The Marked Alpha Is Extremely Hard to Coax - Chapter 5

When Jiang Yunbian woke up, his entire body was in discomfort. Pain spread across his skin like fine needles continuously piercing and scraping him, making even breathing something he had to do with caution.

 

The sheets covering him were soaked in disinfectant. He sat up for a long time before realizing he was in a hospital.

 

“You’re awake.” Xu Zhaoruo, who was sitting nearby, smiled as she spoke.

 

Jiang Yunbian quickly wiped the pained expression off his face, replacing it with a cold glare directed at her.

 

“Don’t be so fierce.” The more Xu Zhaoruo looked at him, the more he seemed like an unruly puppy—obviously in pain but still putting on a tough front, baring his teeth even when he’s down. “You fainted because of your injury, which is why you’re here.”

 

Fainted from an injury. Damn it.

 

Just as Jiang Yunbian was feeling humiliated, there was a commotion outside the room.

 

“Why are you in such a rush? I’m just here to check on my boyfriend, why make such a fuss?” A girl pushed open the door, her impatience disappearing the moment she saw Jiang Yunbian.

 

Xiao Min followed behind her, still reaching for the door handle as if she had tried to stop the girl but failed.

 

Xiao Min stammered, “Xiao Jiang-ge, I couldn’t stop her.”

 

Xu Zhaoruo squinted her eyes and quickly recognized the girl who had just called Jiang Yunbian her “boyfriend” as the third person at the scene of the car accident.

 

The girl, however, didn’t feel embarrassed by the false identity she had claimed. She walked nonchalantly to the bedside. “You’re awake? I heard you were hospitalized and got really worried, so I…”

 

“You.” Jiang Yunbian tilted his chin slightly. “If I remember correctly, your name is Wang Xiaowei, right? Maybe I was too subtle before, so since you’re here today, let’s make things clear.”

 

“No matter if it’s because of AO feelings, an interest in my singing, or just my looks, I won’t like you, nor will I accept your advances. This approach doesn’t work on me. I hope we don’t meet again in the future.”

 

Xu Zhaoruo internally went, “Oh~.”

 

Judging by Jiang Yunbian’s expression just now, she thought he was going to say something really harsh, but his “Stop pestering me and get lost” was actually quite polite.

 

Tsk, Jiang Yunbian is actually quite gentle.

 

Wang Xiaowei laughed awkwardly. “What advances? I’m just here to check on you…”

 

Xiao Min bit her lip and decided to take out her phone to start recording.

 

The night of Jiang Yunbian’s car accident, Xiao Min had been secretly recording a live stream backstage and accidentally caught something.

 

She only found out about the car accident last night and was planning to tell Jiang Yunbian, but hadn’t had the chance due to the incident.

 

“Xiaowei, I have to hand it to you. Even someone as aloof as Jiang Yunbian can be swayed by you.”

 

“Yeah, a high-class A like Jiang Yunbian, who’s rare to come by, and just happens to be a troubled youth too—he must be really starved for affection, loves being flattered and pampered. Let him lead me on for all I care; sooner or later, he won’t be able to live without me. Didn’t he come here on a bike tonight? I’ll just cling to him until I find out where he lives.”

 

Even though it was just a recording, you could hear the smugness in Wang Xiaowei’s voice.

 

The recording was only thirty seconds long, but Wang Xiaowei’s expression shifted dramatically. She turned back angrily.

 

Xiao Min took two steps back. “It’s your fault Xiao Jiang-ge had the accident because you were pestering him! Have you no shame?!”

 

Wang Xiaowei’s face twisted in anger.

 

“Starved for affection? Ha.” Jiang Yunbian found it amusing. “This is the last time I’ll be polite with you. Delete your Weibo posts and disappear from my sight, got it?”

 

No matter how persistent Wang Xiaowei was, she couldn’t overcome such a straightforward rejection. She shoved Xiao Min out of the way and stormed off in a fit of rage.

 

Xu Zhaoruo blinked, then politely said, “I’ll just go use the bathroom. You two talk.”

 

As soon as she closed the door behind her, she saw Zhou Die leaning against the wall.

 

This guy liked to eat peppermint candy, and he always carried that refreshing scent with him.

 

Xu Zhaoruo smiled, “Oh, you’re here. Why didn’t you go in?”

 

Zhou Die’s expression was unreadable. “A good show was playing in there, what would I go in for?”

 

So, he heard everything.

 

Xu Zhaoruo asked, “Then did that clear up your misunderstanding about him?”

 

The candy in Zhou Die’s mouth was melting as he slowly asked, “What misunderstanding do I have about him?”

 

In her mind, Xu Zhaoruo stamped a “Tsundere Cat” label on Zhou Die.

 

This guy, aside from his good looks, had nothing likable about him.

 

Noticing the report in Zhou Die’s hand, Xu Zhaoruo remembered something important. “How did the secondary differentiation results turn out?”

 

When Zhou Die first differentiated at the age of twelve, there was an 87% probability he would become an Enigma. The doctor said he would undergo a secondary differentiation between sixteen and eighteen.

 

In Xu Zhaoruo’s understanding, the so-called Enigmas only appeared in scientific research journals and were extremely rare. She was already shocked when she learned that Grandpa Zhou Die was an E.

 

He was a renowned figure in his younger years, and the Zhou family placed great emphasis on bloodlines. It was said that Old Master Zhou didn’t think highly of his son, who was merely a high-level A.

 

So when Zhou Die was told that he might be an E, the old man took great care of his grandson, keeping him at home as soon as he turned sixteen, fearing that he might not be properly taken care of during his secondary differentiation.

 

However, despite being confined for a year without success, Zhou Die encountered an incident just as the new school year began.

