Pleasant evenings always fly by too fast.
Jiang Xin had a blast at the arcade. She even managed to chat up a gorgeous girl, and the two happily exchanged WeChat contacts.
Meanwhile, Jiang Zheng soaked up countless compliments and videos taken by bystanders, which deeply satisfied his Omega teenage vanity of loving beauty and being the center of attention.
Gu Xin also had a new addition to his hands a fluffy, big-beaked duck plushie.
Only Jiang Chen returned empty-handed, which perfectly fit his personality; these days, he was the kind of person who found even putting his hands in his pockets too tiring.
Jiang Zheng asked Gu Xin, “Brother Gu Xin, did you only catch this one doll the whole night? It’s so cute, can you give it to me?”
Thinking of his performance that night, Gu Xin smiled and declined, “If you want one, I’ll buy you another later. The quality of this one isn’t very good.” More importantly, Jiang Chen was the one who caught it, so there was no way he was giving it to Jiang Zheng.
Jiang Zheng shrugged. “Alright, it does look pretty average quality-wise.” It paled in comparison to the dolls his Alpha classmates usually gifted him.
Naturally, Gu Xin treasured this unexpected gift immensely, and just then, a subtle, strange thought seemed to cross his mind.
Back at the neighborhood, Gu Xin went to his own house while the three Jiang siblings headed home.
When they unlocked the door, they found their parents had already returned from their solo movie date. They had gone to see a romance film. Despite Mother Jiang’s usually bold and careless personality, she had a uniquely sentimental side. Perhaps the movie had been too moving, because her eyes were red from crying, and Father Jiang was quietly comforting her.
Jiang Chen waited until his dad finished comforting his mom before bringing up the issue of his unstable pheromones.
His mother instantly grew worried, dropping her emotional mood in a split second. “What? What’s wrong with your pheromones?”
The children in this family had been healthy since childhood, rarely catching so much as a cold. Hearing Jiang Chen suddenly bring this up, her anxiety was entirely predictable.
Jiang Chen honestly relayed the school doctor’s words. “It should be fine. The school doctor recommended I get a blood test and some scans for a full check-up, mostly to look at the pheromones.”
Mother Jiang turned to Father Jiang. “We’re supposed to visit Grandpa and Grandma tomorrow, how about we skip it?”
“It’s fine, it shouldn’t be anything too serious,” Jiang Chen interjected. “Gu Xin and I are going to the hospital for the check-up tomorrow anyway. You guys should head over to Grandpa and Grandma’s.”
Jiang Xin only had a three-day holiday, so she definitely wasn’t going. Jiang Zheng loved to play and was even less willing to tag along.
Grandna’s house wasn’t quite like Grandma’s on their mother’s side. The three children Mother Jiang gave birth to didn’t exactly match the paternal grandparents’ expectations, so they weren’t very close. The three siblings usually hated going over there anyway.
Father Jiang was also deeply concerned for his son. “Then make sure you send us the check-up report as soon as it’s done, understood?”
In their hearts, Gu Xin was a reliable kid. With him accompanying Jiang Chen, nothing should go wrong, and he would be a huge help.
“Understood,” Jiang Chen replied.
Father Jiang immediately transferred some money to Jiang Chen’s account.
Mother Jiang was still anxious. “Are you sure you don’t need us to go with you?”
“Mom, I can handle it myself. If things go sideways, I’ll call you. Tomorrow is just a routine check-up. Once the results come out, whether I need medicine or whatever will be up to the doctor. There’s not much you guys can do there.”
Mother Jiang was instantly swayed by Jiang Chen’s logic. “Alright then, but you must keep me updated.”
“I know. I have to fast for the blood draw tomorrow morning, so I’m heading to bed now.”
Mother Jiang showed a rare flash of attentiveness. “Don’t eat breakfast before the blood draw. Bring some bread to the hospital and eat it right after.”
The next morning, by the time Jiang Chen got out of bed, his parents had already left for his grandparents’ house.
