11

Tuesday, swimming class. Xu Ze took a locker card from the hall; today he had drawn Changing Room 6.

After last week's midterms, noticeably more students had asked off from this swimming class. The PE teacher turned a blind eye, focused only on catching those who hadn't passed, and didn't really supervise the rest, so the entire Swimming Pool was emptier than it usually was during class hours.

Xu Ze could have skipped swimming class too, but he still packed his bag the moment class ended and came straight over.

He passed a few changing rooms along the way—few people inside, the occasional Alpha or two chatting as they changed. When he reached the door of Changing Room 6, the view suddenly brightened: this room had the largest skylight, and the afterglow of the setting sun poured in in broad sheets, dyeing the lockers and the bench a pale gold.

A tall, upright Alpha stood in that patch of light, his back to Xu Ze, lifting his hands to pull off his school T-shirt.

The muscles along his arms and back flexed and eased with the motion, as if they were breathing. Xu Ze stood rooted for several seconds before he caught himself; for no reason at all he gripped his bag strap, meaning to walk forward—but the red lettering on the protruding sign at the door made it plain enough that this was, indeed, Changing Room 6.

Lu Heyang put his school uniform into the locker, ran a hand absently through the loose hair at his forehead, opened his water bottle, and drank it dry. He picked up his swim trunks, ready to head for the showers, turned—and saw Xu Ze standing in the doorway. Lu Heyang shut the locker and, walking toward the door, said, 'What a coincidence.'

'Mm.' This time Xu Ze answered quickly, though it was only after the sound left his mouth that he understood what Lu Heyang's coincidence meant: that they had both drawn Changing Room 6.

'Hot out?' Lu Heyang asked suddenly, as he passed Xu Ze.

Xu Ze looked up at him in some confusion, but immediately dropped his gaze from Lu Heyang's eyes, looked elsewhere—though in truth he didn't know where would be better to look. Lu Heyang was bare-chested, half a meter from him, and yet Xu Ze felt it was too close, even though they were both Alphas.

'Your face is sunburned,' Lu Heyang went on.

Xu Ze's breath caught. His gaze drifted a fraction. 'Yeah,' he answered. 'A bit hot.'

But Lu Heyang said, 'The sun's almost down, and it's still this hot?'

For a moment Xu Ze had no idea how to answer. Lu Heyang had already taken off his Wristband; his Pheromone was spreading in a small radius, partly held back by his old Wristband, but still detectable. An S-Class Alpha's Pheromone carried an innate pressure, like an invisible hand closing around the throat—or somewhere else. Xu Ze's Adam's apple moved.

He had forgotten that his own Wristband was of poor quality: if it could not fully block Lu Heyang's Pheromone, then of course it could not completely isolate his own either.

When Lu Heyang caught the thickening scent of another Alpha's Pheromone in the air, he only glanced at Xu Ze once, then walked toward the shower room opposite.

Lu Heyang changed into his swim trunks and came out of the shower. Xu Ze was still in his school uniform, sitting on the bench, staring at the floor in a daze. The dim yellow sunlight fell across his back, soundless.

'Class is about to start,' Lu Heyang said, putting his school pants into the locker, reminding him.

Xu Ze lifted his head as if waking from a dream, looking at Lu Heyang's retreating back. Two seconds passed. He made a small 'mm,' picked up his swim trunks, and went to the shower.

By the time he reached the door he had, out of habit, grabbed his collar, pulling his shirt off as he walked. Lu Heyang took his goggles and stepped out of the changing room, just in time to see Xu Ze's shirt half-removed, a strip of his lower back exposed—narrow, taut, a few scars here and there, but the skin smooth.

The shirt was just about to slide down past his back when Xu Ze turned into the shower and disappeared from Lu Heyang's line of sight.

In class, Xu Ze worked through the training targets the PE teacher had set. Lu Heyang was two lanes away, free-racing with a few Alphas from their class. Half an hour later, after the teacher logged the grades, Xu Ze finished early and went back to the changing room.

He took his clothes, showered quickly in the shower room, didn't even dry his hair, and went straight out to the Swimming Pool lobby.

There was a drink machine in the lobby. Xu Ze stood in front of it for a while, confirming that the mineral water inside was out of stock. Class would end in about ten minutes. Without hesitating, he turned and walked out of the Swimming Pool.

The nearest drink machine was at the Basketball Court, but it wasn't really close—and the usual route was under repair, requiring a detour. Xu Ze, his hair still wet, ran through the slanting sun and the tree shadows. The sun was indeed about to set, but with no evening breeze it was indeed a bit hot; two steps of running and he was sweating.

Lu Heyang finished his shower five minutes before the end of class, came back to the changing room toweling his hair, glanced at his Mobile Phone—He Wei said he was waiting for him in the parking lot. Lu Heyang gathered his things into his bag and shut the locker.

'Heyang, ready? Come on, let's go together.' A few Alphas from their class had also packed up, come over from another changing room, and called to him from the door.

'Ready, let's go,' Lu Heyang said.

