The Scent of Iris and a Sudden Trap

Shi Ji’s finger jerked, his rounded nail accidentally grazing Li Chen’s wound. The sharp sting jolted the boy’s brain, and Li Chen couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.

The lifted hem of the shirt revealed a slender waist. Shi Ji stared at the youth’s thin back; the spine beneath the pale skin was particularly prominent. Water droplets falling from the tips of his hair slid down the smooth skin, landing precisely in the deep indentations of his lower back.

Li Chen’s skin seemed even fairer than Shi Ji’s. As Shi Ji’s gaze swept up and down, he couldn’t help but marvel internally. The protagonist of a novel is truly something else; even his back is this beautiful. No wonder those MLs (Male Leads) are so hopelessly devoted to him.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

The youth’s voice pulled Shi Ji back to reality. The air conditioning in the room snuck under the loose clothing, making Li Chen shiver. He instinctively reached down to pull his shirt back over his skin.

But at that moment, Shi Ji suddenly grabbed his waist. The man’s warm palms felt as if they were baking the cool skin. With a bit of force, Shi Ji gripped Li Chen’s waist and pressed him down onto his lap.

Li Chen, who had just left Shi Ji speechless with his earlier “Brother” comment and was still basking in a secret joy, was stunned. He struggled violently like a rabbit that had just touched an electric fence.

“Don’t move,” Shi Ji said bluntly. Li Chen couldn’t see his expression, but he didn’t need to; the man was undoubtedly wearing that same frost-like mask.

Li Chen’s eyes widened, his lashes fluttering rapidly. His heart hammered so hard it felt like it might leap out of his chest. He subconsciously gripped Shi Ji’s trousers, his breathing ragged. “What are you doing!”

Shi Ji remained silent. He pinned Li Chen’s shoulder to keep him still, then pulled a small jar of ointment from a nearby drawer. Twisting the cap off, he scooped out a bit of transparent gel with a slender fingertip. He pressed his finger against the injured area, using his body heat to melt the solid gel.

The moment Shi Ji’s finger touched him again, Li Chen felt his neck go numb. The area where his glands were hidden throbbed, and the suppression patch covering them instantly lost its effect. The small room was suddenly flooded with the cloying, sweet scent of Iris.

His mind went blank. Every sensitive nerve in his body seemed to migrate to his back. Li Chen could clearly feel every one of Shi Ji’s movements—the kneading, the circular rubbing. The cool ointment turned into a slick liquid under Shi Ji’s hand, and the itch as it slid across his spine seemed to deliberately bypass the very tip of Li Chen’s heart.

His sluggish thoughts couldn’t focus. Li Chen had never dreamed that Shi Ji would actually apply medicine to him.

The man behind him was very close. His breath fanned over the area covered in ointment. Li Chen’s fingers crumpled Shi Ji’s trousers into a mess of wrinkles, his knuckles turning white.

His ears burned red as he took a light breath. The Iris pheromones in the air were incredibly dense, as if every object in the room had been stained with his scent.

Even Shi Ji.

But the man, being a Beta, was completely unaware. He couldn’t smell the Iris, nor did he realize he was being “marked” as property by the Omega’s pheromones.

He simply lowered his long lashes, carefully and diligently applying the medicine as if completing a vital mission. His movements were gentle yet swift.

Once all the ointment was absorbed by the skin, Shi Ji finally retracted his hand and looked at the silent Li Chen.

He wiped the residual liquid from his finger, leaving a faint pink tint on his pale skin. Shi Ji gave Li Chen’s shoulder a light shove and commanded sternly: “Get off.”

In an instant, Li Chen leapt from his lap. The shirt fell back into place, perfectly hiding his slender waist. Shi Ji watched as Li Chen spun around, his chest heaving. His small face was so red he looked feverish, and his misty-blue pupils were constricted in shock.

“You… you…” His lips moved, but he couldn’t form a complete sentence. Seeing his face get even redder, Shi Ji worried the boy might actually cook himself from the inside out.

Shi Ji frowned, not quite understanding the sudden change. The little Omega was trembling slightly, his beautiful eyes fixed unblinkingly on Shi Ji.

“What?” Shi Ji snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. He asked with a half-smile, “Are you really this shy just because I helped you with some medicine?”

Li Chen bit his lower lip hard, his teeth nearly sinking into the soft flesh. He could still feel the warmth and numbness where Shi Ji had touched him.

The pheromones in the air thickened. Just then, Shi Ji stood up and leaned in close to Li Chen, bringing that heavy Iris scent with him.

He lazily lifted his eyelids, meeting Li Chen’s turbulent eyes. He reached out a hand to tilt Li Chen’s chin up, treating him like a small pet, and laughed: “Don’t tell me you’ve never had anyone do this for you before?”

Li Chen’s lashes trembled. His hands clenched at his sides. The more he thought about it, the more indignant he felt. His Adam’s apple bobbed before he raised his voice: “I’ve even kissed someone before! Why would I be shy about medicine?!”

