A World Asunder - Chapter 7

Zhao Yexi felt as though he were being completely dominated. The noisy surroundings seemed to vanish along with the light, leaving only that phantom scent enveloping him.

What is that smell? It was a delicate sweetness, not at all cloying, with a tiny hint of tartness.

Likes sour and sweet is that the “real him”?

Zhao Yexi was lost in thought until the nurse’s teasing voice rang out: “A grown man like you, still afraid of needles?”

He snapped back to reality and swung a palm toward the back of Lu Huangzhi’s hand. However, Lu Huangzhi withdrew his hand just before the impact smack! Zhao Yexi performed a perfect “I hit myself” routine.

Lu Huangzhi said, “That hurt.”

Zhao Yexi had a sudden urge to stab Lu Huangzhi with the needle. “You weren’t the one hit; what are you doing the sound effects for?”

“Eyes are wet, face is red.” Lu Huangzhi looked down at him as if he had discovered something fascinating. “You really do look like this every time you get angry.”

“Lu Huangzhi, I’ll f*ck your—”

The final keyword was cut off by the nurse. “Alright, alright, stop standing around. There’s a line behind you.”

Zhao Yexi said, “But sis, you haven’t drawn my blood yet.”

“I finished long ago.” The nurse picked up three vials of blood and gave them a shake. “See?”

Zhao Yexi was shocked. “When? I didn’t feel a thing.”

“Right when he was covering your eyes, next!”

“…” He had actually been covered for that long? He didn’t even notice the needle prick?

After the blood draw, Zhao Yexi lined up for the other stations. At the chest X-ray, the staff asked, “Do you have plans to have a child in the next six months?”

Before Zhao Yexi could answer, the staff member looked up at him and said, “Oh, never mind. Just go in.”

Zhao Yexi: ?

He wasn’t sure what just happened, but he felt a vague sense of discrimination.

The final item was height and weight. Zhao Yexi specifically waited until most people had left before measuring. He stepped cautiously onto the scale. After a flourish of electronic music, a bubbly female voice announced: “Height 172.8, Weight…”

Is it my imagination, or was the volume lower for everyone else?

“Your body type is thin. Please increase your nutrition and exercise.”

Useless advice. He ate at least two and a half bowls of rice per meal and hit the gym to lift weights on weekends. Was it working? No!

Having finished all the items, Zhao Yexi didn’t leave immediately. He sat at the entrance of the testing center to play a round of a game until he saw Lu Huangzhi emerge.

“Lu Huangzhi,” Zhao Yexi tried to imitate Guan Chengji’s commanding, cold tone. “Come here.”

Unfortunately, Lu Huangzhi didn’t care for that teacher-student routine.

“In a hurry,” Lu Huangzhi said. “If you have something to say, come over here and say it.”

Zhao Yexi stayed seated. After a ten-second stare-down, Lu Huangzhi turned and walked away.

Fine. You win.

He honestly didn’t get it. Not just in their college, but students and teachers across the whole university were a little afraid of Guan Chengji. Zhao Yexi had chosen him as a mentor precisely because he admired his “alpha” presence. Why didn’t that aura work at all on Liang Qinghuan and Lu Huangzhi?

Liang Qinghuan made sense—he was on the same level as Guan Chengji. But what right did Lu Huangzhi have to not be afraid? Every time he faced Guan Chengji, Lu Huangzhi was relaxed and natural, as if he were talking to any other teacher. His presence didn’t seem suppressed at all. It was a mystery.

Still, Zhao Yexi did have something to say, but chasing after him was impossible. Fortunately, there was always WeChat.

It’s a Macho Man: You have a scent on you too, you know. It’s a Macho Man: Omega differentiation warning.

An hour later, when Zhao Yexi was already home, he finally received a reply.

