MVCFO CH34.2

Lin Xiangqi stared at Shen Qiaolan, outwardly calm but internally panicking—Had he remembered to suppress his pheromones before leaving home? Did his Omega gland look any different post-differentiation? Had he accidentally given himself away?

“You—” Shen Qiaolan began.

Lin Xiangqi, in full fight-or-flight mode, cut him off. “I’m a Beta.”

Shen Qiaolan: “?”

Lin Xiangqi lifted his chin, bluffing bravado. “You’re the heir of the Shen family, a top-tier Alpha. Isn’t it beneath you to keep harassing a Beta like me?”

Someone nearby chimed in, “Yeah, isn’t it embarrassing?”

Chen Qitian, still under Lin Xiangqi’s arm, muttered, “So embarrassing.”

Shen Qiaolan’s eyebrow twitched. “Do you have to talk to me like this?”

Lin Xiangqi: “I don’t even want to talk to you.”

Shen Qiaolan narrowed his eyes but, instead of losing his temper, doubled down on the tsundere act. “Is this your way of coping with rejection? You can’t even look at me now.”

Lin Xiangqi: “…Can you save the cringey lines for someone else?”

He wasn’t signing up for this dogblood script.

Shen Qiaolan scoffed. “Don’t think I came here because I care about you.”

Lin Xiangqi: “Who asked?”

Shen Qiaolan ignored him. “I heard Lu Cong’s pheromones went out of control during the sports festival and hurt you. You’ve been on leave for a week?”

Lin Xiangqi shot a glare around the room. His classmates immediately raised their hands in surrender. “We definitely didn’t say anything! These rumors are from other classes! We’d never badmouth our own class monitor!”

Lin Xiangqi snorted. “I know you wouldn’t dare.”

At most, they gossiped among themselves. To outsiders, they fiercely defended Lu Cong’s reputation. After all, as their class monitor, he’d always treated them well.

Shen Qiaolan rapped his knuckles on Lin Xiangqi’s desk, forcibly reclaiming his attention. His tone was oddly stiff. “What kind of shoddy hospital did you go to? A minor injury shouldn’t take this long to treat. After school today, you’re coming with me to my family’s hospital.”

The class fell silent, their expressions screaming “We want gossip but don’t dare ask.”

Lin Xiangqi, meanwhile, felt his heart clench in terror—What was wrong with Shen Qiaolan? According to the original plot, shouldn’t he still be oblivious to his own feelings at this point?

He swallowed hard and feigned ignorance. “First of all, Lu Cong didn’t hurt me. I took leave to take care of him in the hospital. Second, I have nothing to do with you. Why would I go to your family’s hospital? Trying to scam me out of money?”

Shen Qiaolan was first infuriated by the first part—what kind of “illness” could Lu Cong possibly have that required Lin Xiangqi to care for him for a week?

But before his anger could fully settle, the second part of Lin Xiangqi’s statement left him speechless with its bizarre logic.

“Lin Xiangqi…” Shen Qiaolan pressed a hand to his forehead. “You’re unbelievably ungrateful.”

Lin Xiangqi: “And you’re unbelievably meddlesome.”

Shen Qiaolan often didn’t know how to handle Lin Xiangqi, but leaving outright felt unsatisfying. So he stiffly changed the subject. “A top-tier Alpha’s pheromones aren’t something a Beta like you can handle—especially someone like Lu Cong. You two aren’t the same.”

Every Alpha’s pheromones had unique attributes. Shen Qiaolan had experienced Lu Cong’s firsthand—a scent of violence, slaughter, blood, and madness. Even he couldn’t endure that aura for long, let alone Lin Xiangqi.

Lin Xiangqi shouldn’t be getting so close to an Alpha like that.

“Shen Qiaolan.” Lin Xiangqi’s expression turned icy. “What happens between me and Lu Cong is none of your business.”

Shen Qiaolan: “I’m just warning you—you’d better stay away from Lu Cong. Lin Xiangqi, even if you look like an Omega, you’re not one. You can’t handle an Alpha’s rut, so stop throwing yourself at them.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Shen Qiaolan regretted them.

He always ended up saying the cruelest things, even when that wasn’t what he meant.

