The Marked Alpha Is Extremely Hard to Coax - Chapter 10

For a moment, Zhou Die felt that the rebellious desk mate at school, the seemingly gentle and sweet little classmate of his mother, and the foggy, refreshing Jiang Yunbian in front of him were three entirely different species.

 

But as Jiang Yunbian grabbed the towel and tried to strangle him, these three images merged into one person.

 

When Wen Yue knocked on the door, Jiang Yunbian and Zhou Die were already wrestling under the showerhead.

 

More precisely, Jiang Yunbian was the only one attacking, while Zhou Die kept retreating and keeping his voice to a minimum.

 

“Still not done?”

 

Jiang Yunbian’s fist, about to hit Zhou Die’s cheek, suddenly halted.

 

Zhou Die squinted and said with an almost arrogant calmness, “If you don’t strike now, you won’t get another chance.”

 

“Fuck.” There was no way he could hit Zhou Die in Wen Yue’s house.

 

Jiang Yunbian turned off the shower and pushed the door open.

 

The warm water gradually soaked his clothes. Zhou Die wiped his face, his eyes tinged with a faint red from the strong minty smell.

 

Once Jiang Yunbian calmed down, the sense of frustration, awkwardness, and strange fate kept churning in his chest.

 

Wen Yue’s son was actually Zhou Die! How could it be Zhou Die!

 

Wen Yue was downstairs: “What’s wrong? Did you have a fight with Xiao Die?”

 

“No,” Jiang Yunbian felt his tongue go numb. How could he explain that her son had forcibly marked him and almost turned him into an Omega?

 

The heavy rain outside made it unreasonable to leave, so Jiang Yunbian had no choice but to sit at the dinner table.

 

At this moment, Zhou Die came downstairs in a change of clothes.

 

Wen Yue noticed the awkward atmosphere between them: “Xiao Die, did you scare him when you went up to give him the towel?”

 

How Zhou Die managed to hide the truth from Wen Yue, Jiang Yunbian didn’t pay much attention. His mind was consumed by the horrifying development of their tangled fate. What would he say to Wen Yue if he ended up killing Zhou Die?

 

A hundred thousand impulses to confront Zhou Die were swirling in Jiang Yunbian’s throat, but Zhou Die spoke first: “Classmate, thank you for carrying my mother home.”

 

“…It’s fine.”

 

“Hello, I’m Zhou Die.”

 

“…Jiang Yunbian.”

 

After a moment of silence, the two of them signed a truce under Wen Yue’s smiling gaze.

 

The two kids didn’t communicate much, relying entirely on Wen Yue to keep the conversation going: “When I went to the school to find Xiao Die yesterday, I heard some rumors. It seems like there are two kids on your dorm floor who have a particularly bad relationship and even fight. Is that true?”

 

As one of the parties involved, Jiang Yunbian forced a smile: “Is there?”

 

“Yes, I heard one is the top student in the senior year?” Wen Yue looked at them with concern. “I think being good at studies doesn’t mean everything. If you’re targeted by someone who’s domineering, you must be brave enough to resist and not be bullied.”

 

Jiang Yunbian chewed his food numbly, while Zhou Die let out a faint laugh next to him.

 

What’s there to laugh about?

 

Zhou Die: “Our top student is pretty arrogant. They didn’t say anything good at the school opening ceremony.”

 

Jiang Yunbian decided he would wrap Zhou Die in a sack and give him a good beating.

 

Wen Yue shook her head: “But it’s not just the top student’s fault. I also heard that the other person involved in the fight isn’t a good person either. They rely on their family’s wealth and don’t like to attend classes. They have a bad reputation despite their young age.”

 

Zhou Die: “…”

 

“Ha-ha.” Jiang Yunbian laughed and glanced sideways: “I’m not sure about this. Zhou Die, do you know?”

 

Zhou Die looked at Jiang Yunbian’s knife-hidden smile and replied without changing his expression: “I only know the rumor about the top student.”

