ABMSI Chapter 15

Standing opposite Duan Wei, Peng Yan saw the two “ancestors” dead set on having a big fight, and he shuddered nervously. He shuffled over with a troubled expression and whispered to Duan Wei, out of Li Shao’s gang’s line of sight:

“Brother Duan, I didn’t call anyone…”

Duan Wei’s hand, which had been rolling up his sleeve, paused for a second. He had rushed over right after getting Peng Yan’s message and hadn’t had time to call in backup for a gang fight.

Even without counting the whole rainbow-haired gang, just Li Shao’s hulking frame alone was nearly twice Duan Wei’s size.

Duan Wei froze for a moment, and Li Shao’s gang, who had been nervously watching him, eventually noticed that no “reinforcements” were arriving like they had feared.

The group exchanged glances, and Li Shao tilted his head with a smirk, sizing up the three in front of him:

“Well, well… Brother Duan didn’t call anyone, huh?”

Just like that, the situation shifted without anyone noticing. The three of them were suddenly at a disadvantage. And with every step Li Shao’s gang advanced, Duan Wei could smell that increasingly heavy scent of rust.

It was stronger than what he’d caught at the classroom door earlier—now mixed with other odors drifting from all directions, making him almost nauseous. He forced himself to hold his ground, leaning back slightly—right against Fu Duqiu’s chest.

Their moment of silence led Li Shao’s gang to relax, convinced Duan Wei had really shown up without backup.

As the school tyrant of No. 1 High, Li Shao had always thought Duan Wei didn’t deserve to stand on equal footing with him. A Ba who couldn’t even smell pheromones was supposed to be a nobody in this world, yet somehow Duan Wei strutted around school boldly every day, relying on his looks, and ended up overshadowing him.

And who was Li Shao? A bona fide Alpha. On the surface, he and Duan Wei might have looked like equals, but he knew deep down he had always been second to him.

Now, seeing Duan Wei and Fu Duqiu standing together only fueled that bitter thought, taking over his mind entirely.

The dim streetlamp above flickered off and on. The food vendors who had crowded the alley entrance earlier wheeled their carts away, leaving the place in silence. The tension in the air grew heavier.

Li Shao glanced at the redhead behind him, who immediately understood and exchanged meaningful looks with the rest of the rainbow gang.

Seeing them about to strike, Duan Wei, who had calmed a little, whispered to Peng Yan beside him.

“Still time to run now?”

“What do you think?”

“I think not.”

“Brother Duan, I really know you best. I told you before we came—don’t start trouble.”

Duan Wei shot him a look. “Are you blaming me?”

Peng Yan sighed in defeat. “I’m not. My fault.”

Of course, the gang across from them wasn’t about to wait for Duan Wei to finish his “escape plan chat.” They all surged forward, some with weapons, others just tightening their fists.

Duan Wei sensed trouble and was about to bolt, but before he could move, Fu Duqiu stepped forward first. He clenched his fist and swung at Li Shao!

“Bang—”

The muffled thud echoed through the quiet alley. Duan Wei froze in shock. Li Shao hadn’t expected Fu Duqiu to strike so hard, and he staggered back, nearly falling.

Peng Yan also stood stunned, but Duan Wei snapped out of it quickly. Tossing his coat to the ground, he swallowed his nausea and yelled to Peng Yan:

“What are you standing there for? Fight!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Duan Wei charged forward with his fists. The narrow intersection instantly descended into chaos.

In real life, Duan Wei had always been the model student—no fights, no smoking—so he wasn’t very skilled. Still, he copied Fu Duqiu’s stance, clenched his fist tightly, and landed a punch squarely on Redhead’s face.

He put nearly seventy percent of his strength into that punch, flooring Redhead in one blow.

Seeing this, Peng Yan quickly joined the fray. He had once trained in taekwondo, and as soon as he jumped in, he knocked down a few of the thugs.

The three of them were surrounded, yet they weren’t at a disadvantage at all. Li Shao was sprawled miserably on the ground, his collar gripped tight in Duan Wei’s fist.

“You’re the bastard who got me chewed out all night long!”

Thinking about it only made Duan Wei angrier. He yanked Li Shao half off the ground and smashed another punch into his face.

Pain seared through Li Shao, and he turned his head to curse: “The fuck is wrong with you? Let me up if you’ve got the balls—I’ll beat you so bad your mom won’t recognize you!”

“You think I’m stupid?” Duan Wei growled, throwing another punch and pinning Li Shao firmly to the ground.

He had just stood up, ready to strike a cool pose, when Peng Yan shouted:

“Brother Duan! Behind you!”

Duan Wei spun around just in time to see Purple Hair charging at him with a wooden stick. Instinctively, he braced to kick—but the next second his vision blurred. Someone rushed past him from behind, grabbing the stick mid-swing before it could land on Duan Wei.

With a swift kick, Fu Duqiu sent the one with a Purple Hair flying.

He tossed the stick aside, turned his head slightly toward Duan Wei, who couldn’t help but grin.

“Not bad, little brother.”

