Take a Whiff: The Alpha's Hidden Scent | Chapter 7 | An Unexpected Invitation | Novela.app

As soon as Jiang Wei and Tang Zihe stepped into the cafeteria, they felt gazes sweeping toward them from every direction. "Is there something on my face?" Jiang Wei whispered to Tang Zihe as they walked toward the serving windows, feeling a bit out of place. Tang Zihe looked at him with exaggerated seriousness and nodded solemnly. "Yes." "Where?" Jiang Wei quickly touched his face. He cared quite a bit about his public image. "Damn, have I been walking around with something on me this whole time?" Jiang Wei felt all over his face but couldn't find anything wrong. It happened to be their turn to order, so he planned to ask again after they got their food. As they moved away, Tang Zihe grabbed a pair of chopsticks, placed them on Jiang Wei’s tray, and leaned in. "You’ve got eyes, a nose," he paused, seemingly unable to suppress a smile, "and a very annoying mouth." "Get lost! No mouth is more annoying than yours." Jiang Wei felt a sudden urge to use the chopsticks to unscrew the other boy's head just to see what was rattling around inside. Tang Zihe didn't take offense. Laughing, the two of them sat down next to Xia Shan. "Hey," Xia Shan said, patting Jiang Wei on the shoulder. "I was so busy with the exams this morning that I forgot to tell you. Our school has a pretty interesting place—I’ll send it to you tonight." "Send it to me?" Jiang Wei was baffled, having no idea what he was talking about. "He always talks in riddles," Yang Xiangtong interjected. "To put it simply, some seniors created an exclusive website for our school. It’s basically a forum, like Tieba." Xia Shan nodded. "Exactly. I’ll send you the URL tonight. You should check it out and bookmark it. There are twenty or thirty new posts every day. Everyone uses a pseudonym, so no one knows who’s who except the admins. If you see a thread you like, you can comment." "But don't get your hopes up. I think some of the posters are incredibly boring," Tang Wanbai added, joining the conversation. "I once saw the same person complaining about their teacher for three days straight." "Have you guys checked the site lately, though? I saw a post last night after I got back to the dorm. It was probably from an Omega, and it was voted to the top of the daily rankings." Yang Xiangtong winked at Jiang Wei. "Looks like someone has their eye on our new classmate. They were asking for Jiang Wei’s social media handle and even offered to buy whoever provided it a milk tea as a thank you." "The funniest part is that there were tons of comments saying they wanted it too. I haven't seen a scene like that in a long time," Yang Xiangtong said wistfully. "Does this count as us having the 'inside track' since we're in the same class?" "Cough, cough, cough!" Jiang Wei, who was mid-bite, nearly sprayed his food everywhere as he choked. "You okay? It’s nothing to be shocked about. Back in... I think tenth grade, the number of people wanting Tang’s handle was uncountable. The request threads were constantly pinned to the top. Every day after class, there’d be a few brave Omega boys and girls peering through our classroom windows." "There were plenty of Alphas and Betas too, okay?" "I remember the scariest time was the first semester of eleventh grade. October twenty-seventh. I don't know who started the rumor that if you confessed on that day, the other person couldn't refuse. Tang ended up with a drawer full of love letters. He tried to clear them out during class, and one fell on the floor. I picked it up and—holy crap—the person had written their name right on the envelope. It was an Alpha from Class Two..." Jiang Wei caught his breath and listened to them trade stories, unable to stop himself from smiling. "What happened next?" Jiang Wei asked. Based on that description, if Tang Zihe really couldn't refuse, he’d have enough Omega partners to change them every day for two months without repeats. "Bundled them up and threw them away," Tang Zihe interjected flatly. "See? That’s Tang for you—completely devoid of romance. If it were me, I’d probably be smiling in my sleep," Xia Shan sighed. "Alas, I am also a dashing Alpha high schooler. Why is it that whenever I’m next to Tang, no one notices my brilliance?" Jiang Wei nodded. "If it were me, I’d definitely pick the one I thought was written the best, and then..." Everyone turned to look at Jiang Wei. "...get to know them and make a friend," Jiang Wei finished, shaking his head with a smile. "What were you guys thinking?" The others let out a collective "Pshhh." "I knew it. Good-looking guys aren't that easy to get," Tang Wanbai said regretfully, as if she were one of those who had sent a letter only to be rejected. "Rare things are expensive, Comrade Tang Wanbai. You should set your sights on 'cheaper goods'; you'll find life offers many more options that way," Yang Xiangtong said, patting Tang Wanbai’s shoulder in mock sympathy. "Instead of worrying about that, you might want to hope that this afternoon's Math exam loves you a bit more," Jiang Wei teased, setting down his chopsticks. "And English and Biology, too." By the end of the afternoon, Jiang Wei felt a long-lost sense of numbness toward the very concept of examinations. "It’s over, it’s finally over! My youth has returned!" Xia Shan stood up, thumping his chest and letting out a long, relieved breath. "Should we go somewhere this weekend? I’ll probably have extra classes starting next week," Tang Wanbai asked, glancing over as she packed her pencil case. "I'm in," Xia Shan said with a snap of his fingers. "We'll