After being moved to tears by the sworn enemy's pheromones - Chapter 53

Shen Jin pushed Du Jun’s elbow away and stepped back, asking, “What do you mean?”

 

He had already started recording on his phone, but Du Jun, with a dark expression, did not respond. Instead, he pushed Shen Jin down the slope, eyes reddened, and began to violently tear at his clothes.

 

The powerful pressure of an alpha surged immediately, leaving Shen Jin stunned. In his mind, he cursed, “Damn, a dog wouldn’t be this desperate for a meat bun.”

 

The surrounding cold was bone-chilling. Du Jun raised his hand as if to slap him, and Shen Jin quickly came to his senses, grabbing his elbow in resistance. The two of them wrestled, neither gaining much advantage at first.

 

Shen Jin blocked a couple of punches, with a faint metallic taste of blood in his nose. Du Jun’s mouth was also bleeding, but he still clung to Shen Jin, not letting go.

 

In response, Shen Jin kicked Du Jun and asked, “What the hell do you want?”

 

Despite the fight, Shen Jin didn’t forget to question Du Jun, “Did we see it wrong… Was it really you who tried to assault the senior on West Street?”

 

Du Jun’s expression turned feral upon hearing this. He forced Shen Jin’s mouth open with his hand and said, “So what?”

 

He pressed down on Shen Jin, his mouth filled with foul language, suddenly starting to accuse omegas of being born inferior, unworthy of respect.

 

Shen Jin could barely understand him, but he seized the opportunity to kick him again and tried to get up. In the wind and snow, Shen Jin initially had the upper hand, but just as he stood up, Du Jun suddenly pulled something from his pocket and pressed his whole body down, forcefully stuffing the item into Shen Jin’s mouth.

 

The hot, bitter taste of the drug immediately hit Shen Jin’s nasal passages. He froze, choking and trying to spit it out, but Du Jun held his mouth shut with one hand and grabbed his long hair with the other, preventing him from moving.

 

Shen Jin could still resist, but suddenly felt powerless, as if all his limbs were disconnected, leaving only his pulse beating rapidly.

 

The pure white snow blurred into a gray-black mass in his vision. The fight stopped midway, and hot sweat quickly beaded on his forehead. He instinctively pressed his abdomen through his heavy down jacket, unsure of what was happening, only knowing that a thick, creamy scent overwhelmed him, making him feel faint and his entire body weak, his head too hot to think.

 

The cold wind blew, and Shen Jin suddenly felt a pang of panic.

 

He instinctively struggled to get up, but his legs were too weak and trembling uncontrollably. Tears flowed uncontrollably from his eyes, accompanied by more than just tears.

 

Shen Jin was taken aback and bit his lip, refusing to show any sign of weakness.

 

Seeing this, Du Jun finally loosened his grip and just stared at Shen Jin.

 

Shen Jin quickly wiped his eyes and tried to stand again, but before Du Jun could act, Shen Jin stumbled and fell. Du Jun smirked coldly, his voice growing colder.

 

“Didn’t expect… so sweet.”

 

“You see, it’s your own fault. No matter what happens between us, nobody can blame me.”

 

Shen Jin’s lips trembled with a huge fear that gripped him instinctively, but he forced himself to stay calm and secretly pressed the emergency contact number on his phone.

 

Du Jun, quick to react, grabbed both his hands, ended the call, and kicked his stomach, saying, “What? Still want to call for help? — Damn it, it’s windy and we’re by the road. Let’s move somewhere else.”

 

Shen Jin almost threw up from the pain. The mention of “moving somewhere else” made his scalp tingle, but Du Jun didn’t give him much chance. He easily grabbed Shen Jin’s arm and dragged him along.

 

The sky was dark and heavy. Shen Jin tried to speak but had his mouth covered. He didn’t know how far he was dragged, only that his throat was burning and his mouth was filled with a metallic taste.

 

He should have felt pain, but another kind of irritation was intensely stimulating his nerves, leaving him only with futile struggles and curses.

 

Soon, Du Jun threw him beside some bushes, observing his resistance while grabbing his right hand, “This hand was cut by a broken bottle, and it still works?”

 

Seeing Shen Jin trying to escape, Du Jun immediately gripped his neck, causing him to clutch the dirt beneath him, his hand veins bulging.

