Chapter 210

Chapter 210

What’s going on?

Bai Xingshu was a little confused.

Thinking it over, the only odd things were the warmth still lingering on the back of his neck—or maybe yesterday’s kiss?

Bai Xingshu glanced up at Shen Geng, who had already started changing clothes.

“Shen Geng,” Bai Xingshu called out.

Unsure why Bai Xingshu had called him, Shen Geng hesitated for a moment before walking over to him without hesitation.

“What is it?” Shen Geng asked, eyes slightly puzzled. Then something warm brushed against his lips.

Shen Geng’s eyes widened.

“Morning kiss,” Bai Xingshu teased, grinning as he pulled back.

Whatever was causing his abilities to change, it was a good thing either way.

After messing with Shen Geng, Bai Xingshu landed on his feet—then froze.

He noticed his legs felt a little weaker.

It wasn’t just his legs—his whole body felt weaker.

It wasn’t a big deal, though. Bai Xingshu stretched lightly.

After all, whether fighting, working, or anything else, he relied more on skill and his powers than brute strength.

Still, he needed to figure out what was going on with his body.

Bai Xingshu took a few steps, getting used to his body again.

He noticed something else—

—he felt quicker, lighter, like his whole body had been upgraded.

Some parts got weaker, others stronger—all at once. Like his body was recalibrating itself.

Bai Xingshu frowned, thinking.

Shen Geng caught the odd way he was moving.

He frowned, worried. “What’s wrong? You okay?”

Bai Xingshu flashed back to last night’s ABO research.

It didn’t quite fit his situation, but…

“I might be going into differentiation,” Bai Xingshu said, adjusting the force in his movements as he spoke.

Shen Geng stiffened.

Bai Xingshu still carried his scent.

It’d barely been a day—no way his scent had faded yet.

"Are you in pain?" Shen Geng quickly asked.

By the time the question was out, Bai Xingshu had already quickly adjusted to his transformed body. He shook his head slightly and turned with a teasing look at Shen Geng. "I'm not like you. I don't feel anything."

Other than a prickling heat at the back of his neck, Bai Xingshu didn’t sense anything abnormal about his body.

"I’m definitely presenting as a Beta—nothing like you, an Alpha," Bai Xingshu said with utter conviction.

He spoke with full confidence.

After all, when the system dropped him in the wrong timeline, the original body had indeed presented as a Beta during their third year of college—there was no chance that would change.

Shen Geng studied Bai Xingshu’s expression and, satisfied he was telling the truth, exhaled in relief.

Though he couldn’t understand why Bai Xingshu wasn’t feeling any discomfort, he was simply relieved that his unconscious actions that day hadn’t affected him.

Seeing that Bai Xingshu had finished changing and was straightening his uniform, Shen Geng walked over and pulled him into an embrace.

"Hm?" Bai Xingshu made a questioning sound but didn’t pull away, merely glancing at him.

Shen Geng’s lips quirked in a faint smile as he rested his chin on Bai Xingshu’s shoulder, studying their merged reflections in the mirror. "I used to see my dad do this to my mom all the time, and then he’d get scolded for being annoying."

Back then, Shen Geng thought it was gross, confused how his father always seemed to enjoy being scolded. After seeing it too many times, he stopped bothering to watch altogether.

But now that it was his turn, experiencing it firsthand was completely different.

Pure bliss. Deeply satisfying.

Bai Xingshu looked at Shen Geng, his voice dripping with amusement as he teased, "Oh? You like it that much?"

Shen Geng closed his eyes, drinking in the moment, and murmured lowly, "Yeah. Love it. Love it more than anything."

Caught completely off guard by Shen Geng’s honesty, Bai Xingshu blinked in surprise. The mischief in his gaze melted, softening into something gentler, and his posture relaxed.

Couples never tired of affection, though their sweet moment couldn’t last long.

Life at the military academy ran on tight schedules, and they didn’t have much time to linger in the mornings.

Another assembly.

Off to the competition zone.

The students of S-Class quickly noticed their deputy squad leader seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.

He was practically radiant.

The energy buzzing off him also felt more vibrant than before.

And this state lasted longer than just a day.

In contrast, their squad leader's mood remained persistently down.

That fake enthusiasm was transparently obvious to everyone.

