YPSSS Chapter 09

In the end, Xia Shiruan didn’t get the high school pamphlet he wanted. Instead, he was forced to receive a bunch of videos that looked quite explicit just from their thumbnails.

Yi Junya, his longtime friend who suddenly upgraded himself to being his “sister,” felt even closer to him now and typed several times faster than usual.

He shared all his precious collection with Xia Shiruan while enthusiastically recommending, “Why bother with pamphlets? Alphas and Omegas are all about the same thing anyway. Listen to your Jiejie¹. If you don’t understand something, watch one video and you’ll get it. If you still don’t get it, watch two.”

Xia Shiruan had already given up arguing about the whole sister thing.

His phone was set to automatically save received files. As Yi Junya kept sending them one after another, Xia Shiruan couldn’t even delete them fast enough. He accidentally tapped something, and one of the videos started playing automatically.

Yi Junya was still chatting: “The first few are whatever, just agency models, but you absolutely can’t miss the last one!!!! It’s an amateur Alpha hottie!! Those hips, those abs, that xx… *hiss* [drooling.gif]”

Xia Shiruan: “…”

The video started dark, with shaky camera work like it was filmed secretly.

It seemed to be shot in some locker room, with several people walking around. The camera was held very low. At first, it only showed several pairs of legs. After some wobbling, it focused on one pair of long, muscular legs in athletic shorts.

Just from the legs, you could tell he was very tall.

In a way, those legs were really something to look at. Just as Xia Shiruan was about to close the window in the name of appreciating beauty, his hand paused.

Despite the poor audio quality, you could hear the man talking to someone nearby. As he spoke, he raised his arms and pulled off his sweat-soaked t-shirt.

The camera panned up to his waist, capturing his beautiful, taut lines under the light. As he flexed slightly, his abs tensed up, sweat trailing down the valleys between his muscles, slowly following his V-line down into the loose waistband of his shorts.

The video lingered on his torso for several seconds.

Then suddenly, a muffled “Xiao Xin” could be heard in the video. The camera shook violently, followed by a pleading voice, “Ge, just let me finish this last second, I promise I won’t dare do this again.”

The man seemed to realize he was being filmed. He let out an amused snort, tossed his shirt onto a nearby bench, and walked toward the person filming, still shirtless.

He had broad shoulders, and as he walked, he casually wiped the sweat off his stomach with one hand, giving him a somewhat roguish air.

The person filming walked backward while raising the camera slightly to capture his shoulders, neck, and collarbone, laughing while filming. “My senior sisters have been begging me for photos ever since they saw you last time. What’s wrong with blessing some Omegas? Don’t be so stingy, come on, take off your pants-”

Before they could finish, the video cut off. The last half-second only showed half of the man’s profile, a razor-sharp jawline and the slight curve of a smile on his lips.

The video was actually very short, only one minute and six seconds, but even when Xia Shiruan hadn’t presented as an Omega yet, he could understand why Yi Junya was so excited about it.

When it finished playing and started auto-replaying, Xia Shiruan suddenly realized he had somehow watched the entire video from start to finish.

Yi Junya’s message bubbles kept popping up at the top of the screen.

[Yi Junya: It’s really amazing!! Those loose athletic shorts, and still such a big bulge… Too bad we can’t see his full face! But it’s already top-tier!!]

[Yi Junya: My friend sent me this video last year. They say every Omega has a copy, you should save it too!]

[Yi Junya: Xiao Ruan! You haven’t replied to my messages for two minutes! Tell me! Were you watching the videos? Which one did you watch? Did you see the last one? How was it? Did you feel anything??]

Xia Shiruan: “…”

Xia Shiruan reached out and decisively closed the video window, ignoring that slight, barely noticeable flutter in his heart, and replied: “Didn’t watch. Just went to get some water.”

The next day, Xia Shiruan was discharged from the hospital.

The doctor emphasized that since he was in the early stages of presentation, his heat cycles wouldn’t be stable. He needed to keep his mood up and could eat some sweets in moderation. Most importantly, he had to carry enough suppressants with him at all times to avoid any unexpected situations.

So Xia Shiruan casually stuffed one into his backpack.

On the way back, Gao Qiuyun kept looking at Xia Shiruan with concern, as if wanting to say something.

After her umpteenth glance, Xia Shiruan understood she had something to say and took the initiative. “Mom.”

Gao Qiuyun looked at Xia Shiruan for a moment, reached out to stroke his hair, and said gently, “Xiao Ruan, you’ve always been such a good and sensible child. Your father and I rarely had to worry about you. In college, when you said you wanted to focus on your studies and put everything else aside, we respected your decision. But… Omegas are different from Betas after all. You heard what the doctor said. Your constitution is special, and medical suppressants aren’t a long-term solution… Mom’s worried about your health.”

Xia Shiruan certainly understood his mother’s feelings.

After a moment of silence, Xia Shiruan said, “Mm. But it’s not easy to get into Professor Lu’s lab. I really cherish this opportunity.”

Xia Shiruan’s parents were very open-minded, and he had always been quite decisive.

When choosing his college major, Xia Shiruan had decided on the Department of Particle Physics by himself.

Back then, job prospects in Photonics weren’t favorable for Betas, but his parents still supported him.

Gao Qiuyun paused for a second and said, “That’s not what I meant. Since you’re already pursuing your doctorate, focus on your studies first. What Mom wants to say is… there are so many excellent Alphas at your school, especially in your department’s lab. The Alphas there have good circumstances. If you get the chance, you could try making friends with them.”

Seeing Xia Shiruan’s silence after she finished speaking, she thought he agreed and probed further, “Xiao Ruan, is there any Alpha at school you like? Oh, they don’t have to be from school, anyone you know is fine.”

“No,” Xia Shiruan said.

Not to mention he barely knew anyone at school, but thinking back to all the different pheromone scents he smelled at the exhibition hall last time, he didn’t like any of them. They all just gave him headaches, let alone wanting to be friends.

Didn’t the doctor say that Omegas like him had the instinct to judge their compatibility with Alphas based on scent alone?

For it to work, he’d need to like their scent at the very least…

Suddenly, a face appeared in Xia Shiruan’s mind.

A face that was incredibly handsome but always carried impatience and disgust.

Then he remembered that faint, sweet scent that lingered in his nose.

“There’s no one I like,” Xia Shiruan repeated, seeing Gao Qiuyun’s expression instantly fall. He paused, then added, “But if I meet someone, I’ll tell you.”

That finally made Gao Qiuyun happy again.

–

With only a week left before school officially started, Xia Shiruan still hadn’t finished reading “Online Monitoring and Fault Analysis of Photonic Devices.”

This break had been different from before. He spent a large portion of his remaining time studying up on daily Omega behaviors.

Given that Xia Shiruan didn’t know much about Omega physiology or even basic daily precautions before his presentation, and rarely took initiative to learn about them, he couldn’t get much information from Yi Junya now. He had no choice but to search online.

The internet was a good resource. Most of what Xia Shiruan wanted to know had answers.

For instance, in most public places, Omega restrooms were usually farther away and larger, with free suppressants and isolation rooms. However, these free suppressants were less effective and short-acting. They were only suitable for emergencies, not regular use.

Another example was that Omegas were rather delicate creatures. During heat, they needed to be careful with their diet, avoiding raw and greasy foods. In fact, most Omegas could barely eat anything during that time, surviving only on nutrient solutions. But there were always a few gluttons who’d start binge eating as soon as they felt slightly better, landing themselves in the hospital.

After clarifying several questions, Xia Shiruan typed “Omega marking” into the search bar.

That day at the hospital, the doctor suggested he find a compatible Alpha for marking. Although he had no such plans for the time being, Xia Shiruan wanted to understand the basics first.

Just like how he’d preview lessons before class.

But this time, the answers were quite messy, varied, and mostly seemed rather questionable.

-“If you want to know, you can find me. Single Alpha, long-time professional in painless Omega marking instruction, experienced and available anytime, number 135xxxxxx”
-“Hey, show pics?”

Xia Shiruan scrolled quickly, his frown deepening. He thought even Yi Junya’s videos were better than this.

Finally, he found what looked like a serious answer. It turned out to be another suggestion about some museum.

-“Want to know about marking? Just go to the 3D Museum, you’ll understand everything once you see it [dogface]”

The comments were full of dogface emojis in agreement, with occasional “haha”s and “OP’s so clever.”

Xia Shiruan, who was not aware to the meaning of dogface emojis, searched the map and found there really was such a museum, right next to the cinema downtown, just five stops away from home.

According to the attraction description, this museum was indeed a science education facility jointly established by the government and Omega Protection Association for teaching physiology and bonding knowledge. It even had several years of history.

It looked like a perfectly legitimate place.

In line with his thorough academic spirit, Xia Shiruan immediately decided to visit and study there tomorrow.