40: Can You Come
A trace of pheromones leaked out, like shattering ice fragments, indiscriminately attacking everything in the area. From one of the shower stalls came an Alpha’s suppressed groan of pain.
The very next second, Shen Jin felt the suffocating pheromones withdraw. The stabbing pain in his body eased, leaving only the lingering aftermath of a storm that had just passed.
Shen Jin slowly opened his eyes and saw Qian Kun pulling open the shower curtain and stepping out.
Their eyes met.
From the other shower stall, several Alphas rushed out, cursing under their breath. Their words were full of complaints, yet their eyes held an unmistakable fear.
The aura just now had been truly chilling.
Shen Jin deliberately observed those Alphas’ faces, rapidly cross-referencing them with the information in his mind and calculating their likelihood.
They did not even have time to finish dressing, already angrily searching around for a suspicious figure.
The instant Qian Kun saw Shen Jin, the surprise on his face had no time to fade.
He sensed the surrounding atmosphere and frowned slightly. He had been careless.
Shen Jin’s expression was calm as he asked, “Did you smell anything just now?”
Qian Kun looked completely puzzled. “What?”
“Alpha pheromones.” Shen Jin moved to Qian Kun’s side, silently gauging his height. During the marking, when the other person had approached him from behind, judging from the height of the scent, the Alpha had been at least half a head taller than him, no shorter than 185 centimeters.
“Betas are pretty dull about that sort of thing,” Qian Kun said, condemning the rule-breaking Alpha. “Whoever it was, that’s really unethical. Doesn’t he know you can’t just release pheromones in a public place?”
His gaze never once fell on Shen Jin.
“Why did you come over here?”
He stayed composed. With years of experience, he could handle any situation smoothly.
This time there were other Alphas present too. The safety factor was above seventy percent. Shen Jin should not have been sensitive enough to notice anything.
“The school announced physical exams. Alphas and Omegas are being checked one after another. It will be our turn soon.” Shen Jin seemed to drift closer unconsciously, lightly sensing the aura around Qian Kun. “There’s also something else. About the restroom door yesterday. The school is investigating, and I was thinking…”
Strange. There were no pheromones at all. Not even any residual scent. Shen Jin’s doubts were practically spilling over.
“I should take full responsibility,” Qian Kun said, picking up the thread of conversation.
“Come on, this was clearly because of me. You can’t steal it.”
Shen Jin had originally planned to split the cost fifty-fifty. Now he decided to take it all on himself. He was a small benefactor after all, so he could not back down at a time like this.
“The footprints on the door are all mine. Don’t take credit for me.”
“Credit for what, getting scolded by the teacher and reading a self-criticism at the morning assembly?”
“Then that just means we get to give a joint speech.”
“…That’s not something to be proud of.”
Both of them were debate prodigies, yet right now, as they went back and forth, all their usual sharpness was gone. They looked more like two kids arguing over who got to pay the bill.
They had clashed like this before. Returning to that state made Shen Jin feel unexpectedly at ease.
He did not forget his real purpose. He took advantage of the moment to step one centimeter closer. Qian Kun immediately retreated about one and a half centimeters.
Back and forth they went, advancing and retreating, until their path grew more and more crooked.
When Qian Kun was nearly forced up against the curb, Shen Jin stopped pressing him and calmly returned to walking straight.
With teasing in his eyes, Shen Jin asked, “Are you planning to walk straight into the flowerbed?”
Qian Kun’s eyes were full of helplessness. This livelier Shen Jin made his heart tremble again. He simply admitted it. “…Yeah. I like walking diagonally.”
Shen Jin almost laughed. What nonsense was that.
Several first-year girls passed by nearby. He forced his expression stiff, which took some effort.
He still replied, “Then I like walking straight.”
Qian Kun said, “Perfect. Sooner or later, the lines will intersect.”
Faced with these words, Shen Jin felt a bit nervous.
Then Qian Kun’s brows relaxed, his voice warm as he reassured him, “Just kidding.”
They returned to the classroom. The moment Jiang Yifan saw them come in through the back door, he laughed. “Kun-ge, you finally decided to show your face. If you’d come any later, Old Hu would’ve personally gone to the field to grab people.”
“You’re the only one who hasn’t turned in biology homework yet!”
“Ice God really has clout!”
“I told you, once Ice God steps in, Kun-ge can only obediently come back.”
