Chapter 98

Yan Mu looked at Jiang Zhihuo in silence.

His voice was deep and low. Outside the window, hazy moonlight drifted into his eyes.

“I want you to feel a little happier,” Yan Mu said slowly, “but I don’t know how.”

“So that’s why you bit yourself?” Jiang Zhihuo pinched the indentation on his knuckle again.

“It’s just a habit when I’m thinking,” Yan Mu said.

“Then what did you come up with?” Jiang Zhihuo asked.

Yan Mu shook his head and, with a backward motion, hooked Jiang Zhihuo’s finger.

Yan Mu: “I’ll be here with you.”

Jiang Zhihuo froze for a moment, then gave a faint smile.

So many years had passed, and he was almost a different person now. But when he let his guard down, you could still see a bit of the kid he used to be, quiet and proud, lifting his chin in stubbornness whenever he couldn’t figure something out. His long neck looked especially graceful then.

“I’ll stay with you.”

The night was still, so still that one could hear the wind brush past the ears.

March was always pleasant, with a mild breeze and a soothing voice.

“I’ll be here with you.”

Four words were enough. Jiang Zhihuo realized he was just having a rough moment; he wasn’t trying to blame anyone or hold on to anger.

It had been ages since he’d shown his feelings so openly. And in front of Yan Mu, he never managed to hide anything anyway.

—Yan Mu meant too much to him. He was the exception.

Yan Mu was one of the most important pieces of the memories he refused to let go of, and even after more than ten years, he was still the brightest, most vivid part of them.

He couldn’t say it. Some feelings just can’t be explained with words.

—So after a few seconds of silence, Jiang Zhihuo suddenly leaned in, brushed his lips against Yan Mu’s, and gently caught his lower lip.

They started kissing.

He’d been out in the wind downstairs for a while, so Jiang Zhihuo’s lips were cold.

With those cool lips, he kissed and nipped softly, letting the kiss deepen little by little.

Before long, they couldn’t quite keep up with their breathing. When they pulled apart, their noses touched, and both of them were breathing hard, heat and longing hanging in the tiny space between them.

“It’s kind of cold, Yan-ge. Let’s go inside,” Jiang Zhihuo said.

The next morning, Jiang Zhihuo didn’t feel great. Maybe he’d been out in the wind too long last night, or maybe he pushed himself too hard. His head ached, his lower back was sore, and his whole body felt like it was falling apart. He could barely get up, completely drained.

They kept at it until the small hours. The mood was just too good, and by the end, Jiang Zhihuo had no strength left; Yan Mu had to carry him to take a shower.

Recently, as winter turned into spring, the school sent out a notice.

It mainly reminded students to stay warm, drink more water, exercise, and try not to get sick.

After all, third-year high school students only had a little over two months left before the College Entrance Exam, so they really couldn’t afford to get run down.

“Everyone, lately, make sure you dress warmer and exercise more. Don’t peel off your jacket the second you start sweating, and don’t hang around outside letting the wind hit you for no reason.” Before class, Ding Jianhui reminded them, “Studying matters, and I know everyone’s really fired up these days, but seriously, don’t stay up too late. If you feel a cold coming on, take some vitamin C or a cold medicine drink right away. Your health always comes first!”

“Okay—” Jiang Zhihuo answered, dragging the word out.

That day, his head felt foggy and heavy, his whole body weak, and he couldn’t get himself energized. He’d thought it was just because he went too hard the night before and didn’t rest enough, but the symptoms kept going for three days.

In the middle of that, Class 1 had a short quiz, and Jiang Zhihuo’s score was still insanely high.

A few boys nearby wanted to peek at his quiz paper. Jiang Zhihuo handed it over, then put his head down on the desk to catch up on sleep.

“Whoa… even seeing it again, I still can’t get used to this.”

“Huo-ge is way too strong!”

“He’s basically another God Yan, like… come on.”

“At this rate, the city exam is a sure win for him. Long Hui’s got nothing on that.”

“Shh, lower your voice. Huo-ge seems exhausted these last two days, and he’s been using every break to sleep.”

