SCOM - Chapter 34
Chapter 34
When Ji Yuezhi was searching for the dance studio, Zuo Luohuan had been holding that bouquet of flowers. It wasn't until he found the large studio and everyone moved over that she returned the flowers to him.
"Your flowers." Zuo Luohuan handed them to him, her gaze landing on the iris in the center, hesitant, wanting to say something but stopping. This was the first time she had been so hesitant.
Ji Yuezhi noticed, took the flowers from her hand, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Zuo Luohuan thought for a moment, feeling that Ji Yuezhi might have always thought he was an Alpha, so he wasn't familiar with being an Omega for the first time and hadn't noticed these details. As classmates, she needed to remind him: "Things related to your pheromones, don't casually give them to Alphas."
Seeing Ji Yuezhi still looking perplexed, Zuo Luohuan had to spell it out, pointing to the iris in the center of the bouquet he held. "This, don't randomly stuff it onto people anymore. Some Alphas might misunderstand."
"Did you misunderstand?" Ji Yuezhi tilted his head slightly, his beautiful eyes filled with a hint of confusion.
Zuo Luohuan: "...You asked me to hold it for you, what could I misunderstand? I'm just kindly reminding you."
Ji Yuezhi held the flowers in one hand, moving them to his side. He stepped closer to Zuo Luohuan, leaning near her ear, his long lashes lowered, speaking in the most pure and innocent tone: "But your actions towards me always cause misunderstandings too. Father asked who sent the neck lock before."
His clear, warm breath brushed against her ear. Zuo Luohuan resisted the urge to pull away, remaining silent for a long while before explaining, "About the neck lock, I apologize. I thought you would differentiate into an Alpha back then." Ji Xixiu saw the neck lock she gave his son; she was probably already on the Ji family's assassination list.
Ji Yuezhi stepped back, directly pushed the flowers into Zuo Luohuan's arms, looked up seriously, and said, "You don't need to apologize. Omega or Alpha, I am just me... Flowers are just flowers. They're yours."
He hadn't expected Zuo Luohuan to say these things to him. Originally, he just wanted to briefly pretend it was a scene where an Omega gives something related to their pheromones to their beloved Alpha. Since it turned out like this, he might as well act indifferent and give the flowers away completely.
"I misunderstood then." Zuo Luohuan returned to her usual self, accepted the flowers, raised them high, and said casually, "Thanks for the flowers, Captain."
At this moment, the yoga teacher was ready to start class. He asked everyone to change clothes, then had his regular students guide Zuo Luohuan and the others. But who would dare touch Zuo Luohuan? What if they got hit? Soon, Jiang Hong and the others all had instructors, leaving only Zuo Luohuan without anyone by her side.
"What about the other classmate?" The yoga teacher glanced at Zuo Luohuan standing there idly. "Yuezhi, you always do the best, go teach this classmate."
From the moment Zuo Luohuan accepted the flowers, Ji Yuezhi's mood had been good. Even if the teacher hadn't called him over, he would have found a reason to go sit opposite Zuo Luohuan.
Now that it was justified, Ji Yuezhi naturally walked over to Zuo Luohuan. He had already changed into loose training clothes, barefoot on the dance studio floor. He looked into Zuo Luohuan's eyes and slowly did a split.
"Start with this move," Ji Yuezhi tilted his head up slightly.
Zuo Luohuan remained standing, glanced around; everyone in the dance studio had done the splits. Ji Yuezhi's action was perfectly normal. But for some reason, she found his gaze too vivid, carrying an indescribable allure.
Crazy, Zuo Luohuan cursed herself internally.
Unlike Ji Yuezhi's soft descent, Zuo Luohuan's split carried a sense of sharpness, clearly a habit from regular martial arts practice.
"The teacher said your method is wrong." Ji Yuezhi had already drawn back his legs, kneeling opposite Zuo Luohuan, his hand lightly touching the bend of her knee. "Yoga is a course for training flexibility; it doesn't require such large, open movements."
"..." Zuo Luohuan grabbed Ji Yuezhi's hand. "Jiang Hong just said we should come support you today, not really attend class. We can just pretend."
She really wasn't used to someone touching her body, even though Ji Yuezhi had only touched the bend of her knee.
"Support?"
"Students from the three military academies all came to attend class with you. It's not appropriate, so we came along too."
Going too far is as bad as not going far enough. Ji Yuezhi didn't insist, saying, "You can just sit here and wait for class to end."
Aside from the teacher's instruction and the visiting students' pained cries, the dance studio was filled with others whispering. Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan sat in the farthest corner, leaning against the wall.
Ji Yuezhi almost relished this moment of quiet companionship with Zuo Luohuan.
"Luo Shaoyuan is quite skilled," Zuo Luohuan suddenly said. "Northern Military Academy is located in the Northern District, a harsh environment. She was adopted by the Winter Army since childhood, practically grew up within it."
Ji Yuezhi turned sideways to look at her. "You know her?"
"Met her for the first time a few days ago. Heard my dad mention her before." Zuo Luohuan crossed her arms, propping them behind her head, leaning against the wall. "Decades ago, the Northern District had many orphans. The Winter Army took in all they could. Luo Shaoyuan was the most prominent among them."
Ji Yuezhi instantly understood Zuo Luohuan's meaning. The Northern District had a harsh environment, valuing strength. The Winter Army also prioritized capability. If Luo Shaoyuan was skilled, she would definitely stand out among those orphans.
