Xiao Yan had been in the middle of doing a good deed when, for no apparent reason, a huge black pot was dumped on his head. The hand holding out the school uniform stopped.
“Hey, don’t take it back. Consider it me asking to borrow it from you.” Luo Zhiyu hurried to reassure him. “It’s nothing like that, don’t overthink it.”
“It’s not you lending it to me; it’s me asking to borrow it from you,” Luo Zhiyu quickly added. “The nature of it is different.”
However, the teacher inside the classroom knocked on the blackboard again.
“Gender equality! This concept must be deeply ingrained in everyone’s hearts. We have no prejudice whatsoever. The same applies in reverse. Alpha students should also take note: if an omega student asks to borrow your school uniform, then we can likewise assume that, most likely, this omega student is being a pervert. The nature of the behavior is equally reprehensible.”
“……” Xiao Yan’s hand holding out the uniform slowly withdrew.
Luo Zhiyu: “……” Fuck.
The two of them remained silent for a long while, forced to listen to nearly half of the physiology class. It wasn’t until the teacher finally finished this particular section and moved on to other topics that they resumed their conversation.
Luo Zhiyu: “Don’t panic. I don’t mean anything like that toward you.”
“I know.” Xiao Yan was very understanding.
Luo Zhiyu glanced at the thick wall of the staircase behind him, confirming that he wasn’t within the Class 3 teacher’s line of sight. Only then did he ask nervously, “Does your teacher have X-ray vision or something?”
Xiao Yan was amused by his choice of words.
“He said ‘most likely.’” Luo Zhiyu grabbed the sleeve of the school uniform and tugged it slightly toward himself. “But we’re the small probability. The nationally rare zero percent.”
“We’re absolutely pure.” Luo Zhiyu declared. “The kind that everyone can see. There’s absolutely no possibility of being perverts. Both of us are innocent.”
“So neither of us needs to feel guilty. There’s nothing wrong with us. We have to believe in science.”
“Lend it to me. I promise I’ll borrow it properly and return it properly.” Luo Zhiyu pulled the uniform out of Xiao Yan’s hands, turned around, and darted down the stairs.
Xiao Yan carried Luo Zhiyu’s ruined school uniform around the bathroom for a while before returning to the classroom.
Fan Yue, who had been engrossed in browsing the forum, was startled by him again.
“My God, why do I keep getting startled during class today?”
“You can play.” Xiao Yan sat down properly. “I’m not going out again.”
The physiology teacher was moving through the material at lightning speed. During the time Xiao Yan had slipped out of the classroom, the teacher had already reached pheromones and temporary marking.
“Brother Yan.” Under the desk, Fan Yue handed his phone over. “The student council is holding elections. Help me campaign, will you?”
Fan Yue had good connections, so getting elected wasn’t a problem, but he still wasn’t reassured. He wanted to borrow his deskmate’s handsome face to help him out.
“It’s a good thing you’re not staying on.” Fan Yue said. “If the campus heartthrob stays in the student council, I won’t stand a chance.”
“I’m not staying on.” Xiao Yan finished copying the notes he hadn’t completed earlier. “Just call me if there’s an event. I’m only doing this for the outstanding-student evaluation credits.”
Xiao Yan had been drenched in soda that afternoon and had changed into his Grade 10 uniform in an emergency. Now, when Fan Yue lowered his head, he happened to notice a large tear running down the back of Xiao Yan’s uniform.
“What were you doing just now?”
“Me?” Xiao Yan looked up. “Nothing. I just went to the bathroom.”
“How did you pee that your uniform ended up splitting open?” Fan Yue couldn’t figure it out.
Xiao Yan: “……”
“And did you grow taller in the bathroom? It’s last year’s uniform, but I don’t remember it being this short on you when I saw you this afternoon.” Fan Yue had a truly mysterious deskmate.
“Pay attention in class.” Xiao Yan spun the pen once in his hand, the model student staring seriously at the blackboard. “Listen carefully.”
Luo Zhiyu wasn’t having much luck. The moment he left the teaching building, he ran into Director Xu from the Student Affairs Office.
Director Xu wasn’t as easygoing as Director Wu and stopped Luo Zhiyu on the spot.
“Luo Zhiyu? Why aren’t you wearing your school uniform?” Director Xu had seen Luo Zhiyu at the opening ceremony that day and had been left with a deep impression of him. “Pay attention to your appearance and attire.”
Because of the physiology class he had just “attended,” Luo Zhiyu decided the moment he got the uniform that he would wash it before wearing it, lest he accidentally get Xiao Yan’s pheromones on himself.
“My clothes got dirty.” Luo Zhiyu was a good student who respected his teachers, and his explanation was extremely polite. “I wanted to take them back and wash them before putting them on.”
Director Wu favored good students, but Director Xu treated everyone equally.
“No. Don’t casually take off your school uniform in the teaching area. You’ll lose points on your outstanding-student evaluation.”
“Okay.” Right in front of Director Xu, Luo Zhiyu put the school uniform on and cooperatively zipped it all the way up.
Director Xu liked obedient students like this and let Luo Zhiyu go.
But just as Luo Zhiyu walked down the steps, he suddenly heard Director Xu ask another question.
“Luo Zhiyu, isn’t your school uniform a little too big?”
“I applied to have it remade.” Luo Zhiyu had indeed submitted an application, and it happened to provide the perfect explanation. “I should be able to change into the new one next weekend.”
“That’s good.” The director nodded and let him go.
The physiology teacher had been right. Private clothing really did inevitably pick up pheromones.
Luo Zhiyu was only wearing a thin shirt underneath. When he put on the uniform jacket, he caught a faint scent of oranges.
It wasn’t as strong as the scent he had smelled on the day he differentiated, but it was definitely impossible to ignore.
Xiao Yan’s pheromones.
The area beneath the blocker patch on the back of his neck felt slightly strange. Luo Zhiyu shuddered. This was the instinctive reaction an omega could have to an alpha’s pheromones.
“Autumn is almost here. Wear more clothes.” Director Xu assumed he was cold. “The official start of the school year is coming up soon. Settle down and get your mind on your studies.”
The pheromones with zero percent compatibility made Luo Zhiyu feel somewhat uncomfortable. He turned around and glanced back at the lights of Class 3 in the teaching building before walking out of the academic area.
At the beginning of autumn, the temperature difference between day and night was significant. Although the nighttime temperature wasn’t particularly high, Luo Zhiyu was still sweating by the time he returned to the dormitory.
“Did you run all the way back? Your blocker patch needs changing. The peach scent is so strong.” Jing Ximing was currently going through those days when he was especially sensitive to pheromones. “Where did you go? Why do you also have a little alpha pheromone on you?”
“I borrowed Xiao Yan’s school uniform.”
This time, Luo Zhiyu didn’t dare wash it in the washing machine. He found a basin, soaked Xiao Yan’s uniform jacket in it, poured in some laundry detergent, took a photo of the washbasin, and posted it to his Moments.
Not Zhizhi: Me at the start of the new semester has learned how to do laundry. [Image] Dad Mom Sister Brother
Comments—
Brother: Our Luo Zhiyu is amazing! It’s your first time living at school, and you’ve already learned how to do laundry. I thought you’d throw all your clothes into the washing machine. Hug.jpg
[Not Zhizhi] replied to [Brother]: Can I get some pocket money for that?
Sister: Pour in a little less detergent next time. It scares me just looking at it.
Sister: I just heard recently that you’re at the same school as that boy from the Xiao family? That’s ancient history now. Don’t fight, understand?
[Not Zhizhi] replied to [Sister]: We didn’t fight. We’re high school students now. How could we still be that childish?
Outstanding Senior Two Student Representative: Not bad. Make sure you wash it properly. Smile.jpg
“Who?” After finishing a game, Jing Ximing finally noticed something was off. He looked up and asked, “The campus heartthrob? Xiao Yan? Isn’t he an alpha?”
Jing Ximing covered his mouth in shock. “Wait, you borrowed an alpha’s school uniform?”
“You forgot?” Luo Zhiyu said. “Our pheromone compatibility is zero percent. Medically speaking, we’re innocent.”
“There won’t be any problems.” Luo Zhiyu added. “The last time I went to get my clothing measurements taken, he was the one who measured me too. We’re simply strangers who happen to pass each other by.”
“You make a good point.” Jing Ximing nodded thoughtfully. “But AO pairs generally have a compatibility rate of over twenty percent. How could you two possibly have zero percent?”
“Who knows?” Luo Zhiyu shook his head. “The central hospital asked us to cooperate with scientific research and go for another test next week. I remember they seemed to think that one of our pheromones was somewhat unusual.”
“You should go take a shower, Luo Zhiyu.” Jing Ximing sincerely suggested. “You’ve got a little of Xiao Yan’s pheromones on you. Right now, you smell like a bowl of fruit salad.”