At lunch break, Zhou Shiyi didn’t choose to nap in the classroom; he went to the library.

Passing the multi-purpose building, Zhou Shiyi saw Gu Sheng at the corner.

Gu Sheng seemed to be talking to someone, holding out a handkerchief to the person opposite him.

Realizing he might have walked in on someone’s confession, Zhou Shiyi intended to take another route, but unexpectedly Gu Sheng keenly looked over in his direction.

“Zhou Shiyi, wait a moment.” Gu Sheng suddenly called after him, and the person from across the courtyard strode over.

Zhou Shiyi didn’t get a clear look at the person across from him, but judging by the build it seemed to be a male omega.

The other person, realizing someone had just witnessed his rejected confession, hurried into the academic building in a panic.

Zhou Shiyi felt a little embarrassed.

He nodded calmly when Gu Sheng arrived. “What a coincidence.”

Gu Sheng sized him up from head to toe. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m going to the library.” Zhou Shiyi flicked the book in his hand.

After that, the two fell silent again.

Zhou Shiyi wasn’t a talkative person, but every time he was with Gu Sheng, there was this strange atmosphere that couldn’t be put into words.

Maybe there was a wall between the cannon fodder and the protagonist.

Gu Sheng of course knew he was heading to the library; for some reason, he just wanted to see what kind of reaction Zhou Shiyi would have.

He knew he had been very popular in high school, as for Zhou Shiyi.

After graduation, at a high school reunion, someone mentioned that name. None of the classmates remembered him clearly; they only knew there was such a person — a specially recruited student with excellent grades. But isn’t it normal for specially recruited students to have good grades?

Gu Sheng didn’t know what mindset he was in; he seemed to be showing off on purpose.

Showing off that he had so many people who liked him, while you, Zhou Shiyi, a beta with hardly any presence, had just barely struggled free from Huang Cheng, an unremarkable alpha.

Just because of his alpha status, others would glance his way more. As a beta, no matter how outstanding you are, no one would notice you. As a beta with such a strong sense of pride, don’t you really feel jealous?

If he really didn’t get jealous, then why even after so many years would he go after those who bullied him, using them as test subjects and conducting inhumane experiments?

Even people like himself, who hadn’t actually laid a hand on anyone, were targeted.

Seeing an omega you can never reach confessing to me—surely you’re absolutely furious with jealousy, right?

Gu Sheng’s whole body trembled with excitement; he suppressed his breath so his heavy breathing wouldn’t alert the other person.

He wanted this sanctimonious hypocrite to show the unhideable, jealousy-twisted, ugly face.

But there was nothing.

Zhou Shiyi just looked at him so calmly, as if he were patiently waiting for him to speak, and also as if he were asking, do you have anything else?

No matter how many times Gu Sheng tried, those bright black eyes always remained so open, so peaceful.

The physical arousal stopped abruptly, like a bucket of cold water being dumped over him.

He suddenly felt so unwilling.

Zhou Shiyi, how dare you not care? How dare you be so calm—does nothing at all ever catch your attention?

Gu Sheng felt struck as if hit over the head; Zhou Shiyi’s clean eyes made all those dark, unseemly thoughts he’d just had look utterly disgraceful.

“Gu Sheng, are you okay?” Zhou Shiyi asked, seeing Gu Sheng standing there as if in a daze; he was a little worried.

Zhou Shiyi couldn’t worry about going to the library at that moment and decided to take Gu Sheng to the school clinic first.

Just as he put his hand on Gu Sheng’s shoulder, Gu Sheng jerked away sharply.

Gu Sheng seemed very afraid of being touched. Zhou Shiyi looked at his missed hand; just like last time, every time he had physical contact with Gu Sheng, Gu Sheng reacted extremely.

This doesn’t seem like physical illness so much as post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I just thought you looked unwell. Are you sure you don’t want to go to the school clinic?”

Zhou Shiyi said softly, trying not to upset him.

Gu Sheng also realized he’d overreacted and shook his head. “I’m just a bit low on sugar. I’ll be fine after a while.”

This morning on the stairs, Gu Sheng really did seem hypoglycemic.

But he clearly remembered that Gu Sheng had accepted his breakfast — could he have forgotten to eat it?

