YPSSS Chapter 33

Not only was it a case of fighting and brawling, but it also involved harassing an omega, which made the situation quite serious.

It had been a long time since such a malicious incident had occurred, and the school clearly had no intention of letting the perpetrators off easily.

Rumor had it that the school administration personally met with Chen Jiu’s parents and called the Xia family. Although Gao Qiuyun had prior commitments that day, she canceled them and rushed over immediately.

Gao Qiuyun didn’t expect Xia Shiruan to experience another early heat. She realized that such repeated occurrences might not be entirely coincidental. After settling all the necessary matters, she found time to visit Central Hospital again to consult with Xia Shiruan’s attending physician about the situation.

Meanwhile, Xia Shiruan took leave from school and rested at home for two days. During this time, people kept him updated with various news, so his days weren’t entirely uneventful.

However, he spent most of his time spacing out.

Perhaps because this incident left him at a loss for where to even begin thinking, without even a way to approach this logically, he could only fumble around aimlessly like a headless fly. After several failed attempts, he resorted to his trump card – searching online, trying to find answers in the vast ocean of numbers and code.

In Xia Shiruan’s twenty-three years of life, he lived by one principle: every problem had an answer in books.

With this principle and his natural intelligence, he smoothly solved most difficulties. But this problem was harder. It would take much longer to figure out.

Xia Shiruan quickly abandoned this line of thinking.

Problem-solving required absolute calmness, and that was fundamentally impossible right now. Just remembering Xie Ji’s tone when he asked “Want to think about it now?”, even a single syllable made his heart race, leaving him completely unable to think.

His mind kept circling back to the scene where he instinctively hugged him.

Xia Shiruan spent a long time wondering if that was truly driven by pheromones.

Pheromones could control smell and trigger heats, but could they control heartbeats too?

Life was like a lake. Even the biggest ripples would eventually be smoothed by time.

Following his family doctor’s advice, Xia Shiruan underwent simple check-ups every two weeks to monitor his gland and reproductive system development.

However, the family doctor gently suggested that the most permanent solution was still to find a suitable partner as soon as possible.

This time, Xia Shiruan didn’t reject the idea as firmly as before.

After two days of rest, Xia Shiruan returned to school.

To his slight relief, after the library incident, almost no one harassed him anymore. The notification dots on his social apps decreased, and he no longer had to endure strange looks. He enjoyed several peaceful days with more time for his own affairs.

However, his labmates’ attitudes toward him remained somewhat awkward.

After all, Xia Shiruan had existed as an unapproachable Beta genius for so long that everyone had developed fixed patterns of interaction with him. Suddenly learning he was actually an Omega created a sense of unreality that couldn’t quickly fade.

Some tried to break through this awkwardness, but remembering the dramatic incident not long ago made them hesitant. Moreover, Xia Shiruan’s attitude didn’t seem eager. Still distant, still indifferent, like he couldn’t be bothered with them. So, they gave up.

People their age wouldn’t keep trying to warm up to someone so cold.

The group chat for those dozen people who went to Mount Xia was renamed to “A Pack of Alphas with their Fierce Omega” by Chen Rongxin.

Xia Shiruan cringed several times at this name and wanted to change it, but didn’t know what to change it to.

So he played ostrich for a few days and stopped talking in the group chat, until one day he was specifically tagged in a conversation.

When he received the mention, Xia Shiruan was chatting with Yi Junya.

Yi Junya: Can you pick me up this Friday? qaq Just asked other sisters, they said we need student IDs to get in.
Xia Shiruan: Sure, what time?
Yi Junya: 9am!
Yi Junya: Oh right, could you help borrow a few more student IDs? Some other sisters want to come watch too!
Xia Shiruan: …How many?
Yi Junya: Five, six, seven, eight… ten!
Xia Shiruan: …

That Friday was the university basketball championship finals. Yi Junya had been asking Xia Shiruan since Monday about which departments were competing and if there were any handsome Alphas.

Xia Shiruan knew nothing about these things, so his answer to all questions was “I don’t know.” Frustrated, Yi Junya gathered intel himself, then turned around to share the news with Xia Shiruan.

That’s how Xia Shiruan learned early on that the finals would be between the Department of Particle Physics and Military Engineering Department. As for who was playing, Yi Junya described it as: “There are hunks! So many hunks!”

Because there were hunks, Yi Junya absolutely had to go, and he would definitely drag Xia Shiruan along.

Xia Shiruan had anticipated this, so he didn’t resist much. Resistance was futile.

Just as he exited his chat with Yi Junya and was thinking who to ask for so many student IDs, the mentions in the group chat came one after another.

Xiao Xin: @Xie Ji, isn’t your school’s basketball match next week? Ge, are you playing?
Xie Ji: Why would I go? Not going.
Xiao Xin: Really not going? My basketball buddies said they invited you… Well, I already told some of my Omega friends I’d get them in that day, if you were going…
Xie Ji: ?
Xiao Xin: *zipping mouth shut.gif*
Xiao Xin: @Xia Shiruan Xiao Ruan-ge, heard your department is really strong this year? They say it’s an all top-tier Alpha lineup, even the substitutes are top Alphas. Are you going to watch?

Ever since Chen Rongxin learned about Xia Shiruan’s Omega status, his way of addressing him changed from “Ruan-ge” to “Xiao Ruan-ge.” That extra “Xiao” made Xia Shiruan inexplicably uncomfortable.

