What is this?
Is it what he thinks it is?
Even though the sound quality was poor and the editing chaotic, Xie Wang was certain he had heard... something dirty.
He felt dirty.
The name of the audio file on the screen was "Principles and Thoughts on Scriptwriting."
What kind of script is this, playing so wild?
Two new messages popped up on the screen—
[Lan]: Oops, I sent the wrong one, don't listen to it!
[Lan]: Listen to this one.
[Lan]: [Audio file·Open lecture on Basic Qualities of Music Creation]
[Lan]: Study it well.
Just as I expected, it was a mistake.
For some reason, Xie Wang let out a sigh of relief.
Wei Lan, that bookworm with nothing but studies on his mind, how can he be so careless.
Lin Jianlu probably... didn't hear much, right?
Besides, Lin Jianlu is cold and pure, and won't be interested in this kind of stuff.
After all, when Lin Jianlu was with him, aside from being marked or overwhelmed, he was always calm and rational.
It seems that he was the only one who lost control.
"Teacher Xie." There was a knock on the slightly ajar door. "A contestant is looking for you."
Xie Wang looked up to see Lin Jianlu, who had changed back into his black outfit, standing by the door.
He took the phone from Xie Wang's hand, lowered his head to glance at the messages on the screen, and then turned off the screen.
"Thank you for your help," Lin Jianlu said. "I've worn the clothes, so it's not good to reuse them. I'll contact the company to transfer the money to you."
Xie Wang started to respond, "No…"
But the door closed in front of him, and Lin Jianlu had already left.
"I just heard the contestants discussing whether his pheromones might be like frost or ice crystals?" the assistant said with a mocking smile.
"They're not," Xie Wang replied.
They're strawberries, absolutely nothing to do with cold or ice.
When you take a bite, the juice bursts out, and it's so sweet that it makes you greedy for more.
The assistant didn't know why he was so sure and stared wide-eyed, but he didn't ask further questions.
***
Lin Jianlu had just left the venue when he received a call from Wei Lan.
"You didn't listen to that one just now, did you?" Wei Lan asked. "The chorus effect was awful."
"No, I only played the beginning," Lin Jianlu replied.
Then the photographer called him to change clothes, so he didn't have time to listen further.
"That's good. I'll never allow such low-quality work to reach your ears. Try the new one; it's absolutely a treat for voice cons," Wei Lan said.
Lin Jianlu hung up the phone but didn't listen to it right away.
Recently, he had come across a voice that was quite nice and had great potential.
He hadn't found a substitute yet.
"How was the audition?" Wei Lan asked.
"I passed. I already signed the contract," Lin Jianlu replied.
There were a few of his die-hard fans in front of the main entrance of the recording venue, so he left through the back door.
But at that moment, a car with a familiar license plate was parked by the back door.
The window lowered, revealing Lin Ming's face.
"Get in the car," Lin Ming said.
"I have classes in the afternoon," Lin Jianlu said, standing still. "I'll be heading back to school soon."
Lin Jianlu added, "If you have something to say, you can say it here."
"You know what I want to talk about," Lin Ming said. "I arranged so many blind dates for you, and what did you do? You turned them all down, insisting on coming here to participate in some competition."
Xie Wang's car drove out of the underground garage, and he saw Lin Jianlu from a distance.
"Drive slower," he told his assistant.
He wanted to eavesdrop.
With the car window down, Xie Wang, wearing oversized black sunglasses, leaned back in his seat and listened to the entire conversation.
Lin Ming: "Quit the competition and go through with the arranged marriage."
"I can't quit, I've already signed the contract," Lin Jianlu replied. "If I withdraw voluntarily, I'll have to pay 3 million in penalties."
Lin Jianlu added, "Others bring dowries to an arranged marriage; I'd be bringing a bill. It's bad luck."
Xie Wang: "Pfft."
That aloofness of Lin Jianlu—it was infuriating when directed at him.
But it was oddly satisfying when directed at someone else.
Lin Jianlu heard the sound and turned his head, casting a cold, indifferent glance at Xie Wang.
Xie Wang understood that look—it was basically calling him "dumbf*ck."
Usually, Lin Jianlu would leave with a cold expression in the next second.
