Aphrodite’s Eye

For most people, compared to having a lover they passionately love, spending a lifetime with someone who would never make them sad seemed far more appealing.

Love had an expiration date.

But indifference did not.

That night, when they left the basketball gym, Wu Qie didn’t struggle much before getting into Zhao Shu’s car.

When they arrived, Zhao Shu still had the car stop right in front of Wu Qie’s house.

Openly.

No need to hide.

After all, their marriage alliance was probably already known by everyone in Jiangcheng.

Wu Qie got out of the car.

Zhao Shu rolled down the window and called out to the black-haired young man whose foot had already stepped onto the front steps.

“Want my driver to pick you up tomorrow morning?”

Wu Qie thought for a moment and waved his hand.

“No need. Our driver can drop my dad off at the company and give me a ride on the way.”

From the shadows of the back seat, Zhao Shu let out a quiet scoff.

For no reason at all, he suddenly thought—

Whether it was Lin Zuwen, or any other Omega in his place, none of them would reject him so unromantically like this Beta.

But he said nothing.

He only smiled and replied,

“Alright. Got it. Your family has a driver too.”

Wu Qie: “?”

Under the moonlight, one person inside the car and one person outside.

When their eyes met, both felt a strange sigh in their hearts.

How did things end up like this?

The atmosphere was unexpectedly peaceful.

It couldn’t be said that they had instantly become loving like their families had hoped.

But compared to how they used to want to strangle each other on sight—

This was already a huge leap forward.

The next day, something strange happened again.

After team training ended, Zhao Shu had just put down his water bottle and hadn’t even caught his breath when he instinctively raised his hand and caught the basketball thrown from afar.

He looked up.

The person who threw it stood not far away.

The same expressionless face as yesterday.

At some point, the situation had changed from “you train with me” to “I train with you.”

Neither of them could really explain when that happened.

During their practice, physical contact was unavoidable.

Remembering Wu Qie’s waist injury—and also trying to fix his own reckless habits—Zhao Shu had already restrained his movements considerably.

As a result, their training progress improved rapidly.

From being stiff at first to gradually getting used to it, Zhao Shu’s improvement was obvious.

He became proud of himself.

He pestered Wu Qie to teach him the details of the reverse layup.

Then insisted on recording it to send to Pei Qingyu.

After recording it, he immediately sent the fresh video—making sure to select “original quality.”

Wu Qie stood nearby with his hands on his knees and watched the whole process.

Then commented,

“Which one of us is actually secretly in love with Pei Qingyu?”

Zhao Shu replied confidently,

“Alpha business. Mind your own business.”

Because he got too cocky, misfortune quickly followed.

While jumping for a rebound, his elbow accidentally knocked Wu Qie.

Wu Qie almost got shoved straight to the ground.

The Alpha forgot about the basketball he had been fighting for.

He instinctively turned around to catch the person about to fall.

The first thing he noticed when he grabbed him—

His arm was burning hot.

When he helped Wu Qie stand steadily, he saw his face had turned pale.

His breathing was uneven.

Only then did Zhao Shu realize they had already been playing for thirty minutes straight.

Wu Qie had never called for a break.

With his physical condition, he shouldn’t have been able to endure this intensity.

Who knew what stubborn thing he was trying to prove.

A drop of sweat fell from Wu Qie’s brow.

For some reason, Zhao Shu’s heart thumped heavily.

Like a ghost pushing him, he suddenly remembered something.

That female Alpha at Xishen with the apple sparkling wine pheromone had once done something similar.

His fingers moved.

The boy curled his knuckle and lightly tapped the tip of Wu Qie’s nose.

Wu Qie froze.

He didn’t react in time.

So he didn’t dodge.

“I’ve known Pei Qingyu since we were little.”

“We practically grew up wearing the same split-pants.”

“But our relationship isn’t as good as you think.”

“?”

“Not good enough that I’d wipe his ass.”

“???”

“How long do I have to endure your resentment for him?”

Zhao Shu asked.

“Should I make him apologize to you?”

