Chapter 12

"Zhuang Xiaoyue, what's wrong?"

Pei Xingzhi grabbed Zhuang Xiaoyue's sleeve and pulled her back, but Zhuang Xiaoyue struggled to shake him off. However, Pei Xingzhi was, after all, a Beta, and disregarding pheromones, his physical strength was clearly superior to that of an Omega.

It was during break time, and students were coming and going all around. The two of them blocking the middle of the road naturally attracted a lot of attention.

Zhuang Xiaoyue struggled a couple of times but couldn't shake him off. She glared at Pei Xingzhi and then gave him a look, signaling him to come over.

Pei Xingzhi understood and followed him to the small pavilion next to the teaching building.

"Speak, what do you want to do?" Zhuang Xiaoyue sat down on the stone bench in the pavilion, crossed her arms, and looked up at Pei Xingzhi with an unprecedentedly cold gaze.

"What? What do I want to say? Zhuang Xiaoyue, are you in heat?" Pei Xingzhi had never seen him look like this before. The stern question he had prepared was suddenly stuck in his throat. His innocent expression, combined with his current defiant and flamboyant style, made him look a little ridiculous.

"Where do I get a heat cycle?"

Zhuang Xiaoyue clenched her fists, her initial desire to have a calm conversation vanishing. Pei Xingzhi's words were undoubtedly stabbing him in the sore spot repeatedly—how could a low-quality Omega like him, who couldn't even form a mark, possibly have a heat cycle?

"Didn't you want to talk to me? You were pulling and tugging at me in front of so many people just now, and now that I've given you a chance, you're acting like this." Zhuang Xiaoyue's tone was somewhat harsh, and she glanced at Pei Xingzhi with an extremely contemptuous look.

"Zhuang Xiaoyue, what did I do to offend you? Please explain yourself clearly. Can you stop being so sarcastic?" Pei Xingzhi was usually eloquent and could talk for half an hour without repeating himself when he was arguing with someone. However, when the person opposite him was Zhuang Xiaoyue, who was usually gentle and soft-spoken, Pei Xingzhi's "machine gun" suddenly stalled.

Anger and speechlessness filled him; Pei Xingzhi felt like he was about to faint from lack of breath. In just one minute, Pei Xingzhi's expression underwent countless changes, finally uttering only one sentence—

"Zhuang Xiaoyue, what did I do to you?!"

"Pei Xingzhi, how come I never realized you were such a good actor? Just because you're happy doesn't mean you can treat me like this! Yeah, Xie Nanyi is the one pursuing you, so of course you can act like this in front of me. I can't afford to mess with you, so please don't bother me anymore, okay? I give up!"

Their usual personas were reversed, and Zhuang Xiaoyue became the one talking non-stop. Pei Xingzhi didn't understand what was wrong with her, only catching the keyword "Xie Nanyi". His blood was boiling, and he thought Xie Nanyi had posted something that made Zhuang Xiaoyue misunderstand him. He left with the words "Wait a minute, I'll talk to you later" and ran back to the teaching building.

After Xie Nanyi finished his reflections in the classroom, his assistant, with keen insight, took the pile of messy things next to him. Just as the two of them got up, Pei Xingzhi stormed back in.

Assistant Qin, clearly inexperienced, stood respectfully to the side, carrying the bag, to make way for Xie Nanyi upon seeing Pei Xingzhi. Xie Nanyi glanced at Pei Xingzhi, who had suddenly returned, snatched the bag from Assistant Qin's hand, and greeted him with a smile.

"Did Xiaozhi come back to find me? I didn't see Xiaozhi after class, and I thought you were going to abandon me."

"What did you say to Zhuang Xiaoyue?!"

Pei Xingzhi didn't notice his little actions. He took a few steps in front of him, stood on tiptoe, grabbed his collar, and questioned him fiercely.

"Zhuang Xiaoyue?" Upon hearing this name, Xie Nanyi's eyes flashed with confusion. It was only after Assistant Qin whispered a reminder from the side that he remembered that this was the Omega who had always been by Pei Xingzhi's side.

