Chapter 5 Focused Fire

◎Huo Ran◎

“It stinks.”

Huo Ran's face turned purple as he looked at the calm female A in disbelief.

Pheromone intimidation is very common among Alphas. The strong are admired by everyone, while the weak are despised.

The smell of gunpowder filled the corridor, turning into a sharp sword and heading straight towards Shi Hanqiao. She just turned slightly, put the knot of her index finger against the tip of her nose, and said, "It stinks."

She couldn't even stand under his pressure, and was so terrified that she knelt down in front of Edith!

Huo Ran didn't believe it, and the pheromones with the smell of fire swept the heat wave straight ahead. The other Alphas present released their own pheromones to draw a barrier.

"yue"

The corridor was not narrow, but the space became small when there were many people. Seven or eight smells mixed together and hit Shi Hanqiao in the face. He couldn't help but retched.

The eyes of everyone present changed slightly, and Huo Ran's face changed like a color palette, from red to blue, blue to purple, and finally turned black like the bottom of a pot.

This moment was the most embarrassing moment in his life.

Shi Hanqiao was still standing opposite her. She was even just pinching her nose and frowning, as if she simply felt that the smell was unpleasant.

This is simply a public humiliation for him!

Huo Ran's pupils were burning with fire and his fists were clenched. If this wasn't the Covia family's house, his fists would have hit that disgusting face.

"What's going on? Everyone's gathered here." Lissen came over from the other end of the corridor, waving the air from his nose and scolding, "You Alphas, please control your pheromones. There are Omegas here too."

The corridor was still filled with silent smoke. Luo Wusheng looked up at him. Edith reached out and held the arm of the girl A beside her worriedly.

Huo Ran was the first to retract his aggressive fire aura, and the other Alphas also slowly retracted their pheromones.

Huo Ran suddenly laughed. Liesen's words woke him up. Now he was not the one who was embarrassed in public.

"So you're not only a useless person with a crippled physique and mental strength, but you're also a cripple without even pheromones!"

Pheromones are the unique characteristics that distinguish Alpha and Omega from Beta.

Each Alpha and Omega's pheromone smells different and has a wide range of uses: demonstration, coercion, attack, flirting, ambiguity...

The pheromone compatibility between Alpha and Omega is even a criterion for union.

Alphas and Omegas will release some pheromones to a greater or lesser extent in certain situations. Alphas and Omegas without pheromones are physiologically half-castrated.

Because true bonding involves two parts, the body and pheromones.

Six thousand years ago, when ABO gender first appeared, the [pheromone deficiency] took nearly a hundred generations and thousands of years to be resolved.

Because the price paid is so high, it is mentioned in history classes, but no one really cares. After all, no one is pheromone deficient now.

Huo Ran's words drew everyone's attention to Shi Hanqiao. She was still the same as when she came in with Edith just now—standing lazily with a nonchalant smile on her face, looking relaxed and at ease.

Luo Wusheng was looking at Lie Sen and noticed that Shi Hanqiao's gaze also passed over him intentionally or unintentionally.

The image of the invigilator inexplicably flashed through his mind again, and the next moment he heard her voice.

"so what?"

As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere, which had been heated just a moment ago, turned cold and silent. Shi Hanqiao's calm question left Huo Ran dumbfounded, and everyone else was also stunned.

The thoughts in their heads were similar: You're a loser and you're pheromone deficient, shouldn't you be ashamed and terrified? How can you be so calm?

No one thought she was pretending to be calm, because she was so calm. Her eyes met those that were mocking, suspicious, looking forward to the show, or calm.

Shi Hanqiao didn't feel embarrassed at all, but the others gradually felt embarrassed.

Huo Ran's "exposing scars" made the person involved seem unconcerned. Even if others looked down on Shi Hanqiao as much as he did, no one would be stupid enough to say something unpleasant.

This wasn't a school, nor a public place, but the Covia family's home, at Edith's coming-of-age ceremony.

Putting aside factors such as gender and emotions, everyone else presented electronic invitations, while Shi Hanqiao presented a paper invitation handwritten by Edith, the host of the banquet, and it was Edith who personally went out to greet them.

Everyone else is a guest. Since they are all guests, they must respect the host and the guests that the host values ​​when they are on the host’s territory.

"I heard you like Edith?"

Shi Hanqiao's voice eased the awkwardness and drew everyone's attention.

"Yes, I do like Edith." Huo Ran met her gaze and refused to give in. "A useless Alpha like you doesn't deserve to be with her."

Edith hadn't said anything. Shi Hanqiao suddenly increased the strength in her arm. She patted Edith's hand soothingly and turned to Huo Ran.

"But I don't see how much you like her."

Huo Ran glared at her: "Stop talking nonsense!"

"You spoke harshly to Edith's friends at her coming-of-age ceremony, showing no regard for her feelings at all. How can I believe you like her?" Shi Hanqiao didn't wait for the other party to refute and continued, "Or is this what you call the way a powerful Alpha likes people? It's a bit disrespectful. As Edith's friend, I naturally hope that more people like her."

"But you don't deserve it."

Edith pursed her lips, suppressed the corners of her mouth that were raised, and looked up at her friend beside her. White light fell on the profile of girl A, and her indifferent eyebrows and eyes exuded a chill like a knife blade.

But she was not afraid at all, instead a secret joy rose in her heart.

