Chapter 17: Who’s This?
Over the past month, every Friday’s classes hadn’t been easy for Jiang Rong. He would always find a seat with no one around, curl up quietly like a little mushroom, and apart from signing in to prove he’d attended class, he did his best to make himself invisible during lectures.
Today, with He Siming sitting beside him, he felt much more confident. His motivation to keep studying was stronger too, because whenever he didn’t understand something, He Siming would give him a little guidance—and suddenly it would all make sense. It felt almost magical.
The morning passed in focused study. But concentrating burned energy fast, and before class was even over, his stomach was growling—he felt like he could eat an entire cow.
As soon as class ended, He Siming took a phone call and was called away.
Jiang Rong went to the cafeteria with Yao Shule and Li Yizhou.
Li Yizhou suggested, “Should we go to the Third Cafeteria today? I’m craving the braised pork there—it smells amazing.”
Jiang Rong asked, “Is the Third Cafeteria near the west gate?”
“Yeah,” Li Yizhou replied.
Yao Shule asked, “You going out to buy something?”
There was a convenience street near the east gate, where prices were much cheaper than elsewhere.
“I want to get a haircut,” Jiang Rong said. “It’s gotten a bit long—it’s blocking my eyes.”
Yao Shule immediately agreed. “Now that you mention it, I need one too. We’re climbing the Great Wall tomorrow—we should look sharp!”
Li Yizhou touched his noticeably longer buzz cut. “Then I’m in too. Hahaha, there’ll be pretty girls tomorrow!”
Yao Shule scoffed. “What are you dreaming about? They’re all going for He Siming.”
“Tch, I’m a handsome guy too, okay?” Li Yizhou protested.
Jiang Rong nodded seriously. “You’re all handsome.”
Yao Shule had a refined kind of good looks—he was from the south, about 175 cm tall, slim, and liked to dress well. Li Yizhou, on the other hand, was ruggedly handsome—tall, sunny, and masculine.
Yao Shule sized up Jiang Rong. “You really should get a haircut. Your bangs always covering your face makes you look lifeless.”
“Then I’ll ask the stylist to give me a clean, fresh look,” Jiang Rong said.
Ever the optimist, Yao Shule exclaimed, “Perfect! Room 519 haircut squad! Let’s take a photo before we cut, then another after. Hahaha—I’m posting it to my Moments!”
Under Yao Shule’s lead, Jiang Rong tried the Third Cafeteria’s roast duck rice.
It was his first time eating this kind of duck. The skin was roasted crisp, the meat tender. When he took a bite, the juices mixed with the oil from the skin, filling his mouth with fragrance—it was the pure happiness of eating something delicious.
“So fragrant,” Jiang Rong said, squinting his eyes in enjoyment.
Even while eating, Yao Shule took photos with his phone—he was the type who loved taking pictures.
“This is my favorite,” Li Yizhou said. “But normally I can’t get it. On Fridays, most students leave campus, so with fewer competitors, I finally can.”
“So next time, if we want it, we just come earlier to line up?” Jiang Rong asked.
“Our classes always end right at noon, and it’s far,” Li Yizhou replied. “I’ve timed it—every time I run over, it’s already sold out. Fridays are the only chance.”
“Then let’s come on Fridays,” Jiang Rong said.
Li Yizhou laughed. “Too bad He Siming isn’t here—then our whole dorm would be together.”
Yao Shule said, “He’ll definitely be there tomorrow for the hike. It’ll be our dorm’s first group activity—we’ve got to take lots of photos as souvenirs.”
“Don’t ask me to take pictures for you,” Li Yizhou said quickly.
Jiang Rong realized that Yao Shule really was a lively, energetic person—someone who acted on impulse and radiated energy. Being around him was actually a lot of fun.
Yao Shule curled his lip. “With your skills? I’d rather not take photos at all. You always make me look abstract!”
“How abstract?” Jiang Rong asked.
Yao Shule began listing all the terrible photos Li Yizhou had taken of him, successfully making Jiang Rong laugh. Lunch passed in a cheerful atmosphere.
Outside the west gate was an old street.
Yao Shule led Jiang Rong into a barbershop popular with Qin University students. The prices were fair, no random charges, no membership cards, and the stylists weren’t divided into ‘manager,’ ‘director,’ or ‘head stylist’ tiers.
The stylist who cut Jiang Rong’s hair was a middle-aged woman with a constant smile—kind and approachable. According to the forum, she was a stylist who “actually understands human language,” and everyone loved going to her.
Yao Shule seemed to know her well. “Sis, cut his hair first. You can do mine later.”
She asked Jiang Rong, “Alright, handsome—what kind of style do you want?”
“I don’t need anything fancy,” Jiang Rong said. “Just shorter. It’s covering my eyes—something clean and refreshing.”
He had been in this world for over a month, anxious the entire time, and hadn’t gotten a haircut. With his hair so long, it was no wonder no one had suspected he wasn’t the original Jiang Rong—his face had been half hidden.