After washing up, he headed downstairs to find Gu Xin. Since he had to fast for the blood test, Gu Xin had proactively bought bread and milk ahead of time, planning to let him eat after they finished at the hospital.
They registered at the front desk first. The doctor the school nurse had recommended happened to be on duty today. Upon meeting him, Jiang Chen explained his symptoms, and the doctor ordered a series of pheromone-related tests.
Gu Xin accompanied Jiang Chen through the various departments for his tests. The obstetrics and gynecology department was on the same floor, and the two clean-cut schoolboys found it quite novel to see so many Alphas accompanying their Omegas for check-ups.
In the waiting room, they sat close together.
On a whim, Jiang Chen nudged Gu Xin’s shoulder. “Hey, Xin-bao, will you come to the OB-GYN department with your Omega in the future too?”
Gu Xin racked his brain but couldn’t picture himself bringing a pregnant, round-bellied Omega to the clinic.
His expression remained perfectly casual, showing little imagination for the scenario. “Who knows what the future holds. Why, do you want to?”
It was common knowledge that both Alphas and Betas could pair up with Omegas. However, when a Beta paired with an Omega, there was a risk of infertility because Betas might still carry trace pheromones that could complicate things. Many Betas, once they solidified their sexual orientation, would undergo bodily adjustments at the hospital.
Usually, this involved a Beta wiping out the trace pheromones in their system to safely be with the Omega they loved. Reverse adjustments were incredibly rare.
A Beta willing to reverse-adjust their pheromones for you is absolute true love. That saying perfectly captured the height of Beta romance.
As a Beta, Jiang Chen had genuinely never thought about the future. He leaned his head against Gu Xin’s shoulder. “I don’t know.”
The start of his puberty had been exceptionally calm. While Wei Meng was constantly whining about Omegas every day, Jiang Chen merely found it boring, completely lacking that urge or spark of attraction Wei Meng felt toward Omegas.
Being the first day of the National Day holiday, the hospital was packed. Because they arrived early, they finished the tests quickly and waited for the printouts. Then, they brought all the reports back to the doctor. Some of the imaging scans didn’t need physical printouts; the doctor could view them directly on his computer.
After reviewing all of Jiang Chen’s reports, the doctor reached a conclusion.
“It’s Pheromone Instability Syndrome. Your numbers are a bit high. Under normal circumstances, the standard pheromone level for a Beta is between 0 and 10. Yours has reached 20. An Omega’s normal range is 30 to 100, though their systems are fundamentally different, and their numbers can spike even higher in special situations. But for a Beta, this level is highly abnormal much higher than a regular Beta.”
Gu Xin, ever the diligent student, asked the doctor, “Then is he still a Beta?”
The doctor chuckled. “Of course he’s still a Beta. It’s just an anomaly in his internal metrics.” He looked at Gu Xin. “Young man, human anatomy is covered in biology class. Our gender and ABO classifications are determined at birth. A Beta mutating into an Omega simply doesn’t happen. Believe in science, and watch fewer of those brainless modern TV dramas.”
Jiang Chen was quite surprised that a top student like Gu Xin would ask such a question, and he couldn’t help but laugh. He had never seen Gu Xin watch those dramas, but their Omega classmates sometimes discussed currently trending shows during lunch breaks. Gu Xin had probably been influenced by listening to them.
The doctor continued, “Cases of Pheromone Instability Syndrome do exist, they’re just relatively rare. In the early stages, we can manage it with medication. I’ll prescribe two weeks’ worth of medicine first, and you’ll come back for a follow-up in two weeks.” He clicked through his computer to select the medication. “By the way, your pheromone levels might run a little high lately. While it’s not enough to affect an Alpha, to be safe, I’m prescribing an oral pheromone suppressant liquid.”
Jiang Chen asked, “Um, I won’t need surgery or anything, right?”
