The frequent waves of heat didn't fall off until the third day. Over those three days, from the bed to the bathtub, from the living room sofa to the study floor, the whole house was stained with the scent of their combined pheromones.
An omega's heat was usually three days. However, because Xiao Zhan had used a suppressant for so long, the backlash was very strong. On the fourth day, he still showed distinct signs of fever, but compared to the previous few days, it could already be considered within the controllable range, not filling their minds with certain thoughts the moment his temperature rose anymore.
After not putting a foot outside for so many days, he felt a little stuffed up indoors. Wang Yibo confirmed that Xiao Zhan 's body was temporarily unaffected and agreed to the proposal to go out, but stipulated they couldn't go too far just in case, to avoid an accident.
Before leaving the house, Xiao Zhan just put on his coat casually, but Wang Yibo hurriedly grabbed him, zipping up his coat for him. He also grabbed a scarf and wrapped it around his neck, which had red marks all around. The lower half of his face was buried in the scarf, so just a pair of chilly, jet-black eyes were exposed.
"So cute like this......" Wang Yibo muttered.
Xiao Zhan 's skin was bright and clear and his dark eyes were even brighter, so with half of his face covered up hiding his usual tyrannical and haughty expression, he really did seem a bit cute.
Of course, that was just limited to his external appearance.
"You're cute, your whole family is cute." He rolled his eyes.
Wang Yibo giggled mischievously, pulling him out the door by the hand.
After ten minutes of walking, they stopped at an indoor basketball gym. This close to the Spring Festival1 and in the cold of winter, barely anyone had come to play. They found an unmanned basket, rented a ball, and started to warm up.
The room was heated well, so Xiao Zhan shed his clothes and scarf, finally freed from being wrapped up tightly. He rolled his wrists and raised his eyebrow arrogantly, "Want to go a round?"
His basketball skills were actually pretty average, but Wang Yibo had apparently never touched a ball, so he probably couldn't win.
Wang Yibo smiled, "No way, I can't win anyway."
Xiao Zhan let out an indifferent hum. He immediately turned towards him and got into position. He stooped down and dribbled. Wang Yibo also got into position as well, with a look of concentration, gaze fixed on the ball in his hand.
Tsk, such a serious appearance makes this silly dog look even more handsome.
Xiao Zhan let out a whistle in his heart, but he didn't bat an eyelid. His sharp eyes swept over his whole body to search out a weakness, then he suddenly dived down, under the arm Wang Yibo lifted with the intent to block, and jumped up for a shot.
*Bang!* The basketball steadily swooped through the net and impacted the floor.
Having cleanly scored the first shot, Xiao Zhan was a little bit proud, "I feel pretty good today."
"Xuezhang is so awesome!" Wang Yibo had stars in his eyes.
"Study my moves."
At first, Xiao Zhan had the upper hand and Wang Yibo could barely touch the ball, but the situation changed after a few rounds. The advantages of his height and build slowly manifested, plus he learned quickly, able to imitate Xiao Zhan 's feints precisely.
"Not bad. If you can get ten points from me in the next hour, there will be a reward when we get back." Xiao Zhan scruffed his hair.
"Okay!"
With the reward as a motivation, Wang Yibo put all his energy into it and gradually switched from pure defense to primarily attack. He stole the ball from Xiao Zhan several times, but unfortunately, he couldn't shoot well enough and failed to score.
He stared at the basket in deep thought for a moment, then immediately after stealing the ball again, he chose not to shoot from a distance, but to run to the basket decisively and jump up for a slam dunk. Xiao Zhan also jumped up to block, but because of his height advantage, he was able to jump even higher, so that even his airtime was longer. By the time Xiao Zhan had begun to fall back down, Wang Yibo had only just reached the pinnacle of his slam dunk.
*Bang!* The ball went through the rim and the whole basket shook a few times.
Xiao Zhan landed on the floor and pouted, "So excessive. You bullying me because I'm shorter than you?"
Wang Yibo's smiling face instantly went tense, "I'm not! I wouldn't......I wouldn't do that kind of thing."
