Limited First Love Chapter 19
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 19 Glands
When they met outside the dormitory entrance, Ruan Yiyun looked quite well.
With limited time together, the two quickly finished breakfast on a bench by the roadside. Ruan Yiyun soon had to go to class.
Guo Wei didn't have a class for the first period, so he accompanied Ruan Yiyun to the academic building without rushing.
"What time did you sleep yesterday? Why did you reply to my message at three?" Guo Wei asked him.
"I woke up in the middle of the night and replied to the message quickly before falling asleep again," Ruan Yiyun said.
Guo Wei relaxed slightly.
"I thought you didn't sleep well and overslept in the morning—" he said halfway, suddenly raising his voice, "Watch out!"
As he exclaimed, he quickly reached out and grabbed Ruan Yiyun, who was about to collide with a lamppost beside him.
Decorative lamps lined the roadside, spaced every five or six meters, close to the green belt, about waist-high, and decorated with embossed patterns on the top. Given their height, accidentally colliding with them would likely have been a painful experience.
Ruan Yiyun stood still for a moment before coming to his senses.
"...This is dangerously low, completely out of sight," he remarked to Guo Wei as they maneuvered around.
Guo Wei pondered for a moment before switching positions with him.
"This is the what Chen Zui crashed into," Ruan Yiyun said again. "I guess he didn't see it clearly."
Finishing his statement, he lowered his head, slightly parting his lips as if suppressing a yawn forcefully, his eyes quickly becoming moist again.
"You obviously didn't sleep well!" Guo Wei asserted.
"Seeing your message touched me a bit, it took me a while to calm down," Ruan Yiyun said, "I was too happy to fall asleep."
Guo Wei thought to himself that Ruan Yiyun had just claimed to fall asleep quickly after replying.
Undoubtedly, he was deliberately concealing his true feelings to avoid worrying Guo Wei. With this realization, his current words seemed somewhat less convincing.
"I'm really fine." Ruan Yiyun turned to him with a smile. "I'll perk up during class later."
Guo Wei looked at his teary yet smiling eyes, and took the initiative to hold him, planting a kiss on his cheek, earnestly advising, "Make sure to rest early tonight."
"Hmm," Ruan Yiyun nodded in agreement.
Love, besides happiness and sweetness, could also bring worries.
Only feeling tired from lack of sleep wasn't a big deal. Guo Wei often stayed up late for various reasons, relying on his youth and never taking it seriously, always able to quickly regain his energy. But when it happened to Ruan Yiyun, although he realized he was overly worried, he still couldn't control his concern and unease.
Ruan Yiyun said he would catch up on sleep during class. Guo Wei didn't dare to send messages, afraid of disturbing him. He could only let his imagination go wild, even started searching for calming and sleep-inducing aromatherapy suitable for Omegas on shopping websites.
Wang Tong skipped class to go to another campus to meet his girlfriend, leaving Guo Wei to attend the only morning class alone.
After class, as he was about to leave the academic building, he spotted a very conspicuous and somewhat familiar figure from afar.
Chen Zui was standing in the corridor, half-turned towards the classroom with a smile on his face, conversing with someone inside. As Guo Wei approached, he quickly caught snippets of their conversation.
"I promise, I won't. I may not listen to other teachers, but I'll definitely take your words to heart. Really! Am I not obedient? When I'm at home for a month, the one I miss the most is you. Don't you miss me even a little bit?"
Curious, Guo Wei walked closer and glanced inside. To his surprise, he also recognized the person Chen Zui was talking to — a famously strict professor.
The professor had a stern expression, but his eyes couldn't hide the amusement as he pretended to scold, "Smooth talker, don't try to pull that on me!"
"See, as soon as I'm here, Professor Wang is in much better spirits," Chen Zui remarked, "Looks like even when I don't have class, I should come visit you more often for a chat."
"I'd be content if you caused a little less chaos!" the old professor said. "How many times have I told you..."
Guo Wei had been watching the two of them all along, naturally drawing their attention. The professor didn't know him, so after a brief eye contact, Guo Wei greeted them, and they nodded in return as if acknowledging the greeting.
"This is my friend, here to see me about something urgent," Chen Zui interjected. He gestured towards Guo Wei. "Professor Wang, I'll take my leave now. I'll come to have tea with you next time!"
The old professor waved dismissively, "Off you go, then!"
Chen Zui dragged Guo Wei along as they hurried out, only stopping when they were out of the professor's sight. Guo Wei then said bewilderedly, "Um... I wasn't actually here to see you, I was just passing by..."
"I know," Chen Zui replied, "I was afraid he'd get enthusiastic and start lecturing me, so I made up an excuse to escape."
Guo Wei laughed. "Well, I guess I arrived just in time."
As they walked out of the academic building together, Chen Zui asked, "Are you going to have lunch now?"
"Yeah," Guo Wei nodded, "What about you? Care to join me?"
"Would it be appropriate?" Chen Zui teased, "If I tagged along so blatantly, Little Sister Ruan might hold it against me. I can't stand his nagging."
