The moment the elevator doors closed, Cheng Yanzhou sensed that something was amiss.
Today, Shen Qi was wearing a light-colored shirt with the collar slightly open, revealing a stretch of beautifully contoured neck. The blue employee ID strap hung around it, making that patch of skin look even fairer. The hem of his shirt was tucked neatly into his dress pants, making his waist look slender and upright, as attractive as ever.
The odd thing was that his cheeks were flushed with an unnatural warmth, and his breathing was shallower and faster than usual.
Had he not recovered from his fever? Was he feeling unwell again?
Cheng Yanzhou’s heart tightened, and then he remembered that yesterday he had made Shen Qi consume a cake and milk tea laced with secondary differentiation inducers.
Could it be because of that?
His throat tightened without a trace, and he grew inexplicably nervous.
Would the pre-reaction happen this fast? Could there be any unexpected complications?
Suddenly, he felt a strong urge to lock Shen Qi away and take meticulous care of him. What if the differentiation inducer caused any negative side effects on him?
He could not tolerate any mistakes whatsoever.
Just as his mind was wandering, he suddenly caught a trace of an elusive fragrance.
Green lime.
Fresh, crisp, carrying the effervescent bounce of sparkling water, like a sudden gust of wind breaking into a summer day.
His pupils dilated in shock.
There were only the two of them in the elevator, so this scent…
It was coming from Shen Qi.
He abruptly whipped his head around to stare at Shen Qi, his gaze as sharp as an eagle’s, filled with shock, elation, and a hint of disbelief.
He was certain that this was a pheromone.
It belonged exclusively to Shen Qi, a unique green lime pheromone.
The inducer had taken effect?
Cheng Yanzhou’s heart pounded uncontrollably, and the blood rushed straight to his head in an instant.
His Xi-xi possessed a pheromone now, and it smelled wonderful.
This realization made every cell in his body boil, causing even his soul to tremble.
This meant that Shen Qi would soon transition from a Beta into an Alpha or an Omega and grow a gland.
A gland that could withstand him.
Fearing that he would give himself away, he quietly reined in his expression, though he could not help but steal glances at Shen Qi, barely able to restrain the impulse to pull him into his arms.
Cheng Yanzhou’s gaze was far too aggressive. Shen Qi felt completely uneasy under his scrutiny, yet that strange wave of heat was growing more pronounced, and his cheeks were beginning to burn.
What was going on?
Not understanding what was actually happening, he only felt deeply uncomfortable and wanted to get out of the elevator as quickly as possible.
The elevator finally reached the ground floor, and the doors slid open with a whoosh.
Feeling as though he had received a full pardon, Shen Qi rushed out like he was fleeing for his life, without even saying a word of goodbye, as if a fierce beast was chasing him from behind.
Not even daring to turn back to look at Cheng Yanzhou, he hurried out of the building with brisk strides.
It was not until he had walked a considerable distance that he finally stopped, leaning against a wall to take deep, ragged breaths.
It was very strange. The wave of heat on his body had gradually receded, and the green lime scent had also vanished, as though everything just then had merely been an illusion.
Shen Qi frowned, his heart filled with doubt.
Did it feel like something was not quite right?
Watching Shen Qi quickly disappear from view, Cheng Yanzhou stood rooted to the spot in a daze.
His fingertips were still trembling slightly from the secretive excitement deep in his heart.
He lowered his head and took a deep breath, as if he could still smell the lingering green lime scent in the air.
He could not help curling the corners of his lips and messaging Shi Nian: [The pre-reaction has already appeared.]
Soon, Shi Nian replied: [So fast? Didn’t you only have him take it yesterday? Oral inducers can work this quickly too! President Cheng, congratulations!]
Looking at that message, Cheng Yanzhou curved his lips into a smile tinged with obsession.
Shen Qi, look, even heaven is helping me.
You cannot escape.
You will never escape.
Just wait another half year. Once you differentiate, I want you to stay by my side, keeping you with a hundredfold or thousandfold love to make up for the past.
