13: The Tiger Sniffs the Rose
Luo Ying watched so intently that she didn’t notice how scorching her gaze had gotten, enough to put the person involved on alert.
Qian Kun turned back and gave her a light, fleeting glance.
Luo Ying jumped and immediately snapped her head forward.
Most of the time, aside from when he was dealing with Shen Jin, Qian Kun was easygoing and casual. He kept his distance, but he wasn’t hard to get along with.
Just now though, the moment he dropped his smile, that invisible pressure surfaced, faint but unmistakable.
She patted her chest.
Weird. Even when the few Alphas in their class got angry, she’d never felt this panicked.
Thinking back to what she’d just seen, maybe it was just the angle.
For some reason, a phrase surfaced in her mind, “the tiger sniffs the rose.”
Shen Jin could even see his own reflection in the other person’s light brown eyes.
The doctor had said that for an Omega with special pheromones like his, the entire differentiation process would be far more troublesome than it was for others.
He needed an Alpha with compatible attributes to properly soothe and guide him, even to the point of a temporary mark, in order to ease the discomfort and pain brought on by differentiation.
Now, it was probably the late stage of differentiation, and every reaction was intensifying.
Shen Jin was used to being alone. He didn’t want to owe anyone a favor, and he was even less accustomed to being touched by a strange Alpha, so he kept putting it off.
Shen Jin only panicked for a brief moment. He quickly steadied his presence. “What do you mean?”
Qian Kun took in Shen Jin’s reaction without missing a thing. He didn’t press him. He shifted a little farther away, pointed at the empty desk beside Shen Jin where the cakes were piled into a small mountain, and said, “That many. Without an Alpha to help you, can you even finish them?”
Alphas always had the largest appetite out of the genders.
Their pheromones were active, which meant they exercised more, and their hunger was the strongest. Everything fed into everything else.
So that was what he meant.
Shen Jin relaxed without meaning to and replied coolly, “That’s none of your concern.”
Huh?
Shen Jin caught a faint whiff of orange, barely there, mixed with the boy’s woody scent. It was light and steady, yet it carried an indescribable, spellbinding pull.
Shen Jin felt the pheromones inside him, which had been relatively calm, showing signs of surging back up again.
Shen Jin’s expression froze. He frowned and asked, “Did you use inhibitor?”
Why would a Beta use inhibitor?
Shen Jin wondered if his differentiation period had mutated. He’d fallen so far that he found a Beta’s scent alluring.
Worse, that person was Qian Kun. A fierce wave of shame rushed over him.
Qian Kun thought Shen Jin had smelled his deodorizing spray. When he left home this morning, he’d grabbed the orange-scented one without thinking too hard.
The suppressant cigarettes were custom-made at home. Even if the smell was faint, it was still smoke. To get rid of it, he carried this kind of spray around.
Qian Kun smiled. “Shen Jin, are you really a Beta? Men’s fragrance spray, you know?”
Shen Jin realized he’d misunderstood. Even if the awkwardness could launch him into the galaxy, he could still keep his image intact. “Oh. I just became a Beta. I’m not as experienced as you.”
Qian Kun didn’t keep arguing with him. “Alright, classmate. Put your phone away. You’re supposed to be doing the exercises.”
Shen Jin lowered his head and looked. In that moment of panic earlier, his finger had slipped and hit reject, and it was the kind without even filling in a reason.
Shen Jin: “……”
He had no idea what Ke Minghuai would think. Shen Jin only felt like the behavior looked a little like a child throwing a tantrum.
It had the vibe of, “Your family canceled our engagement, so I’m cutting ties with you forever.”
Ah, that was too much, too much.
It was a contractual engagement, and he had a strong sense of contract.
When class ended, Shen Jin called back on an international line.
Beep.
It was still powered off.
He’d assumed Ke Minghuai replied only after getting his phone back, but doing the math, there were still more than two weeks before he returned.
Ke Minghuai was representing the province’s universities in an international training program in Country A.
