An undifferentiated kid.
The light mockery struck He Siheng’s sore spot hard.
He Siheng’s face flushed alternately green and red. Zhou Yu watched as his fist clenched tightly, the lines of his side profile taut. He couldn’t help but feel uneasy in his heart, fearing that the young master might lash out at Tan Jing right then and there.
He was also relieved that He Siheng hadn’t differentiated yet. Unable to smell pheromones, he wouldn’t feel their suppression either. Even if a fight broke out now, it would be a pure contest of physical strength, and the odds of winning were high.
But Young Master He refused to take that easy path.
He Siheng stared deathly at Tan Jing, gritting his teeth. “Once I complete my differentiation, let’s have a pheromone showdown. Dare you?”
Song Lin, sitting in front of Tan Jing, shook his head first. This young master wasn’t just stubborn; he was also naive. Never mind how reckless it was to challenge an S-Rank Alpha to a pheromone battle—with Tan Jing’s personality of avoiding trouble, there was no way he’d agree to something so pointless.
The next second, however, he was proven spectacularly wrong.
Tan Jing lifted his gaze to look at him. “What’s the stake for this PK?”
He Siheng blurted it out without thinking. “Loser calls the winner daddy.”
Tan Jing’s thin lips curved up. He extended a hand with distinct knuckles in front of him. “Deal.”
He Siheng didn’t shake his hand. He just slapped his palm lightly—not too hard, not too soft—before snorting coldly and returning to his seat.
Tan Jing’s gaze swept over the spot on his palm that had been slapped. He raised his brow slightly and withdrew his hand.
The war that had seemed on the verge of erupting didn’t break out, which was worth celebrating. But another, far more serious conflict might erupt at any moment. Zhou Yu was practically worried sick over the hot-blooded Young Master He.
After school in the afternoon, Zhou Yu was still trying to dissuade him. “Heng Bro, are you really going to challenge Tan Jing to this pheromone showdown?”
He Siheng corrected him. “It’s not ‘going to.’ It’s already happened.”
Realizing something, he frowned in dissatisfaction. “You don’t believe I’ll win?”
Zhou Yu choked, stammering, “N-no, that’s not it…”
In truth, he really didn’t believe it. After all, that was an S-Rank Alpha. Just that morning, he’d experienced the terror of Tan Jing’s pressure firsthand—and that was without even releasing pheromones.
The higher the rank, the earlier the differentiation, the stronger the control over pheromones. Although the He Family had produced Alphas for generations and He Siheng had been judged S-Rank potential from childhood, he had differentiated late after all…
He Siheng saw through his insincere words and snorted coldly. “Just wait and see. I’ll definitely beat that flashy show-off.”
Back in elementary school, he’d completely dominated Tan Jing—the pill-popper—in terms of physical fitness.
Zhou Yu’s attention was derailed by his description of Tan Jing, his mouth twitching. “F-flashy… flashy show-off?”
He roared inwardly: How can you call the class monitor—who’s so handsome and proper—a flashy show-off!
“You didn’t smell the scent on him?” He Siheng said with disgust, clicking his tongue. “Spraying cologne to school—total closet flirt.”
Though the scent was faint and actually smelled pretty good, it had made him dream of Tan Jing even while napping in class today. Lingering like a ghost.
Mentioning scents brought pheromones to Zhou Yu’s mind first.
Alphas and Omegas both released pheromones actively or passively. During susceptibility periods or heat periods, pheromones could spiral out of control, so everyone carried scent blockers and suppressants.
But while browsing the forum, he’d seen posts from someone at North Middle School who had been in Tan Jing’s class. As an S-Rank Alpha, Tan Jing had incredible control over his pheromones—almost no one had ever smelled them. The few fools who’d provoked him had been repelled by the innate top-tier pressure in his genes, without even reaching a pheromone clash.
That was one reason Zhou Yu worried about He Siheng’s pheromone showdown.
However, since He Siheng hadn’t differentiated, he logically couldn’t smell pheromones, and Tan Jing couldn’t be smelled by him either. He must have been wearing cologne.
Having sat next to Tan Jing all day, He Siheng probably had some of that cologne scent on him too.
Zhou Yu thought for a moment, then sniffed toward He Siheng. “Let me scout what brand of cologne the class monitor wears.”
He Siheng jumped back a full step like a bristling cat. “Fuck! Don’t disgust me!”
The basketball court after school still had plenty of people playing.
Having just finished a game, Tan Jing’s bangs were dampened by sweat. Fine beads of perspiration dotted his neck and arms.
He breathed slightly heavily. His distinct-knuckled fingers raked through the damp fringe on his forehead, casually pushing it back to reveal a smooth forehead and clean brows. The mole on his left nasal bridge inexplicably looked sensual.
As he walked off the court, a girl ran up with a bottle of mineral water. Her ears flushed red as she offered it to him. “Class Monitor, I bought this water for you.”
“Thanks, but I have my own.” Tan Jing didn’t take it. He sidestepped her and headed off the court.
Rejected so bluntly, the girl looked crestfallen. Wang Yizhou grinned cheekily beside her. “I don’t have any. Mind giving it to me?”
The girl glanced reluctantly at Tan Jing’s retreating back, then softly agreed and handed the mineral water to Wang Yizhou.
Wang Yizhou took the water off the court and tsked pityingly for the girl. “Jing Bro, this school flower has been chasing you since junior high—right up to the merger. What’s wrong with drinking her water?”
Tan Jing ignored him. He sat on the bench, picked up his remaining half-bottle of mineral water, twisted off the cap with long fingers, and drank it down leisurely.
Song Lin took up the thread instead. “You know he hates trouble the most. Accepting that kind of goodwill once means it’ll happen again.”
As he spoke, he couldn’t hold back his confusion about the day’s events. “Jing Bro, why did you agree to the pheromone PK with He Siheng?”
Fools had provoked Tan Jing before, but he never took them seriously or bothered with them. Today, though, he’d gone along with He Siheng’s challenge without complaint.
Come to think of it, Jing Bro had been acting strangely since that morning.
