Chapter 4: Check-up

Chapter 4: Examination

“I am your father.”

Qi Ran’s mind went blank, as if all his thoughts had been stripped away, leaving only the echo of those words ringing in his ears.

Song Yuqing—his adoptive father’s newlywed wife.

His young stepmother.

Qi Ran couldn’t articulate what he was feeling.

Song Yuqing and Qi Zhengqing hadn’t even had a wedding ceremony.

They were simply bound together by a marriage certificate.

His relationship with Qi Zhengqing was so strained that today was essentially his first time meeting Song Yuqing.

On the ground, Pei Huai, with his light golden hair, remained motionless, like a dead dog.

Pei Luo glanced at Pei Huai on the floor and said to Song Yuqing, “I’ll leave this to you.”

“Mm.” Song Yuqing lifted his gaze, calmly looking at Pei Luo. “Thank you.”

It was just a simple thank-you, but Pei Luo reacted as if he’d been electrocuted, quickly turning his head away, his tone stiff. “Don’t mention it.”

Song Yuqing sat in the spot where Pei Huai had been sitting earlier and sighed. “Fa Fa, I’ll definitely eat two extra bowls of rice tomorrow.”

88: “…”

You better mean it.

Song Yuqing stared at Pei Huai’s hand, seemingly contemplating whether to kick him a couple more times while he was unconscious.

He lightly tapped the tip of his shoe against Pei Huai’s wrist, as if finding it pointless, then stood up and walked away.

The gentle pressure, carrying a faint sense of oppression—not heavy, but enough to make someone as lofty as Pei Huai feel humiliated at having his hand stepped on.

Pei Huai, unconscious but not completely out: “…”

*Fine. He’d better not let me catch him.*

*Song Yuqing.*

That night, Room 3216 housed only one person and one snake.

Qi Ran was staying at the school infirmary, while Pei Huai had been left unconscious by Song Yuqing in the gym.

As for the other roommate, it was said he hadn’t been to school in a long time.

In the darkness, Lan Balun’s ice-blue eyes glinted with a cold light, his pupils slitted like two cracked fissures.

Dangerous yet captivating.

Lan Balun slithered into Song Yuqing’s blanket, the innate coiling nature of snakes making him wrap around that snow-white ankle.

The cold-blooded, scaly creature brazenly shared the same warmth.

Song Yuqing was woken up. Grabbing the little snake, his mood already foul, his usually cold, snow-like eyes now tinged with annoyance. “Biting the hand that feeds you?”

Lan Balun’s beady eyes stared back innocently at Song Yuqing.

Song Yuqing carried the snake out of bed.

The snake’s tail actively curled around Song Yuqing’s slender fingers, fawning and flattering, but Song Yuqing unhesitatingly tossed it out the window.

Lan Balun flew in a smooth parabolic arc through the air, finally landing on a branch in the 19th-floor sky garden. Displeased, he coiled on the branch, hissing as his forked tongue flickered.

The previous night, both Qi Ran and Pei Huai ended up in the hospital, adding a bit of excitement to the otherwise dull campus life.

Those unaware of the truth assumed Qi Ran had stood up to Pei Huai and managed to land him in the school infirmary too.

Many people formed groups to visit Qi Ran and Pei Huai.

Mostly to witness Pei Huai taking out his frustration on Qi Ran in the hospital.

The school infirmary was a completely standalone building.

Its classical brick walls were covered in ivy, bearing the marks of time. The sloped roof was layered with deep red tiles, and beneath the eaves, intricate patterns were carved.

Arched windows were set with stained glass, and sunlight streaming through cast colorful patterns on the floor.

A sharp needle pierced into a vein, cold fluid entering Qi Ran’s body.

Qi Ran sat there numbly, strands of black hair partially covering his eyes, his gaze tinged with gloom.

*Thump, thump, thump!*

*Thump, thump, thump!*

Countless hands tapped against the glass, countless mocking faces pressed close to the window.

Finally, those hands could no longer restrain themselves, and the window was pushed open from the outside.

Qi Ran looked up.

There stood an unexpected figure—Song Yuqing.

Qi Ran’s fingers twitched slightly. What was he doing here?

Song Yuqing stood apart from the crowd, his long, thick eyelashes lowered, his entire person as aloof as frost on a winter branch. The only splash of color on him was the blood-drop red mole on his earlobe.

He looked somewhat weary, neither acknowledging those eagerly watching him nor glancing at Qi Ran.

Song Yuqing’s appearance stirred excitement among the crowd gathered at the school infirmary, eager to disturb Qi Ran’s rest. “Let me treat you to the show, alright?”