 

Zhou Die didn’t show much expression, clearly not very concerned about the various test reports in his hands.

 

“Successful differentiation. Now an Enigma.”

 

If it weren’t for Xu Zhaoruo’s keen hearing, with Zhou Die’s attitude, she might have thought he had failed to differentiate.

 

After being stunned for three seconds, she couldn’t help but say, “You’re awesome, Brother Die.”

 

Zhou Die: “…”

 

Since Zhou Die was confirmed to possibly differentiate into an E, his grandfather had been searching for an O that could match him, hoping to induce his early differentiation with sweet pheromones. Xu Zhaoruo was one of the candidates.

 

After being paired for over a year, Zhou Die showed no reaction, leaving Xu Zhaoruo wondering if her charm was limited or if Zhou Die had some hidden defect.

 

Now, it turned out he differentiated after just a fight with an A.

 

… No, maybe there really was a hidden defect.

 

“What about him?” Xu Zhaoruo pointed to the hospital room. “Did your pheromones affect him?”

 

It was just a casual question, but Zhou Die’s expression darkened visibly.

 

“His pheromones and mine influenced each other, and I’ve marked him. He will experience a Reverse reaction.”

 

Xu Zhaoruo opened her mouth silently. Huh?

 

Zhou Die stuffed the report into her hand.

 

Reverse Reaction:

 

An Alpha induced into heat by Enigma pheromones will have their pheromones marked, with a 1% chance of undergoing a reverse reaction and becoming an exclusive Omega. An exclusive O retains all the characteristics of an Alpha but has a strong physiological response to the marked Enigma.

 

Xu Zhaoruo skimmed over the series of complex tests and saw the final line: Confirmed Reverse reaction.

 

“… I only knew that E’s could mark A’s, but it requires deep bonding and a long period of pheromone softening for the A to fully become an O, and they can still bond with others after leaving the E. An exclusive O is so rare that it’s almost nonexistent… and you just turned Jiang Yunbian into an exclusive Omega with pheromones alone? My god, in a game, this would be an SSSR-level draw.”

 

In simpler terms, calling it the chosen one wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

 

Xu Zhaoruo clasped her hands together in a mock prayer. “I wish you both a long and happy life together.”

 

Zhou Die glanced at her indifferently.

 

When Zhou Die was an A, his suppression was top-tier. Now that he had differentiated into an E, just a glance from him made Xu Zhaoruo instinctively feel fear, and she pursed her lips awkwardly.

 

Zhou Die’s irritated mood gradually eased.

 

He hadn’t expected that just by fighting with Jiang Yunbian, such a terrible consequence would occur.

 

Enigmas are the masters of their gender, capable of hunting anyone they find interesting, and their physiological advantages give them far more suppressive power than A’s. Secondary differentiation only brings benefits to them.

 

But it’s different for Jiang Yunbian. An A experiencing a Reverse reaction would go into heat like an O, and it can’t be resolved with ordinary inhibitors or marks from other A’s.

 

It’s like the Enigma had injected poison into the Alpha’s bones, making Jiang Yunbian uncontrollably dependent on him.

 

Zhou Die knew that, given Jiang Yunbian’s bad temper, handling this situation wouldn’t be easy. But just now at the door, he heard everything, and what was already a difficult situation had just become even more complicated.

 

It seemed that the approach he used with Xu Zhaoruo wouldn’t work on Jiang Yunbian.

 

“Actually, I just interacted with him, and Jiang Yunbian just has a bit of a bad temper. He’s fine otherwise,” Xu Zhaoruo said cautiously.

 

Zhou Die gave her a look as if saying, “Are you blind?”

 

Xu Zhaoruo: “Why don’t you talk to him nicely? If you two get along, I’ll gladly give up the title of ‘Zhou Shao’s fiancée.'”

 

“… Shut up.”

 

Adjusting his attitude, Zhou Die planned to have a calm conversation with this classmate he had fought with twice in the past three days.

 

But just as he entered the room, the first thing he heard was Jiang Yunbian’s sarcastic remark: “Hah, you finally showed up. I thought your pheromones had sent you to the ICU.”

 

Zhou Die: “…”

 

Calm conversation, yeah right.

 

Sitting by the bed, Xiao Min didn’t know whether to stand or sit when she saw Zhou Die, her face flushed and not daring to look up.

 

After the incident last night, with ambulances and police arriving one after another, Xiao Min had heard them repeatedly addressing him as “Mr. Zhou,” and now that Jiang Yunbian was still in a VIP ward, she instantly realized this person was someone of considerable status.

 

The little patience Zhou Die had managed to muster disappeared. He sneered coldly, “You’ve been lying in bed for twelve hours, and the first thing you do when you wake up is bite? You really are tough.”

 

Just as Xiao Min was about to urge Jiang Yunbian to show some courtesy, Jiang Yunbian retorted, “If Zhou Shao feels he didn’t perform well in the fight last night because of the unfamiliar surroundings, why don’t we go for another round right now?”

 

Xiao Min: “…” Please, brother, could you be a bit less aggressive?

 

Zhou Die was just about to retort, but suddenly the phone on the table rang.

 

His gaze dropped, and he saw the photo of a cute girl making a face at the camera.

 

Jiang Yunbian’s caller ID actually had a picture, and the nickname was something sickeningly sweet: “Yi Yi.”

 

Zhou Die’s brows furrowed slightly, perhaps due to that weird possessiveness between EA’s, and his subtle irritation was ignited.

 

But the Jiang Yunbian who had been so aggressive earlier quickly picked up the phone, afraid of being negligent, his expression softer than ever. “Hey, Yi Yi?”

 

Xiao Min suddenly felt that Zhou Die’s expression had turned cold.