Chapter 7: 7 – you dare?

After a 40-minute lunch break, it was the physical education period. The students had taken the last few minutes of lunch to change into their all-too-welcomed PE uniforms.

Although their school uniform was quite stylish, with its fashion statement red fabric and white streaks down their sleeves adding to it a trendy flourish, donning a casual T-shirt and breathable shorts instead made them feel liberated. The cool breeze blew across their skins and refreshed their sluggish minds.

Some of the girls took this chance to tie up their long hair, showing off their slender necks, while some boys even went as far as to change into branded sport shoes. 

Gathered outside on the fields were the relatively calm students of class 3.1 and 3.4, it wasn’t uncommon for two classes to share a PE timeslot, as such the students were used to seeing mostly old and some new faces. A few social butterflies inevitably lit up with joy when they recognised their pals, urging their common friend groups to get together.

A sharp sound, which had emitted from the PE teacher's tardy orange whistle, numbed the students’ ears. 

“Alright, same as usual! Go run seven laps to warm up, then you are free to do as you please for the rest of the period.”

During the first and second year of high school, the students would be mercilessly worked to the bone with countless of different drills of various sports, such as: learning how to receive a volleyball, or how to dribble a basketball properly, and even honing their reaction speed with hurdles. 

More often than not, they’d also be forced to practise their endurance by running until they were about to vomit. 

However, it was much more relaxed during their final year. Seeing as the students were stressed about their upcoming exams, the PE teachers usually let them off the hook and allowed them to freeload for an hour—after a flimsy warm-up, of course; getting some basic exercise does help with one’s serotonin levels. 

Halfway through her third lap, Jia Mei, despite already panting heavily, poked Qi Yu on the shoulder. “Koi, isn’t that guy…Wen Chun? So he’s in class four…”

Qi Yu, famously known as a long-distance gold medalist, didn’t even break a sweat. She turned her head in the direction Jia Mei hinted at and squinted through the blinding sun, “Yeah, it is Wen Chun. What of him?”

“Isn’t he the alpha notoriously known for leading-on naive omegas and then dumping them after a week?” Jia Mei stopped, doubled over with her hands on her knees, saying, “He targeted the junior sisters of the west block last year. Getting together then breaking up, and then moving onto another after—like they were interchangeable products. Hah, scum!”

An unsettling feeling wormed its way up Qi Yu’s throat as she jogged in place. “If he’s that troublesome, then why haven’t the discipline teachers stopped him?”

Jia Mei straightened up and shook her head, “Because he always insists that he broke up on good terms with the omegas. Plus the people involved never spoke up or complained, so the teachers took his word for it.”

The alpha in question wasn’t actually too bad-looking, although his stature was lanky, his thick bones made him seem strong and unlike a thin beanpole. He had a clean appearance and his hair was a natural brown, giving him an air of a good student.

Additionally, his grades were quite good, always one of the top scorers for English to boot. To sum it up, the teachers thought his behaviour didn’t warrant any attention and simply brushed it off as a common case of puppy love.

“Hmm…you sure are up to date with anything, Mei Mei.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t be a certified melon-eater for nothing!” Jia Mei patted her chest, sticking her nose up to the sky. However, before she could prove her worthiness with more gossip, she gasped, “Ai, Wen Chun’s heading towards our kaolin flower!”

Ying Lin had just jogged his seventh lap when, unexpectedly, an alpha a little taller than himself came looking for trouble. 

With an indifferent expression, he looked up midway through wiping his sweat with a towel. “Can I help you?”

Smiling politely, Wen Chun extended a palm, asking, “You’re Ying Lin, right? Looks like the rumours are true, you’re very attractive.”

Ying Lin observed the alpha, discerning an edge of slyness to his smile. He flipped through his memory, not once recalling the boy’s face, and so concluded that they’d never met prior year three.

He didn’t take his hand and instead arched a brow. “Hands are sweaty, don’t bother. Get to the point or scram.”

