Jiang Heng’s words were truly blunt and straightforward. Seeing Shen Huaizhi freeze in place, Jiang Heng belatedly realized how embarrassing his words had been.
He turned his head away, instinctively letting go of the Alpha’s hand, and tried to bury himself into the blanket. However, the Alpha grabbed his wrist instead.
“Jiang Heng.” Shen Huaizhi’s voice was much lower than before, carrying an indescribable tone. For a moment, the atmosphere in the room turned ambiguous. “Do you know what you’re saying?”
Half of Jiang Heng’s face was buried in the pillow. After a long pause, he said softly, “I know.”
“I’m already an adult… doing this kind of thing is actually pretty normal, right?” He hesitated for a moment and, sensing the bed sink slightly, his heartbeat became a little uncontrollable.
Shen Huaizhi looked down at him, as if observing him carefully. After a while, he sighed, “But you’re not in heat. It might hurt more.”
Jiang Heng thought Shen Huaizhi meant to wait until his heat period, but before he could react, he heard the latter’s soft and somewhat restrained voice, “Then bear with it for a little while.”
“……”
Some things, once started, are hard to stop.
Even though Jiang Heng had done some research and mentally prepared himself beforehand, he still felt like he had been through life and death several times.
Shen Huaizhi was, indeed, gentle.
But that gentleness wasn’t enough for two people who were both experiencing this for the first time. Especially since Alphas seemed to have a naturally strong desire for dominance in such matters. Even when Jiang Heng struggled to escape, trying to kick him away, Shen Huaizhi would mercilessly pull him back, kissing him over and over, coaxing him in a low voice.
Yet he refused to stop.
“Be good, just endure a little longer,” Shen Huaizhi whispered patiently.
The Omega covered his eyes, squeezing out a response through broken sobs, “You… damn…”
Shen Huaizhi turned his face to kiss him again, continuing to soothe, “Almost done.”
“…Half… half an hour ago, you damn well said the same thing…”
Jiang Heng vaguely felt like he might have cried.
But he couldn’t quite remember, because by the end, he had truly lost all sense of awareness.
The Alpha was like a beast that couldn’t be satisfied.
Even though Omegas were naturally gifted in this regard, Jiang Heng still felt like he couldn’t handle it.
When Jiang Heng woke up, the overly heavy scent of pheromones still lingered in the room.
Exhausted, he moved his hand slightly, sniffing softly. It was only then that he realized—belatedly—he seemed to smell something that didn’t belong to Shen Huaizhi.
The scent was simply too alluring and intoxicating, unmistakably belonging to an Omega.
Jiang Heng stared at the ceiling for a long while.
“Why are you awake?” Shen Huaizhi pulled him into his arms, sounding like he had just woken up as well.
The sky was still dark—it was just past midnight, and the two of them had only slept for a little over an hour.
With this movement, Jiang Heng instinctively tensed, afraid that this person might do something overboard again. After all, he really couldn’t take it anymore.
Shen Huaizhi chuckled softly. “I won’t touch you.”
Jiang Heng didn’t have the energy to look at him. After a long silence, he obediently burrowed into Shen Huaizhi’s embrace and spoke uncertainly, “I think… I can smell my own pheromones.”
After speaking, Jiang Heng realized how hoarse his voice sounded.
Noticing this, Jiang Heng grew annoyed.
He truly hadn’t expected that one day, he would be reduced to begging like that.
But the joy of smelling his own pheromones now washed away everything else.
Shen Huaizhi froze for a moment and handed him a glass of water from the bedside table. Before he could say anything, Jiang Heng continued, “It smells pretty good, but why does it seem… a little erotic?”
“Does it smell like roses?”
Shen Huaizhi laughed softly. “Yes.”
As for why it smelled different than usual, well, that was just how it was.
Jiang Heng hadn’t expected that one day he would be able to smell his own pheromones, let alone wonder if he could smell others’.
But he was far too tired. After drinking the water, he quickly drifted off to sleep again with those thoughts lingering.
Seeing how fast he fell asleep, Shen Huaizhi sighed helplessly and tightened his hold on him.
A faint ache swelled in his chest.
——
Early September.
The weather was still stiflingly hot, and the senior year students started school earlier than the first and second years.
Class 3 had moved to a classroom upstairs. On the blackboard were messages left by last year’s graduating students, things like “Wishing you a bright future” and “Let’s never meet again for the rest of our lives,” a mix of sentimental and nonsensical words.
In the morning, Wang Yong brought in the giant unified senior year calendar, fiddled with it for a while at the blackboard, wiped the board clean, and instructed Shen Huaizhi to write “Countdown to the College Entrance Exam” on it. He reminded everyone about the opening exam two days later before hurrying off again.
Thanks to Wang Yong’s actions, the class—still not mentally prepared—suddenly felt a surge of pressure.
