Chapter 2

Pei Xingzhi heard every word Xie Nanyi said very clearly, but he couldn't understand the combination of these words.

In just a few seconds, Pei Xingzhi's expression went through countless changes, from confusion to doubt to hesitation, finally uttering only an awkward "..."

"Xie Nanyi, are you crazy?"

"I'm not crazy." Xie Nanyi was extremely calm. He was fiddling with the newly formed scab on his right wrist, which was bleeding again from the unhealed area. He took a few steps closer and held his still-bleeding wrist up to Pei Xingzhi's eyes.

“You are my imprinter.” He repeated the sentence again, his tone now tinged with impatience.

If he could, he would like to cut the name off along with the flesh. But the name seemed to grow into his bones, regrowing with each new piece of flesh, and no matter how much he struggled, he could not escape the name's confinement.

"You've got it wrong. Both parties' names should appear when the seal is imprinted. Right now, only you have a name while I don't. It's obvious that I have no relation to you!"

Pei Xingzhi took a few steps back to avoid Xie Nanyi's bloodstained arm. Xie Nanyi had just been fierce to him, and even more so to himself. His scar had been brutally torn open, and blood kept gushing from his wrist, quickly staining a small patch of floor beneath his feet.

Pei Xingzhi turned his head away in fear. He had no interest in admiring other people's wounds; the scene was far too bloody for him to bear.

If it weren't for the fact that this situation wouldn't prove his innocence, Pei Xingzhi would have really wanted to yell and shout to bring the people outside in. Rumor had it that Xie Nanyi was a cold and handsome guy, but no one told him that the rumor was false—that Xie Nanyi was actually a violent masochist!

"You! You! You need to treat your wound first. You've lost too much blood, and I'm a little scared." Pei Xingzhi's voice was almost choked with sobs, but Xie Nanyi seemed oblivious, still raising her hand and leaning closer to him.

"I was wrong! Big brother, I was wrong! Please stop messing with me!" Pei Xingzhi was genuinely scared. Of all people to mess with, he had to mess with a lunatic. He stood there, covering his face and shrinking into the corner, and actually managed to squeeze out two tears.

"Why are you crying?" Xie Nanyi just wanted him to see the name on his arm clearly, but she didn't expect the person in front of her to start crying for no reason. Xie Nanyi was a little annoyed. Suddenly, a piercing pain came from the mark on her wrist. Pei Xingzhi was still scared and hadn't been hurt yet, but she, the scary one, had collapsed first.

Pei Xingzhi had just fallen into his arms, and now he had fallen into Pei Xingzhi's arms again, so they were even now.

Bullshit.

Xie Nanyi looked thin and tall, but he was quite heavy. Pei Xingzhi had to lift him while avoiding the wound on his wrist, and it took a lot of effort to get him to the chair.

"Xie Nanyi, Xie Nanyi, are you alright? Don't scare me! I didn't do anything to you! You scared me first, how did you fall down? You didn't lose too much blood, did you? There doesn't seem to be a first-aid kit here."

Should I get someone to help you? No, no… If we get someone now, they'll definitely think I did it! Wake up, I don't blame you anymore…

Just bear with it, let me apply the medicine first. It might hurt a little, but don't worry, I'll blow on it for you. Are you the kind of person who likes to cut your wrists? How could you do it if it hurts so much? I couldn't even bear to watch when I was bandaging you.

"Xie Nanyi, you should be alright now, right? Don't try to extort money from me. My family is just an ordinary family; we don't have any money to compensate you. Xie Nanyi, you're not really in trouble, are you? Xie Nanyi! Nanyi! Yi!"

"Shut up."

The lingering pain from the mark was still stimulating his body, and Pei Xingzhi's buzzing voice kept coming to his ears. Xie Nanyi felt his head throbbing violently, and with his eyes closed, he reached out and accurately covered Pei Xingzhi's mouth, which was still talking incessantly.

"Quiet down."

"Mmm—" Pei Xingzhi resisted, squinting his eyes as he considered whether to stick out his tongue and lick Xie Nanyi's palm to disgust him.

Just as Xie Nanyi had predicted, she released his grip as soon as his tongue was sticking out. Pei Xingzhi stuck out his tongue, slowly raised his right fist, rested it on his cheek, and tilted his head slightly in a cute pose.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Hmm." Xie Nanyi rubbed his palm, slightly dazed. Just now, when he withdrew his hand, he accidentally brushed against Pei Xingzhi's tongue, but that brief touch made most of his pain disappear instantly.

No wonder those who are imprinted cannot be separated. With such a good painkiller, who would want to endure the unbearable vulnerable period alone?

"You really scared me to death just now. Why did you start hurting yourself when you couldn't even get through to a single sentence? Couldn't you just sit down and talk to me properly?" Pei Xingzhi patted his chest with lingering fear. That's why they say you should never offend a mentally ill person. Once a lunatic goes to extremes, there's no way he can control them.

"I'm showing you the mark." Xie Nanyi looked at his wrist. Pei Xingzhi had applied medicine to it, and now his wrist was wrapped in bandages. The bandages were tied very neatly, clearly done by an experienced veteran.

