Inhibitor Allergy

“Why are you being so fierce?”

The young Alpha’s voice sounded lazy.

His warm, rough fingertip remained where it had landed.

A few seconds later, the pressure between skin and skin increased slightly.

He quickly scraped across the tip of Wu Qie’s nose.

Then the Alpha who had been pressing down on him moved away.

He rolled aside and sat next to him, watching Wu Qie stand up.

Nearby, Sun Mi’s whistle blasted repeatedly, urging Zhao Shu to hurry up and leave the court after his fifth foul.

Normally Zhao Shu would have grumbled a few complaints.

But this time the Alpha surprisingly didn’t say a single extra word in protest.

Wu Qie stood up.

Zhao Shu slowly followed suit.

Wu Qie returned to the sideline.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Zhao Shu striding behind him at an unhurried distance.

Wu Qie sat down.

Zhao Shu stood beside him.

Wu Qie picked up a bottle of mineral water from the court’s edge and twisted it open for a drink.

As he tilted his head back to drink, the hair Zhao Shu had brushed aside earlier fell forward again, resting once more between his brows.

The fingers hanging at Zhao Shu’s sides curled slightly.

Wu Qie frowned.

“What?”

Zhao Shu looked calm.

“What what?”

Wu Qie said, “What are you looking at?”

Zhao Shu didn’t answer immediately.

He patiently waited for Wu Qie to drink nearly half the bottle.

Not far away, the scrimmage continued on the court.

No one noticed the strange tension floating between the two of them in the corner.

But Wu Qie couldn’t stand being stared at like that.

He could clearly feel that while he was drinking, Zhao Shu’s gaze had fallen on his Adam’s apple.

It carried an intense presence.

The heat of it made Wu Qie’s scalp tingle.

For a moment he even felt like the Alpha’s fangs might bite straight through his throat.

That was terrifying.

He hurriedly swallowed the water in his mouth.

Teacher Wu didn’t even dare drink anymore.

Setting down the bottle, he turned to Zhao Shu and spoke in a calm tone that absolutely did not sound like he was starting a fight.

“Are you… very unconvinced?”

That must be why he was acting like this.

Zhao Shu still didn’t speak.

Wu Qie picked at the label on the water bottle in his hand.

He seriously reflected on whether he had bullied the kid too much and mentally broken him.

“…But when you play so impulsively, it’s very easy for opponents to exploit that and force you into five fouls.”

Say something nice.

Say something nice.

“You’re the starting power forward, and the team doesn’t have a good substitute for your position right now.”

“If you get targeted and fouled out, the team’s interior defense will collapse.”

Wu Qie looked completely sincere.

Zhao Shu replied, “Oh.”

Wu Qie blinked.

“What does ‘oh’ mean?”

Zhao Shu said lazily, “That kind of flaw is probably hard to fix.”

So he wasn’t mentally broken after all.

Wu Qie thought silently.

Where’s my knife.

As he spoke, Zhao Shu hooked a chair over with his foot and dragged it beside Wu Qie.

Spreading his long legs, he sat down heavily next to him.

Without looking sideways, he stared straight ahead at the teammates running on the court.

Then he spoke quietly so only the two of them could hear.

“After school today, come help me practice fixing that flaw.”

Wu Qie: “?”

Wu Qie: “Every sentence I just said… probably didn’t mean that.”

Zhao Shu turned his head.

“Oh. You don’t want to?”

“That’s fine.”

“Still, thank you very much for your instructive guidance today.”

Wu Qie waited patiently for the inevitable next sentence.

As expected—

“To express my gratitude, I’ll post on WeChat Moments and confess to Pei Qingyu on your behalf.”

“So he can see it right after he gets off the plane.”

Wu Qie: “…”

Zhao Shu slowly turned his head and stared at the damp hair between Wu Qie’s brows.

“Am I not considerate?”

“A fiancé as tolerant as me is hard to find.”

“Are you still going to refuse me?”

Wu Qie was about to answer.

At that moment—

The basketball gym doors burst open.

A student from Class F ran in from outside.

Ignoring Sun Mi’s displeased look, he shouted loudly.

“Brother Shu!”

“Breaking news—Lin Zuwen has completed his secondary gender differentiation!”

***

The gym fell silent for a moment.

Then it exploded into chaos.

Everyone present knew about the rumors between Zhao Shu and Lin Zuwen.

They had even joked about it at the dinner table a few days ago.

Zhao Shu himself froze briefly.

