Night deepened, and the classrooms in the high school building were lit as brightly as day.
“Luoluo, are you all right?” Tang Qi pulled Luo Yun straight into her arms. The faint fragrance on her body soothed Luo Yun considerably.
Being hugged like this in front of Feng Ye and the homeroom teacher made Luo Yun’s face heat up a little. “Mom, I’m fine. I already used a suppressant.”
After Tang Qi calmed down, the homeroom teacher briefly explained what had happened.
When she learned that Luo Yun’s deskmate had protected him immediately, Tang Qi sincerely thanked Feng Ye.
Although she rarely came to school, she had always known that Feng Ye was the alpha with the worst grades in Class Three.
After the classes were divided into arts and sciences streams, she had initially been dissatisfied when she heard that the homeroom teacher arranged seats according to that pattern. No one could guarantee that a poor student would not affect her child’s grades. It was only after Luo Yun told her that, as class monitor, it was only right for him to look after his classmates that she stopped feeling so uneasy about it.
At the parent-teacher meeting last semester, she clearly remembered that Feng Ye’s textbooks had looked completely brand-new.
This time, however, Feng Ye had protected Luo Yun. Tang Qi’s gaze toward him softened considerably. “Good child, thank you. Find a time to come visit Auntie’s home sometime.”
Feng Ye grinned, not taking the invitation as empty politeness in the slightest. With one hand in his pocket, he said, “Sure. Thank you, Auntie. I’m free every weekend.”
Such straightforwardness made Tang Qi pause. Then she smiled. “All right. Next time I’ll have Luoluo let you know.”
The hospital only accepted emergency cases at night. A physical examination required blood tests, so the hospital staff suggested that they return the next day, Saturday.
On the way home, Tang Qi was afraid Luo Yun would get cold and bought him a cup of milk tea to warm him up. She had originally been scheduled to work overtime the next day, but now she would have to ask for leave.
“Mom, I can go by myself tomorrow.”
Luo Yun held the milk tea and took a sip. A watery sheen coated his pale pink lips. His face was fair and clean, and when he tucked his neck into his collar, he looked particularly obedient.
He opened the hospital’s official account on WeChat. It showed that he had already booked an appointment with Dr. Ling Yixue, who was also his younger sister’s attending physician.
“I was already planning to go this weekend after I suddenly started being able to smell pheromones. Since something happened tonight anyway, there’s no need for you to miss work too.”
Seeing that Tang Qi was still hesitating, Luo Yun linked his arm through hers. “I’m old enough now. Nothing’s going to happen.”
Tang Qi had taken too much leave that year, and the other people at her company were already unhappy with her. In the end, she could only agree.
“All right, then. If anything comes up during the examination, tell me immediately. When we get home, we’ll tell your dad about this too. Once we get paid at the end of the month, we’ll go out and have something nice to eat!”
“Okay.” The corners of Luo Yun’s lips lifted slightly. In the darkness of the night, he tilted his head and leaned gently against Tang Qi’s shoulder.
***
On Saturday, Luo Yun woke early. He first took out the homework for each subject, finished it quickly, then began organizing the questions he had gotten wrong.
No. 1 High School was academically strong, but it was still a private school. Many wealthy parents actually did not pressure their children too much about grades. To remain among the top students in the city, Luo Yun would often find practice questions from other schools to work on as well.
Before leaving, Luo Yun received a message from Feng Ye asking about his condition. Luo Yun replied: 【I’m just about to go to the hospital for a checkup.】
At an esports internet café, Feng Ye had met up early in the morning with several alphas for a five-player ranked team. He did not particularly like League of Legends, but after a few games he had picked it up quickly. He usually had nothing much to do, and Shangguan Yi was always begging him to carry the team, so he had come along.
His computer screen was black. Thinking of Luo Yun, he still felt uneasy and sent another message.
【Feng Ye: All right. Tell me when you’re done with the examination.】
Luo Yun put on his sneakers, picked up his keys, and typed as he walked: 【Mm.】
Satisfied, Feng Ye closed his phone and tossed it onto the table. Shangguan Yi and the others shouted a few times and successfully won the match.
Meanwhile, Feng Ye, who had been playing jungle, once again became the sacrificial offering in the team fight.