Receiving the omega’s cold gaze, the smile on Wen Chun’s face slowly dropped and his expression turned unreadable. “No need to be so fierce, I just want to get to know you better.”

“What for? We’re in different classes.”

Wen Chun took a step closer, and with that step, a pungent scent started to exude from his body. “I’m just interested in you, do I need a proper reason?”

Ying Lin frowned, the alpha’s unpleasant smoky pheromones made his already cold expression instantly plunge by another ten degrees. A bubble of imminent irritation brewed in his chest.

It wasn’t strange for an alpha to hit on or approach him with less than innocent intentions. After all, omegas had inherent appeal for alphas, even an omega like himself. While most alphas were courteous and backed off after being rejected, Ying Lin knew that it wasn’t the case for the guy by his front.

This guy was the type to play around with his relationships and to subdue his partners. He even deliberately released his pheromones in an attempt to make him submit, but that only made Ying Lin more vigilant. 

He looked the alpha squarely in the eyes. “I’m not, so back off.”

“...We can start as friends.” Annoyed, Wen Chun’s pheromones flared up as he moved to grab his wrist. “Don’t be stubborn—”

Ying Lin swiftly dodged with a side-step, and at that moment, his back abruptly met with something soft yet sturdy. Then a warm hand was placed on his shoulder, and a deep voice, laced with obvious threat, rang by his ears.

“You dare to annoy him?” Jun Sheng stepped forwards and blocked Ying Lin slightly, scoffing, “Keep your foul pheromones in check, you’re making my deskmate reek of you.”

Being mocked so bluntly made Wen Chun’s face uglier as it twisted. “So what is it to you? You’re not his partner, so don’t put your nose in our business.”

With a look so suave and affable, a whole 180 from his earlier sneer, Jun Sheng turned to face Ying Lin. “Do you know him?”

Slightly stunned by how the scoundrel changed his manner of speaking and facial expressions so quickly, Ying Lin took half a second to reply, “...No, I don’t.”

Jun Sheng nodded, swirled back around and, with narrowed eyes, he simply spat out a, “Hear that? Scram.”

A strong wave of woody musk awash their little corner as it rapidly overwhelmed and chased away Wen Chun’s nasty scent. 

Ying Lin’s breath hitched and the fingers dangling by his side curled up slightly. He raised his eyes, took in Jun Sheng’s silent anger and had an abrupt realisation. ‘His pheromones…aren’t as agitating.’

Towards Wen Chun’s pheromones, he had felt the incoming signs of a negative backlash judging by the sharp pricks of pain around his nape, and it only worsened when the brown-haired alpha recklessly increased its strength. 

However, right when Jun Sheng’s scent had enveloped him, the pain reduced to a mere dull ache before it gradually eased into a constant rhythm. And all of a sudden, his senses felt immensely soothed.

Then it dawned on him that this was a completely novel feeling, one he thought he would never have the chance to experience given his illness; he felt safe, inexplicably so.

Although provoked, Wen Chun wisely took a step back and stopped their tense confrontation. With yet another faux smile, he said, “Sorry, I stepped out of line earlier. I won't bother you both any longer.”

He briskly walked off, and if one looked closely enough, they’d realise the lanky alpha’s feet were actually stomping childishly. 

After ensuring that he had left, Jun Sheng angled himself to face his deskmate and gave his body a once over, pale eyes catching on a lone sweat droplet sliding down the curvature of Ying Lin’s pale neck. “He didn’t manage to hurt you, right?”

Blinking, Ying Lin was fished from his daze. He peered into the scoundrel’s eyes and perceived a thread of concern. With his usual paralysed face, he lightly elbowed the alpha in the ribs. “Like hell I’d let him.”

Ying Lin lowered his eyes, then that comforting scent vanished, going as quickly as it came.

“Mm, looks like you didn’t need my help at all,” Jun Sheng laughed, rubbing his not-so-serious injury. “I forgot you were a little thief who could fight.”

