Chapter 4: That Alpha Just Now Was Very Strange
The small hotpot was served by Xie Chen Zhou himself.
Today, he had already done two things in front of Shen Shu Yi that were completely out of character for someone of his status. Shen Shu Yi felt he was gradually starting to get used to this out-of-place behavior.
The two of them sat down at the spot Xie Chen Zhou had previously chosen, facing each other.
Xie Chen Zhou had already brought Shen Shu Yi a new set of bowls and chopsticks. In front of each of them was a bowl of rice and an empty bowl.
Xie Chen Zhou stayed silent, watching Shen Shu Yi take the first bite before he started eating himself.
He had said he wanted to talk about the wedding, but he never spoke another word. Shen Shu Yi could not figure out what he meant, so he simply followed suit and stayed quiet.
With nothing to talk about, they just focused on eating.
After a while, Xie Chen Zhou stood up, went to the nearby utensil sterilizer, and brought back another new pair of chopsticks. Using them, he picked out some of the dishes from the hotpot that Shen Shu Yi liked and placed them into his empty bowl.
Shen Shu Yi was caught off guard and even a little startled. “You… don’t worry about me, just eat for yourself. If there isn’t enough or if you want something else, just tell me…”
In hindsight, Shen Shu Yi began to feel that inviting him to eat something so simple was a bit too shabby. After all, this was the head of a large corporation, an Alpha with an exceptionally high pheromone grade.
He secretly glanced at Xie Chen Zhou.
Unfortunately, he could not smell pheromones and had no idea how concentrated the man’s pheromones were at the moment.
He had heard that if an SSS+ grade Alpha did not deliberately control their pheromones and simply let them be released, most lower-grade Alphas who came into contact with them would suddenly lose control or faint.
But the higher the Alpha’s grade, the stronger their self-control. Research showed that while they were more prone to pheromone outbursts, their overall risk of losing control was actually lower than that of lower-grade Alphas.
This must be what people called “self-control to be proud of.”
Shen Shu Yi thought idly.
Resisting instinct was never easy, and Alphas had it hard. Omegas did too.
He really should have taken Xie Chen Zhou to a nicer restaurant.
As the leader of a major corporation and a top-tier Alpha who could dominate the dating scene, Shen Shu Yi had indeed been negligent.
If it had been another Omega, or even Shen Xing Yao who had always dreamed of marrying a top-tier Alpha, sharing a small hotpot at the same table in their own school with such a man would probably have been a dream come true.
Unfortunately, Xie Chen Zhou had chosen the wrong person.
The heavy atmosphere was destined to continue.
“Eh? Shu Yi?”
Shen Shu Yi was eating, letting his mind wander, when he suddenly heard someone call his name. “You came to eat this early too? And this is…?”
Turning around, Shen Shu Yi saw Qiao Wan standing there with a petite, pretty girl. Her demeanor was different from a Beta’s, and Shen Shu Yi guessed she was an Omega.
This was a Beta school. While the academy did not officially forbid Alpha or Omega students, most did not choose to apply here. The school did not offer many programs suited to them, and it lacked specialized gender-separation facilities and protective measures. When faced with an Omega’s heat or an Alpha’s susceptibility period, they could not handle it well, making things inconvenient.
So this Omega was probably not from their school.
Sure enough, Qiao Wan introduced her. “This is Ling Ling, my high school classmate. She came to hang out with me today. She’s an Omega.”
Shen Shu Yi set down his chopsticks and stood up, nodding to her. “Hello.”
The Omega smiled sweetly at him.
“Shu Yi, yesterday you said you had something going on at home. Is it over now? Lin Shen said our group will have more chances to work together, and that next time when you’re here and everyone’s present, he’ll treat us again.”
“But actually, we don’t really want him to spend money again,” Qiao Wan lowered her voice, “We can tell he actually just wants to treat you to a meal…”
Suddenly, Qiao Wan felt a slight sting in her palm. She looked down to find her Omega friend was squeezing her hand, her expression tinged with fear.
“I… I’m a little scared…” Ling Ling whispered, “That Alpha looks hard to approach…”
Puzzled, Qiao Wan followed her gaze to the Alpha sitting opposite Shen Shu Yi.
Shen Shu Yi had never introduced him.
“This is…” Shen Shu Yi realized and finally introduced them, “A relative of mine…”
For some reason, the Omega felt the sense of pressure from him grow stronger.
Omegas usually did not feel fear toward Alpha pheromones. Most Alpha pheromones simply induced them into heat. But sometimes, pheromones could also convey emotions between Alphas and Omegas.
Right now, Ling Ling could clearly feel the man opposite Shen Shu Yi was unhappy. He was even obviously using his pheromones to drive them away, trying to make them leave.
Could an Alpha’s pheromones really be this powerful?
Ling Ling felt uneasy but did not dare ask. His pheromones were so hostile and rejecting toward her that her instinct was to get away.
She tugged at Qiao Wan again. “Let’s go.”
Qiao Wan worried her friend’s heat might be coming early. “Shu Yi, we’ll talk later. I’m going to take my friend back to the dorm. See you.”
“Ah,” Shen Shu Yi replied, “See you.”
The two left.
Shen Shu Yi stared at their backs in confusion. “That Omega didn’t seem well. Is her heat coming soon?”
It was just a casual question. Since he could not smell pheromones, he could only judge by appearance and demeanor. But the person opposite him was an Alpha. If Ling Ling’s heat really was near, Xie Chen Zhou would know.
