Drunk On The Night Breeze - Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Tao Zhi really did sit on the bench outside the door and waited for Ruan Lingfeng for that long. When Ruan Lingfeng walked out holding the forms prescribed by the doctor, Tao Zhi seemed to sense it instantly; he stood up almost immediately and met him, asking, “How did it go?”

“It’s nothing serious…” Facing Tao Zhi, who was leaning in close again, Ruan Lingfeng imperceptibly stepped aside. “They still need to send the samples to another institution for testing, so I’m not entirely sure what’s going on yet.”

Tao Zhi knit his brows. “That serious?”

“It’s not that it’s serious,” Ruan Lingfeng explained. “It’s just that the situation might be a bit special, but it’s not a bad thing.”

In fact, while talking to the doctor just now, the doctor had asked him if “that Alpha” could also come in for an examination. “That Alpha” naturally referred to Tao Zhi. If the situation was indeed what the doctor suspected, then Tao Zhi should also be someone with this special type of gland. From the doctor’s perspective, not immediately calling in several interns to observe a living case was already giving him a lot of face; they certainly hoped that rare cases like Tao Zhi and himself would cooperate with their research.

However, Ruan Lingfeng didn’t actually want Tao Zhi to know too much.

Perhaps most people would think this way—the doctor just now, upon mentioning this condition, even remarked: “To encounter such a small probability of meeting… if your compatibility also happens to be high, then you’re a match made in heaven.”

Why would that make us a match made in heaven? Ruan Lingfeng couldn’t wrap his head around it no matter what.

Is an attraction born out of pheromones truly love? People who have always been able to perceive pheromones freely might not be able to tell the difference, but he knew clearly: without the boost of pheromones, “love” can easily vanish without a trace.

Or perhaps, his own attraction to Tao Zhi was also being influenced by the other’s pheromones.

Under the influence of pheromones, maybe this “match made in heaven” could maintain a permanent, high-pitched passion for one another—but would that truly be of his own will? Thinking carefully, a version of himself like that would be nothing more than a marionette controlled by chemical signals.

It felt utterly meaningless.

From a personal standpoint, Ruan Lingfeng didn’t want Tao Zhi to know about these “special circumstances,” lest the other person start thinking that their meeting in the vast sea of people was some kind of destiny… But as much as he thought that, he felt Tao Zhi had the right to know. He couldn’t hide the truth out of pure selfishness.

Besides, before the test results came out, he wanted to confirm beforehand if Tao Zhi was the same kind of person as him.

So, Ruan Lingfeng asked: “By the way… can I ask you a few questions? They might involve some privacy, so it’s fine if you don’t want to answer.”

Tao Zhi replied: “Ask whatever you want.” For the past day, it had mostly been Tao Zhi pressing for answers while Ruan Lingfeng squeezed them out like toothpaste. Now that Ruan Lingfeng was initiating the questions, he welcomed it.

“When you presented, did you never get diagnosed with the same ‘illness’ as me?” Ruan Lingfeng asked.

“No. Nothing unusual happened when I presented, so I never bothered to get checked.”

“Then your pheromones… do they work on other Omegas? Can you smell the scents of other Omegas?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never released pheromones toward anyone else… the few times I couldn’t control it were all because of you. It was actually quite annoying at first,” Tao Zhi gave Ruan Lingfeng a deep look before continuing. “As for the second question, didn’t I tell you I have Omega-phobia? If I have to be in close contact with Omegas, I always wear blocking patches. So, I’ve never smelled anyone else’s scent.”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…I see.”

Thinking about it, it made sense. Ruan Lingfeng’s trigger for seeking a checkup was his inability to smell his own pheromones. Tao Zhi was different; he could smell himself. Without knowing whether his pheromones worked on other Omegas, he naturally wouldn’t suspect he had any kind of “disorder”… coupled with his Omega-phobia…

Tao Zhi didn’t understand why Ruan Lingfeng was asking these things. “What is it? Are you investigating my past romantic history?”

Seemingly forgetting that he had previously pretended to have dated several people just to save face, Tao Zhi now began to vow solemnly: “There’s only been you.”

“That’s not… never mind,” Ruan Lingfeng knew these questions would be misunderstood. “You should probably go get a sample tested as well.”

Ruan Lingfeng gave Tao Zhi a rough summary of what the doctor had told him.

“So I’m that badass? Sounds like I’m some kind of SSR-tier rarity,” Tao Zhi remarked. Unexpectedly, he didn’t immediately think that two people meeting with such a low-probability condition was “fate,” as Ruan Lingfeng had feared. He simply said: “I’ll go get checked. I didn’t realize it was this complicated. If I’d known, I would have found a more reliable place. I’ll look for some connections to find an expert who researches this… whatever it is. Is it a disease? Anyway, an expert on this condition. I’ll take you to see them when the time comes.”

But Ruan Lingfeng refused: “No need. It doesn’t affect my daily life.”

They walked as they talked; Ruan Lingfeng still needed to get his medicine from the pharmacy. Following behind him, Tao Zhi suddenly came out with a seemingly random thought: “You must have suffered a lot in the past because you didn’t have a pheromone scent, right?”

Ruan Lingfeng turned around. “…What?”

“Don’t people usually present during middle or high school?” Tao Zhi said. “I remember at that stage, everyone loved comparing themselves—whose pheromones smelled better, whose was more intense, stuff like that. Those with even slightly ‘lesser’ scents would get teased. If you had no scent at all, even if no one did anything to you on the surface, you probably felt bad about it deep down.”

Ruan Lingfeng was slightly stunned. He was surprised that Tao Zhi would think of this and even accurately guess his mindset at the time. However, he didn’t want to play the victim in front of the “kid,” especially since he truly didn’t care about pheromones anymore. So, he denied it: “Not really. I spent all my time studying back then. I didn’t have time to think about those things.”

“Oh. Well, I cared.”

Ruan Lingfeng: “Hmm?”

Tao Zhi said: “Since I was little, I hated the idea of pheromones being something ‘attached’ to your body. It felt useless and harmful. So I never released mine and never competed with them. They said I didn’t have any pheromones and gossiped about me behind my back.”

“Then you…”

Every time Tao Zhi showed vulnerability like this in front of him, Ruan Lingfeng couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache. Just as he was about to offer some words of comfort, Tao Zhi’s tone shifted.

Tao Zhi’s voice carried a hint of pride: “I beat up all those gossiping idiots. Then I got expelled.”

Ruan Lingfeng:

Tao Zhi continued: “I just feel like… if it were you, you’re the type to bottle things up. You wear that permanent smile on your face every day, but maybe you were hiding under the covers at night being sad… If we were in the same grade, I would have dealt with those idiots for you.”

Ruan Lingfeng opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing. He simply pointed toward the pharmacy they were approaching. “I need to pick up my medicine.”