Transmigrated As The Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife Of A Scumbag Alpha - Chapter 18

“Ah… okay,” Zhao Zhiyi stammered.

Meng Ze casually ruffled Zhao Zhiyi’s hair before stepping forward. The academy leadership glared at the group of students, lowering their voices to hiss, “President Meng finally agreed to give a lecture, and what are you all doing?! Trying to make him think our students are nothing but backbiting gossips?!”

The students pulled their heads in like frightened quails, except for the Omega who had been arguing with Zhao Zhiyi. He stiffened his neck and retorted, “We didn’t say anything wrong!”

“You, you, you!” The school leader was trembling with rage, pointing a finger at him. “What’s your major? Have your counselor come see me. You’re going back to write a five-thousand word self-reflection!”

With that, he hurried to catch up with Meng Ze. As the crowd dispersed as quickly as it had arrived, the Omega’s eyes reddened. “Why do I have to write a reflection?! Talking about finding my counselor… just because I told the truth, they’re going to give me a demerit?!”

Zhan Yue let out a light snort. “The school’s intention for this lecture was clearly a ‘drunken man not interested in the wine’, they wanted to talk to President Meng about job placements for graduates. Instead, you’re here spouting nonsense. Even if they gave you a demerit, would it really be a mistake?”

Zhao Zhiyi pulled on Zhan Yue’s sleeve. “Forget it, let’s go.”

“You aren’t angry?”

“What is there to be angry about?” Zhao Zhiyi replied. He glanced at the Omega, who was full of resentment, and arched an eyebrow. “The ones who didn’t give you face were Meng Ze and the school leaders. Why are you glaring at me?”

“You!”

Zhao Zhiyi patted him on the shoulder. “As you said, I am indeed quite useless. But there’s nothing I can do about having good luck. If it makes you feel that uncomfortable, maybe you can try being reincarnated to have luck as good as mine?”

The Omega was now so furious he looked ready to punch Zhao Zhiyi.

“Don’t. If it comes to blows, you can’t beat me,” Zhao Zhiyi said with a wave of his hand. “Next time you want to badmouth someone, remember to find a more hidden spot, or else there might be a ten-thousand word reflection waiting for you.”

Under the Omega’s murderous gaze, Zhao Zhiyi walked toward the exit of the auditorium. After a few steps, he realized Zhan Yue hadn’t followed. Curious, he asked, “What are you standing there for?”

Zhan Yue gave a cheeky grin. “President Meng told you to wait for him at the door. I’m not going to stay and be a third wheel.”

Zhao Zhiyi: “…”

Leaning against a pillar by the auditorium entrance, Zhao Zhiyi felt a bit perplexed. Meng Ze told him to wait, and he actually stayed here obediently? Why did the Great President Meng want him to wait?

Oh… Zhao Zhiyi wrapped the coat tighter around himself as realization dawned. The auditorium had heating, but it was freezing outside. Meng Ze was the type to choose style over comfort; giving his coat away meant he’d be freezing. He must want the coat back.

After standing there dazed for nearly ten minutes, Meng Ze finally broke free from the encirclement of the school leaders. Just as Zhao Zhiyi was about to take off the coat to return it, Meng Ze pressed a hand down on his shoulder. “Keep it on.”

“Aren’t you cold?” Zhao Zhiyi looked up, his lashes fluttering.

“I’m fine,” Meng Ze said. “Do you run into this kind of thing often at school?”

“Not often. I have very few classes this semester, so I’m not on campus much.” He hesitated before adding, “Thank you for agreeing to the lecture, but you really didn’t have to…”

“Your counselor kept calling you,” Meng Ze interrupted. “It’s a bit impolite to keep your instructor blacklisted, so I agreed to his request. Did it cause trouble for you?”

“It’s more like I caused trouble for you,” Zhao Zhiyi said. “You’re so busy, yet you had to spend your day off dealing with such a boring scene…”

“It wasn’t a bother.” Meng Ze tucked his hands into his trouser pockets, looking down at him. “Your cold is much better, I assume?”

