Low-Grade Omega - Chapter 3

Ji Yicheng took Li Yao to a hotel and checked in. The germaphobic, fastidious Alpha naturally wasn’t going to enjoy his spoils immediately; instead, he headed to the shower first.

The pitter-patter of water echoed from the bathroom. Li Yao lay on the bed, staring blankly at the gloomy sky outside the window.

The rain hadn’t weakened as time passed, instead, it grew heavier, showing signs of turning into a full-blown torrential downpour.

In a daze, he remembered the day he first met Ji Yicheng. It seemed it had been just like this, a suffocatingly oppressive, rainy day.

Six years ago, Rongcheng First High School.

“Hey, I heard a new transfer student is coming today. I wonder if it’s a guy or a girl.”

“The homeroom teacher is being so tight-lipped, I couldn’t get a word out of him.”

“What’s the rush? We’ll find out in a bit.”

Li Yao rested his chin on his hand, watching the heavy rain swaying outside the window. His brow hadn’t relaxed for a single moment, and the loud chatter nearby failed to catch his attention.

He thought with no small amount of worry that with rain this heavy, and having forgotten to bring an umbrella when he left this morning, how was he supposed to get to his part-time job at the bar after school?

Borrowing an umbrella from someone else was out of the question. Back then, Li Yao’s personality was gloomy and aloof. Even though his grades were excellent, he remained like a “transparent person” in class. He had no friends, so who would be willing to lend him one?

Taking a taxi was even more impossible. If he had money for a taxi, why would he bother working a part-time job in a seedy, chaotic bar?

He could only hope the rain would stop by the time school let out.

Li Yao let out a soft sigh. When he withdrew his gaze, he happened to see his homeroom teacher, Wu Qi, who was prematurely bald in his forties, walking in. Behind him followed a tall, handsome, but extremely cold-looking Alpha.

There were plenty of good-looking people in First High, but there was no one quite like this Alpha, whose beauty was so striking it felt aggressive.

Li Yao himself was extremely handsome, but because he always kept a gloomy face and used his long bangs to cover more than half of it, he gave off the misleading impression of being somber and plain.

The Alpha seemed to sense his gaze. His dark eyes shifted, and his focus instantly locked onto Li Yao.

In that brief second of eye contact, Li Yao had the illusion of being targeted by a predator, as if his throat were about to be bitten through.

Deep down, he knew he couldn’t afford to provoke a top-tier Alpha like this. He lowered his eyes submissively and slumped onto his desk, pretending to sleep.

He thought the Alpha would ignore him if he did this, but to his surprise, the Alpha didn’t look away.

“Come, Student Ji, give a self-introduction so the class can get to know you.”

The teacher’s loud voice acted like a savior. The Alpha finally withdrew the gaze that had been stuck on him, walked to the podium, and said his name with extreme brevity, not bothering to say a single word more.

The teacher and the students of Class 1 probably didn’t expect the new transfer to be this cold, and for a moment, the atmosphere turned a bit awkward.

The Alpha didn’t care. He turned and asked the teacher, “Where is my seat?”

There were only two empty seats in the entire classroom. One was at the end of the first row near the back door, and the other was at the very back of the last row, right next to Li Yao.

Because of his aloof and unsociable personality, no one wanted to be his desk mate, so the spot had remained empty.

The teacher did a quick mental calculation and was about to point to the seat by the back door, but the Alpha was already carrying his bag by the strap, walking straight toward Li Yao.

The atmosphere in the classroom grew even stranger, turning so quiet that the only sound was the pitter-patter of rain hitting the doors and windows.

Li Yao, who had been faking sleep but was actually a bit drowsy from staying up too late the night before, lifted his head. He looked up with a dazed expression at the Alpha standing before him, whose shadow almost completely enveloped him.

The cold Alpha spoke, “Is someone sitting here?”

His tone was a question, but his actions were dominant as he pulled out the chair and casually tossed his bag onto it.

Li Yao shook his head belatedly, then watched blankly as the Alpha sat down as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

It was only then that he realized with a start that the Alpha was becoming his desk mate. Could it be because he stared at him earlier, and now he was looking for a chance to retaliate?

Li Yao pursed his lips, feeling a bit troubled.

What should he do? He didn’t want to provoke anyone, let alone offend someone, but clearly, this Alpha had come with unfriendly intentions.

Throughout the day, Li Yao kept a dark, uneasy face. The moment the bell rang for the end of evening self-study, he immediately packed his bag and ran off without hesitation.

Behind him, the Alpha, who was unhurriedly organizing his test papers, slowly stopped his movements. He narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the figure that had disappeared like a gust of wind.

In the air, the faint, lingering scent of roses drifted, only to vanish a moment later.

.

He didn’t know if it was because he got soaked that day or because he hadn’t rested well from his part-time job, but for several days, Li Yao felt sickly and listless.

