ABMSI Chapter 5

The voices in the hallway were getting closer, and Duan Wei lost his rhythm for a moment. Seeing Peng Yan looking like he was about to collapse, he quickly stepped forward, grabbed him by the arm, and half-dragged him toward the restroom in the opposite direction.

“Excuse me, excuse me!”

On the way, Duan Wei accidentally bumped into several classmates, juggling his tablet in one hand while hauling Peng Yan into the restroom with the other. Just at that moment, Old Qin and a few teachers were coming up the stairs.

Luckily, they hadn’t been noticed. Duan Wei let out a shaky breath of relief, when he heard Peng Yan’s strained whisper beside him: “Duan-ge, I feel terrible…”

“…”

Duan Wei froze, unsure of what to do. From the look of him, this didn’t seem like any ordinary illness, and Duan Wei grew anxious. “I’ll take you to the infirmary,” he said.

But before he could take two steps, a cold hand suddenly touched the back of his neck. The unexpected chill made him shudder and shrink his shoulders. He turned around to see Peng Yan’s face even redder than before, lips dry and trembling, sweat streaming down his forehead.

Duan Wei paused, swallowing back the words he’d been about to say. “What’s going on?”

Peng Yan didn’t reply. His expression only grew stranger, and his grip on the back of Duan Wei’s neck tightened. Feeling the pressure, Duan Wei shoved him off roughly. “What the hell?!”

But the restroom was empty except for the two of them, and his sharp voice rang clearly in the silence. Even so, it wasn’t enough to snap Peng Yan back to his senses.

As though not content with just gripping Duan Wei’s neck, Peng Yan yanked him bodily toward the corner. With a clatter, the tablet slipped from Duan Wei’s hand and hit the floor.

Clearly not fully conscious, Peng Yan pushed and shoved him again and again. Even though Duan Wei was no weaker than him, he didn’t dare fight back too hard. After a brief struggle, Peng Yan managed to press him into the corner. Duan Wei’s flailing arms knocked over the broom and dustpan in the cleaning area with a loud crash.

Pinned against the cold wall, the winter bite of pain felt even sharper. Duan Wei winced, frowning as he realized something wasn’t right.

Even as a beta, he could faintly catch the scent of Peng Yan’s pheromones.

“Hey, snap out of it!”

Just as he was about to shove him off with full force, Peng Yan’s collar suddenly jerked backward, and in the next second he was pulled away entirely.

The bright overhead lights fell across Duan Wei as he blinked up. At the restroom entrance stood a figure in a black down jacket. With one hand, he had Peng Yan lifted by the back of the collar as though it took no effort at all.

The same Peng Yan who had nearly devoured him whole moments ago now writhed weakly in the other’s grasp, unable to break free.

Still stunned by the sudden turn, Duan Wei looked up blankly—only to meet Fu Duqiu’s gaze.

Their eyes locked. Fu Duqiu glanced briefly at the dazed, restless Peng Yan, thought for a moment, and concluded flatly: “He’s in heat.”

Duan Wei froze, staring. From the mess of his thoughts, one clear fact surfaced: this was the first time Fu Duqiu had ever spoken to him. And then, dumbfounded, he stammered: “What?”

“…” Fu Duqiu fell silent for a beat, looking back at him in the corner.

Disheveled from the struggle, Duan Wei’s hair was a mess, his brows furrowed, cheeks flushed. Each panting breath puffed faint white mist from his lips.

They held each other’s gaze until Fu Duqiu finally asked, “Didn’t you take physiology class?”

“I… did, but I didn’t listen…” Duan Wei muttered, his voice trailing off smaller and smaller. Honestly, he didn’t think it was such a big deal that a ba would tune out in class.

Peng Yan was still thrashing faintly. Fu Duqiu didn’t waste more words, turning to Duan Wei. “Go to the classroom. My bag has inhibitors—”

He paused, then added with precision: “A vial, transparent, unopened. Blue packaging.”

“Oh, oh, got it…” Duan Wei nodded repeatedly, still in a daze.

He stood, tugged his rumpled clothes back together, and brushed past Fu Duqiu in a rush toward the classroom. For some reason, in front of Fu Duqiu he suddenly lost all his bluster, none of the swagger he showed Peng Yan remaining.

Maybe this was just the aura of a male lead, he thought.

As he hurried into the classroom, every seated classmate turned to stare.

