Chapter 46: A Promise of Longevity
With a crowd of students in front of him, Fu Rangyi hesitated again and again, but in the end, he still stepped forward and reached out to pull up the bad guy who had fallen into the snow.
Though he knew there had to be a trick. Zhu Zhixi could not possibly prank him only once.
Sure enough, the moment he grabbed Zhu Zhixi’s fingertips, he felt a force that had clearly been prepared in advance yanking hard downward, trying to drag him down too. Unfortunately, although the bad guy’s mind was quick, his strength was still a little lacking.
Fu Rangyi did not budge.
Zhu Zhixi’s eyes widened slightly.
Fu Rangyi nearly laughed. Instead, he tugged back and easily pulled the dazed Beta up. Zhu Zhixi lost his balance and crashed straight into his arms.
“You’re rather hard to rescue.” A faint smile hung at the corner of Fu Rangyi’s mouth.
Now Zhu Zhixi was the one embarrassed. He quickly backed out of his arms a little and muttered an excuse for himself. “I’ve just been neglecting exercise recently. Starting tomorrow, I’m going to live in the gym and lift weights. Just you wait…”
But Fu Rangyi sensed something. He lowered his head and moved his nose slightly.
“What are you doing?” He was leaning very close, so Zhu Zhixi misunderstood and felt a little embarrassed. He pulled him away, leaving the icy battlefield.
Fu Rangyi frowned. “Who did you meet just now?” The scent was this obvious. It probably had not been just a brief encounter.
Zhu Zhixi froze. “You can even smell that?” Alphas really were dogs. Their noses were dog noses too, so sharp.
“You…”
“Yu Heng.” Zhu Zhixi explained one step ahead of him. “I ran into him when I was returning the books.”
Actually, that was not quite true.
Before going to the office, Zhu Zhixi had specially made a trip to the archaeology department, wanting to find Yu Heng. Unfortunately, after asking around, he still could not find him. Coincidentally, when he went to the library to return the books, he chatted a little with the librarian and unexpectedly ran into Yu Heng, who was leaving after studying.
He hurriedly called Yu Heng’s name. The moment Yu Heng saw him, he immediately pressed the elevator button. Fortunately, someone else helped press the door-open button, allowing Zhu Zhixi to squeeze inside.
“Thank you, classmate.”
The student who helped press the button had reddened ears, but Zhu Zhixi did not notice. He smiled brightly and greeted Yu Heng.
“Want a red bean bun?”
Yu Heng wanted to avoid him at all costs, but Zhu Zhixi followed him with a face full of sunshine and was especially eye-catching. Along the way, quite a few people turned back to stare.
Yu Heng had no choice. After leaving the library, he immediately stopped and said to Zhu Zhixi, “You don’t have to show off in front of me. After the cultural festival, I never looked for Professor Fu again.”
Zhu Zhixi smiled. “I really do want to treat you to something good. Not a red bean bun, though. Want a palmier?”
And so, the two of them somehow ended up eating together again.
As they ate, Zhu Zhixi began sighing with emotion. “Ah, honestly, what’s wrong with liking someone?”
Yu Heng frowned and looked at him.
“Pursuing someone isn’t wrong either. Sending texts and making phone calls aren’t that big of a deal…”
Yu Heng immediately cut him off. “I never called! I never texted either. I only… sent emails.”
Zhu Zhixi raised his brows and stared at that proud little face for a few seconds. “Is that so?”
He smiled. “Then I misspoke. Sending emails isn’t that big a deal either. But things like pheromones shouldn’t be released casually in the future. It’s dangerous.”
Hearing this, Yu Heng looked rather embarrassed. He lowered his head and touched the back of his neck.
Zhu Zhixi was slightly taller than him, so he could see the suppressant patch on the back of his neck. His smile faded a little, and he said seriously and solemnly, “Think about it. There were so many people in the mall that day. If some Alpha you didn’t know had been affected by the pheromones and gone berserk on the spot, marking you in public, what would you have done? You’re so cute. What if an Alpha smelled your pheromones and followed you?”