Today, the situation was even worse. From the moment he woke up, his head felt heavy and dizzy. The back of his neck was hot and swollen, accompanied by waves of faint, stinging pain.

The Alpha, who hadn’t spoken a single word to him since becoming his desk mate, frequently cast observant glances his way. Li Yao had no energy to deal with him, so he huddled against the wall, burying his head to rest.

But sometimes, when you are exhausted to the limit, you cannot sleep. Even though his body and spirit were spent, Li Yao’s consciousness remained sharply awake.

He stayed in that dazed state until the end of evening self-study. As usual, Li Yao stood up to leave the second the bell rang.

The taciturn Alpha slung his bag over his shoulder and followed him out at a leisurely pace.

Li Yao held onto the railing as he slowly walked down the school building. The oncoming wind carried a hint of moisture. He focused his gaze and realized that, at some point, a light drizzle had started falling again.

He couldn’t help but feel relieved. After getting caught in the rain last time, he had learned his lesson; the first thing he did every day before leaving home was grab an umbrella.

Because of the rain, the students leaving school were all running fast. By the time Li Yao walked out of the school gates, there weren’t many people left.

Li Yao’s home was in the suburbs of Rongcheng, far from the school. He didn’t have extra money to buy a bicycle, so he had to take the last bus home every day.

If he missed the bus, he would have to walk for nearly two hours to get home.

His luck was terrible today. When he reached the bus stop, he saw the rear of the bus already driving away.

Li Yao: “…”

He wondered if he could catch it if he chased it now?

The reality, of course, was that he couldn’t. He could only accept his fate and walk back.

The rain grew heavier. Li Yao’s pant legs and his faded white canvas shoes were soon soaked. The sticky, wet feeling was uncomfortable, and worse, the soles of his feet were chilled to the bone, as if his body temperature were dropping along with them.

His head ached so much it felt like it might explode. The tingling, stinging swelling at the back of his neck grew more intense, and he faintly caught a sweet, exotic scent of roses in his nose.

That was the soft, cloying pheromone scent that only an Omega would have.

Li Yao stopped, feeling more and more that something was wrong. He was a Beta; he shouldn’t be able to smell pheromones, so how…

He had an ominous premonition and had to quicken his pace, hoping it was all just his imagination. However, when life goes wrong, even drinking water can get stuck in your teeth.

While passing through an alley, Li Yao was blocked by several young thugs.

“Hey! Boss, look! I told you there’d be an Omega in heat nearby, and look, we found him!”

A thug with dyed yellow hair and a nose ring spoke flatteringly to the tall, thin man in front of him. The man he called boss was staring greedily at Li Yao’s face, looking ready to pounce.

Li Yao’s heart sank. He knew things wouldn’t end well today.

He closed his umbrella and leaned it against the wall, then casually picked up a wooden stick lying on the ground.

The stick was solid and soaked with water, feeling heavy in his hand. It would probably hurt a lot if it hit someone.

Li Yao glanced at the stick, then looked sideways at the thugs who were starting to close in on him, letting out a troubled sigh.

Fighting would definitely result in injuries, and then he’d get scolded by that crazy woman when he got home…

Dozens of meters away at the mouth of the alley, the Alpha, who shouldn’t have been there, held a black umbrella. He followed the lingering scent of roses in the air, approaching step by step.

When he entered the alley, he suddenly stopped, his brow furrowing involuntarily.

That alluring rose scent had suddenly vanished, replaced by a thick smell of blood mixed with the odor of rain-soaked moss, a stench that was nauseating.

A top-tier Alpha’s sense of smell was many times more sensitive than a normal Alpha’s. He covered his nose and mouth, enduring the discomfort as he continued forward. Within two minutes, he reached a corner. Just as he turned, the sound of breaking air rang out. A wooden stick, thick as a wrist and still dripping with blood, barred his path, stopping just a fist’s distance from his forehead.

“It’s you?”

Li Yao hadn’t fought in a long time, and taking on four people while sick had been a struggle. He had knocked those Alphas down, but he hadn’t come out unscathed either.

His entire body was screaming in pain, especially the stinging at the back of his neck, which felt like someone was hammering a chisel into it over and over.

He had thought the person appearing was with the thugs, but the moment the other man’s face was lit by the dim yellow streetlamp, Li Yao saw clearly who it was.

He withdrew the stick but didn’t throw it away, maintaining a tense, guarded posture.

This desk mate of his was a genuine top-tier Alpha, and in his current state, he was very likely in the fever stage of a secondary differentiation.

No Alpha could resist the instinct to mark an Omega about to go into heat.

He didn’t trust anyone, especially an Alpha.

The Alpha, who hadn’t spoken to him since their first day together, remained as cold as ever. Those indifferent, emotionless dark eyes gazed at him as he said slowly, “You are in heat.”

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