"Wasn't it tied very well?" Pei Xingzhi saw through his thoughts and immediately began to show off his great achievements. "My dad is a doctor. When he's busy, I often help the nurses. I'm very experienced in treating wounds. If you get injured in the future... no, ptooey ptooey ptooey, you won't get injured. Just pretend I didn't say anything."

"Could you please be quiet for a moment?" His body was already aching terribly, but Pei Xingzhi's incessant chatter made him want to die even more.

Pei Xingzhi, who was still showing off, was choked by his words. He was about to retort when he saw the bandage on his wrist and turned his head away angrily.

Never mind, he's a magnanimous person who doesn't hold grudges against patients.

The two had just been talking about the mark, but Pei Xingzhi steered the conversation to completely different topics. Xie Nanyi stopped him and untied the bandage he had just put on with one hand.

"What are you doing? I just finished fixing it for you!" Pei Xingzhi was genuinely angry this time. As the saying goes, doctors have a benevolent heart, but that only applies to people who can understand human speech. Xie Nanyi, this lunatic, has done this kind of thing again and again. Pei Xingzhi gritted his teeth and glared at him, vowing in his heart that he would never deal with him again.

“Your name is on my body.” Xie Nanyi didn’t care about Pei Xingzhi’s attitude towards him and continued to speak to himself.

"But I don't have your name on me. I'm a journalist from Muji, you know?"

"Your name is on me, and you will definitely have my name on you too."

Pei Xingzhi and Xie Nanyi were talking—like playing the lute to a donkey.

This guy doesn't listen to anyone at all.

"I said no, and that's final. Even if you strip me naked, you still won't find it!"

Xie Nanyi couldn't understand human speech, and Pei Xingzhi didn't want to say anything more. Arguing with him would only be a waste of his energy; they weren't on the same wavelength and couldn't communicate at all.

He was just helping to deliver some documents, but somehow he got harassed by a lunatic and wasted over two hours. Who said Xie Nanyi was a male god, or a male lunatic?

He needs to beat up the people who spread rumors to vent his anger.

"Pei Xingzhi, is your birthday July 21st?"

"How did you know?" Pei Xingzhi had just touched the doorknob when he heard Xie Nanyi's words and pulled back. "You secretly investigated me! Are you a pervert?!"

Xie Nanyi couldn't help but roll her eyes when she heard his words, but she still suppressed her temper and said in as gentle a tone as possible, "Because this mark appeared on that day."

The mark appeared on the name owner's birthday, such a specific time, the possibility of mistaken identity is extremely small.

“What you say is very convincing, but the key issue is that I don’t have any marks at all,” Pei Xingzhi said, holding up his wrist in front of Xie Nanyi. “Look, I really don’t have anything on me.”

"You should start looking for people with the same name, surname, and birth date as me. Aren't people said to be attracted to each other because of their shared characteristics? Look at you now, you don't attract me at all, and you don't seem to be infatuated with me. Take your time, you'll eventually meet your true love."

Pei Xingzhi's earnest advice was ultimately met with Xie Nanyi's response: "You are the one who will be my imprinter."

"Whatever." Pei Xingzhi couldn't take it anymore. There was no point in arguing with him about this nonsense; this guy was a lunatic.

"I'm not playing with you anymore. Think what you want!"

The club members had already opened the door, so Pei Xingzhi no longer needed Xie Nanyi's key and simply pushed the door open and left the classroom himself.

Xie Nanyi was suddenly the only one left in the huge classroom.

The old fan overhead was still creaking. Xie Nanyi got up and opened the window, and Pei Xingzhi's figure appeared downstairs.

He seemed to be very popular at school; several people who were about to enter greeted him, and Pei Xingzhi responded enthusiastically, even taking a popsicle from a classmate.

The painkillers had long since worn off, and the pain felt like it had seeped into my bloodstream, flowing through my entire body along the veins at the site of the injury.

Xie Nanyi leaned against the window to steady herself, looking down at the wound that Pei Xingzhi had just treated.

He wasn't very familiar with Pei Xingzhi; in fact, he didn't even know they were in the same club until today. He was just a nominal member and didn't come here often. But today, a strong premonition compelled him to come and stay for a while.

Humans cannot fight their instincts, and he still came here and met Pei Xingzhi.

It was a coincidence, almost like destiny.

He hated this sense of destiny.

However, Pei Xingzhi seemed unaware of the mark on his body and steadfastly denied it. If it weren't for the fact that touching him would alleviate her pain, Xie Nanyi would have doubted that she had chosen the wrong person.

For Betas, marking is entirely beneficial, regardless of whether the recipient is an Alpha or an Omega. It's a blessing from heaven, and Betas would never refuse it.

But Pei Xingzhi not only rejected him, but also frankly told him that he did not have the mark that belonged to him. His open expression made it seem as if he was the only one tormented and suffering by the mark.

Xie Nanyi clenched his wrist, his nails digging into the still-healing flesh. The external pain momentarily overwhelmed the internal pain, but only for a moment. After the stimulation subsided, a dense, throbbing pain returned, and Xie Nanyi collapsed to the ground, his peripheral vision inadvertently catching sight of the bandages he had tossed aside.

Pei Xingzhi had no reason to lie to himself; he truly did not bear his own mark.

Pei Xingzhi was luckier than him because he didn't have to be bothered by marks and pheromones.

A note from the author: