TAO | Chapter 107

After a whole afternoon of relaxing, Jiang Zhan wasn’t as irritable about studying as he had been the past few days—his mental state finally eased up a bit.

After getting advice from Li Suilin, Wei Xiaochi now really emphasized balancing work and rest. He didn’t overload Jiang Zhan with study plans anymore.

Wei Xiaochi’s new tutoring strategy worked wonders—at the very least, it didn’t kill off Jiang Zhan’s motivation to learn anymore.

Because Jiang Zhan suddenly entered his susceptible period, they had to put the study sessions on hold for two days. During this time, he needed to stay in isolation from Wei Xiaochi.

It wasn’t a doctor’s recommendation, but a decision made by Xu Wenyi for the sake of both kids’ physical well-being—worried that Wei Xiaochi might get triggered into early heat by Jiang Zhan.

Even though Jiang Zhan didn’t like it, at times like this, he could only listen to Xu Wenyi and obediently stay home without seeing Wei Xiaochi.

The susceptible period made Jiang Zhan extra clingy to Wei Xiaochi. First thing in the morning, he couldn’t wait to video call him.

On camera, the alpha was wrapped in a light summer quilt, cheeks flushed, eyes misty, looking like he had a high fever. His expression was drained and lifeless.

The Omega’s heat period was pretty much the same as an alpha’s susceptible period—it felt like being dragged into a swamp. Dizziness, shortness of breath, and limbs too weak to move.

Wei Xiaochi knew how awful this felt, and seeing Jiang Zhan like that made his own chest tighten with discomfort. He asked worriedly, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Jiang Zhan tugged at the edge of the blanket, only showing a pair of dark eyes. He looked all gloomy and muttered, “Just… missing you.”

Alphas during this time were way more honest than usual. At least they’d say what they were really feeling.

Wei Xiaochi couldn’t go visit him now. Hearing Jiang Zhan say that made his heart skip a beat. He licked his lips and softly said, “…I’ll come see you the day after tomorrow.”

They had to stay apart for at least two days. Honestly, one day would’ve been fine, but Xu Wenyi was worried something might happen.

Wei Xiaochi really wanted to be with Jiang Zhan right now, but he didn’t want to go against his mom’s wishes either. After all, she was doing it for their sake.

Jiang Zhan lay on his side, propping his phone beside him. His voice was raspy from dehydration, “When are you gonna study?”

Wei Xiaochi had just tidied up. Normally, he’d go study in the home office at this time, but today was different. He said, “It’s okay if it’s a little later today.”

Jiang Zhan said, “You go study, but don’t hang up. Just put the phone somewhere I can see you.”

Originally, Wei Xiaochi just wanted to chat a bit. But seeing how out of it Jiang Zhan looked, clearly about to fall asleep, he nodded, “Okay.”

Wei Xiaochi stacked a few books on his desk and set the phone on top, propping it up with a metal box behind. He adjusted the camera angle a few times to make sure Jiang Zhan could see him clearly.

Then he pulled out a chemistry test paper, but his mind wasn’t in it. He only did a few questions before glancing up at Jiang Zhan again.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Jiang Zhan fell asleep.

His sleeping posture wasn’t exactly peaceful—his brows were scrunched up like little knots, messy bangs fell over his forehead, and his lips were a dry, flushed red, even cracked in a few spots, the raw skin showing.

Wei Xiaochi quietly stared at the sleeping alpha for a while. Then, through the screen, he gently reached out and touched Jiang Zhan’s flushed cheek.

–

The biggest symptom of the susceptible period was a high fever and drowsiness. Jiang Zhan ended up sleeping until 2 p.m.

When he woke up, his phone had already died. Irritated, he ran a hand through his damp hair, got out of bed barefoot, and dug out the charger.

He plugged it in and powered the phone back on, then immediately called Wei Xiaochi on video again.

The call barely rang for seven or eight seconds before Wei Xiaochi picked up, and Jiang Zhan’s handsome face filled the screen.

He was back in bed, arms crossed under the pillow, chin resting on his forearm as he stared at the omega on screen.

The alpha looked completely drained, just staring silently, expression blank—like he hadn’t fully woken up yet.

They stayed like that for almost two minutes. Seeing that Jiang Zhan had no intention of speaking, Wei Xiaochi leaned down on his desk and just stared back at him.

Five minutes later, Jiang Zhan suddenly spoke up like he’d snapped out of it, “I’m hungry.”

Wei Xiaochi glanced at the time. “It’s almost 2:30. You haven’t eaten lunch?”

“Nope,” Jiang Zhan mumbled sleepily.

Wei Xiaochi said, “Then go downstairs and eat.”

But Jiang Zhan didn’t move at all, and said in a sulky tone, “Don’t wanna.”

Wei Xiaochi tried coaxing him patiently, “You still have to eat. If you really can’t get up, call Aunt Zhou and ask her to bring it up.”

“Don’t want anything.” Jiang Zhan buried his face in his arms again, then peeked out with one eye to look at Wei Xiaochi, eyes full of pitiful longing. “Just want you.”

Wei Xiaochi was totally defenseless against that kind of straight-up sweetness. His ears went numb in an instant, tingling with electricity.

He stammered, “You… you still have to eat though.”

Hearing that, Jiang Zhan tried to pull himself together and sit up. But the second he lifted his head, he lost steam again and collapsed back down, refusing to move.

He lay there staring straight at Wei Xiaochi. “Do you miss me?”

Wei Xiaochi’s eyes darted around, and he gave a barely noticeable nod. “Mm.”

