Bite which grapefruit? Bite where on the grapefruit? How to bite the grapefruit?
Does Lin Jianlu know that his pheromone smells like grapefruit?
Assigning meanings to yourself and having an overactive imagination is bad behavior.
An overconfident alpha is not likable.
Xie Wang reminded himself.
"Everyone, get ready," Xie Wang said. "We'll start the stage recording in two hours."
The music classroom became noisy, with everyone holding freshly printed lyric sheets, practicing their voices in a mishmash.
The cameraman was taking close-ups of everyone, to be used as editing material. Basically, when the camera got close, everyone would do their best to show off their variety show skills.
Except for Lin Jianlu, who stood by the windowsill and glanced at the camera indifferently, not caring at all.
Soon after, the stage performance officially began.
It was only then that Xie Wang realized the song chosen by Lin Jianlu had "grapefruit" in its title, but the lyrics had little to do with grapefruits, being rather abstract.
It was a folk song, an oldie from over a decade ago.
He was out of the loop in this instance.
The stage for the first competition had no vibe or setting. The young man stood in the center of the stage, his voice pure and clear.
"What a fresh voice," remarked the judging panel member, who was a professional mentor, sitting next to Xie Wang. "This song suits him. Lin Jianlu really knows how to pick songs. Students from X University are indeed very professional."
Xie Wang wholeheartedly agreed.
He knew Lin Jianlu's strength best. For him, let alone changing songs at the last minute, even improvising a few original lines on the spot was no big deal.
Luckily, he didn't overinterpret it just now.
Lin Jianlu's stage sense was already beginning to take shape at this time. Although the youngster's expression remained cold while singing, his gaze occasionally interacted with the audience.
For instance, Xie Wang could feel that Lin Jianlu's gaze would sweep over him now and then, before drifting back.
It felt like a small feather tickling his heart, and like a kitten's innocent paw waving in front of his eyes.
Mixed with the emotions of the lyrics, the young man's gaze seemed to be affectionate, as if confessing and also exploring.
When the song ended, both the mentors and the audience were applauding.
Just as Xie Wang was about to applaud enthusiastically, he turned his head and noticed a large teleprompter behind him.
Xie Wang: "..."
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head.
Oh, Lin Jianlu was looking at this.
Lin Jianlu stood in the spotlight, waiting for the votes.
He looked in Xie Wang's direction. The man held his chin in his left hand, his brows drooping. He was scribbling something on a piece of paper with the pen in his right hand, and didn't even look up at him.
What the heck?
Didn't he intend to get close to him? Why didn't he react to his lure at all?
This man must be a blockhead.
"Why did you decide to switch to this song at the last minute?" the mentor sitting next to Xie Wang asked.
"I like the title of the song," Lin Jianlu replied.
Xie Wang tossed his pen aside, resting his right hand on the armrest of the chair, only lifting his eyelids.
"Do we have any comments from Lin Jianlu's mentor?" the host asked.
Xie Wang waved dismissively: "No."
What a joke. Does the singer-songwriter, who will be super popular in the future and destined to dominate popular TV dramas and movie soundtracks, need his critique?
"Alright, then let's start the voting." The host pushed the process forward.
In this round of the competition, both the audience and the mentors voted together. Lin Jianlu almost got a perfect score, advancing smoothly without needing to participate in the pk battle.
After the recording ended, he crossed paths with Xie Wang's car.
The car window was lowered, revealing Xie Wang's roguishly handsome and arrogant face.
"Teacher Xie," Lin Jianlu greeted him proactively.
Xie Wang nodded slightly, his expression tired and lazy. The car then drove away, without even offering him a ride as he had before.
Lin Jianlu hailed a taxi and left the "Seeking Sound" recording venue.
***
Xie Wang sat in the back seat of the car, holding an unlit cigarette between his lips, just to savor the scent of tobacco.
Before his rebirth, after marrying Lin Jianlu, he had stopped smoking and rarely touched alcohol.
He always felt that the omega had too many rules, which had stripped away many of his pleasures.
But now he had a cigarette in his mouth, it didn't seem as satisfying anymore.
Something's wrong with him.
Why had he been expecting Lin Jianlu to have ulterior motives toward him all day?
How could someone so aloof and passive possibly be friendly to him.
And more importantly, why was he expecting anything from Lin Jianlu?
He couldn't figure it out.
That faint sense of losing control seemed to be showing signs again.
It was strange; Lin Jianlu obviously didn't do anything.
"Do I have any arrangements tonight?" he asked his assistant.
"No," the assistant replied. "Da Sun said you can rest tonight."
If it was a night off, Xie Wang had a good idea of where to go.
He wanted to go drinking. Anyway, he didn't have a wife to control him now.
He was going to unwind at a place where there was zero chance of running into Lin Jianlu.
***
Wei Lan found a frosty-faced Lin Jianlu at the dormitory door.
"Quick, get dressed," Wei Lan urged. "There is a fierce A show at the bar tonight. Let's go early to grab the front row, and make sure you wear that inhibitor collar."
Lin Jianlu: "Okay."
Seeing that Lin Jianlu was moving slowly, Wei Lan asked a little sadly, "YoYo, are you frigid? You're not interested in fierce A?"
Lin Jianlu responded, "I'm interested."
Wei Lan: "Then why don't you seem happy?"
Lin Jianlu said, "I'm a loser."
Wei Lan: "?"
Wei Lan: "Oh, I see. You mentioned before that you met an alpha with an six-pack. You tried to tempt him but failed?"
Lin Jianlu replied: "Yeah."
Earlier, there had clearly been signs of testing him from Xie Wang's side.
But after he hinted a little, Xie Wang backed off instead?
