Chapter 25: An Alpha’s Neck

When Ji Xu pushed open the dormitory door, a wave of moist, warm body wash vapor rushed straight at his face.

Yuan Hanfei had just come out of the bathroom, wearing a loose dark gray short-sleeved t-shirt, his hair still dripping as a towel hung over his shoulders, and he was bent over at the desk looking for something.

Hearing the sound of the door, he turned his head and saw Ji Xu step inside; his gaze lingered on Ji Xu’s face for a moment before he leaned forward a couple of steps, his nostrils flaring slightly.

“Back so late today?”

Yuan Hanfei’s voice was a bit lower than usual as he leaned close to the side of Ji Xu’s face, close enough that Ji Xu could smell the crisp bamboo pheromones on him after his shower, mixed with the milky scent of the body wash, made even richer than usual by the steam.

Yuan Hanfei’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Did you drink?”

Ji Xu instinctively took half a step back from his proximity, his shoulder blades hitting the doorboard with a faint, dull thud.

“Just a little bit of fruit wine.”

Ji Xu raised a hand to block the air between them; that sweet, fruity scent at the tip of his nose was indeed the lingering trace of fruit wine—at the anime club dinner, Qian Chenhe had poured a cup for everyone, only about a quarter full at the bottom, so he hadn’t taken it to heart at all.

“Your nose is way too sharp.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Yuan Hanfei let out a small laugh, straightened his posture, and stepped back half a pace.

Yet that rich scent of bamboo still refused to disperse in the air, wrapping around Ji Xu like something invisible and heavy, making him feel as though even his breathing was completely filled with that crisp aroma.

Ji Xu squeezed sideways through the gap between Yuan Hanfei and the doorframe, placed his backpack on the desk, and as he sat down, his shoulder brushed against Yuan Hanfei’s arm, sending another lungful of that bamboo scent straight up his nose.

Frowning, he turned his head to look at Yuan Hanfei: “Don’t you think the pheromones on you are a bit too strong?”

Yuan Hanfei, who was drying his hair, paused his movements at those words, lowered his head to sniff his arm and collar, a look of slight confusion on his face: “Are they?”

He sniffed once, then again; he truly didn’t feel it was particularly strong, as it smelled like this every day.

However, the expression on Ji Xu’s face in front of him clearly showed he was overwhelmed—his brow was tightly furrowed, his nostrils flaring slightly, and his whole body was leaning back against the chair’s backrest, shrinking as far away from him as possible.

“It’s so strong I actually want to hit you,” Ji Xu couldn’t help but say.

The moment the words left his mouth, he himself froze for a second—this wasn’t spoken in a joking tone; he genuinely felt an inexplicable sense of irritability, as if the bamboo scent entering his nasal passages had plucked a fine nerve, causing his heart to beat slightly faster than normal, with something surging restlessly in his bloodstream.

Another Alpha’s pheromones were a natural provocation to an Alpha; smelling a concentrated dose of another Alpha’s scent would cause the brain to instinctively release signals of vigilance and hostility, and even if his mind knew the other person was his roommate, his physiological reaction remained uncontrollable.

His fingers curled unconsciously, his knuckles tightening and then releasing.

Yuan Hanfei picked up on something from his expression, turned back to his desk, pulled open a drawer to rummage through it, and retrieved a pale green inhibitor patch.

He walked over to Ji Xu, squatted down, looked up at him, and handed the inhibitor patch to his palm.

“Maybe my susceptible period is approaching and I didn’t notice it myself.”

His voice was even softer than before, his nape tilted slightly toward Ji Xu’s direction, that small patch of skin still bearing a faint pink moisture from his recent shower, the contour of his gland faintly visible beneath the skin, protruding slightly as he tilted his head.

“Ji Xu, help me put it on.”

Ji Xu held that inhibitor patch in his grip.

The pale green gel material shimmered with a soft glow under the room light, its corners rounded, looking much like the ones he usually applied to himself.

He looked down at Yuan Hanfei squatting before him—a tall, powerfully built Alpha, currently crouching beside the chair looking up at him, his nape exposed to him completely defenseless, his vulnerable gland bare under the light, water droplets from his hair sliding down the ends into his collar, leaving a bright streak along his neck.

An Alpha’s neck was the most vulnerable place on their entire body; an attack on the gland meant losing control of pheromones or even losing combat capability in the short term, and no Alpha would willingly expose their neck to another Alpha.

Yet Yuan Hanfei had exposed his neck to him just like that, and even asked him to help put on the inhibitor patch.

Ji Xu’s hand rose up.

The moment his fingertips touched the skin of Yuan Hanfei’s nape, Yuan Hanfei’s shoulders trembled slightly.

That layer of skin was warm and damp, feeling smooth and soft to the touch, with the slightly raised contour of the gland beneath it, like a green fruit buried within flower petals.

