Chapter 99

Before they went into the exam hall, the forum blew up again.

Long Hui seemed to have fully mastered the art of provoking people. He used his main account to post again on the No.1 High School forum and even showed off his score reports from the past two weeks.

[About to go into the exam. Looked at my ‘opponent,’ then looked at my scores—honestly, this feels boring.]

Third year senior high school group chat—

Huh???

What’s he trying to say?! Showing off his scores before the exam, he’s not worried it’ll backfire?

Aaaaah, I’m so pissed, seriously! What’s so amazing about him? What makes him think he’s that good? Where’s he getting this confidence?

If God Yan had shown up, would he even dare to run his mouth?

I’m gonna puke. Why do people like this exist? Long Hui and his delusional confidence?

Come on, God Yan scores 700+ all the time and never gets cocky. What right does Long Hui have? No matter how high the score is, aren’t we still just normal students?!

The eternal second place spoke up to comfort everyone: Everyone, calm down, calm down. Posting before the exam is definitely his attempt to affect our mentality. Don’t pay attention to it. Keep your mindset steady, raise the average score!! Give him no chance at all to show off!!

After finishing typing that sentence and clicking send, the perennial second-place took a deep breath. No one around noticed him, and he quietly opened the forum and activated anonymous mode.

Anonymous user: Get the hell out of here. Where does that confidence come from? You’re only ahead by one and a half points; just look at how much you’re floating. Remember to hold the rope tight, so you don’t float over and flip later, and all of it will be barking in vain!

Jiang Zhihuo arrived late today; when he reached the classroom, basically everyone else had already arrived and was using the final half hour before the exam to hurriedly go over key knowledge points.

Jiang Zhihuo’s complexion did not look very good, and as soon as he came in, he lay down on the desk.

Seeing his appearance, Chang Luo felt a bit worried and used the tip of his pen to poke Jiang Zhihuo, asking, “Huo-ge, are you okay?”

“Mm, it’s alright.” Jiang Zhihuo responded lazily, not really willing to say much more.

After casually dealing with breakfast and finishing his medicine, Jiang Zhihuo slapped the empty medicine packet over to Yan Mu.

Jiang Zhihuo: Finished it.

Jiang Zhihuo: Yan-ge, good luck on the exam.

Chang Luo was still worried; Jiang Zhihuo’s complexion really did not look good at all, so he went to the water dispenser in the back and got him a cup of warm water. “I think your cold seems to be getting worse?”

“It’s fine.” Jiang Zhihuo took the water, frowned slightly as he swallowed. It hurt in his throat, so he only drank a small sip. “Your Huo-ge can still crush them even if I go in sick.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.” Chang Luo waved his hand, just about to speak again, when the bell rang. The others all began preparing to head to the exam hall, and in an instant, the classroom filled with the sound of chairs being pushed back.

While heading to the exam hall, Jiang Zhihuo passed by the eternal second-place class. In the exam competition against No. 3 High School, this class, driven by the eternal second-place student, was the most hot-blooded and fired up; at this moment, it actually looked like a pyramid-scheme organization, with the eternal second-place student shouting from the podium, “It’s time to take the exam, everyone charge!! Give No. 3 High School a lesson!!! Go!!!”

The others below the podium: “Go—ahhhhh!!!”

The first day of exams went fairly smoothly. Although his head was a bit muddled because of the cold, there were no problems with his condition.

It just so happened that Yan Mu had also finished the day’s exams, and the two made a phone call.

“Has the takeout arrived?” Yan Mu asked.

“It has just arrived.” Jiang Zhihuo took the items from the delivery guy’s hands, said thanks, and, while talking with Yan Mu, began unwrapping the packaging.

Letting Jiang Zhihuo cook for himself was impossible, so Yan Mu had already ordered porridge early in the day.

Unlike ordinary small takeout shops, this shop was famous specifically for making porridge. No one knew how the owner cooked it, but when you drank it, it always felt different from regular porridge shops. It was sweet, fragrant, and thick in texture. Yan Mu also ordered mixed vegetables and a stewed soup, packed in extremely delicate small containers.

“The forum blew up again today.” Jiang Zhihuo set his phone to the side and turned on speaker mode. “Long Hui is ridiculous. He posts once after every subject. The top students aren’t even going to the bathroom anymore, just to clap back at him.”

Yan Mu was probably still on the way; there was some noise around. He gave a cold snort, not concealing his disgust toward Long Hui at all. “When someone’s scores have been suppressed for years, getting good once makes it easy for them to get carried away.”