coordinate in our group chat when we get back." "Jiang Wei isn't in our group yet, right? Should we add him?" Yang Xiangtong was the fastest, already having her backpack on. "We should also ask Shen Yannan. Who knows if that guy has had enough of his 'freedom' out there yet." "Sure, I’ve got it. I’ll add Jiang Wei now," Xia Shan agreed. "What’s going on?" Jiang Wei asked curiously as he walked in, having just refilled his water bottle. "We’ve officially recognized you as a member of our squad, so we're adding you to the group. We usually hang out on weekends when we're free," Xia Shan said without looking up. "Are you free this weekend?" Jiang Wei looked behind him, hesitating. "This weekend..." "He’s busy." Tang Zihe walked in right behind him, water bottle in hand, and flatly declined the invitation. "He owes me a meal this weekend, so we won't be joining you. I don't want to end up having to pay for everyone." Tang Wanbai shook her head, clearly disappointed by the absence of the two handsome boys. "Me, me, me!" Ding Banfan called out, crossing half the classroom with a basketball in hand. "Just remember to include me." "Got it, got it," Xia Shan said, giving an 'OK' gesture. While they were talking, Tang Zihe had already packed his bag and was standing by the door. Jiang Wei slung his backpack over his left shoulder. Half the class had already left, making it much easier to move around. He reached Tang Zihe in a few steps and asked with a smile, "Waiting for me?" "Mm." Tang Zihe nodded and turned to head out. "Why are you waiting for me?" Jiang Wei blinked. "And you still haven't told me where you're taking me to eat. I’m not familiar with this area yet, so don't try to scam me." "I wanted to, but unfortunately, someone beat me to it," Tang Zihe said meaningfully. "Huh?" Jiang Wei was stunned, not following. "Are you staying at the dorm this weekend?" "I was planning to, but if you invite me to stay at your place, I could be persuaded otherwise," Jiang Wei teased, raising an eyebrow. Ever since he was allowed to board in middle school, he had always preferred staying at the dorms. Even on weekends, he only went home occasionally. Despite his home being local, no one knew why he had developed this habit—though Tang Zihe could guess it had something to do with Jiang Wei’s father. Tang Zihe, on the other hand, usually stayed at the dorm during the week but always went home on weekends. Only when the school was empty or his parents were away traveling would he stay behind to keep Jiang Wei company. Because they were so familiar with each other, Jiang Wei simply assumed Tang Zihe still followed this routine. "Fine, then you don't need to go register at the dorm office. My mom knows you're at school, and she knows I owe you a hotpot dinner," Tang Zihe said, looking down at his phone. "As it happens, she’s wanted to see you for a long time. As soon as she heard, she started getting everything ready at home. She’s insisting I bring you back tonight." "She’ll probably be at the school gate to pick us up any minute now." "What?!" Jiang Wei was completely floored. He hadn't realized his own mouth was so prophetic; he’d joked about an invitation and was immediately "invited." Moreover, no one told him that being treated to a meal meant going to the person's house and sitting at the same table as their parents. Even though he was very close with the Tang family and had eaten at their house countless times growing up, it had been over two years. It would be a lie to say he didn't feel a bit guilty or nervous about seeing them again. Even if Mrs. Tang was a very kind and gentle elder. Even if the Tang family had always treated him wonderfully. Even if it was already a done deal. But... Jiang Wei swallowed hard. He had never found it so difficult to turn someone down. "Maybe... let's just count the meal as paid. I wasn't actually angry. I don't want to be a bother at your house." Tang Zihe stopped in his tracks and frowned, making Jiang Wei feel even more miserable. "What do you mean by that?" Tang Zihe's voice cooled by several degrees. "No, it’s not that I don't want to go, I just..." Jiang Wei felt caught between a rock and a hard place, his hands fidgeting anxiously. "I just feel like it’s been so long since I’ve seen your parents, it’s a bit..." "Scary?" Tang Zihe let out a cold snort, cutting him off. "My mom feeds you better than she feeds me. She hardly ever picks me up from school, but the moment she hears you're here, she rushes over. Jiang Wei, it’s been a while, but I’m starting to wonder which of us is actually her son." Jiang Wei felt a pang of awkwardness. That didn't sound quite right. *Maybe distance really does make the heart grow fonder,* Jiang Wei thought shamelessly. He felt a mix of being overwhelmed by the favor and a bit of secret pride—he hadn't expected Mrs. Tang to still like him so much. Tang Zihe asked again, his tone not particularly friendly: "It’s fine. Go if you want to, don't if you don't. We'll just call the debt settled. You choose." "I'll go." After a moment's thought, Jiang Wei made a firm decision. Firstly, he didn't want Tang Zihe to misunderstand, and secondly... he’d have to see them sooner or later anyway. "Then let's go. My mom's here." Tang Zihe looked down and smirked, then turned to keep walking. The moment Jiang Wei saw that expression, he knew he’d been played. The anger, the misunderstanding—it was all an act! All of it! And he’d actually been worried. He felt like a complete idiot. He realized that if he stayed around this guy for too long, he’d eventually develop high blood pressure from sheer irritation. ***