Liang Yan swore that for just a moment—only a fleeting moment—something inside him was lightly plucked when he heard Ji Qiu say, “Yan Yan is mine.”
Of course, the follow-up—”good sisters”—promptly shoved that thought right back into his brain.
Jiang Xinglan watched the two standing motionless in front of him. Though puzzled, he remained polite and didn’t press the issue.
Such a cold and aloof Omega actually had such a lively… good friend.
But his good upbringing kept him from prying. Since his plans had been interrupted, he didn’t seem bothered and simply said, “I happen to be free. I’ve heard from classmates that your school’s North District cafeteria is particularly good. I’ve been traumatized by my school’s cafeteria food for ages. Why don’t you take me along?”
Ji Qiu, still clinging to Liang Yan’s arm: “…QAQ!”
No, please!
Liang Yan, who was being held hostage by Ji Qiu but couldn’t retaliate in front of an outsider: “…”
Fine, let this Alpha pretending to be an Omega keep his miserable life.
The excited crowd: What kind of plot twist is this?!
Ten minutes later, Yin Tongguang came across a new post on the school forum.
[A Famous Alpha from the Law School Came to Our Campus to Woo an Omega!!! Who’s the Lucky O?! Come Buy Your Stocks!!]
Replies flooded in instantly.
“I’m betting on Ji Qiu. My Qiu Qiu is an A-magnet—if Jiang Xinglan isn’t chasing him, I won’t believe it. Invest now, no loss!”
“I’m betting on Liang Yan. Did y’all miss the fact that Jiang Xinglan was waiting for him at the classroom door? Ji Qiu just popped up randomly.”
“Pfft, what if Jiang Xinglan is just using Liang Yan to get to Ji Qiu? Everyone knows how popular Qiu Qiu is.”
“Wuwuwu even though I can’t have Qiu Qiu, seeing that his pursuer is this outstanding, I can only accept it with tears.”
“Hey, wasn’t Lai Jie pursuing Ji Qiu before? Still no success?”
Yin Tongguang immediately grabbed his phone and furiously replied:
“Bullshit!!!!!! Lai Jie and Ji Qiu are just good friends!!! Also, Lai Jie is the top Alpha of University City!!! And no way should our school’s Omegas be taken away by outsiders!!!”
His interjection into the passionate stock-buying discussion was swiftly met with a wave of ridicule.
“Ugh, another one.”
“The Qing Dynasty has fallen, my friend.”
“Wake up, buddy, the rumors about Lai Jie chasing Ji Qiu have been going around forever.”
“But I do think Lai Jie is way more Alpha! So cool!”
Feeling like he had seen through everything, Yin Tongguang smugly exited the thread, leaving behind his legacy.
Meanwhile, Liang Yan found the world increasingly absurd.
The last time he was at the North District cafeteria, it was a group of three.
Back then, Ji Qiu had a clueless ironhead named Li Han tagging along.
Now, it was another trio—but this time, it was Jiang Xinglan, someone Liang Yan wasn’t particularly close to, standing beside him.
The key issue was the number of students pretending to come for food but actually here to eavesdrop on the gossip.
…Why was it that every time he came to this cafeteria, it ended up as an awkward three-person situation?
Liang Yan silently noted in his heart—he was never coming here again.
Ji Qiu stuck to him like a good bestie. If not for fear of appearing too feminine, he might’ve even linked arms.
Finding a clean seat, Ji Qiu had Liang Yan sit down first. “I’ll go buy the soup dumplings for you! I’ll be quick!”
Then, he glanced at Jiang Xinglan, who was sitting like he was in a Michelin-starred restaurant. After some hesitation, he reluctantly asked what he wanted to eat and offered to bring him something.
Unexpectedly, before Jiang Xinglan could respond, Liang Yan stood up. “I’ll go with you.”
Ji Qiu, sensing his impending doom but still determined to maintain his act in front of others: “Alright, Yan Yan!”
Liang Yan politely turned to Jiang Xinglan. “If you don’t mind, we’ll bring your food over for you.”
Jiang Xinglan didn’t really care about food and simply nodded, watching the two Omegas head to the counter.
