Zhou Shiyi returned home, thinking about Gu Sheng’s strange behavior.

Maybe there were hidden plot points the author hadn’t written yet; he’d just have to wait for the protagonist to discover them.

He shook his head to clear the tangled thoughts. This wasn’t something a mere cannonfodder like him should worry about—he only needed to figure out how to repay the favors he owed.

A series of rapid footsteps sounded down the empty research institute corridor.

The research institute at night felt like a monster that ate people; to avoid being swallowed by the darkness, Gu Sheng kept running as hard as he could.

Throughout the building, only the lights in the lab were still on, like bait lit at night to lure travelers inside.

He reached the lab door, his mind repeating: Don’t open it! Don’t open it!

But his body moved of its own accord and pushed the door open.

“Ah!”

As soon as the door swung open, a pained wail and a strong metallic tang of blood rushed out.

Gu Sheng saw Huang Cheng.

He was being held down on the ground by several researchers in protective suits, and an injection had just been administered into his gland.

Huang Cheng looked somewhat more mature than he had today, more like an adult.

And the alpha who had once been famed in ancient times for his formidable physique could no longer hold back his snot and tears; the muscles all over his body were twitching uncontrollably.

He was begging for mercy.

“Please, I beg you, let me die! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, kill me! Kill me!”

Huang Cheng turned his head to see what it was, but was held back, so he could only turn toward the door where Gu Sheng stood.

Gu Sheng felt as if he’d been frozen in place, unable to move from where he stood.

The scene before him was eerily similar to what had happened in the office today—two figures overlapping—and Gu Sheng kept feeling he’d seen this exact tableau somewhere before, but couldn’t remember where.

Yet Huang Cheng seemed to be looking at him, and at the same time, not looking at him.

He was still begging for mercy, but the man sitting across from him remained unmoved.

From Gu Sheng’s angle, he couldn’t see what the man looked like, only that the man seemed fairly young.

The man crossed his legs, spread the documents, and said, “Increase the dosage.”

As the drug entered the gland, Huang Cheng screamed again, shouting the man’s name: “Zhou Shi Yi! I’ll kill you!”

That call pulled Gu Sheng’s soul back to him.

Gu Sheng jerked upright in bed. Seeing the moonlight streaming through the curtains he hadn’t closed properly and falling across his sheets, he finally realized he’d been having a nightmare.

He rushed into the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water before he could feel real again.

The cold water soaked the collar of his pajamas, but he didn’t have the energy to think about that right now.

He twisted his body and, in an awkward posture, went to look at his gland.

The immature gland quietly emitted a faint, cool pheromone in tune with its owner’s mood.

The back of his neck was smooth, without a single puncture mark.

When touched, it felt slightly swollen and sore; this was because the gland hadn’t matured yet. Once mature, it wouldn’t hurt to the touch.

He’s still an alpha, he hasn’t undergone the experimental modifications, his glands aren’t damaged yet — there’s still time.

Gu Sheng clutched his gland, crying and laughing in front of the mirror.

Tears mixed with the splashed cold water, running from the corners of his eyes down to his jaw.

Gu Sheng stared at himself in the mirror, sinking into madness, but muttered someone else’s name: “Zhou Shi Yi! I’m going to kill you!”

Gu Sheng arrived at the classroom just as the warning bell rang.

The young alpha didn’t notice; everyone in the class was watching him.

Zhou Shiyi was watching him too. Maybe it was just his imagination, but Gu Sheng looked like he hadn’t slept well.

His whole demeanor had grown darker, and paired with his striking looks, he somehow gave off a fragile, vulnerable vibe.

Yesterday, seeing Gu Sheng in the stairwell looking lifeless felt like a trick of Zhou Shi Yi’s imagination.

Zhou Shi Yi remembered that Gu Sheng had taken a week off for sick leave.

He figured it must have been a real illness.

Gu Sheng’s whole state didn’t seem quite right.

Maybe Zhou Shi Yi had lingered on him too long—Gu Sheng turned his head, and their eyes met exactly.

Both of them froze for a moment. Before Zhou Shi Yi could react, Gu Sheng had already looked away.

Zhou Shi Yi watched as Gu Sheng expressionlessly cleaned his desk. The desk had been stuffed full of love letters and heart-shaped breakfast treats; he packed all of it into one bag, nothing left out.

He even shoved the breakfast Zhou Shi Yi brought him, along with the thank-you note, into it.

Qin Shu came over to ask for a breakfast, and Gu Sheng shoved a big bun into her hand.

Sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boys have big appetites; some would rather skip breakfast to sleep a few extra minutes, and often they’re hungry well before mealtime, stomachs growling.

These little omegas, in their pursuit of Gu Sheng, practiced their cooking so hard they’re as good as professional chefs.

Normally Gu Sheng would eat at home before coming, so the extra breakfast would naturally end up in their stomachs—waste not, want not.

Qin Shu was used to asking Gu Sheng for a portion of breakfast; usually Gu Sheng would organize everything neatly into a bag. When teased he’d get embarrassed, but his eyes were always open and honest.

Not like today—everything was just shoved together haphazardly, handed over without even a glance. I don’t know how many little hearts that would break.

Qin Shu unzipped it and, rummaging through the whole pack of love letters like he’d found some treasure, pulled out a serving of breakfast.

If you hadn’t eaten breakfast, you could go to Qin Shu and grab a portion. Qin Shu shoved some random stuff into his mouth, kept rifling through things, and casually handed a package out.

