Strangers the first time, friends the second-no need to be so polite

The pheromones at the back of the man's neck suddenly erupted, as he tried to make the little omega who didn't know what was good for him go weak in the knees and beg for mercy.

But Wen Zhiyan seemed unable to sense his pheromones at all.

He merely sneered, then lunged at the man and tackled him to the ground, desperately clamping one hand over the arteries on either side of his throat while his other fist rained vicious blows onto his face.

His attack was so sudden that no one had expected an omega who looked so delicate and easy to bully to fight so decisively, let alone possess such frightening strength.

No one there was a professional fighter.

The man might have been a tall, burly alpha, but even he couldn't withstand Wen Zhiyan's reckless, lethal assault.

By the time the others recovered and joined the fight, the man on the ground had already been beaten bloody across the face and was foaming at the mouth.

Someone grabbed Wen Zhiyan by the hair and hauled him off the ground, but he seemed unable to feel pain. He threw himself backward with the pull, slamming the person behind him into the wall, then drove his elbow hard into the man's stomach again and again.

At the sight, the others swarmed him, swinging their fists at Wen Zhiyan...

Jiang Lan sprinted the whole way out of the campus's north gate. When he reached the alley entrance, he saw Wen Zhiyan pinned to the ground, being beaten.

Yet beneath him, he still had a man pinned whose face couldn't be made out.

Wen Zhiyan was like a rabid dog with no regard for his own life.

He seemed unaware that anyone was hitting him, intent only on pressing both hands against the man's forehead and digging his thumbs desperately into the man's eyes.

Jiang Lan's first thought was that, on the day they first met, Wen Zhiyan hadn't been joking when he said, "Keep staring at me and I'll gouge your eyes out."

He shuddered, raced over, and sent the man pinning Wen Zhiyan down flying a meter away with a kick.

Between alphas, the simplest way to compete was to release their pheromones. Higher-grade pheromones would directly overpower lower-grade ones.

This was an almost irreversible law of the food chain.

But with Wen Zhiyan there, Jiang Lan didn't dare release his pheromones rashly. He could only join the brawl in the most primitive way, with his fists.

High-grade alphas had an innate advantage in stamina, strength, and speed. Jiang Lan's strength and reflexes far surpassed those of Wen Zhiyan, who had yet to differentiate.

He soon beat the thugs black and blue, leaving them sprawled on the ground, unable even to get up.

Then, before Wen Zhiyan could actually gouge out the eyes of the man who had pinned him down, he pulled him up and held him against his chest.

People were prone to losing their reason when their adrenaline surged.

Wen Zhiyan was clearly still in a state that was hard to describe as either excitement or rage.

Even held against Jiang Lan's chest, he tried to struggle.

Jiang Lan tightened his arms, trapping Wen Zhiyan in his embrace, patting his back as he spoke gently to him:

"It's all right, Wen Zhiyan. It's all right. Calm down."

Although he didn't know whether Wen Zhiyan could sense pheromones yet, Jiang Lan still tried slowly releasing soothing pheromones, hoping to calm him down.

Hearing Jiang Lan's voice and smelling the faint scent of roses mixed with a trace of bloody sweetness, Wen Zhiyan finally began to settle after a long while.

Breathing hard, he rested his forehead against Jiang Lan's shoulder and briefly closed his eyes.

Although Jiang Lan had initiated it, his limbs stiffened for a moment.

He had never been this physically close to anyone before.

Wen Zhiyan wasn't quite like the omegas he had imagined in the past.

He wasn't soft to hold, and there was no alluring scent of pheromones, only the faint, clean fragrance of shampoo lingering beneath Jiang Lan's nose.

He thought Wen Zhiyan would cry.

But Wen Zhiyan didn't. He soon composed himself, pushed out of Jiang Lan's embrace, and said to him:

"Thank you."

As Jiang Lan looked into Wen Zhiyan's dark, stubborn eyes and at the still-bleeding wound at the corner of his mouth, his heart secretly skipped a beat without him noticing.