"What are you all panicky over." Xiao Zhan laughed so hard his stomach hurt, then deliberately released a faint trace of pheromone. He leaned in close and lowered his voice, "I like to be bullied by you. Bully me even more, Ge."
Wang Yibo's face instantly went red.
Because of the need to cover up that certain area that could embarrass him after that, he couldn't concentrate at all and missed out on golden opportunities over and over. Fortunately, he'd worn loose track pants and a comfy hoodie, so his sudden erection was totally covered.
Xiao Zhan scored again and again, repeatedly showing off his awe-inspiring skills.
Heh, Zhan Ge has hundreds of methods to prevent himself from losing face.
After an hour, Wang Yibo in the end scored only five points and said in disappointment, "I'll definitely practice properly in the future...... Will there be a reward next time?"
"It depends." Xiao Zhan laughed to himself. "Rather than train your basketball game, it'd be better to train your willpower. If you can't stand just this level of teasing, when a wanton omega shows up in the future, will you just be stolen away?"
"Not possible! I'll only be this way with you!" Wang Yibo said anxiously. He raised his left hand, displaying the ring, and vowed, "In my heart and in my eyes, there is only you."
"Okay, put it down, I was just kidding."
Xiao Zhan pulled his hand down. When the silly dog spoke shyly, it would really be shyly, but when he spoke directly......it would also be really direct. When expressing his feelings, he never hesitated. His blunt, sincere words, combined with his firm, earnest expression, made a certain someone unable to keep his heart from racing.
Xiao Zhan drew his hand closer and squeezed it softly, raising his eyes to him provocatively with his mouth curved up in an ambiguous smile.
"Ge, I'm a little feverish."
Wang Yibo's breathing instantly went unsteady, "Th-then we'll head back, okay?"
"Mhm."
Xiao Zhan was being particularly obedient today, wrapping himself back up into the same tightly-sealed state as when he left the house, not letting the near-restless pheromone leak out.
They returned the rented basketball and started to head home. Just as they reached the entrance of the gym, they ran right into four or five students around their age. Those young men were cracking jokes as they passed them by, but one of them suddenly stopped.
"Fuck, Wang Yibo?"
Xiao Zhan turned his head at the sound and saw that he was a little familiar-looking. He asked Wang Yibo, who'd also turned around, "You know him?"
Wang Yibo frowned and didn't reply.
The student sneered, "Didn't expect to meet you here. I haven't paid you back for last time. Let's go outside to settle things?"
Wang Yibo said, "I don't have time right now. Besides, three of you last time weren't able to beat me. Do you really want to fight me by yourself?"
When he said this, Xiao Zhan remembered right away, isn't this actually the school basketball team's Zhang Hong? One of the three who fought with Wang Yibo before the winter vacation.
Zhang Hong had originally thought to himself 'there's safety in numbers' and that five people should be enough to handle just one without a problem, but Wang Yibo's words limited it to a one-on-one. If he tried to get some help, he wouldn't look very manly and, if he won, it would be honor from an unfair advantage2. This older student would then be the one to lose more face that way.
Zhang Hong put on a bold face and said firmly, "One on one, Laozi is not afraid of you."
"But I really don't have time."
"No time? I think you're trying to find an excuse to run away!"
The rest of the students who had come with him also joined in with mocking laughter.
Xiao Zhan tore off his scarf, his face expressionless, "He doesn't have time, but I have time."
"......Zhan Ge?"
Xiao Zhan 's long lasting reputation at T University wasn't for nothing. When Zhang Hong's gaze came in contact with his fierce eyes, his originally arrogant manner immediately collapsed into weakness.
A friend of his had once provoked Xiao Zhan – that friend was also considered to be strong and forceful – but in the end, just like all the other audacious alphas, he was beaten so bad his face swelled and his nose bled and he was sent to the hospital. Later on, when he came to visit the basketball team and found out that Zou Rui had a bit of interest in Xiao Zhan , that friend had immediately grabbed his hand and said earnestly, "Advise Zou Rui not to take that risk......that omega isn't an omega at all......no, he isn't human at all......"
