Chapter 4: Ill Intentions
Jiang Zhaosheng bent down to pick up the scattered stationery, resetting the pen holder on the desk and rearranging the ballpoint and felt-tip pens. When his hand brushed against a heavy black Bulgari fountain pen, he paused for a moment before sliding it into his overcoat pocket.
After all, during his fifteen-year professional career, such an object had proven quite handy.
The door was pushed open once more, and the cold outside air rushed in with the newcomer.
His wrist was suddenly seized. Jiang Zhaosheng turned to find a familiar face. The young Alpha who had left and returned had a flushed neck and burning eyes. He spoke with heat and directness:
“I almost forgot. I’m taking you to get familiar with the campus. Come with me.”
It wasn’t a polite “Do you need me to show you the way?” or a subtle “I’ll walk with you to get used to the environment.” A sense of relaxation grew in Jiang Zhaosheng’s heart. Wen Zheng was like that—his mind was an open book, his thoughts written clearly on his face.
Jiang Zhaosheng lightly pulled his hand away and slid it into his overcoat pocket, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. His voice was flat:
“Fine.”
It was… simply too easy to guide him.
Stepping out of the climate-controlled building, the cold wind immediately bit at his skin. Jiang Zhaosheng instinctively pulled his high-neck base layer up a bit more, covering more of his neck. Wen Zheng had originally wanted to show some gentlemanly flair by taking off his school jacket, but as his gaze swept over the other’s tightly wrapped black overcoat, his movement froze mid-air—clearly, Jiang Zhaosheng was dressed much more warmly than he was.
Wen Zheng didn’t stare with desire every single moment… it was just that once his gaze landed on Jiang Zhaosheng, he was involuntarily drawn in.
Today’s mature and steady attire hadn’t extinguished the erotic images in Wen Zheng’s mind; instead, it ignited an even stronger imagination regarding the “contrast.”
He knew without even thinking that the layered inner wear was meant to cover something. That swan-like neck, strictly protected by the high collar, still held the “things” he had left behind. Were those marks really that hard to fade? Or had he been too rough?
Above the black-and-white boundary of the neck, near a lustrous earlobe, a few strands of jet-black hair swayed gently in the wind. Wen Zheng still remembered the feeling of those strands wrapping around his fingers.
It was as if Jiang Zhaosheng were completely unaware. With his hands in his pockets, his gaze landed in the distance, as if he were taking a leisurely post-dinner stroll in his own backyard.
St. Lis Academy was vast. It was currently class time, so there was no one around. Wen Zheng’s heart rate unexpectedly accelerated. The pace of their walk gave him the illusion of being on a date.
His fingers curled and uncurled, his gaze stuck on Jiang Zhaosheng’s hand inside his pocket. The back of the hand was partially covered by the dark sleeve, making those hands look even more fair and slender.
A strange sense of satisfaction arose—this person was truly beautiful, from his hair to his fingertips, everything was exquisite.
“There, that’s the academy garden,” Wen Zheng pointed to a nearby, meticulously trimmed green belt, breaking the silence. “Basically, it’s pruned once a month to ensure the flowers are always in bloom.”
Jiang Zhaosheng’s gaze fell on the rows of dense nursery plants, which were trimmed to over the height of a man. He seemed lost in thought.
“These shrubs… they grow quite tall.”
“Of course,” Wen Zheng said, energized by the response. “They’re special varieties bred in the lab, much tougher than ordinary greenery.”
In Wen Zheng’s mind, the scene looked like this: under a blue-toned sky, at a corner of the green wall, a hidden kiss, his fingers interlaced with the man’s long hair, hurried breathing…
He certainly wouldn’t have guessed that to Jiang Zhaosheng, this was a perfect blind spot for both sight and surveillance—a prime location for “taking action.”
After walking for a few more minutes, they reached an open small plaza. Jiang Zhaosheng raised his hand and pointed toward the tallest building:
“Can one go up there?”
Wen Zheng was flattered. “The bell tower? It’s usually not open to students. But if you really want to see…”
He turned his head and, without any defense, crashed into Jiang Zhaosheng’s gaze.
Those unique lake-blue eyes, under the mild winter sun, were like a frozen lake—cold and silent.
Then, the icy lake seemed to melt for an instant, the corners of the eyes curving slightly, so fast it seemed like an illusion:
“I was just asking.”
Wen Zheng’s heart skipped a beat, and he silently made a resolution: within this month, he would definitely find a way to take Jiang Zhaosheng to the top of the bell tower.
But what Jiang Zhaosheng was picturing was the field of vision from the top of that tower—undoubtedly, the academy’s highest point was a perfect sniping position.
Walking to the edge of the frozen artificial lake, Jiang Zhaosheng stopped:
“Does anyone walk on this ice?”
“No, the ice is too thin. It’s dangerous.” Wen Zheng finally found a reason to get close. Throughout the walk, Jiang Zhaosheng had maintained a proper distance. Now, the Alpha immediately leaned in, almost face-to-face, his arm naturally wrapping around the other’s shoulder as he explained, “If you want to ice skate, the academy has a dedicated indoor rink.”
Jiang Zhaosheng didn’t struggle against this sudden intimacy. He only looked down at the ice, calmly calculating in his heart—
“Accidentally” falling in would be too obvious. However… the center of the lake should be deep enough. He would just need a little weight to ensure that after sinking, one wouldn’t float back up.
