TAHDO Chapter 30

In the end, no cefalexin or alcohol was purchased, and Ji Qiu failed to meet his untimely demise.

Liang Yan’s expression was terrifying enough to make Li Han finally sense something was off—this Omega seemed to be in a terrible mood.

He couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason, but it felt like it had something to do with Ji Qiu.

These Omegas were truly hard to understand.

Seeing that Ji Qiu also didn’t look particularly pleased, Li Han wanted to offer some considerate comfort. But before he could, the previously cheerful Ji Qiu suddenly put on a mournful expression, tears brimming in his eyes. “I… I just remembered I need to talk to Liang Yan about something. Could you give us a moment? Thanks, thanks! I’ll take care of myself and drink plenty of hot water, don’t worry!”

Liang Yan let out a soft scoff. Even now, Ji Qiu was committed to maintaining his persona.

Ji Qiu stiffened at the sound, his spine tingling. He turned to Li Han with an even brighter smile. “So, how about it?”

Bro, just leave. I’m begging you.

I’d like to keep my corpse intact.

Finally, in the midst of the awkward atmosphere, Li Han began to realize neither of them seemed particularly thrilled with his presence. More importantly, Ji Qiu had already asked him to leave—it wouldn’t be polite to stick around.

After some hesitation, Li Han was ultimately swayed by Ji Qiu’s smile and nodded. “Alright, I’ll… head back then?”

Ji Qiu’s smile grew even wider as he nodded furiously. “Yes, yes, yes!”

Thunk!

Liang Yan switched to a fork and stabbed it into his food with a vengeance. The slightly undercooked meat emitted an odd sound as it was skewered.

“You two carry on, no worries.” Liang Yan’s voice was icy as he stirred the massacred meat with his fork.

The dean’s son was seriously terrifying.

Li Han thought so as he reluctantly stood, gathered his tray—which was mostly untouched since he’d only grabbed food as an excuse to talk to Ji Qiu—and left the North District cafeteria, glancing back with every step.

Liang Yan waited until Li Han was entirely out of sight before leisurely sitting back down and taking a sip of the soup Ji Qiu had just ladled for him.

Suddenly, the meat tasted good again.

He knew he was being unreasonable.

He also knew it wasn’t his place to control how Ji Qiu lived his life.

And yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Ji Qiu must be exhausted from constantly pretending to be someone he wasn’t. What was his real personality like?

Anger simmered in Liang Yan’s chest. He didn’t even understand why he was angry—yet Ji Qiu always came over to coax him.

It was childish.

Maybe it was because… Liang Yan knew Ji Qiu didn’t harbor any ill will toward him. That knowledge gave him a shameful desire to limit him.

After all, Ji Qiu was the one who had deceived him first, the one who had temporarily marked him. They shared a secret no one else knew.

It was as if Liang Yan was confident Ji Qiu would continue to act this way.

Liang Yan glanced at Ji Qiu, who was sitting beside him.

Ji Qiu had dropped the overly performative demeanor he used with Li Han but still seemed cautious, watching Liang Yan nervously. His face was scrunched in worry—a face that, despite being an Alpha’s, could make other Alphas’ hearts skip a beat.

“Liang Yan?” Ji Qiu called softly. Seeing no response, he continued, “I really didn’t mean to. It’s just… a habit…”

Liang Yan lifted his head and shot Ji Qiu an inscrutable look.

Thinking he was still angry, Ji Qiu quickly added, “Do you want me to get you something else to eat? Oh, how about bubble tea from the shop downstairs? I can go get it for you.”

“No need.” Liang Yan’s gaze fell on Ji Qiu’s untouched, extravagant tray of food. Something stirred within him, a faint realization of the source of his irritation. “Just eat your meal. Don’t waste it.”

Ji Qiu hadn’t expected to get off so easily and was visibly delighted.

Liang Yan watched the Alpha in front of him.

The frown that had marred Ji Qiu’s face smoothed out, and without the forced cheerfulness, his smile was subtle yet genuine, reaching his eyes.

It was as if… the fact that Liang Yan wasn’t upset truly made him happy.

What had Liang Yan done to deserve being treated with such careful attention?

How selfish.

Liang Yan couldn’t help but mock himself inwardly.

After finishing their meal, Ji Qiu still went downstairs to buy bubble tea for Liang Yan, along with a caramel milk-flavored lollipop.

Holding the warm bubble tea, Liang Yan found himself dazed.

More students filled the campus. Some noticed Liang Yan and Ji Qiu walking together again and began whispering excitedly.

“Heading back?” Ji Qiu asked from behind. Ever since they left the cafeteria, he’d been unusually quiet. After a while, he added, “Taking the campus bus or walking?”

“Walking,” Liang Yan said, then paused. “Didn’t you say you wanted to show me the spider lilies?”

“I was worried I upset you earlier. I thought you might not be in the mood…” Ji Qiu hesitated. “Besides, they’re just flowers—nothing special. You might not even like them.”

“I’ve never seen them before,” Liang Yan said softly. “And it’s just a walk. Good for digestion.”

“Got it!”

Liang Yan walked ahead, slowly sipping the bubble tea Ji Qiu had bought him.