“……”

Apologize for what?

Apologize to his own secret admirer for copying a random sentence in a group chat?

Wu Qie also had sweat on his face.

But the heat coming from Zhao Shu’s body—and the faint scent of tequila-like pheromones—still lingered from that brief touch.

It made his nose itch.

He resisted the urge to rub it.

Instead he told Zhao Shu not to talk nonsense.

Zhao Shu only shrugged.

He stared at the bright, wet eyes in front of him for a moment.

Then lowered his gaze.

He almost reached out to pinch Wu Qie’s slightly red nose.

This time—

Wu Qie grabbed his wrist.

His long fingers, usually used for writing on whiteboards, wrapped around the strong wrist of the younger Alpha.

Their palms slid slightly because of sweat.

Both froze briefly.

Wu Qie immediately released him.

Then frowned and said,

“Next time after training, take a shower before coming back to practice.”

“……”

Zhao Shu looked down at his sweat-soaked tank top.

Under the lights, his arms glistened with sweat.

The muscles were fully pumped and prominent.

These were the exact things that girls always mentioned in their love letters and anonymous confessions.

“Mm.”

He actually said mm.

“I didn’t say you could touch me.”

“I didn’t want to touch you either.”

“You keep saying your whole body smells like me.”

His tone was completely upright.

The complaint sounded sincere.

There wasn’t even the slightest hint of something inappropriate.

But Zhao Shu suddenly fell silent.

The fierce expression on his face froze for a moment.

After a long pause—

He wiped the sweat from his chin.

Then turned his head away.

“You’re such a pain.”

Wu Qie looked at him strangely.

As if he had no idea why Zhao Shu suddenly reacted so weirdly.

Zhao Shu picked up the basketball.

Walked past him.

Then took three steps and slammed the ball into the hoop with a powerful dunk.

The rim shook violently.

During the next round of practice—

Neither of them mentioned Pei Qingyu again.

Over the next week, their extra practice sessions after training became routine.

No one needed to schedule it anymore.

Every day after team practice, Zhao Shu would obediently go shower.

Then change into clean clothes and come back to train with Wu Qie again.

At eight o’clock sharp, he would stuff Wu Qie into his car and drive him home.

Teacher Wu’s own car stayed parked in his yard for a whole week gathering dust.

Their parents were naturally delighted to see this.

Even the basketball team’s head coach, Coach Sun, was deeply moved.

He claimed Zhao Shu finally looked like a proper team captain.

Even if it was only temporary.

This peaceful rhythm lasted until the second Wednesday.

After the pheromone disorder caused by last week’s shock, Lin Zuwen had been hospitalized again.

Now his differentiation period had completely ended.

He returned to school.

After an Omega’s secondary differentiation finished, the changes were obvious.

In just a few days—

He looked taller.

His skin was paler.

His eyelashes longer.

His lips looked like freshly blooming roses.

“The whole person looks like he’s glowing.”

The geography class representative from Class A leaned over the railing and sighed while watching the Omega downstairs.

“It’s like he entered with rose-bloom background music.”

Wu Qie stood beside her.

The only thing he noticed was that Lin Zuwen’s anti-bite collar had changed.

The aquamarine had been replaced with a ruby.

It suited his beauty even better.

Compared with Betas, the probability of differentiating into Alpha or Omega was already low.

And in a school like Hongtie Middle School, the probability of producing Omegas was even lower.

Someone like Lin Zuwen—

With his background—

From this day forward, he would definitely become the target of countless wealthy families seeking marriage alliances.

Especially since he was good-looking.

From the moment he stepped into school, the eyes of both Betas and Alphas practically glued themselves to him.

“Lin Zuwen’s pheromone is agave grass, right?”

Wu Qie nodded.

“I don’t know if that’s a type Alphas like.”

“I’ve never smelled it.”

“Not my type anyway.”

“I like you.”

“……”

“I just mean—”

“His pheromone type means his compatibility with Zhao Shu could be very high.”

The female Alpha tilted her head lazily and looked at Wu Qie.

