MOFB Chapter 54

This seems a bit more excessive than just finding an excuse to get some fresh air. Jiang Heng hesitated for a moment. “How did you…” He paused, then suddenly remembered, didn’t Shen Huaizhi reply “yes” earlier? So the one on the forum was the real deal?

“Shen Huaizhi,” Jiang Heng’s tone suddenly became serious.

Shen Huaizhi responded with a smile. His attitude momentarily rendered Jiang Heng speechless. After a brief silence, Jiang Heng softened his tone. “We’re not of legal marriage age yet.”

Shen Huaizhi responded with a hum. “What’s the matter?”

“We haven’t even graduated from high school yet.” Jiang Heng paused for two seconds. “Isn’t it a bit early?”

His tone was somewhat hesitant. Although they had a engagement, bringing up these matters now did seem premature. The future was uncertain. He wasn’t too sure if Shen Huaizhi currently shared this sentiment, nor if he would in the future. But for Jiang Heng, cherishing the present was good enough. If Shen Huaizhi ever stopped liking him in the future, he would work even harder to make him continue liking him. If he ever stopped liking Shen Huaizhi… that was probably unlikely.

Shen Huaizhi hummed again. “It’s not early.”

“It’s better to bind you earlier.”

He said it earnestly, without a hint of jest in his tone.

“Jiang Heng, Omegas are in high demand now. If we don’t secure you soon, what if someone else snatches you away?” Shen Huaizhi’s tone lost its playful edge and sounded genuinely concerned.

After hesitating for a while, Jiang Heng squatted on the sofa, covering his flushed face. “That won’t happen.” He glanced at the preliminary pheromone detection results, indicating that his pheromones had stabilized, thanks to Shen Huaizhi’s temporary marking, effectively suppressing the symptoms of pheromone deficiency, at least reducing the frequency of previous episodes.

For Jiang Heng, this was a positive outcome. Although not being able to smell pheromones wasn’t something he could change, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing either. After this preliminary examination, he would have to return to the hospital for another checkup after the Lunar New Year.

As they left the hospital, Jiang Heng’s expression wasn’t too pleasant.

Xie An followed beside him, unable to help but chuckle. “Next time, they won’t need to draw so much blood.”

For this check-up of various bodily conditions, Jiang Heng had his blood drawn several times.

He wasn’t afraid of anything, not even pain or blood. But he was afraid of getting blood drawn.

Jiang Heng was just about to explain something to Xie An when his phone started vibrating like crazy. At first, he didn’t pay much attention to it, but the phone kept vibrating incessantly.

Seeing Jiang Heng looking a bit uneasy in front of her, Xie An took the initiative. “I’ll go bring the car over.”

Without waiting for Jiang Heng’s response, she walked off towards the parking area alone.

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Heng decided to check the messages standing in place.

The messages were from a small group of four.

[Chen Xingchi: Wow, Jiang Heng, have you seen your grades? You did really well.]

[He Ci: How much? Let me take a look.]

[Chen Xingchi: [Grade Report]]

[He Ci: @Jiang Heng, Dad, you really live up to being a dad. You’ve improved so much in just a month.]

Seeing the messages, Jiang Heng’s complexion, which was originally not great due to excessive blood drawn, improved slightly.

He had initially thought that “doing well” was a good description. No matter what, he must have scored three to four hundred points, otherwise how could he justify such blatant praise like “doing well” and “so much”?

The grades at Yizhong were ranked according to scores. Jiang Heng clicked on the picture. Shen Huaizhi’s name was at the top, followed by a string of high and unimaginable scores. It could be said that he was firmly seated in the first position, not only in the class but also in the grade. The second place in the class was about thirty points lower than him.

Looking at these grades, Jiang Heng rarely felt a sense of pride. His Alpha was such an outstanding person. He also needed to work hard.

However, Jiang Heng wasn’t so confident when it came to finding his own rank from the beginning. He still looked from the bottom.

Starting from the last place, no, not the second or third from the bottom.

Until fifth from the bottom.

Jiang Heng glanced at the score, which was only a little over a hundred points more than the previous monthly exam, and felt a bit frustrated. His score was almost similar to Shen Huaizhi’s total score for both subjects.

After working hard for a month, ending up with this score, it would be fake to say he wasn’t disappointed. However, there was also a faint sense of satisfaction. No matter what, it was his own efforts. It was probably unlikely to raise his score by several hundred points in such a short time.

The messages in the group continued.

[He Ci: Dad, where’s Dad?]

[Chen Xingchi: If I had a monitor to help me with my homework, I could also improve this much!]