Qian Kun lazily replied, “Yeah. Even if I were at the ends of the earth, once summoned, I’d have to turn back immediately.”
Shen Jin’s steps faltered.
The other students started cheering instead.
Everyone knew these two did not exactly get along. This was just casual banter when the big shots were in a good mood.
Qian Kun casually responded to them, his aura gentle and mild, nothing like someone who could release intensely aggressive pheromones.
Shen Jin lowered his head and opened the search bar, typing: Is it possible for an Alpha to conceal their gender?
A lot of results popped up. Most answers said the possibility was extremely low. Every Alpha was registered with the authorities at birth, and that data could not be altered casually.
You had to clear that first hurdle before any further possibilities existed.
Students left the classroom in small groups under the teacher’s direction, heading toward the designated rooms for examination. Everything was orderly at first. After half a class period, many students returned to the corridor. Class Nine exchanged looks. “Why was this check so fast?”
“Did something happen?”
Before long, Hu Shengqiang rushed back. “The remaining students should hold off on the physical for now. One student was overstimulated while releasing pheromones and entered heat early. Everyone self-study in place for now. The next check will be scheduled later.”
The Omegas who had been present returned and immediately began describing the scene. “It was Qiao Yishan from Class Eight. Her pheromones were insanely alluring, lily perfume. A bunch of Alphas almost went crazy. Luckily the teachers were there and immediately took the Alphas to isolation rooms.”
“Kun-ge, good thing you didn’t go,” Luo Ying said, clenching her fists in indignation.
That single sentence drew everyone’s attention.
Other Omegas chimed in. “Yeah. I heard the teacher ask if she needed a friend to accompany her. She said Betas were safe and asked if Qian Kun could go with her.”
“Damn, she’s bold.”
“Do you think Kun-ge is someone you can just summon? Give our Kun-ge the respect he deserves.”
“That’s fierce. If I were Kun-ge, I wouldn’t be able to resist that soft warmth.”
Liu Qimai was unhappy. “Isn’t that basically moral coercion?”
Thinking about it, everyone agreed. If the teacher had not stopped it, would Kun-ge go out of obligation or not?
Qian Kun did not feel the so-called temptation the Alphas described. Instead, being mentioned in that situation only skewed public opinion toward whether something existed between them. Why should he be moved by her selfish scheming?
He did not plan to humiliate a girl in public. He just smiled. “My hourly rate is pretty high. She probably can’t afford it.”
Everyone thought it was just a joke.
Then Shen Jin added, “100,000 RMB per hour.”
If it really were him, though he was still gathering clues, that was the marking fee. It had not even been a full hour, and he had been accused of being stingy and mistreating a 3S.
At the time of prepaying the marking fee, Shen Jin’s heart had ached terribly. It also proved that people who paid for marking were all wealthy patrons.
The other students were already used to these two not seeing eye to eye and found nothing strange.
Qian Kun leaned closer, gazing at his deskmate’s calm profile. “Where did you get such a precise number?”
Shen Jin’s fingers tightened around his pen.
“You look expensive.” Zheng Zhepeng’s original words. He was just borrowing them. The copyright fee could be paid next time.
Qian Kun seemed surprised by Shen Jin’s evaluation. His brows lifted, and he broke into a smile.
He leaned back lazily, looking at the falling leaves outside the window. “Yeah. I’m expensive.”
Only that way could I stand high enough for you to notice me at a glance.
*
The physical exam was forced to stop, and the subject teachers rearranged the schedule.
At lunchtime, students gradually headed to the cafeteria.
When Shen Jin arrived, before he could even line up, Zheng Zhepeng enthusiastically called him over. “Jin-ge, on such a special day, how can you serve yourself? Stop right there and follow me~~~”
Shen Jin pulled his hand free. He still was not used to standing so close to others.
People flowed through the cafeteria. Their area was not particularly conspicuous. This entire row of tables was Class Nine, all with meals already served, clearly waiting for him.
The empty seat in the middle did not have a lunch tray. Instead, it held five dishes and a soup, separate bowls. One look told you it was a single serving from the second cafeteria.
The second cafeteria was the teachers’ dining hall. The dishes there cost more than half again as much as student meals. Students rarely ate there.
This had been discussed earlier that morning. Seeing Shen Jin remain silent, Luo Ying spoke up. “Jin-ge, don’t think we’re stingy by only treating you to this.”
