Gu Sheng knew his mindset was wrong, but he simply couldn’t control himself.

The result of being unable to control his desires was that Gu Sheng grew even colder toward Zhou Shiyi, and his coldness spilled over to the boy seated behind him, He Yanqing.

He Yanqing felt Gu Sheng was being inexplicably strange—so you won’t talk to Zhou Shiyi, and you won’t let anyone else talk to Zhou Shiyi either?

Zhou Shiyi seemed to be completely detached from the whole situation.

He attended school on time, went to the biology teacher after class to get competition papers, stayed in the competition classroom for evening lessons, and simply had no time to care about the people around him.

Gu Sheng was pleased to see Zhou Shiyi following the plan he had set out; he was glad Zhou hadn’t been distracted by other things. At the same time, he felt a bit disappointed.

Zhou Shiyi took the past years’ competition problems and worked through them on his own.

Occasionally he would explain a problem to He Yanqing; after each explanation, He felt it was a pity that Zhou hadn’t entered the math competition.

He could understand— as the head of the math group, he truly regretted that Zhou Shiyi had gone to the biology competition.

What a talent—what a pity if he doesn’t enter the math contest.

At the same time, Li, the biology teacher, had been positively glowing lately; he even kept wandering into the math team’s contest classroom, which made people pretty resentful.

But their focus was on next semester, and Zhou Shiyi’s classes were still ongoing.

Two days before the college entrance exam, Mingde High School was set up as an exam site. The second- and first-year students had already been dismissed, and they were now arranging the exam rooms.

Zhou Shiyi moved the books into the boarding students’ dormitory, then returned to the classroom to help set up the exam room.

He was tall, so he took on the task of cleaning the high places.

Zhou Shiyi stepped on a desk through the rows and tore down the slogans from above the blackboard.

He kept his head tilted back for a long time, feeling some discomfort in his shoulders and neck; he lowered his hands and took a short break.

He turned his head and saw Gu Sheng also standing on the table, clearing tape on the other side.

Gu Sheng had grown taller recently; his frame had filled out.

With the onset of the sensitivity period that marks an alpha’s maturation, besides the annual sensitivity cycles, an alpha’s body also becomes more mature, approaching that of an adult.

Gu Sheng tilted his head back, diligently cleaning, revealing the back of his neck where a pheromone-blocking patch was stuck.

Zhou Shiyi glanced at the back of his neck a few times, then withdrew his gaze.

After all, this world is still different from the one he came from; he’ll have to get used to it.

Gu Sheng wasn’t oblivious either—he could feel Zhou Shiyi looking at him, but he didn’t dare turn back, didn’t dare look over like he would with other classmates.

He was afraid that if he did turn his head, he wouldn’t be able to hold back anymore.

He stared at Zhou Shiyi’s WeChat avatar every day and scrolled through their chat history before he could fall asleep.

Zhou Shiyi’s avatar had been mocked by him as looking like a bot account, so Gu Sheng had randomly picked the avatar for him.

It was a picture of autumn maple leaves, an old image from the internet, but Zhou Shiyi hadn’t cared and kept that avatar while chatting with others.

Gu Sheng had originally wanted to see how Zhou Shiyi would react, but whenever he thought about Zhou Shiyi, he figured that even if he really changed it to one of those elderly people’s favorite avatars—“peaceful days” or “safety is a blessing”—Zhou wouldn’t bat an eye, and the idea felt unbearably dull.

He looked at that picture as if he were seeing the person behind it.

They had only been friends on social media for two short months; most of the time they just arranged to do homework together.

They talked the most during the time he was injured.

Most of it was Zhou Shiyi asking him what he wanted to eat and making it for him.

Zhou Shiyi seemed to be good at everything; even when he didn’t know something, he picked it up faster than others.

Because of that, Gu Sheng enjoyed Zhou Shiyi’s meticulous care. But all of it was stolen from him, and sooner or later he’d have to give it back.