So, this was how close Omegas were to each other.
Of course, the moment they were out of Jiang Xinglan’s sight, Liang Yan shot Ji Qiu a cold look. “Let go.”
“Got it!” Ji Qiu immediately obeyed, cautiously shifting half a step to the right, afraid Liang Yan might actually strike him.
But instead of anything else, Liang Yan only asked one question: “Do you really want soup dumplings?”
Ji Qiu nodded furiously.
Over the past few days, Liang Yan had come to some realizations. He was just about to say that they should simply interact however felt natural when Ji Qiu’s phone rang.
The caller was Lai Qiutong.
“Xiao Qiu,” Lai Qiutong skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point, “Do you have time to come to the lab? I can’t figure out the calculations for the new batch of data.”
This was a temporary lab KB had arranged with the school, and there weren’t many researchers. Ji Qiu was momentarily stunned before replying, “Okay, I’ll be there.”
The call was short. Liang Yan watched Ji Qiu’s expression and quickly guessed the situation.
Ji Qiu didn’t intend to hide it. “I need to go to the lab.”
Their conversations always took on a subtle shift whenever this topic came up. Liang Yan gave a brief acknowledgment, then heard Ji Qiu say, “So… hit me up next time you’re free?”
Liang Yan: “?”
Ji Qiu cautiously glanced at him. “I feel like I made you mad again.”
Liang Yan thought, Oh, so you know.
But upon closer reflection, he wasn’t actually angry.
“…It’s fine. I won’t hit you,” Liang Yan said. “Go ahead.”
He paused for a moment before adding, “And from now on… you don’t need to keep apologizing. Just act like before.”
“Okay!” Ji Qiu happily accepted the steaming soup dumplings, then shamelessly asked, “So can I still call you Yan Yan?”
Liang Yan nodded slightly, not looking at him. “Suit yourself.”
It wasn’t a big deal.
Ji Qiu originally intended to leave immediately, but after thinking it over, he still walked back with Liang Yan to their seats, placing the soup dumplings down for him before picking up his own book. “Then, Yan Yan, I’m leaving now?”
“Mm.”
Hearing Liang Yan’s response, he finally turned away, glancing back every few steps as he left.
Jiang Xinglan found it intriguing.
Although this Omega always gave him a somewhat strange feeling, watching Ji Qiu constantly looking back, he still hesitated for a moment before saying to Liang Yan, “You and your… friend seem really close.”
Liang Yan’s brow twitched slightly, but he was afraid that saying too much would make Jiang Xinglan realize Ji Qiu’s true secondary gender. In the end, he only responded with a simple, “Mm.”
“It’s alright.”
Ji Qiu stayed in the lab helping Lai Qiutong for two hours before they finally wrapped things up.
Leaning against the glass door of the lab, Ji Qiu held two inhibitors in his hands, silently staring at them.
He wondered if they had finished their meal yet. What were they doing now?
What exactly was that Alpha thinking about Yan Yan?
The two vials looked ordinary—so much so that without the fine print on the back of the bottle and the manufacturer’s name, one could hardly tell what they were.
Lai Qiutong walked over to the break area, fiddling with an elegant ladies’ cigarette case. It seemed to be peach-flavored.
She pulled out a cigarette but didn’t light it, merely rolling it between her fingers.
Ji Qiu looked at her with concern. “You…”
“Don’t worry, I quit a long time ago,” Lai Qiutong said with a smile, though there was a trace of weariness between her brows. “Just smelling it.”
It reminded her of him.
“Jie.” Ji Qiu felt like he had been too inefficient today. “3.0… we can’t let it hit the market on schedule.”
Lai Qiutong put away the cigarette case, the faint peachy scent of tobacco lingering on her fingertips. “Why? Didn’t they say there were no risk cases in this round of clinical trials?”
Ji Qiu suddenly realized that after everything that had happened last time, he had instinctively kept quiet about it and told no one.
But he couldn’t let them proceed with their plans.
Clenching his teeth, he said, “There were… risk cases.”
Lai Qiutong listened quietly to Ji Qiu’s truncated account.