They saw the school bully Duan Wei—usually arrogant and overbearing—rush in, clothes disheveled, faintly carrying the scent of some unknown Alpha’s pheromones. Without a word to anyone, he went straight to his new deskmate Fu Duqiu’s desk, rummaged through his bag, and pulled out a packet of inhibitors.

Ignoring all the bewildered stares, Duan Wei spun on his heel and bolted back out.

After a brief silence, the classroom went from dead quiet to exploding in uproar.

“My god, did I just see that?? Inhibitors!!”

“Wait, isn’t Duan Wei a ba?”

“He took it from Fu Duqiu’s bag. the new classmate is in a rut, hold on!!”

The voices all cut off at once as everyone, in perfect sync, remembered Fu Duqiu—his overwhelmingly strong, high-quality Alpha pheromones that could be sensed on the surface, and the school bully’s messy clothes and faint red marks on his neck just now.

Combining that with Duan Wei’s past antics, several classmates looked as if they’d been struck by lightning. Only a few girls were grinning so wide their cheeks hurt, exchanging glances and pointing at each other:

“You’re acting suspicious.”

“You’re the one acting suspicious.”

Meanwhile, Duan Wei jogged back into the restroom with the inhibitor in hand, only to see Fu Duqiu and Peng Yan still inside.

Thankfully no one else had come. Fu Duqiu had dumped Peng Yan in one of the stalls. When he saw Duan Wei arrive, he took the inhibitor from his hand, tore it open, and was about to inject it—only to notice Duan Wei was still standing there.

After a short pause, he said to Duan Wei, “Wait outside.”

“Huh? Oh, oh, okay.”

Duan Wei blinked, nodded, and stepped out of the stall.

The restroom window was wide open, the cold wind rushing in and clearing his muddled head a little. He glanced at the tightly shut stall door and frowned.

Why did he have to leave just for an injection? Was it because the shot had to go in the… butt?

…Good thing he was just a beta.

He secretly let out a breath of relief and tilted his head up toward the sky. It was now the long break before evening self-study; all the corridor lights in the teaching building were on, casting a dim glow against the darkness. A few students walked into their classrooms, glancing curiously in his direction as they passed.

He didn’t know how long he stood there before a sound behind him made him turn. Before he could speak, a tablet was held out right in front of his face.

“Yours?” Fu Duqiu asked, meeting his gaze.

It was the same tablet Duan Wei had dropped during the earlier scuffle. Though it wasn’t damaged, it was covered in dust. Realizing the incriminating object was being handed back so openly, Duan Wei guiltily snatched it up. Glancing toward the stall, he asked, “How is he?”

“He’s fine,” Fu Duqiu replied. “He’ll be better in a while.”

Duan Wei nodded quickly. If it hadn’t been for Fu Duqiu today, he honestly wouldn’t have known what to do. He’d originally held some grudges against this aloof guy, but after what happened, he let it go.

What was the point of butting heads with a paper-thin character anyway? And clearly, the male lead wasn’t as cold as he’d thought—on the contrary, he was pretty helpful.

So he smiled and said, “Thanks.”

“You and him are close?”

Unexpectedly, instead of a casual “no problem,” Duan Wei got this question instead. He froze for a moment, then answered honestly, “Yeah, we’re pretty close. Why?”

Peng Yan had been the original Duan Wei’s buddy since junior high. The two were thick as thieves, always stirring up trouble. Together, they were chaos; apart, each one was still a little schemer. There wasn’t a single classmate back then who didn’t know their names.

But after Duan Wei finished speaking, Fu Duqiu didn’t respond right away. With evening self-study approaching, students from other classes were starting to peek out of their rooms curiously.

Fu Duqiu glanced at Duan Wei once, then asked again, “And that girl from today?”

!

Duan Wei blinked, then realized who he meant. His eyes lit up, excitement written all over his face.

If you want to talk about her, I’m suddenly wide awake!

“She? She’s my friend—super nice, beautiful, thoughtful, and really gentle. If you—”

He launched into a flood of words, his expression practically glowing with enthusiasm, like he’d turned into some matchmaker overnight. But Fu Duqiu, standing in front of him, didn’t look like he had the patience to listen.

Instead, Fu Duqiu turned away, facing the countless stares around them. Without looking back, he said flatly to Duan Wei:

“Let’s go.”