When Jiang Chu caught sight of Du Jinchen, he was slightly startled, but he quickly recovered. Raising a hand to adjust the brim of his cap, he curved his lips into a smile toward Du Jinchen.
Du Jinchen smiled back. “What a coincidence.”
Today, he did not catch the scent of that cool, aloof pheromone. Jiang Chu must have taken care of it.
For some reason, a trace of regret flashed through Du Jinchen’s heart.
However, that emotion was instantly shattered by a harsh, grating voice.
“Yo, after making the rest of us wait for so long, you finally decided to show up,” Jin Shaoyang said, walking over from behind with his arms crossed.
Du Jinchen’s tall and sturdy build blocked Jiang Chu completely. Jin Shaoyang had to step around Du Jinchen before he could clearly see Jiang Chu.
Upon laying eyes on Jiang Chu’s face, Jin Shaoyang, who had been impatient just a moment ago, instantly fell silent. Swallowing his entire list of complaints, he quickly changed his tune. “Turns out it is an omega. Well, that makes sense. No worries, I have all the time in the world to wait for you.”
Without batting an eye, Jiang Chu took half a step back, a flash of displeasure in his eyes. “The group chat said to gather at the foot of the mountain at eight o’clock. It is currently seven-fifty-six.”
Du Jinchen shot Jin Shaoyang a sideways glance. “He is not late. We just got here early.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Qian Qian chimed in, walking over. “We only just arrived not long ago, too.”
Zhang Chengjun added, “Hey, we are just kids out here to have fun and enjoy ourselves. Let us drop this and keep moving. Come on, let us start climbing.”
The group finally set off up the mountain. The young couple walked quickly, pulling ahead to lead the way before long, while the middle-aged couple lagged slowly behind at the back.
At first, the two female college students chatted animatedly beside Jiang Chu, asking about his hair color one minute and the tattoos on the back of his hand the next. Jiang Chu responded to them politely. Later, the girls decided to race and see who could reach the summit first. After telling Jiang Chu they would meet him at the top, they hurried on ahead.
Du Jinchen’s pace was steady and unhurried. His mountaineering boots hugged his ankles, emphasizing his long and muscular calves. Every step he took on the stone stairs produced a crisp sound, and while he chatted idly with Zhang Chengjun, he kept a corner of his eye on Jiang Chu.
Once the two girls left, Jiang Chu stopped talking as well, quietly trailing behind. The black-and-white mountaineering outfit wrapped snugly around him, the sleeves covering half the butterfly tattoo on the back of his hand. A lock of pinkish-purple hair peeked playfully out from beneath his hiking cap, fluttering softly in the breeze.
Taishan Mountain was a 5A-level scenic area, and the path up was filled with pleasant sights. Jiang Chu kept getting distracted by the scenery and gradually slowed his pace. By the time Du Jinchen looked back to check on him, Jiang Chu had already fallen out of sight.
“Who knows how many more years it will be before the metamorphic rocks around here sink deep into the earth’s crust? By then, mountains will turn into oceans. Nature really is a miraculous existence,” Zhang Chengjun kept rambling on. “Jinchen, why did you stop?”
Du Jinchen glanced back over his shoulder and said to Zhang Chengjun, “Brother Zhang, you go on ahead. I am going to wait for the people behind us.”
Zhang Chengjun looked back as well. “Alright then, I will wait for you at the Chengde Gate.”
Du Jinchen nodded in agreement. He waited in place for two minutes, but when Jiang Chu still did not appear, a frown crossed his brow and he turned back down the trail.
After the two girls left, Jiang Chu had been using his trekking poles for leverage to hike upward. Jin Shaoyang kept hovering around him on and off, firing off one eager, persistent question after another.
Unaccustomed to such intrusive attentiveness, Jiang Chu pulled the collar of his windbreaker up to cover most of his cheeks, creating some distance between himself and Jin Shaoyang before answering.
Eventually, tired of answering those boring questions, Jiang Chu quickened his pace for a stretch, leaving Jin Shaoyang behind. After walking a short distance and realizing Jin Shaoyang had not caught up, Jiang Chu let out a sigh of relief and slowed his stride.
Passing a peculiarly shaped metamorphic rock, he noticed a clear stream gurgling beneath it. The sunlight painted golden dancing reflections across the water’s crystal-clear surface, and the smooth pebbles below were scoured clean by the current, with a few wild fish occasionally coming into view.
Jiang Chu squatted down and tested the water with his fingers. The cool liquid gently slipped past his fingertips, leaving behind glittering traces of moisture. The sunlight washed over his pale, slender hand, casting a small shadow on the water’s surface.
The comfortable, carefree feeling made Jiang Chu narrow his eyes in contentment. He shook the water droplets from his hand and stood up, intending to continue onward. Suddenly, Jin Shaoyang darted out from behind and wrapped an arm tightly around Jiang Chu’s waist. “Xiaochu, fancy a swim in the stream?”
The Alpha leaned in close to Jiang Chu with half-closed eyes, his greedy gaze practically transforming into a pair of pliers trying to rip the suppression patch off the omega’s gland.
Jiang Chu’s body instantly went rigid, and out of sheer instinct, he threw Jin Shaoyang with a textbook shoulder-throw, sending the Alpha crashing to the ground.
