Take a Whiff: The Alpha's Hidden Scent | Chapter 72 | The Sailor Suit Surprise | Novela.app

The first thing Tang Zihe did upon his return was supervise Jiang Wei taking his medicine. Jiang Wei was deeply dissatisfied with this. Shouldn't there be kisses, hugs, and being swept off his feet? Why did the vibe suddenly shift to this when it came to him? "It’s been half an hour since you ate. Take your medicine." Tang Zihe dutifully placed the pills in front of Jiang Wei, having even poured a cup of warm water five minutes prior. "Oh." Jiang Wei, though fuming inwardly, didn't dare voice his protest. He could only obediently swallow the pills. "Brother Tang, isn't your birthday coming up soon?" Xia Shan, who had returned to his seat as a "solitary soul" the moment Tang Zihe came back, whispered while Teacher Liu was lecturing at the front. "What do you want for a birthday gift?" "Whatever, anything is fine," Tang Zihe replied nonchalantly. "Got it. With your family's status, if there’s actually something you’re lacking, I definitely wouldn't be able to afford it anyway." Xia Shan made an 'OK' gesture and began plotting what to actually send. Jiang Wei also started reflecting on the gifts he had given Tang Zihe in the past. In kindergarten, it was a handful of candies. Back then, the daycare teacher gave out one candy a day; he had saved them for an entire month before presenting a overflowing handful to Tang Zihe on the 30th—nearly tripping on his way there. Later, however, he heard that eating too much sugar caused tooth decay, so he urged Tang Zihe to just throw them away. As for how they were actually handled in the end, he couldn't quite remember. In elementary school, the gifts became more varied, but they were mostly stationery or daily necessities—like a notebook, or a small glass cup. He remembered Tang Zihe putting the notebook away, though he wasn't sure if it was ever used. The glass cup, however, was something Tang Zihe carried with him every single day for two whole years, until it was knocked to the floor and shattered by a group of rowdy boys in the fourth grade. That was the first time Tang Zihe had ever gotten into a physical fight with their classmates, and the first time his parents were called to the school for a meeting. Then came middle school, where Jiang Wei followed the trend of hand-written cards and letters. He had even practiced with calligraphy copybooks for a while for that purpose, with such great effect that for a few days, he couldn't even recognize his own handwriting. However, he only managed to stick with that habit once, pouring the same level of effort he usually reserved for self-reflection essays into a letter of several hundred words, which he delivered to Tang Zihe along with a gift. Seeing Tang Zihe look stunned for half the day made that letter feel well worth the effort. And now, in high school... He owed this man two years' worth of birthday presents. Ever since Tang Zihe's return, Jiang Wei was no longer quite so manically obsessed with the sea of practice problems. In his words: *How can a physics problem about a rolling ball look better than my Brother Tang's face?* Thus, they resumed their long-lost post-meal tradition: taking a stroll around the track. "Tang Zihe." "Hmm?" Tang Zihe had just bought drinks for them. He tossed a room-temperature soda to Jiang Wei and popped the tab of his own can with one hand. "Go ahead." "Besides a birthday gift, I'll throw in two coming-of-age gifts for you," Jiang Wei said with a smile. Tang Zihe understood his meaning instantly. He didn't decline. "Alright." "But my coming-of-age banquet is on the 31st. If you really want to give them, you'd better hurry up and prepare." After speaking, he also looked back with a smile at the person resting under the tree. The sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting uneven patches of light that seemed to dance entirely around the youth. His smile was brilliant, like the most down-to-earth deity in the mortal realm. The "deity" spread his arms and closed his eyes. "No preparation needed." "I shall be your genie and grant you two wishes." "Come, young man." Tang Zihe: "..." Why did that last sentence sound a bit... improper? Who exactly was the one with the problem here? In any case, the two additional gifts Jiang Wei gave Tang Zihe were indeed "two wishes granted." The expiration date was indefinite. "It’s fine if you can't think of anything right now. Life is long; you have plenty of time to think it over." *Is there any gift in the world more considerate than this?* Jiang Wei thought narcissistically. *Definitely not.* A few days later, Jiang Wei received the uniform for the stage performance. It was like a bolt from the blue, striking him with the force of five thunders. It was a set of pink and blue... SAILOR!!! SUIT!!! The kind with a skirt. He nearly threw the outfit into the trash on the spot. And it was a short skirt. Absolutely intolerable. "Jiang-ge! Jiang-ge, calm down!" Tang Wanbai desperately held back Jiang Wei, who was charging toward the trash can. "Look at the color of this skirt, it has pink! I bought it specifically according to your preferences!" Yes, he liked pink. But that didn't mean he was willing to accept a pink sailor suit. "Look closer, ahhh!" Tang Wanbai exerted the greatest strength she had ever summoned in her life as a fragile Omega, deadlocking Jiang Wei's forward momentum. "Brother Tang likes blue! You like pink! Look at the color scheme of this skirt! Doesn't it perfectly match your CP colors?!" "If it matches! The CP! Then! Go! Make! Tang Zihe! Wear it!" Jiang Wei hissed through gritted teeth. Just thinking about the possibility of hopping around on stage in this outfit made his face turn green. He would be mocked for a lifetime. "This outfit was bought according to your measurements! How could Brother Tang possibly wear it?!" *Heh, as if that guy would wear it even if the size was right.