Chapter 45
Gu Yang was secretly annoyed and didn’t notice that Lin Xiaoran glanced at him. Lin’s thin lips moved slightly as if he was about to say something, but he swallowed the words back.
Lin Xiaoran wanted to ask Gu Yang to return the Alpha pheromone extract he had taken last night. But for some reason, the image of Gu Yang’s frustrated face from the previous night flashed in his mind. It seemed Gu Yang really didn’t like that stuff.
Forget it, he thought, I’ll just ask Jiang Chen for help again.
It was quite a coincidence, actually. Last time, when Lin Xiaoran was being hassled by Guan Jun, Jiang Chen happened to bump into them.
Jiang Chen’s grandfather was an expert in gender studies, and Jiang Chen had grown up absorbing this knowledge, knowing far more than the average person. When he saw that Lin Xiaoran was clearly affected by the Alpha pheromones but couldn’t smell Lin Xiaoran’s own scent, he realized Lin Xiaoran’s secret—that he wasn’t just an Omega as his records stated but a recessive Omega.
He knew that inhibitors were ineffective on recessive Omegas, and since Alphas can’t smell the pheromones of a recessive Omega, they also don’t feel the urge to mark them. So no matter how uncomfortable Lin Xiaoran was at that moment, Jiang Chen could only watch, unable to help.
Then Jiang Chen remembered that his grandfather was recently working on a project to extract Alpha pheromones and solidify them into a substance that could be directly injected into an Omega’s body, effectively replacing the need for an Alpha’s mark. He recalled his grandfather mentioning that this method was also effective for recessive Omegas, so he immediately told Lin Xiaoran about it.
Lin Xiaoran had heard about this from Lin Lan before and had even searched for information online, waiting for the product to hit the market, which would likely happen by the end of the year or early next year. But Jiang Chen later asked his grandfather about it, and the old man, probably doing it as a favor to Jiang Chen, went through various tedious procedures to get him an early sample.
Lin Xiaoran had left school early with Jiang Chen for this reason. If it weren’t for the complicated process, he wouldn’t have been so fixated on it.
However, he still didn’t mention it, feeling that if he did, Gu Yang would just get angry again.
The results of the third monthly exam at Seventh High School were out, and as usual, Lin Xiaoran topped the list with a total score of over 700. It was no surprise to anyone. What did shock the entire school was the second place.
It wasn’t surprising that Zhang Zhihe, the perpetual second place, had dropped to third. What was surprising was that Gu Yang was in second place!
The moment the rankings were released, the whole school was stunned.
Since Gu Yang started at Seventh High School, his grades had been as consistent as Lin Xiaoran’s, except they were consistently at the bottom. Even during the last monthly exam, despite showing a better attitude towards studying, his score remained firmly in last place.
So, when everyone saw Gu Yang hanging out with Lin Xiaoran every day, coming to school and leaving together, discussing problems during breaks and late-night study sessions, they all thought he was just doing it to please Lin Xiaoran, likely not taking his studies seriously.
But who would have thought that in just a month, his grades would shoot up from dead last to second place in the entire grade? Even a rocket couldn’t have made such a leap.
The school’s forums quickly filled with posts discussing this event, splitting into two main camps. One side believed Gu Yang must have cheated—how else could he improve so much in just a month, even with Lin Xiaoran’s help?
The other side argued that Gu Yang was just naturally smart, with evidence provided by classmates from his middle school days who claimed that despite their efforts, they were always outperformed by Gu Yang. They insisted that as long as Gu Yang focused on studying, he could achieve any score.
The debate raged on the forums, just as it did among the senior students, who gathered in groups during breaks to discuss the situation.
But the person at the center of it all seemed completely oblivious. When he arrived at school that morning and received his test papers, he didn’t even glance at them before stuffing them into his desk drawer and laying his head down to catch up on sleep.
He hadn’t slept well the night before, tossing and turning until midnight. When he finally fell asleep, he started dreaming.
In his dream, Lin Xiaoran and Wu Huan Xing Yi stood on either side of him, forcing him to choose between them.
He couldn’t make a choice and tried to run, but no matter where he went, they both kept appearing, always following him.
Then he began to dream of various past events.
He dreamt of running away from home, of Lin Xiaoran finding him in an internet café and sharing a small room with him while they ate wontons together.
He also dreamt of soloing with Wu Huan Xing Yi in Changfeng Valley, red maple leaves swirling around them. Wu Huan Xing Yi noticed his mood with just a few less words spoken and asked him about it.
And many more dreams—he kept switching between Lin Xiaoran and Wu Huan Xing Yi. When he dreamt of Lin Xiaoran, he felt he liked him. When he dreamt of Wu Huan Xing Yi, he felt he liked him instead.
In the end, he still couldn’t decide who he liked more and woke up exhausted from the dream.
But the strange thing was, in his dream, Wu Huan Xing Yi had the appearance of the white-robed swordsman from the game, but his face was Lin Xiaoran’s. Yet it didn’t seem out of place at all.
Sigh!
Lying on his desk, unable to fall back asleep, Gu Yang let out a silent sigh, thinking to himself: Maybe the two are just really alike, which is why I like them both?
