To live up to the evaluation of being “reliable,” Zhuang Chi picked up her phone as soon as she returned to her dorm after class and opened her message chat with Ling Jing.
She felt it wouldn’t be right to send a message while Gu Ximian was still beside her, but after returning, she thought it might be better to speak in person. So, Zhuang Chi simply sent a message: 【Where are you? Do you have time now?】
Since Gu Ximian had said so, it was more than likely true that Ling Jing had been loitering around her dormitory. But based on Zhuang Chi’s impression of Ling Jing, the girl was still relatively well-behaved for now. It was just that after their meal together, her ill intentions hadn’t died and were stirring restlessly. So, she wasn’t too nervous—
She wasn’t too nervous, Zhuang Chi thought, looking at her phone with a complicated expression. But when she actually received a reply from Ling Jing confirming she was right next to Gu Ximian’s dormitory building, she couldn’t help but sigh.
Ling Jing’s reply wasn’t direct. She just sent a photo and a response that was as good as saying nothing: 【I’m outside!】 The photo was mostly filled with various flowers of all colors, both in bouquets and single stems, looking as if half a flower shop had been moved there. They seemed to be placed on the lawn next to a dormitory building, and only the edge of the photo captured the building number, allowing the sharp-eyed Zhuang Chi to confirm Ling Jing’s current location.
…She didn’t know whether to first ask where the flowers came from or what she was doing there. The ominous premonition in Zhuang Chi’s heart grew stronger. She simply stood up, startling Lu Man. “We’ve only been back for five minutes, are you going out again?”
So busy. Zhuang Chi rushed all the way to the base of Gu Ximian’s dormitory building. From a distance, she could see the grand occasion of blooming flowers on the lawn. Standing beside them was, naturally, Ling Jing. Next to her was a small cart, which also held a small portion of the flowers. It seemed the flowers on the lawn had been taken from the cart. Ling Jing was tall with long legs, and from afar, the scene of the beauty and the flowers truly had a bright atmosphere where each complemented the other.
“Zhuang Chi! You’re here!”
Before Zhuang Chi could speak, Ling Jing’s ears twitched as she sensed her approach. After greeting her, she took half a step back to show off her “masterpiece,” her pride practically overflowing. “What do you think? Pretty, right!”
“…” But the moment she spoke, that atmosphere vanished. It wasn’t that they weren’t pretty, but there were so many flowers, and they were arranged without any method. It looked less like a decoration and more like a stall for selling them. Zhuang Chi wrinkled her nose at the overwhelming, mixed floral scent and asked, exasperated, “…Where did you get so many flowers?”
“I bought them,” Ling Jing answered honestly. “I was so bored after you went to class, so I went to the school gate to buy something to eat. I saw an old lady selling flowers from a small cart, so I just bought everything, including the cart.”
…That’s nice. Zhuang Chi didn’t know what to say. For now, she consoled herself that at least these flowers were legally purchased; she hadn’t stolen them or damaged the environment. And her motive sounded like it came from a good place. For that old flower-selling lady, Ling Jing must have been a god of wealth descending from heaven—
“Do you think… Gu Ximian will like flowers?”
—She temporarily retracted her previous statement. It seemed the motive was mixed with some personal desires. Zhuang Chi closed her eyes, a headache brewing, and asked, “…What are you trying to do? Are you planning to give all of these to Gu Ximian?”
“That might be a bit much…” Ling Jing, who still possessed some common sense, looked at the dazzling array of flowers and showed a rare bashfulness. “…But it would be great if she’d accept a few stems. I don’t think anyone dislikes flowers, right? Maybe if she accepts them, she’ll be happy and rehire me!”
…What a simple thought. It felt as if she had regained hope after that meal together and was now finally planning to take action and fight for it.
But Gu Ximian didn’t live in the dorms. Zhuang Chi thought. The afternoon classes were already over. Unless she had an evening class, Ling Jing could wait here until tomorrow morning and still not see her.
She decided not to mention this for now and instead asked about what Gu Ximian had mentioned earlier. “…I heard you’ve been walking around here recently. Is it also to find Gu Ximian?”
“W-well, you can’t really say that,” Ling Jing argued, even though her eyes widened, betraying a nervousness that screamed, “How do you know about this?” She tried to feign otherwise, quibbling, “I was just wandering around the school and accidentally ended up here. I definitely wasn’t thinking anything like, ‘It would be great if I could run into Gu Ximian’—Huh? What’s that smell?”
She stopped mid-sentence and suddenly twitched her nose. Then, with a dramatic reaction, her whole face scrunched up, as if she had smelled something utterly disgusting. She turned her head to look around for the source of the odor. But when Zhuang Chi also sniffed the air, she smelled nothing but the rich fragrance of the flowers. She couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “What did you smell? You’re not talking about the scent of your flowers, are you?”
