Delicate, Yet Shamelessly Freeloading [Quick Transmigration] Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Alpha with Pheromone Disorder (22)

---

Inside the room, the sound of rummaging through drawers echoed chaotically.

 

Song Qin’s phone screen still displayed the photo he had received half a minute ago.

 

The person in the photo likely hadn’t realized how low the collar was or how short the shorts were. Compared to other Alphas, Shui Que was exceptionally slim. The only bit of flesh was between his parted thighs, like foamy sea waves or thick layers of fresh snow. A lace garter wrapped around his left thigh, layered with pearls.

 

The garter itself was crudely made, tight enough to dig into his skin, leaving faint red marks.

 

Perhaps it was originally meant to be worn around the neck.

 

If this photo ever leaked, someone could easily edit and post it onto certain unknown websites.

 

And then, on those afternoons when rebellious high school boys skipped class to hide in an internet café, the old air conditioner unit in the computer room would blast cold air against their heads.

 

While the browser endlessly refreshed, switching between 504 and 503 error messages until finally confirming a successful payment— Revealing this image.

 

It was impossible to tell whether the dizziness came from the cold wind or the sheer impact of the photo.

 

Inexperienced boys, who only knew how to fight, had never seen anything like this before. They would carefully save the image onto a USB drive, peel off the faded poster of their childhood hero from the wall, and reverently replace it with a fresh, glossy printout of the photo. That would be their official introduction to adolescence.

 

Only to wake up in a sweaty mess each morning, secretly washing their shorts by hand.

 

Song Qin’s fingers clenched tightly, veins popping on the back of his hand from the sheer effort of restraint.

 

He pulled out a key for the door. His voice, lower than usual, carried an ominous chill with each deliberate word: “If you don’t open up, I’ll unlock it myself.”

 

“No, don’t!”

 

From inside the door came the sound of hurried footsteps. It wasn’t hard to imagine Shui Que stumbling over his fuzzy slippers, rushing to open it in a flurry.

 

Despite the heater being on and the room as warm as spring, Shui Que was wrapped up in a long puffer coat, the zipper pulled up from his knees to the collar standing stiff around his neck.

 

He was so flustered that beads of sweat formed on his forehead, his small face flushed red.

 

A futile attempt to cover up the obvious.

 

His gaze wavered, unable to meet Song Qin’s eyes directly. He lowered his head slightly and asked, “Brother, d-do you need something?”

 

Playing dumb.

 

Song Qin pushed the half-closed door all the way open. The room was messy but showed no obvious signs of anything suspicious.

 

“This photo—what’s going on with it?” His phone was tucked in his pocket, and as he spoke, he reached to take it out to display the evidence.

 

Shui Que immediately pressed down on his hand!

 

His brain worked at full speed to generate an answer. “That photo! Uh, it’s—it’s AI-generated! Super realistic, right?”

 

Song Qin stared at him, neither confirming nor denying the claim. But his silence was even more unsettling.

 

After a long pause, Song Qin averted his gaze and moved on. “It’s time for Wei Qing’s scheduled pheromone therapy session.”

 

Wei Qing’s last check-up had determined that exposing Shui Que’s glands to a dominant Alpha’s pheromones had helped regulate his pheromone levels. The plan was to continue this treatment for at least three months.

 

The supporting Alpha had to be someone Shui Que was familiar with and could trust, so the responsibility naturally fell to Song Qin.

 

Now, in late December, at least one session had to be completed before the month ended.

 

Shui Que nudged his foot against the carpet and asked hesitantly, “Can I… have a little more time to prepare?”

 

He was still bundled up in his puffer coat, not having changed.

 

Song Qin’s tone left no room for refusal as he cut straight to the point. “Is there something you don’t want me to find out?”

 

“Of course not!” Shui Que blurted out instinctively.

 

Song Qin said, “Then let’s begin now.”

 

He effortlessly lifted Shui Que into his arms and sat on the bed, settling the smaller boy onto his lap. With his thick coat on, Shui Que looked like a little silkworm cocooned for winter.

 

“Aren’t you going to take off your coat?” Song Qin asked deliberately.

 

Hearing this, Shui Que instinctively gripped the zipper tighter. “No need! You picked this coat for me, Brother. I love it so much I can’t bear to take it off.”

 

He was rambling nonsense, trying to stir some sense of brotherly affection and sympathy.

 

“Hm.” Song Qin responded indifferently.

