YPSSS Chapter 23

The early October morning carried a slight chill.

Xia Shiruan and Xie Ji ate steamed buns in the cool breeze.

Xie Ji had gone out early specifically to buy the buns. After Xia Shiruan quietly finished his second one, he asked, “Why did you come so early?”

He clearly remembered that they had agreed to leave at eight o’clock, but here he was, finished with breakfast, and it was only seven-thirty.

Xie Ji glanced at him and said casually, “The driver might have trouble finding your place, so I came over first.”

Xia Shiruan nodded, not giving much thought to the logical flaw in Xie Ji’s statement.

For example, Xie Ji could have simply come with the driver, sitting in the passenger seat to give directions; or he could have just sent the address for GPS navigation, given how reliable navigation apps were these days.

Xia Shiruan folded the wrapper from his finished bun and put it in the trash bag. He noticed that Xie Ji seemed to be in a good mood this morning, so he decided to say something that had been on his mind since last night. “I didn’t know Uncle Xie would invite me to come. I didn’t want to impose. I’m sorry.”

Xia Shiruan felt this way because Xie Ji was traveling with close friends, and having someone they weren’t familiar with join halfway probably wouldn’t make them too happy.

But when Xie Ji heard this, his expression visibly darkened.

He lowered his head and copied Xia Shiruan, folding his wrapper into a small square before tossing it basketball-style into the distant trash can, landing it perfectly.

The wrapper hit the metal bin with a soft clang, and Xie Ji said, “Just because you were invited doesn’t mean you had to come. You could have refused.”

Xia Shiruan wanted to say that given yesterday’s situation, it was difficult for him to decline, so he had no choice but to come.

But after another glance at Xie Ji’s expression, seeing how he’d inexplicably become unhappy again, Xia Shiruan kept quiet.

They waited for the car together.

As they waited, they stood a bit closer to each other.

Perhaps because of the cold weather, Xie Ji wore a shirt with a higher collar today, which completely covered his nape. Xia Shiruan could only catch a very faint sweet scent, much fainter than during the hot weather.

Xie Ji’s pheromones, like the person himself, were unpredictable. They were sometimes strong, sometimes subtle, just like him – moody.

Xia Shiruan usually couldn’t keep up with these changing rhythms.

When he first returned in September, Xie Ji’s dislike had seemed obvious, but later he’d actively helped Xia Shiruan and stopped constantly mocking his height.

All this made Xia Shiruan think they could be considered casual friends.

But today, Xia Shiruan didn’t know which of his words had upset Xie Ji, and even after the car arrived, Xie Ji’s expression remained sour.

A pure black seven-seater business van came to pick them up. It pulled up quickly in front of them with a smooth turn. When the window rolled down, Xia Shiruan found Chen Rongxin sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Get in!” Chen Rongxin, looking cool in a black leather jacket today, smiled at Xia Shiruan and said, “Ruan-ge, you came after all! Let me tell you, when I heard you were coming, I sent my driver away and came to drive myself!”

Xia Shiruan politely thanked him.

Before he could finish speaking, Xie Ji nudged his shoulder, pushing him aside. He then opened the car door and swung his long legs in, leaving Xia Shiruan behind.

Chen Rongxin: “…”

He shot Xia Shiruan a questioning look, wondering what was wrong with this guy again.

Xia Shiruan shook his head, indicating he didn’t know either.

The drive to Mount Xia would take four hours. Everyone chatted at first, but soon grew tired and leaned back in their seats to rest.

Although Xia Shiruan had worked overtime until 2 AM last night, he wasn’t sleepy at all. He held his backpack on his lap, sitting somewhat tensely and breathing slowly.

Everyone in the car except Xia Shiruan was an Alpha.

In the enclosed space, the mix of deep and shallow breathing accompanied by distinct and subtle Alpha pheromones made Xia Shiruan instinctively nervous. He couldn’t relax and close his eyes like the others.

In the dimly lit car, his eyes were wide open, like a vigilant cat.

Once, a zoologist had conducted a study categorizing humans by gender and pheromone types, analyzing behavioral characteristics and matching them with animals to prove similarities.

The conclusions of this study, while scientifically unproven, had once gone viral online.

For a while, netizens loved using this chart to find their corresponding animals, much like horoscopes and zodiac signs from a century ago. Yi Junya once told Xia Shiruan that he was a little bird in his past life, and asked if Xia Shiruan agreed.

Xia Shiruan said it suited him well since they both chirped a lot, which made Yi Junya so mad he didn’t speak to him for three days.

Later, when Xia Shiruan looked up the article and scanned the chart, he remembered most of it easily, probably because the patterns were so strong.

Now, with nothing to do and feeling too alert, he started matching everyone in the car to their animals.

The two in the front left had scents of spicy noodles and tomato, so they were likely a raccoon and a deer. The two in the front right were a country dog and a pufferfish.

The female Alpha sitting by the window to Xia Shiruan’s right had a scent that was hard to define. It smelled somewhat like red beans but also with glutinous rice, like zongzi¹? Maybe red bean zongzi?

