Take a Whiff: The Alpha's Hidden Scent | Chapter 75 | The Coming-of-Age Celebration | Novela.app

By the next morning, while the rest of the school was still replaying the video of the performance—finally noticing the lifelike crane painted on the back of Jiang Wei’s sailor top and collectively choking on the "dog food" served by the affectionate couple—Jiang Wei had already been dragged out of bed by Tang Zihe. With bleary eyes, he watched Tang Zihe shuttle between the bathroom and the bedroom, grooming himself with an unprecedented level of meticulousness. Only then did it finally sink in: today was Tang Zihe’s coming-of-age ceremony, and he was being hauled along to attend. It was a strange feeling. He had once felt certain that he would be an important guest at Tang Zihe’s eighteenth birthday, but now that the day had actually arrived, he felt a bit of trepidation. He was almost afraid to go. All joking aside, given the assets and background of Mr. and Mrs. Tang, one could guess with their toes what kind of people would be attending Tang Zihe’s celebration. Jiang Wei, a member of the "proletariat," had never felt so conflicted over worldly wealth. Of course, "capitalism" did not grant the poor "proletariat" even a few extra seconds to think. As soon as he finished brushing his teeth and washing his face, his pajamas were smoothed out like he was a ball-jointed doll being prepped for display, and he was marched into another room. "Wh-what are you doing?" Jiang Wei let out a yawn as he sat in a chair. "I want to sleep for five more minutes..." "That won't do~" Mrs. Tang’s voice drifted eerily from behind him, sending a shiver down his spine and snapping him awake instantly. "Tang Zihe said to give you a quick makeover. He wants your usual ten-out-of-ten handsomeness boosted to a twelve to accompany him." "Huh?" Before Jiang Wei could process this, his chin was gripped by a stylist Mrs. Tang had hired at a high price, who began examining him closely. "The skin of kids this age is truly wonderful," the stylist lamented the passing of time. He didn't plan on performing any "face-changing magic" on them; he simply used a bit of hair gel to style Jiang Wei's hair and picked out a long trench coat. This was because Jiang Wei had tried on several of Mrs. Tang’s custom-made suits, only for the stylist to shake his head at every one, claiming the boy’s aura wasn't "steady" enough yet—a trench coat suited his temperament far better than a formal suit. Coincidentally, Jiang Wei felt like the collars of the suits were strangling him, so he changed into the coat with relief. Mrs. Tang was left sighing with a mix of admiration and nostalgia. Before the stylist could reach for him again, Jiang Wei slipped toward the door and vanished. "Auntie, I’ll go catch Tang Zihe for you! He’s the star of the show today!" "That child..." Mrs. Tang shook her head with a smile. Jiang Wei quickly found the protagonist in Tang Zihe’s room, sitting on the bed playing on his phone. "Still playing? I knew you didn't want to go. Your boyfriend is being worked to death over there." Jiang Wei grabbed Tang Zihe and started dragging him toward the door. Tang Zihe didn't resist much. Just as they were about to enter the other room, he turned and complimented, "You look great in that outfit." Then, taking advantage of the gap as they entered, he leaned back and gave Jiang Wei a light peck on the cheek. "!!!" Jiang Wei gave Tang Zihe a firm but careful swat on the back, whispering inwardly: *You’re so bold! You’re not afraid of Mrs. Tang finding out, but I’m scared to death!* Fortunately, Mrs. Tang hadn't been looking their way at all. Mr. Tang was the driver today, and they took Mrs. Tang’s yellow sports car—because Mrs. Tang insisted that for such an important occasion, they should drive something that wasn't "low-key" to show off a bit. The venue was a five-star restaurant that Mr. Tang had booked in advance. This was also Mrs. Tang’s suggestion; she claimed that for her son’s coming-of-age, the most important thing was for the two "little ones" to eat their fill. The two "little ones" sitting in the back seat, not daring to make a sound: "..." Jiang Wei stole a few glances at Tang Zihe. It was his first time seeing Tang Zihe in formal wear. Surprisingly, he didn't look like a high school senior at all; compared to Jiang Wei, he indeed looked much more composed. He was very handsome. When they got out of the car, many families had already arrived. Jiang Wei spotted a familiar face among them. "Happy birthday." Lu Zisheng politely extended a hand toward Tang Zihe and smiled. The coldness on Tang Zihe’s face finally thawed slightly as he returned the smile. "You’re here too? I haven't heard of any prominent families with the surname Jiang," Lu Zisheng asked curiously as he watched Tang Zihe take a pastry topped with a small piece of mango from the long table and place it in Jiang Wei’s hand. "Is my usual research not thorough enough?" "No," Tang Zihe saw Mrs. Tang waving at him and knew his nightmare for the day was about to begin. He patted Jiang Wei’s head to "recharge" himself in advance. "He’s here as my family member." "Oh~" After Tang Zihe left, Lu Zisheng leaned closer to Jiang Wei. "It’s fine. Since