TAO | Chapter 77

Xu Yang still didn’t show up to class today—not that it surprised Li Suilin much.

What did catch him off guard, though, was the progress between Wei Xiaochi and Jiang Zhan. This week, something about their interactions was clearly different from before.

During lunch break, Li Suilin didn’t go home to eat. Despite Han Ziyang’s repeated attempts to stop him, he shamelessly wedged himself into the middle of Wei Xiaochi and Jiang Zhan’s meal—turning what was supposed to be a two-person lunch into a table for three.

Han Ziyang knew Wei Xiaochi’s heat period was coming up soon and didn’t dare stay too close to him during this sensitive time.

If Li Suilin wanted to “seek death” like this, then he could go solo. Han Ziyang wasn’t about to be buried along with him.

Carrying his lunch tray, Han Ziyang wisely defected to hang with Jiang Rui, Zhao Zifeng, and the others—because, hey, being alive was nice.

Sure enough, the moment Li Suilin sat down, he was met with Jiang Zhan’s very enthusiastic reception.

The alpha’s eyes were full of hostility, back straight, shoulders spread wide in a clear “you’re not welcome here” posture.

Li Suilin paid him no mind and calmly took the seat next to Wei Xiaochi, diagonally across from Jiang Zhan.

“How’s the food today?” he asked, smiling gently like a perfect gentleman out of a textbook.

Wei Xiaochi murmured, “It’s okay.”

Jiang Zhan sat there with his arms crossed, radiating even more unfriendly vibes.

As Wei Xiaochi’s scent slowly became more noticeable, any alpha who came near him—besides Jiang Zhan himself—would make the latter go full territorial mode.

This was classic alpha behavior: a primal instinct to guard what’s theirs, especially before a complete mark was made.

But Li Suilin acted like he hadn’t noticed a thing, still smiling and chatting with Wei Xiaochi.

Wei Xiaochi, meanwhile, could feel Jiang Zhan’s growing displeasure. He couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the alpha’s thundercloud expression, chewing nervously on a piece of pork tenderloin, his responses to Li Suilin’s questions growing more and more hesitant.

Even while talking to Wei Xiaochi, Li Suilin seemed slightly off—like he had some hesitation and didn’t want to push the conversation too far. Every now and then, he’d glance at Jiang Zhan’s face.

Seeing that, Li Suilin more or less figured out what was going on between them and stopped trying to make small talk, focusing on his food instead.

To be honest, he hadn’t expected them to get this far this fast. He thought Jiang Zhan’s personality would need at least another week of grinding before anything real happened.

But then again, it made sense. This was Jiang Zhan, after all.

That was the key difference between him and Xu Yang.

Jiang Zhan was the type of person who, if he wanted wind, the wind had better blow. If he wanted rain, the sky would rain. Compared to the composed and self-restrained Xu Yang, Jiang Zhan was much more headstrong and impulsive.

Li Suilin admired Xu Yang a lot. He was worldly but not slick, emotional but not sentimental.

Xu Yang hadn’t chosen to go further with Wei Xiaochi precisely because of his maturity and restraint—far beyond his years.

In the second half of this year, Xu Yang would transfer to a school overseas for senior year. His parents had already paved the road for him, including handpicking a university.

His future had basically been planned out since his first year of high school: two years in China, then go abroad after turning 18. No matter his grades, he’d end up at a top-ten business school to polish his resume.

That was why he didn’t mess with Wei Xiaochi—he knew there wasn’t a future for them.

Either he’d disappoint his family and stay for love, or take Wei Xiaochi abroad with him.

But would Wei Xiaochi agree? Would his family?

Xu Yang wasn’t sure if he could use his own fleeting teenage feelings to convince his parents to let him tie his entire future to a boy who was just as young and uncertain.

Even if they somehow overcame all obstacles and made it overseas—would Wei Xiaochi be happy? Would he regret it? Would they really grow old together?

Too many unknowns. No one could predict the future.

But if it were Jiang Zhan? He’d charge in without a second thought.

You come with me, or we both stay. Period.

If Xu Yang wanted to see a sunset, he’d evaluate his time, energy, and budget, and decide afterward whether the view was worth it.

Consideration was engraved into the genes of a mature and controlled alpha. Even when it came to someone or something they loved, they needed to weigh the cost before diving in.

But Jiang Zhan? If it was five minutes before sunset and he suddenly decided he wanted to see it—he would see it.

His love was reckless and all-in. If he liked someone, he’d grab them and never let go.

And Wei Xiaochi? He was like a little snail—slow, always hiding in the shade, quiet, unremarkable, easy to please.

Xu Yang’s feelings for him were more of a protective fondness. Maybe because he once saw Wei Xiaochi sneak out his little feelers in a rare moment of vulnerability—soft and gentle, like a secret being shared.

He himself wasn’t even sure if that fondness came from affection, or from love born out of compassion.

Logic told him to stop. If he couldn’t offer a future, he shouldn’t touch someone like that.

But another person who had seen those little feelers? That person would crash through every wall, pry open his heavy shell, and try everything to get Wei Xiaochi to fully come out and be seen.

That’s why—compared to the calm and careful Xu Yang—Jiang Zhan was a better match for Wei Xiaochi.

As long as he matured in a few key ways.

And Jiang Zhan was already heading down that path—faster than Li Suilin had imagined.

Wei Xiaochi, too, was starting to care about Jiang Zhan’s feelings. Before, he feared Jiang Zhan’s temper—that was simply a weakling’s fear of someone stronger.

Now, he still feared Jiang Zhan getting upset—but not out of fear. He just didn’t want Jiang Zhan to be unhappy.

They could really bring out the best in each other.

—

Wei Xiaochi ate lunch in a cloud of anxiety. Thankfully, Li Suilin got up and left early.

Jiang Zhan’s face eased up, and he finally started eating properly again.

Even someone as slow as Wei Xiaochi could sense that Jiang Zhan had changed a lot lately.

It was probably because his heat was coming soon, and Jiang Zhan—being a high-level alpha—had picked up on his pheromones early and was affected.

Wei Xiaochi figured he should probably keep his distance from other alphas until it passed. Once it was over, Jiang Zhan would go back to normal.

Watching the alpha gloomily poking at his rice, Wei Xiaochi hesitated for a while before quietly saying, “Um… how about you give me something small and personal? Something inconspicuous?”

Jiang Zhan’s head shot up like a rocket, eyes gleaming. “What do you want?”

Wei Xiaochi thought for a moment. “How about… a wristband?”

Lots of guys at school had worn Jiang Zhan’s signature red wristband, so it probably wouldn’t attract attention if he wore one too.

Wearing something that carried Jiang Zhan’s scent right now would help soothe the alpha’s emotions.

Back during Jiang Zhan’s sensitivity period, Wei Xiaochi had read about this method in a book—but hadn’t used it back then.