YPSSS Chapter 30

This post was like a spark, igniting a week-long heated discussion among college students who were just returning from vacation and feeling a bit bored with life.

It even caught the attention of the school faculty.

The security officer called him specifically to ask about his studies and living conditions. As soon as the call ended, his phone was flooded with new messages.

Yi Junya: [Web link] Xiao Ruan, you’re famous! I saw a post about you in this new Omega beauty discussion group I joined! Aww, you’re like the model Omega of our generation!
Yi Junya: But the conversation went off-track LOL Some girls asked me to find out what lipstick shade you use… I told them you weren’t wearing any makeup and they were shocked hahaha

Xiao Xin: …
Xiao Xin: ???
Xiao Xin: Ruan-ge?? No… somehow it feels weird calling you that now.
Xiao Xin: But I don’t know what else to call you, I’m so used to it!

Xia Shiruan chuckled and replied: Just keep calling me Ruan-ge.

Shi Yi: Senior?

That was all Shi Yi said, with no follow-up message.

Xia Shiruan had a guess why. Maybe she lost interest in him now that he was an Omega instead of a Beta.

He sent her a smiley face in response.

He spent half an hour going through his chat list, selectively responding to some messages.

When he scrolled to the bottom, he caught sight of the ghost face avatar. Their last conversation still ended with “Are you deleting her or not?”

Xia Shiruan’s gaze lingered on those words for a few seconds before he listlessly closed the chat app. Before logging off, he cleared out all the mysterious friend requests that had piled up.

Going public about his secondary presentation had caused more of a stir than he’d expected.

Xia Shiruan had thought that since this was a private matter, even if he needed to explain it to others, it shouldn’t attract too much attention. He couldn’t understand why so many people were interested in it.

It was as if his change from Beta to Omega meant his entire being had been replaced, turning him into some kind of novelty.

And novelties always drew attention. People who heard various rumors about him wanted to meet him in person, to see up close what a 23-year-old newly transformed Omega was really like.

Most were simply curious.

But curiosity had its degrees and nature. Some were like cats toying with butterflies, wanting to see their helpless panic just to satisfy their own dark desires.

These past few days, Xia Shiruan received many friend requests, almost ten times more than before.

Every time he checked his phone, he would find new notification dots.

Some people wrote long, formal reasons for their requests, while others were bluntly direct with just “want to see.”

At first, Xia Shiruan was caught off guard. He accepted a few requests from supposed juniors from other departments asking to borrow study materials, only to have them immediately ask for his photos.

Even with Xia Shiruan’s easy-going temperament, he grew irritated after this happened several times.

The feeling of being observed like an animal in a zoo was unpleasant.

He checked his phone settings and decided to disable friend requests altogether. Still feeling unsatisfied, he put his phone on Do Not Disturb mode.

On Friday afternoon, Xia Shiruan went to return some books to the library and planned to borrow a few more.

The library wasn’t empty that day. He entered through the side door and headed straight to the Engineering section on the third floor. Along the way, a few people glanced back at him.

Ignoring them, Xia Shiruan reached the third floor, placed his bag in a locker by the entrance, and shut the door.

The Engineering section was quiet, with a large room filled with towering bookshelves packed with countless books.

In this era, few people read physical books anymore, most came to the library just for a quiet place to study.

However, many books couldn’t be found online. Browsing through the library often led to discovering hidden treasures.

Due to various matters, Xia Shiruan hadn’t visited the library in a long time. The familiar smell of book ink felt nostalgic.

But soon he caught another scent.

It was hard to categorize, just that it was very sour and fishy.

Xia Shiruan frowned and glanced toward the source of the smell.

In the reading room, half the space was taken up by bookshelves, while the other half had four-person study tables scattered in the corners.

In the spacious room, only one table was occupied by four young men with short hair.

Xia Shiruan only looked once before looking away, but one of them seemed familiar.

When they heard someone enter, the four men turned to look. One of them noticeably froze for a moment, then excitedly said something to the others.

Xia Shiruan stood under a bookshelf, looking up and scanning row by row until he found the book he wanted.

But it was placed too high for him to reach.

Xia Shiruan walked out, and was about to get the small cart used for reaching high shelves, when a voice spoke up behind him.

“Senior, do you need help?”

Xia Shiruan turned around to find a tall Alpha standing behind him.

The Alpha had a short crew cut and a roguish smile.

Xia Shiruan met his eyes for two seconds, his brow twitching as recognition dawned.

