Seeing that he wasn’t paying him any attention, Quan Zebai snorted, pulled out his phone, and gestured that they should exchange WeChat contacts.
Remembering what Li Mengya had mentioned in the office, Quan Zebai fiddled with his phone as he said, “Your homeroom teacher said the poverty subsidy came through. It’ll be transferred to your card in a while.”
Jiang Fu gave a flat “mm.”
The class bell rang soon after, and Jiang Fu turned and walked away without looking back.
Quan Zebai scratched his head, his fingers running through soft strands of hair.
Back in the classroom, no one came up to chat with him either. Everyone sat at their desks, either studying or slumped over their tables catching up on sleep, so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat.
Bored, Quan Zebai pulled out his phone. At the top was a notification that Jiang Fu had just accepted his friend request. The WeChat name was simply a capital A, and the profile picture was a lotus flower.
Quan Zebai immediately found this amusing and sent him a few memes. No reply. After thinking for a moment, he sent over the plan he’d come up with earlier.
It wasn’t until class started that Jiang Fu finally replied: Might be worth a try.
Below that was a screenshot of the recent weather forecast, showing sunny and cloudy skies for the next half month.
Quan Zebai couldn’t help cursing under his breath: “Damn.”
It was as if today’s rain had used up half a month’s worth of rainfall.
Of course, Quan Zebai’s idea was just that, an idea to be heard and discarded. Was he really supposed to find a car and hit the two of them?
Way too dumb.
The phone buzzed a few more times. Quan Zebai looked down and saw a string of accusations from his good buddy Qian Li.
What’s up with you today?
Walking around with a face like that. Who owes you money?
Followed by dozens of interrogation memes.
Quan Zebai thought, you idiot, I’ve already been swapped. Then he made up some random excuse to fob the guy off.
He finally made it to the end of the school day, utterly exhausted, yawning from sleepiness.
He waited a while at the entrance of the teaching building before Jiang Fu came downstairs carrying his schoolbag.
Their eyes met. Quan Zebai noticed Qian Li trailing behind him. The moment Qian Li spotted him, his mouth stopped mid-sentence, his gaze darting back and forth between the two of them.
Jiang Fu said, “You go ahead. I need to talk to him about something.”
Qian Li snapped out of it. “Oh, oh okay, I’ll head off then.”
Only after he was far away did Quan Zebai breathe a small sigh of relief. Judging by Jiang Fu’s appearance, he too had just been “released after serving his sentence.”
“Why is the back of your neck so itchy?”
Quan Zebai looked over again and saw that it was even redder than before. “Did you eat something?”
Jiang Fu recalled what he’d eaten that day. When he mentioned eating a lemon-flavored candy, Quan Zebai’s face lit up with understanding: “I’m allergic to lemon.”
Jiang Fu was speechless for a moment, then asked, “Then why is only the back of your neck uncomfortable? A localized allergy?”
“I’m not too sure about that either. Maybe because my pheromones smell like sweet lemon?”
Jiang Fu was silent for a while before saying, “Alphas are such a hassle.”
“……”
Quan Zebai had originally waited for him to discuss what to do that night, but after going back and forth, they decided to each go home.
Following the address Quan Zebai had given him, Jiang Fu took a taxi to the villa district in City A. Getting out of the car and seeing the rows of luxurious villas, he was a little shocked.
Back when the two of them had zero connection to each other, he’d already heard at school that a certain class in the second year had an Alpha who was rich beyond counting generations.
Rumor had it that one of the school’s buildings had been donated entirely by his family.
Combined with his striking good looks, he was wildly popular among the Omegas at school.
Jiang Fu had firsthand experience with this.
The moment he got out of the car, servants immediately swarmed around him, respectfully taking his schoolbag with both hands, opening the door for him, and even crouching down to change his shoes.
Even though Quan Zebai had warned him in advance, he still wasn’t used to it.
After changing his shoes, a servant opened the piano room and waited for him to enter.
The moment he returned home, he had to follow all kinds of procedures, “losing his personal freedom” as if completing tasks. Sure enough, being this young master wasn’t something just anyone could do.
