“Oh my god.” Tang Yuan was the one who reacted the most strongly. “I can’t believe it… Am I some kind of prophet?”
Fan Yue, however, was the quickest to react. He lifted his foot and kicked Tang Yuan in the butt, cutting off the curse word Tang Yuan hadn’t even managed to utter yet: “Shut up.”
“I’ll never dare to tell stories again,” Tang Yuan said in a very low voice.
“Stories are stories, and reality is reality—they’re different,” Fan Yue spoke up first. “We need to keep them separate. Don’t get too worked up.”
“But my stories are all based on real people and real events,” Tang Yuan said, sounding incredibly aggrieved. “I worked so hard to dig them up from the forum at the university next door.”
“Keep it simple. ” someone from Class 3 chimed in. “Luo Zhiyu and Xiao Yan’s relationship has finally started to improve—how could that possibly be the same as those scumbag O and A in the story?”
Some agreed, some remained silent, and others whispered among themselves.
The two students in question stood where they were, staring at each other, vehemently denying any connection to the “caught in the act” incident.
After a few minutes of stalemate, at the entrance of First High School, the students from Class 3, Grade 10—who were waiting for the bus home—reached a consensus: they would automatically ignore the previous topic. They all pitched in to help Luo Zhiyu organize his suitcase, clearing a small space for the two of them.
“I told you not to get involved in the commotion,” Xiao Yan said as he fastened the latches on Lu Zhiyu’s organized suitcase. “Next time you hear Tang Yuan is going to tell a story, just make a quick exit.”
“You seem pretty experienced with this, Brother Yan,” Lu Zhiyu remarked thoughtfully.
They didn’t have to wait much longer before the cars sent by both families arrived.
“Let’s go. See you on Monday,” Luo Zhiyu waved to Xiao Yan. “I’ll wash your quilt and bring it to you later.”
Director Wu, on his way home from work, happened to be passing by the school gate and overheard the word “quilt”: “What quilt?”
“It’s a 0% breakthrough—a testament to our friendship,” Fan Yue blurted out. “It’s progress.”
“It’s a token of Brother Yan’s kindness,” Tang Yuan chimed in, while the other students from Class 3 nodded vigorously behind him.
Director Wu left work completely baffled, wondering how exactly this “generation gap” had come about.
They’d agreed to meet on Monday, but since they lived in the same part of town and even took the same route home, Luo Zhiyu spent the entire drive watching Xiao Yan’s car pass back and forth right in front of him. The two cars maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far apart.
When Luo Zhiyu got home, he realized no one was there.
[Not a Cicada]: Hmm, no one’s home?
[Luo Sixue]: Did you go home already?
[Not a Cicada]: I’m already home. Where are you?
[Luo Sixue]: Let me tell you a ghost story—I’m in Country R…
[Not a Cicada]: …
[Not a Cicada]: What about Mom and Dad?
[Luo Sixue]: They’re busy with work and won’t be back tonight. My brother isn’t in the country either.
[Not a Cicada]: Damn, then why did I even come back? Fairy Frowning.jpg
[Luo Sixue]: Who knew you were coming back this week? You didn’t even have your driver let us know.
[Luo Sixue]: It’s been more than halfway through the semester and you haven’t come home once. We thought you’d been whisked away by that “Alpha” classmate who prefers to remain anonymous.
[Not Cicada]: Fine, fine. I’ll just go hang out on my own. Bye.
The house was quite spacious. Lu Zhiyu usually didn’t notice it much, but now that his family was away, he actually felt a bit lonely. After finishing all his homework—except for his physiology class—that feeling was amplified several times over.
He really wasn’t used to being home alone, so he picked out a horror movie, cast it onto the living room TV, and turned on the home theater speakers for surround sound. A few minutes later, Luo Zhiyu felt like the house was full of people.
Luo Zhiyu: “……”
[Stinky Orange]: Let’s game—4v1. In or out?
[Not a Cicada]: Yeah, yeah, yeah! I’m feeling empty right now! QAQ
[Stinky Orange]: That’s not quite the right word. You’re bored, not “empty.”
[Not a Cicada]: Fine, let’s play!
“Hello, hello~” A familiar voice came through the game’s voice chat, “Nice to see you again, Luo Zhiyu.”
