In a fit of anger, Shiye ran out, taking nothing with him except his phone. His short-sleeved shirt was soaked, leaving him feeling tired, cold, and hungry.
Their place was quite remote, and with it being nearly eleven o'clock, most shops were closed. After walking a few streets, Shiye finally found a 24-hour convenience store.
He bought a serving of oden and a cup of instant noodles. Sitting by the window, he finished eating and felt a bit more comfortable.
He didn’t bring his ID, but fortunately, there were enough hotels near the university to find a budget place for the night. As a beta, he wasn't worried about anything else, but he was a bit of a clean freak. Upon entering the room, the musty smell from the bedding made him frown.
Shiye threw the bedding onto the sofa, turned up the air conditioning, and lay down fully clothed on the bed. He opened his phone.
The battery was below 10%.
Jiang Chicheng had called him twice, but he had silenced his phone and didn’t hear it. Now, as the phone rang again, he simply pressed the hang-up button and turned it off, tossing it onto the pillow.
A month ago, when Jiang Chicheng suggested they share an apartment, Shiye had worried they might not get along since he wasn’t fond of alphas. However, having just moved to Yuancheng, he didn’t know anything. He faced all sorts of challenges regarding food, clothing, shelter, and was accompanied by seven pets. It was nearly impossible to stay in a dormitory. The pets were adjusting poorly to the new environment, and he needed to settle down quickly.
That was when Jiang Chicheng appeared.
At first, Shiye was pleased. He had never been good at studying, failing two grades in elementary school and one in middle school. Jiang Chicheng was the complete opposite. Now, he was in his second year of graduate school, yet he was younger than Shiye by a year.
However, Shiye never expected Jiang Chicheng would evolve into an alpha, and a top-tier one at that. Growing up, he had matured late, was not tall, and looked pretty with flowers sticking out of his hair, making Shiye think he would develop into an omega.
Shiye despised alphas; whether it was a stereotype or gender discrimination, he had always kept his distance from them, except for unavoidable normal social interactions.
His father was an alpha, and unfortunately, he was a beta, but almost no one knew because he rarely went out. Whenever he did, he would cover his neck with thick gland patches.
That wasn’t to mask the scent but to hide the bite marks.
After the divorce, his father’s only advice was to stay away from alphas.
Shiye knew this without being told. Since he started running, he had practiced long-distance running and had encountered various alphas throughout his life. He understood this gender too well; rude, shameless, and fickle.
Unexpectedly, Shiye got along well with Jiang Chicheng, so well that he once doubted that alphas and top-tier alphas belonged to different species. That was until the conflict erupted today.
Everything seemed both unexpected and reasonable.
The warm air from the air conditioner made him feel drowsy. Shiye turned over, thinking he needed to find a new place quickly. He planned to return home tomorrow to pack his things, including the supplies for a group of fat cats… Just a couple of minutes into his thoughts, he fell into a deep sleep.
---
The next day was the weekend.
Shiye slept soundly until check-out. After being cooped up in the moldy room all night, he felt like he had become moldy himself. He intended to buy some breakfast but felt awkward walking on the street and returned home without buying anything.
“Ding-dong,” the sound of fingerprint unlocking filled the air.
At this hour, Jiang Chicheng is probably in the laboratory. The living room was empty, except for a few cats who turned their heads to glance at him and then continued drinking water.
Shiye felt an inexplicable sense of relief as he pushed open the bedroom door. A shopping bag lay on the bed. Opening it, he found a black windbreaker, identical to the one he had thrown in the trash last night, still brand new with its tag attached.
He repacked it and set it on the bedside table. After charging his phone, he took a towel into the bathroom.
After rinsing off the musty smell, Shiye felt refreshed. He hummed a tune as he dried his hair and planned to prepare some frozen dumplings for himself. Just as he turned the corner, he suddenly froze.
The refrigerator door was open, and Jiang Chicheng dressed in light-colored cotton and linen pajamas, was biting the straw of an AD calcium milk carton with a banana in his left hand. His hair was messy, as if he had just woken up.
