Shen Huaizhi said this very casually, and his voice was much lighter than before, with a hint of coaxing.
Even though they were separated by the phone, Jiang Heng inexplicably felt as if the other person was speaking directly into his ear, creating a strange illusion.
The excessively ambiguous tone made Jiang Heng’s ears suddenly feel hot.
What’s with the coaxing—
How does one coax?
Jiang Heng had lived for many years without experiencing love, let alone being asked to coax someone. Although he had seen others in relationships, it was only fleeting glances, and he had no idea how people usually coax their partners.
Fortunately, there weren’t many people in the corridor, so even though Jiang Heng’s face turned red, no one saw him.
He hesitated for a moment, even though the person on the other end couldn’t see him, he still kept a straight face to maintain his composure. “How do you coax?”
There was a hint of tension in his tone that was not easy to detect.
Listening to his serious question, Shen Huaizhi suddenly felt a bit playful. He seemed somewhat nonchalant as he said, “Act cute?” After a pause, he continued, “Or perhaps—” but then he felt increasingly embarrassed to continue.
After speaking, Jiang Heng fell silent for a moment, intending to continue speaking, but Shen Huaizhi suddenly called out to him, “Jiang Heng.”
Shen Huaizhi’s voice was even lower than before, with a hint of indescribable restraint.
Jiang Heng didn’t perceive any problem and immediately responded.
Shen Huaizhi sighed, “Stop calling me.” Jiang Heng felt a bit at a loss holding his phone, “Oh.” It seemed like he was still a bit aggrieved.
“Call me when you’re back.” Shen Huaizhi added with a hint of smile, “I’ll pause for now.”
“Pause for what?” Jiang Heng was puzzled, not quite understanding.
“Pause being angry.” Shen Huaizhi explained as if he were clarifying for him, “Suspend your anger.”
“How do you suspend anger?” Jiang Heng covered his burning ears. Before he could finish his sentence, the person on the other end interrupted him.
“Is Auntie in the hospital?” Shen Huaizhi’s end came the sound of opening a door, followed by a relatively quiet closing sound.
The topic suddenly shifted, and Jiang Heng didn’t think much about it, obediently answering, “Yes, she’s in the hospital.”
“Jiang Heng, are you willing to talk to me?” Shen Huaizhi’s voice became particularly gentle again, as if the slightly eccentric person just now wasn’t him.
This time, Jiang Heng hesitated for a moment.
What should he say?
Should he say that he was feeling sad this morning?
He seemed to have not said such words to anyone in a long time.
No, he wasn’t used to it either.
Seeing that he didn’t respond, Shen Huaizhi patiently said, “It’s okay if you don’t want to.” He was coaxing like one would with a child, “Can you tell me, are you happy now? Or are you sad?”
After asking, he added, “Of course, excluding those emotions related to me.”
Jiang Heng opened his mouth, “I—”
Of course, he wasn’t happy.
But after talking with Shen Huaizhi for a while, he wasn’t very sad anymore either.
Just a tiny bit sad.
“Definitely not happy, right?” Shen Huaizhi’s tone softened even more, as if he understood Jiang Heng’s psyche, “Jiang Heng, do you want to talk to me?”
He repeated it again.
The first time Shen Huaizhi asked, Jiang Heng didn’t feel much.
But when Shen Huaizhi asked the second time, he suddenly felt as if the person just now intentionally created illusions with those words, all to lay the groundwork for this moment.
It was all just to distract himself and cheer himself up.
Realizing this, Jiang Heng lowered his eyes.
Dealing with someone who plans and organizes everything, he felt a bit overwhelmed.
After some consideration, he said, “I felt a bit lost this morning.”
Jiang Heng didn’t know how to describe his feelings at that moment, he just had a thought in his mind, “What if Xie An had an accident, what would he do?”
He slowly and quietly told Shen Huaizhi about Xie An’s situation, and then explained in detail his own thoughts when he came over. The feeling of showing his vulnerable side to someone else, the feeling of trusting the other person unconditionally, made Jiang Heng feel very strange.
