Page 34

Fortunately, there was no sweat smell.

Facing Qin Heng, Chi Ning waved his hand in front of him like a fan and openly took a sniff. "What detergent did you use?"

"Laundry powder from the supermarket." Qin Heng did not know whether to laugh or cry. "What's wrong? Do I smell like laundry powder?"

He tugged at his collar and sniffed himself. That could not be right, could it?

According to the book, if Chi Ning could not smell his scent, then did that not mean he completely failed to meet Chi Ning's mate-selection criteria?

Chi Ning narrowed his eyes. "Which brand of laundry powder?"

Qin Heng said, "Five yuan a bag, with a cat on the package. Zhang Qiuwen uses it too."

Chi Ning lightly curled his fingers.

Although Qin Heng and Zhang Qiuwen used the same detergent, their scents were completely different.

Put simply... he had smelled Qin Heng's sex pheromones. In other words, his pheromones.

A strong sea breeze carrying the scent of mugwort, with a distinct yet subtle hint of fragrance and sweetness.

"Pretty good." Without betraying anything, Chi Ning closed the book, then opened it again. "The laundry powder is nice."

Qin Heng paused. "Mm." He stared at Chi Ning's fingers gripping the page tightly, the corners of his mouth rising.

How could five-yuan laundry powder possibly be nice? Chi Ning must have smelled his scent and mistaken it for scented detergent, which was why he had asked what detergent he used.

Now he was saying that because he had realized the scent was not from detergent at all, but... but... but what was it called?

Chi Ning's MHC had chosen him.

This extracurricular book was great!

After Chi Ning finished the book, he turned around and saw Qin Heng smiling contentedly at the Comprehensive Test.

Chi Ning:?

Had studying driven him insane?

"What's wrong?"

Qin Heng wiped away his smile and said solemnly, as though reciting from a textbook, "Nothing. I just think that whenever God closes a door for someone, He will surely open a window for them. He's very fair."

Chi Ning pondered for a moment. "God closed the door to academic talent for you, then opened the window to business acumen?"

Qin Heng paused.

No, wait... the road ahead was long and arduous.

God did not seem all that fair after all.

Ten thirty.

It was dismissal time at No. 1 High School, and Chi Ning's phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID. "Hello? Brother?"

Chi Yang had parked his bike around the corner from No. 1 High School's entrance and was leaning against it. "School's over, right? Want me to pick you up?"

Chi Ning tensed. "Ah... ah?"

But he had not attended evening self-study.

"Why do you have time to pick me up today?"

Chi Yang said, "The shares have been settled, so there's no need to keep acting. I can pick you up after school every day from now on."

Chi Ning bit his lip, a map from Tea River Lounge to No. 1 High School appearing in his mind.

He had a good memory. There were three routes from Tea River Lounge to No. 1 High School, and only one could get him there within ten minutes.

Even then, he would have to run at full speed.

He could not let his brother find out that he had skipped evening self-study. He still needed that time to secretly conduct experiments in the future.

Chi Ning's mind raced. "Brother, wait a moment. My classmates asked me to teach them how to solve a few problems. Can you wait ten or so minutes?"

As he spoke, he jabbed Qin Heng hard in the arm and blinked rapidly at him.

Qin Heng understood. He pushed over the book he had just closed. "How do you solve this one?"

Chi Yang said, "All right, explain it to them. Don't keep your classmates waiting."

Chi Ning gave a soft assent, hung up, and did not even take his books. "I'm going back first. See you tomorrow."

Qin Heng's expression turned strange. "Do you think that'll fool your brother?"

Chi Ning froze.

Qin Heng said, "There's only one school gate. You run to the gate, and then what? Everyone else gets out of school from inside the gate, while you get out of school from outside it?"

Chi Ning opened his mouth, humbly asking for advice. "Then what should I do? Pretend I can't find him and walk around outside?"

"No need. I'll take you." Qin Heng stuffed Chi Ning's "extracurricular book" into his own backpack. "Let's go."

The two took the elevator down to Tea River Lounge's underground parking garage. Once the lights came on, the cars inside dazzled in all sorts of colors, their reflections making Chi Ning squint.

He watched helplessly as Qin Heng walked over to an entirely black Harley, swung one long leg over it, and patted the back seat. "Come on."

Chi Ning hesitated a little. "Do you have a license?"

Qin Heng said, "Yeah. My godfather hired me an instructor, and I got it over the summer."

Looking at Qin Heng's long leg braced against the ground, Chi Ning remembered what his biological brother had said: You're too short. It's dangerous to ride a motorcycle when you can't touch the ground.

Qin Heng thought he found it too conspicuous and explained quietly, "I'll take you to the bamboo grove by the school's back wall. Once you climb over the wall, I'll leave."

Chi Ning:...

That was kind of sad. They had only snuck out to study.

Seeing that he still did not move, Qin Heng added, "I'll buy a bicycle next time. Bicycles don't make noise."

Chi Ning braced himself on the back seat and vaulted onto it as though leaping over a pommel horse. "We'll talk about next time next time. Hurry up."

Qin Heng unfastened the helmet from the handlebar and tried to hand it to Chi Ning. "Put it on properly, and hold tight."