“No, it’s like the smell of burning tobacco, very pungent. If you can’t smell it, you must have a cold—” Ling Jing suddenly stopped, her gaze sharpening. Then, with a sound of realization, she grabbed Zhuang Chi and ran a few steps toward the dormitory entrance before Zhuang Chi could react, pointing to a spot not far away. “It’s that person!”
Zhuang Chi followed her finger and saw a boy squatting on the ground. He looked unwell, his whole body tense and his breathing rapid. Even from a distance, she could see the pain on his face. Strangely, none of the students passing by went to help. They all stopped with troubled expressions or simply covered their noses and turned away.
“…” Zhuang Chi frowned and muttered, “Could it be… pheromones?”
“Yeah.” Ling Jing, who had already figured it out, nodded. She wrinkled her face, twisted a lock of her long hair, and held it under her nose to block the smell. With a detached and muffled voice, she said disdainfully, “It’s an Alpha, probably in his susceptible period. I don’t know why this guy is wandering around at a time like this. Doesn’t he have any awareness of his own body? Honestly.”
No wonder Zhuang Chi couldn’t smell anything. She hadn’t differentiated yet, so any kind of pheromones were no different from air to her. And based on what Ling Jing said, you couldn’t blame everyone for not helping. After all, they were in front of the female Omega dormitory of the literature faculty, and it was just after classes had ended. Almost everyone on this path was a student living here, so they certainly wouldn’t rashly approach an Alpha who was very likely in his susceptible period.
Although she had only learned about it in textbooks, Zhuang Chi remembered that Alphas in their susceptible period were quite dangerous. Since she had a genuine Alpha right next to her, Zhuang Chi decided to ask, “I heard that Alphas become very aggressive during their susceptible period… Is that true?”
“Huh? I don’t feel much myself during that time, just hot and a bit irritable,” Ling Jing recalled, her expression not suggesting she found it very dangerous. Then she added casually, “But every time I’m in my susceptible period, my mom locks me in a room alone. She won’t even open the door if I’m rolling around on the floor inside.”
…Okay, so there’s a basis for that claim. Zhuang Chi sighed silently. Looking at the boy who was still squatting obediently on the ground, she finally proposed, “Then let’s take him away first, shall we? We can’t just let him squat in front of the Omega dormitory like this.”
“Ehh—” Just from her voice, you could tell Ling Jing was reluctant. The lock of hair under her nose fell, but she didn’t bother with it, protesting unwillingly, “Can’t we just wait for security? An Alpha in their susceptible period can easily get angry at another Alpha. It’s very dangerous.”
“It’s more dangerous for them, isn’t it?” Zhuang Chi pointed to the students who wanted to leave the dormitory but didn’t dare to move. She took two steps down from the lawn herself, then turned back to urge Ling Jing, “Hurry up. We don’t know when security will come. Since we’re both here, let’s at least move him away a bit.”
“…Ugh… His pheromones are so pungent. Even as an Alpha, it’s uncomfortable to smell too much of it… Damn it, why is it that when these security guards are looking for trouble with me, they’re always so quick, but when we actually need them, they’re nowhere to be seen…”
“Alright, alright, we’ll just take him to the nearest Alpha dormitory, and we can find help there. It’ll be quick. Just think about how you finally have a report to write today and bear with it.”
Now that she’d said that, Ling Jing stopped complaining. Like a cat about to pick a fight, she walked over to the boy. Her tone reverted to the haughty arrogance Zhuang Chi had first seen in her. In a cold voice, she said, “Stop squatting here and causing trouble for people. Your smell is too strong. Come with me,” and grabbed his arm. Zhuang Chi watched from the side, a bit helplessly, thinking that Ling Jing looked more like she was here to rob him than to help.
The two of them were now, naturally, attracting a lot of attention. If she had a choice, Zhuang Chi wouldn’t want to do something that drew this much focus, but the current situation couldn’t be ignored. The timing and location seemed almost fated. Besides the two of them, everyone else on the scene was an Omega. It was as if their names were being called out directly to go and help—
“…”
“Hey, Zhuang Chi, why are you spacing out? I’ve already got him up. Which way do we go?”
“Ah, ah, this way. Need a hand?”
“Hmph, no need. He’s not heavy. I can support him with one hand. Impressive, right?”
“Very impressive.”
Indeed, the boy was rather thin and seemed a bit disoriented, but at least he knew to follow Ling Jing’s lead. Zhuang Chi followed cautiously half a step behind, watching them while thinking.