 

Quickly, the snow stopped.

 

Du Jun’s cold hands tightened their grip. Shen Jin shivered from the cold but couldn’t escape the alpha’s control, only able to keep his mouth shut.

 

He couldn’t hear anyone approaching and wasn’t sure if Yan Ze and the others would find him in time. The only thing he could rely on was himself and that emergency number.

 

Even though his clenched fists were growing weaker, he tried every possible way to delay: “Du Jun… don’t hurt me… I’ll give you money… How about it?”

 

Du Jun was startled, then lowered his voice to curse, “Fuck off. Don’t think I don’t know your family’s situation. Where would you get the money?”

 

“My boyfriend… my boyfriend has money…” Shen Jin controlled his burning breath, saying, “It’s Gu Yu… You can tell, right?”

 

Seeing Du Jun’s movement slow slightly, Shen Jin quickly added, “As long as you… don’t hurt me… He’ll give you money, ten or eighty thousand… no problem…”

 

Du Jun actually started to seriously consider the possibility of getting that ten or eighty thousand, but after Shen Jin had bargained with him for a while, he realized he wasn’t the type of extortionist who could just pull off a job and run away.

 

“Damn it, be honest,” Du Jun said, pinning him down again. “I don’t want your boyfriend’s money…!”

 

Shen Jin tried to speak, but Du Jun took off his gloves and stuffed them into Shen Jin’s mouth, silencing him.

 

In the darkness, Shen Jin struggled to breathe, curling his knees and fighting desperately, but his voice gradually weakened and soon dissipated into the air.

 

*

 

The night wind continued to blow, Shen Jin’s limbs gradually stiffened, his bloodshot eyes staring blankly at the dark sky. The snow had stopped falling, but it felt as though heavy rain was pouring down, reminiscent of that summer.

 

On June 4th of senior year, all high school students, including Shen Jin, had an early holiday to wait for the exam three days later. Other grades left a day later, only needing to clear the exam venue for the 6th.

 

The scene in the teaching building after school on the 4th was unprecedentedly lively. Many people tore up books and papers and threw them downstairs. Amid the commotion, some avoided teachers’ “pursuit,” some loudly reminded others about gathering after the 8th exam, and some hurried to find the person they had secretly admired for three years, as if there might never be another chance to say certain things.

 

At that time, Shen Jin was mixed among the struggling students, tearing up papers, until he saw the math teacher coming over angrily. He shrank back in fear.

 

Unfortunately, the teacher still caught them and began a stern criticism. Most of the male students were taller than her, and one of them joked, “Teacher Lin, can you let us off this last time? Please?”

 

The small, slender female teacher’s eyes turned red easily, saying, “Yes, it’s the last time. Don’t let me see you in the retake class.”

 

“That’s impossible,” Shen Jin said with a shameless smile, “It’s still fine to score four or five hundred and get into a third-tier college.”

 

She gave him a disdainful look and said, “Check more carefully; you might be able to apply for a second-tier college.”

 

“Got it, got it,” Shen Jin teased, “Teacher, you recite more than my devout Buddhist grandmother.”

 

After the playful banter, the teacher finally returned to the office, and Shen Jin, still smiling, continued to watch the white paper scraps dance in the air.

 

The farthest he could see was a classroom on the second floor — a senior had pulled Gu Yu out, seemingly dragging him to the back door to talk about something.

 

Shen Jin frowned and looked away.

 

But as more and more people went to find Gu Yu, Shen Jin had no choice but to keep watching the same direction. His desk mate cheered from the side, “So many people are going to confess to Gu Yu? I heard that someone from the next class is going to confess today, and if he doesn’t agree, they’ll force a kiss. Not a bad deal.”

 

“What?” Shen Jin panicked and ran downstairs without explaining to his desk mate.

 

When he reached Gu Yu’s classroom door, Shen Jin didn’t know what to say and could only awkwardly call out to Gu Yu, remaining silent for a long time.

 

The surrounding noise was loud with people watching, some of them wondering if the two were about to fight. Gu Yu asked helplessly, “Senior, what’s the matter?”

 

Shen Jin, holding back his anger, blurted out, “You, you need to go home quickly, or someone will force a kiss on you.”

 

“…What are you talking about?” Gu Yu didn’t believe it. “I still have two papers to check. I’ll leave after finishing them.”