 

With the heater running and the windows shut, it didn’t take long for the room to be saturated with the heavy scent of sandalwood. Wrapped in pheromones, Shui Que soon went from resisting to pressing himself tightly against Song Qin’s embrace.

 

The warmth of the room, combined with the insulation of his coat, made it feel like he was nestled by a fireplace, lulling him into drowsiness. He had woken up early that morning, and before long, he was nodding off.

 

Half-asleep, Shui Que didn’t notice the hand on his waist moving.

 

Dazed, he heard Song Qin ask, “Is this also AI-generated?”

 

He struggled to open his eyes, his blurry vision catching sight of Song Qin holding a thin strip of fabric, dangling it before him.

 

The pearls on it looked strangely familiar.

 

Wasn’t that his leg garter?

 

When had it come loose?!

 

Song Qin was still waiting for an answer. “So, was this sewn by AI as well?”

 

Shui Que was caught between a rock and a hard place. He pressed his lips together and reluctantly mumbled that it was a gift from a friend.

 

A “friend” from the internet counted too, right?

 

Song Qin rubbed the delicate fabric between his fingers. The craftsmanship was rough, and the stitching was sloppy. The chain holding the pearls had excess glue hardened on its edges, and the pearls themselves weren’t even real.

 

A “friend” who was poor, scheming, and only good at luring Alphas.

 

A “friend” who had the audacity to make his little brother wear something like this in the middle of winter just to take photos for him.

 

And that so-called friend—was he sitting in some unheated, freezing rental, indulging in fantasies while tricking his little brother?

 

What gave someone like that the right to even dream of tainting a Song family member?

 

Song Qin had briefly considered the possibility of a classmate from Haicheng No.1 High, but the school’s admission standards lowered the likelihood.

 

Could it be someone from society? An old classmate from Linhai No.2? Or was it one of those scumbags lurking online, preying on naive boys?

 

And those two times Shui Que’s lips had been swollen—was it the same person?

 

Or was this person hiding right under their noses at Haicheng No.1 High?

 

Since entering the room, Song Qin’s furrowed brows had never relaxed. His expression was unreadable, dark as storm clouds brewing into a torrential downpour.

 

Shui Que shrank back, tucking his chin into his coat’s hood.

 

Song Qin patted his back like soothing a child to sleep.

 

What the heck…

 

Shui Que wriggled uncomfortably.

 

Why was he being treated like a little kid?

 

Thinking he had made Shui Que uncomfortable, Song Qin ended the pheromone session and let go.

 

“Behave.” He didn’t bring up the photo again, afraid of pushing Shui Que into defiance. But that didn’t mean Song Qin wouldn’t pursue the truth.

 

If Shui Que wouldn’t tell him, there were still a hundred ways to find out.

 

So before leaving, he left him with a pointed warning:

“Don’t do anything bad.”

 

＊

 

Shui Que was exhausted. After dealing with Lu Fengchi and Qu Jiuchao, he realized there was still Xie Xiangxun to handle.

 

Fortunately, at least Xie Xiangxun’s direct flight wasn’t taking off tomorrow.

 

That would be during the winter break. Shui Que guessed he was heading home to Haicheng for the New Year.

 

New Year’s was such a busy time. If Xiang Xun wanted to meet, it would be hard to make time, right? He could just come up with a few excuses to dodge him.

 

Besides, his storyline might wrap up before New Year’s. Then he could leave this world entirely.

 

Thanks to his careful planning, Shui Que had successfully advanced his storyline to 70% completion.

 

That meant only one thing left… getting caught two-timing, Lu Fengchi and Qu Jiuchao breaking up with him in fury, and his scandal getting exposed, leaving him in disgrace!

 

Shui Que thought about it and felt a little reluctant. People in this world had been unexpectedly nice to him—especially his mission targets. Even if some of them were forced by his blackmail or family obligations…

 

But mortals judge actions, not intentions!

 

Compared to before, he was undeniably much happier here.

 

In a week, the final exams would take place, followed by a short winter session—Haicheng No.1 High’s traditional week-long winter trip.

 

Then it would be winter break.

 

But before that, he had to juggle rehearsals for the school performance while preparing for finals.

 

Thud. Staying up late memorizing lines had taken its toll. Shui Que’s head drooped, and the pen in his hand slipped, falling to the floor.

 

Lu Fengchi, ever patient, bent down and picked it up for him.

