On the day Yu Rong left, Xie Ling saw him off at the school gate. Yu Rong wore a black coat with his hands stuffed in the pockets, just like the day he had arrived. “You don’t even know to see me off at the airport.”
Exchange students always had a school car to take them to the airport, and it wouldn’t have been any trouble for Xie Ling to take time off for a round trip.
“Finals are coming up. Your dad here is addicted to studying.”
It wasn’t that he had really taken Qin Han’s words to heart. He just felt that if Qin Han found out he had gone to see Yu Rong off at the airport, it might trigger some kind of reaction later on.
Alphas in their susceptible periods were hypersensitive and paranoid, always stirring up trouble. Thinking back to how Qin Han had clung to him the night before, making him watch the video together, Xie Ling’s heart suddenly started racing.
His bro on that side was unwell and needed extra care, so he could only apologize to the bro on this side.
Yu Rong hesitated. “About what happened the night before…”
Xie Ling blinked in surprise. “Qin Han apologized to you afterward, right? He didn’t mean it…”
Seeing Xie Ling rush to defend Qin Han only made Yu Rong more irritated. “I know.”
He paused, then continued, “As for the engagement, I’ll talk to my dad and have him hold off on committing for now. He can stall things with your grandmother for a while. That way, she won’t rush off to find you another match, and you can have some peace.”
Xie Ling hadn’t expected Yu Rong to think so far ahead. He couldn’t help clapping him on the shoulder. “Thanks, son. When you’re back on your next break, Dad will take you out for some real fun.”
Yu Rong glanced at the hand on his shoulder. Truth be told, asking his father to hold off was partly motivated by some selfish intentions of his own.
“That night, I originally wanted to…” Yu Rong met Xie Ling’s puzzled gaze and realized he hadn’t noticed anything. A mix of helplessness, relief, and unease washed over him.
“Do you still stick to your singleism these days?”
Xie Ling chuckled. “What else?”
Yu Rong fell silent for a moment, then waved as he turned away. “Alright, Dad’s heading out. Study hard, son.”
With that, he boarded the school bus.
~~~
First High School’s final exams were scheduled for late January, and this time it was the Six-School Joint Exam, which was notoriously tough.
Before the test began, Zhang Chengrui and a bunch of guys from the last exam room in Class 7 made a special trip to the door of the first exam room. They poked their heads up like prairie dogs emerging from their burrows, resting their chins on the windowsill and shouting, “Ling Bro! Ling Bro!!”
Xie Ling couldn’t help laughing at the sight. When he stepped outside, Zhang Chengrui and the row of friends behind him bowed deeply to him first.
“Rui Rui, you guys are getting more formal every time.”
Zhang Chengrui pulled a long face. “No choice—Qianqian said this exam’s way harder than the last ones. My mom’s got me under orders: if I don’t make it to at least the second-to-last exam room, I’ll be stuck in cram school eating instant noodles for the whole year.”
“No worries. Just relax.” Xie Ling grinned and took hold of Zhang Chengrui’s hand. “Borrow some of the study god’s luck, and you could hit your goal with your eyes closed.”
“Wahhh, Ling Bro, I love you!!” Zhang Chengrui burst into tears, gripping Xie Ling’s hand and shaking it vigorously several times.
Then a whole group of classmates came up one by one to shake hands with the study god, each one looking as devout as a pilgrim.
Xie Ling reveled in the feeling of being needed like this. He even shared a few questions he thought might come up. It drew the attention of Xia Yu from the second exam room.
“Little Lingling, Little Lingling, I wanna shake your hand too!”
Xia Yu came charging toward Xie Ling, but his collar was suddenly yanked from behind.
“What’re you doing?” Xia Yu whipped around to glare at Xiao Yanfei. “Don’t get in my way of storming the first exam room.”
“I’m in the first exam room too. Just shake with me.” Xiao Yanfei grabbed Xia Yu’s hand without another word.
Xia Yu’s face flushed red. He yanked it free and snapped, “Who wants to shake with you? Only the top scorer’s grip works!”
“Shh.” Xiao Yanfei nodded toward Xie Ling’s back. “I’m afraid if you shake that hand, you won’t live to take the exam.”
Xia Yu paused, then looked. He shuddered.