After the training, he would also participate in ranking matches with several well-known universities.
The training content involved pheromone extraction and application. Pheromones were one of the most important research projects in every country, so the entire process was confidential. Phones were usually confiscated by a professional institution.
That raised a problem.
How did Ke Minghuai get a phone, or was he using someone else’s?
Shen Jin couldn’t figure it out and didn’t want to either. In any case, this was a critical time for Ke Minghuai.
Just as the Ke family believed, this minor matter of canceling an engagement shouldn’t disturb Ke Minghuai.
After this class ended, Luo Ying still couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d seen earlier.
She sat in the front row and kept turning back, looking at one and then the other.
Qian Kun was playing a game. Shen Jin was explaining a problem from class to someone.
An invisible line seemed to divide them, with at least an entire snow mountain between them.
No. I just started shipping this pair. I can’t just watch it head toward BE right in front of me!
She had a flash of inspiration and went to dig around on forums and Tieba.
Her expression went from eager anticipation to the verge of tears. It was so colorful that it immediately drew her deskmate Zheng Zhepeng’s attention.
He asked, “What are you doing?”
Luo Ying muttered, “Why don’t Brother Kun and Ice God have a CP thread?” Is it really that dead?
“How could there be one?” Zheng Zhepeng threw her a look like she was being unrealistic.
This was Mars crashing into Earth. As two bosses from opposing camps, being able to coexist peacefully was already a miracle.
“Xiao Yueyue, you didn’t fall down, you got kicked in the head by a donkey, didn’t you?” Luo Ying poked Zheng Zhepeng’s half-face that didn’t even have a Band-Aid. According to him, he’d fallen on the stairs, but could stairs really turn your face into a bun? “Look at their faces, look carefully. They’re that handsome!! If you don’t ship them, are you even worthy of your own eyes!”
She wanted to mention what she’d seen during the exercises, but she had no evidence.
Why didn’t Brother Kun just go A on him. So annoying!
Zheng Zhepeng said, “You really dare to dream.”
If Brother Jin knew, he’d probably ignore it. Brother Kun, on the other hand, might blow your head off. You’re forcibly pairing him up. Did you ask his opinion?
Luo Ying searched for a CP thread and got “0.” Instead, she saw a hot post: “On Nanhu’s Most Impossible CP.”
NO.1: Qian Kun x Shen Jin
There was even an explanation under it.
They said the crown prince hated it most when people tried to act like the letter between A and C in front of him. That’s right, the crown prince himself was already at the peak. As the school’s former top traffic star, after arriving at Nanhu, it was no surprise at all that he stirred up waves again.
As for our Shen Jin, he doesn’t need to act, and he doesn’t need extra explanation. Ice God is simply YYDS.
Ever since I found out Brother Kun was assigned to Class Nine, I started looking forward to the day Brother Jin returned to school.
Reality played out exactly as I predicted. From the moment the two met, thunder called fire, and a king’s war pulled open its curtain…
Then the author stopped there, cut off abruptly.
A lot of people were unhappy, just like Luo Ying. They complained in the comments.
[You better keep going!]
[Where’s the rest, that’s it? I came here for nothing.]
[How did you jump to the second pair? I’m not here to see them!]
[I heard back when Qian Kun was still in private school, he rejected confessions so many times that his fan club gave him the title “King of No CP,” meaning no one is worthy of Brother Kun.]
[Thinking about it like that, if someone could actually take down Brother Kun, how thrilling would that be!]
[I still like Ice God’s cold-as-frost type. One chilly look and it’s ice straight to the bones!]
[Brother Kun’s the real hardcore kind. Noble and gentlemanly, yet when he goes man-mode, even Alphas keep their distance!]
Both sides had supporters, and a new round of arguing started up.
One point was unquestionable though. Nobody disagreed with the post’s conclusion.
Liu Qimai couldn’t be bothered to go out during break. He stayed curled up at his seat, reading gossip, and happened to see that thread.
