Although Xiao Shuqing and his companion had made their decision quickly and the law firm had worked with high efficiency, the entire matter wasn’t fully resolved until Thursday afternoon.
On Monday, they contacted reporters and pitched the story to several prominent bloggers. By Tuesday, the incident had completely blown up as a major social talking point.
“Young university professor,” “Omega,” and “H Uni’s most beautiful campus heartthrob.” The gossip generated under these three tags alone was more than enough to capture the public’s collective curiosity.
Furthermore, even after a formal lawyer’s letter was issued and a police report filed, Tao Jing foolishly chose to double down. He personally posted a lengthy, essay-style narrative, swearing up and down that everything he wrote had come directly from Xiao Shuqing’s own mouth—and that if he were lying, he hoped to be struck by lightning.
In response, Xiao Shuqing didn’t bother writing a single line of text. He simply and casually uploaded a single audio recording.
It was a seemingly effortless response that dealt a devastating, fatal blow.
On one side was a massive wall of text with absolutely zero concrete evidence; on the other side was a person who hadn’t uttered a single word but had directly dropped a recorded phone call. In that recording, Tao Jing’s own personal scandals and experiences lined up seamlessly with the very story he had spun.
Simultaneously, the Public Security Bureau’s official Weibo account posted a formal, blue-and-white public notice:
Following official verification, the defamed individual, Xiao XX, registered his marriage in April 2023. It is his first marriage.
The content circulating online is factually incorrect.
In an instant, Tao Jing became the laughingstock of the entire internet.
To make matters even more brutal, an Alpha from their group chat betrayed him on the spot, directly leaking the entire chat history of their private group. The caption read: [We all thought you were telling the truth. Who knew you were deceiving everyone in the group?]
Not only that, but several of his former high school classmates who had always disliked him came forward to call him out.
Consequently, the past incident where he had targeted Yu Siyuan with malicious rumors—causing Yu Siyuan to be isolated at school—was thoroughly unearthed. The revelation became even more fascinating when netizens discovered that Yu Siyuan was the very same prodigy who had been headhunted from H University three years ago by a tech giant with a starting annual salary of 1.5 million yuan.
He was a once-in-a-decade prodigy, a literal genius boy. And people were supposed to believe that in high school, he had desperately begged for the affection of an Omega like that?
It was utterly laughable.
The kid was incredibly handsome, a straight-A student, and a genius. So, what if he was a little on the shorter side? For an Alpha that adorable, plenty of older-brother-type Omegas would absolutely dote on him.
[Netizen Comments]:
Lmao, the guy is highly successful, has never been married, and is only twenty-four this year—the literal prime of his life. Why on earth would he fall for a divorced, permanently marked person like you? You actually had the nerve to demand why he didn’t like you back. You’ve single-handedly disgraced the entire Omega population.
A soft, cute, and beautiful little Alpha, ahhhh! And a teenage prodigy to boot! Who gets it?
Dammit, I want a cute puppy Alpha like that too! I can tease him out of bed, and he can coax me under the sheets, calling me “Brother”! (My face is turning entirely yellow with unholy thoughts)
Wake up, person upstairs. A puppy Alpha like that has already been swept away by Professor Xiao. A Ph.D. under thirty, a professor at a top-tier university! And his looks are an absolute fatal strike. As expected, outstanding people simply attract outstanding people.
Ultimately, the internet arrived at a unanimous conclusion:
They look so stunningly perfect together.
Naturally, while the internet was in a complete uproar over the incident, Xiao Shuqing’s daily life remained largely unaffected.
The university leadership did call him in for a chat, but they ultimately concluded that they could leverage this viral trend for a wave of positive publicity, which timed perfectly with the upcoming National College Entrance Examination.
Entering the final week of April, everyone had expected the temperature to climb steadily into the low thirties ahead of the Labor Day holiday. Instead, a sudden, torrential downpour rolled in, causing City H’s temperature to plummet by nearly twenty degrees. Everyone dug their heavy clothes back out of their closets.
Today, Xiao Shuqing wore a cream-white trench coat, his long hair casually cascading down his back. The word “elegance” seemed practically etched into his bones.
The moment he stepped into the classroom, a collective, sharp intake of breath echoed through the room.
