I’m Allergic to Pheromones - Chapter 10

This was a very ordinary orphanage.

Angel Orphanage.

The red brick walls appeared heavy and worn under the endless night sky, with shards of beer bottles of varying shapes embedded along the top, their edges glinting a faint green.

The orphanage was poor—this was deliberately done to prevent bold children from climbing over the walls to escape.

Bai Cha quickly ran past the tightly shut orphanage gate, expertly finding a section of the wall. Stepping on a depression, she deftly avoided the broken glass, grabbed the top of the wall, and leaped down like a soft, agile cat.

She was light, and the sound of her landing in the grass was barely noticeable. Afraid of drawing the attention of the orphanage staff, Bai Cha crouched low and let out a soft, kitten-like mewl.

No one came for a long time—only the wind rustled the branches. With a tense expression, Bai Cha made her way toward the dormitory at the back, quickly climbed the stairs, and quietly slipped through a door that wasn’t fully closed, slipping inside along with the moonlight.

The light vanished in an instant as the door shut, plunging the room back into pitch-black darkness. Bai Cha crouched on the floor, holding her breath, and only after confirming no one had woken up did she cautiously inch forward.

The dormitory was divided into two rows of bunk beds, left and right. Bai Cha crept to the darkest corner, bent low to avoid obstacles, and climbed onto her bed, lying stiffly before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

“Where did you go? You almost got caught by the nuns this time.”

Bai Cha pulled her pillow out from under the blanket, adjusted it, and then tugged the blanket up. Turning onto her side, she looked at the friend who had covered for her and whispered, “Shh, I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

The dormitory housed twelve children in total, and even if everyone was asleep, whispering wasn’t entirely safe. Tang Ou, who had stayed awake all night worrying, understood this too and nodded while clutching her blanket.

The two closed their eyes and went to sleep.

Not long after, a child in the bunk diagonally above them opened their eyes and stared at the corner for a long time through the wooden guardrails meant to prevent falls.

At the break of dawn, the ringing bell signaling wake-up “ding-a-linged” through the dormitory. The children all dutifully got up, folded their blankets, changed clothes, and after washing up, lined up outside the door to wait for the nun in charge to take attendance.

Bai Cha had only slept for three hours and was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open. Sluggishly trailing at the back of the group, she kept her head down, her hair covering her slender neck, her expression icy and screaming “don’t mess with me.”

She was so tired she felt like passing out—if anyone so much as nudged her, she might just collapse on the spot.

Everyone had changed into identical white prayer robes—the only “new clothes” they got to wear once a week, as they had to be neatly dressed for prayers.

Leading the group was a girl with a high ponytail named Mo Chuiliu. At fifteen, she was the tallest among the children in the orphanage, with a sturdy frame and well-developed physique. All the staff believed this child would likely present as an Alpha after differentiation.

Naturally, she thought so too.

“Stand up straight, shoulders back—did you go thieving last night or something, slouching like that?”

Mo Chuiliu lectured her dormmates with her chin raised, her gaze settling on the dark head of hair at the very back. She let out a disdainful “hmph.”

“Hey, look at her—acting so arrogant before even differentiating. I don’t know why the staff favors her so much.” Tang Ou frowned unhappily, edging closer to Bai Cha before hesitating. “I heard potential adopters have already inquired about her.”

The children at Angel Orphanage were all abandoned and unclaimed, staying there until differentiation when they’d be separated by gender. Only then might they be adopted.

Omegas were the most sought-after, followed by Alphas, while Betas rarely drew attention.

Pre-differentiation, young Alphas tended to be tall and sturdy, while Omegas were petite and delicate. After differentiation, qualified families could adopt them, offering a chance at a better life.

Tang Ou was average-looking with a round face and eyes, often standing on tiptoes to see. She gazed enviously at the group leader, Mo Chuiliu, sighing softly. “So lucky.”

Bai Cha kept her eyes down without responding.

She knew what Tang Ou envied—differentiating into an Alpha or Omega was every orphan’s dream.

That dream meant a new life, a new family, no more hand-me-downs, no more staring at the same patch of sky, no more enduring the nuns’ disdain.

Alphas and Omegas were genders favored by heaven.

But Bai Cha despised them all.

The sound of footsteps echoed on the hard concrete floor, steady and rhythmic, keys jingling as someone approached the third floor.

“One, two, three… Alright, head to the chapel now. No wandering after breakfast.”

“Yes, Sister.”

Everyone at Angel Orphanage was Christian, devoted to Jehovah. At six every morning, they attended chapel for morning prayers to purify their souls.