He turned back and saw Qian Kun lazily propping his chin up, controlling the on-screen character with one hand. One shot, one kill. In a blink, he’d popped five enemy heads.
This is what you call gentlemanly…
When did you all go blind?
*
Near the end of the afternoon, right before school let out, the homeroom teacher, Hu Shengqiang, called Shen Jin to the office.
Shen Jin’s boarding application had been approved. He could move into the dorm at any time, and the roommate chosen for him was also a post-differentiation Beta.
Shen Jin got a call from Shen Xie’an and turned down the offer to be picked up.
Shen Xie’an probably sensed that his brother choosing to board meant he no longer held any expectations for their parents.
This was something he shouldn’t say, yet he still thought his brother had finally stood up for himself this time, and it felt unbelievably satisfying. In his eyes, his brother had decided to stop wronging himself.
It would be even better if their parents could finally realize how serious the problem was.
His brother only breaking out now counted as a delayed rebellious phase, anyway.
Shen Xie’an still couldn’t stop worrying, though.
Lately, he spoke carefully, afraid his brother would give up on their parents and also give up on him, the little menace.
Shen Jin had no idea his younger brother’s inner monologue was this rich. He simply comforted him the way he always did.
He walked out of the school gates, went to the nearby bus stop, and got on a bus.
Shen Jin noticed his brother’s unease. At the end, he added that he’d bring him some skewers on the way back. Shen Xie’an had been craving them for a long time, but he was never allowed to eat them.
Shen Jin’s parents were busy with work. Even the favored Shen Xie’an had been raised by the nanny and Shen Jin. When it came to food, Shen Jin had always kept strict control over his younger brother.
Once his brother coaxed him a bit, Shen Xie’an felt light all over and nearly forgot his original purpose.
Earlier, he’d been furious at the Ke family’s shamelessness, so he sent Ke Minghuai a message telling him his wife was about to run away.
Today, he actually got a reply, even though it was only a short one: [?]
What does that mean? Brother Huai, you don’t know anything?
Shen Xie’an wasn’t sure. He asked his brother whether he’d contacted Brother Huai, only to be lectured not to disturb him.
Shen Jin: [He represents the school. Even if we can’t help, we shouldn’t drag him down.]
Shen Xie’an: [Fine…]
Shen Xie’an: [Mouth sealed strip.jpg]
Wuwuwuwu, my big brother is so calm it’s like he signed a fake marriage.
Brother Huai, are you useless? After all these years, you still haven’t handled my big brother!
Is my brother-in-law about to be gone?
More than ten minutes later, Shen Jin got off the bus.
He stood in front of a crystal-like building, hesitating for a long time. So long that the sunset slipped away from the street, night fell, and only then did he slowly walk inside.
The moment he stepped over the threshold, Qian Kun’s words surfaced in his mind, “You might need an Alpha.”
Shen Jin gave a self-mocking smile. That jinx.
Lately, Shen Jin felt more and more exhausted. The pain in his body was worsening, and his sensitivity to scent was intensifying. He’d nearly mistaken Qian Kun for an Alpha.
He thought that if he kept dragging it out, even inhibitor wouldn’t be able to suppress his pheromones leaking out.
The place he’d come to was called the Public Safety Matching Room.
Here, Omegas who didn’t have a partner yet were forced by need to register, pay a certain amount, and be matched with an Alpha willing to provide a temporary mark.
The mark would be washed off afterward, of course.
Why did it have to be “willing.”
Because every marking room had an isolation barrier with an electric small window in the middle. After the window opened, the Omega could turn their back to the Alpha, expose the gland, and the marking could be done.
This barrier mainly existed to prevent an Alpha from occasionally losing control and forcing the other party.
Until the temporary mark ended, as long as one side refused, they could remain unaware of the other person’s appearance and identity. The confidentiality was extremely high.
In this kind of marking, the Alpha was basically a tool for balancing pheromones. Unless they were truly desperate, even if the pay was high, most Alphas didn’t want to be used and tossed aside like this, doing work that carried a humiliating nature.
