Pretending to Be an Alpha in an All-Alpha Boy Band - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Hospital Examination

Yuan Shiyuan woke naturally from sleep feeling refreshed, with none of the grogginess he’d felt before bed.

When he checked his glands in the mirror, they looked pale and glossy—no longer as red as last night.

So it really was the susceptible period.

As before, simply sleeping it off made the susceptible period pass without him noticing. Other than being sleepy and easily fatigued, there were no other symptoms.

His phone had died, and Yuan Shiyuan turned his bedding over trying to find the charging cable but couldn’t, so he had to borrow a power bank from Bo Jin.

His first words after waking were to ask for a power bank? He didn’t even know how late he’d been chatting with Ying Mingche and the others or how much fun they’d had—his phone was completely dead.

Bo Jin gave it to him with a cold expression.

“Thanks.”

He had no appointments in the morning, and a magazine shoot in the afternoon. Fortunately the hospital was close to the company dorm, so Yuan Shiyuan registered nearby and could return to the dorm in time for the call time.

He put on a mask and a hat and headed to the subway. There were empty seats, so he could relax and check his phone.

A flood of notifications lit up his screen.

Some of them were from Pei Yanbing.

“…”

“!!”

Unread messages spanning the whole night. After Yuan Shiyuan fell into a dead sleep, Pei Yanbing seemed to have been waiting for him, sending messages every so often.

Yuan Shiyuan: I fell asleep yesterday!

Pei Yanbing: I know.

Yuan Shiyuan: I didn’t ignore you on purpose.

Yuan Shiyuan: TOT~

Pei Yanbing: It’s okay.

Yuan Shiyuan: Captain, you didn’t stay up the whole night, did you?

“…”

He did. Pei Yanbing hadn’t slept the whole night, but he still replied: No, I just woke up once and checked my phone.

Only then did Yuan Shiyuan breathe a sigh of relief. He scrolled through the chat log—he’d been so out of it last night that he’d even said “no leaving until we’re drunk.”

The hospital’s service was efficient. After registering and queuing, Yuan Shiyuan completed several basic examinations. Passing the room where they performed the pheromone spectrum analysis, he glanced instinctively through the door crack.

His face went white in an instant.

A young nurse beside him reassured him, “Don’t worry, it won’t hurt.”

Pheromone spectrum analysis required a biopsy. Although the clinic officially stated that current techniques were basically painless and superficially noninvasive, the word “basically” was doing a lot of work.

Besides, the needle looked thin, cold, and at least ten centimeters long!

Yuan Shiyuan put on a brave front with his words: “I’m not afraid of pain.”

The nurse was an Omega. Even though he couldn’t make out the patient’s face clearly, the delicate brows and eyes under his cap made Yuan Shiyuan glance at him more than once.

“A few people are more sensitive and might really feel pain. You can tell the doctor to go lighter, but it won’t help much,” the nurse said. “Or I can get you a stress ball and help hold you down so you don’t move.”

How could an Alpha show weakness in front of an Omega?

Yuan Shiyuan kept his tone light: “I’ve been around a long time; I still haven’t learned what the word ‘pain’ looks like.”

The nurse laughed at the joke. If the head nurse hadn’t called him away, he might have stayed.

The moment the nurse left, all of Yuan Shiyuan’s nerves unraveled—the semblance of strength and bravado vanished.

That long needle—was it really going to be plunged into his glands??

Yuan Shiyuan wanted to run.

At that moment his phone lit up.

Ying Mingxi: You’re not at the dorm?

Yuan Shiyuan: Mingxi-ge, I’m a little scared. TVT

Yuan Shiyuan: They’re going to force something that long into my body!

He spread his palm to show the approximate length, photographed it, and sent it to Mingxi.

The next second, Ying Mingxi called: “Where are you?”

Maybe it was just Yuan Shiyuan’s imagination, but there was a trace of anxiety in his warm voice.

He answered honestly: “I’m at the hospital.”

“…”

Ying Mingxi seemed to relax. “Send me the address. I’ll come right away.”

Yuan Shiyuan had always been a little afraid of hospitals.

When he was young and often sick, his first adoptive family wasn’t well off—going to the hospital meant spending money and always led to arguments.

His second adoptive family was better off, but ever since his adoptive mother’s health worsened, hospital visits became routine.

The cold smell of disinfectant in hospitals felt like a sign of bad luck to him.

He held the form in his hand, distracted, when a warm, gentle presence enveloped him.

“Why did you suddenly come to the hospital? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?” Ying Mingxi sat beside him and asked softly.

By now Yuan Shiyuan had calmed down and, belatedly, felt embarrassed. Coming to the hospital for a check-up and calling someone—what an overreaction.

He mumbled awkwardly, “Aren’t you busy? It’s really not a big deal…”

Ying Mingxi cut in: “Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

He asked again.

Yuan Shiyuan: “My glands have been feeling hot lately, so I came for a check-up.”

