That “wife”… surely Feng Ye was not talking about him, right?
He raised his head to look at Feng Ye.
Feng Ye had a high nose and thin lips pressed lightly together. His loose down jacket was unzipped, both hands tucked into its pockets. He looked lazy, carrying an unconcerned, uninhibited air.
He really had not spoken. His lips had remained closed the entire time.
Could Luo Yun genuinely be hallucinating sounds because the pressure of studying had become too much?
Besides, even if he had suddenly developed the ability to read minds, Feng Ye would not like him, much less call him “wife,” right?!
The mere idea of an Alpha with Feng Ye’s personality calling someone “wife” already felt absurdly unreal.
What was more, Luo Yun and Feng Ye hardly spoke in ordinary circumstances. Their relationship was not particularly good and even carried a little friction.
Luo Yun often accompanied the homeroom teacher and grade director when they caught Feng Ye and the others skipping class.
Several of the sports students close to Feng Ye disliked Luo Yun because of it.
Luo Yun suddenly remembered the first time he had truly taken notice of Feng Ye.
When the Grade Eleven students were divided into humanities and science tracks, Class Three gained many unfamiliar faces. Everyone talked about favorite celebrities and athletes and quickly became acquainted.
Luo Yun had a detached personality. Unlike most high school students, he did not have any particularly strong interests.
It was around that time that Feng Ye transferred into their class.
One day, Luo Yun went to the office to submit some materials and happened to see Feng Ye being reprimanded by the grade director.
Three or five tall Alphas stood in a row with their backs against the wall, heads lowered so they would not meet the director’s eyes. They treated the lecture like meaningless noise, letting it go in one ear and out the other.
The grade director’s exact words were, “The skin on your faces is thicker than the corner of a city wall!”
They all had the attitude of people utterly beyond shame or fear of criticism.
Only Feng Ye met the grade director’s eyes without the slightest hesitation, a faintly cold and dangerous edge in his gaze.
He wore a loose short-sleeved shirt. His arms were long and cleanly muscled, the back of his head rested against the wall, his posture was straight, and the corners of his mouth were drawn tight.
When the grade director saw Luo Yun enter, he used him to add fuel to the scolding. “Look at Luo Yun. First in the grade every single time. Then look at yourselves. You’re mud that can’t be plastered onto a wall. You’re really going to be the death of me!”
……Luo Yun, who had merely been passing through, was forced to endure the stares of several Alphas.
Only Feng Ye’s black eyes held no warmth at all, distant and cold. After Luo Yun put down the materials and glanced back, the other Alphas had lowered their heads again. Feng Ye alone was still watching him, the corner of his mouth slightly raised as if he were thinking about something.
Many people said an Alpha like Feng Ye would obviously become a sports student. He was good at basketball, tall, and only his grades were poor. Yet in the end, he unexpectedly chose the science track, shocking all the sports students who usually hung around with him.
No matter how unfamiliar Luo Yun might have been with Feng Ye at first, they had been deskmates for long enough that he could recognize the voice he had just heard.
It really was Feng Ye.
And Luo Yun was the only person present wearing suit trousers.
A cold gust swept by, and Luo Yun’s teeth chattered lightly.
It had to be an auditory hallucination… He really should stop staying up so late drilling problems at night, or he was going to damage his mental state.
***
The opening ceremony was held on the athletic field.
The main stage stood at the front. Below it was an eight-hundred-meter red rubber track, with artificial turf inside the oval. Across the track from the stage was the flag-raising platform, and farther behind that stretched the basketball courts, badminton courts, table-tennis tables, and other facilities.
Several redwood chairs had been placed on the track and were filled with parents attending the opening ceremony.
Luo Yun had arrived early and helped the discipline committee member organize the class lines.
“Class Monitor, isn’t anyone from your family coming?” Su Nong looked toward the front. His father turned around, smiled, and waved.
There had been two parent meetings the previous semester, and Su Nong had met Luo Yun’s mother. She was a gentle-looking Omega whose smile held the soft, tranquil beauty associated with the water towns south of the Yangtze River.
