ABMSI Chapter 78

After returning to the classroom, Duan Wei sat at his desk without saying a word—an extremely rare sight. He flipped through the book on his table over and over, yet couldn’t read a single line.

Since Fu Duqiu transferred to this school, this was the first time he’d ever seen Duan Wei so downcast—other than during his heat. He assumed it must be because he leaned too close while explaining the questions, making Duan Wei uncomfortable.

Thinking of that, he frowned slightly.

Meanwhile, Duan Wei’s mind was a mess. He stared blankly at the desk reflecting light from the lamp. He felt that it must be because he spent so much time with Fu Duqiu every day that he started having those kinds of feelings.

That had to be it.

With that thought, whether to deceive himself or reassure himself, Duan Wei secretly nodded and took out a set of math problems. But before he had written a few characters, the person next to him suddenly asked, “Want to walk home together after school later?”

For a while, because Duan Wei’s father was hospitalized, he and Fu Duqiu often went to and from school together. Even after his father was discharged, they seemed to have formed a habit—waiting for one another after class and walking home together at a slow pace.

Hearing the question, Duan Wei froze for a moment and shook his head. “No need.”

Then he pulled out his phone and messaged Peng Yan, asking if they could walk home together, and turned off the screen. Other than that one refusal, he didn’t say another word to Fu Duqiu, completely opposite of how they had been before.

Seeing such obvious distance, Fu Duqiu’s expression dimmed. He looked at Duan Wei thoughtfully, the corners of his lips sinking slightly.

The two remained under a cloud of low pressure the entire evening. When the bell signaled the end of night study, Peng Yan leaped up from his chair with a teasing noise, slinging his already packed bag over his shoulder. “Duan bro, let’s go?”

As he turned his head, he saw his “Duan bro” packing up, and next to him, Fu Duqiu sat silently watching. Even a man of steel like Peng Yan felt a mysterious pressure squeeze at the air.

Duan Wei finished packing and stood up, pretending not to notice the burning gaze beside him. He turned to Peng Yan and said, “Let’s go?”

“Oh, oh—right!” Peng Yan snapped out of it. “Let’s go.”

The weather had warmed over the past few days, the air carrying a hint of dampness. Peng Yan took off his jacket and slung it over his arm. Seeing that Duan Wei wasn’t saying anything during their walk, he asked, “Duan-ge, what happened between you and Fu Duqiu?”

Hearing that, Duan Wei found it odd. “Weren’t you the one who always wanted to beat him up before? Why are you suddenly so concerned?”

Isn’t it because of the two of you?

Peng Yan shrugged casually, grinning like a silly kid. “If you’re still in the mood to beat him up, I’ll follow your orders anytime! Little Yanzi obeys every command from Duan-ge!”

Warmth rose in Duan Wei’s chest. He slung an arm around Peng Yan’s shoulders. “Now that’s loyalty.”

In Duan Wei’s mind, Little Yanzi was great in every way—except his brain was missing a screw. Anything serious could be easily brushed off by him. Sure enough, after chatting for a while, that silly sweetheart forgot what he wanted to ask in the first place, happily staggering forward with Duan Wei, shoulder to shoulder.

After getting home, Duan Wei took a hot shower. By the time he finished tidying up, it was already late at night. His phone was charging by the bed, and once he turned it on, a flood of WeChat messages appeared.

Peng Yan: [No seriously Duan bro, what happened between you and Fu Duqiu!]

[You still haven’t told me!!]

Seeing the messages, Duan Wei couldn’t help laughing. That kid was acting like a grandchild worrying about his grandfather’s troubles. He casually sent a few stickers back. After closing the chat box, he noticed messages from Fu Duqiu.

Fu Duqiu: [Did you get home?]

[Send me a message when you arrive.]

Not only that—his “flirting” alt account also had multiple messages from Fu Duqiu. If this had happened in the past, Duan Wei would have thought the sun rose from the west. But now, he only felt choked up.

He stared at his screen for a long time, droplets from his damp hair falling onto it before he snapped out of it. His fingers tapped the screen, blocking notifications from his alt account. Then, with his main account, he replied to Fu Duqiu: [I’m home.]

He pressed the side button, and the faint light slowly disappeared from his face.

He tossed the phone aside and didn’t look at it again.

To stop himself from thinking about anything else, he got up and prepared his school things for the next day. Who knew that inside his bag still lay the test papers Fu Duqiu had copied for him earlier? His heart twisted when he saw them, and he immediately turned off the light, dove into bed, and wrapped himself tightly in the blanket.

Just then his phone buzzed a few times. He glanced at the screen. It was another message sent by Fu Duqiu: [What’s wrong with you?]