Not long after Shen Jin was born, the Xie family had registered him. These official institutions all had records.
The staff member was surprised to see a student in school uniform show up alone, but she quickly composed herself and took a ticket number from the machine for him.
Shen Jin sat in the waiting area. Almost everyone around him was Omega. Seeing someone so young show up without a guardian and dare to come here alone, many of them felt angry. What kind of parents did this child have?
Shen Jin ignored everything and pulled out his phone, watching short videos for a while.
He used absurd, silly comedy clips to ease his nerves.
There weren’t many people today. Soon, it was Shen Jin’s turn.
The staff member said, “Hello. Please take out your ID.”
Shen Jin came prepared. He handed it over.
After the staff member entered his information, she looked surprised. “You have a special-type pheromone?”
Shen Jin nodded. Special-type pheromones had several defining traits: high level, panda-grade rarity, chromosomal variation, and a differentiation probability more than 20% higher than normal people.
The staff member asked, “You know it’ll be hard for you to match with an Alpha at high compatibility, right?”
Shen Jin said, “I know.”
He came here for two reasons.
The first was clean money for clean service. As long as he made it through the final stage of differentiation, he would truly become a Beta, and the pheromones that had tormented him for more than ten years would disappear. He would never be controlled by pheromones again and could finally breathe free air. Paying a price for that was nothing.
The second was that finding a highly compatible Alpha in a sea of people depended entirely on luck.
Under normal circumstances, the higher an Alpha or Omega’s pheromone level, the more potential matches they had.
It was the so-called compatibility downward, which gave them more choices and greater power of selection.
His level was high, yet he was special type, which silently filtered out most Alphas.
The staff member said they would use the national pheromone database to match him. When they found compatible Alphas, they would contact them and send Shen Jin progress updates by text, though it might still end up as wasted effort.
This was normal. Most Alphas refused to come here.
The staff member reminded him, “Your pheromone level is high, and you’re special type. The Alphas who can match you will also be top-tier. They usually take marking very seriously and rarely agree. You should be mentally prepared.”
Shen Jin indicated he understood. “Then I can only hope I get lucky, like a blind cat stumbling into a dead mouse.”
Seeing how calm he was, the staff member couldn’t help smiling. “I’ll do my best to persuade them.”
Shen Jin filled out the registration form and paid the highest bounty before finally leaving this suffocating place.
He looked at the street under the night sky, cars streaming past, light and shadow crossing. A sudden, faint confusion about the future rose within him.
He wasn’t the type to wallow in melancholy. He didn’t sink for long before he came back to himself.
He shivered in the evening wind. To keep himself from regretting it, he quickened his pace toward a nearby snack street to buy the barbecue he’d promised his younger brother.
He opened a review app, found a place with good ratings that also looked clean, and headed there.
There were many tables set up outside the shop. The owner had simply put a stall out there as well.
In late summer and early autumn, most diners liked eating outdoors, especially when they came with a few friends. Eating while chatting and feeling the autumn breeze was the best kind of satisfying.
When Shen Jin arrived, it was the busiest time of day.
Elsewhere, Qian Kun was in a bad mood this afternoon and barely listened in class.
He took a group of people, ate chicken three times, popped countless heads, and Zhou You suggested treating everyone to the [True Full Chicken Set Meal].
They also thought that since arriving at Nanhu, none of the former private-school group had gathered together yet. This time, basically everyone who had time came.
When they left the school gates, they ran into Ji Zhen waiting there.
Unlike the Qian family, which had developed overseas for a long time, the Ji family was rooted in their home country.
The two families had cooperated before and were close. Ji Zhen was the Ji family’s only young miss, and she had liked Qian Kun since she was little.
When Qian Kun was young, he got into trouble and was sent away by his family. He wasn’t brought back until middle school.
After he returned, Ji Zhen urged her family to arrange their engagement, but Qian Kun never agreed.
Liu Qimai had been ready to accuse Nanhu’s Omegas of being blind. With Qian Kun being a well-dressed beast, where was the gentleman in that?