Bai Cha didn’t believe in it, but she had no choice.

Over forty children trailed behind the plump nun, Bai Cha lagging at the back, her unbound hair past her shoulders fluttering wildly in the cold morning wind.

Tang Ou noticed and hurried over, secretly handing Bai Cha a pink hair tie.

“Here, tie your hair up, or the thin nun at chapel will punish you.”

It was a hair tie from a potential adopter months ago, barely used, still taut.

Bai Cha knew how much her friend had hoped that adopter would return. She didn’t take the tie, instead tucking her hair behind her ears.

“No need.”

But Tang Ou shoved it into her hand anyway, forcing a smile. “It’s been three months. If they haven’t come back by now, they never will.”

Her eyes reddened, lips pressed tight—clearly not as indifferent as she pretended.

Bai Cha remembered that adopter—a plain-looking, older Beta woman, single, who’d come hoping to find a child likely to differentiate into a Beta to take home.

Most adoptive parents who actively choose to take in Beta children are Betas themselves, as the vast majority hope to adopt children who will differentiate into Alphas or Omegas—with adoptive parents typically being one of these two genders.

Tang Ou was already fifteen years old, with average looks and an unremarkable physique—a textbook “Beta candidate.” Being preemptively chosen by adoptive parents was something that sparked considerable envy.

Bai Cha didn’t know how to comfort her. After a moment’s thought, she said, “Maybe you’ll still differentiate into an Omega. You’re only fifteen, not like me—I’ll be eighteen next year.”

Eighteen was the final cutoff for differentiation. 99.9% of children differentiated between the ages of seven and fifteen or sixteen, with very few doing so at seventeen or eighteen.

Those who failed to differentiate were called “Degenerates,” appearing in perhaps one out of every hundred thousand people. The last recorded case had been twenty years ago in a newspaper, where a victimized cleaner occupied a single line in the tiniest corner of the page.

This world was cruel—without pheromones or heat cycles, one had no status. If ordinary people from modern society were to cross over without any special advantages, they’d likely end up sweeping the streets collectively.

Bai Cha’s self-deprecating words somehow managed to comfort the red-eyed girl, though she soon felt guilty for her own improved mood.

As a good friend, this wasn’t very considerate of her.

“Bai Cha, I didn’t mean it like that! You’ll definitely differentiate too!”

She hurriedly defended herself, gripping her friend’s sleeve tightly and unconsciously raising her voice, drawing the attention of several other children.

“You two at the back, hurry up!”

The plump nun glared at the two stragglers, giving them a warning look.

“So scary,” Tang Ou muttered, shrinking back but still daring to whisper, “Bai Cha…”

She tugged playfully at the sleeve again. Bai Cha calmly adjusted her clothes and whispered, “I’m not mad. Stop pulling, or my clothes will fall off.”

These prayer robes had been passed down for generations, washed until they were faded. The one Bai Cha wore was clearly ill-fitting, hanging loosely over her shoes as if she’d stolen an adult’s clothes.

Tang Ou guiltily withdrew her hand after nearly exposing Bai Cha’s shoulder, but her gaze lingered.

The robe was still too long. Bai Cha held it up with both hands, her shoulders small and round, her snow-white skin glowing under the morning light like a cluster of winter snow.

“Bai Cha, what do you want to differentiate into?” Tang Ou asked cautiously, reaching up to adjust the collar while her fingers brushed—intentionally or not—against that irresistibly soft skin. “If you were an Omega, so many people would want to adopt you.”

Others might not notice, but Tang Ou knew full well how pretty her little friend was—her small face, long lashes, and the adorable mole at the corner of her eye. It was just that Bai Cha always kept her head down, gloomy and solitary, which made everyone overlook her.

Honestly, her friend was the cutest in the world! Even cuter than the doll in the flower basket in the headmistress’s office!

And Bai Cha was so tiny—just 151 cm, even shorter than her, with feet so small she could only wear size 34, a child’s size.

She really wanted to pinch Bai Cha’s cheeks, but she didn’t dare.

The morning dew still clung to the grass as pale light soaked into the light blue sky, piercing through the misty haze. A golden ray suddenly leaped out and landed atop the wall.

“I want to differentiate into a Beta.”

Tang Ou was stunned.

“Why? Everyone wants to become an Alpha or an Omega.”

Bai Cha lowered her lashes, lifting the hem of her robe as she stepped through the damp grass, her voice soft.

“Betas are the only ones who feel truly human.”

A normal person wouldn’t sniff around others like a wild animal, leaving marks behind, nor would they spread their legs for anyone just because of a heat cycle.

It’s disgusting.