“Exactly. It’s the thought that counts.”
“We’re also apologizing. Before, we listened to rumors. You looked hard to approach, so we misunderstood you too.”
“Jin-ge, we’re making amends! Don't hold it against us little people!”
“Right. A prime minister’s belly can hold a boat.”
“The greatest sorrow is a dead heart.” That was Liu Qimai.
“If you don’t know how to use it, don’t use it. You’re embarrassing us to death!” Jiang Yifan was full of disdain.
“I’m truly ashamed to be in the same class as you.” Luo Ying followed up mercilessly.
“Damn it, how did I get tricked into coming here? Why did I even show up?” Liu Qimai wailed dramatically. He tried to get Zhou You to judge, only to have a chicken leg shoved into his mouth to shut him up.
Amid the joking, Shen Jin understood they were celebrating his birthday in their own lively way.
Looking at the food, Shen Jin asked, “How much did this cost?”
Jiang Yifan was quick with numbers. After adding it up, he said, “78.2 yuan. Everyone paid less than 2 yuan. Affordable, economical, and very down-to-earth.”
Liu Qimai sneered, “Good thing it’s down-to-earth, not down-to-ground.” Just too poor. As expected of top students, even poverty was phrased artistically.
Luo Ying smacked him.
“Speak properly. Speak human language.”
Everyone noticed that Shen Jin seemed to smile.
Heavens, Ice God smiled! Damn, that’s so good-looking!!!
Several Alphas flushed and turned away. Come on, just down this bowl of egg drop soup.
The table grew increasingly lively. Shen Jin, however, relaxed even more. “I can’t finish all this. Want to eat together?”
That sentence seemed to shatter the barrier that had existed for over a year.
No one held back. The sound of grabbing food filled the table.
Ke Minghuai was nudged by someone beside him and looked over, seeing Shen Jin surrounded by classmates, chatting.
During the time he was gone.
Xiao Jin seemed to have changed.
Before this semester, Shen Jin had not been particularly close with the class. It was more a matter of keeping to oneself. People kept their distance from him. Shen Jin was cool in temperament, cool in gaze, cool in demeanor.
Only Luo Ying and other Omegas approached him under the pretext of asking questions.
When had things begun to change?
It was the first day Shen Jin came to school this semester, when he directly punished Qian Kun’s group by making them stand at the back of the classroom. That was when everyone first realized Shen Jin was on their side. They all disliked those spoiled second-generation kids.
Because of that shared stance, they gradually grew closer by chance. They discovered that while Shen Jin was cold, it was a comfortable kind of cold.
Who said Ice God was cold-blooded and heartless? That was blatant nonsense.
Speaking of Qian Kun, where was he?
After fourth period, Qian Kun seemed to have left without saying anything to anyone.
His attitude was hot and cold.
It was subtle too. If Shen Jin had not been paying attention, he would not have noticed the minute changes.
Shen Jin did not know if it was just his imagination. Even if he asked, there would probably be no answer. Qian Kun was cunning and easily diverted conversations.
Shen Jin was still suspicious of [Hate Rabbits]’ true identity. He could not let the person slip away now.
His gaze shifted. He lowered his head and typed in the group chat. “[Tonight, I’m treating everyone to dinner.]”
Outside the school, Qian Kun sat alone at a milk tea shop, slowly drinking a caramel macchiato someone had recently wanted to try.
Many Omegas passed by, frequently glancing back. Some even took out their phones, wanting to sneak photos.
Qian Kun swept them with a quiet glance. They fled in panic.
He truly was deliberately cooling off his interactions with Shen Jin.
Yet he could not suppress the urge to draw closer. Between reason and desire, he swung back and forth, searching for a balance he could never quite find.
After sending the group message, Shen Jin opened a private chat.
[It’s my birthday today. I want to celebrate outside. Can you come?]
Qian Kun typed half a reply, then his pupils suddenly contracted.
He had not switched accounts.
Shen Jin was asking [Hate Rabbits].
Author’s Note:
Shen Jin, investigation in progress.
IsitRo: Oops, I forgot to mention that I’ve started using “ge” instead of “brother” whenever classmates talk to or address Qian Kun. It kinda feels like being able to call him that shows how much closer everyone’s gotten with him and his friends as a class. The same goes for Shen Jin~ :')
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