“Sweetheart… Want to see Qi Ran cry? I’ll make him cry for you.”

Qi Ran: “…”

Sweetheart?

The sweetheart who gave Pei Huai two slaps and me one?

Song Yuqing lifted his gaze to the birds on the branch—a row of long-tailed tits, looking like little glutinous rice balls nestled in the tree.

When one tilted its head, the others followed suit, several pairs of beady eyes curiously fixed on Song Yuqing.

*Chirp, chirp!*

The noise and clamor felt like a hundred sparrows were stuffed inside his head.

Pei Huai was already in a bad mood after being knocked down in the gymnasium, and now, hearing the commotion outside, his face grew even darker.

Noticing Pei Huai's expression, Pei Luo pushed open the window and froze at the scene below.

Pei Huai could barely contain his temper, frowning. "What are you doing? Why are you staring blankly?"

Pei Luo snapped back to attention, his lips murmuring, "Song Yuqing."

Song Yuqing.

Pei Huai's voice was haughty and cold, like a tyrannical, high-and-mighty monarch. "Here to apologize?"

The humiliating memory of having his hair grabbed and being forced to look up was still vivid in his memory.

It was with that same cold, expressionless face that Song Yuqing had slapped him.

The alpha pressed his tongue lightly against his cheek, where a throbbing pain from yesterday’s slap still lingered.

The spot where his teeth had cut felt warm, as if branded by a hot iron, with a dull numbness.

Pei Huai’s movements were subtle and slow, testing the depth of the wound, as if reliving and memorizing that moment of humiliation and resentment.

*Such a wild beta? Could Qi Ran’s alpha adoptive father, who was one foot in the grave, really handle him?*

Pei Huai gathered his thoughts, a fierce glint flashing in his half-lidded eyes.

"Even if he kneels and apologizes, I won’t forgive him."

Pei Luo: "..."

Pei Luo felt strange inside, unable to understand why he wasn’t happy. His voice came out hoarse. "He went to see Qi Ran."

He had helped Song Yuqing with such a big problem yesterday, even someone as troublesome as Pei Huai.

When he opened the window, Song Yuqing clearly saw him but didn’t give him a second look, instead focusing on the birds in the tree, a faint smile curling at the corners of his lips.

*Was he some kind of worthless person? In Song Yuqing’s eyes, he wasn’t even worth a few dead birds.*

*If he ever paid attention to Song Yuqing or helped him again, he’d be a fool.*

Pei Huai’s expression changed erratically.

"Fine, good, very good."

He would get even for that slap with Song Yuqing sooner or later.

Song Yuqing had missed his last chance for reconciliation.

Qi Ran lifted his eyelids. "You don’t need to worry about me. My relationship with him isn’t good."

The "him" here clearly referred to Qi Zhengqing.

"Even if you try to suck up to me, it’s useless."

Song Yuqing didn’t respond, focusing on peeling an apple nearby. His long, slender fingers held the bright red apple, his pale fingertips gently pressing on the back of the knife. It was clear Song Yuqing was inexperienced at this.

He might not even know how to peel an apple properly.

But he was concentrating hard on it, though it was uncertain whether he was listening to what was being said.

Remembering the slap from yesterday, Qi Ran wasn’t sure if this apple was being peeled for him.

Song Yuqing lost patience and handed the knife to Qi Ran. "You peel it. I want to eat."

Qi Ran: "..."

Was he the patient, or was Song Yuqing the patient?

The nerve was unbelievable. This young stepmother of his wasn’t trying to win him over at all.

Qi Ran took the apple with a cold expression.

Peeling an apple for Song Yuqing.

Qi Ran spoke again. "Even if you want to have a child with him, I have no objections. You’re a beta, so it might be harder for you to get pregnant, but..."

"With enough effort, you should be able to conceive." Qi Ran’s voice was low, carrying a self-mocking sneer.

"You should focus your energy on him."

Sleeping with Qi Zhengqing, having a child with Qi Zhengqing.

Sunlight streamed through the window, casting dappled light on Song Yuqing’s slightly drooping eyelids.

Song Yuqing seemed to be lost in thought.

When Song Yuqing looked up again, there was only complete detachment and weariness in his eyes, a coldness that kept others at a distance.

"Not having any."

"You’re sick too."

A look of disdain, as if regarding someone with a mental illness.

Song Yuqing stood up from the chair, ending the visit in less than five minutes.

Song Yuqing didn’t even get to eat the apple Qi Ran peeled.

