Was I really that charming?

It was midsummer during their high school years. The cicadas sang long and clear, sounding especially jubilant when school let out.

"Wu Jiangyuan, don't rush off after school. Stop by the teachers' office."

Wu Jiangyuan was stopped just as he was about to leave the classroom. He slung his backpack behind him and turned toward the speaker, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I don't think I did anything wrong today, did I?"

The person who had stopped him was the class monitor, who scratched the back of their head and smiled. "Don't worry. Our homeroom teacher isn't looking to give you trouble."

Wu Jiangyuan smiled along. "Then it must be good news."

At sixteen, Wu Jiangyuan had just differentiated into an Alpha. He stood tall and straight as a pine, his bright, alluring eyes sparkling. His smile brimmed with the bold exuberance of youth.

The class monitor stared for quite a while, inwardly marveling at an Alpha's innate charm before finally looking away from his face. "You'd better go."

Wu Jiangyuan made his way to the office at an unhurried pace.

His homeroom teacher was waiting for him. When she saw him, she smiled and beckoned. "Here you are, Wu Jiangyuan."

Wu Jiangyuan wasn't fooled by her friendly smile. He walked over and asked, "Ma'am, what did you want to see me about?"

"Well, it's nothing major, really." His homeroom teacher cleared her throat. "It's just that Pei Jinghe has been on leave for several days now."

At that, Wu Jiangyuan more or less understood why she had called him over.

He explained tactfully, "Ma'am, Pei Jinghe and I aren't close."

"That doesn't matter," his homeroom teacher said. "I hear you live very close to him, so I wanted to ask if you could stop by his house on your way home today and see how he's doing."

Wu Jiangyuan's brow furrowed slightly. "Didn't Pei Jinghe tell you why he was taking leave?"

His homeroom teacher said helplessly, "He only said he wasn't feeling well. He didn't tell me exactly what was wrong, and I haven't heard anything since he took leave. I'm worried about how he's doing."

Wu Jiangyuan wore an obedient smile, but inwardly gave a cold laugh. Are you sure you're not being so attentive because of Pei Jinghe's family background?

"But ma'am, while I do live close to him, we don't know each other at all..."

Before he could finish refusing, his homeroom teacher gave him a reproachful look. "Honestly, you're classmates. Isn't visiting a sick classmate perfectly normal?"

Wu Jiangyuan thought, No, thanks. I don't want anything to do with that delicate fellow.

"Pei Jinghe isn't as physically robust as the rest of you. Even an ordinary illness takes him a long time to recover from. Visiting him on behalf of our class would be a way of showing you care."

Wu Jiangyuan said, "..."

From the way his homeroom teacher was acting, not going would apparently make him utterly heartless.

"All right." He reluctantly gave in. "Then I'll go take a look at him on behalf of the class."

Just one look, then I'm leaving.

Back then, the Pei family and the Wu family were close neighbors. Wu Jiangyuan passed the Pei family compound every time he went home.

The driver dropped him off in front of the Pei family compound.

Wu Jiangyuan hesitated for a while before finally walking inside.

He had visited the Pei family every day as a child, but after turning seven, he rarely set foot there. The reason was the Pei family's frail young master.

He had soft, delicate skin and a pretty-boy face, yet there was no end to his nonsense.

Ever since they were little, he had given Wu Jiangyuan dirty looks every day. Once Wu Jiangyuan grew a little older and developed his own thoughts and opinions, he realized that the Pei family's young master disliked him.

Wu Jiangyuan wasn't one to force his company on anyone. Once he realized that, he never took the initiative to enter the Pei family compound again.

His resentment toward Pei Jinghe also grew stronger and stronger. Everything about him was an eyesore, and whenever their eyes met, it was a battlefield thick with gunpowder.

Yet fate kept throwing them together. When they started high school that year, they were assigned to the same class, making them find each other even more unbearable. It was truly an ill-fated connection.

It's all this guy's fault. Why did he have to take leave for no reason? I was enjoying not having to see him, and now that's completely ruined.

Wu Jiangyuan rang the doorbell.

The housekeeper, Sister-in-law Wansang, answered the door.

She recognized him at once and laughed with delight. "Oh my, Jiangyuan! It's been so long. Look how tall you've grown!"

"Come here, let me have a look. The last time I saw you, you only came up to my shoulder. Now you're taller than me."

Sister-in-law Wansang had worked for the Pei family for over ten years and had also cared for Wu Jiangyuan since he was little. She doted on him like an elder.

"Sister-in-law Wansang, is Pei Jinghe home?"

Wu Jiangyuan gave her a sweet smile and asked after greeting her.

"He is," Sister-in-law Wansang said. "But Jinghe hasn't been feeling well lately, so he's stayed upstairs. If you want to see him, I'll call him for you."

Wu Jiangyuan quickly said, "There's no need. The class heard he was sick, so they sent me to visit him on everyone's behalf."

"Oh, come right in, then."

"By the way, are Uncle and Auntie Pei both out?"

"Madam and her husband are abroad for a gathering. They won't be home for a while."

"I see." Wu Jiangyuan entered the Pei house and said politely, "Please go ahead with your work, Sister-in-law Wansang. I can go upstairs myself."

"All right," Sister-in-law Wansang said. "Just call me if you need anything."

"Okay!"

Following the route he remembered, Wu Jiangyuan found Pei Jinghe's room.

The door was shut tight. Wu Jiangyuan stood there for quite a while without hearing any movement inside.

He knocked on the door.

There was still no sound from inside.

Could he not be in his room?

Wu Jiangyuan clicked his tongue softly and casually turned the handle, only for the door to open.

"..."

He hadn't meant to open it. His hand had simply moved on instinct.

With the door halfway open, Wu Jiangyuan tilted his head at the entrance and looked around. Pei Jinghe's room was empty.

He really isn't here.

He was about to turn and leave when the bathroom door suddenly opened.

Caught off guard, Wu Jiangyuan met Pei Jinghe's eyes.

Pei Jinghe wore only a bathrobe, water still dripping from the ends of his hair. His usually exquisite, cool features were flushed, his deep, obsidian eyes filled with surprise at the sight of his visitor, his thin lips pressed tightly together.

A breathtakingly beautiful boy fresh from the bath.

Keeping a straight face, Wu Jiangyuan silently reached a conclusion. He really was born with an Omega's looks. He hasn't even differentiated yet, and he's already prettier than most Omegas.

"Who gave you permission to come in?"

Unfortunately, the moment the beautiful boy opened his mouth, every fantasy Wu Jiangyuan had about this beauty shattered.

Pei Jinghe's expression was icy, his eyes full of wariness toward Wu Jiangyuan.

Wu Jiangyuan couldn't help finding it a little funny. He glanced at the orange sunset outside the window, then tugged at the corner of his mouth. "It's not even dark yet. Planning to go to bed this early, Young Master Pei?"

Pei Jinghe suddenly stepped back several paces, as though he had seen something that brought bad luck, and frowned. "Is that what you came here to say? Wu Jiangyuan, you can leave now."

Anyone with eyes could tell he had done that because of Wu Jiangyuan, his uninvited guest.

Wu Jiangyuan glanced around, then looked down at himself before looking back up at Pei Jinghe with a mischievous smile.

"What? Am I really that charming? Enough to make you react like you've seen a plague god?"

As he spoke, he deliberately walked toward Pei Jinghe. The darker the fellow's expression grew, the more his mischievous amusement deepened. Does he hate me that much?

He just had to see how much this fellow could stand.

"Wu Jiangyuan." Pei Jinghe averted his gaze, his chest rising and falling heavily, his voice carrying a note of restraint. "Don't come any closer."