“If they turn out to be Aphrodite’s Eye, and you need to cancel the engagement…”

“You can come find me anytime.”

“Aphrodite’s Eye,” also called The Eye of Aphrodite, referred to Alpha-Omega pheromone compatibility exceeding 95%.

It was extremely rare.

Even with today’s global matching databases, the probability of finding one’s Aphrodite’s Eye in the entire world was less than 0.05%.

People generally believed that couples with this match could never separate.

In a typical marking relationship, Alpha and Omega weren’t equal.

An Alpha could mark an Omega unilaterally.

Turning the Omega into a scent-marked “belonging.”

But for Alphas, the concept of marking was much looser.

If they wished, they could mark many Omegas.

However—

Studies showed that if both parties were Aphrodite’s Eye, the Omega might actually be able to reverse-mark the Alpha.

The class representative’s joke wasn’t groundless.

If Zhao Shu and Lin Zuwen were truly Aphrodite’s Eye—

Wu Qie’s time and position here wouldn’t last long.

He would probably have to leave.

Wu Qie blinked slowly.

He was about to speak.

Just as the word “I—” left his mouth—

A large hand suddenly covered his mouth from behind.

Wu Qie jumped.

“Mmph—”

He tried to turn around.

But the person behind him was too strong.

He was pressed between the railing and a firm chest.

Warm heat spread against his back.

A familiar scent enveloped him instantly.

“I’ve never seen stray dogs waiting at the door for leftovers before the banquet even starts.”

The boy’s voice vibrated against Wu Qie’s back.

Slightly hoarse.

Deep and magnetic.

Zhao Shu leaned his head beside Wu Qie’s neck.

One hand covered Wu Qie’s mouth.

The other rested on the railing.

He looked down at the female Alpha not far away.

A half-smile hung on his face.

The girl wasn’t embarrassed at all.

She rolled her eyes.

“I’m going back to get my exercise book.”

Then she left.

Wu Qie pulled Zhao Shu’s hand off his mouth.

The imprint of fingers had turned half his pale face red.

It looked a bit ridiculous.

Zhao Shu leaned lazily against the railing.

“If I hadn’t come—”

“What were you planning to tell her?”

Downstairs, Lin Zuwen stood beneath the teaching building.

He seemed to have spotted Zhao Shu and looked up.

Wu Qie noticed from the corner of his eye.

He wasn’t sure whether Zhao Shu had noticed.

Zhao Shu only stared at him.

“You keep getting caught cheating by me.”

Wu Qie ignored his nonsense completely.

Then walked back to Class A with him.

After class, Wu Qie’s gossip feed exploded again.

News from Class F had spread—

Lin Zuwen didn’t just return.

He also brought his pheromone compatibility results with Zhao Shu.

The legendary Aphrodite’s Eye had appeared.

The news caused a storm.

Back in the office, Wu Qie glanced at his phone.

Messages and missed calls filled the screen.

Wu Qie: “……”

He scrolled through the messages.

Among dozens of unread notifications, a chat with a fire-breathing dragon avatar had been pushed far down.

The entire conversation was Zhao Shu talking to himself.

Wu Qie hadn’t replied since the day he asked Zhao Shu “Are you sick?” in a nightmare.

Not even a punctuation mark.

But Zhao Shu clearly didn’t care.

Their latest message from last night showed a photo of a wrist guard.

[Shu: Found it in the back seat. Can you stop losing things?]

Wu Qie hadn’t replied.

The tone was too bad.

He didn’t bother.

Wu Qie rubbed his temples.

Too many messages.

Too lazy to respond.

He planned to pretend his phone had run out of battery later.

Just as he was about to lock the screen—

The dragon chat suddenly showed:

“Typing…”

Wu Qie paused.

His finger slowed.

[Shu: My brother went to verify the situation.]

A message with no context appeared.

Wu Qie thought about it.

But still didn’t know what to say.

So he didn’t reply.

Aphrodite’s Eye.

Even though most people never managed to pull an SSR card—

It still existed in the gacha pool.