“The fuck did you just say?!” Chen Qitian was even more incensed than Lin Xiangqi. He shoved Shen Qiaolan hard. “I’ll fight you!”

Lin Xiangqi and the others hurried to intervene.

In the chaos, Lin Xiangqi “accidentally” stomped on Shen Qiaolan’s foot, the 170-pound class athletic committee member “unintentionally” rammed an elbow into him, and even the usually shy and reserved academic committee member—having no experience breaking up fights—could only “mistakenly” whack Shen Qiaolan over the head with a textbook.

“Calm down, Brother Tian!”

“Don’t fight, don’t fight!”

“Aiya, what a mess~~~”

Shen Qiaolan was practically shoved out in disgrace. For a moment, he considered releasing his pheromones to suppress these daring Betas, but for some reason, he held back this time.

He watched as Lin Xiangqi retreated behind his classmates, staring at him with cold detachment. A strange ache gripped his chest—not long ago, Lin Xiangqi would have greeted him with a smile every time they met. What had gone wrong?

No. Maybe the real problem was himself.

The fact that he was so fixated on a Beta was already absurd.

Shen Qiaolan clenched his jaw, refusing to escalate the situation further. After one last glare at Lin Xiangqi, he turned and stormed off without another word.

The class burst into laughter, triumphant at having made Shen Qiaolan back down for the first time.

Only Lin Xiangqi felt uneasy.

He’d thought that as long as he deviated from the original plot and stopped pursuing Shen Qiaolan, the latter’s pride would ensure they never crossed paths again.

But today’s Shen Qiaolan set off alarm bells in his mind. Lin Xiangqi had deliberately poked at his sore spots, yet Shen Qiaolan hadn’t lost his temper. Even when the class ganged up on him, he’d still held back.

This was a far cry from the original setting’s irritable, arrogant, rebellious scumbag with an extremely strong sense of pride A.

It was as if fate was pushing them toward some inevitable turning point.

Lin Xiangqi’s face paled slightly.

Chen Qitian patted his shoulder teasingly. “What’s wrong? Scared of Shen Qiaolan?”

Lin Xiangqi forced himself to shake off the thoughts and laughed. “Me? Scared of him? Please. He was the one scared of you guys.”

“Hahaha! You’re not wrong—humiliating a rich young master feels amazing!”

“Next time there’s an event like this, count me in! I wanted to yank his hair just now but didn’t get the chance!”

Lin Xiangqi couldn’t help but chuckle. “I doubt he’ll ever step foot in our classroom again.”

When Lu Cong returned, he carried a stack of test papers as usual.

With a class monitor like him, the subject representatives had it easy. Lu Cong was so reliable—flawless in both work and conduct—that the teachers had grown accustomed to entrusting tasks directly to him.

Normally, when Lu Cong distributed papers, everyone would proactively take them to spare him the effort.

But today, the class was eerily silent.

As Lu Cong placed the papers on the desk of each row’s first student, no one reached out to take them. They seemed afraid to brush hands with him, offering only polite smiles. “Thanks, Monitor.”

Lu Cong nodded faintly, either oblivious to or indifferent about their subtle distancing.

After handing out the papers, Lu Cong headed to his seat. The class watched as his deskmate awkwardly scooted his chair away—not out of malice, but out of fear. What if Lu Cong’s pheromones went haywire again? Rumor had it that top-tier Alpha pheromones lingered on clothing for a long time.

That could be lethal.

It wasn’t just his deskmate. Even the students in front and behind him were cautiously inching away.

Lu Cong noticed but said nothing. After a pause, he quietly packed his books into his desk, lifted his chair, and moved to the back row.

No one wanted to isolate him like this. They still respected and admired their class monitor—they were just also afraid.

After all, during the sports festival, they’d been the closest to Lu Cong.

The impact of his pheromones had hit them hardest.

Self-preservation was human instinct.

Lu Cong didn’t blame them. When he and Qi Ye had decided to use “out of pheromones” as their cover story, he’d already braced for this outcome.

Besides, Lu Cong had never cared much about others’ opinions.

His only concern was that Lin Xiangqi might blame himself. Lin Xiangqi was softhearted—he might impulsively reveal the truth to salvage Lu Cong’s reputation.

