“Zhuang Xiaoyue, what’s wrong with you?”
Pei Xingzhi grabbed Zhuang Xiaoyue’s sleeve to stop him, but Zhuang Xiaoyue yanked his arm, trying to shake him off. However, Pei Xingzhi was, after all, a Beta, setting aside pheromones, he was clearly physically stronger than an Omega.
It was currently between classes, with students coming and going all around them. The two of them blocking the middle of the path naturally drew quite a few stares.
After struggling a couple of times and realizing he couldn’t break free, Zhuang Xiaoyue shot Pei Xingzhi a glare and then gave him a look, signaling for him to follow.
Pei Xingzhi caught on and followed him to a small pavilion beside the teaching building.
“Go on, what do you want?” Zhuang Xiaoyue sat down on the stone bench in the pavilion, crossing his arms and looking up at Pei Xingzhi with a coldness he had never shown before.
“What do I want? Zhuang Xiaoyue, are you in heat or something?” Pei Xingzhi had never seen that look in his eyes. The stern questioning he had prepared got stuck in his throat. His innocent, clueless expression, paired with his current rebellious, flashy getup, somehow looked oddly comical.
“What heat would I have?”
Zhuang Xiaoyue clenched his fists, and any thought of having a calm conversation scattered in an instant. Pei Xingzhi’s words were like repeatedly poking at his sore spot, he was a defective Omega, one so flawed that even a mark couldn’t form. How could he possibly have a heat cycle?
“Wasn’t it you who wanted to talk to me? You had to grab and pull at me in front of all those people, and now that I’m giving you the chance, you put on this act.” Zhuang Xiaoyue’s tone was harsh, sweeping a look of utter contempt over Pei Xingzhi from head to toe.
“Zhuang Xiaoyue, what did I do to you? Can you just say it clearly? Stop being so passive-aggressive!” Pei Xingzhi’s mouth was usually sharp, able to rattle off insults for half an hour without repeating a word, but when the person across from him was Zhuang Xiaoyue, who was always so soft-spoken, Pei Xingzhi’s “machine gun” jammed instead.
Fury and speechlessness flooded through him, and Pei Xingzhi felt like he might pass out from not being able to catch his breath. In the span of a minute, his expression went through countless changes, until he finally managed to spit out one line,
“Zhuang Xiaoyue, what did I ever do to you!”
“Pei Xingzhi, how come I never noticed before that you’re such a good actor? You’re happy now, so you can just treat me however you want, right? Yeah, the one chasing after you is Xie Nanyi, so of course you can put on that attitude in front of me. I can’t afford to mess with you, so just stop pestering me from now on, okay? I admit defeat, alright!”
Their usual roles were swapped, now it was Zhuang Xiaoyue who was going on and on. Pei Xingzhi didn’t understand what he was so angry about, only catching the key name “Xie Nanyi.” With blood rushing to his head, he assumed Xie Nanyi must have sent something that made Zhuang Xiaoyue misunderstand him. He left with a “Wait here, I’ll talk to you later” and ran back to the classroom.
Back in the classroom, Xie Nanyi had just finished his musings when his assistant, quick on the uptake, took the pile of messy stuff beside him. The two had barely stood up when Pei Xingzhi came storming back in.
Assistant Qin clearly lacked experience. Seeing that the visitor was Pei Xingzhi, he stood respectfully to the side holding the bag, making way for Xie Nanyi. Xie Nanyi glanced at Pei Xingzhi, who had suddenly stormed back, snatched the bag from Assistant Qin’s hand, and walked up with a smile.
“Xiao Zhi, are you back to see me? I didn’t see you after class earlier and thought you were going to abandon me.”
“What did you say to Zhuang Xiaoyue!”
Pei Xingzhi didn’t notice his little gestures. He strode up to him, stood on his tiptoes, grabbed his collar, and demanded fiercely.
“Zhuang Xiaoyue?” Hearing the name, a flicker of confusion passed through Xie Nanyi’s eyes. Assistant Qin whispered a reminder beside him before he recalled that this was the Omega who always followed Pei Xingzhi around.
“Don’t play dumb with me. What exactly did you say to Zhuang Xiaoyue? Why did he suddenly get angry at me? Did you stir up trouble between us!”
