After the hospital incident, Pei Xingzhi enjoyed a peaceful stretch of time.
Since they were in different majors, even if Xie Nanyi tried to overlap their schedules, it couldn’t be done completely. Most of the time, they still didn’t run into each other.
However, Pei Xingzhi suspected the bigger reason Xie Nanyi hadn’t been bothering him lately was probably because he was still hospitalized, Uncle Li had been posting on social media for over ten days straight, complaining about a certain stubborn patient.
Aside from Xie Nanyi, Pei Xingzhi couldn’t think of anyone else who would be so shameless, going to the hospital for treatment but refusing to follow the doctor’s orders, tormenting both the doctor and himself.
In any case, university life without Xie Nanyi felt like heaven to Pei Xingzhi.
Unfortunately, this utopia was soon shattered.
Pei Xingzhi felt like he and the old professor teaching Film Appreciation were fundamentally incompatible. Otherwise, why would he get caught just for looking up, earning himself a trip to the podium to share his thoughts on the film?
Recently, Pei Xingzhi had been so annoyed by Xie Nanyi that he completely forgot about preparing the presentation. His group only had him and Xie Nanyi, and since Xie Nanyi hadn’t returned yet, he was left to handle everything alone.
The few meters from his seat to the podium felt like an eternity, taking him a full minute to walk.
Zhuang Xiaoyue kindly lent him her backup slides, but since Pei Xingzhi hadn’t prepared in advance, his presentation was a mess, what he said didn’t match the slides at all, causing the students in the audience to burst into laughter.
By the end, even Pei Xingzhi couldn’t help but laugh along. After all, it was his own lack of preparation that made the presentation so poor.
The professor was furious. His sharp gaze swept across the room, and the students immediately fell silent, sitting up straight.
“What kind of presentation is this? Who else is in your group? After all this time, is this all you could come up with?”
“Xie Nanyi and I are in the same group.”
The professor’s intention to deduct points vanished the moment he heard Xie Nanyi’s name. He adjusted his reading glasses, recalling memories related to Pei Xingzhi.
“I’ll give you one last chance. Go back and redo the presentation, and deliver it again in class next week.”
Pei Xingzhi slumped back into his seat, and this mood lingered even after class ended and he returned to his dorm. Being laughed at for his failed presentation didn’t upset him, but the thought of having to redo the slides from scratch did.
“Are you okay?” Zhuang Xiaoyue noticed his low spirits and came over to talk to him. “It’s been the whole afternoon. You should accept reality by now.”
“But I can’t finish it all by myself.” Pei Xingzhi whined, sitting cross-legged on his chair with his chin resting on the desk, his cheeks puffed out as he sulked at the air. He mumbled and groaned, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.
Since he’d been called out, he couldn’t just half-heartedly rush through it like before. But if he were to put in the effort to do it properly, a week wouldn’t be enough time, especially since Film Appreciation wasn’t his only class.
“How come you, a Beta, act more spoiled than me, an Omega?”
Curled up like a little furball, Pei Xingzhi was too adorable to resist. Zhuang Xiaoyue couldn’t help but ruffle his hair. Pei Xingzhi’s hair was just like his personality, soft and gentle, without a hint of temper.
“Who’s acting spoiled? And you say I don’t seem like a Beta, well, you don’t seem like an Omega either!” Pei Xingzhi huffed, snatching the inhibitor from Zhuang Xiaoyue’s hand and spraying it on himself as if in retaliation. “Why are you carrying this? Did you go meet some Alpha?”
“You’re so petty! This inhibitor is expensive, don’t waste my money!” Ignoring his question, Zhuang Xiaoyue grabbed the inhibitor back and tucked it away.
“Then help me with the PowerPoint, okay? I’ll buy you meals for a month.” With his hands now empty, Pei Xingzhi seized Zhuang Xiaoyue’s arm, blinking pitifully. “How can you bear to leave me alone with such a huge project?”
“Aren’t you in a group with Xie Nanyi? Go ask him.” Zhuang Xiaoyue pried Pei Xingzhi’s hand away with an expression of helplessness and heartlessly returned to his own seat.
“I don’t want to deal with him. Being in the same room with him would suffocate me!” Pei Xingzhi stuck out his tongue and mimed choking himself to emphasize his resistance. “I finally got away from him, why would I go crawling back?”
