Chapter 15

Chapter 15

See: "Host, are you okay?"

The Alpha, who usually wore a high ponytail on campus, hadn't tied up his hair today. His silver hair fell smoothly by his neck.

The dormitory door swung open. The morning light in St. Maria was always bleak yet clean. A handsome Alpha walked out, silhouetted against the light.

Seemingly uncomfortable, the Alpha pensively raised a hand, his pale fingertips touching the new inhibitor patch on the back of his neck. "I'm fine."

A sudden noise came from the opposite dorm.

The door was pushed open from the inside, and a tall, blue-haired Alpha with deep brown skin emerged.

He had a deceptively youthful face, but his eyes held a fierce intensity. His brown skin, as if tempered by the scorching sun, had a honey-like sheen.

It was Zou Yun.

The irritable-looking Alpha glanced up, his eyes sweeping over the silver-haired Alpha standing at the doorway.

Meng Shijiu wasn't wearing his uniform today. A white lab coat was draped casually over his shoulders, the collar askew, revealing a glimpse of his collarbone. He looked even more languid than usual.

In the clear light where dust motes were visible, the silver-haired Alpha resembled an exquisite, fragile glass statue. Pale eyes, pale hair, the skin on the side of his neck so pale the faint blue veins were visible. His weary face held an almost eerie, decadent beauty.

He seemed a bit different from the usually composed, faintly smiling Alpha.

A breeze stirred, and Zou Yun caught a faint, icy scent.

Zou Yun vaguely saw, through the Alpha's gesture, the soft fabric casually stuck to the elegant curve of his neck—a corner of it slightly raised. His gaze, which had been casually sweeping past, snapped back. Zou Yun raised an eyebrow in feigned surprise, his tone disdainful:

"—An Alpha wearing an inhibitor patch?"

Meng Shijiu glanced at Zou Yun without much emotion.

The Alpha's thin lips, having just taken the inhibitor, were tinted coral by the morning light, shimmering with a faint glaze.

Alphas entering their rut often experience hormonal agitation, intense negative emotions, and even violent impulses. Research shows that Alphas during this period tend to become paranoid, restless, craving possession and marking Omegas.

To manage their rut, Alphas typically choose methods like wearing inhibitor collars, taking or injecting suppressants, or undergoing artificial isolation.

In short, most people assume Alphas during this time are dangerous and prone to losing control.

But Meng Shijiu's rut arrived silently, disturbing no one. Moreover, after taking the inhibitor, his emotions grew even colder, like ink diluted and repeatedly rinsed on paper, or a dried flower bookmark pressed in a book for too long—so faint it made his striking features stand out even more, like a flower washed by rain, becoming even more vivid.

Inhibitor patches are designed for Omegas; for Alphas, they only serve as an auxiliary measure, temporarily suppressing a portion of the hormonal surge, with limited effectiveness.

But even after drinking a vial of inhibitor, Meng Shijiu still felt uncomfortable, so he casually applied a patch to ease the discomfort.

Meng Shijiu crooked a finger at Zou Yun.

The expressionless Alpha's eyes were hooded. His refined face was like a handful of fine snow, accentuating the mysterious, captivating green in his cold, beautiful eyes. His casual beckoning gesture seemed to summon a disobedient dog—not an invitation but a command, yet it held a strange allure.

The blue-haired Alpha pressed his lips together, frowned, muttered "What trick are you trying to pull now?" and walked over.

Before he could stop in front of the stunningly beautiful Alpha, the other grabbed his shoulder.

The inhibitor patch couldn't block the Alpha's intense pheromones at all. It was like an avalanche of snow, a baby's cry, the clock striking seven—when night falls, no one can stop it.

The Alpha's overwhelming pheromones made the tall, blue-haired, blue-eyed Alpha immediately curl up in pain, breaking into a cold sweat.

But besides the pressure from a top-tier Alpha, another terrifying thought struck him.

—This familiar feeling of losing control.

Once, inside that holographic map, he had been completely suppressed by the psychic energy of someone in a silver mech.

Now, he was being suppressed by his pheromones again.

He jerked his head up, meeting a pair of cold, jade-green lakes.

Like a sea demon awakened from the depths, Meng Shijiu's voice sounded exceptionally distant, like morning bells echoing through a forest.