Xie Wang refused to leave.
He recognized the person in the car; it was Lin Jianlu's father.
When Lin Ming learned that Xie Wang accidentally marked Lin Jianlu, his attitude was quite good, even bringing gifts when he dropped in to discuss marriage.
After they got married, Lin Ming had mostly stayed out of their lives, except for occasionally suggesting a few business collaborations.
Lin Jianlu seemed to… not miss home either.
In fact, Lin Jianlu was somewhat of a homebody. When he wasn't working, he spent all his time at home writing songs.
The conversation outside was still going on.
Lin Ming: "Can't you be a bit more understanding? If you had married Director Su earlier, your ge's recent deal would have been secured by now. It's so difficult to get you to do something for me."
Lin Jianlu: "Oh."
Lin Jianlu: "In that case, ge can also be a bit more understanding. If he likes Director Su so much, he can get married in an arranged marriage himself."
Lin Jianlu: "AA relationships are quite common nowadays."
Xie Wang: "..."
Brilliant.
Lin Ming was infuriated by these succinctly expressed unyielding remarks.
The alpha was like a firecracker ready to explode, emitting pheromones in a burst of sparks.
Xie Wang's amusement faded.
What the hell?
The threat of pheromone suppression made omegas extremely uncomfortable, especially—
omegas about to enter their estrus period.
"Lin Jianlu," Xie Wang called out, "get in the car. I want to hear the full version of the song you just sang.”
The next moment, Lin Jianlu opened the car door and sat down beside him.
The wheels kicked up a cloud of dust as they sped away.
"Thank you," Lin Jianlu said.
This was the second time today that Xie Wang had helped him.
Regardless of his motives and intentions, Xie Wang's assistance was indeed timely.
"It's nothing," Xie Wang said. "Are you heading back to the company or to X University?"
"To X University," Lin Jianlu replied. "Thank you, senior."
It was the first time Xie Wang heard Lin Jianlu call him "senior," and it warmed his heart.
That's right.
At this point, Lin Jianlu was only a sophomore. Why should he be upset with his sophomore junior?
Lin Jianlu was sitting away from Xie Wang. The young man's profile was turned toward the window, and his left hand was hooked on the suppressor collar around his neck, playing with the silver chain.
He had been around too many alphas today.
Adding to that, Lin Ming just threatened him with pheromones without any care, which had weakened his physical condition.
The car was cramped, with both the driver and the person sitting beside him being alphas.
"Do you mind if I inject myself with a pheromone inhibitor?" he asked.
Xie Wang turned his head to look at him, raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.
"Drop me off at the next intersection," Lin Jianlu said.
Xie Wang reached out and pressed a button, causing a partition to rise up and separate the driver's area from the rest of the car.
"Go ahead," Xie Wang said.
The black-haired young man nodded and took a pheromone suppressant injection from his backpack.
"Do you need any help?" Xie Wang asked.
"No, thanks." Lin Jianlu raised his hand and pressed the needle against his neck, close to the gland, and clicked the injection button.
Five tiny beads of blood oozed out of his pale neck, like blooming rose petals.
Lin Jianlu pressed a tissue against his neck to clean up the area.
His movements were not very careful, rubbing a reddish mark on his neck before he put the collar back on.
So far, the omega's handling of his estrus period was swift, precise, and ruthless; not a hint of strawberry-scented pheromones leaked out.
And throughout it all, Lin Jianlu remained calm.
A sliver of sunlight filtered into the car, casting a mesmerizing glow on the young man's beautiful features.
Xie Wang stared in awe.
The closer the inhibitor was injected to the gland, the faster it would work.
But omega glands were very sensitive and delicate; so few people would… stick it in directly like this.
Doesn't it hurt?
Lin Jianlu didn't want his help.
When he was Lin Jianlu's husband, Xie Wang never saw Lin Jianlu use inhibitors.
Because he didn't need it—Xie Wang wanted it very frequently.
Most of the time, Lin Jianlu would look at him languidly, his eyes as clear as ice, but wearing a shirt only in name with no buttons fastened, revealing the stunning red marks on his skin.