Xia Shiruan focused intently, treating this task with the same seriousness as a scientific experiment. Just as he was about to make what he thought was an accurate judgment, the person to his left shifted his leg.

Xie Ji had been sitting in the corner of the back row with his arms crossed and his eyes closed since getting in the car. He hadn’t participated in the conversation and exuded an air of displeasure.

Xia Shiruan thought he was uncomfortable with the cramped space, so he shifted his legs away.

But Xie Ji suddenly opened his eyes and looked to his right. The sharp corners of his eyes were like blades, but his expression was lazy.

Xia Shiruan accidentally met his eyes, and his train of thought derailed.

The red bean zongzi scent was completely forgotten as his mind filled with – male, Alpha, pheromones… caramel scent? What animal did that match?

It seemed like… a rabbit.

White, soft, with long ears – a cute little rabbit.

Xia Shiruan stared at Xie Ji, a bit dazed.

He didn’t realize how silly he looked with his mouth slightly open and eyes wide and round.

Xie Ji held his gaze for a few seconds, gave a cold laugh, then turned away and closed his eyes again.

Xia Shiruan: “…”

Sure enough, things lacking scientific basis shouldn’t be trusted.

They stopped at a highway service area for a break. Chen Rongxin let out a long yawn and patted the face of the boy in the passenger seat, saying, “You’re driving next. I’m fucking exhausted.”

As the car doors opened, everyone got out. Some went to stretch their legs. Others went to use the bathroom.

Xie Ji stepped over Xia Shiruan to get out and walked toward the restrooms with several Alpha friends.

Xia Shiruan wasn’t tired or thirsty, so he just got out and walked a few steps around the parking lot, stretching slightly to work out his muscles.

After getting back in the car, Xia Shiruan returned to his seat. Soon others started getting back in.

The female Alpha who sat on Xia Shiruan’s right returned.

She walked through the aisle with her head slightly lowered. Judging by how much she had to bend, she was a bit taller than Xia Shiruan.

After sitting down, she smiled at Xia Shiruan and said, “Hello, senior. I was sleeping earlier and didn’t get to greet you.”

Xia Shiruan said, “It’s fine.”

They exchanged names, and Xia Shiruan learned she was called Shi Yi.

Shi Yi took out a package of cookies² from her bag and asked Xia Shiruan, “Would you like some? We still have over two hours to Mount Xia.”

Xia Shiruan didn’t particularly like snacks like these, but he accepted them anyway and thanked her.

Shi Yi seemed very interested in Xia Shiruan. After watching him for a while, she suddenly asked, “Are you Xie Ji’s friend? I’ve never seen you before.”

Before Xia Shiruan could answer, she continued, “But on the way here, Xiao Xin wouldn’t stop talking about how amazing you are.”

Xia Shiruan could imagine the kind of exaggerated phrases Chen Rongxin would use, so he said, “I’m alright, not as impressive as he makes me sound.”

Shi Yi suddenly leaned in closer to look at Xia Shiruan’s face and said with a slight smirk, “I don’t know about impressive, but you’re prettier than I imagined.”

She had a rather cold appearance, with straight black shoulder-length hair and thin lips. Even her smile didn’t soften her features much but instead added to her dominant aura.

Xia Shiruan could roughly guess what kind of families the Alphas who hung out with Xie Ji came from, but her commanding presence momentarily stunned him, and he didn’t quite grasp the meaning behind her words.

Shi Yi stared at him intently, making the back of Xia Shiruan’s neck tense up, and he felt a cold sweat forming on his forehead.

He could smell her red bean and glutinous rice scent growing increasingly sweet, making him feel dizzy.

Xia Shiruan wanted to back away, but the seat was right behind him. With nowhere to retreat, he could only grip the leather seat tightly.

Shi Yi seemed amused by his reaction and backed off a bit, saying, “Why are you so cute? Alright, I’ll stop teasing you… Want to exchange contacts?”

She took out her phone and pulled up a page, ready to add Xia Shiruan as a friend.

Xia Shiruan was still caught in her gaze and had just taken out his phone when an icy voice came from the front-

“Could you stop blocking the way?”

Xie Ji had just entered the car and couldn’t stand up straight. He was standing in the middle of the aisle, his hands resting on the backs of the seats on either side.

In this position, he looked down at Xia Shiruan and Shi Yi, his gaze sharp as ice, asking, “What are you two doing?”

Shi Yi froze, glanced up at Xie Ji, and pouted, “Just adding each other as friends, haven’t done it yet.”

The cloying red bean scent was dispersed by the familiar caramel smell. Xia Shiruan felt relieved, his grip on the seat suddenly loosening as he slowly let out a breath.

Chen Rongxin followed Xie Ji into the car. Seeing this scene, he took a second to process before his eyes widened, and he started shouting from several meters away, “Fuck, Yi-jie! What are you doing?! I’m telling you, don’t you dare mess with our Ruan-ge!”

Shi Yi laughed and leaned back completely in her seat, putting away her phone. She said lazily, “What do you mean mess with? Nothing happened.”

Xie Ji bent down in front of Xia Shiruan and kicked his leg, still looking annoyed.

He tilted his head, gesturing to Xia Shiruan. “Move to the inside seat.”