Luo Zhiyu remembered—this was Lu Minggui, the classmate whose pheromone scent was blue-veined cheese.
“Let’s just start,” Fan Yue said. “It’s a casual match—play however you want.”
Even though it was just a casual match—and a smooth one at that—as they played, the group suddenly started to feel a bit creeped out.
“Why does today’s game feel a little spooky?” Tang Yuan asked in the party chat. “Whose BGM has ghost screams in it? It’s giving me the creeps.”
All four had muted their mics, except Luo Zhiyu, who was still on. Luo Zhiyu was caught red-handed.
[Stinky Orange]: What are you doing?
[Stinky Orange]: Can your parents put up with you messing around like this?
[Not a Cicada]: No one’s home.
[Stinky Orange]: What a coincidence—no one’s home at my place either.
[Not a Cicada]: Well, do you want to come over and play? There are a few problems I don’t understand—you could come over and help me with them while you’re at it.
[Stinky Orange]: Are you serious? I’ve never been to your house in my whole life.
[Not a Cicada]: Come on over. Help me carry the takeout from outside the courtyard up here. The door code is my birthday. Once you’re in the courtyard, yell for me to open the door! Come on, within a hundred li, you’re the only one I can call over.
[Stinky Orange]: …
It was almost 9:00 p.m., and Xiao Yan actually went over—to do his homework. He was carrying a backpack full of homework and brought Luo Zhiyu’s takeout in from outside the courtyard.
[Stinky Orange]: I’m here.
[Stinky Orange]: Open the door for me.
[Not a Cicada]: Hold on, I’ll turn off the security cameras in the courtyard and inside the house first, then let you in.
[Stinky Orange]: Is that “Fairy Frowning.jpg”? Why does this feel so familiar?
Luo Zhiyu, wearing a set of cozy pajamas, opened the door for Xiao Yan.
“Didn’t your housekeeper make you dinner?” As soon as Xiao Yan stepped inside, he sensed the emptiness of the house.
“No one’s home, and the housekeeper took a day off to go back to her hometown, so I had to fend for myself.” Luo Zhiyu took the takeout Xiao Yan had brought, “Make yourself at home.”
Xiao Yan didn’t hesitate for a moment. Taking charge as if he were the host, he reached out and changed the channel on the TV, which had been blaring like a scene from a horror movie. The new channel was airing a recent hit drama. He then adjusted the living room lights to a comfortable brightness, instantly making the atmosphere much warmer.
In the spacious room, there were only the two of them.
The air conditioner was on in the living room. Luo Zhiyu, wrapped in Xiao Yan’s flannel blanket, curled up on the sofa and opened her takeout box.
Xiao Yan glanced at the familiar flannel blanket but didn’t say anything.
“If I hadn’t come over, were you planning to skip dinner?” It was already past nine o’clock, and Xiao Yan couldn’t help but ask.
“I can’t be bothered to go out.” When he was at home, Luo Zhiyu was particularly slovenly in his posture. “So many doors to go through, plus crossing the courtyard—it’s exhausting.”
As soon as he got home, without the academic atmosphere of campus, he reverted to his old lazy self. With no one to push him, he could lie in bed all day.
Halfway through his dinner, Lu Zhiyu received a call from his older sister.
“What’s up? Are you eating dinner?” Lu Zhiyu glanced at Xiao Yan, his voice tinged with weariness. “I’m planning to go to sleep after I finish.”
“Why did you have to turn off the security cameras for the whole house just to eat dinner? ” Luo Sixue let out a sigh of relief and asked, completely baffled, “When I got the remote alert on my phone, I thought the cameras were broken. Are you sneaking a snack or something that made you shut down the home security system?”
Xiao Yan: “……”
Coincidentally, a family drama was playing on TV—the cameras cut out just as a couple was having an affair.
It couldn’t have been more fitting.
“I wasn’t sneaking anything. Don’t read too much into it. I’m going to bed now.” Lu Zhiyu continued her call.
Xiao Yan stood up and turned off the TV in the living room.
Lu Zhiyu rambled on, managing to gloss over the incident. Lu Suxue hung up the phone, half-convinced, muttering, “There’s just so much nonsense going on,” and said, “ “Fine, no one’s home these next couple of days, so take care of yourself.”
