16

This weekend was kind of boring. The replacement phone he got was even worse than the last one - couldn't even get through one mechanics lesson without lagging. Even Wen Ran lost patience. Could only draw diagrams himself, read, do problems.

The Gu Family driver came on time to take him to the Hospital for a dressing change. The wound on the back of his hand had formed a thin scab. Didn't hurt as much anymore.

Wen Ran was just looking forward to going to the Preparatory School now. School days were as monotonous as when he was hospitalized, sure, but being hospitalized was monotony plus pain. School was just monotony. For him, that was already worth treasuring - at least he could breathe freely.

His desk mate was an omega named Tao Susu - pretty and a total chatterbox. From the first day Wen Ran sat down in class, her mouth basically never stopped. Instantly familiar, she dragged Wen Ran to admire her fancy manicure, her insane game rankings, the ball python she kept in her room, and the kangaroos on her family's estate.

That thick, vibrant, extroverted living-person energy - Wen Ran often couldn't handle it. Like a nuclear blast suddenly shooting into a sewer, leaving the sewer rat nowhere to hide.

Wen Ran would occasionally run into Lu Heyang at the Preparatory School, walking with an alpha who looked not-quite-serious but cheerfully open on his own - probably He Wei. Lu Heyang didn't react when he saw him, probably didn't even remember who he was.

Finally Monday came. The moment Wen Ran walked into class, Tao Susu lowered her voice: 'Come look, come look!' She pointed at two boxes on his chair. 'They were here when I arrived. A laptop and a mobile phone. Is someone pursuing you?'

Wen Ran's first reaction wasn't surprise but fear, like those two things were stolen goods. He picked them up dully and looked them over carefully - both were the latest top-of-the-line models, still sealed, just casually placed on his chair.

'Oh my god, what happened to your hand?' Tao Susu just noticed Wen Ran's left hand was wrapped in gauze, with some bruising on his arm.

'Took a fall. Not serious.' Wen Ran said. 'Probably a mix-up. I'll go find a teacher to check the surveillance.'

Tao Susu pointed at the fixed silver nameplate in the upper left corner of Wen Ran's desk, with clear black text showing his name, class, and student ID. 'What are you talking about?'

'...' Wen Ran had no choice but to sit down first, staring at the computer and phone, lost in thought.

'Sure, the Preparatory School has plenty of rich people, but these two together are close to a hundred grand. Nobody just leaves that lying around.' Tao Susu grinned. 'It must be from someone secretly crushing on you. In that case, I think we should still check the cameras.'

'No.' Hard to imagine, but Wen Ran was basically sure. 'It's from someone who hates me.'

'What?' Seeing his low mood, Tao Susu reached for his forehead. 'Are you sick? Or did you hit your head when you fell?'

'Maybe sick.'

He'd been off since yesterday. The Gland swelling had gone down, but it started running hot constantly. His whole body felt off. He took his temperature - slight fever. Plus obvious emotional issues: dizzy, heavy, low, restless.

Last time this happened was the second month after surgery. The doctor was doing a Gland check and accidentally bumped his chin - didn't hurt at all - but he suddenly burst into tears.

The doctor got scared too, because Wen Ran hadn't shed a single tear the whole time he was hospitalized no matter how much it hurt. They did a detailed exam right then and there, and concluded that his Gland had started secreting Pheromones, which was stimulating his immune system and affecting his hormone levels - causing the fever and the inability to control his emotions.

It had been so long since the last episode that Wen Ran had almost forgotten that whole experience. Now with the old illness flaring up, he suddenly realized he and Gu Yunchi were actually fellow sufferers in some way - both got dizzy, feverish, and in bad moods from Pheromone issues. The only real difference was that his reaction to being bumped by the doctor was crying, while Gu Yunchi would probably blow up the whole Hospital.

'Then should you go to the Clinic? If you're not feeling well, ask a teacher for leave.'

'It's fine. It's not that bad.'

Afternoon - outdoor PE class. The teacher told everyone to form their own teams and play ball. Students scattered immediately to various courts. Tao Susu got dragged off to play tennis. Knowing Wen Ran wasn't feeling well and his hand was hurt, she didn't call him along, told him to rest.