These two were continuously flattering. Jiang Heng was rarely made to blush by their flattery. He paused his fingertips on the phone screen.

【Waterworks King: Enough】
【Waterworks King: You’ve gone too far】
【Congratulatory Words: Where’s the exaggeration? Dad, look, over 100 points! Over 100 points in just one month! That’s 200 points in two months! Rounded up for the college entrance exam, that’s a perfect score!】
【Chen Xingchi: That’s right, Big Brother is right. Can you help me study well next semester? I also want to get over 100 points in a month】
【Waterworks King: …】
Damn, these two idiots.
Jiang Heng couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Perhaps he was worried that he’d be upset by his fifth-last ranking, they’ve been trying to comfort him in various ways.
But he wasn’t that fragile.
【Waterworks King: Shut up】
Jiang Heng lowered his eyes just after sending the message.
【Shen Huaizhi: That’s good, there’s been great progress】
Jiang Heng hesitated to close his phone, wondering if this person had been peeking at the screen all along.
Jiang Heng smiled helplessly, fearing that Shen Huaizhi might also have been influenced by the two idiots in the group, so he immediately sent him a private message.
【Waterworks King: I think this is just the beginning of me showing my strength. I’ll continue to work hard next time】
【Waterworks King: I’ll be fifth in the class for the college entrance exam】
Dreams, you always have to have them.
Shen Huaizhi replied almost instantly.
【Only fifth in the class? Don’t you want to be first in the class?】
He was probably joking with him to avoid upsetting him.
【Waterworks King: That’s not necessary. Second in the class will do】
He was typing when Xie An drove the car over, seeing that he hadn’t noticed her, she honked the horn twice.
Jiang Heng lifted his head.
【Waterworks King: Let’s not talk about it now, I’m going to have dinner with my mom first】

“What’s got you so happy?” After getting in the car, Xie An saw Jiang Heng smiling and asked him with a smile too.

Jiang Heng hesitated for a moment and said, “The final exam scores came out.”

“Oh, I see—” After thinking for a moment, she asked, “How much did you score?”
In her impression, Jiang Heng didn’t usually mention his grades in front of her, and she wouldn’t pay attention to Jiang Heng’s grades either.

“Over two hundred points.” Jiang Heng’s previous grade reports had been sent to Xie An’s phone several times, but after a few times, those teachers found that not only did this parent really not have time to manage their child’s grades, but they also didn’t care about their child’s grades at all, so they stopped sending them. At most, they would contact Xie An when they needed to hold a parent-teacher meeting.
Hearing this score, Xie An was still slightly stunned.

“Pretty good on the test,” she said, without much further comment, instead suggesting, “What do you feel like eating later? I noticed there’s a new private kitchen restaurant at the shopping mall nearby. Want to give it a try?”

Hearing her sudden change of topic, Jiang Heng felt a little disappointed. Compared to this kind of indifferent praise, Jiang Heng would rather hear Xie An say he didn’t do well enough and encourage him to work harder next time. But for someone like Xie An, who spends a long time in the lab, knowing about a new place and wanting to take him there means she did her homework beforehand. This understanding helped Jiang Heng brush off the sense of disappointment about his grades being overlooked.

The private kitchen was located in a prime location, and when Jiang Heng and Xie An arrived, it was almost full. Jiang Heng realized then that Xie An had already booked the place in advance, as if she was certain he would like it.

The dishes in this restaurant were indeed to Jiang Heng’s taste.

“Can I see your exam results?” After ordering, as Jiang Heng was about to play with his phone, Xie An suddenly spoke up again, with a hint of apology, “I couldn’t resist wanting to see my son’s exam results while driving.”

Jiang Heng hesitated, and the tension in his brows, which he had just suppressed, relaxed instantly. He felt a bit embarrassed. “I don’t think I did that well.”

Xie An smiled. “My son is the most amazing.”

Her tone was gentle, with a proud look at Jiang Heng.

This demeanor made Jiang Heng feel a bit guilty. Just a moment ago, he had somewhat doubted whether Xie An genuinely cared about him.

After Jiang Heng sent the exam results to Xie An’s phone, she lowered her head to carefully examine them. “Amazing, much better than before.”

“How is my son so amazing?”

She said this praise without a hint of embarrassment.

Jiang Heng coughed lightly. “It’s not that amazing.”

Just average. Just an improvement of about 100 points in a month. He was feeling quite pleased with himself.

While Xie An was still looking at the results, she finally said, “That kid Shen Huaizhi has really good grades.”