Then he stood up and started walking out.

But after taking only one step, he suddenly felt someone tug lightly at the hem of his shirt.

The force was tiny.

He could easily shake it off.

He could even ignore it and keep walking.

But Zhao Shu stiffened slightly.

For once, he didn’t react coldly.

He stopped.

Turned around.

Looked down at the Beta behind him.

Only then did the people on the court notice the subtle tension between Teacher Wu and the Zhao family’s young master.

They had no idea why Wu Qie had grabbed Zhao Shu’s shirt.

But Zhao Shu’s expression didn’t look friendly.

Over the past two days everyone’s impression of the once-invisible geography teacher had changed.

He was approachable, didn’t scold people casually, and played amazing basketball.

It was hard not to like him.

So seeing the two of them frozen like this made people nervous for him.

Yet the imagined conflict didn’t happen.

Zhao Shu lowered his head slightly.

His gaze fell on Wu Qie’s hand gripping his shirt.

After a pause, he said calmly,

“Lin Zuwen’s abnormal differentiation might have been caused by my pheromone leak.”

“I should go to the hospital and check.”

Everyone was surprised by the sudden explanation.

But the one person who should have reacted—

Didn’t.

After a moment, Wu Qie only responded with a confused,

“Oh.”

Wu Qie clearly didn’t understand why Zhao Shu was explaining this to him.

He stood up and reminded him.

“…Then remember to keep your word.”

“When have I ever gone back on my word?”

Zhao Shu frowned slightly.

He felt Wu Qie was asking for too much.

He couldn’t just completely ignore Lin Zuwen.

Wu Qie had been there that day too.

He knew what the situation was.

“I said I’m just going to check on him—”

“Okay.”

“Then after you see Lin Zuwen, you can take the opportunity to tell your brother you don’t like Betas.”

“Or maybe be honest about your relationship with Lin Zuwen.”

Zhao Shu: “…”

Wu Qie had lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear.

But halfway through speaking, Zhao Shu’s expression had already turned dark.

Wu Qie was baffled.

He had no idea what he had said wrong again.

He pressed his lips together and repeated his main point.

“We agreed earlier.”

“I knocked you out of the game within ten minutes.”

“You have to honor the bet.”

Zhao Shu remained silent.

Wu Qie became instantly alert.

“What does staying silent mean?”

“Are you trying to cheat again?”

The question would never receive an answer.

Because the next second Zhao Shu coldly said,

“One of us should go deaf.”

“Or the other should become mute.”

With an annoyed expression, he snatched his shirt back from Wu Qie’s hand.

Then he walked out of the gym without looking back.

Watching Zhao Shu’s hurried retreating figure, Wu Qie sighed.

‘He left so quickly he didn’t even let me finish speaking.’

‘Looks like he really is worried about Lin Zuwen.’

***

The reason secondary gender differentiation is considered private is largely because it usually comes with the first heat period.

This is also why the phenomenon of secondary genders has long been criticized as a form of evolutionary regression.

During heat periods, both Alphas and Omegas can lose the rationality and dignity expected of intelligent beings.

They become prisoners of instinct.

No matter how carefully people study biology class, it doesn’t help.

When facing the pulsing gland at the back of the neck…

The suddenly noticeable pheromones in the air…

And overwhelming desire for the opposite s*x…

Most young people become completely lost when their understanding of the world is overturned.

Just like Lin Zuwen that day in the classroom.

For young people of their social standing, going into heat in public could never be considered dignified.

Zhao Shu had originally come to apologize.

After all, Lin Zuwen’s humiliation had been caused by him.

But he didn’t expect Lin Zuwen’s differentiation period to still be ongoing.

Halfway down the hospital corridor, Zhao Shu realized something was wrong.

The surroundings were eerily quiet.

Medical staff had disappeared.

The corridor had been surrounded by Lin family personnel.

The isolation room was at the very end.

The guards were either Betas with unusually strong builds or Alphas whose glands had been destroyed.

The pheromone scent in the corridor grew stronger.

It smelled like a plant sprouting from moist soil.

Fresh and thriving.

Zhao Shu thought carefully.

It seemed to be the scent of Tabala agave grass.

Delicate and rich.

Like honey or cocoa warmed in sunlight.

Sweet.

No wonder he didn’t dislike it.

His own pheromones smelled like tequila.

What a coincidence.

Lin Zuwen’s pheromones smelled like agave grass.

