockets, replied nonchalantly, “Don’t know.”

Wei Minzhen, veins bulging again, exclaimed, “You were hugging, and you don’t know if it was a girl?”

Jiang Zhan, taller and blocking the view, Wei Minzhen hadn’t seen clearly whether it was a boy or a girl, only managed a sneak attack.

Wei Minzhen vaguely remembered the other had short hair, but many girls at school had short hair, and the oversized school uniform hid any distinctive body features.

His intuition told him it was a girl, probably an omega.

As far as Wei Minzhen knew, there were numerous omegas at school who fancied Jiang Zhan, but Jiang always ignored them, and he had turned a blind eye.

“Look at you, fighting, skipping classes, last in grades, and always dressed like a butterfly, more flamboyant than even the omegas, and with longer hair than them.”

“I thought, at least you wouldn’t mess with AO relationships, but now even this basic decency you lack.”

Wei Minzhen, infuriated beyond words, “Your parents sent you to school to date?”

“Getting cozy at school, don’t you know shame?”

“Seeing your worthlessness, swayed by a little omega confession, don’t you know why you’re here?”

Wei Minzhen ranted until he was out of breath, spitting flying.

He was very confident in his ability to scold, no one could withstand his verbal onslaught without feeling embarrassed.

But looking up, he saw alpha with his head bowed, tapping the ground with his toe, fidgeting, a smile tugging at his lips, apparently quite pleased.

Dating, hugging, being confessed to by an omega.

Every word pierced Jiang Zhan’s heart, each phrase filled him with joy.

Wei Minzhen was so angry he nearly fell backward.

Have you no shame, have you no shame!

“Not going to say who it was? Fine, fine,” Wei Minzhen laughed angrily, “A ten thousand-word reflection paper, plus cleaning the school’s common areas for half a year.”

Let’s see how you find time to date.

Jiang Zhan glanced at Wei Minzhen, his expression odd.

Seeing his fear, Wei Minzhen said coolly, “Turn in the ten thousand-word reflection by tomorrow afternoon after school, no delays.”

Jiang Zhan didn’t respond, just straightened Wei Minzhen’s crooked wig, then left with his pockets in his coat.

Wei Minzhen: …

—

The homeroom teacher said it would happen, and so it did, not just his subject but two others were tested too.

Not many questions, plenty of time within one period, only the sound of writing filled the classroom.

Wei Xiaochi finished his paper, his mind wandering despite trying to concentrate, so he carefully checked his work again.

His competition with Zhang Mingyang was evident in every aspect, even in such minor tests they sought to outdo each other.

Zhang Mingyang had failed miserably in the last baseline test and was now secretly striving to turn the tables, something Wei Xiaochi couldn’t let happen, or else his ego would skyrocket.

As the bell rang, the math teacher asked them to hand in their papers, collected by the students in the back row one by one to the front.

Zhang Mingyang stretched his neck trying to see if Wei Xiaochi’s last answer was the same as his.

Wei Xiaochi immediately covered his paper, glaring, “What are you looking at, trying to cheat?”

Zhang Mingyang scoffed, “Cheat off you? I was just trying to see if you got it right, ungrateful.”

Wei Xiaochi: “Don’t need it!”

Zhang Mingyang: “Even if you ask now, I won’t help.”

Xu Yang from the last row came over to collect the papers, and both Wei Xiaochi and Zhang Mingyang withdrew their heads, obediently handing over their papers.

Once Xu Yang left, Wei Xiaochi and Zhang Mingyang’s bravado returned, glaring at each other—

Wei Xiaochi: Wait till the results come out, you’ll see.

Zhang Mingyang: Wait till the results come out, you’ll see.

Sparks flying, they turned away, ignoring each other.

Ding-dong, a message sounded from the phone in Wei Xiaochi’s bag, him sneaking it out while leaning on the desk.

Jiang Zhan had sent him a WeChat message.

Wei Xiaochi’s face flushed to his neck, his head buried in his arms on the desk edge as he opened WeChat.

Jiang Zhan: Why did you run just now?

The question seemed unreasonable since he was the one who told him to run.

Wei Xiaochi rubbed his ear against his arm, responding truthfully: I was very scared.

Scared of being caught by Wei Minzhen, even more scared of having his parents called. He had always been well-behaved at school, never imagining such a big fuss over a romance.

Wei Xiaochi was deeply conflicted, not in the mood to ponder Jiang Zhan’s little schemes.

Jiang Zhan didn’t want Wei Xiaochi to be scolded by Wei Minzhen, nor did he want him to be punished, but seeing him run without hesitation, not even looking back, annoyed him somewhat. However, hearing him say he was scared, his heart softened unbelievably.

Jiang Zhan: Don’t worry, he doesn’t know it’s you.

Fearing Wei Minzhen might be watching, Jiang hadn’t gone directly to Wei Xiaochi.

Even if there were rumors, as long as they denied everything, no one could do anything.

Soon Jiang Zhan sent another message, telling Wei Xiaochi to wait for him after school that evening.

