After finishing typing, Quan Zebai looked up and heard someone calling him from not far away. Focusing his eyes, he saw it was Li Zhuang.
Li Zhuang had just finished a set of kicking drills and was drenched in sweat, but he still hadn’t forgotten to curse Quan Zebai, that bastard. Feeling that cursing wasn’t satisfying enough, he flashed him an international gesture of friendship.
Naturally, Quan Zebai wasn’t about to take the scolding quietly. He was just about to open his mouth and curse back when he suddenly remembered that he was still “Jiang Fu”, wouldn’t that damage his image as a top student.
After hesitating for a moment, Li Zhuang’s figure had already run far away.
Quan Zebai, having gotten the short end of the stick, was indignant: “Damn it…”
The phone in his hand vibrated. Quan Zebai looked down, it was the information about Yang Liang arriving from the other side.
Seeing that this man had parachuted into Linyang No. 1 High School three years ago, he already had a rough guess.
“What did the department head want you for?”
His own voice sounded from behind him. Quan Zebai put away his phone and said with a smile, “Nothing much, just asked me to organize some test papers.”
After saying this, he noticed there was no expression on Jiang Fu’s face, so he guessed that Yang Liang probably often called him to the office to do these kinds of chores.
Quan Zebai secretly breathed a sigh of relief, draped his arm over Jiang Fu’s shoulder, and said, “Your weekend part-time job is gone. Are you going to look for a new one?”
Jiang Fu gave an “mm.”
As if Jiang Fu already knew what he was going to say, he cut in first: “No need for you to help me find one yet.”
“Hey…” Quan Zebai was at a loss for words. That was indeed what he’d meant.
Having been rejected twice in a row, Quan Zebai was a bit unhappy: “It’s like this every time. Is it so hard to accept something from me? Or are you trying to cut ties with me?”
Jiang Fu gave him a strange look and said, “Those tarot readings you booked and all that, aren’t you going? The weekend happens to be free.”
“…”
He had completely forgotten about that.
He seemed to have already adapted to Jiang Fu’s body, to the point that he’d forgotten something so important.
Quan Zebai immediately said solemnly, “Fine, fine, I’ll go this weekend.”
Early on the weekend morning, the two of them took a bus to the place where the appointment was booked.
Quan Zebai didn’t know what excuse Jiang Fu had used, but on a day when he should have been at home practicing his instrument, he was out running around instead.
Hearing this, Quan Zebai pulled up his chat history with Mother Quan and handed it over for him to see. It was a whole block of text Mother Quan had sent, all lecturing this disobedient son of hers.
Quan Zebai shrugged indifferently and said, “They’ve already decided I’m a lost cause. Compared to my excellent older brother, I’m the family embarrassment.”
Jiang Fu had already learned about Quan Zebai having an older brother last time at the hospital.
Clearly, the tension between Quan Zebai and his parents was inseparable from his brother’s existence.
Of course, this was someone else’s family business. Even though the two of them were somewhat closer now than before, it wasn’t to the point where he could casually pry into family matters.
When the subway reached the next station, a crowd of people immediately surged in. Packed body against body, the two of them were squeezed into a corner.
All kinds of smells began pouring into Jiang Fu’s nose.
Ever since becoming an Alpha, his sense of smell had been extraordinarily sharp, he could pick up even the faintest scents.
Under the stimulation of all kinds of pheromones, the gland on the back of his neck began to itch and burn.
The glands of both Alphas and Omegas are extremely fragile before adulthood, and can be affected by external scents with great ease, to a greater or lesser degree depending on the individual.
Jiang Fu couldn’t help frowning, thinking he just had to endure until they arrived, when a hand suddenly reached over and gently covered his gland.
Immediately, the symptoms began to ease. The warm touch spread to his skin, and Jiang Fu met the eyes of the hand’s owner.
They were about the same height, so Quan Zebai saw the slightly reddened gland at a glance. Before his brain could think, his hand had already reached out.
Meeting Jiang Fu’s gaze, the corner of his lips curved into a faint smile.
The subway passed over an elevated track, the transparent glass reflecting the morning sun. The light dazzled Quan Zebai’s eyes, and he couldn’t help squinting.
When he could see clearly again, Jiang Fu had his head lowered, eyes down, lost in thought about who knew what.
But he hadn’t told him to get lost.
A few minutes later, the subway arrived at the station, and the two got off.
At that moment, an elaborately made-up Omega blocked their path. His fair, delicate face was flushed, and clutching his phone, he walked up to Jiang Fu and said shyly, “Handsome, could I get your contact info for practice?”
Perhaps from being too nervous or too excited, sweet pheromones spilled from his body, enveloping Jiang Fu like a layer of gauze, seducing him in a way that was almost imperceptible.
The Omega’s eyes sparkled, an expression of inevitable victory unconsciously showing on his face. He was confident in his pheromones, one crook of his finger, and the Alpha before him would surely take the bait.
This was the first time Jiang Fu truly smelled an Omega’s pheromones. The physiological attraction between Alpha and Omega was even stronger than he had imagined.
That longing came from deep within unthinking, purely instinctive.
Standing beside him, Quan Zebai could tell at a glance that the Omega was deliberately, if subtly, releasing pheromones. Though he couldn’t smell them himself, he could already imagine the enormous allure.
He watched Jiang Fu’s expression with great interest, hoping to see something different in it.
