Chapter 35: The Adorable Angel – 5

Su Zhiyi didn’t react. Gu Xizhou’s tears rolled down in torrents. Like a wailing child clutching her mother, she knelt on the ground, hugging Su Zhiyi’s legs and letting out pitiful sobs: “Uwaaa… Zhiyi, hold me…”

Just hold me, please…

Gu Xizhou cried until her vision blurred with tears, her mouth full of delirious babbling. She had absolutely no idea what nonsense she was spouting.

The eyes of the entire class converged on the two of them, their stares so scorching they threatened to bore holes right through Su Zhiyi’s back.

Su Zhiyi stiffened all over, feeling a wave of scalding heat rush up from the legs Gu Xizhou was hugging, surging straight to her head, scorching her face red and setting her ears on fire.

Good grief, what was wrong with Gu Xizhou? Why was she just hugging her and crying like this? Even if their relationship had improved to the point of being friends, this was crossing a major line.

So many people were watching! A private hug would be one thing, but right now…

The girl, usually so composed and calm, tasted the flustered panic of being utterly at a loss for what to do. Her ears red, she didn’t know how to handle the person beside her.

Behind her, Yan Qing sensed her distress and quickly stepped forward to pull Gu Xizhou away, her face filled with awkwardness: “Alright, Xizhou, you’re sick. We’re still in the middle of training. How about you let Su Zhiyi come visit you after this is over?”

The girl lost in heat frenzy had completely abandoned all reason. The moment Yan Qing’s hand touched her shoulder, Gu Xizhou whipped her head around savagely, snarling at Yan Qing: “Don’t touch her!”

Almost simultaneously, a thick, overpowering wave of rosemary scent erupted from Gu Xizhou, crashing toward Yan Qing—the person nearest to her—like a mountain crumbling into a tidal wave.

The pheromone suppression from a fellow alpha forced Yan Qing to step back. She looked down, stunned, at Gu Xizhou in Su Zhiyi’s arms.

She saw Gu Xizhou scramble to her feet, yank Su Zhiyi over, and forcibly trap her in an embrace. Looking up with red eyes, she snarled a threat at everyone around her: “Get away! Far away!”

In that instant, the young alpha’s pheromones seemed to physically manifest into a ferocious beast, enclosing her and Su Zhiyi in the center as it viciously attacked all surrounding classmates indiscriminately.

These children, born and raised in a peaceful, civilized era, had never experienced such a primal biological instinct attack and were all terrified, their limbs weak and trembling.

Yet Su Zhiyi, at the very heart of the pheromone storm, felt no threat whatsoever. Embraced by Gu Xizhou, it was as if she’d fallen onto a soft, fluffy cloud.

Her center of gravity dissolved. All senses were stripped away, leaving only the softness and security woven by the alpha’s pheromones.

The alpha’s pheromones seemed to be perfectly compatible with her, flowing like a gentle stream through her entire body, making her tremble subtly.

Even without a mark or any other physical act, as she nestled in Gu Xizhou’s embrace, Su Zhiyi understood one thing with startling clarity: She was nesting.

She was building a safe haven meant just for her.

The Omega doctor who had chased after Gu Xizhou laid eyes on the small alpha at the center of the circle—flushed-faced and utterly deranged—and belatedly realized: “A heat/rut cycle…”

She immediately shouted toward the nearest alpha instructor: “Quick, evacuate the surrounding students! No one come near her!”

“Don’t provoke her!”

The seasoned instructors reacted with lightning speed, urgently blowing their whistles: “Scatter! Scatter!”

Although intensely curious, Gu Xizhou’s pheromones were rampaging outward, forcing the students to flee. Without needing the instructors’ prompting, they scattered like startled birds and beasts.

A ten-meter empty zone formed with Gu Xizhou as the epicenter. Detecting that there were no more people posing a threat, Gu Xizhou promptly plopped down on the ground with Su Zhiyi in her arms. Cradling her in a tight circle, she resumed crying and hollering: “Uwaaa… Zhiyi… want hug… want a hug…”

Su Zhiyi was cocooned in the petite alpha’s arms, tightly bound so she couldn’t move a muscle.

The alpha’s form behind her was scorching hot, wantonly emitting pheromones. The intense rosemary scent seeped into her skin, even capable of eroding the suppressant patch on her nape, surging along her glands straight into her heart.

If it weren’t for the suppressant patch, Su Zhiyi felt she’d be going crazy too.

Fighting against the abnormal, roiling heat within her body, she did her utmost to push away the Gu Xizhou behind her: “Gu Xizhou… Gu Xizhou, let me go…”

Gu Xizhou was deaf to her pleas, just holding her tight, sobbing uncontrollably: “Zhiyi… uwaa… Zhiyi…”

“My mermaid…”

Not far away, the Omega doctor cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and shouted to Su Zhiyi: “Little classmate, don’t resist her first! Soothe her… use your voice to soothe her…”

“She’s emotionally very fragile right now. She can’t handle being provoked.”

Soothe? How? Someone come help her out here!

Gu Xizhou’s pheromones were so dense they were practically solidifying into wind. Who else could possibly risk coming close?

On top of that, Gu Xizhou had been doing nothing but crying like someone possessed. Beyond the pheromones, she had no aggressive reactions, which slightly lessened Su Zhiyi’s fear of her.

Su Zhiyi calmed herself a fraction. Instead of continuing to struggle, she softened her voice, biting her lip, helpless: “Gu Xizhou… Gu Xizhou, let go… you’re hurting me.”

As soon as she stopped resisting, Gu Xizhou, who had been clutching her fiercely, miraculously loosened her grip.

The small alpha held her loosely now, popping her head out from around Su Zhiyi’s arm. Her eyes were large and glistening: “It really hurts?”