Qin Han stood in a nearby corner, watching the crowd surrounding Xie Ling for handshakes. His expression was dark and unreadable.
Just then, a voice boomed down the hallway like thunder: “Exams are about to start—why are you all huddled up?! Huh?! Wouldn’t it be better to review a couple more questions instead of this superstitious nonsense?! Zhang Chengrui, I’m talking about you—wipe that grin off your face!”
At Director Cai’s roar, the group scattered like startled birds.
Qin Han immediately strode over, grabbed Xie Ling’s hand, and dragged him into the corner.
Xie Ling instinctively tugged back a little.
Qin Han lowered his eyelids, his tone carrying a hint of pitifulness. “You let them touch, but not me.”
Xie Ling felt a bit awkward and murmured, “No, it’s just that Old Cai hasn’t gone far yet.”
By the calendar, Qin Han’s susceptible period for this month was due any day now, and his behavior had been getting more erratic lately.
He needed coaxing.
Xie Ling smiled. “Besides, our Qin God is so amazing—does he really need a pre-exam ritual like this?”
Our.
The word hit Qin Han right where it itched.
He curved his lips into a satisfied smirk. “I do.”
“And a hug.”
With that, he tugged Xie Ling’s hand, trying to pull him into an embrace.
In the distance, the proctor approached, arms full of test papers sealed in kraft paper bags.
Xie Ling quickly pushed back against Qin Han’s chest and cooed softly, “Be good. Hugs after the exam. Let’s head into the exam room first.”
He gave Qin Han’s palm a gentle squeeze and darted inside.
Qin Han trailed languidly behind. He glanced down at the spot Xie Ling had pinched, then lifted his palm to his lips. After a moment, he licked it darkly.
~~~
The morning’s first subject was Chinese. This Six-School Joint Exam’s Chinese section was tougher than the previous ones. Ever since writing that golden line “I shall lead the trends for centuries” on the last practice test, Xie Ling had made a habit of double-checking his answers every time.
One couldn’t get too cocky.
Xie Ling settled in to carefully review his poetry recitation word by word when he noticed Qin Han, seated in front of him, suddenly slump forward onto his desk.
They had tied for first last monthly exam, but Qin Han’s name came alphabetically before his, so he had the seat ahead.
Xie Ling’s heart skipped a beat.
Apart from the few times he’d written reflections with him, Qin Han’s image at school was that of the model student among model students. He never slept or played on his phone in class, and even his standing and sitting postures were impeccably precise.
Why had he suddenly slumped down?
The proctor went over to Qin Han and asked quietly a few times. Xie Ling vaguely caught the words “not feeling well.” In an instant, he lost all interest in checking his paper. As soon as the bell rang for collection, and the teacher had gathered the tests, he jumped up and hurried to Qin Han’s side.
“You…” He barely got the word out before Qin Han grabbed him and pulled him out of the exam room.
The other students exchanged glances.
Gossip fodder—and they were dying to sneak a peek.
Xiao Yanfei scanned the restless crowd and flashed a timely smile. “They’re off to compare answers.”
“No way—classic study gods!”
“I don’t even wanna compare. Those reading comprehension multiple-choice questions were such traps—every option looked the same!!!”
“La la la, forget it—one and done. Bros, let’s party!!”
~~~
In a cramped toilet stall, the two study gods rumored to be comparing answers were instead tugging at each other.
Xie Ling eyed Qin Han’s shifting expressions and probed cautiously. “Did your susceptible period come early?”
Susceptible and heat periods were unpredictable, like a girl’s time of the month—sometimes right on schedule, sometimes hovering nearby.
Qin Han murmured in affirmation and took Xie Ling’s hand. “Probably because I didn’t get to hug you out there earlier. It triggered early.”
…What a quintessentially Qin Han trigger.
Xie Ling laughed helplessly and opened his arms toward him. “Then shall we hug now?”
“A hug now isn’t enough.” Qin Han shook Xie Ling’s hand lightly. “I need to bite you.”
“…Fine. Bite away.”
Xie Ling started to turn, but Qin Han was faster. He pinned both of Xie Ling’s wrists together against the stall door, pressing his body flush.
Then something soft and fuzzy wrapped around Xie Ling’s hands.
It was Qin Han’s scarf.