Mentioning Shen Huaizhi, Jiang Heng’s expression paused for a moment, and the smile on his lips faded slightly. “His grades are indeed very good.”

Xie An chuckled lightly, wanting to continue the conversation, but Jiang Heng interrupted her train of thought.

“Mom, I want to aim for a good university.” Jiang Heng hesitated for a while before voicing this thought. Before being with Shen Huaizhi, he had never imagined that he would have such a goal.

He never really studied well since childhood. The foundation of his education was there, but no one told him to study hard. He had no goals or motivation, and he had never thought about what he could do after graduating from high school or what he wanted to do. But now, it seemed like he had a temporary goal.

Xie An glanced away from the report card, her expression slightly stunned. It was as if his words had caught her off guard. After a moment, she smiled and asked, “Why this sudden idea?”

Jiang Heng’s expression was somewhat inscrutable. “I used to think, once my work here is done, I’ll come to the city to be with you…” He paused, seeing Jiang Heng’s calm expression, which unexpectedly made him feel a bit guilty.

Unconsciously, Jiang Heng had grown up. From the eight-year-old when he divorced Jiang Jin to the seventeen-year-old now, about to become an adult, he was no longer the child under his control.

But there were still some things she hadn’t finished. During this time, Jiang Heng must be kept under her watchful eye. She was afraid of making any more mistakes.

“If your pheromones stabilize, you don’t have to keep hanging out with that kid from the Shen family.” Xie An understood that what she was saying now was a bit rushed. But there were many things that couldn’t wait, and she couldn’t wait either.

After she finished, Jiang Heng remained silent for a long time.

Sometimes, he really didn’t understand what adults were thinking. Clearly, it was Jiang Jin’s infidelity that led to the divorce, but Xie An had never shown any hatred towards Jiang Jin. He didn’t understand, could Xie An really not care about such things at all?

And now, it was obvious that Xie An had gone to great lengths to contact Jiang Jin, arranged for him to meet the Shen family, spent nearly half a year with him for Shen Huaizhi’s marking, all for the sake of Shen Huaizhi and her perfect match. At that time, it seemed like Xie An and Jiang Jin had never considered whether he was willing or not. If he didn’t have feelings for Xie An, he wouldn’t have followed their arrangements and accepted the transition from a familiar environment to a strange one alone.

So, what about Xie An?

Jiang Heng once again doubted whether Xie An had ever considered his feelings. He remembered the year after Xie An and Jiang Jin’s divorce, during which time Xie An’s laboratory was developing a new nutrient solution. Xie An would often bring some home and instruct Jiang Heng to taste it. Jiang Heng didn’t particularly like the nutrient solution, but for Xie An’s sake, he would taste it every time. Eventually, he even got used to drinking it. Sometimes when he didn’t feel like eating much, he would just take supplements instead. I wonder if Xie An ever thought back then, did he not like supplements?

“True, at first you thought I should approach him because of pheromones,” Jiang Heng stood up bluntly, feeling quite tired.

“In your heart, is your son really like that?”

“Or do you think Shen Huaizhi is like that?”

With these words, he took his phone and went into the room. Hearing the sound of the door locking, Xie An felt a bit powerless, burying her head in her arms. Otherwise? Among highly compatible AOs, besides being bound by pheromones, what else could there be? If it wasn’t for innate attraction, why would Jiang Jin, who once loved himself so much, turn around and be with an Omega?

Human birth is inherently unequal, especially in the relationships among ABOs. Why should AOs be able to take away others’ loved ones just because of pheromones? Jiang Heng is an Omega. He’s still young and doesn’t understand how lethal and repulsive pheromones are for Omega and Alpha. It’s like a poison, dominating the greedy desires of AOs.

Who knows how many Betas have lost their loved ones because of pheromones? No, it’s not just Betas, but also low compatibility Alphas and Omegas. Later, Jiang Heng will understand that everything she did was for his own good.

Xie An sat in the living room for a while, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and then gathered herself. Once outside, she called her assistant. “I’m heading to the lab right now.”

“Professor, your emotions don’t sound quite right.” Xie An smiled. “No, I’m happy. Did you receive the hospital’s data?”

“It’s stabilized now, we can proceed to the next step.” The assistant paused. “When?” she asked, then laughed, “Professor, you will definitely succeed this time. In the future, you will be hailed as the greatest biologist. They will all be grateful to you.”

Jiang Heng sat by the bed for a while. It wasn’t until he heard the sound of the door closing outside that he came back to himself. Xie An had gone to the lab again.

