What's Wrong with This Alpha? - Chapter 53

Chapter 53 – Second Heat

When misfortune strikes, even drinking water can get stuck in your teeth.

Jiang Wangshu woke up in the middle of the night and saw Duan Yi tossing and turning on the top bunk, unable to sleep. He tugged at Duan Yi’s blanket. “Have you taken your medicine?”

Duan Yi hadn’t slept well, drifting in and out of consciousness, and felt uncomfortably hot.

He was hot under the blanket, but cold when he threw it off, so he ended up wedging the blanket between his legs.

Jiang Wangshu held out his insulated cup filled with ice-cold cola. “Should I go get Secretary Sheng?”

Xiaobang, who was still snacking in bed at this late hour, looked puzzled. “Why would President Duan need Secretary Sheng? Can Secretary Sheng even treat illnesses?”

Apart from Hao Shanshan and Jiang Wangshu, the rest of the class remained clueless about Duan Yi’s relationship with Sheng Yunze.

Jiang Wangshu replied cryptically, “Young man, you’re too naive.”

Xiaobang didn’t understand Jiang Wangshu’s meaning. “Then why not go to the infirmary?”

“Are you crazy?” Jiang Wangshu retorted. “What time is it? Do you think the infirmary is still open?”

“Can’t he just go tomorrow morning?” Xiaobang asked Duan Yi.

Duan Yi groaned and rolled over. “No, we still need to call Sheng Yunze,” Jiang Wangshu insisted.

Even Bookworm was confused. “Why Secretary Sheng? Isn’t it too late to bother him?”

Looking at the time, it was already eleven o’clock.

Second High School turned off the lights at ten-thirty, and by eleven, most students were asleep.

Jiang Wangshu said, “Sheng Yunze probably isn’t asleep yet. Doesn’t he have exam papers to work on?”

Xiaobang turned on a desk lamp and leaned over Duan Yi’s bed.

Duan Yi’s forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and his face flushed an unnatural red. He clearly wasn’t well.

Xiaobang felt a little embarrassed for some reason. He quickly placed the lamp on Duan Yi’s bed and retreated to his own.

The light attracted the attention of Teacher Yuwen, who was on patrol.

“Knock, knock,” he rapped on the door. “Turn off that lamp! Don’t think you can get away with playing on your phone under the covers.”

The door creaked open, and Xiaobang answered honestly, “Teacher Yuwen, President Duan—Duan Yi—seems to have a fever.”

Yu Wenshu paused. “A fever?” He stepped inside. “How did he get a fever?”

Jiang Wangshu replied, “I don’t know. He’s been lying down all day and hasn’t seemed well.”

“This kid,” Yu Wenshu muttered, standing by the bed and touching Duan Yi’s forehead with the back of his hand. “He’s usually so energetic. How can his health be so poor?”

Bookworm spoke up, “President Duan was in a car accident during summer vacation. He hasn’t been the same since.”

Yu Wenshu was slightly surprised and looked at Duan Yi.

Duan Yi had the kind of face that elders adored.

He already had a youthful appearance, making him look younger than his age. When he slept soundly with his eyes closed, he looked no older than fifteen.

A paternal affection welled up in Yu Wenshu’s heart, and he immediately said, “I’ll take him to the hospital for an emergency visit.”

Jiang Wangshu hesitated, glancing at Duan Yi.

Even with his eyes closed, Duan Yi’s sleep was restless. His breathing grew heavier, and Jiang Wangshu worriedly said, “He’s never been like this before.”

Yu Wenshu woke Duan Yi, who groggily opened his eyes to find a group of people standing around his bed.

Jiang Wangshu explained that Yu Wenshu wanted to take him to the hospital for an emergency visit.

Duan Yi instinctively touched his forehead, which felt like sticky paste from the low fever. Heat radiated from his body, making him feel like he was trapped in a steamer. He didn’t want to see anyone right now—all he wanted was Sheng Yunze.

Without a word, he glanced at Jiang Wangshu, who immediately understood. Jiang Wangshu quickly sent a message to Sheng Yunze.

Then, he stopped Yu Wenshu from taking Duan Yi away. “Teacher, it’s just a minor illness. We have medicine in the dorm. He’ll be fine after taking it.”

Yu Wenshu remained unconvinced. “Still, we should get him checked out at the hospital.”