"Don't play dumb with me! What exactly did you say to Zhuang Xiaoyue? Why is he suddenly angry with me? Did you try to sow discord between them?"

"What happened between you two?" Xie Nanyi pried his fingers apart and then intertwined her fingers with his.

Pei Xingzhi disgustedly shook off his hand and wiped it on his clothes. Xie Nanyi turned his head and couldn't help but laugh out loud at his actions, but Pei Xingzhi thought he was provoking him, which only fueled his already irritated mood.

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore." Xie Nanyi composed herself at the right moment, pulling Pei Xingzhi back a split second before he could explode in anger. "The thing you're talking about... Zhuang..."

"Zhuang Xiaoyue".

“Okay. Although Xiaozhi might not believe it, I really didn’t tell him anything.” Before Pei Xingzhi mentioned this name today, he had always thought that the Omega was named Zhuang Xiaodie.

"You didn't say anything about why he suddenly got angry! You're about to die and you're still trying to argue with me! Whatever you said, explain yourself clearly and clear my name!" Xie Nanyi had lost all credibility with Pei Xingzhi, and no matter what he said, Pei Xingzhi insisted on his point of view.

Xie Nan couldn't reason with him, so she glanced at Assistant Qin and they both had the same question in their eyes.

Then it wasn't his father who did it.

"Okay, I'll go with you." Xie Nanyi surrendered. Anyway, it wasn't his business, so he might as well join in the fun.

Zhuang Xiaoyue didn't reply to the messages, so Pei Xingzhi led Xie Nanyi around aimlessly until they finally found Zhuang Xiaoyue in the dormitory, where she hadn't had time to leave yet.

Zhuang Xiaoyue was the only one in the dormitory. Pei Xingzhi closed the door and approached Zhuang Xiaoyue one after the other with Xie Nanyi.

Pei Xingzhi alone wasn't much, but the Alpha behind him had such a strong aura that it made this red-haired little fox look like a little tiger.

The little red fox squinted as it approached step by step, followed by the big gray wolf with a smile and a doting expression.

"What are you doing! Bullying at school is punishable! The school won't cover for you!"

Zhuang Xiaoyue was so frightened by the Alpha and Beta in front of her that she kept backing away, and her voice trembled as she spoke.

"Zhuang Xiaoyue, what bad things did Xie Nanyi say about me to you? I brought him here. Tell me and let him explain. Don't believe his attempts to sow discord. Don't you know what kind of person I am!"

The "little fox" was clearly not that cunning yet. She blinked her eyes and looked at Zhuang Xiaoyue with a wronged expression, trying to clear her name.

Zhuang Xiaoyue, who had already raised her hands in a defensive stance, was taken aback. She glanced at Pei Xingzhi, then at Xie Nanyi behind him, and her eyes darted around as she thought she understood Pei Xingzhi's meaning.

To gain a good reputation, he initially jumped to the forefront as the hero who saved him, but afterwards, to avoid trouble, he simply walked away. Now, to try and maintain a good image in front of his suitors, he's going to slander him as unreasonable?

But he wasn't Pei Xingzhi's sidekick, so why should he cooperate with him in this kind of act?

"Pei Xingzhi, what are you pretending for? You're the one reporting my location to Gu Xiang every single moment, aren't you?"

Now, not only Pei Xingzhi was confused, but Xie Nanyi, who had been wrongly accused of being the "culprit," was also a little bewildered.

He remembered that the Omega next to Pei Xingzhi usually seemed to be very gentle.

"Thank you! Nan! Yi!"

Pei Xingzhi shouted angrily and pulled Xie Nanyi, who had been watching the show from behind, between the two of them.

"You help me explain!"

"Explain what?"

Xie Nanyi blinked innocently as Pei Xingzhi grabbed her collar.

God knows how wronged he is right now.

Explain how you framed me!

Pei Xingzhi was practically going crazy. If he could draw his current scene as an illustration, there would definitely be raging flames behind him.

"But..." Xie Nanyi began pitifully, "I was also wronged..."

When a Beta and an Omega argue, why is it the Alpha who gets hurt?

