Xu Ze’s susceptible period this time was relatively short. He took Monday off, and including the weekend, it lasted less than three days in total. On Tuesday afternoon, during swimming class, Xu Ze brought the insulated lunch container to the swimming pool, although he didn’t know whether Lu Heyang would come to class.
After swimming class began, Xu Ze didn’t see Lu Heyang and guessed that he probably wasn’t coming today.
However, twenty minutes later, in the middle of training, Xu Ze happened to look up and saw Lu Heyang walking down the steps at the exit, looking toward him.
Over the past few days, Xu Ze had kept wondering whether Lu Heyang had noticed anything. In the end, there was no way to be certain. Judging from Lu Heyang’s attitude, he seemed not to have taken the matter to heart. Perhaps he thought it was normal. After all, it was a susceptible period, and all kinds of physical reactions were extremely common.
Regardless, Xu Ze instinctively wanted to hide himself. Right now, he was in the swimming pool, so the only place he could hide was underwater.
He submerged himself and swam along the lane as he normally did during training. However, in the process, he vaguely saw someone walking along the poolside, following his underwater pace as they slowly moved forward.
When Xu Ze reached the end, he didn’t come out of the water. His entire body remained submerged beneath the surface. He tilted his head upward and looked, and the other person was standing there, seemingly very patient.
Xu Ze knew that what he was doing was incredibly stupid and ridiculous, but he had already done it.
Unfortunately, because he had been too flustered before getting into the water, Xu Ze hadn’t taken in enough oxygen. He was starting to have trouble holding his breath.
Unable to resist, Xu Ze blew two bubbles underwater.
Thirty seconds later, he surfaced and took several huge breaths.
Lu Heyang stood at the edge of the pool, holding a pair of swimming goggles. He looked down at Xu Ze and said, “I remember underwater swimming isn’t on the final exam.”
“……”
Xu Ze wiped the water from his face, not daring to look directly into Lu Heyang’s eyes. He was grateful that he was wearing goggles.
After a while, Xu Ze asked, “Which locker room are you in?”
Lu Heyang didn’t answer. Instead, he crouched down and said, “I can’t hear you. Swim a little closer.”
His posture, crouching down on one knee, made him look like a keeper at an aquarium, while Xu Ze was like a dolphin being called over, obediently following the command. Xu Ze swam toward the edge of the pool. His limbs were stiff with nervousness, but he had no choice but to steel himself and ask again, “Which locker room are you in?”
“What’s wrong?” Lu Heyang asked, his hand dipping into the pool and stirring the water slightly.
“You forgot to take the insulated lunch container. I’ll return it to you after class,” Xu Ze said.
“Insulated lunch container?” Lu Heyang looked as though he had absolutely no idea what Xu Ze was talking about.
Xu Ze could only remind him, “Saturday, when you… went to my house.”
“Ah, I remember now.” Lu Heyang said, “Locker Room 3.”
Xu Ze nodded. Lu Heyang stood up. “I’ll go train first.”
He walked toward another pool. Xu Ze watched his back until Lu Heyang got into the water and disappeared from view. Then Xu Ze slowly, very slowly, sank back into the water to ease the heat on his face and body.
Because Lu Heyang had arrived late, he finished class a few minutes later than everyone else. He returned to the locker room to get his clothes. Someone entered behind him, and when he turned around—
It was Xu Ze.
Xu Ze held a towel in one hand and the insulated lunch container in the other. After bringing it over and placing it on a chair, he said, “Thank you,” then immediately turned to leave without waiting for Lu Heyang to respond, looking rather flustered.
“Xu Ze.” Lu Heyang took a bottle of water from his locker and called out to him without even turning his head.
Xu Ze immediately stopped. A second later, he turned around and asked, “What is it?”
Lu Heyang took a drink of water, then picked up his towel and rubbed his hair with it. “Why are your susceptible periods more frequent?”
He raised his eyes, his gaze passing through his slightly damp, disheveled bangs before landing on Xu Ze’s face.
Mentioning his susceptible period inevitably reminded Xu Ze of what had happened on Saturday, making him desperately want to escape from Lu Heyang’s presence immediately. However, there was no teasing in Lu Heyang’s expression. He seemed to be asking seriously.
“I underwent secondary differentiation and became an S-rank,” Xu Ze said. “I differentiated in eighth grade. Before that, I was originally only A-rank.”
“An alpha who undergoes secondary differentiation has less stable pheromones, so their susceptible periods can occur a little more frequently,” he explained.
Lu Heyang nodded. Secondary differentiation was uncommon, and biology textbooks didn’t explain it in much detail. He really hadn’t known much about it before.
“Is it very uncomfortable?” he asked again. Lu Heyang had never experienced a true susceptible period himself, so he wasn’t really sure what it felt like.
But that question made it difficult for Xu Ze not to overthink things. Is it very uncomfortable? Uncomfortable enough that I had to do that in front of an alpha? Xu Ze felt utterly mortified. He gripped his towel tightly and answered, “A little.”
Lu Heyang was about to say something when He Wei’s voice came from the locker room entrance.
“Heyang, are you done yet?”
“Oh?” He Wei walked in and saw that Xu Ze was there too. He greeted him. “Hi.”