The two of them strolled through the empty campus, each with their own hidden intentions. One was surrounded by pink bubbles, while the other was calm on the surface, constantly marking locations in his mind as “feasible” or “discarded.”
As they were about to enter the teaching area, Jiang Zhaosheng decided he didn’t want to run into students yet, and he especially didn’t want to bump into Jiang Wan. He lightly tugged at Wen Zheng’s sleeve:
“I’m tired from walking… let’s rest for a bit.”
Unsure which nerve this simple action had struck, Wen Zheng’s face turned bright red. With a hint of guilt, he led him to a bench by the garden to sit down:
“Sorry, it was my oversight. I forgot you…”
Forgot what? Jiang Zhaosheng was currently constructing a 3D map of St. Lis Academy in his mind. His train of thought interrupted, he frowned slightly in annoyance.
This frown, in Wen Zheng’s eyes, became an emotion akin to coquettishness. The Alpha’s gaze instantly became burning and aggressive. Jiang Zhaosheng felt uncomfortable under the look and simply ignored it, propping his chin on one hand and casually throwing out a question:
“Shang Yan… have you two known each other since you were kids?”
“No, we’re not that close,” Wen Zheng replied before realizing how abrupt it sounded. He asked in return, “Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“It’s the same question as last time,” Jiang Zhaosheng crossed his hands, his knuckles slightly white from the force, showing a bit of distress. “I really can’t figure out why he treats me like this.”
Wen Zheng couldn’t be bothered to guess that lunatic Shang Yan’s thought process. But he was very clear about his own reason—a pure, at-first-sight infatuation.
He knew his methods were despicable, but his upbringing had made him used to control and plunder. His thoughts were simple and crude: from now on, he would be twice as good to him, and one day he would accept him. As for Shang Yan’s existence, it wasn’t the primary concern for now.
[For the sake of your life, don’t think of him as a weak Beta.]
A meaningful warning from Shang Yan suddenly flashed through his mind. Wen Zheng narrowed his eyes and suddenly reached out, grabbing Jiang Zhaosheng’s cold fingers that were resting on his knee.
“I think… you’re a bit different lately,” Wen Zheng’s voice dropped, carrying a sense of inquiry. “The first time we met, you almost gouged my eyes out. Now… don’t you hate me anymore?”
The young man’s intuition was like a bucket of cold water, momentarily waking Jiang Zhaosheng up—sugar-coated bullets could deceive for a while, but flaws would always be exposed.
However, he was only dealing with a brat. The corner of his lips curled into a perfect but cold arc:
“…As one gets older, there’s no need to write everything on one’s face.”
“Or rather, would you prefer to see me in agony? For example, should I perform a dive into the lake, or find a rope to hang myself?”
“No,” Wen Zheng suddenly retracted all emotion, looking serious. His dry, hot hands wrapped around Jiang Zhaosheng’s cold fingers, tightening his grip. “Don’t you want to get revenge on us? Tell me, what have you… really been thinking about lately?”
The Alpha’s pheromones began to spread silently, carrying a sense of suppression. The goal was obvious—to use pheromones to force an Omega or Beta into submission.
This was how these people lived—savage and crude.
Unfortunately, this was useless against Jiang Zhaosheng. He sneered in his heart, but on the surface, he had to act out the panic of being controlled by pheromones. He spoke word by word:
“Yes… I still want to kill you both.”
“It’s okay,” Wen Zheng suddenly withdrew his pheromones and continued to wrap his hands around the other’s, transmitting warmth. “I’m just worried about your state. When you smile… you look like a doll. It’s a bit unnerving.”
Jiang Zhaosheng: “……”
This took him by surprise. His acting in the first half of his life had been flawless; even his enemies hadn’t seen through him. He hadn’t expected his proudest disguise would be pierced by a brat.
“If you want to vent, just come at me. There’s a boxing gym in the academy; I can teach you…” Wen Zheng said with complete sincerity.
Jiang Zhaosheng looked up and was about to speak—
“Who’s releasing pheromones here?”
A familiar voice rang out not far away.
Jiang Zhaosheng’s pupils shrank, and his breathing hitched.
Standing at the garden entrance were two people. One of them was exactly the person he least wanted to see—the student wearing the Vice President badge of the Student Union, Jiang Wan.
She was tall and upright, almost equal in height to Shang Yan beside her, wearing the bright red St. Lis Academy uniform. Her high ponytail was impeccable. Unlike Jiang Zhaosheng’s cold jade-like paleness, Jiang Wan’s skin was a healthy wheat color. Her appearance and temperament were completely different from her “father’s”; her features were almost sharply aggressive, and she radiated the oppressive aura of an Alpha.
After seeing them clearly, Jiang Wan frowned, looking somewhat confused as she asked:
“Dad? Why are you here?”
Standing beside Jiang Wan, Shang Yan wore a proper smile, his gaze meaningfully landing on Jiang Zhaosheng and Wen Zheng’s interlaced hands:
“So that’s how it is. Our newly hired counselor turns out to be Vice President Jiang’s father.”
A cold chill rose from within Jiang Zhaosheng’s heart.
—This truly was… a disastrous situation.
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