Everyone was gone. Wen Ran turned his head and, across two meters, asked the only other person left alone - an alpha: 'What do you want to play?'

Song Shuangang pushed his glasses up, pointed at Wen Ran's left hand: 'You're like this and you still want to play?'

The two of them had been forced onto a team once by the PE teacher. Song Shuangang came from a scholarly family - his grandfather was a painter, each piece auctioning for at least tens of millions. He was passionate about reading. If the PE teacher hadn't strongly insisted he move around, he wouldn't have partnered with Wen Ran to play ball.

'I'll use my right hand. And it's PE, gotta move a little.'

'Then table tennis.'

Wen Ran looked at the equipment bin: 'The paddles are all taken. I'll go to the Equipment Room to grab a pair.'

'Sure.' Song Shuangang pulled a book from behind him and walked over to a tree.

The sun was a bit harsh. Wen Ran made it to the Equipment Room with some effort, rested a moment in the cool shade - seemed a little better. His face and ears were burning hot. He slowly went to the standing cabinet to look for paddles.

'Will it kill you to walk faster, young master? Chi Jiahán finally agreed to play badminton with me. I've only got a racket in my hand right now. Hurry up and find me a shuttlecock - one with nice full feathers!'

In the hallway, a vaguely familiar voice came through someone's mobile phone on speaker. Wen Ran stopped and turned around, saw Gu Yunchi walking in with a face that looked utterly annoyed, saying: 'Why don't you just go catch a goose.'

Eyes met. The Equipment Room suddenly felt extra spacious and quiet. Only He Wei's voice rang out loud: 'I would! But is there still time to catch a goose, I'm asking you!'

'What's the point of asking me.' Gu Yunchi hung up after saying that.

He opened the cabinet next to him to look for a shuttlecock. Wen Ran turned back, grabbed two paddles, and was about to grab a ping pong ball when he saw a shuttlecock in the iron basket nearby - just one. Either someone put it there by mistake or all the others had been taken. Wen Ran hesitated a long time, then picked it up and handed it to Gu Yunchi: 'There's one shuttlecock here. Just one.'

Gu Yunchi walked over, took the shuttlecock, glanced at it, and tossed it straight back into the basket: 'No. Feathers aren't full enough.'

He was wearing his school uniform today, but it didn't make him look any more innocent. Still cold and weary, tone chilly and hard, a kind of disdainful disgust. Wen Ran stared at the discarded shuttlecock - it really was bald, looked like it had been beaten half to death in its lifetime - and suddenly tears were streaming down his face.

'Okay.' Wen Ran didn't move, said flatly in a low voice, 'Then find one yourself.'

His voice was clearly trembling when he spoke. Gu Yunchi heard it too, turned to look at him, seemed to pause: 'What do you mean.'

'Nothing.' Not sad, not in pain - just purely wanting to cry because of his body. Tears plopped down, Wen Ran quickly explained, 'Nothing to do with you.'

'Of course it has nothing to do with me.' Gu Yunchi was coldly blunt.

Wen Ran didn't dare say it, but he actually wanted to smell Gu Yunchi's Pheromone. He didn't understand why either - just thought maybe smelling it would make him feel a bit better. But how could he make that kind of request to Gu Yunchi? Only a crazy person would do that.

He didn't know that many questions could be answered from middle school biology textbooks. In an AO Test, between Alphas and Omegas, Pheromones are the best catalyst and soothing agent. A high-match AO Test pair can even be triggered to have physiological and psychological reactions the moment they see each other's face—he had rarely gone to Preparatory School in the past, and his tutors only taught his main subjects; no one gave him biology class.

Seeing Gu Yunchi didn't seem to be leaving, Wen Ran carefully asked: 'The computer and the mobile phone - did you put them on my seat?'

Tears kept flowing down his sunburned face. He looked pitiful. Gu Yunchi frowned: 'Don't tell me you're this touched.'

'No, my old phone was really old, not worth anything. You didn't need to buy something this expensive. I'll return it to you in a bit.'

'It's just a computer and a phone. You're used to being poor - don't drag me into it.'