“Damn, Hua’s steamed buns—doesn’t matter they’re not homemade, at least they put some thought into it.” The boy clicked his tongue in admiration when he saw the packaging.

Hua’s xiaolongbao were famous all over H City. They were sold in limited quantities every day; once they were gone, they were gone. Only those who got up early enough had a chance to buy them.

Gu Sheng suddenly heard a name that sounded a little familiar. He turned his head and looked at the boy, puzzled.

“I didn’t even look carefully, give me one.” Qin Shu swallowed what was in his mouth in one gulp and reached for the bag of soup dumplings.

“Give it to me.” Gu Sheng, driven by some inexplicable impulse, took it from the boy’s hand, then put down the sandwich Auntie had made him for breakfast into the boy’s hand. “I’ll swap with you.”

Qin Shu was a bit dumbfounded. “Sheng-ge, you haven’t eaten either. Give me one.”

Gu Sheng ignored him.

Qin Shu regretfully pulled out another breakfast, muttering that she had wanted to eat the Hua family’s soup dumplings for a long time, but it was never on the way; everyone was always short on sleep, so who had time to go to West City to buy xiaolongbao.

Gu Sheng’s mind stirred, and he suddenly remembered why it sounded so familiar.

Most of the students in the class lived in East City; even those whose families were from elsewhere bought an apartment in East City for the children’s schooling convenience, then went back home on weekends.

So there was only one person in the class who would have time to go buy Hua’s xiaolongbao.

Zhou Shiyi’s family lives in the West City, so he takes the bus into school every day — if he really needed to buy something, it would still be more convenient for him than for others.

In the last life, Zhou Shiyi used to bring him breakfast in all sorts of ways to please him.

Then one day, Zhou Shiyi suddenly grew cold toward him and never brought him breakfast again; the two of them became like unfamiliar classmates.

Thinking of this, Gu Sheng suddenly felt a bit queasy.

He thought that he shouldn’t have swapped breakfasts earlier; now that he had this breakfast, neither eating it nor leaving it felt right.

Skipping one meal wouldn’t kill him!

Gu Sheng still didn’t eat the food Zhou Shi Yi had given him.

When Gu Sheng finally took the breakfast, Zhou Shi Yi, unaware of his inner thoughts, only noticed that Gu Sheng seemed even more upset.

He was a beta, so he didn’t feel much, but he saw the students around Gu Sheng quietly take a step back, wanting to put distance between themselves and Gu Sheng, to get away from the pressure radiating from an S-rank alpha.

High-ranking alphas naturally emit an aura of dominance over those of lower ranks like A or O.

Luckily, with the teacher who supervises morning study arriving, Gu Sheng realized what had happened and promptly restrained the agitated pheromones, so nothing serious occurred.

Qin Shu, having narrowly escaped disaster, sighed that Gu Sheng had become stronger — maybe his first heat was approaching, no wonder his mood had been so volatile lately.

After morning self-study, the school intercom crackled twice, and the dean of discipline began a broadcast to the whole school.

“Grade 2, Class 1: Huang Cheng, Li Shu, Wang Song… yesterday afternoon openly caused a disturbance on campus, bullied classmates, with extremely malicious circumstances. The following measures are hereby taken…”

In just a few sentences, the announcement immediately set the whole school abuzz.

Especially the students of Senior Two (Class 1) — they all knew exactly who the people mentioned over the intercom were. This morning’s self-study had a few empty seats, and it was obvious they were the ones who were close with Huang Cheng.

No one had expected Li Shu, who usually had no presence at all, to be involved.

By the time it was time for morning exercise, the notice board already had the six students’ self-criticism letters posted.

The four students involved in the fight and bullying will each receive one major demerit, be publicly criticized before the whole school, and go home to reflect for a week.

Li Shuze transferred after the public reprimand.

As for Huang Cheng, he never showed up at school again after that day; word is he dropped out.

At the same time, the school held an assembly to announce major reforms targeting campus bullying.

If any student has experienced or is currently experiencing bullying at school, they can send an anonymous letter to the principal’s mailbox; the school will investigate, and if the claims are verified, punishments will be carried out immediately.

The Gu family corporation even set up related charitable programs to provide appropriate care and support for those students who had been bullied.

After Zhou Shiyi finished listening, he looked at Gu Sheng ahead. The young man stood in the morning sun like a pine, still growing.

On the way back to class, no one came near Gu Sheng; everyone deliberately left room for the underage alpha.

Zhou Shiyi keenly noticed that Gu Sheng seemed a little unwell.

Gu Sheng hadn’t eaten breakfast today, and on top of that he hadn’t rested properly since he was reborn.

As he stepped onto a stair, everything went black before his eyes and his body swayed; someone beside him reached out and caught him. That person’s hand was steady, taking most of his weight.

He meant to say thanks, words on his lips, but then heard a nightmarish voice.

“Careful.”

Gu Sheng shoved hard; Zhou Shiyi stumbled from the shove, and Gu Sheng himself slammed into the wall behind him, drawing a startled murmur from the crowded stairwell.

Zhou Shiyi steadied himself but didn’t dare step forward.

Gu Sheng looked at him as if he were some kind of ravenous beast.

He pressed himself against the wall, as if that wall could give him the strength to face Zhou Shiyi.

Realizing his lapse, Gu Sheng straightened up and even apologized voluntarily.

“Sorry, I didn’t expect you to come up to me so suddenly; I didn’t react in time.”

Zhou Shi Yi also said, “It’s okay, I wasn’t paying attention.”

It was just a small incident, and soon no one paid it any mind.

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