 

Shui Que patted his own face to wake himself up. He thanked Lu Fengchi, took the pen, and looked up at the blackboard—only to find the dense equations incomprehensible.

 

The teacher’s lecture in Mandarin sounded both familiar and foreign.

 

Familiar, because he knew the language.

 

Foreign, because he couldn’t understand a word of it.

 

They said missing one moment in a math class could leave you lost.

 

But he hadn’t even picked up the pen himself!

 

…Forget it.

 

Shui Que decided to put a pause on the plot where he would deliberately let himself get caught two-timing and then be dumped—at least until Qu Jiuchao finished tutoring him for another week…

 

“Did I explain it clearly?” The light reflected off his glasses as Qu Jiuchao asked indifferently. Noticing that the person beside him was spacing out, he tapped the table with the end of his pen.

 

The crisp tapping sound jolted Shui Que out of his wandering thoughts. He nodded absentmindedly.

 

Qu Jiuchao already knew all of his little tricks. “Then repeat the steps I just went through to solve the problem.”

 

The two of them were in a small private study room in the school library. The soundproofing was excellent, and the one-way glass meant that people outside couldn’t see in. Even if they discussed problems out loud, it wouldn’t disturb others.

 

Shui Que stared hard at the key points of the problem, but his mind was a complete mess. After a long silence, he finally muttered, “I don’t remember.”

 

Qu Jiuchao was merciless. “That’s one time you spaced out.”

 

He sat there at ease, looking completely unbothered.

 

So annoying.

 

Just looking at how composed he was made Shui Que even more frustrated.

 

Kissing, kissing, kissing—that’s all he ever thought about!

 

What kind of nonsense was it to say that, for the sake of helping him focus, he had to be kissed for a full minute every time he spaced out?

 

What was so great about kissing anyway?

 

Shui Que shut his eyes tightly and crashed into him, almost biting Qu Jiuchao’s lip out of spite before quickly pulling away and returning to his seat.

 

Qu Jiuchao raised his hand and touched his lips. No blood, no broken skin. He lowered his gaze, his expression unreadable—neither disappointed nor anything else. However, he didn’t object to Shui Que’s petty revenge.

 

“I’ll explain it again.” He twirled the pen between his fingers, the quick movement leaving behind faint afterimages. “This is the last time.”

 

“Oh.” Shui Que sat up straight, suddenly serious.

 

That afternoon, the activity period was replaced with rehearsals for the New Year’s Eve performance. Since the event was being jointly organized across several school campuses, just like the sports festival, the number of available performance slots was limited. Occasionally, the grade committees would suggest merging two or three classes into a single performance to increase their chances of getting selected. Coincidentally, the entertainment committee members from Class 19 and Class 10 had grown up together as childhood friends.

 

As a result, the approved performance would be jointly staged by both classes.

 

The script had been written before submission, so once the performance was approved, they immediately began assigning roles.

 

The entertainment committee member from Class 10 was a delicate-looking Omega girl. She had adapted the script from the fairy tale “Bluebeard.”

 

She spoke softly and had an air of persuasion about her. When she first approached Shui Que, she had expressed her hope that he would participate, saying there was a role that suited him particularly well.

 

It was probably something like a tree that didn’t need to move at all—just a background prop.

 

Shui Que couldn’t think of any other role that would be “particularly suitable” for him.

 

Until he received the script—

 

“…” Feeling utterly betrayed, he ran to the entertainment committee member. The minor tree role in the beginning was clearly assigned to someone else, and more importantly, “You didn’t tell me my role involved cross-dressing?!”

 

He pointed indignantly at the script page, where it said: “Minstrel (Played by Song Shui Que).”

 

The script was adapted from a particular version of the “Bluebeard” fairy tale.

 

Bluebeard was a wealthy Alpha duke who had married several wives, all of whom mysteriously disappeared. No one in his lands was willing to let their Omega daughters marry him anymore.

 

Later, he sought to marry the daughter of a forester, but she was terrified. Just then, an Alpha minstrel passing through heard about the situation and offered to disguise himself as the forester’s daughter, marry Bluebeard, and uncover the truth behind the disappearances.

 

The forester was endlessly grateful and sent the minstrel—now disguised as an Omega girl—to the duke’s castle.

 

Bluebeard doted on his new “wife,” showering “her” with rare treasures from across the kingdom until their room was overflowing with luxury. Seizing the opportunity, the “wife” requested a particular treasure from a neighboring kingdom, forcing Bluebeard to leave on a long journey to retrieve it.

