What's Wrong with This Alpha? - Chapter 18

Chapter 18 – Chuu~

Duan Yi took several steps back, but couldn’t escape the Omega’s sweet smell.

The smell made him dizzy and he sat down to drink water, trying to feel better.

Da Hui patted his shoulder and said, “If you feel bad, go buy suppressants at the pharmacy. I know Alphas are affected.”

Da Hui was a Beta. Duan Yi absent-mindedly said “Mm” and looked up at Sheng Yunze.

Sheng Yunze had left the center of the square to avoid suspicion.

Da Hui said, “I wonder if that Omega is feeling better?”

The vice-president said, “I saw many people go over there. She must be isolated now. Why can’t she figure out her heat period? Running out like this causes trouble.”

Da Hui said, “That’s just how Omegas are.”

Duan Yi didn’t want to listen and stood up to buy water.

After a short disturbance, the square returned to calm. Security guards sprayed suppressants across the area, calming the agitated Alphas.

An Omega’s heat period…

Duan Yi touched the back of his neck. Was he about to enter his own?

Sheng Yunze and his relationship wasn’t exactly stiff, but overall, it was Duan Yi’s one-sided effort to get closer.

Would he lend me his pheromones?

Duan Yi felt frustrated. Then he thought, what excuse could he use to ask for pheromones?

Duan Yi’s ID listed his second gender as Alpha. He couldn’t go to the police station and say he’d traveled through time, returning as an Omega. So he’d kept putting it off, unable to get the government’s special puberty suppressants for minors.

Last time he told Sheng Yunze about his time travel, Sheng Yunze had thought he was crazy. Now their relationship had improved a bit, and Duan Yi’s image had recovered somewhat. He didn’t want to become a weird Alpha in Sheng Yunze’s eyes again.

If only other pheromones worked…

Duan Yi sat on the flower bed, mind wandering aimlessly.

He could ask his brother for some. His brother didn’t have a girlfriend anyway. What’s wrong with using his brother’s pheromones?

Or he could ask Nan Yi. Nan Yi liked him, so it wouldn’t be hard to borrow some pheromones—no, no, that wouldn’t be clean. What if Nan Yi got the wrong idea?

Sheng Yunze’s pheromones were still the best.

Clean, fresh, exactly what Duan Yi needed most.

Too bad Sheng Yunze wouldn’t lend them.

Duan Yi thought for a long time, but the topic kept circling back.

Asking a classmate for pheromones normally would be fine. But if genders were switched, Duan Yi would clearly be harassing Jiang Wangshu.

And… Duan Yi didn’t want Sheng Yunze to know what happened in that other world.

This was his own business, nothing to do with Sheng Yunze.

Telling Sheng Yunze about being married to his parallel world version, marked by him, even having children—that would be moral blackmail.

What did this have to do with high school Sheng Yunze?

Duan Yi thought about it from the other side. If Jiang Wangshu one day told him he was married to him in another world, wanted to be his Alpha, and demanded they sleep together or marry—Duan Yi would whip Jiang Wangshu without hesitation.

He shivered. Sheng Yunze’s patience is impressive. Why didn’t he whip me when I stole his clothes that day?

“Duan Yi?” Sheng Yunze called out.

Duan Yi quickly stood up, swaying. Sheng Yunze steadied him. “I called you several times. What were you thinking about? Feeling sick?”

“I feel dizzy when I stand up after squatting too long.” Duan Yi pulled out a candy from his pocket and ate it. “Maybe I didn’t eat breakfast.”

“Does her pheromones affect you?” Sheng Yunze asked.

“Huh? Who? That Omega?” Duan Yi replied. “No effect. You?”

“Fine,” Sheng Yunze answered.

Duan Yi thought. What’s fine about that?

“Don’t you like any pheromone scent?” Duan Yi asked back.

“What scent?”

“An Omega’s. Have you dated before?” Duan Yi asked excitedly.

Sheng Yunze didn’t know how the conversation turned to this. He clearly didn’t want to answer.

“I haven’t smelled an Omega’s pheromones much either. I was with Nan…” Duan Yi started, then stopped. He almost said “I was friends with Nan Yi before he changed”, but a small animal warning went off in his head.

