ABMSI Chapter 31

Compatibility: 99%.

99%???

Duan Wei stared at the number on the report like it was a medical death certificate.

He and Fu Duqiu… that high?

But he remembered it perfectly—Fu Duqiu and Xu Jianian’s 89% compatibility was the highest possible value in the original novel.
So what on earth was this 99% supposed to be? Was it part of the original setting… or the result of a whole chain of butterfly effects caused by him transmigrating into the story?

He leaned toward the second explanation. Because if the male side character had a higher match rate than the female lead, then honestly, that would be ridiculous.

Realizing that, Duan Wei couldn’t help but start wondering why the main plot was drifting further and further off course. Ever since Fu Duqiu transferred schools, everything had gone galloping off like a runaway horse—no amount of pulling could rein it back in.

Where had it all started to go wrong…?

While Duan Wei stood there deep in thought, Fu Duqiu quietly studied the shifting expressions across his face—surprise, confusion, contemplation—one after another. He couldn’t quite figure out what was going through the other’s mind.

In this world, people did talk about “destined partners,” but it was something so mystical, so rare, that most had given up believing in it. You might find someone with a seemingly high compatibility, yet somewhere out there could exist a person whose number was even higher—buried, unseen, among the billions.

But now, he and Duan Wei’s compatibility was 99%.

Duan Wei’s pheromones had surpassed 99% of all others in the world—matching his perfectly.

And that person was standing right in front of him, not lost in the crowd.

Fu Duqiu’s eyelids twitched slightly.

For a moment, countless thoughts raced through his mind—he couldn’t tell whether it was joy or shock that burned in his chest. Beneath his calm surface, his heart was scorching, his usual composure short-circuiting. He lifted his hand to hide his expression, only to catch, through his fingers, a faint trace of that familiar scent—

The pheromone that had lingered on his hand from earlier.
It was faint enough to almost miss, yet in that instant, it filled his entire sense of smell.

He lowered his eyes, pressing his palm to his face, trying to drag his focus away from Duan Wei.

Across from them, the Alpha doctor finally snapped out of his daze. “Would you mind if I took a photo for record-keeping?” he asked apologetically. “Sorry, I’ve just… never seen a compatibility this high before.”

“…Uh—”

Duan Wei was about to politely refuse—“That’s not really appropriate”—when the doctor went on enthusiastically:

“We can also issue you a certified document from a professional institute—a certificate of the highest compatibility.”

Before Duan Wei could say another word, Fu Duqiu calmly said, “It’s fine. We don’t mind.”

“…?” Duan Wei turned toward him in disbelief. Fu Duqiu’s face was open, composed, like this was the most ordinary thing in the world.

Xu Jianian and Peng Yan exchanged a glance and silently shook their heads.

The printing didn’t take long. When Duan Wei finally walked out of the research center, certificate in hand, he was still in a daze. The Alpha doctor, thrilled to have something new for his archives, had even prepared two little glass bottles containing preserved pheromone samples as gifts of appreciation.

But the fatal mistake—the truly suffocating part—was that the doctor had mixed them up.

Now Duan Wei was holding Fu Duqiu’s pheromone sample.

Wasn’t this basically the ancient equivalent of exchanging love tokens?!

The bottle looked completely ordinary—transparent glass, seemingly empty—but inside, invisible to the naked eye, was Fu Duqiu’s pheromone. A faint trace of white pine escaped every now and then from the bottle’s mouth.

The longer Duan Wei held it, the stranger he felt. Finally, panicking a little, he shoved it deep into his backpack and pretended nothing happened.

At that moment, Peng Yan gave him a sideways glance, curiosity written all over his face. “So, Duan-ge, how does it feel?”

“Nothing special,” Duan Wei said coolly. “It’s just 99%. Who knows—maybe there’s a 100% out there somewhere.”

“How’s that possible? You two already scored that high.” Peng Yan looked pained—his cabbage (Duan Wei) had clearly been stolen by a wolf—but even he couldn’t argue with hard data.

“How’s it not possible? Besides, these tests aren’t always accurate,” Duan Wei said quickly, shaking his head and shooting down Peng Yan’s theory without hesitation.

At that, Peng Yan glanced at Duan Wei, then at Fu Duqiu, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

What was going on between these two ancestors of his? Why did they act like they were on such good terms—flirting openly in front of the entire school—yet Duan Wei was still so adamantly denying their compatibility?

But when he looked at the other protagonist, the expression on his face seemed… the complete opposite—almost pleased.

There’s that old saying: sometimes the magnetic field between Alphas just clicks.

And while Peng Yan was still lost in confusion, he saw Fu Duqiu take out the glass vial containing Duan Wei’s pheromone sample. Slowly, Fu lifted it to his face.