Duan Yi said, “Teacher, I won’t go. It’s too late, and I don’t want to trouble you.”

Yu Wenshu thought it was no trouble at all, but Jiang Wangshu and Duan Yi both insisted on not being taken to the hospital. After repeated assurances, Yu Wenshu gave Duan Yi a few final instructions before closing the door and leaving.

Once they were a safe distance away, Xiaobang asked, “President Duan, why didn’t you go to the hospital? Are you sure you’ll be alright like this?”

Duan Yi slowly climbed down from the upper bunk and onto Jiang Wangshu’s bed. Without hesitation, he kicked Jiang Wangshu off.

Jiang Wangshu rubbed his sore waist. “Damn it, Duan Bao! Could you kick a little lighter? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised—even when you’re sick, you’re still so strong! You really put those meals to good use!”

“I want to sleep here,” Duan Yi declared matter-of-factly. “It’ll be easier for Sheng Yunze when he comes. My bed’s on the top bunk, which is inconvenient for him.”

“Can’t you be a little nicer to your ex-wife?” Jiang Wangshu retorted. “Who helped you call your ex-husband bro earlier?”

Duan Yi closed his eyes. “He’s your brother-in-law now.”

Bookworm asked, “Is Secretary Sheng really coming?” He didn’t understand the terms “ex-husband bro” or “brother-in-law,” but he heard that Sheng Yunze was on his way. He found it unbelievable, like something out of a fantasy novel.

Xiaobang hesitated for a long time before finally asking, “President Duan, when did you and Secretary Sheng get so close?”

Jiang Wangshu thought, You two are taking forever to update your systems. By now, Secretary Sheng and President Duan are already in an improper dog-man relationship.

Duan Yi closed his eyes, planning to brush off the question with a few vague words.

Another knock came at the dormitory door. Bookworm called out, “Is Teacher Yuwen back?”

Click. The door to Room 301 swung open, and Xiaobang’s mouth dropped into an “o” shape.

The corridor light outlined Sheng Yunze’s figure. The Xizhi Fruit snack in Xiaobang’s hand fell to the floor.

Jiang Wangshu picked it up and casually sat on Xiaobang’s bed. “Make room for me.”

Xiaobang snapped out of his daze and muttered, “Why don’t you go sit on President Duan’s bed?”

“Unless I want to die,” Jiang Wangshu replied.

An Alpha’s possessiveness was terrifying.

Though Jiang Wangshu didn’t have any particular attachments, he sometimes felt this primal instinct deep within his body.

He had no intention of testing Sheng Yunze’s limits.

As soon as Sheng Yunze sat down, Duan Yi began feigning sleep.

After a while, unable to maintain the act, Duan Yi opened his eyes. “Aren’t you going to ask how I’m feeling?”

Sheng Yunze: “You seem perfectly fine. You even knew how to pretend to be asleep. Nothing too serious, right?”

Duan Yi grumbled, “Is that how you treat someone?”

He propped himself up, ready to argue, but when he saw the tension in Sheng Yunze’s eyes, he felt embarrassed and obediently lay back down.

I shouldn’t expose him, he thought smugly. He might get flustered and angry.

Sheng Yunze couldn’t resist needling him, “What are you doing lying on Jiang Wangshu’s bed?”

“He’s a beta, it’s fine,” Duan Yi replied. After a moment’s thought, he added, “Besides, he’s on the lower bunk. It’s easier for you to… you know.”

Sheng Yunze was caught off guard by Duan Yi’s bluntness. He paused before saying, “Don’t be so shameless.”

Realizing Sheng Yunze had misunderstood, Duan Yi hurriedly corrected himself, “I meant… to touch my forehead!”

“Oh,” Sheng Yunze said with a smirk. “Of course, that’s exactly what I meant too. Why are you explaining? Did you have something else in mind?”

Duan Yi was furious at being turned around on. “If you came all this way just to argue with me, I’m ignoring you.”

Sheng Yunze raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you tell me to go back?”

Duan Yi closed his eyes, his voice firm. “I don’t want you to leave. I just want you to stay here with me.”

Jiang Wangshu, in the next bed, silently pulled out his earphones, handed one to Xiaobang, and gave the bookworm on the top bunk a pitying look that said, “Good luck. We’re out of here.” He then started listening to his English listening practice, “The shirt costs nine pounds and fifteen pence…”

Sheng Yunze spoke in a low voice, almost a whisper.

