Chapter 2

Early Monday morning, Lu Heyang entered the school gates. He Wei, coming from the adjacent parking lot, arrived half a minute later, his face darkly overcast. He hadn't taken more than a few steps before he was stopped.

'Please wear your Wristband.' A mechanical prompt sounded, the barrier arm locked in place, and He Wei, along with the classmates behind him, were all held back.

Young Master He had probably just been subjected to domestic discipline the night before, for though his expression was foul, he still produced his Wristband without a word and put it on. Once cleared, he walked a few steps to Lu Heyang's side, frowning. 'I must say, you look completely like someone watching a show.'

'Absolutely not,' Lu Heyang replied.

He Wei clearly didn't believe him, giving a soft snort. 'Is the Chairman still at home?'

'He left just this morning.'

'Did you have another oppressive weekend?' He Wei lowered his voice. 'My dad knew Uncle Lu was back and told me to go play at your place. I asked him if he wanted my life.'

Lu Heyang smiled. 'Is it that terrifying?'

'Yes,' He Wei said. 'I've been afraid of your dad since I was little. You know that better than anyone.'

After two seconds of quiet, he spoke again. 'I haven't been back much these past few years, so I don't know… Uncle Lin, is he… all right?'

'He's all right.' Lu Heyang glanced at his watch. 'Time for class.'

The two went upstairs. He Wei was assigned to Class Two, next door to Lu Heyang. He patted Lu Heyang's shoulder and lazily entered his own classroom through the back door.

'Excuse me, could you wait a moment?'

Lu Heyang was just about to walk into his classroom when he suddenly heard someone call from behind. The voice wasn't loud, even rather low, but the corridor was empty and quiet, so it was still perfectly clear.

He turned around. Before he could even make out who it was, the person had already walked up to him, head lowered, pulling a stack of papers from his hand and offering them. 'These are materials about the class assignments.'

Lu Heyang didn't speak, just reached out and took them. Their heights were not far apart, but the Alpha never lifted his head. Lu Heyang could only see his lowered lashes, his high, straight nose bridge, and his very pale lips — faint bruises on his brow bone and the corner of his mouth, his entire right cheek flushed and swollen.

Seeming to sense his gaze, the Alpha tilted his head slightly to the other side — a very subtle movement.

'Thank you,' Lu Heyang said.

The other seemed to have been waiting for just such a reply. He gave a quick nod. 'You're welcome.' The trailing note was a bit faint and hoarse. Having said this, he turned and left, going to knock on the door of the next classroom to continue delivering the materials.

Lu Heyang took the documents into the classroom and passed them out. When he returned to his seat, his deskmate was hugging his head, catching up on sleep — a scab of dried blood on his elbow, reportedly from a recent skateboarding fall. Lu Heyang thought of the Alpha who had just delivered the materials, his arms exposed in short sleeves dotted with purplish bruises, the Wristband on his wrist the cheapest kind: shoddy, old, with no adjustable settings.

Though wearing a Wristband inevitably caused Alphas varying degrees of physical and mental discomfort, since it suppressed their Pheromone, there was still a difference between one costing tens of thousands and one costing a few hundred. Generally speaking, the more expensive the Wristband, the lighter the discomfort it brought, and the cheaper it was, the worse.

It was quite strange. Even if he'd never clearly seen that Alpha's face, those battered arms were truly easy to recognize — genuinely too rare a sight at the Preparatory Academy.

'Xu Ze?' The Omega sitting by the door in the next classroom looked somewhat surprised. 'What brings you to our building?'

Xu Ze seemed to be lost in thought. Hearing her, he turned to look at her somewhat slowly, searched his memory for a few seconds, but still couldn't recall who she was, nor how the Omega knew his name. He answered, 'Delivering materials.'

'Ah, I know — the Dean of Students must have grabbed a student on the way to run an errand.' The Omega stood up, reaching out to take them, and only then did she see the injuries on Xu Ze's face. She drew a sharp breath. 'You…'

Xu Ze didn't turn his head aside in the slightest, his attitude completely un-concealing. 'These are materials about the class assignments. Please pass them along.'

'Okay…'

The Omega held the materials, hesitantly looking at Xu Ze's face. Xu Ze said a low 'Thank you,' turned, and left.

'Did you see that? Xu Ze's face and hands.' The Omega passed the materials down, then turned to whisper to her deskmate.

'Why is he always injured? I heard from others he gets into trouble outside and gets beaten up.'

'I don't believe it. He doesn't seem like that kind of person.'

'I don't really believe it either, but that's what they all say…'

Xu Ze walked on the skybridge. The wind blew over, sharpening his senses a little. He looked back at that teaching building. Class was about to start, the corridors empty, only a few students delivering materials moving sporadically on other floors. Xu Ze lowered his head again to look at his arms, then raised a hand to touch his right cheek. It still hurt, and felt a little warm.

In the afternoon, all the S-Class students in the second year of high school — thirty-five in total — were summoned to a meeting in the conference room. According to previous years' practice, these thirty-five students would be merged into two classes in their third year and receive Early Admission qualifications from various League universities.

Apart from the start of first year, today counted as the first formal group gathering for the S-Class. The second semester of second year was already more than half over; from now on, similar activities specially arranged for them would become increasingly frequent.

'Gu Yunchi didn't come?' After sitting down in the conference room, He Wei scanned the room. 'Has he attended school for more than thirty days in a year?'

'Probably not,' Lu Heyang answered.

Not long after, the teacher arrived, did a rough headcount, and began calling roll.

'Class Eleven, Xu Ze.'

No one answered. The teacher looked up and spoke again. 'Class Eleven, Xu Ze.'

'Not here yet, is he?'

The teacher moved the mouse, about to make a note, when a tall, lean figure suddenly appeared at the doorway. That hand, wearing an old Wristband and covered in bruises, lifted, its long fingers curling to give a light knock on the door.

'Here.'

A very clear, clean tone. The Alpha was still breathing a little heavily. 'Teacher, sorry, I'm late.'

'It's fine, please come in, find a seat yourself.'

'Xu Ze.' He Wei leaned back in his chair, spinning a pen, and said with interest, 'Isn't that the Alpha we saw at the school gate last week, the one on the bicycle? Turns out he's an S-Class too.'

Lu Heyang was looking down at the documents on the table. 'I have some impression.'

'Hmm, rare.' He Wei paused, then realized. 'Wait, you said last time you didn't know him.'

'He came to our class to deliver materials this morning.'

'Oh… I see.' As he spoke, Xu Ze was already walking over. He Wei narrowed his eyes, suddenly reached out, and flicked a finger. Lu Heyang's pen, struck by the force, rolled away with the momentum — landing right in front of Xu Ze, who was about to step up onto the platform.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lu Heyang saw Xu Ze stop, and in that moment of pause, Xu Ze's body swayed noticeably. Then he quickly bent down, picked up the pen, and placed it lightly on the edge of the table. Lu Heyang's gaze followed from the Alpha's fingertips up along his arm, finally landing on his left face — far more normal-looking than the bruised and swollen right side — and said, 'Thank you.'

Xu Ze seemed a bit flustered, probably because he was late. He gave a hurried nod, murmured a low 'Mm,' and stepped up.

'A little interesting.' He Wei slumped forward in a posture of someone sleeping on a desk, smiling. 'Looks gloomy and withdrawn, didn't expect him to be so helpful.'

Lu Heyang picked up the pen from the edge of the table and placed it properly in front of him, saying only, 'Next time, throw your own pen.'