The next thing Peng Yan knew, his mouth was blurting out: “…What the fuck.”

Duan Wei looked over. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… nothing at all.”

Peng Yan quickly shook his head, yanked his gaze away, and when he saw Duan Wei about to turn around, he panicked—both hands shot out, pressing against Duan Wei’s cheeks and physically forcing his head in the opposite direction.

Duan Wei: ?

Then Peng Yan dragged him to the far end of the exhibit hall, heart still pounding.

Because he had just seen Fu Duqiu lift the vial to his nose, tilt his head slightly, and breathe in deeply before carefully tucking the bottle into his pocket.

So what the hell was happening now—had the story jumped from “campus king vs. school bully: mortal enemies” to “school heartthrob secretly pining after the bully”?

Peng Yan’s mind was nothing but windswept prairie grass at this point.

---

After wandering through the museum’s second floor for a while longer, it was finally lunchtime. Duan Wei, exhausted from walking, had completely stopped thinking about pheromone matches and was now focused entirely on demolishing the food in front of him.

Old Qin wiped his mouth, glanced at his phone, and said, “The snow should start easing up tomorrow. According to the original plan, we’ll be climbing the mountain.”

The moment he said that, a collective groan rippled around the table.

“It’s freezing out there! Why are we climbing a mountain?” one Alpha complained.

Old Qin clicked his tongue. “What’s with the whining? You’re all young and healthy—mountain climbing is good for your spirit! You lot stay holed up gaming all day, and we’re supposed to trust you as the future of our nation?”

Even while eating, he could launch into a full-blown lecture. None of the students could get a word in edgewise.

Duan Wei chuckled. “Old Qin, are you coming with us too?”

Old Qin paused, adjusted his glasses, and smiled. “Of course not. I’ve arranged for a guide to take you. Same person who led you around the museum today—Zhu Fan. You’d all better listen to him, understood?”

“Tch. So he gets to lecture us but skips the actual climb,” Peng Yan muttered under his breath to Duan Wei.

Everyone looked equally unwilling but couldn’t voice their complaints. Duan Wei, usually the least enthusiastic one, was secretly suppressing a grin.

Because the mountain trip was supposed to be the main plot event—the big turning point.

In the original story, Fu Duqiu and Xu Jianian would get separated from the group and end up spending the night alone together in the snowy mountains, their relationship heating up through shared hardship.

And since the plot had already gone wildly off-script, Duan Wei decided he might as well steer it back himself.

But after everything that had already happened, he was a little wary of tempting fate. So he figured, following the original scenario wasn’t enough—he’d have to add a little extra fuel to the fire.

He was determined to make the main couple do this and that, and then that and this…

Just the thought of it made his appetite double.

---

When everyone was getting ready to leave, Duan Wei stood up along with the others—but hadn’t taken two steps before someone grabbed his arm from behind.

Fu Duqiu.

He looked up, confused. “What is it?”

“You’re just going to walk out like that?” Fu Duqiu asked quietly.

Caught completely off guard, Duan Wei’s mind went blank. He’d just been scheming about how to push the male and female leads together, and now—this sudden close proximity made him nervous. He averted his gaze. “Uh… yeah? Why?”

Fu Duqiu didn’t answer. Instead, he reached up, his fingers brushing lightly across the corner of Duan Wei’s lips. “You’ve got something on your face.”

His touch was soft—almost cautious. Cool fingertips grazed Duan Wei’s mouth, sliding just barely along his lower lip before gliding down the edge of his jaw. The contact made Duan Wei shiver involuntarily.

He held still, resisting the urge to jerk away, and watched as Fu Duqiu’s fingers came away with a bit of strawberry cake crumb—the one he’d been eating earlier. Fu didn’t seem the least bit bothered. He simply wiped Duan Wei’s mouth clean, then used a napkin to tidy his own hand.

Duan Wei stared, dumbfounded, as Fu Duqiu calmly went about it, and only when he looked up again did he realize—the room was still full of people.

Across the table, Peng Yan was staring at them, then glanced miserably at Old Qin, whose expression screamed, “Two ancestors, please, the teacher is still here…”

Fortunately, Old Qin was too busy taking photos of the desserts to post in his family group chat to notice the live romantic drama unfolding under his nose.

Duan Wei quickly looked away and hurried out of the room.

Fu Duqiu’s eyes followed him, catching sight of the faint blush blooming behind Duan Wei’s pale ear—a soft, rosy tint impossible to miss.

Duan Wei was blushing.

---

Author’s Note:
Fu: He’s blushing.
Duan: I need to make the male and female leads do this and that, then that and this…
Fu: ???

(The main event is coming. Can the heat cycle be far behind?)