But unfortunately, Jiang Fu’s face remained as usual. His gaze swept coolly past the Omega, then turned to Quan Zebai.
Quan Zebai was baffled. “…Hm?”
Jiang Fu withdrew his gaze and said, eyes lowered, “Sorry, that might not be convenient.”
“…Huh?” The Omega hadn’t expected to be rejected and froze for a moment.
Jiang Fu turned and walked away.
Quan Zebai hurried after him. “Hey, what’s inconvenient about it? Wasn’t that one to your taste?”
Jiang Fu, without turning his head, pointed at his own face. “Do you think it’s convenient? What he’s after is your face. You like him? Then go back and add him on WeChat right now.”
“…”
Fair point.
When they reached their destination, Quan Zebai looked up at the building before him and found it utterly unreliable.
The fortune-telling place was nothing but a shabby little shack, squeezed between two buildings, with rusted iron windows and cardboard boxes piled in the corner outside, looking like garbage waiting to be sold.
Quan Zebai looked down, carefully avoiding the nails on the ground, and said hesitantly, “Why does this look so much like a scam?”
Jiang Fu reserved judgment on that.
The two pushed the door open and entered. With a creak, the door added an extra layer of eeriness to the silent air.
Inside was a dim room, with shelves on both sides displaying all kinds of animal taxidermy. The room was filled with the smell of formalin.
Jiang Fu couldn’t help coughing a few times.
Seeing this, Quan Zebai was about to pull Jiang Fu away and turn to leave when a figure emerged. Jiang Fu, quick-eyed and swift-handed, stepped in front of Quan Zebai, staring sharply at the newcomer.
A stunningly beautiful face appeared before the two of them, holding a candle, and she said in a teasing tone: “You two, here for a fortune reading?”
Quan Zebai poked his head out from behind Jiang Fu, held up his phone, and pointed at his booked appointment time: “Yes, we’re here to… have our destinies looked at.”
“I see. Well, come on, don’t just stand there like fools. Come sit down.”
The woman wore a Taoist robe, her long hair loose, the smooth strands swaying with her movements.
The two exchanged a glance, then sat down on either side.
The woman took out talisman paper and said loudly: “Birth dates and times.”
After the two gave theirs, the woman picked up the talisman paper and fell into deep thought, then took up a brush and began writing and drawing on it.
Only after a long while did she say: “Your destinies are very strange…”
Quan Zebai immediately leaned in, studying the symbols on the talisman paper carefully, but after staring for a long time he couldn’t make heads or tails of them, so he asked: “What does that mean?”
“Yin and yang in harmony, the five elements complementing each other, intertwined fates. You two are in for many twists and turns!” The woman’s expression grew grave.
Quan Zebai raised an eyebrow. Could this woman have actually seen something?
He glanced at Jiang Fu beside him, hesitating over whether to speak up.
Jiang Fu gave him a look that said: hold your horses.
Quan Zebai swallowed the words he was about to say, leaned back in his chair, and listened attentively to the woman’s analysis.
But after listening for a while, the more he heard, the more it all sounded like pure bunk.
Simply put, her statements were so broad that anyone could fit a few of them.
Like horoscopes.
By now, Quan Zebai understood that this trip had been a waste, they’d come for nothing. This person was completely talking nonsense!
And Jiang Fu beside him wore an indifferent expression, apparently having seen through it too.
After listening to all that nonsense, the two left the shabby little hut and hurried off without pause to their next appointment.
A whole day passed, and they hadn’t heard a single useful solution instead, they’d witnessed all kinds of scams.
One fortune-teller even tried to talk them into buying a membership card, promising discounts on their next visit.
It was infuriatingly laughable.
Exhausted from the day, the two found some steps at random and sat down.
Quan Zebai sat with his legs apart, hands resting on his knees, staring blankly at the crowd in the distance.
The noisy crowd suddenly erupted into enthusiastic applause. A couple stood surrounded in the middle, embracing happily.
Amid the cheering, brilliant fireworks suddenly burst open in the sky.
Countless tiny particles of light scattered in all directions, like falling stars, instantly illuminating half the sky.
Neither of them spoke, quietly watching the beautiful scene.
When the fireworks ended, Jiang Fu brushed the dust off himself, draped his jacket over his shoulder, and said with his hands in his pockets: “Let’s go, heading back.”
Quan Zebai didn’t move.
He stared down at the soles of his shoes and said: “I thought we’d find a solution today…”
Jiang Fu stood a few meters away and, hearing this, said: “It’s fine. At least you didn’t ‘endure humiliation’ by joining some faith.”
“…”
Quan Zebai stood up, walked over to him, and said: “Hey, I’ve noticed that the way you talk can be really infuriating sometimes.”
With that, he draped an arm around Jiang Fu’s neck, putting nearly his whole weight on him.
Jiang Fu lost his balance, and the two of them swayed back and forth. In the horseplay, Jiang Fu’s hair got mussed, hanging down over his forehead.
Jiang Fu suddenly said: “Your hair needs a trim.”
“Huh?” Not understanding why he brought that up, Quan Zebai froze for a moment, and Jiang Fu took the chance to slip out of his embrace, pointing at his own hair.
Quan Zebai’s hair was on the stiffer side, usually swept back to expose his forehead, so it was hard to tell how long it had gotten. Now that it hung down, he realized the ends could half cover his eyes.
When was the last time he’d had a haircut?
Oh, right, back when he fought with his family and transferred schools.
That had been so long ago. It really was time for a trim.