ABMSI Chapter 71
by Suxxi“I’m a high-quality Alpha. I won’t even charge you.”
Fu Duqiu spoke with that half-smile of his. Normally his face was all cold lines and stern attitude, yet right now he looked downright unserious. Old Tong’s voice droned loudly from the podium, and Duan Wei instinctively scooted his chair back as if burned. “I don’t think that’s really… appropriate.”
“Why not?” Fu Duqiu thought for a moment, then replied, “Our pheromone compatibility is 99%. And I’m a premium Alpha. No one could match better with you than me.”
“…”
Was this actually just a matter of compatibility??
But the thought got stuck in Duan Wei’s head anyway, and he couldn’t stop himself from blurting out, “You like me… is it because we match well?”
The moment the words fell, he saw Fu Duqiu’s slight grin disappear. Duan Wei immediately regretted asking. The guy had literally opened up yesterday about their childhood connection—Fu Duqiu clearly liked the original Duan Wei. Why on earth did he say something so dumb and pointless?
Too late to take it back now. Fu Duqiu’s handsome brows drew in just a little as he asked, “You really think that’s why?”
Duan Wei: “…”
“I like you. It’s not some spur-of-the-moment thing, and it’s not because I compared options and picked the best.” Fu Duqiu looked straight at him with those deep, dark eyes. “It’s because it has to be you.”
“You—”
Before Duan Wei could finish, Fu Duqiu cut him off. “Compatibility is just the icing on the cake.”
This was the first time in his life Duan Wei had been bombarded by love lines one after another. He wanted to argue back, but every comeback died before it formed. And yet he clearly understood one thing: Fu Duqiu wasn’t in love with him.
So he muttered, “You’re saying all this way too early.”
Who knew, right? Maybe one day he’d meet someone he liked even more.
“It won’t change.” Fu Duqiu paused after saying that. Seeing Duan Wei dodge his gaze out of disbelief, he softened, almost as if compromising. “You’ll understand later.”
Duan Wei didn’t reply. He didn’t even know what he was thinking anymore. What mattered most to him was fixing the story line and giving this body back to its rightful owner. After that, whether Fu Duqiu ended up with the heroine or the male rival had nothing to do with him.
But he still couldn’t hurry himself up. Otherwise he wouldn’t have asked that question—something that should have meant absolutely nothing to him.
Why did it matter why Fu Duqiu liked him? Or who he liked, really?
The more he thought, the more his head hurt. So he gave up on thinking altogether, ignored the burning stare beside him, folded his arms on his desk, and turned his head to sleep.
He didn’t rest well at all. Dreams kept coming, strange and blurry. In them, he was a young boy, the summer sun scorching his shoulders. He ran under rows of plane trees. Another little boy followed behind him.
Above them, clouds churned lazily across the sky. Beneath their feet, gravel crunched and glimmered in the bright light. The park was drenched in sunshine. Leaves covered the ground like a green carpet. Everything was breathtaking.
Two small figures ran across a sandy riverbank, dashed down streets, and slipped through the doors of a hall. Their shadows stretched ridiculously long in the sun, and their laughter drifted far, far away.
When Duan Wei finally woke up, school was nearly over. His head was pounding, his whole body sore, and worst of all, the gland at the back of his neck itched faintly.
The class was buzzing, restless with the anticipation of going home. Duan Wei rubbed his temples and sat up, confused by the dream.
Was that him dreaming about Fu Duqiu and the original Duan Wei as kids?
He suspected it was just Fu Duqiu nagging about childhood memories too often, so he didn’t dwell on it. His current state suggested his heat wasn’t far off. The Omega next to him sniffed lightly, catching the faint pheromone scent off him.
“Do you need a suppressant?” they whispered.
“I’ve got one, thanks.” Duan Wei smiled, stood up, and headed out with the inhibitor in hand.
Some classes had already been dismissed. A group of Alphas walked down the hallway. It was early March—spring warming the air, hormones waking right along with it. The scent of pheromones thickened in the corridor.
The more he breathed it in, the worse he felt. Duan Wei quickened his pace and headed straight for the restroom.
He shut the stall door behind him and locked it, tore open the inhibitor package, and jabbed the needle into his arm with practiced ease. The empty syringe clattered into the trash can. But unlike usual, nothing kicked in. Time dragged, his legs grew weaker.
The discomfort of a full-blown heat flooded his body in an instant. Half-collapsed on the floor, he suddenly remembered what that beta had said about drug resistance. His face went paper white.
No way. He’d only been using inhibitors for less than a year—already resistant??
The bell rang. Voices drifted by the restroom door. Summoning the last of his strength, Duan Wei fumbled out his phone. At the top of his chat list was Fu Duqiu.
He hesitated, then swiped past it and opened Peng Yan’s chat instead:
[Come to the bathroom. SOS!!]
The moment he hit send, he stayed curled in the stall, praying Peng Yan wouldn’t be wolfing down his lunch too quickly.
No messages came. His head swam. His thoughts blurred. He was on the verge of passing out when footsteps approached.