But if one listened carefully, it was still possible to hear clearly in the small dormitory. Duan Yi always felt like they were having a secret affair in public.

“Did you catch a cold from being out in the snow last night?” Sheng Yunze asked.

Duan Yi shook his head.

Sheng Yunze looked completely different from his usual self. He was wearing a soft cotton jacket and matching pants. Even with the air conditioning on in the room, his hands were ice-cold.

He sat silently, restlessly guarding Duan Yi like a young wolf watching over its prey, checking on him every so often.

In the darkness, Duan Yi reached out and touched Sheng Yunze’s hand. “Want to scoot over a bit?”

Duan Yi pulled Sheng Yunze’s hands under the blanket, where they instantly warmed up.

Sheng Yunze said coldly, “I’m not sleeping in Jiang Wangshu’s bed.”

Duan Yi scoffed, “You’re so picky. His bed is the same as yours—they’re all mass-produced by the school.”

Jiang Wangshu’s bed only smelled of Moon Laundry Detergent.

His Alpha pheromones were mild, and with the suppressants sprayed three times a day at Second High School, they were barely detectable.

But Sheng Yunze still found it utterly repulsive.

Suddenly, the dormitory fell silent.

Xiaobang and Bookworm had secretly created a new group chat on the class group—without Duan Yi and Sheng Yunze.

Xiaobang hastily renamed it, “Douban Gossip Group: Second High School Branch.”

Everyone who joined was bewildered.

[ Top-Tier Player of Desperate Pleas (Abbot): Why are you making a group chat in the middle of the night? ]

[ Enthusiastic Citizen Pang (Xiaobang): Urgent gossip! ]

[ Multiple Rejections of Peng Yuyan (Fang Yun): Cao? You’re all still awake? ]

[ Local Beauty (Hao Shanshan): Why sleep so early? Get up and party! ]

Local Beauty: Xiaobang, why didn’t you add my dad? I tried to tag him but couldn’t find him. Why did you create a separate group?

Local Beauty: You’re making us sound like we’re planning a rebellion! Just a friendly reminder: no ethnic separatism, okay?

Enthusiastic Citizen Pang: No, I can’t add President Duan. He has a fever tonight, and Secretary Sheng is actually here keeping him company! My mind is blown!

Local Beauty: What’s wrong with him? Has he taken any medicine?

Multiple Rejections of Peng Yuyan: He’s been lying down all day. Does he have a fever?

Help Me Up, I Can Still Learn (Bookworm): Sisters! Are you even focusing on the right thing? The issue isn’t that President Duan is sick—it’s that Secretary Sheng is right here in our dorm with him!

Second High School’s Andy Lau (Pingtou): Holy crap? Didn’t Secretary Sheng just go out to use the bathroom?

Second High School’s Andy Lau: I thought he rushed out to pee. How did he end up at President Duan’s?

[ Help Me Up, I Can Still Learn: So, that’s why we created this group.. ]

[ Help Me Up, I Can Still Learn: Why would Secretary Sheng visit President Duan in our dorm? ]

[ Second High School’s Andy Lau: Comrade-like socialist camaraderie? ]

[ Top-Tier Player of Desperate Pleas: Wait, wait, I think I’ve noticed something.. ]

[ Top-Tier Player of Desperate Pleas: [Screenshot.jpg] ]

[ Top-Tier Player of Desperate Pleas: Secretary Sheng and President Duan’s WeChat names… they’re so… similar.. ]

[ —Like a couple’s names ]

No one in the group dared to type that thought out loud.

While the group buzzed with speculation, Jiang Wangshu lurked silently, enjoying a smug sense of superiority as the only one who knew the truth.

Hao Shanshan, one of the insiders, sent him a private message.

Jiang Wangshu considered her message before replying: Since they haven’t gone public, we shouldn’t either. Let’s avoid causing trouble.

Hao Shanshan nodded, then asked: So, Secretary Sheng and President Duan are both Alphas? They’re having an Alpha-Alpha relationship?

Jiang Wangshu: “Do you have something against two alphas being in a relationship?”

Hao Shanshan confessed truthfully, “Dear Mother, I actually ship you and Dad more.”