“...” Should’ve smacked your mouth instead.

Having just got back from digging through the storeroom for spare basketballs, Qin Shaoqing and Hu Duyi jogged over. The former asked, “What happened? An alpha just brushed past us looking all grumpy.”

Hu Duyi caught a ball that slipped from under Qin Shaoqing’s arm, adding, “He’s Wen Chun.”

“Wen Chun?” Ying Lin echoed. He glanced at the newcomer, who was yet another alpha, but he had a rather calm temperament, one glance and he could tell that he was of similar nature to himself—

“A fucking notorious playboy.”

—or not.

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“...”

“You know him, Duyi?” Jun Sheng asked. He glanced at Ying Lin’s complicated expression and almost laughed; he too knew that feeling of being deceived.

Hu Duyi shook his head and explained, “Not personally, but I heard from others that many omegas would love to sock him in the face.”

“Ah…I think I know who you’re talking about.” Qin Shaoqing patted Hu Duyi’s shoulder, muttered a quick “thanks” then continued, “Maybe it was after midterms last year, I saw him make his partner cry. It looked like any other normal lovers’ quarrel, but now that I think back, the girl was trembling quite badly.”

Jun Sheng’s lips pursed into a straight line, but hearing a quiet snort by his side, the corners of his lips unconsciously followed. “Deskmate, what’s so funny? Share with us your joy, hmm?”

With a straight face, Ying Lin lifted his towel to wipe the sweat on his forehead, pushing his fringe back in the process. “That guy’s face when he ran off was quite amusing.” 

Then with a nonchalant hand, he pinched the neck of his shirt and fanned himself. It wasn’t that he was tired from a mere seven laps, rather, the afternoon was simply too sweltering, a natural enemy of his body’s cold constitution. 

Jun Sheng was flashed a large expanse of skin and the prominent dip of Ying Lin’s collarbone. 

He had a good figure with sharp edges, very unlike a stereotypical soft omega, and when he lifted his shirt, his lean muscles added to him a healthy glow. A boy of this age hadn’t fully grown into himself, but he was youthful and zealous, with a knife’s cold glint in his dark eyes.

However, that aloof front of his inexplicably made others want to unravel his secrets.

Ying Lin looked at him strangely, asking, “What’s wrong? Your face keeps twitching.”

At that, Jun Sheng kept those sudden thoughts away. He soothed his sore spot once more and feigned a pitiful expression. “I really shouldn’t provoke you so much.”

“Don’t act, there’s no use.” Those words sounded sincere, but Ying Lin knew they were empty promises. He kicked the alpha’s shin, grabbed a ball from Qin Shaoqing, and inclined his head towards the court. “Settle the score from that night?”

“Oh, our passionate night together?”

“...” 

“Kidding, kidding.”

Watching the teased omega walk off in favour of ignoring him, Jun Sheng got the impression of a cat with bristled fur. He chuckled softly and, with a few wide strides with his long legs, he caught up to that tall back.

Qin Shaoqing, having had his ball stolen, studied them both with a thoughtful expression. He asked Hu Duyi, “Doesn’t your alpha friend not like omegas? So how come he’s so…comfortable with my boss?”

Hu Duyi glanced down at the slender fingers tugging at his sleeve and felt a warmth surge towards his ears. He cleared his throat, “Maybe because your boss controls his pheromones well? So Sheng-ge feels more relaxed.”

At that, Qin Shaoqing knitted his brows together. “Jun Sheng can’t stand omega pheromones?” But Ying Lin’s scent…

“Only if they come off strongly”—Hu Duyi noticed the worried look in his eyes—”what’s wrong?” When he blinked, he saw Qin Shaoqing’s face return to its normal, easy-going self.

“No, nothing. Let’s catch up or else they’ll start without us.”

 

 

 

 

With the urgings of the PE teacher going, “Change back into your uniforms—don’t give me that look! Don’t be lazy and risk stinking up your next class and have me get complaints from your subject teachers!”

