28: Don’t Want to Wait Anymore
The photo had been taken at a terrible angle, with terrible lighting. The facial features were blurry too. It was only a shadowy outline, yet it was still easy to recognize. Qian Kun spread out his hand. The person who brought it over thought he wanted to examine it closely, so he handed the phone over right away.
Instead, Qian Kun sent the image to his own WeChat, then deleted the original photo directly.
“Kun, Kun-ge…” The person tried to stop him, but it was already too late.
No, wait, how could you just delete it! He wanted to take it to the forum and ask around.
“Hm?” The final syllable lifted, ridiculously charming.
The person drew in a small breath. As an Omega, he really couldn’t handle this kind of low, resonant voice.
More importantly, Kun-ge had just touched his phone without any hesitation. Everyone knew Kun-ge had a mild cleanliness obsession. If it wasn’t necessary, he wouldn’t touch other people’s things.
Ji Zhen, seeing this, pulled the Omega who was spacing out aside. She wanted to look at the photo in their hands, but Qian Kun had already deleted it. Thus, she saw nothing at all.
Liu Qimai looked anxious and flustered as he was being teased by a group of troublemaking friends. Seeing he couldn’t handle them alone, he wanted to call for reinforcements.
He looked at Qian Kun for help and froze on the spot.
Qian Kun swept a calm glance over him and dropped a single sentence. “You can’t chase him.”
If Shen Jin could be chased down easily, he wouldn’t be Shen Jin.
Qian Kun’s words weren't many, but often hit the mark.
Liu Qimai felt that earlier glance had chilled him to the bone. When he came back to himself, it felt like an illusion.
A strange feeling he couldn’t describe lingered.
Everyone laughed. Someone said, “Hahaha, I told you. Kun-ge already concluded it, uh, Kun-ge, you’re leaving?”
Qian Kun checked his watch and said, “It’s late. We have class Monday morning. I’m heading out. Send me the bill later.”
Everyone stared at each other, but you’ve been here for less than an hour!
Nightlife hasn’t even started, okay?
Someone asked the question that reached into the soul. “Kun-ge never used to sleep early and wake early like a normal person. How come after going to Nanhu, he’s become so… domesticated?” He stalled, then finally found a word that fit.
“If you didn’t know better, you’d think he’s henpecked.”
Ji Zhen’s beautiful eyes widened. “Stop talking nonsense. He’s been single forever.”
Liu Qimai, who’d been unusually quiet, suddenly slapped his own head, startling everyone.
“F*ck, I forgot. Kun-ge and Ice God are enemies. How could I say that in front of Kun-ge? How do I get Kun-ge to accept my tiny crush target and make them turn hostility into peace?!”
No wonder Qian Kun had looked at him like he was looking at a corpse.
So he had touched the reverse scale.
“Daring to oppose Kun-ge, what kind of immortal is this? What’s the background?!”
“You’ve successfully sparked 120% of my curiosity!”
“Confess and come clean!”
Liu Qimai, seeing himself become the focus, also developed interest in narrating.
“It’s a long story. We have to start from two weeks after school began. That morning we…”
The moment Qian Kun stepped out of the private room, his phone vibrated. At 14 minutes and 55 seconds, Shen Jin sent a photo of a basketball hoop. The hoop looked childish, the kind you would commonly see at an arcade.
Looking at the blurry photo, Qian Kun’s smile leaked out. Looks like he’s having fun.
Shen Jin was teaching the kids to play a shooting game when a reminder sounded in his pocket.
He’d set an alarm to remind him every fourteen minutes, meticulously following the agreement. He snapped a quick photo and shoved his phone back into his pocket.
By the rules, the more shots you made, the better the prizes. He competed with the kids to see who could sink more, and the little ones charged like warriors at the front line.
He didn’t know who had thrown a basketball hard into the backboard. Shen Jin was about to dodge when a strong, slender hand easily caught it.
Shen Jin came back to himself. Their gazes brushed past each other, sparking a tiny current.
“It didn’t hit you, right?”
The hand at his waist loosened almost immediately.
From either skin or fabric, a clean, elegant woody scent slipped out and curled around his nose.
Shen Jin closed his eyes and forced down that strange agitation.
In late differentiation, he was overly sensitive to touch. It was only an arm brushing an arm, yet every pore seemed to crave getting closer, like a desperate Omega aching to be marked.
Shen Jin felt every single shame cell in his body light up. He reflexively stepped back.
Qian Kun thought the smoke smell from the private room had clung to him and bothered the young master. He felt apologetic. “Wait here. I’ll go to the restroom.”
When Qian Kun came back, he carried only a clean, fresh scent.
“Let’s go.”
“You’ve been upstairs for less than an hour though.”
“They have class tomorrow too. We wrapped up early today.”
Shen Jin didn’t object and followed Qian Kun downstairs.