Hearing the noise, he closed the refrigerator and turned around, leaning against it like a boneless figure. “I called you yesterday. Why didn’t you answer?”
Shiye replied, “My phone died.”
Jiang Chicheng replied with a casual “mm,” then opened the refrigerator again and pulled out a few tomatoes and eggs. “I’ll make some noodles. Have you eaten? You should eat with me.”
Jiang Chicheng hadn’t tied up his hair yet, and his golden hair fell casually behind his ears. The swelling on his face had not fully subsided, but he acted as if nothing had happened, speaking and behaving exactly as he always did.
Shiye couldn’t match his demeanor. He draped the towel over the rack, turned, and left the room, tossing back, “I’m going out for lunch.”
Shiye opened the wardrobe, which was filled entirely with sportswear, alongside a few coats. He casually grabbed a T-shirt but suddenly remembered something and leaned down to sniff it, then took it off.
Jiang Chicheng often liked to wear his outerwear. The limited closet space was filled with the scent of alpha pheromones.
Shiye opened the bottom drawer, neatly filled with pure cotton white T-shirts. After dressing neatly, he grabbed his phone and was about to head out when Jiang Chicheng called after him.
Shiye turned back while putting on his shoes.
Jiang Chicheng leaning against the kitchen door wearing an apron, had already tied his hair back. He had faint dark circles under his eyes and looked somewhat haggard. “My sister is coming to see me this afternoon. Let’s go out for a meal together tonight. She’s treating us.”
“I have to help out at the store tonight.”
After saying that, Shiye opened the door and left.
Jiang Chicheng’s eyelids drooped slightly as he returned to the kitchen, watching the noodles boil to the point of becoming transparent, threatening to overflow. He turned off the heat but didn’t serve the noodles. He took off the apron and walked into the bathroom.
The lingering citrus scent of body wash filled the air. In the laundry basket were the clothes Shiye had changed out of. Jiang Chicheng picked them up and tossed them into the washing machine, finding two pairs of socks left at the bottom. He didn’t mind the dirt, rinsing them under the faucet and scrubbing them a few times.
After hanging up the clothes and refilling the cat food, Jiang Chicheng changed his clothes and headed out.
---
Near Nanhu University, there’s a café away from the commercial street. It has a minimalist decor and a tranquil environment, often frequented by young couples. Now, it’s a quiet Saturday afternoon at one o'clock, and there are very few customers.
“Dingling—”
The door pushes open from the outside, and a row of wind chimes rings out cheerfully overhead.
Jiang Chicheng wears a black baseball cap that suppresses his unruly golden hair. He’s dressed in a black and white striped sweatshirt and loose work pants tucked into short boots. At nearly 1.9 meters tall, with the bulkiness of his outfit, he gives off an imposing presence as soon as he steps inside.
He scans the room but stands at the door, not moving. After looking around again, he finally notices a woman in the corner, resting her chin on her hand, smiling at him.
The woman wears a gentle yet sweet, goose-yellow long dress. Her black hair falls naturally to her chest, adorned with a cream-colored lace headscarf. With delicate makeup on her face, she looks like she has stepped straight out of an oil painting under the sunlight.
It’s no wonder Jiang Chicheng didn’t recognize his own sister; even their father wouldn’t dare to recognize this alpha.
What alpha wears a dress?
What’s the difference between that and wearing open-crotch pants?
Frowning, Jiang Chicheng walks over and pulls out the chair opposite her. Before sitting down, Jiang Chizao sneers playfully, “Hey, what happened to your face? Why are your eyes so red? Did you get into a fight with some little alpha and ended up crying?”
Jiang Chicheng grins. “You’re looking pretty provocative yourself, dressed like that.”
“Like a jungle tortoise.”
Jiang Chizao taps her fingers on the table, revealing a diamond-encrusted Chanel bracelet on her wrist. “Do you know what the ‘omega effect’ is? In today’s society, the harmless and approachable image of omega has deeply penetrated people’s minds. When a completely unfamiliar person looks like an omega, people quickly develop trust toward this stranger. Do you know what that means?”
Jiang Chicheng nods perfunctorily while scanning the menu to order two iced Americanos. “It means there are scientists every day who have too much free time and invent all sorts of nonsense.”