He put away his phone, gazing in the direction where Shen Qi had disappeared, his deep pupils churning with an undercurrent of absolute determination.
When Shen Qi pushed open the door to Yu An’s place, his fingertips still carried a lingering chill.
That inexplicable wave of feverish heat had subsided, but a faint prickling sensation still remained at the back of his neck, resembling the discomfort of an insect bite.
The door opened, and Yu An poked his head out with a piece of toast clamped in his teeth. “So fast? I thought you would not be able to sneak out until evening.”
Shen Qi wore a solemn expression as he walked straight into the apartment and tossed his backpack onto the sofa.
His tone was heavy with lingering confusion.
“Yu An, I ran into something strange in the elevator just now.”
He sat down on the edge of the sofa, leaning forward slightly as he stared intently at Yu An.
“My face suddenly got extremely hot, my heart started beating frantically, and even my breathing became chaotic. What is even stranger is that I seemed to smell a scent of green lime, just like… just like the smell of pheromones.”
Yu An emerged holding a glass of water, his movements pausing at those words. As he handed the cup over, his brows furrowed as well.
He sat down next to Shen Qi and sniffed near the back of his neck, but smelled absolutely nothing.
“Pheromones? Are you sure it was not just your imagination?”
He continued, “According to the basic rules of ABO differentiation, even secondary differentiation mostly happens between ages eighteen and twenty. You are already twenty-four this year, long past the regular differentiation period. Furthermore, pre-differentiation reactions are usually accompanied by gland swelling, pain, and emotional swings. Rarely does anyone experience pheromone leakage first.”
Shen Qi pressed his fingertips against the cold glass wall, but had no mood to drink.
“I also thought it was impossible, but that feeling was too real.” He recalled the extremely aggressive gaze Cheng Yanzhou had given him in the elevator, his back tightening inexplicably. “And the way Cheng Yanzhou looked at me back then was extremely bizarre.”
Yu An’s brow ridges lifted, his tone taking on a hint of vigilance. “Cheng Yanzhou? Did he do something to you?”
“No, he just kept staring at me.”
Shen Qi shook his head, then recalled the eerie fading of the heat and fragrance from earlier. “What is even more absurd is that not long after I walked out of the building, that heat and scent both vanished completely, as if it were just a hallucination.”
Yu An frowned deeply, staring at Shen Qi for a few seconds before suddenly reaching out to touch the back of his neck. “Is it hot here?”
Shen Qi instinctively dodged. “A little.”
“Damn,” Yu An cursed. “Could you really be about to differentiate? And of all times, right now.”
“No way. I just had a medical checkup, and everything was completely fine.”
The two of them sat in silence, staring at each other.
After a long while, Yu An seemed to remember something and asked, “By the way, did you smell that Cheng fellow’s pheromones at that time?”
Shen Qi recalled the moment; apparently not. He had been startled at the time, but had not sensed any other presence.
He shook his head.
Refusing to give up, Yu An subtly released his own peach-flavored Omega pheromones and gazed at him earnestly.
“Can you smell my pheromones?”
Shen Qi sniffed toward him and shook his head again.
How strange.
If he were undergoing differentiation, he ought to react to other people’s pheromones.
This was abnormal, deeply abnormal, almost like some kind of immature glandular disease.
Like a piece of fruit forced to ripen by chemicals, able to emit a fruity aroma yet lacking any substance or flavor.
Yu An pondered, sensing that the matter was out of the ordinary.
Seeing the dark expression on his face, Shen Qi inevitably grew nervous, biting his lower lip.
However, there were more important matters at hand.
Anyway, since it was not disrupting his regular life, discussing this issue later would not be too late.
Shen Qi reached out to pat his shoulder, his tone soft and low. “Stop thinking about it. Maybe I am just too exhausted lately, combined with the stuffy air in the elevator, which caused a physiological illusion. Let us push ahead with that plan first.”
Regardless of what scent it was, or what kind of differentiation was happening, let us fake our death first and talk about the rest later.