Wei Xiaochi didn’t reply.

Jiang Zhan clearly had feelings for him and wanted to date him early.

Wei Xiaochi couldn’t figure out why he was chosen, thinking maybe it was just because of his studies or his gender.

Now differentiated as an omega, Jiang Zhan had been after his pheromones a few days ago, his interest likely rooted in curiosity about an omega’s scent.

At their age, curiosity about omegas and dating was normal.

Wei Xiaochi knew he wasn’t particularly attractive or boring, so Jiang Zhan would probably tire of him quickly.

But if he refused now, Jiang Zhan’s rebellious nature might flare, leading to who knows what.

As long as his studies and earnings weren’t affected, dating Jiang Zhan might not be a big deal—he wouldn’t necessarily be the one to suffer.

Wei Xiaochi’s only concern was being caught by Wei Minzhen. The rooftop scare had been enough to almost give him a heart attack. If Jiang Zhan could maintain his distance at school, after-school dating for an hour might be manageable.

Jiang Zhan’s interest likely wouldn’t last long; there were many prettier omegas at school, and he wasn’t particularly noticeable.

Wei Xiaochi only hoped to part ways peacefully with Jiang Zhan in the end.

—

Jiang Zhan was impatient. When Wei Xiaochi didn’t reply for two minutes, he sent a flurry of messages.

Wei Xiaochi stopped overthinking and replied quickly: Alright.

After calming the alpha, Wei Xiaochi pulled out a piece of paper, jotting down a “Dating Plan.”

Looking at the word “early dating,” he hesitated, crossing it out and changing it to “dating.”

But it was indeed early dating, undeniably inappropriate.

So he crossed it out and wrote “early dating” again.

Wei Xiaochi started listing potential problems they might face in their early dating—

The other might ask for his pheromones—he had no problem with that.

The other might kiss him—this one gave Wei Xiaochi pause.

He drew an X, then changed it to a check, back to an X, and then a check again.

Wei Xiaochi wavered for a long time over whether Jiang Zhan could kiss him, still undecided when class resumed.

Theoretically, early dating shouldn’t be so brazen; holding hands should be the limit.

But in practice, just last period, he had been kissed by Jiang Zhan. Other than feeling uncomfortable, there were no negative emotions like disgust or nausea.

Wei Xiaochi chalked this up to his lack of strong moral principles, deep down still thinking like an old beta.

If he asked Zhang Mingyang about it, Zhang would likely counter with, “Depends if the person is good-looking.”

It’s that simple.

Wei Xiaochi wasn’t overly particular about appearances. If someone suddenly kissed him—beautiful or not—as long as they didn’t give him an oral infection, he wouldn’t have strong feelings.

If they forced a kiss, it just meant he couldn’t fight back.

And if he couldn’t fight back, he’d go along with it. That’s always how he lived.

—

As soon as the dismissal bell rang, Wei Xiaochi received a text from Jiang Zhan, telling him to skip the cafeteria and go straight to the school gate.

Knowing the alpha’s impatience, Wei Xiaochi ran to the gate.

Today, Jiang Zhan was dressed in a limited-edition designer outfit, its garish colors inexplicably complementing his young master vibe.

Panting, Wei Xiaochi scanned the crowd of blue and white uniforms, looking for the most conspicuous splash of color.

Not seeing him, Wei Xiaochi pulled out his phone to call, but a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist.

Startled, Wei Xiaochi turned to see Jiang Zhan in his school uniform, momentarily stunned.

Alpha stood tall, broad-shouldered, and long-legged. The plain school uniform looked arrogant and overbearing on him.

Jiang Zhan tugged his wrist, leading him outside, and Wei Xiaochi had to hurry to keep up.

In his rush, the bag in his arms shifted. Wei Xiaochi quickly adjusted it.

Jiang Zhan frowned, “Why are you still carrying that bag?”

Wei Xiaochi explained, “Afraid it’ll get stolen if I leave it in the classroom.”

Recognizing it as the bag of chocolates he’d given him, Jiang Zhan tightened his grip on the omega’s wrist, turning his face away to say, “If it gets stolen, I’ll buy you more.”

No need to treasure it so much.

Wei Xiaochi hurriedly shook his head, his face troubled, “Please don’t buy more. I can’t finish them.”

Since Jiang Zhan’s outburst, Wei Xiaochi hadn’t dared to sell them, unsure of what to do with all the chocolate.

Afraid he might really buy more, Wei Xiaochi quickly changed the subject, “Where are we going?”

Jiang Zhan led Wei Xiaochi across the street, “To eat.”

Wei Xiaochi glanced back toward the school, “Where? Not the cafeteria?”

Jiang Zhan said matter-of-factly, “You don’t want Wei Minzhen to find out, right? Better to be cautious for now.”

He wasn’t afraid of Wei Minzhen or anyone else.

Wei Xiaochi nodded at his words. Indeed, they couldn’t let Wei Minzhen find out.

With that, Wei Xiaochi willingly followed Jiang Zhan, only realizing after a long walk that they were still holding hands.