“If you hate him so much, why let him slack off? Just dump all the work on him. After all, you two are in a group that’s life-and-death, inseparable, bound by fate, sharing weal and woe, sticking together through thick and thin, following each other to the grave, harmonizing like a perfect couple, made for each other!”
Zhuang Xiaoyue finished his suggestion with a flourish, not giving Pei Xingzhi a chance to respond before climbing into bed. Realizing the implication, Pei Xingzhi jumped up and hurled a cushion at Zhuang Xiaoyue’s bed.
“Zhuang Xiaoyue! Who are you saying is made for each other?!”
Setting that aside, although most of what Zhuang Xiaoyue said was nonsense, one point was spot-on.
He and Xie Nanyi were in the same group, why should he shoulder all the work and let Xie Nanyi reap the benefits?
His connection with Xie Nanyi had stalled at that rude phone call last time. Wanting to keep his distance, Pei Xingzhi naturally didn’t have Xie Nanyi’s contact info.
He had hoped to use Zhuang Xiaoyue as a go-between, but no matter how he threatened or bribed him, Zhuang Xiaoyue refused to help.
Unwilling to hear Xie Nanyi’s voice, Pei Xingzhi gritted his teeth and dug through the group chat to find Xie Nanyi’s contact, sending a friend request.
Xie Nanyi must have been glued to his phone, because the request was accepted in less than a minute.
The physical discomfort had just subsided, but the medication’s side effects brought on another wave of dizziness. Rubbing his temples, Xie Nanyi glanced at his phone, the text on the screen slightly blurred.
He had thought Pei Xingzhi thoroughly despised him, never expecting him to initiate contact.
Biological instinct made it impossible for him to resist Pei Xingzhi’s proximity. He had tried pushing him away, but things always circled back to the start.
The doctor told him to interpret this coincidence as fate, that those bound by a mark were destined to be together.
But if they were truly meant to be, why was there no trace of his mark on Pei Xingzhi? It seemed from beginning to end, he alone was tormented by the imprint.
Pei Xingzhi: The film appreciation class assignment needs to be redone. The PPT requirements are in the group chat. You do half, I do half.
Pei Xingzhi’s nickname and profile picture were quite unique. If he hadn’t included his name in the friend request note, Xie Nanyi wouldn’t have recognized him at first glance.
[Sweetheart Bunny Sauce]: Reply when you see this.
[N1]: Reply.
[Sweetheart Bunny Sauce]: Reply to what? Did you see it?
[N1]: Saw it.
[Sweetheart Bunny Sauce]: Then hurry up and do it. Send it to me when you’re done.
[N1]: Okay.
“He agreed just like that?” Zhuang Xiaoyue couldn’t help but sigh while looking at Pei Xingzhi’s phone screen.
Xie Nanyi was quite well-known at their school, with most rumors about him stemming from various rejected confessions on the campus confession wall.
Due to the bizarre and varied reasons for his rejections, the confession wall even created a dedicated section for him, “Did He Reject Today?”
Xie Nanyi had left behind too many tales of his sharp tongue, so the two had prepared thoroughly before sending the message. They scoured the internet, finding no fewer than hundreds of ways to deal with group members who didn’t contribute to group assignments. Unfortunately, it ended before they could even put any of them into practice.
“Isn’t it good that he agreed?” Pei Xingzhi snatched his pillow back from Zhuang Xiaoyue’s arms, hugged his laptop, and happily climbed onto his bed.
Although he disliked Xie Nanyi, he couldn’t bring himself to dump all the work on him. He divided the required materials into two sections, worked diligently for over ten minutes, compiled the remaining resources, and sent them to Xie Nanyi.
[N1]: ?
[Sweetheart Bunny Sauce]: Materials needed for the assignment. Remember to review them. Don’t write nonsense.
[N1]: Writing it this way seems a bit troublesome. We could meet up and work on it together.
[Sweetheart Bunny Sauce]: Get lost.
[Sweetheart Bunny Sauce]: I don’t want to meet you.
[N1]: If we don’t work together, it’ll be hard to keep the theme consistent.
[N1]: If I go off-topic, Xiao Zhi will have to redo it all by himself.