“Right, right.” Jiang Zhihuo went along with Yan Mu, smoothing him down, and then asked, “What about you, how was today?”

“Not bad. The question types were ones I usually encounter.” Yan Mu paused. “Just a bit unhappy.”

“Why?” Jiang Zhihuo scooped up a spoonful of soup; it was too hot, so he could only drink it in small sips.

Yan Mu did not answer immediately. After pausing for a moment, when the surroundings became a bit quieter, his voice came through the call. “I miss you a little, Xiao Zhou.”

Jiang Zhihuo paused for a moment.

Yan Mu always managed to say the most sudden and unexpected love words in the calmest tone.

Each time he heard it, his heart would soften once again.

Jiang Zhihuo smiled and said, “Then, hurry back. Shall we video chat? Or do you want to watch something else?”

Yan Mu: “Something else?”

Just as Jiang Zhihuo was about to speak, his gaze happened to sweep over the black plastic bag tossed on the sofa; the words he was about to say got stuck in his throat, and the base of his ears suddenly felt hot.

—The thing he’d bought on a strange whim yesterday was still lying untouched on the sofa.

Noticing his silence, Yan Mu asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Zhihuo gave a light cough. “It’s nothing. Um—by ‘something else’ I mean… Yan-ge, what do you want to see? Me in pajamas, or in the shower? Or just not wearing anything on my upper body? Also, that mark on my shoulder still hasn’t faded. I saw it when I was showering yesterday. Yan-ge, do you want to see it?”

Most of the time, Yan Mu’s movements were very gentle, but he would linger especially at the gland and the shoulder, particularly in the last few times, he would almost bite down on either the shoulder or the neck.

Every time, it would leave an extremely obvious mark; fortunately, clothes could cover it.

This time, it was Yan Mu’s turn not make a sound.

“Yan-ge?”

After waiting a bit longer, Yan Mu replied, “Better not, I don’t want you to catch a cold. Wait until you’re better.”

They didn’t chat for too long. Yan Mu arrived at the hotel; he only had exams in the morning the next day, and he needed to spend some time packing up his things, so the two of them hung up.

After finishing the last few mouthfuls of porridge, Jiang Zhihuo went downstairs to throw out the trash. When he came back and washed his hands clean, he, extremely conflicted and very cautious, lifted the black plastic bag using two fingers.

—It was something he bought himself; whether he used it or not, at the very least, he had to open the packaging first.

Jiang Zhihuo braced himself mentally, forced himself to ignore the heat burning at the base of his ears, and took a deep breath.

The instant he opened the box, the back of his ears got even, even, even hotter.

The real thing was even freaking more intense than the pictures!!

The chain was long and slender, the beads went from small to large, each one distinct, and there was even a heart-shaped charm attached to the pull ring at the very end!

Mm… it’s, it’s actually pretty delicate…

There was also a small jar of oil in the box. Jiang Zhihuo held it in his palm, so stimulated that his hand was trembling.

This thing…

Jiang Zhihuo involuntarily imagined the scene of it being used on himself…

At that very moment, the phone tossed on the coffee table began vibrating wildly; the vibration sounded unusually sharp and clear against the glass tabletop. Someone was making a call.

Jiang Zhihuo was startled, and like someone with a guilty conscience, abruptly stuffed the thing in his hand into his bag, then kicked the bag to the other side, and hurriedly grabbed his phone.

He pressed the screen to light it up and saw that it was a group voice chat.

No. 1 High School’s arrangement for evening self-study before major exams was relatively flexible, with voluntary participation; those who did not want to come to school could go home early to rest. After all, efficient revision would not hinge on a single night.

Three minutes earlier, the eternal second place had shared a science comprehensive question in the group chat. His question predictions were generally quite accurate, so many people liked to consult him before exams.

Eternal second place: Everyone pay attention to this type of physics question, it’s a score-pulling question—

Ahhh, I just happened to run into this type of question. The explanation is too complicated, and I don’t really understand it. Do you have time to open a voice call and explain it?

Me too, me too.

Eternal second place: OK.

The eternal second place explained the problem-solving approach in the group voice chat. Jiang Zhihuo clicked into the voice call to listen for a while, then left the call.

After that round of interruption, those few thoughts about that thing were completely gone.

Jiang Zhihuo took his cold medicine, took a photo for Yan Mu, reported today’s physical condition to the doctor, washed up, and got into bed.

The doctor was probably busy and did not reply immediately; by the time he responded, Jiang Zhihuo was already asleep and did not see the doctor’s message.

Doctor: Try to be more careful. Your cold has lasted a bit long. Some symptoms of the estrus period are similar to those of a cold, pay attention to the condition of your gland.