Yu Heng’s head lowered more and more. He kicked at the air, then looked elsewhere, refusing to look at him.
After a while, he finally said gloomily, “That day… I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“I happened to be in heat, and I didn’t have strong suppressants with me. I happened to see Professor Fu and wanted to greet him. I got a little excited, and then, all at once, I couldn’t hold it back…”
Zhu Zhixi gave an “ah.” “Were you okay that day?”
Yu Heng froze and stared blankly at him. The points of light in his eyes trembled.
Suddenly, as though waking from a dream, he came back to himself. His expression became complicated. He lowered his head again and caught sight of the wedding ring on Zhu Zhixi’s hand. “Anyway, I won’t show up again! Don’t worry. No one will fight you for him!”
But Zhu Zhixi tilted his head. “I’m not saying this to you as Fu Rangyi’s spouse.”
Yu Heng looked at him. “Then as what?”
“As… a kindhearted Beta who watched a terrible play with you and ate red bean buns with you?” Zhu Zhixi curved his lips and bumped his shoulder. “We even clapped for my junior together. Forgot?”
“You forced me…”
“Then give me back the palmier.” Zhu Zhixi held out his palm. The countdown on it was still glowing.
Yu Heng looked utterly incredulous, as if he were one second away from digging it back out for him.
“Just kidding.” Zhu Zhixi patted his shoulder and then asked casually, “By the way, are there any students at your school who dislike Fu Rangyi? The more extreme type…”
“Why are you asking that?” Yu Heng looked a little nervous. “Did someone do something bad?”
Zhu Zhixi studied his expression and felt even more certain. He shook his head and said lightly, “Just asking casually. Didn’t his tire blow out a while ago? The repair shop said it wasn’t a natural blowout. What if some mentally unstable college student deliberately tried to get back at him?”
Yu Heng’s brows furrowed tightly.
Seeing that he could not get anything more out of him, Zhu Zhixi shoved both hands into his pockets. “I’m leaving.”
After taking only a few steps, he turned back again. Across the stream of people, he said to Yu Heng, “Almost forgot. Hurry up and say thank you, Little Zhu, for treating me to a palmier!”
Watching the proud little creature turn red in the face and leave, Zhu Zhixi finally departed in satisfaction. When he passed by the small square, he resolutely joined the snowball fight army and even added quite a few classmates on WeChat.
He had collected all sorts of strange pheromone scents.
And Fu Rangyi could still smell Yu Heng’s?
“You’re that sensitive to his pheromones?” Zhu Zhixi narrowed his eyes at Fu Rangyi. “I should have a lot of people’s pheromones on me right now, right? And you picked out classmate Yu Heng’s from all of them that quickly?”
Fu Rangyi stared at him. “You really are good at turning the tables.”
Zhu Zhixi patted the snow off his body. “I’m a hardworking member of the working people. If you provoke me again, I’ll turn over a lot of rakes and plow a whole mile of land for you.”
Then I’ll take you to dig dirt.
“Where are the books I asked you to borrow?” Fu Rangyi asked.
“I didn’t borrow them.” Zhu Zhixi said it boldly and confidently.
Fu Rangyi found this unbelievable. “You didn’t borrow them?”
“That’s right.” Zhu Zhixi’s eyes rolled. “Borrow what books? You clearly just wanted to send me away. It’s not like you really wanted to read them. You think I couldn’t tell?”
Fu Rangyi: “…Then you still didn’t reply to my message.”
“To make you anxious, Fu… oh, no, Professor.” Zhu Zhixi walked closer and closer until he was nearly pressed against Fu Rangyi’s arm. He tilted his head and looked at him. “Professor Fu, did you secretly film me just now? I saw you holding up your phone. Hurry and let me see.”
Only then did Fu Rangyi remember. He took his phone out of his coat pocket.
“It’s a video? Hey, it looks like it’s still recording.”
“…Don’t look.”
“No, I want to look.”
Unable to win against him, Fu Rangyi had no choice but to let him watch.