He had already sent the driver who caused the accident, Cao Yong, to the police station. The police reopened the investigation into Cao Yong’s earlier crimes and ultimately uncovered the truth.

As a victim’s relative, Zhou Shiyi went to the police station, learned the truth, and was told that Cao Yong still had to go through legal procedures, which would take a long time.

Zhou Shiyi left the police station and decided to keep it from Granny Zhou. Granny Zhou had already accepted that her son and daughter-in-law had died in a car accident; telling her the truth would be like stabbing her, no less painful than reliving the grief of losing a child.

As for Gu Sheng, Zhou Shiyi probably couldn’t know—everything that happened that day in that abandoned shack had been an act by Gu Sheng from start to finish.

Having played such a role in this case, Gu Sheng didn’t even dare show his face at the station; he feared Zhou Shiyi would learn the truth and expose all the unbearable things in his heart to him.

When they were students, what they looked forward to most was the holidays. Although that meant more homework waiting for them, the moment the break began they still felt the long-missed joy of having control over their own time.

They walked through the campus in the glow of the setting sun.

Gu Sheng walked ahead, listening to Qin Shu talk about where she wanted to go and what new games had come out recently.

His thoughts drifted away, one ear left attentive to the sounds behind him.

Zhou Shiyi and He Yanqing walked behind; for the most part He Yanqing did the talking, and Zhou Shiyi only chimed in now and then.

Zhou Shiyi was the kind of person who, to put it nicely, didn’t like to communicate with others—actually, he was indifferent. He didn’t seem to have things he particularly liked or hated; most of the time his responses were just “okay,” “hmm,” or “not bad.”

He Yanqing could get so close to him entirely because He Yanqing didn’t care what attitude Zhou Shiyi had. He knew Zhou Shiyi was that kind of person—most of the time it was Zhou Shiyi accommodating him.

Zhou Shiyi may seem so aloof, but he’s actually very easy to get along with.

The other students also noticed the two walking at the back. Two girls huddled together, whispering excitedly, “Look, those two are such a good match.”

Gu Sheng listened absentmindedly until he heard someone else respond.

“Yeah, totally—both betas and so good-looking, they really suit each other.”

Gu Sheng suddenly stopped walking; there were only two betas in their class in total.

Zhou Shiyi suddenly noticed that the students ahead had all stopped and were looking at them, some with eager anticipation in their eyes.

He Yanqing was as puzzled as he was; they looked forward, but Gu Sheng had already turned his head and shouted ahead, “What are you stopping for? Go home and eat.”

The students of Grade 2 Class 1 burst out laughing. Qin Shu took a quick step to catch up, reaching out to put a hand on Gu Sheng’s shoulder. Gu Sheng dodged, and the two of them tangled for a bit in front, drawing everyone’s attention.

“What time will you get to school on Monday?”

“Still the same.”

After the college entrance exam, they’ll officially return to classes; then they’ll have to prepare for final exams. They signed up for the competition, and after the finals they’ll stay behind to train for the preliminaries, which is why He Yanqing asked that question.

After hearing the answer, He Yanqing patted Zhou Shiyi on the shoulder. “A genius is a genius—smarter than everyone else and works harder too.”

Zhou Shiyi shook his head. “I’m not a genius.” I’m just two years further along in my studies than you are. He didn’t say the last sentence out loud.

He Yanqing suddenly felt a little bitter with envy; Zhou Shiyi really was modest—he seemed unaware of how impressive he was. Only after competing on the same track did one realize the pressure Zhou Shiyi put on others.

When they reached the school gate, a couple of buses were stopping at the station. After saying their goodbyes, Zhou Shiyi and He Yanqing boarded a bus.

He Yanqing shouldered his backpack and searched the traffic for the He family’s car, when he suddenly saw Gu Sheng standing under a tree, as if waiting for someone.

It didn’t take long for He Yanqing to realize that Gu Sheng really was waiting for someone.