he’s busy, I’ll look after you." "Actually, you can help me ward off the Omegas my age. It’ll stop them from swarming me. If Shen Yannan gets jealous, I’ll be the one suffering." Jiang Wei: "..." He had thought this guy was being kind, but it turned out he just wanted to use him as a tool. Oh well, it was better than standing around alone and feeling out of place. "What exactly does your family do?" Jiang Wei had already helped Lu Zisheng block four or five Omegas who tried to approach. If this continued, he was going to turn into the guy’s bodyguard. "Why do these people love flocking to you so much? Are you made of gold?" Lu Zisheng couldn't help but laugh. "Not quite, but close enough." "And here I thought you were just an ordinary college student studying art." Jiang Wei pouted, having somehow found another small cake to hold. "I wanted to study art originally, but I ended up going into finance," Lu Zisheng blinked. "Pursuing artistic value isn't nearly as interesting as inheriting the family estate..." Jiang Wei felt that this man and Shen Yannan were truly a match made in heaven. On the other side, Tang Zihe was not having nearly as pleasant a time. Being surrounded by peers trying to build connections and having to occasionally deal with elders offering him drinks was exhausting. "Which school are you attending now?" A girl in a light blue dress walked over and clinked her glass against Tang Zihe’s. "Still at No. 4 High?" "Yes." Tang Zihe didn't feel like talking much and gave a perfunctory reply. "Do you have a preferred university?" The girl maintained a smiling expression, not at all discouraged by Tang Zihe’s attitude. "With any luck, we might become alumni in the future." "Sorry, I haven't thought about that yet." Tang Zihe gave a polite, slight bow. "Don't be so cold. My younger brother is an acquaintance of yours," the girl blinked. Under Tang Zihe’s puzzled gaze, she slowly added, "Oh, did I forget to introduce myself? My surname is Xia." Tang Zihe: "...?" "Truly, seeing is believing. Where is that other young man? Let me guess," Miss Xia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her gaze scanning the guests before finally landing on the two figures in the distance. "Is it that little brother in the trench coat who keeps looking over at us?" Miss Xia waved boldly toward the distance. Jiang Wei couldn't help but keep glancing at Tang Zihe. He wanted to see if any blind Omegas were trying to hit on his boyfriend. The first few times, Tang Zihe had politely dismissed them with a few words. But this time, when Jiang Wei looked, he got a shock—not only was that girl chatting happily with Tang Zihe, she was even waving at him! What was this! This was a blatant provocation! Could he endure this? Obviously not. Thus, Jiang Wei rushed to Tang Zihe’s side in a huff. Before he could even mark his territory, he was met with a face full of smiles. "Ah, this must be Jiang Wei. Just as my brother described—you look like a completely different type of person compared to him." Miss Xia was eager to get a close look at him, and Jiang Wei had arrived just in time. Jiang Wei: "?" Why did it feel like things weren't what he had imagined? How did she know his name? What brother? What did she mean by "not the same type"? "How are we not the same type?" Jiang Wei reached out and took Tang Zihe’s hand. "We’re a perfect match." Unfortunately, Miss Xia wasn't listening to a word he said. She was busy marvelling to herself, "Sigh, I still prefer little brothers of your type." Jiang Wei: "...?" Tang Zihe couldn't help but press a hand to his forehead. He pulled Jiang Wei behind him and chatted with Miss Xia for a few more moments before Mrs. Tang finally arrived to bail them out. When he turned around, the confusion on Jiang Wei’s face still hadn't fully faded. "Her brother is an acquaintance of ours. Guess who?" Tang Zihe handed a glass of juice to Jiang Wei—still adhering to his principle that underage Omegas weren't allowed to drink alcohol. "Xia Shan... I assume." Though he hesitated slightly, Jiang Wei used a tone of certainty. Tang Zihe nodded. He had heard of Miss Xia before, but only from Mrs. Tang. She had said things like how the girl had started shouldering the family business at a young age, and how the Xia siblings looked like they were carved from the same mold. This had led him to envision a swift and decisive businesswoman. Seeing her today, he realized that was all nonsense—if she was carved from the same mold as Xia Shan, it was in terms of personality. After a long pause, Jiang Wei stammered a compliment: "She’s... interesting." "I’m not interesting?" Tang Zihe found Jiang Wei’s dazed look rather amusing. "Getting jealous over a female Omega? That’s a bit much," Jiang Wei took a sip of his drink. "You should learn from me when you have the chance. Be more magnanimous." "Then who was that person who just came rushing over in a hurry?" Tang Zihe had finished dealing with most of the guests. With nothing left to do, he naturally felt like teasing his boyfriend. Jiang Wei huffed twice. "They flew away. I don't know who that was either." As the two chatted happily, they completely forgot that in the distance, there was still a Lu Zisheng in need of assistance.