"Senior, do you want to listen to the song?" Lin Jianlu asked. "I'll find it for you."
The omega, who just finished dealing with his estrus period, unlocked his phone and began searching through the audio files. Xie Wang saw that most of his file names were in the form of "Open Lecture.Vocal Range Expansion" and "Open Lecture. Extracurricular Homework."
From his person to his mobile phone files, everything was full of a sense of abstinence.
"You have so many classes?" Xie Wang asked.
"Yeah."
Lin Jianlu pulled down the phone screen, tapped on a file named "Recently Written," and turned up the volume.
A clear, youthful voice began to play from the phone.
Lin Jianlu's lyrics were always very artsy, writing about the wind and the moon, carrying a clean and pure youthful spirit.
"We're at X University," the assistant driving the car reminded him.
"Thank you, I'll get going," Lin Jianlu said politely.
He turned and walked through the gates of X University, but then seemed to remember something and turned back to nod at Xie Wang.
Xie Wang sighed inwardly.
What was that saying again?
One day as husband and wife, a hundred days of affection.
He knew very little about Lin Jianlu's life before he met him.
He might not marry a cold omega again, but he hoped for Lin Jianlu's well-being.
So, he would look after him more, just like he would for a friend.
I don't like him, I just care.
Xie Wang thought to himself.
***
When Lin Jianlu returned to the dorm, Wei Lan was busy working on his script writing assignment. The mechanical keyboard clattered loudly, showing how frustrated the straight-A student was.
"Hey, you're back." Wei Lan said, glancing over his shoulder without stopping his typing. "An awesome A bar opened nearby, lots of abs to check out. Want to go?"
"I'll wait until my estrus is over," Lin Jianlu replied, sounding a bit listless.
After washing up, he lay down on his dorm bed and opened a search engine, typing in "Xie Wang."
At just 22 years old, Xie Wang already had a lot of work to his name.
The alpha in front of the camera exuded a wild and cool persona.
Lin Jianlu's fingertips lingered on an image.
A black motorcycle was parked by the roadside, with Xie Wang sitting sideways on it. His short hair clung to his scalp, and a corner of his army-green T-shirt was lifted, revealing his well-defined abs, glistening with sweat in the sunlight. His black leather boots pressed against the pavement.
It was the perfect Alpha physique.
He looked rebellious, arrogant, wild, and fierce, yet in their brief interactions, his temperament seemed surprisingly good.
In that short time, Xie Wang didn't seem to be the…scumbag he had imagined.
But he had an omega; this was an indisputable fact.
Forget it.
He must never do anything that could wreck someone else's family.
Just then, his phone vibrated. He received a message on his work WeChat account.
[Seeking Sound_Xie Wang]: Add me, you've been assigned to my group.
Work account, huh.
Makes sense. This man's personal number should only be used for his wife.
He didn't expect or want to add Xie Wang's personal number.
Lin Jianlu accepted the request.
[Seeking Sound_Xie Wang]: The show's production team will set up a group chat soon, and all the contestants will be added.
Personally notifying him?
Lin Jianlu replied——
[YoYo]: Hmm.
[Seeking Sound_Xie Wang]: Have you eaten?
[Seeking Sound_Xie Wang]: Injecting omega inhibitors the way you did has side effects, so be sure to drink plenty of water.
What's the idea? You have a wife, and still want to flirt.
[YoYo]: Senior, please stick to discussing topics related to the competition.
[YoYo]: Alpha should control his mouth and lower body.
That message should make things perfectly clear.
"Is Lin Jianlu here?" Just as the message was sent, the dormitory door was knocked and opened.
"Yes?" He poked his head out from under the covers.
It was someone from the student council.
"I just need to confirm something with you," they said. "Did Senior Xie Wang get distracted when he was filling out the form the other day? The teacher said he's unmarried, so why did he tick "Married"?"
The person continued, "I'm a year behind him, and he's always been single."
Lin Jianlu: "......?"
***
Xie Wang stepped out of the bathroom, putting on a bathrobe. He glanced down at the messages on WeChat.
Lin Jianlu had withdrawn two of his messages.
--------------------
Lin Jianlu and his roommate's folders: The more serious the names, the wilder the contents.
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