"Classmate."

Meng Shijiu pressed down on his shoulder again. His beautiful lips almost brushed against Zou Yun's ear, but his voice didn't lower at all. Alphas already possessed heightened senses, and now this voice made his head buzz. He heard the snow-demon-like Alpha ask him with utter indifference, "Have you had a problem with me for a long time?"

The person whose hand on his shoulder was cold as ice continued, "What a coincidence. The feeling's mutual."

The next second, the silver-haired Alpha seemed to produce a new inhibitor patch out of thin air and shoved it onto Zou Yun's neck.

The force was so great Zou Yun saw stars.

"Wear it for a week. Understand?"

"If it falls off once," the Alpha's pale but strong fingertip pressed against the blue-haired Alpha's gland through the soft fabric of the patch, "I'll dig this out."

See, who had genuinely believed the host was fine: "…………"

The silver-haired Alpha strode away, but the pheromones in the air remained, arrogantly dominating the entire corridor. The ventilation system ran for half an hour.

—If Ye Lingxi, Meng Shiyan, or Yue Xuanli had been present at that moment, any one of them might have realized that this Alpha in rut and that blind Alpha from years ago were indeed the same person, unchanged all along.

—

The reason Meng Shijiu didn't choose isolation during his rut was simple: today was the first plot point of *But the Sun is So Bright*, marking his first mission since transmigrating into the book.

These days, Meng Shijiu had maintained contact with Ye Lingxi and repeatedly wondered how Ye Lingxi, who seemed more likely to PUA others, could have been PUA'd by Zong Geman in the original story.

See explained that if the original story didn't have these various logical bugs, the worldline wouldn't have deviated, and there would be no mission.

Meng Shijiu: What nonsense. Don't want to hear it.

The plot point occurred in the afternoon, at St. Maria's library—a physical book room. Nowadays, no one used physical books; every student's terminal had an electronic library. Hardly anyone went to the library, which was why the plot could unfold there.

Meng Shijiu had a mandatory lab class in the morning. The Alpha decided that to prepare for the afternoon's mission, he should get acclimated early and attended the lab class.

It was the first lab session of the semester.

Professor Qiu stood at the podium reading out the grouping list for this experiment.

"..."

"Meng Shijiu, Pei Ruji, one group."

When Professor Qiu finished reading the last grouping in a flat tone—

A certain black-haired, red-eyed Alpha, who had been standing in the farthest corner from Meng Shijiu, suddenly raised his hand.

The surrounding gazes turned toward the Alpha in the corner, whose presence was still overwhelmingly strong.

"Go ahead." Professor Qiu adjusted her thick glasses, looking toward the well-mannered black-haired Alpha standing on the left side of the classroom.

Pei Ruji lowered his hand with even more grace than he'd raised it, his deep red eyes carrying a touch of ease. "May I ask, Professor, what the rule for grouping is?"

Meng Shijiu: "What act is he putting on?"

See: "Your calm exterior betrays no sign of your temper."

Meng Shijiu: "?"

Meng Shijiu: "What are you commenting on?"

See: An Alpha in their rut is truly not to be provoked.

Professor Qiu frowned, giving Pei Ruji a look that said, "What nonsense are you asking?" She tilted her chin up. "Of course, it's based on your theoretical exam scores from the entrance assessment."

Meng Shijiu raised his hand.

The students' gazes snapped toward the silver-haired Alpha.

Professor Qiu's face turned from left to right as well, motioning for Meng Shijiu to speak.

"Are we paired by putting the top scorer with the bottom scorer?" Meng Shijiu asked.

Professor Qiu stared into the Alpha's jade-green eyes for a few seconds. It proved that even the most aloof person could be biased in the face of extreme beauty—she spoke in a tone that carried a touch of reproach, yet was somewhat softened. "Of course not. Those with similar abilities are grouped together, and your final grade will be the average of your scores. That means first place pairs with second place, and second-to-last pairs with last place."

She glanced down at the score sheet. "Entrance test: Meng Shijiu, 0 points; Pei Ruji, 0 points."

The classroom fell silent. The students lowered their heads, not daring to look at the two "big shots" with zero points.

Meng Shijiu: "I got 0? I got 19!"

See: "Host, you're talking about the first-year exam paper."

