Take a Whiff: The Alpha's Hidden Scent | Chapter 43 | A Cold Encounter | Novela.app

Whether it was the effect of psychological suggestion or something else, Jiang Wei truly felt as if his pen were guided by a divine hand while he was answering the paper. The topics covered almost perfectly overlapped with the areas he had focused on during his revision over the past few days—it was a better feeling than he could have ever imagined. As soon as the morning exam ended, Xia Shan appeared at the entrance of Exam Room 3. "Brother Jiang! Let’s go eat!" Jiang Wei felt a headache coming on the moment he heard Xia Shan’s voice. Seeing the boy bounce over to him only made it worse. This particular ailment would likely take at least a day to subside. "I’m warning you, stay away from me," Jiang Wei said, taking two steps back, his brows knitting into a tight knot. "We aren't that close." Xia Shan scratched his head awkwardly. "What happened this morning was an accident..." *I don't care if it was an accident or not; I’m the one who ended up suffering for it.* Jiang Wei walked over to Tang Zihe’s side. "Shall we?" Tang Zihe naturally rested a hand on Jiang Wei’s shoulder. Jiang Wei started walking without a word, leaving Xia Shan to trail at the very back of the group. "Don't worry, he'll be fine once he's had some food," Shen Yannan said, glancing up from a book of mandatory high school poems to give Xia Shan a casual, reassuring pat. Xia Shan wasn't actually that worried—after all, even if Brother Jiang’s temper came crashing down like a mountain, Brother Tang would be there to prop it up. "What are you looking at?" Xia Shan leaned over to peek. "Isn't the Chinese exam already over?" "I’m checking how many points I managed to guess correctly," Shen Yannan replied, closing the book in a good mood. "Two of them. Looks like my luck isn't bad this time; that should be at least four points." This was much better than the big fat zero he had scored on the ancient poetry section during the previous monthly exam. "I actually got all of those right," Xia Shan noted after a quick look, his mood brightening considerably. "I hope I don't do too poorly this time." "You won't. Don't overthink it." Shen Yannan pointed ahead. "Come on, let's go get some grub." ... Jiang Wei searched every one of his pockets but still couldn't find his meal card. He must have left it in his backpack. Tang Zihe stepped in to resolve the situation, swiping his own card a second time for Jiang Wei. "Why are you still being petty with Xia Shan?" Tang Zihe asked as they found a place to sit, handing Jiang Wei a pair of chopsticks. "You know how scatterbrained he is." Jiang Wei poked at his food with his chopsticks and let out a huff. He wasn't *actually* throwing a tantrum. Tang Zihe chuckled softly. "I don't think this exam was as hard as I expected," Tang Wanbai said, sitting down next to Jiang Wei with her bowl. "Everyone should get pretty decent grades." "It’s only the first morning," Jiang Wei said with a smile. "Don't jump to conclusions so early." Yang Xiangtong wagged his index finger back and forth. "No, no, no. Brother Jiang, you only joined us in the third year, so there’s something you might not know." "Oh?" Jiang Wei looked at him curiously. Yang Xiangtong explained, "The science papers our school writes have always been much harder than the ones for the Eight-School Joint Exam. So, our actual scores usually end up being higher, never lower." Jiang Wei recalled hearing something similar before. "That’s good then," he laughed. "What’s good?" Shen Yannan sat on Jiang Wei’s other side. "Why are we talking about exams during lunch? You’ll have plenty of time for that once the results are out." The group agreed that he had a point and shifted the conversation to more random topics. "Hey, let me tell you guys," Xia Shan said, having finished his meal at lightning speed. He wiped his mouth with a tissue and joined the fray. "That guy Gu Renwen has been acting like a total maniac lately. It’s terrifying." "Is it possible for anyone to be more manic than you?" Jiang Wei expressed his doubt regarding the credibility of this statement. "It’s different," Xia Shan waved his hand dismissively. "If you don't believe me, ask Brother Tang or the Half-Immortal. These past few days, every time we go back to the dorm, we have to be as quiet as mice. We don't even dare to make the slightest sound." "He used to be the type who went to bed on time every day, but lately, it’s like he’s possessed. He stays up all night with his desk lamp on. He’s even got dark circles under his eyes." Xia Shan gestured around his own eyes for emphasis. "But that’s not even the most ridiculous part. One time, the Half-Immortal came back from evening self-study, took a shower, and fell fast asleep. He was probably exhausted from playing ball, so he was snoring a little in the middle of the night," Xia Shan raised his hand. "I swear, it was only a little. I wasn't even asleep yet and didn't think it was a big deal, but Gu Renwen actually walked over from his desk and slapped the Half-Immortal awake, telling him to be quiet while he slept!" "Don't you think that’s a bit much?" Jiang Wei looked at Tang Zihe in surprise. The latter nodded, confirming that Xia Shan wasn't exaggerating. "I don't think his rut is due anytime soon," Ding Banfan chimed in from the side. "Could it just be exam stress? After all, Manager Shi