At this moment, he really hoped that Shen Huaizhi wasn’t influenced by the marks between them in his judgment.
That way, Shen Huaizhi would always stay by his side.
Of course, he also had a particularly nasty thought, if he could bind the other person with the marks— that would actually be quite nice.
After Jiang Heng finished speaking, he blinked.
On the other end, Shen Huaizhi remained silent for a moment, as if he was booting up a computer.
Jiang Heng tentatively called out to him.
Shen Huaizhi responded, “Have you eaten yet?”
The topic changed too quickly again, and Jiang Heng didn’t react in time. Then Shen Huaizhi continued, “I checked, there’s a nice restaurant near the hospital you mentioned. I just ordered some dishes for you, would you like to go and eat?”
His tone was just a regular inquiry.
But Jiang Heng inexplicably felt like Shen Huaizhi’s mood had also become low because of him.
It seemed that between marked AOs, such situations could occur, where even emotions could be influenced.
It was quite strange indeed.
“Shen Huaizhi, I—” Jiang Heng wanted to say something.
“Let’s go eat first.” Shen Huaizhi stubbornly interrupted him, and after a while, he sighed and coaxed softly with a bit of restraint, “Let’s go eat first, okay?”
“It’s quite far from the nearby city to the far city. I won’t make it in time if I come over now.” He sounded regretful, “So, if you keep feeling down, I’m afraid it will be midnight by the time I get to your place.”
After he said this, Jiang Heng was stunned for a while.
Worried that he wasn’t listening, Shen Huaizhi continued, “By then, where would I stay?”
“My family is quite wealthy, but we don’t have a house in the far city, so I guess I’ll have to stay with you?” He said it seriously, but it seemed to carry some other meaning.
Jiang Heng was speechless.
As soon as Shen Huaizhi mentioned it, he remembered what He Ci had said about a secluded date spot— a hotel.
A hotel—
What could they do at a hotel?
Jiang Heng wasn’t a clueless elementary school student.
But he had never seen such things in all his years.
He had never been interested before.
But now… should he brush up on his middle school physiology knowledge first?
Realizing his thoughts had suddenly wandered off track, Jiang Heng immediately put on a serious face, “I’ll go eat now.”
He was indeed very hungry.
Shen Huaizhi replied with a smile.
Shen Huaizhi had booked a restaurant near the hospital for Jiang Heng. It wasn’t particularly large, but it had a good reputation, and Jiang Heng had eaten there before.
Perhaps because of the phone call with Shen Huaizhi, Jiang Heng ate more than usual during this meal.
During the meal, he decided to text He Ci and the others to let them know he was safe. He didn’t want them to think he had disappeared.
After dinner, Jiang Heng returned to the hospital. His mood was different from before. At this moment, he wasn’t feeling as bad as he did initially.
Xie An had already woken up.
When Jiang Heng entered, Xie An’s assistant was holding some documents, seemingly reporting some experimental news to Xie An.
Upon seeing his son, Xie An had a momentary look of surprise. She glanced at her assistant, seeming a bit angry, but when she looked at Jiang Heng, her expression inevitably softened.
“Why did you suddenly come?” Her voice was as gentle as ever, with a hint of unmistakable fatigue.
The assistant, seeing the situation, tactfully collected the documents and stood in a corner of the ward, showing no intention of leaving.
Jiang Heng glanced at the assistant and smiled with a slight curl of his lips, “You’re sick too.”
He seemed a bit nonchalant.
Xie An sighed, “When did you arrive? Have you eaten? If not, I’ll have the assistant order for you.”
Jiang Heng adjusted his clothes and casually sat down on the nearby chair, yawning lazily, “I’ve eaten, it’s almost dinner time.”
Seeing him like this, Xie An smiled, “Then will Mom accompany you for dinner tonight? What would you like to eat? I’ll have the assistant order.”
“Will you stay at home tonight? How about Mom taking a day off for you from school?” Xie An pondered, “I’ll handle the discharge procedures in a while.”