“Mm. My mom probably has something to do, so she can’t come.” Luo Yun fiddled with his phone. There was no red notification dot over the message icon. Tang Qi still had not replied.
“I see.” Su Nong smiled. “Then I’ll ask my dad to take a few pictures of you. You’re dressed this nicely; it’d be a waste not to commemorate it.”
Luo Yun had fair skin and striking features. He was publicly recognized as the campus heartthrob of their grade.
The title had been voted on by the entire school, including the little brats in the middle-school division. Alphas and Omegas were fewer in number than Betas, which naturally made them more prized. Alphas were born with outstanding leadership ability and physical strength, while Omegas were generally attractive and practically treated like rare pandas in a classroom. Against that background, Betas tended to seem even more ordinary by comparison.
Yet despite all that, Luo Yun had relied on his exceptional looks and excellent grades to seize the title of No. 1 High’s campus heartthrob anyway.
While Su Nong was thinking about it, he happened to glimpse the late-arriving Feng Ye. Feng Ye was tall and dressed entirely in black, making him extremely conspicuous amid the sea of white.
Then again, if Feng Ye had participated in the campus-heartthrob vote at the time, Su Nong might have struggled a little more over his choice.
The school administrators’ long speeches were nearly over when someone from the student council came to notify Luo Yun to prepare for his own speech.
Backstage, his phone, silent for so long, finally rang.
Delight showed on Luo Yun’s face. He jogged to a corner and answered. “Mom.”
“Luoluo, I’m sorry. Mom only saw your message this morning. Xiaoyun’s condition still isn’t completely stable, so…” Tang Qi did not finish the sentence.
Luo Yun understood what she meant. After steadying himself, he smiled slightly. “Mm, I know. It’s fine if you can’t come. The homeroom teacher just asked me to check.”
There were two seconds of silence before a soft laugh came from the other end. “Then do your best, sweetheart. Mom will make spicy fish for you tonight.”
“Mom, give me the phone…” A young girl’s voice called from the other end. “Big Brother.”
Luo Yun thought of his little sister’s dimples. The corners of his eyes lifted, and his voice softened several degrees from usual. “Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”
“I’m not uncomfortable. I can leave the hospital this afternoon. The nurse gave me a piece of candy, so I’ll bring it home for Big Brother tonight.” Luo Yun held the phone in both hands and spoke in a sweet, spoiled tone while smiling.
Because she spent so much time going back and forth to the hospital, Luo Yun’s younger sister was more innocent and childlike than some precocious girls her age in middle school. She adored her handsome big brother and loved burrowing into Luo Yun’s arms.
“Then Big Brother will bring you a lollipop when he comes home tonight too.”
She cheerfully agreed on the other end. After they chatted for several more sentences, Luo Yun relaxed a little. Hearing the host announce his turn, he ended the call, took off his shearling jacket, and walked gracefully onto the stage.
***
The moment he stepped onto the stage, the students who had been nodding off suddenly became alert. Human beings were visual creatures. Compared with administrators whose hairlines were nearly gone, they naturally preferred the handsome campus heartthrob with his well-proportioned figure.
The pure-white shirt outlined his slim waist. His loose fringe had been brushed back, revealing a smooth, full forehead, while the trousers fit closely over his legs and made them look particularly long and straight.
Luo Yun’s voice was clear and clean, his articulation precise. It sounded like raindrops sliding from the edge of a roof, falling one by one with a soft patter that was pleasant to hear.
No one knew that Luo Yun was already freezing to death.
He did everything he could to keep his teeth from chattering, held a pleasant curve at the corners of his mouth, maintained a flawless image, and perfectly completed the task Ren Ying had given him.
Su Nong received a close-up photograph sent by his father, clicked his tongue appreciatively as he admired it for a while, then opened No. 1 High’s Omega group chat.
Some people in the group used alternate accounts, but Su Nong made no effort to hide and used his main account.
Many people in the group knew him. After all, most of the photographs of Luo Yun and Feng Ye had been secretly taken by him.
Those closest to the action always got the best opportunities.