 

“Oh.” Jiang Yunbian put down his chopsticks: “Well, Aunt Wen said you only study at school, so not knowing is normal.”

 

Wen Yue didn’t catch the underlying hostility in their words and felt a sense of accomplishment in easing the initial awkwardness between the two kids. After dinner, she even turned on a game in the living room for them to bond.

 

Jiang Yunbian looked at the outdated fighting game on the screen and thought it was ridiculous to use it to entertain him. Did they really think he was a three-year-old?

 

He arrogantly threw the controller aside and watched as Zhou Die’s character first jumped around and then knocked out his character.

 

Childish.

 

Second knock-out.

 

Zhou Die must have some kind of issue.

 

Third knock-out.

 

“Are you being shameless? I’ll knock you down in two moves.”

 

When Wen Yue came out after washing the dishes, the two were silently fighting on the TV screen, with the score 15-18.

 

When Jiang Yunbian defeated Zhou Die for the sixteenth time, he turned his head and arrogantly snorted, then put down the controller: “Not playing anymore.”

 

Clearly, he won enough and then ran away.

 

Zhou Die glanced at him calmly and also put down the controller.

 

Wen Yue ruffled Jiang Yunbian’s hair: “You’re really good. I used to have a hard time beating Xiao Die.”

 

Zhou Die noticed that the previously arrogant front desk mate had suddenly become docile, even stubbornly avoiding Wen Yue’s hand and muttering quietly: “Boys are all right at playing games.”

 

Noticing Zhou Die’s gaze was about to shift over, Jiang Yunbian lay down on the sofa without moving: “I only lost one round. Doesn’t that make me less impressive?”

 

Wen Yue chuckled and patted his cheek: “Yes, yes, you’re also impressive.”

 

Jiang Yunbian rolled his eyes and mentally awarded Zhou Die the title of “Best Actor.”

 

Wen Yue patiently calmed the two boys and looked worriedly at the heavy rain outside: “The rain is really coming down hard.”

 

Jiang Yunbian frowned and checked his phone for a taxi.

 

“I’ll have the driver take you back to school later,” Zhou Die said, knowing there were no available taxis nearby.

 

Wen Yue then went back to the kitchen to prepare dessert.

 

Jiang Yunbian seized the opportunity to mock: “Zhou Die, you’re quite the actor, huh?”

 

“Jiang Yunbian.” Zhou Die wasn’t swayed by his provocation. “I’m sorry.”

 

The apology came unexpectedly, and Jiang Yunbian was momentarily stunned. “What’s the point of apologizing now? You should have apologized earlier…”

 

“I’ve always wanted to say that you’re just too irritating.”

 

“…” So, it’s my fault then?

 

Jiang Yunbian adopted a disdainful attitude: “If you think that I’d be influenced by my resentment towards you and go against Aunt Wen…”

 

“You wouldn’t. The previous incident was my fault. I’m sorry.”

 

Damn, he apologized again.

 

Jiang Yunbian, who typically responds better to a softer approach, had been ready to deal with Zhou Die once Wen Yue was out of the picture. But now, seeing Zhou Die lowering his head like this, Jiang Yunbian found it a bit difficult to act.

 

As Jiang Yunbian was distracted, Zhou Die placed his hand on the back of the sofa and spoke with rare gentleness: “I’ve hidden some things from my mom. Thanks for not exposing them.”

 

Given the experiences in the hospital and the rumors at school, Jiang Yunbian believed Zhou Die’s background was indeed complicated. But that’s precisely why he couldn’t connect Wen Yue, who seemed so ordinary, with Zhou Die.

 

He was curious but didn’t want to gossip.

 

“Who the hell cares about your lies? Don’t think you can use this as a bargaining chip to make me pity you and let things slide.”

 

In other words, let’s move on. Zhou Die leaned back casually and said, “You played well in the game, top student.”