Ying Mingxi seemed to understand.

Around susceptible periods, Alpha glands often heat up. Since the glands are sensitive, a bit of cold or heat, or an emotional trigger, can cause them to warm. It didn’t sound like a major issue, but gland heating could also lead to a series of serious illnesses.

“I’m not busy,” Ying Mingxi finally answered Yuan Shiyuan’s question. He patted Yuan Shiyuan’s hand reassuringly. “Your number’s up soon. I’ll go in with you for the biopsy.”

Having someone accompany him, Yuan Shiyuan thought he wasn’t so afraid—right up until he was.

When they entered the specialty room and he saw the cold instruments on the table, his vision went white.

An Omega nurse came in from outside.

Yuan Shiyuan, who’d been ready to bolt a moment ago, immediately sat down composedly as if the exam meant nothing to him.

Ying Mingche looked the Omega nurse over thoughtfully—small and gentle, exactly the type most Alphas preferred.

Did Yuan Shiyuan like that kind of Omega?

Ying Mingche reached out his hand toward Yuan Shiyuan. “If it really hurts, you can squeeze my hand,” he said gently. “You can even bite it.”

“It’s okay, I’m not afraid of pain…ah!”

The nurse, about to hand over the stress ball, missed his chance. The doctor’s movements were quick and precise; the pain that followed was unexpected. Yuan Shiyuan’s eyes stung and, reflexively, he gripped Ying Mingche’s wrist.

Ying Mingche froze. The pain transmitted through the wrist hit him like a sudden lash, eliciting a sickly pleasure.

When the biopsy was over and Ying Mingche released his hand, their eyes met—tear-bright, reddened, and still a little dazed.

Pain and pleasure tugged at him; his expression strained as if he were forcing himself to endure something. He swallowed hard to steady his breathing, turned his palm upward, and cupped Yuan Shiyuan’s chin.

“Are you okay?”

“Sorry…” Yuan Shiyuan finally came back to himself a bit, embarrassed. “It hurt a little. I couldn’t help it just now…”

“You don’t have much strength, it shouldn’t hurt much.” Ying Mingche’s voice sounded a little hoarse. He took out a chocolate. “Eat something sweet; it’ll make you feel better. Maybe the wound won’t hurt as much.”

The pain lasted only an instant. Now Yuan Shiyuan really didn’t feel pain—just a slight numbness in the gland that he could endure.

He hadn’t expected Ying Mingxi to be so considerate: not only did he support him the whole way out of the examination room, he even brought chocolate.

Yuan Shiyuan felt moved. How could twins be so different? One a little hellion, the other a gentleman with impeccable manners.

Fortunately, the person who’d seen him in that embarrassing state was Ying Mingxi.

Being humiliated in front of a brother wasn’t so bad—so long as it didn’t happen in front of a woman.

After the checkup he bounced back to full vigor. Afterwards he didn’t feel any pain, only his cheeks were still flushed and there were still tears at the corners of his eyes.

He ate the chocolate with that face.

The sound of him chewing seemed louder in Ying Mingxi’s ears. Without showing it, Ying Mingxi obsessively traced the wound at the base of Yuan Shiyuan’s thumb and pressed down hard. The deliberately induced pain made Yuan Shiyuan’s breathing uneven; Ying Mingxi turned his head to look at Yuan Shiyuan’s face, and the sensation intensified.

Yuan Shiyuan remained completely unaware. The sweets put him in a good mood; his long lashes fluttered gently, like a little pink-furred fox that had dipped into a honey jar.

The hospital worked efficiently.

Apart from the pheromone spectrum analysis, most of the routine test results were already in. Ying Mingxi took the reports for Yuan Shiyuan; the top line clearly listed the pheromone grade: S.

“I’m waiting outside.” Since the glands are a very private area, Ying Mingxi conscientiously waited outside.

The ward was clean and tidy. The doctor in a white coat had read the report back and forth at least ten times.

That overly rigorous, focused attitude made Yuan Shiyuan a little nervous.

He wouldn’t suddenly have some incurable disease, would he?

“I looked through your medical history. Your report from two months ago showed abnormal hormone secretion—why wasn’t there follow-up testing then?” The doctor set the report on the desk. “In a normal Alpha, Omega hormones account for less than 5%; yours are up to 35%, completely exceeding the physiological threshold for an Alpha. Your pheromone intensity is also significantly lower than the Alpha baseline…”

“I couldn’t afford it back then,” Yuan Shiyuan murmured. “I was busy.”

He remembered what he’d read on Baidu and asked, “Would I need surgery for this?”

Seeing he was young, the doctor reassured him in a gentle voice. “Based on the current report, you only have abnormal pheromone secretion; the other indicators are very healthy.”

“Will this affect my chance of getting married later?”

“Do you mean sex life and marking? Not for now. Your marking ability is actually quite strong.”

