The scent of jasmine

Shen Yi rested at home for two days before finally getting some of his energy back.

Accepting that he had suddenly become an Omega was no easy feat. Like anyone else, he had flatly refused to believe it at first, then gotten so angry he wanted to smash things. Once he ran out of energy to make a fuss, he sank into a funk, and it wasn't until the next day that he grudgingly made peace with himself.

But people could always adapt, little by little. Once he accepted, Fine, I'm an Omega, he actually felt more at ease.

After the Pheromone Activator injection, the nagging low fever and weakness disappeared. Feeling better also put him in the mood to properly explore this newly transformed body of his.

"Beep-" The compact Testing Device lit up again. This was his fifteenth pheromone test today, and by now, he could recite the numbers on the screen with his eyes closed.

Shen Yi tossed the Testing Device aside and collapsed onto the couch.

"Do I really have to start all over?" Even though he was about to lose his job, he wasn't as anxious as he had imagined he would be.

The apartment was his, after all, and he had saved a fair amount over the years. At least he wouldn't have to worry about food or bills for a while. Right now, he had only one thought: take a good, long break first.

"Yeah. I'll just go on living as an Omega."

Without realizing it, he seemed to have slipped into a remarkably laid-back state. Perhaps it was because he had finally come to terms with everything. Worrying himself to death wouldn't change reality anyway.

He was sitting cross-legged, staring blankly at the ceiling, when his phone suddenly chimed.

It was a message from the Secretary Department's group chat. Even though he was on leave, they kept the chat buzzing twenty-four hours a day. They claimed they were asking for help with work, but most of it was really just complaints about their workload. Shen Yi hadn't replied to a single message.

Everyone in the Secretary Department was competent and could cover for him at any time. Frankly, those complaints were just a way to blow off steam, not a sign that they couldn't handle things.

[Chief, are you feeling any better?]

[Chief, are you okay? 8_8]

[When are you coming back? President Yuan's temper has reached a whole new level TTTT we're dying TT]

[President Yuan seems pretty eager for you to come back too... He keeps hanging around your desk.]

Reading their messages, Shen Yi understood their misery. With the person who had always taken the brunt of Yuan Chen's temper suddenly gone, the pressure naturally fell on them instead. Secretary Li, who was temporarily acting as his special assistant, complained the most.

For the first time in a while, Shen Yi typed a reply:

[Sorry, I've decided to resign.]

The message was marked as read immediately, but no one replied. They had probably all been stunned by the sudden announcement.

Shen Yi slowly sat up straight. At this point, he couldn't put it off any longer. He fetched his laptop and made a call.

"Secretary Li, it's me."

"Chief! That message just now... What did you mean? I don't understand... You're joking, right?"

"It's not a joke. I've differentiated into an Omega."

A sharp intake of breath came from the other end. The reaction was exactly what Shen Yi had expected. He wedged the phone between his shoulder and ear and began typing.

"I'm sending an email now. Please print out the attached medical report and differentiation confirmation and give them to President Yuan."

"But... That doesn't make sense. How is that possible..."

"I'll take a few more days off. I haven't fully adjusted yet. I'll have to come back to the office to handle my resignation and the handover anyway. Thanks for covering for me until then."

After hanging up, he sent the email right away. It was the first time he had admitted aloud that he was an Omega, yet he felt surprisingly calm.

He was wondering what to do next when a private message from Secretary Li popped up:

[I just reported it to President Yuan. He said, "Don't talk nonsense," tore up the medical report, and asked when you'd be back at work.]

"Ha!" The reaction was so absurd that Shen Yi couldn't help laughing.

"What is this? Does he think I'm lying? That I forged it? If he doesn't believe me, he can come check for himself!"

A wave of hurt washed over him. Angry, he kicked at the air, stretching his still-weak limbs.

Shen Yi became even more determined to resign. Whether Yuan Chen was angry was no longer his concern.

That evening, he ordered takeout and was leisurely leafing through a book when the doorbell rang. Thinking it was the delivery driver, Shen Yi got up to answer it.

But instead of a delivery driver's helmet, the screen showed a man in a suit.

That sharply defined jaw and impeccably tailored suit were enough to identify his visitor. Of everyone Shen Yi knew, only Yuan Chen had that kind of presence.

Yuan Chen had actually come to his door in person. Shen Yi froze as though he had seen a ghost. He hadn't done anything wrong, yet his heart raced uncontrollably and his palms began to sweat.

"Ding-dong-" Yuan Chen rang again, impatient, and Shen Yi had no choice but to force himself to move.

He put on two masks first. Although he had already taken a suppressant today, the man outside was a top-tier Alpha, while he was only a newly differentiated Omega. It couldn't hurt to be careful.

As he opened the front door, a large hand suddenly seized it and yanked it wide. Yuan Chen shot him an accusatory look.