He had assumed Gu Sheng had already left; he hadn’t expected him to still be out there.

The scene felt oddly familiar to He Yanqing; when Gu Sheng saw him approaching slowly, he walked over.

As Gu Sheng got closer and closer, He Yanqing almost wanted to back away.

Gu Sheng showed no expression, but the pressure around him was intense. He stopped in front of He Yanqing and said, with a touch of mockery, “Beta?”

Something Gu Sheng said afterward—He Yanqing’s face went pale in an instant.

Finally, hearing Gu Sheng’s command-like, “Stay away from him.”

He Yanqing felt a weight lift off his chest; even after getting into the car, he was still a little shaken.

How had Gu Sheng found out his secret? And every time he came to see him it was because of Zhou Shiyi—this time he even issued a direct warning.

“Young master?”

The driver’s voice interrupted He Yanqing’s thoughts. He wiped the cold sweat that had broken out on his forehead; he had been thoroughly frightened by Gu Sheng.

“Uncle Wang, I’m fine, it’s just too hot. You can drive.”

Uncle Wang confirmed He Yanqing was okay, eased off the clutch, and the car quickly merged back into traffic.

He Yanqing watched the shops on the street recede and thought about whether he should tell Zhou Shiyi.

He didn’t know why Gu Sheng had fixated on Zhou Shiyi, but from how Gu Sheng usually never spoke to him, it didn’t seem like Zhou Shiyi had offended him.

But when he remembered the warning look Gu Sheng had given him today, He Yanqing could only put his phone down; it spun a few times in his hand before he finally sent a message.

“What happened between you and Gu Sheng?”

Zhou Shiyi should still have been on the bus; He Yanqing didn’t get a message from him until Zhou finally got home.

“?”

“Nothing much. Why?”

He Yanqing looked at Zhou Shiyi’s slow realization and wanted to ask why Gu Sheng kept asking him about Zhou.

To be safe, He Yanqing still didn’t say anything.

“You two weren’t talking, so I thought you’d had a fight.”

“We didn’t fight.”

Zhou Shiyi looked at the message He Yanqing had sent with some confusion; he really didn’t know what was wrong with Gu Sheng.

It’s normal for the protagonist and a background character to have little interaction in high school.

But Gu Sheng and He Yanqing also hadn’t really spoken much; maybe they communicated privately, only they hadn’t realized it.

Otherwise, when the two of them later married, they wouldn’t have stunned all their high school classmates. Everyone exclaimed, surprised that they’d dated back in high school.

“Gu Sheng asked me about your competition today.”

Zhou Shiyi’s brow eased a little. “He signed up for the biology competition too — maybe he forgot to ask the time.”

“Emmmm, maybe.” He Yanqing put his phone away, thinking to himself, I can only get you this far.

Zhou Shiyi returned home and, for the first time in a while, got to rest for a few days.

With the college entrance exam over, he returned to campus.

The senior-year teaching building was very quiet after the exam; only the scraps of paper in the flowerbeds that had not been discovered still hinted that the gaokao had really happened and it wasn’t just their imagination.

After two days back, they also had to start preparing for the final exams.

With the gaokao finished, their graduating class felt the pressure that the exam had brought them.

Every class, the instructors would remind them: you’re already in the final year of high school now. Take this term’s final exam seriously, don’t relax after you go home, and when you come back next semester, you’ll be in your senior year.

After two days of exams, Zhou Shiyi finished checking his personal information and handed in his paper early.

The students in the first exam hall, seeing Zhou Shiyi had already turned his paper in, let out an astonished thought in their heads, then plunged back into the sea of questions.

Zhou Shiyi went to the biology team office and picked up a schedule.

Time was especially tight — class started tomorrow.

It meant that the other examinees were already on holiday, but they still had to attend class tomorrow.

Zhou Shiyi was in the office, and on Teacher Li’s desk he saw Gu Sheng’s registration form.