Did being handsome mean everything else could be ignored, you shallow Omegas.
Seeing Ji Zhen, he immediately stopped. He was afraid his mouth would run off.
If he said something he shouldn’t and caused Qian Kun trouble, it would be hard to clean up.
The group arrived at the barbecue stall. Ji Zhen kept trying to start conversations, but Qian Kun barely responded.
Zhou You couldn’t stand it and answered a few questions for him.
Ji Zhen finally snapped. “Ah Kun, why didn’t you reply to any of my messages?”
Qian Kun had a lollipop in his mouth. He lowered his head, sent Shen Jin a friend request, finished the routine steps, then opened a new horror game and started looking for “ghosts” inside it.
“Qian Kun, I’m talking to you!”
Ji Zhen had been persuading him the whole way to transfer to their school, insisting their faculty was definitely better than Nanhu’s. Qian Kun neither agreed nor disagreed. He simply didn’t respond.
Qian Kun was usually easy to talk to. When he got serious, even Liu Qimai didn’t dare say much.
In the quiet atmosphere, Qian Kun raised his head. “What do you want to say.”
“What’s so good about Nanhu. The teaching building is broken and old, and there’s not even a racecourse, a fencing room, or a martial arts hall. I heard the dorms trip the breakers all the time… why go there. To play with ghosts?”
She spoke righteously, trying to convince him.
In the past, Liu Qimai would’ve agreed. Now, he’d started to feel some attachment to Nanhu.
For example, today when they lost the bet and got punished with duty, battling wits with Class Nine had been pretty fun.
People always developed a strange affection for the school they attended.
They could trash-talk it all day, yet they couldn’t stand other people looking down on it.
Liu Qimai looked at Zhou You. How did she know that?
Zhou You gave him a look.
Liu Qimai: Holy crap, did I say that. Did she copy-paste everything I complain about. Is she secretly in love with me?
Zhou You: “……”
Liu Qimai: Is she that idle, staring at the group chat all day?
Zhou You silently shoved two skewers of grilled chicken skin into his hand. Eat it, and maybe it’ll shut you up.
As Liu Qimai gnawed on the chicken skin, he thought, the teaching building being shabby is fine. That’s called nostalgia. The weight of history.
Besides, wasn’t Brother Kun’s family planning to donate a few buildings.
By his estimate, once next winter break ended, they’d have newly renovated teaching buildings.
Under the lights, Qian Kun’s eyes looked almost translucent, carrying a quiet kind of temptation.
He bit down on the candy and chuckled. “Playing with ghosts isn’t bad.”
Ji Zhen felt like the subtext was that even playing with ghosts was better than being with her.
She was so angry she nearly wanted to flip the table, but she knew that if she threw a tantrum, Qian Kun wouldn’t even speak to her anymore.
“You really won’t consider transferring?”
“I won’t.”
He lowered his head again and kept playing on his phone.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, everyone quietly ate.
No one bothered trying to mediate. Brother Kun’s attitude was too obvious.
He was plainly telling Ji Zhen to give up, there was no chance.
Ji Zhen was an Omega who’d always been doted on. She’d never endured this kind of rejection and disregard.
In the next instant, Qian Kun reached out and grabbed her hand as she tried to snatch the phone.
Ji Zhen sucked in a breath of pain.
“If there’s nothing else, go back.” Qian Kun paused, then said, “Be good.”
Ji Zhen’s pupils shrank. She endured the trembling rush and said, “Even if you don’t say it, I’m leaving. Like I care!”
She took a few steps, remembered something, turned back, and slapped down a bill. “I never eat for free!”
Liu Qimai snorted with laughter. “Ji Zhen’s actually kind of cute. Her family’s messy, sure, but she’s a decent person. Brother Kun won’t give her even a sliver of a chance?”
Qian Kun glanced at him. “Not interested. What chance is there to give. A chance to be a scumbag?”
“Coming out of Brother Kun’s mouth, why does that sound so weird!”