She was someone who couldn’t sit still. After lying in the hospital for two days, with so much experimentation delayed, she was naturally a bit anxious. Even if Jiang Heng hadn’t come, she was considering the discharge.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Heng suppressed his smile, “Sure, are you really confident about your health?”
Xie An was accustomed to her son’s wildness since he was young, and she could naturally detect the sarcasm in his tone. She could only smile helplessly, “I just lack sleep, everything else is normal.”
Jiang Heng snorted lightly, “So you’ve been in a coma for two days, will it be a week next time?”
Xie An still smiled good-naturedly and interrupted her son’s awkward concern, “Alright, Mom was wrong, I definitely won’t next time, okay?”
“Wenyuan, go order from that Sichuan restaurant that Jingjing likes…”
After she finished speaking, Jiang Heng blinked.
It had been a long time since he had eaten there.
He hadn’t liked that place since he was in high school because the chef had changed, and the taste was different from before. But it wasn’t Xie An’s fault either. She hadn’t properly accompanied him for so long, so it was normal not to know.
Jiang Heng didn’t argue. After the assistant left, Xie An asked him about his life in the nearby city and if there was anything fun lately.
It had been a long time since they last spoke on the phone, giving Jiang Heng a feeling of joy as if they were reuniting after a long separation.
He was happy to have a good conversation with Xie An, even though it was in a hospital.
“Your homeroom teacher said you haven’t skipped any classes lately,” Xie An raised her eyebrows, actually quite surprised.
Jiang Heng coughed, remembering the reason he hadn’t skipped class, and inexplicably felt a bit guilty as he touched his nose, “I feel like going to class is quite fun.”
“How do you know…” Why would the homeroom teacher tell Xie An this?
He didn’t know whether to be happy or angry.
Xie An smiled. She knew her son’s temperament very well. From childhood to adulthood, he had never liked studying, always been restless, and hadn’t grown up like a typical Omega. Hearing him say this was quite rare.
“Your father has been in contact with your homeroom teacher.” Xie An thought for a moment and explained, “Your father told me.”
When she mentioned Jiang Jin, Jiang Heng’s originally smiling expression instantly faded. His homeroom teacher had said that Jiang Jin knew him.
“You’ve been in contact with him again?”
“You’re closer to your father in the nearby city. If there’s anything, he can take care of you.” Xie An seemed to hold no resentment towards Jiang Jin. It had been so long since those events, and she seemed to have already let go. Or maybe, in Jiang Heng’s memory, Xie An never seemed to be overly upset because of Jiang Jin. He didn’t know if Xie An was too engrossed in her work or if her love for Jiang Jin was far from enough for her to hate him. But if she didn’t love him, why did a Beta like her insist on being with Jiang Jin, an Alpha, against all odds in the first place?
Jiang Heng furrowed his brows. “I don’t need him to take care of me.” His tone was a bit sharp. “He hasn’t taken care of me for so many years anyway.”
He spoke bluntly, as if exposing a scar. “Just because you don’t hate him doesn’t mean I don’t hate him.”
After he finished speaking, he lowered his head, grabbed his phone, and his gaze seemed to wander.
Xie An didn’t know whether to take it to heart. After a while, she smiled. “Okay, I understand. I won’t contact him anymore.”
“Then are you looking for that child from the Shen family?”
Xie An smiled and winked at Jiang Heng.
Afraid that Jiang Heng would feel embarrassed, she added, “You’re not feeling well, and he promised to take care of you. When Mom has time, I’ll go and have a good chat with my future mother-in-law…”
Jiang Heng: “…”
What future mother-in-law?
With that digression, he actually pushed Jiang Jin to the back of his mind. In the past, when Xie An mentioned this, he always habitually avoided it. Their engagement with Shen Huaizhi was completely decided by the parents of both families. But now that their relationship had changed, although Xie An mentioned it again, he wasn’t as resistant as before, but he couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed.
He nodded awkwardly.