“Are you going to turn into sea foam?”

The girl’s face was as red as an apple, her eyes full of tears, looking utterly pitiful.

Despite the situation being so threatening, despite it being a scene of utter social annihilation with everyone watching, looking at that face, Su Zhiyi somehow couldn’t muster any anger.

She couldn’t help but laugh softly, tears inexplicably welling in her own eyes. Perhaps it was the influence of the pheromones, but Su Zhiyi couldn’t stop herself from reaching up and touching Gu Xizhou’s burning-hot face: “No… I won’t turn into foam.”

The Omega’s hand was like cool jade, soothing the scorching heat the instant it touched Gu Xizhou’s cheek. Gu Xizhou sniffled, involuntarily pressing her face into that palm, her eyes still brimming with tears: “Really, truly not?”

She was still underage—she didn’t have the aggressive edge of an adult alpha.

Su Zhiyi felt her heart settle slightly back into her chest. With teary eyes, she gently coaxed: “I won’t. I’m not a mermaid.”

Gu Xizhou was very receptive to her comforting; the anxiety and panic ebbed a little.

Gu Xizhou couldn’t help but lean in front of her, puffing out her bun-like baby face, tearfully begging: “Then pat me more. Just pat me, and I’ll behave.”

Su Zhiyi went along with her wishes, stroking her cheek gently, her voice warm: “Okay. Then behave now.”

Gu Xizhou was smoothed by the touch. She released the arm around Su Zhiyi’s waist, her voice still thick with tears: “Then I still want a hug. Hug me, Su Zhiyi.”

Su Zhiyi hesitated briefly but couldn’t withstand her pleading. She had no choice but to do as asked and pull Gu Xizhou into her arms.

Their positions reversed: the taller girl held the petite alpha in her embrace. One hand circled Gu Xizhou’s waist, while the other gently stroked her hair, as if soothing a pet, whispering: “Like this?”

Gu Xizhou was satisfied. She stopped bawling and wailing, just sniffling as she laid in Su Zhiyi’s arms, obediently nodding her head.

The excessive release of pheromones and the high fever quickly muddled Gu Xizhou’s mind once more. Lying in the embrace she had so desperately wanted, soothed by the rhythmic stroking of Su Zhiyi’s hand, she soon grew heavy with sleep.

The alpha’s pheromones began to recede, and what lingered in the air was swiftly dispersed by the wind.

The breathing of the girl in her arms gradually quieted, but the nape resting on Su Zhiyi’s arm was still burning hot. Su Zhiyi held this ball of fire, carefully stroking her hair, her heart a tangled mess.

The fever was so high… She had burned up to the point of completely losing her reason.

So she had come looking for her?

But why her?

Because she found her safe?

The young Omega simply couldn’t fathom the small alpha’s train of thought. Beyond the initial fright, all she was left with now was a head full of confusion.

At that moment, the doctor, accompanied by several Omega female instructors, quietly approached. When they were just two meters away, Gu Xizhou, who had been resting in Su Zhiyi’s arms, suddenly snapped her eyes open.

Just before a new wave of pheromones could erupt, the instructors pounced, swiftly subduing Gu Xizhou. Quick-eyed and quick-handed, the doctor jabbed a vacuum injector filled with alpha suppressant directly into Gu Xizhou’s neck.

“Unh…”

Gu Xizhou went rigid, her eyes widening briefly before her gaze slowly went slack. Moments later, she slumped back into Su Zhiyi’s arms, unconscious.

The doctor exhaled in relief. Looking up at Su Zhiyi, still holding Gu Xizhou, she couldn’t help a chiding tone: “You kids, really… you’re still so young…”

She looked at Su Zhiyi’s innocent face, catching the faint, pure scent of cherry pheromones emanating from this underage Omega, and paused, momentarily stunned.

Huh… What was this?

No alpha pheromone scent whatsoever—meaning no marking, no improper behavior of any kind.

Wasn’t this an alpha’s heat/rut cycle?

Could it be…

The doctor looked down at Gu Xizhou, now asleep in Su Zhiyi’s arms, a suspicion forming in her mind.

Surrounded by a group of instructors, Su Zhiyi felt incredibly awkward. She pursed her lips, her arms unconsciously tightening around Gu Xizhou. She couldn’t help but ask: “Doctor, what exactly is wrong with classmate Gu Xizhou?”

The doctor snapped back to the present, looked at Su Zhiyi, and answered as if suddenly remembering: “Oh… this…”

“Her situation is rather special. Do you know when she differentiated?”

Su Zhiyi shook her head, indicating she didn’t know.

She thought about it briefly, then added: “But we’re around the same age. Her birthday is in November. I think she differentiated not too long ago.”

When gender-neutral children reach the age of fifteen, they enter the differentiation period. The earlier the differentiation age, the stronger the pheromone potency.

The doctor understood. She had the Omega instructors lift Gu Xizhou out of Su Zhiyi’s arms, then reached out and pulled Su Zhiyi to her feet.

Su Zhiyi stood up, only to feel her legs were numb, stumbling involuntarily.

The doctor steadied her, whispering in her ear: “Did she hurt you just now?”

Su Zhiyi shook her head no.

The doctor breathed a sigh of relief, gently patted Su Zhiyi’s back, and said softly: “You did very well. You prevented her from continuing to affect the other students.”

“Secondary differentiation is a very dangerous process. That’s why an alpha will run to wherever they feel safe, find a corner, and protect themselves.”

Secondary differentiation?

Su Zhiyi turned her head, instinctively looking toward Gu Xizhou, who was being carried away by the instructors. Her mind was in a daze: So she really does find me safe?

That’s why there was none of those unwanted advances… just begging for a hug.

This is… way too strange!