On Tuesday afternoon, Chi Jiahan returned from his lab class. As he walked to the second floor, he looked up and saw Xu Ze’s back. He hesitated, then ran two steps to catch up, and grabbed him.
“Didn’t you ask for leave?”
Xu Ze turned around, his lips were pale and his face had an unusual flush. His eyelids were drooping and lacking energy, and his pupils were shining as if he had a fever.
“I took the morning off,” Xu Ze replied hoarsely, “It’s afternoon now.”
Anyone with a head would know that it was afternoon. Chi Jiahan closed his eyes helplessly, “You only took half a day off for your rut?”
“I have a midterm exam,” Xu Ze’s brain seemed to be running a little slow. He paused for a second and continued, “There is a midterm in today’s swimming class.”
“You can apply for a make-up exam. It’s not like other subjects where you have to worry about the test questions being leaked. Besides, if you’re in rut, the teacher will definitely agree.”
Chi Jiahan’s logic was tight, and there seemed to be no loopholes. Xu Ze fell silent for a moment and replied, “I want to take the exam today.”
“Why does it have to be today? Is there someone you like in the swimming class? Even if there is, do you want to meet them looking so badly battered and groggy? If you do badly on the test, it’s not worth it.”
It was just some ridiculous assumption. Chi Jiahan knew that nothing like that would ever happen to Xu Ze. Xu Ze always stubbornly insisted on certain things without saying a word. Chi Jiahan just hoped that he could take better care of himself, even though the possibility was slim to none.
After speaking, Chi Jiahan saw Xu Ze’s eyelashes twitch. Then, Xu Ze moved his eyes to look elsewhere. After a while, he said, “I won’t do badly.”
“…”
Chi Jiahan realized it was difficult to reach a consensus when talking with Xu Ze. He didn’t know if this was some kind of AO thinking disparity.
“Aren’t you feeling uncomfortable?”
“I’m fine,” Xu Ze replied.
“How many inhibitors have you taken?”
“Not many.” Xu Ze looked away again. He wasn’t good at lying and knew that there was no point in lying to Chi Jiahan, so he said honestly, “Three.”
“…You’re not an alpha.” Chi Jiahan looked at him in disbelief, “You’re simply an AI.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Three shots of inhibitors. Aren’t you afraid of pheromone disorder or high fever shock?”
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—
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An alpha arrived later than him—sensing someone behind him, Lu Heyang instinctively turned around.
In that brief moment when he looked back, he saw Xu Ze lowering his head.
There were no bandages on Xu Ze’s face today. Instead, a faint bruise was noticeable where his nose met his left cheek. He still had his eyelashes lowered, concealing his eyes. Lu Heyang glanced at him before turning his attention to the teacher who was introducing the content of the exam.
The teacher spoke through a megaphone, and every word echoed in the swimming pool. Xu Ze paused for a few seconds, then raised his head and looked at Lu Heyang’s back.
Lu Heyang had the characteristic tall and well-built physique of an alpha in puberty, somewhere between youth and maturity. He had straight shoulders and spine, long legs, smooth and perfect muscles on his back and arms, and fair skin without any scars or bruises—a first-class alpha even among the group of superior S-level alphas.
His hands hanging by his sides were white and slender with clear joints. His ten fingers curved naturally as they hung down. These hands appeared too delicate and beautiful for an alpha, but at the same time, they didn’t lack a sense of strength, giving the impression that Lu Heyang should be equipped with such hands.
Xu Ze stared at Lu Heyang’s left hand for a while and suddenly noticed that the swimming pool had become quiet. It was completely silent, which was quite strange. As Xu Ze thought about this, the familiar sound of splashing and people’s voices suddenly rushed into his ears.
Only then did he realize how lost in thought he had just been.
The alpha exam consisted of a 50-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley, with four testing pools and eight lanes in each pool. The gym teacher divided all the students into groups based on their queue order, with eight students in each group, and four groups took the test at the same time.
Xu Ze and Lu Heyang were placed in the same group, Lu Heyang was number 4 and Xu Ze was number 5.
Their turn arrived only at the end of the class. The previous group was still taking the test, and the eight alphas walked the starting point to prepare. Lu Heyang stood next to Xu Ze. He was just standing there, but Xu Ze felt an invisible pressure that made him stiff all over.
“He Wei mentioned last time that he wanted us to compete against each other.” Lu Heyang looked at the swimming pool and suddenly spoke, “He got it.”
He didn’t look at Xu Ze or even turn his head, so it took Xu Ze about three seconds to confirm that Lu Heyang was really talking to him.
“No…” Xu Ze’s fingers moved as if he wanted to grab something in his hand, but there was nothing in his grasp. He pursed his lips and swallowed before continuing, “This is an exam, not a competition.”
Lu Heyang finally glanced at him, seemed to smile, and said, “If this time doesn’t count, we’ll compete in the next class?”
Xu Ze hadn’t meant that. He suspected that he had become a competitive alpha in Lu Heyang’s eyes, so he said, “There’s no need to compete. You swim better than me.”
“Why?” This was supposed to be their first swimming lesson together. Lu Heyang didn’t know where Xu Ze’s conclusion came from, so he asked without any intentions, “You’ve seen my previous results?”
The alphas of the previous group had already reached the finish line, and the assistant coaches were recording the results. The water in the swimming pool was surging, and Xu Ze looked straight at the swaying surface and felt that his mind was currently in a similar state.
