Zhou Le handed his newly forged report to Lu Jingran.
The gender section clearly showed “Beta.”
Lu Jingran glanced at it briefly and then looked up at him.
Zhou Le’s gaze wandered, unable to meet his eyes.
Without saying a word, Lu Jingran took the report.
That was the end of it. The school didn’t investigate further and treated it as a simple misunderstanding.
After that, Zhou Le became even more serious about making money and even decided to work hard on chemistry.
Why? Because their team was a top contender to win the chemistry competition.
Previously, he’d been too distracted by his pheromones to think about it, but now he had a clear goal—he needed money!
Plus, he’d already spent 500 yuan just on the test. He couldn’t stand the thought of not making it back.
The best money-making opportunity in front of him was the chemistry lab competition!
The school awarded 5,000 yuan to each participant who qualified for city-level competitions, and placing in the top rankings could earn up to 20,000 yuan per person. It would take forever delivering food to make that much, so the cost-benefit was unbeatable. Zhou Le made up his mind—chemistry was now his top priority!
Even though there were two experts on his team, he didn’t want to be the weak link.
Zhou Le paid serious attention in class, hanging on to every word the chemistry teacher said. He put extra effort into practice problems, especially the lab sections, and even studied chemistry during language arts class.
When he didn’t understand something, he’d ask Xia Linchuan.
Xia Linchuan, who used to spend this time gaming, was now also studying chemistry.
With their back-and-forth, Zhou Le was even starting to understand what Lu Jingran and his friends discussed at night.
If something stumped him, he would quietly ask Xia Linchuan during breaks.
The two of them would stand by the chemistry equipment, discussing enthusiastically. Zhou Le was so focused, even his expression showed it, and Xia Linchuan would patiently explain, sometimes meeting Zhou Le’s gaze and smiling with a touch of exasperation.
Lu Jingran stood nearby, arms crossed, quietly watching the two of them, his gaze unwavering.
Eventually, even Xia Linchuan lost his patience. “Dude, I’ve explained it five times now. Mixing these compounds creates this reaction—it’s just how it works! If you don’t believe me, ask a scientist?”
“Hey, why don’t you reserve a spot in the cemetery? I’ll give them a call to see if they can help, alright?”
Zhou Le scratched his head sheepishly.
He sometimes just couldn’t wrap his head around these concepts, and when he couldn’t, he couldn’t understand anything that followed.
Seeing he couldn’t help, Xia Linchuan called for backup, “Class rep, come here—how would you explain this?”
“I’m done. Zhou Le can’t understand when I explain it.”
Not expecting Xia Linchuan to call Lu Jingran over, Zhou Le’s back instinctively tensed. He wanted to tell Xia Linchuan he’d give up, but it was too late.
Someone slowly walked up behind him.
“What don’t you understand?”
Lu Jingran was so close that it felt like he was whispering right in his ear, the warmth tickling Zhou Le and making him itch.
“Uh… th-that part.” Zhou Le pointed absently.
“It’s a chemical reaction,” Lu Jingran explained. “There’s a reaction equation for it in the textbook. If you don’t understand it yet, just memorize it. The more reactions you see, the more you’ll understand why they work like this.”
“Oh… okay, I’ll memorize it first.” With Lu Jingran standing so close, Zhou Le felt especially aware of him and just nodded.
From then on, whenever Zhou Le had questions, Xia Linchuan would direct him to Lu Jingran. “This one’s for the class rep. Who’s better than him?”
Zhou Le started acting hesitant, fidgety, and everything about him practically screamed, “I don’t want to go.”
Xia Linchuan was puzzled. “Come on, why are you scared? The class rep’s always nice to you.”
“It’s not fear. I’m not scared of him…” Zhou Le tried to explain.
Xia Linchuan: “Then go ask him. He’d explain it way better than I could.”
There was no way Zhou Le could tell him that, while it was true Lu Jingran was kind to him, he also had no desire to be around him. Even though he’d shown him he was a Beta, he still didn’t feel entirely secure.
Zhou Le decided to keep trying to work it out on his own, but no matter how many times he looked over the problem, he couldn’t figure out the oxidation state calculations. His brows furrowed, practically knitting together in frustration.
Just then, a faint, cool scent drifted in, soothing his irritation and calming him down. The smell seemed familiar.
He looked up, only to find Lu Jingran looking down at him. Their gazes met and held.
Zhou Le swallowed.
If he could, he would have taken back that upward glance.
“Class rep…” Zhou Le forced a polite smile as he called out.
Lu Jingran’s gaze moved to the practice problem Zhou Le had circled.
“This was covered in class as a key point. Don’t know how to solve it?”
