Chapter 32: Helping You Keep Your Secret as an O; Heart Racing, Shen Shiyue…
Jiang Chenyan didn’t look at Shen Shiyue. He only quietly moved his gaze away and landed it on Jiang Xuan-shen, raising an eyebrow. “Brother, you believe that doctor’s words? An outsider, yet you don’t believe me instead?”
Kai Lan chimed in, “Exactly, shouldn’t you trust your own relative more?”
The two of them sang in harmony. Jiang Xuan-shen let out a cold laugh, his eye color gradually turning cold. “Checking it won’t be much of a hassle.” His gaze turned toward Shen Shiyue, and he asked with ill intent, “Student Shen, what do you think?”
Everyone looked at Shen Shiyue. Jiang Chenyan frowned tightly, and for a moment he actually didn’t know what to say. This situation was caused by himself; he couldn’t blame others.
However, he believed Shen Shiyue would help him.
Shen Shiyue looked up and met Jiang Chenyanās gaze, only saying without any ripple, “It can be checked.”
Jiang Chenyan was stunned for a moment, unable to grasp Shen Shiyueās thoughts. His heart was in turmoil. Was he blaming him? Blaming him for hiding his gender all along?
Irritation gradually rose from his heart.
If he had known it would be like this, and if he had taken the initiative to confess his identity earlier, he wouldn’t have fallen into this current awkward situation.
Kai Lan frowned tightly, his fingertips unconsciously clenching. He was frantically cursing Jiang Xuan-shen, that dog thing. Seriously? Did he have a hole in his brain? What good would Jiang Chenyan dropping out do for him?
Jiang Chenyan had offended so many Alphas. If his Omega identity was exposed, a bunch of people would probably pounce on him like hungry wolves.
At this critical juncture, trying to find an opportunity to bribe the doctor was completely too late.
Furthermore, the pheromone converter could at most only forge Alpha pheromones. Gender was a fixed thing; it fundamentally couldn’t be changed.
Kai Lan was furious. What to do? What to do?
Jiang Chenyan and Kai Lan exchanged a tacit glance. In just one instant, they both understood from each other’s eyesāthey were out of moves.
System: [What to do? Host, youāre going to be finished.]
“Don’t worry. There are temporarily two plans. Iāll put on a performance. If the first one doesn’t work, Iāll switch to the other.”
System: [Good luck.]
Jiang Chenyan brewed his emotions and turned to look at Mother Jiang. “Currently, isn’t it good that Iām bringing glory to the family? Why is Brother treating me like this? I know my own worth. I haven’t been kept in your hearts since I was young, but you can’t treat me like this either, not even willing to give a bit of trust.”
He spoke more and more excitedly, and his voice also rose a bit: “When I differentiated, where were you? At that time, I was all alone, my whole body trembling from pain, without even a person I could rely on.”
Jiang Chenyan had read about this kind of pain in books; some people indeed endure heart-piercing agony when differentiating.
“I worked so hard to get to where I am today, and in the end, you still treat me like this. Is it me who did something wrong?” He fiercely pinched his palm, using that bit of stinging pain to force out a tear. “Perhaps, I am simply not your biological child.”
Mother Jiang was moved. After all, this was the child she had raised since he was small. Her tone softened: “Actually, it’s not that we don’t believe you. It’s just that this matter… also has to be for the sake of safety.”
She didn’t speak plainly, but she knew in her heart that Jiang Xuan-shen always made the decisions at home. Even if she wanted to protect the younger one, she didn’t have much of a way. “Listen to your brother’s words; there’s nothing wrong with testing again.”
Jiang Chenyan: “…”
No more tricks.
It seemed only one last path remained.
Jiang Chenyan: “Since no one believes me, then let’s test again.”
Kai Lan was stunned. The words reached his lips but paused. He just looked at him blankly: “You…”
Jiang Xuan-shen wasn’t much surprised, only nodding slightly: “It’s good that you’ve come around.”
He was just afraid this person would pull some kind of trick.
Jiang Chenyan looked at Shen Shiyue sideways and finally couldn’t help asking: “Are you coming along?”
To accompany him for the test.
Shen Shiyue didn’t hesitate and nodded: “Yes.” His gaze fell on Jiang Chenyan, his eyes deep like unerasable ink, but his tone was very serious: “No matter what the final result is, I will do my best to help you.”
Jiang Chenyan instantly frowned tightly. No, what did this mean? He had just agreed to send him for the test, and now he said heād help him.
This person Shen Shiyue was someone he couldn’t quite pin down.
Or did Shen Shiyue have other plans?
But Jiang Chenyan couldn’t wait. He had to follow his own plan.
The system was already bewildered, its mechanical voice full of panic: [Host, what exactly do you want to do?]
“Youāll know in a bit.” Jiang Chenyanās voice had no ups and downs, only adding indifferently, “But at that time, something might happen to me.”