He heard himself say, “No, it’s just a guess.”
Lu Heyang turned to look at him again. From the side, Xu Ze’s expression seemed dazed, somewhat rigid, and definitely not in the right state.
It was their turn to compete. Lu Heyang headed toward his position.
After Lu Heyang walked away, Xu Ze stood still for a few seconds before heading to the starting point. The rippling waves made him feel dizzy. Xu Ze raised his hand to rub his face, and accidentally touched the bruise on the side of his nose, causing a twinge of pain. He paused for a moment and then put on his swimming goggles.
The first test was the 50-meter freestyle. A whistle blew and the eight alphas jumped into the pool at the same time. Xu Ze glanced to the right after entering the water. Lu Heyang’s figure was blurry in the water, but he could see that his swimming posture was graceful, like a fish.
Xu Ze turned his head back, stretched out his arms to swim through the water, and strived to swing his legs.
Soon, his fingertips touched the wall of the pool. Xu Ze raised his upper body to the surface. At the same time, he heard the gym teacher shout, “Number 5 is first, number 4 is second, number 1 is third…”
The eight assistant coaches at the finish line held stopwatches to record the results. Xu Ze wiped the water from his chin and held on to the lane buoy. A slender, strong hand reached out ten centimeters away. Lu Heyang took off his swimming goggles and pushed back his wet hair. Droplets of water rolled down his forehead to his high nose bridge slipping past his Adam’s apple and flowing back into the pool.
The water in the swimming pool was cool, but Xu Ze felt hot—this should be due to his rut. He looked at Lu Heyang’s profile through the light blue goggles, then quickly turned to look elsewhere.
Lu Heyang didn’t linger long and soon got out of the water. He stood at the starting point and prepared for the 200-meter medley that was coming up next.
The whistle blew and the second test began.
After diving into the water, Xu Ze and Lu Heyang maintained a lead over the other alphas, swimming neck and neck. But at the 150-meter mark, Xu Ze began to struggle. He was in rut and with the emotional ups and downs and intense exercise, his pheromones released extensively. Combined with the effects of the three inhibitors, they accumulated in his body, resulting in fever, dizziness, and limb weakness, ultimately affecting his physical stamina.
For the last 50 meters, Xu Ze relied solely on his instinct to keep swimming forward. The track seemed endless. He began to feel his body sinking rapidly, making it difficult even to raise his head to breathe. Finally, his hand touched the end of the pool. Xu Ze was exhausted. He gasped for air before sinking completely, his feet slipping on the bottom of the pool. He tried to grab hold of the buoy but failed.
In the midst of the struggle, his fingers seemed to have touched something. Thinking that it might be the buoy, Xu Ze tried his best to reach out. He still couldn’t grab anything, but suddenly, his wrist was caught firmly, and a force lifted him out of the water. Xu Ze coughed hard and saw the swimming line in front of him. He lay on the buoy, breathing heavily, his face drenched in water.
“Xu Ze, Xu Ze, what’s wrong?”
Xu Ze wiped the water off his face and looked up. The gym teacher was crouching by the pool, looking at him and asking, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Xu Ze shook his head.
He turned around, and Lu Heyang was on the other side, with the swimming lane line separating them. Xu Ze opened his mouth slightly, his chest heaving a few times, and said to him, “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing,” Lu Heyang said, “Go on up.”
Lu Heyang used both hands to climb out of the pool. The assistant coach extended his hand to Xu Ze and helped him. The gym teacher was checking the results and said, “Lu Heyang did well, 2 minutes, 7.21 seconds. Xu Ze, 2 minutes, 7.68 seconds, just a little behind.”
The next group of alphas prepared for the exam. Xu Ze and Lu Heyang went to the pathway next to the swimming pool. Xu Ze walked behind Lu Heyang, clutching his goggles tightly. A few seconds later, Xu Ze took a few quick steps to stand on the side behind Lu Heyang and said, “Congratulations.”
Lu Heyang was slightly taken aback. He turned around and slowed down his pace. When the two of them were side by side, he asked, “Congratulations on what?”
“In the 200-meter medley, you should be first in the grade,” Xu Ze explained.
In truth, he already regretted it after congratulating him. It was just a minor exam. Lu Heyang probably didn’t need anyone to specifically congratulate him—and to make things even more awkward, he also explained why he said it.
Chi Jiahan had said earlier that the IQ of alphas would drop by at least 70% during ruts. It turned out to be true.
Lu Heyang froze in a rare moment, it was the first time someone had congratulated him after a midterm exam, which was kind of novel. He smiled and said, “Congratulations to you as well.”
Seeing Xu Ze’s confusion, Lu Heyang followed his example and explained, “In the 50-meter freestyle, you should be first in the grade.”
Unfortunately, Xu Ze wasn’t someone who understood how to respond to jokes, and he fell silent for a while before responding very seriously, “Thank you.”
Lu Heyang glanced at him from the side before turning back. Xu Ze felt that Lu Heyang was smiling again. Then he heard Lu Heyang say, “You’re welcome.”
Translator’s note:
Here’s amazing art for this chapter:
Thanks for the updates, keep it coming..
Ohh the art is beautiful 🤗
THE ART LOOKS SO PRETTY
AND LU HEYANG KEEPS SMILING HASHSHSGS
That was a cute chapter