Take a Whiff: The Alpha's Hidden Scent | Chapter 56 | Double the Shock | Novela.app

Xia Shan watched the exceptionally excited crowd outside the window, feeling somewhat bewildered. Even if an Alpha had a scent patch on the back of his neck, it shouldn't be enough to make people scream and take photos with their phones. But the moment he turned his head, the sheer visual impact nearly sent him tumbling straight off his chair. Fortunately, Shen Yannan grabbed him at the last second, saving his backside from hitting the floor. Tang Zihe was sitting compliantly in his seat, letting Jiang Wei peel off a scent patch and press it onto the back of his neck. Xia Shan seriously suspected that their Brother Tang—the "School God" in everyone's hearts—had been possessed by some sort of unclean spirit at this very moment. He desperately wanted to rush over, grab Tang Zihe by the shoulders, and scream: *Wake up!* But that was impossible. After all, this was Tang Zihe—the man Xia Shan had spent nearly two months just trying to reach a "casual arm-around-the-shoulder" level of friendship with! Shouldn't a person like him fly into a rage and immediately start throwing punches if someone touched his gland?! Xia Shan had no doubt that if he were the one standing behind Brother Tang right now, he would be beaten to a pulp. Yet Jiang Wei stood there perfectly fine. He even poked Tang Zihe’s gland with a smile and whispered, "There, all done." And then. The School God’s lips curled into a helpless smirk. "Satisfied?" "Very." Jiang Wei blinked, speaking with a total disregard for his own safety. "The milk scent is quite fragrant. It suits you." "Is that so?" Tang Zihe sniffed. As an Alpha, having something designed for Omegas stuck to his neck made him instinctively uncomfortable. But seeing Jiang Wei happily humming a little tune, he couldn't bring himself to go back on his word. "You too. Though, I prefer the scent of camellia." "If you come across it next time, you can give it a try." *Try my foot! There won't be a next time!* Jiang Wei shot a glare at Tang Zihe, who still wore that faint, shallow smile. Perhaps knowing that screaming would attract a patrol from Director Li, the students gathered outside the window had subsided into hushed whispers among their small groups, save for the initial, uncontrollable cries of shock. On the surface, things were calm, but beneath, the undercurrents were surging. Shen Yannan had been monitoring the online situation the whole time. By now, he felt like his eyes couldn't keep up with the speed of the comments appearing under the new post. He simply shoved his phone into the hands of the person involved. ... *What kind of ridiculous theories are these?!* Jiang Wei handed the phone back to Shen Yannan, once again marveling at his schoolmates' incredible capacity for imagination. At the same time, Xia Shan sat in front of them, looking like he’d lost his soul. Xia Shan’s current mood was extremely complicated. Previously, because he’d seen Tang Zihe coming out of Jiang Wei’s dorm with toiletries and heard how Tang Zihe had skipped class the moment he heard Jiang Wei was sick, he’d suspected—and become increasingly convinced—that these two definitely had something going on. But looking at his Brother Tang now, he felt the guy was simply the most pitiful Alpha in the world. First of all, Brother Tang was definitely an Alpha; there was no doubt about that, nor was there any possibility of a gender change. Therefore, the "little Omega" Jiang Wei mentioned couldn't possibly be him. It had to be someone else. So, Brother Tang’s current situation was... Not only was his crush flaunting his relationship in front of him, but he had even become a shield for his crush’s actual partner! And judging by Brother Tang’s current expression, he was doing it willingly! Xia Shan suddenly felt a surge of frustration, like a parent watching a child fail to live up to their potential. Unaware that his image had upgraded to something even weirder in Xia Shan’s eyes, Tang Zihe remained focused on studying math competition problems. "What's wrong with you?" Shen Yannan asked, turning around after noticing the noise around them had continued for a while without Xia Shan’s highly recognizable laughter. "Feeling unwell?" The more Xia Shan thought about it, the more he pitied Brother Tang. Simultaneously, he felt that Jiang Wei was the ultimate "don't judge a book by its cover" type—he actually had a hidden "scumbag" attribute, and a "plays both sides of AO" scumbag at that. It was too much. "Nothing," he said, sounding a bit huffy. He’d considered Jiang Wei a good brother, but this kind of thing was simply intolerable. Shen Yannan observed Xia Shan’s expression. This guy was easy to read; everything was written on his face. He immediately knew Xia Shan was hiding something. "If there's something you can't figure out, you can ask me anytime." Shen Yannan didn't push, thinking it was good to give people space to think. Xia Shan slumped on his desk for a while and sighed. "Tell me, suppose I have a friend who’s a two-timing scumbag... how should I talk to him about it?" Shen Yannan: ? It seemed this wasn't a "suppose"—it was a reality. "What do you want to say? Just give him a piece of your mind?" Shen Yannan frowned and answered seriously. "Why even be friends with someone like that? Scolding is the least of it; a good beating would be better." Xia Shan: ... "No, no, no, we're very good friends, so violence is definitely off the table." *Mainly because I can't win in a fight,* Xia Shan thought with a bitter smile. "Is there a more tactful way?" "Not for now." Shen Yannan thought about it, puzzled. "A very good friend? Besides our group, who else is there?" "Oh, you wouldn't know them." Xia Shan waved his hand, clearly unwilling to elaborate on the identity. Shen Yannan: ? He faintly felt that something was off, but he couldn't quite grasp the thread. Meanwhile, Jiang Wei—the student at the center of the various whirlpools, who knew what was going on but not quite everything—was looking down at his own phone. If the most popular thing ten minutes ago was the latest "leak" post—a perfect illustration of how loose lips sink ships—then the most popular thing now was undoubtedly the "Ziwei" ship thread. The original poster had changed their username at some point and was now personally posting several updates. [Catalytic Alcohol: The OP personally witnessed the scene of the Great God putting a scent patch on the School God during the break just now.] Jiang Wei: ... *What do you mean "he probably isn't a scumbag"? Of course I'm not a scumbag!* There were too many other points to criticize; he didn't even want to start. The problem was that the subsequent comments were clearly even more frenzied. Aside from "I ship it" and "AAAAAHHH," they were full of various bets, weeping, and... blessings. Jiang Wei: ... He was once again shaken by the students of this school. "Getting water?" Tang Zihe tapped on his desk. At a time like this, the two of them walking out together would be like providing a live moving target for phone cameras. Jiang Wei shook his head decisively. "Not going." "Then I'll bring some back for you." Without another word, Tang Zihe swiped the water bottle from Jiang Wei’s desk and walked out of the classroom. The water station was at the end of the hallway—not too close, but not too far. Tang Zihe’s timing was good; class was about to start, and the crowd had dispersed. Only one familiar back remained, drinking cold water. Hearing footsteps, Ye Feiyang looked up and gave Tang Zihe a token greeting. Tang Zihe walked to the empty spot next to him and leaned over to set down his bottle. *Thud—* Ye Feiyang’s hand jerked, and his cup hit the floor. The cold water he’d just filled splashed all over his feet, but he seemed completely oblivious, his eyes staring fixedly at the back of Tang Zihe’s neck. Tang Zihe waited for a while, but when the person next to him didn't pick up the cup, he turned around in confusion. He leaned down to help pick it up and handed it back. Ye Feiyang seemed to snap out of it, yet he still couldn't accept the reality before his eyes. He didn't usually browse the school website and had no idea how much had happened in the short span of less than half an hour. He only knew that right now, Tang Zihe was wearing a scent patch meant for Omegas. And it was the same kind as Jiang Wei’s. "What's wrong?" Tang Zihe asked, out of basic politeness to a classmate. "Nothing, I just thought of some recent events," Ye Feiyang said, refilling his cup with cold water. "The world is a wondrous place, isn't it?" Tang Zihe, who had inexplicably been given a riddle: ? Ye Feiyang patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, I won't talk nonsense." ***