 

Desperate, Shen Jin stepped forward and grabbed his arm, “You have to leave now!”

 

Many eyes turned towards them, and some people cheered Shen Jin, “Yo, Senior Shen, are you here to perform a failed confession too?”

 

Before Shen Jin could speak, Gu Yu retorted, “Self-abuse? I think even if he beats me, I could handle it.”

 

The onlookers snickered and moved away. Gu Yu then looked back at Shen Jin and said, “Don’t worry. Even if someone does plan to force a kiss on me, I can avoid it. Senior, don’t think everyone is as slow as you—just a backdoor slam dunk, and I could knock you over.”

 

“…” Shen Jin was puzzled, “You’re still holding a grudge about that? I’m the one who got hurt, okay?”

 

Gu Yu’s lips turned down as he glanced at Shen Jin’s knee and asked, “Has the scar on your knee healed completely?”

 

Shen Jin proudly rolled up his pants to show a patch of his white, well-kept calf, saying, “It’s almost healed. Look.”

 

But Gu Yu’s ears turned red, and he averted his gaze angrily, “I was just asking… I didn’t ask you to show me.”

 

Shen Jin let go of his pants leg with a sullen face. Gu Yu continued, “If there’s nothing else, I’m going in.”

 

At that moment, someone behind Shen Jin timidly approached Gu Yu to talk. This pushed Shen Jin to call out to Gu Yu again, but he couldn’t remember what he wanted to say. He finally blurted, “On the evening of the 8th at 8:30, come to the west gate of the school. I… I need to talk to you alone!”

 

It was just past 8 PM in the summer, when it was starting to get dark. Shen Jin thought that whatever he needed to say, he would be able to say it all when he met Gu Yu alone.

 

He was about to leave the school he had attended for six years, and if nothing unexpected happened, he and Gu Yu would have no more interactions in the future. So, in a moment of impulse, he just wanted to put a complete end to this story. 

 

“8:30 PM on the 8th, west gate of the school?” Gu Yu confirmed the time and place, and asked, “Is there something you can’t say at the place near your gathering?”

 

“No, it’s not possible…” Shen Jin insisted stubbornly, “It has to be at the school.”

 

That was the place where they had first met, and it should be the place where the story ends.

 

Hesitating, he looked up at Gu Yu, “Can you come?”

 

In his memory, Mingyue Street wasn’t close to the school, and Gu Yu answered, “It depends on my mood.”

 

Shen Jin lowered his head, pressing his lips together in frustration. But then, Gu Yu suddenly added, “Alright, I promise. If nothing more important comes up, I’ll come.”

 

Shen Jin’s lips relaxed, and he managed to contain his bubbling excitement, nodding calmly before running off.

 

Under the summer evening’s sunset, with scraps of paper swirling around, Shen Jin’s face was flushed with shyness and a touch of reluctance. At that moment, he thought, no matter what he would say or how Gu Yu would respond, at least he had managed to do those four words—“no regrets.”

 

The future was bright and splendid. No matter where he went, these six years would become his most cherished memories.

 

And in these memories, Gu Yu would always stand in that deep blue school uniform under the most brilliant glow, forever with a cold, clear gaze, forever the gentle and affectionate young man.

 

Perhaps, this was how the story was meant to end.

 

But that night, after the gathering, Shen Jin arrived early at the school gate, only to find that Gu Yu never showed up.

 

At first, a few lingering people who were taking photos asked what was wrong, but later, even the school staff had mostly left. Shen Jin went from nervous and hesitant to confused and anxious, and finally to disappointed and sad. He didn’t know how he managed to endure the long wait of those few hours.

 

In the end, Gu Yu did not appear. Instead, thunder and lightning struck suddenly. Shen Jin wiped the rain from his face and stubbornly waited a while longer, until he confirmed that Gu Yu was not coming. He then numbly moved his feet and left the now empty school gate.

 

He knew he should go home.

 

But that home didn’t care whether he intended to return or not. Yesterday, his mother had even hit him during the exam period, scolding him for not taking his younger brother to the hospital in time.

 

The weather had already entered summer, but the night rain was still cold and piercing, soaking Shen Jin’s already heavy body.

 

He didn’t even dare to think about why Gu Yu neither came nor contacted him to explain.

