A World Asunder - Chapter 4

During this period, the back of Zhao Yexi’s neck would itch from time to time. He couldn’t see it himself, but it felt normal to the touch. It happened to be the change of seasons, and the weather was dry. Every time this happened, people with sensitive skin would more or less suffer from redness or itching; his mother was one of them. He had seen her deal with skin allergies before, and it seemed like applying a little ointment did the trick, so he didn’t take it to heart.

Feeling Lu Huangzhi’s gaze, Zhao Yexi instinctively covered the back of his neck. “What use is you looking? You’re not a doctor.”

Lu Huangzhi withdrew his gaze and remarked, “Maybe my looking is more useful than a doctor’s.”

Zhao Yexi let out a scoff. “I’m not leaving today; I’ll just stay here and listen to you brag, how about that?”

“Get in the car, I’ll brag for you there.”

Zhao Yexi glared at him.

“I’m just taking you home,” Lu Huangzhi said with a smile. “Don’t overthink it, Senior.”

Zhao Yexi hesitated for a moment before taking the passenger seat.

The smell in the car was mostly gone, but Lu Huangzhi kept all the windows open anyway. Zhao Yexi faced outward, the wind blowing so hard it felt like it was whipping away all his pride. Taking advantage of the loud wind, Zhao Yexi said, “Today was a lot of trouble, thank you.”

The wind was too loud, and Lu Huangzhi didn’t hear him clearly. “Hm?”

Zhao Yexi raised his voice. “Can you slow down? My face is going to be blown into paralysis!”

“No.” Lu Huangzhi didn’t decelerate, but he did close the windows, making the car suddenly quiet.

Zhao Yexi pulled out his phone and found a voice message from Tao Qiaosheng asking where he was and if he wanted to hang out tonight.

Zhao Yexi replied, “Just left the hospital.”

Tao Qiaosheng replied instantly: “You didn’t actually go for plastic surgery, did you? Wake up, daddy doesn’t allow it!”

Upon hearing this, Lu Huangzhi glanced at Zhao Yexi from the corner of his eye.

Zhao Yexi’s temple throbbed. He locked his phone, cutting off the rest of the message. Fortunately, Lu Huangzhi didn’t say anything, and Zhao Yexi breathed a sigh of relief.

When the car reached the entrance of the residential complex, Zhao Yexi said, “This is good, let me out.”

Lu Huangzhi parked the car. Zhao Yexi tried to open the door, but found it locked. “Open the door.”

Lu Huangzhi shifted into park and turned off the engine, looking him up and down.

Zhao Yexi had a bad feeling and leaned toward the door. “What’s the meaning of this?”

Lu Huangzhi suddenly leaned in. Seeing that unfairly handsome face getting closer, Zhao Yexi extended his hand like a cat refusing to be cuddled. “Don’t come any closer.”

“I don’t see anything that needs fixing.” Lu Huangzhi straightened up. “Where did you want to have surgery?”

Zhao Yexi put on a cold face. “Do you know why Xiao Ming’s grandfather lived to be one hundred and three?”

Lu Huangzhi’s tone turned unusually serious. “It’s your face, you can do whatever you want with it. But surgery has risks; I advise you to think twice.”

Zhao Yexi had expected a sarcastic remark, so he was caught off guard by the sincere advice. It made it hard to be snarky in return.

Actually, there was no harm in telling him. If he really had surgery, people would notice anyway. “I just wanted to fix my teeth.”

Lu Huangzhi thought for a moment. “Your teeth seem fine.”

Zhao Yexi’s cheeks flushed slightly as he said uncomfortably, “I have a canine tooth, I want to grind it down.”

Lu Huangzhi: “…”

“And fill in my two dimples while I’m at it,” Zhao Yexi added resentfully. “Without the tooth and the dimples, anyone who says I look like a minor is blind.”

Lu Huangzhi was silent for a long time before saying, “Zhao Yexi.”

“Yeah?”

Lu Huangzhi said slowly, “Are you an idiot?”

“You’re the—bounce back!”

Lu Huangzhi rested his hands on the steering wheel, head down and laughing. “You really are something else.”

Back home, Zhao Yexi took a shower and flopped onto the sofa to scroll through Weibo. The top trending topics were still about the second gender. He saw keywords like “human differentiation,” “special scents,” “glandular pheromone secretion,” and “fever-like symptoms.” Monkey’s symptoms weren’t an isolated case. Many people were like him, most of them teenagers. The age distribution followed a normal curve, with the most cases among sixteen and seventeen-year-olds, though thirteen and twenty-four-year-olds were also affected.

Xie Love Letter: Humans are really going to differentiate. I’m only twenty and I’ve already seen everything. 0.0

Protecting Your Pig: Differentiation is a genetic issue at least; it’s not contagious.

