SCOM - Chapter 77
Chapter 77
Jiang Hong: “???”
What was that supposed to mean?
Jiang Hong immediately called Zuo Luohuan, but the call was predictably cut off. He abruptly stood up and sent a message: Are you Zuo Luohuan? What have you done with her? He was ready to storm out and knock on Zuo Luohuan’s door if anything was amiss.
Don’t knock. He’s asleep.
Jiang Hong: “…”
He recognized the words, but put together, they made no sense.
Jiang Hong cautiously replied: He… is Ji Yuezhi?
Zuo Luohuan: Don’t forget the information I asked you to check.
Jiang Hong: !!! With those people gone, are you two still putting on an act?
Zuo Luohuan: Not an act. Goodnight. I’m going to sleep.
And sleep she did. No matter what Jiang Hong sent afterward, Zuo Luohuan didn’t reply.
Jiang Hong collapsed onto his bed, staring blankly ahead. How had things come to this?
Meanwhile, Guan Xue and Qian Mao were in the middle of a crucial conversation with Jiang Hong when he hung up. They kept calling back until he finally answered.
“What happened over there? More trouble?” Guan Xue assumed something had gone wrong.
Jiang Hong’s face was vacant. “Big trouble…”
Qian Mao and Guan Xue instantly tensed.
“Just now, Zuo Luohuan said Ji Yuezhi is hers,” Jiang Hong said, eyes wide. “Do you think her rut’s driving her crazy?”
“Huh?” Qian Mao gaped. He hadn’t understood the first part, but the last sentence was clear enough. “Zuo Luohuan’s going crazy from her rut? Doesn’t she have inhibitors? If one isn’t enough, take a few more. Oh, wait, her situation is special.”
In contrast, after her initial surprise, Guan Xue was calm. “And then what happened?”
Jiang Hong slapped his leg. “Isn’t that enough?! Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi have always been at odds!”
Recalling the first training session before the practice match, Guan Xue calmly countered, “If their relationship is so bad, why did Zuo Luohuan take Ji Yuezhi to Xijiang Exile Star?”
“That…” Jiang Hong was stumped. “Ji Yuezhi wanted to see the black market here. We couldn’t exactly stop him.”
After a moment, Jiang Hong realized something. “Wait, why are you so calm?”
Guan Xue said mysteriously, “I figured it out a while ago.” Bit by bit, clue by clue.
“I don’t believe it!” Jiang Hong declared. “You’re in the capital, we’re on Xijiang Exile Star. You figured it out a while ago? They only had a little contact last semester.”
“On the first night of training, Zuo Luohuan’s jacket was on Ji Yuezhi. You call that a little contact?” Guan Xue shook her head. “I thought I was seeing things, but now it seems I was right.”
Qian Mao, listening on his optical computer, was dumbfounded. Finally recalling something odd, he excitedly raised his hand. “I also thought something was off between them!”
Jiang Hong was still shaking his head. “Impossible, impossible. When did Luohuan get so close to Ji Yuezhi, to the point of being together? Impossible!”
“Zuo Luohuan herself said Ji Yuezhi is hers.” Guan Xue suddenly grinned mischievously. “And she’s in her rut. Do you think something happened between them?”
Jiang Hong: “…” It couldn’t be. If something happened to Ji Yuezhi, wouldn’t Zuo Luohuan be afraid of Ji Xixiu breaking her legs?
Jiang Hong barely slept that night. He didn’t dare knock on Zuo Luohuan’s door, in case it really was her sending those messages. If so, she would definitely make him regret it.
Early the next morning, sporting dark circles under his eyes, Jiang Hong stood in the hotel corridor, staring fixedly at Zuo Luohuan’s door.
“What are you doing?” Luo Shaoyuan asked, dragging her luggage over as she opened her door. She was showing An Yingjing the hotel surroundings via her optical computer. Since arriving on Xijiang Exile Star, An Yingjing had ignored her calls and messages. This morning was the first time he’d contacted her. After chatting in their rooms, Luo Shaoyuan, seeing that breakfast time was approaching, prepared to go downstairs. An Yingjing said he wanted to see the surroundings.
Jiang Hong shook his head listlessly, muttering, “I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it…”
“Are you possessed?” Luo Shaoyuan patted his shoulder. “The restaurant’s open. Let’s go get breakfast.”
Jiang Hong pushed her hand away. “Leave me alone.”