At that moment Zhao Shu understood everything.

He stopped walking toward the room.

Instead he stepped backward toward the corridor entrance.

There he encountered an elderly woman around the same age as the Zhao family’s housekeeper.

She wasn’t Lin family’s mistress.

Zhao Shu had seen her before.

She was the Lin family’s house steward.

She wore silver-rimmed glasses and a spotless maid uniform.

Even her Oxford shoes were perfectly clean.

Standing in the shadows, she had almost no presence.

Zhao Shu hadn’t noticed her at first.

But her presence revealed certain truths.

He laughed softly.

“Still not finished in there, Aunt Yun?”

Over the years, growing up beside Zhao Guipu, Zhao Shu had seen countless people trying to climb social ladders through gender advantages.

Pheromone seduction during heat periods was one of the oldest tricks.

As expected, the old woman paused before answering.

“Young Master’s differentiation level may be too high.”

“It seems especially painful.”

“What about inhibitors?”

“Young Master… is allergic to the main ingredients in most inhibitors.”

“If injected, he develops high fever, vomiting, and rashes.”

“The worst case even caused febrile seizures.”

At that moment—

A shrill scream erupted from the room at the end of the corridor.

The concentration of agave pheromones skyrocketed.

Zhao Shu and Aunt Yun both turned.

The old woman’s eyes reddened with worry.

“Young Master Zhao… please help him.”

How could he help?

Omega inhibitor allergies were rare but not unheard of.

The solution was simple.

When an Omega entered heat, a highly compatible Alpha could mark them.

Even a temporary mark would solve everything.

Agave grass Omega.

Tequila Alpha.

Their pheromones were naturally compatible.

Zhao Shu suddenly realized.

Today he had been invited here to act as a human inhibitor.

What would Zhao Guipu say if he learned his younger brother had fallen into such a trap?

Zhao Shu didn’t dare imagine.

Inside the room, Lin Zuwen writhed on the bed.

His pale skin was flushed red.

His beautiful face twisted with pain.

He was soaked in sweat.

The sheets beneath him were damp.

His body twisted.

A slender white waist showed beneath the hospital gown.

Outside the glass wall, Zhao Shu stood in the overwhelming pheromone scent.

Yet surprisingly—

He showed none of the usual Alpha reaction.

“Young Master Zhao, please help him.”

“The fastest inhibitor delivery will take at least a day.”

“Our young master cannot wait that long.”

“He’ll die.”

She wasn’t exaggerating.

Even through the thick glass, Zhao Shu could see Lin Zuwen reaching his limit.

His gaze landed on Lin Zuwen’s tightly furrowed brows.

A lock of sweat-damp hair hung over them.

The sight felt strangely familiar.

“…A-Shu.”

Even though the glass was one-way, Lin Zuwen suddenly opened his eyes.

His cracked lips moved.

He called Zhao Shu’s name.

“Zhao Shu.”

As if he knew he was already there.

But the Alpha being called remained unmoved.

Aunt Yun finally remembered something.

The boy before her was the second young master of the Zhao family.

The younger brother of Zhao Guipu.

The Zhao family had ruled for years without a gentle spouse managing things.

Inside the room, Lin Zuwen began throwing objects and rolling across the bed in pain.

His beautiful face twisted.

What private hospital would lack special inhibitors for allergic patients?

Zhao Shu didn’t bother asking.

This trap had clearly been prepared for him.

And he himself had brought the shovel.

So he might as well jump.

“I can give him a temporary mark.”

The boy spoke calmly.

“But I want to see you inject a normal inhibitor in front of me first.”

“Prove he is truly allergic.”

Aunt Yun fell silent.

She sensed absolute coldness in his voice.

Reckless on the surface.

But fundamentally rational.

Yet none of that mattered now.

Because the moment the nurse opened the isolation room—

Zhao Shu walked inside.

He placed his hand on the Omega’s shoulder.

Lin Zuwen trembled violently.

Zhao Shu showed no emotion.

As if the person beneath his hand was merely a piece of trembling flesh.

He brushed aside the hair covering Lin Zuwen’s gland.

The Omega’s pale neck was covered in scratch marks.

Zhao Shu ignored them.

He forced Lin Zuwen forward, exposing the gland.

Under such intense Omega pheromones, his own canine teeth began to itch.

Instinct screamed for possession.

Outside the glass, Aunt Yun watched the Alpha bend down toward the Omega.

Satisfied, she quietly retreated into the shadows.