*

Jiang Zhihuo did not sleep soundly, waking up several times in the middle of the night. The next morning, he slept straight through in a daze, not hearing a single one of the three alarms. When he opened his eyes and looked at the time, it was already past eight, only fifteen minutes left until the exam began!

“Holy shit!”

Jiang Zhihuo cried out in shock, jumped out of bed, changed his clothes at lightning speed, didn’t even look, grabbed the bag that had been thrown on the floor, and rushed outside.

He hurried into the exam hall in a rush; Jiang Zhihuo still hadn’t caught his breath, his face pale.

The student in the seat in front, who was fairly familiar with Jiang Zhihuo, turned around while passing the exam paper and asked in a lowered voice, “Are you okay?”

“It’s fine.” Jiang Zhihuo took a sip of water and received the exam paper.

The morning exam had come too rushed, and there was no time to send a message to Yan Mu. Only after the exam ended did he get the chance to say a few words to him. Yan Mu said that the recommendation exam was over and that he planned to come back after finishing lunch.

Jiang Zhihuo said okay.

He pressed the screen off and felt that his head was a bit dizzy.

The morning exam was fine, but after lunch, Jiang Zhihuo’s condition grew worse and worse; cold sweat broke out all over his body, and he felt his body temperature rising. He went to the infirmary to measure his temperature, but there was no fever.

He took some medicine, and before entering the exam hall in the afternoon, Jiang Zhihuo asked the front-seat boy who was also waiting in the hallway to enter, “Do you feel like it’s a bit cold?”

“No, not at all, it’s twenty-seven degrees today!” The front-seat student was wearing only a thin short-sleeved shirt. He tilted his head and, seeing that Jiang Zhihuo’s complexion was really terrible, said, “Holy shit, Huo-ge, why does your face look this bad?!”

“I don’t know.” Jiang Zhihuo forcefully breathed out several times, his breath scorching hot.

The invigilator, holding a metal detector, reminded them at the classroom door, “Candidates, please leave your materials outside the classroom and line up to enter!”

Jiang Zhihuo shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Just as he was about to take out the ruler and draft paper he needed to bring, he suddenly touched something that originally should not have been in his schoolbag.

—That long string! And the oil!

Jiang Zhihuo: “!!”

His heart gave a sudden thump, and Jiang Zhihuo abruptly remembered something. Some symptoms of estrus are similar to those of a cold!!

Previously, because he thought it was a cold, he had never thought in the direction of the estrus at all!!

Jiang Zhihuo moved to the very end of the line, wanting to communicate with the doctor. He opened the chat window, but saw the message the doctor had sent last night.

Doctor: Try to be more careful. Your cold has lasted a bit long. Some symptoms of estrus are similar to those of a cold; pay attention to the condition of your gland.

The doctor had already warned him last night! But he didn’t see it!!

“Students in the hallway, please quickly go through security and enter the exam room!” the invigilator urged. “That student at the very end, why are you still looking at your phone?! Put it away, now!!”

The invigilator strode over quickly, took Jiang Zhihuo’s bag, and pressed him to enter the exam room.

“Wait a moment, teacher, there’s something I haven’t taken.” With absolutely no time to think, Jiang Zhihuo used the bag to block his movement and slipped the string he bought yesterday into his pocket.

The front-seat student was still uneasy about Jiang Zhihuo’s complexion. Using the excuse of passing the exam paper, he turned around and said, “Huo-ge, are you running a fever? How about taking leave for this one and going to get checked?”

Jiang Zhihuo: “…It’d be best if it’s just a fever.”

Fortunately, because his estrus period was unstable, Jiang Zhihuo put on high-strength suppressant patches every day; at the very least, it ensured that his pheromones would not leak at any time, and the alphas present would not be affected.

The bell signaling the start of the exam rang. Jiang Zhihuo adjusted his breathing, silently praying that it would not be estrus, and began answering the questions.

However, the more one worries about something, the more it tends to happen.

The first hour was still alright, with no symptoms appearing.

But gradually, Jiang Zhihuo felt his head grow even more muddled, and his breathing slowly became heavy.

He could even feel his pheromones continuously spilling outward; fortunately, after being filtered by the suppressant patch, the scent was covered up, and no one noticed anything unusual.

Jiang Zhihuo tried his best to remain conscious, but when he had only two major questions left, his heartbeat suddenly stalled, then began pounding with extreme force, as if something were smashing into his chest, blocking his lungs and squeezing out every bit of air.

He could not breathe, and the area behind him was slowly soaking damp.