His gaze immediately settled on Xu Ze’s upper body. He studied Xu Ze’s abs and physique with great seriousness, discovering that they really were exactly the same as Number 17’s. The only reason he hadn’t connected Xu Ze with Number 17 was because he had never seen Xu Ze shirtless before. It had to be that.
Seeing He Wei staring at his body, Xu Ze was somewhat confused. Then he felt Lu Heyang walking toward him. His hand suddenly felt empty—Lu Heyang had taken his towel.
Lu Heyang draped it over Xu Ze’s left shoulder, and the hanging part of the towel happened to cover most of Xu Ze’s body.
He Wei’s examination was abruptly cut short. He frowned and let out an unhappy, “Hey.”
Lu Heyang calmly interrupted him. “Weren’t you going home for dinner today?”
“Not anymore. I’m never going home again in this lifetime,” He Wei said. “We’re going to a party tonight. I’ll introduce you to some pretty omegas.”
Xu Ze kept his eyes lowered toward the floor. He knew he should leave, but at the moment, he was standing right between He Wei and Lu Heyang. Turning around and leaving without a word would be too rude, and Xu Ze had no experience with interrupting conversations either. He didn’t know at what point it would be appropriate to say, I’m leaving first.
“I don’t want to go.” Lu Heyang rejected He Wei’s invitation without hesitation.
“You’re seriously no fun. Are you impotent or something?” He Wei looked thoroughly disappointed. “Lu Heyang, you’re not dating anyone in high school. Are you planning to wait until college, when Uncle Lu arranges a marriage partner for you, before you start dating?”
After he finished speaking, Lu Heyang showed little reaction. Xu Ze, however, raised his head and looked at him. Xu Ze had been standing quietly the whole time, so the sudden movement of his head seemed somewhat conspicuous.
Lu Heyang consequently looked toward Xu Ze as well. The instant their gazes met, Xu Ze immediately looked away.
“Xu Ze, are you dating Chi Jiahan?” He Wei’s attention shifted back to Xu Ze, and he asked him.
Xu Ze seemed to still be immersed in some thought. After a pause, he answered, “No, we’re friends.”
“Then is Chi Jiahan dating another alpha?”
“No.” Xu Ze paused again before saying, “He’s afraid of alphas.”
Actually, Xu Ze had put it rather mildly. Chi Jiahan wasn’t afraid of alphas—he hated them. Xu Ze himself seemed to be one of the few alpha friends he was willing to become genuinely close to.
“What do you mean? Is he gay?” He Wei was shocked. He had already investigated Chi Jiahan quite thoroughly, and his first two questions had merely been casual conversation with Xu Ze. But this was genuinely something he hadn’t expected.
“He probably isn’t.” Xu Ze had never speculated about Chi Jiahan’s sexual orientation, but he didn’t think Chi Jiahan was gay.
He Wei fell into thought, and Xu Ze finally found an opportunity to speak.
“I’m leaving first.”
Lu Heyang didn’t respond. Xu Ze quickly glanced at him, then turned and walked out of Locker Room 3.
After showering in the shower room, Xu Ze returned to the locker room to pack up his things. There was almost no one left in the swimming center, and it was very quiet. Xu Ze heard footsteps coming from the hallway, followed by He Wei’s voice.
“You really aren’t going?” He Wei was still hung up on the party.
“No.” Lu Heyang continued to refuse.
Xu Ze slowly put on his bracelet. He thought about what He Wei had said earlier. It seemed to mean that Lu Heyang still hadn’t dated anyone.
Although this fundamentally had nothing to do with him—after all, Lu Heyang’s entire life could never possibly have anything to do with him—the guilt in Xu Ze’s heart nevertheless eased a little because of it.
At least it meant that, that time, he hadn’t masturbated while fantasizing about an alpha who already had a girlfriend.
The two of them slowly approached the locker room entrance. Xu Ze’s locker was beside the door, and he happened to be hidden from view by the wall.
“What did your cousin say?” Lu Heyang asked He Wei.
“He said he wants to see how well Xu Ze fights first. I was thinking maybe I could take him to the boxing gym with us on Friday. I just don’t know whether Xu Ze will fight this week. He was injured last time, wasn’t he?”
“We’ll ask him then.”
“Heyang.” He Wei’s voice suddenly became strangely serious. “I feel like you’re… how should I put it? You’ve never cared about other people’s business before. I don’t know what you mean by this.”
Xu Ze’s movements stopped instantly. He looked at his wrist, and his heartbeat suddenly grew heavier. He wasn’t expecting anything; he simply didn’t know how Lu Heyang would answer.
“Is it because you think he’s pretty pitiful, so you sympathize with him?” He Wei asked again.
The voice came through the wall, exceptionally clear. Several seconds passed, yet Lu Heyang didn’t say anything, as though he were silently admitting it.
The sun had already set, and the locker room was somewhat dark. The empty locker compartment was pitch-black, like a square, gaping mouth capable of swallowing a person whole.
Xu Ze’s gaze was unfocused. He slowly closed the locker door, producing a low, faint creaking sound.
A long time later—so long that their footsteps had already become indistinct—Xu Ze finally heard Lu Heyang’s answer from far away.
“Maybe.”