I Heard You Only See Me as a Friend - Chapter 25

By the time they returned, the excess pheromones in Feng Jin’s body seemed to have settled, and he appeared to be in a good mood.

According to their usual routine, Ji Wan would have used water to wipe the back of his neck, cleaning away Feng Jin’s lingering pheromones to prevent others from smelling them.

But this time, Ji Wan hesitated. The weather was getting colder and colder; he didn’t want to touch cold water unless absolutely necessary, or else it would take a long time for his hands to warm up again.

Feng Jin naturally helped Ji Wan adjust the collar of his clothes, covering the bitten area. He spoke casually: “If you don’t wipe it, then don’t. The winter clothes are so thick; once you’re covered up, who could smell it?”

Ji Wan couldn’t smell pheromones, so he couldn’t accurately gauge how strong the scent was or how much staying power it had.

There was no reason for Feng Jin to lie. Since he said so, it must be true that it wasn’t very noticeable.

Ji Wan didn’t see the satiated look in Feng Jin’s eyes as he walked behind him, nor did he know that Feng Jin had lied.

As a Beta, Ji Wan couldn’t retain those pheromones for long. Despite Feng Jin’s best efforts to make them stay, the pheromones were thinned by the wind on the way back to school, gradually becoming unscentable.

The next day during class, Ji Wan was called to the office by his homeroom teacher.

Ji Wan’s broadcasting during the last sports meet had clearly satisfied the teacher, as he was now being asked to participate in the school’s annual New Year’s Day speech contest.

“Teacher believes you can lead our class to create new glory!” the teacher said with a chuckle, holding a thermos.

Ji Wan agreed and spent his spare time preparing his script.

As the days passed, the temperature dropped lower and lower. Ji Wan began to think about buying new, thicker winter clothes. He had grown so fast over the past few years that his previous winter clothes were becoming ill-fitting; he needed to replace them as soon as possible.

Actually, his stepmother didn’t give him a hard time about clothes on the surface. After all, letting him wear ill-fitting clothes would look bad for the family.

However, every time she gave him new clothes, it was always in front of everyone. She would go on at length about how hard she worked to pick out the right clothes for him and how difficult the process was.

Then, his father would be moved by her actions and conclude: “Even Ji Wan’s biological mother wasn’t as thoughtful as you.”

After experiencing this several times, Ji Wan was no longer willing to let his stepmother buy clothes for him.

Ji Wan checked the balance on his bank card and fell into thought. His savings mainly came from scholarships and money earned from tutoring during winter and summer breaks. It wasn’t a lot, but it wasn’t a tiny amount either. Buying high-end clothes was impossible, so it would be better to look for shops with discounts.

While Ji Wan was lost in thought, his chair was suddenly kicked.

“What are you dazed for? Let’s go eat,” Feng Jin said.

Ji Wan snapped back to reality, packed his things, and stood up.

As they left the teaching building and were hit by the cold wind, Ji Wan shivered, quickly zipping his jacket to the very top and stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“I say, you…” Feng Jin frowned. “Choosing style over warmth?”

Feng Jin paused for a moment. “You look good in anything, but being bundled up like a bear is fine too.”

Ji Wan: “…Thanks.”

“It’s not that I don’t want warmth. There’s an event in a few days; I’ll buy thicker clothes then,” Ji Wan exhaled a breath of white mist. “I’ll just wear whatever for now.”

Feng Jin didn’t quite agree with Ji Wan’s approach. He seemed to remember something, turned his face away to clear his throat, and then looked back with a serious expression: “Wear mine.”

Ji Wan looked at Feng Jin with some surprise, then smiled and shook his head.

As friends, he could guess that Feng Jin wouldn’t leave him to freeze. It was a normal gesture for Feng Jin to offer his clothes after some inner conflict.

However, as an Alpha, Feng Jin had such a strong sense of territory that he would inevitably feel a trace of discomfort about someone else wearing his clothes. Not everyone could accept lending personal items to others, let alone clothes to be worn on the body. Although Feng Jin had lent him clothes before, wearing them for a few minutes and wearing them for a few days were two different things.

The cold wasn’t unbearable yet; he could still hold out. He couldn’t just waste Feng Jin’s kindness. Only with a proper sense of boundaries could a friendship last longer.

Having been rejected, Feng Jin’s face darkened, and he didn’t look happy at all.

After dinner and returning to the dorm, Ji Wan finished his homework and continued preparing his speech.

While writing, Ji Wan’s vision went dark more than half of his face was covered by a hood. He pulled the hood down and discovered it was a down jacket. This jacket felt light and warm, and it was visibly expensive.

Feng Jin stood behind him with his arms crossed, frowning in scrutiny. He looked quite reluctant as he admitted: “You look a little bit better in it than I do.”

Ji Wan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He joked, “How is that possible? Brother Feng is the school hunk; how could anyone look better than you?”

The corners of Feng Jin’s mouth quirked up, but then his expression turned serious again. He looked at Ji Wan’s script and said slowly, “For the next few days, wear this jacket of mine.”