The boys carefully set the quiz paper back on Jiang Zhihuo’s desk and didn’t disturb him again.

After a nap of more than ten minutes, he actually felt dizzier when he woke up. Jiang Zhihuo had been taking vitamin C for days, but nothing got better. His throat even started to ache faintly, so Yan Mu took him straight to the hospital.

It wasn’t anything serious, just inflamed tonsils, and he was about to come down with a cold.

The doctor gave him some anti-inflammatory meds and cold medicine.

When they got home, Yan Mu watched Jiang Zhihuo take the medicine with his own eyes before letting him go do practice problems.

Jiang Zhihuo sat at the coffee table, groggy and out of it.

His throat hurt, his mind felt foggy, and he couldn’t focus at all. He only finished two big questions before turning to look at Yan Mu.

—Yan Mu was sorting the pills, snipping them apart one by one and putting them into different colored disposable packets.

Jiang Zhihuo shuffled over in his slippers, wrapped an arm around Yan Mu’s neck from behind, and leaned onto his back. He nuzzled him with a cheek that was a little warm and said, “Yan-ge.”

Yan Mu kept working without looking up. “Take the white ones in the morning and at noon. Take the blue ones after dinner. After you take them, send me a photo.”

Jiang Zhihuo pouted. “I can tell them apart. You’re treating me like a little child.”

“You can tell them apart, but you hate taking them,” Yan Mu said, calling him out. “Half the time you can’t be bothered, and the other half you only take them when you remember. You won’t get better like that, Xiao Zhou.”

Jiang Zhihuo wouldn’t accept it. “It’s just a cold! Your Huo-ge never takes medicine for a cold, okay?!”

“That’s different.” Yan Mu ignored his protest, kept packing the pills, and put them in the most obvious box.

“How is it different?”

Yan Mu glanced at him, calm and unhurried. “Because back then, you didn’t have a boyfriend.”

Jiang Zhihuo: “!”

“Tomorrow I’m going to B City. I won’t be able to see you for three days,” Yan Mu said. “I’ll remind you.”

Yan Mu had to go to B City for a recommendation-based admission exam, and the whole trip would take three days.

Jiang Zhihuo rubbed the tip of his nose. “Yan-ge, you know your whole ‘character’ is falling apart, right? You’ve been talking more and more lately. Where’s my cold, untouchable Yan Mu?”。

“Xiao Zhou.” Yan Mu smiled, a little helpless, then turned and pulled him into a hug, pressing his forehead to Jiang Zhihuo’s.

“When you’re sick, your temperature runs high—even your breath feels warm.” Yan Mu kept reminding him, “If your heat comes, go to the isolation room first. I’ll come back right away.”

After that, he ruffled Jiang Zhihuo’s hair again and coaxed softly, “Be good for me.”

Jiang Zhihuo’s face felt a little warm. Yan Mu’s voice was so nice. When his tone dipped slightly at the end, it was like a soft hook that caught him. Add in the warmth of Yan Mu’s hand on his head, and his whole heart lit up without him even being able to stop it.

Jiang Zhihuo closed his eyes, breathing in that fresh, dewy scent that made his body relax, and murmured, “Okay. I got it.”

The next day, Yan Mu didn’t bother making a special trip to school. He left straight from the exam-prep center.

A car pulled up in front of him, and a driver in a suit with white gloves lifted his suitcase into the trunk.

—Qin Nian had arranged it. He said if the ‘genius top student’ was going to take an exam, it had to look impressive. It’d be way more comfortable than taking the high-speed train anyway. The car was already set up; Yan Mu just needed to wait at the entrance.

Yan Mu, who clearly had zero chance to say no: “……”

Yan Mu messaged Jiang Zhihuo: I’m getting in the car now.

The message showed as delivered, and the chat said the other person was typing. Yan Mu lowered his head and waited for the reply but no text came. Instead, ten seconds later, he heard the boy’s bright, clean voice say, “I know. I already saw it.”