Jiang Zhihuo was unable to write a single more word. He gripped the pen tightly, his fingertips raking across the scratch paper, nearly tearing it to shreds.

Seeing that something was not quite right here, the invigilator walked over to Jiang Zhihuo’s side and asked, “Student, are you okay? Student? Student?”

Jiang Zhihuo was unable to respond.

The student in the front seat whispered to the invigilator, “Teacher, Huo-ge already wasn’t in good shape before he came in. Should he go to the infirmary?”

Jiang Zhihuo shook his head, clutched at his pocket, and squeezed out a few words from his mouth: “Can I go to the restroom?”

Seeing that he was truly uncomfortable, the invigilator didn’t make him register his name. “Go, go quickly.”

Bang.。

Jiang Zhihuo shut the door heavily and braced his entire body against the door panel.

F*ck this. What exam is there to take? Every time there’s an exam, it triggers heat.

Last time during the esturs, he collapsed in the bathroom. Thankfully, Yan Mu had been there.

But this time, Yan Mu was still on the way back from City B! There was no way to wait for him!

Even if he had to go to the isolation classroom, he had to be able to walk there first!

Jiang Zhihuo pulled the item from his pocket.

He stared at it for a moment, then unscrewed the oil and poured some into his hand.

Gritting his teeth, he slowly began to push it in.

The unfamiliar sensation was truly hard to describe, but it was indeed effective; his estrus symptoms had genuinely eased. Although they were not completely suppressed, at least he was able to speak and walk normally.

Jiang Zhihuo: “……”

He washed his hands clean, forcing himself to ignore the bit of awkward discomfort behind him. Then he returned to the classroom, finished writing the last two major questions at the fastest speed possible, handed in his paper early, and left the school at a brisk pace.

Yan Mu would probably need about another hour to arrive.

Jiang Zhihuo forced himself to put on an act as if nothing at all was wrong and walked toward the school gate; on the way, he unexpectedly ran into the physics teacher, who was about to head home.

“You came out this quickly?!” The physics teacher glanced at the time; there were still forty minutes left.

Jiang Zhihuo frowned. “Mhm.”

“This physics exam was very difficult. Did you hand it in early? You can’t get arrogant just because you did well on the previous two exams!”

Jiang Zhihuo couldn’t speak at all. If he opened his mouth, his abnormal state would be noticed immediately, so all he could do was keep responding with “Mhm.”

After dealing with the physics teacher, Jiang Zhihuo hurriedly opened the hospital’s official account to book a suppression ward. With his head lowered as he operated his phone and not watching the road, he walked straight into someone head-on.

The instant he caught that person’s scent, the nerves Jiang Zhihuo had kept taut all afternoon suddenly relaxed.

—It was Yan Mu!!

He was wearing a mask, and the suppressant patch had not failed; only a normal amount of pheromones was leaking out, so at first Yan Mu did not notice anything unusual about Jiang Zhihuo.

“Why did you come out?” Yan Mu asked.

Jiang Zhihuo shook his head and said hoarsely, “Yan-ge, let’s go back.”

After saying that, he lowered his head and walked straight ahead.

Yan Mu saw that something was wrong and hurried to follow, asking, “Xiao Zhou, what’s wrong with you?”

Jiang Zhihuo said nothing, only kept shaking his head, and it was not until he opened the door that he suddenly grabbed Yan Mu’s hand.

—He couldn’t hold back anymore!

The moment his whole body relaxed, the lingering sensation behind him became even more intensely stimulating.

It was trembling! Maybe from excitement, or perhaps from instinct. But within that overwhelming, tingling sensation, he knew exactly what it was he truly desired.

Yan Mu’s heart gave a sudden jolt. As their pheromones touched, that indescribable feeling surged through both of them in an instant.

“Estrus period?”

“Mhm…” Jiang Zhihuo tore off the suppressant patch, and the intoxicating scent of wine burst forth, overwhelming the room. He grabbed Yan Mu’s hand, pinned him against the door, and kissed him.

The sweet fragrance of wine filled every corner of the room, and the searing heat of their bodies left no room to avoid contact.

It was not their first heat; even under normal circumstances, they would be unable to restrain themselves, and Yan Mu had long been familiar with what came next. They kissed, biting each other’s lips, earlobes, and collarbones. In between kisses, they searched for moments to breathe, holding each other with all their strength fiercely and instinctively, as if trying to merge the other into their very bloodstream.

Yan Mu gently stroked down Jiang Zhihuo’s back, inch by inch.

Lower.

Then, his fingers suddenly paused.

—He felt a small ring.