What to Do If Beta Cannot Be Marked? - Chapter 23.2

Chi Jinxian had no time for embarrassment and currently no desire for small talk, cutting straight to the point.

Cash Pool: 【Sorry, I should be the one apologizing. Let’s continue this later can you first tell me what the Omega in the infirmary at noon smelled like today? You must have caught it.】

Bai Ri: 【You didn’t smell it?】

Cash Pool: 【I have a cold.】

Bai Ri: 【Seemed like magnolia.】

Chi Jinxian said thanks and immediately relayed this answer to Lu Zhi, determined to uphold his Omega persona to the end.

A few minutes after the message was sent, Lu Zhi first replied with an “Mm,” then continued:

【The pheromone on you is silver bell freesia.】

Chi Jinxian stared at the screen, his breath catching slightly.

Lu Zhi: 【You were the one who knocked Nan Mengbai down the stairs at noon?】

Lu Zhi: 【You were the one who took him to the infirmary?】

Chi Jinxian didn’t dare respond, simultaneously noticing a message from Nan Mengbai.

Bai Ri: 【Jinxian, I’m truly sorry. When I fell down the stairs, it might have been too painful, I instinctively leaked a bit of pheromone. It helps me feel balanced and secure, but it might have transferred a little onto you. I only realized it after school. I know you’re an Omega, so this is extremely impolite, even rude. But I didn’t have your contact, so I asked Sui Yi for it and rushed to apologize as soon as I got it. I hope you can forgive me.】

Alongside this lengthy message, another from Lu Zhi came through.

Lu Zhi: 【You’re covered in Nan Mengbai’s scent.】

Watching the back-and-forth messages, Chi Jinxian felt, for some reason, like he was caught in a drama with three male leads, and his emotions were indescribably complex.

But Lu-ge must not misunderstand!

Cash Pool: 【That was an accident, totally unintentional [softly]. Ge, I’m covered in your scent right now, I haven’t even taken off my school uniform! I’ll wash it for you on Sunday afternoon!】

Lu Zhi didn’t reply further. Chi Jinxian knew he’d likely treat this as another confession and pretend not to see it, but Chi Jinxian felt reassured. After telling Nan Mengbai it was fine and exchanging a few more words, he ended the conversation.

Having chatted so much with Lu-ge today, Chi Jinxian was happy. He bid Lu Zhi an early goodnight and went downstairs to wait for his late-night snack.

“Oh ho, you’ve got good timing it’s just ready.” Glancing up at Chi Jinxian emerging from his room, Chi Sui looked exasperated but couldn’t resist teasing him.

Chi Jinxian proudly puffed out his slightly thin chest, declaring word by word: “Of course, I felt the loving call of my dear little dad.”

Chi Sui: “…”

“Tsk, even skipping work doesn’t mean you escape working from home.” Chi Jinxian poured himself water at the coffee table, eyeing the laptop on Chi Sui’s lap with a hint of schadenfreude.

Chi Sui: “…”

Already sick, this provocation was too much. Chi Sui coughed while patting his chest, trembling as he pointed at Chi Jinxian and scolded like a stern scholar: “Ungrateful son my nemesis debt collector ”

The impending argument was promptly halted by Yuan Si Bai, who placed bowls in front of both the older and younger, hoping food would shut them up.

“Dad,” Chi Jinxian first took a sip of the sweet-tasting soup, then lifted his head from the bowl and said excitedly, “Is Lu Zhi’s dad surnamed Yan?”

Yuan Si Bai nodded: “Yes.”

“Which Yan?”

“The ‘Yan’ from ‘beaming with smiles’.”

Chi Jinxian poked his bowl with the tip of his chopsticks and suddenly said, “I heard others also call Lu Wan’s dad Mr. Yan.”

Heard from others.

Yuan Si Bai’s tone wasn’t as gentle as when talking about Mr. Yan, carrying some indifference.

“Hmm.”

Chi Sui didn’t even look up, lazily remarking: “Faking it.”

Chi Jinxian glanced at him puzzled, thought carefully, and roughly understood what his father meant.

Others addressing Ai Duoyan that way probably because he himself had hinted at it openly or covertly.

“Dad, how did you and Uncle Yan meet?” Chi Jinxian leaned closer to ask, looking extremely curious.

Yuan Si Bai saw his expression of wanting to learn about his future mother-in-law in advance and chuckled helplessly, saying: “We just met like that.”