Jiang Heng muttered under his breath, adjusted his emotions, and hesitantly dialed Shen Huaizhi’s number. It rang for a while before he picked up. “Finished eating?” Alpha’s deep voice came through. Jiang Heng’s somewhat low spirits seemed to be instantly soothed. He hummed, trying to sound as normal as possible.

“Yeah, I’m ready to study for a bit,” Jiang Heng chuckled lightly. “Shen Huaizhi, are you already doing papers now?”

“Yeah, doing papers while I have some rare free time,” Jiang Heng heard, and Shen Huaizhi’s tone also carried a hint of amusement. “Why did you suddenly call?” Compared to calling, Jiang Heng seemed to prefer communicating via WeChat messages. Unless there was something urgent.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Heng’s side was quiet, even quieter than Shen Huaizhi’s end, where he could still hear car horns downstairs.

After a while, Jiang Heng said, “Can’t I call just because? The final exam results are out, don’t you want to praise your boyfriend a bit?”

Shen Huaizhi was slightly taken aback. “No, you can call anytime.”

“How do you want to praise me?”

He seemed to ponder for a moment before continuing, “How about you give me an example? I’ll see if I can add a few more praises based on your example.” Jiang Heng clicked his tongue. This person had just praised him nicely in the message, but now he was starting to joke again, not taking it seriously.

But he had to admit, because of Shen Huaizhi’s tone, his earlier sense of disappointment had been alleviated. Jiang Heng thought for a moment. “Like… ‘Jiang Heng is amazing’?”

He didn’t really want praise; he just wanted to banter with Shen Huaizhi. Last time he went to Shen Huaizhi’s house, he didn’t even go inside.

“Well, that’s true. I’m more handsome than the study,” he rarely had such narcissistic moments, it seemed a bit like a joke, intentionally teasing. Jiang Heng was startled by his shameless appearance.

“Although it’s true, you shouldn’t say it yourself.” He paused.

“Can we just keep the video on while you do your homework?” he said, feeling a bit embarrassed but continued, “I’m feeling a bit sleepy, want to sleep.”

“But I also want to watch you sleep.” He was unusually clingy today.

But unfortunately, they were separated by a video call. Shen Huaizhi looked at him for a moment, the smile on his lips fading a bit. “Jiang Heng, did something happen?”

“Wasn’t the recheck result bad?”

He remembered Jiang Heng went for a recheck today.

“No, it’s fine,” Jiang Heng shook his head. It was because the result was too good that they had argued.
He didn’t want to go to school in the far city. Although this idea was indeed selfish, he really didn’t want to. No matter what Xie An thought.

Everything in the nearby city was quite good. He finally had a goal, someone to accompany him, and experienced such warm memories. Having to adapt to being alone again after all that, it was too difficult. Once a person has had something and lost it, they become very, very unaccustomed.

“Yeah, so you missed me?” Shen Huaizhi looked at him carefully.

Jiang Heng’s head lowered, his emotions appearing very low, looking both lonely and pitiful.

Shen Huaizhi remained silent for a moment, coaxing a bit, “Jiang Heng, look up?”

His tone made Jiang Heng unconsciously obey. Perhaps because his feeling of loss had peaked just now, Jiang Heng’s eyes reddened. He couldn’t remember the last time he cried. There was a hint of complaint and a bit of coquetry in his voice.

Shen Huaizhi showed no embarrassment, lightly laughing. “Well, are you awake now?”

“No, don’t you feel like you’ve done something wrong?” Jiang Heng paused, pouring himself some hot water. Maybe because he went to bed early last night, even though he was woken up, he didn’t feel too sleepy. “Can you admit you’re wrong first? I’m in a pretty bad mood right now.”

“Although I can’t see, I’ll remember it. I’ll make it up to you when we meet after the New Year.” Jiang Heng’s mood was much better than last night, so naturally, he was more talkative. He wasn’t as clingy as yesterday, more like he had no conscience.

After he finished speaking, the background noise on Shen Huaizhi’s end got louder.

Jiang Heng hesitated for a moment, a little suspicious. “Class monitor, where are you?”

“Early in the morning, are you going out for a trip?”

It was too noisy on his end, almost drowning out Jiang Heng’s voice. He could barely hear himself speak.

Shen Huaizhi was silent for a moment, then laughed, covering it up.

“Yeah, I’m going out for a trip. It’s quite big over here.”

“So, do you want to come out and travel together?” Shen Huaizhi paused for a moment, as if he remembered something. “By the way, solve your morning grumpiness?”

“However you want to solve it.”

Author’s note: Got it.