Shangguan Yi grinned and threw an arm over his shoulder. “Bro, one more game. Let’s go for seven wins in a row!”
“You have the nerve to laugh? Who was it that abandoned me without looking back just now?” Feng Ye asked, lifting the corner of one eye.
“For the greater good,” Shangguan Yi said.
They were playing in a private room. Across from them sat Zhang Tianhe, Class Three’s sports committee member, along with two unfamiliar alphas Shangguan Yi had invited. One was a student athlete and the other was from Class One. Cigarettes and a lighter lay on the table in front of them.
A faint rustling sound came from across the room. Feng Ye noticed the athlete reaching for a cigarette and bent his knuckles, tapping the tabletop lightly.
He said, “If you want to smoke, go smoke in the bathroom. Don’t make everyone stink.”
“Come on. The bathroom doesn’t stink, the window’s open. And when did you quit smoking?” the athlete teased carelessly.
Shangguan Yi cut in, “My Brother Ye quit ages ago.”
“You really quit?” The athlete looked surprised.
The boy from Class One joined in. “You don’t understand. Their class monitor and Su Nong hate the smell of smoke. He’s indulging them.”
The athlete added, “Didn’t expect Brother Ye to be so considerate.”
The two of them laughed and teased him. News that Luo Yun had differentiated into an omega had still spread, and although they did not know the exact details, they found the situation interesting.
The athlete asked, “By the way, Brother Ye, did your class monitor really go straight into heat during evening self-study?”
Feng Ye sank lazily into the soft leather sofa, one hand resting on the keyboard. His eyes lowered, and a trace of dangerous displeasure flashed through his dark gaze.
Zhang Tianhe noticed Feng Ye’s expression darkening and felt uncomfortable hearing the topic himself. “Hey, stop talking about that. Feng Ye already said not to. Let’s just keep playing.”
“Exactly,” Shangguan Yi said, trying to ease the atmosphere.
“What’s wrong with talking about it?” The athlete refused to let it go, speaking without restraint. “I wonder if an omega in heat is really like in those videos—”
Feng Ye straightened and cut him off. “Didn’t I tell you not to discuss that? You think that filthy mouth of yours is worthy of talking about him?”
The atmosphere in the private room abruptly turned heavy. Feeling humiliated, the athlete’s expression soured. “What do you mean, filthy mouth? We’re just talking. It’s not like we’re talking about your omega—”
The rest of the sentence was forced back down his throat. Feng Ye’s right hand had clamped tightly around his neck. A crushing wave of alpha pheromones surged over him, dense with pressure and aggression, and he met Feng Ye’s eyes.
They were pitch-black, deep as stones at the bottom of a pool, utterly without warmth. Feng Ye looked at him as though he were looking at a dead object.
“L-Let…… go.” The athlete’s breathing grew increasingly difficult, his legs kicking helplessly like a dying fish.
The others were stunned by Feng Ye’s sudden rage. Shangguan Yi reacted first and hurried over. “Bro, bro, forget it. Something’s going to happen if you keep choking him.”
Feng Ye stared unblinkingly at the athlete, his grip tightening more and more. When the boy’s breathing became noticeably weaker, Feng Ye smiled and suddenly let go.
The athlete collapsed into his seat, gasping for air.
Feng Ye looked at him with disgust and said sharply, “Nothing decent ever comes out of a filthy mouth. From now on, stop bringing just anyone in front of me.”
With that, he picked up his phone and left. Shangguan Yi remained in the private room, irritably raking a hand through his hair. “What the hell is all this?”
After leaving the internet café, Feng Ye went to a supermarket and bought a bottle of soda water. As he paid, someone tapped him on the shoulder.
“Handsome, want to get acquainted?” A glamorous, seductive woman chewing gum tried to strike up a conversation.
“……” Feng Ye gave her a cold glance and turned away. Before he left, he still heard the girl stamping her foot and cursing angrily, “What are you acting so arrogant for? You’re just handsome. So rude!”
Bored, Feng Ye searched for information about omega differentiation.
He wanted to learn more. He had heard that after differentiation, the organs inside the body would also reorganize and a reproductive cavity would form. The process was uncomfortable and painful. If he understood more, perhaps he could help Luo Yun when the time came and ease some of his discomfort.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he searched, he found something that did not seem right.
