SCOM - Chapter 90
Chapter 90
She subconsciously turned to look at the other side of the bed, but Ji Yuezhi wasn't there.
Zuo Luohuan woke up instantly. She got out of bed and was about to push the door open when she saw Ji Yuezhi walking over. He was already in his military uniform, holding another set in his hands.
"Why are you up so early?" Zuo Luohuan's voice was still slightly hoarse with the discomfort of waking up.
"It's already seven-thirty." Ji Yuezhi handed the uniform to Zuo Luohuan, a faint smile in his eyes. "You were sleeping so soundly."
Usually, when he woke up, she would already be dressed and would have even ordered food. Today, when Ji Yuezhi woke up and found Zuo Luohuan still asleep, he was surprised but didn't wake her. He lay with her for a while longer before getting up.
In Zuo Luohuan's eyes, the sight of Ji Yuezhi in his uniform gradually overlapped with the young man from her dream.
"I'll wait for you outside." After giving Zuo Luohuan the clothes, Ji Yuezhi turned to leave the room.
Zuo Luohuan grabbed him. Ji Yuezhi turned back to look at her, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "What's wrong?"
"I was just thinking that I'm a few months older than you." Zuo Luohuan leaned against the doorframe, looking at him. "By that logic, our Yuezhi should call me Jiejie."
Ji Yuezhi froze for a moment, then turned his head away from her. "...It's only a few months."
"Even one day older is still older." Zuo Luohuan calmly watched Ji Yuezhi try to evade the topic. The person in her dream had been much more proactive. "I really want to hear you say it today."
The tips of Ji Yuezhi's ears turned red. But he was willing to give Zuo Luohuan anything she wanted, though...
He didn't look into Zuo Luohuan's eyes. Instead, he took a few steps forward, avoiding her gaze, and leaned close to her ear, softly calling out, "Jiejie."
The light whisper, tinged with shyness, perfectly overlapped with the voice of the young man in her dream.
Zuo Luohuan subconsciously wrapped her arms around Ji Yuezhi's waist, responding to the words of the boy from her dream, "...I like you too."
Ji Yuezhi buried half his face in Zuo Luohuan's shoulder. He was slightly taken aback by her inexplicable words but didn't ask, only pressing closer to her.
...
On Monday, the two of them made it to class just in the nick of time, nearly getting their credits docked. In their haste, Ji Yuezhi forgot to apply a scent patch, which resulted in a wide empty circle around him during class.
After the temporary mark last night, Zuo Luohuan's pheromones would linger on him for a few days, like a form of territorial marking.
The two had always been careful when out in public. This was the first time Ji Yuezhi had appeared before others carrying the scent of an Alpha.
Posts on the First Military Academy's anonymous forum were flying.
【Help! Are these the pheromones of a top dog? It's terrifying! I think I'm going to die.】
【Good thing an Alpha's pheromones after a temporary mark don't affect other Omegas. Otherwise, with such high-level pheromones exposed, every Omega in the school would probably be induced into heat.】
【What are you guys talking about? Can someone explain?】
【Ji Yuezhi was temporarily marked by Zuo Luohuan, and he's still carrying her pheromones! It's insane. An Alpha of that level... truly, only Ji Yuezhi is worthy of her.】
【How long have they been together? They're only getting a temporary mark now? Zuo Luohuan has some serious self-control.】
【...Wait, I remember Senior Ji wearing a scent patch before, and it wasn't during his differentiation period.】
【No way, when?】
【The day the night raid ended! I saw it, Senior Ji had one on the back of his neck.】
【And weren't Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan both off campus for a few days after that?】
【???】
【Were they already together back then?】
【No way, no way!】
...
The anonymous forum was in an uproar, but in reality, every student in the classroom was as quiet as a mouse, keeping their distance from Ji Yuezhi.
The Omegas and Betas were relatively fine, but Zuo Luohuan's pheromones were simply too overbearing for the Alphas present to handle.
It was only after returning to her dorm that Zuo Luohuan remembered Ji Yuezhi had left without a scent patch. Since she had another class soon, she went to the infirmary to get a patch and waited for him in the lobby of his academic building.
She waited until Ji Yuezhi's class ended and he came down the stairs.
"Here." Zuo Luohuan walked up to him and held out her hand. "We left in a hurry this morning, I forgot."
Ji Yuezhi took it and pulled her into a corner before saying, "You do it for me."
His tone held a hint of entitlement, yet it wasn't annoying. Instead, Zuo Luohuan found it novel and chuckled a few times before agreeing, "Alright."
Zuo Luohuan tore open the packaging, stood behind Ji Yuezhi, and carefully applied the scent patch to the gland on the back of his neck. The Alpha's territorial pheromones were immediately blocked.
"All done."
Ji Yuezhi turned to look at her. "You should be getting to your next class."
"Let's have dinner together tonight," Zuo Luohuan said.
"Okay."
Watching her leave, Ji Yuezhi reached up and touched the scent patch in his pocket. He had brought one this morning; he had just intentionally forgotten to put it on.
He lowered his gaze to the floor. It was a clumsy trick, but an effective one. It earned him her concern and allowed him to see her again between classes.
...
Zuo Luohuan's next class was a single-soldier course, which she shared with Jiang Hong and Guan Xue. The moment she walked in, the two of them started winking and nudging at her.
"Luohuan, I just want to know one thing. Hasn't Ji Xixiu ever given you a talking-to?" Jiang Hong asked as he sidled up to her.