Luo Shaoyuan hesitated, glancing at the distant elevator, but ultimately chose to stay. “What happened? Tell me so I can… I mean, so I can listen.”
An Yingjing glanced at Jiang Hong, then uninterestedly looked away, examining the corridor behind Luo Shaoyuan.
Jiang Hong grabbed Luo Shaoyuan’s hands, his eyes still bloodshot. “I just don’t understand.”
“If you don’t understand, why are you holding someone else’s hand?” An Yingjing frowned from the other end of the optical computer.
Luo Shaoyuan said generously to An Yingjing, “Classmate Jiang might have some issues. It’s fine to hold on for a bit.” It wasn’t like she couldn’t beat Jiang Hong.
Jiang Hong, oblivious to their conversation, gripped Luo Shaoyuan’s hands, wanting to see the same shock on her face, so he wouldn’t feel so alone. “You know what? Last night, Zuo Luohuan told me that Ji Yuezhi is hers. Isn’t that ridiculous?”
Luo Shaoyuan, distracted by thoughts of breakfast, simply agreed, “Ridiculous.”
Jiang Hong was almost moved to tears, as if he’d found a kindred spirit. “That’s what I thought! I suspect Luohuan’s brain is fried from her rut.”
As he spoke, he turned and saw the impassive An Yingjing on the optical computer screen, his words catching in his throat. It was a repeat of last night’s nightmare with Guan Xue.
“Why aren’t you reacting?” Jiang Hong couldn’t help but ask.
“React how?” An Yingjing blew on his fingers. “They’ve already marked each other. Why are you so surprised?”
“???” Jiang Hong felt like he’d been struck by lightning. “Marked each other?”
Last night it was just a sentence, and today it had become ‘already marked each other’?
“You stinky Alphas are really something.” An Yingjing vented his personal frustration. “You all act so tough, all you can do is fight. Your brains are mush.”
“Not all of us. I’m different,” Luo Shaoyuan said confidently beside him.
Hmph! An Yingjing scoffed internally, not bothering to argue with Luo Shaoyuan. Looking at Jiang Hong, he said, “That night in the capital, when the Gashro attacked, didn’t Zuo Luohuan take Ji Yuezhi away? They didn’t show up for days. Didn’t any of you wonder why?”
Jiang Hong fell silent. He remembered that they had indeed disappeared for several days. At the time, he’d assumed Zuo Luohuan had snuck out again. As for Ji Yuezhi’s absence, he hadn’t paid much attention.
So… they were together, and they’d even marked each other?
Click— The door to the next room opened. It was Yan Yan, who had moved in a few days prior. He saw Jiang Hong and Luo Shaoyuan and dragged his luggage over to greet them.
“Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi are together,” Jiang Hong blurted out, staring at Yan Yan’s face, hoping to see the same shock he felt.
Yan Yan thought for a moment, then nodded. “Oh.”
Oh? Just an ‘oh’?!
“Didn’t you see the pheromone patch on Senior Ji’s neck yesterday afternoon?” Yan Yan had only been at the First Academy for a semester and hadn’t directly transferred from the capital, so he wasn’t entirely clear on their relationship. Yesterday afternoon, when he saw the pheromone patch on Ji Yuezhi’s neck and recalled that Zuo Luohuan was in her rut, he quickly put two and two together. He’d been a little surprised at the time, but now he felt nothing in particular.
Jiang Hong: “…”
“What are you all doing huddled here?” Zuo Luohuan emerged, pulling two suitcases, with Ji Yuezhi following close behind.
Jiang Hong remained silent, his gaze darting between the two. Finally, he tried to peek at the back of Ji Yuezhi’s neck.
“Let’s go,” Zuo Luohuan said to the group. Passing Jiang Hong, she whispered a warning, “Control your eyes.”
Jiang Hong: “…”
Alright, even if he didn’t want to believe it, he had to now. To treat his childhood friend like this for an Omega.
Listlessly following them to the restaurant, Jiang Hong ate a tasteless breakfast and boarded the warship like a walking corpse.
“Snap out of it,” Zuo Luohuan said, nudging his foot. “Don’t forget what I told you last night.”
Jiang Hong was silent for a moment before asking, “You marked him. Aren’t you afraid Ji Xixiu will come after you?”
“His father knew from the start. Besides…” A smile played on Zuo Luohuan’s lips. “Liking each other isn’t something to be ashamed of.”
Jiang Hong: He was jealous.
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