 

While Bluebeard was away, the “wife” sent a letter via carrier pigeon to a knight commander of the Holy Church whom he had met during past travels.

 

The knight commander rushed to the castle under the pretense of visiting an old friend. Secretly, he and the “wife” avoided the servants and conducted a thorough search of the castle.

 

Duke Bluebeard returned home in high spirits, bringing his treasured possessions with him, only to be secretly informed by his servants that during his one-and-a-half-month absence, his wife had been cavorting with some unknown man in every corner of the castle!

 

In a fit of rage, Bluebeard prepared to catch them in the act, but he was instead captured by the arriving knights.

 

It turned out that during the month and a half he had been away, the “wife” and the knight commander had uncovered the horrifying truth—

 

Bluebeard was actually an Omega with a glandular defect. He had been marrying other Omegas in an attempt to transplant their glands into his own body. Unfortunately, none of the transplants had been successful, and the victims had all discovered his secret.

 

To keep his secret safe, Bluebeard had killed them, preserving their bodies as statues and sealing them away in the castle’s underground chamber.

 

Playing the minstrel meant that Shui Que had to pretend to be the forester’s Omega daughter.

 

Which was why he had mentioned “cross-dressing.”

 

The entertainment committee member misunderstood. She thought Shui Que was worried because the minstrel was an Alpha—after all, no Omega would be eager to play a rough and burly Alpha.

 

So she reassured him, “Don’t worry, the minstrel is only an Alpha in the beginning. The cross-dressing part is really short.”

 

“Oh, right!” She suddenly had a lightbulb moment, clapping her fist into her palm. “There’s also some gender-swapping roles, right?”

 

“It’s no big deal,” she said, casually pointing at a few Alpha players from the class basketball team. “Him, him, and him—they’re playing Bluebeard’s previous wives, all of whom were Omega women. You know how it is these days. Plain old traditional performances don’t attract audiences anymore; people want something bold and visually striking.”

 

“They’ll handle the bold part, and you just need to focus on looking good.” The entertainment committee member blushed slightly as if she had suddenly thought of something.

 

“Anyway, I already rented the costumes from the film studio!” Her attitude was firm.

 

Shui Que had no choice but to comply.

 

Flipping to the next page, he saw that the knight commander was played by Lu Fengchi.

 

“Why isn’t there a name for Bluebeard’s role?” He asked, puzzled by the blank space behind “Bluebeard.”

 

“Oh, because this is a joint performance between two classes, we had to let Class 19 take a lead role. Some of the minor roles were supposed to go to them too, but…” The entertainment committee member rolled her eyes and shrugged.

 

“Most of their class is full of arrogant snobs who look down on ‘third-rate’ scripts like ours.”

 

“But I think the script is fantastic,” Shui Que said sincerely, without hesitation.

 

Of course, if he weren’t playing the minstrel, he would have been a passionate audience member instead.

 

The entertainment committee member glanced left and right, making sure a certain Alpha who always hovered around Shui Que wasn’t there. Then, in a flash, she reached out and pinched Shui Que’s cheek.

 

So soft.

 

So smooth.

 

Such a pity…

 

The world still wasn’t very accepting of Western-style OO relationships.

 

She gazed at Shui Que with regret.

 

Shui Que was utterly confused: ?

 

…Bluebeard.

 

Was played by Qu Jiuchao.

 

“You don’t like it…?” Alpha curled up on the small stool like a dejected big dog, lowering his voice. “But you like matcha milk foam, right? If you don’t drink it soon, it’ll get cold.”

 

“It won’t taste good once it’s cold,” he murmured, voice even softer.

 

＊

 

If he could do it all over again, no matter what the literature and arts committee said, Shui Que would never have agreed to participate in the play.

 

Every day of rehearsal felt like absolute torment.

 

He never wanted to go through it a second time.

 

Though being a player wasn’t right, sometimes Shui Que had to admire those master-level players who juggled their schedules like octopuses.

 

He was just an ordinary, unremarkable supporting character trying to keep up with two different roles at once, and he was exhausted to the brink every single day.

 

Finally, after endless waiting, New Year’s Eve arrived.

 

Haicheng No.1 High School allocated at least five million yuan annually for the event, setting up a performance stage and large screen at the center of the stadium to accommodate students and teachers from all three campuses, along with invited parents and alumni. A professional film crew was even hired to live-stream the event online.

