SCOM - Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Because of that fleeting scent, Zuo Luohuan couldn't focus on the lecture, her mind preoccupied with the thought that Ji Yuezhi's pheromone patch was fake.
He was the young master of the Ji family, after all. How did he keep buying counterfeits?
On second thought, Zuo Luohuan figured he had always stayed in the Capital City. Although talented and strong, he was too sheltered in life, making him susceptible to being deceived.
By the time she snapped back to reality, the class was almost over. Zuo Luohuan watched the person in the front row get up and leave, then quickly followed. Jiang Hong beside her turned his head, didn't see her, paused blankly for a moment, scanned the surroundings, and barely caught her disappearing back at the doorway.
"Ji Yuezhi." Zuo Luohuan followed him out, instinctively reaching out to pull him over. "Wait before going to the next class."
The force on his wrist was slightly lighter than the other day, but Ji Yuezhi, currently in his differentiation period, didn't feel much better. His dark eyes stared quietly at her. "You still want to fight me?"
Zuo Luohuan had many quirks. Since she decided to make the gift herself, she wanted it to be perfect. Provoking him the other day was merely to get the neck lock measurements; she hadn't actually thought about fighting. Now that he mentioned it, she reacted. She habitually wanted to tease him, but classmates were starting to file out from behind.
"I need to talk to you about something, not fight." Zuo Luohuan wasn't so depraved as to fight someone during their differentiation period. She directly pulled Ji Yuezhi towards the infirmary. If she remembered correctly, there should be emergency pheromone patches there.
The First Military Academy had self-service infirmaries in every building in case of emergencies. The two quickly arrived.
Zuo Luohuan led him inside, finally letting go. She leaned against the door and glanced at his neck. "Ji Xixiu picked you up to go home, but didn't prepare proper patches for you?"
Hearing this, Ji Yuezhi pursed his lips, seemingly pondering her meaning.
"Change to a better patch. I smelled your pheromones in the classroom." Zuo Luohuan gestured with her chin towards the shelf behind him, then turned and went out, closing the door.
Although they were both Alphas, the differentiation period was ultimately a private matter. It wasn't appropriate for her to watch Ji Yuezhi change, so she stepped out. Once the door was closed, Zuo Luohuan thought she had given her reminder and didn't need to wait, so she started to leave.
After taking two steps, Zuo Luohuan stopped again. Forget it, better wait until he finished changing. Infirmary doors couldn't be locked for safety reasons. If someone else came in while his pheromones were unstable during differentiation, it could cause trouble.
Inside the infirmary, Ji Yuezhi lowered his gaze, finally understanding Zuo Luohuan's meaning. She thought his patch wasn't good enough, hence the pheromone leakage.
The patch was hospital-grade; there was no way it could leak pheromones. Ji Yuezhi considered a certain possibility, and his nape suddenly flushed hot. After a long moment, he slowly turned and took a patch from the shelf. He stood before the mirror on the wall, turned sideways, removed the patch from his gland, and applied the new one.
After doing this, Ji Yuezhi stood still for a long while, calming himself before opening the door.
Hearing the door open, Zuo Luohuan, who was standing by the railing, turned her head. "Took you that long just to change a patch?"
She stepped closer, raising her hand, wanting to see if Ji Yuezhi had applied it properly. She suspected he didn't know how to use the infirmary patches. Tsk, indeed, still the pampered, precious young master of the Ji family. Ji Xixiu spoiled his son too much.
But before she could touch him, Ji Yuezhi slapped her hand away. His voice, distant as ever, reached Zuo Luohuan's ears: "Thanks for the reminder."
Zuo Luohuan glanced down at her hand. The faint smile that had unintentionally appeared in her eyes vanished, but the corners of her lips curved upwards. "No need to thank me. I just didn't want to smell your pheromones."
Alphas generally disliked the pheromones of other Alphas. When they clashed, one was bound to be suppressed. Her words were perfectly normal, reasonable, and common among Alphas.
This time, Zuo Luohuan turned and left decisively, without lingering. She left quickly, not seeing the sudden change in Ji Yuezhi's eyes, nor noticing the discarded patch packaging in the trash bin behind the open door, which read 'Omega Use Only'.
...
Some classmates witnessed the two leaving the classroom together. Later, during other classes, someone keenly noticed that the patch on Ji Yuezhi's nape had changed to a blue one – the emergency type from the infirmary.
[I heard she dragged Senior Ji away right after class, fought him, and knocked off his patch.]
[Angry! Does Zuo Luohuan ever stop? Bullying someone during their differentiation period!]
[Wrong, I heard from someone in their class, they didn't fight, but Zuo Luohuan shamelessly ripped off Ji Yuezhi's patch, wanting to smell his pheromones to compare ranks.]
[So shameless! Pheromones are unstable during differentiation, how could she do something like that?]
...
"Did you really do that?" At lunch, Jiang Hong looked at Zuo Luohuan, hesitant. "It's not necessary to provoke him like that, he's still differentiating."
Zuo Luohuan shot him a cold glance. "Why would I smell his pheromones?"
Jiang Hong: "...But he changed his patch."
"What does that have to do with me?" Zuo Luohuan pushed her plate away expressionlessly, startling Jiang Hong.