The classmates weren’t clueless either.

Class S had its share of sharp-eyed rich kids who’d already pieced together what was going on.

To them, whatever was brewing between their Squad Leader and Deputy wasn’t exactly ideal.

They figured they'd throw Lin Lie a lifeline.

So when classmates started probing Bai Xingshu about his recent glow-up—how he seemed different, more energetic, if something was up—

Bai Xingshu blurted out, “I’ve entered my differentiation phase!”

He looked downright smug saying it.

Over the past few days, Bai Xingshu had been wondering whether his experience didn’t quite match what the textbooks described.

Now that people were commenting on how good he looked, he chalked it up to just his post-apocalyptic wiring—he had a better handle on his own biology than most.

Beta textbooks said physical strength and mental clarity improved slightly before and after differentiation. He fit the description perfectly!

Satisfied with this logic, Bai Xingshu shot a shit-eating grin at another undifferentiated Beta in class.

“I’m not the last one in class to differentiate anymore!”

The would-be rescuers: “…”

Staring at Bai Xingshu, they didn’t know how to respond.

Dumbstruck didn’t even cover it.

Did this clueless Deputy even have any concept of romance?

Why was his first reaction to their questions about his love life about his *differentiation*?!

Squad Leader, maybe you should find yourself another crush.

All teasing aside, to the class both leaders mattered equally—even though most of them were tighter with Bai Xingshu.

Even if Lin Lie lived in the same dorm.

Seeing Bai Xingshu so cheerful, they managed some half-hearted congratulations before asking, “Deputy Squad Leader, how long have you been in your differentiation?”

They could’ve sworn they’d seen changes days ago.

Bai Xingshu scratched his head—he wasn’t sure when to start counting from.

If it was from the first weird body stuff…

“Today’s the third day, I guess?” he replied.

The class went still. “That long? Deputy, you gotta be kidding, right?” Their tone was dead serious.

Everyone knew Bai Xingshu was totally clueless about this stuff.

Beta differentiation’s usually a one-day deal—sometimes only a few hours.

Bai Xingshu opened his mouth to argue—it wasn’t that long! After all, Shen Geng’s had lasted many days, starting from when he started bouncing off the walls.

But after thinking about it, Bai Xingshu realized something was off.

Shen Geng had presented as an Alpha.

Bai Xingshu touched the gland on the back of his neck but didn’t think much of it.

In theory, his gland should have been searing with pain. Since that hadn’t happened, maybe his extended presentation process was just another side effect.

The strange sensations in Bai Xingshu’s gland had mostly faded by now, and with his powers back at roughly two-thirds of their former level, his body had mostly settled.

He guessed he’d probably finish presenting today.

Or so Bai Xingshu thought.

As it turned out, he knew his body pretty well.

Shortly after returning to his dorm following today’s training, Bai Xingshu noticed his body temperature seemed unusually high.

Gently touching his forehead, his expression instantly turned serious.

He was coming down with a fever too.

Recalling Shen Geng’s experience, Bai Xingshu quickly ignored the system's earlier take and jolted it awake: [Am I about to present as an Alpha?]

Though he often complained about the system, he still trusted its diagnostic data.

The system couldn’t be bothered, but stuck following protocol, it grudgingly spat out two words: [No.]

Sensing the system’s dismissiveness, Bai Xingshu kept pushing: [If I do become an Alpha, will the task still count as completed?]

He clearly remembered the mission requirements—being a Beta, he was supposed to marry a high-society Alpha to prove wrong those who claimed only Omegas were fit for high-society matches.

If he turned into an Alpha, would the task still be valid?

Bai Xingshu didn’t really care what he ended up presenting as, but whether the task could be completed mattered greatly to him.

[During my presentation, I didn’t sense any Alpha pheromones from my gland, and the physical changes don’t seem typical for a Beta either.] Setting aside the loss of strength, [I feel like my abilities have improved by at least half…] Bai Xingshu went through the weird changes happening in his body.

[Are you absolutely sure there’s no issue?]

[Could Shen Geng’s pheromones, which he injected into my gland, have influenced me? Maybe I’m using his pheromones for my presentation?!] Bai Xingshu began coming up with crazy ideas at the system.

System: [...]

Gotta admit, its host had one hell of an imagination.