Zhao Zhiyi nodded, not quite following the shift in conversation.

Meng Ze tilted his head, exposing the back of his neck. “What do you see?”

“…You wear a suppressant patch too?” Zhao Zhiyi asked, puzzled. “I thought only Omegas used those.”

Meng Ze stared at him. “Peel it off and take a look.”

Zhao Zhiyi had a bad premonition. “No… maybe I shouldn’t. It’s too intrusive.”

“Look.”

Zhao Zhiyi felt his throat go dry. When Meng Ze showed his forceful side, few dared to refuse. As a mere “cannon fodder” character, Zhao Zhiyi certainly didn’t have the courage. He tremblingly reached out his finger and peeled back the patch-like cover.

On the Alpha’s gland, there was a clear, deep set of teeth marks.

Zhao Zhiyi gasped and stumbled back several steps.

Meng Ze and Su Jiyu… were playing that wild?!

Even though Zhao Zhiyi’s knowledge of ABO physiology was limited, he knew an Alpha’s gland was like a dragon’s scale, something even close companions shouldn’t touch lightly. Letting an Omega bite your gland was basically announcing to the world that you were “whipped.” For Meng Ze to let Su Jiyu bite his gland, their love must be truly intense.

“The meaning of showing me this is…?” Zhao Zhiyi asked hesitantly. It couldn’t just be to show off their relationship, right?

Meng Ze tapped the area near his nape. “Seeing your own teeth marks on my gland, do you have nothing to say to me?”

“Ah… HUH?!” Zhao Zhiyi froze. “My teeth marks? You mean… I bit you?”

“Do you want to do a dental record comparison?”

Zhao Zhiyi: “…”

Two thoughts dominated his mind. First, I bit Meng Ze’s gland and he didn’t kill me? I really am blessed. Second: Now he’s settling the score. I’m dead.

“I did it when I was delirious with fever, didn’t I?” Zhao Zhiyi knew his own behavior when sick; he once smashed the bottom of a wine bottle over his father’s head while feverish. He ended up in the hospital for that, but he was well aware of his “combat power” when delirious.

“I wasn’t in my right mind, so I definitely didn’t do it on purpose,” Zhao Zhiyi defended himself. “I’m really sorry. If you’re truly angry, how about you hit me once?” Just don’t kill me.

Meng Ze tilted his head. “Am I a violent maniac in your eyes?”

Zhao Zhiyi didn’t speak, but his face clearly said, Aren’t you?

Meng Ze laughed out of sheer annoyance and raised his hand. Fearing pain, Zhao Zhiyi quickly changed his tune: “They say ‘an eye for an eye,’ so why don’t you just bite me back?”

He pulled open the collar of the coat, revealing a pale, slender neck. “That way we’ll be even.”

Meng Ze looked silently at that slightly flushed neck. Zhao Zhiyi had a carefree personality, but his features were delicate. The veins and arteries on his neck were beautifully defined. It had snowed the previous night in A-City, leaving a thin layer on the dry branches. Zhao Zhiyi’s skin was the same color as that white snow, strikingly beautiful.

Zhao Zhiyi had his eyes half-closed, his long, dark lashes trembling as if he were afraid. His pale red lips were slightly pursed. In the silence, Meng Ze could even hear his slightly ragged breathing.

Meng Ze reached out and brushed a stray withered leaf from Zhao Zhiyi’s hair. As he let go, the tiny leaf swirled to the ground. He heard his own voice turn hoarse: “I’ll have my assistant send you some online course materials. Make sure to study them well.”

“Study what?” Zhao Zhiyi opened his eyes, bewildered.

“The physiological knowledge you failed to learn in middle and high school.” Meng Ze grabbed the collar of the overcoat and pulled with both hands, tightening it around Zhao Zhiyi. He said, “That way, you’ll know that no decent Omega invites an Alpha to bite his neck in public, even if they are a married couple.”