Jiang Chizao is left speechless.
The iced Americanos arrive, and Jiang Chizao pulls out a tablet from her bag, unlocks it, and hands it to him. “I asked a friend in the police department for help. All the S-grade alpha information for Area A is here. The documents aren’t to be shared or photographed; just look at them.”
Jiang Chicheng straightens up and takes the tablet.
The file not only contains basic information but also detailed records of movement patterns over the past week. Reading it is like going through an encyclopedia.
But Jiang Chicheng is used to reading literature in the lab, and his reading speed and retrieval ability have long been trained. He scans quickly, his fingers flying over the screen, making Jiang Chizao feel dizzy just watching.
Jiang Chizao’s phone lights up. She glances at it, swipes once, and closes it. “Dad wants me to tell you something.”
“Mm.”
Jiang Chizao clears her throat and pretends to imitate her father’s voice, saying, “You said you wanted to study domestically, so we let you! You said you wanted to study medicine, so we let you! But at the engagement banquet, you just ran away, leaving the whole family’s face lost by you! Grandpa Zhou was so angry he’s still lying in the hospital, and if you have any conscience, you should think about it!”
Jiang Chicheng finds it amusing and crosses his legs, continuing to swipe on the tablet. “Don’t fool me. If he’s my dad, he wouldn’t get so sick. And as for Grandpa Zhou, he should see what age he is—why push the blame onto me just because he’s sick?”
Jiang Chizao picks up her phone and puts it to her ear. “Dad, did you hear what your son said? I told you not to expect anything from him. He’s just an ungrateful little brat…”
Jiang Chicheng looks up in horror, snatches the phone from her, and exclaims, “Dad, let me explain… Don’t hang up, please! It’s almost winter, and if you cut my allowance, I’ll really freeze to death outside! By the time you see me again, I’ll be a frozen corpse! Dad, dad, dad!”
“Beep, beep, beep—”
Jiang Chicheng stares at Jiang Chizao in disbelief. “How can you be so malicious?”
Jiang Chizao blinks innocently, her expression pure, making Jiang Chicheng feel disgusted again. He frowns and looks down at the tablet.
Jiang Chizao can’t sit still; within ten minutes, she taps the table and leans forward. “Once you find that alpha who stole your omega, how do you plan to deal with him?”
Jiang Chicheng replies, “That level of pheromone excitement? You can tell he’s a habitual offender. Relying on being an S-grade, who knows how many omegas he has bullied? He definitely needs to be taught a lesson.”
“Lock him up and beat him up?”
“Ugh, that’s too boring.”
Jiang Chizao is excited. “So what do you propose?”
Jiang Chicheng stops scrolling and taps the screen, saying, “Drug him a little.”
Jiang Chizao’s eyes light up. “And then lock him up with an alpha in their sensitive period!”
“Uh-huh, an S-grade alpha. One isn’t enough, right?”
Jiang Chizao becomes even more excited. “How about three?”
Jiang Chicheng flashes a bright smile, chuckling, “Doesn’t he like stealing other people’s omegas? Let’s make him remember the lesson well. Once is for the experience; twice is for getting used to it; three times is for savoring the flavor.” He raises an eyebrow. “Sister?”
Jiang Chizao has already started calling to arrange things. She hangs up and pats her chest, saying, “You can count on me; I’ll stream it live for you!”
"..."
Jiang Chicheng feels immensely touched and sincerely says, “Sister, you’re truly the most helpful little girl in the world.”
The brother-sister banter hasn’t ended when Jiang Chicheng gets a call from his mentor, summoning him back to the lab. Before leaving, he instructs Jiang Chizao to wait here for him; he’ll be back soon.
Despite their playful banter, Jiang Chizao pulls out her portable laptop, takes a couple of sips of iced Americano, and quickly gets into work mode. Just as she starts checking emails one by one…
“Miss Jiang?!”
A familiar, clear male voice is filled with restrained joy.
Jiang Chizao looks up in surprise and smiles, her eyes crescent-shaped. “What a coincidence; we meet again.”
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