Huang: What kind of scent? It’s a Macho Man: F*ck, you’re asking me? You don’t know what you smell like? Huang: No. Waiting for you to tell me. It’s a Macho Man: Not telling. [I’m too cool meme.jpg] Huang: Oh. It’s a Macho Man: Emitting a special scent—you’re definitely about to differentiate. Huang: Oh.

Those two short, simple “ohs” made Zhao Yexi’s chest feel tight. He couldn’t even breathe right. He tossed his phone onto the sofa and went to shower in frustration. A minute later, he ran back to the living room to type, still with toothpaste foam in his mouth.

It’s a Macho Man: “Oh” your uncle! It’s a Macho Man: If you “oh” me one more time, I’ll slap you to death. Huang: Increase nutrition and exercise. It’s a Macho Man: ??? Huang: Grow up a bit before you try to slap me. It’s a Macho Man: …

Zhao Yexi had nowhere to vent his rage. He viciously screenshotted the chat and pasted it into his “grudge book.” Then he went to the ABO Institute’s official Weibo and left a comment on an alternate account: Can you make the scales in your testing center silent? Do I not deserve any dignity?!

Genetic testing results took three days. During the wait, Zhao Yexi’s anxiety was indescribable. He frequently checked the “Second Gender Testing” super-topic on Weibo to find people in similar situations. One user named “Mission to Stay Straight” said: This feeling is like hovering outside the labor ward, waiting for your mom to give birth to you so you can see what sex you are.

Zhao Yexi found the metaphor brilliant. He followed the user immediately.

On the third day, Zhao Yexi set up his “Wish Fulfillment” talisman early in the morning and kept his phone glued to his hand. After hours of waiting, he finally got a call—but it was from Tao Qiaosheng.

“Xi-zai, Xi-zai!” Tao Qiaosheng’s voice was vibrating with excitement. “I… I think I’ve differentiated!”

Zhao Yexi, who had been sprawled on the sofa, sat bolt upright. “For real? You haven’t even been tested yet!”

“I have the symptoms of Omega differentiation! Quick, come over and check for me!”

“Okay, okay!” Zhao Yexi wedged his phone between his shoulder and ear, frantically looking for his shoes. “I’ll be right there!”

Half an hour later, Zhao Yexi sat by the bed, took the thermometer from Tao Qiaosheng, and fell into a long silence.

Tao Qiaosheng was buried in a duvet, only showing his pretty, almond-shaped eyes. He looked at Zhao Yexi expectantly. “Well?”

Zhao Yexi was expressionless. “39.2 degrees Celsius.”

“See, see! I have a fever! Fever is a symbol of Omega differentiation!”

“One of the symptoms of the Omega susceptibility period is a low-grade fever. Are you having a low-grade fever? You have a damn high fever!” Zhao Yexi was anxious and angry. “Did you take medicine?”

Tao Qiaosheng shrank further into the duvet and said weakly, “Is it really not it…? My happiness is gone, uwaaa.”

Zhao Yexi opened the wardrobe, grabbed some clothes, and tossed them onto the bed. “Get up and get dressed. Daddy is taking you to the hospital.”

“No.”

Zhao Yexi snapped, “Don’t be a brat with me.”

“It’s not that.” Tao Qiaosheng coughed. “Right now, the fever clinics are full of Omegas in their heat. I just have a common cold; I shouldn’t add to the medical staff’s burden.”

Zhao Yexi compromised for the moment. He went downstairs to buy fever reducers, watched Tao Qiaosheng take them, and used a cold towel to help cool him down.

Soon, Tao Qiaosheng drifted off into a daze. Zhao Yexi stayed in the room, not wanting to leave him alone. After a few rounds of games, his phone warned of low battery. He remembered a charger on the nightstand, but unable to find it, he opened a drawer.

Inside was a photo frame, face up. Zhao Yexi’s hand froze.

A seventeen or eighteen-year-old Tao Qiaosheng was wearing a high school uniform, smiling brightly at the camera. Standing beside him with an arm around his shoulder was a boy in the same uniform with a buzz cut and a look that suggested a short temper.

