Be Good and Hide Your Pheromones (GL , ABO) - Chapter 6
The bright full moon, pale as jade, hung high in the night sky.
It was already past Three O’clock in the morning.
Zong Qing had just finished reviewing today’s lessons.
After neatly packing the textbooks on her desk, she zipped up her bag and turned toward the bed.
It had been years since she’d stayed up this late studying.
Yawning, she lazily began changing her clothes.
The clear moonlight streamed through the window, blending with the bedside lamp to illuminate the small room.
Standing quietly by the bed, Zong Qing drowsily tugged at her clothes.
The thin short-sleeved shirt slipped off easily as she squinted, absently running a hand through her messy hair.
Dry, yellowish strands fell loosely over her shoulders,
catching the lamplight in a faint golden glow.
Her fingers trailed down the ends of her hair and in that moment, something unfamiliar fell into her palm.
“……?”
What is this?
The drowsy yawn froze abruptly in her mouth as Zong Qing lowered her gaze for a closer look.
It seemed to be an earring.
A tiny pearl earring at that.
The exquisite pearl gleamed with a plump luster.
Clutching the small earring, Zong Qing stood rooted to the spot in stunned silence.
Soon enough.
Her sluggish mind finally dredged up some unusual images.
Pursing her lips, she instinctively picked up the earring and gave it a sniff.
It carried the scent of mountain snow.
Of lush green woods and morning dew.
This distinctive fragrance seemed freshly familiar, as if she’d encountered it not long ago.
“Tch.”
Realizing instantly whose possession this was, Zong Qing clenched her fingers around it and pocketed the item.
Perhaps from sheer exhaustion, Zong Qing slept remarkably well that night not a single dream disturbed her rest.
Consequently, despite staying up until 3 AM, she appeared more refreshed the next morning than her cousin who’d gotten a full eight hours of sleep.
“Hmph.”
The previous day’s events had festered in Wen He’s mind all night.
Throughout breakfast, she maintained stony silence.
After wordlessly finishing her meal, she picked up her schoolbag without waiting.
Without so much as a backward glance at Zong Qing, she marched out alone.
“……”
Watching her cousin storm off, Zong Qing—attending the same school—had no choice but to hurry after.
There was only one car available to take them to school in the mornings.
They’d have to ride together.
Fortunately, time wasn’t pressing this morning.
They arrived at school just past 7:30.
With nearly half an hour before classes began,
it counted as relatively early.
Her gaze swept across the nearly full classroom.
Schoolbag in hand, Zong Qing wove through the front seats to reach the last row.
“Morning.”
Nodding at her deskmate, she set down her bag.
“Morning.”
Adjusting her oversized glasses, deskmate Yu Ting gave a slow nod while clutching her pen.
The two barely acquainted seatmates exchanged greetings before turning to their own affairs.
Pulling out textbooks, Zong Qing slid into her chair without further ceremony.
There was still some time before morning reading, so she decided to take out the books she hadn’t brought home yesterday to review.
As the thought crossed her mind, her fingers instinctively reached into the desk compartment.
In an instant.
The small object placed atop the textbooks was pulled out by Zong Qing.
“……”
A neatly folded paper crane lay quietly on the textbook.
She lowered her gaze to examine it, it was even pink.
“Did, you put this here?”
Pinching the crane’s wings between two fingers, Zong Qing turned to ask her deskmate.
“Huh?”
Looking up in confusion, Yu Ting, who had been solving problems, shook her head. “It’s not mine.”
She confirmed, “I don’t know how to fold things.”
“……”
If it wasn’t her, then who?
Frowning, Zong Qing pondered silently.
When school ended yesterday, this definitely hadn’t been here.
“Maybe someone put it in the wrong place,” Yu Ting murmured softly. “Liang Feiyu used to sit here before.”
“Ah…”
That was very likely.
Almost instantly, Zong Qing accepted this explanation.
“Tch.”
How boring.
The moment she thought the thing in her hand belonged to Liang Feiyu, Zong Qing, who had initially found it well-folded, suddenly found it utterly unappealing.
“Then you can give this back to her later.”
She casually tossed the paper crane to her deskmate.
“Oh…”
Fully aware of the tension between Zong Qing and Liang Feiyu, Yu Ting blinked and nodded without much thought.
She thought the matter of the paper crane would end there.
But unexpectedly, over the next few days, Zong Qing kept finding carefully folded paper cranes in her desk drawer.
“……”
Was the person delivering these just that stubborn?
Staring speechlessly at the small paper crane in her palm, she handed it to her deskmate and said, “I’ll write a note today telling them to stop sending these here.”
It had been a whole week already.
“Okay.”
Storing today’s paper crane away, Yu Ting remained absorbed in her problem-solving, not even looking up.
“Yu Ting, I’ve really been troubling you these past few days.”
Through their interactions over this time, Zong Qing had come to understand her new deskmate a little better.
Unlike her loud and boisterous cousin.
Yu Ting, also an Omega, was studious, well-behaved, and never caused trouble.
