Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Minister Gu suddenly became highly aggressive. Shi Jian pondered.

The school medic approached him, guiding him to lie flat on the operating bed. He gently pinched Shi Jian’s cheeks to open his mouth, shining a light inside for observation, then listened to his heart. After a preliminary examination, he reassured, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious. These are stress reactions from sudden, intense exercise that your body isn’t accustomed to. Gradually increasing your training load will help you desensitize. If you’re concerned about vomiting again, try to eat after morning training in the future; that will lighten the burden on your stomach.”

“Also, remember to warm up and stretch before and after training, especially for long-distance running.”

Shi Jian nodded. The medic then squeezed his calf, adding, “Speaking of which, from a medical student’s aesthetic perspective, your body lines perfectly adhere to the golden ratio—meaning most people would find you exceptionally pleasing to the eye. I’m just stating a fact, don’t look at me like that.”

Following the medic’s words, Shi Jian glanced towards the bedside, his eyes meeting Gu Shiyun’s. For a fleeting moment, both were slightly taken aback.

Gu Shiyun recovered first, his voice low and laced with warning as he addressed the medic, “Campus Management Rule 10, Clause 1: School medics are prohibited from harassing cadets. Any violation will result in immediate suspension, investigation, and referral to judicial authorities.”

“Can’t you take a joke?! Don’t be so possessive!” The gentle medic suddenly exploded, jumping back as if from a plague, and cast a mournful, resentful look at Shi Jian.

“…I think I have blisters on the soles of my feet. It hurts,” Shi Jian quickly interjected, deflecting the tension.

Shi Jian thought Gu Shiyun was being overly sensitive. He could easily distinguish between the medic’s playful teasing and the vulgar mockery from other cadets. Yet, he had to admit that Minister Gu, having been entrusted with his care, was indeed remarkably meticulous.

Thus, he nodded slightly in Gu Shiyun’s direction and offered a soft smile.

“…” Gu Shiyun fell silent, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.

The medic looked between them, clucking his tongue a few times. He then removed Shi Jian’s shoes and socks, examined his feet, and went to sterilize instruments. “You’ve got a few blisters from friction. I’ll puncture them and apply some anti-inflammatory powder. It might sting a bit, so try to bear with it.”

Shi Jian took a deep breath, mentally bracing himself, but the sharp prick of the needle still elicited a muffled groan. When the powder touched the wound, his muscles tensed, his hands gripping the side rails tightly, his slender neck arching in a strained curve of struggle.

Tears welled in Shi Jian’s eyes from the pain, and he bit his lower lip firmly, unwilling to utter a sound.

But suddenly, a finger reached out, forcibly prying open his lips and teeth, like administering medicine to a cat, resting between his upper and lower teeth.

The unfamiliar touch of skin sent a faint, electric tingle across Shi Jian’s lips, and his heart fluttered in response. Instinctively, he grazed the finger with his canine teeth, biting down and tasting leather.

“Don’t bite your lip.”

“Your lips are very beautiful, like pink roses. It would be a shame to bite them.”

A deep, low, magnetic male voice came from above. Shi Jian froze, looking up in surprise at the uniformed youth.

From Gu Shiyun’s perspective, the boy was still young, his delicate features retaining a hint of childishness. His large, upturned blue eyes resembled clear, transparent glass marbles, shimmering with a touch of crystalline moisture, as if the sound of crashing waves could be heard when they moved.

His nose was straight and smooth, unlike Gu Shiyun’s own, which had a slight hump near the bridge. His skin was as fine as white porcelain, seemingly moistened by rain, making his eyes appear even bluer and his thin lips redder.

His pearly white teeth, like seashells, nibbled on Gu Shiyun’s finger. Through the glove, he felt a tingling sensation from the gentle contact of teeth—damp, warm, and carrying a faint, elusive fragrance.

A moist tongue pressed against his fingertip, and through the tightly closed white teeth, a hint of vibrant, wet red was faintly visible.

So beautiful.

After returning, Gu Shiyun had spent several nights intensely searching the school’s advice forums for how to properly compliment someone. Popular replies suggested books like *The Art of Language*, *EQ Masters Teach You How to Interact with Others*, *How High-EQ Alphas Communicate*, *The Art of High-EQ Conversation*, and *Why Omegas Love “Sweet Talk.”* Some helpful alumni even messaged him links to courses, all of which he faithfully followed. He even practiced in front of a mirror a few times, thinking basic social interactions would suffice. Yet, when truly faced with a face-to-face conversation, he still couldn’t articulate his true thoughts perfectly.