“Your pheromones are unstable, but it’ll definitely improve after being marked.” Jiang Heng pursed his lips. He and Shen Huaizhi had temporarily marked each other, so it would sound strange if he mentioned it to his parents.
He thought about it but didn’t actively say anything, just nodded in a way that was completely different from his previous attitude. Seeing him like this, Xie An was somewhat surprised but also a bit pleased.
When the assistant returned after booking the restaurant, Jiang Heng was already sitting next to her playing on his phone. It wasn’t dinner time yet, and Xie An had to wait for the doctor to come and check before being discharged. So, the assistant continued to report the progress of the experiment in the hospital room.
While Jiang Heng chatted with Shen Huaizhi about trivial topics and played a mobile game, he also had to endure a bunch of incomprehensible data torture. After listening for a while, he couldn’t stand it anymore, so he told Xie An and left the hospital room.
He definitely wouldn’t make it back to the nearby city today. Just now in the hospital room, Xie An had already called the homeroom teacher to ask for leave. He was also happy to relax.
After Jiang Heng left, the assistant glanced outside the hospital room. “Professor, should we have him undergo a pheromone test?”
Xie An rubbed her temples, unable to hide the fatigue on her face, and shook her head. “Not for now.”
The assistant pondered for a moment. “Professor, you don’t need to worry too much. He looks the same as an ordinary person now.”
“If it’s confirmed that Alpha pheromones are effective for his treatment, you can completely relax.”
Xie An lowered her brows. Under the light in the hospital room, she looked particularly fragile. “No matter what, it’s all because of my relationship with him.” She seemed to regret it a bit. “Let’s not talk about this. For this experiment, there are two sets of data that didn’t meet the standard. I’ll redo them after I return.”
“Okay.”
“Next time, don’t make unauthorized calls to him.”
The assistant remained silent for a while. “Okay.”
In the evening, after the doctor came to check the room, Xie An was discharged directly. She looked much better than before, and Jiang Heng felt much relieved.
At night, Jiang Heng had dinner with Xie An again. After dinner, Xie An went back to the laboratory. Jiang Heng went home alone.
It had been a long time since he had been back to his home in the distant city. The house was bought by Xie An when he was in junior high school, and it had been deserted for a long time, with no signs of human activity.
Jiang Heng didn’t feel sleepy. Coincidentally, Chen Xingchi messaged him, asking if he wanted to play games. Since the last battle in the canyon, Jiang Heng had truly fallen in love with the joy of roaming the canyon.
He pondered for a moment and sent a message to Shen Huaizhi.
【Water King: Want to play games?】
He checked the time; it was already past nine o’clock. Shen Huaizhi replied almost instantly.
【Sure】
【What are we playing?】
【Water King: The same as last time.】
His message had just been sent out when Shen Huaizhi’s voice call came through. Jiang Heng didn’t expect him to be so direct and felt a bit flustered as he answered. Shen Huaizhi’s voice was no different from during the day. “Let’s play.”
Jiang Heng responded, “Aren’t you supposed to be doing homework? I haven’t finished my assignments for this week.”
It seemed like he had never done them before.
“I’ve finished.” Shen Huaizhi paused, sounding cheerful. “The homeroom teacher won’t check, so it doesn’t matter if you don’t do them.”
After pondering for a moment, Jiang Heng said, “Class Leader, you’re covering for me, aren’t you?”
“According to you, does that mean I can stop doing homework from now on?” He muttered to himself, “Having a Class Leader as a boyfriend doesn’t seem too bad?”
Shen Huaizhi agreed and accepted Jiang Heng’s invitation.
When he entered the game, he realized that Jiang Heng not only invited him but also Chen Xingchi and two other unfamiliar players. Although they were using WeChat voice chat, they still opened the in-game voice chat because of the other teammates.
On the hero selection screen, Jiang Heng instantly chose Li Bai.
He was handsome and powerful.
“Holy crap, why are you playing jungle again?” He Qianxi, who was brought in temporarily to fill the numbers, couldn’t help but remember the miserable scene of Jiang Heng being oppressed by bots in the jungle in a certain computer game they played before.