“Then why didn’t you bring me along when you met, so Uncle Yan could bring Lu Zhi too,” Chi Jinxian’s voice full of yearning, said, “Then Lu Zhi and I would have known each other since childhood.”

“Ah.” Chi Sui was practically infuriated by him so hopeless, utterly hopeless. Yuan Si Bai’s smile widened, his eyes crinkling, but he didn’t speak.

Chi Jinxian’s eyes then lit up, and though he knew it was impossible, he still asked: “Dad, did I ever meet Brother Lu when I was little?”

Yuan Si Bai reached out and pushed the bowl closer to him, reminding him to eat, his face retaining only gentleness.

His answer wasn’t very clear, as he said helplessly: “Wouldn’t you know if you’ve met him? Why ask me.”

They hadn’t met there was no such memory. Chi Jinxian sighed with regret.

As they were finishing their late-night snack, Chi Jinxian mentioned casually: “Did I go to kindergarten? Dad, did I start remembering things late? I don’t even remember which kindergarten I attended.”

Yuan Si Bai said: “Right here.”

Chi Jinxian frowned and thought about it, but had no impression. Not only no impression, he almost shockingly said: “Did I start remembering things way too late! How come I don’t even remember where I attended first grade of elementary school!”

Chi Sui snorted mockingly, as if openly or covertly mocking his stupidity.

Yuan Si Bai and Chi Jinxian simultaneously started glaring at Chi Sui, their expressions perfectly synchronized. Chi Sui choked on a mouthful of food, breaking out in a sweat. He felt he didn’t need to take any more medicine his illness was already cured.

Yuan Si Bai said gently to Chi Jinxian: “It was here too.”

Wherever it was, he didn’t remember anyway.

After eating, Chi Jinxian proactively washed the bowls, then ran upstairs to shower and do homework.

There was a flag-raising ceremony on Monday. Lu Zhi arrived a bit late today, the school’s square formations were already lined up, but the squad leader’s position at the front remained vacant.

Chi Jinxian stood further back in line next to Jiang Baixiao, continuously standing on tiptoe searching through the crowd of heads around him he wasn’t short, but there were too many people, all wearing the same school uniforms, making it hard to spot anyone without tiptoeing.

Seeing how eager he was to find someone, Jiang Baixiao thoughtfully started a conversation: “Why hasn the squad leader arrived yet?”

Chi Jinxian lowered his feet and sighed: “Don’t know. I left my phone in the classroom.”

Jiang Baixiao seemed half-asleep, yawning in response and rubbing his eyes as he said: “Probably busy with something.”

Just as he spoke, a conspicuous figure appeared outside the formation but it wasn’t Lu Zhi.

Instead, it was Nan Mengbai, slowly making his way over on a single crutch.

Each class formed two-person lines, and Nan Mengbai’s class was right next to Chi Jinxian’s.

As he moved through the center aisle of the class toward his spot, he passed by Chi Jinxian.

“Good morning,” Nan Mengbai said to Chi Jinxian.

Chi Jinxian found it hard to believe. His brows furrowed slightly as he glanced at Nan Mengbai’s foot and asked, “Aren’t you supposed to be resting at home?”

“It’s fine, it’s not broken,” Nan Mengbai replied with a smile. “My academic performance isn’t great, so I don’t want to fall behind.”

With that, he pointed to the spot someone had saved for him and walked over.

“Lu Zhi? From Class 10, Grade 12? What’s going on with you? Where’s your uniform?” Suddenly, the stern voice of the Dean of Students cut through the air up ahead. “How many times have I said it? You must wear your uniform during the flag-raising ceremony!”

Chi Jinxian instantly straightened his head and looked forward. Even Jiang Baixiao was jolted awake.

Lu Zhi had his backpack slung over one shoulder he must have rushed over, not even having time to drop it off in the classroom. He wore a white T-shirt. He rarely wore his uniform pants because they were always too short, so he only put them on for the weekly Monday flag-raising ceremony.

But today, he had the pants on just not the uniform jacket.

Lu Zhi stopped walking and replied, “Dean, it’s in the formation.”

The Dean of Students frowned deeply, clearly unconvinced.

If it weren’t for the fact that this top student in both academics and conduct was usually impeccable, he would have lost his temper on the spot.

There were still several minutes before the ceremony began, and the surroundings were buzzing with the low hum of conversations.

Only those nearby quieted or even stopped talking when they noticed Lu Zhi, while those farther away remained unaware of what was happening.