This gentle and soft-spoken personality was the type she was most familiar with.
“Thank you.”
For reasons unknown, Zong Qing curved her eyes slightly and sincerely thanked her.
At the same time.
She deftly pulled out a notebook, tore off a sheet of paper, and prepared to write the note.
But before she could even pick up her pen.
The desk in front of Zong Qing was knocked on from above.
Knock knock knock—!
The sharp rapping interrupted her movements.
She looked up at the sound, just in time to meet the gaze of the newcomer.
“Hey, Zong Qing!”
Meeting her eyes, Liang Feiyu lifted her chin and smirked coldly, lowering her voice. “Don’t leave after school today, got it?!”
“What?”
Seeing the hostility in the other’s demeanor, Zong Qing narrowed her eyes and leaned back casually, unfazed.
A slender pen twirled between her fingers, spinning round and round.
Her lips pressed into a thin line as she half-lowered her gaze, her tone icy. “Looking to get beaten up again?”
Her dark, clear eyes were veiled by long lashes.
Effectively concealing any emotion within.
Yet even so.
A chilling aura radiated from her.
“Cut the act…”
Still resentful about the previous incident, Liang Feiyu nearly lost her temper upon hearing those words.
Fortunately, she remembered why she was there.
“Don’t you dare run away,” she sneered before throwing down the challenge. “I’ll be waiting for you at the school gate.”
“Don’t come begging for mercy later.”
Beg for mercy?
Zong Qing licked her upper lip in silent response, her cold gaze fixed on the other girl’s retreating figure. She didn’t say a word.
Over the years at No. 19 High School, no one had dared to provoke her.
It had been a while since she’d heard such an arrogant challenge.
“Tch.”
Just a fight, nothing more.
Leaning lazily back in her seat, Zong Qing lowered her eyes to her calloused hands.
The rough skin didn’t seem fitting for someone her age.
But with these hands, she had never feared anyone.
“Are you okay?”
Having witnessed the entire exchange, her desk mate Yu Ting nervously glanced between them.
“Maybe you should tell the student council president”, she suggested timidly. “She definitely wouldn’t just ignore this.”
Xi Huan, the student council president, was the emotional pillar for all the omegas in school.
Whenever they faced an unsolvable problem, they turned to her for help.
It had become a habit, a defining trait of Tengyang High.
But as an outsider, Zong Qing couldn’t understand it at all.
“No need.”
She waved a hand dismissively, unfazed. “I can handle it myself.”
“But…”
The mere thought of the fierce Liang Feiyu made Yu Ting, an omega, shudder in fear.
“Aren’t you scared?” she couldn’t help asking. “She’s really strong.”
“Her A-value isn’t low.”
…
Having been a notorious troublemaker in class for a long time, Liang Feiyu naturally had some skills.
From what Yu Ting knew, many alphas weren’t even a match for her.
“Afraid of her?” Zong Qing smiled. “I’m strong too.”
Before her differentiation, she had never been afraid.
After differentiation, she wouldn’t be afraid either.
“You don’t understand.”
Yu Ting bit her lip and whispered, “As a beta, you might not feel it.”
“But we omegas are all instinctively wary of alphas.”
This bone-deep fear was indescribable.
The influence of gender wasn’t just a minor thing.
“Don’t worry! I’m not foolish enough to confront her head-on.”
Fighting required skill too.
Zong Qing didn’t think she would lose.
“Alright.”
Seeing her confidence, Yu Ting bit her lip but ultimately said nothing more.
Liang Feiyu’s provocation was just a minor episode.
In the blink of an eye, it could be forgotten.
Picking up a pen, she finished writing her note.
Since it was Friday, the entire sophomore class had a small quiz during evening self-study.
Tomorrow was the weekend, so as the class ended, Zong Qing packed up all her books.
She planned to make the most of these two days and catch up with her studies as quickly as possible.
It wasn’t until she walked out of the school gate with her backpack that Zong Qing remembered she still had a fight to settle.
Rubbing her tired temples, she glanced around.
Sure enough, she spotted Liang Feiyu not far away.
By now, the sky had darkened.
To settle things quickly, Zong Qing walked straight up to her and said bluntly, “I know a nearby alley. It should be empty right now.”
After a week of school, she was already familiar with the surroundings.
“Hmph.”
As if surprised by her calmness, Liang Feiyu sneered and motioned for her to lead the way.
…
First, she found the Wen family’s driver and explained she’d be going home on her own.
Under Wen He’s disbelieving gaze, Zong Qing turned with Liang Feiyu into a narrow alley.
..
The long alley was wedged between old residential buildings.
Dim lights cast faint, flickering shadows of the two figures.
“Let me make this clear.”
Feeling they’d gone far enough, Zong Qing stopped and glanced back.
Good.
No one was around.
“Don’t use pheromones.”
Narrowing her eyes, she bent down to place her backpack on the ground.
Only then did Liang Feiyu finally see Zong Qing’s expression clearly—cold and brimming with violence, like a wolf ready to strike.
“Or I’ll get very, very angry…” she said softly.