Chen Xingchi couldn’t help but say, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Jiang Heng is good at jungle.” Besides, they had Dad to guide them.
Chen Xingchi glanced at the Class Leader, who still hadn’t lit up the voice chat icon, and thought to himself that at this time, the Class Leader surprisingly hadn’t gone to sleep yet. The power of love was truly great. When would this sweet Alpha of his be able to have a sweet Omega?
Jiang Heng shamelessly continued Chen Xingchi’s words, “Last time, I had a 10-0 record.”
Although those 10 kills were all from Shen Huaizhi’s hands, rounding up, it could still be considered his own skill.
Snatching kills was still skillful.
Seeing these two in agreement, He Qianxi immediately believed it. After all, some people were indeed like this—they didn’t play well in PC games but excelled in mobile games.
They played a match, and Chen Xingchi had a higher game ranking. The opponents were obviously skilled, and Jiang Heng was quickly invaded in the jungle, resulting in a first blood.
He Qianxi and the others didn’t have time to come to his aid.
Jiang Heng said, “I need to get revenge.”
Chen Xingchi in the middle lane was also caught quite miserably. The opponents were already level 4 while he was only level 3, making it difficult for him to develop properly. The jungle couldn’t come out for ganks, and the opponents’ jungle kept targeting them. Both lanes were a bit shaky. Shen Huaizhi’s bottom lane, on the other hand, was doing well. The person Chen Xingchi pulled for Jiang Heng, whom they didn’t know, played as support. They probably assumed Jiang Heng wouldn’t play well at the beginning, so they didn’t follow him. She kept moving between the bottom and middle lanes.
After being caught several times by the opponents, Jiang Heng gritted his teeth and persevered, saying, “Are they catching me because I’m too handsome?”
He Qianxi couldn’t help but suggest, “Dad, how about you come to my lane? Although I’ll pay you money, it’s better than constantly feeding.”
Jiang Heng persisted, “No.”
“I’ll go steal the opponent’s blue buff.”
“Can you stop feeding?” Just as Jiang Heng finished speaking, the support who hadn’t said anything all along spoke up. She was a girl with a slightly confrontational tone.
Jiang Heng wasn’t one to easily feel wronged, but at this moment, he indeed had been killed the most by the opponents. Even if he couldn’t bear it, he understood that he indeed had been feeding quite a bit. Just as he was about to speak up, Chen Xingchi stepped forward to ease the situation, “It’s okay, we’re just here for entertainment.”
“Where’s the Class Leader? Jiang Heng, are you in a voice chat with the Class Leader? The Class Leader isn’t speaking.”
He Qianxi also realized at this moment that the heartless marksman was Shen Huaizhi.
Shen Huaizhi could actually play games too.
After Chen Xingchi finished speaking, Jiang Heng was momentarily stunned.
Shen Huaizhi indeed hadn’t said a word from the beginning but had been playing seriously.
After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Heng closed the game’s voice chat, “Class Leader?”
“Yeah, I’m here.” Still alive, but his voice was a bit low.
“I’ve been caught too miserably.” Jiang Heng didn’t take the girl’s words to heart and unintentionally acted a bit coquettish, “Brother—”
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Huaizhi made a sound again, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness, “Come over to me.”
After saying that, he opened the game’s voice chat again, “Support, go to the middle or top lane.”
The girl seemed a bit reluctant and stayed in place for a while. Only after Jiang Heng approached did she walk over slowly. Chen Xingchi chuckled, “Don’t disturb the lovebirds.”
After speaking, he immediately shut up.
Oops, he spoke too quickly. The Class Leader might want to shut him up.
He Qianxi also joined in teasing, “Lovey-dovey dogs deserve to die.”
In the bottom lane, once Jiang Heng went over, Shen Huaizhi started catching opponents again. Compared to the indifferent playstyle just now, he became much more aggressive. Jiang Heng’s mood instantly improved. He casually said, “I have a boyfriend, and you guys don’t. Happy or not?”