Zhao Yexi glanced at his sleeping best friend and shook his head, frustrated by his lack of resolve.

By the time Tao Qiaosheng woke up, it was nearly dark. He had sweat through his clothes, and the high fever had subsided to a low one. He struggled to sit up and saw Zhao Yexi holding his phone, standing motionless. His profile looked both cute and tragic.

“Xi-zai,” Tao Qiaosheng’s voice was incredibly raspy. “What’s wrong?”

Zhao Yexi said solemnly, “The door to the labor ward has opened.”

“Huh?”

Zhao Yexi rushed to Tao Qiaosheng’s side. “The email from the testing center, my results are in!”

Tao Qiaosheng immediately became tense. “Quick, open it!”

“I don’t dare.” Zhao Yexi’s hand was trembling slightly. “How about you look for me?”

“Fine, give it here.”

Just as Tao Qiaosheng was about to click, Zhao Yexi snatched it back. “No! I want to see my own gender for myself!”

“Then hurry up!”

Zhao Yexi was a ball of nerves. “But what if I really differentiated?”

“You still have to look. If you don’t, you’ll forever be a Schrödinger’s gender.”

“Not an Omega, no heat, no big belly, no lab rat…” Zhao Yexi muttered as he clicked the email Tao Qiaosheng thought Zhao Yexi was having a stroke. His own fever was practically scared out of him; he abandoned his duvet and knelt beside Zhao Yexi, shaking him frantically. “Xi-zai? Xi-zai, pull yourself together!”

Zhao Yexi stared at the ceiling, motionless, looking as if he had been turned to stone.

“It’s just being an Omega; you’re not the only one who differentiated. If you don’t want to have kids, we just won’t have them. Didn’t your campus heartthrob say it? Male pregnancy still requires sexual reproduction. You just have to be on guard against men from now on,” Tao Qiaosheng advised earnestly. He pulled two tissues from the box on the nightstand and stuffed them into his own nostrils to plug his runny nose.

A meticulous boy like Tao Qiaosheng usually cared deeply about his image; he only displayed such ungraceful behavior in front of Zhao Yexi or his mother. Normally, Zhao Yexi would have definitely snapped a photo for the archives. But currently, his mind was in a trance, already imagining himself as a lab rat. What right did a rodent have to take photos of a human?

“Besides, medicine is so advanced these days. I’m sure it won’t be long before they can turn you back into a normal person.”

“…”

“Your dad is the Director of the ABO Research Institute. What are you afraid of with him there?”

Zhao Yexi continued to play dead.

Tao Qiaosheng pulled out his trump card: “Zhao Yexi, wake up! You haven’t finished revising your Master’s thesis yet!”

Zhao Yexi’s fingers twitched; he finally had a reaction. He rolled over, propped himself up, and crawled laboriously across the bed like a villain in a TV drama making a final struggle before death. He reached out a trembling hand toward the empty air and let out a blood-curdling cry: “You can’t… you can’t do this to me… NO!”

Tao Qiaosheng couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing, accidentally snorting the tissue from his nostril onto the pregnant male Ragdoll cat curled up at the foot of the bed.

Ultimately, Zhao Yexi accepted reality. What else could he do? He couldn’t actually hang himself from the ceiling fan and spin around.

Tao Qiaosheng poured him a glass of warm water. “Here.”

Zhao Yexi said weakly, “Thanks.”

“Look at you. Who’s the sick one here exactly?”

“You just have a cold and a fever. What about me?” Zhao Yexi protested. “I’ve freaking transitioned!”

Tao Qiaosheng picked up the Ragdoll cat, placed it on his lap, and stroked its large belly. “I’d love to have this kind of transition.”

Zhao Yexi re-read the test report. It stated that his genes had officially mutated and he was currently in the early stages of differentiation. His glands were still growing, so they wouldn’t secrete pheromones for the time being. Once the glands were fully formed, he would have his own scent and encounter his first Susceptibility Period.