“Brother Kun is a full man who doesn’t understand a hungry man’s hunger!”
“So what kind of person is Brother Kun interested in?”
“Isn’t Brother Kun the King of No CP. He’s not interested in humans at all, hahaha!”
Everyone laughed and joked around. When Zhou You reached for a skewer, he noticed someone not far away picking out skewers. He nudged Qian Kun with his elbow.
Qian Kun followed his gaze. His listless expression changed slightly, and the corners of his mouth lifted.
Shen Jin ordered cauliflower, chives, eggplant with egg, then added iron-plate tofu and three lamb skewers, Shen Xie'an’s favorite.
As for the ten skewers Shen Xie'an demanded, Shen Jin decided he didn’t see them.
This shop was busy. After Shen Jin placed his order, he was about to find a seat to wait when he saw Zhou You waving at him from not far away.
Shen Jin froze for a moment, then walked over.
Liu Qimai said, “Shen Jin, you actually eat barbecue?”
A fairy doesn’t live on morning dew?
“I’m not allowed?”
Shen Jin glanced around. There were more than a dozen people at this table, mostly transfer students, from Class Nine and other classes.
Apart from Qian Kun and Zhou You, the rest were all Alphas. Their presence was strong, and wherever they went, they drew eyes.
This pack of very hard-to-mess-with Alphas subtly centered around Qian Kun.
All those exaggerated rumors about Qian Kun weren’t completely baseless.
Shen Jin asked, “Why are you all here?”
Zhou You explained, “We came out to hang after school. Want to eat with us?”
Liu Qimai immediately waved and shouted, “Boss, add one seat!”
Shen Jin quickly refused. “No need. I still have something to do.”
Qian Kun lifted his head lazily. “Class rep, scared?”
Shen Jin had been hit a few times in math. He refused to back down in front of Qian Kun. “You dare, so why wouldn’t I.”
Liu Qimai finally got sharp for once. The two of them were sniping again.
He dragged a chair next to Qian Kun, pulled it out, and said, “Come on, classmate Shen, sit, sit, sit.”
Shen Jin had just sat down when the boss brought over a can of light beer. Liu Qimai popped it open and poured it for Shen Jin.
Shen Jin had never drunk it before. He stared at the foaming, orange-yellow liquid. Chilled vapor rose like white mist.
A big hand took the cup away.
“He’s underage. What’s he drinking for. Stop dragging good students down.”
He’d be of age in a little over ten days, actually.
Shen Jin felt Qian Kun’s “good student” was dripping with mockery.
Could this guy put a few pleasant-sounding words in his mouth.
Liu Qimai smacked his forehead. “I forgot, I forgot. Shen Jin, don’t take it to heart. Brother Kun, you even manage this?”
Only half the table was legally adult. Qian Kun directly tossed the only can of beer away and poured Shen Jin some fruit juice from the side.
“Drink this.”
Everyone exchanged looks. They’d never seen Qian Kun proactively help anyone with anything before.
Qian Kun glanced at Liu Qimai. “I do one good deed a day.”
When Qian Kun spoke like a normal person, Shen Jin didn’t reject the kindness.
Kindness was rare and rejecting it hurt people.
Shen Jin took a sip. It was icy-cold, orange-flavored soda. The heat from walking over had mostly dissipated.
He watched the light flicker around them and listened to the laughter by his ear. Nothing had really changed compared to before, yet some empty corner inside him seemed to gradually warm up.
Ding.
A text message alert.
Shen Jin pulled out his phone and glanced at it.
It was from the Public Safety Matching Room. Because Shen Jin was special-type, there were only fifteen matches above 80%.
Shen Jin was in a differentiation period. Low compatibility wouldn’t work well. Among them, three Alphas were above 95% compatibility. One didn’t meet the age requirement and was deleted. One was powered off and unreachable. One was still being contacted.
Shen Jin hadn’t held much hope in the first place. After reading the message, he wasn’t too disappointed.