 

It was simply that there were things more important than him, or perhaps Gu Yu thought it was nothing worth explaining if he was just a bit late. They were not exactly friendly, and Gu Yu had never promised he would definitely come.

 

The sound of thunder brought Shen Jin back to reality. He couldn’t deceive himself: perhaps this so-called “no regrets” wasn’t actually important. The fact that Gu Yu didn’t show up was already the answer.

 

That night, Shen Jin dragged his leaden legs through the rain, trying to find an open store to buy an umbrella. But on the dark street, a few alphas targeted him and, attacking from behind, dragged him into an alley, trying to pull him into an old, run-down apartment.

 

On such a rainy night, an omega wandering alone in the street was almost a “happy accident” for these aimless alphas.

 

That night, Shen Jin desperately fought against his instinctive fear, struggling fiercely. It was impossible for him to take on three alphas alone, but he wasn’t easily subdued either.

 

At least, when the three failed to drag him and attempted to stuff something into his mouth, he seized a second to break free and ran out of the alley, successfully drawing attention and saving himself from the bloodied, rain-soaked mess.

 

He was then taken to the hospital, and the next day, his mother reluctantly came, angrily blaming him for being shameless.

 

In the following days, his rain-induced cold worsened into pneumonia. After just a few days in the hospital, his parents took him out and sent him to the countryside, where he spent the entire summer with his great-grandfather.

 

The old man, who recognized the despair in the child’s eyes, always patted his pale face with his wrinkled hands, made him delicious food, took him to town to see doctors, and kept him company watching various TV programs.

 

In the end, Shen Jin never brought up the matter with Gu Yu again. Just as they first met in the exam room, everything was Shen Jin’s own business; Gu Yu hadn’t really done anything.

 

Shen Jin would never admit that he stubbornly waited for hours. He preferred to follow Gu Yu’s lead, treating it as a minor issue. Whether they met or not was not important. He had waited at the school gate for about ten minutes without seeing Gu Yu, then went back to continue singing karaoke and drinking with classmates.

 

As rivals, this was the most normal ending for their story.

 

*

 

In his senior year, Shen Jin had managed to hold on with his tough fists, but now, amidst the howling cold wind, his voice was growing weaker, and he struggled more and more.

 

The boundless night pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe, and his mind went blank, unable to think about what lay ahead.

 

Hot tears streamed down his face numbly, but just as Du Jun, with his wild eyes, was about to pull down Shen Jin’s pants, a voice suddenly pierced through the darkness.

 

“Who’s over there?!”

 

The cold wind howled, and Gu Yu’s voice was filled with urgency and probing, with footsteps quickly approaching.

 

Du Jun was startled and shivered. He quickly covered Shen Jin’s mouth to silence his whimpering, saying, “I’m from the sports department, looking for Qin Zhu. He’s—he’s not here.”

 

There was a moment of hesitation in the footsteps.

 

But hearing Gu Yu’s voice, Shen Jin’s breath, which was nearly lost, started to tremble again. He felt a tearing pain in his chest and immediately grabbed the bloodstained leaves beside him, making enough noise.

 

The scent of pheromones quickly spread, and Gu Yu rushed over, his voice frantic, “Shen Jin? Is that you?!”

 

*

 

That night was chaotic. Yan Ze did not stay near the agreed location to wait for Qin Zhu but instead found Shen Jin’s phone, which made him realize something was wrong. When he contacted the equally confused Qin Zhu, everyone began to panic.

 

“…Damn it.” Qin Zhu swore over the phone, “You believe whatever Shen Jin says?! If I had to deal with that idiot Du Jun, how could he possibly go to sleep?”

 

Yan Ze was stunned and quickly had his teammates contact the inn owner. The owner confirmed that there was no one resting in the rooms. In a state of panic, the group immediately began searching for Shen Jin. When they finally found him, the scene illuminated by their flashlights was far worse than they had imagined.

 

In the shattered underbrush, Du Jun was in a bad state, with most of his shirt stripped off and lying on the ground, one hand clutching his lower abdomen and the other holding his ankle, howling in pain.

 

Yan Ze saw that Du Jun’s nose and mouth were bleeding and was about to check on him, but another figure suddenly entered their view—no one expected Gu Yu to barge in, carrying the shivering Shen Jin and pushing past them, heading straight down the mountain.