Lu Zhi strode over to the formation of Class 10, Grade 12, stopping at the front row where the class monitor stood. He called out to someone in the back rows, “Chi Jinxian.”

Chi Jinxian raised his hand. “Here.”

“Uniform,” Lu Zhi said.

Chi Jinxian immediately responded with an “Oh!” and hurriedly tossed the uniform he had been holding in his arms to Lu Zhi had told him the day before to bring the uniform today.

Lu Zhi casually dropped his backpack on the ground, shook out the uniform with one hand, and slipped it on in two seconds, even zipping it up a rare sight.

The Dean of Students: “…”

Jiang Baixiao was now fully awake. As Lu Zhi stood upright in the class monitor’s position as if nothing had happened, Jiang Baixiao muttered in disbelief, “Cash, were you holding the class monitor’s uniform just now?”

Chi Jinxian: “Yep.”

Jiang Baixiao was stunned. “What happened between you two that I don’t know about?!”

Nothing had happened, but Chi Jinxian couldn’t resist showing off. “Go find out yourself, Alliance Know-It-All.”

Jiang Baixiao: “…”

Jiang Baixiao spent the entire ceremony questioning his understanding of life, while Chi Jinxian reveled in delight the whole time.

When the ceremony ended and students began dispersing back to their classrooms, Lu Zhi picked up his backpack from the ground, brushed off the dust, and slung it over his shoulder.

Jiang Jin, who had been standing at the back of the formation, called out to him, so Lu Zhi paused to wait.

Chi Jinxian stayed close to Lu Zhi, his gaze already fixed on something.

Jiang Jin jogged over and patted Lu Zhi’s shoulder. As a student from the neighboring class, he had witnessed the entire scene clearly. He glanced at the uniform Lu Zhi was wearing, then at Chi Jinxian, and asked with a laugh, “When did this uniform suddenly change owners? And do you only have this one?”

Lu Zhi glanced at him. “I’m taking back what’s mine.”

Jiang Jin nodded, smiling without a word. He turned his head, intending to say something to Chi Jinxian about the matter, only to find the latter staring unblinkingly at Lu Zhi’s backpack zipper.

Puzzled, Jiang Jin followed his gaze.

Instantly, his expression froze, and his footsteps halted on the spot.

Lu Zhi, who never used to hang any accessories, now had a bright yellow, somewhat awkward-looking wind-breaking duck with a yellow helmet dangling from the zipper ring of his backpack. Against the all-black color of his backpack, it stood out strikingly.

The duck was a bit ugly, with a body that wasn’t very well-proportioned, as if made by someone with clumsy hands. Yet, when paired with Lu Zhi’s backpack and Lu Zhi himself, it had an oddly harmonious feel.

“This.” Jiang Jin was dumbfounded. He blinked several times, but the duck was still there.

Chi Jinxian was pulled back to reality by Jiang Jin’s hesitant questioning. Suppressing his racing heart, he asked knowingly, “Brother Lu, where did you find this little duck?”

Lu Zhi’s footsteps paused slightly before resuming as usual.

Without looking sideways, he said, “I don’t know who put it in my backpack.” Since it was already on the zipper, he felt he should explain a bit more. After a moment’s thought, he added, “It’s quite cute.”

Jiang Jin felt troubled and speechless about Lu Zhi’s taste.

However, the smile in Chi Jinxian’s eyes faded significantly. He let out an “Oh,” lowered his head to stare at his toes, and muttered quietly, “You’re carrying it even though you don’t know who put it there.”

As they spoke, each lost in their own thoughts, and having waited for Jiang Jin earlier, they hadn’t gone far.

But soon, they caught up with Nan Mengbai, who now had an extra “crutch leg,” and were almost walking side by side.

One mutter wasn’t enough. Still unhappy, Chi Jinxian lowered his head even further and grumbled even more softly, “You don’t even know who put it there, yet you think it’s cute.”

Lu Zhi’s footsteps paused lightly. He glanced sideways, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for them to hear, and said somewhat quickly, “Aside from you, no one else would dare touch my things.”

After a second of silence, Chi Jinxian abruptly lifted his head, his eyes shining brightly.

After speaking, Lu Zhi swept a casual glance at Nan Mengbai, who was not far to his left, then withdrew his gaze. He reached out and idly straightened his school uniform collar with his fingertips.

Jiang Jin didn’t understand what this meant, but in that moment, he suddenly had a feeling that Lu Zhi at this moment seemed like a proud peacock.