Zhao Zhiyi was nearly choked by the sudden tightening of the coat. He coughed twice, trying to speak, but Meng Ze had already turned to leave. “I have things to do today, so I won’t be sending you back.”

“…Oh.” Zhao Zhiyi stood there blankly. Only after Meng Ze’s figure disappeared did he mutter, “What the… if he wasn’t going to get revenge, why’d he scare me like that?”

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Meng Ze unbuttoned his shirt collar and took a deep breath. Despite it being the middle of winter, he was drenched in sweat.

Heaven knows how much self-control it took not to bite directly into the back of Zhao Zhiyi’s neck. A high compatibility rate was truly no joke.

His phone rang incessantly. Irritated, Meng Ze hung up, but the caller was persistent. He cursed and answered, “What?”

“I didn’t want to bother you, but the nurses at the hospital have been complaining to me,” Zheng Xinyun’s voice came through. “Your Rut symptoms this time are much worse than before. Why did you run out instead of staying in isolation for your IV? I thought you’d already settled everything at the company?”

“Something came up unexpectedly.”

Zheng Xinyun paused. “Your voice sounds off. Triggered again?”

“…If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”

“I’m telling you, can you please value your own health? The Rut is lethal. Get back here, actually, where are you? I’ll come get you.”

“It’s no use.” Meng Ze tilted his head back, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. He covered his eyes, his voice so hoarse it was barely audible.

“What’s no use?”

“Suppresents, medication… none of it works,” Meng Ze said irritably. “I’m going home to self-isolate. Don’t bother me during this time.”

“Hey!”

Before Zheng Xinyun could say anything else, Meng Ze hung up.

Just as Zhao Zhiyi reached his front door, he received a call from Zheng Xinyun, they had exchanged contact info when Zheng Xinyun came to treat Su Jiyu’s wounds.

“Dr. Zheng?” Zhao Zhiyi asked while opening the door. “What’s wrong? Is Su Jiyu refusing to take his medicine again?”

“While Su Jiyu is a difficult patient, he’s not the one with the problem this time,” Zheng Xinyun sighed. “It’s Meng Ze. He’s in his Rut, did you know?”

“…What?”

“Oh, Meng Ze mentioned you don’t seem to understand these things.” Zheng Xinyun explained, “An Alpha’s Rut is similar to an Omega’s heat. During this period, they can be irritable, moody, and so on. Usually, it can be solved with suppressants, but for some reason, Meng Ze’s symptoms are severe this time. In fact, when he went to see you the other day, he had literally pulled out his IV in the isolation room to leave.”

Zhao Zhiyi recalled how he couldn’t get through to Meng Ze that day. So the man was in isolation.

“Is his Rut over then?” Zhao Zhiyi said. “I just saw him, and he seemed fairly normal.”

“I see.”

“What do you see?”

Zheng Xinyun said helplessly, “I know why Meng Ze’s state is wrong. It’s because he just saw you. …You were marked by Meng Ze, right? A mark doesn’t just affect the Omega, it affects the Alpha too. He saw you but didn’t get any soothing pheromones from you, which is why his symptoms are getting worse.”

Zhao Zhiyi was stunned.

“In short, he’s being very uncooperative with treatment,” Zheng Xinyun said. “An Alpha in Rut has a very strong sense of territory. If another Alpha goes there, they might get their legs broken. Are you able to go check on him? Just tell me if he’s alive or dead and what his condition is. That will determine if I need to call the police. An Alpha of his level is very dangerous, if he loses control, the police must intervene.”

“That serious?”

Zheng Xinyun’s tone was uncharacteristically grave. “Very serious. Plus, Meng Ze’s situation is unique… Can you go take a look?”

Zhao Zhiyi initially wanted to send Su Jiyu, but then he thought of Su Jiyu’s injuries… He had a bit of a headache. “Fine, I’ll go check. Send me the address.”