Jiang Wangshu: “……”

Duan Yi rummaged under Jiang Wangshu’s pillow for a while before retrieving his hidden phone.

There was only one power outlet in the dorm, located by Jiang Wangshu’s bed.

To secretly charge his phone at night, Duan Yi had to leave it under the bed.

He skillfully muffled the phone with his blanket, turned it on, and completely concealed the light.

It was clear he’d snuck in plenty of late-night gaming sessions in the dorm.

Sheng Yunze pressed down on his hand. “If you’re not feeling well, don’t look at your phone.”

Duan Yi quickly typed a few words on the screen and showed it to him.

[ I don’t think I have a cold ]

Sheng Yunze stared down at him. Duan Yi took the phone back and typed again.

[ I think my heat might be starting early ]

After reading this, Sheng Yunze instantly lost his composure.

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

No wonder Duan Yi was typing instead of speaking.

The dormitory was small, and anyone who wanted to listen could easily overhear their conversation.

After a moment of hesitation, Duan Yi decided to ask directly.

“Can you take tomorrow off?”

The two boys instinctively understood the unspoken implications behind this question.

Duan Yi probably realized his wording was inappropriate—a blatant invitation, a straightforward seduction—so he quickly typed another message.

“Just a temporary mark! I didn’t mean anything by it!”

He added an exclamation point to emphasize his innocence, hoping to prevent Sheng Yunze from teasing him about being a pervert later.

Afraid Sheng Yunze might refuse, Duan Yi thought for a moment and decided to remind him.”I’m your boyfriend now. You have a duty to help your boyfriend through tough times, you know?”

Suddenly, Sheng Yunze grabbed his hand.

Duan Yi’s diligent typing came to a halt.

Sheng Yunze leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “What time tomorrow?”

Duan Yi’s ears flushed slightly. “Would morning work? I don’t want to interfere with your classes.”

“No classes,” Sheng Yunze replied. He paused. “You can take as long as you need.”

The next day, Duan Yi called in sick.

Jiang Wangshu glanced at the leave request and saw that Sheng Yunze had also requested leave, citing family matters.

Sheng Yunze’s absences were fairly common, usually for competitions or academic events. The teachers would simply acknowledge his requests and pay them no further mind.

As for Duan Yi, he rarely attended class at all, moving freely around the school as if it were his own home, truly embodying the motto of treating the school like his own backyard.

Two kilometers from the school, a young man appeared in the lobby of a hotel—it was Duan Yi.

Wearing a baseball cap and mask, he looked like a shady underground operative meeting a contact, drawing the attention of the front desk staff.

Duan Yi had deliberately chosen a hotel other than his family’s. After showing his ID, he headed straight for the sixteenth floor.

He felt a surge of nervousness as he entered the elevator.

Damn, this feels exactly like checking into a hotel for a hookup.

Duan Yi had broken countless school rules, but this was his first time meeting someone at a hotel. The unfamiliar situation made him hesitate with each step.

He wondered if Sheng Yunze had arrived yet.

Duan Yi swiped his keycard and entered the room. Sheng Yunze was already inside.

Hearing the commotion, Sheng Yunze turned around.

Duan Yi suddenly felt a pang of embarrassment and hastily retreated two steps. “Wait!”

Sheng Yunze: ……

Duan Yi: “I think we need an awkward yet polite opening line right now! Nothing too cheesy. Let’s draw straws to decide who speaks first.”

Sheng Yunze was speechless. “It’s just a temporary mark. Why are you acting like I’m about to pounce on you?”

Duan Yi covered his face with his hands, utterly exasperated. “Can you please not say such scandalous things with that innocent face of yours?”

A faint, coolly sweet pheromone hung in the air—Sheng Yunze hadn’t applied his suppressant today.

Duan Yi had sensed it the moment he entered, and his legs had instantly turned to jelly.

He set down his backpack, removed his hat and mask, revealing his hidden face, his eyelashes already glistening with fine beads of sweat.

After being permanently marked, Duan Yi’s Heat shouldn’t be this intense.

The way he looked now made it seem like only a reproductive cavity marking could calm him down.

The moment Sheng Yunze thought of this, he quickly turned his head away from Duan Yi.

Then he remembered Duan Yi’s lifelong mark and gritted his teeth in annoyance.