"No." Zuo Luohuan rotated her wrists.
"I think the day Ji Xixiu gives you a talking-to isn't far off." Guan Xue shook her head. "The whole school knows you've progressed to the temporary mark stage. The Ji Yuezhi support club has completely shattered and is currently cursing you out on the anonymous forum."
"Actually, I've always been curious," Jiang Hong continued, as if part of a double act. "You're both top students at the military academy, and you, Zuo Luohuan, are an extremely rare top-tier Alpha in the Federation. You're not bad-looking either, so why aren't you more likable?"
"Exactly. Ji Yuezhi is so cold, yet so many people like him." Guan Xue nodded sagely. "And most of the people in his support club are Omegas. I really don't get what they're thinking."
"Because he's worth it." Zuo Luohuan rolled her neck, then suddenly grabbed Jiang Hong's hand, yanked him forward, and flipped him over her shoulder.
Jiang Hong didn't react at first. It was only when he was airborne that he abruptly used the momentum to land on his hands, preventing a true fall.
"Damn! You don't give a warning before you strike?" Jiang Hong shouted and charged forward.
By then, Zuo Luohuan was already engaged with Guan Xue. With him joining in, it became a two-on-one fight.
All three were top students at the academy. When they started fighting, their classmates immediately gathered around to watch, cheering for Guan Xue and Jiang Hong.
As for why no one was cheering for Zuo Luohuan, it was naturally because she had won too many times.
By the time the instructor arrived, the atmosphere in the training room was lively, though Jiang Hong and Guan Xue were limping slightly.
"She was too rough," Jiang Hong and Guan Xue muttered. "She's taking all her pent-up energy out on us."
"What energy?" Guan Xue asked, confused. She felt there was a hidden meaning in his words.
Jiang Hong glanced at Guan Xue and shook his head dismissively. "I forgot, you're not an Alpha, you wouldn't get it."
Guan Xue: "...Discriminating against Betas?"
"I would never." Jiang Hong sighed and whispered, keeping an eye on Zuo Luohuan, "You Betas don't understand the suffering of us Alphas. There are times when we have energy that needs an outlet, which is why we become aggressive."
Guan Xue watched him glance over at Zuo Luohuan as he spoke. A sudden flash of telepathy between single people made her understand. "Oh, so that's it. They haven't..."
"Shh—" Jiang Hong gestured for her to be quiet. The instructor was already eyeing them.
...
The Skeletal Mech training program was still underway. The Northern Region's Winter Army was leading the charge, and a large number of weapons developers had already been dispatched to the north to research and develop compatible weapons for them.
Zuo Dihong wouldn't be back for a while, and the students of the First Military Academy were gradually getting used to operating the Skeletal Mechs.
"One month from now, the First Military Academy will select three thousand of its best students to go to the Northern Region and train with the Winter Army." Kang Guang suddenly dropped a bombshell during class.
"From which years will the three thousand students be selected?" someone asked, raising their hand.
For once, Kang Guang wasn't grinning. He just said, "The selection is open to the entire school, with no year restrictions. And it's not just you; other military academies will also be selecting students to go."
Hearing this, Ji Yuezhi had a guess: I'm afraid the Military Committee has decided to form an Exoskeleton Legion.
Military academy students were highly adaptable, and the Skeletal Mech program was a first-time endeavor. Selecting students to form a mech unit together was, in a sense, another experiment.
"By the way, I have some good news for you all." Kang Guang's gaze swept over everyone present. "This time, you all won't have to participate in the selection. The list of two hundred names has already been submitted. Additionally, students from the neighboring weapons department will also be going, and they won't count toward the three-thousand-person quota."
This news left everyone stunned. They still hadn't processed it by the time class ended, especially the second-year students, who had never left the academy before, unlike the third-years who had already taken on various missions.
"Are we going to the Northern Region?"
"I've never been to the Northern Region before."
"I hear the northern border is the hardest to defend. Will we get to fight the Gashiro people? I've been itching to get at them for a while."
...
The surrounding discussions didn't affect Zuo Luohuan. She was more concerned about something else.
"This weekend, I'll take you to Dr. Fang's to check on the condition of your gland," Zuo Luohuan said, walking over to Ji Yuezhi's side.
Ji Yuezhi turned his head to look at her, a hint of a smile in his eyes. "They're all talking about going to the Northern Region."
"Whether we go or not is already decided," Zuo Luohuan said casually. "I said before that we need to see how your gland is developing."
Her mind was on Ji Yuezhi's gland development and his health, but his was not.
Before their weekend trip to Dr. Fang Yong's clinic, Ji Yuezhi sent the doctor a message to ask about a few things: 【I'm going to the clinic this weekend to check on my gland's development. Is it necessary to be marked again on Saturday? Will being marked affect the examination?】
Fang Yong was in the middle of seeing a patient when the message popped up on his optical computer. He understood what the Omega was thinking, but he was still thoroughly shocked.
He quickly finished prescribing medicine for his patient, washed his hands, and replied to Ji Yuezhi: 【As for marking, of course, the more frequently you're marked, the more clearly I can compare the development of your gland. As long as you can handle it.】
Ji Yuezhi looked at Dr. Fang's message and recalled the sensation of being temporarily marked. He felt he could handle it; there hadn't been much pain.
The first temporary mark must have been an accident. The Alpha pheromones in his gland had probably dissipated by now.
Ji Yuezhi lowered his eyes, thinking: Then on Saturday... I'll just have her mark me one more time.
Comments
Post a Comment