“…” Zhou Le had been too busy taking on odd jobs to pay attention in class. Now, even the answer key made no sense to him.
Seeing Zhou Le’s hesitation, Lu Jingran understood immediately.
He leaned closer, one hand on Zhou Le’s chair and the other taking his pen. He lowered his head and began to explain in a soft voice. “This sentence doesn’t just give you the particle’s mass; it’s also telling you its implied oxidation state…”
As the Alpha’s presence grew stronger, Zhou Le felt trapped, the closeness leaving him with no way out. He listened to the explanation while holding his breath.
So close… Could the class rep sense his pheromones?
“Zhou Le.”
“…Huh?” His name being called out unexpectedly made Zhou Le flinch.
His small reaction didn’t escape Lu Jingran’s notice. He straightened a bit, easing the pressure, and his voice softened. “Do you understand?”
…
Zhou Le looked at the notes Lu Jingran had written out for him, frowning slightly. The class rep had gotten too close too quickly, so he hadn’t even processed what he’d explained.
“Um, kind of. I’ll try to go over it again, class rep.” Zhou Le picked up some scratch paper, but Lu Jingran pressed it down with one hand.
“If you don’t understand, I’ll explain it again. This is important, so listen carefully.”
Lu Jingran’s voice was low, and he began to walk him through the problem again.
With his focused expression and lowered eyelashes, his side profile was strikingly handsome.
Zhou Le stole a quick glance, but this time, he didn’t dare let his attention wander.
Lu Jingran was very thorough, and Zhou Le managed to understand on the second go.
“So, its oxidation state is…” Lu Jingran pointed to an element with his index finger.
Suddenly enlightened, Zhou Le excitedly pointed at the same spot. “-2, just like we solved!”
Unexpectedly, their fingers collided, pressing together.
A soft, unfamiliar touch.
Zhou Le froze.
Lu Jingran stopped as well.
Zhou Le’s little finger, pressed against his, turned from white to pink. He didn’t dare move it, as if a single movement would trigger something overwhelming.
Still so scared of him…
Suddenly, a faint scent filled the air near Lu Jingran’s nose.
Fresh, pure, with a hint of alluring sweetness.
An Omega’s scent.
A very pure, completely unmarked Omega scent.
Lu Jingran frowned slightly and looked down.
A soft blush spread from Zhou Le’s neck to his collarbone, and his half-lidded eyes looked watery and unfocused, as if he was unaware that his pheromones had escaped.
Had he not used a suppressant? How was he leaking pheromones so easily?
Just as he was wondering, he suddenly felt a light touch against his fingertip.
Testing, shy, almost clingy.
Zhou Le, with his soft pink-tinted finger, had brushed against his.
He didn’t even know why he did it—maybe it was the faintly tempting scent of Alpha pheromones on Lu Jingran that he couldn’t resist.
And now, for some reason, he just wanted to touch him, even if only briefly.
But Zhou Le had no idea that Lu Jingran was losing his mind.
“Zhou Le.”
The low, intense voice was followed by a rush of Alpha pheromones.
Startled, Zhou Le froze, like a small animal caught stealing treats, shrinking back and lowering his head, acting as though nothing had happened.
Finally, a bit of clarity returned to him.
God! What was he just doing?!
He’d just rubbed up against the class rep! He’d even shamelessly brushed his fingers against him multiple times!
He could hardly stand himself—disgusting!
It was over, he was done for. He’d already mentally picked out a burial plot.
But the scolding he expected from Lu Jingran didn’t come. Instead, Lu Jingran simply said, “Study hard,” and walked away.
Zhou Le let out a sigh of relief, though he couldn’t resist scolding himself.
See what happens when you get too close to Lu Jingran? Just look! You totally messed up!
Serves you right for craving his pheromones!
“Hey, hey, Zhou Le, what are you doing?” Lin Xiaoxiao came over from behind the door, seeing Zhou Le in self-punishment mode and quickly stopping him. “Don’t go hitting yourself like that. You’re already not that smart—if you knock yourself silly, then what?”
Zhou Le stared blankly ahead. “Xiaoxiao, I can’t go on. Remember to burn incense for me on the seventh day of New Year.”
Lin Xiaoxiao looked at him with worry. “Come on, it can’t be that bad. What happened?”
Zhou Le turned to her, his expression still dazed. “I did something to class rep…”
Hearing the word “class rep,” Lin Xiaoxiao’s ears perked up instantly.
Zhou Le struggled to get the words out. “I… did something…”
Lin Xiaoxiao: ???
Finally, he managed to say it. “…indescribable.”
Lin Xiaoxiao paused for a second, then burst out, “Ahhhh, Zhou Le! Go die!!!”