“Ah!”
Looking at the wailing Alpha on the ground, Jiang Chu’s eyes were filled with wariness. Like a cat with its fur bristling, his entire body trembled slightly.
The Alpha had been knocked flat before he even realized what was happening. Completely unprepared for the fact that a seemingly frail omega could take him down, he flew into a blind fury. “What the hell? You are just a fucking omega, and you actually dared to throw me! I barely even touched you. What is this massive reaction, did I touch your precious virginity?!”
Jiang Chu had only managed to take Jin Shaoyang down because the Alpha had completely let his guard down.
If they were to go toe-to-toe in a fair fight, an omega would never stand a chance against an Alpha. Yet hearing those vile, utterly repulsive words tumbling out of Jin Shaoyang’s mouth made Jiang Chu tremble all over with rage. He pressed his lips into a hard, bloodless line.
Seeing that Jiang Chu remained silent, Jin Shaoyang scrambled back up to his feet and looked down at Jiang Chu with even greater arrogance. “If you apologize to me right now, I might choose to forgive you. If it were not for the fact that you look decent, who the hell would even bother trying to hit on you?”
The arrogant Alpha failed to notice the veins bulging on the back of Jiang Chu’s tightly clenched hand as he insolently scanned Jiang Chu from head to toe. That greedy gaze only made Jiang Chu feel even more nauseated.
“Jin Shaoyang.”
A freezing voice rang out from behind. A tall Alpha walked up with steady, measured strides.
Du Jinchen called out coldly. He stepped in front of Jiang Chu to block Jin Shaoyang’s line of sight, fixing his dark eyes on the other Alpha. There was not a trace of emotion in his voice. “Do not push it.”
Just those four simple words sent a heavy wave of pressure crashing over Jin Shaoyang.
Jin Shaoyang had no idea how Du Jinchen had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Back at the foot of the mountain, he had already sensed the sheer intensity of Du Jinchen’s pheromones. This was definitely an Alpha on a completely different level from him, someone far stronger!
A chill crept up Jin Shaoyang’s spine, but he still tried to brazen it out. “He is the one who threw me first! Just look at the mud on my pants.”
With that, Jin Shaoyang did not forget to glare angrily at Jiang Chu. Jiang Chu pressed his lips together so tightly that the corners of his eyes turned red with fury. This absurd display of the thief crying thief made him despise this Alpha even more.
Du Jinchen sheltered Jiang Chu behind him and said coldly, “You made the first move. If you show no respect, why on earth should he respect you?”
Du Jinchen’s presence was overwhelming. His lowered gaze was filled with smoldering anger, his brows locked in a deep frown, and his expression was chillingly harsh. His tall, imposing posture made it hard for Jin Shaoyang to breathe.
As a classic bully who picked on the weak and feared the strong, Jin Shaoyang did not dare provoke trouble right in front of Du Jinchen. He could only mutter bitterly, “Damn it, what bad luck. Whatever, count me unlucky. I am not climbing this damn mountain anymore.”
Throwing his trekking poles to the ground, Jin Shaoyang turned to head back down the mountain, but Du Jinchen suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm. “Apologize to Jiang Chu.”
“What am I supposed to apologize for?” Jin Shaoyang laughed in angry disbelief. “He is the one who threw me to the ground! Why the hell should I apologize to him?!”
“As an Alpha, you have no basic decency toward an omega, and you sat there hurling insults and demeaning language at him,” Du Jinchen narrowed his eyes. “Do you not owe him an apology?”
A ferocious wave of pheromones filled the air. The scorching, suffocating heat made Jin Shaoyang feel as though he had been tossed into a furnace. In less than two seconds, cold sweat poured down his back and temples. The sheer, overwhelming dominance of those pheromones battered his senses, turning his legs to jelly.
“Damn it.” Cold sweat beaded on Jin Shaoyang’s forehead, and he no longer dared to talk back. He threw out a hasty sorry toward Jiang Chu and fled in a panic.
Lazily withdrawing his gaze, Du Jinchen brushed his hands together casually, as if he had just touched something filthy.
He then turned around, lowered his gaze to look at Jiang Chu, and asked softly, “Are you alright?”
The corners of Jiang Chu’s eyes were still tinged with red, but the rapid rise and fall of his chest had already calmed considerably. He opened his mouth. “I am fine.”
Watching Jiang Chu closely for any lingering reactions, Du Jinchen realized that Jiang Chu had not been affected by the pheromones this time around, which allowed him to relax slightly. “Pay no mind to trash like that. Not every Alpha acts that way.”
“I know.” Jiang Chu raised his gaze to meet Du Jinchen’s eyes. He wanted to explain what had just happened, but he did not quite know how to put it into words. “Thank you.”
Seeing Jiang Chu look up at him obediently with those round eyes once more, Du Jinchen felt his heart melt into a puddle of warmth. He curved his lips slightly. “You are welcome.”
After saying those two words, Du Jinchen paused for a moment before adding, “And you were very brave back there.”
He had clearly witnessed the impressive shoulder-throw Jiang Chu had executed.
Hearing Du Jinchen’s praise, Jiang Chu’s pupils noticeably flickered. He quickly averted his gaze in embarrassment, his earlobes turning bright red. “Let us keep climbing.”