As Chi Ning fastened the helmet, he caught the scent of Qin Heng's pheromones again. It smelled quite nice. Suddenly, he felt that not getting to ride Qin Heng's bike in his previous life really had been a bit of a shame.

Once they had both put on their helmets, Chi Ning wrapped his arms around Qin Heng's waist. The moment he tightened his grip, the Harley roared and shot forward.

Chi Ning could not help silently crying out: So damn fast!

Through his helmet, he saw passing cars blur into streaks of light and sleek taillights. Against his palms were Qin Heng's tensed abdominal muscles. He did not even dare breathe too loudly, afraid he might float away.

There was only one red light on the shortest route from Tea River Lounge to No. 1 High School. As Qin Heng waited at it with one leg planted on the ground, he gently pried at Chi Ning's fingers with one hand. "Y-you, relax a little."

He was squeezing his abs until they hurt.

Chi Ning said in a muffled voice, "You're going too fast. Why do you ride even wilder than my brother? I'm afraid of falling off."

Qin Heng:...

After thinking for a moment, Chi Ning added, "There are countless roads, but safety comes first. Drive improperly, and your family will shed tears."

He paused. "Think about your godfather, who only had a son in his old age. He has so many cars in his garage waiting for you to inherit."

Qin Heng laughed at that. After passing the red light, he obediently slowed down, forcibly turning a Harley that could go 180 kilometers per hour into one going forty.

Even at only forty, the bike was still faster than legs.

When they reached the school's back wall, Chi Ning jumped off and frowned at the two-meter-high wall.

What now?

After Qin Heng and Chi Ning stared at each other for a while, Qin Heng drove the bike right up to the wall. "Step on the bike and climb over."

Chi Ning:...

This bike cost at least 460,000 yuan. The Harley would cry.

"Beep beep beep!" The phone in his pocket rang again.

The school's back wall was not exactly quiet. The sound of traffic could vaguely be heard, and Chi Ning was afraid his brother would see through his lie, so he did not dare answer at all.

Gritting his teeth, he took off his shoes and threw them over the wall first. Then he stepped onto the Harley's back seat, grabbed the top of the wall, pushed himself up, swung one leg over, and decisively jumped down.

Qin Heng heard Chi Ning let out a muffled groan after landing, followed by a rustling sound as though he had rolled around on the ground.

There were no footprints on the Harley's back seat. It looked spotless, without the slightest sign that anyone had stepped on it.

He still remembered how stunned he had been when he first saw this bike over a month ago. Back then, no matter how hard he racked his brain, he would never have imagined that just over a month later, he would let someone step on it.

Qin Heng's mind wandered, and he thought: Chi Ning's black boat socks are so white.

No.

The gold around Chi Ning's ankle was so bright.

He wondered whether Chi Ning had managed to fool his brother.

Chi Ning ran to the school gate and stopped, hiding in the shadows to take several deep breaths. After finally catching his breath, he reached up and brushed away the grass clippings and bamboo leaves stuck to his clothes.

Still, he was uneasy. He stopped a student slowly walking out with a backpack on his back. "Classmate, is there anything on my back? I accidentally fell just now."

The student said, "Chi, Chi—?"

Chi Ning smiled. "Chi Ning." He turned around. "Help me take a look."

"Oh." The first-year junior obediently said, "There were two leaves. I took them off for you."

"Thanks." Chi Ning asked again, "Which class are you in? I'll treat you to candy another day."

"First-year Class 1." The junior lowered his head shyly, not daring to look at this famous figure on campus. I'd rather have the study god's notes.

Chi Ning waved at the junior and quickly headed out through the school gate. He had only gone a few steps when he heard someone call, "Ning-Ning!"

He paused, then walked over with a stern face. "Brother, don't call me by my nickname outside."

Chi Yang gave an oh and asked, "Where's your backpack?"

Chi Ning paused, then calmly said, "I didn't bring it. There's nothing I need to take."

After sitting on the back seat of Chi Yang's motorcycle, he took out his phone and messaged Qin Heng: "I was in too much of a hurry just now. I left my backpack in the private room."

"Why didn't you answer the second call I made?" Chi Yang asked casually.

Chi Ning's fingers paused. He pressed on the call log and flipped through it, pretending to look for several seconds before saying, "I didn't hear it. My classmates had surrounded me, all talking at once. It was noisy."

After saying that, he looked up to study Chi Yang's expression. His brother's face was as steady as though he had facial paralysis, making it impossible to tell whether he believed him.

Soon, his view was covered by a helmet. "Put it on properly. We're going home."

"Oh." Chi Ning obediently fastened his helmet, but when the motorcycle started, he felt as though a lifetime had passed.

Riding a motorcycle twice in one day, and each time felt different.

After getting home, Chi Ning smelled sweet egg custard. But he had eaten too many sweet things at Tea River Lounge today, and now he could not eat another bite.

He stirred the egg custard lazily, taking tiny sips.

Chen Mingxian sat at the dining table eating bird's nest tangyuan. Looking at her younger son's crumpled face, she laughed. "Don't want to eat? Give it to your brother if you don't. Let him eat two bowls."

Chi Ning immediately pushed the bowl over.

If he ate any more, it would reach his throat. He really could not manage it.