After settling into the back corner, Lu Cong instinctively glanced at Lin Xiangqi.

Fortunately, Lin Xiangqi seemed unaffected. Head bowed, he was absorbed in something, completely ignoring Lu Cong.

When the bell rang, Qin Xiao walked in with his thermos. Before even surveying the classroom, he announced, “Work on the test papers. We’ll review them in half an hour.”

Only after reaching the podium did he notice the empty seat up front and the extra person in the back.

Realizing it was Lu Cong, Qin Xiao quickly pieced things together.

As a teacher, he didn’t want to see any student ostracized. But he also understood the class’s wariness.

Just as he hesitated over how to address it, Lin Xiangqi suddenly shot up like a bamboo sprout.

Qin Xiao startled. “What are you up to now?”

Lin Xiangqi grinned. “I’m moving.”

Qin Xiao: “?”

Before he could react, the screech of chair legs against the floor made everyone cover their ears. “God, my eardrums!”

Lin Xiangqi complained, “How come Lu Cong lifted it so easily? I can’t even drag mine!”

Qin Xiao gritted his teeth. “Class has started. Sit down!”

Lin Xiangqi kept huffing as he wrestled with his desk. “Almost done. I’ll sit as soon as I’m finished.”

Qin Xiao frowned. “Where are you moving to?”

“To Lu Cong.” Lin Xiangqi said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. “He promised to tutor me so I can get into Capital University. I need to sit with him.”

Qin Xiao paused. “…Is that so?”

Under normal circumstances, Qin Xiao would never allow such arbitrary seat changes. But now, he found himself unable to refuse.

Meanwhile, Lu Cong had also stood up, silently taking Lin Xiangqi’s desk and placing it beside his own. His expression remained unreadable throughout.

After the farcical seat-switching, Qin Xiao chose to turn a blind eye. “Alright, focus on the test first. I’ll rearrange your seats later.”

The classroom fell so quiet that only the scratching of pens on paper could be heard.

Qin Xiao’s gaze lingered on the back row, where even Lin Xiangqi was unusually absorbed in his test. He sighed inwardly, reluctantly admitting that the kid could be reliable when it counted.

Lin Xiangqi scrawled four words in pencil on the blank margin of his test paper:

[I regret it!!!]

He slid it over for Lu Cong to see.

Lu Cong propped his chin on his hand and glanced at him: ?

Lin Xiangqi erased the words and wrote another line:

[No more keeping our distance. It’s too cold in winter—I’d rather stay close to you.]

Lu Cong smiled faintly and wrote on his own paper:

[Okay.]

Setting down his pencil, Lin Xiangqi’s eyes darted around, confirming Qin Xiao wasn’t watching, then sneakily reached under the desk to poke Lu Cong.

No words were needed. Lu Cong understood immediately.

He enveloped Lin Xiangqi’s hand in his warm palm, fingers intertwining to chase away the chill.

Lin Xiangqi’s ears burned under his scarf, but he kept his expression schooled, staring blankly at his test as if nothing was happening.

Just then, Qin Xiao suddenly called out, “Lin Xiangqi!”

Startled, Lin Xiangqi jerked his hand back—

But Lu Cong refused to let go, tightening his grip instead.

Lin Xiangqi nearly broke into a cold sweat.

The first thing that flashed through his mind was the “No Early Dating Pledge” they’d submitted to Qin Xiao.

Oh no.

Did this count as breaking their promise?

As Lin Xiangqi’s mind raced with panic, Qin Xiao leisurely added, “Close the window at the back.”

Lin Xiangqi: “…”

Okay, maybe he was overreacting.

He shot Lu Cong a glare. Lu Cong grinned back, fingertips lightly tracing his palm.

So ticklish—!

Lin Xiangqi yanked his hand away and smacked Lu Cong’s shoulder in retaliation.

Though not hard, the slap was loud enough to startle the entire class.

A delicate Beta violently assaulting a terrifying Alpha.

What a spectacle.

Lin Xiangqi stood to shut the window, then barked at the gawking classmates, “Turn around and focus on your tests!”

The class: “O-okay!”

Qin Xiao: “…”