"If you didn't do it, you didn't do it. Why are you getting angry?" Jiang Hong muttered, finding it novel. Zuo Luohuan usually wore a smile, hiding her emotions well. Only during the period right after her differentiation were her moods volatile and easily revealed.
"Can I sit here?" Yan Yan appeared, a chicken leg dangling from his mouth, holding two plates, looking around. He finally spotted an empty seat, only to realize it was Zuo Luohuan and Jiang Hong. He asked indistinctly.
"Sit." Zuo Luohuan pulled back the plate she had just pushed away, a smile touching her lips as she asked casually, "How's the cafeteria food?"
Jiang Hong beside her: ...Her expression changes so fast.
Yan Yan put down his plates and took a bite of the chicken leg. "Delicious."
"Heard you joined the Food Club." Zuo Luohuan picked at the food on her plate, looking at Yan Yan. "Why not the Disciplinary Committee?"
"Why would I join the Disciplinary Committee? The people there are pretentious and annoying, never doing anything useful, just sneaking around checking if uniforms are worn properly," Yan Yan said gruffly.
Zuo Luohuan rested one hand on the back of her chair and chuckled. "The Disciplinary Committee does more than just that."
Yan Yan buried his head in his food, not replying, clearly unconvinced.
Just then, Jiang Hong's optical computer chimed with a notification. He looked down, read it, then pulled a yellow wheat ear badge from his pocket and carefully pinned it to his chest. He picked up his plate, stood up, paused before leaving, looked at Yan Yan's collar, aimed his optical computer, and scanned him. "Improper attire, deduct 2 points."
Yan Yan, who hadn't swallowed his mouthful of food yet, looked up with wide eyes. "..."
Jiang Hong waved at Zuo Luohuan. "On duty, gotta go."
"Him, you!" Yan Yan was dumbfounded, never expecting a Disciplinary Committee member to be right beside him. He stared at Zuo Luohuan. "Are you from the Disciplinary Committee too?"
Zuo Luohuan spread her hands slightly. "I don't have a wheat ear badge."
Everyone knew the yellow wheat ear badge represented the Disciplinary Committee. Yan Yan believed her but still fastened the button below his collar, thinking about the 2 points he just lost, feeling heartbroken.
The longer they stayed at school, the faster the new students realized that credits were the hard currency of the First Military Academy. Everything required credits.
...
Starting the day after changing his patch in the infirmary, Ji Yuezhi took leave again and didn't come to class.
Normally, the differentiation period didn't require such frequent leave, unless it was nearing the end. It had been too quick since his differentiation started.
Many at the First Military Academy believed it was due to Zuo Luohuan's provocative behavior. Others said the Ji family didn't want any accidents during Ji Yuezhi's differentiation. Regardless, he hadn't attended class since.
"If he really differentiates this quickly, I wonder if we'll see him on his coming-of-age day." Jiang Hong mused. "Though, there doesn't seem to be much commotion from the Ji family's side."
The teacher hadn't arrived yet. Zuo Luohuan leaned against the wall, eyes closed, resting. Her mind traced the structure of the Armament Database building over and over. On the twenty-eighth, Ji Yuezhi's coming-of-age ceremony, most people's attention would be focused on the Ji family. As long as nothing went wrong, a trip to the Armament Database wouldn't be noticed.
Jiang Hong didn't get a response, turned his head, and nudged Zuo Luohuan. "Have you prepared Ji Yuezhi's gift?"
Interrupted, Zuo Luohuan didn't show any annoyance, simply asking, "Where's the stuff?"
Jiang Hong: "..."
He slipped something to Zuo Luohuan from under the desk, lowering his voice. "Door card, fake iris. If you get caught, don't drag me into it."
Zuo Luohuan pocketed the items, thought about the 'gift' she had made, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn't change her mind.
Ji Residence.
The doctor had just given Ji Yuezhi a nutrient injection. Seeing him silently looking out the window, the doctor couldn't help but console him, "No one can predict what will happen during differentiation. Things are different now, everyone can do what they want, the differences aren't that big."
Ji Yuezhi looked back. "I know."
The differentiation period consumes a lot of nutrients. Timely nutrient injections help accelerate differentiation and restore physical strength. Because he received sufficient nutrients, Ji Yuezhi's lips were rosy, appearing somewhat exceptionally alluring against his pale face. "Please go rest first, Doctor. I'll have to trouble you again later."
"You should get some sleep too." The doctor held the test report, sighing inwardly. Who could have expected this differentiation result?
Hearing the doctor close the door, Ji Yuezhi slowly curled up under the covers after a moment, pulling the blanket around himself. The phrase 'I just didn't want to smell your pheromones' kept replaying in his mind.
Did his pheromones smell bad?
Ji Yuezhi sniffed the blanket. Being his bedroom, it inevitably carried the scent of his pheromones. But the differentiation period wasn't fully over yet, so even his bedroom only had a very faint, light scent.
But... his pheromones hadn't leaked that day. She could still smell them even with the patch on. Besides her being high-level, resulting in abnormally sensitive smell, there was only one other possibility.
Lying in the white covers, Ji Yuezhi's thoughts spun around. His long lashes trembled, and the tips of his ears under his dark hair gradually turned red.
—Only people with 100% pheromone compatibility could smell such a faint, almost imperceptible trace of pheromones.
Comments
Post a Comment