Ji Xu’s fingers pressed lightly against the gland, and by some strange impulse, instead of immediately applying the inhibitor patch, his finger pads pressed down along the curve of that gland.

A burst of bamboo aroma exploded violently from that single point of pressure.

Having been stimulated, Yuan Hanfei’s gland released a massive surge of pheromones out of control; that crisp bamboo scent instantly turned thick and dominant, winding its way up from Ji Xu’s fingertips, filling his nasal passages and mouth, wrapping his entire self from head to toe inside it.

Ji Xu’s pupils contracted slightly, and the physiological reaction brought on by the pheromone intrusion surged through his spine like an electric current—irritability, vigilance, and an indescribable thread of hostility rushed up all at once, causing his hand to instinctively tighten, five fingers clamping around Yuan Hanfei’s neck, his fingertips sinking into the muscles at the side of the neck with enough force to make Yuan Hanfei’s Adam’s apple roll up and down, letting out a muffled, suppressed groan.

The side of Yuan Hanfei’s neck was gripped firmly.

Maintaining that vulnerable pose with his head tilted, he looked up at Ji Xu, the corners of his eyes flushed with a deep crimson from the difficulty in breathing, spreading from his eyelids all the way to his cheekbones, his eyes veiled in a thin layer of moisture brought on by physiological stimulation.

His lips parted slightly, his breathing rapid and shallow, his chin raised high as his entire face presented a shattered, fragile posture completely within Ji Xu’s control.

He didn’t struggle free; he merely raised his hand to grasp the wrist of the hand Ji Xu was using to clamp his neck, his finger pads pressing against Ji Xu’s pulse with very light force.

“Ji Xu…” His voice was squeezed slightly thin by the force on his neck, the end of his breath trembling in his throat.

Ji Xu’s pupils snapped shut; he let go as if he had been burned by something.

Reason poured down over his head like a bucket of cold water; he looked down at his own hand, then looked at the few light red finger marks on Yuan Hanfei’s neck—he had almost choked Yuan Hanfei just now.

He tore open the packaging of the inhibitor patch in his hand, his finger pads pressing the four corners of the pale green gel, and applied it firmly onto the gland at the back of Yuan Hanfei’s neck, flattening the edges and pressing it secure.

The bamboo scent went from a violent explosion to a gradual recede, like a gust of wind cut off mid-air, the crisp concentration in the air fading at a rate perceptible to the naked eye under the effect of the inhibitor patch.

“Sorry,” Ji Xu said.

His voice was much lower than usual; his thumb brushed gently past the corner of Yuan Hanfei’s eye, wiping away a tiny droplet of water that hadn’t had time to slide down yet.

As his finger pad touched that flushed layer of skin, the warm sensation transmitted over, making his fingers curl up and retract, hanging low over his knees.

Yuan Hanfei supported himself against the armrest of Ji Xu’s chair and slowly stood up, the red marks on the side of his neck still present with a few pale finger prints left on his skin, but the inhibitor patch had already suppressed the pheromones, making the bamboo scent in the air thinner and thinner until it finally retreated to a point where it was barely noticeable.

He picked up the bottle of pheromone neutralizing spray on the table and sprayed it a few times into the dormitory air; a faint lemon scent dispersed from the mist, neutralizing the lingering pheromones and finally returning the atmosphere in the room to normal.

Ji Xu sat on the chair, head lowered, his gaze fixed intensely on a single spot on his knees, the tips of his ears red as if scorched by fire.

“It’s fine,” Yuan Hanfei said.

His voice had returned to its steady state as he squatted down in front of Ji Xu, tilting his head to look at Ji Xu’s lowered face, “Don’t overthink it.”

Ji Xu didn’t look up, only grunting an unintelligible response from his throat.

Images from just now were still spinning in his mind—his hand pressing against Yuan Hanfei’s gland, the tactile feel of his fingers sinking in when he choked Yuan Hanfei’s neck, and the fragile look of Yuan Hanfei looking up at him with crimson-flushed eyes.

In his heart, he made excuses for himself over and over again: I’m not a pervert, that was just an Alpha’s instinctive reaction, the pheromones stimulated each other, I couldn’t control myself so I let go… But the more he defended himself, the guiltier he felt.

After this incident, Ji Xu began to secretly avoid Yuan Hanfei.

He thought he was hiding it well; his daily routine remained unchanged—leaving together in the morning, eating lunch together at noon, returning to the dormitory separately at night, saying every word that needed to be said, and finishing every task that needed to be done.

However, he no longer actively leaned over to Yuan Hanfei’s desk to look at his phone, no longer naturally reached out to touch his things, and after lying down in bed at night, he would no longer chat a few lines with Yuan Hanfei across the darkness before going to sleep.

Every time he returned to the dorm, he would first check if Yuan Hanfei was there; if he was, his movements would be half a beat faster than usual—washing up, changing clothes, climbing into bed, completing the whole process smoothly in one go.