* During this frantic tug-of-war, neither of them noticed someone quietly approaching. This was the scene Tang Zihe walked into when he arrived at the dance studio. Tang Wanbai had her arms locked tightly around Jiang Wei's waist, her face flushed red from the effort, while Jiang Wei was clutching a set of... pink or blue clothes, struggling toward the trash can. So, he first stepped up to peel Tang Wanbai off Jiang Wei's back, then held down Jiang Wei, who wanted to bolt, and asked confusedly, "What are you two doing?" "Throwing out trash." "Protecting property." Jiang Wei: "..." "What kind of property are you protecting?" "Well, well, well, what you're throwing away isn't trash either!" Great, they had devolved into a primary school argument. Under Tang Zihe's cold-faced intimidation, the two finally managed to stammer out an explanation for what could have been said in one sentence. A sailor suit, huh... Tang Zihe spent the next five minutes hauling Jiang Wei and the clothes away, while carefully contemplating the weight of those three words. Then, every restless impulse in his heart began to stir. It sounded... extremely tempting. Meanwhile, Jiang Wei was clearly dismayed. He hadn't even had the chance to destroy the evidence before being caught red-handed by Tang Zihe. He was truly the king of bad luck. Thus, the two of them engaged in a serious discussion during Sister Yang's review session—the clothes were temporarily stashed in Tang Zihe's backpack to prevent Jiang Wei from sneaking off like a rabbit to dump them. "I think you could consider trying it on. I think the effect would be quite good," Tang Zihe spoke first under Jiang Wei's piercing gaze. "Of course, if you really dislike it, I can help you throw it away after class." Jiang Wei could tell now—this man was not on his side at all. "You..." Jiang Wei narrowed his eyes. "You want to see me wear it?" Tang Zihe blinked his large, innocent eyes, his mouth pouting slightly as he hesitated. Though it might not have been appropriate, he looked exactly like a pitiful, large puppy. With that hesitation, Jiang Wei already had his answer. This was clearly a spy sent by the enemy organization! A spy specifically trained to break a person's defenses with beauty! And he just happened to fall for it! "Maybe..." Tang Zihe hooked his finger around Jiang Wei's, leaning in to whisper in his ear, "As a birthday gift, you should give me the full set..." *You're the one acting aggrieved now?!* His psychological defenses, already battered to pieces, completely collapsed under this critical hit. Fine! He'd wear it! It was just a dance, wasn't it! It was just dancing in a sailor suit, wasn't it! What was there to be embarrassed about! As long as his boyfriend was happy! So said Jiang Wei, who had been thoroughly hoodwinked by beauty into becoming a besotted fool. Xia Shan had originally wanted to turn around and ask a question, but he saw those two whispering in each other's ears again in broad daylight as if no one else existed. It was simply atrocious. He silently wiped away imaginary tears from the corner of his eye: *Brother Shen, please come back soon. I can no longer withstand the daily sorrow and pain of being slaughtered by this PDA.* In any case, the next day, Tang Wanbai and the others were so excited when they learned Jiang Wei had accepted the costume that they were one step away from cheering out loud in the studio. Even though Jiang-ge's face was still dark. "I'm requesting to wear sunglasses during the dance," Jiang Wei grumbled, sitting on a chair in the corner. "The dark kind." "Absolutely. But if you do that, you'll also have to wear a wig," Tang Wanbai snapped her fingers, readily accepting Jiang Wei's proposal. "We need to completely disguise you as a girl." *I hear you.* Jiang Wei looked up at the ceiling and accepted this humiliating clause—if he could wear the skirt, what was a wig? He had come to terms with it. *Shades on, world off.* "And you can have some creative freedom on the back of the sailor suit—draw something or write something. Since you're the center, you need to be a bit different." *Though your height is already different enough,* Yu Xin thought silently. "As long as it passes the Student Council's review." Jiang Wei gave an 'OK' gesture. "Drawing?" Xia Shan thought about it during lunch. "Xu Qian can do that." "And that guy is idle all day. He spends his lunch breaks reading in the Student Council room. You can go find him directly." Jiang Wei rubbed his chin. When Tang Wanbai submitted the registration form, she hadn't even told their own classmates. Currently, the only people who knew he was participating in this program, besides the girls practicing with him, were Tang Zihe, Xia Shan, and Xu Qian. Although Xu Qian didn't know what he would be wearing yet, as the Head of the Entertainment Department, he would see it during the review sooner or later. So, delegating it to him was actually a great choice. Besides, he already knew exactly what pattern he wanted. *** Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation ---|---|--- 亲亲抱抱举高高 | Kisses, hugs, and being lifted high | A playful internet slang term for physical affection. 画风 | Vibe / Art style | Used here to describe the "vibe" or "atmosphere" of a situation. 成年礼 | Coming-of-age ceremony | A formal event marking a person's transition to adulthood (usually at 18). 灯神 | Genie | Literally "Lamp Spirit," referring to the genie from Aladdin. 水手服 | Sailor suit | A style of school uniform, often associated with "seifuku" in anime. 非酋 | King of bad luck | Internet slang (literally "African Tribal Chief") used to describe someone with extremely poor luck, especially in gacha games. 文娱部 | Entertainment Department | A branch of the Student Council responsible for cultural and recreational activities.