The tone was particularly disdainful, nowhere near the depressed state when he was being caught a moment ago.
He Qianxi: “…Damn. Can you have a bit of decency? Playing games late at night and still getting dog food to eat.”
The support girl couldn’t help but say, “Chen Xingchi, can you please not drag me into this next time if there’s a couple?”
“Annoying.”
“And so noob.”
With that, the voice chat within the team instantly quieted down.
Chen Xingchi was inexplicably bewildered by the comments. “…Don’t blame me. You didn’t play when I called you before, and just now, you declined after I pulled you.”
If it weren’t for Jiang Heng pulling him in and he accidentally saw the Class Leader come online, he wouldn’t have dragged someone else in. After pulling the person in, he hadn’t had the chance to switch out and tell Jiang Heng that he had pulled the wrong person before the game started. The girl who had left before was quite quick, but for some reason, she was slow this time.
The girl remained silent.
Chen Xingchi remained silent.
He Qianxi was silent for a moment, then chuckled, “Heh heh heh.”
Jiang Heng couldn’t hold back, “If you can’t stand it, just mute.”
“Isn’t there a close voice chat button in the upper right corner? You managed to open it, so you should be able to close it too, right?” He mocked with a sneer, “Ah well, have a better attitude when playing games.”
“What’s wrong with being a couple? My husband can carry me, can you?”
“Oh wait, my husband can carry me, you can’t.” He said earnestly, “My husband must accompany me to play games, something you can’t envy.”
Spouting “husband” so casually, without any sense of guilt.
Chen Xingchi and He Qianxi: “…”
“You’re insane,” the girl said angrily.
Jiang Heng licked his lips, about to continue, but Shen Huaizhi interrupted.
Shen Huaizhi didn’t open the team voice chat, “Do you want to counter-jungle the opponents?” His voice was slightly higher than before, sounding amused.
Jiang Heng immediately perked up, “Let’s go, let’s go.”
With that, he and Shen Huaizhi invaded the enemy jungle, ignoring the girl.
After successfully counter-jungling the opponents a few times with Shen Huaizhi, Jiang Heng’s mood improved significantly.
The girl seemed to have no issues either. After a few rounds of counter-jungling with Shen Huaizhi and Jiang Heng, she leisurely walked over to where they were.
Jiang Heng didn’t pay much attention to her.
Playing games was supposed to be for entertainment, and he didn’t get upset over trivial matters, especially not with a girl.
They ended up losing that game.
But Jiang Heng managed to even out his own stats in the end.
After exiting the scoreboard interface, the girl hadn’t left yet.
Chen Xingchi couldn’t help but suggest, “Should we go out and restart?”
The girl’s microphone on the other end lit up for a moment, but no sound came out in the end. Jiang Heng thought about it and agreed. After the restart, Chen Xingchi felt a bit embarrassed and apologized to Jiang Heng, “I just accidentally pulled you in.”
After saying that, Chen Xingchi suddenly remembered something, “This girl is from the neighboring school, she confessed to the Class Leader before.” He suddenly understood why the other party hadn’t left, “Damn, it’s intentional.”
As soon as Jiang Heng heard that it was a love rival, he became interested, but he didn’t rush to start the game, “Everyone from the neighboring school came to confess?”
Chen Xingchi couldn’t stop talking about it. Seeing that Shen Huaizhi didn’t speak, he momentarily forgot that the subject of gossip was still there, “She’s also a top student.”
She’s not that well-mannered, but fortunately, the Class Leader doesn’t like that type.
Jiang Heng murmured, his focus shifting a bit, “In this game, do you need to have WeChat friends to see who the other person is?”
“Yeah,” He Qianxi responded.
Jiang Heng nodded and fell silent.
“Chen Xingchi.” Shen Huaizhi, who had been silent all this while, suddenly opened the game voice chat, “Have you finished your homework?”
“It’s due tomorrow morning, and the Class Leader will check.”
Chen Xingchi: “… I’ll go do my homework, bye.”