After Lu Zhiyu finished dinner and cleared the table in the living room—it was already nearly 10 p.m.—Xiao Yan was holding a physics homework assignment. His pen hovered over a problem for a long time, but he never actually started writing the answer.
At this hour, he should head home.
“Doing homework?” Lu Zhiyu, feeling refreshed after eating and drinking, led Xiao Yan into his room and pulled up an extra stool for him.
“Can I come in?” Xiao Yan paused at the doorway to Lu Zhiyu’s room, looking at the fierce-looking cat face sticker on the door.
Lu Zhiyu was an omega—this was an omega’s room.
“Sure, come on in. No one’s stopping you, and you’re not in a hurry to go home anyway.” Luo Zhiyu patted the stool next to him. “I see you’re doing well in biology class. Come help me look over these questions.”
Luo Zhiyu’s room had been tidied up by the housekeeper. An easel stood by the window, and the art supplies on the floor were neatly arranged. Beyond the rolled-up curtains lay a cloudless starry sky.
“Everything you answered for me last time was correct,” Lu Zhiyu said enviously. “So could you help me look over these short-answer questions?”
【Short-Answer Questions】
Briefly describe the process by which an Alpha temporarily marks an Omega.
Lu Zhiyu’s answer: Just bite them.
Teacher Xu’s grade: ×
Teacher Xu’s comment: What about the process? Write it out in detail.
Xiao Yan: “……”
“Teacher Xu’s explanation in class was too vague. He just drew a diagram and moved on. Jing Ximing said you can figure it out on your own, but I can’t,” Luo Zhiyu complained, chewing on his pen cap. “You know so much—just explain the process to me, Brother Yan.”
“Sit still.” Xiao Yan stared at Lu Zhiyu motionlessly for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and pressed him down into the chair, keeping him from fidgeting.
Lu Zhiyu blinked and looked up at him: “I’m sitting still.”
Xiao Yan’s hand gently lifted the collar of Lu Zhiyu’s loungewear, his gaze resting on the nape of his neck. Lu Zhiyu’s eyes swept over the textbook in front of him, and only then did he belatedly realize that the current atmosphere was actually a bit suggestive.
They’d both crossed the line.
Before he could stop him, Xiao Yan’s fingers slowly moved downward, locating the omega gland at the back of his neck: “It’s probably right here.”
The faint sensation grew stronger by the moment, and Lu Zhiyu dared not move.
“It’s right here.” Lu Zhiyu couldn’t see the expression on Xiao Yan’s face, nor could he detect any emotional fluctuation in his voice. “A temporary marking by an Alpha on an Omega—for example, if I were to mark you, I’d have to bite through your skin right here.”
Xiao Yan pressed his hand against the back of Luo Zhiyu’s neck with just the right amount of pressure. A strange yet intense sensation instantly swept over him. He wanted to pull away, but Xiao Yan seemed to have anticipated his reaction; with his free hand, he pushed him back into the chair. Luo Zhiyu’s whole body was trembling slightly, but Xiao Yan’s grip was stronger than usual, and from where he was positioned, Luo Zhiyu couldn’t break free.
“I’ll bite you right here, then inject my pheromones—only then will the temporary marking be complete.” Xiao Yan’s finger mimicked a bite, pressing lightly against the back of Luo Zhiyu’s neck once more. “This means that for as long as the temporary marking lasts, you’re mine.”
“Got it?” He released his grip on Luo Zhiyu, and as he wiped the corner of Luo Zhiyu’s eye with his fingertip, he felt a hint of moisture. “You little rascal.”
At a dinner party in a certain hotel, Luo Zhiyu’s father was on the phone with Luo Suxue—
“The home security feed went down? Was it Luo Zhiyu?”
“Let him do whatever he wants. Young people have such strange ideas.”
“It’s fine. What trouble could he possibly cause? Just ignore him.”
Xiao Yan’s parents, passing by the banquet hall, happened to overhear the call—
Xiao Yan’s mother: “That family really makes a mountain out of a molehill. Our security cameras went down two hours ago, and we weren’t nearly this worried.”
“Exactly. Our Xiao Yan is so reliable—he’s got more potential than that Lu Zhiyu.”