Meng Shijiu: "..."

Meng Shijiu: "He got 0?"

See: "Pei Ruji is an aristocrat; he didn't take the exam."

Meng Shijiu: "Oh. Isn't he pretending to be a good student? Why didn't he take the entrance exam?"

See sighed: "Host, you're really on the attack today."

But no matter what, the two strikingly handsome Alphas still had to conduct experiments at the same table.

Professor Qiu's lectures were concise, packed with key points in just twenty minutes, but the class's focus kept drifting back to the two imposing figures at the back.

After the theoretical explanation ended, the students gradually began their experiments.

Meng Shijiu leisurely put on his lab gloves.

A voice came from beside him—the black-haired Alpha, still standing at the farthest possible distance from Meng Shijiu. His tone, rich and lazy like red wine, sounded gentle and harmless:

"Aren't you going to tie up your hair for the experiment, classmate?"

Meng Shijiu: "Why does his speech sound so pointed?"

See: "Not at all, isn't this a friendly reminder?"

See: "Did you forget you even said good morning to him on the first day of school?"

Meng Shijiu: "I forgot."

See: "..."

The silver-haired Alpha ignored the request to tie up his hair.

After the earlier incident with Zou Yun, the suppressant patch was practically useless. Halfway through, the Alpha had thrown it into the trash, and now his gland was probably a bit swollen.

"Thanks for the reminder. Is Pei so concerned about hair because he's worried about balding at a young age?" Meng Shijiu said with a smile.

Pei, standing by the corner of the table, lowered his face slightly, his fingers making a few light tapping motions on the tabletop without actually touching it. Facing Meng Shijiu's provocation, his expression remained unchanged. "Is that so? I hope Meng can always be so... outspoken."

Meng Shijiu: "See? I told you his speech was pointed."

See: "Like sea cucumber spines..."

The two-hour lab class went by, and the students gradually left the lab. Meng Shijiu was still processing his nth attempt at a sample.

Beside him, Pei Ruji extended his seemingly expensive hand and leisurely pressed the ultrasonic cleaning button.

"...Wait."

Meng Shijiu, who had just glanced over, closed his mouth and looked at the ruined sample in the tank again.

"So hopeless. Is Pei Ruji also an academic slacker?"

See carefully checked the original plot: "It seems... not."

Meng Shijiu: "Oh."

Meng Shijiu: "So he did it on purpose."

See: Scared.JPG

See: "Host, the plot point is about to begin."

Meng Shijiu: "Mm."

Professor Qiu walked over. Meng Shijiu watched as she drew a big zero in the grade column right in front of both of them, then walked away with the faint smile of someone happy to be off work.

Pei Ruji even politely waved goodbye to her.

Meng Shijiu: "This is the second time I'm saying this today."

See: "What—"

"Do you have a problem with me?" the silver-haired Alpha asked sincerely.

Pei Ruji, who was about to leave the classroom, paused.

The sharp-featured Alpha turned around. The depths of his narrow eyes seemed to hold an unfading blood-red hue. His white lab coat was spotless, and as he looked over, his usually calm gaze carried a hint of straightforward scrutiny.

He walked over step by step until he was only a fist's distance away from Meng Shijiu.

Pei Ruji leaned in slightly. The tall Alpha carried out this movement with an air of elegance, his high nose casting a sharp line of light and shadow on the side of his face. His voice was low, carrying a metallic chill.

"Perhaps you know... the Omega pheromones on you smell quite unpleasant?"

A faint breath brushed against his ear. Meng Shijiu was puzzled and tilted his face slightly, about to retort, "What Omega pheromones? I don't have any on me."

—Suddenly, he froze.

A faint, peach-like fragrance slowly reached his nose.

"I..." The silver-haired Alpha's voice caught in his throat.

Like the cloying sweetness of rotting fruit, mingled with a rich, somber floral scent.

As if the fruit had ripened until the sweet juice lay beneath soft, mushy skin—just a light squeeze would cause the honeyed syrup to gush out, so cloyingly sweet it made his throat tighten.

Meng Shijiu: ………

At the silver-haired Alpha's sudden pause, Pei Ruji seemed slightly displeased, frowning as his blood-red eyes fixed on the Alpha's face, like a deep abyss ready to devour the sun.