“Did something happen between you two?” Xie Nanyi pried his fingers off and naturally interlaced them with his own.
Pei Xingzhi shook off his hand in disgust and wiped it on his clothes. Xie Nanyi watched his action, turned his head away, and couldn’t help but laugh. Pei Xingzhi, however, thought he was provoking him, which only added fuel to his fiery temper.
“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you.” Xie Nanyi reined in his emotions just in time and grabbed Pei Xingzhi a second before he exploded. “The one you mentioned… Zhuang…”
“Zhuang Xiaoyue.”
“Right. Although Xiao Zhi might not believe me, I really haven’t said anything to him.” Before Pei Xingzhi brought up the name today, he had always thought that Omega was called Zhuang Xiaodie.
“If you didn’t say anything, why would he suddenly get angry! You’re still trying to weasel out of it even with your back against the wall! Whatever you said, explain it quickly and clear my name!” Xie Nanyi had already lost all credibility in Pei Xingzhi’s eyes. No matter what he said, Pei Xingzhi stuck to his own view.
Seeing that reasoning with him was futile, Xie Nanyi glanced sideways at Assistant Qin, and the two exchanged equally puzzled looks.
Then it wasn’t his father’s doing.
“Fine, I’ll go with you.” Xie Nanyi surrendered. Since it had nothing to do with him anyway, he might as well tag along for the fun.
Zhuang Xiaoyue wasn’t replying to messages, so Pei Xingzhi dragged Xie Nanyi around in a frenzy, finally finding Zhuang Xiaoyue in the dormitory, who hadn’t managed to leave yet.
Only Zhuang Xiaoyue was in the dorm. Pei Xingzhi closed the door, and the two of them approached Zhuang Xiaoyue one after the other.
Pei Xingzhi alone was nothing much, but the Alpha behind him had an overwhelming presence that made even this red-haired little fox look like a little tiger.
The red-haired little fox narrowed his eyes and approached step by step, while the big gray wolf behind him followed with a doting smile.
“What are you two doing! Bullying on campus will get you punished! The school won’t cover for you!”
Zhuang Xiaoyue was so frightened by the Alpha and Beta before him that he kept backing away, his words trembling noticeably.
“Zhuang Xiaoyue, what bad things did Xie Nanyi say about me to you? I’ve brought him here. Tell me, and let him explain it clearly for me. Don’t believe his stirring of trouble. Don’t you know what kind of person I am!”
The “little fox” clearly hadn’t grown that many cunning schemes yet. His eyes blinked again and again as he looked at Zhuang Xiaoyue with grievance, trying to beg for a shred of his innocence.
Zhuang Xiaoyue, who had already raised his hands in a defensive posture, froze. He glanced at Pei Xingzhi, then at Xie Nanyi behind him, and his eyes darted around as if he thought she understood Pei Xingzhi’s intentions.
So he had jumped out to play the hero and save him back then just to earn himself a good reputation, and afterward, because he couldn’t be bothered with the hassle, he’d simply turned around and walked away. Now, to keep up a good image in front of his admirer, he was going to slander him as being unreasonable?
But he wasn’t Pei Xingzhi’s prop. Why should he play along with his little act?
“Pei Xingzhi, what exactly are you pretending for? You’re the one who’s been reporting my whereabouts to Gu Xiang every single moment, aren’t you?”
This time, it wasn’t just Pei Xingzhi who was confused, even Xie Nanyi, wrongly accused as the “culprit,” was momentarily at a loss.
He remembered that the Omega beside Pei Xingzhi usually seemed pretty gentle, didn’t he?
“Xie! Nan! Yi!”
Pei Xingzhi barked out, yanking Xie Nanyi, who had been hiding behind him enjoying the show, into the space between the two of them.
“Explain it for me!”
“Explain what?”
Xie Nanyi blinked innocently as Pei Xingzhi grabbed him by the collar.
God knew how wronged he felt right now.
“Explain how you’ve wronged me!”
Pei Xingzhi was about to lose his mind. If his current state could be drawn as an illustration, there would definitely be raging flames blazing behind him.
“But…” Xie Nanyi said pitifully, “I’ve been wronged too…”
A Beta and an Omega were arguing, why did he, an Alpha, have to be the one caught in the crossfire?