Unexpectedly, Xie Chen Zhou’s gaze darkened slightly. “You care about her?”
What Shen Shu Yi did not know was that right after he asked, a dense wave of pheromones spread from Xie Chen Zhou, surrounding him completely.
No one else in the cafeteria could detect it, so no one sensed the danger.
Perhaps for Shen Shu Yi, being completely enveloped in pheromones was not dangerous at all, since he could not smell them.
As a Beta, he would not be affected.
Without his knowledge, Xie Chen Zhou’s pheromones slowly brushed over the skin exposed to the air, like a snake’s tongue.
They caressed his face, slowly kissing and licking his cheeks.
Only after a while did Xie Chen Zhou pull his pheromones back in.
Shen Shu Yi was still thinking about the previous topic. “I was just worried she might have an accident at our school.”
“Omega heat has a cycle,” Xie Chen Zhou said.
Shen Shu Yi understood the implication. As an adult Omega, if her heat was approaching, she would not risk coming here to find Qiao Wan. Most Omegas stayed home or in schools with complete isolation measures before and during heat, not wandering outside.
“You’re right,” Shen Shu Yi said. “That’s not something I should worry about.”
He sat down again.
The corners of Xie Chen Zhou’s mouth relaxed slightly.
“Ling Ling, what happened just now?” Once they were out of the cafeteria, Qiao Wan touched her friend’s forehead in concern. “Is your heat coming early?”
“No,” Ling Ling said with lingering fear. “That Alpha just now was acting strange…”
“What do you mean?” Qiao Wan’s face darkened. “Did he use pheromones to provoke you? It’s illegal for an Alpha to release pheromones without an Omega’s consent, especially to induce heat in public. If he did that, we can call the police.”
“No, that’s not what I mean,” Ling Ling quickly stopped her. Her face turned red. “I mean, his behavior toward that Beta was unusual. I could feel that Alpha constantly releasing pheromones toward him, and his pheromones instinctively rejected us.”
Qiao Wan was confused. “?”
The words were simple, but strung together they made no sense.
Ling Ling seemed to realize how absurd it sounded. “An Alpha releasing pheromones toward a Beta is like a peacock showing off to a blind person. The Beta wouldn’t notice, but I really felt that Alpha’s possessiveness. We only spoke to that Beta for a few sentences, and he was already unhappy. His pheromones may smell like perfume, but they’re very aggressive. If one of us had been a lower-grade Alpha, I think we would have fainted in the cafeteria.”
“Is that so?” Qiao Wan thought about it. “Shu Yi only said that Alpha was a relative, nothing else… Maybe I’ll ask him when I get a chance.”
“Are you close with that Beta?” Ling Ling asked curiously.
“He’s in our project group,” Qiao Wan said after a moment, then shook her head. “Forget it, I’d better not ask. That’s his private business…”
Although Lin Shen had treated her to a few meals, that did not mean she needed to pry into someone else’s affairs. In the end, whoever Lin Shen liked or wanted to pursue was his own choice.
By the time they finished eating, Shen Shu Yi and Xie Chen Zhou had spoken fewer than ten sentences.
Xie Chen Zhou spoke so little that Shen Shu Yi found himself withdrawing too.
Facing someone like this, even if Shen Shu Yi wanted to be lively, he could not find the chance.
The cafeteria had a rule that diners had to take their trays to the return station. Seeing they were almost done, Shen Shu Yi stood up, intending to help take Xie Chen Zhou’s dishes too.
“I’ll do it.” Xie Chen Zhou moved quickly, getting ahead of him.
He stacked the empty bowl and small hotpot together and carried them with one hand to the return station. Shen Shu Yi followed behind, hands empty.
“You didn’t eat much. Are you full?” Shen Shu Yi took a pack of wet wipes from his pocket, pulled out two, and handed one to him.
Xie Chen Zhou took it, wiped his mouth, then wiped the hand that had carried the dishes.
He had eaten very little. Shen Shu Yi had noticed him focusing on serving him instead, and he wondered if the cafeteria food really was not to his taste. Again, he regretted not taking him somewhere better.
Shen Shu Yi was not a stingy person. Taking him here had been a mistake.
What he did not notice was that after just one meal together, he was already caring about Xie Chen Zhou’s opinions for no reason. Just yesterday, they had been strangers who had never met.
Xie Chen Zhou tossed the used wet wipe into the trash, then lowered his gaze to Shen Shu Yi’s lips. His eyes darkened slightly as he took the unused wipe from Shen Shu Yi’s hand, folded it, and reached toward his mouth.
Shen Shu Yi’s lips were full, especially the upper one, though they were not thick. They looked light and soft, the kind of lips one would want to kiss.
Xie Chen Zhou’s breathing deepened slightly, but he restrained himself so Shen Shu Yi would not notice. His expression did not change.
The cotton wipe brushed across the corner of Shen Shu Yi’s lips, leaving a faint trace of moisture.
“You had something on your mouth.”
His pheromones leaked again, clamoring to devour Shen Shu Yi whole.
But his hand only crumpled the wipe and tossed it into the trash.
“Oh… oh…” Shen Shu Yi blinked, then tentatively rubbed his lips with the back of his hand.
There was nothing left, not even the faint dampness from the wipe.
Back TOC Next
Translator note: 📌
Thank you for reading 💖 see you again in the next chapter, my lovely cherries 😘
Comments
Post a Comment