The North District cafeteria’s bubble tea was quite popular—cheap, tasty, and usually accompanied by a long line. If you weren’t quick, your preferred drink might sell out.

Ji Qiu must’ve skipped the line to get it. Perhaps he’d exercised his “green tea Omega” privileges again.

Liang Yan’s thoughts meandered aimlessly.

He wondered why he even cared about such trivial things.

Night fell quickly in late autumn. The walk from the cafeteria to the gymnasium saw the sky darken perceptibly.

Now, the sky was caught between day and night, with a faint breeze blowing. Streetlights flickered on, and Ji Qiu’s shadow suddenly overlapped with Liang Yan’s beneath the glow.

Liang Yan looked down at the shadows—the slightly taller and broader one enveloping his own—and realized, belatedly, how closely they were walking.

This person is an Alpha.

And has always been an Alpha.

The nature of an Alpha is to seize and possess—naturally dominant and assertive.

Even though Ji Qiu is somewhat special, he still belongs to that group.

Perhaps it’s because Liang Yan has grown accustomed to interacting with him. Even after learning Ji Qiu’s true gender, he treats him just the same as before, perhaps even more so.

Liang Yan felt a fleeting sense of confusion in that moment.

“Yan Yan!” The Alpha behind him suddenly called out. His shadow moved, circling around to face Liang Yan with a cheerful expression. “Come, come, the red spider lilies I mentioned are right here.”

Liang Yan followed Ji Qiu’s direction and took a few steps closer. Only then did he notice two vibrant red flowers blooming inconspicuously in a crack between stones.

The red spider lily carries many stories and legends—some call it Manjusaka, while others refer to it as Higanbana.

But Liang Yan was never interested in such things. To him, they were simply two unique-looking flowers.

Their stems were long and straight, their stamens spreading outward in delicate filaments. The petals seemed both shy and bold—yearning to unfurl yet curling at the tips, slightly restrained.

A contradiction of wildness and restraint.

Liang Yan couldn’t find better words to describe them. He could only think:

Just like…

He stared at the fiery, striking petals for a long time.

Ji Qiu’s eyes gleamed brightly, and his smile was dazzling. “I don’t see them often either, so I thought they were quite fascinating. That’s why I wanted to show you.”

Liang Yan couldn’t help but glance at the person beside him.

He… he’s different.

But for some reason, Liang Yan’s thoughts wandered to that unintentional, temporary marking incident.

He could vividly recall how Ji Qiu, even under the influence of pheromones, had restrained himself from giving in to his Alpha instincts and injecting more into the nape of Liang Yan’s neck. Instead, he had only lightly infused a trace.

Yet Ji Qiu’s presence was undeniable.

Restrained, yet audacious.

“It’s fine,” Liang Yan said softly. “They’re quite beautiful.”

---

This weekend, Liang Yan didn’t need to go home. When he ran into Yin Tongguang, who casually asked where he was heading, Liang Yan offhandedly replied that he was picking up something from home before boarding a car to the outskirts alone.

The rideshare driver was a chatterbox. The journey from the medical university to the KB facility was long—an excellent fare—so the driver eagerly tried to strike up a conversation.

Even though Liang Yan barely responded, the driver continued talking, unfazed.

“Hey, young man, are you interning there after graduation? Is this part of your training?”

“KB is such a big company. One time, I had a passenger who needed to go to the eastern plant but ended up heading to the research zone. The place is so huge it’s easy to get lost.”

“I’ve heard KB’s suppressants are really effective. My daughter is an Omega, and she tried one once—it worked immediately, and her symptoms disappeared… Oh, right, young man, you’re an Omega, aren’t you?”

Liang Yan finally replied, “Yes.”

“Then you’re lucky! My daughter said she joined the trials for KB’s new 3.0 suppressant. Normally, their suppressants are expensive and hard to get, but the company provided her with a whole year’s supply for free as part of the trial… If it works, they’ll probably roll it out on a bigger scale. That’ll be great for Omegas like you.”

Liang Yan said nothing more, gazing out at the passing scenery, his expression heavy.

Following instructions from his last contact, and relying on his familiarity with the KB facility from a previous visit, Liang Yan easily found his way to the research zone in the southwest and met up with his contact.

The process had been explained in detail during a previous phone call. This visit was primarily for confirmation and consideration of participation.

The person in charge was patient, answering Liang Yan’s questions meticulously without showing any signs of irritation.

After about half an hour of discussion, the person handed Liang Yan a folder, extracting a few unsigned forms and passing them over. “These are the agreements you’d need to sign if you decide to join. Take your time to think it over… Oh, hold on, let me grab a pen for you.”

The person smiled, placing the papers on the table before standing up to retrieve a pen from a nearby shelf.

The office window was open, and Liang Yan could feel the crisp autumn breeze wafting in.

He swore he hadn’t been trying to snoop.

But as if by sheer coincidence, a gust of wind flipped through the papers, landing on a particular page.

At the top of the document were rows of consent and disclosure clauses. Yet his eyes bypassed all the legal jargon, zeroing in on one line.

Name: Ji Qiu
Gender: Omega, Male
Group: Experimental Group

Below that line was Ji Qiu’s signature.

The handwriting was strong and bold, but it carried a sense of carefree desolation.

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