and the others have emphasized several times how important this exam is. Maybe he’s afraid of doing poorly?" Yang Xiangtong suggested, though he immediately reconsidered. "But even so, it shouldn't be that bad, right? He’s already in the top five of the grade. What does he have to worry about?" "That’s hard to say. My mom is still hoping I’ll make it into the top ten one day—do you think that’s possible?" Tang Wanbai countered. "I think his parents probably set the bar so high that he can't reach it. The psychological pressure builds up, and all he can do is burn the midnight oil." It sounded quite miserable. However, everyone felt this was a very reasonable guess. "What kind of requirement could there be that even he can't reach?" Shen Yannan was still picking at his food with refined movements, looking far more elegant than Ding Banfan across from him. "Top three in the grade?" "First in the grade," Tang Zihe and Jiang Wei said in unison. Only that possibility was truly unattainable—after all, Tang Zihe was a freak of nature who could outscore the second-place student by more than twenty points. At their level, trying to close a gap of two or three points was as difficult as ascending to heaven, let alone adding a zero to that number. Shen Yannan put on a mock-aggrieved expression and sighed. "Sigh... and here I thought my position as the perennial number two was an unshakeable wall he could never break through." The group burst into laughter. By then, Shen Yannan had finally finished his meal and set down his chopsticks. He watched the third-year students bustling about the cafeteria, almost all of them clutching revision materials, trying to steal a few glances even while walking. Then he looked back at their table of laughing friends—anyone who didn't know better would think this group had completely given up on the exam and was trying to enjoy a few more moments of carefree "slacker" life before the results came out. "Do you guys need to go back and revise for a bit?" Shen Yannan suggested after a moment's thought. "If there’s anything you still don't understand, you should ask now." "Me! I need to go back and read more," Tang Wanbai was the first to raise her hand in agreement. "If I mess up this time, my mom will kill me." "You guys go ahead. I’m going to play ball with Ye Feiyang and the others for a bit; we already made plans." Ding Banfan didn't seem worried about the afternoon exam at all. Of course, even if he had to choose one last thing to do before the world ended, he would probably choose to play a little more basketball. And so, Xia Shan and the others headed back to the exam rooms in a grand procession. Since the "bloody storm" caused by Tang Zihe in Exam Room 2 that morning had left a psychological shadow on Jiang Wei that hadn't yet faded, he was reluctant to go there. After hearing the whole story, Shen Yannan laughed at Xia Shan for a long time before suggesting they go to his room, Exam Room 5, which was the furthest from Room 2. This suggestion was met with unanimous approval. However, because the atmosphere of revision inside the room was far too thick, and Jiang Wei himself was skeptical about the effectiveness of "hugging the Buddha's feet" at the last minute, he couldn't stay for more than five minutes. He slipped out alone to the corridor to get some fresh air. Tang Zihe was still inside, answering questions for the others. Jiang Wei could only walk from one end of the corridor to the other, then slowly back again—looking very much like an old man taking a stroll in a park. Just as he felt he had wandered enough and his food had mostly digested, a figure appeared in his peripheral vision. It was the very subject of their lunchtime discussion—Gu Renwen. *Why isn't he inside doing self-study?* Only then did Jiang Wei remember that this person was actually in the same exam room as him. In fact, he sat right to Jiang Wei's left. But because he had been so flustered by Xia Shan’s antics that morning, he hadn't bothered to identify who was sitting around him. It didn't matter who it was, anyway. Furthermore, the boy’s presence was truly quite faint. Jiang Wei hadn't even noticed him on his first pass; it was only when he walked back that his gaze landed directly on him. Gu Renwen was leaning against the wall opposite Exam Room 3. Like everyone else, he held revision materials in his hands, studying quietly. From this angle, he looked no different from the students sitting inside the room. Jiang Wei found it difficult to reconcile Xia Shan’s description with the refined, bespectacled boy before him. Eventually, Gu Renwen seemed to have stood for too long and needed to move around. He lowered his book and his eyes met Jiang Wei’s. He was limping. Jiang Wei was startled. His gaze naturally and undisguisedly lingered on the boy’s left ankle. It wasn't until the other boy had limped closer that Jiang Wei realized how rude he was being and looked away. "Your leg..." Jiang Wei asked instinctively. Gu Renwen only gave him a cold look—or rather, a glare. He replied sharply, "None of your business." *We haven't interacted for a few days; how did this guy turn into a powder keg? One touch and he explodes. Indiscriminate attacks, much?* Jiang Wei, having snubbed himself, could only rub the bridge of his nose with his index finger and turn to walk in the other direction. He now fully believed everything Xia Shan had said.