With that, he ran off directly.
Seeing Chen Xingchi run off, He Qianxi said goodbye to Jiang Heng and immediately followed suit.
It’s better to have a buddy to hang out with; being the only one left felt quite pathetic.
After everyone left, Shen Huaizhi couldn’t help but ask Jiang Heng, somewhat helplessly, “Still want to play?”
Jiang Heng glanced at the time, feeling a bit drowsy all of a sudden, maybe because he had just finished a game.
“When is the morning train tomorrow?” Shen Huaizhi asked again.
Originally, Xie An wanted to send Jiang Heng back to the nearby city, but Jiang Heng found it too troublesome. Since he had Shen Huaizhi’s temporary mark on him, he probably wouldn’t have any physical issues these days. It was more convenient for him to take the car himself, so he refused.
Xie An didn’t insist either.
“Around seven in the morning,” Jiang Heng remained silent for a moment, gritted his teeth, and couldn’t help asking seemingly casually, “Class Leader, how did you get the WeChat of a girl from the neighboring school?”
On the other end, Shen Huaizhi seemed to chuckle lightly, “I don’t remember.”
“It seems like it was added during a previous school event.”
Jiang Heng responded with an “oh,” feeling a bit embarrassed, and quickly changed the subject, “How did you trick Chen Xingchi?” He had previously said there wouldn’t be a homework check, and now he’s telling Chen Xingchi there would be.
“If you don’t like me, I’ll delete it.” Shen Huaizhi continued with the previous topic, his mood seeming to have improved quite a bit. He spoke with an unmistakable smile, which puzzled Jiang Heng.
After finishing, he asked again, “Do you want me to delete it?”
Jiang Heng remained silent for a moment. “It’s up to you.”
Having WeChat friends didn’t really matter much.
Shen Huaizhi chuckled again, “Can I get a definite answer from you?”
Jiang Heng couldn’t understand why he suddenly became so fond of smiling. He used to have no expression on his face all day long, not even a twitch at the corners of his mouth.
“If you want to delete it, go ahead.” His voice unintentionally rose a bit.
Shen Huaizhi responded with a “Hmm.” “I’ll do as you say.”
Jiang Heng sighed, “Shen Huaizhi, you’re so annoying.”
Really annoying.
Realizing that he might have teased too much, Alpha’s mood became even more joyful.
“Yeah, I can be quite annoying.” Shen Huaizhi’s voice suddenly lowered again, with a hint of coaxing, “Then, can you annoy me back? Deal?”
—
Winter arrived quickly in the nearby city.
By the end of November, the weather had turned cold.
Jiang Heng wrapped himself in his school uniform jacket, trying to make himself warmer in his seat.
A true tough guy didn’t need a sweater like everyone else. He went for a run in the morning, which warmed him up a bit, but for some reason, it was unusually cold in the classroom now.
Chen Xingchi kept sneezing behind him.
“Chen Xingchi, stay away from me.” Chen Xingchi’s desk mate couldn’t help but complain.
As the season changed, there were always a lot of people catching colds at school, and Chen Xingchi’s symptoms were relatively mild.
Chen Xingchi covered his nose and leaned on the desk. “Jiang Heng, did the Class Leader tell you about the New Year’s Eve party?”
Jiang Heng, who was half asleep at the moment, lifted his eyelids at the mention. “What New Year’s Eve party?”
“Isn’t it almost New Year’s Day? Our school has a party every year, and each class has to perform a program.”
“It’s probably a big chorus.”
Jiang Heng let out a long yawn. “No, I don’t know, and I’m not participating.”
He hated these collective artistic performances the most. Not only were they unoriginal, but they also tended to make people sleepy.
Chen Xingchi was directly rejected three times by him. Just as he was about to continue speaking, Shen Huaizhi walked in with a bunch of forms. When his gaze fell on Chen Xingchi, who was leaning on the desk, he squinted.
Jiang Heng naturally took the hot water he brought in and glanced at the forms in his hand. “What’s this?”