All the diligently studied techniques and phrases vanished the moment he saw Shi Jian. Gu Shiyun’s mind was left with only one thought.

He’s truly beautiful.

The medic, engrossed in his work, sensed the strange atmosphere. He looked up to see Gu Shiyun’s finger in his patient’s mouth, the black, high-quality leather glistening with saliva. The scene was as provocative as the opening of an adult film, prompting him to let out a horrified bray and elbow Gu Shiyun away. “Is this right?! This is a proper medical institution for saving lives and healing injuries!”

Startled, Shi Jian instinctively bit Gu Shiyun. The latter stumbled slightly, his finger throbbing with a faint, dull ache. But by his own assessment, there was no bleeding, just a slight tooth mark.

Shi Jian quickly apologized, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Gu Shiyun put his hand behind his back, regretting only that he had worn gloves that day. Through the layer of leather, every sensation felt like scratching an itch through a boot—stirring desire but never quite reaching satisfaction, leaving him suspended in an uncomfortable limbo.

He shook his head. “It’s fine. You didn’t hurt me.”

The medic, seemingly ignored like air, fumed silently.

*A-A relationships will get you expelled from military academy! Can you not be so blatant?!*

Fuming, he wanted to drag Gu Shiyun outside and unleash a torrent of abuse, but a phone call forced him to suppress his anger. With a sour expression, he snapped a few words at Gu Shiyun: “A cadet got injured during combat training, I have to go deal with it. You wait for the report and leave. Don’t you dare linger here causing trouble, got it?!”

Gu Shiyun nodded, sparing words for everyone but Shi Jian.

The medic packed his first-aid kit. Before leaving, he reminded Shi Jian, “I’ve given you a medical note. If your foot isn’t better tomorrow, you don’t have to go to morning training. For now, you can rest on the massage chair and relax your whole body’s muscles to prevent rhabdomyolysis after intense exercise.”

Shi Jian politely replied, “Thank you.”

“Look at him!” the medic grumbled as he stomped off with his first-aid kit.

Once the footsteps faded, Gu Shiyun frowned and said to Shi Jian, “He’s too noisy.”

Shi Jian wholeheartedly agreed but carefully considered his words. “The doctor is quite responsible. Perhaps it’s just his personal style.”

Gu Shiyun pulled up a chair and sat beside Shi Jian. “I walked too fast on the training ground earlier and forgot to ask how you’ve been, if you’re adapting.”

Shi Jian lowered his eyes. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, “‘I’m doing quite well, my classmates often help me, and I’m adapting well’—is that what I should say? Actually, my dad called me and asked the same thing. I really wanted to tell him how terrible everything is at the First Military Academy, how much my instructors and classmates dislike me, how I don’t want to be here at all, how I want to drop out and go home, even if it means not going to college, just to not stay in this torturous place.”

He paused, a bitter smile on his face. “But my dad’s eyes were full of exhaustion. I heard someone reporting military intelligence in the background, and there was dark, dried blood on his coat collar. I could guess he called me right after leaving the battlefield. So… at that moment, my emotions were very complex, and I suddenly didn’t know how to tell him all this. Compared to the heavy burden on his shoulders, my troubles and grievances are insignificant. Speaking them would seem very immature and pampered. So I didn’t say what I truly wanted to say, only told him that everything was fine.”

Gu Shiyun listened quietly, then reached out and wiped a tear from the corner of Shi Jian’s eye with his thumb, slowly saying, “But you’re not doing well.”

Shi Jian hadn’t expected his emotions to suddenly collapse. He hadn’t even thought of crying when Yu Chen bullied him so badly before, but perhaps it was because this time someone was patiently listening to him and gently comforting him, making him especially vulnerable.

He tried hard to hold back, sniffing slightly, his voice tinged with a faint cry, “It’s terrible… an unfamiliar environment, completely different from the education I received before. Others can do well what I can’t. Alphas I wouldn’t have even glanced at before can now make me utterly miserable with just a slight release of their pheromones. Every night I can’t sleep, staring at the ceiling, replaying the day’s events, every detail magnified to be incredibly humiliating.”

“At first, I wanted to cause a few scenes to make them back off, but doing so would only bring trouble to other innocent people. The instructor told me to quietly get through my four years at the military academy, and I suppose he’s right, because what else can I do?”