When they reached the door of Changing Room 4, Xu Ze was running toward them from the far end of the corridor, panting, wearing that old black T-shirt, his hair still not dry, his neck damp—impossible to tell if it was sweat or water running down from his hair.

Xu Ze looked up and met Lu Heyang's eyes. He froze for a brief moment, his lips slightly parted, looking as though he were about to say something—but then he noticed there were several other Alphas beside Lu Heyang, so in the end he only pressed his lips together quietly and walked in along the wall.

As they brushed past, an Alpha accidentally bumped Xu Ze; the thing in Xu Ze's hand dropped to the floor. The Alpha said, 'Sorry.' Xu Ze didn't answer. After the others had passed, he bent down in silence and picked it up.

After a few steps, Lu Heyang suddenly turned to look back. What Xu Ze was holding was a bottle of mineral water; after falling on the ground it might have gotten dirty. Xu Ze kept his head lowered, his profile unreadable; he wiped the bottle with his palm, then walked toward Changing Room 6.

His throat was a little dry. Lu Heyang turned back to look at his own empty bottle; after hard exertion he was, in fact, very thirsty. He thought: he'd have to buy a bottle of water in the lobby later.

Thursday morning. The S-Class students of the second year of senior high were organized as a group to go to the neighboring city for a lecture and a visit to the Base. The school was funding it this time, no out-of-pocket cost, but Xu Ze still applied not to go. The teacher, however, came to talk to him shortly afterward, urging him to attend, saying it would be useful for his later choices of school and major.

Thirty-five S-Class students in all; the final confirmed count was thirty-one. Some of them, on the grounds that the school bus wasn't spacious enough and the journey was too long, had their family drivers bring camper vans directly. Lu Heyang and his group, for their part, weren't particular about it; the three of them grabbed travel bags and got on the school bus, taking the last row.

He Wei was quite taken aback that Gu Yunchi was willing to take part—after all, Young Master Gu was a habitual skipper who showed up at school no more than thirty times a year. For him to appear at a collective event like this was, to put it mildly, very strange.

He had been firing questions at him since before they got on the bus. Gu Yunchi, thoroughly annoyed, tossed out a 'Shut up,' closed his eyes, leaned his head against the seat back, and fell asleep.

The other S-Class students trickled onto the bus one after another. Lu Heyang was looking at his phone when he heard He Wei let out a very soft whistle: 'I thought Xu Ze wouldn't come.'

Lu Heyang lifted his head slightly and saw that Xu Ze was looking this way too. The moment their eyes met, Xu Ze turned his head and sat down in a seat somewhere in the middle of the bus. He carried only a backpack, flat-looking, as though it held very little.

More than three hours later, they reached the foot of the Base's mountain, somewhat removed from the City District, looking a little out-of-the-way. The only hotel nearby was the one provided specifically for superior officers and professors on inspection; the conditions were passable.

Everyone gathered in the Hotel Lobby. Because there weren't enough king-bed rooms, several people would have to sleep separately in twin rooms. To be fair, the teacher decided room assignments by drawing lots—whichever room card you drew, that was where you slept.

Lu Heyang raised a hand. 'Teacher, I won't draw. Give me a twin room.'

He hadn't been able to sleep on the bus; he was a little tired now and wanted to rest as soon as possible. He didn't really care which room he got—a single king bed or the small bed of a twin room—it didn't matter.

The teacher handed him a twin-room card. Lu Heyang took it, sank into the sofa, closed his eyes, and waited for the drawing to finish.

Before long, Lu Heyang heard Xu Ze say, 'Teacher, give me a twin room too.'

Lu Heyang half-opened his eyes; across a distance of two or three meters, he saw Xu Ze's profile, blurred.

After Xu Ze finished speaking, a few more Alphas claimed twin rooms. In the end, what was left were all king-bed rooms, so the drawing was no longer necessary.

He Wei and Gu Yunchi, having gone to the restroom after getting off the bus, were handed king-bed room cards directly when they returned to the lobby.

Everyone went to the front desk to register. The lobby manager suddenly came over with a walkie-talkie and said, 'Sorry—Room 503 has a water-pipe problem and needs repair; it can't be occupied for the moment.'

'Who has Room 503?' the teacher asked.

'Me.' Xu Ze raised his hand.

The teacher nodded and asked the front desk, 'Any other rooms? Switch him.'

'One moment.' After checking, the front desk said, somewhat apologetically, 'I'm sorry—there are no rooms available.'

'Then Xu Ze, you may have to share with a classmate for the night.' The teacher turned around. 'Those who just got twin rooms—raise your hands.'

The situation was a little awkward. These S-Class students came from different classes, and Xu Ze usually kept to himself and didn't socialize; the teacher was worried he would end up alone.

But before anyone could raise a hand, a voice sounded—its tone light: 'I have a twin room. Let him stay with me.'

The S-Class students turned to look back, one after another. Only Xu Ze stood still, his expression blank, his shoulders and back drawn tight.