Xie Ling blinked. “What are you doing?”
Qin Han said nothing. He wound the scarf around and around Xie Ling’s hands, binding them tightly until not a sliver of skin was exposed. Only then did he slowly bury his face in the crook of Xie Ling’s neck. “The hands they touched need to be scent-marked.”
Xie Ling recalled the scene outside the exam room and was about to laugh—what scent could possibly linger?—when a faint tingling ache bloomed at the back of his neck.
Qin Han had bitten him.
The lingering, clingy Summer Sea Breeze pheromones surged through his glands into his body. Xie Ling went limp in an instant. Qin Han caught him by the waist just in time, his grip tightening unconsciously on the end of the scarf.
Xie Ling closed his eyes, a flicker of unwitting vulnerability crossing his handsome features.
Qin Han had marked him three times this month already, so the fear had faded. But the powerlessness and loss of control during the marking still felt strange and disorienting.
After what felt like forever, the marking ended.
Xie Ling leaned against the door, panting, drenched in sweat.
Qin Han snapped out of his overwhelming haze of desire and saw Xie Ling like this. His heart ached. “Sorry, I…”
“It’s fine.” Xie Ling, still propped against the door, asked him, “You okay? Does it hurt anywhere?”
Whether Alpha or Omega, the body released pheromones during marking or being marked. Qin Han’s susceptible period was always accompanied by Krofell Syndrome—every exposure to his pheromones brought pain. They had only just begun the temporary mark, so it was no surprise that contact with his body still felt uncomfortable.
Qin Han paused for a moment, his heart melting into a puddle.
Xie Ling had been caught off guard and pinned against the door for the marking just moments ago—his body still trembling—yet the first thing he thought to ask was whether it hurt.
“. . . It doesn’t hurt,” Qin Han said softly as he wiped the sweat from Xie Ling’s face. “How could treating my illness possibly hurt? It’s the happiest thing in the world.”
Deep amusement glimmered in his eyes, drawing the gaze inward like a bottomless pool.
Heart-stopping. Xie Ling’s pulse skipped a beat. Perhaps it was the effect of having just been marked by Qin Han, but right now, the man before him seemed irresistibly alluring. Not just handsome in the usual way, but . . .
Any other Omega would probably be squealing with excitement by now.
“Sorry, I lost control earlier . . . Don’t be mad.” Qin Han began unwinding the scarf looped tightly around Xie Ling’s hand, one loop at a time.
He knew his reaction had been excessive, but there was nothing he could do about it. The thought of all those people taking turns to touch Xie Ling’s hand ignited an uncontrollable fury in him. He hadn’t even been able to fully focus during the exam.
“It’s fine,” Xie Ling said with a smile. “Gotta take care of the patient, right?”
The patient.
So if I weren’t sick, you wouldn’t indulge me like this anymore, would you?
The answer was obvious.
Xie Ling cherished his freedom so much—who else could put up with spending every day with a madman like him?
But deep down, Qin Han knew the truth. His behavior wasn’t entirely due to the susceptible period or Krofell Syndrome. If . . . if Xie Ling learned about his real nature, about the thoughts lurking in his mind . . .
Qin Han’s thumb gently caressed the soft skin of Xie Ling’s wrist. The red mark left by the scarf kept goading his swirling emotions.
“Why don’t you come stay at my place for a few days during winter break?” Qin Han suggested.
Xie Ling hesitated, then sighed. “Can’t this time. My mom called yesterday—Grandpa’s in the hospital. I need to go see him.”
Xie Ling’s grandfather lived out in the countryside. As a kid, Xie Ling had spent nearly every break playing there, and the two of them shared a close bond.
Qin Han was well aware of that, so he didn’t press. “Give Grandpa my regards.”
Xie Ling didn’t catch the odd familiarity in Qin Han’s words and readily agreed.
“And . . .” Qin Han tugged lightly at the sweater peeking from the cuff of Xie Ling’s school uniform. “Before you go, could you pack up a few more of your worn clothes for me?”
Xie Ling blinked in confusion. “Why?”
“They carry your scent.” Qin Han leaned down and nuzzled his nose against the sleeve of Xie Ling’s sweater, his voice thick with longing. “I want to hold them close and breathe you in while I sleep.”