Jiang Heng wasn’t faring much better.
He wasn’t in great spirits.
His heat had arrived just days before the start of the semester.
Once an Alpha tastes a bit of sweetness, they can’t stop. Usually, when the two of them play around a little, it’s fine, but during the heat period, Shen Huaizhi wouldn’t let him use suppressants.
Jiang Heng actually didn’t want to refuse. The consequence of indulging too much was that the two of them spent several absurd days together. It wasn’t until the day before yesterday, when school was about to start and Jiang Heng needed to save some energy for studying, that he was allowed to use suppressants.
Omega’s heat usually lasts about a week.
Jiang Heng’s heat hadn’t completely passed yet. Even though he had used the suppressant, he still felt weaker than usual.
Thinking about this, Jiang Heng’s expression darkened.
Once Wang Yong left, Jiang Heng half-closed his eyes and took out a set of practice papers.
Shen Huaizhi came down from the podium. Seeing that Jiang Heng was still doing the papers, he reached out and touched his forehead.
Jiang Heng glanced at him with a displeased expression, then instinctively moved back a little. His body reacted with a slight stress response; whenever he saw Shen Huaizhi, he subconsciously wanted to escape.
Seeing this, Shen Huaizhi lowered his eyes slightly, his expression turning more indifferent, as if slightly hurt. “Jiang Heng, I just wanted to check if you were still in heat.”
Hearing his tone, Jiang Heng belatedly realized that his behavior might have been hurtful. He remained silent for a while before speaking, “I’m not in heat. I took a suppressant again when I left this morning.”
Shen Huaizhi replied, “Okay, you can continue working on the papers. I need to go to the academic office to pick up some materials.”
Jiang Heng nodded twice, then paused, as if explaining, “I wasn’t trying to avoid you just now.”
After saying that, he noticed that Shen Huaizhi’s expression was still quite indifferent, and there was no smile on his lips. His heart began to pound. He had heard that once an Alpha and Omega become intimate, not only does the Omega become sensitive, but the Alpha also becomes more vulnerable. Jiang Heng had always thought this was nonsense, but now, seeing Shen Huaizhi like this, he started to believe it.
He felt a strange sense of responsibility, as if he needed to protect his Alpha’s fragile heart.
After thinking for a moment, he said, “No, don’t make that face.”
“You know, you were a bit too harsh before. My… body reflexed.”
Shen Huaizhi suppressed a laugh, still looking slightly hurt, and nodded, offering a faint, sad smile. “Got it. I’ll be more careful next time.”
Jiang Heng: “…”
“It’s not that I’m asking you to be more careful next time.” He turned around and, seeing that Shen Huaizhi was about to leave, tugged on the hem of his shirt. “Don’t make that face like I bullied you…”
He paused for a moment. “… Shen Huaizhi, I apologize for my behavior just now.”
Shen Huaizhi shook his head, managing to pull his shirt out of Jiang Heng’s grasp. His expression wasn’t angry or particularly upset, but it was enough to make Jiang Heng feel a little heartache. Why did Alphas have so many problems?
But then again, anyone would feel frustrated if their Omega rejected them, right?
Before Jiang Heng could say anything more, Shen Huaizhi gave a small hum, looked at him for a while, then carefully asked, “So, could there be some kind of compensation?”
Jiang Heng paused for a moment, then hesitantly asked, “So… what do you want?”
—-
Since today was the first day of school, they finished class a little earlier than usual.
Chen Xingchi and He Ci had plans to go out and play games. When they passed by the school gate with milk tea in hand, they saw Jiang Heng still standing there with a look on his face as if someone owed him money, despite having already left the school.
He Ci handed Jiang Heng the milk tea. “Why are you still here? Where’s Shen Huaizhi?”
Jiang Heng sneered.
Before he could say anything, Chen Xingchi nudged He Ci’s arm. “Isn’t that the class monitor?”
Jiang Heng sneered again.
He Ci, who had originally followed Chen Xingchi’s gaze, was momentarily confused by Jiang Heng’s sneer and pulled Chen Xingchi aside. “Is the class monitor moving out?”
Shen Huaizhi was dragging two suitcases, and his backpack was slung over his shoulder, looking like he was moving.
There were still a lot of people around the school gate, and seeing him in this state, many couldn’t help but glance over.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Heng sneered again. “He’s not moving out. He wants to be abused.”
He Ci and Chen Xingchi: “???”
After saying this, Jiang Heng fell silent again.
Just then, Shen Huaizhi walked up to them. His face held a faint smile, which was a stark contrast to Jiang Heng’s sour expression.
“Let’s go.”
Chen Xingchi couldn’t help but ask, “Class monitor, where are you moving to? Not living at home anymore?”
Jiang Heng sneered.
Chen Xingchi: “…???”