Zuo Luohuan glanced at the person beside her, saw him still pondering, and said, "The biggest advantage of the Northern Military Academy students is their fighting ability. We few can handle that. You should focus on Cha Lili from Yundong Military Academy. Do you know his nickname?"
"Future Jia." Ji Yuezhi replied smoothly and naturally. Jia Hailan's reputation in the Eastern District was definitely the highest in history. Cha Lili being called the future Jia Hailan by the Eastern District showed their high expectations and hinted at Cha Lili's outstanding command talent.
However...
"He doesn't look like it now." Zuo Luohuan raised her chin, indicating for Ji Yuezhi to look at Cha Lili, who was sweating profusely, enduring something inexplicable.
Ji Yuezhi saw Cha Lili being pressed down by the teacher, crying out in pain, then quickly biting his own hand, trying hard to maintain a normal appearance. He couldn't help curving his eyes into a smile, telling Zuo Luohuan, "They probably thought this course had some important significance."
"Isn't it important?" Zuo Luohuan turned her head to look at his rare smile. "You came to class."
Ji Yuezhi: "...It's important." It concerned future life.
The two sat in the farthest corner, rarely peaceful, like any normal pair of friends in the military academy.
But time always passed. The yoga class quickly ended. The teacher was also sweating profusely but looked at the visiting students sprawled on the floor with a sense of accomplishment. "I heard you'll be here for several days. Feel free to come often if you have time. I teach twice a week. Next time is in another dance studio."
Luo Shaoyuan immediately shook her head. "Teacher, we have other places to visit, won't be coming."
The Northern Military Academy students nearby all nodded vigorously in agreement.
Healing hidden injuries? They seriously suspected this was a trap! They, from the Northern Military Academy, would rather die in pain outside than be folded in a dance studio!
"Alright then." The yoga teacher said regrettably, "Actually, I think you all have talent in yoga. Practicing more would be greatly beneficial."
Luo Shaoyuan quickly said, "This benefit is better left for the people at the First Military Academy. We at Northern Military Academy are unworthy."
The captains from the other two military academies didn't comment. They were slumped on the floor, utterly shell-shocked, looking as if their souls had left their bodies.
"Class is over. Let us take you to eat." Jiang Hong was happy seeing the suffering faces of these visiting students.
"No need, we'll go back and rest." Cha Lili refused. "Just trouble you to send us to the dorm."
Following them around today only brought pain. They needed to go back and train. Fortunately, the First Military Academy treated visiting students politely; basic requests were met.
"We'll go back too, eat at the dorm." An Yingjing got up, forcefully suppressing the facial contortion caused by the soreness.
Luo Shaoyuan got up, supporting her waist, resolutely walked over to Zuo Luohuan. "I'll attend class with you on Monday. Want to fight?"
Zuo Luohuan had already changed back into her military uniform, still holding the bouquet. "If the teacher agrees to a spar, we can fight."
Luo Shaoyuan looked Zuo Luohuan up and down, finally curling her lip. "You sound like you listen to teachers very well, not at all like someone who skipped class for a whole year."
"People grow up, after all." Zuo Luohuan didn't mind. "I've turned over a new leaf."
Hearing this, not only did the visiting students disbelieve, even Jiang Hong and the others didn't believe it.
Zuo Luohuan didn't care what these people thought, carrying the flowers out.
"Why..." Guan Xue watched the departing figure, turned to Qian Mao beside her. "Doesn't Zuo Luohuan return the flowers to Ji Yuezhi? Wasn't it just temporary keeping?"
Qian Mao craned his neck to look, saw Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan had already gone far in separate directions, shook his head. "Don't know. Aren't they just flowers? Captain wouldn't mind."
"But it's strange." Guan Xue scratched her face. "Zuo Luohuan doesn't like flowers."
"That's secondary gender discrimination. Can't Alphas like flowers?" Qian Mao said.
"Can't explain it to you." Guan Xue gave up.
Qian Mao immediately said upon hearing this, "Don't ask me to fix your gun next time."
Guan Xue instantly raised her hands in apology, almost kneeling in surrender.
...
Before returning to her dorm, Zuo Luohuan specifically bought a vase and took it back to hold the flowers.
She looked at the flowers standing in the vase, recalled Ji Yuezhi's indifferent appearance today, and felt an inexplicable emotion rise again. He probably didn't consider himself an Omega either; the reaction on the night of the coming-of-age ceremony was merely due to physiological factors.
Zuo Luohuan raised her hand, her fingertips landing on the iris in the center. After a moment, she bent down, leaned close, and gently sniffed. The iris was overly sweet and cloying, seemingly... not as pleasant as Ji Yuezhi's pheromones.
Pheromones and flowers were ultimately subtly different.
In another dorm building, in a single room, Ji Yuezhi finished washing up and sat on the bed, lifted the covers. Beside him lay a military jacket. He lay down, gently rubbing his face against the jacket.
The pheromones on the jacket were actually almost gone, but this was her jacket.
Ji Yuezhi closed his eyes, his fingertips lightly stroking the chest of the jacket, as if resting on someone's heart, imagining the beating beneath his fingertips. She acted differently today, caring about the flowers he gave away.
Zuo Luohuan never cared about anything beyond her friends. Was she starting to consider him a friend?
Ji Yuezhi slowly opened his eyes. They still had training together, the military academy drill together; they would get closer and closer in the future.
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