Shi Yi: Where did the Department of Particle Physics get top-tier Alphas?
Xiao Xin: Yi-jie! Even if their pheromone levels might not match yours, they’re still very strong, okay? I watched their practice match yesterday. No joke, they’re really built, total hunks.
Shi Yi: Why compare them with me? I’m a woman.
Shi Yi: Compare them with your brother?
Xiao Xin: …Get lost.

After scrolling through the group chat history, Xia Shiruan replied: “I’ll probably go, to accompany a friend.”

Friday morning, Xia Shiruan went to the school gate early to meet Yi Junya.

Although the university didn’t implement closed management, it would still take measures to control the flow of people during large-scale events to avoid overcrowding, checking the identification of everyone entering the campus.

When Xia Shiruan arrived, he spotted Yi Junya and his friends immediately.

Actually, not just Xia Shiruan, anyone passing by couldn’t help but glance in that direction.

What was this group of… something?

Red, green, yellow – like a bunch of whatever-they-were that just escaped from a circus.

Xia Shiruan held his forehead, tempted to pretend he didn’t know them and walk away, but Yi Junya’s eyes, which had been scanning the many Alphas of the university, quickly caught him. His clear, piercing voice called out, “Xiao Ruan!”

“…”

Xia Shiruan walked over with a wooden face.

Yi Junya and his Omega friends had met through cosplay and were used to dressing in exaggerated ways when they meet up.

Such outfits might not look out of place in C City’s busiest districts. It might even be called trendy. But gathering in large numbers at a university where straight Alphas were everywhere and Omegas were rare, the visual effect could only be described as eye-popping.

Liu Yutong had helped Xia Shiruan borrow ten student IDs from his undergraduate juniors. Xia Shiruan handed them out one by one, and the colorfully dressed Omegas faced the security guard without batting an eye, pointing at the rough-looking ID photos claiming they were themselves.

The security guard was speechless but didn’t give them too much trouble, letting them in after a few words.

Except for Yi Junya, everyone else was visiting for the first time. After quick greetings, they said they wanted to look around campus first since there was still over an hour until the game.

After everyone left, only Yi Junya and Xia Shiruan were left.

Yi Junya craned his neck, looking around, “Where is he?”

Xia Shiruan asked, “Who?”

Yi Junya searched around but found nothing. “That person who smells really good?”

Xia Shiruan froze for a few seconds before realizing what he meant.

He reached out and forcibly turned Yi Junya’s head away. “I never said that. Don’t call him that.”

Something that wasn’t a big deal somehow became really strange when Yi Junya said it in that tone.

…No, actually, this couldn’t really be called “not a big deal.”

Distracted by Yi Junya, Xia Shiruan couldn’t help thinking about the scent’s owner for two seconds. When he came back to his senses, Yi Junya’s eyes were wide. “You never said that?”

He cleared his throat, imitating Xia Shiruan’s tone. “Let me repeat what you said. Junya, if you really, really like an Alpha’s pheromone scent…”

“Alright,” Xia Shiruan cut him off, feeling his ears heat up. Under the shocked stares from all directions, most of which were shocked by Yi Junya’s outfit, he asked, “Aren’t you cold dressed like that? I have a jacket in my lab. Want me to get it for you?”

It wasn’t summer anymore and the weather wasn’t warm. Xia Shiruan thought Yi Junya might catch a cold wearing just shorts.

“It’s fine,” Yi Junya said carelessly, “I’ll warm up once I see the hunks. I won’t be cold.”

“…”

Xia Shiruan walked around with Yi Junya nearby and bought two cups of milk tea from the convenience store.

He gave Yi Junya one with 70% sweetness and kept the 30% sweet one for himself.

Xia Shiruan could handle a bit of sweetness now.

The two of them drew attention walking down the path. Yi Junya slurped his milk tea while cursing Chen Jiu out loud, ignoring the stares from passers-by.

Yi Junya didn’t know Chen Jiu, but he’d learned quite a bit through various gossip channels.

Yi Junya swallowed a big gulp of milk tea, almost choking as he spoke, “Can’t believe your school has such scum. Damn, never seen an Omega before? So thirsty! Places with too few Omegas just breed perverts!”

Then he asked, “So what happened after?”

“After…” Xia Shiruan paused, thinking he couldn’t avoid mentioning the ‘smells really good’ part if he continued, so he vaguely said, “After that, a classmate passed by.”

“That’s good then.”

While Xia Shiruan was slightly distracted, his phone vibrated.

He opened it to look.

Xie Ji: Where are you.

The ‘smells really good’ classmate appeared just like that.

Just as he was about to reply, Yi Junya stretched his neck to look. “Who is it?”

“…A friend.” Xia Shiruan typed back quickly.

Xia Shiruan: On campus.
Xie Ji: Coming to watch the game?
Xia Shiruan: Yes.
Xie Ji: Mm.

“Mm”? What did that mean?

Xia Shiruan inexplicably closed his phone, took a sip of milk tea, shook his head, and met Yi Junya’s knowing expression.

“Smells really good?” Yi Junya asked.

“…” Xia Shiruan really did choke this time, “Cough…”

He rubbed his chest, took a moment to recover, and said with less confidence than ever, “…No.”

Yi Junya watched the tips of his ears turn pink and nearly cackled. His Xiao Ruan was so fun to tease.