Shen Huaizhi, unusually, explained, “The driver’s pick-up and drop-off are too troublesome, so I’m moving out to live for a year.”
Seeing their reactions, He Ci suddenly understood and cautiously asked, “Are you… living with Jiang Heng?”
Shen Huaizhi gave a slight nod.
No wonder Jiang Heng looked like that.
He Ci understood and, after a moment’s thought, waved goodbye to both of them, deciding not to be a third wheel. Let them handle their own issues.
“Too troublesome to be picked up and dropped off?” After they left, Jiang Heng sneered. “Why didn’t you think it was troublesome before?”
Shen Huaizhi paused for a moment. “The driver was younger back then.”
“Complaining about the driver’s age before the new year? Does the driver know you’re saying that?” Jiang Heng held back his impulse to hit someone. He really didn’t expect that the compensation Shen Huaizhi mentioned was for the two of them to live together in Jiang Heng’s apartment for the entire senior year.
Shen Huaizhi even agreed to pay half the rent and utilities.
That amount of money didn’t matter, but Jiang Heng felt a sharp pain in his forehead, almost as if he was being deceived by this person.
Shen Huaizhi wasn’t usually the type to get upset easily.
The more Jiang Heng thought about it, the more he felt like he was right.
However, Shen Huaizhi was silent for a moment before he seriously nodded. “Got it.”
Jiang Heng: “…”
He paused, then added, “Just so you know, you’re not allowed to come into my room at midnight. At night, we should focus on studying, not messing around.” After all, whenever Shen Huaizhi made a move, Jiang Heng couldn’t resist.
Sometimes, Jiang Heng even wanted to take the initiative.
He was thinking he should hang a few calming charms around the room.
Seeing him compromise, Shen Huaizhi chuckled. “I’ll try my best.”
The apartment wasn’t very big, but fortunately, it had two rooms, and the extra room had never been used by Jiang Heng.
Once Shen Huaizhi moved in, he bought a bunch of new home appliances. The thing Jiang Heng couldn’t stand the most was that he insisted on changing Jiang Heng’s bedsheets to a couple’s set that matched his own.
Jiang Heng found Shen Huaizhi’s behavior inexplicably childish… but also somewhat cute.
Before this, he never imagined that Shen Huaizhi, an Alpha, would do such a thing. After all, traditionally, Omegas were seen as the ones who were delicate and clingy.
It seemed that after living together for a while, Shen Huaizhi’s personality had slowly become stranger and stranger.
But living together had its advantages.
At least when he encountered a problem he couldn’t solve at night, he didn’t have to call Shen Huaizhi over video or voice. Aside from the times when he’d unconsciously wander into Shen Huaizhi’s room while half asleep, or when Shen Huaizhi would come into his room, things were actually pretty good.
When it came to Shen Huaizhi, Jiang Heng had no self-control.
He was mindful of needing to study well and attend classes, so the two of them always held back, except on weekends when they could sleep in. Shen Huaizhi wasn’t keen on letting Jiang Heng stay in bed for long.
Alphas had this ** way of being assertive in these matters.
For a long time, Jiang Heng found it hard to look at certain parts of the house.
What made it worse was that Shen Huaizhi especially liked to tease him in places that weren’t restricted.
This left Jiang Heng with no choice but to comply.
He really couldn’t refuse, and sometimes he didn’t want to. He had to admit that he also wanted to try, but wanting to try and actually trying were two different things.
After the school entrance exam, the first and second-year students started school, and third-year classes officially began. It was only then that Jiang Heng felt like everything was different.
The third-year curriculum wasn’t as intense as second-year. The new lessons were almost finished, and most of the time was spent on review.
Then came the endless papers, tests, and the grading of papers.
The teachers didn’t really grade the papers; instead, the students exchanged them to grade each other’s work. The problems weren’t like in the second year, where mistakes were corrected right away. Now, the teacher only focused on the key points, and anything else students didn’t understand had to be asked after class.
The midterm exams came quickly.
Before the midterm exams, the third year had already taken a monthly exam, and everyone’s spirits weren’t particularly high.
This time, the third-year midterm exam was a city-wide joint exam, which was essentially a mock exam. Although the content wasn’t as comprehensive as a full mock exam, it was still a good way to assess the students’ performance.
By the week before the midterm exam, the entire third-year class was filled with a tense and somewhat gloomy atmosphere.
Jiang Heng inexplicably remembered the person who had threatened to jump off the building last year.
He wondered if that person had been accepted into their ideal school and if they had earned their parents’ approval.
But these thoughts passed quickly and didn’t really concern him.
He couldn’t even manage his own grades.
In the last monthly exam, Jiang Heng’s performance was mediocre. His grades neither improved nor declined, which he wasn’t sure whether was a good sign.