Pink Age, You’re Tender Now: Aside from everything else, if men can get pregnant and women can make people pregnant, then being gay follows the laws of nature. Can the Same-Sex Marriage Act be put on the agenda now?

KK: I sense a massive wave of coming out is about to hit.

Mission to Stay Straight: The person above is as simple as a single-celled organism. Who knows if differentiation has side effects? What if it affects lifespan? I just want to be a normal straight guy.

Don’t Tell Me What to Do: So when is the press conference? I’m waiting for official confirmation. @ABOInstitute

Although officials repeatedly urged everyone not to spread rumors, hearsay was flying everywhere. For example, some said differentiating into an Omega would add a “charm” attribute: girls would become more feminine, and boys would become more feminine too. Skin would become fair and delicate, you wouldn’t get acne or gain weight no matter what you ate, and your legs would get thinner. Meanwhile, differentiating into an Alpha meant going down a path of no return toward being “mighty and majestic,” becoming taller and stronger, and having a muscular physique without even lifting weights.

Zhao Yexi stared at the words “mighty and majestic.” Oh no, that’s a heart-fluttering feeling.

However, some netizens had a point. This differentiation was full of uncertainty. If it shortened his life, then he wouldn’t want it at all.

Being rational, Zhao Yexi typed into the search bar: “How to differentiate into an Alpha.”

Master Yuantong: My master just invented a formation; everyone can try it. At midnight, take a bite of an apple from ‘Yuantong Fruit Shop’ in front of a mirror and shout ‘I want to be an Alpha’ or ‘I want to be an Omega’ three times. (Link to Yuantong Fruit Shop.)

Zhao Yexi felt his intelligence had been insulted. He exited Weibo and opened WeChat to find a new friend request.

[Huang wants to add you as a friend] [Verification: Have important literature to send you.]

His first thought was academic literature, so he accepted.

It’s a Macho Man: ?

Lu Huangzhi sent a series of WeChat articles.

Huang: [The Secret of Faces: Dimples Symbolize Wealth]

Huang: [Studies Show People with Canine Teeth Have Better Relationships]

Huang: [Click to See the Top Ten Risks of Plastic Surgery]

Huang: You’re welcome.

It’s a Macho Man: [Old man on subway looking at phone meme.jpg]

It’s a Macho Man: Didn’t you just say I could do whatever I wanted with my face? [Hmph, men.jpg]

Huang: Your reason was too ridiculous; I couldn’t watch.

It’s a Macho Man: What does that have to do with me? Unless you call me ‘daddy,’ then I might consider it.

Huang: Fine, but I’m afraid if my real dad finds out, he’ll cut me out of the inheritance. Can we use a different name?

It’s a Macho Man: Go ahead.

Lu Huangzhi sent a voice message: “Godfather.”

It’s a Macho Man: [Smile] [Smile]

“Happy Christmas Eve, Godfather. Remember to eat an apple.”

Zhao Yexi pressed the voice button and grumbled, “I won’t. I just won’t.”

Zhao Yexi and Tao Qiaosheng were both single, so on Valentine’s Day or April Fool’s, they would huddle together for warmth. On Christmas Eve, Zhao Yexi was busy bickering with Lu Huangzhi on WeChat, so he only met up with Tao Qiaosheng on Christmas night.

Tao Qiaosheng hadn’t gone to grad school. After graduating, he had become a corporate drone, starting a 9-to-9 life. He only got off on time during holidays.

Zhao Yexi parked under Tao Qiaosheng’s office building and sent a voice message: “Daddy is here. You have ten minutes to get down.”

Tao Qiaosheng replied “Got it.” Zhao Yexi could tell his voice sounded off, and when he saw him, he knew he wasn’t overthinking it.

Melancholy was written all over Tao Qiaosheng’s pretty face. He was talking much less than usual and didn’t even call him “Xi-zai,” which showed how serious the problem was. Zhao Yexi didn’t ask; he knew Tao Qiaosheng would talk when he was ready.

“Where do you want to go?” Zhao Yexi asked.

Tao Qiaosheng rested his chin in his hand and looked out the window. “I want to drink.”

“Granted.” Because of his youthful face, Zhao Yexi didn’t like going to bars, but since his best friend had asked, he had to fulfill the request.

On Christmas night, it was crowded everywhere. Not even world differentiation could stop people from joining the festivities. Zhao Yexi chose a nearby bar. To avoid being asked for ID, he specifically wore a baseball cap and a mask.

The booths and tables were long gone, but they found two spots at the bar. Tao Qiaosheng silently downed two drinks before finally speaking. “Xi, if humans differentiate, do you think you will?”

“The probability seems pretty small.” Zhao Yexi took a sip of his drink. “I’m unlucky; I won’t have that kind of luck.”

