The first thing Jiang Wei did upon returning to the dormitory was pour himself a glass of hot water and gulp it down.
He now deeply regretted not preparing any cold medicine before coming to school. Dazed, he rummaged through his suitcase, though he wasn't even entirely sure what he was looking for.
After a long search, he only managed to pull out a box of pheromone scent blockers.
He stared at the box, his brain feeling like it was filled with rusty gears. It took several seconds of blank staring before he slowly remembered why he had taken the thing out in the first place.
Oh. To spray the quilt.
After spending half an hour clumsily spraying everything down, Jiang Wei wrapped himself tightly in the blanket. He then took out his phone and sent a message to Boss Shi to ask for leave.
In theory, boarding students who wanted to take sick leave needed a certificate from the school infirmary, or they had to ask the school doctor to write a note. Otherwise, students would be making up excuses to skip class every other day.
But it was the middle of the night. Jiang Wei rolled around on the bed twice, weighing his options: go to the infirmary wrapped in a quilt right now, or just explain things to Boss Shi after he got better. He chose the latter without a moment's hesitation.
After all, at any given time, the warmth of one's bed was always the most enticing option.
Inside his messaging app, the name "Childish Brat" was still pinned at the very top.
For some reason, he felt like laughing. He subconsciously opened his chat window with Tang Zihe.
Then he froze.
He suddenly realized he had no idea why he’d opened the window. Racking his brain, he finally squeezed out a sentence.
Jiang Wei: [Help me ask for leave tomorrow morning. I have a fever, so I won't be there for the first two periods.]
After typing, he specifically reached up to feel his forehead. Even without a thermometer, he could tell his body temperature was higher than usual.
Though it wasn't excessively high, he definitely had a fever. There wasn't a hint of a lie in that sentence.
As expected, Tang Zihe wasn't asleep yet. His reply came instantly.
Childish Brat: [Okay.]
Childish Brat: [Don't come at all tomorrow morning.]
Jiang Wei: [?]
What did that mean?
Childish Brat: [I'll just ask for the whole morning off for you.]
Childish Brat: [I'll help you make up for the missed lessons and key points later.]
Jiang Wei’s fingers hovered over the screen. Before he could decide what to say, another message arrived.
Childish Brat: [Get some rest.]
Jiang Wei thought for a moment and typed out two words.
Jiang Wei: [Goodnight.]
Childish Brat: [Goodnight.]
***
The next morning during early self-study, Tang Zihe walked into Boss Shi’s office to request leave for Jiang Wei.
Perhaps Jiang Wei’s credit rating in Boss Shi’s mind hadn't dropped to negative values yet, because the process went smoothly. He was back in the classroom within two minutes.
"Brother Jiang took leave?" Xia Shan was still a bit dazed. "Is his cold that bad? Does he need to go to the hospital?"
"He probably has a fever." Shen Yannan was looking for his homework, not particularly worried about Jiang Wei’s current state. "He had the sense to ask Tang Zihe to request leave for him, so he should know his own limits."
Although Tang Zihe had proactively offered to help Jiang Wei catch up on the morning's lessons, he remained his usual self—listening to the lecture with his ears while grinding through practice problems with his hands, letting neither task interfere with the other.
The only difference was that he was wearing the thin-rimmed glasses he hadn't touched in a long time.
But Jiang Wei knew none of this.
He was currently busy giving his quilt another round of pheromone scent blocker. Although the stuff was supposed to last for twenty-four hours, he decided to spray it again just to be safe.
Who could blame him? When people are sick with a fever, their pheromones tend to leak out easily.
And this was a male Alpha dormitory building.
Even though it was currently class time, as the saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
What if some idiot forgot something and had to come back for it? It was better to be prepared.
Besides, his brain was completely muddled now. His cognitive abilities felt like they’d been taken out, kneaded into a paste, and stuffed back in. He had to stare at the quilt for several seconds before realizing it was a quilt.
With reaction times like these... he didn't trust himself to handle any sudden situations.
When one has a fever, their perception of temperature often goes haywire. For instance, he didn't feel hot at all; instead, he felt quite cold. He only felt a bit better after wrapping the quilt around himself.
So, he shuffled through the dorm step by step, wrapped in his blanket, to slowly pour himself a cup of hot water.
Common wisdom said that hot water cured all ailments.
He hoped the saying held true.
***
After finishing the second period of biology, Tang Zihe felt an inexplicable sense of unease.
This feeling hadn't appeared suddenly; rather, it had been steadily intensifying since the morning.
This was the third time today he had snapped the lead of his mechanical pencil. The final stroke of the number he was writing became distorted.
He slapped the pencil onto the desk with a loud thud.
"What's wrong, Brother Tang?" Xia Shan jumped in fright. Clutching his chest, he turned around with a look of terror.
"Nothing." Tang Zihe rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a wave of irritability.
A few seconds later, his chair scraped against the floor with an unpleasant screech as he suddenly stood up and walked out.
"Hey! Brother Tang, where are you going? Class starts in two minutes!"
"Ask for leave for me. Think of a reason yourself." Leaving those words behind, Tang Zihe quickened his pace and walked out of the classroom.
He left Xia Shan sitting there in a state of total confusion.
"What happened?" Shen Yannan had just returned from getting water and saw Xia Shan slumped in his seat with a miserable expression.