But no matter how he looked at it, liking two people at the same time felt like a really scummy thing to do!
The worst part was, he didn’t know how to face Lin Xiaoran now.
“You’re good at hiding things, aren’t you!”
Just as Gu Yang feared, the moment he dreaded happened. Lin Xiaoran was called to the office by Zhao Tianhua, and when he returned to his seat, he threw out a seemingly casual but pointed remark: “Hiding pretty well, aren’t you?”
Gu Yang originally wanted to brush it off with a joking reply, “Just lucky, I guess.” But his gaze suddenly fell on Lin Xiaoran’s face, and he found himself inexplicably drawn to those slightly reddened lips. The upper lip was still healing from a small cut, making it a shade darker than the rest. After Lin Xiaoran spoke, he lightly pressed his lips together, causing the wound to move slightly. This small movement inexplicably tugged at Gu Yang’s heart, bringing back vivid memories of holding Lin Xiaoran down on the bed and kissing him that night.
Crap!
Had he reached a point where he couldn’t look at Lin Xiaoran without ulterior motives?
Abruptly, he stood up and walked out of the classroom, moving past Lin Xiaoran without a word.
Lin Xiaoran blinked in confusion, his clear eyes following Gu Yang’s retreating figure until he was out of sight.
What’s up with Gu Yang now?
Come to think of it, Gu Yang had been acting strange since that morning. For quite a while now, Gu Yang had been coming to school with him, but today, when Lin Xiaoran came downstairs, Gu Yang had already finished breakfast. He casually greeted Lin Xiaoran and then left on his own.
And now this.
This behavior was reminiscent of the time when Gu Yang had avoided him after getting drunk. Was Gu Yang avoiding him again?
It turned out to be true.
By the end of the day, Lin Xiaoran was absolutely certain that Gu Yang was indeed avoiding him.
What’s going on? Did I unknowingly piss him off again? Lin Xiaoran thought, feeling annoyed. He found Gu Yang’s behavior petty at times, making a big deal out of nothing and getting all flustered over trivial things.
“Gu Yang, wait a minute.” After evening study, Lin Xiaoran called out to Gu Yang in front of the whole class, just like last time.
But this time, Gu Yang turned back with a bright smile and said, “I’ve got plans with someone. Let’s talk tomorrow.” With that, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and bolted.
Lin Xiaoran was left speechless, staring at the back door for a moment before he collected his things and left, ignoring the curious gazes of his classmates.
Gu Yang was acting really strange!
Gu Yang knew he was acting strange too, but what could he do?
Whenever he was around Lin Xiaoran, all sorts of weird thoughts popped into his head. He wanted to get closer, but he knew he shouldn’t, so the only option was to avoid him.
And so he did—for an entire week. Lin Xiaoran sought him out almost every day, clearly wanting to ask what was going on. But Gu Yang dodged him completely, refusing to give him a chance.
The truth was, Gu Yang didn’t know how to explain it to Lin Xiaoran.
How could he possibly say, “I like you, but I can’t like you, because I also like someone else”?
It was better to wait and sort out his feelings first.
“Hey, isn’t that Lin Xiaoran and Jiang Chen?”
On Friday afternoon, after classes were over, Gu Yang, in an effort to avoid Lin Xiaoran, had made plans with Chen Hongqiang and Jiang Tao. But as soon as they stepped out of the school, they saw Lin Xiaoran standing by the roadside with Jiang Chen.
“Are they dating? I swear I saw them together here last week too,” Jiang Tao said, looking intrigued.
Chen Hongqiang shot him a sideways glance, making Jiang Tao blink in confusion. Just as he was about to ask what was going on, he noticed Gu Yang had already left them and was heading straight towards Lin Xiaoran.
“What’s going on?”
“What do you mean, what’s going on? Let’s go eat,” Chen Hongqiang said, smacking Jiang Tao on the head and pulling him along, but not before casting a couple of gossip-filled glances back, grinning mischievously.
Their usually aloof Gu Yang seemed to have finally met his match—and it was with someone he used to not even consider worth his time. Even as a brother, Chen Hongqiang couldn’t help but find it all very amusing, it was just too dramatic.
On the other side, Gu Yang reached Lin Xiaoran, grabbed his wrist, and smiled handsomely. “Why are you running off so fast? Didn’t we agree to get dinner together after school?”
Lin Xiaoran turned around, meeting Gu Yang’s smiling eyes, his own dark eyes widening in surprise. He blinked, thick eyelashes fluttering in confusion, clearly thrown off by Gu Yang’s sudden behavior.
What Lin Xiaoran didn’t know was that his current expression was driving Gu Yang, who had been avoiding him all week, absolutely crazy with how adorable he looked.
And what was with his skin? His wrist felt smooth and soft in Gu Yang’s grip, prompting him to give it a gentle squeeze. He rubbed his thumb across Lin Xiaoran’s skin, smiling as he asked, “What’s with the surprised look? Didn’t you say you wanted to go for a hotpot?”
Lin Xiaoran was left speechless.
Did he really say that? You’ve barely spoken to me for almost a week—was it last week when I mentioned it?