…This might really be Ling Jing’s plotline, Zhuang Chi thought. After all, novels with numerous suitors for the female lead often felt like they used a turn-based system. Each character had their turn, and right now, it seemed very much like the turn for Ling Jing, who was currently striving to be a “servant.” Adding a plot point here to highlight her reliability and regain some of the impression points she had lost with Gu Ximian seemed very reasonable…
But following that line of thought… Zhuang Chi paused. Then there should also be…
As if on cue, Zhuang Chi slowly turned her head. In front of the dormitory building, which had become active again after the boy was led away, she saw a quiet figure standing there. Across a distance of several dozen meters, their eyes met.
Gu Ximian, who had been frowning slightly, showed a flash of surprise, which she quickly concealed, giving Zhuang Chi a faint smile as pure as fresh snow.
Zhuang Chi’s heart skipped a beat, but at that moment, she heard Ling Jing’s surprised cry, “Hey, what are you doing, don’t move, it’s pungent… Wait, what are you trying to do—Ah?!”
A sound of struggle erupted almost simultaneously from behind her. Without even a moment to think, Zhuang Chi spun around. Because she had paused, she was a step behind Ling Jing and the others. Thanks to that one step, she had a chance to intercept the suddenly agitated Alpha when he unexpectedly broke free. The other party, for some unknown reason, seemed hell-bent on running away from Ling Jing. He rammed into Zhuang Chi with all his might, sending a sharp pain through her shoulder.
…So painful. Do all Alphas have this kind of monstrous strength… Zhuang Chi winced in pain, her body lurching backward. But thankfully, she managed to grab the Alpha’s arm before she fell, allowing Ling Jing, who was a beat behind, to tackle the person back to the ground. Ling Jing then turned her head frantically toward Zhuang Chi, who had fallen solidly to the ground. “Are-are you okay?!”
To be honest, she wasn’t entirely okay. Her shoulder was numb with pain, and she was sure it would be bruised by tomorrow. But this was no time to show weakness. Zhuang Chi shook her head through the pain and stood up again. She first glanced in Gu Ximian’s direction and was startled to see her hesitating, as if about to walk over—Don’t! Although Zhuang Chi couldn’t smell it, the area around them must be saturated with that Alpha’s pheromones. For Gu Ximian, it should be—
She felt as if she had made some special setting here, but her memory was a bit fuzzy, and there was no time to think it through now. In any case, Zhuang Chi quickly raised her voice and said, “I’m fine, I just got knocked over… Really, it’s nothing.”
She was responding to both Ling Jing and Gu Ximian. Seeing Gu Ximian slowly stop, Zhuang Chi breathed a sigh of relief. She gave her a reassuring smile, but just as she was about to speak, she heard a muffled groan from beside her, which startled her again. She quickly pushed Ling Jing’s hand away. “Are you using too much force? I think you’re about to make him throw up…”
Ling Jing, who had let her guard down for a moment and nearly let the person escape, was being extra cautious this time. It took several pleas from Zhuang Chi before she was willing to loosen her grip slightly. Then, she huffily hauled the person to his feet, not caring that he was covered in dirt, and unceremoniously started to drag him away. Fortunately, the commotion they had caused had attracted a lot of people, including many Alphas and Betas, who all came forward to offer help—which was probably a good thing for the boy. Otherwise, seeing Ling Jing’s mood, who knew how much she would have berated him on the way.
By the time things reached this point, the much-criticized security team finally arrived late. However, they couldn’t just hand the person over and leave. The Alpha now looked listless, either because Ling Jing had indeed been a bit too rough or because his constitution was just poor. In the end, the two of them had to accompany him to the infirmary. Fortunately, the final check-up revealed no serious problems with his physical condition, and they were finally able to get away.
…What a chaotic affair. Zhuang Chi sighed silently. In the end, she didn’t even get a chance to say a few words to Gu Ximian—ah, now she remembered. This was indeed an event from the plot, a simple hero-saves-the-beauty scenario for Ling Jing. The Alpha was originally supposed to act up when Gu Ximian appeared, but since they had led him away a little earlier this time, it turned into this situation instead.
Couldn’t I have remembered this earlier… Zhuang Chi rubbed her sore shoulder. Her poor, ill-fated right hand had been injured twice in just over a week since school started. Luckily, he hadn’t hit her wound. Otherwise, the scab that had just formed might have split open. The thought was gruesome…
“Ah… what bad luck…” Ling Jing beside her muttered resentfully. “We were clearly doing a good deed, and not only did that guy not thank us, he repaid kindness with enmity. Damn it, if I see him again, I’m definitely putting salt in his water cup…”
…She could let her go with that level of revenge, even if it was a bit childish. Zhuang Chi couldn’t help but want to laugh, but before her lips could curve, Ling Jing let out a loud “Ah!” that made her retract her smile. She looked over in alarm and saw Ling Jing’s equally horrified face.
“My, my flowers…” she said with a tearful face, stammering, “They’ve been left there unattended for so long, the cleaning lady must have taken them away!”
