No one understood his muffled protests. He Siheng watched Song Lin drag him off with a complicated expression, silent for a few seconds before speaking with a subtle mood. “Song Lin… does he know something?”
Tan Jing didn’t deny it. “He knows everything.”
He Siheng immediately worried. “Then what do we do?”
Tan Jing was calm. “Don’t worry, he’s way smarter than Wang Yizhou.”
He Siheng thought about it and agreed. Song Lin’s quick reaction and eye for the situation earlier was worth ten Wang Yizhous.
He Siheng relaxed, then saw Tan Jing reach out to him with a small medicine bottle.
He Siheng took it and looked. The label was all in English.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“Pheromone barrier drug,” Tan Jing said. “Spring is peak season for Alpha Susceptible Periods. If there’s a sudden situation, take one pill to temporarily block Alpha pheromone effects.”
He Siheng had never heard of it and was curious. “There’s such a good thing?”
Tan Jing warned him ahead of time. “It’s good, but don’t take more than you should. All drugs have side effects.”
It was a new drug developed abroad, only introduced domestically in limited quantities this year. He’d gone around Tan Cong and asked Tan Wan for help to get it.
Ever since He Siheng differentiated as an Omega, he’d been following domestic and international research on drugs to protect Omegas, so he learned about these imports earlier than most.
Hearing Tan Jing mention susceptibility periods, He Siheng suddenly remembered something and asked, “When’s your susceptibility period?”
He recalled Shu Yichen saying that higher-ranked Alphas had tougher susceptibility periods. Looking at Wang Yizhou’s dark circles today, he knew the weekend had been rough—though half of it was self-inflicted.
Tan Jing didn’t answer directly, just looked at him with a meaningful smile. “You know Alpha susceptibility periods make us pretty vulnerable, right?”
He Siheng nodded. He knew; Shu Yichen was a prime example.
Meeting Tan Jing’s half-smiling gaze, He Siheng had a bad premonition for no reason.
This guy wouldn’t…
“So you asking me about it,” Tan Jing said meaningfully, “can I take that as you wanting to take advantage of my vulnerability and do something to me?”
He Siheng: “…”
As expected, he was getting flirty again.
He Siheng deadpanned. “Forget I asked.”
After a pause, he still felt unsatisfied. “Screw you!”
He spat it out and left.
Tan Jing held back a laugh as he watched him storm off furiously. After a while, he withdrew his gaze, the smile on his lips fading slightly.
This year’s susceptibility period was indeed coming soon.
Losing to Tan Jing in last semester’s finals and this semester’s placement test had left He Siheng burning with unwillingness. He put equal importance into March’s monthly exam.
Love was love, competition was competition. He hadn’t forgotten his original goal of proving to He Yunlang that he was better than Tan Jing.
“So this weekend, I’m reviewing. No dates,” He Siheng righteously refused Tan Jing’s invitation to meet over the phone.
“Studying alone is studying, studying together is too,” Tan Jing reasoned logically. “Come to my place to study. Isn’t it more convenient to discuss problems?”
He Siheng paused, shamefully wavering a bit.
He did have problems he couldn’t crack alone; discussing with two people was more efficient than grinding solo.
But this guy clearly wasn’t just inviting him to review purely, and the location was his bedroom…
As He Siheng hesitated, Tan Jing continued slowly over the phone. “My parents are home today, so I won’t do any of those things you’re thinking.”
“…”
He Siheng bristled like a cat whose sensitive spot had been poked and denied vehemently. “I wasn’t thinking anything! Fine, I’ll come!”
Tan Jing chuckled lowly. “Waiting for you.”
He Siheng ground his teeth, stuffed his review materials into his bag in a heap, slung it over his shoulder, and headed out—of course, through the window.
Tan Jing had been waiting a while. He took He Siheng’s bag and closed the window. “Actually, a little kiss wouldn’t be heard outside.”
He Siheng had just sat in the chair and bounced up again. “You—”
“Shh.” Tan Jing put a finger to his lips. “We’re having an affair. Keep it down.”
“…”
He Siheng couldn’t help kicking him, lowering his voice to curse. “Can you be serious for once? Keep flirting and I’m leaving—”
The guy who’d been kicked didn’t even cry out in pain. He heedlessly opened his arms and pulled him into a full embrace.
“Just a hug for a bit.” Tan Jing buried himself in He Siheng’s neck hollow, dependently inhaling his scent.
The fresh, sweet floral-fruit fragrance evoked a garden blooming with spring flowers, impossible to resist.
Caught off guard by the hug, He Siheng blinked slowly.
Was it his imagination? Today’s Tan Jing seemed a bit different from usual.
He was about to ask when the guy clinging to him suddenly let go.
Tan Jing stepped back two paces, creating distance, and patted the table seriously. “Flirting over. Time to study.”
He Siheng: “…”
With Tan Cong and Jiang He both home, the two couldn’t go to the study and squeezed at the bedroom desk instead.
He Siheng had thought Tan Jing would get handsy again, but the other seemed serious about just studying together. Their chairs weren’t even close—one on the far left, one on the far right. They studied quietly and earnestly the whole time.
He suddenly got serious, so He Siheng didn’t know what else to say. They reviewed like that for almost a whole morning. He Siheng stretched lazily and kicked Tan Jing’s chair. Using the excuse that he couldn’t leave the room, he bossed him around guilt-free. “Go call Great Handsome over. I want to pet the dog for a bit.”
Tan Jing didn’t move. “Can’t you pet me instead?”
“…” He Siheng was expressionless. “Woof twice first.”
He regretted it immediately after saying it. This guy was shameless and might actually bark just to get intimate.
But unexpectedly, Tan Jing didn’t do it.
“Forget it, I’ll act human today.” He smiled and stood up. “There’s some fruit in the fridge. I’ll wash more and bring it over.”
He Siheng watched him leave the room and frowned in confusion.
He didn’t even insist on getting intimate.
Something really was off.
Not long after Tan Jing left, the sound of the puppy’s footsteps pattering across the floor reached him. He Siheng cracked the door open for Great Handsome and squatted in the doorway, vigorously petting its head.
Alphas had strong territorial instincts, especially an S-Rank Alpha like Tan Jing. Even the little dog at home wasn’t usually allowed into this room.
It was a rare chance for it to enter, and Great Handsome was thrilled. It dashed around every runnable spot in the room except the bed. He Siheng couldn’t stop it no matter what. It even accidentally bumped into the bookshelf against the wall, knocking a few books to the floor.
He Siheng felt somewhat helpless. He couldn’t yell too loudly to stop it, so he hurriedly cleaned up the mess before Tan Jing returned to scold it.
He walked over and picked up the books that had fallen to the ground. As he shoved them back onto the shelf, he inadvertently glimpsed a photo album.
He Siheng quirked his lips with interest, pulled out the photo album, and flipped through a couple of pages casually.
They were all photos of Tan Jing from middle school. The boy in the photos carried a youthful innocence that felt unfamiliar, even more tender than now, inexplicably endearing.
“Pretty handsome,” He Siheng muttered under his breath, then continued flipping.
His flipping suddenly paused as his gaze locked on one photo.
The boy wore a vertically striped hospital gown, his right leg in a cast, his face pale and haggard.
He Siheng froze.
This photo…
Wasn’t this the one Little Strawberry had taken?