The knife blade cut his finger, and bright red droplets of blood seeped from the wound, slowly sliding down his fingertip and dripping onto the snow-white sheets, leaving a stain. Qi Ran’s gaze was dark and fixated, fixed on the crimson bloodstain on the sheets.

"This world is just like this," 88 advised. "You need to accept it."

Alphas completely dominate, viewing the other two genders as inferior and obsequious.

Carefully raised Omegas are treated as childbearing vessels. In upper-class society, they are circulated resources, living like parasitic plants dependent on alphas for growth, drawing sustenance from them.

Even betas, less suited for reproduction, are seen in their eyes as wanting to seduce alphas into bearing their children, becoming lovers of noble alphas to gain resources.

Especially someone like Song Yuqing, who comes from the slums and has attached himself to an upper-class alpha—it only makes people think he'll do anything.

"Why should I accept it?" Song Yuqing’s tone was cold, not an intense retort but more like asking what we're having for dinner.

88 remained silent. But what could he do if he didn’t accept it?

Song Yuqing was just a beta. Was he supposed to fight against everyone here?

Engage in some pointless, hopeless fight, only to be caught and bullied by alphas until he broke down and apologized?

"Song Yuqing," the alpha said, "are you here at the school clinic to get your reproductive system checked?" He blocked Song Yuqing's path, his light gray eyes locked onto Song Yuqing, pupils contracting slightly.

Like a predator that had just spotted its prey, his gaze held poorly concealed excitement.

Song Yuqing's lashes fluttered slightly as he met the alpha's stare. "Are you okay?"

Song Yuqing's words completely disrupted Gu Jingtang's rhythm—he had expected Song Yuqing to run from him.

He had imagined chasing Song Yuqing like a cat playing with a mouse.

The thrill of the chase would send adrenaline surging.

The tension, excitement, and even the slight danger of pursuit and escape would make Song Yuqing even more enticing.

But Song Yuqing made no move to flee. Instead, he asked, "Are you okay?"

A flash of confusion crossed Gu Jingtang's light gray eyes, followed more by a sense of disappointment.

If possible, he would have preferred to see Song Yuqing baring his claws at him, just as he had that day in the office.

Gu Jingtang: "Thanks to you, I'm here for an IV drip."

"Mm," Song Yuqing spoke slowly. "Do you need me to examine you?"

The medical laboratory on the third floor—outwardly part of the school clinic—was, in reality, a secret medical laboratory used for unconventional experiments or research.

Victor United High School was just a high school, yet its clinic was anything but ordinary.

On the contrary, it was equipped with advanced medical facilities, staffed by a professional medical team, and even had dedicated medical laboratories.

Students were permitted to conduct experimental procedures here.

A sign on the door read, "No Unauthorized Personnel."

Inside, rows of cold instruments and flickering screens filled the room.

The air carried the scent of disinfectant. Unlabeled chemicals and documents were piled in corners, while relevant books lay scattered across tables, some with hastily written notes tucked between their pages.

On the wall hung a structural diagram of a beta's reproductive system.

To all appearances, it seemed like a seldom-used medical laboratory.

"How do you plan to check me?" Gu Jingtang threw his head back, assuming a dominant posture.

He watched as Song Yuqing slipped on rubber gloves.

Those were hands meant to be preserved in formaldehyde as specimens.

The bones stood out clearly.

The fingers long and pale.

The rubber gloves stretched tight, accentuating the skeletal shape of his hands.

Song Yuqing raised his hand, lifted his eyelids, and leveled his cold gaze on the alpha.

Gu Jingtang froze unexpectedly for a moment.

Song Yuqing’s lashes lowered slightly. "I'm going to examine your gland."

The room went so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

An alpha’s gland—the most sensitive part of an alpha—and here was Song Yuqing, a beta, wanting to touch it.

Gu Jingtang stared into Song Yuqing’s eyes, the corner of his mouth curling into a cruel, mocking smile.

"That eager?"

"Are you trying to seduce me?"

Song Yuqing pressed his fingers firmly against the alpha’s gland, methodically following the steps of the examination procedure he had committed to memory.

He compared his findings with the knowledge of alpha glands stored in his mind, reaching a conclusion:

— The gland area is noticeably swollen.

— It feels warm when touched.

— The pheromone concentration is three times higher than that of a normal alpha.

88 was amazed by how quickly Song Yuqing had mastered the knowledge—able to replicate the entire procedure after just one read-through.

88 was also surprised that Song Yuqing would use the alpha he had struggled with just the day before as a "patient" to practice what he had learned.