Zhou Shiyi nodded and told Gu Sheng to sit down in the shade and rest.

After everyone left, Gu Sheng buried his face in his hands. What had he even been doing?

Why did his reaction go haywire every time he ran into this person?

He bent over, holding his revolting stomach with one hand.

The steamed bun that had already gone cold felt in his stomach like a hard, cold stone; no matter how much the owner tried to endure it, it sat like a pebble stuck in his chest.

Just like Zhou Shiyi himself — cold and hard; bite him once and it hurts yourself too.

His fully developed canine teeth itched, wanting to sink into something.

Thinking about how miserable he was now, all because of Zhou Shiyi, Gu Sheng’s canine teeth itched even more.

If Zhou Shiyi were in front of him, he would definitely bite him hard—take a chunk of flesh and blood, swallow it, and see if those canines would still itch.

There was a kind of unbroken calm in the school at lunchtime.

Gu Sheng suddenly heard the sound of footsteps; he looked up and just caught sight of Zhou Shiyi hurrying over from a distance.

Seeing Gu Sheng still sitting obediently there, a strange feeling flickered through Zhou Shiyi’s mind — Gu Sheng looked like a well-behaved dog, patiently waiting for its owner to come claim it.

He immediately scorned his own thought. Would the male lead ever look like a dog? What did that have to do with him?

“I’ll buy you a soda.” Zhou Shiyi took two cans, still cold and sweating, and handed one to Gu Sheng.

Gu Sheng hesitated for a moment, and only after confirming they were still on school grounds—and that Zhou Shiyi would never attack him there—did he take the can of soda.

The droplets on the bottle showed it had clearly been taken out of the fridge not long ago.

He had thought Zhou Shiyi had already left.

Zhou Shiyi was an extremely disciplined person, with his own patterns of behavior, as if nothing could ever disturb him.

In college, whether he was getting along great with other roommates, or when classmates from Zhou Shiyi’s major—who, surprisingly, were closer to him than to Zhou Shiyi—were around, he still couldn’t hold Zhou Shiyi’s gaze.

Nor could he keep his eyes on Zhou Shiyi when he caught someone confessing to him.

“You haven’t eaten, right? I bought a sandwich from the supermarket. Do you want it to tide you over?” Zhou Shiyi had bought a sandwich from the supermarket—apparently a decent one.

Why “apparently”? Because just like the original, buying a single sandwich would eat up a day’s worth of his living expenses.

Seeing the sandwich, Gu Sheng’s expression was a little odd. “Why did you buy me a sandwich? And the Xiao Long Bao from the Hua family today—did you buy those too?”

“About what happened with Huang Cheng yesterday, I wanted to thank you.” Zhou Shiyi wasn’t the kind of person who liked owing favors.

For some reason, Gu Sheng felt a little off. He thought nastily: just for this? Does that mean if he told Zhou Shiyi to do something, Zhou Shiyi would actually do it?

“Don’t overthink it. If it were someone else, I’d have done the same.”

Zhou Shiyi nodded at that. In high school, the protagonist-turned-top was indeed an excellent student in both conduct and academics; otherwise he wouldn’t have so often stood up for the main character.

Glancing once over the sandwich, Gu Sheng finally took it: “How much is it in total? I’ll give you the money in a bit.”

“No need.”

As if he hadn’t heard Zhou Shiyi’s refusal, Gu Sheng insisted on stuffing the cash into his hand.

Zhou Shiyi could only say helplessly, “You gave too much.”

Zhou Shiyi only had the small change he used for the bus; he couldn’t break that bill at all.

“Consider it covering this morning too.” Seeing Zhou Shiyi still refusing to accept it, Gu Sheng pretended to be casual and said, “Lately I haven’t had time to eat breakfast at home—just bring me one when you do, and the rest of the money can be my prepayment to you. Weren’t you supposed to thank me for not making you pay me back earlier?”

Zhou Shiyi was still hesitating when he heard him add, “Just bring it for a week.”

“Alright.”

Seeing him agree so readily, Zhou Shiyi could only accept it.

As if some great matter had been settled, Gu Sheng was in a very good mood; a trace of his pheromones leaked out, betraying his owner’s feelings.

