A Morning After and a Public Confession

An Ran struggled to lift his heavy eyelids, groggily fumbling for the phone resting on his bedside pillow.

“Hello?”

Fu Zao: “Ran Ran, you’re still not awake?”

An Ran’s voice was a little hoarse; he cleared his throat with a light cough. “Mm, what’s up?”

Fu Zao “tsk”ed enviously. “Sweetie, get yourself together. It’s nearly noon; time for lunch.”

“Hmm?” An Ran paused, rubbing his tired eyes before glancing at the time displayed on his screen. A dazed sigh escaped his lips. “So it’s already this late.”

Fu Zao cheerfully announced, “Our training’s wrapped up, and we’re officially on holiday! I’m heading back to the dorm for a shower first. How about we meet at the convenience store downstairs in a bit?”

An Ran: “Sounds good. See you then.”

After he hung up the phone, An Ran lay still on the bed, gradually coming to his senses.

A sharp, hangover-like pain pierced his brain, causing An Ran to gasp. He incessantly rubbed the back of his head.

Had someone hit him over the head with a blunt object last night? Why else would it ache so fiercely?

An Ran suddenly noticed he was still dressed in yesterday’s clothes, and even his quilt and pillow reeked of barbecue and stale beer.

His silence was deafening; his germaphobia made him intensely uncomfortable, so much so that he couldn’t even bother to recall how he’d returned to the dorm.

Snatching a random set of pajamas from his wardrobe, An Ran bolted for the bathroom.

Fu Zao had been waiting for him downstairs by the dorm building for quite some time. “Good thing I grabbed an iced lemon water,” he remarked, “otherwise my ice cream would’ve melted into a puddle.”

An Ran offered an apologetic smile. “I ended up washing the sheets and quilt, which took a little longer.”

Fu Zao, biting his straw, looked utterly perplexed. “Didn’t you bring them over already clean?”

An Ran wrinkled his brow with a hint of distaste. “I went straight to bed last night without showering. When I woke up this afternoon, the quilt had, well, ‘marinated’ quite thoroughly.”

Fu Zao couldn’t help but chuckle. “Emmm, Gong He wouldn’t have stripped you, would he?”

An Ran: “What?”

Fu Zao shot him a surprised glance. “You don’t remember? I had Gong He take you back to the dorm.”

An Ran: “Wait, what?!”

He instinctively blurted out, “How did Gong He manage to get me back to the dorm?”

Fu Zao winked suggestively. “Why, he carried you back, of course.”

An Ran: “.”

Fu Zao teased, “Now, if you’d woken up to find your clothes had been changed, *that* would truly be a horror story for you, wouldn’t it?”

An Ran pursed his lips. “I didn’t cause any drunken ruckus, did I?”

Fu Zao: “Not at all. You were quite well-behaved.”

An Ran let out a breath of relief. “That’s good to hear.”

The events of last night were a blur to him.

He could only hope he hadn’t caused Gong He any trouble…

“The weather today doesn’t feel as scorching. Is autumn already upon us?”

“Eh?!” An Ran’s words were cut short as Fu Zao clapped a hand over his mouth, pulling him into a secluded dead end and motioning for silence.

Fu Zao pointed discreetly into the distance, whispering, “Look, it’s Gong He! Is the person opposite him confessing to him?”

An Ran nodded blankly, surprised that he and Fu Zao would stumble upon such a dramatic scene.

From their distance, they couldn’t clearly discern what the Omega was saying, but vague phrases drifted over: “I can satisfy you,” “date me,” “you can have anything you want during your sensitive period,” “we can do a pheromone compatibility test,” and so on.

Fu Zao: “Wow, what utterly explosive gossip!”

An Ran’s gaze shifted from the Omega to Gong He. Would he accept the confession?

If an Alpha’s sensitive period could be eased by an Omega’s comfort, perhaps Alphas wouldn’t have to endure such intense suffering.

The sole unfairness of this world, at least for Alphas, was the complete lack of any inhibitor on the market capable of suppressing an Alpha’s sensitive period.

While an Omega’s heat could be mitigated by inhibitors, an Alpha’s sensitive period was a different matter entirely. No ordinary inhibitor could quell their intense craving for Omega pheromones during that time.

An Alpha’s sensitive period would be considerably easier to bear with an Omega’s companionship.

An Ran found himself quite curious about Gong He’s decision.

He hadn’t heard what Gong He said, but he saw Gong He turn as if to leave, only for the Omega to burst into tears and try to embrace him, pleading for him not to go.

Even from a distance, An Ran could sense Gong He’s mounting impatience.

Gong He was not known for his patience. True to form, the instant the Omega latched onto him, Gong He roughly shoved them away.

Fu Zao mumbled softly, “See? I told you Gong He wouldn’t get into a relationship.”

In his Omega group chat, someone always talked about trying to confess to Gong He every day. He wondered if the Omega just now was one of them.

An Ran furrowed his brow slightly. “He’s so harsh.”

Fu Zao shrugged, completely unfazed. “It’s fine. Not every Alpha loses their footing just by seeing an Omega. If they encounter one they don’t like, they certainly won’t put on a pleasant face.”

An Ran: QAQ

‘Even though I’m not an Omega, Gong He doesn’t exactly give me a pleasant look either.’