Instinctively, he called, “Xiao Yanzi?”
“…” Fu Duqiu stood outside the stall, silent. The scent of pheromones filling the restroom told him everything immediately. He spoke through the door: “What happened to you?”
Duan Wei instantly knew who it was. His heart jumped. “Where’s Peng Yan?”
The moment he realized it was Fu Duqiu, his voice even switched to using Peng Yan’s nickname instead of “Little Flame.” Fu Duqiu paused, then said, “He went to eat and told me to find you.”
The truth was that Fu Duqiu had been watching him ever since class started, noticing something was off. He’d seen the message pop up on Peng Yan’s screen and sent Peng Yan off to lunch alone, heading here himself.
“What’s wrong?” Fu Duqiu stepped closer, voice low.
Any Omega would feel most vulnerable during heat. Alphas nearby were like walking threats; Duan Wei was no exception. He shrank back, separated only by the door, and after hesitating, said, “Let Peng Yan come. I need him for something.”
Fu Duqiu swallowed down the surge of emotion clawing up his throat. He asked quietly, “Did you inject an inhibitor?”
Duan Wei’s eyes flicked to the empty wrapper on the floor. After a moment of silence, he caved. “…I injected it, but it’s not working.”
His tone carried panic, and most of Fu Duqiu’s irritation evaporated. He knocked lightly on the stall door. “If you trust me, open up.”
The closer he got, the stronger the familiar pine scent radiating from him became. Maybe because Duan Wei had been marked before… maybe because their compatibility was 99%. Whatever the reason—just smelling it dulled the pain and fog in Duan Wei’s body. After a long internal battle, he finally unlocked the door.
The moment the stall swung open, Duan Wei’s pheromones spread like a wave across the bathroom. His sweet orange scent in winter had always smelled young and fresh, but in spring it turned humid, ripened, and maddeningly tempting.
Fu Duqiu took one look and immediately turned his gaze away. He grabbed the empty wrapper from the floor, glanced at it, and his brows pulled tight.
Seeing his face, Duan Wei tensed. “What’s wrong?”
“Has this inhibitor been in your bag the whole time?” Fu Duqiu asked.
“…Yeah.” Duan Wei now looked exactly like a nervous patient waiting for a diagnosis. “Why?”
“When did you put it there?”
“During the winter camp. My mom bought a bunch. I just kept them in my bag.” Duan Wei swallowed. “Is it… actually drug resistance?”
Fu Duqiu: “It’s expired.”
Duan Wei: “?”
Fu Duqiu sighed and brought the wrapper to his eyes, pointing at the production and expiration date. “It’s been there for months. You never considered it might expire?”
Duan Wei: “…”
He really… hadn’t.
They were standing very close, breath mingling. Pine and sweet orange fused together, turning the restroom into a forest full of ripening fruit.
The one who lost his composure first wasn’t the Omega in heat—but the perfectly normal Alpha. Duan Wei, half-delirious, stared only at the label, totally unaware that the bigger danger was the man right beside him.
“I’m going to borrow another inhibitor.”
Fu Duqiu tossed the wrapper into the trash and strode out in a few quick steps, shutting the door behind him.
Duan Wei waited quietly, no longer wary. He felt that for all of Fu Duqiu’s nonsense and slick mouth, when things mattered, he could be relied on.
Dependable.
Not long after, the stall door was tapped again. Duan Wei opened it without thinking. Fu Duqiu handed him a fresh inhibitor.
“Use it. Do you have enough strength? Do you want help?”
Duan Wei mumbled a response, then shook his head. To prove he was fine, he rolled his sleeve up to his elbow, exposing pale skin and blue veins.
As he lowered his head, Fu Duqiu’s angle gave him a clear view of the gland at the back of Duan Wei’s neck.
They hadn’t done a temporary mark in months; there was no trace of it left. If Fu Duqiu tried, he could still remember how fragile that spot had been, how easily it reacted.
If he leaned in now, Duan Wei would tremble, and pheromones would spill out like springs from a crack.
Meanwhile, the Omega himself was completely oblivious, jabbering while injecting the new inhibitor. “You haven’t eaten yet, right? I’ll treat you—”
Before he even finished the word “dinner,” Fu Duqiu abruptly turned away and left, letting the door slam shut behind him with a loud bang.
“What the…” Duan Wei blinked, confused, and continued injecting.
Several meters away, Fu Duqiu strode into the hallway, his mind replaying the glimpse of that exposed gland.
Omega pheromones could affect Alphas too. Even a top-class Alpha like him was now unsettled and restless thanks to Duan Wei.
Calm down. You two are nothing right now.
He took a deep breath, walking aimlessly back and forth down the empty corridor. Anyone seeing him now would never believe he was normally so composed.
After a long moment, he finally stopped and exhaled.
I don’t want to be human anymore…
Author’s note:
Duan Wei: Fu Duqiu, you’re reliable!
Fu Duqiu: With a wife that smells this good, why should I restrain myself?