She could more or less guess what had happened since they were both Alphas, but seeing Ji Qiu’s expression, she refrained from asking too many questions.
However, when Ji Qiu mentioned, “Luckily, an Alpha seems to be interested in him these past few days. Yan Yan probably won’t be affected by my pheromones anymore,” she was momentarily surprised.
Lai Qiutong fell silent for a moment before asking, “Are you really willing?”
Ji Qiu was caught off guard. “Huh?”
“I’m asking, that Alpha—you’re willing to just let things continue like this?” she repeated.
Ji Qiu hesitated, pressing a finger against his nose before answering, still lacking confidence, “But… I already feel so guilty toward him…”
At the word “guilty,” Lai Qiutong paused for a moment before saying, “An Omega who has had a connection with you—you’re just going to hand him over to someone else? And then watch as someone else marks the gland you’ve bitten before, see his body get covered in another person’s pheromones?”
“That’s what you want? That’s how you think you’ll stop feeling guilty?”
Her words were a bit forceful, carrying the innate dominance of an Alpha.
Ji Qiu remained silent for a long time.
Lai Qiutong didn’t rush him. She finished recording the remaining experiment data, changed out of her lab coat, and got ready to leave.
At the door, she saw Ji Qiu tilting his head back, staring blankly at the centrifuge, a rare look of confusion in his eyes.
She let out a quiet sigh but didn’t say anything else before pushing open the door and leaving.
Ji Qiu remained still for a while before slowly standing up and tidying the lab bench.
He had always lived a carefree life. If it weren’t for Ji Yang and KB’s affairs, he should have been another legendary Alpha at the medical school, second only to Lai Qiutong.
He had deliberately crafted the persona of a sly and flirtatious Omega—a bit exaggerated, but undeniably effective. No one had ever suspected his true secondary gender.
Was he willing?
What right did he have to keep Liang Yan?
Even if he had only marked him temporarily to prevent an accident, even if he had taken advantage of the situation and done those things, he couldn’t deny the despicableness of his actions.
Now that there was an Alpha who seemed more suitable for Liang Yan—and Liang Yan hadn’t outright rejected him—how could he interfere?
When he had first differentiated, Ji Qiu deeply resented the entire concept of secondary genders.
It felt like pheromone concentration and ranking were the only criteria for choosing a mate, as if any Alpha and Omega who shared a marking bond were automatically meant to be together.
Their instincts would drive them closer and closer. If they were marked multiple times, the Omega would develop an involuntary submission and attachment to their Alpha, while the Alpha would grow an insatiable possessiveness and protectiveness over their Omega.
Some people said, “Isn’t that a good thing? That’s just nature.”
With pheromones so compatible, there would be fewer arguments, no betrayals.
They would be inseparable.
But that wasn’t right.
That wasn’t how things should be.
Ji Qiu changed his clothes, did a final check to make sure he hadn’t left anything behind, and then turned off the lab lights before stepping out.
Winter was approaching. Once he switched off the lights, the eighth-floor corridor was shrouded in darkness.
The school’s evening broadcast was playing some niche folk song he didn’t recognize. Not far from the lab building, the basketball court was hosting a friendly match, the youthful voices rising and falling in excitement.
Standing in the darkness, he heard his own breathing, and in his mind, Liang Yan’s face surfaced again.
The labels others had given him: quiet, aloof, the dean’s son, unapproachable, difficult to get along with.
Whenever Liang Yan’s gaze swept over, perhaps because his naturally low single eyelids cast shadows over his long but uncurled eyelashes, his dark eyes always seemed distant and indifferent. But if he was provoked enough, even his usually cold temperament could flare up into action.
And when he smiled—even if it was just a sneer—there was still the faintest hint of dimples.
If something could genuinely make him happy…
He probably has a pretty sweet smile, doesn’t he?
I can’t be too unreasonable.
Ji Qiu thought.
But another voice inside him was stirring restlessly.
Afraid of holding him back.
And yet… kind of wanting to hold him back.
[mfn]If you enjoy my translations, you can show your support by leaving a comment or donating to my Ko-fi. It will be much appreciated. Thank you! -TL: YSIAD[/mfn]