Before Ji Wan could refuse, he heard Feng Jin add: “I haven’t worn this jacket yet, so you can wear it freely. The speech contest has prize money; you can use the money to buy me a new one then.”

“The school speech contest has prize money?” Ji Wan’s attention was diverted. “Why didn’t the teacher tell me?”

“Probably forgot to mention it. What’s so strange about that?” Feng Jin shouldered his backpack. “I’m going home for a bit tonight. If Kong Liyan talks nonsense to you or tries to introduce you to a partner again, call me.”

Ji Wan: “…Okay. Have a safe trip.”

The next day, Ji Wan was called to the office again.

The teacher handed him a piece of paper with a smile. “I forgot to tell you earlier, but this speech contest has prize money. Take a look. Good luck with the competition!”

Ji Wan took the paper and was instantly stunned. He stared at it in disbelief several times to make sure he hadn’t misread it.

When Ji Wan returned to the classroom, he still felt like he was in a trance. He couldn’t help but turn around and whisper to Feng Jin and Kong Liyan: “Do you know how much the prize money for the first-place winner is?”

“Huh? This thing actually—”

Kong Liyan wanted to ask when this crappy competition ever had prize money. Wasn’t it purely a waste of time? However, just as he started to speak, he was kicked hard under the table by Feng Jin and instinctively shut his mouth.

“How much?” Feng Jin asked.

“Eight thousand,” Ji Wan said seriously.

“Oh.” Feng Jin observed Ji Wan’s expression, momentarily uncertain if eight thousand was considered a lot or a little.

“Too little? Then it should be… eighty thousand?” Feng Jin frowned.

Ji Wan: “…”

Ji Wan’s expression was indescribable. “In my previous school, if an activity like this had prize money, it would only be fifty.”

Feng Jin: “…”

He had been careless. Fortunately, he hadn’t taken out even more yesterday.

Feng Jin quickly adjusted: “Then wear my new jacket for now. Work hard for the competition and try to get first place. Then you can buy me a new one.”

Ji Wan stopped declining, smiled, and agreed.

When class started, Kong Liyan whispered from below: “Brother Feng, why did you suddenly go home last night?”

Feng Jin supported his head with one hand while reading: “Wanted to buy clothes. Went back to spend the New Year’s money I saved up before.”

“…You had to go in person for something like that? Doesn’t the brand send your clothes directly?” Kong Liyan was speechless. He found Feng Jin’s behavior increasingly difficult to understand lately.

“You don’t understand,” Feng Jin said softly, glancing at Ji Wan sitting in front of him before lowering his eyelashes again.

On the day of the speech contest, the wind was quite strong. Ji Wan wore the new down jacket Feng Jin had given him.

When it was time to go on stage, Ji Wan took off the jacket and handed it to Feng Jin, heading up in his school uniform to deliver the speech.

Ji Wan’s appearance was truly beautiful. Even if the school’s lighting was “death-level,” it didn’t diminish his grace. Or rather, it was because the school’s lighting was so bad that he stood out from the crowd even more.

Feng Jin sat below, watching Ji Wan on stage, feeling an indescribable sensation in his heart. Everyone’s eyes were focused on Ji Wan—some gazes were fervent, others curious, all staring unblinkingly at the person on stage.

…So many people were looking at Ji Wan, yet Ji Wan bore no mark indicating their close relationship. No one knew about his relationship with Ji Wan except themselves.

Feng Jin pursed his lips and heard two girls from the neighboring class whispering: “Oh my god, he’s so good-looking.”

“He’s dressed so thinly. Why don’t we go buy him a cup of hot milk tea? Maybe we can even get his number.”

The girls laughed and decided to act according to the situation, slipping out to buy it if they had the chance.

Feng Jin tightened his grip on the jacket in his arms. The jacket, held against him, became stained with his pheromones.

When Ji Wan finished his speech and came down, Feng Jin handed him the jacket. Watching Ji Wan put it on and be enveloped in his scent again, and seeing the two girls who wanted to buy milk tea look confused and quiet down, his gloomy mood finally began to improve.

…Is there any way to make his pheromones stay longer on a Beta?

Ji Wan lived up to expectations and took first place in the competition. He was happy for a long time after returning to the dorm. He decided to treat the whole dorm to a meal over the weekend and buy Feng Jin a new jacket. Only then did he finally fall asleep.

In the dead of night, listening to Ji Wan’s rhythmic breathing, Feng Jin buried himself in his quilt and took out his phone.

What method can be used to leave an Alpha’s pheromones on a Beta for a long time?

After typing this line into the search bar, Feng Jin clicked confirm.

The search results appeared before his eyes. People searching for this question had various reasons, but the answer they received was surprisingly consistent.

To leave pheromones on a Beta for a long time, there was only one way.

Send your pheromones into the deepest part of that Beta.

Treat a Beta as if you were performing a permanent marking on an Omega. Although you cannot truly mark them, you can temporarily retain the pheromone scent for about one to two days.

Feng Jin turned off his phone. In the silent night, he heard his own heart starting to beat violently.