The information said that newly differentiated omegas did not enter heat immediately. Heat usually began only after differentiation was fully complete.
He frowned and called his father, Ling Yixue.
***
Meanwhile, Luo Yun had taken a number and was sitting in a chair waiting to be called. By the time it was his turn, it was nearly eleven o’clock.
“Luo Yun? Are you here to ask something for your sister, or…?”
Ling Yixue wore a spotless white coat over a light camel-colored sweater. His neck was slender, and a pair of simple glasses rested on the bridge of his nose.
He knew Luo Yun. When treating Luo Yun’s younger sister, Luo Yun would sometimes accompany her, so after seeing him several times, his face had become familiar.
Luo Yun sat down and shook his head. “I’m here for myself. Last night, I suddenly differentiated into an omega.”
Saying it made him flush slightly. He looked up and saw the other man smiling gently and elegantly, an expression that inspired trust. Luo Yun continued, “Then I unexpectedly went into heat.”
“You went into heat while you were still differentiating?” Ling Yixue frowned. Feng Ye had just told him that his deskmate had experienced exactly that, and now he had unexpectedly encountered another such case today.
He wrote out an order and told Luo Yun to have blood drawn for testing. “It may be noon by the time the results come back. Once you get them, come straight back here to see me.”
After his blood was drawn, Luo Yun pressed a cotton swab to the puncture wound. He received the test results shortly before noon. He could not understand what the numbers on the report represented, but he could at least tell that several of them fell outside the normal range.
Sure enough, when he returned, he saw Ling Yixue frowning over the results.
“Doctor, is it serious?” Luo Yun asked softly.
Ling Yixue considered it for a moment. “Normally, a person who has just differentiated should not enter heat. Judging from your test results, the key receptors that respond to alpha pheromones are insensitive. An ordinary suppressant should not work on you, unless—”
“Unless an alpha whose compatibility with you is over ninety-five percent released pheromones to soothe you last night,” Ling Yixue speculated.
“Compatibility over ninety-five percent?” Luo Yun froze slightly.
The door suddenly opened. It was already the lunch break. Feng Ye had assumed his father was eating and, seeing the door ajar, had walked straight in without thinking much of it.
“Class monitor, you booked an appointment with my dad?” Feng Ye asked in surprise. Then he turned to Ling Yixue. “Dad, this is the deskmate I told you about this morning.”
Ling Yixue’s gaze moved between the two of them. Suddenly understanding something, he told Feng Ye to wait outside.
Turning back to Luo Yun, he said, “The key receptors through which you receive alpha pheromones are insensitive. In other words, if your deskmate hadn’t been there last night, an ordinary suppressant would not have worked at all.”
“In a few days, once the omega organs in your body have finished differentiating, you’ll enter your first true heat, lasting three to four days. Last night was only a false heat.”
Luo Yun’s grip tightened around the test report, crumpling the paper. “Then is there any treatment?”
“The first option is a special suppressant. However, it’s expensive and isn’t covered by medical insurance. One dose costs twelve thousand yuan. The side effect is drowsiness and fatigue after injection, so you would need to rest for one or two days.”
“The second option is to have an alpha with high compatibility help treat you.”
Ling Yixue explained, “Like last night: more physical contact, exchanging saliva through kissing, using objects carrying his pheromones, and ideally discussing whether he can give you a temporary mark.”
Luo Yun had been a beta for more than a decade and had become an omega overnight. He was not particularly sensitive about his new identity. In his understanding, heat was nothing serious. Medicine was advanced; one could simply use a suppressant. But a special suppressant cost twelve thousand yuan per dose……
Luo Yun’s medical bills flashed through his mind. Sometimes, when he got up during the night, he would hear Tang Qi talking to his father on the phone, saying that the family did not have enough money.
“If I remember correctly, you’re in the second year of high school, same as Feng Ye, right?” Ling Yixue said. “After using the special medication, you would need to rest for a day or two, which could interfere with your studies. A temporary mark is simple, fast, effective, and has no side effects.”
Luo Yun asked, “Would it have any effect on Feng Ye?”