Xie Nanyi didn’t understand, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying the drama.
“Say something!”
Pei Xingzhi lowered his head, biting his lip as he struggled to control his emotions, jabbing his finger into Xie Nanyi’s shoulder, demanding he speak up for him.
“If you two came here just to say all this, then get out right now. If you refuse to leave, I’ll be forced to call the police.” Zhuang Xiaoyue had no interest in appreciating their theatrical performance. He raised the Omega protection bracelet on his right hand, making a move to press it.
An Alpha barging into a dormitory where an Omega resided, even if the Xie family had enough power and influence to handle it, in this era where AO equality was gaining strong momentum, it would still cause the Xie family plenty of trouble for a while.
“You should go first.” Pei Xingzhi spoke with his back to Zhuang Xiaoyue and Xie Nanyi, his voice carrying a barely concealed choke.
His business with Zhuang Xiaoyue, there was no need to drag Xie Nanyi into it.
Xie Nanyi glanced at Pei Xingzhi, hesitating over whether he should stay and keep watching the show.
It was entertaining, sure, but Pei Xingzhi didn’t seem to want him to keep watching.
“I’ll head out then.” Both parties clearly had “no audience” written all over their faces, so Xie Nanyi took the hint, said his goodbyes, and turned to leave.
Human nature is inherently nosy, even if he acted uninterested, Xie Nanyi’s hand still slowed involuntarily as he opened the door.
No one could resist a good piece of gossip, especially when it involved Pei Xingzhi.
Just as the door clicked shut, Xie Nanyi suddenly sensed an extremely faint trace of pheromones coming from inside the dormitory. It was so weak it was almost negligible.
Xie Nanyi was about to leave, but a sharp sting suddenly shot through his wrist.
He knew something was wrong. Hastily, he flung the door open and rushed back inside.
Upon entering the dormitory, the faint scent of pheromones became slightly more noticeable. Only Zhuang Xiaoyue and Pei Xingzhi were in the room, so it was clear who the pheromones were coming from.
Although Zhuang Xiaoyue was a low-quality Omega whose pheromones were extremely weak, that weakness was only relative to Alphas and Omegas. To a Beta, any pheromones were highly oppressive.
Pei Xingzhi had collapsed to the floor, his right hand pressed against his chest as he gasped for breath. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his lips were bitten raw, stained with blood.
This trace of pheromones shouldn’t have reduced him to such a state, but because his emotions were in such turmoil and he trusted Zhuang Xiaoyue completely, he was utterly overwhelmed by this low-quality Omega’s pheromones.
“Xingzhi, are you alright?”
Xie Nanyi helped Pei Xingzhi up and wrapped him in his arms, his Alpha pheromones covering the Omega’s. The familiar scent enveloped Pei Xingzhi, and his breathing gradually steadied under Xie Nanyi’s comfort.
“I… I didn’t… I didn’t mean to, it’s because Pei Xingzhi…”
Zhuang Xiaoyue clearly hadn’t expected Xie Nanyi to still be there. He had only released his pheromones after watching Xie Nanyi leave. Zhuang Xiaoyue pressed his lips together, his already unpleasant complexion slowly turning pale as he shuffled backward.
Xie Nanyi lifted Pei Xingzhi into his arms and finally spared Zhuang Xiaoyue a glance.
His pitch-black eyes stared at Zhuang Xiaoyue without a trace of emotion, as if he would crush him with his pheromones at any moment.
He didn’t believe Zhuang Xiaoyue was as innocent as he appeared. Only a fool like Pei Xingzhi would truly believe Zhuang Xiaoyue was just a simple Omega.
As the two faced off, Pei Xingzhi regained consciousness. He gently tugged at Xie Nanyi’s clothes, and when he saw him look over, shook his head slightly.
“Don’t.”
His lips were still stained with blood, and that single touch of red only made his face look even more fragile, his expression so aggrieved it seemed he might burst into tears at any second.
Xie Nanyi had never seen him like this. Pei Xingzhi was always stubborn in front of him; even when Xie Nanyi used his pheromones to pressure him, he had never shown a hint of vulnerability.
Pei Xingzhi buried his head in Xie Nanyi’s chest. His body ached, and he didn’t want to stay here any longer.