Jiang Zhan wasn’t satisfied. “‘Mm’ what?”

Wei Xiaochi had no choice but to say, “I miss you.”

The smile in Jiang Zhan’s eyes nearly burst out. He tugged at the pillowcase. “Why do you like me so much?”

Wei Xiaochi: “…”

Jiang Zhan: “Say something.”

Wei Xiaochi couldn’t take it anymore. “…Just get up and eat, will you?”

Jiang Zhan huffed heavily in response.

–

Jiang Zhan kept the video call on even when he went downstairs to eat, but he didn’t say a word the whole time—still upset that Wei Xiaochi hadn’t explained why he liked him so much.

After eating, he went back to his room and, still sulking, fell into a muddled nap that lasted till evening.

When he woke up again, he forced down a few bites of dinner. The little tiff from earlier had long been forgotten. He and Wei Xiaochi ended up chatting for over an hour before hanging up.

They’d basically been on video call the whole day. The phones were so warm they felt hot to the touch. Jiang Zhan tossed his to the nightstand, took a quick shower, and went back to bed.

Even after sleeping the entire day, the susceptible period still made him super sleepy. He fell asleep again not long after lying down.

In a daze, he heard his ringtone. He poked his head out from the covers and answered with a grouchy scowl. “Who is it?”

A voice came from the other end—Wei Xiaochi, whispering like he didn’t want to get caught. “It’s me.”

Jiang Zhan instantly sobered up, his irritability disappearing without a trace. He sat up. “What’s wrong?”

Wei Xiaochi spoke in a low voice, “I’m downstairs at your place. Can you come down for a bit?”

Jiang Zhan immediately kicked off the covers. “Wait there, I’m coming down now.”

He was still running a fever, so he got short of breath just from rushing. He bolted all the way downstairs, opened the door—but didn’t see Wei Xiaochi anywhere outside.

Jiang Zhan stepped out and looked around. “Where are you?”

Wei Xiaochi: “I’m not at the door. I’m by your outdoor AC unit.”

Jiang Zhan frowned. “The outdoor unit?”

Wei Xiaochi gave a small “mm,” and said, “It’s to the left of your door.”

Jiang Zhan could vaguely hear his voice, so he followed the sound and saw Wei Xiaochi standing on top of the central air conditioner’s outdoor unit.

Jiang Zhan looked up at him. “Why are you up there?”

Wei Xiaochi scratched at his glasses awkwardly. “I tried to climb up, but… couldn’t get all the way. And now I can’t get down.”

The AC unit was huge, and to make it look nicer, they’d built a little two-meter-tall shed around it.

Wei Xiaochi had tried to sneak over and surprise Jiang Zhan, but ended up stuck halfway up this shed.

To protect residents’ privacy, the neighborhood used ground lights, which only dimly lit the path ahead. Wei Xiaochi couldn’t see the ground clearly and was afraid of stepping on something or twisting his ankle if he jumped.

He had poor coordination and was kind of a scaredy-cat too. So he stood up there hesitating forever, not daring to jump down.

Jiang Zhan walked over and held out a hand. “Come down.”

Seeing Jiang Zhan looking pale and still not fully recovered, Wei Xiaochi shook his head quickly. “Just check if there are any rocks or anything down there. I can jump myself.”

Two meters wasn’t actually that high. The ground was covered with lawn, but in the dark, it looked sketchy under the phone’s flashlight. In the daytime, he definitely wouldn’t have been this cowardly.

Jiang Zhan bent over to check. “There’s nothing.”

“Then move back a bit.” Jiang Zhan was still sick, and Wei Xiaochi was worried about crashing into him by accident.

Jiang Zhan obediently stepped back a couple steps.

Wei Xiaochi took a deep breath, swayed a bit for balance, and jumped down.

The second he landed, Jiang Zhan scooped him up in a bear hug, like someone starved for affection. He buried his face in Wei Xiaochi’s neck, sniffing and kissing at the same time.

Wei Xiaochi stiffened at first, then relaxed and stroked Jiang Zhan’s shoulders and back. “Still feeling bad?”

Jiang Zhan’s voice was thick with congestion. “Yeah.”

Wei Xiaochi immediately released a bit of calming pheromones.

Jiang Zhan instantly quieted down, curling into Wei Xiaochi’s shoulder like a cat, arms locked tightly around his Omega.

He held on for a long while before Wei Xiaochi finally spoke. “I can’t stay too long. If someone finds out, it won’t look good.”

At that, Jiang Zhan tightened his grip around Wei Xiaochi’s waist, tilting his head up to peck lightly at the corner of his lips. The reluctance in his actions was obvious, but he didn’t throw a tantrum like before or selfishly demand he stay.

After soaking up enough affection, Jiang Zhan finally let go of Wei Xiaochi, eyes cast down with a gloomy look. “I’ll walk you back.”

“No need. It’s just a few steps,” Wei Xiaochi said, taking off his backpack and handing it to Jiang Zhan.

Jiang Zhan took it and started to unzip. “What’s this?”

“Open it when you’re inside,” Wei Xiaochi stopped him and urged, “Hurry back in.”

During the susceptible period, alphas’ sense of smell became super sensitive. Even the faintest outside scent could trigger them.

Jiang Zhan was still stubborn. “I’ll walk you back.”

Realizing it wasn’t that he didn’t trust him, but that he just wanted to spend a little more time together, Wei Xiaochi swallowed the words he was about to say and changed it to, “Okay.”

⸻

Author’s Note:

Everyone take a guess—what did Chichi bring for the doggo?