Sheng Yunze finished for him, “You were friends with Nan Yi before he changed, right?”

Duan Yi: “……”

Sheng Yunze: “Heh.”

His “heh” was just a simple “heh”.

Duan Yi felt a strange chill down his back.

“That was all from when we were young…” Duan Yi rubbed his nose.

He felt he needed to explain, “It was in middle school, third year!”

Sheng Yunze’s face looked unhappy, but he still asked, “How long did you date?”

Duan Yi: “Just half a year…”

Oh, when he first saw Duan Yi during the third-year exams, he was still dating Nan Yi.

Sheng Yunze’s pheromones shifted.

Duan Yi noticed Sheng Yunze’s bad mood and tried to leave.

His own pheromones shifted, making him unlucky. Duan Yi felt his blood grow cold with Sheng Yunze’s mood.

Da Hui: “We cleaned all the pheromones from the square. Want to eat?”

Duan Yi didn’t like eating with strangers and wanted to refuse. Da Hui invited Sheng Yunze, “A-Ze, we’ve known each other so long but never eaten together. Don’t refuse this time.”

Duan Yi desperately signaled, Don’t go! Don’t go! I’ll treat you!

Sheng Yunze said coldly, “Fine.”

Duan Yi: =口=!

The vice-president cheered. They picked a barbecue restaurant on the fourth floor of the lakeside shopping mall.

They got a small private booth, half-open. As soon as Sheng Yunze and Duan Yi walked in, they caught the attention of many young girls in the restaurant.

Sheng Yunze was handsome. Duan Yi’s face wasn’t much different. They both had the popular handsome look of the time.

Da Hui ordered a bottle of wine without asking. Duan Yi wanted to drink his favorite soda, but since Sheng Yunze was drinking, he didn’t want to look weak and also ordered a bottle.

But he couldn’t drink much. One bottle made him dizzy. Not as bad as that day, but he kept spacing out and didn’t talk much.

Da Hui said, still worried, “Good that Omega’s boyfriend was there during her heat. Who knows how bad it could have been?”

The talk got lively. “I saw her too. She’s pretty.”

Then they talked about school and relationships. About school—Duan Yi couldn’t join in.

He didn’t like studying and his grades were bad. He liked drawing and once got the whole province’s worst grade by turning in a blank test.

He got into Second High School through art. He won national and even international art awards. His test scores were around 260. The school turned a blind eye, hoping he’d just get through to graduation and then study abroad—his dad would pay for it anyway.

The club’s college students were mostly from Zhe University, all top students.

Duan Yi had no problem with high-achievers, but compared to these scholars, he felt unfairly inferior.

It made him look dumb, which was frustrating.

About relationships, Da Hui had just broken up with his girlfriend, the vice-president hadn’t contacted her ex-boyfriend in ages, while others were in relationships or single. After asking around, the club’s single women finally got to the key person they really wanted to know about.

“What about Xiaosheng? Ever been in a relationship? You’re in your third year of high school. Do you have a girlfriend?” someone asked.

Da Hui laughed, “You know A-Ze is in his third year of high school. Of course he’s not dating anyone. He’s the golden boy at our alma mater, right? If he started dating, the old men from Second High School’s political education office would be knocking on his door for talks. We can’t let him lose focus on Tsinghua or Peking University.”

“Not dating in high school? Planning to start in college? Oh, Xiaosheng, have you decided which university you want to apply to?”

Duan Yi mentally answered for Sheng Yunze, Peking University. That’s where my husband went to school.

In fact, Sheng Yunze didn’t even finish two years at Peking University before going to Harvard. At 21, he published in the world’s most famous academic journal. Because he’s handsome, he made Weibo’s trending list and stayed there for ages. After returning, he joined the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He struggled with quantum physics for years, until even Duan Yi didn’t know what he was working on anymore. It seemed to be about astronomy, mysterious to the extreme. Maybe the world of geniuses is just hard to understand.

Sheng Yunze had absolute rational thinking, and as he got older, he became more cold and mysterious. His science work got so strange it was almost like studying magic. He was completely different from Duan Yi, who worked on art and painting with romantic ideas.

He remembered they got married in their second year of university.

