Not Quite Enough

After dinner, Shen Yanlang said it was too late to go home, so he drove Duan Xu back to school with him.

When they reached the dorm, Shen Yanlang told Duan Xu to shower first. Duan Xu did not refuse and took his pajamas into the bathroom.

However, just as Duan Xu finished rinsing off and was about to get dressed, everything suddenly went dark before his eyes, startling him so badly that the clothes in his hands fell to the floor.

What was going on? Was there a power outage?

"The power's out. Are you done showering?" Shen Yanlang's voice sounded from outside the door.

Duan Xu immediately relaxed. "Oh, I just finished, but my clothes fell on the floor. Could you get me a set of pajamas from my wardrobe?"

"Wait there." After answering, Shen Yanlang turned on his phone flashlight and went over to Duan Xu's wardrobe. The first thing he saw when he opened it was a light-blue set of pajamas hanging at the far right.

Shen Yanlang's nose twitched. There was that faint jasmine scent again, but he assumed it was the smell of the detergent Duan Xu used.

Shen Yanlang set his phone face-down on the table before taking the pajamas to the bathroom door. "Open the door a little."

Duan Xu cracked the door open, stretched out one hand to take the clothes, and poked his head out. "Thanks."

Duan Xu grabbed the clothes and tried to pull them back in, only to find that he could not move them. "Hm?"

So white.

Shen Yanlang's gaze fell on Duan Xu's arm and the small bit of shoulder exposed through the crack in the door.

The power was out, and everything was dark, but the moon was round and bright that night. Duan Xu's fair arm and smooth shoulder stood out especially clearly in the moonlight.

Duan Xu froze. So white? Shouldn't it be so dark?

"Brother Yan, can you give it to me?" Duan Xu called out to him.

Shen Yanlang abruptly came back to his senses and let go of Duan Xu's pajamas. His tone was unnatural as he said, "You're welcome."

After saying that, Shen Yanlang returned to his seat and sat down.

He raised a hand to his chest. His heart felt itchy, his pulse was a little fast, and his mind kept replaying Duan Xu's jade-white arm and smooth shoulder from moments ago.

He even unconsciously imagined the parts hidden behind the door. The restlessness in his heart grew stronger, and his pheromones began leaking out beyond his control. However, with the blocking patch in place, very little actually drifted into the air.

The moment Duan Xu stepped into the room, he caught a faint scent of wood and blazing sunlight. Since he had never smelled it before, he did not think anything was wrong.

"Do you smell something?" Duan Xu even asked Shen Yanlang.

Shen Yanlang paused. He, too, smelled his own pheromones and was somewhat surprised. "You can smell it?"

Once he controlled himself, the scent in the air should have been far too faint for a beta to notice.

"Yeah!" Duan Xu took his dirty clothes to the balcony, then turned back and said, "It kind of smells like wood, but also a little like sunlight."

Shen Yanlang's heart jolted. "You can smell it!"

"What's wrong?" Duan Xu did not understand, but in the next moment, Shen Yanlang's inner voice answered his question.

Beta can't smell such a faint scent. Could Duan Xu not be a beta?

Duan Xu: "!!!"

Duan Xu was shocked as well. Only then did he realize that this was Shen Yanlang's pheromone scent.

Jasmine!

Shen Yanlang suddenly remembered. To confirm it, he abruptly stood, walked over to Duan Xu, wrapped an arm around him, and forcefully sniffed at the side of his neck.

Duan Xu jumped in fright. "Y-you, what are you doing?"

Shen Yanlang's action gave him an inexplicable sense of danger. He pushed at him with both hands but could not budge him.

"You're an omega."

Shen Yanlang was certain now. The jasmine scent was not detergent, and last time it had not drifted over from some other couple. It had come from Duan Xu.

Duan Xu was dumbfounded. His hands stopped pushing. "How is that possible? I'm a beta."

Hearing the certainty in Duan Xu's voice, Shen Yanlang frowned and thought deeply. After a moment, he said in a low voice, "Could it be secondary differentiation? But you're already an adult. That's unlikely."

"It definitely can't be. Could you have made a mistake?" Duan Xu's heart was in turmoil.

At that moment, neither of them noticed how ambiguous their posture was: one had the other in his arms, while the other had both hands pressed against the first man's chest.

"Let's go to the hospital tomorrow." Shen Yanlang's tone was grave, as if he took the matter very seriously. "I'll go with you."

Duan Xu fell silent for a moment. "Okay. Thanks."

Going to the hospital to confirm it was best, and having Shen Yanlang with him undoubtedly steadied his panicked heart.

Only then did Shen Yanlang finally realize what he was doing and let Duan Xu go. "Sorry. Go on and finish washing."

If Duan Xu was already an omega, then what he had just done—sniffing his neck—could be considered sexual harassment.

"Mm." Duan Xu realized it too and felt a little embarrassed. Luckily, the power was out, so they could not see each other's expressions.

Besides, Duan Xu was washing clothes on the balcony while Shen Yanlang was inside. As long as Duan Xu did not turn around to look at him, he would not hear his inner thoughts.

Shen Yanlang went back to sit and look at his phone, but he could not focus on it at all.

If Duan Xu really was a secondary-differentiated omega, then this matter definitely could not be kept secret. Once his differentiation was complete, he would surely move out of this dorm room.

But Shen Yanlang did not want that. He did not know why he did not want it; he simply did not. The thought of Duan Xu moving out made him feel irritated.

On the balcony, Duan Xu washed his clothes while thinking that there had been no plotline about him differentiating in the dream. Was this a butterfly effect caused by the change in his relationship with the protagonist gong?

Duan Xu had calmed down, but his heart still felt as though it were hanging in the air, as if confirming that he really was going to differentiate would bring earth-shattering changes to his future.

That night, neither Duan Xu nor Shen Yanlang slept well. They did not get up until very late in the morning, but fortunately, it was a holiday and they were not pressed for time.

After breakfast outside, Shen Yanlang drove Duan Xu to the best hospital in the city center.

There were many people at the hospital during the holiday. After registering, they waited nearly an hour before their number was called.

Shen Yanlang accompanied Duan Xu inside and explained the situation to the doctor. The doctor frowned. "This situation is not unheard of, but the probability is very low. Go get a full examination first. We'll know once the results are out."

"Okay, thank you, Doctor."

Shen Yanlang accompanied Duan Xu through the full examination, then took him to lunch. After they returned, they waited another two hours before all the results came out.

They found the doctor, who looked over the report and then glanced at Duan Xu with mild surprise. "It really is secondary differentiation."

Duan Xu took a deep breath upon hearing that. It felt as though a hammer had struck his chest. He could not describe what he felt; his mind had gone completely blank.

Shen Yanlang's heart tightened. An indescribable emotion spread from his chest, making his whole body buzz with excitement. "Doctor, what's his condition now? What does he need to watch out for? Will differentiating this late leave any aftereffects?"

Seeing him fire off question after question, the doctor could not help asking, "Are you his boyfriend?"

Duan Xu had just come back to his senses when he heard that. Startled, he quickly waved his hands. "No, no. He's my friend."

For a brief moment, the corners of Shen Yanlang's mouth pressed downward. "Mm. His friend."

Just friends? That didn't feel like quite enough.