[No way?!] The system’s pitch suddenly rose, knowing what method Jiang Chenyan was going to use. [You surely don’t want to use that kind of thing, do you?! Don’t scare me, Host!]
“Don’t worry.” Jiang Chenyanās tone cooled by a few points. “I know my limits.”
[Didn’t the protagonist Shou say he would help you? You…] The system was still trying to persuade him.
“I can’t rely on others for everything.” Besides, although Shen Shiyue was the protagonist, his true identity was just a poor student from an ordinary family. How could he help him?
Jiang Chenyan seemed to suddenly remember something and looked up at the others. “By the way, can I go to the restroom before we leave? I drank a bit too much just now; I really can’t hold it anymore.”
The air fell silent instantly. The several people present hadn’t expected him to suddenly bring this up. For a moment, no one picked up the conversation, just looking at him in silence. The atmosphere was mysteriously somewhat stagnant.
After a long while, Father Jiang said, “Go then.”
Under everyoneās gaze, Jiang Chenyan prepared to walk toward the restroom. He even turned back and asked casually: “Is anyone coming along?”
The air was silent for a few more seconds. No one spoke.
Seeing this, he reached out and poked Kai Lan beside him. Kai Lan was stunned for a moment, then reacted immediately, following along: “Oh right, I also want to go to the restroom.”
Father Jiangās expression darkened, and he grumbled in annoyance: “Does he think my house is a public toilet? Going one by one in a row.”
Kai Lan: “Can you blame me? Nature calls. If you aren’t worried about me, you can send someone to follow me.”
“…”
Who would want to send someone to follow him?
Father Jiang was furious. He waved his hand. “You guys hurry up.”
Watching the two enter the villa, Father Jiang frowned. “When did this child make these friends?”
Mother Jiang moved closer and added in a small voice: “The one looks like a child of the Nash family. Those blue eyes are too prominent; it can’t be wrong.”
“Have less contact in the future; he seems a bit improper.”
Mother Jiang: “…”
On the other side, Shen Shiyue looked at Jiang Xuan-shen, without too many expressions on his face. “What? Not going in to watch them? Aren’t you afraid of something going wrong?”
“No need.” Jiang Xuan-shen let out a cold laugh. His deep eyes had no trace of a ripple, as heavy as a pool of stagnant water. “The outcome was already decided; he can’t pull off any tricks.”
“I think otherwise.” Shen Shiyue responded indifferently.
Jiang Xuan-shenās expression darkened instantly, and the pressure around him dropped by several points. “Protecting him that much?”
Shen Shiyue didn’t speak. The atmosphere grew colder.
The night grew colder. Under the bright lights, the branches swayed. The two of them were mutually speechless, each with a cold face.
Just as Jiang Chenyan reached the restroom door, he suddenly stopped and turned to ask Kai Lan: “Do you have a syringe?”
Kai Lan was stunned for a moment, then fished out a syringe wrapped in toilet paper from his pocket and handed it over, his brows slightly furrowed: “What do you want this for?”
“Thought of a method.” Jiang Chenyan took the syringe, his fingertips pinching the edge of the paper ball. “Don’t worry; nothing will happen.”
Kai Lan wanted to ask further, but the words reached his lips and were swallowed back down. He only hesitantly moved two steps into the restroom.
Entering the restroom, Jiang Chenyan backhandedly closed the door. His movements didn’t have the slightest hesitation as he directly took off the rectangular wooden pendant from his neck.
This thing looked ordinary, but it actually contained a hidden mechanism.
His fingertips felt around the edge of the wooden block for a moment, then lightly pried it. Inside was hidden a transparent tube as thin as a knuckle. The pale blue liquid inside shimmered in the dim light.
“Sure enough, I still have to use this.” He murmured in a low voice, unable to say if it was relief or helplessness. His fingertips lightly rubbed the glass tube.
No one knew how much effort he had spent to temporarily possess Alpha characteristics.
Jiang Chenyan had searched through old files and tried countless simulations. In the end, he only found two feasible paths: either rely on intense external stimulation to forcibly activate the body’s potential, or rely on a special potion to induce a temporary gene transformation.
And what he currently had in his hand was exactly the latter. In the potion within the tube was embedded a segment of extracted Alpha pheromone secretion genes. Injecting it into an Omega’s body could temporarily awaken the Alpha genes.
But he knew the cost of this method better than anyone. The body would produce a violent rejection.
It would probably hurt a bit, but it was still okay.
If those high-level Alphas knew he had created this kind of potion that could tamper with gender characteristics, the entire interstellar would probably immediately sound a red alert.
Some authorities could not be encroached upon, and some things could not be changed.
His fingertips unconsciously rubbed the icy wall of the tube. A trace of coldness flickered in Jiang Chenyanās eyes. He knew too wellāthe identity of an Omega was, for him, always a knife hanging over his head that could fall at any time.
But there was nothing wrong with this identity itself. What was wrong was this world that framed Omegas as a weak label, making even survival a step-by-step struggle.