Gu Sheng caught the scent of his own pheromones and his face darkened, but when he saw Zhou Shiyi’s expression remained unchanged he remembered—betas can’t smell pheromones.

He stared at Zhou Shiyi like a viper hidden in the shadows, hissing out venomous warnings as he waited for his prey to come close, ready to lunge and deliver a fatal strike.

Zhou Shiyi’s body tensed; that sensation of being watched intensified.

At some point, Qin Shu noticed that Gu Sheng and that special-transfer student were getting closer and closer.

Gu Sheng would occasionally ask Zhou Shiyi to carry things for him, and after the time Zhou Shiyi brought him some things when Gu Sheng sent him to the supermarket to buy draft paper, it was like he’d flipped a switch.

“Zhou Shiyi, help me bring a bottle of water…”

“Zhou Shiyi, help me turn in the homework…”

“Zhou Shiyi…”

He seemed to get addicted to bossing Zhou Shiyi around; the name Zhou Shiyi kept coming up more and more often in his mouth.

Whenever he calculated that the money stored with Zhou Shiyi was running low, he’d send Zhou Shiyi out with some expensive items, and naturally the cash would increase.

Zhou Shiyi felt a bit helpless—at this rate, that money would never be spent.

Their classmates, anyone with eyes to see, could tell that Zhou Shiyi was being looked after by Gu Sheng.

A few days had passed since Huang Cheng dropped out, and everyone tacitly assumed Zhou Shiyi was involved.

They all remembered Zhou Shiyi being bullied before; although none of them had taken part, the bystanding and the cold-shouldering had been real.

Many who were close to Gu Sheng naturally wouldn’t single out Zhou Shiyi on Huang Cheng’s behalf.

But watching Gu Sheng, it was clear he treated Zhou Shiyi more like a gopher than anything else.

He was so keen on bossing Gu Sheng around that he grew lazy and wanted Zhou Shiyi to carry things for him too.

“Hey, you help Sheng-ge carry it, bring me a bottle of cola too.”

The moment the boy spoke, he noticed Gu Sheng—who had been in a good mood—turning his gaze toward him with a dark expression, making his skin prickle.

“You want him to carry things for you?” Gu Sheng said, his voice dark.

The boy suddenly began to stammer: “Y-yeah.”

Gu Sheng’s voice dropped very low, and he let out a grim little laugh: “Fine.”

The boy looked at him as if that wasn’t really workable, but Zhou Shiyi had already left.

Later, when Zhou Shiyi returned from the supermarket, he only brought Gu Sheng a single bottle of water, and Gu Sheng’s mood shifted from dark to bright.

“Did he just ask you to bring coke? Did you hear that?” Receiving the bottle of water, Gu Sheng still insisted on asking though he already knew.

“Mm.” Zhou Shiyi answered puzzledly.

For him, running the errand was just to thank Gu Sheng; as long as it didn’t interfere with his normal life, that was fine. He had his own balance—he felt repaid, and he didn’t care what others thought.

Unexpectedly, hearing that, Gu Sheng’s mood improved considerably.

Qin Shu also noticed that Gu Sheng would divide the breakfast he brought from home and then wait for Zhou Shiyi to arrive.

Sometimes Zhou Shiyi arrived late, and Gu Sheng would even complain, “Why are you so late?”

“Sorry, the traffic was a bit bad.”

From his perspective, Zhou Shiyi explained calmly and unhurriedly, showing no reaction to Gu Sheng’s occasional little moods.

It looked like Gu Sheng was bullying him, but no one else could boss Zhou Shiyi around.

Until that day, Gu Sheng, as usual, handed Qin Shu his breakfast. When he reached the classroom, he found Zhou Shiyi had arrived early and was sitting at his desk doing exercises.

Gu Sheng didn’t find the breakfast Zhou Shiyi had brought him in the desk; his face immediately darkened.

“Zhou Shiyi, where’s my breakfast?” he walked over to Zhou Shiyi.

Zhou Shiyi looked at him, hesitated for a moment, then took out the still-warm breakfast. Gu Sheng didn’t refuse; his face visibly brightened.

He was going to take it and leave, but Zhou Shiyi called after him.

“Wait.”

When he turned back, he found Zhou Shiyi had taken out some change and handed it to him.

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