Duan Yi took off his school uniform jacket, revealing only a turtleneck sweater underneath.

He then removed the turtleneck in front of Sheng Yunze, his movements deliberate but to Sheng Yunze, it felt like watching a slow-motion replay.

Next came a short-sleeved shirt.

Wearing a short-sleeved shirt under a sweater? He’s the first person in history to do that, Sheng Yunze thought sarcastically.

Duan Yi touched the back of his neck and said awkwardly, “I think I’m feeling a bit better now. How about we watch a movie first?”

Sheng Yunze retorted, “What, that kind of movie?”

Duan Yi: =口=!

“How about The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie?”

Sheng Yunze: “Heh, childish.”

In the end, they didn’t watch a movie. Sheng Yunze pulled out a test paper from his backpack.

Duan Yi was instantly shocked. “You came to a hotel room with a test paper?”

“Someone who came to a hotel to watch The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie has no right to judge me.”

Sheng Yunze’s expression remained calm as he continued, “Let’s get this straight, a hotel stay without sex isn’t a ‘hotel stay.’ It’s a sleepover.”

Duan Yi rubbed his nose and settled beside Sheng Yunze, casually resting his chin on his shoulder. “Then I’ll just watch you do it.”

His pheromones were reminiscent of coconut milk—not cloying, but refreshingly sweet, making one’s mouth water and throat parch.

I want something to drink.

Sheng Yunze shifted slightly, losing his focus on the exam paper.

Without warning, he turned his head and kissed Duan Yi.

Caught off guard, Duan Yi instinctively adjusted his position, tilting his head back and opening his mouth.

Sheng Yunze’s pheromones initially soothed him, almost like a comforting balm. Duan Yi savored the kiss, swallowing what Sheng Yunze offered. He braced himself on the bed, his pale wrist adorned with a simple silver bracelet designed for children—a type most boys wouldn’t wear.

Such bracelets were typically worn from childhood onward, symbolizing peace and happiness. On Duan Yi, it carried an indescribable childishness and innocence.

Duan Yi gasped a few times, licking the corner of his mouth.

The pheromone concentration in the air had thickened considerably. Sheng Yunze still remembered the permanent mark on Duan Yi’s body.

Theoretically, that permanent mark should have been left by him.

But logically, that “him” couldn’t truly be considered “him.” Sheng Yunze still felt a surge of anger whenever he thought about it.

So when he bit down on Duan Yi’s gland, he did so with brutal force. Tears instantly streamed from Duan Yi’s eyes as he gripped the bedsheets tightly, his knuckles white. “It hurts so much…”

The next moment, Sheng Yunze’s pheromones flooded into the vulnerable gland.

Duan Yi’s vision went black. He collapsed onto the bed, the world spinning around him. His eyes remained tightly shut, his eyelashes trembling violently as if enduring unbearable pain.

But it didn’t actually hurt.

Or rather, it hurt and felt good at the same time. The pleasure from the pheromone fusion was overwhelming. Even a temporary mark was almost too much for Duan Yi to handle.

Sheng Yunze’s bite had been particularly vicious, and he lingered at Duan Yi’s gland long after finishing.

After a long while, Duan Yi still hadn’t said a word.

Sheng Yunze sensed something was wrong. When he released Duan Yi, he realized the other man was completely drenched.

This time seemed even more intense than in the music room.

Sheng Yunze’s heart skipped a beat. He thought strangely, If Duan Yi had truly undergone a lifelong marking, a temporary mark from the Alpha who marked him should provide some relief.

Instead, the temporary mark had no effect. It had even catalyzed the early stages of his Heat, accelerating its progression toward a full-blown deep Heat.

Duan Yi’s collar was torn open, revealing the bloody bite marks Sheng Yunze had inflicted on his gland. A dark, viscous puddle soaked his loose sweatpants. Duan Yi’s body continued to tremble uncontrollably. When Sheng Yunze touched him, he instinctively curled into a tight ball, eyes squeezed shut, like a mimosa plant retracting its leaves.

The tremors were beyond normal, bordering on convulsions.

The temporary mark isn’t working.

Sheng Yunze had to accept this shocking truth.

Duan Yi’s heat is still raging.

And it’s intensifying, on the verge of plunging him into an strong estrus.