[Su Nong]: Does he look good? If he does, save it and look at it more! [Image]
[Boo-hoo-hoo, yes, yes! Brother Luo is seriously so handsome!]
[Damn it, why isn’t he an Alpha? If he were, I’d go for him!]
[I could eat two extra bowls of rice just looking at this picture!]
[Pathetic! I could eat three!]
Su Nong smiled, then suddenly saw that someone else in the group had secretly photographed Feng Ye.
It was a side-profile shot. In the photograph, Feng Ye looked careless and unruly, one arm draped over another person’s shoulder, his back slightly bent. There was not a single flaw in the sharply defined profile of his three-dimensional features; his eyes were deep-set and his nose straight, making the Omegas in the group start screaming all over again.
Su Nong looked back at Feng Ye and saw him staring fixedly at the main stage.
He seemed to be listening surprisingly seriously.
***
The host announced dismissal, and the previously quiet atmosphere instantly became lively. Students streamed away in noisy groups, some of them squeezing toward the school shop.
Shangguan Yi had already been lurking in the Omega group for years, all so he could understand what Omegas liked and make it easier to have a sweet high-school romance someday.
After lurking for more than half a year, he had finally figured out what the Omegas at No. 1 High liked.
One was Luo Yun, and the other was Brother Ye.
“I have to admit, Luo Yun really is good-looking. The Omegas in the group are going crazy again.” Shangguan Yi’s thumb flew over the screen so quickly it was almost a blur.
He could not help sighing. “Good thing the class monitor is a Beta. Otherwise, a whole army of Omegas would be screaming that they want to have his babies, and I wouldn’t stand a chance.”
Hearing that, Feng Ye raised an eyebrow so slightly it was almost imperceptible and leaned closer. He was nearly half a head taller than Shangguan Yi, so from behind him he could easily see the phone screen.
“Stop there,” he suddenly said.
“Huh?” Shangguan Yi paused but obediently stopped scrolling.
The photograph on the screen came into view. It had probably been taken by someone standing in the front row who had zoomed in and aimed directly at Luo Yun’s face.
In the photograph, Luo Yun’s head was lowered. His long eyelashes were curled and lifted, casting a faint crescent of shadow over his fair face. His features were delicate and almost cool in their refinement, while his amber eyes added a trace of warmth.
The photograph was quickly pushed upward by a flood of frantic [Aaaaaaaah!] messages.
“Send me that photo from just now,” Feng Ye said.
Shangguan Yi frowned as he scrolled back and found it. “Why do you want a picture of the class monitor?”
Feng Ye smiled with a slightly wicked edge. “Tell me, if I chased him, do you think I could get him?”
“…..” Shangguan Yi fell silent for several seconds. When the meaning finally registered, he nearly shouted aloud. “No, Bro, you don’t have to sacrifice yourself like that, do you?”
Feng Ye frowned. “What do you mean, sacrifice myself?”
Shangguan Yi said, “Aren’t you trying to infiltrate the enemy camp, get updates on the class monitor, and help the rest of us skip class more easily?”
“……” Feng Ye smacked him hard on the head and cursed under his breath. “Idiot.”
Shangguan Yi stood there holding his head, staring after Feng Ye as he walked away. Remembering the contemptuous expression Feng Ye had just given him, he shouted angrily, “It’s not like you could actually like him?!”
Luo Yun was a Beta, after all, a Beta without pheromones who could not soothe an Alpha during his rut. Alphas and Omegas were naturally made for one another; an Alpha and a Beta simply were not biologically matched.
His sudden shout was heard by everyone around them, and whispers immediately began to spread.
“Damn, Feng Ye has someone he likes!”
“It can’t be that Lin Ke from Class Two, can it?”
“Probably not. Feng Ye already rejected Lin Ke. Doesn’t he dislike cute, sweet Omegas the most?”
***
Ever since Luo Yun had suddenly heard Feng Ye’s inner thoughts, he had become somewhat suspicious of everything.
Throughout the entire morning, he secretly observed Feng Ye.
The young master was exactly the same as always, with nothing particularly strange about him. During class, he either played on his phone or slept.
