PSWHNC CH3

Chapter 3 Absolutely Safe

What kind of twisted logic was that? Since when could 0% pheromone compatibility be used like that?

“Help with what?” Xiao Yan’s voice was laced with sleepiness. Pushing the door open, he leaned against the frame, his eyes half-lidded. He paused for a second when he saw Luo Zhiyu, then noticed the measuring tape in his hand and immediately understood. He tilted his chin at Luo Zhiyu. “What did I say? We were bound to see each other.”

The excellent second-year student representative surnamed Xiao, whom he had just seen that morning, stood before him, school uniform loosely draped over his shoulders, looking like he had just woken up.

Luo Zhiyu: “……”

“Don’t fight, don’t fight. There’s no one else available right now.” Fan Yue had no other special skills, but he was good at mediating. “You two just make do.”

“Forget it, I’ll measure myself.” Luo Zhiyu turned to leave, but the other end of the measuring tape was suddenly tugged back.

“Come back.” Xiao Yan pulled the tape toward himself. “I’ll take your measurements. This is official student council work, no personal feelings involved.”

Xiao Yan: “Don’t be mad.”

Jing Ximing was still waiting in the dorm for lunch, so Luo Zhiyu wanted to get back quickly. Xiao Yan had already said there were no personal feelings involved, and while Luo Zhiyu was quick to anger, he wasn’t narrow-minded.

“You’re both high schoolers, talk it out nicely. You two absolutely shouldn’t fight,” Fan Yue reminded them again.

The five alpha boys from the student council took their instant noodle bowls and went into the inner room, leaving the two of them alone.

“Luo Zhiyu, you have military training tomorrow?” Xiao Yan motioned for him to raise his arm. He wrapped the measuring tape around Luo Zhiyu’s waist over the school uniform. “Did you rest well after your differentiation that day?”

Luo Zhiyu responded with an unhappy hum. His predicted secondary gender at birth had been omega. For him, differentiation felt like catching a cold. He’d run a fever, went through the hospital procedures, but he hadn’t yet noticed any significant physical changes.

His waist was a bit sensitive and ticklish when touched, so while Xiao Yan was measuring him, Luo Zhiyu kept his lips pressed together and didn’t say a word.

This was the first time the two of them had been this close without starting a fight.

“Do you want to take off your uniform jacket?” Xiao Yan asked.

“Huh?” Luo Zhiyu was caught off guard.

“It’ll be more accurate.” Xiao Yan noted down a number on his laptop. “There might be a margin of error over the uniform. It won’t fit properly if we get it wrong.”

Since this was official business, Luo Zhiyu cooperated. He unzipped his jacket and took it off, folding the first-year uniform jacket neatly into a square and placing it on the table. Underneath, he wore the school’s standard white autumn sports shirt.

The rectangular metal nameplate beneath the collar bore his name and class. Xiao Yan’s eyes lingered for a moment on the words ‘Class 3.’ He had been in Class 1-3 the previous year, and aside from the name, he’d worn the exact same uniform.

“Hurry up,” Luo Zhiyu urged. “I’ve got stuff to do.”

Xiao Yan gave a brief response and motioned for him to raise his arm again. Luo Zhiyu did as told. The measuring tape wrapped around him, meeting at the front. Xiao Yan tightened it slightly, his hands coming to a stop over Luo Zhiyu’s chest. “Luo Zhiyu, you don’t need to hold your breath. Just stay relaxed.”

“Oh…” Luo Zhiyu finally let out the breath he’d been holding, and his chest rose and fell again.

Xiao Yan’s uniform sleeve had rolled up slightly with the movement, and when Luo Zhiyu looked down, he could see a small, faint scar on his right wrist, the color of a barely visible peach blossom petal. He had bitten that scar onto Xiao Yan’s wrist when he first saw him at three years old.

From then on, the two of them became sworn enemies. Every time they saw each other, Xiao Yan would always be the first to provoke him, and Luo Zhiyu would always be the first to throw a punch.