Meng Shijiu looked at Pei Ruji with a conflicted expression.

"Pei Ruji. You're in your rut."

No need for Meng Shijiu to remind him. Pei Ruji was well aware himself.

He snorted, shedding his usual air of elegance: "Triggered by the Omega pheromones on you."

Meng Shijiu, smelling the restless, icy scent in the air, was utterly speechless: "...This is my pheromone."

Pei Ruji didn't believe it. An Alpha couldn't enter a rut because of another Alpha's pheromones.

He looked at the Alpha spouting nonsense before him and smiled coldly. Just a few days ago, he was being carried by an Omega, and now, after only a few days, he had another one already.

Meng Shijiu said nothing and turned to leave.

He was just about to step out of the classroom when—

The Alpha suddenly grabbed Meng Shijiu's cold wrist.

The temperature of Pei Ruji's fingertips was so scalding it startled Meng Shijiu.

"Bang," the door slammed shut heavily, followed by the Alpha's increasingly burning body pressing over.

See's systems experienced a full ten seconds of magnetic chaos due to Meng Shijiu forcibly using his ability.

But even after ten seconds, Meng Shijiu's wrist remained firmly gripped in the black-haired Alpha's hand. See couldn't imagine how much strength Pei Ruji was exerting.

Meng Shijiu held a thin, sharp blade in his right hand, a deep blood-red mark already pressed into Pei Ruji's chest. Crimson flowers bloomed on the Alpha's snow-white lab coat, yet the tall Alpha's expression didn't change a bit.

The quiet classroom was left with only slightly ragged breathing—not Pei Ruji's.

From the start, Pei Ruji had been silent, as if the violent, cloying pheromones spreading through the air weren't his. If one couldn't smell his pheromones, Meng Shijiu might truly have thought the Alpha was as unaffected as he appeared.

Meng Shijiu suppressed the reckless desire triggered by his pheromones, not daring to imagine the chaos that would ensue if two top Alphas both entered a frenzied rut.

The pheromone alarm in the classroom had already begun ringing.

"Pei..." The Alpha still managed to laugh at this moment, "No, what's the idea, not letting me leave?"

"If you leave, will you still care about me?" Pei Ruji spoke with utter conviction.

Meng Shijiu was shocked by this person's shamelessness, his voice hoarse: "Why should I care about you?"

Pei Ruji suddenly leaned in close again, pressing against the gorgeous Alpha's ear, his scorching breath trailing from the Alpha's cool earlobe down to his fair, unblemished neck.

"Is it unpleasant?" He was asking about his own pheromones.

Logically, this was a straightforward provocation—an Alpha asking another Alpha in rut whether his pheromones smelled good.

But his tone was too natural, as if he were genuinely just inquiring.

At this moment, Pei Ruji still appeared remarkably calm, his sickly, eerie eyes revealing an inscrutable composure, like a dormant volcano.

Yet Meng Shijiu's mind began to wander again.

—The original novel had quite a few descriptions of this F1, from his personality and background to his behavior, including a portrayal of Pei Ruji's pheromones.

The description in the text was rather abstract, depicting a rotten, pale, stale odor.

In fact, some people, including Pei Ruji himself, perceived this scent.

It evoked images of the pale sunlight in a post-apocalyptic world, gloomy and pungent—like the stench of blood-soaked sacrificial fowl rotting, mixed with the foul smell of machine oil and factory minerals.

Meng Shijiu: Suspecting whether his rut was so severe that his sense of smell had malfunctioned.

The silver-haired Alpha still hadn't snapped out of it.

The Alpha before him, dissatisfied, seized Meng Shijiu's fair chin and turned his face back.

Meng Shijiu lazily turned his head.

The air in the entire classroom was thick with the damn pheromones of this out-of-control Alpha. The silver-haired Alpha in rut felt as if a thousand furious lions were roaring and snarling inside him, his heart burning and devoured by raging flames, blood boiling and surging, with savage violence rampaging through his body, trying to strip him of reason to attack this arrogant Alpha before him.

Unfortunately, Meng Shijiu excelled at maintaining rationality.

Until Pei Ruji's rough knuckles abruptly and harshly grazed against the Alpha's scent gland.

Simultaneously.

"Ding—Plot Point One appears," See's mechanical voice sounded.