He hadn't forgotten the fear on that friend's face to this very day.
Therefore, previously when Zhang Hong realized that Zou Rui didn't seem to be wasting much strength chasing Xiao Zhan , he kind of admired him, although later that admiration was trampled on. He didn't know when he suddenly got a new mindset, but one of the most popular men at T University, Zou Rui, actually subdued the omega school tyrant, Xiao Zhan , and became a school legend for a while.
After having his partner stolen away, Zou Rui had been in a pretty bad mood. He often complained to them and mocked that freshmen for being so weak. As a bro and a teammate, Zhang Hong naturally couldn't just stand idly by. Later on, they happened to run into Wang Yibo that day. When he saw Zou Rui start to fight, he'd joined in the battle, but who would've thought that this freshman wasn't as weak as Zou Rui had portrayed, but was practically as strong as him. When he was beaten to the ground and lay there stunned, and barely a moment later Zou Rui was also beaten down to the ground, he couldn't help but think: Bro, this power gap, no wonder your omega ran off.
Thinking it over, in the end, he'd lost a great deal of face. He hadn't dared to let his parents make it public. He'd pushed down his anger, wanting to get vengeance himself. Right now had been the perfect opportunity, but Xiao Zhan had killed that chance.
However, he figured two or three of them could handle Wang Yibo and one or two of them Xiao Zhan , so was there still a chance for success?
"Zhan Ge, this is my business with him, should you really participate?"
Several of the other students weren't from T University. Seeing Xiao Zhan 's attractive, charming appearance and fair skin, one couldn't help but joke, "Zhang Hong, why are you being so courteous towards this omega?"
"No, you all—" Zhang Hong wanted to say that they should pay attention to their speech, but Xiao Zhan had already turned his cold stare towards him, "You think you're fucking awesome because you're an alpha?" He cracked his knuckles. "Should this Ge teach you all how to respect an omega?"
The proud, arrogant alpha students frowned, instantly becoming angry, but suddenly, the air filled with the sweet scent of pheromones. They took a deep sniff, their brains shaking with arousal, and looked directly at the omega in front of them, expressions shifting subtly.
Wang Yibo immediately wrapped his arms around Xiao Zhan from behind to stop his movements, pulling him into his embrace, and used his large hands to cover his entire face, "Sorry, today I really am occupied with something else. Next time, I'll fight you wherever you want, also——"
He pressed his chest tight against Xiao Zhan 's back and his low voice sounded in his ears, "He's mine, don't look at him."
Xiao Zhan 's heart suddenly started to race.
Before he had time to turn and catch sight of the expression of the man behind him, Wang Yibo took him by the shoulders and turned them to quickly leave. From this angle, he could only see the profile of the alpha's robust, handsome face.
Left behind was a group of people who looked at each other in confusion and fear. After a long time, one of them cursed softly, "Fuck, who was that alpha? Why did he seem more brutal than your Rui Ge?"
Zhang Hong was still afraid from his lingering trauma. He'd seen the look in Wang Yibo's eyes just now. Last time, when Zou Rui had laughed right in Wang Yibo's face and said that Xiao Zhan would beg him to come to him sooner or later, Wang Yibo's expression had also momentarily changed just like that.
Like a wolf whose territory had just been invaded, the green glint shot from his eyes like the gale of a hurricane, able to scare the courage out of someone and leave them trembling.
Zhang Hong swallowed down his saliva and couldn't keep from mumbling as he said, "The rear waves on the Yangtze River drive on those before3......"
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Footnotes:
1. Spring Festival (春节): the modern name for Chinese New Year, marking the beginning of the new year and spanning from Jan 1st to the first new moon between Jan 21 and Feb 20 ↩
2. To have an unfair advantage in a contest (胜之不武): idiom, an unequal contest brings no honor to the victor ↩
3. Rear waves... (长江后浪推前浪): idiom, things constantly evolve, the new generation constantly replaces and improves over the old ↩
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