The memory from when he was three felt too distant now. Luo Zhiyu hadn’t expected the scar to last this long. No wonder Xiao Yan held a grudge.

Xiao Yan withdrew the tape measure, noticed Luo Zhiyu’s gaze, and also looked down at his own wrist. “You remember?”

“Just do your job,” Luo Zhiyu snapped. “Stop asking so many questions. You’re being a pain.”

“Alright, alright.” Trust Luo Zhiyu to blow up in an instant. Xiao Yan backed down. “Turn around.”

Luo Zhiyu turned his back to him. The cool measuring tape brushed against the back of his neck, slowly aligning with his skin.

Before Xiao Yan could finish measuring his collar size, his hand paused. “Should I close my eyes?”

A pheromone suppressant patch was stuck over the gland at the back of Luo Zhiyu’s neck, blocking the sweet scent of peach that had been there before. Perhaps he’d thought the plain white patch looked boring, because he’d drawn a panda face on it.

“Why would you close your eyes? What’s the point of measuring with your eyes shut?” Luo Zhiyu shot back. “What, you don’t think my panda drawing looks good?”

Xiao Yan didn’t know how to explain it to him. Luo Zhiyu’s parents were busy with work and rarely home. His older sister and brother were both alphas, and only Luo Zhiyu was an omega in the family. Having just differentiated, he hadn’t yet attended the high school’s gender-specific physiology class. He apparently didn’t know that it was extremely rude for an alpha to stare at an omega’s neck.

“Hurry up!” Luo Zhiyu grew impatient. If they dilly-dallied any longer, the canteen would run out of food.

0%, Xiao Yan repeated silently to himself. He wrapped the measuring tape around Luo Zhiyu’s neck, tightened it slightly, leaving a finger’s width of space at the gland, then released it and noted down all the measurements.

“Alright, go on.” Xiao Yan entered the data into the computer as he waved him off. “Leave your dorm number. Someone will probably bring it to you tonight.”

Luo Zhiyu had already darted off, school jacket in his arms.

Fan Yue walked in, carrying his instant noodle cup, and found only Xiao Yan left in the room.

“That fast?” Fan Yue gave him two big thumbs-up. “0%, absolutely safe, just as expected.”

Luo Zhiyu’s dorm was on the first floor, a two-person room with a small balcony. When he pushed the door open, Jing Ximing was in the middle of injecting a suppressant into his arm.

The air conditioning in the room was set quite low. Luo Zhiyu handed over the lunchbox and sprawled comfortably onto his bed.

“Being an omega is great,” Jing Ximing said, hugging the lunchbox. “Because my heat cycle coincided with the start of school, I don’t even have to do military training.”

“It really is great,” Luo Zhiyu agreed. “Only we have double rooms, they all have quads.”

In today’s society, omegas made up only 15.3% of the total population, so they were highly valued. Naturally, they received better treatment than alphas and betas at school. The two students, both fully embracing their identities, picked up their lunchboxes, took a bite of vegetables, chewed twice, and watched each other’s smiles slowly fade.

Luo Zhiyu: “……”

Luo Zhiyu: “This tastes awful.”

Jing Ximing: “You’re right.”

Jing Coming: “Then, we’re doomed. This is the best food at No. 1 High? Seriously?”

Luo Zhiyu was also stunned. He’d run across nearly the entire campus for this?

“Hold on.” Luo Zhiyu opened WeChat and pulled up the contact labeled ‘Excellent Second-Year Student Representative.’

[Not Zhile]: frowning fairy.jpg

[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: frowning fairy.jpg

[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: You ran off so fast, tell me your dorm number.

[Not Zhile]: Building 3, Room 101.

[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: Got it.

[Not Zhile]: Get back here. Did I say you could leave?

The other party is typing……

The other party is typing……

[Not Zhile]: [photo] Banana stewed with strawberries, stir-fried shrimp with mango, cheese-stuffed cucumber? frowning fairy.jpg

[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: Pfft.