His behavior had been so obvious, it wasn’t surprising that Fu Duqiu noticed. Holding his phone, Duan Wei sighed. Without replying, he turned to his side, closed his eyes inside the blanket, and muttered, “Let him find out… saves me the trouble of saying it.”

He didn’t dream that night, yet still slept poorly. In the morning, dark circles hung beneath his eyes. When he returned to the classroom, Peng Yan exclaimed, “Duan bro, I’m sure I got you home in one piece last night—did someone mug you at your door??”

“Get lost.” Duan Wei rolled his eyes, dropping his bag and sitting down. He could feel Fu Duqiu watching him, but pretended not to notice, sitting calmly as though nothing was wrong.

Fu Duqiu narrowed his eyes slightly. Now he really couldn’t figure out why Duan Wei was avoiding him. He originally thought he was too close last night and made him uncomfortable, but thinking it over, Duan Wei hadn’t acted like he disliked it. And it had been a whole night; with Duan Wei’s temper, he should’ve gotten over it already.

Because he couldn’t understand it at all, Fu Duqiu’s mood turned heavy. These days, he felt like he couldn’t control his emotions—like a pressure constantly building in his chest, ready to explode.

Yet whenever he faced Duan Wei, that anger seemed to dissolve instantly. He wanted to trap Duan Wei tightly against him, but also wanted Wei to feel comfortable, without barriers.

With both of them harboring their own thoughts, morning self-study passed in silence. Before the first period, Teacher Qin stood at the podium and announced: “Seats will be rearranged tomorrow and the day after. If you have any special requests, raise your hand now. After class, come to the office to register.”

As soon as he finished, a few students raised their hands—mostly those with poor eyesight wanting to sit closer. Duan Wei didn’t even think twice before raising his hand as well.

Fu Duqiu’s face instantly darkened, the air around him dropping to sub-zero.

Teacher Qin noticed and asked casually, “You want to sit in the front row too? Are you sure the teachers won’t beat you up when they hear your snoring?”

Laughter burst from the class. Duan Wei adjusted his glasses with his fingertip and replied, “Teacher, I’m nearsighted too!”

“Now that’s rare.” Mr. Qin chuckled as he picked up a piece of chalk from the podium. “You’ve been nearsighted for years and never once asked to sit in the front. Yet a few months of sitting with Fu Duqiu and you suddenly change?”

The remark made Duan Wei a bit embarrassed. He had indeed raised his hand on purpose. Maybe only after sitting apart from Fu Duqiu could he pack away all those messy feelings.

Mr. Qin was only teasing casually. Seeing that Duan Wei didn’t reply, he started the lesson. The students around them didn’t sense anything strange—some flipped open textbooks, others whispered to each other. Only Fu Duqiu slowly turned his head, eyes lowered, staring at Duan Wei.

“So you want to sit apart from me that badly?” he asked quietly.

Just to get away from him, Duan Wei would rather sit at the front where the teacher could keep an eye on him at all times.

Fu Duqiu sneered silently in his heart. Quite the sacrifice.

“…” Duan Wei froze for a second. The moment he met Fu Duqiu’s gaze, he reflexively looked away.

This was a side of Fu Duqiu he had never seen before.

There was no gentleness in those eyes now—only something like a thin, razor-sharp sheet of ice. Just one look made the air feel frigid. Even without releasing pheromones, an Alpha’s innate aggression was impossible to ignore.

Someone like Duan Wei, who feared nothing, suddenly didn’t dare speak up. He forced himself to meet Fu Duqiu’s eyes and, after a long struggle, finally mumbled, “My prescription got worse. My mom told me to sit closer to the front.”

“Is that so?” Fu Duqiu let out a cold laugh and turned away, asking nothing more. But the suppressed anger beneath his calm was obvious—like a tripwire waiting for the slightest touch to detonate.

Duan Wei had to admit it: he was a little intimidated by just a few simple words. He debated whether he should apologize, but judging from Fu Duqiu’s mood, it didn’t seem like a couple of apologies would fix anything.

He decided to ignore it.

Whatever. He would be moving seats tomorrow or the day after anyway. Once they saw less of each other, the fragile tension between them would eventually snap.

With no one speaking, the morning classes dragged on unbearably slowly—slow enough that he fell asleep twice, and somehow only three periods had passed. After each class, a blank test paper was added to his desk. No one copying answers for him this time.

Before lunch break, Peng Yan habitually turned around and held out his hand. Duan Wei placed the blank papers into it. “Grandson, time for your filial piety.”

“???” Peng Yan stared at the empty papers. “You didn’t copy from the top student?”

His voice wasn’t loud enough for the teacher to hear, but Fu Duqiu definitely did. Yet Fu didn’t react—just stared at the board with a cold expression.