That was the logic. Expensive for Wen Ran, nothing to Gu Yunchi. Plus it would completely shut him up, prevent future grievances like 'my phone broke because of that accident' from being dredged up - same function as that model.

'Thank you.' Tears clung to his lashes, uncomfortable. Wen Ran wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, hesitated, then still said: 'Sorry. I shouldn't have gone into that small room.'

'There's no door. Going in isn't your problem. Stop apologizing.' Gu Yunchi turned and pulled open a cabinet door, took out a shuttlecock. He closed it, glanced at Wen Ran, voice flat: 'But you don't deserve to look at their photos.'

Right now his mind was in an involuntary state - Wen Ran couldn't really process every word. He just understood that he really shouldn't have appeared in front of Gu Yunchi's parents, even in photos.

He nodded, Wen Ran still said: 'Sorry.'

'Why didn't you cry at dinner last time? Crying for my grandfather to see is more useful than crying for me.' Gu Yunchi said. 'After all, your face is so big you got my grandfather to specifically arrange a dinner.'

Knowing it was sarcasm, Wen Ran still said earnestly: 'Grandfather Gu arranged the dinner for you. And I'm not crying today because of last time, and I'm not crying on purpose for you to see.'

'Who believes that. The moment I show up, you cry.'

Wen Ran had no way to explain, mumbled: 'If you don't believe it, forget it.'

Gu Yunchi's cold face shifted his gaze from those wet red eyes. His hand went down to touch his school pants pocket - an unconscious move to feel for his cigarette case. But it was empty - he hadn't brought cigarettes into school. Impatiently frowning, he raised his hand to look at his Wristband, tapped it once with his fingertip.

Wen Ran heard a beep, wasn't sure if it was a prompt for adjusting a setting. He stared at Gu Yunchi without blinking, asked: 'What's wrong with you?'

Expressionless, Gu Yunchi looked at him, said: 'Stop staring at me.'

Scared by the warning, Wen Ran sniffed, immediately moved his gaze, turned his head to look elsewhere.

Gu Yunchi wouldn't let him look, so he could only face the cabinet and ask: 'Last week's car-ramming people - did you find out who was behind it?'

'Whatever can be found out are just scapegoats. Not interesting.'

'Then how can we find the mastermind? If it's not dealt with, there'll definitely be a next time.'

'A few more times and maybe we'll catch them.'

'That's dangerous, isn't it?'

'Whatever.' Gu Yunchi said. 'Worst case, I just die.'

His own survival instinct was low - he was just an unimportant nobody, fine. But how was Gu Yunchi also acting like he didn't care whether he lived or died? Wen Ran was startled, instinctively wanted to turn and look at him, but held back just in time.

Silence between them for a moment. Wen Ran heard Gu Yunchi say coldly: 'Your hand's like this and you still want to play ball.'

'Right hand holds the paddle. Left hand...' Wen Ran finally turned back, still didn't dare look at Gu Yunchi, afraid of getting scolded. He raised his left hand, slightly curled his palm, thumb up against the index finger, made a pinching motion. 'Like this I can hold the ball.'

'You're quite the cripple-with-determination.' Gu Yunchi said.

Wen Ran said: 'It's alright.'

The mobile phone rang again. Gu Yunchi couldn't be bothered to answer, took the shuttlecock and walked out. Wen Ran grabbed a ping pong ball and also left the Equipment Room. After crying he felt a bit better. He wiped his eyes as he walked a few meters behind Gu Yunchi, suddenly saw an alpha in the distance cursing as he headed this way - seemed to be He Wei. Wen Ran decisively turned into a flower bed path to take the long way around.

Back at the field, Song Shuangang was still sitting under the tree reading. Wen Ran walked up to him: 'Got it. Let's play.'

'Sure.' Song Shuangang closed his book and stood up. Seeing Wen Ran's face, he was genuinely startled. 'What happened to you?'

Wen Ran still said: 'Let's play.'

'Oh...' Song Shuangang took the paddle, paused, then said: 'Administrative Building 210 specifically handles campus bullying and some other misconduct. If you need it, you can go there for help.'

Wen Ran: 'Huh?'