After finishing his tasks piano practice, working out, and the tedious etiquette before meals Jiang Fu finally lay down on the bed, feeling physically and mentally exhausted.
He took out his phone and messaged Quan Zebai:
How did it go?
The reply came quickly:
Your mom didn’t notice a thing. She even complimented you on talking more today.
Followed by a smug emoji.
Looking at that emoji, Jiang Fu still felt a bit worried about Mother Jiang, but he couldn’t press the point too hard, so he simply replied:
That’s good. Everything’s fine on my end too.
After lying in bed for a while, Jiang Fu got up to do his homework. In the spacious room, there was only the sound of scribbling.
Halfway through, a servant gently knocked on the door: “Young Master, it’s time for bed.”
Jiang Fu glanced at the clock, it was only eleven. He had no choice but to put away his half-finished homework and go take a shower.
The bathroom mirror reflected an unfamiliar body. The Alpha’s firm muscles bore the marks of years of training, yet the skin was pale enough that veins and sinews showed faintly beneath.
Jiang Fu knew that Alphas were supposedly exceptionally gifted in certain respects, but seeing it with his own eyes was another matter entirely. He hastily wiped the water off his body, threw on a bathrobe, and left the bathroom.
Before bed, a servant collected his phone and quietly withdrew.
In the darkness, the red light of the camera in the corner blinked on and off.
The next morning, after completing the early-rising “ritual,” Jiang Fu finally managed to leave the house, where the personal driver was already waiting at the door.
Arriving at the classroom early, Jiang Fu began catching up on the homework he hadn’t finished yesterday.
A hand landed on his shoulder, and laughter came from behind: “Oh my, Brother Quan is doing homework? How rare…”
Before the sentence was even finished, he met “Quan Zebai’s” icy expression. Startled, Song Yuncheng quickly backed away, muttering, “What’s wrong with you? Who got on your nerves?”
Just then, Qian Li walked in with his schoolbag. Seeing Song Yuncheng recklessly provoking Quan Zebai, he hurried over and dragged the guy away.
Jiang Fu was wondering if he’d been too harsh just now. He struggled to force a smile, and seeing them leave, lowered his head and continued with his homework.
Qian Li and Song Yuncheng crouched in a corner, utterly baffled as to what was wrong with Quan Zebai.
Qian Li took out his phone, which displayed Quan Zebai’s hastily made-up excuse.
Song Yuncheng was shocked: “What?! He said he got dumped? When did he even date anyone? How come I didn’t know?”
“Shh, shh, keep your voice down!” Qian Li hastily covered his mouth, and the Alpha’s overflowing pheromones got onto Song Yuncheng’s lips.
Song Yuncheng slapped his hand away in disgust, spitting a few times. “Can you rein in your scent? Ugh!”
Qian Li sniffed his own hand, couldn’t smell anything, and seeing his dramatic reaction, said speechlessly, “What’s wrong? As an Omega, aren’t you totally into it?”
Song Yuncheng retched again, even more disgusted: “Who’s into it?”
Qian Li snorted. “I think you quite like Quan Zebai’s pheromones.”
Song Yuncheng pretended he was about to throw up, pushed Qian Li away, stood up, and looked down at him: “Can you two just get lost?”
“What’s the matter, didn’t you say Quan?”
Song Yuncheng was waiting for him to finish, but after a long while there was no sound. Just as he was impatiently urging him on, his gaze shifted and he saw the figures of “Quan Zebai” and “Jiang Fu” huddled together.
The two were saying something, but they were too far away to hear.
Qian Li had clearly seen them too, and both he and Song Yuncheng stood frozen in place.
It wasn’t until the two of them returned to their own classes that Song Yuncheng said dryly, “…I remember Zebai saying he absolutely hates cold-faced, pretentious pretty boys.”
Qian Li was also shocked, recalling how Quan Zebai had told him to go on ahead last night, saying he had business with Jiang Fu.
So when exactly did those two get together.
Linyang No. 1 High School had three cafeterias, one assigned to each grade, so there was no need to rush and fight for food at mealtimes.
On the way, Jiang Fu ran into Quan Zebai, who was coming downstairs alone.