****

Willow University was particularly beautiful in the evening. As the five o’clock dismissal bell chimed, the sun slowly dipped behind the distant hills, its orange twilight hues bleeding across the horizon.

Many students favored sitting by the lake in the evening, letting the breeze wash over them, while others preferred cycling a full circuit around the campus, savoring both the cool evening air and the beauty of the setting sun.

Fu Zao and An Ran strolled through the garden, encountering numerous stray cats along the way.

Upon hearing they intended to buy ham sausages for the cats, the convenience store owner couldn’t help but smile. “You new students truly have kind hearts. Just recently, a student even purchased an automatic feeder. You might want to go look for it.”

Carrying a few ham sausages, An Ran and Fu Zao returned to the garden to feed some stray kittens. Despite their wandering lives, each cat was surprisingly plump and showed no fear of humans.

After a lengthy search, An Ran finally located the automatic feeder the owner had mentioned. There were four or five such machines scattered throughout the garden, all placed in remarkably discreet spots. One of them appeared to be broken; a large cat had been patiently squatting beside it for ages, yet no food had automatically dispensed.

An Ran and Fu Zao examined the machine but couldn’t get it working. In the end, they had no choice but to return to the convenience store, hoping the owner could help them contact the person who had placed the feeders.

The owner handed An Ran the contact information, explaining it was the WeChat ID left by the student. “I don’t quite understand all that you’re saying,” she admitted, “you’d best go ask him yourselves.”

Fu Zao showed no interest in the feeder, nor did he know how to explain the machine’s malfunction to its owner. Thus, An Ran had no choice but to use his own WeChat to add the automatic feeder’s owner.

Perhaps the other party was still occupied, as his friend request remained unaccepted for a considerable time.

The two of them settled under a banyan tree, enjoying the gentle breeze.

Fu Zao took a sip of his mung bean smoothie, sighing. “The weather’s shifting so fast. The wind’s quite strong tonight; it truly feels more and more like autumn.”

An Ran nodded. “All the apps are already plastered with mooncake advertisements.”

“Really? Let me see.” Fu Zao opened WeChat, intending to check his Moments, but was immediately struck by the “99+” notifications in a group chat. He couldn’t resist tapping it open. “Holy crap?!”

An Ran: “What’s wrong?”

Fu Zao: “Remember how we stumbled upon that Omega confessing to Gong He this afternoon?”

An Ran: “I do.”

Fu Zao forwarded the chat history to An Ran, clicking his tongue. “Can you believe he’s actually one of the guys from our Omega group chat? He’s liked Gong He for ages, started chasing him since freshman year of high school. He even confessed to Gong He once before the college entrance exam, but Gong He turned him down, claiming he didn’t want to be distracted from his studies and wasn’t interested in dating. The Omega thought it was just an excuse, so he followed him all the way to Willow University, only to be completely devastated (TL Note: A Chinese slang term, ‘pò fáng,’ referring to having one’s emotional defenses broken down, often leading to a strong emotional reaction.) after getting rejected a second time this afternoon.”

An Ran commented, “If his feelings for Gong He were entirely one-sided, and Gong He didn’t reciprocate, he really should have cut his losses after the first rejection.”

He scratched his head, a little puzzled. “Wouldn’t confessing right before the college entrance exam genuinely mess with one’s study mindset?”

Fu Zao sighed softly. “Honestly, I think Gong He’s rejection was quite gentle. He didn’t say anything to make the Omega feel embarrassed, merely wished him well on his exams.”

An Ran nodded in agreement. “If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t attempt a second confession.”

A highly sensitive person like him lacked the courage to take the first step, let alone attempt a second try after being rejected.

Furthermore, An Ran harbored a deep distrust of relationships. He needed a constant, unwavering outpouring of affection from the other person to truly believe they genuinely liked him.

“Ding—”

[H has accepted your friend request.]

H: ?

AR: Hello, the automatic feeder you placed at Willow University, machine number QWE1234, is experiencing a jam and cannot dispense food automatically. Would it be possible for you to contact the staff for a repair?

While inspecting the machine, An Ran noticed the vendor had offered a one-year warranty. It might be a slight inconvenience, but only the machine’s owner could contact the relevant personnel for follow-up.

The other party remained unresponsive to his message. An Ran felt a pang of apology, wondering if he had been a little too meddlesome.

Meanwhile, Gong He stared intently at An Ran’s profile picture, a long silence stretching between them. If he wasn’t mistaken, this person named AR was his roommate, An Ran, wasn’t he? Even the username was an abbreviation of ‘An Ran.’

Curious, Gong He tapped open An Ran’s Moments. Sure enough, scrolling to the very bottom, he spotted a group photo of An Ran and Fu Zao.

AR: Are you there?

H: I am.

H: I’ll contact customer service.

H: Thank you for the reminder.

AR: Thank you for your trouble.

AR: Sending you little flowers.jpg

Gong He: “…”

‘Is this really my roommate who runs faster than a rabbit when he sees me, stutters whenever he speaks, and can’t even meet my gaze?’

Gong He decided it was better to keep his identity hidden.

Revealing it would only create pressure for the other person.

Gong He clicked on An Ran’s Moments again.

He scrolled to the day of their enrollment.

AR: So fierce QAQ

AR: Mom, I want to go home.

These were the two Moments An Ran had posted.

Gong He: Heh heh.

He passive-aggressively liked An Ran’s Moment.