Before It ShrivelsChapter 2

When I returned to the dormitory, I didn’t expect my roommate was still there.

I lived in a double room with my roommate, Xu Xingze. Like me, he was one of the best art students in this school. He studied painting while mine was a musical instrument. KdzqDi

Xu Xingze was an alpha with tangerine flavored pheromone. His entirety was as sunny and lively as his pheromone.

Due to my gender being a beta, AO pheromones do not affect me. So Xu Xingze had never used pheromone-blocking agents in our dormitory.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

As soon as I entered the door, I smelled a faint tangerine aroma.

“Ah, Xiao Yu, you’re back.” Xu Xingze revealed a bright smile. wjctQu

I nodded and asked, “Didn’t you go home?”

“I’m not quite satisfied with my graduation work and want to change it a bit more. The school’s studio environment is much more capable of keeping me engaged,” said Xu Xingze.

As I spoke, I noticed a half-sketched watercolor on the easel resting in front of him. Xu Xingze specialized in Western oil painting, but he enjoyed drawing small refreshing watercolor paintings in private.

I walked over whilst he frowned and said, “Xiao Yu, you’ve lost so much weight.”

“I…” I touched my face and lied, uncomfortable, “Practiced in seclusion… I lost a bit of sleep and I keep forgetting to eat…”

“That’s not okay.” Xu Xingze stood up. He cupped my face and pinched it. “Let’s go, I’ll take you to eat delicious food.”

Xu Xingze was a year older than me and always liked to treat me as if I was a child. For the sake of his four years of college helping me buy food rain or shine, I let him rub and fiddle.

I was tired all night yesterday evening. I didn’t eat in the morning, so I was a bit dazed when I walked. Xu Xingze nudged me on my back when he helped me open the car. He then complained to himself, “You weren’t practicing in seclusion, you’ve been tied up and starved for half a month.” iCxKkZ

I pretended not to hear. I wormed my way into the car and fiddled with my phone.

The screen still displayed my chat page with Qi Shu. He seldom took the initiative to send me messages. Most of the contents would either be 【Come here tonight】, 【Come to the office】, 【Clean up. Xiao Wu will pick you up】and so on.

Scrolling up, the longest one in the recent month was, 【I won’t be back for a while, so don’t wait for me. Ask Aunt Zhang to cook what you want to eat, or call Xiao Wu to buy it and send it to you.】 

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.

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The next morning, I saw Qi Shu in the entertainment section of the newspaper holding a beautiful young omega as he left a nightclub. A few days later, I saw the omega at Qi Shu’s house.

Eighteen or nineteen years old, fresh and clean, like a budding gardenia rooted on its branch.

I stood upstairs, watching him follow Qi Shu with his cheeks flushed, timidly pulling Qi Shu’s sleeve. Bm4qiA

He seemed vulnerable.

But Qi Shu didn’t know how to pity and cherish jade. He wrapped his arms around the omega’s waist and took him back to the master bedroom without looking up at me at all.

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I thought maliciously, ‘So young, and such a thin body. He might not be able to withstand Qi Shu’s tossing.’

It’s only a plaything. Qi Shu wouldn’t show mercy. dgocP1

It’s only a plaything.

As am I.

“Xiao Yu, what are you thinking about?”

The phone had automatically locked. When I returned to my senses, I saw my face reflected on the black screen. 6kXEI0

“It’s nothing… What are we eating?” I asked.

“Eat that Japanese food you like the most.” Xu Xingze smiled brightly.

Ten minutes later, he parked outside a tall office building. There was a private Japanese restaurant tucked away near the building. We’ve been here many times together.

Qi Shu didn’t like Japanese food and never came with me. AZ3TB2

Xu Xingze knew what was going on between me and Qi Shu, and I was grateful that he didn’t show any disdain to me, nor accused me of saying, “this isn’t right”.

He just touched my head and said, “Xiao Yu, it’s good that you don’t regret it.”

I didn’t expect to bump into Qi Shu here. OhAp K

While we’re entering the door, Xu Xingze was telling me that he had been thinking about sea urchin rolls for half a month, and that he was waiting for me to eat them together. I told him that he should take it easy, and reminded him the last time he ate six in one sitting, he went home with diarrhea.

He laughed and said, “You sure talk a lot.” Then we looked up and saw Qi Shu coming out of the elevator.

Qi Shu looked like he had just finished the meeting. His suit was crease-free and his hair was meticulous. He was followed by secretaries and bodyguards, all of whom were elite alphas.

I wanted to avoid him but it was already too late. When Qi Shu saw me, his brows frowned imperceptibly, then moved his eyes to Xu Xingze beside me. 7SVJ06

I wasn’t affected by AO pheromones before the gland transplant. But now, I was overwhelmed by the pheromones that Qi Shu and Xu Xingze suddenly released.

High-ranked alphas naturally repulsed each other. The two of them were fighting against each other, making me, who was in the middle, suffer.

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I was so dizzy that I almost lost my footing. Fortunately, Xu Xingze picked me up, retracted his pheromone and asked in a low voice, “Xiao Yu, are you ok?”

I shook my head and got up from his arm. 7jTCXd

“Sorry…” Xu Xingze apologized with slight chagrin.

“It’s okay.”

I turned to Qi Shu and lowered my eyes. I didn’t dare look at his face. There was only a pair of spotless black leathered shoes at my line of sight.

“Mr. Qi,” I whispered. iUKe4R

I could feel Qi Shu’s cold, and scrutinizing gaze.

Fortunately, he said nothing and withdrew his eyes in just a few seconds then left with his people.

Even as I ate, I still felt nervous. I couldn’t even eat my usual favorite, kimbap tempura.

Xu Xingze looked at me worriedly and said, “I forgot that you can be affected by pheromones now, but I didn’t control it just now. Sorry, Xiao Yu.” 1fchv4

“I don’t blame you.” I managed to smile, “I haven’t got used to it myself.”

“I heard that over time, the artificial gland will gradually be suitable for the human body. Why do I think your condition turned for the worse instead… Or you should go to the hospital to have it checked?” Xu Xingze said.

“I…” I couldn’t think of a reason to refuse, so I had to promise, “I’ll go when I have time.”

“You don’t have time,” Xu Xingze interrupted, “I’ll go with you this afternoon.” eXkYC6

We didn’t make it to the hospital. On the way, I received a message from Qi Shu, asking me to go over to his company now.

Xu Xingze seemed like he wanted to tell me something, but didn’t say anything in the end. He turned the car around and sent me to Qi Shu’s company.

When I got off and bid goodbye to him, Xu Xingze called out to me and hesitantly asked, “Are you going back to school today?”

I couldn’t figure out what Qi Shu was thinking, so I answered truthfully, “I don’t know…” QEDCjN

“…Forget it.” Xu Xingze sighed, “See you.”

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Today’s playlist: 《Spring and Autumn》 

[I haven’t been rewritten by you. How can my life be filled with worries? I haven’t been hated by you. Written as love history and turned into waste paper] bGAj0p