“It’s not well shot. I don’t know how to film videos.” He had never filmed anyone before. His hand was shaky, and Zhu Zhixi was a professional self-media creator, so he probably would not be very satisfied. Fu Rangyi gave him a warning in advance.
As Zhu Zhixi watched, he suddenly stopped walking, his expression serious.
“Fu Rangyi, did you add a filter to this video? It’s all white and a little blurry.”
As expected.
“No. The lens was probably fogged up. Give it back. I told you I didn’t film it well.”
“No. I was about to say, how did you film me so nicely?” Zhu Zhixi smiled and looked up. “It kind of looks like those popular online ‘late wife recollection’ videos.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly realized something was wrong and covered his mouth.
Sure enough, Fu Rangyi’s expression changed. He tilted his head slightly, looking at him with a gaze that seemed rather helpless.
Zhu Zhixi lightly slapped his own mouth several times. “Wrong, wrong. I said the wrong thing.”
Fu Rangyi did not respond. He walked ahead on his own and did not even take back his phone. Zhu Zhixi immediately ran after him. His scarf had slipped halfway off and swung behind him like a long tail.
“How about we replace the sensitive word? What do you think?” He forcefully squeezed his hand into Fu Rangyi’s arm and hooked onto him. “From now on, neither of us can say death or any synonyms of death. We’ll replace them all with life?”
“Living wife recollection?” Fu Rangyi was so annoyed he almost laughed.
A living wife. A wife who could anger him back to life even after death.
“No, no. That sounds like some kind of finance book.” Zhu Zhixi thought about it, then said, “How about longevity? Isn’t that auspicious?”
Fu Rangyi: “Whatever you say. I wouldn’t say that word anyway.”
“Really?” Zhu Zhixi did not believe him. His eyes rolled. “Then when I passed by the study, who was secretly cursing behind my back, ‘stupid to death’?”
Fu Rangyi: “…”
“Professor, next time remember to say ‘stupid long-life’ when you’re cursing someone. Then I’ll say ‘laughed myself long-life,’ ‘happy long-life,’ ‘so full I’m long-life’…”
For some reason, Fu Rangyi’s mind drifted uncontrollably to Zhu Zhixi’s little tent. Before his eyes appeared someone’s flushed face, and those lips that could only part because he was too breathless.
You’d better be able to say “I’m about to long-life” at a time like that too.
At the thought, he could not help laughing.
Zhu Zhixi jumped in fright.
“What are you doing? Why did you suddenly laugh? That’s so scary.”
“Nothing.” Fu Rangyi returned to his serious expression, glanced at him, and asked, “Does this sensitive-word replacement system have a punishment mechanism?”
Zhu Zhixi had not expected him to take it so seriously. “It can. If you lose, money gets deducted.”
“Forget deducting money.”
“Then what do you want?”
Fu Rangyi said, “Like last time. The loser has to unconditionally agree to one request from the other party.” After saying that, he reached out, pulled back the scarf that had already slipped behind Zhu Zhixi, and wrapped it around him again.
“Sure.” Zhu Zhixi looked utterly confident. He deliberately leaned close to him and walked backward. “Then I came to find you today and brought you something good to eat. Are you happy?”
Here we go again. Fu Rangyi stared at his face while also keeping an eye on the path behind him.
“I’m happy long-life.”
“You’re really sharp. No wonder you’re Doctor Doggie.”
“What doctor?” Fu Rangyi frowned. He had not heard clearly.
“Nothing.” Zhu Zhixi suddenly stopped and looked up.
Fu Rangyi failed to brake in time and nearly bumped into him. Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed Zhu Zhixi’s arm, afraid he would fall. “What is it?”
“I suddenly remembered. Yesterday, I called my dad, and he asked if I could bring you home with me for New Year.” Zhu Zhixi scratched his cheek. “Of course, I know this isn’t in our contract, and New Year is a pretty special occasion…”
“A lot of people?” Fu Rangyi asked.
“No. We don’t spend it with relatives.” Zhu Zhixi shook his head, rocking back and forth on his heels. “Just my dad, Big Zhu, you, and me. The four of us. Do you want to come?”