But in the end, he didn’t question it, because it seemed like Gu Yang was back to his usual self.
So instead, he turned to Jiang Chen and said, “Let me treat you to dinner another time.”
Jiang Chen glanced at Gu Yang, then back at Lin Xiaoran, and with a smile, nodded. “Alright, I’ll head off then.”
As Jiang Chen walked away, Gu Yang felt the anger that had been simmering in his chest finally subside. It was only then that he realized he had once again done something inexplicable.
Wasn’t I supposed to be avoiding Lin Xiaoran? So why did I rush over the moment I saw him with Jiang Chen, and then suggest going to get hotpot together?
What now? Maybe I should just not go?
Even though his mind was telling him to resist getting closer to Lin Xiaoran, his hand still clutched Lin Xiaoran’s wrist, refusing to let go.
Lin Xiaoran didn’t seem to mind. He turned to look at Gu Yang, the clear confusion still lingering in his eyes. “So, you’re finally done avoiding me?”
Gu Yang was momentarily stunned. Was it just his imagination, or did he detect a trace of resentment, maybe even a hint of sadness, in Lin Xiaoran’s otherwise calm tone?
Over the past week, Gu Yang had left everything unsaid, just avoiding Lin Xiaoran. It must have been upsetting for him.
Gu Yang looked at Lin Xiaoran, feeling a pang of guilt. The grip on Lin Xiaoran’s wrist tightened involuntarily, and for a moment, he almost wanted to pull Lin Xiaoran into a hug and apologize.
But instead, he forced a casual smile and said, “I wasn’t avoiding you. Come on, let’s go get that hotpot.” With that, he pulled Lin Xiaoran along towards the hotpot restaurant.
Forget it. He couldn’t let go of Lin Xiaoran’s hand, and if he turned and left now, Lin Xiaoran would definitely get mad.
It was just one meal, nothing too intimate.
But after the hotpot, Gu Yang still couldn’t let go of Lin Xiaoran’s hand. They wandered through the food street, sampling all the snacks, skipped evening self-study, and even rode home together like before.
It wasn’t until he was alone in his room that he remembered he was supposed to be avoiding Lin Xiaoran.
But the moment he got close to Lin Xiaoran, he didn’t want to avoid him anymore. Instead, he just wanted to…
Scumbag!
He cursed himself harshly, then got up to take a shower. After showering, he sat down at his computer and logged into Seventh World.
He hadn’t logged in for a week while avoiding Lin Xiaoran, thinking it was only fair.
But after spending so much time with Lin Xiaoran today, he figured he should log in and spend some time playing with Wuhuan Xingyi to balance things out.
As soon as he logged in, his inbox was flooded with messages—mostly from his guild and some from the game officials.
Apparently, Seventh World was hosting an offline invitational tournament to celebrate its fourth anniversary. The invited participants were the largest guilds and top-ranked players across the servers.
As one of the long-time top players, Jidu Qiu was naturally among those invited. Both the event organizers and his guild leaders had been trying to reach him, urging him to participate.
The event was happening tomorrow.
The messages had been sent on Monday, but since Gu Yang hadn’t logged in, he was only seeing them now.
The event was in another city, not too far, but it was still a bit of a hassle to decide to go at the last minute—especially since there were classes tomorrow.
As he was about to refuse the invitation, a new message popped up from Wuhuan Xingyi: “Coming tomorrow?”
Gu Yang was taken aback.
It was the first time Wuhuan Xingyi had messaged him about anything other than the arena, and it caught him off guard. It took him a moment to realize what Wuhuan Xingyi was asking.
“!” Gu Yang’s eyes lit up with surprise, and he quickly replied, “Are you participating in the offline tournament?”
Wuhuan Xingyi: “Yes. Haven’t seen you.”
Since it was the game’s fourth-anniversary event, there had been numerous announcements. By now, posters featuring the participating guilds and players had been released. Gu Yang opened one and saw Wuhuan Xingyi’s character prominently displayed in the center.
Gu Yang had never expected Wuhuan Xingyi to participate in such an event.
But this might be a good chance to meet in person.
Gu Yang immediately changed his mind and decided to skip school and attend. He was about to message Wuhuan Xingyi when a thought struck him. He typed out a new message: “Do you want me to come?”
As soon as he sent it, his heart began to race with nervous anticipation.
Within three seconds, a reply came: “Come if you want, don’t if you don’t. But if you do, we could meet up.”
In other words, it was up to him, and meeting would just be a bonus.
Blockhead!
Gu Yang rubbed his forehead, feeling exasperated. Why did he always fall for people who were so dense?
But still, he decided to go. He had to see Wuhuan Xingyi in person—if only to find out whether this was someone he actually liked. If it turned out they weren’t, maybe then he’d stop feeling like such a scumbag.
With his mind made up, he messaged Wuhuan Xingyi back, but in a fit of pique, he typed: “Not coming, no time.”
Downstairs, Lin Xiaoran stared at Jidu Qiu’s reply, feeling a twinge of disappointment.
He’d really been looking forward to facing off against Jidu Qiu in person.
But oh well, if he doesn’t have time, there’s nothing to be done.