Jiang Zhihuo suddenly appeared right in front of him, backlit by the sunlight. His mask was hooked under his chin, and his eyes curved into a faint smile.

He must’ve run over the whole way. With a cold and low energy, his chest rose and fell, and the end of his words carried a bit of breathlessness.

The girls upstairs, who’d been watching the ridiculously handsome ‘God of Learning’ let out a tiny squeal.

They were art students who’d finished their arts exams and came here to make up their regular subjects.

They’d heard a while ago that a crazy-good-looking guy showed up two weeks earlier, hiring a teacher to grind for a recommendation-based admission exam. But his schedule didn’t match theirs, and he stayed shut in the classroom the whole time, so they never got a chance to see his face. Until today—

With the ‘genius top student’ about to head to B City, they hid out in the hallway and peeked at him in secret.

“Holy shit, he’s actually that handsome!”

“Why does his face look kind of familiar?”

“Ahhh—wait, is it this?” One girl pulled up a screenshot from Pick U. In one episode, two insanely good-looking random guys had shown up on camera.

“It really looks like him!”

Very soon, a boy came running up to the ‘genius top student.’

“Oh my god, another hot guy!”

“And he looks way easier to talk to than the genius top student!”

“They seem pretty close. Maybe we can ask him if he and the genius top student have someone—like, are they taken?”

At first, they were just watching a handsome guy and joking around. They’d said plenty of playful, flirty stuff to good-looking guys before.

But the moment the words left their mouths, they saw the guy who’d just run over glance around. After making sure no one was close, he pulled his mask up, tipped his head, and kissed the top student through the mask.

The girls watching: “!!!”

Yan Mu froze for a beat.

“I’ve got a cold; there is nothing I can do.” Jiang Zhihuo said with a helpless sigh. “Good luck, Yan-ge!”

“That’s not the point,” Yan Mu reminded him. “There’s no one down here, but there are people upstairs.”

“Where?” Jiang Zhihuo looked up casually, then suddenly saw a group of girls in the corridor, frozen like statues.

Jiang Zhihuo: “……”

Yan Mu let out a low chuckle.

Jiang Zhihuo shut his eyes for a moment.

Even if Huo-ge could be pretty shameless, he still cared about his pride. There was no way he could stay calm after being caught kissing his boyfriend in front of that many people.

“…Let’s go.” Jiang Zhihuo tugged Yan Mu toward the car door and said in a cool, flat tone, “Get in. Bye, Yan-ge.”

He watched Yan Mu’s car merge onto the road. Then, instead of going back to school, he turned and headed straight home.

He asked for leave for two periods and the evening self-study session.

He really felt awful. After a few exhausting days, his cold wasn’t getting better; it was getting worse.

Back when he was still an alpha, he could swim in the sea all day in the dead of winter and still not get sick. Now, one night of wind was enough to knock him out for four or five days.

In terms of physical constitution, there was indeed a difference between alphas and omegas.

The exam-prep center wasn’t far from his place. As he walked home, Jiang Zhihuo updated the doctor on how he was doing.

When he looked up, he happened to spot an adult shop.

For some reason, as if on impulse, the doctor’s earlier words and those few pictures they’d sent flashed back into his mind.

—If the alpha isn’t around, the heat can’t be suppressed, but the symptoms can be eased to a certain extent through external stimulation.

—I’d personally recommend option two. It’s relatively more suitable for first-time users. 

Jiang Zhihuo went back to look at the pictures again, focusing especially on the second one the doctor had recommended.

A long string of beads, each one gradually smaller than the last.

Jiang Zhihuo shook his head and closed the page.

…How could anyone use that?! If someone actually used it, it might end up even more miserable than not relieving anything at all!!!

Just go straight to the hospital!

No way he’s buying that!!

Absolutely not!!

Five minutes later—

“Alipay Payment successful for xx yuan.”

A robotic female voice rang out from the tiny self-service shop.

Jiang Zhihuo stared at the picture printed on the box, then slowly covered his face.

“…………”

“…………”

Wh-what if it actually works…

The author has something to say:

Hmm… what if he really does use it?