“No need,” Xia Shiruan said, looking away.

“Senior, why haven’t you accepted my friend requests?” The young man ignored Xia Shiruan’s coldness, staring at him without blinking. “I even went to your lab to find you, but you were never there. I was so heartbroken.”

“But today we’re so lucky,” he chuckled softly, “Senior came right to me.”

Xia Shiruan paused, turning to face him properly.

“Excuse me,” Xia Shiruan said, his lips tight. “Please move, I need to leave.”

The young man raised his eyebrows, loosely blocking Xia Shiruan’s path with one arm. He stepped closer, pressing near him, and reached up to grab a book from where Xia Shiruan had been looking.

“Isn’t this the book you wanted?” he said. “Here.”

Xia Shiruan took a deep breath, about to speak, when the young man quickly leaned toward his ear with a smile. “You smell nice.”

Xia Shiruan’s brows furrowed as he moved to push the arm away.

More precisely, he didn’t actually manage to push it away. The young man’s reflexes were quick, and he dodged just before Xia Shiruan could make contact.

After dodging, the young man laughed. He pushed his tongue against his cheek and said carelessly, “Why so fierce?”

The other three young men sitting at the table perked up their ears to listen, then burst into snickers.

Their laughter, made no attempt to be subtle, echoed through the library, making it impossible to ignore.

A surge of indescribable rage rose in Xia Shiruan’s chest.

This type of emotion rarely appeared in him, but now it emerged at just the right moment, making his expression clearly show his impatience.

But the young man seemed to deliberately ignore it.

This Alpha was a well-known junior from the Department of Particle Physics named Chen Jiu.

Every school had its share of influential figures.

Some were classified by family background and pheromone levels, like those elite students at the top of the pyramid in the Military Engineering Department.

Xie Ji and Shi Yi were both first-years who had already attracted significant attention at school.

Others drew attention for certain traits beyond family background and abilities. Perhaps due to their special gender status, like Xia Shiruan.

As for Chen Jiu, it was for his outrageous behavior.

Among the three genders, Alphas’ primal genes were unleashed through physical evolution, with desires for conquest and possession carved into every awakened Alpha’s bones.

If Shi Yi’s hunting was confined to a specific range and respected his prey’s wishes before making a move, then this one’s taste and style were equally clear. He liked beautiful people and using force.

His targets ranged from lab instructors to janitors’ daughters. His chaotic private life was so notorious that even Xia Shiruan, who rarely paid attention to gossip, had heard about it.

Parents had complained, disciplinary actions were taken, and the worst incident nearly went to court. Yet he always returned unscathed, protected by juvenile laws and his prominent family background.

That’s right, Chen Jiu was underage when he started university. He was just sixteen.

He was considered a genius, but after gender differentiation, his brain cells seemed to migrate from his head to his lower body.

Perhaps because he was now of age, his behavior wasn’t as brash as in his freshman year. He’d at least make small talk before trying to smell you.

Everyone understood what it meant when an Alpha told an Omega they “smell nice.” Even Xia Shiruan, who hadn’t been an Omega for long, had learned from chatting with Yi Junya and the Mount Xia group that whether Alpha to Omega or Omega to Alpha, explicitly asking about or showing interest in another’s pheromones was an offensive behavior.

He’d made that mistake himself once. And successfully pissed someone off.

Moreover-

Xia Shiruan snapped back to reality, looking directly at the Alpha before him, his voice cold, “I said, please move.”

Chen Jiu’s playful expression faded. “Oh?”

He looked down at Xia Shiruan, a smile playing at his lips. “Just trying to get to know you. That’s not a crime, is it?”

The narrow aisle, barely wide enough for one person, was like a dead end. With no retreat behind him and an Alpha who completely overpowered him in both size and strength before him, Xia Shiruan’s helplessness was fully exposed.

Chen Jiu stood motionless, even bending down to examine him like some interesting toy.

Xia Shiruan tried to restrain himself, fists clenching and unclenching, but couldn’t suppress the urge rising within him.

The inexplicable pressure of recent days had reached an unbearable peak under Chen Jiu’s provocation.

Perhaps it was also related to his approaching heat cycle. Either way, at this moment, Xia Shiruan wanted to fight.

He was certain that if this person didn’t move away, if he dared take one more step forward, his fist would meet that face.

Xia Shiruan stared directly at Chen Jiu, calmly analyzing his chances of winning against an Alpha half a head taller than himself.

Author’s note:
Xia Shiruan: Fists ready