Luo Yun, on the other hand, seemed a little off.
Perhaps he had not been resting well during the past few days. He kept getting sleepy, and seeing Feng Ye sleeping so comfortably made Luo Yun yawn several times in succession.
It was rare to see Luo Yun so listless, and his subject teachers kept glancing at him.
From time to time they called on him to stand and answer questions. Only by repeatedly getting to his feet did Luo Yun barely manage to keep himself from falling asleep.
The final class of the morning was an ABO physiology and health lesson specially arranged by the school.
Luo Yun planned to catch up on sleep during this period. Physiology education had almost nothing to do with Betas. Betas could not smell the pheromones exchanged between Alphas and Omegas, and an Omega’s heat or an Alpha’s rut was even more difficult for a Beta to imagine.
“……An Alpha’s rut does not follow a regular schedule. It occurs roughly three or four times a year. An Omega generally goes into heat once or twice a month, with each heat lasting three to four days, except in people with unusual constitutions.”
The teacher continued explaining slowly at the front. A student asked whether the idea of a fated Omega and a one-hundred-percent Alpha-Omega compatibility rate was actually real.
Alphas and Omegas were naturally attracted to one another, and ordinary couples in society generally had compatibility rates around seventy percent. Even compatibility above eighty-five percent was rare.
The teacher adjusted his glasses. “It is real. To be more precise, medically speaking, a compatibility rate above ninety-five percent is enough for two people to be called fated partners.”
When the presentation switched to diagrams of ABO reproductive physiology, the entire class made embarrassed noises of protest. Several Omegas did not even dare raise their heads. The teacher said sternly, “There’s nothing shameful about this. Only by understanding yourselves properly can you protect yourselves better.”
When the lesson reached Omega heats, all the Alphas in the class became a little restless.
“Let me smell what you’re like.” Seeing Su Nong’s ears turn bright red, Shangguan Yi shamelessly teased him. “I heard most Omegas smell like fruit, milk, or flowers. What do you smell like?”
Su Nong bit his lip. His personality was more outgoing than that of most Omegas, but being teased aloud by an Alpha still made him uncomfortable. He knew Shangguan Yi did not mean anything malicious, but that did not mean he was willing to expose his gland to him.
The gland at the back of an Omega’s neck was an extremely private area, and it was the place most likely to tempt an Alpha into biting.
Shangguan Yi still would not let it go. Leaning sideways, he tried to sniff, looking like an oversized dog.
A desk leg was suddenly kicked hard. Feng Ye, seated in front, shot Shangguan Yi a cold, sharp look. “Do you have any fucking shame? When did you learn to sexually harass people? If Su Nong reports you, they’ll have to lock you up for a few days before you learn how to behave.”
Shangguan Yi awkwardly rubbed his nose and muttered an apology. “Sorry. I just got a little carried away. I’ll buy you milk tea next time.”
Su Nong answered softly and gave Feng Ye a grateful look. Seeing that the row behind him had settled down, Feng Ye turned back around, only to pause slightly.
He saw Luo Yun with his head lowered like an elegant swan, exposing the slender back of his neck. The skin there was white as snow, so pale it looked as though sunlight had never touched it.
The knitted hat pressed down his soft hair, while a few stray strands mischievously escaped around the edges. On the side of his neck near his earlobe sat a vivid red mole.
The skin was smooth and delicate. There was no gland capable of tempting an Alpha, nor any of the pheromones unique to an Omega.
Yet Feng Ye could not look away. With an Alpha’s doglike sense of smell, he still caught something.
A faint trace of citrus and lemon, sunny and sweet, tangled through the soft hair trapped beneath the hat.
His teeth began to ache faintly, carrying with them a desire that pushed uncontrollably upward from the depths of his heart.
[Smells so good.]
[I really want to bite him.]
[If I bite him, can I mark him?]
The wildly clamoring voice echoed around Luo Yun’s ears, making it impossible for him to sleep.
He slowly opened his eyes, turned his head, and met Feng Ye’s gaze.
……Eyes full of animal hunger and desire.