 

In the faint light, Gu Yu’s brow was smeared with blood, his eyes cold as if frozen in three feet of ice. He seemed completely disdainful of speaking to them.

 

“Gu—” Yan Ze wanted to ask what was going on, but Gu Yu, with cold lips, only gave him two words: “Get lost.”

 

Yan Ze smelled a cloying scent of cream, and an ominous feeling surged in his heart. He didn’t have time to chase after Gu Yu but immediately turned to Du Jun, who was clutching his legs and unable to answer clearly whether his ankle or some other part of his body was damaged.

 

Yan Ze, unable to contain his anger, grabbed Du Jun by the shoulders and lifted him up, shouting, “What the hell happened to you?!”

 

The foul scent of pheromones nearly answered Yan Ze’s question, but he still wanted to hear the boy say it himself, “I didn’t do it.”

 

Unfortunately, Du Jun, avoiding Yan Ze’s gaze, remained silent, which only fueled Yan Ze’s rage. He slapped Du Jun across the face, demanding, “You’ve really done well, haven’t you? Huh? Back then, you wept and told me you didn’t—”

 

In truth, the swimming team knew that Shen Jin, Qin Zhu, and Xu Tingyun’s characters were completely trustworthy. However, they had been unable to believe that the 17-year-old boy from the mountain village, Du Jun, could have committed such acts.

 

So they chose to trust their brother, accepting it as a mistake by the esports department, which was the only “truth” they could accept. But now, Du Jun’s actions had undoubtedly trampled on and destroyed everyone’s trust.

 

“Who do you think you’re worthy of? Have you thought about your grandmother? She worked tirelessly making baskets to support your schooling, and her eyesight is nearly gone!”

 

Yan Ze’s eyes reddened as he remembered the old woman who had come all the way to the school and almost knelt before the college leaders. The leaders, feeling pity for the orphaned family, had not expelled Du Jun directly. But the old woman didn’t know her grandson had already gone down the wrong path.

 

As an alpha, Yan Ze understood better than anyone that such behavior, once done, could be repeated countless times and must never be tolerated.

 

“Vice captain, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Du Jun, sobbing uncontrollably, seemed to have come back to his senses and begged for forgiveness, “Brother, please, please don’t tell the school…”

 

He had lost the confident and unyielding attitude he had before and was now submissive to Yan Ze.

 

“Does it matter whether I tell the school or not?” Yan Ze suppressed his anger, took a flashlight from a teammate, and shone it on Du Jun’s ankle, saying, “Can you still use that Achilles tendon after it’s been stomped like this? Even if it doesn’t affect daily life or training, it will impact your competitions.”

 

Without needing to think, he knew Gu Yu’s ferocity was deliberate.

 

Du Jun tried to complain, “Brother, it’s that Gu Yu—”

 

“Don’t you understand what I’m saying?” Yan Ze kicked him aside, saying, “Get out of the swimming team. We’ll hand over all evidence to the college, and the school will judge your fate fairly.”

 

In the whispering wind, pitiful pleas continued, but Yan Ze, hardened, refused to listen to the hardships of a poor child’s training over the years. He led the others down the mountain.

 

*

 

The nearest hospital to the inn was located halfway up Qingyun Mountain. On the way to the hospital, the driver was the beta owner of the inn, while Gu Yu was in the backseat, holding the still-shaking Shen Jin and trying to provide some comfort through temporary marking.

 

They had already given Shen Jin an inhibitor shot, but the pheromones still lingered strongly. With Shen Jin injured all over, Gu Yu had no choice but to take him to the hospital.

 

He knew how much Shen Jin was suffering, but he couldn’t ignore his injuries to fulfill his own needs.

 

Du Jun had stepped on Shen Jin’s right hand, and if not treated promptly, Shen Jin might never be able to return to esports.

 

Fortunately, after Gu Yu applied the temporary marking and comforted him, Shen Jin finally calmed down somewhat. He still clutched Gu Yu’s clothes tightly, pressing himself into Gu Yu’s embrace, trying to suppress his cries.

 

In the endless night, as Gu Yu held Shen Jin, his own hot tears slid down to his chin. He had tried countless times to comfort Shen Jin, but in reality, he couldn’t even say “Don’t be afraid.” He had lost count of how many times he had been unable to protect the one he cared about.