[Not Zhile]: ‘Pfft’ is all you’ve got? This is what you recommended to me?!

[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: I honestly didn’t think you’d actually buy it sweating.jpg.

[Not Zhile]: You’re done for. I’m not letting this go.

“What’s up?” From Jing Ximing’s angle, he could see Luo Zhiyu’s smile twisting into something sinister.

“Arguing with an idiot,” Luo Zhiyu said, putting down his phone and giving up on the questionable food in the lunchbox.

Xiao Yan didn’t reply after that, but Luo Zhiyu didn’t need to check to know he was probably enjoying the moment. Fortunately, their dorm was well-stocked with snacks, so they wouldn’t go hungry.

Jing Ximing had been low on energy the past few days. After eating, he lay down to rest. Luo Zhiyu quietly opened his art supply bag and set up his easel in the dorm. He stayed seated, painting the whole afternoon.

As evening approached, the screen of Luo Zhiyu’s phone lit up on the desk.

[Excellent Second-Year Student Representative]: Come out and get your delivery.

[Not Zhile]: ? I didn’t order anything.

Still, he stood up, wiped a smudge of watercolor paint from his cheek, grabbed his keys, and stepped outside. Outside the dormitory area of Building 3, Xiao Yan was standing against the wall with the sun behind him, holding several bags.

“Take your clothes.” Xiao Yan handed one of the bags to Luo Zhiyu. “We second-year students are busy with studies. No one is willing to deliver them to you.”

“Thanks, Student Xiao,” Luo Zhiyu said flatly, turning to leave, only to be stopped again by Xiao Yan.

“This is for you too.” Xiao Yan handed him another bag, this one with packed food inside. “That canteen thing, that was my fault.”

Luo Zhiyu accepted the bag with slight skepticism. The smell of the food hit him immediately, and despite himself, he didn’t say anything mean.

“After squabbling for so many years, I’m tired too.” Luo Zhiyu found an excuse to back down. “Let’s just call a truce. From now on, we’re just regular schoolmates.”

Xiao Yan probably hadn’t expected him to come to this realization. He paused slightly, looking somewhat regretful, then smiled and turned to leave. “We’ll see.”

He was also carrying a large transparent plastic bag filled with a whole melon and several cans of soda.

“As if that’ll kill me.” Luo Zhiyu silently scoffed at Xiao Yan’s retreating back. If there was no truce, so be it. They were in the same school. He refused to believe Xiao Yan could come up with any other tricks.

It wasn’t until the next afternoon that Luo Zhiyu realized what all the stuff in Xiao Yan’s transparent plastic bag was actually for.

Under the scorching sun, the first-year students stood in neat formation, shouting their slogans. From the nearby academic building, the bell marking the end of class rang out. Luo Zhiyu stared as a familiar figure casually strolled across the field and came to a stop in front of Class 1-3’s formation.

Luo Zhiyu: “……”

Xiao Yan plopped down on the grass with the same bag from yesterday, resting his chin in his hand, and just sat cross-legged there, staring straight at him.

“What are you looking at your mom for?^[1]” Luo Zhiyu mouthed the insult.

“Middle of the front row, add five minutes to your posture training,” the instructor called out upon noticing the disturbance.

Luo Zhiyu: “……” Damn it. Just how bored was this guy to come all the way here just to mess with him?

The early autumn heat was intense, and the training uniforms weren’t breathable. Sweat dripped down Luo Zhiyu’s face. He was hot, thirsty, and unable to move. He bit the tip of his tongue, trying to distract himself from the heat and thirst.

Xiao Yan slowly pulled a chilled can of soda from the bag, held it up in front of Luo Zhiyu, then gave a slight smirk. His long fingers pulled the tab, and the can opened with a hiss.

The cheerful little bubbles of the orange soda jumped in the air. Luo Zhiyu felt that he was probably not far from losing his mind.