On their way out of the old residence, Grandpa Wen gave Qiu Zheng a task.
“Zhengzheng, Wen Yan has a health check scheduled for tomorrow. He’s booked it several times already but keeps skipping it. Tomorrow, I’ll have to trouble you to personally take him.”
To be honest, Qiu Zheng didn’t really want to.
Hadn’t they been seeing each other a bit too often lately? Was this making up for the past two months all at once?
But she couldn’t refuse Grandpa Wen. It wasn’t a big deal anyway, so she could only smile and agree.
Sigh… just grit her teeth and get through it.
When they got back, the car stopped downstairs at the company.
Qiu Zheng hesitated the whole way. When she got out, she lingered for a moment before finally walking to the driver’s side window and asking Wen Yan, “Are you busy tomorrow?”
Wen Yan rested one hand on the steering wheel, glanced at her briefly, then looked forward again. “Mm.”
“Mm? Busy?”
“Not really.”
“So… not busy?”
“A little.”
Qiu Zheng felt like steam was about to come out of her ears. “If you’re—” What she wanted to say was: You’re a grown adult, can’t you just go to the hospital yourself?
But right then, her phone buzzed.
It was Grandpa Wen: “Zhengzheng, I’ll leave Wen Yan to you. I’ll wait for your update tomorrow.”
…Forget it.
Qiu Zheng deflated. Fine, she’d go.
After leaving WK, Qiu Zheng drove herself home.
The moment she arrived, an indescribable sense of comfort wrapped around her. Without even changing clothes, she flopped straight onto the bed.
So comfortable!
She really was the kind of person who couldn’t stay away from home for more than two days. Even though Wen Yan’s bed was nice, it still couldn’t compare to her own.
She rolled over on the bed.
She’d felt exhausted on the way back, but now she was full of energy again. As usual, she picked up her phone and started scrolling. There were still very few comments on her novel, but one familiar ID stood out.
“The stars in the sky don’t speak”: You updated right on time today. Stockpiling chapters in advance?
The timestamp was yesterday.
Oh? Pretty sharp.
Most of the time, Qiu Zheng wrote and posted on the spot—whenever she finished, she’d upload, without caring about exact timing. Only when she scheduled posts in advance would she set them to go out exactly on the hour.
She liked the comment on her alt account.
As for her main account, she never replied to readers.
The more you say, the more mistakes you make. Say nothing, make no mistakes.
Then she checked the group chat.
Kang Ya: “Recommending an underrated show I just found—Rose Trap! Total hidden gem!”
Kang Ya: [link]
Kang Ya: “Seriously, it’s so good!”
As a writers’ group, they often shared shows, movies, and books. Qiu Zheng saw Kang Ya praising the leads repeatedly and even posting screenshots.
The male lead was handsome, the female lead beautiful—definitely eye-catching.
Qiu Zheng clicked the link, which opened a video app.
She hadn’t written her update yet… whatever, just watch a bit first. This counts as research, right?
But when she read the synopsis, she nearly blacked out.
Another story about a 100% compatibility match, love at first sight, then irrational obsession.
Classic alpha-omega pairing.
No wonder it was niche.
Though even popular stuff seemed to rely on this—like without compatibility and pheromones, people couldn’t think of any other way to make characters fall in love.
This world is doomed.
Qiu Zheng had zero interest in that kind of plot.
Still, thinking of the screenshots, she forced herself to watch the first episode.
The plot was completely predictable—but she still finished it.
Because… It looked amazing. The leads were even more stunning in motion than in photos.
Ignoring the plot, just watching their faces and the atmosphere was pleasing enough.
After one episode, she bookmarked it and exited.
Time to write.
She stayed busy, even ordering takeout for dinner.
Late at night, just as she was about to fall asleep, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Do I have pheromones?
Wait—
She jolted awake, sitting up abruptly.
Replaying her memory—what exactly had Wen Yan said?
“The whole room smells like your pheromones.”
Pheromones?
So she not only had them, but had released them?
How did she miss something so important?!
She touched the area where scent glands should be—nothing.
She sniffed herself—nothing.
So curious.
What exactly was going on?
She lay back down.
She was certain she had crossed over with her original body—she had even been wearing the same clothes. Old scars, moles—everything was identical.
She had simply appeared in this world out of nowhere, with no family.
But now it seemed like her body had automatically adapted—what this world would call… differentiation?
Otherwise, after being registered in the gene database, she wouldn’t have been matched with Wen Yan immediately.
And thankfully it was Wen Yan. Otherwise, someone of unknown origin like her might’ve faced serious trouble. It was Wen Yan who had resolved everything back then.
But… How were pheromones released?
She lifted her arm and sniffed again. Still nothing.
The unknown was the scariest part. What if she released them unconsciously?
The thought made her uneasy.
Maybe it’d be better if she were a beta.
…No, if she were a beta, she’d have been in serious trouble back when her identity was exposed.
With all these messy thoughts, she eventually fell asleep.
The next morning… She overslept.
They were supposed to meet at 9.
It was already 9:30.
She rushed to get up while checking her phone—no messages.
Feeling guilty, she texted Wen Yan:
“Are you still busy?”
Wen Yan was unusually free, sitting in his office. His assistant walked in and was surprised. “Professor, you haven’t left yet?”
He had already said he’d leave at 9, even came out of the lab early.
But Qiu Zheng’s message only arrived now.
She was always punctual. This was her first time being late.
At first, he’d wondered if something happened and almost called her—but then thought she might just be tired and overslept.
So he waited.
By their agreement, she was supposed to call when she arrived.
But now she texted instead.
He could almost picture her—too embarrassed to call.
“Still in a meeting,” he replied.
“When will it end?”
“10:30,” he calculated her arrival time.
Qiu Zheng sighed in relief, even feeling a bit justified now. See? She’d have had to wait anyway.
“Take your time with your meeting. No rush. I’ll walk around nearby while I wait.”
Wen Yan leaned back in his chair, resting his chin on one hand, staring at the message.
They were just words—but he could vividly imagine her flustered, guilty expression.
He almost smiled.
“Mm.”
By the time they reached the hospital, it was already late.
As they got out of the car, Grandpa Wen messaged Qiu Zheng asking for an update.
Seeing it, she jogged a couple of steps to catch up with Wen Yan, then turned around in front of him and raised her phone to take a selfie.
But just as she was about to press the shutter, Wen Yan turned back.
His back in the frame instantly became a full frontal shot.
Her hand froze—press or not?
“I… I just want to report to Grandpa.”
Wen Yan’s expression was unreadable. He didn’t seem interested in something so trivial.
She was about to lower her phone—
But he turned fully to face her camera.
“Go ahead.”
…That’s easy?
She didn’t hesitate. Click.
Done. Looks didn’t matter—just needed herself, Wen Yan, and the hospital in the frame.