But when Zhou Le dashed back to the classroom like an arrow, he couldn’t find Lu Jingran anywhere.
Not only was Lu Jingran missing, but Chen Nan, Sheng Qian, Xia Linchuan, and Lin Xiaoxiao were also gone. Half the class seemed to have disappeared.
“Where’s the class rep?” Zhou Le grabbed someone and asked.
“?”
“I’m asking about the class rep! Where’s Lu Jingran?!”
His sudden shout stunned the people around him.
The person he grabbed was also bewildered; it was the first time they’d seen Zhou Le this angry, and it took them a while to respond.
“He… he was taken by the teacher.”
“What? What do you mean ‘taken’?!”
“His susceptibility period started, so he reported it to the teacher, and Old Feng took him to isolation.” The person gestured to the room. “Didn’t you notice all the Alphas and Omegas in our class left? They’re all in isolation, waiting for their parents to pick them up. We’re having a self-study period now.”
“…”
Zhou Le let go of the person’s shirt.
Only now did he notice the lingering Alpha pheromones in the air.
Cold as a mountain, carrying an indescribable loneliness and sadness.
He didn’t know what the Alpha susceptibility period was like. Growing up, no one had explained to him about the susceptibility period or mating heat.
But as similarly special beings, Alpha susceptibility periods were surely difficult too, just like his own experience with heat. He remembered how it felt as though he couldn’t survive without Alpha pheromones, the agony that made him feel like he was going to die.
Pheromones…!
Right, he was an Omega, he had pheromones. If he offered them to Lu Jingran, wouldn’t that help him feel a little better?
An overwhelming sense of guilt completely drowned Zhou Le’s reason.
He went mad. He started running toward the isolation room.
In the corridor, Old Feng and homeroom teacher Xu Yue were arguing heatedly.
One said they should call the school board, given Lu Jingran’s high susceptibility levels, which could easily spiral out of control, potentially leading to a severe incident. He should be suspended for a month.
Xu Yue disagreed; it was almost senior year, and Lu Jingran was one of the school’s top students, a priority for nurturing. How could they possibly suspend him for a month? She felt Old Feng was deliberately targeting her and blowing things out of proportion!
Both sides insisted on their own views and couldn’t come to an agreement.
Zhou Le wanted to interrupt but couldn’t get a word in.
Just then, two school nurses came out of the monitoring room next to the isolation room. “We can’t wait any longer. Are the disease control center people from the city here yet? If they don’t arrive soon, we’ll have to give him a sedative!”
Xu Yue firmly disagreed. “No! Sedatives damage the brain. He’s still a student and has college entrance exams coming up!”
Sedatives were only used on Alphas who posed a threat to society and couldn’t be controlled, often criminals where mercy wasn’t a priority, so any harm to their brain was of no concern.
But Lu Jingran was different. He wasn’t a criminal; he needed his mind.
“What if something serious happens?” The school nurse was anxious. “I’ve already given him two inhibitor shots. If I give him another one, it could kill him.”
Old Feng, irritated, pointed at Xu Yue, “Ask her. She’s rejecting every solution. Do you want the entire school to get involved in an incident? Fine, you’re the homeroom teacher, so take responsibility. It’s none of my business!”
Seeing the argument flaring up again, Zhou Le shouted from the side, “I can help! I’m an Omega. I have pheromones. I can calm him down. Just let me in!”
The three turned to stare at Zhou Le.
Zhou Le’s eyes were resolute and determined.
He’d said it.
He’d admitted it.
This might cost him in school… but that didn’t matter. As long as he could go in and find Lu Jingran, he would pay any price, do whatever it took.
Zhou Le had put himself out there, but he hadn’t expected the three of them to look at him as if he were a fool.
“Zhou Le, go back to class!” Xu Yue scolded. “What are you doing here causing trouble?”
An Omega? She’d taught him for two years; of course she knew his situation.
Old Feng was equally dumbfounded. “What’s with this student? Does this have anything to do with you? Get back to class now, or I’ll dock your credits!”
Zhou Le was so anxious he wanted to stomp his feet. Just then, a nurse came running out of the medical room beside the isolation area, shouting, “It’s no good! The student inside has started smashing chairs. He’s completely out of control!”
“What?!”
Old Feng and Xu Yue were both stunned, panicked, not knowing what to do.
“Hurry, hurry! Evacuate all the AO students on the third floor immediately!”
“Have you called the principal? Where’s the disease control team?!”
Hearing this, Zhou Le ignored them, turned, and bolted toward the isolation room. By the time Xu Yue noticed, all she saw was Zhou Le’s figure disappearing into the room.
“Zhou Le! Get back here!”
The door to the isolation room opened, and his slender figure rushed in without hesitation.
The door closed.
Old Feng shouted at the top of his lungs, but it was too late.
They rushed forward, trying to pull Zhou Le back, but a school nurse stopped them just in time. “No, you can’t go in there. An Alpha in this state will fiercely defend his territory. If you go in now, it’ll be like challenging him directly, making him even more violent. He might even tear this isolation room apart.”
Old Feng and Xu Yue looked at the closed door in front of them, chilled to the core. It was over.
—
Inside the room, Lu Jingran was bent over, one hand resting on a chair lying on the floor, as if he had either just thrown it or was about to pick it up.
Around him were scattered chairs, all knocked over in disarray.
