Chapter 26: Different Treatment: Why? I Was Clearly Here First. Part 1
The cold, beautiful Beta staring with a frosty face was, for an Alpha, simply flirting.
Those Alphas just loved seeing him like thisâutterly disgusted, cursing with a cold face. A reward that could make one’s scalp tingle with pleasure.
Zhou Lin’s eyes looked slightly innocent as he spoke, “I didn’t know you were inside.”
An S-class Alpha’s pheromones were very persistent, not something that would dissipate in a short while. The scents on Tang Xingye right now were very mottled, more than one, as if he had been surrounded by many Alphas soaking him with pheromones, taking a bath in them.
Zhou Lin knew those Alphas appeared disdainful of Tang Xingye on the surface, but behind his back, they licked every inch of his skin with morbidly obsessed gazes.
Even the seat Tang Xingye sat on in class caused fights, people scrambling to lie on it and rub their faces against it, sniffing the scent he left behind like mad dogs, fantasizing about being buried deep in a touch of pink.
A Beta shouldn’t be so sensitive to pheromones, but his body would go soft and tremble with just a gentle brush of them, even his fingertips turning a faint pink.
A slightly stronger pheromone, and Little Green Leaf would get wet and spray.
Being so sensitive, could he handle so many pheromones at once?
Among these pheromones, the deepest trace left was the unpleasant cocoa scent.
Zhou Lin naturally knew who left this; marks of this degree were simply trying to…
His eyes suddenly deepened, revealing a slight displeasure.
Zhou Lin suddenly really wanted to use his gunpowder smoke pheromones to completely cover those traces. He wanted to see Tang Xingye choked to tears, yet still raising his head to curse him coldly.
Seeing the Beta’s unhappy expression, Zhou Lin spoke at the right time, “Don’t you want to overcome your pheromone weakness?”
Zhou Lin had investigated Tang Xingye’s past. His fiancĂ© died in a car accident, but the Wen family claimed the cause of death was a heart attack. As for the reason, the head of the Wen family, Wen Yuyan, had the records destroyed. Except for the parties involved, no one knew.
But Tang Xingye didn’t look like he had PTSD. Zhou Lin was certain that the reason Tang Xingye was particularly sensitive to the smell of gunpowder came from there.
Tang Xingye lowered his eyes.
Of course, he knew his weakness.
When smelling mint and smoke, memory fragments would occasionally flash.
The doctor said it wasn’t a big problem. If he really wanted to solve it, the suggestion was to have more contact with Alphas or Omegas possessing these two pheromones, try to make friends with them, establish new emotional links, and readapt to these two smells.
Coincidentally entering university, his roommates had these two pheromones. Yet one wore a fake smile all day, and the other was cold and distant.
Zhou Lin really couldn’t understand why Tang Xingye wouldn’t agree. “You can treat it as a substitute. Disgust is better than fear.”
The way to overcome fear is to face it.
Zhou Lin thought his proposal was very gentle. As a child, he had claustrophobia after being kidnapped and locked in a suitcase for three days. This condition affected his mental state.
As the perfect Alpha heir, his mission was to pass on the best genes; such a flaw wasn’t allowed. The solution the family gave was to lock him in an even smaller basement until he no longer feared, otherwise, he would only be discarded.
Although recalling this method now only made Zhou Lin feel sick, he did believe that everyone should overcome the fear in their nature.
“Are you just going to leave it be?”
“If you encounter an Alpha in a rut with similar pheromones in the future, are you going to sacrifice yourself?”
New regulations stated: Alphas in a rut cannot recognize the targets of their behavior. After confirmation by appraisal agencies, they bear no criminal responsibility.
Omega rights couldn’t even be fully guaranteed, let alone a Beta like Tang Xingye.
He knew Tang Xingye wasn’t a pitiful vase waiting for rescue, but he was outnumbered. If Alphas had a collective rut agitation and attacked Tang Xingye, he wouldn’t get legal support.
No family, no husband, no children. His revenge relied solely on himself.
Tang Xingye lifted his eyelids lightly and turned to look at him. Those eyes held a light indifference, as if everything Zhou Lin said had nothing to do with himâor perhaps, he had long seen through all the other’s intentions and was just too lazy to expose them.
He spoke coldly, “Does this have anything to do with you?”
“Zhou Lin,” as if thinking of something, the corner of Tang Xingye’s mouth hooked into a nearly invisible arc, “your current expression looks like a dog whose bone was snatched.”
Zhou Lin paused slightly.