However, with his current grades, if he didn’t improve, getting into the same school as Shen Huaizhi would be quite difficult—perhaps even hopeless.
This gave Jiang Heng a rare period of anxiety.
He wasn’t someone who easily got caught up in emotions, but the closer it got to the next exam, the more he feared that he hadn’t made progress.
Although everyone faces a bottleneck period, Jiang Heng hoped that his bottleneck wouldn’t last too long.
He didn’t want all the planning he’d done for his future to come crashing down on him.
This anxiety led to him not speaking much to Shen Huaizhi for several days.
Although the two usually only interacted at school to ask questions or occasionally say a few intimate words, it was rare for them to go days without even asking questions.
When he returned to the apartment that night, Jiang Heng took a shower as usual and got ready to start his homework.
While Jiang Heng was doing his homework, Shen Huaizhi would occasionally cook dinner, and it had been the same these past few days.
However, today, as soon as Jiang Heng came out of the bathroom, still in his bathrobe and not having had a chance to put on his pajamas, he was pulled by Shen Huaizhi.
The latter kissed the back of his neck gently, the scent of melting snow slowly enveloping him.
Jiang Heng froze for a moment. “Class monitor, what are you doing?”
Shen Huaizhi, holding him from behind, felt Jiang Heng’s slim waist, which still had a thin layer of muscle. Even though he focused on studying, he hadn’t neglected his physical training, and his figure remained the same as before.
“My sensitivity period has started.” Shen Huaizhi’s voice was lower than usual, tinged with exhaustion, while his pheromones freely spread outwards.
Jiang Heng blinked, his mind a little dizzy from the itch at the back of his neck and the Alpha’s pheromones, his voice a bit unclear. “When did it start… Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
The Alpha’s sensitivity period was like an unpredictable bomb. Not only was it difficult for the Alpha, but those around them had to be cautious as well. He and Shen Huaizhi lived together every day but hadn’t noticed it.
“Today.” Shen Huaizhi indeed looked uncomfortable. The sensitivity period was probably the most torturous for an Alpha, especially since, during this time, their possessiveness toward Omegas was amplified to an extreme. “You ignored me the whole day.”
He said it with a bit of grievance, but his hands didn’t stop moving.
Jiang Heng leaned against the wall, letting out a few strained hums. “What the hell… Don’t mess around here.”
He knew how hard the Alpha’s sensitivity period could be and that staying with an Omega helped alleviate it, so he wasn’t planning on stopping Shen Huaizhi from doing anything. But hearing Shen Huaizhi say that made him realize that he had indeed been neglecting his Alpha these past couple of days.
He had heard that if an Alpha’s emotions fluctuated too much, it could trigger their sensitivity period.
The consequences of overindulging showed when, the next day at school, Chen Xingchi didn’t dare get too close to him.
“Hey, Jiang Heng, the scent of the class monitor’s pheromones on you is way too strong… Are you not going to spray some blocker? I feel uncomfortable when I’m near you.”
Shen Huaizhi’s pheromone level was high, and the scent he left on Jiang Heng was too much, affecting others as well.
When Chen Xingchi said this, Jiang Heng’s face darkened. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but the Alpha’s sensitivity period was a bit unreasonable. When he left in the morning, Shen Huaizhi wouldn’t let him spray any blocker, or else he’d throw a fit.
Jiang Heng rolled his eyes. “I’ll go to the bathroom and reapply.”
He said this, then paused and leaned in, gently twitching his nose towards Chen Xingchi.
Chen Xingchi was startled by his action and instinctively turned around, just in time to see the class monitor standing at the back of the classroom, staring at him with an unreadable expression.
“Oh my god! Don’t get me involved!” Chen Xingchi hurriedly ran off.
Jiang Heng didn’t really care about his reaction and just touched his nose.
He still couldn’t smell anyone else’s pheromones.
He wasn’t sure whether he should be happy or not.
However, when he went to reapply the blocker, Shen Huaizhi followed him.
Jiang Heng held back for a moment. “Class monitor, why don’t you take a leave? You used to take leave during your sensitivity period.”
Shen Huaizhi paused, seemingly thinking about it for a moment. “How about you take a leave too?”
Jiang Heng: “…?”
Jiang Heng chuckled, mocking, “Well, think about it.”
He paused for a moment, waiting for the lemon-scented blocker to cover the other scents before pulling on Shen Huaizhi’s collar and gently kissing his lips in a reassuring manner. “The midterm exam is tomorrow.”
“Just bear with it for today.”
Jiang Heng didn’t want to struggle to get up for the midterm exam. For a moment, he even forgot that he had been worrying about his grades these past few days.
Shen Huaizhi hadn’t expected Jiang Heng to be so easygoing today.
He was slightly stunned, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. “Then I’ll try my best.”
[mfn]You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️ -TL: Ysiad [/mfn]