He released his lingering grip on Wen Zhiyan's shoulders, pointed to the corner of his own mouth, and told him:

"You need to get that treated."

By now, Wen Zhiyan had completely calmed down. With that indifferent expression on his face, he seemed an entirely different person from the madman who had been digging at someone's eyes as though he wouldn't stop until one of them was dead.

He raised a hand and casually wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, then asked Jiang Lan:

"What are you doing here?"

Before Jiang Lan could answer, a man's panting voice came from a distance:

"Lan-ge! Holy shit! Are you guys okay?!"

Xiao Bai felt as though his lungs were about to burst from running. He stopped in front of Jiang Lan and Wen Zhiyan, bent over with his hands on his knees, and gasped for breath. Looking at the people strewn across the ground, he swore again:

"Am I... too late?"

Jiang Lan patted Xiao Bai's shoulder. "You're a little slow. Get some more exercise."

Xiao Bai agreed, slowly straightened up, and looked at Wen Zhiyan. "Sister-in-law, you're hurt? Are you okay?"

Wen Zhiyan stiffened and raised an eyebrow. "Sister-in-law?"

Jiang Lan immediately swung a hand back and slapped the back of Xiao Bai's neck. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

He scratched his head and said to Wen Zhiyan, somewhat awkwardly:

"They've lost their minds. They keep imagining you're my boyfriend lately. I've explained, but they won't listen."

Wen Zhiyan glanced at Jiang Lan with a somewhat strange expression, but whatever he was thinking, he closed his mouth and said nothing.

He had intended to leave now and ignore these people, but Jiang Lan stopped him.

"We called the police. To keep them from getting revenge on you afterward, you'd better go to the station and get this on their records. Ideally, they'll be made to wear ankle monitors."

Omegas were indisputably the weaker group.

Most countries with sound legal systems enacted an Omega Protection Law, particularly targeting alphas.

Any alpha who harmed an omega against his will would face legal punishment without exception.

Lesser offenses meant three to five years behind bars, release on bail pending trial, or wearing a tracking ankle monitor and remaining under police surveillance for a certain period.

Severe offenses meant life imprisonment or even a death sentence.

Wen Zhiyan knew that having these people keep pestering him would indeed be troublesome. After a moment's thought, he agreed to Jiang Lan's proposal.

The three squatted by the roadside for two or three minutes before a police siren sounded from the end of the road.

Jiang Lan checked the time. There were about ten minutes left before the dormitory doors were locked. He patted Xiao Bai's shoulder.

"Head back first. I'll go with our junior to the station to give a statement. I'll treat you to a meal later. Thanks."

Xiao Bai waved a hand. "Don't mention it, Lan-ge. No need for a meal. Just put in a word with the boss and get that class I skipped last week taken off my record."

Jiang Lan was on good terms with the student council president, so he nodded in agreement. "Easy enough."

Only then did Xiao Bai say goodbye to Wen Zhiyan as well, turn around, and run back toward campus.

Wen Zhiyan glanced at Jiang Lan, then lowered his head again. "Sorry for the trouble. You should head back too. I can go on my own."

Jiang Lan turned his head, giving him a clear view of Wen Zhiyan's delicate, beautiful profile.

Only then did he suddenly realize that Wen Zhiyan was actually quite tall. Standing beside him now, he was only shorter by the height of the top of his head, making him exceptionally tall among omegas.

But a faint bruise had now appeared on his previously flawless cheek, only just beginning to show.

Barring anything unexpected, it would be even more noticeable by tomorrow morning.

Wen Zhiyan's hair was a little disheveled. Standing beneath the dim yellow streetlight, he looked pitiful and terribly fragile.

Jiang Lan's Adam's apple bobbed. He forced himself to look away, toward the police car that had already drawn near.

"It's not the first time you've troubled me. Strangers the first time, friends the second-no need to be so polite."