When they entered the underground parking garage, Qian Kun seemed to sense something. He glanced around, paused for a few seconds in one direction, let out a quiet, amused breath, and got into the car.
After the car sped away, a cautious figure emerged from the direction Qian Kun had just looked toward.
Xie Hanzhu stared in shock. It felt unbelievable.
It was as if Qian Kun and Shen Jin hadn’t run into each other by accident at all. It was as if Qian Kun had left early for the sake of the person right in front of him.
Qian Kun was the private school’s “unspoken name.” His admirers were countless, enough to list for days, yet he never treated anyone as special. Other than a few brothers closest to him, he kept a distant, polite courtesy toward girls. Only someone like Ji Zhen, who had known him since childhood, could stand a little closer.
When she first entered that small circle, she had been warned: you could get to know people if you wanted, but don’t daydream about bothering Qian Kun.
Just now, the more she thought about it, the more she believed it was Shen Jin. So she used “getting some air” as an excuse, came downstairs, and planned to look for him.
Just as she was about to appear and greet him, she saw Qian Kun’s figure walking straight over, not only blocking the ball but also chatting for a bit. It was obvious the two were familiar.
What she found hardest to believe was that Qian Kun had even lowered himself to open the car door for Shen Jin.
The impact of that scene was too strong.
She went back upstairs in a daze.
It had to be her eyes playing tricks. It had to.
On the way back, Shen Jin felt far more uncomfortable than he had on the way there. He kept his back straight, expression cold.
Before leaving, he hadn’t taken another dose of suppressant. First, he had woken up feeling his mind was in a decent state. Second, he had already taken it earlier.
Normally, one injection a day could last at least twenty-four hours. He didn’t understand why, just now, the moment Qian Kun got close, it was like his cells had been activated. The desire he’d been suppressing surged out, clamoring one after another.
There wasn’t even a hint of pheromone scent on Qian Kun, yet Shen Jin was inexplicably drawn in. He could feel the cells in his body stirring restlessly.
Shen Jin stared at the car window, wanting to cry. The glass reflected his indifferent face.
He wanted to perform chest-cracking stone again.
If Qian Kun found out I’ve gone insane enough to want to touch a Beta like him, this wouldn’t just be social death. I’d be sent for a psych evaluation.
Shen Jin frowned tightly. After Qian Kun got into the back seat, Shen Jin silently shifted farther away, toward the opposite side.
Without realizing it, he rubbed his palms together, trying to crush down the urge to touch the other person.
Why is this road so long?
He thought he needed more suppressant.
By pheromone-use regulations, he couldn’t use more than two doses in twenty-four hours.
When I get back, I’m doing it immediately. Right away.
Seeing Shen Jin’s cold, disgusted expression, Qian Kun felt like they returned to how it was when they first met. His heart sank slightly.
While the driver waited at a red light, Qian Kun sent a message: [Do I smell like pheromones?]
When the driver denied it, Qian Kun finally felt reassured. Then he turned and saw Shen Jin practically glued to the car door. He started typing again: [Do I have body odor?]
Had Shen Jin’s dislike for him leveled up again?
Qian Kun raked a hand through his slightly long bangs, feeling frustrated. He had grown up being adored. He also never cared much about other people’s opinions. Faced with something this tricky, he felt a flicker of helplessness.
Thanks to Shen Jin having used suppressants too frequently earlier, nobody would think his sudden condition was a backlash from suppressing too long.
They returned to the dorm in silence. Though Shen Jin’s steps were steady, they were much faster than usual.
When they reached the eighth floor, Shen Jin pulled out his key first. Before he could enter the bathroom, his wrist was seized. The lazy smile was gone from Qian Kun’s face. His gaze was sharp as a hawk. “Did I do something wrong just now? Tell me directly.”
There was a thin sheen of sweat on Shen Jin’s face. The lights inside weren’t on yet. Only the dim hallway light fell across him, making him look clear and luminous.
Shen Jin didn’t realize how close they were. Looking confused, “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then do I stink?”
Shen Jin shook his head. How could that be? Even after exercise, there was nothing unpleasant about Qian Kun’s smell.
Just then, class monitor Jiang Yifan and several boys from another class came out from the laundry area, carrying buckets and basins.
“Earlier I almost got knocked out by your socks. Why are you stuffing them all into your shoes? Saving them up to eat?”
“You’re disgusting. What dorm doesn’t have socks? You should adapt to me.”
“No, I can’t take it. Promise me, from today on, you’ll be a refined piggy Alpha, okay… hm?”
Their homes were far from school, so they didn’t go back every week. That was how they ended up seeing the two big shots from 806 facing off.
Their presence was too strong that it jammed all the words right back down their throats.
Wasn’t this the prelude to a fight, where the aura decided who was on top?
Whoever weakened might fall to disadvantage.