The isolation room had previously been a classroom, so tables and chairs were stacked in the back of the room.
The Alpha didn’t seem to expect anyone to come in and paused with his hand on the chair.
Their eyes met.
A hint of shock flickered in Lu Jingran’s gaze.
He straightened up, staring at Zhou Le, seemingly dazed for a long moment.
Just as he realized that Zhou Le wasn’t a figment of his imagination but was actually there, Zhou Le suddenly ran toward him, crashing into his arms and holding him tightly.
The arms around his waist were trembling.
The faint chamomile scent of Omega pheromones brushed past his nose, and the physical contact felt real.
Raising his hand to touch the person in his arms, Lu Jingran hesitated, his hand stopping midair.
“Zhou Le,” he called hoarsely, unsure if he was addressing the person or trying to regain what little rationality he had left.
An Alpha in their susceptibility period, holding the Omega they like in their arms—no one could withstand that.
Even Lu Jingran, an Alpha with extreme self-control, was on the verge of breaking down at this moment.
“Don’t be afraid…”
Zhou Le’s face was buried in Lu Jingran’s chest, his muffled voice hitting Lu Jingran like a hammer to the heart.
“I’m here with you. Don’t be afraid; I’m right here.”
“…”
In the end, Lu Jingran surrendered.
He wrapped his arms tightly around Zhou Le, pulling him close.
His nose close to Zhou Le’s ear, he drew in the Omega’s scent deeply, shamelessly, even indulgently.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” he whispered in Zhou Le’s ear, his voice dangerously low.
Zhou Le tensed at the breath so close to him, instinctively burrowing further into Lu Jingran’s embrace.
But Lu Jingran didn’t let him.
He pulled Zhou Le back, holding the back of his head to force him to look directly at him.
Zhou Le’s face was flushed, his gaze unfocused.
An Alpha in a susceptibility period wouldn’t restrain their pheromones. Even the scent naturally radiating from his skin was enough to intoxicate and intimidate others.
Zhou Le, submerged in the dense Alpha pheromones, was struggling to maintain his rationality.
“Why did you come here?” Lu Jingran stared into his eyes and asked again.
Suppressing his natural instincts, the Alpha’s eyes were bloodshot, his breaths heavy, his gaze drifting over Zhou Le’s face, inch by inch.
“Zhou Le, I need an answer.”
Zhou Le’s mind buzzed as he looked at Lu Jingran. His words seemed distant and close at the same time.
The cold, icy Alpha pheromones didn’t cool him down. Instead, he felt even warmer.
Heat spread throughout his body.
He gripped Lu Jingran’s uniform collar, his fingertips trembling.
“I… came because I like you…” Zhou Le moved closer to Lu Jingran, repeating softly, “I like you, class rep.”
It took Lu Jingran several seconds to process what he’d heard.
“You… really mean it?” His voice was thick with emotion, a trace of bitterness slipping in.
Zhou Le nodded, his face serious, “Yes.”
“But… I don’t know how to release my pheromones yet. I… by holding you like this, does it help a little?”
“Or… whatever you want to do to me, it’s fine.”
The Omega’s lowered eyelashes trembled lightly. He couldn’t actively release enough pheromones, but with Alpha guidance, it would be possible. Sometimes, in certain conditions, even the most reserved Omega could be coaxed into releasing their scent.
Such a promise was obvious in its implications.
For an Alpha in their susceptibility period, it was like a thunderclap, as if inviting him directly.
Lu Jingran took a deep breath.
An overwhelming joy surged through him.
The thing he had longed for day and night had finally arrived today.
Torn between disbelief and exhilaration, he couldn’t resist leaning closer to Zhou Le.
Reason told him not to push things too far, not to frighten Zhou Le away after finally getting a response from him. But in reality, he pulled Zhou Le into his arms, buried his head in Zhou Le’s neck, inhaling his scent, pressing his waist, his back, as if he wanted to consume him whole.
Zhou Le’s hands trembled so much he could barely hold onto Lu Jingran’s waist.
Outside in the monitoring room, Xu Yue and Old Feng watched this scene unfold in shock. They finally believed Zhou Le was indeed an Omega and resolved to intervene, fearing that if an Alpha and an Omega did something improper at school, both their careers would be in jeopardy—and perhaps even face legal consequences.
But they couldn’t get inside; the security guards blocked their way.
The school doctor used the speaker opposite the isolation room to broadcast a message.
“Classmate Lu Jingran, release Zhou Le immediately! Release him now!”
“Classmate Zhou Le, for your safety, please come out quickly! Please come out!”
The broadcast was only audible inside the isolation room.
Upon hearing it, Zhou Le jumped in fright, his body shaking in Lu Jingran’s arms.
Sensing his unease, Lu Jingran held him even tighter.
He glanced icily at the loudspeaker, his gaze as cold as his pheromones.
“Cover your ears for a moment, okay?” Lu Jingran murmured softly to the person in his arms.
Not understanding why, Zhou Le nodded and complied.
Lu Jingran placed one hand gently on the back of Zhou Le’s head, pressing him close, while grabbing the chalkboard eraser nearby with his other hand. With a swift, forceful throw, he smashed it into the loudspeaker.
The grating broadcast sound stopped abruptly, and all the monitors in the control room turned to static.
Outside, Old Feng and Xu Yue’s faces turned pale.