Tears soaked the bedsheets, and murderous intent surged through Pei Xingzhi.
[Sweetheart Bunny Sauce]: Meet at the library on Saturday.
The quiet atmosphere of the library naturally wasn’t suitable for their intense assignment discussions. After much deliberation, they finally settled on the club classroom where their ill-fated connection had begun.
Pei Xingzhi still felt resistant to Xie Nanyi’s proximity. He hadn’t forgotten the scene in the club classroom where Xie Nanyi had used his pheromones to suppress him. Though he wasn’t one to hold grudges, he wasn’t generous enough to interact with Xie Nanyi without any reservations.
“Just sit over there.” With two tables between them, Pei Xingzhi raised a hand to stop him from getting up and moving closer. “I don’t want to sit too close to you. My roommate really hates your pheromones.”
He couldn’t smell Xie Nanyi’s pheromones, but Zhuang Xiaoyue had said they were unpleasant. The few times he’d accidentally gotten some on him, Zhuang Xiaoyue had complained for a long time, refusing to let it go until he’d emptied an entire bottle of pheromone suppressant.
“Does Xiao Zhi want to know what my pheromones smell like?” Xie Nanyi sat down as instructed, a soft smile playing on his lips as he asked gently.
“I don’t want to know!” Pei Xingzhi wasn’t falling for it. He lifted his head and fiercely rejected the offer.
Someone this detestable probably didn’t have a pleasant scent anyway. With his black-hearted nature, it was likely something like rotten eggs, stinky tofu, or maybe even fermented herring!
“My pheromones are lemon,” Xie Nanyi answered his own question, completely disregarding Pei Xingzhi’s attitude. “If Xiao Zhi had pheromones, they’d probably be orange… no, maybe tangerine.”
“I’m a Beta. I don’t have pheromones. If you enjoy discussing pheromones, you should go find an Omega, or even an Alpha.”
Pei Xingzhi flipped through documents while taking notes, not even looking up as he responded to Xie Nanyi’s impudent question.
“But I’m only interested in Xiao Zhi.” Xie Nanyi’s harassment was endless; even with such a strikingly handsome face, he couldn’t redeem his disgustingly greasy words.
“But I’m not interested in you.” Pei Xingzhi closed his laptop and raised his eyes to meet Xie Nanyi’s gaze. “If you want to flirt, please go to another group. I don’t want to discuss these things with you.”
“Alright.” Xie Nanyi shook his head regretfully but had unknowingly moved closer and closer to Pei Xingzhi.
When Pei Xingzhi finally looked up after an hour of writing, he realized Xie Nanyi had somehow sat down beside him. He probably didn’t suit this room, every time he entered, he’d inexplicably feel uncomfortably warm.
“Tch.” Pei Xingzhi instinctively frowned, his expression unpleasant as he stood up and opened the window.
The wind from outside blew in, the fresh air making Pei Xingzhi feel slightly better. He wondered if pheromones could be blown away by the wind. If he got Alpha pheromones on him again, Zhuang Xiaoyue would definitely kill him.
“Can you keep your pheromones to yourself and stop getting them on me?” He didn’t know if Xie Nanyi was releasing pheromones, but based on past experience, it was highly likely.
After all, Xie Nanyi didn’t care about such things at all.
The wind from outside blew into the room, lifting the colorful ribbon tied in Pei Xingzhi’s small braid.
Pei Xingzhi hated dealing with his hair; his messy locks were usually left loose and disheveled. His shoulder-length hair was quite deceptive, from behind, it was hard to tell at a glance whether he was male or female.
He usually tied his hair up when working, but today he’d forgotten to bring a hair tie when he went out, so he casually used a leftover decorative ribbon to tie a small braid.
The ribbon fluttered up, covering Pei Xingzhi’s eyes and causing a momentary confusion to flash in Xie Nanyi’s gaze.
“Does Xiao Zhi hate me that much?” Xie Nanyi snapped back to attention, but his pheromones continued to slowly spread.
Pei Xingzhi had overestimated him, he didn’t have the ability to freely control his pheromones in front of Pei Xingzhi. Whenever he got close, Xie Nanyi would unconsciously release pheromones, enveloping Pei Xingzhi. The imprint compelled him to seek out the owner of the name, then claim him as his own with his pheromones.