"He's going for off-campus practical work this afternoon, won't be joining me for lunch," Guo Wei explained, "And... he's not as exaggerated as you make him out to be."
Ruan Yiyun had a terrifyingly good temper. Guo Wei knew he wasn't particularly quick-witted and would occasionally say the wrong thing, yet Ruan Yiyun never minded, always comforting him with gentleness and patience.
Ruan Yiyun's mouth was dangerously sweet.
Chen Zui was surprised. "He's going for off-campus practical work?"
"Yeah," Guo Wei nodded, "What's wrong? Do you need to find him?"
"...No." Chen Zui shook his head. "But I have something to do later, so I won't be going to the cafeteria."
Guo Wei nodded. "Oh."
Chen Zui smirked at him. "What's wrong, feeling lonely eating alone? I can accompany you if you want."
"No need, no need." Guo Wei quickly waved his hand. "You're busy with your own stuff! I'll go by myself, bye!"
"What's the rush, we're going the same way," Chen Zui nodded forward with his chin and added, "Let's chat for a while."
Guo Wei felt unusually nervous. "Sure."
Most of his friends were Betas, and he didn't have many familiar Alphas around. Walking alongside someone like Chen Zui, who was tall and exuded a strong aura even among Alphas, made him instinctively tense up.
"Little Sister Ruan is very gentle in front of you, isn't he?" Chen Zui asked him.
"...Yeah, of course." Guo Wei nodded. "He has a good temper and is considerate, the gentlest person I've ever met."
Chen Zui sneered knowingly, nodding thoughtfully.
Guo Wei felt a bit odd. "What's wrong?"
"After I mentioned it last time, have you ever called him that?" Chen Zui asked, "Little Sister Ruan."
Guo Wei shook his head, feeling embarrassed. "He's older than me."
"You're being narrow-minded," Chen Zui remarked, "Little Sister has nothing to do with age, it's a temperament. It can be used as an adjective, most suitable for describing someone as gentle and virtuous as him."
Guo Wei found himself quite moved by the remark.
"Try it next time," Chen Zui encouraged him, "Don't you want to see him blush?"
"Ahem." Guo Wei cleared his throat.
He secretly imagined it, already looking forward to it, his face slightly flushing. To alleviate his emotions, he deliberately changed the subject.
"Why did you specifically asked if he's gentle 'in front of me'?" he asked, "Isn't he like that in front of you?"
Chen Zui shrugged with a smile. "Yes, of course. Next time, let me treat you both to a meal, so he can really demonstrate how gentle he is in front of me."
He always seemed to have other meanings in his words.
When they reached a fork in the road, Chen Zui pointed in the opposite direction of the cafeteria. "I'm going that way."
Just as Guo Wei was about to bid farewell, he suddenly remembered something.
"By the way," he called out to Chen Zui, who was about to turn away, "there's something I want to ask, it's a bit impolite... but I still want to confirm it with you in person."
Chen Zui raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"
"I don't know if you've heard the recent strange rumors," Guo Wei said, feeling very embarrassed, "like..."
Chen Zui interrupted him, "How could that be possible!"
Guo Wei blinked a couple of times.
Chen Zui looked quite resigned. "What, you want to see for yourself?"
"Huh?" Guo Wei realized there was a misunderstanding. "I mean, some people are saying you might actually be an Omega or something..."
Chen Zui visibly froze.
"...You don't seem like it." Guo Wei suddenly felt ashamed, waving his hand vigorously. "Forget it, forget I said anything!"
Chen Zui let out a sigh of relief and chuckled. "You can't determine someone's second gender just by appearance."
Guo Wei was stunned. "Are you really an Omega?"
Chen Zui shook his head. "I mean, there are more direct ways to tell."
After saying that, he leaned in closer to Guo Wei. Startled, Guo Wei instinctively leaned back, but Chen Zui quickly grabbed him.
Chen Zui turned his head to the side in front of Guo Wei and reached back to grab the short hair at the nape of his own neck, completely revealing his nape.
It was common knowledge that Omegas have special glands on their necks that emit pheromones.
However, neither pheromones nor glands could be seen with the naked eye. Only Alphas and Omegas could rely on their instinctual intuition to make judgments.
Guo Wei stood foolishly for a moment, attempting to sniff like a puppy.
"Can't you sense anything?" Chen Zui asked.
"I'm a Beta," Guo Wei explained, "I don't have the ability to sense these things."
Chen Zui stood up straight again and nodded.
"No wonder," he said, "That's quite convenient then."
Guo Wei was puzzled. "Convenient?"
Chen Zui smiled and only answered his previous question, "Of course, I'm an Alpha."
For some reason, Guo Wei felt relieved.
"There's another rumor, have you heard of it?" Chen Zui said, "Some people say Little Sister Ruan is also an Alpha."
His expression was slightly more serious than before, and Guo Wei felt a sense of unease creeping in.
"...That's unlikely, isn't it?" he asked.
Chen Zui leaned in again and said, "Next time, give him a kiss on the neck and see if he smells sweet."