A flake of snow was blown onto his eyelashes. Fu Rangyi raised his hand and brushed it away. “I’ll let my family know.”
Zhu Zhixi smiled in satisfaction. “Then it’s settled. I’m going to report back to Old Zhu and Big Zhu.”
“Mm.”
Fu Rangyi did not mind going to Zhu Zhixi’s home for New Year. In fact, it would be easier than going back to the Fu family.
The only pressure came from his brother-in-law.
Ever since that time at the hospital, seeing Zhu Zeran now felt like seeing a contraception propaganda ambassador. It felt as though Zhu Zeran might drag him off for an educational lecture on contraception at any moment—or simply tie him up and have him sterilized on the spot. The latter seemed more likely.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Your brother.”
“Huh?” Zhu Zhixi yanked him hard. “Is that appropriate?”
Fu Rangyi said, “No. It’s the kind of thought that qualifies as PTSD.”
Zhu Zhixi suddenly stopped, rose onto his tiptoes, and by now, as they chatted, they had already left the little square and reached the entrance of Mingde Building, where people were coming and going. His sudden approach startled Fu Rangyi, who thought Zhu Zhixi was about to do some public life-extending action.
But in the next second, Zhu Zhixi stretched out one palm beneath the front of Fu Rangyi’s coat. With the index finger of his other hand, he poked Fu Rangyi’s chest twice. Just as Fu Rangyi was feeling bewildered, Zhu Zhixi pressed his palms together, rubbed them, then extended his index and middle fingers, placed them against Fu Rangyi’s temples, and rubbed vigorously for a long time.
“What are you doing?”
“Washing your brain.” Zhu Zhixi looked perfectly serious. “Last time, after holding Little Yu’s hand, you knew to wash your hands. If you thought about a bad thing like Zhu Zeran, you have to wash your brain.”
If there had not been too many students turning back to look, Fu Rangyi would have been very willing to let him wash it a little longer.
New Year came early this year, while the winter break started late. Four days after the students finished their finals, winter break officially began. The grades were released one after another, and everyone was shocked. Fu Rangyi, who had always been called “the Living Yama of Finals Week,” had not failed a single person this time.
Everyone credited this to the now-famous Beta wife who had only come by a few times.
The students were on break, but Fu Rangyi was not. Originally, he had signed up in the autumn to join this field archaeology project, partly so he would not have to return to the Fu family for New Year. But later, once the department learned he was newly married, the leadership showed care for their subordinate and decided not to let him join the team.
Still, Fu Rangyi felt uneasy about it, so he had been remotely helping them resolve technical problems. It was not until the day before New Year’s Eve that he finally rested.
However, Zhu Zhixi had been especially busy during this period too. Every day, he left early and returned late.
Fu Rangyi did not know what he was busy with. Several times, when Zhu Zhixi came home, the scent on him was not just that unpleasant eucalyptus leaf smell. Sometimes, there was also that contraception committee member’s scumbag fragrance. It seemed he had gone back to his own home.
The little social butterfly himself knew nothing about this. But under Fu Rangyi’s influence, Zhu Zhixi had already learned to shower as soon as he got home and obediently change into pajamas.
Because there was no time to do their daily life-extending task, these past few nights, Zhu Zhixi would take the initiative to come to the master bedroom, knock on the door, come in, close the door, quietly climb into bed, and press his forehead against Fu Rangyi’s back.
“So tired I’m gonna di…” He hissed like an exhausted little snake, then abruptly stopped himself. “So tired I’m gonna long-life.”
A missed chance to order Zhu Zhixi around.
When Fu Rangyi turned back, Zhu Zhixi had already fallen asleep.
He was so tired. Anyone who did not know better would think he had been going out every day to save the world.
The sleeping Zhu Zhixi was very quiet. His breathing was not loud either. Often, five minutes after falling asleep, he would change positions, usually rolling onto his stomach, face turned to the other side, naturally exposing the fair nape of his neck to Fu Rangyi.