When he tried to remember more about that world’s Sheng Yunze, a girl from the club interrupted him.

“What about Xiaosheng’s classmate? You’re not in a relationship either, right?”

Mentioning Duan Yi made him the center of attention.

He knew the girl who asked. She’d talked to him earlier that morning. Duan Yi wasn’t surprised—he had many admirers. Girls who liked him usually spoke just like this.

“I haven’t,” Duan Yi said.

The girl asked, “That’s true. You’re in third year now, right…?”

Duan Yi said, “My studies aren’t good. It doesn’t matter whether I talk to girls or not.”

Sheng Yunze gave him a cold look. Duan Yi suddenly changed his mind, “But studies are still important. I’ll think about it after university.”

The girl wouldn’t give up. “Can’t you just meet some first?”

Da Hui laughed. “Zhouzhou’s friends are all from the media school. They’re all beautiful! If you want a girlfriend, you’d better hurry up.”

Duan Yi laughed dryly, thinking it was over.

But Zhouzhou really took out his phone and showed everyone potential dates. There were three or four other male Alphas in the room besides Sheng Yunze and Duan Yi.

Duan Yi glanced at the screen as Zhouzhou held the phone out to him.

None of them are as pretty as Jian Qiao, Duan Yi thought, wanting to frown.

It was unfair to compare them to Jian Qiao. She’d been hosting children’s shows at Hang City TV since the first year of high school, practically a household name. She was clearly going to become a celebrity.

That’s why even someone with Duan Yi’s high standards had pursued her for two years.

“You don’t watch?” Sheng Yunze raised an eyebrow, lowering his voice to talk to Duan Yi.

“No, I don’t like older people.” He took a sip of his drink. “Besides, none of them are as pretty as Jian Qiao.”

Duan Yi spoke his mind, not knowing what he said upset Sheng Yunze. Sheng Yunze’s face darkened instantly.

Duan Yi’s heart skipped a beat. He asked, “Did you reject Jian Qiao that night?”

“Yes. You want to pursue her?” Sheng Yunze said coldly.

“Not really… Jian Qiao’s so pretty. Why don’t you like her?”

“Why must I like someone just because they’re pretty?”

Duan Yi didn’t understand the deeper meaning. He stared at Sheng Yunze’s face and blurted out, “I just like pretty people.”

Sheng Yunze froze. He first thought of Nan Yi, an Alpha who looked as delicate as a girl.

Then there was Jian Qiao, a top-class beauty.

He couldn’t help but check his reflection in the barbecue restaurant’s mirror. Compared to Jian Qiao… he was prettier.

Sheng Yunze realized if he kept talking to this weird-minded Duan Yi, he might soon ask something as embarrassing and stupid as “Who’s prettier, me or Jian Qiao?” He immediately stopped the conversation.

Duan Yi kept talking about his ideas of beauty, “Of course, it’s not just about being pretty. They should be pure too. Best if they’re smart and understanding…”

Pure straight-A thinking.

Sheng Yunze got impatient. “What does this have to do with me?”

Duan Yi’s voice suddenly disappeared. He said blankly, “…Nothing.”

His puppy ears drooped, and his tail stopped wagging. He turned to poke the peanuts on the table with his chopsticks, tormenting them back and forth.

The alcohol made his face warm. Duan Yi felt he was getting drunk faster than usual today.

It must be because of that in-heat Omega at the square. He was being half-forced into induced heat.

But since Sheng Yunze had fully marked him, the symptoms of induced heat weren’t very obvious.

Duan Yi didn’t know this. He thought he was just drunk.

After eating, everyone suggested going singing. They opened a private room on the fifth floor and sang loudly for hours.

Singing alone was boring. Da Hui led everyone in a game of Truth or Dare.

After two rounds, it was Duan Yi’s turn. Zhouzhou asked a sharp question, “Do you still have your first kiss?”

Duan Yi froze, glancing at Zhouzhou. Zhouzhou smiled, “You can choose the dare instead.”

Duan Yi instinctively avoided looking at Sheng Yunze and chose the dare.

Next, Sheng Yunze spun to face Duan Yi. Duan Yi wasn’t worried about questions about first dates or first nights. Given Sheng Yunze’s nature, he feared Sheng Yunze might ask about the gravity acceleration in the third part of the last physics exam question.