At some point, there was no one behind Huo Ran anymore, and the other Alphas wisely stood aside.

Huo Ran's gaze was as if he wanted to crush Shi Hanqiao to ashes. He clenched his fists like a warrior determined to defend love to the death: "No matter what you say, you can't stop me from liking Edith."

"Do you really like Edith?"

Isn't this nonsense? He asked twice. Most people present were complaining in their hearts.

Luo Wusheng turned to look at Shi Hanqiao, who was labeled as a waste. She looked directly at Huo Ran, who was suppressing his anger. Her eyes were as calm as the surface of a lake, and like a mirror, revealing the truth.

Huo Ran's pupils widened, and he forced himself not to avoid her frightening gaze and not to turn his head to reveal any clues.

Fortunately, the other party didn't care about his answer.

"That's not important. What's important is that Edith won't like you."

Shi Hanqiao was talking to Huo Ran, but his eyes swept across another handsome male Omega present.

Huo Ran breathed a sigh of relief and righteously expressed his loyalty: "You have no right to stop me from liking Edith."

No Omega would dislike a devoted and infatuated Alpha.

"But I don't like you."

???

Huo Ran was disdainful. He thought the same as most people: what's the point if you don't like it?

"I don't want to see him here." Shi Hanqiao bent down and rested his head lightly on Edith's shoulder. His voice was neither loud nor soft, and everyone present could hear it.

"Huo Ran, I'm sorry." Edith stood straight and did not push away the female A who was leaning on her shoulder. She looked at the Alpha opposite her with a firm gaze.

"Please leave my coming-of-age ceremony party!"

There was dead silence, and the corridor was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop on the carpet.

It wasn't a humiliation just now, it's a humiliation now.

Huo Ran was trembling all over. His face was trampled underfoot in public. He could foresee that this matter would be known to everyone before the evening, and the whole family would not be able to hold their heads up because of him for a period of time in the future.

His nails dug into the flesh, leaving four bloody marks. He wished he could go up and tear off the face that was still smiling at him provocatively.

But he can't!

The servant came over and asked Huo Ran to leave. The corridor was still quiet. No one knew what to say, nor did they dare to say anything.

After watching this exciting drama, Josephine breathed a sigh of relief. Her heart almost stopped several times.

Who could have imagined that a useless Alpha could bring Huo Ran such shame?! He probably wouldn't be attending any other banquets for a while.

Receiving Josephine's admiring gaze and Ulysses' "murderous" gaze, Luo Wusheng shook his head helplessly.

"Why is my brother shaking his head?" Is he dissatisfied with Edith's behavior?

Li Sen spoke in a gentle tone, easily shifting the conflict and everyone's attention to Luo Wusheng.

Shi Hanqiao stood up straight, the nonchalant smile on his face faded, and he turned his slightly cold gaze towards Luo Wusheng.

"You also think Huo Ran is terrible for being an Alpha who can't even admit his love for the Omega he loves, right?"

Lissen lowered his head, his upturned lips suddenly frozen. Shouldn't Woman A, who had just stood up for Edith, turn her attention to Luo Wusheng?! Why would she give him a way out?

"Yeah, that's terrible."

Luo Wusheng walked down the stairs and mercilessly smeared Huo Ran's image. After all, he was on Ande's side.

"Okay, everyone, let's take a break."

Edith came out to mediate the situation, and everyone in the corridor returned to the lounge.

"Why did Edith say thank you to Shi Hanqiao?" Josephine was very curious and was so slow to close the door. When she heard Edith thanking Shi Hanqiao before leaving, she didn't understand.

Thinking of the complicated situation at the Black family, Luo Wusheng took a deep breath before looking at Josephine and explained, "Huo Ran attacked Shi Hanqiao, and the guests had a conflict at the banquet. The Covia family is inextricably linked to this. No matter what the final outcome is, the Covia family will be disgraced."

"They say you should always leave a way out for others so that you can meet again later. But Shi Hanqiao's actions were too ruthless. Not only did she tear Huo Ran's face, she even threw him to the ground and stomped on him. She not only slapped Huo Ran in the face, but also slapped the face of the entire Huo family. The purpose of doing this was to focus all the firepower on her, thereby stripping the Kovia family of their responsibility."

Josephine probably understood, but she still couldn't wrap her head around one thing: "Edith was the one who asked them to leave. The Corvia family can't be completely blameless, right?"

"On the surface, it was Edith who asked them to leave, but in reality, she was following Shi Hanqiao's 'request'. In other words, Edith was 'forced'."

"Ultimately, the responsibility still lies with Shi Hanqiao." Luo Wusheng's eyes flashed, "After all, she is an Alpha."

"Even if she's a useless Alpha and lacks pheromones, she's still an Alpha."

Even though all the Alphas were ashamed to acknowledge Shi Hanqiao's existence, they still believed that such a weak person should take on the responsibility of protecting Omegas.

Under this mode of thinking, arrogant Alphas assume that a useless Alpha like Han Qiao is stronger than an Omega.

Luo Wusheng hated this deep-rooted idea.

He admitted that he was taking his anger out on others, but he couldn't control himself from hating Shi Hanqiao.

【Author’s words】

The current Mou Sheng: I am just taking my anger out on Shi Hanqiao!

A certain Sheng from the future: It smells so good!