TAO | Chapter 108

After walking Wei Xiaochi to the gate, Jiang Zhan trudged home alone, sulking the whole way.

A light was on in the upstairs hallway. Xu Wenyi stood at the top of the stairs in silk pajamas. The moment Jiang Zhan stepped through the door and looked up at her, her back visibly tensed.

She turned to glance at him, her expression unreadable, neither angry nor pleased.

Jiang Zhan straightened up and said seriously, “He just came to check on me ‘cause he was worried. We didn’t do anything.”

“I know.” Xu Wenyi sighed a little, her usually calm and unhurried voice carrying a trace of gentleness. “Are you feeling better?”

Jiang Zhan: “I’m fine now.”

“Then go to bed early,” she said, reminding him with a few more words before turning and heading back to her room.

Jiang Zhan felt like he’d just survived a boss-level encounter. The tension in his shoulders eased a bit.

Back in his room, curiosity got the better of him, and he opened the backpack Wei Xiaochi had given him.

Inside were neatly folded clothes. Jiang Zhan picked up a T-shirt and held it to his nose—Wei Xiaochi’s scent clung to it.

A whole backpack full of clothes, enough to cover the entire bed. Jiang Zhan lay down on top like he was soaking in a warm spring. His fatigue and irritation melted away bit by bit, his pores relaxed, and his blood flowed easily.

Using Wei Xiaochi’s clothes, he built a little nest for himself, shutting out the world’s noise and comfortably hiding inside a cocoon saturated with his Omega’s scent.

Jiang Zhan’s face rubbed against the soft fabric. He looked like a beast that had tucked away its fangs and claws, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

–

Alphas had a habit of nesting during their susceptible periods. Wei Xiaochi had read about it online, which was what led him to sneak over in the middle of the night with a backpack full of clothes for Jiang Zhan.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t cut out for sneaky business. The plan half-failed, but at least the clothes made it into Jiang Zhan’s hands.

After building his nest, the alpha’s mood clearly improved. It was obvious from how much more energetic he was the next day.

In the morning, Jiang Zhan still stayed in his room, but he wasn’t as drowsy as before. He lay on the bed and chatted with Wei Xiaochi for ages.

Wei Xiaochi used to think he and Jiang Zhan were from completely different worlds. Their family backgrounds, hobbies, and life experiences couldn’t have been more opposite. How could two people like that possibly have anything to talk about?

Turns out, some people could just vibe—even if their lives were night and day.

They talked for over two hours that morning. Nothing they said was particularly meaningful, and afterwards Wei Xiaochi couldn’t even remember what exactly they talked about. But somehow, the conversation just kept flowing.

It was… kind of strange.

In the afternoon, once Xu Wenyi finally relaxed her guard and lifted Jiang Zhan’s movement restrictions, he immediately rushed over to see Wei Xiaochi.

Even though he was feeling better, the clingy alpha still stuck close. But unlike when he was sick, he wasn’t quite so honest anymore. Even though he missed Wei Xiaochi like crazy, he insisted it was the other way around.

Jiang Zhan: “My mom saw I was doing fine and figured you probably missed me too much, so she let me come over.”

Wei Xiaochi opened his mouth, but ended up swallowing whatever he was going to say and just took the blame silently. “Oh.”

Jiang Zhan handed him the backpack. “Your clothes.”

Wei Xiaochi’s face turned a bit red as he hugged the bag and walked into his bedroom.

Jiang Zhan followed behind and tried to make conversation. “A susceptible period usually lasts three days. It’s only on the second day that things start to get better.”

Wei Xiaochi thought Jiang Zhan was just explaining stuff. He already knew this, but still played along. “Ohhh, I see.”

Jiang Zhan deadpanned, then stressed again, “The second day is still part of the susceptible period.”

Wei Xiaochi stopped and looked back at him, confused.

The moment their eyes met, Jiang Zhan turned his face away.

And suddenly, it clicked. Wei Xiaochi had a flash of realization—Jiang Zhan bringing this up again and again probably meant he still wanted more clothes for nesting.

Not just any clothes, of course. It had to be ones that carried his scent. Otherwise, why would Jiang Zhan even return the bag?

Wei Xiaochi awkwardly cleared his throat. “Do you… still want some clothes tonight?”

Jiang Zhan hooked a finger around his and slowly leaned in, resting his forehead against the back of Wei Xiaochi’s neck. He mumbled awkwardly, “I slept really well last night.”

Wei Xiaochi had come to see him—and he was happy.

Really, really happy.

