Yan Mu opened his eyes.
He couldn’t fall asleep.
The incident in the empty classroom, although he’d decided to set it aside for now, had already happened three days ago, and Yan Mu still hadn’t figured out why he had acted that way at the time.
Why had he lost control like that?
Jiang Zhihuo had come up with a reason for him—the alpha’s susceptible period—and all he had to do was go along with it.
However, he didn’t want to lie.
That wasn’t the reason.
Then what was the reason?
Yan Mu had always been rational and believed he could clearly see through his own heart.
But ever since he started interacting with Jiang Zhihuo, he realized that he couldn’t even clearly understand his own thoughts. Often, impulse would overpower his reasons.
Soft, steady, and prolonged breaths echoed in his ears.
Jiang Zhihuo was sleeping beside him, curled up on his side. The bed was large, with one and a half of its spaces taken up. The air conditioner and thin blanket were soft, leaving an imprint of his body.
His sleep quality had always been good. His brows were relaxed, and his posture was at ease. One of his fingers peeked out, gripping the edge of the thin blanket.
Yan Mu didn’t understand Jiang Zhihuo at all; there were too many things he didn’t know.
For example, why did he pretend to be a poor student?
Even though he didn’t realize it at first, deep down, he had thought that Jiang Zhihuo might actually be intellectually disabled and had only gotten into the top high school by mere luck.
But after witnessing Jiang Zhihuo’s analytical ability and personality profile, he just couldn’t connect this person with the term ‘poor student.’.
During the subsequent makeup lessons, he spent more time observing.
Jiang Zhihuo was probably also guessing that he had figured it out. So, he just gave up and acted as clueless as he could.
For instance, why does he go by the name of ‘Shin’ ?
Indeed, the name ‘Shin’ was not uncommon, and one could even find a character with that name in anime with a simple search.
However, the reason Jiang Zhihuo gave was too half-hearted, so much so that no one was willing to believe it.
And Yan Mu still couldn’t sort out what he was really thinking or what he actually wanted to do.
When it came to causing him trouble, Jiang Zhihuo never bothered to hide it and could easily guess what he would do.
Tonight, Jiang Zhihuo brought up listening memorization and had him read through the review notes. Therefore, if he were reading a book near Jiang Zhihuo, there was a possibility that he would ask him to read a few more passages as well.
Yan Mu did it on purpose.
He deliberately took out his Kindle to read, intentionally choosing ‘The Kite Runner.’.
But why did he do that?
Why did he choose this book?
What reaction did he want from Jiang Zhihuo?
What did he want to prove?
It’s just a name, so what kind of answer did he want to hear?
It’s all too messy.
There were some things Yan Mu couldn’t understand, and there were some things he simply couldn’t think through.
When Yan Mu’s thoughts became a tangled mess and he couldn’t fall asleep, Jiang Zhihuo suddenly moved.
Before falling asleep, and even for the first two hours after, his sleeping posture was perfect—he wouldn’t touch Yan Mu and remained completely still. However, once the time restraint passed, he would feel a surge of heat throughout his body, waking up with a start. After tossing and turning, he would eventually find Yan Mu, and only after holding his hand or burrowing into his embrace could he finally calm down.
After some tossing and turning, Jiang Zhihuo became a bit clear-headed, though still muddled. Half-opening his eyes, he saw Yan Mu looking at him and mumbled in a daze, “Still not asleep? If you can’t sleep, you can recite The Joyful Wanderer two more times. Reading makes people drowsy.”
In a half-dream, half-awake state, he was still maintaining his persona.
Yan Mu subtly curled the corner of his lips, closed his eyes, and said, “I’m asleep.”
*
Friday arrived, and the midterm exam officially began.
Even during the two days of exams, there was still early study time arranged. A group of people were frantically reviewing in the classroom. This time, Jiang Zhihuo didn’t arrive late. He came early, took out the review notes, Yan Mu had given it to him and stood in the corridor to get some fresh air.
At this moment, Li Muhe sent him a message.
Li Muhe: Good luck on the exam, Xiao Huo.
It took Jiang Zhihuo a while to notice the message, and he replied.
Jiang Zhihuo: Li-ge!
Jiang Zhihuo: You’re only responding after so many days!
Jiang Zhihuo: Where have you been during this period?
Above the ‘Good luck on the exam’ message, there were seven or eight messages that Jiang Zhihuo had sent.
There was nothing important in them—sometimes just a “Good morning,” other times a meme. There was no set time; whenever one of them thought of it, they’d send a message. It wasn’t anything significant. The two brothers, though not living together, would always send something to keep in touch. When Jiang Zhihuo didn’t take the initiative to message, Li Muhe would also reach out to chat.
After all, his father had brought the ten-year-old Xiao Huo into the family. Over the years, he and Li Muhe had long since become as close as brothers.
It had been eleven or twelve days since the first meme was sent.
Li Muhe: I’ve been in seclusion with my advisor for research on a confidential project. We’re not allowed to bring phones.