This claim made Shi Ji raise an eyebrow. He looked the boy up and down with skepticism. “With whom?”

Li Chen suddenly went quiet.

The man in front of him looked entirely unconvinced, seemingly having forgotten the events of that one night. Li Chen knit his brows, his thin lips moving.

“With you.”

Then his volume rose again, practically interrogating Shi Ji.

“Have you forgotten?!”

The youth’s voice echoed through the room. Shi Ji blinked, his long lashes brushing against his lenses.

Li Chen’s face was flushed—whether from shame, anger, or both. He tilted his chin up, his gaze pinned to Shi Ji.

Shi Ji thought back. It took a long while before he realized Li Chen was talking about the night of his first “loss of control.”

He doesn’t remember trying to kill me with a knife? He doesn’t remember acting like a maniac and invading my body with his pheromones? All he remembers is our lips touching?!

Thinking of that scene made Shi Ji’s whole body ache in phantom pain. This little brat thinks him biting me counts as a kiss?!!

Shi Ji’s eyes widened in disbelief. He took a step back and replied under Li Chen’s questioning gaze: “If that counts as kissing—”

“Then your kissing skills are absolute trash.”

This blunt description made Li Chen’s brain short-circuit. He stood there, mouth agape, processing Shi Ji’s words. After a long moment, Li Chen snapped his head up and glared fiercely at Shi Ji.

He ground his teeth and took a few steps forward, stopping right in front of Shi Ji. He had indeed grown taller recently; Shi Ji actually had to tilt his head up to look at him.

“Fine.” Li Chen lowered his lashes, staring at the protrusion of Shi Ji’s collarbone. “My kissing skills are trash.”

“So, Brother, you should teach me.”

“Teach me how to kiss properly.”

In the days that followed, Shi Ji and Li Chen entered a strange cold war.

Actually, it was more like Shi Ji was avoiding Li Chen.

The kid had no filter. Based on his personality, he seemed like the type who would actually follow through on his threats. After all, when Li Chen said “Brother should teach me,” he had actually leaned in, attempting to press his lips against Shi Ji’s.

If he hadn’t been wearing that muzzle, Shi Ji was certain he would have been bitten again!

The original novel described the protagonist as gentle as water and cute. Even if he was cruel during his revenge arc, there’s no way he was supposed to be like this!

Damn it.

When is this derailed plot going to give me back my soft, kind protagonist?

Shi Ji squeezed his coffee cup. The brown liquid sloshed and spilled over the rim, wetting his fingers and soaking into the textbook nearby.

He snapped out of it, moved the cup, and grabbed tissues to wipe the desk. Unfortunately, the coffee had already stained the clean cover. No matter how much he wiped, it wouldn’t come out.

Shi Ji sighed, lamenting his bad luck. He opened the book and placed it by the window in the direct sunlight to dry.

The book belonged to Li Chen. If the boy found out his book was ruined, who knew what kind of fit he’d throw.

As he held the thin pages, the hot sun cast mottled shadows on the other side. Shi Ji propped his chin on his hand and stared blankly at the cloudless sky.

A gust of hot wind blew through, fluttering the pages of the book with a rustle. Several pages covered in notes flipped over, and a small slip of paper tucked inside blew out, landing at Shi Ji’s feet.

Shi Ji stared at it for a few seconds before bending down to pick it up.

On the white paper was a single sentence: “Please come to the roof of the teaching building this afternoon. I have something to tell you.”

The signature: Jiang Mo.

Those few lines made Shi Ji’s heart race.

He had thought the relationship between the two leads was stagnant, or that they were about to become sworn brothers under a tree. He hadn’t expected Jiang Mo, the “Attacker” protagonist, to be so proactive! He actually had feelings to develop!

Shi Ji read the note several times, then headed out the door with a grin he couldn’t hide.

On the way, everything looked beautiful. Even when the fat principal greeted him, Shi Ji actually responded.

He had timed it perfectly with the end of classes. He dashed to the roof. By now, Jiang Mo and Li Chen should already be there.

He pushed the door to the roof—as expected, it wasn’t locked. But the wind was so strong it nearly blinded him.

He stepped onto the roof, shielding his eyes as he looked around for the two leads. But after searching for a while, he didn’t see a single person.

Is it a prank?

His gaze landed on a slightly ajar, dilapidated door. It was a discarded storage room. The chances of Li Chen being in there were slim.

However, the door looked like it had been opened recently. With a sliver of hope, he crept over and pushed it open.

The storage room was small. Junk was piled everywhere, cobwebs hung from the rafters, and a thick layer of dust coated the floor. One breath made Shi Ji cough.

There was no one else inside. The “prank” theory was looking more likely.

Unable to stand the dust, Shi Ji ran back to the roof exit. But just as he reached the door to the stairs—

He realized the only exit had been locked from the outside.