As Fu Rangyi stared at it, he would eventually lean closer, press the tip of his nose against the skin at the back of Zhu Zhixi’s neck, and release his pheromones, covering over all the miscellaneous scents from outside.
There was no helping it. This was an Alpha’s nature.
Before the holiday, the results of the hospital checkup came out one after another.
“Everything else is pretty healthy. The only questionable area is the gland,” Li Qiao said over the phone. “I asked Professor Wang. He said judging from the various endocrine data and scans, your little Zhu is very likely to have a recessively developed gland. Simply put, it’s extremely small in volume and doesn’t have much function. If it really did become cancerous, it would be very difficult to detect in the early stages. But don’t worry. He’s an expert in this field, and he thinks that at least right now, it doesn’t look like that.”
“Right now, it doesn’t look like that?” Fu Rangyi still could not relax. “He has a family history. His mother died of gland cancer.”
“I remember. I told him that too. Professor Wang said this disease is more common in Omegas, especially Omegas after childbirth. And the nosebleeds you mentioned aren’t a typical symptom of this illness. Don’t panic yet. Come back for a follow-up next month.”
“That follow-up interval is too long,” Fu Rangyi said. “I’ll bring him after New Year.”
“That works too. Relax. Look at how lively he is, bouncing around everywhere. Does he look like someone who’s about to die?”
“He’s someone who’s about to live a long life. Hanging up.”
Li Qiao held his phone, utterly baffled. The more he thought about it, the more baffled he became. He casually changed Fu Rangyi’s contact name. Even so, with New Year coming, he still thought about how Fu Rangyi would have to return to the Fu family, unloved by both father and mother, and felt a little sorry for him.
[Li Qiao: Hey, tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve. Want to come drink at my place? Your Brother Qiao is feeling merciful and has decided to randomly take in one heartbroken Alpha this year. Congratulations, you’ve been chosen.]
[Husband of the World’s Longest-Lived Beta: Thanks, but give that precious spot to some other Alpha. I’m already at Zhu Zhixi’s house.]
Author’s Note:
—Mini Theater: Campus Forum—
[Help, grades are out…]
[Holy crap, I actually didn’t fail!! fry gave me such a high participation score?? It feels hot in my hands.]
[Did fry change his entire personality this year? Isn’t he famous for being an angel in class and a demon during exams?]
[If I’d known, I would’ve picked his class too! Old Zhang failed me!!]
[Could you even get into his class though… His classes are getting harder and harder to select. If he doesn’t fail anyone this year, next year it’ll probably be even harder.]
[Sure enough, an Alpha nourished by love no longer hates the world. He can’t bring himself to strike students down with an iron fist anymore.]
[Having a wife really changes a person.]
[Why does it feel like all of you have seen fry’s wife? What’s he like? Any links?]
[Upstairs, go look at the snowball fight mega-thread. The back half is full of photos. The two of them are hugging and cuddling all over the place. Basically a honeymoon period.]
[fry’s wife is genuinely adorable! He can even chat with the school’s big yellow dog, and his personality is super nice. I thought he was an undergrad, but apparently he already graduated from grad school.]
[You can even dig that up?]
[Someone added his wife on WeChat, and someone found his account as a video blogger. His homepage is full of actual-life energy. I’m so jealous…]
[fry’s wife is a blogger?? Then does that mean we might get to see Little Teacher Fu show up on camera and flaunt their love someday!! Dreaming of a couple video!]
[With fry’s personality, probably hard… unless it’s academic-related.]
[He’s seriously too cute. I watched his video homepage and couldn’t get out. I want to become my teacher’s mom fan!]
[They really match. I’ll say it ten thousand times.]
[His wife is a Beta. Does Teacher Fu get insanely jealous and bite, lick, and hug him every day? I can’t imagine that iceberg face doing that.]
[Probably not, right? Adding him on WeChat was fine. Teacher Fu wouldn’t go that far.]
[Okay, I spoke too soon. I got deleted.]
[Me too… Good job, fry.]
[Me too. CP fan heartbroken.]
[Feels like this thread is in danger too…]