He truly was breathtakingly beautiful.
Even after the dismissal bell rang, the students hesitated, lingering at their desks with words visibly caught in their throats.
Xiao Shuqing tossed his empty coffee cup into the trash can, smoothly shutting down his computer and projector. “Aren’t you going to pack up your things? The students for the next slot are waiting outside to come in.”
“Professor, are you really married?” A student finally couldn’t resist asking.
Xiao Shuqing casually shifted his hand, allowing his wedding band to catch the light. “Yes. I got married at the beginning of the month.”
A chorus of dramatic wailing erupted beneath the lecture podium:
“But why? I always thought a great philosopher like you, Professor, had already seen through the illusions of marriage and would remain single forever!”
“I’m so heartbroken. Does this mean none of us stand a chance anymore? Waaah. If I had known you liked the cute puppy type, I would have made my move first.”
“Professor, do you even realize what you’ve lost?”
The corners of the man’s lips tilted upward. His gaze swept nonchalantly across the lecture hall as he rested his elbows lazily on the podium.
“First of all, who says philosophers see through the mortal world and don’t get married? Whoever said that, go back and compile a comprehensive list of famous married philosophers in history, and submit a relevant essay on it by the end of this month.”
“Secondly, plenty of people have tried to make a move on me over the years. Why do you think none of them succeeded? Whoever said that can write a philosophical-psychological paper on the theme of ‘The Taboo of Student-Teacher Romance.’ The deadline is also the end of this month.”
Those two sentences incited a riot far greater than the initial gossip.
“You’re a demon, ahhhh!”
“Look at my big mouth! Why did I have to speak up?”
Xiao Shuqing added smoothly, “If your papers are well-written, I’ll help you pitch them to core academic journals. So, tell me, what exactly have I lost?”
“Long live the Demon King Xiao!”
“Professor, you’ve lost an entire primeval forest of Alphas! The kind that can eventually fossilize into oil! The inexhaustible, never-ending kind!”
“Oh. No thank you. That takes far too long; I’d be dead before they finish fossilizing.”
The students fell silent.
“Ahhhh! I hate this!”
After indulging in a bit of banter with his students, Xiao Shuqing picked up his bag and exited the academic building.
The gloomy, persistent rain continued to blanket City H. Though it was only half past four in the afternoon, the sky had already darkened considerably. With most students currently stuck in lectures, the campus grounds were exceptionally quiet, save for the vibrant pink and yellow roses clinging to the garden fences, blooming proudly despite the rain.
With roughly an hour left until his official clock-out time, he knew returning to his office wouldn’t yield much productivity. Instead, he decided to take a leisurely stroll over to the campus cafeteria.
As he walked, he pulled out his phone to text his only pinned contact:
Xiao Shuqing: Do you need to work overtime at the company today? I’m bringing food back from the cafeteria.
Xiao Shuqing: You can take your pick of dishes.
A reply came almost instantly:
Yu Siyuan: Are you getting food from the cafeteria, Professor Xiao? Then I’ll stay at the company to work a bit of overtime today.
Yu Siyuan: Also Professor Xiao, the honey I ordered has arrived. It’s in the smart locker by the entrance. The pickup code is 23579. If it’s convenient, could I trouble you to grab it?
Xiao Shuqing: Can do.
He tucked his phone back into his pocket.
When he arrived at the cafeteria, it was barely a quarter to five. The dishes had just been set out, and only a scattering of students were lining up to scan their cards for food.
Xiao Shuqing casually packed one meat dish and one vegetable dish before heading home.
Passing by a KFC on his way, he picked up two pieces of Original Recipe chicken to bring back for the large dog waiting at home.
The moment he unlocked the front door, Saisa was already waiting at the entrance to greet him. Catching the rich, savory aroma of the fried chicken, the dog grew immensely excited, panting with a wide, toothy grin.
“Woof, woof!”
“Yes, I brought you some chicken,” Xiao Shuqing said.
“Woof, woof, woof!” The dog’s front paws immediately began scraping eagerly against the plastic bag he was holding.
Xiao Shuqing set the items down on the dining table, then went to wash his hands and change into more comfortable clothes.
