The tingling sensation had passed. Jiang Fu stood up straight, pushed open the bathroom door, washed his hands, and paid no mind to the teasing.
Quan Zebai urged him worriedly, “If you feel unwell, remember to take Suppressants. It seems your Rut is coming up in the next few days.”
Although Jiang Fu was a Beta, he still knew about Ruts. He’d heard they were absolutely miserable nothing short of double torment, both mental and physical.
He’d never experienced one himself, but he asked cautiously, “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Quan Zebai thought back to his own Ruts in previous years, nothing more than being isolated somewhere and suffering through a few days until it passed.
So he shook his head.
Jiang Fu relaxed a little.
PE classes in high school were always precious, and PE teachers were always pushed around even more so at a school like Linyang that focused so heavily on academics.
So when word got out that this week’s PE class was going to be canceled again, it sparked public outrage. Li Zhuang stormed straight into the PE teacher’s office, and the burly, bull-strong boy threw his arms around the PE teacher and started bawling.
The poor PE teacher, a Beta in his thirties, was utterly powerless to fight back.
In the end, they successfully wrestled back the rights to that class period from the math teacher.
But when Class Two’s students gathered at the field, they discovered that the neighboring class, the experimental class was standing right beside them.
The top students’ faces showed neither joy at having PE nor anger at being dragged out of the classroom. Their calm expressions made it seem like, to them, it didn’t matter where they were.
Only Quan Zebai trailed at the back of the crowd, wearing his own face, quietly greeting Jiang Fu.
Not far away, Qian Li and Song Yuncheng, seeing this scene, no longer felt the shock they had at first. They had long since grown used to the fact that “Jiang Fu” had become their friend.
The PE teacher blew his whistle, signaling each class to line up, then said, “This semester, PE will be held with both classes together. First, run two laps to warm up. On the track.”
The two classes shuffled sparsely onto the track. Once the PE teacher signaled them to start running, everyone basically ran at their own pace, or dawdled lazily at the very back of the pack with friends, no formation whatsoever.
As Quan Zebai and Jiang Fu ran, they ended up side by side, the wind they kicked up whooshing past their ears. Just as Quan Zebai was about to make conversation, Li Zhuang, Class Two’s sports committee member, had somehow ended up behind the two of them.
Puffing and panting, he asked, “You playing ball later, Brother Quan?”
Just as Quan Zebai was about to answer, someone cut him off his own voice rang out beside him: “Not playing.”
Oh crap, he’d almost made a fool of himself again.
Quan Zebai hastily shut his mouth.
Li Zhuang, undeterred, kept following behind: “Come on, bro, we’re just missing you. Come on, come on, brother.”
“…” Jiang Fu glanced sideways at the certain someone watching the show, slowed his running pace, and said in a calm tone, “Can you include him too?”
“Sure, of course… Huh?” Only then did Li Zhuang get a clear look at the face of the person beside them. Oh ho, it was “Jiang Fu.” Since when did these two get so close?
The question lingered in his mind for only a moment before Li Zhuang tossed it aside. Although he seriously doubted whether the big top student could even play basketball, since “Quan Zebai” had extended the invitation, he couldn’t very well say no, could he?
So after the PE teacher dismissed them for free activity, the group grabbed a basketball and headed straight for the court.
When a bunch of boys squeezed together walking, some jostling was inevitable and Qian Li, that guy, practically hung his entire body off Jiang Fu.
Sensing the auras of the other Alphas, Jiang Fu uncomfortably pressed at the back of his neck.
He’d gotten a suppressant shot just a few days ago had it worn off this quickly?
Quan Zebai, who had just finished modestly bragging, noticed Jiang Fu’s movement and quietly leaned over. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Jiang Fu shook his head.
Quan Zebai reminded him, “Remember to get a suppressant when you get back.”
Jiang Fu gave a flat “mm.”
After a few rounds, Li Zhuang discovered that this honor student’s basketball skills were no joke. Once again failing to block him, he let Quan Zebai score. Panting, Li Zhuang lifted his T-shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead and gave Quan Zebai a thumbs-up. “Your skills could rival Brother Quan’s.”
Quan Zebai was amused. He turned to glance at Jiang Fu, and their eyes met. Quan Zebai couldn’t help raising an eyebrow and gave an insufferably smug whistle.
“……”
The intense exercise had everyone drenched in sweat, and the pheromones of the Alphas on the court were leaking out to varying degrees, filling the air with all kinds of scents.
Omegas like Song Yuncheng had run far away to play on another court.
Jiang Fu was restless and irritable; it felt like a thorn had been driven through his head. Whenever another Alpha got close, the pain would start, causing him to fumble the ball many times.
Quan Zebai assumed he just wasn’t very skilled, and deliberately or not, blocked in front of him, stealing and dribbling the ball which actually made Jiang Fu feel a bit better.
In the distance, the gym teacher blew his whistle, and the bell dismissing class followed right after.
Everyone collapsed onto the ground, exhausted. Qian Li wiped the sweat off his forehead and asked, “We’re going to the store to buy iced water, who’s coming?”
Several boys sprang up briskly. Quan Zebai didn’t want to move a single step and waved a finger. “Bring me one.”