Yuan Shiyuan nodded and completely relaxed. Although he wasn’t able to support a family at the moment, who knew about the future?

Like most straight men, he liked gentle Omegas.

If abnormal pheromone secretion led to certain illnesses, wouldn’t that harm the other person?

“I don’t have a noticeable pheromone scent, I don’t feel discomfort during susceptible periods, and I’m not averse to other Alphas’ pheromones… Could this be related to having relatively high O hormone levels in my body?”

“That’s possible,” the doctor said after a moment’s thought. “There are many causes of abnormal hormone secretion. Irregular schedule, poor nutrition, and similar factors can all have an impact. Your lack of response during susceptible periods is most likely because your A hormone secretion is insufficient. If it’s only an A hormone deficiency, that’s not a big problem—you can take supplements and some medication.”

“However, based on the current report I can’t prescribe medication randomly. Wait for the pheromone spectrum analysis results, then come back to the hospital.”

“Pheromone spectrum analysis samples need to be sent to a specialized facility and will take about three to seven days. If you feel unwell at any point during that time, come to the hospital promptly.”

Yuan Shiyuan asked, “If I often didn’t eat enough as a child and suffered malnutrition, could that cause A hormone deficiency?”

“Yes.”

That explained it.

The welfare institute had limited resources and so many kids; not just children—adults sometimes couldn’t even get enough to eat every day.

“I didn’t get enough nutrition when I was little, so my glands never developed well, and I differentiated early…” Yuan Shiyuan could more or less be sure.

The doctor flipped through Yuan Shiyuan’s medical records, surprised. Most people’s differentiation occurs between 14 and 16; by that age the body’s organs are basically fully developed and suited for sexual differentiation. But Yuan had differentiated at ten—and into an S-rank, no less.

“Premature differentiation can lead to abnormal hormone secretion, but there’s another theory in medicine,” he said. “You might originally have been meant to differentiate into an Omega, but your desire to become an Alpha was so strong at the time that your body received the wrong signal and temporarily developed as an Alpha.”

“After reaching adulthood, with improved nutrition, Omega hormones could begin to awaken. During that process, if you’re frequently exposed to pheromones from highly compatible Alphas, Omega traits can gradually emerge…”

The consultation room fell utterly silent.

Yuan Shiyuan: OoO?

Is that even possible?

“But this scenario requires several very strict conditions,” the doctor chuckled lightly, breaking the silence. “You’d need a pheromone compatibility of at least 95%; you’re S-rank, and the other party would also have to be S-rank. You’d need sustained exposure to multiple S-rank Alphas whose compatibility with you is over 95%…”

“The probability of that is practically zero.” He closed the medical file. “Wait for the spectrum analysis results.”

S-rank Alphas are that rare? There were six of them in their team.

Still, Yuan Shiyuan wasn’t at all worried about this possibility—it was nearly zero, how could it happen to him?

But then he recalled something: he’d seen a similar poll online before. The question was “If you, as an Alpha, differentiated into an Omega, what would you do?” The options were two:

1. Enjoy yourself alone. 2. Let your brothers enjoy themselves.

It was a joke poll.

Yuan tried to remember what he’d chosen back then.

He seemed to have found option 1 a bit vulgar, odd, and had without hesitation picked option 2.

If he were given the choice again… well, he might still pick “let the brothers enjoy themselves”?

After listening to the doctor’s instructions, Yuan Shiyuan left with the report in hand.

The doctor watched Yuan’s retreating figure, a nearly delusional academic hypothesis flooding his mind.

In ancient times, Omegas once stood at the top of the food chain; their pheromones carried an aura of dominance strong enough to make even the strongest Alpha kneel in submission. As social structures changed, that innate wildness gradually became sealed, and gentleness and obedience became the labels of the Omega.

Ambition and aggression became the exclusive traits of the Alpha.

Yet some researchers still believed that certain special genotypes of Omegas retained that ancient bloodline.

Through layers of precise simulation, this special constitution often manifested before adulthood as poor gland development. The glands are like dormant volcanoes that need continuous intake of high-purity, high-grade Alpha pheromones to awaken them.

Once the glands mature, Omega pheromones can possess destructive power comparable to an S-rank Alpha. They can not only easily erase marks left by Alphas but can even mark multiple Alphas at once, reducing proud Alphas to obedient servants.

Like vampires turning humans into blood thralls to feed, what they crave is nothing more than Alpha pheromones.

“Next patient.” The nurse’s call snapped the doctor out of his thoughts; he started, shook his head, and smiled wryly.

This absurd academic theory once sparked social panic. Lacking data, it remained purely theoretical and had long been dismissed by mainstream academia as fanciful. Besides…

The doctor reopened Yuan Shiyuan’s physical exam report; every metric was astonishingly superior. If this hypothesis were true, judging by the pheromone strength and other data…

Yuan Shiyuan would be the first SS in human history, perhaps even an SSS-class Omega.