What's Wrong with This Alpha? - Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – Sour Taste

“Duan Yi, feeling better?” Jiang Wangshu put hot water on Duan Yi’s desk.

He stood on the metal ladder between the beds, reached over the upper bed’s railing, and asked, “You’ve been in the dorm for two days. Still not better?”

Better.

Duan Yi closed his eyes, answering in his head.

Better last night. Sheng Yunze’s pheromones really worked. As expected from his Alpha—perfect compatibility.

But… he didn’t know what face to make when he got up. Or how to face Sheng Yunze in class.

Duan Yi thought, Better to burn me to death!

Jiang Wangshu talked to himself, “What’s up with you and Sheng Yunze?”

Duan Yi’s eyes flew open. He sat up, “What’s wrong with him? Did he mention me?”

“No. Just saw him so angry these last two days, teachers don’t dare call on him.”

Duan Yi muttered, “They never called on him before anyway…”

He fell back onto the bed.

Sheng Yunze angry? That means he’s mad.

And he’s mad because of me.

Duan Yi hugged his pillow and turned over, his intestines twisting with regret. Remembering what happened that night in the music classroom, he wished he could cut himself to apologize.

Embarrassment was one thing, but this was pure humiliation.

That night, after Duan Yi woke up, he found himself completely wet—especially “down there.” He was kneeling in Sheng Yunze’s lap with his legs spread apart, his underwear so soaked he dared not move, afraid of dragging out several glistening strands.

Of course, this wasn’t the most embarrassing part. Sheng Yunze wasn’t some saintly ascetic, and his body worked perfectly fine. With Duan Yi sitting in his lap and rubbing against him, the sweet milky scent of his pheromones formed a dense mist enveloping both of them, mixing completely with Sheng Yunze’s own pheromones without any conflict.

So, the school beauty… gave… a reaction.

Remembering his feelings at the time, Duan Yi felt like digging a hole right there and burying himself, then asking Sheng Yunze to nail the coffin shut.

He couldn’t stand, couldn’t sit, just froze red-faced in Sheng Yunze’s lap. This left Sheng Yunze trapped in a soft mess, too scared to move, but already thoroughly messed up.

The music classroom had never been so quiet. Duan Yi closed his eyes, shrank like a turtle, and clutched Sheng Yunze’s school uniform collar.

Only when Duan Yi felt no hardness did Sheng Yunze silently help him put on the school jacket. They left without talking, parting on the fourth floor and returning to their dorms.

Jiang Wangshu saw Duan Yi’s embarrassed face and asked worriedly, “Are you two okay? Since he brought you to the hospital, Sheng Yunze’s been grumpy every day, like his wife ran off with someone else. What happened between you? Did you steal Jian Qiao? But even the school beauty doesn’t like her. What did you do…?”

Duan Yi mumbled, “Nothing.”

He just lost control during his heat period, teasing Sheng Yunze.

No, no, Duan Yi thought, this wasn’t just teasing. He’d pinned Sheng Yunze to the bed and given him a French kiss!

“Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!” Duan Yi’s face turned red as he remembered. He pulled the blanket over his head.

Jiang Wangshu sat on the bed and pulled the blanket off. “Stop screaming! Talk properly!”

Duan Yi was completely lost in his own world.

Oh no! I thought being found out as an Omega by Sheng Yunze was bad enough, but this is even worse!

Duan Yi wanted to open his head and see what was inside. He—he—

How did I kiss him? Sheng Yunze must hate me now.

Duan Yi’s face darkened. A little calmer from his shame, he sat face-to-face with Jiang Wangshu, hugging a pillow and burying half his face in it.

He already hates me.

He’ll hate me even more from now on.

“Hey, Jiang Wangshu, I want to ask you something.” Duan Yi suddenly looked up.

Jiang Wangshu felt his scalp tingle under Duan Yi’s gaze. “Don’t look at me like that! I’m not a school beauty. My heart already belongs to someone.”

“Shut up!” Duan Yi glared at him. “I’m asking you—if an Omega kissed you during heat, not a casual kiss, but a tongue-in kind, what would you think?”

Jiang Wangshu paled. “That could happen?”

Duan Yi: …

He slapped Jiang Wangshu hard. Jiang Wangshu quickly changed his attitude. “Xiaoduan, go on.”

Duan Yi: “Wouldn’t you find this Omega annoying and gross? Would you never want to see them again?”

Seeing Duan Yi’s pitiful expression, Jiang Wangshu almost asked, “Is this Omega you’re talking about actually you?”

But then he remembered—Duan Yi was an Alpha. Why would he make up a story about himself being an Omega?

“That depends on how the Omega looks. If they’re pretty, it’s easy. I wouldn’t just not hate them—I’d pursue them!”

Duan Yi made a dismissive noise.

“Are they not pretty?” Jiang Wangshu asked.

Duan Yi boasted, “Handsome and cool, breaking all records.”

“Still a male Omega,” Jiang Wangshu pointed out.

Duan Yi: “Let me explain the political situation here. It’s a bit complicated. What if the Alpha who got kissed— I mean, let’s say you’re that Alpha, and the Omega who kissed you had a grudge against you before…”

Jiang Wangshu: “Why would he kiss me then?”