Li Muhe: I just finished at dawn. I remembered you have exams today, so I’m wishing you good luck.
Li-ge was truly talented. He started working on a project with his advisor in his freshman year, and his advisor was a leading figure in the industry. He had said more than once that anyone who wanted to pursue graduate studies in the future should definitely seek him out.
Li Muhe often disappeared for several days at a time, and Jiang Zhihuo had long gotten used to it. That last sentence was just a joke.
Jiang Zhihuo: Whether you say ‘good luck’ or not, it’s all the same.
Jiang Zhihuo: By the way, that interception device from last time was seriously impressive!
Using the cheesy and high-profile ‘confession’ as an excuse to break into Bai Yujun’s house, the round piece that could intercept radio signals was actually created by Li Muhe.
Li Muhe: I didn’t really help much; it was mainly my father.
Officer Li, Li Hao, the criminal police officer in charge of the Bai Group case, was actually Li Muhe’s father.
The information about the Bai Group’s involvement in illegal trading and trafficking known by the public was very little. Although it was under investigation, the public relations department was still handling the situation. Since legal proceedings and judgment took time, there wasn’t much information that could be disclosed to the public for now. Ordinary people could only temporarily gossip about Bai Zhengou being detained.
The online reviews about Li Hao were profoundly positive.
[I’ve heard that Officer Li is the one who solved this case again!]
[Thanks, thanks to Officer Li, for helping us get rid of this social trash once again!]
[It’s time to present a banner, to punish the wicked and eliminate evil! The light of righteousness!]
[That’s awesome! These things are usually extremely confidential. How did they manage to find out?]
[Every time I see Officer Li capture these despicable people and bring justice, I feel so relieved! Ahhh!]
In the past few days, another incident occurred. After being detained for a month, Feng Zhi was finally jointly sued by the victims. The verdict was quickly made public, and that same day, a video of Feng Zhi mocking an omega was dug up by netizens. Meanwhile, another progress in the Bai Group case surfaced.
The CEO of Bai Group, Bai Zhengou, had actually adopted omegas and forced them into physical trading in exchange for a contract!
This matter was extremely atrocious, treating people as goods to be traded, which was almost equivalent to dehumanization.
Further evidence couldn’t be disclosed to the public at this time. What was revealed was a suicide note.
The letter appeared to have been written by the fifth girl adopted by the Bai Family, who was nearly dragged into the abyss of physical trading.
The note detailed how the Bai Family adopted and coerced them into the transactional exploitation, listing the evidence one by one. This part served as an explanation of the physical evidence, though the actual evidence was not made public.
There were several sentences within this.
“I never understood before, why are omegas wrong? Why does everyone put the blame on us, despising us?
“Until one day, only a few days ago, someone asked me, why do even omegas think they are in the wrong?”
“I thought about it for a long time. Yes, why is that? It’s because we’ve gotten used to it, used to thinking that we are to blame.”
These few sentences triggered an even stronger reaction from omegas, igniting another heated online discussion about AO equality.
Li Hao had national recognition, and since he was in charge of this case, he had no choice but to speak up and be a spokesperson.
The main idea was: omega and alpha should not fight for the sake of momentary satisfaction. Social perceptions need to change, and self-awareness must change as well. Both alpha and omega need to prove not only their secondary gender but also their worth as a person. Outstanding people should have great influence.
It was similar to many years ago when live streaming was not considered a highly regarded profession, but now there are many talented people in the industry. People couldn’t help but change their view of the profession.
The principle was the same.
These words were quite sensible and sincere, well-reasoned and supported by facts. Whether representing himself, the public, or directed by the authorities, they were all fair and on point.
But the whole situation was also very coincidental.
The verdict for Feng Zhi was announced, and this suicide note just happened to be released at the same time. In the end, all the benefits of this entire thing fell on Li Hao.
Jiang Zhihuo didn’t express any opinion on these matters. He exchanged a few more words with Li Muhe, and as the bell signaling the end of the class rang, everyone began packing up, preparing to head to the exam room.
Bai Yujun came up the stairs at this moment.
Since that day, Bai Yujun hadn’t been to school for a week. Her desk was still piled with birthday gifts from friends and admirers. During a break, Zong Bei had asked Jiang Zhihuo if he was aware of what was happening, mentioning that the school beauty had taken a week off.
Of course, Jiang Zhihuo couldn’t say anything. He simply shook his head and responded that he didn’t know.
These past few days, Bai Yujun probably hadn’t been getting much rest—how could she, with everything occurring in the Bai Family? Her face appeared haggard, with dark circles under her eyes. And yet, she kept the smile on her lips, as if she were in a surprisingly good spirit.
She greeted Jiang Zhihuo with a wave, and he paused for a moment, completely caught off guard.
Bai Yujun had cut her hair short. It used to reach down to her waist, with curly ends, but now she had cut it all off to a chin. It looked clean and refreshing.
In addition, she was wearing a neck collar.