Wei Xiaochi rubbed his nose. Was this… was this Jiang Zhan complimenting his pheromones for being calming and nice?

“…Got it,” he said. Even though Jiang Zhan hadn’t said it outright, he understood what he meant.

–

Most alphas only built nests during their susceptible period. Jiang Zhan? Even after it passed, he kept taking clothes from Wei Xiaochi every day like it was a new tradition.

But since Jiang Zhan was working so hard at studying lately, and if his pheromones really did help him feel better, Wei Xiaochi didn’t argue.

Over the past two weeks, Jiang Zhan had been grinding hard and improving super fast. Turns out he’d never been bad at studying—he just didn’t like it. And even during tutoring, he hadn’t paid full attention. But now? He was fully locked in.

On August 1st, the school announced that the third-year students would start a month early.

Senior year was boring and repetitive. Every day was just review, review, more review. Exams, exams, and more exams.

Wei Minzhen still hadn’t given up on spying on Wei Xiaochi and Jiang Zhan. He occasionally strolled past both Class One and Class Seven’s doorways, pretending it was a coincidence.

But this surveillance didn’t last long. Jiang Zhan kept proving himself with test scores that got better and better each time. He used cold, hard numbers to show Wei Minzhen that he was genuinely studying and not messing around.

Eventually, Wei Minzhen figured shadowing them wasn’t worth it. He coordinated with both homeroom teachers—told them to alert him immediately if either of their grades dropped, and then he’d step in.

Without Wei Minzhen breathing down their necks, Jiang Zhan still kept his word—no public displays of affection at school.

In the first mock exam of the term, Jiang Zhan shot up over a hundred spots in the rankings. He still wasn’t in the top 200 like he’d promised, but the semester wasn’t even halfway through yet.

When the scores came out, Wei Xiaochi finally breathed a sigh of relief. All the effort these past weeks hadn’t gone to waste.

Wei Xiaochi ranked second in the entire grade. His total score was fifteen points ahead of Zhang Mingyang. Normally, their difference was under ten points. This was the first time he’d pulled ahead by double digits.

Part of the reason was that Wei Xiaochi had been working even harder—he couldn’t afford to slip while helping Jiang Zhan improve.

The other reason was on Zhang Mingyang’s end—he majorly lost points in math, which was supposed to be his best subject.

After the results, Zhang Mingyang was clearly on edge. When he got his report card, he didn’t say a single word, just sat there with a gloomy face.

Wei Xiaochi wasn’t the type to run his mouth. Even though he didn’t get along with Zhang Mingyang, as long as the other guy didn’t mess with him first, he wouldn’t go out of his way to stir the pot.

So Zhang Mingyang being quiet? Honestly, that was a win. At least he wouldn’t be whining in his ear.

–

To celebrate Jiang Zhan’s huge improvement, they didn’t eat lunch in the cafeteria that day. Instead, Wei Xiaochi treated him to dry pot duck heads.

There was an old restaurant known for killer duck heads. Back when Wei Dongjia had a birthday and didn’t want the hassle of cooking at home, he’d brought the whole family there.

The place had done really well in recent years, with three branches already opened in A City. To appeal to younger customers, the decor was super trendy.

Jiang Zhan had eaten roast duck before and tried old duck vermicelli soup, but he’d never had duck heads on their own. He followed Wei Xiaochi to the shop with an honest curiosity—time to broaden his horizons.

Dry pot duck heads came with two ways to enjoy them. First, gnaw on the duck heads. Then, once you’re done, add broth and start hot potting veggies.

The cheapest pot was ¥129, and came with two plates of greens, one plate of fresh mushrooms, and a portion of pulled noodles. Pretty good value.

But because alphas loved meat, they also ordered two plates of meat for the hotpot. Altogether, it was under ¥200.

Wei Xiaochi winced a little at the price, but then again, he hadn’t given Jiang Zhan a birthday gift back then—so he decided to count this meal as a belated celebration.

After eating, they headed back to school. Just as they reached the gate, they spotted Xie Chi walking side by side with a girl, chatting and laughing.

When he saw Wei Xiaochi and Jiang Zhan, Xie Chi’s smile widened. He said something to the girl next to him and started walking over.

The girl pulled on his arm, clearly worried. “Don’t mess around, okay?”

“I’m not messing,” Xie Chi said, brushing her hand off and ignoring her attempts to stop him as he headed straight toward Wei Xiaochi.

⸻

Author’s Note:

Didn’t expect everyone to guess it right—so does this count as industrial sugar now?

Hahaha, I keep hearing about “industrial sugar” lately. What do you all think of it?