Both Alphas, and even Peng Yan was a little spooked. He quickly texted Duan Wei.

Peng Yan: [Why do I feel like we time-traveled? Like we’re back to the day he first transferred here? Except he wasn’t this cold back then either??]

Duan Wei sighed inwardly, emotions complicated. If only they really could go back to that first day. He would’ve cut off those feelings before anything ever started.

Duan Wei: [Yeah. You time-traveled.]

Peng Yan: [Did you two fight?]

Duan Wei: [Mm.]

Peng Yan: [Then what about homework?! Don’t fight with the one person who lets us cheat!]

“….” Duan Wei rolled his eyes and replied: Scram.

When the bell rang, he put his phone away. Just as he looked up, he saw Fu Duqiu already leaving the classroom. They normally ate together at lunch. Watching him leave without a word, Duan Wei felt a strange mix of sadness and relief.

Fine. So be it.

As expected, Fu didn’t speak to him the entire afternoon. Even during volleyball in P.E., when they were paired together, they only passed the ball mechanically. The atmosphere was so icy that the shirtless boys nearby actually put clothes back on.

While passing the ball, Duan Wei suddenly smelled pheromones. Pine, shrouded in mist—sometimes faint, sometimes overwhelming. It felt familiar. Like Fu Duqiu.

But as a high-quality Alpha, Fu shouldn’t be leaking pheromones without reason—unless unstable or affected by something. And considering the current tension, Duan Wei couldn’t ask, so he said nothing.

Near the last twenty minutes of class, during free activity, Duan Wei saw Fu speaking briefly with the P.E. teacher, then heading straight toward the classroom building.

He watched until Fu disappeared from sight, then withdrew his gaze slowly.

He chatted distractedly with some classmates afterward, and soon the dismissal bell rang. Duan Wei picked up his jacket. As he and Peng Yan walked toward the cafeteria entrance, they overheard someone nearby talking:

“I passed by the Liberal Arts building earlier and smelled a super strong pheromone scent. Definitely Alpha. It was so strong I almost kneeled on the floor.”

“Someone in heat on campus?” another asked.

“Probably! Otherwise, what Alpha leaks pheromones like that? But the scent was crazy good. Like a forest. High-end as hell, better than perfume.”

Duan Wei’s expression instantly changed.

Ignoring Peng Yan entirely, he strode toward the two Omegas and asked, “Which floor did you smell it from?”

Almost everyone in school knew him, so the two Omegas recognized him instantly. They froze, then one answered, “Not sure. We were on the first floor. It was so strong it drifted all the way down.”

Even with so little information, a sharp instinct rose in Duan Wei’s gut. His brows furrowed urgently. The two Omegas, unsure what was going on, slowly left for the cafeteria. Peng Yan hurried up beside him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Did you see Fu Duqiu anywhere?” Duan Wei asked anxiously.

“I’ve been next to you this whole time,” Peng Yan said blankly. “If you didn’t see him, how would I—hey, wait—”

Before he could finish, Duan Wei shoved his jacket at him and bolted toward the Liberal Arts building.

He ran with all his strength. The closer he got, the thicker that familiar scent became. His guess was gradually turning into certainty.

Several students were downstairs, calling their teachers in panic. The pheromone release was far too intense. If unchecked, something could happen not just to the person in question, but to half the Omegas on campus.

Seeing Duan Wei rush over, several people tried to stop him, but he shook them off firmly.

They were shocked when they recognized who it was. Seeing that he didn’t seem affected by the pheromones, they spoke anxiously.

“If there’s danger, shout for help!”

“Don’t push yourself! Protect yourself first!”

Ignoring them, Duan Wei took the stairs. He checked Class 8—empty. With no other clues, he could only follow the scent. The deeper he went, the stronger it grew. Even though he was familiar with Fu Duqiu’s pheromones, the overwhelming concentration made his legs weaken.

At last, he reached a music room. Here, the scent was the strongest. He hesitated a moment, then carefully opened the door.

The door closed behind him as soon as he stepped inside. The curtains were shut tightly; the room was pitch dark. He could see nothing.

He called out, “Fu Duqiu? Are you here?”

“It’s me, Duan Wei. Are you alright?”

Silence.

The quiet was suffocating, eerie enough to make him afraid. After a few seconds, he backed toward the door again. He took out his phone and sent Fu a Where are you? message.

Right as he hit send, he realized—he had sent it from his small account.

He was about to withdraw it when a sharp vibration rang through the room.

Duan Wei froze. His first instinct was to flee. He grabbed the door, pulled it open a crack—

—and a burst of strength slammed it shut with a bang.

The familiar pine scent engulfed him. Then a voice sounded low behind him:

“Where are you going?”