Tao Qiaosheng smiled. “I hope I can be lucky for once and differentiate into an Omega.”

Zhao Yexi nearly spat out his drink. “If you had even one peanut with that, you wouldn’t be this drunk.” After saying that, Zhao Yexi realized it actually made sense.

Tao Qiaosheng was gay, a pure ‘0’ who wished he had fair skin, a beautiful face, and long legs. If he believed the online speculation about Omegas, it wasn’t strange at all.

Tao Qiaosheng said softly, “I saw him announce his relationship on Weibo today. He has a girlfriend.”

Zhao Yexi was confused. “Who?”

Tao Qiaosheng looked at him resentfully. “Who do you think?”

Zhao Yexi thought of a name and couldn’t help but swear. “No way. You’re still thinking about him?”

Tao Qiaosheng said weakly, ” I just can’t forget him.”

Tao Qiaosheng had an ex-boyfriend he had dated for seven years, whom Zhao Yexi considered a total scumbag. After graduation, the guy’s parents had suspected their relationship and used blind dates to test him. The guy didn’t dare come out and went on dates behind Tao Qiaosheng’s back. Once Tao Qiaosheng found out, encouraged by Zhao Yexi, he had decisively broken up with him.

While a clean break felt good at the time, only Tao Qiaosheng knew how much it hurt afterward.

“I keep thinking, if same-sex marriage was legal and I could have children, maybe we wouldn’t have broken up.”

Zhao Yexi slapped Tao Qiaosheng on the back. “Shut up. Daddy doesn’t allow you to be a simp.”

“I was just reflecting. How is that being a simp?” Tao Qiaosheng said. “And I’ve always liked kids; being able to have my own has always been my dream.”

“Even if you can give birth, you can’t do it for a scumbag.” Zhao Yexi pushed his drink toward Tao Qiaosheng. “Hurry up and drink more. Forget that guy.”

Tao Qiaosheng recovered a bit of his usual self. “But the alcohol is expensive.”

“It’s fine,” Zhao Yexi waved his hand. “All expenses tonight are on Young Master Zhao!”

As soon as he said that, nearby guests looked over. Zhao Yexi quickly lowered his head, pretending nothing had happened.

“Young Master Zhao is so generous!” Tao Qiaosheng was finally happy. “By the way, have you decided about the ABO Research Institute?”

“I want to go,” Zhao Yexi said. “But I want to talk to my parents first.”

“You still can’t reach them? What a tragedy.”

Zhao Yexi didn’t care. “I’m used to it anyway. I’ve decided to let go and give them their freedom so they can benefit humanity in peace.”

Tao Qiaosheng’s phone vibrated. He pulled it out and a look of pure ecstasy appeared on his face. “Ahhh! Human differentiation is confirmed!”

Zhao Yexi grabbed the phone. “Let me see!”

[The ABO Research Institute has confirmed the differentiation of the human second gender.

Differentiation is most common in teenagers aged 15 to 25, though other ages aren’t ruled out. Omega differentiation is often accompanied by the release of a special scent, fever, weakness, and itching or heat at the neck glands. Simultaneously, Alpha differentiation makes them exceptionally sensitive to the scent of Omegas. Experts suggest that suspected cases undergo genetic testing.]

Zhao Yexi touched his neck, feeling his world crumble. “I’m screwed.”

Tao Qiaosheng was a blur of excitement. “I’m going to differentiate! I can get pregnant! My mom can’t stop me from being gay anymore!”

Zhao Yexi didn’t have time for him. He frowned and read the symptoms of Omega differentiation again.

The back of his neck was itchy and hot, but he didn’t have a fever or weakness, and he didn’t have a special scent… right?

A chill ran down his spine. He grabbed Tao Qiaosheng. “Xiao Qiao, do you think I smell like anything?”

Tao Qiaosheng was immersed in his fantasies. “I’m going to have a baby! I wonder if it’ll be a boy or a girl.”

Zhao Yexi threw a bucket of cold water on him. “Setting aside whether you’ll differentiate, do you even have a boyfriend right now?”

“Wait, what?”

The scene froze for three seconds. Tao Qiaosheng grabbed his phone back from Zhao Yexi, typing as he muttered, “How to differentiate into an Omega and find a boyfriend.”

Since Tao Qiaosheng was useless, Zhao Yexi pulled out his own phone to search: “What diseases cause itchy skin besides differentiation?”

Five minutes later.

Tao Qiaosheng said firmly, “I’ve decided. I’m taking a day off to go up the mountain to pray to the Old Man under the Moon and the Goddess of Childbearing. Xi-zai, do you want to come with Xi-zai?”

Zhao Yexi slowly, slowly raised his head and said blankly, “I think I have liver disease, diabetes, or cancer.”