But Sheng Yunze asked nothing. He didn’t even make Duan Yi do the dare, letting him pass through without reason.

Later, the spinner didn’t land on Duan Yi again. It landed on Sheng Yunze twice. Da Hui and the others didn’t dare ask too much, so they let Sheng Yunze off after two easy questions.

Duan Yi wanted to spin Sheng Yunze once. He had many things to ask, like: What do you think about people borrowing pheromones? Do you find it a bit creepy?

Ten minutes later, Duan Yi closed his eyes to rest.

He smelled the slightly out-of-control pheromones in the private room. The subtle Alpha scents mixed together, strongly targeting Duan Yi.

Now not only his neck hurt, but his head hurt too. After saying goodbye to Sheng Yunze, he went to the bathroom.

When he came out, he saw Sheng Yunze waiting at the door and said in surprise, “Why didn’t you come with me just now?”

“I’m going back,” Sheng Yunze said.

Duan Yi couldn’t be happier. “Did you say goodbye? Great, I’ll go with you. I haven’t finished my homework yet, and Hao Shanshan is collecting it tomorrow. I’m afraid she’ll remember my name, which would be bad for a class officer. We can’t set a bad example…”

Duan Yi walked while swaying, almost falling.

This time, Sheng Yunze didn’t help him. Duan Yi had to walk by leaning on the wall, thinking, he really has no classmate love.

He took two steps to catch up, his radar very sensitive. “Sheng Yunze, are you upset? What did I do this time?”

Everything was fine just now.

Sheng Yunze walked ahead, ignoring him.

Duan Yi, feeling tipsy and a bit angry, grabbed his arm and asked, “If you’re upset, just say it. If it’s my fault, I’ll apologize. I hate when you ignore me. Don’t you get tired of using these tricks from dating to marriage?”

Sheng Yunze, whether holding in anger or not, didn’t notice the wrongness in Duan Yi’s words.

He suddenly turned and pressed Duan Yi against the wall. Duan Yi’s thin body hit the cold marble, making him gasp in pain. He got mad and said, “What’s wrong with you, you jerk!”

Sheng Yunze’s face was dark. Both had drunk some alcohol, making the atmosphere tense and ready to explode.

He seemed to want to say something but held it in, staring at Duan Yi with a frown.

After a while, Sheng Yunze let go of his arm, but kept his knee pressed against Duan Yi.

This position was very aggressive. Duan Yi felt pinned to the wall, completely at his mercy.

“When Qian Xiaozhou asked about your first kiss, why did you avoid answering?”

Duan Yi’s head was dizzy. He thought, What’s this stupid mess? Are you really mad about that?

“I don’t want to talk. You ask?”

Sheng Yunze paused. “You owe me a real answer.”

He meant Duan Yi hadn’t made things hard for him earlier.

“If you’re going to ask, stop pressing your leg against me. It’s uncomfortable.”

“Have you kissed Nan Yi before?”

The question came suddenly, direct. It was less a question than a demand. Sheng Yunze used his Alpha pheromones to pressure Duan Yi, like some kind of punishment—both wanton and forceful.

Duan Yi laughed. Alcohol made his brain fuzzy. Looking at Sheng Yunze’s face so close, he asked boldly, “Are you asking if I still have my first kiss?”

Sheng Yunze didn’t answer.

Duan Yi waved him closer.

Sheng Yunze didn’t guard himself. Duan Yi suddenly grabbed his shoulder and gave a drunken “peck” on his cheek—not even a real kiss, just a brush that missed his lips.

Duan Yi pushed away, careless. “It was there a moment ago. Now it’s gone.”

Like he was saying, I’m being a jerk. What are you going to do about it?

He sobered up quickly. Sheng Yunze’s face looked too strange.

Duan Yi’s lustful thoughts vanished like smoke. He quickly found an excuse, “I’m drunk. Just pretend I’m crazy.”

Without waiting for Sheng Yunze’s response, he turned and ran away.

Author’s Note:

Commander Sheng’s face froze, “That doesn’t count. Do it again. I’ll teach you the proper way.”