But in truth, he couldn’t even complete the most basic morning training. An E-level Alpha who had never received systematic training, couldn’t even control his pheromones, and had suddenly differentiated, was abruptly thrown into a training ground like the First Military Academy. Struggling was an objective reality.

Moreover, Shi Jian’s personality wasn’t very likable. He was beautiful, from a top family, pampered since childhood, and before his secondary differentiation, he was an S-class Omega admired by everyone. So he was stubborn, arrogant, and had a bad temper, like a haughty swan who looked down on everyone but his family and refused to listen to anyone. Even a minor offense would be remembered and retaliated against.

He himself knew how much this personality would invite hatred without his family background and the aura of an Omega, but he had always lived this way for seventeen years. He was unwilling and unable to adapt to circumstances and become gentle, kind, frugal, and humble.

In Gu Shiyun’s view, Shi Jian was at a dead end in the First Military Academy. He was new, understood nothing, refused to admit defeat, and couldn’t find a way out. He had no choice but to turn himself into a constantly aggressive hedgehog, using his tender quills to collide with reality, ending up bruised and battered. His current state, rather than being a temporary reconciliation with himself in compliance with family expectations, was more like never having truly accepted his identity as an E-level Alpha. Even if he appeared nonchalant and unconcerned on the surface, in reality, he cared more than anyone about those malicious and well-intentioned evaluations, abandoning himself in unvented resentment.

“But none of this is your fault. Differentiation predictions are given by doctors, but even the most precise AI cannot accurately predict the future. Expectations arise because people want things to develop in the direction they desire. You bear no responsibility for the failure of others’ expectations. Does your seventeen years of existence as Shi Jian vanish with your file just because you didn’t differentiate into an S-class Omega?”

Gu Shiyun’s voice was deep, like a majestic mountain pressing down on the clouds, yet it possessed a strangely convincing allure.

Shi Jian had used these very words countless times to comfort himself, but hearing them from someone else, spoken with such gentle persuasion, was different. He was like a startled stray kitten being soothed, his turbulent emotions suddenly settling down.

Gu Shiyun said, “I’ve seen both the child you and the current you. Even the downward curve of your eyes when you’re sad is exactly the same. Whether Alpha or Omega, in my eyes, you are just you.”

He then asked, “May I see your spirit entity? I heard it’s very special—the only Dawn Flash Butterfly in the Federation.”

Shi Jian softly hummed in affirmation, opening his palms. A white-green, semi-circular cocoon, about half the size of his palm, rested quietly there, its outer shell emitting a faint luminescence.

Gu Shiyun seemed to want to touch it, but his fingertips stopped just a few centimeters away, not making contact. Yet, Shi Jian’s fingertips still trembled as if they had been touched.

“It’s very beautiful,” he said.

“When you come of age, it will break free from its cocoon and become a butterfly.”

A butterfly…

Shi Jian lowered his head, gazing distractedly at the cocoon.

A weighty coat, still warm with body heat, was draped over Shi Jian. Gu Shiyun, now only in a neatly pressed white shirt, said softly, “I still have to wait for the report. You should sleep first.”

The massage chair’s perfectly calibrated pressure made Shi Jian feel very comfortable. He clutched the Alpha’s large coat, shrinking further into it, bringing his nose close to the collar. He smelled no pheromones, only a faint, clean scent of rose soap.

How could he be so tall? His coat is big enough to be a blanket…

Shi Jian thought drowsily.

From Gu Shiyun’s perspective, the beautiful little hedgehog, now smoothed down, was curled up in his clothes, completely imbued with his scent, and gave a docile nod.

The corners of his mouth, usually set in a firm line, slowly and subtly curved upwards.

Shi Jian had a very good sleep. When he opened his eyes, a vibrant expanse of green leaped brightly through the window. Sunlight, fragmented by branches and leaves, scattered into dappled patterns on the bright floor of the infirmary, swaying with the tree canopy in the breeze.

A bright, peaceful morning.

Shi Jian stirred. The coat was still draped over him, but the Alpha who had been sitting quietly by the window was gone. As he tried to sit up, he heard a sound like raindrops pattering—

Shi Jian lowered his gaze, momentarily stunned.

Dozens of butterflies, folded from ginkgo leaves, tumbled from his embrace, falling onto the scattered light on the floor, fluttering as if ready to take flight with the slightest breeze.