Every differentiation report was recorded in the ABO Research Institute’s database. He could use the report to claim free odor blockers at designated hospitals, and medical insurance would cover 90% of all treatment costs during his Susceptibility Period.

Tao Qiaosheng squeezed in next to Zhao Yexi to read along, sighing, “The benefits are actually great.”

Zhao Yexi said woodenly, “Do you want these benefits?”

“Yes! I’d give anything for them!” Tao Qiaosheng said. “I guess it’s a case of the man with bread wanting none, and the starving man wanting all. Xi-zai, once my son has his kittens, I’ll give you one. A Ragdoll is a must-have for a macho man.”

Zhao Yexi said coldly, “Do I look that easy to fool?”

Back home, Zhao Yexi didn’t even turn on the lights; he just collapsed onto the sofa. Even though he knew it was likely useless, he sent a message to the small group chat with his parents.

It’s a Macho Man: Dad, Mom, I’ve differentiated. It’s a Macho Man: [Meme: Distressedly hugging my tall and strong self.jpg]

The last message in the group was from two months ago. Ever since the differentiation appeared, he hadn’t received a word from them. It didn’t really matter; he was twenty-four, not fourteen, and he could take care of himself. But with something as life-changing as differentiation, he still wished he had someone to share the burden with.

At this stage, the emergence of ABO differentiation was a massive challenge to human society. Since the era of the cavemen, humans had only two genders; the sudden appearance of six meant that medicine, society, and law all needed time to adapt. Even though officials repeatedly emphasized that differentiation was a widespread, non-contagious phenomenon, a minority of people stubbornly viewed Alphas and Omegas as freaks, ostracizing them. Conspiracy theories flooded the internet—nuclear leaks, biological weapons, intentional viruses, divine punishment. Zhao Yexi reported every single one he saw.

But one thing was clear: the future for Alphas and Omegas was uncharted territory. Whether Alpha, Omega, or undifferentiated, everyone’s life was about to change drastically because of ABO.

Zhao Yexi touched the back of his neck, feeling a sense of peace.

Peace, my foot. Out of all the low-probability events in the world, he could never pull a rare card in a video game to save his life, so why did he have to be “lucky” enough to differentiate? Young Master Zhao was not convinced!

A WeChat notification popped up. Seeing the familiar avatar, Zhao Yexi suddenly remembered that he and Lu Huangzhi had their physicals on the same day. Lu Huangzhi’s report should be out too.

Huang: [Image]

Zhao Yexi clicked the image. It was Lu Huangzhi’s report. Just like his, there was a checkmark next to “Differentiated,” but Lu Huangzhi’s direction was Alpha.

It’s a Macho Man: One more lab rat joined the crew. It’s a Macho Man: Senior is so “A” (Alpha-like), are you an Alpha too? It’s a Macho Man: … Huang: Understood.

Zhao Yexi wasn’t in the mood to reply, but unexpectedly, Lu Huangzhi called him directly.

Zhao Yexi answered listlessly, “What is it?”

“I happen to be near your place,” Lu Huangzhi said. “Want to come out for a drink? To celebrate our mutual differentiation.”

“No. Go away.”

The wind was a bit strong that night, so Zhao Yexi wore a thick hoodie. Lu Huangzhi’s car was parked at the entrance of the complex with the windows down. Lu Huangzhi sat in the driver’s seat; under the dim lighting, the sharp lines of his profile were quite captivating.

Zhao Yexi steadied his nerves, opened the door, and sat in the passenger seat.

The car smelled faintly of cigarettes. Lu Huangzhi asked, “What made you change your mind?”

“Considering we’re both suffering from the same misfortune.” Among the people his age he knew, only Lu Huangzhi was a confirmed case.

“Differentiation isn’t a disease.”