Returning to the kitchen, he put on a pair of disposable gloves. Under the intensely longing, unblinking stare of his large dog, he began to meticulously shred the meat, peeling away the salty, seasoned skin of the fried chicken bit by bit.
Right at that moment, his phone rang. It was a call from Song Qingyun.
Tapping the speakerphone button, the man’s voice instantly filled the room. “Ah Qing, did you skip your follow-up appointment at the hospital again? The doctor just called me to ask about your condition, wanting you to make time to head over there.”
Xiao Shuqing’s hands froze mid-motion.
Ever since he had accidentally smashed that bottle of matching pheromones, he hadn’t used a single replacement. His busy schedule lately was part of the reason, but a deliberate effort to avoid thinking about it was another. Either way, he had completely thrown the matter to the back of his mind.
The only real issue plaguing him was his impending heat, which stubbornly refused to arrive. Consequently, his insomnia had grown increasingly severe.
Tsk, Omegas are truly a hassle.
The sharp sound of a dog bowl clattering against the floor broke his train of thought. He looked down to find that Saisa had somehow gone and fetched his own metal food bowl, dropping it with a loud clang on the floor. The dog was currently pawing impatiently at the rim.
“Woof!” The dog barked the moment Xiao Shuqing looked over.
Seeing his human’s hands stop peeling the chicken, the poor dog had grown incredibly anxious.
Xiao Shuqing snapped out of his daze and resumed shredding the meat. Glancing at the phone, he replied softly, “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
“Haven’t made up your mind about what?”
“Haven’t made up my mind about what to do going forward.”
He hadn’t made up his mind whether to treat it—only to endure his heats year after year after agonizing year—or to just let things take their natural course.
The other end of the line fell into a heavy silence.
“Is it that you don’t like. Forget it, that’s not something an Alpha like me should be asking. I’m starting a group call; you talk it out with Yin Yu.”
Without waiting for Xiao Shuqing’s response, the man hung up.
The next second, a group voice call notification from their three-person chat popped up on the screen.
Yin Yu’s headache-inducing voice blared through the speaker: “Yo, yo! What’s with the sudden group call? I was right in the middle of enjoying the drama about H Uni’s most beautiful Omega campus heartthrob! What’s going on, what’s going on? Ah Qing, how could you not consult us about such a massive incident? As expected of someone who’s got himself an Alpha now—your wings have fully grown, boohoo. You don’t even need me and Song Qingyun anymore.”
Xiao Shuqing: “?”
“A trivial matter like this is easily resolved, whether I have an Alpha or not.”
Song Qingyun’s helpless voice cut in: “Let’s put everything else aside for a second and talk about Ah Qing’s glands first.”
“Huh? What’s wrong with Ah Qing’s glands? Didn’t we mail him those little toys? He has the synthetic Alpha pheromones with him too. Is that method not working? What did the doctor say?”
“He’s in a bit of a rut right now, but he can’t keep dragging his feet like this. The doctor called me to urge him to go back to the hospital for a follow-up.”
“Huh? A rut? What do you mean a rut?”
His friends’ voices drifted through the speaker, accompanied by a faint hum of static.
Xiao Shuqing pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t need an Alpha, and I don’t want to be with an Alpha.”
Yin Yu sounded thoroughly baffled. “No one’s making you be with an Alpha, though? We’re just talking about using some synthetic Alpha stuff.”
The moment the words left his mouth, a sharp, sudden gasp echoed over the line.
Then, his friend unleashed a barrage of rapid-fire questions like a machine gun:
“Ah Qing, do you just not want to get topped by an Alpha?”
“Holy shit, you’re an Omega and you don’t actually want to get ugh-ugh-ugh? Wait, don’t tell me that as an Omega, you actually want to top someone else? Don’t you Omegas turn completely soft and weak all over when you’re turned on?
You won’t even be able to get it up!”
“Hold on, that’s not right either. Didn’t you just find an Alpha to marry?”
Xiao Shuqing: “!”
How did this man manage to tap-dance so precisely on every single one of his triggers with every solitary sentence?
Right now, only one thought resonated in his mind: Friends aren’t exactly a mandatory necessity in life. Maybe I should just throw this one away?