Duan Yi: …

Jiang Wangshu: “Besides, if I were an Alpha, I wouldn’t choose a male Omega. I’d pick a female. Not that I look down on men, but my instincts would make me choose a woman.”

“Why?” Duan Yi asked, surprised.

Jiang Wangshu: “Because women feel soft when you hold them. Men have no chest in front and no hips behind. Do you think they feel good to hold?”

Duan Yi couldn’t help asking, “So do you think Sheng Yunze likes male Omegas or female Omegas?”

Jiang Wangshu: “How would I know? Don’t you think the school beauty looks like a fairy from another world?” He put a hand to his cheek, acting dramatic. “Fairies don’t feel mortal desires, don’t use the bathroom, and certainly don’t have sex.”

“Shut up! Go be with your two-dimensional waifu!” Duan Yi snapped.

He hesitated, then asked, “What if… I’m the Omega?”

Jiang Wangshu looked at him seriously, then patted his shoulder. “Don’t tell me you really think you came from another world? Your head’s still messed up from that car accident. Xiaoduan, why are you making this up? School beauties don’t go for ordinary guys. Wake up.”

This time, Duan Yi really couldn’t stop himself from telling Jiang Wangshu to get lost.

On the third day, Duan Yi finally couldn’t put it off any longer and forced himself to go to class.

Too embarrassed to look toward Sheng Yunze, he first saw his desk, papers covering the surface like snowflakes.

“Damn! How many tests?” Duan Yi’s sentimental mood was crushed by the reality of third-year high school.

“This is just part of it. The teacher said we’re having the sports meet on Thursday and Friday, so we need to finish two days’ worth of tests today,” Hao Shanshan said. “You should hurry and borrow someone’s homework to copy.”

The classroom was normal. Sheng Yunze seemed not to have told anyone about him being an Omega.

He let out a sigh of relief.

In truth, it didn’t matter if he told people. But he feared the trouble—having to re-register his ID and change all his information, plus being summoned home by Xiaoduan Mom to answer endless questions. She might even call his dad from Beijing. Duan Yi just thought about it and felt overwhelmed.

He also needed to make up a good reason for why he changed from an Alpha to an Omega.

He couldn’t tell anyone about the parallel world. Xiaoduan Mom would think he got hit by a car and lost his mind. Besides, normal people wouldn’t believe it anyway, right?

Jiang Wangshu didn’t believe it. Sheng Yunze just treated him like a psycho = =.

Plus… Sheng Yunze had already marked him.

Given Xiaoduan Mom’s personality, she’d make a huge scene. She’d definitely find out who marked Duan Yi, then use her forceful—even unreasonable—methods to make Sheng Yunze take responsibility.

But what responsibility could Sheng Yunze possibly take?

He was his Alpha, but he wasn’t Sheng Yunze’s Omega.

Right now, he had no right to make Sheng Yunze take responsibility. The other man hadn’t experienced any of this.

Duan Yi thought unhappily. This world’s Sheng Yunze has nothing to do with me. He’s innocent.

Not only innocent—he’s even been taken advantage of by me recently.

I don’t want Sheng Yunze to hate me anymore. We’ve been married for over a decade. Seeing my once-kind and caring husband now treat me like an enemy… It hurts! My heart isn’t made of stone.

After thinking hard for a whole afternoon, Duan Yi decided he couldn’t put this off any longer.

First, I need to apologize to Sheng Yunze. Then I’ll avoid him and stop causing trouble.

How can Sheng Yunze keep hating me when he can see me?

“Sheng Yunze… Sheng Yunze!”

As soon as evening self-study ended, Duan Yi chased after him.

Like a gust of wind, he blocked Sheng Yunze’s path.

Sheng Yunze’s heart skipped a beat, but he didn’t show it. He stopped walking.

All day, Duan Yi had come to class without looking at him, only showing his back.

Even in the evening, he didn’t come over to tease him like usual.

Sheng Yunze’s mind filled with countless questions, along with more anger and hurt than he realized.

He didn’t know why—maybe anger, maybe something else—so he didn’t go find Duan Yi.

But Duan Yi not coming to him made him even angrier.

When he saw Duan Yi blocking his way, the first feeling that rose in his heart was relief. Thank goodness he came to me.

Duan Yi panted heavily, hands on his knees. After a moment, he looked up. “I’m here to apologize.”

“I don’t remember you doing anything wrong,” Sheng Yunze said calmly. But remembering the bite mark on Duan Yi’s neck, he suddenly felt angry. A voice in his head said, Duan Yi did wrong. Duan Yi hurt you.

Did what wrong? How did he hurt me?

The moment this thought came, Sheng Yunze pushed it down.

Duan Yi said, “About… about that day in the music classroom. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t know I was in heat. I didn’t want to take advantage…”

The more Duan Yi talked, the worse Sheng Yunze’s expression got.

Duan Yi didn’t notice his expression. He kept apologizing sincerely, almost believing his own words, “Thank you for helping me. And for not telling anyone I’m an Omega. That night was my fault…”

Sheng Yunze suddenly asked, “When did you become an Omega?”