Dog? Ridiculous.
Lu Zhi is willing to be a dog for Tang Xingye; that’s him being base.
But he, Zhou Lin, wouldn’t…
The Beta’s skin was too thin; pale blue veins were faintly visible under the cold white complexion, looking as if blood beads would seep out with a light bite. And at this moment, that section of slender neck line was rising and falling slightly with his breathing, like a silent provocation.
Zhou Lin suddenly really wanted to grind that patch of skin with his teeth until Tang Xingye’s icy face showed a different expression.
But he only smiled, gazing deeply at Tang Xingye. His voice was soft and slow, the tone like a sweet sigh, carrying a bewildering implication.
“I know you must hate me right now, but everything I’ve said to you is true.” Zhou Lin took a step forward, slender fingers wanting to pick a strand of blond hair that didn’t belong there off Tang Xingye’s shoulder.
Tang Xingye took a step back.
Zhou Lin’s hand hung in mid-air, his smile deepening. “Guarding against me like this?” He withdrew his hand. “I said, every word I said to you is trueâincluding the matter of wanting to help you.”
“Putting aside other things, people have to look forward.”
“Cocoa treats the symptoms but not the root cause. Besides, it’s just smelling pheromones, not marking. What are you afraid of?”
True light shone in Zhou Lin’s eyes, clearly reflecting only Tang Xingye, as if he were really considering him.
Compared to his usual high stance facing others, Zhou Lin’s current tone could even be called coaxing.
If it were anyone else, perhaps they would be confused by this appearance of earnestly thinking for them. But Tang Xingye knew the nature under this gentle mask too wellâhe grabbed the sulfur soap and smashed it toward that handsome face.
Zhou Lin caught it with quick eyes and hands, his smile fading a little, slightly surprised by Tang Xingye’s ruthlessness. “Aiming for the temple? You really hate me.”
Looking at Tang Xingye’s unattainable face, the tails of his eyes thin red, revealing a sense of fragility.
The open collar revealed shocking bruises, looking like flower petals maliciously crushed by someone. Although disheveled, he was like a lotus beaten by rain, drooping a drop of clear dew, beautiful beyond measure.
Tang Xingye withdrew his gaze, looking at him no more.
“Roll far away.”
Bang. Tang Xingye slammed the door shut.
Zhou Lin liked Tang Xingye’s appearance of a cold, high-mountain flower the most, an indifference treating everyone equally, rather than just toward him.
Why didn’t Tang Xingye agree?
It was clearly both their first times. They were excessively compatible, sizes fitting perfectly, finding the key point every time.
Why seek Lu Zhi and not him?
Is it because Lu Zhi’s pheromones make him more comfortable, or did someone else’s pheromones steal Tang Xingye’s attention?
Lu Zhi took another cold shower outside and injected two tubes of suppressants, only daring to return to the dorm after confirming there was no cocoa pheromone on him.
During training today, Tang Xingye must have been bruised from the impact; it wouldn’t be easy for him to apply medicine himself.
Pushing open the door, Lu Zhi saw Zhou Lin shut out, holding a bar of soap in his hand.
Without even thinking, he knew Tang Xingye must be applying medicine in the bathroom, and Zhou Lin pestered Tang Xingye and got kicked out.
Lu Zhi’s fingers tapped lightly on the bathroom door panel three times. The knuckles colliding with the metal door frame made a crisp sound. He deliberately lightened his strength, as if afraid of startling some fragile butterfly.
“It’s me.” His voice was a few degrees lower than usual.
Zhou Lin leaned against the door frame, slender fingers playing with that bar of sulfur soap, smiling yet not smiling, staring at him.
The smile seemed to say: I was kicked out; do you think he’ll let you touch him?
Lu Zhi snorted coldly. Considering Tang Xingye’s wound treatment, he couldn’t be bothered with Zhou Lin’s provocation.
The door opened a crack. “Come in.”
He turned sideways into the bathroom and closed the door, shutting out Zhou Lin’s probing gaze.
The bathroom space wasn’t large, and the two stood very close. Lu Zhi smelled the residual cocoa pheromones on Tang Xingyeâthat was his own scent, released while helping Tang Xingye beat up those reckless Alphas during training. Now this smell was mixed with other Alphas’ auras, making his temples throb.
đ Advance Access: Complete Novel
- Option 1: Note your email on PayPal/Ko-fi.
- Option 2: Email proof to beezzzreads@gmail.com.
- Option 3: Comment below.
Recommended Reads