“We haven’t reached that point yet,” the doctor reassured him. “Surgery is only necessary if abnormally high pheromones begin to damage the glands. Given your recent history of lethargy, the medication will suppress the pheromones, so you can monitor whether your drowsiness gradually improves. I suggest buying a fitness tracker. Most smart bands have this feature now; just buy a more sensitive one that can monitor your vitals at regular intervals.”
Gu Xin raised another question. “If he forgets to take his medicine and his pheromones spike, what should he do? Does he need a temporary marking like an Omega?”
He practically forced the question out, his face burning hot.
The doctor chuckled again. “Young man, I can see you’re very worried about your friend, but temporary markings are no longer recommended for Alphas and Omegas nowadays. After all, breaking the skin leaves a wound that can easily become inflamed or infected if you aren’t careful.”
Gu Xin: “…”
He had never expected the doctor’s answer to be so strictly scientific.
The Alphas around him spent all day dreaming about leaving a temporary mark on the person they liked. Of course, since Gu Xin didn’t have an Omega he liked, he would never do such a thing. But if Jiang Chen ever needed it, he was willing to help out.
“I’m just worried about him,” Gu Xin muttered. He didn’t want anything happening to Jiang Chen when he wasn’t around.
The doctor said, “No need to worry too much. Your friend is a Beta, we have medication to control it, and a Beta’s pheromone instability stays within the threshold of a Beta’s gland endurance. It won’t affect others.”
Gu Xin felt a wave of relief that Jiang Chen’s condition wasn’t severe, but at the same time, a faint, inexplicable trace of disappointment tugged at him. So, an Alpha’s temporary marking wasn’t needed after all… It was just a tiny prick of disappointment, though.
After retrieving the medicine from the pharmacy, the two left the hospital.
Jiang Chen was officially a patient now, so going out anywhere fun was out of the question. The doctor had written all the precautions clearly on the medical record.
The hospital wasn’t far from home, taking just a few minutes by taxi.
The moment they stepped out of the car, Jiang Chen received a WeChat message from Wei Meng.
Wei Meng: Chen-er, you feeling any better?
Jiang Chen: Just got back from the hospital, nothing too serious.
Wei Meng: Awesome. PUBG?
Thinking he probably shouldn’t go out for the next couple of days, Jiang Chen agreed: Sure, let me get inside first. I’m downstairs.
Wei Meng: Once you’re fully recovered, let’s find a time to hang out. We haven’t gone out together since the semester started!
Wei Meng: By the way, I’ve got two people here. Do you want to invite the Class Monitor? We can form a full squad of four.
Jiang Chen looked up at Gu Xin. “Do you know how to play PUBG?”
Gu Xin helped him carry the bag of medicine, scanning the access card for the building. “PUBG? I’ve played it a bit with Jiang Yibai before. I’m decent.”
Jiang Chen said, “Wei Meng is inviting me to play and asked if you wanted to join.”
Gu Xin held up the medicine in his hand. “Sure, but take your medicine first.”
“Oh,” Jiang Chen muttered. Starting today, his journey with daily medication officially began.
Gu Xin asked, “Are we playing at my place or yours? My place has two computers you can use the desktop, and I’ll use my laptop.”
Considering that Gu Xin’s computers definitely had top-tier specs, Jiang Chen followed him home without a second thought.
Whether it was the actual medicine working or just a psychological effect, Jiang Chen felt his spirit lift significantly after taking the dose.
He sat in front of the screen full of energy, waiting to log into the game, feeling like he was about to slaughter the entire lobby.
Chenchen’s Lackey Xingxing and Xingxing’s Lackey Chenchen joined the party of So Cute It Hurts.
There was already another person in the lobby with the ID junyi.
Jiang Chen figured Wei Meng was back to playing games with an Omega again.
Seeing that unfamiliar ID suddenly reminded Jiang Chen of the question Gu Xin had asked the doctor earlier. He abruptly turned his head to look at Gu Xin and let out a chuckle.
Gu Xin glanced over. “What are you laughing at?”
Jiang Chen flashed him a cheeky wink. “Do you Alphas instinctively know how to mark an Omega from birth?”