The director gave Chen Songyan a trusting look, then glanced suspiciously at Xu Jiu. Xu Jiu felt indignant and immediately removed his pheromone collar.

The moment the collar came off, the white camellia scent poured out from Xu Jiu like a spring. Chen Songyan wasn’t wearing his collar either. The white camellia fragrance lingered around his nostrils, like tiny snakes crawling up his limbs, entwining his will, gnawing at his reason, and crushing his composure.

Chen Songyan, who never liked to bow his head, found himself quietly looking down at Xu Jiu, who stood on tiptoes with raised arms to fasten the collar. Xu Jiu had beautiful features and naturally wavy hair, showing signs of pampered upbringing.

So this was how lovely the view could be from above. Even an Alpha’s iron will could crack.

Xu Jiu fastened it on Chen Songyan with his head held high, like a proud little tiger. He pouted at the director and clicked his tongue, “What, don’t believe us? We Alphas never lie.”

When the collar was fastened and switched on, Xu Jiu’s white camellia scent vanished instantly from Chen Songyan’s world. His breathing stopped until his lungs burned with pain, forcing him to breathe the now-bland air out of necessity.

The early signs of withdrawal were already this painful.

At this point, the director could only leave.

Seeing Chen Songyan’s labored breathing, Xu Jiu innocently thought he was just nervous from being inspected for the first time. He patted Chen Songyan’s shoulder and placed his hands on his hips, so proud that if he had a tail, it would be pointing to the sky.

Xu Jiu boasted, “What’s there to be scared of? This is nothing. You’re not actually freaked out, are you?”

Chen Songyan: [Weren’t you the one trying to run away earlier?]

Hearing Chen Songyan’s thoughts, Xu Jiu couldn’t argue back. He expected Chen Songyan to say it out loud.

Instead, Chen Songyan’s eyes darkened. He quickly took off the collar, his voice calm but carrying a faint sense of relief, as if he had just survived a close call. He handed the collar back to Xu Jiu.

“A bit. Here’s your collar back.”

Xu Jiu: ? What’s with the two-faced act¹表里不一 (biǎo lǐ bù yī) – outside appearance and inner reality differ (idiom); not what it seems / saying one thing but meaning sth different? Stop pretending, dude.

But fair was fair²一码归一码 (yī mǎ guī yī mǎ) – a Chinese idiom that literally means “one thing belongs to one thing.” It is often used to emphasize fairness, reciprocity, or the idea of keeping matters separate and balanced. It reflects the principle that if someone helps you, you should help them in return. Chen Songyan had helped Xu Jiu, and Xu Jiu would help him back. That was the unspoken rule of their world.

Xu Jiu quickly messaged his brothers to call off the plan, saying today was a false alarm. He pushed back Chen Songyan’s outstretched hand.

Xu Jiu’s eyes sparkled like translucent mica as he earnestly said,

“Since your collar is broken, take mine. It’s the latest model, and I’ve only used it for a week.”

“I, Xu Jiu, value loyalty. You help me, I help you. From now on, Chen Songyan, I’ve got your back.”

Seeing it was getting late, Xu Jiu waved goodbye to Chen Songyan, worried his family would be concerned.

Chen Songyan carefully tucked the collar into his bag and headed home through the main gate. The campus was nearly empty as he got into his private car.

During the ride, he kept touching the outline of the collar through his bag. The familiar scenery along the way seemed gentler than usual.

Chen Songyan lived in the wealthy district, in Block A of Haishang Mingyue. The warm yellow lights in the villa, though meant to be comforting, felt like a golden cage, restrictive and suffocating.

His earlier excitement gradually drained away in this cage, leaving only exhaustion and helplessness.

His father had been waiting in the living room for a long time, his face stern:

“You usually get home at 8:20. It’s 9:10 now. Even with cleaning duty, you wouldn’t be this late. Where were you?”

Chen Songyan stood beside him, head down, his eyes cold and distant, his voice mechanical.

“My collar broke. I borrowed one from a classmate.”

His father got up and headed to his room with a cold face:

“I hope you’re not lying to me. I’ll verify with your teacher tomorrow.”

“I’m grooming you as my heir. You need to live up to expectations. If you can’t even control your artificial glands, how can you be an heir?”

With a cold expression, Chen Songyan went upstairs to prepare for bed. As he was undressing, the camera in his room automatically turned away. He quickly and quietly took out Xu Jiu’s collar from his bag.

He held it up and took a gentle sniff. A strong white camellia scent mixed with subtle notes of snow cedar filled his breath. It was the perfect gift of momentary freedom.

Chen Songyan locked Xu Jiu’s collar in his drawer.

The next morning, a brand-new collar appeared on the dining table.

The high school they attended was the best military school, where most Alpha students would join the army. Many of them would become military officers, while some would take civilian positions.

Today was the monthly military drill for each class. The task was simple: pairs of students had to survive in the forest for seven days before someone would come to check their vital signs.

Each pair was given only a gun and one suppressant.

Survival required shooting skills, and accuracy was crucial.

Deskmates were paired together, so Chen Songyan and Xu Jiu rode to the forest together. Xu Jiu glanced over and noticed that Chen Songyan wasn’t wearing the collar he had given him.

Hmph. That imported collar he gave Chen Songyan was so rare people lined up but couldn’t get one. Who knew Chen Songyan had such poor taste³Maybe I should translate this as ignorant. Hmm? 识货 (shí huò) – to know what’s what?

Or perhaps, judging by Chen Songyan’s cold stare, he just despised Xu Jiu as usual.

Chen Songyan: [Why aren’t we there yet?]

Xu Jiu glared at him. What’s the rush? That eager to stop sharing a car ride?

Chen Songyan: [?]

After reaching their destination, Xu Jiu, who had experience partnering with others before, knew one person should look for water and food while the other built shelter.

But Xu Jiu was in a mood. He refused to share living space with someone who despised him. When Chen Songyan built his shelter, Xu Jiu built his own “mansion” right next to it.

Since these drills happened monthly, Xu Jiu didn’t take this exercise seriously.

Always competitive, Xu Jiu wanted his shelter bigger and built faster than Chen Songyan’s. As long as it was good enough for one night’s sleep, he didn’t care.

Thus, a “magnificent” jerry-built structure⁴豆腐渣工程 (dòu fu zhā gōng chéng) – jerry-built building project / lit. built on soybean dregs came to be.

One corner of Xu Jiu’s tent was lifting, so he used his black bag to weigh it down. The bag contained his gun and their only suppressant.

That night, strong winds swept through the mountains. Not only did Xu Jiu’s shoddy shelter collapse, but his black bag was also blown away.

When he retrieved it, their only suppressant was gone.

Their only suppressant was gone.

He didn’t dare tell Chen Songyan.

Xu Jiu thought the chances of Chen Songyan hitting his sensitive period right now couldn’t be that high.

TL Notes

• 1
  表里不一 (biǎo lǐ bù yī) – outside appearance and inner reality differ (idiom); not what it seems / saying one thing but meaning sth different
• 2
  一码归一码 (yī mǎ guī yī mǎ) – a Chinese idiom that literally means “one thing belongs to one thing.” It is often used to emphasize fairness, reciprocity, or the idea of keeping matters separate and balanced. It reflects the principle that if someone helps you, you should help them in return
• 3
  Maybe I should translate this as ignorant. Hmm? 识货 (shí huò) – to know what’s what
• 4
  豆腐渣工程 (dòu fu zhā gōng chéng) – jerry-built building project / lit. built on soybean dregs