“Big brother taught me well,” Fu Duqiu replied evenly.

“What the hell’s going on here!”

Suddenly, beams of flashlights cut through the alley, and the silhouettes of No. 1 High’s security guards could be seen in their uniforms.

Duan Wei’s heart lurched. He exchanged a look with Peng Yan, who was still grappling with Green Hair.

In the blink of an eye, Duan Wei grabbed Fu Duqiu’s arm and shouted:

“Run!”

The cold wind pierced straight through Duan Wei’s clothes. With an intersection behind him, he yanked Fu Duqiu along and darted to the right.

Fu Duqiu followed close behind, almost as if he was afraid of being left behind. Duan Wei’s grip on his arm was firm, and as they ran, Fu Duqiu caught a faint trace of fragrance drifting on the wind.

Just then, Duan Wei—running ahead—suddenly turned back. His gaze went past Fu Duqiu, scanning behind them to make sure no one was giving chase.

In that moment, Fu Duqiu’s eyes lingered on Duan Wei’s face. The mottled shadows of the trees slid across his features, and something deep in Fu Duqiu’s memory began to stir.

Plane trees, mint, the beach…

Two figures weaving through a park—the boy in front turned his head, the small mole at the corner of his eye flickering beneath the play of shadows.

The two faces overlapped, and Fu Duqiu, unusually, lost focus for a second. In the next breath, he caught the familiar scent of his own pheromones.

A high-quality Alpha could control their pheromones well, as long as they weren’t emotionally shaken.

But now, his pheromones were seeping out uncontrollably.

After running several hundred meters, Duan Wei was completely winded. He sat on the ground, but before he could catch his breath, Fu Duqiu pulled him up.

“Careful, you might go into shock,” Fu Duqiu said, expression smoothing over as he pulled his pheromones back under control.

“…”

Duan Wei wanted to speak, but he was too out of breath to form words. All he could do was shut his mouth and pant heavily. Fu Duqiu stood beside him, gazing thoughtfully at the stream of cars flowing past on the street.

Finally, after a long while, Duan Wei caught his breath. “Xiao Yan must’ve run the other way. Good thing I reacted fast and bolted in time, otherwise you and I would both be getting called in with our parents.”

At that, Fu Duqiu looked at him quietly, his eyes drifting to the flimsy school uniform hanging on Duan Wei’s body.

And in that instant, Duan Wei seemed to remember something. He clutched at his clothes and muttered, “Crap…”

His jacket was still back at the scene of the fight!

The thought left him despairing. He raked both hands through his wind-tossed hair, taking a few aimless steps forward. “It’s over. The Black Mountain Demon at home is gonna come out again.”

“My backpack’s there too,” Fu Duqiu said with a soft chuckle, unhurried. “I’ll advance and retreat with Big Brother.”

Another cold gust whipped through, making Duan Wei, in just his school uniform, shiver all over. The dizziness that had plagued him all day suddenly surged back. His body felt both hot and cold—cold from the wind, hot from within.

That strange fragrance swirled stronger around them. Duan Wei sniffed—citrus, like oranges.

Listlessly, he said to Fu Duqiu, “Why are you so flashy? Always spraying some new perfume every day?”

“…”

Fu Duqiu didn’t get a chance to reply before Duan Wei suddenly stumbled forward, his legs giving out. Fu Duqiu caught him immediately, and in that moment a dense fragrance flooded his senses.

Alpha instinct and intuition told Fu Duqiu exactly what was happening. Looking down, he saw Duan Wei’s face pale, yet tinged with the faintest blush across his cheeks.

Duan Wei grabbed his arm, steadied himself, and groaned: “Crap. Am I really going into shock?”

“Not quite.” Fu Duqiu almost laughed, but instead said gently, “You’re giving off pheromones.”

“…What? This isn’t your perfume?” Duan Wei looked baffled.

“I told you,” Fu Duqiu shut his eyes briefly. “I don’t use perfume.”

“Then it must’ve happened during the fight. Damn, they tried to use pheromones on me? Don’t they know I’m a Beta?”

“…”

There was something uncanny about Duan Wei—he could derail a person’s thoughts so easily it was almost impossible to pull them back on track.

Fu Duqiu hesitated, then said, “This smell is yours. You’re about to differentiate.”

Such a simple, blunt statement finally cut through Duan Wei’s fog. “Holy shit, I’m becoming an Alpha?”

Like he’d stumbled on something novel, he raised his arm and sniffed here, then there. His brows furrowed. The scent was strong and sweet. He muttered in disgust, “Why does it smell so girly?”

“…Unless I’m mistaken,” Fu Duqiu said suddenly.

Hearing that, Duan Wei—remembering Fu Duqiu had experience—lifted his head, focused intently.

Meeting those guileless eyes, Fu Duqiu sighed inwardly and said, “This should be an Omega’s pheromones.”

The words dropped, and a cold wind swept past. Duan Wei froze on the spot. His bangs fluttered in front of his forehead as he stood dazed, then finally closed his eyes.

“In that case,” he murmured, “I’ll just go into shock after all.”