“Easy for you to say,” Zhao Yexi said gloomily. “Alphas don’t have to deal with heat or having kids. You’re just standing there talking while my back is breaking.”

“How do you know my back never breaks?” Lu Huangzhi turned and grabbed a can of beer from the back seat, opened it, and handed it to Zhao Yexi.

“That’s it?” After mocking the simple offer, Zhao Yexi tilted his head back and took a gulp.

Sitting next to Lu Huangzhi, Zhao Yexi looked tiny. When he drank, the can covered two-thirds of his face.

Lu Huangzhi watched him for a while before starting the car. “Even with just ‘this,’ I feel a bit guilty.”

Zhao Yexi: “?”

“I have the illusion that I’m luring a minor into drinking.”

Zhao Yexi’s face went cold. “Oh.”

As the car drove toward the edge of the city, Zhao Yexi felt something was wrong. “Where are we going?”

“The ABO Research Institute,” Lu Huangzhi said. “To be lab rats.”

Zhao Yexi: “…” Is it too late to jump out of the car?

It was quite late by the time they arrived. Lu Huangzhi got out first and walked around to open the door for Zhao Yexi. “After you.”

“Wait, do lab rats have to crawl into the lab themselves these days?”

“If you don’t want to crawl, would you rather be carried?” Lu Huangzhi leaned down. “Or do you want to be held?”

Zhao Yexi was completely overshadowed by Lu Huangzhi’s silhouette. “…Move.”

Lu Huangzhi suddenly asked, “What do you smell like, Senior?”

“None of your business.” Zhao Yexi pushed past him and got out. “Which lab is it?”

Lu Huangzhi laughed. “You actually took it seriously?”

Zhao Yexi knit his brows. “What do you mean?”

Lu Huangzhi pointed to an apartment building nearby. “These are the apartments the institute arranged for staff. When do you plan on moving in?”

“In a few days.” Zhao Yexi looked at the building, puzzled. “Why is it pitch black in there?”

“Turn your head,” Lu Huangzhi said.

Behind Lu Huangzhi were the main building and the research labs of the ABO Institute. Even at this hour, every floor of every building was brightly lit. Shadows could be seen moving past the windows occasionally.

“Professor Liang said that every single person in the ABO Research Institute works over 18 hours a day.” Lu Huangzhi opened a Coke for himself. “Complaining is useless. Just trust them; they won’t let you stay in heat forever.”

Zhao Yexi looked at him like he’d seen a ghost. Was that a consolation? It was, wasn’t it? Lu Huangzhi was actually comforting him?! What was even more ridiculous was that he actually felt comforted.

So many people were working hard to handle the sudden appearance of the second gender, and he was about to become one of them. He couldn’t stay this depressed.

“Not bad, Lu Huangzhi,” Zhao Yexi said, giving him a rare smile that showed both his dimples and his canine tooth. “I’ll cross off one entry from my little notebook for this.”

Lu Huangzhi caught the key phrase: “What little notebook?”

“Nothing,” Zhao Yexi ducked back into the car, feeling guilty. “Let’s go home, let’s go home.”

and squeezed his eyes shut.

Mom, I still don’t dare look!

Tao Qiaosheng leaned in over the duvet and shrieked, “Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

Hearing such an excited scream, Zhao Yexi had a terrible premonition. He opened his eyes. First, he saw “Zhao Yexi, Male, 24 years old.” Then came the “Differentiated” and “Undifferentiated” rows.

In the box for “Differentiated,” there was a red, standard checkmark: [√].

Zhao Yexi barely had one breath left. Stay steady. Even if I’ve differentiated, I could be an Alpha.

He covered his eyes with his palm, leaving a tiny slit between his fingers, and looked down.

[Direction of Differentiation: Omega]

Omega. Heat. Big belly. Lab rat.

His vision went black, and Zhao Yexi collapsed onto the bed.

Let the world end. I’m tired.