Students in the experimental classes hardly ever ate together, let alone went around in groups like other classes, because the experimental class roster changed frequently, roughly every two months, students were reselected based on their ranking, deciding whether they could stay.
So the students were under enormous pressure, all busy studying with no time to make friends. Their good friends were often back in their old regular classes, so experimental class students generally didn’t stick together and mostly went about alone.
The moment their eyes met, Jiang Fu naturally asked, “Want to eat together?”
Quan Zebai raised an eyebrow, glanced at the stiff Qian Li and Song Yuncheng behind him, and said, “Sure.”
The four of them ate lunch together in silence.
The phones vibrating in their pockets showed that a certain two people weren’t nearly as calm as they appeared.
After getting through the meal without incident, Song Yuncheng hastily grabbed Qian Li and ran off.
Only the two of them remained, facing each other in silence.
After a moment, Jiang Fu said, “They seem pretty shocked that we’re eating together.”
Quan Zebai stuffed the last bite of rice into his mouth, thinking, whose fault is it that I used to badmouth you?
“Ignore them.”
On the way from the cafeteria back to the teaching building, petals drifted on the wind, clusters of white blossoms huddled together, giving off an intoxicating fragrance.
After walking a few steps, Jiang Fu said, “Tomorrow’s the weekend. I have a tutoring job for you, elementary school material. You should be able to teach it.”
Just as Quan Zebai was about to agree, he heard Jiang Fu add, “There’s also a part-time job at a hotpot restaurant.”
“…”
Quan Zebai really wanted to say, how about I just give you money instead, quit those jobs. But the words died on his lips; he knew it wasn’t appropriate to say, so he changed tack: “Is this you asking me for a favor?”
“…I suppose.”
“Suppose?” Quan Zebai wasn’t satisfied. He leaned in close, feigning a threat: “And what if I don’t go?”
Jiang Fu pushed that face away and said calmly, “Your family keeps you on such a tight leash, it wouldn’t be good if you did anything out of line.”
Faced with such a blatant provocation, Quan Zebai actually gave it some thought. “Like streaking down the street or something?”
“……”
Of course, Quan Zebai was only joking. When the weekend actually came, he obediently went anyway.
Leaving the shabby old apartment complex, he followed the address Jiang Fu had given him and showed up punctually at the employer’s door.
After he rang the doorbell, it was a little boy who opened the door, greeting him politely, “Hello, big brother.”
At that moment, Quan Zebai was thinking that such a well-behaved kid would surely be easy to teach.
But he was wrong. After a whole day of torment, he truly learned what it meant to face a little monster.
How on earth did that guy Jiang Fu put up with it?
The night breeze stirred his hair as Quan Zebai drifted along on his way home, lost in thought. Only when he was nearly at his door did he remember his part-time job at the hotpot restaurant.
He jogged all the way to the restaurant. The boss was somewhat displeased with his lateness today and took a round of pointed, veiled jabs at him before finally letting him get to work.
The restaurant was packed, and the noisy clamor made Quan Zebai’s head ache. More people meant more work, wiping tables, mopping floors, prepping ingredients, without a moment’s rest. The stingy boss wouldn’t hire extra help, working one person like two.
He finally made it to the end of his shift. The boss sent the day’s wages to Quan Zebai’s phone, and looking at that meager pay, he laughed.
Sitting casually on the curb, Quan Zebai sent the money over, tossing in a few hundred extra.
The reply came quickly:
“?”
Why is there so much?
Quan Zebai raised an eyebrow and typed with his head down.
Is it a lot? The boss saw I did a good job and gave me a bonus.
Jiang Fu sent the money back and replied with two extremely cold words.
No need.
Quan Zebai wiped the sweat from his neck, couldn’t help laughing, and sent over the original amount.
After Jiang Fu accepted it, another message came through.
Let’s switch back tomorrow. With a mask and a hat on, no one will be able to tell.
Quan Zebai hadn’t expected him to say something like that. He instinctively typed “why,” but after a moment’s thought, deleted it. If Jiang Fu was suggesting they switch back, something must have happened.
Thinking it over, it probably wasn’t anything on his own end knowing Jiang Fu’s personality, no matter what happened, he would find a way to deal with it himself.