"Do you want to pursue that A?" Wei Lan asked.
Lin Jianlu shook his head: "Just sleep with him."
"Take your time, our YoYo is so beautiful," Wei Lan comforted him. "Let's go have fun first and see more human high-quality alphas. You can decide later."
Lin Jianlu changed his clothes and went downstairs with Wei Lan, only to run into the principal.
Both of them were top students. Lin Jianlu was calm and Wei Lan was serious; the principal had a notable impression of both.
"Off to study again?" the principal asked.
Lin Jianlu lifted his eyelids, his attitude a bit cold, and remained silent.
"Principal, I was just about to discuss something with you," Wei Lan pushed up his glasses. "There are two logical errors in the script for the drama performance for the school's anniversary celebration. In the ninth act..."
"Then I must ask you to help me correct them later," the principal said, wiping his sweat and leaving.
The two top students slipped into the night, successfully hailing a taxi at the school gate and heading towards the edge of the city.
At the city's edge, there was a respectable bar.
As the evening wore on, the bar began to fill up with people.
Lin Jianlu sat at the bar, idly playing with a die.
People passing by looked at him. With the square die held between his beautiful fingertips, he flicked his index finger, causing the die to roll across the bar top and come to a stop with the "1" side facing up.
"Lucky. It means you'll soon have a '1,'" Wei Lan said, pushing up his glasses.
Lin Jianlu coldly responded, "Unlucky. It means can I even get a '1?'"
"Pretty little brother, shall I buy you a drink?" An alpha stopped beside them, shaking his glass towards Lin Jianlu.
"Not interested," Lin Jianlu said, not even looking up.
The alpha left awkwardly.
The "fierce A show" Wei Lan mentioned was a special event the bar was hosting tonight to attract customers. It was an alpha-only performance, drawing a large crowd of omega customers.
Before long, ten alpha men with good figures took the bar stage and performed a popular boy band hot dance.
The atmosphere in the bar heated up quickly.
The moment Xie Wang entered the bar, he was greeted by "Sweet O scream."
"How is it?" his friend nudged him. "Isn't this place lively?"
Xie Wang, who was bundled up in a mask, hat, and sunglasses like a human dumpling, replied, "Lively my ass! Are you trying to get me on tomorrow's headlines?"
Famous actor spotted at a lively bar.
It sounds very indecent.
Lin Jianlu might get mad…
Like I care if he's angry or not!
"This is a quiet bar, and isn't there a scene in your new movie where you get drunk in a bar?" his friend said. "Just say you're getting into character. Besides, I have booked a private room."
The bar's staff politely approached them to check their vitals, and once the device confirmed they weren't in a susceptible period, they were promptly allowed to enter.
As soon as Xie Wang set foot into this controversial place, he saw from a distance that a dozen alphas were dancing with their shirttails lifted up on the stage not far away.
Xie Wang: "..."
How scandalous.
A proper alpha should please people with depth, not abs.
Lin Jianlu wouldn't watch this kind of thing.
"I heard from Da Sun that you've been thinking about dating lately?" his friend Pei Yan asked. "He said you've been dreaming about a wife, feeling all pent-up?"
"I don't want one," Xie Wang said. "Crap, is his mouth a sieve? He even let this out?"
Pei Yan slung an arm around his shoulders: "You're an actor who's walking the strength route. Finding a nice omega to settle down with early isn't a big deal. Besides, when your brother got married, your dad told you it's time to think about yourself and stop being wild outside all the time."
Pei Yan: "This bar often attracts some pretty little Os. Who knows, you might just run into 'the one.'"
The two of them took the VIP passage and entered the private room Pei Yan had reserved in advance.
"I know several good single omegas here. Let me show you their photos," Pei Yan said, sending Xie Wang a few pictures.
All the photos featured sweet little omegas smiling at the camera, their eyes curved in either a shy or cute expression.
Sweet as they were, none of them stirred any real desire in him.
Xie Wang felt like he was about to lose desire.
"This one?" Pei Yan handed over another photo. "A college classmate of mine. Studied violin, has a great personality, and is always smiling when he talks."
Xie Wang shook his head.
Smiling too much—it felt a bit fake.
"What about this one?" Pei Yan showed another picture. "I met him on a set, a dance academy graduate, great conversationalist."
Xie Wang shook his head again.
Lin Jianlu could dance too, and he danced well.
He knew that Lin Jianlu had been working hard on his dancing when he was at the company.
He might look cold as ice, but his body was flexible. Sometimes, Xie Wang would deliberately push him down into uncomfortable and embarrassing positions, and did it rough. But Lin Jianlu would only look up at him briefly before looking away.
There was a trace of shyness in the cold eyes, but no sign of pain or resistance.
Lin Jianlu would simply say, "Didn't you say you don't like me?"
Pei Yan, growing frustrated, snapped, "This one doesn't work, that one doesn't either. Come here, and I'll bend your sexual orientation!" He then pointed to the one-way glass wall of their private room, behind which a row of muscular fierce As were dancing energetically on stage. "Why don't you just pick one of those instead?"
Xie Wang: "Heh."
The stage had entered the interaction phase, and the row of alphas rushed to the edge of the stage, offering handshakes and letting people feel their abs.
As Xie Wang glanced in that direction, he spotted a familiar, indifferent profile among the front-row audience.
Lin Jianlu?
There he was, standing amidst the crowded throng, dressed in black and silver, his cold and cheerless demeanor completely out of tune with the lively, chaotic environment around him.
Pei Yan had only been joking, but when he turned back, he saw Xie Wang mutter a curse under his breath, fling open the door, and—still bundled up in his hat and mask—charge towards the stage.
Pei Yan: "???"
No way, are you really f*cking going to pick one?!
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