Ling Yixue thought about it. “The alpha who marks you would instinctively develop a strong protective instinct and desire for control toward you……”
Suddenly, something occurred to him. Hesitating, he probed, “Does ‘Deep Winter’ smell good? I was the one who recommended it.”
“Ah……” Luo Yun paused, not understanding why the doctor had suddenly asked that. “It smells pretty good.”
Ling Yixue pressed his lips together and looked at Luo Yun meaningfully.
So this was the beta his son had liked all this time. No—an omega now.
“You two can discuss it.” Ling Yixue took out his lunchbox, giving the two children plenty of time. “I’m going to heat up my lunch.”
When Feng Ye came in, he sat down on the bench beside Luo Yun. “There’s nothing seriously wrong with you, right?”
Luo Yun took a deep breath and told him what the doctor had just said. When he reached the part about the temporary mark, even Luo Yun could not keep the tips of his ears from heating up.
Knowing full well that Feng Ye had feelings for him, it would probably be better to use medication.
He could think of some way to earn the money himself. Asking his family to pay would only make an already difficult situation worse.
“So…” Feng Ye paused before finally finishing the question. “You want me to help you?”
Luo Yun pressed his lips together and said slowly, “At first I did, but after thinking about it again, I’d better forget it…… It wouldn’t be fair to you.”
“What’s unfair about it? I’d be more than happy!” Feng Ye raised a brow and opened WeChat. “How much do you need? You can pay me back slowly.”
In truth, it would not matter even if Luo Yun never paid him back. Money was only a worldly possession, after all.
But if he refused to let Luo Yun repay him and ended up hurting the class monitor’s pride, that would be bad.
He looked up and happened to meet Luo Yun’s rather complicated gaze.
“Um, sorry. What I was originally going to say was that I wanted you to use the temporary-mark method.” Luo Yun lowered his head, his long eyes half-lowered, casting faint shadows over his fair skin.
Luo Yun made up his mind. “As for the money, I’ll pay you back as soon as I can. If I really can’t manage it, I’ll tell my family.”
“A temporary mark?” Feng Ye’s expression went blank for a moment, but the corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably. “Did you just say you were planning to use my pheromones for treatment?”
Luo Yun nodded. “Mm. But forget it now. I’ll treat you to lunch instead. Thank you for being willing to lend me that much money.”
Feng Ye’s finger paused over WeChat. He instantly changed his mind. “I suddenly realized I might not have enough money after all.”
Luo Yun: “……?”
Feng Ye: “Why don’t we just do the temporary mark instead? I promise I’ll bite very gently!”
【Sob, sob, heaven is helping me! I really get to kiss my wife!】
【That’s a temporary mark! ……And then there’s a lifelong mark.】
【Stop thinking about it! What if I get a nosebleed?!】
The more Feng Ye thought about it, the hotter his ears became. His excitement was practically spilling off his face. He looked like a German shepherd—intimidating at first glance, but in truth gentle, loyal, and devoted.
With every thought Feng Ye had, Luo Yun’s face grew a little hotter.
When they kissed, hugged, and made the temporary mark, he would definitely have to hear all of Feng Ye’s inappropriate, suggestive inner thoughts again.
The moment he imagined it, Luo Yun started retreating. “……Maybe I should use the special medication after all.”
Feng Ye: “No, let me treat you.”
Luo Yun: “……I think I’d rather get the injection.”
Feng Ye raised a hand and shook Luo Yun by the shoulders, speaking in a light, coaxing tone. “Didn’t you even say my pheromones smell good?”
Today he wore a black outdoor jacket, leaving a small section of his Adam’s apple visible. Above it was the smooth, clean line of his jaw.
The warm yellow indoor lighting made his angular features look even deeper and more sharply defined.
The boy sat carelessly on the bench, leaning slightly forward. The faint mint scent on him was fresh and clean, wrapped in a cool trace of snow.
“……” Luo Yun’s Adam’s apple moved. Perhaps because he had only just differentiated into an omega, he was extremely dependent on the alpha in front of him.
Like a cat irresistibly drawn to catnip, Luo Yun thought for a moment, then pressed his lips together. “Mm. Then please make sure you…… bite gently.”