Meng Ze lived in a top floor penthouse. Zhao Zhiyi had to show his marriage certificate to get into the residential complex. He found the address Zheng Xinyun gave him and hesitated outside the door.

Zheng Xinyun said Meng Ze would beat up Alphas in this state, but would he hit an Omega? Zhao Zhiyi thought he was decent at fighting, but against Meng Ze, who was at least 185cm and covered in muscle, he probably didn’t stand a chance.

He tentatively pressed the doorbell. No response.

Zhao Zhiyi called Zheng Xinyun. “No one’s answering. Maybe he’s dead inside?”

Zheng Xinyun said, “Try calling out to him? Let’s try to resuscitate him one more time.”

Zhao Zhiyi waved at the video doorbell. “Meng Ze? Are you okay?”

Still no response.

“Looks like he’s really dead,” Zhao Zhiyi said. “You should contact the pol!?”

The rest of his words caught in his throat because the black door suddenly swung open, and a hand reached out, dragging him straight inside!

The room was pitch black. Zhao Zhiyi couldn’t see anything, but he could smell the frantic, biting scent of gin filling every inch of the space.

A hot, powerful arm was clamped around his waist, pinning him ruthlessly against a chest. Zhao Zhiyi’s spine could clearly feel the scorching body heat and hard chest of the other man. He shivered from the heat as the other man took the phone from his hand. “Zheng Xinyun?”

The voice sounded right in Zhao Zhiyi’s ear, hoarse like some fierce beast, making Zhao Zhiyi’s entire body instinctively tense up.

“Glad to hear your voice and confirm you’re alive,” Dr. Zheng exhaled. “You can’t take any more suppressants in your current state. How about I just give you two shots of sedatives?”

“No need.” Meng Ze’s voice, though hoarse, sounded relatively normal. “I’m fine. Much better.”

“Really?” Zheng Xinyun said. “It seems your symptoms aren’t as bad as I predicted. Can you come to the hospital for another check-up tomorrow?”

“Mm.”

Zheng Xinyun: “Zhao Zhiyi went specifically to check on you, remember to thank him properly.”

“Of course,” Meng Ze said. “Hanging up.”

Zhao Zhiyi turned his head, about to say that if he was fine then he’d be leaving, when he heard a loud BANG.

Meng Ze had smashed the phone.

“Meng Ze?!” Zhao Zhiyi’s eyes widened in terror. “You…”

Meng Ze slammed him violently against the cold door. The strength was terrifying. Zhao Zhiyi had no way to resist. He said in shock, “Didn’t you say you were fine? Why… what are you doing?!”

Meng Ze’s hand slid under the hem of his clothes, his well-defined fingers pinning Zhao Zhiyi’s lower abdomen. His thumb slowly stroked the warm, delicate skin. Leaning against Zhao Zhiyi’s ear, he asked, “What did you come here for?”

“Dr. Zheng told me to see if you were dead… stop touching that, it tickles.” Zhao Zhiyi grabbed Meng Ze’s hand, breathless. “What is there to touch!”

“If I remember correctly,” Meng Ze’s nose pressed against the soft skin of Zhao Zhiyi’s neck, his finger tapping his abdomen, “That night, I reached here, didn’t I?”

“Wh…” Zhao Zhiyi realized what Meng Ze meant. He tried desperately to pry Meng Ze’s hand away. “Let go of me!”

An even more overwhelming wave of pheromones crashed down. Zhao Zhiyi instantly lost his strength. He was pinned against the door, unable to move, his breathing rapid and his limbs going soft. His gland began to burn.

This familiar feeling… his heat was being prematurely triggered by Meng Ze’s pheromones!

“Meng Ze, calm down first.” Zhao Zhiyi gripped Meng Ze’s fingers, both of them were covered in a thin layer of sweat. He struggled to maintain his reason, saying, “I’m Zhao Zhiyi, not… ah!”

Sharp pain and an indescribable pleasure shot from the back of his neck. Meng Ze gripped his jaw and bit into his gland.