Gu Jingtang hated the feeling of Song Yuqing pressing on his gland. He hated being examined, hated the loss of control.

The one being controlled, chased, and pleading for mercy should have been Song Yuqing.

The alpha’s pheromones slowly diffused through the air—a rich, heady scent of red wine, carrying a seductive appeal.

Unfortunately, Song Yuqing was a beta; these pheromones were useless against him.

He couldn’t sense the ambiguous temptation of the pheromones defying their master.

But the alpha, whose gland was being pressed by Song Yuqing, became agitated from Song Yuqing’s chilly, snow-fresh scent.

"Do you examine that old man’s gland like this at home too?"

"Playing doctor and patient?"

"Is this how you charm a half-in-the-grave old man into being bewitched?"

Song Yuqing’s expression remained cold as he dragged his fingernail sharply across the alpha’s gland.

The pain was like a sharp needle piercing the alpha’s most vulnerable spot.

A mix of pain and unusual sensations left Gu Jingtang briefly disoriented.

"Do you actually know how to do this?" Gu Jingtang’s tone softened slightly, as if pretending to be vulnerable. "Song Yuqing, what are you to me..."

Song Yuqing looked down and removed the gloves.

He calmly tossed the rubber gloves into the trash.

His hand grasped the door handle.

"The gland is swollen, and the pheromone concentration is more than three times the normal level."

A slender and cool and detached silhouette, as if stepped out of a classical oil painting. Gu Jingtang almost burned a hole through Song Yuqing's thin back with his gaze.

"In other words, you're a dog in heat chasing anything that moves." A merciless taunt, delivered in the beta's even, measured tone, Song Yuqing's voice was like the soft rustle of falling snow, the weight snapping brittle branches.

By the time the snow settled, the figure was already gone.

Gu Jingtang narrowed his eyes, staring at the lone pair of rubber gloves in the trash can.

A slow, suggestive smile curled at the corners of his lips. *Song Yuqing, such a lowborn beta who only knew how to seduce alphas...*

*Dared to call him a dog in heat? Another one of those hot-and-cold games?*

*Did he play the same hot-and-cold game with that old man?*

At this thought, Gu Jingtang's eyes darkened with shadow.

17L: He's so beautiful it left me speechless. He must be an Omega, right? If I could mark him, in his breeding cavity...

89L: You’re all so pathetic. Just a face has you all wound up like dogs in heat, dizzy and disoriented.

106L: He’s the first person I’ve liked so much since coming to this school. Even the thought of him pressing my gland turns me on.

178L: His cold expression is such a turn-on. I really want to be his dog.

182L: This photo looks so gentle. I want to help him. I don’t even dare imagine how good it would feel to *fuck* him.

201L: Even more suited to be dirtied, his face covered completely, his eyelashes drooping, sticky and smeared. The colder he is, the more he's made to be bullied to tears.

218L: Anyway, I just don’t get the hype about him.

224L: If I could meet him, even if he slapped me, I’d be willing.

Because of that fleeting glimpse they caught at the school infirmary this morning, the rich kids of the Intercontinental Class briefly forgot about Song Yuqing.

Briefly forgot about humiliating Song Yuqing, about making him lose face.

They only remembered the stunning, cool and detached beauty who appeared out of nowhere.

Fantasizing that he would be their classmate.

Only, their classmate was that unremarkable beta, Song Yuqing.

The Class 8 students were somewhat disappointed, their dissatisfaction with Song Yuqing growing stronger.

"So unlucky to be in the same class as Song Yuqing."

"A lowborn beta—I really didn’t want to be in the same class as Song Yuqing."

"He must be an Omega, right? I’m still a virgin. I really want to lick him all over, want him to let me..."

Outside the classroom window, a figure slowly passed by.

The people in the classroom clearly noticed this figure too. The air in the room instantly froze, as if even breathing had been cut off.

The smiles on the faces of those who had been in the middle of trash-talking suddenly stiffened, their mouths still half-open but unable to utter another sound.

Song Yuqing turned into the classroom holding a stack of books against his chest.

The beta’s figure was slender, his demeanor cool and detached, his overly pale complexion giving him a brittle fragility, as if he might shatter at the slightest touch.

Someone came to their senses first and asked blankly, "Classmate, you are..."

Song Yuqing lowered his gaze, his tone indifferent. "Song Yuqing."

Author's Note:

Lan Balun: Innocent, wide-eyed confusion.

Qi Zhengqing: ?

Pei Huai: ?

Qi Ran: ?