IMAO Chapter 10

“I’ll pay you back later,” Ji Rong said, feeling somewhat helpless as he noticed Jiang Yuan distancing himself. He was starting to doubt his own scent. Was it really that unpleasant? It wasn’t anything strange.

Jiang Yuan’s aversion to close proximity wasn’t the only reason for his retreat. Whenever Ji Rong came near, he felt his back muscles tense. Ji Rong’s pheromones were stronger than Jiang Tianze’s or Song Yirui’s, but the faint scent of cedar was actually quite pleasant.

In this Alpha-dominated First Military Academy, Jiang Yuan never felt uncomfortable when other Alphas passed by or even brushed against him. Only Ji Rong’s scent made him uneasy.

“Alright,” Jiang Yuan nodded.

Considering the need to repay the money, Ji Rong added Jiang Yuan’s contact. After a moment, he pressed his beautiful thin lips together and said softly, “I’ll head back now.”

Jiang Yuan hummed in response.

They left the supermarket together. Ji Rong turned left towards the dormitory, only to find Jiang Yuan turning left as well!

As they approached the dorms, Ji Rong realized Jiang Yuan was still walking with him.

“You’re not in the Mecha Department, are you?” Ji Rong asked hesitantly.

“I am,” Jiang Yuan replied calmly, glancing at Ji Rong.

“Uh…” Ji Rong’s mouth twitched. Not only were they in the same school, but the same department too.

Entering the dormitory, Ji Rong discovered Jiang Yuan lived next door. They were not just in the same school and department, but classmates as well! The room numbers were assigned according to class order.

Ji Rong only came to his senses after Jiang Yuan entered his own room. He opened his door and put away his things.

Inside his room, Ji Rong rubbed his nose, suddenly feeling inexplicably excited about his future campus life!

Back in his room, Jiang Yuan arranged his plants and admired his space contentedly.

He then went straight to the bedroom, undressed, and entered the shower.

The shower glass was frosted and semi-transparent. The sound of running water could be heard, and through the translucent glass, Jiang Yuan’s strong silhouette was vaguely visible, inviting imagination.

Just as he finished showering, Jiang Yuan heard a knock. He wrapped a towel around himself and opened the door, only to see Ji Rong’s handsome face.

Jiang Yuan: “…” Why you again! Your scent is even stronger now! It’s so overwhelming!

Their eyes met.

Ji Rong’s gaze traveled downward. Water clung to Jiang Yuan’s collarbone, and droplets traced the elegant line of his neck. Following the droplets, Ji Rong once again saw Jiang Yuan’s toned muscles, with his lower half wrapped in a towel revealing a glimpse of his hipbone.

He really is good-looking.

The thought flashed through Ji Rong’s mind before he immediately squelched it.

What’s attractive about an Alpha? Get a grip!

“Need something?” Jiang Yuan glanced at Ji Rong, feeling his body heat up as he caught the Alpha’s pheromones in the air.

Ji Rong studied Jiang Yuan thoughtfully for a moment, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he said in a low voice, “I forgot to buy shower gel. Could I borrow some of yours?”

Jiang Yuan nodded and went to retrieve his shower gel from the bathroom. Just as he was about to hand it over, his communicator suddenly rang. He answered to hear Ji Yang’s voice: “Jiang Yuan, are you ready? I’ll meet you at the cafeteria in twenty minutes for dinner!”

Jiang Yuan typed a quick reply: Okay.

Ji Yang sent another voice message: “I’ll be waiting!”

Ji Rong, who hadn’t left yet, heard Ji Yang’s voice and inexplicably looked at Jiang Yuan, saying, “I don’t have money for food. My dad seems busy; he hasn’t responded to me.”

Jiang Yuan, having just put down his communicator, couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth: “…”

“I’ll pay you back when my dad sends money,” Ji Rong said, looking at Jiang Yuan with an ambiguous smile. “Help me out, since we’re classmates.”

Jiang Yuan glanced at him and tossed the shower gel to Ji Rong, saying, “Fifteen minutes.”

“Great!” Ji Rong grinned at Jiang Yuan. “Thanks.”

Ji Rong closed the door and returned to his room to shower, taking several deep breaths to calm himself.

Seeing Jiang Yuan answer the door wrapped in a towel had sent his mind racing, wondering what lay beneath that towel covering Jiang Yuan’s lower half.

He must be going crazy, wanting to see an Alpha’s body…

Fifteen minutes later, Jiang Yuan stepped out to find Ji Rong leaning against the wall, counting down on his watch.

“3, 2, 1,” Ji Rong looked at Jiang Yuan with a smirk. “You’re right on time.”

Ji Rong draped his arm over Jiang Yuan’s shoulder. At the touch, Jiang Yuan’s body inexplicably heated up, the skin on his back instantly tightening.

Uncomfortable, Jiang Yuan pushed Ji Rong’s hand away. Ji Rong could only withdraw his hands, looking resigned.

Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong arrived at the cafeteria together. Ji Yang, who had been waiting for Jiang Yuan, suddenly saw him approach with a very handsome guy. He smiled and asked, “Jiang Yuan, is this your roommate?”

Jiang Yuan shook his head. Learning that the Mecha Department had single rooms, Ji Yang felt both envious and jealous. He made a sour face and complained, “How is that fair? We’re all attending the same school, but I’m in a four-person room!”

Ji Yang put on a pitiful expression and sighed, “Hi, I’m Ji Yang from the Mecha Engineering Department!”

Ji Rong introduced himself as well, “Ji Rong, Mecha Department.”

After chatting over their meal, Ji Rong learned that Ji Yang and Jiang Yuan had met on the spaceship. They had become acquainted on the same day as him, just a few hours earlier, and were simply casual friends.

During dinner, Ji Yang complained again about not getting a luxury suite, clearly still bothered by it. Jiang Yuan gained a new understanding of Ji Yang – he must be wealthy.

After eating, the three returned to their dorms. Ji Yang greeted his roommates before retiring to his room. For some reason, Ji Rong’s face kept popping into his mind. He felt the face was oddly familiar, as if he’d seen it somewhere before.

Just as they reached the dorm entrance, Ji Rong’s communicator finally rang.

It was a deposit notification. Jiang Yuan inadvertently glimpsed the amount on Ji Rong’s screen – conservatively, it had at least six zeros. For the first time, Jiang Yuan felt a bit overwhelmed.

How were they all so rich?

Ji Rong waved his communicator, saying, “The money’s here. I’ll transfer it to you.”

Jiang Yuan nodded, accepted the payment, and returned to his room. However, he had barely sat down when someone knocked again.

“Jiang Yuan, open up.”

Hearing Ji Rong’s voice, Jiang Yuan rubbed his head. He really disliked how this Alpha with such strong pheromones kept appearing at his door.

Jiang Yuan opened the door to find Ji Rong leaning on the doorframe, holding the shower gel and flashing a charming smile. “Here, returning this to you.”

Jiang Yuan glanced at the shower gel in Ji Rong’s hand and said flatly, “Keep it. It’s yours.”

“Alright then.” Ji Rong shrugged. He was about to say something else when Jiang Yuan closed the door in his face.

What was going on? Why did he dislike him so much, as if he were something dirty…

Ji Rong returned to his room with Jiang Yuan’s shower gel. After tidying up, he lay on the couch and gradually fell asleep.

In a strange dream, Jiang Yuan appeared. He removed the towel from Jiang Yuan’s waist, and Jiang Yuan embraced him, whispering in his arms. Jiang Yuan wrapped his arms around his neck…

Jiang Yuan’s dazed expression, his blushing face… lying in his arms, breathless.

Just as he held Jiang Yuan, dream Jiang Yuan suddenly pushed him away, looking disgusted, “You smell terrible! Stay away from me.”

Ji Rong jolted awake at this scene: …

No, no, no. Even though he didn’t have a little Omega he liked right now, he shouldn’t be dreaming about an Alpha! It must be because he’d come of age and his pheromones were a bit out of control lately.

Yes…

That must be it!

Ji Rong reassured himself as he crouched in the bathroom, washing his underwear.

The next day, the first day of classes, Ji Rong called for Jiang Yuan early to go to the field for lessons.

After roll call, the teacher said a few words before getting straight to the point.

The first day required an entrance test, including endurance and reaction tests. The endurance test was a long-distance run, the simplest part. The entire class completed it, with Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong tying for first place.

The timing teacher looked at Jiang Yuan approvingly, “Jiang Yuan, well done! Keep it up.”

Jiang Yuan, panting, replied, “Thank you, teacher.”

The teacher didn’t even glance at Ji Rong beside him.

Ji Rong: ???

The reaction test required special equipment. After the endurance test, the teacher led the Mecha Class 1 students to the testing room.

Inside were cutting-edge testing devices. One stood in the center, facing moving laser dots that appeared increasingly faster. The test subject had to dodge these dots, and the machine would judge their reaction speed based on their performance.

As people took turns, most could only keep up until 90 codes per second, with only a few reaching 100.

Results came in one after another, but two people hadn’t left their machines.

“Wow, 150 codes!”

“Look, look! 178 codes now!”

Compared to the endurance test, Jiang Yuan felt this speed test was far too easy for him.

This was child’s play for Alphonse!

Alphonse was a super AI, with unmatched reaction speed. Since Jiang Yuan’s AI Alphonse had awakened, he was like a super-computer himself. This test was like a game to him.

Ji Rong was equally at ease, having treated such training equipment as toys since childhood.

These two…

The testing teacher thought for a moment, then pressed a button to change the light pattern.

Suddenly, the dots no longer moved in straight lines but became unpredictable, like slithering snakes.

The difficulty of dodging these lights increased exponentially. Just when everyone thought Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong would surely fail, the two continued as before!

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