Perhaps this was the advantage of being a Beta, even if he declared ownership like this in front of everyone, the Beta at the center of it all remained completely unaware.
“Extremely, extremely hateful!” Pei Xingzhi pulled the screen window shut with a loud “smack,” as if cheering himself on. The noise made people downstairs look up, and Pei Xingzhi immediately crouched down to avoid their gaze. When he turned back, he met Xie Nanyi’s playful expression.
If Xie Nanyi didn’t have such a handsome face, Pei Xingzhi would have long since punched him.
“Why does Xiao Zhi hate me?” Xie Nanyi propped his chin on his hands, his face shifting to a wounded expression once again.
“You should ask yourself that!”
“Xiao Zhi’s words make me so sad.” Xie Nanyi covered his chest, yet his tone didn’t sound particularly sorrowful. “We’re each other’s imprinted ones, how could you do this to me?”
“I’ve told you I’m not your imprinted one.” Pei Xingzhi’s anger flared up again. He strode over in a few steps, grabbed Xie Nanyi by the collar, and pulled him up.
“But Xiao Zhi’s name doesn’t lie.” Xie Nanyi, as if ready for another argument, was about to reveal his wrist again.
“Forget it, forget it. I don’t want to argue with you anymore. Let’s just finish our homework quickly so I can leave sooner.” Seeing him bring up the topic again, Pei Xingzhi swatted his hand away and gave in first.
Xie Nanyi spread his hands obediently and sat back in his original spot. The two of them buried themselves in their own tasks across the long table, the only sound in the classroom being the rapid clatter of their keyboards.
“I told you, that’s definitely not allowed!”
A sharp voice pierced through the hallway and stabbed into Pei Xingzhi’s ears. Startled from his immersion in the materials, Pei Xingzhi jerked his head up. With the fastest speed of his life, he gathered his belongings, grabbed Xie Nanyi, and dragged him into the storage room attached to the club classroom, which was meant for cleaning supplies.
“Xiao Zhi, what’s wrong?”
The storage room wasn’t spacious, half of it was crammed with various cleaning tools, leaving only a narrow space that could barely accommodate two grown men. Pei Xingzhi twisted his body, practically hanging onto Xie Nanyi, leaving almost no distance between them.
“Shh…” Pei Xingzhi covered Xie Nanyi’s mouth with one hand and placed the other in front of his own lips in a silencing gesture. He leaned his head toward the door, listening intently to the sounds outside.
The sharp voice grew closer and closer. Pei Xingzhi held his breath, not daring to make a sound.
“Huh? Didn’t they say they’d be here? Where are they?”
“Their club president said he borrowed the key to this place. Why borrow the key if he’s not coming?”
“I told you not to trust Pei Xingzhi. Now look what happened, how are you going to clean up this mess?”
The iron door of the storage room wasn’t soundproof, and the foul language from the classroom clearly reached their ears. Xie Nanyi glanced up at Pei Xingzhi, who was clinging to him. The person on top of him looked completely unfazed, as if the insults outside weren’t directed at him at all.
Pei Xingzhi noticed his gaze and shifted his attention back to Xie Nanyi. They were so close that Xie Nanyi could even feel his breathing, the warm air evenly falling on his neck. Pei Xingzhi’s amber eyes watched him with cat-like vigilance, a fierce little kitten who thought he was intimidating but actually held no threat at all.
Pei Xingzhi’s gaze drifted downward. His loose collar hung low, revealing his fair collarbone, adorned with a perfectly placed red mole that added a touch of sensuality.
“Don’t speak.” Pei Xingzhi mouthed the words to him. Xie Nanyi nodded, but his expression held a strange, indescribable quality.
Pei Xingzhi felt a chill run down his spine under Xie Nanyi’s gaze. He adjusted his position, propping himself up on Xie Nanyi’s shoulders. His right hand moved downward, searching for support, but as he pressed down, he touched something hard.
Curious, Pei Xingzhi gave it a squeeze, and immediately, a sharp gasp sounded above his head.
Xie Nanyi’s voice, tinged with an ambiguous meaning, quietly drifted down from above.
“Xiao Zhi, don’t touch there…”