Duan Yi got stuck. “That…”

Sheng Yunze said strangely, “…Reincarnation?”

“How is that possible!” Duan Yi panicked, quickly arguing, “Do you really believe that? I made it up to trick you. There’s no such thing as reincarnation in the world… ha ha ha ha…”

He thought to himself, I’m done. I’m done. Hurting Sheng Yunze for a moment is fine—I can just apologize. But Xiaoduan, if you admit to this reincarnation thing, you’ll hurt Sheng Yunze for his whole life…

“It… it was a car accident. During the accident,” Duan Yi said. He had done research before coming. Even though cases of Alphas turning into Omegas were rare, they did exist. “I asked a doctor. This is called secondary differentiation.”

Sheng Yunze had heard of this before, and he stopped thinking about it.

He must have been crazy these past few days to actually consider Duan Yi’s crazy talk about parallel worlds…

He’d heard of secondary differentiation. In medical history, there were cases where some Alphas or Omegas who hadn’t fully developed during puberty would randomly switch genders and develop as the opposite sex.

Duan Yi: “You’ve heard of this too, right? That’s why I am like this. If you don’t believe me, you can check. Our city’s schools have cases like this. Even First High had an Alpha turn into an Omega before. It’s not rare.”

Sheng Yunze stared at Duan Yi with a dark expression.

His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to ask who left the mark on Duan Yi’s neck. But then he thought, he didn’t really have a reason to ask.

To be exact, he didn’t have the right to ask.

Even if he really wanted to know—Sheng Yunze’s shoulders slumped a little. He thought, What’s the point of knowing?

Duan Yi said quietly: “Sheng Yunze, Commander Sheng…”

Sheng Yunze said calmly, “I’m not angry with you.”

Duan Yi said, very moved, “Commander…”

Sheng Yunze changed the subject, his expression serious, “But don’t think this is the end.”

Duan Yi: =口=!

“W-what should I do then?”

Sheng Yunze said coldly, “Think for yourself.”

The young man was tall and thin, with long arms and legs. His well-proportioned body held great strength. His face was cold and frosty, his voice commanding as he gave orders from above.

Duan Yi looked at him and couldn’t help shrinking back. He thought, How come I never noticed before that he’s a bit of a sadist…

Sheng Yunze walked ahead. Duan Yi let out a breath, thinking the matter was settled for now.

Though Sheng Yunze still looked unhappy, Duan Yi couldn’t figure out what else he’d done to upset him.

He followed, bored and feeling mischievous, “Hey, Sheng Yunze, was that your first kiss that night?”

Sheng Yunze stopped walking. Duan Yi knew he’d guessed right, feeling pleased with himself. As if remembering something, he added, “Your skills aren’t that good.”

Sheng Yunze stopped, turned around.

Duan Yi kept walking, bumping into his chest with a soft thud.

Before he could ask why Sheng Yunze had stopped, two cold fingers with clear knuckles grabbed his chin.

Sheng Yunze’s face turned dark, like a pot bottom. Anger he’d held back for too long finally burst out, “Your skills are great! Who did you practice with?”

Duan Yi’s lips pouted from the pinch. His chubby cheeks felt good to touch. Sheng Yunze took the chance to squeeze them, feeling better, “Jian Qiao? Nan Yi? Or your other exes?”

“Mmmph— I didn’t—”

Sheng Yunze lowered his eyelashes, staring at Duan Yi. His single eyelids made him look cold and unfeeling, rational and harsh. Long straight lashes cast shadows across his face.

But Duan Yi felt his aggressive, almost physical gaze pierce him, making his legs go weak.

The streetlight stretched their shadows on the wall, making them look like lovers kissing.

“Stick out your tongue,” Sheng Yunze ordered.

Duan Yi swallowed hard, keeping his eyes up as he obediently stuck out the tip of his tongue.

Sheng Yunze leaned down until their breaths mixed. Duan Yi could hear his own heartbeat like a drum. Suddenly, Duan Yi closed his eyes.

Sheng Yunze lowered his voice, a cruel smile curling his lips. “Don’t tell me you thought I was going to kiss you?”

Sheng Yunze let go of him.

Sheng Yunze chuckled childishly. “Don’t worry. Even if you’re an Omega, I’m not interested in you.”

Duan Yi’s face burned red with shame. He swore, angry and embarrassed. “Sheng Yunze, fuck you and your whole family!”

Sheng Yunze pulled Duan Yi’s hood over his head, then pinched the back of his neck hard, like he was squeezing a cat. He used a lot of force to get back at him. He hated the bite marks on the back of Duan Yi’s neck.

The marks were faint but hadn’t disappeared. That could only mean one thing—Duan Yi had been bitten in the last month.

Sheng Yunze clicked his tongue. As Duan Yi yowled and tried to fight him, Sheng Yunze’s irritation grew. A scary thought suddenly popped up. What if I bite him too?

He felt a new kind of jealousy. He hated the man who left marks on Duan Yi’s neck. What right did he have to do that?

He wanted to take that man’s place.

He wanted to cover up the old bite mark.