Should they leave or not?
If they really started fighting, who were they supposed to help?
Shen Jin noticed them too. He pulled Qian Kun’s wrist and closed the door, not caring that rumors might fly tomorrow.
Qian Kun stared a little sluggishly at where Shen Jin had grabbed him. That patch of skin felt hot.
Shen Jin was rushing to the bathroom to inject suppressant. He released Qian Kun’s wrist, then in the darkness moved closer.
“Thanks for coming to find me this afternoon.” He waited all night and finally found a chance that felt suitable for thanking him.
Even after Shen Jin shut the door, Qian Kun could still feel the breath that had brushed his cheek, cool and slightly hurried.
The fierceness from his earlier interrogation was dismantled by a single sentence. Qian Kun touched the face the other hadn’t actually touched.
His tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek.
Has no one ever taught you not to get that close to an Alpha so casually?
*
The next day, when Shen Jin finished cleaning duty and returned to the classroom, he found plenty of classmates staring at their corner.
Last night, Shen Jin had already seen Jiang Yifan gossiping in the second group chat. Even though neither of the two parties had shown up, the story that they had a huge fight in the dorm late at night had already spread.
Now everyone was even more curious who had won. The bets were seven to three.
Most people still put their money on Qian Kun. Not long ago, the story of him taking on multiple people at once had made him famous.
The newest theory was that neither of them had any bruises on their faces, so maybe they both suffered internal injuries this time.
Shen Jin thought, did they forget I’m also in that second group chat? If I suddenly spoke up, would I scare them?
Forget it. I’m still kind. I won’t scare these adorable flowers and plants.
Qian Kun propped his chin up, one hand playing on a handheld console. He looked like he hadn’t slept well last night, squinting with sleepy eyes.
After Shen Jin sat down, he sniffed the air around them first. There was no pheromone scent. His body was quiet for now. Only then did he take out the breakfast he bought that morning from the desk compartment. When he’d gotten up, Shen Jin had asked Qian Kun if there was anything he could do.
Qian Kun had thought for a moment, then said, how about you treat me to a few meals.
That was easy. After Shen Jin asked about his tastes in detail, he bought it while getting food at the cafeteria in the morning.
He handed over pan-fried buns and tofu pudding packed in a thermal container and said softly, “Next time, you can get it yourself.”
Qian Kun had only said it offhand. With Shen Jin’s temperament, at most he would treat him to dinner once.
Every morning, Qian Kun’s breakfast was delivered by the household staff to the back gate, and he’d take it through the fence.
Seeing how carefully Shen Jin had packed it, Qian Kun froze for a moment.
Liu Qimai was still tangled up in his crush. The moment he arrived today, he heard the news that the two had fought a spectacular battle in the dorm last night. He was frantic, wanting to know the result, wanting to know whether his first love still had hope.
He turned his head and saw that Qian Kun was actually eating breakfast again.
“Kun-ge, didn’t you already—”
Qian Kun swept him a glance. Liu Qimai aggrievedly shut up. When Shen Jin looked over in confusion, Liu Qimai seized the chance to try the “close at hand” tactic. He still wanted to try this month.
Qian Kun calmly used a book to cover Liu Qimai’s face. He bit into a pan-fried bun and said through the mouthful, “Pay attention in class. Stay farther away from your idol’s private life.”
Liu Qimai got buried under the book again. He stood up and yelled, “This face of mine, the most handsome in the universe, is not something you can just slap whenever you want!”
At that moment, the first-period English teacher walked in and tapped the podium with a pointer.
“This Alpha who’s the most handsome in the universe, translate this sentence into English.”
The whole class burst into laughter.
Liu Qimai: “…”
By noon, Shen Jin’s condition turned somewhat listless.
After the lunch break ended, he poured himself a cup of water. Before he could sit down, a numb shiver ran up his spine.
He already injected suppressant before leaving that morning. The time between flare-ups seemed to be getting shorter.
He did his utmost to maintain his usual appearance, walked steadily to the Beta-only restroom, and shut the door. Only then did he let out a breath, wobble, and sit down. Hands trembling as he pulled suppressant from his pocket.
Maybe because the two injections were too close together, as the liquid went in, he made a muffled sound of pain.
He didn’t know that outside the stall, someone stood listening for a while.
Taking all this pain into his ears, then silently withdrew. He went out into the hallway and called his father, asking him to open up his information to the public matching office as soon as possible.
After Shen Jin agreed, their match had already been reported. Because he had 3S mental power, most of his information was confidential. Without authorization, what could be seen was only his initial profile. The review took about a week longer than for ordinary Alphas.
Dry humor colored Qian Kun’s father’s voice, like he had never seen his son this urgent before. “In a hurry?”
Qian Kun turned his head and answered flatly, “I don’t want to wait anymore.”
His voice held restraint.
He was in great pain.
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