Qian Li: “Sure. Brother Quan, do you want anything?”
“A bottle of warm water, thanks.”
Quan Zebai raised a thumb toward Jiang Fu. “Anyone who doesn’t drink iced water after playing ball is this.”
Jiang Fu couldn’t be bothered with him.
Quan Zebai thought for a moment, he was, after all, occupying this guy’s body. What if he drank it ruined? So he called out to Qian Li, “Change mine to warm water too.”
Qian Li, imitating him, raised a thumb as well. “Now you’re both this.”
Li Zhuang wanted to go along too, but he was holding the basketball, which needed to be returned to the sports equipment room, and hesitated.
Jiang Fu took it. “I’ll take it there.”
Quan Zebai shouted after his retreating back, “I’ll wait for you here!”
Jiang Fu waved a hand to show he’d heard.
But a long time passed and he didn’t come back. Meanwhile, a commotion broke out on the other side of the field, with a large crowd of students running away, muttering something under their breath.
Quan Zebai shot to his feet.
That direction was the sports equipment room.
He hurried over. Had something happened to the guy…
Passing other students, he faintly heard someone say, “Such strong pheromones…”
Another Alpha was clutching his gland tightly, eyes bloodshot. “Damn it, I can barely breathe…”
By the time he finally arrived, the gym teacher had already begun evacuating the crowd, leaving a large empty space centered on the sports equipment room.
Quan Zebai tried to go in but was stopped by the gym teacher. “Hey, hey, hey, student, what do you think you’re doing going in there?”
“I…” As soon as he spoke, Quan Zebai felt his throat was dry. He coughed a few times quickly and continued, “…What’s going on in there?”
The PE teacher, looking down at his phone as he typed a message, said, “A student’s Rut hit, and his pheromones went out of control.”
Even though he had already guessed it, having it truly confirmed made Quan Zebai’s whole body stiffen. The thing he’d feared most had come after all.
He hurriedly said, “Teacher, let me go in and check on him. I’m a Beta! I won’t be affected.”
The PE teacher had been about to refuse, but he could see the two were friends, and if something really happened to the student inside, no one could bear the consequences.
So after a moment’s hesitation, he let him in.
Quan Zebai pushed the door open and called out tentatively, “Jiang Fu?”
From behind the equipment, Jiang Fu’s calm voice came: “Mm.”
Hearing him answer, the worry hanging over Quan Zebai finally eased a little.
Passing the equipment racks, he saw Jiang Fu sitting on a chair in the corner. As he walked over, Jiang Fu looked up, and their eyes met.
The next instant, Jiang Fu looked away.
Quan Zebai noticed that his ears and neck were flushed, and his chest was rising and falling much faster. Having experienced this himself since childhood, how could he not know how unbearable it was?
An Alpha’s instinctive urge to destroy and to possess gnawed away at reason bit by bit, the two battling it out inside that body, while the uncontrollable pheromones would fill every inch of space, declaring their sovereignty to everyone around.
Quan Zebai had assumed that, as a Beta, Jiang Fu’s instincts would be weaker, but it seemed now that the loss of physical control had also brought a loss of psychological control.
Though Quan Zebai couldn’t smell it, he could imagine how thick the pheromones in this space must be after all, it was his own body, and he knew it intimately.
Back then, when his first Rut hit, without knowing what was happening, he had directly sent three Omegas into their Heat cycles.
“So, how is it? Do my pheromones smell good?”
Jiang Fu had no idea what this abrupt question meant. Right now he didn’t even have the strength to lift a single finger, and he answered in a muffled voice, “Average.”
Quan Zebai plopped down on the floor and said nothing. The two sat in silence.
After a while, Jiang Fu asked, “What do we do now? How does an Alpha get through a Rut?”
Facing the question from the school’s top student, Quan Zebai answered frankly, “Either an Omega soothes you, or you get an injection at the gland and go into isolation.”
At those words, Jiang Fu thought of the Omega who had delivered the yogurt, and suddenly asked, “Then do you have an Omega who soothes you?”
“…” Quan Zebai laughed in exasperation and shot back, “What do you think?”
Clearly, he didn’t.
Jiang Fu gave a soft “oh” and closed his eyes, lost in some thought or other.
A little while later, the doctor from the medical office pushed the door open carrying a first-aid kit. He was a Beta, so he couldn’t sense pheromones, but he held professional equipment capable of measuring pheromone concentration.
Seeing the off-the-charts reading, he was a little startled, and seeing the Alpha sitting calmly in the chair, he genuinely felt this student’s self-control was extraordinary.
He took out the injection and drove it straight into Jiang Fu’s gland.
The icy liquid flowed in, and the sweet, cloying scent surrounding him faded considerably at once. His vision began to blur.
His body tipped forward uncontrollably, and he saw Quan Zebai reach out a hand toward him.
In his dazed haze, Jiang Fu caught another whiff of that fresh, clean scent.
He couldn’t help thinking to himself: “It smells so nice.”
After Quan Zebai helped the unconscious person into the ambulance, the teacher called him back to class to continue the lesson.
But how could he possibly focus on class? His mind was full of Jiang Fu.
…And his own body.