“The registration form for the New Year’s Eve party.” Shen Huaizhi glanced at Jiang Heng’s clothes. “Where’s your jacket?”
“I didn’t bring it.” Jiang Heng felt a bit guilty. “I went for a run this morning, and it wasn’t that cold, so I didn’t think to wear it.”
As soon as he finished speaking, perhaps infected by Chen Xingchi, he sneezed immediately.
Jiang Heng: “…”
Shen Huaizhi furrowed his brow, his relaxed expression instantly turning into a frown. It was a bit scary.
Chen Xingchi, who had been planning to eavesdrop on their conversation, immediately shrank back. “It’s not my fault! I didn’t infect him!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt Shen Huaizhi’s faint glance at him.
Compared to the gaze he used to look at Jiang Heng, that glance was simply—so intimidating.
Chen Xingchi instinctively wanted to escape from the pressure of an Alpha.
Damn.
Although he could understand that an Alpha had a strong protective instinct for their Omega, did it have to be like this?
Chen Xingchi felt a bit helpless.
Jiang Heng smiled with a quirk of his lips. “I’m not sick.”
Seeing him still speaking up for Chen Xingchi, Shen Huaizhi’s brows furrowed even more tightly. At the same time, he placed his palm on Jiang Heng’s forehead.
He had just come in from outside, so his hands were cold, but although Jiang Heng felt cold, his body wasn’t cold at all; on the contrary, it was warm.
Compared to Shen Huaizhi’s palm, his body temperature was much higher.
Shen Huaizhi glanced back at the clock in the classroom. “Stay here.”
After saying that, he didn’t say anything else and walked straight out.
After Shen Huaizhi left, the people around them dared to joke about the two of them.
Since becoming desk mates, their relationship had improved a lot. There had been rumors on the forums before that the two of them were already together. However, without their confirmation, no one really believed it.
Jiang Heng leaned on the desk, listening to their banter with half-hearted amusement, lifting his eyelids to smile without rebutting.
It was the truth, so there was no need to argue.
Seeing him so helpless, Chen Xingchi couldn’t help but ask, “What did you and the Class Leader do last night?”
Jiang Heng raised his eyelids. “We didn’t do anything.” He was just cold and sleepy.
“What’s up with the Class Leader? Is he still acting possessive now?” Chen Xingchi thought that given the Class Leader’s possessiveness, the two of them should have at least done half of what they shouldn’t have done by now.
Jiang Heng lifted his eyelids lazily, too lazy to speak.
Without Shen Huaizhi’s temporary mark on him, the Alpha’s pheromones on him had faded a lot. He had been attending classes recently, and the two of them hadn’t had any intimate interactions. Being reminded by Chen Xingchi, he inexplicably missed the scent of Shen Huaizhi’s pheromones.
After a while, Shen Huaizhi came over with a blanket.
Jiang Heng’s eyelids twitched. Sure enough, the next moment, Shen Huaizhi said, “Wrap yourself in the blanket and go get a thick coat at noon.”
Jiang Heng glanced at the blanket and frowned, “Can I refuse?”
“Real men don’t like this kind of…”
Chen Xingchi burst into laughter.
Shen Huaizhi probably borrowed the blanket from the teacher. It was colorful, with a vintage style.
Shen Huaizhi raised an eyebrow. “Real men?”
Jiang Heng hesitated for a moment, his expression wooden. “Soft Omegas don’t like this color scheme.” After speaking, he sneezed again.
Shen Huaizhi’s expression became even more subdued. After a while, he looked at Jiang Heng, who had a stubborn expression, and somewhat helplessly bent down, reaching out to touch Jiang Heng’s nape very intimately.
“Jiang Heng,” his tone softened a bit, “Alphas don’t have good tempers.”
Jiang Heng hesitated.
Shen Huaizhi continued, “So you better behave.” His voice was very soft, only audible to the two of them, “Otherwise, I’m afraid I might do something in the classroom.”
It sounded like a threat.
——
The author has something to say: Don’t just talk about it.
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ❤️”