After which the students of class one reluctantly obeyed, it was already time for the first English class of the week.

During the five minute intermission between classes, Ying Lin lazily leaned on his desk and lidded his eyes; the sun’s glare from beyond the windows made him feel drowsy, a few clouds had started to drift in by now, making the weather just right for a nap.

Treating the occasional whisper-yells of his classmates like an elevator’s background music, he reckoned he’d really fall asleep at this rate.

Even the incessant vibrations of his phone from under his desk didn’t disrupt the drooping of his eyelids.

[Student A: Did you guys see how Wen Chun walked up to our year’s indifferent flower earlier?]

[Student B: Saw, saw! He already has a girlfriend and he’s still seeking trouble??]

[Student C: Didn’t you hear? He broke up with that one already, before the term started.]

[Student B: Huh? So he wants to chase our Ying-ge now?]

Class 3.1 had a private group chat, which class didn’t? No matter the year, there was always one ardent fellow who would pull the rest of their classmates into a separate group without their teachers. Although class three’s Old Cai was a lenient vegetable who gave their unscrupulous nonsense a blind eye, the occasional pop-in of their assigned discipline teacher didn’t sit too well with their stomachs.

Hence a private group chat was a must, a free space to express their blatant dissatisfaction about particular students and even teachers, and to vent somethings that couldn’t be said.

At first, they had hesitated to add two certain characters who reigned over the school’s forum. Simply because one was an antisocial who had the words ‘don’t talk to me’ pasted all over his face, and the other was a seemingly haughty guy who wouldn’t give two cents about their gossip.

Yet Yi Zan, their dense-blockhead of a class monitor, had pulled them in before the rest even had a chance to wail. When asked why, he had just shrugged, saying, “If that’s true, then adding them wouldn’t be a problem, would it? They can just mute the chat and ghost you guys, no big deal.”

Realising that the class monitor had a point, they were no longer distressed. It wasn’t a nice feeling to leave a few people out either, no matter how thin their presence may be.

[Student C: That’s a possibility… How distasteful.]

[Student A: I agree, but let’s forget about that guy for a moment. There’s a situation in the six o’clock direction.]

[Student B: ??? Why so anxious…oh…]

[Student C: Fuck, I almost dropped my phone. Did I go blind? He dares to do that?]

Sometimes everyone in the class collectively went quiet and the classroom would be void of its usual rowdiness. When it was over, however, they would raise their heads like ostriches from their holes in the sand, looking at each other with idiotic smiles. 

This was one of those times, Ying Lin supposed. And he knew just why.

Itchy fingers tugged his fringe lightly, then they swept aside his hair to tuck it behind the base of an ear. His scoundrel of a deskmate’s roguish voice then said, “Sleeping with your hair wet? You’ll catch a cold.”

Ying Lin had splashed his face with water before coming back to class, washing the residue of sweat from his skin. But because he did it so offhandedly, it got the tips of his fringe wet.

He cracked an eyelid open, saying, “Mm, hands off, or your fingertips will get frostbitten instead.”

Unsurprisingly, the scoundrel simply twisted a strand of hair around his finger, grabbed a clean towel from his bag and proceeded to wipe those droplets off. ”Whatever you say, deskmate.”

Ying Lin pursed his lips but didn’t deny Jun Sheng’s magnanimity. Under the feverish stares of their classmates, one frozen-faced omega simply allowed the arrogant alpha to serve him, painting quite a harmonious scene. 

The melon-eaters couldn’t enjoy the short movie for long because soon, the clacking of high heels—against the corridor’s hard floor and towards them—caught their attention and stiffened their faces.

The moment Zhan Zhelan stepped into the class, her hawk-like gaze caught on two certain students who were lost in their little world. But upon recognising one of them particularly well, her stern expression cracked and soured slightly; not even her lavish makeup could hide how her complexion had been drained of its colour.

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