He thought he was acting naturally enough, believing that only he knew about those subtle avoidance tactics.

How could Yuan Hanfei possibly not notice?

Sitting at his own desk, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ji Xu come out of the bathroom with dripping hair and climb straight into bed; previously, Ji Xu would always dally around drying his hair for a long time, sometimes even coming over to ask to borrow his hairdryer.

Now, with water still dripping from his hair, Ji Xu bypassed his desk and walked straight toward the ladder, without even glancing a single eye in his direction.

Yuan Hanfei watched his back as he climbed onto the bed, the corner of his mouth twitching as he shook his head.

Ji Xu was simply far too thin-skinned.

After Friday’s classes ended, Ji Xu returned to the dormitory to pack his things simply.

A backpack, two changes of clothes, a charger, a few books—once the zipper was pulled shut, he slung it over his shoulder.

He stood by the bed hesitating for a moment, his gaze brushing past Yuan Hanfei’s desk—Yuan Hanfei was sitting there reading a book, likely a textbook borrowed from the library, thick and heavy, with a bookmark tucked between the pages.

Ji Xu’s gaze merely skimmed over it before quickly pulling back, adjusting his backpack strap, and walking toward the door.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, natural as if he were just going out for a meal, but the moment his toes reached the threshold, a hand reached out from the side and gripped his wrist.

Yuan Hanfei had stood up at some unknown moment; it was only two steps from the desk to the doorway, his fingers wrapping around Ji Xu’s wrist with a force that wasn’t heavy, yet securely encircled that length of bone.

“Ji Xu,” Yuan Hanfei’s voice came from behind him, his presence hovering very close behind Ji Xu’s back, “Are you avoiding me?”

Ji Xu’s back went stiff.

Standing with his back to Yuan Hanfei, he could feel the pressure brought by the other’s height and build enveloping him from behind, though without touching him.

His shoulders trembled slightly as he slowly turned back around.

Yuan Hanfei was looking at him with no expression on his face, but there was a quiet, patient persistence in those eyes, waiting for him to finish speaking.

Ji Xu looked up at him, his gaze instinctively sliding down a bit when meeting Yuan Hanfei’s face, landing right on his neck.

The inhibitor patch was still there, its pale green edge adhering to the skin of his nape; these two days happened to be Yuan Hanfei’s susceptible period, so he replaced it with a fresh patch every day, and Ji Xu could see him tearing off the old patch in front of the mirror to swap for a new one every morning before leaving.

At this moment, the gland beneath that inhibitor patch was completely quiet, unable to leak even a trace of scent after being sealed by the adhesive patch.

“I’m not,” Ji Xu said.

His voice sounded steady, but his gaze drifted away from Yuan Hanfei’s neck, landing on the wall behind Yuan Hanfei, on the desk lamp on the study table, on the folds of the window curtain—anywhere except back on Yuan Hanfei’s face.

“Don’t overthink it.”

Yuan Hanfei did not let go of his wrist.

He bent down slightly to bring his sightline level with Ji Xu’s, coming a bit closer while maintaining a distance devoid of pressure.

“Really not?”

His voice was calm, not an interrogation, merely stating a fact.

“But this week you’ve been constantly dodging my eyes. When I talk to you, you answer three words and turn away; when I sit next to you, you get up to pour water; the first thing you do when returning to the dorm is check whether I’m here, and if I am, you immediately get into bed.”

Ji Xu’s lips moved, but no sound came out.

Looking at that face that was clearly called out yet still stubbornly holding on, Yuan Hanfei let out a helpless sigh and released his wrist.

He stepped back a pace, clearing the path at the doorway for Ji Xu.

“Go to your friend’s place,” he said, “Have a good weekend.”

Ji Xu stood at the doorway, the backpack strap digging into his shoulder, the spot on his wrist that had been gripped still retaining a lingering warmth.

He watched Yuan Hanfei’s back as he retreated to his desk, opening his mouth wanting to say something, like “I wasn’t avoiding you” or “I’m sorry,” but those words spun around the tip of his tongue and ultimately nothing was said.

He turned around and stepped out of the dormitory door.

The voice-activated lights in the hallway turned on, his footsteps echoing in the empty corridor; when he stepped out of the iron gate of Building 7, the sunlight outside was just right, the camphor tree leaves rustling loudly in the wind, yet the tangled mess in his heart remained unresolved, the thread held in his hand impossible to untangle no matter how he tried.

He opened his phone to call a ride, the chat box with Rong Du on his screen still stuck on Thursday night’s line: “Then I’ll marinate the ribs first.”

He stared at that line of text for two seconds, his thumb rubbing against the edge of the screen, before tucking his phone back into his pocket.

The car pulled up by the curb; he pulled open the door and sat inside, reciting the familiar alleyway name, leaning against the car window as he watched the street view slide backward bit by bit.

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