"Brother Shen, save me. Help me think of a reason to fool Sister Liu that won't get me killed by Brother Tang." Xia Shan listed several options in a row. "He fell and broke his arm? He twisted his ankle while running? Or he burned his throat drinking hot water?"
"..." Shen Yannan was silent for a moment before forcibly interrupting Xia Shan’s bizarre train of thought. "Stop. Just say he has a stomachache—his gastritis flared up."
"And then he’s stuck in the bathroom and can't come back?" Xia Shan thought about it, his eyes lighting up. "That’s actually very convincing. Sister Liu can't exactly go into the male Alpha restroom to fish him out."
Shen Yannan looked at Xia Shan with the pity one might show a dying man. "...I suggest you don't include that last part."
After leaving the teaching building, Tang Zihe crossed the playground and headed straight for the school infirmary.
He knocked, and a woman’s voice called out, "Come in."
"Student, how can I help you?" The speaker was a woman with her long hair pinned up. Her face was bare of makeup, and she had a small tear mole under her right eye. She wore the white coat unique to the school infirmary and gave a gentle smile toward the door.
Tang Zihe had accompanied Xia Shan and the others to the infirmary before, but he usually just stood outside. Today was his first time actually stepping inside.
"Hello, I’d like to ask if you have any cold or fever medicine."
"We do." The woman discreetly looked Tang Zihe up and down, asking with a smile, "Student, you don't look sick at all."
"It's for a friend," Tang Zihe replied.
"You two must be close." The woman seemed to be in a good mood. She led him to the medicine cabinet, inserted the key into the lock, turned it twice, and opened the door.
"Cold medicine... fever medicine..." She quickly pulled out several boxes. "Do you need a thermometer?"
Tang Zihe thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes."
The woman handed him a thermometer as well.
"Is your friend... an Alpha?" She glanced at Tang Zihe again, likely assuming he was an Alpha himself.
"Yes."
"Then take this box of pheromone blocker patches too." She stuffed a small box into his hand. "When the body has large or deep bleeding wounds, or when body temperature rises during a fever, pheromones tend to leak out. You need these to avoid affecting the people around you."
She looked at the precarious pile of items in Tang Zihe’s hands. "Wait a moment, I'll get you a small bag."
"Thank you, teacher."
Tang Zihe walked toward the dormitory building, carrying a bag of medicine he’d obtained for free from the infirmary.
He suddenly felt like laughing.
Why did it seem like... almost every time he entered this person's dorm, he was bringing medicine?
The main door of the dormitory building was usually left slightly ajar during class hours. Since every dorm room could be locked from the inside or outside, many people chose to lock their individual doors when they left. Consequently, the main building door was left unlocked to avoid the awkwardness of students needing to return during class and being unable to find the dorm matron to let them in.
Tang Zihe slowly climbed the stairs.
There wasn't a soul in the building. It was so quiet that it felt as if even a gust of wind wouldn't make a sound.
He arrived at the door to Jiang Wei’s room.
From inside came the faint sound of movement—heavy and slow.
Tang Zihe breathed a sigh of relief. At least the guy knew he was sick and was staying put in the dorm instead of running around.
He raised his hand and knocked.
Jiang Wei was currently wrapped in his quilt, pouring his umpteenth glass of hot water.
The electric kettle in the room hadn't stopped working, and his throat hurt so much that he couldn't go five minutes without a drink.
*Thud, thud.*
Two knocks sounded from the door. Jiang Wei was startled; his hand jerked, and the water glass slipped from his grip, smashing onto the floor with a loud crash.
The person outside clearly heard the noise. After a brief pause, the knocking became more urgent.
"Jiang Wei? What are you doing?"
A familiar voice sounded from outside. Jiang Wei finally breathed a sigh of relief. He moved to bend down and pick up the glass, but then something suddenly occurred to him, and his face went pale for a second.
"Open up, I brought you some medicine."
The person outside continued to knock persistently. Jiang Wei pulled his quilt even tighter before shuffling to the door.
The door was deadbolted from the inside. Jiang Wei turned the lock twice, and as soon as it clicked open, the door was pushed from the outside.
The person inside had flushed cheeks and blinking eyes. His messy hair hung over his forehead, and his breathing was noticeably heavier than usual. The quilt was wrapped horizontally around his body, and on his feet was a pair of pink slippers.
Jiang Wei had originally intended to just take the medicine from Tang Zihe at the door and then shut him out. To his surprise, the other boy walked straight in and closed the door behind him.
Jiang Wei opened his mouth, but before he could figure out what to say, a voice filled with confusion came from above him.
"Why is there... the scent of Omega pheromones in your room?"
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 信息素气味阻隔剂 | Pheromone scent blocker | A spray or liquid used to mask pheromone smells. |
| 施总 | Boss Shi | A nickname for Teacher Shi (homeroom teacher). |
| 幼稚鬼 | Childish Brat | Literal: "Childish Ghost." A common pet name/insult. |
| 信息素外溢 | Pheromone overflow | When pheromones leak out uncontrollably, often due to illness or heat. |
| 信息素气味阻隔贴 | Pheromone blocker patch | A sticker/patch used to cover the scent gland. |
| 刘姐 | Sister Liu | A nickname for Teacher Liu. |
| 泪痣 | Tear mole | A beauty mark located near the eye. |
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Take a Whiff: The Alpha's Hidden Scent | Chapter 30 | The Secret Exposed | Novela.app | Novela.app