Xie Nanyi didn't understand it, but that didn't affect his enjoyment of the show at all.

"Say something!"

Pei Xingzhi lowered his head, biting his lip as he tried to control his emotions, poking his shoulder with his finger to get him to say something for him.

"If you've come here just to say these things, please leave now. If you don't leave, I'll have to call the police." Zhuang Xiaoyue had no interest in their theatrical performance and held up her Omega protection bracelet as if to press it.

Even if the Xie family has enough power and means to break into a dormitory where Omega lives, it will cause them trouble for a while in today's society where AO equality is gaining momentum.

"You can go out now." Pei Xingzhi spoke with his back to Zhuang Xiaoyue and Xie Nanyi, his voice choked with emotion.

There's no need to drag Xie Nanyi into his affair with Zhuang Xiaoyue.

Xie Nanyi glanced at Pei Xingzhi, hesitating whether she should stay and watch the show.

Although it was very interesting, Pei Xingzhi didn't seem to want him to continue watching.

"Then I'll be going now." Both parties clearly refused to watch the movie, so Xie Nan politely said goodbye and turned to leave.

Humans are inherently curious, and even though she didn't show any interest, Xie Nanyi's movements as she opened the door slowed down involuntarily.

No one can resist gossiping, especially when it involves Pei Xingzhi.

The moment the door closed, Xie Nanyi suddenly sensed an extremely faint pheromone emanating from the dormitory. The pheromone was so weak that it was almost negligible.

Xie Nanyi wanted to leave, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in her wrist.

He sensed something was wrong and quickly opened the door and rushed inside.

Upon entering the dormitory, the faint pheromones became slightly more noticeable. Since only Zhuang Xiaoyue and Pei Xingzhi were in the dormitory, it was quite clear who was emitting the pheromones.

Although Zhuang Xiaoyue is a low-quality Omega, emitting extremely weak pheromones, this weakness only applies to Alphas and Omegas. For Betas, any pheromone is extremely oppressive.

Pei Xingzhi collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest with his right hand and panting heavily. His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his lips were bleeding from being bitten.

This amount of pheromones wouldn't have caused him to become like this, but due to his extreme emotional fluctuations and his complete trust in Zhuang Xiaoyue, he was overwhelmed by the pheromones of this inferior Omega.

"Xiao Zhi, are you alright?"

Xie Nanyi helped Pei Xingzhi up and pulled him into her arms. The Alpha's pheromones overpowered the Omega's. The familiar scent enveloped Pei Xingzhi, and his breathing gradually calmed down under Xie Nanyi's soothing touch.

"I...I didn't...I didn't mean to, it's because of Pei Xingzhi..."

Zhuang Xiaoyue was clearly surprised that Xie Nanyi hadn't left; he had only released his pheromones after watching Xie Nanyi leave. Zhuang Xiaoyue pursed his lips, his already pale face slowly turning as he took a step back.

Xie Nanyi picked up Pei Xingzhi, finally giving Zhuang Xiaoyue a little bit of her attention.

His dark eyes stared at Zhuang Xiaoyue without a trace of emotion, as if he were about to crush him with his pheromones at any moment.

He didn't believe Zhuang Xiaoyue was as innocent as she was acting. Only a fool like Pei Xingzhi would actually believe that Zhuang Xiaoyue was just a simple Omega.

During the stalemate, Pei Xingzhi regained consciousness. He gently tugged at Xie Nanyi's clothes and shook his head slightly when he saw Xie Nanyi looking over.

"don't want."

His lips were still stained with blood, and this single patch of red only made his face look even weaker, his expression so aggrieved that he looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment.

Xie Nanyi had never seen him like this before. Pei Xingzhi was always stubborn in front of him. Even when Xie Nanyi used his pheromones to suppress him, he could not make Pei Xingzhi show any weakness.

Pei Xingzhi buried his head in Xie Nanyi's arms. His body ached, and he didn't want to stay there any longer.

A note from the author:

Because he hadn't truly fallen in love yet, N1 acted very dismissively.