So from the first day he arrived, he told himself that he must make foolproof preparations and absolutely never leave any flaw for others to seize.
Meeting Kai Lan was considered his luck, but he couldn’t always be that lucky.
If someone asked him if he would continue researching this stuff, the answer would likely be affirmative. Once this path was stepped onto, there was no room for turning back. After all, in this world, only by grasping more chips can one live more steadily.
The chips Jiang Chenyan wanted were more than these. He wanted to use everything to stand higher and break the rules, just as he had initially thoughtāusing strength to prove himself and achieving a career.
But of all the calculations, he hadn’t calculated that in the end, the one who would stab the knife into him wouldn’t be those protagonist Gongs who targeted him everywhere, but rather his family in name.
This thought flashed through his mind. Jiang Chenyanās fingertips didn’t pause in the slightest. He lifted his sleeve to reveal his forearm, and the cold needle tip unhesitatingly pierced the skin. The potion was slowly pushed into the blood vessel.
After finishing all this, he neatly pulled out the syringe, casually stuffed the empty tube into his pocket, and tidied his collar in front of the mirror. No abnormality could be seen on his face.
When he pushed open the door, Kai Lan was already waiting outside. “Let’s go.”
Kai Lan nodded slowly. “Okay.”
The two of them followed the hallway to the living room and saw several people waiting there. At some point, they had come in from outside the villa.
Jiang Chenyan looked sideways at Jiang Xuan-shen. “Don’t you want to check? Let’s go now.”
Jiang Xuan-shen didn’t pick up the conversation, only giving him a cold glance. “No need for you to be anxious. Special people will come over to inspect.”
Jiang Chenyan was choked up and didn’t speak again.
He entered a room. Not long after he sat down, two people in white coats came in carrying toolboxes. There were no extra words; they just signaled Jiang Chenyan to stretch out his arm. They efficiently drew a tube of blood, then turned and went to the next room for testing.
The entire process was too smooth, so smooth that Jiang Xuan-shen couldn’t find any fault.
During the interval of waiting for the result, Mother Jiang told Jiang Chenyan that she hoped he could sleep at home for a night before leaving, and his two friends could also stay. Jiang Chenyan didn’t refuse and silently went upstairs.
Just as he sat on the edge of the bed, a chill rose in his body. The rejection reaction to the potion had begun. He instinctively clenched the corner of his clothes, his fingertips turning white, and fine sweat seeped from his forehead.
“Squeak.”
The bedroom door was lightly pushed open. Shen Shiyue rushed in with a panicked expression, grabbing his wrist in one go: “What happened to you? Why is your face so white?”
“Nothing.” Jiang Chenyanās voice was a bit weak. He wanted to pull his hand back but was gripped even tighter by Shen Shiyue.
In the next second, Shen Shiyue pulled him into his arms. Warm body heat was transmitted through the fabric, dispelling a bit of the chill. Jiang Chenyan stiffened for a moment, then didn’t struggle again, leaning into Shen Shiyueās arms. His tensed body finally relaxed a bit.
“Just a bit tired. By the way, the results…”
“Don’t speak.” Shen Shiyueās gaze darkened. His palm gripped Jiang Chenyanās back even more firmly. “Did you do something to yourself?”
His voice was hoarse. “Didn’t I tell you that I wouldn’t let anything happen to you?”
The hand hidden in his sleeve was already clenched. Shen Shiyue had made plans long ago, such as intercepting the test report. If that really didn’t work, even if he had to use his own identity to pressure the doctor, he absolutely could not let anything happen to Jiang Chenyan.
Leaning in his arms, Jiang Chenyanās eyelids grew heavier and heavier. “Once the results are out, you will know exactly what my identity is.”
After several seconds of silence, he suddenly raised his head slightly. Warm breath brushed past Shen Shiyueās earlobe. “Can I trust you, Shen Shiyue?” He paused, then added another sentence, whispering into his ear: “Iām very curious. Do you currently think Iām an Omega or an Alpha?”
“Isn’t it already very obvious?” Shen Shiyueās fingertips lightly brushed past Jiang Chenyanās icy earlobe. If it was a suspicion before, then now it was a certainty. “I will help you keep your secret as an Omega.”
Hearing this, Jiang Chenyanās heart jumped fiercely. Shen Shiyue had indeed guessed that he was an Omega.
He nodded lightly. “If someone asks later, just say I was too tired and went to sleep for a bit.” Pausing, he looked up at Shen, a trace of undetectable amusement hidden in the depths of his eyes. “By the way, me too. Iāll help you keep yours.”
Keep your secret of being an Omega.
The two of them mutually protected the secrets on each other’s bodies.
O helping O.
Shen Shiyue was stunned for a moment. The person in his arms still carried un-dissipated chill, but these words made him feel mysteriously dazed. He instinctively followed up: “Tell me, what do you want to help me keep?”
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