 

Backstage, hurried preparations were in full swing. People rushed about, changing costumes and applying makeup, their shadows flitting across the dimly lit area.

 

The “Bluebeard” play was scheduled near the end of the program, so they had plenty of time to get ready.

 

Using his student council privileges, Qu Jiuchao had secured a dedicated dressing and makeup room for them—spacious and far from cramped.

 

The minor supporting actors changed and had their makeup done first.

 

While the main roles, which required more effort, were left for later, ensuring everything was done meticulously.

 

The Alphas playing the previous wives dressed in elaborate court gowns. Their muscular chests stretched the fabric taut, and their makeup was thick and garish, creating a striking visual effect.

 

They laughed and joked with each other, even squeezing each other’s chests for fun before snapping pictures as permanent blackmail material.

 

Suddenly, someone in the makeup room muttered under their breath:

 

“I wonder if Classmate Song is ready yet…”

 

Though it was a quiet, self-directed thought, everyone caught it. The Alphas who had been laughing so carelessly moments ago all fell silent, their faces turning red.

 

The makeup room grew so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

 

After a long pause, someone finally spoke:

 

“He’ll probably look stunning in it.”

 

Everyone turned to look. It was Lu Fengchi, dressed in a knight’s costume, standing guard by the door. His black and gold half-cape was tailored perfectly, and his bone studs hadn’t been removed, giving him a roguish air. He truly looked like a gallant knight from a fairytale, one who would draw his sword to protect a princess.

 

A loud bang echoed as someone forcefully pushed open the inner room door, their breathing ragged.

 

With a click, the door was locked from the inside.

 

Heavy, deliberate footsteps approached, black leather boots gleaming as they pressed against the wooden floor. The boards creaked under the weight, as if each step required immense effort.

 

Shui Que, his back facing the door, was still struggling with the ties on the back of his dress.

 

The dressing room’s lighting was a warm, eye-friendly yellow. Unaware, he stood in the soft glow, partially revealing his butterfly-shaped shoulder blades, green silk ribbons crisscrossing and binding across them.

 

“Sorry, I’m not done changing yet.” He fumbled behind his back, trying to tie the bow but failing multiple times. Lowering his head, he apologized for his clumsiness without turning around. “You might have to wait a little longer; this is harder to fasten than I thought.”

 

A cold hand reached around him, pressing against his skin. The sudden chill sent goosebumps across his body.

 

Shui Que shivered.

 

His hands loosened, and the unfinished ribbons at his back were caught between him and the person behind him, pressed tightly against his body.

 

Qu Jiuchao was drenched in sweat. He hadn’t even put on his outer coat, only wearing the wrinkled inner layer of his duke’s costume, looking utterly disheveled.

 

The Qu family had extensive overseas business ventures, so he had been raised with rigorous Western aristocratic education. His etiquette was as rigid as an old-century gentleman’s, where even a single wrinkle in his shirt was considered a breach of decorum.

 

A cane would come down swiftly on his palm, lashing repeatedly like raindrops in a storm. His fingers would be too sore to straighten for an entire day, the stinging pain lingering relentlessly.

 

He had never been this unkempt in front of anyone before—never this utterly defenseless, armor discarded.

 

His breaths came in hot and heavy, spilling over Shui Que’s nape. His eyes were bloodshot as he lowered his head, pressing his nose against the scent gland hidden beneath Shui Que’s soft, disheveled hair.

 

Only then did Shui Que seem to realize something was wrong. Alarmed, he asked, “Qu, Qu Jiuchao? What’s wrong with you?”

 

“R-… Rut.” Every word Qu Jiuchao forced out sounded like it was being squeezed through gritted teeth, his voice strained with unbearable pain.

 

“Mark me.”

 

He said it.

 

Two or three breaths passed, long enough for darkness to creep into Qu Jiuchao’s vision, making him dizzy.

 

Shui Que finally grasped the urgency of the situation. His voice trembled with panic. “I-I don’t know how! How do I do it?”

 

Qu Jiuchao gritted his teeth, his fangs pressing down hard. “Did you return all your middle school biology lessons to the teacher?!”

 

“Yelling at me won’t help…” He was so frantic he had no idea what to do. His palms were sweating as he glanced around in a daze. “What should I do?”

---

Huge shoutout to @candycorns2 on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.

---