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

"Hello, President Yuan."

Suddenly exposed to the other man's gaze, Shen Yi greeted him awkwardly. Although Yuan Chen's expression was hard to read, at least the masks hid Shen Yi's strained smile.

"What brings you to my home..."

"Resigning? You think you can just make up any excuse?"

"...What?"

"I won't approve it."

"President Yuan, you've seen my medical report..."

"You're really an Omega?"

Yuan Chen scoffed, his skeptical gaze sweeping over him.

"What nonsense are you talking?"

"I'm telling you the truth."

"Do you even know how old you are?"

"..."

"A thirty-year-old man tells me he's undergone a second differentiation and become an Omega, and you expect me to believe that?"

Shen Yi straightened his back. He completely understood the disbelief. After all, he had reacted the same way himself.

"There have already been several similar cases in this country. Last October, a forty-five-year-old housewife differentiated into an Alpha. That proves age isn't an absolute factor."

He listed the cases he had researched over the past few days one by one, but Yuan Chen seemed unable to take in a word. His frown only deepened.

"If you want to resign, why not find a decent excuse? Why insist on making up this Omega nonsense?"

"I'm simply stating the facts."

"An eighty-year-old man fathering a child would be more believable than this."

Yuan Chen refused to accept that Shen Yi had become an Omega, preferring to believe the documents were forged. By comparison, the news of his resignation had shocked him even more, enough to send him storming over in person.

Looking at the stubborn Yuan Chen, Shen Yi sighed softly. He stepped forward and tilted his neck to one side.

"Smell it. You'll know right away whether it's pheromones."

"..."

"Come on!"

Caught off guard by the unexpected move, Yuan Chen froze. Shen Yi kept his neck tilted, loudly demanding that he check. He looked for all the world like a deer fearlessly challenging a predator.

"Why would I smell your neck?"

"One sniff should tell you whether it's perfume or pheromones! I'm absolutely not lying!"

Although he wasn't good at controlling his pheromones yet, this was the most direct method.

Yuan Chen stood there expressionlessly before finally lowering his head in resignation. The tip of his prominent nose touched that warm, pale skin, and he inhaled deeply. A light, sweet jasmine scent filled his nose. In an instant, his body went rigid.

It was unmistakably pure Omega pheromones. Shen Yi really was giving off Omega pheromones.

Yuan Chen gripped Shen Yi's shoulders and pulled him closer. From the nape of his neck to his collarbone, then behind his ears, Yuan Chen's nose brushed over every spot where pheromones might gather, checking carefully.

Just then, the delivery driver approached with a plastic bag in hand. Humming to himself, he saw the two men pressed close together in the doorway and stopped short. Faced with that intimate scene, he was too embarrassed to move forward or retreat.

"Um... Enjoy your meal."

The driver set the plastic bag on the floor and fled. Shen Yi, the only one who had witnessed the entire exchange, felt his face burn.

God, this is so embarrassing!

He gently pushed at Yuan Chen, who was still buried in his neck, sniffing away.

"That should be enough to confirm it, right?" Even then, the other man showed no sign of moving away, so Shen Yi had to tug at his expensive suit. Yuan Chen finally straightened, pressing a palm to his forehead in lingering disbelief.

"You're really an Omega?"

"Yes. That's how it is."

"How are you so calm? Are you okay?"

"What else can I do? There's nothing to do but accept it."

Watching the shifting expressions on Yuan Chen's face, Shen Yi was certain the pheromones had done their job. He bent down to pick up his takeout and said bluntly:

"Do you believe me now?"

"Go see Professor Hu."

Yuan Chen swallowed with difficulty. The pheromones he had just sensed seemed to linger in his mouth. Frowning, he forced out the words:

"Go see Professor Hu for an examination tomorrow. I'll come with you."

"President Yuan, didn't you just confirm it yourself? Besides, I've already been to the hospital."

"Don't jump to conclusions without a specialist's diagnosis."

Professor Hu was indeed a leading authority in the country's medical field, but even so, refusing to recognize another hospital's diagnosis was far too overbearing. Most importantly, Shen Yi's current condition was the strongest evidence of all.

Looking at the impossibly stubborn man before him, Shen Yi finally nodded.

"But this is the last time. If Professor Hu gives the same diagnosis, please approve my resignation."

"Fine."

They agreed to meet at the hospital at two the next afternoon. With that settled, Yuan Chen turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

Shen Yi kept his masks on for a long time. A faint bergamot scent still lingered in the doorway. For the first time, he had sensed Yuan Chen's pheromones.

"Even his pheromones are just like his personality."

Leaving that brief assessment behind, he turned and went inside. To Shen Yi, the piping-hot dinner in front of him mattered more. He was perfectly confident that leaving his job was only a matter of time!