He might need to book a hospital bed. If his pheromones were too active during differentiation and started affecting bodily function, besides a temporary Alpha mark, there was another option, surgery.
Surgery had a certain probability of failure. Should he prepare a will in advance?
Shen Jin always liked keeping a backup plan.
He noticed a small PS under the message.
The third Alpha had the highest compatibility, but this person’s level was too high. Their mental power had reached 3S, and they had as many as three hundred matches above 80% compatibility.
If you wish to continue contact, reply Q.
If you wish to terminate contact, reply T.
Three hundred, a number he’d never heard before.
Am I one out of three hundred?
Shen Jin once heard his cousin Xie Ling say that Alphas were graded by mental power.
At the top level, they could apply to keep all records confidential. Before adulthood, they could even put “unknown” in the gender field.
This was to prevent them from being targeted by illegal groups or organizations.
Shen Jin remembered that 3S hadn’t appeared for decades, though.
He was still thinking when the system auto-replied below.
Your reply timed out. A matching candidate has been contacted for you.
Shen Jin: “……”
You’re so smart.
Qian Kun’s phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, his mood plummeted.
This wasn’t the first time the other party had contacted him.
Qian Kun listened patiently, then said, “Sorry.”
The person on the other end seemed to have expected the rejection long ago. Forget Qian Kun’s level, even ordinary Alphas wouldn’t casually go be a tool. Afterward, the Omega would wash off the mark. To an Alpha, that was no less than the greatest humiliation.
The staff member still thought about that student who came to register without family, and the medical report showed he’d never been marked before.
If a first-time marking could be guided by a highly compatible Alpha, the suffering would be reduced a lot.
The staff member wanted to try persuading again.
No response came from the other end.
Qian Kun noticed movement behind him. His calm expression instantly turned cold and sharp.
He put down his phone and kicked the Alpha who was crashing into Shen Jin.
Bang.
A heavy body hit the ground.
That Alpha flew toward a nearby trash can, the collision ringing out harshly.
People at the neighboring table were drunk. One of them shoved another, and that was how he crashed over.
Shen Jin looked up and met Qian Kun’s razor-edged gaze.
Qian Kun asked, “Are you hurt?”
This was completely different from his usual lazy state. Maybe this was Qian Kun’s real state.
“No.”
Shen Jin looked at the Alpha who’d been kicked down and couldn’t stand back up. He’d just heard something that sounded like bone cracking.
Thinking of how he’d always been at odds with Qian Kun, a sense of crisis rose within him.
He remembered Luo Ying showing him a post: “Will Brother Jin get bagged in the dead of night by Brother Kun.”
Shen Jin thought, ah, maybe.
He couldn’t chicken out, though.
To look imposing, Shen Jin stood up too and looked toward the neighboring table.
Qian Kun saw he really was fine and relaxed a little.
Under the lights, Shen Jin’s eyes looked like they were veiled by a layer of mist, beautiful like a ragdoll cat.
Qian Kun quickly shifted his gaze away. He picked up his phone again and, deliberately or not, positioned himself in front of Shen Jin, watching the drunken troublemakers.
He said into the phone, “What’s your employee number?”
The staff member thought Qian Kun was going to file a complaint. They did have rules against forcibly persuading customers.
She hadn’t even said much, though. Still, the customer was king, so she reported her employee number.
“Your bank card number too.”
“May I ask, this is…”
“Whatever they’re offering, I’ll pay ten times.” Qian Kun’s voice stayed flat. “I only have one requirement. Stop harassing me.”
Author’s Note:
Kun-kun, I predict you’re about to take back that sentence very soon~~
How did I write something this long!!!! That’s impossible, that’s not me!!!! Ahhhhhhh~~~~
① “The tiger sniffs the rose”: the original line is “In me the tiger sniffs the rose,” from British poet Siegfried Sassoon’s representative work To Me, Past, Present and Future.
This world setting: the higher an A/O’s pheromone level, the more matches they can get, and the more choice and selection power they have.
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