 

Jiang Yunbian remained expressionless: “I can also be quite ruthless.”

 

After a moment of awkwardness, he changed his sitting posture: “Doesn’t the young master of today go back to school when he gets into trouble?”

 

“Enigma’s pheromones are unstable right after differentiation, which affects other classmates.”

 

“Isn’t Enigma the strongest? It can be unstable?”

 

Zhou Die smiled. Although his body was fine, the Zhou family had been strictly monitoring every aspect of his physical data since his differentiation, only allowing him freedom after confirming the process was complete.

 

At the beginning of his differentiation, he couldn’t even touch his phone.

 

Wen Yue brought two puddings. Jiang Yunbian found them unexpectedly delicious. Wen Yue wanted to keep him, but Jiang Yunbian made no move to stay.

 

Wen Yue took out a medical kit: “Before you leave, should we take care of that wound? It looks like it might be infected.”

 

Both of them were momentarily stunned and fell into an eerie silence.

 

Zhou Die, unable to control himself, let his gaze fall on Jiang Yunbian’s neck.

 

Jiang Yunbian, noticing Zhou Die’s stare, turned around and glared at him with a fierce look when he realized he was actually looking.

 

Tsk, so fierce.

 

Wen Yue tentatively said, “I’m not doing this on purpose, but that wound shouldn’t be left untreated… Let me help you take care of it, okay?”

 

Jiang Yunbian thought, “Damn, what is this?”

 

“No need, I can…”

 

“The wound is quite deep. Auntie will help you assess it. After treating it in these two days, you won’t have to worry about it, right?”

 

Zhou Die knew what Jiang Yunbian was sensitive about and found an excuse to go to the balcony to take a phone call.

 

Fine, he’s good at dealing with people.

 

Jiang Yunbian lowered his head and said quietly, “Sorry for the trouble.”

 

Wen Yue took the medical kit and, when she saw the bite marks on Jiang Yunbian’s gland, felt a shiver. The wound was quite deep—what kind of troublemaker had done this?

 

As the disinfectant and cooling ointment were applied to his neck, the itching and pain subsided, and Jiang Yunbian felt his shoulder relaxing a bit.

 

“The wound needs proper care. If it gets infected, it’ll be worse. Auntie has special bandages for it. Should I put one on you?”

 

“Thank you, Auntie.”

 

Outside, the rain was pouring heavily. Zhou Die had little space to avoid it and, sticking close to the door, inevitably overheard some of the conversation.

 

“Next time, don’t let this troublemaker give you a temporary mark. The bite was so deep.”

 

Was it very deep?

 

Zhou Die licked his teeth and vaguely recalled how it felt to bite Jiang Yunbian that day.

 

He didn’t remember much else, only that it was sweeter than expected. Jiang Yunbian’s resistance wasn’t as intense, so maybe he could have been gentler.

 

Who should be blamed? Zhou Die looked around the room.

 

Indeed, Jiang Yunbian behaved particularly well in his absence. When his mother was treating his neck, he looked like a little dog being petted.

 

The rain outside was so heavy that Zhou Die decided it was time to go, pushing the door open.

 

Everything was taken care of, and the two left together.

 

Zhou Die handed him an umbrella: “Is the wound very deep?”

 

Jiang Yunbian took the umbrella: “Not deep. If I had bitten you, it would have been worse.”

 

Perhaps realizing that normal communication was not possible, Zhou Die texted the driver, and two minutes later, the car arrived in front of them.

 

As the door opened, the driver, Uncle Chen, looked puzzled: “Young Master, didn’t you just manage to meet Ms. Wen with difficulty? Why are you leaving so soon…”

 

Before he could finish, he saw Jiang Yunbian already in the car.

 

Wait, isn’t this the troublemaker from the night before who caused the accident and prevented the Young Master from attending Ms. Wen’s birthday?

 

Zhou Die got in and closed the door: “Let’s go back to school.”