The process was wash, cut, blow-dry—done.
Less than thirty minutes, quick and well done.
Li Yizhou finished too—his was cut by the stylist’s husband. He just had a buzz cut, so it was even faster.
When Jiang Rong stood up from the chair, Li Yizhou—who had just washed his hair and was about to sit down—suddenly exclaimed, “Holy shit, Jiang Rong! You just got a haircut and it’s like you became a different person. With a face like that, why were you covering it up?!”
Now Jiang Rong had a natural textured fringe. His bangs were light and broken, revealing just a bit of his fair forehead—full of youthful charm.
The stylist said, “His face is small—this style suits him best.”
Yao Shule’s eyes were full of envy. “I want this too. You look two years younger. Standing next to God He, you wouldn’t lose in aura at all.”
Li Yizhou clicked his tongue in amazement. “Lived with you for over a year and only now realized you’re a total hottie.”
Jiang Rong felt embarrassed by all the praise. “Th-thank you?”
In his ABO world, handsome men and beautiful women were everywhere. He thought his looks were decent, but not as exaggerated as they were saying. Still, it felt really good. Turns out, being praised could lift your mood so much.
Growing up, Jiang Rong had been strictly disciplined by his parents. They only demanded that he do better—rarely did he receive even a word of praise. After he failed to differentiate, it got worse. His own mother even blamed him for not becoming an Omega, saying it was because he wasn’t good enough, that he was useless.
In their eyes, Betas were useless.
Now that he had differentiated into an Omega, it had nothing to do with them anymore. They had been the ones to abandon him first.
Listening to Yao Shule chatter with the stylist about wanting a 3–7 part haircut, Jiang Rong felt that coming to this world wasn’t so bad after all. Everything seemed to be moving in a better direction—except that he still didn’t know how he’d get through future heat cycles.
With his new hairstyle, Jiang Rong went to his afternoon class, drawing many surprised looks from classmates. However, He Siming had been called away by a professor and didn’t attend class, so he didn’t see the change.
Yao Shule posted photos of the three of them eating roast duck rice and their after-haircut group shot to his Moments. Jiang Rong liked the post and saved their group photo.
Later, he checked He Siming’s Moments. It was set to three-day visibility, and there was nothing there. He hadn’t liked Yao Shule’s post either—probably didn’t check Moments much.
At nine in the evening, Yao Shule added him to their outdoor hiking group chat. Organizing a Great Wall hike was one of their easiest activities.
Qin University’s Handsomest Leader: Students staying on campus, gather at the school gate at 9 a.m. tomorrow. If you’re going on your own, let us know in advance.
Everyone replied in unison: Received!
The group size quickly jumped from ten to forty-five people.
Li Yizhou said, “Isn’t this a bit too many? Doesn’t your outdoor club usually struggle to get even ten people?”
Yao Shule grinned. “Hahaha, I said God He is going. Half of them are probably here for him.”
Jiang Rong glanced through the member list and spotted a familiar name—Yao Yin.
Ever since being targeted in English class, he wasn’t fond of her, but people’s choices were their own.
He Siming hadn’t spoken in the group. Instead, he messaged Jiang Rong privately.
He Siming: I’ll head over on my own tomorrow. Are you coming with me, or with them?
Jiang Rong: I’ll go with them.
He Siming: Okay. Going to sleep?
Jiang Rong: Yeah, I’m sleepy. You?
He Siming: Still busy in the lab.
Jiang Rong: Then rest early. See you tomorrow.
He Siming: See you tomorrow.
Jiang Rong reread the exchange twice before falling asleep with a sweet feeling.
The next morning, Jiang Rong didn’t wake up early as usual. His alarm rang three times before he reluctantly got up.
Why had he been sleeping so much these past two days? No matter how much he slept, it didn’t feel like enough.
Was it because he had finally relaxed, and the anxiety from before was being released—his depleted energy being replenished through sleep?
Unable to figure it out, he stopped thinking about it.
Yao Shule had been too excited the night before and stayed up late fiddling with his Polaroid, so he couldn’t get up. Jiang Rong and Li Yizhou took turns dragging him out of bed.
The three of them bought some water and snacks at the supermarket and headed to the meeting point.
Most students chose to go on their own.
Yao Shule, wanting to support the leader, went with the group.
But when they arrived, they saw that only a few boys were standing around the leader.
Yao Shule asked, “Where is everyone else?”
The leader was Feng Yu—everyone called him Brother Madman. He was from the sports department.
His skin was a shade darker than others’, tall and muscular, with well-developed chest muscles. It was a chilly autumn morning, yet he wore only a T-shirt.
Feng Yu said helplessly, “Once they found out God He was coming on his own, everyone ditched the group. Nothing I can do.”
A group of guys sighed regretfully. “What a shame. Today’s display of physical prowess will be wasted on the blind.”
Yao Shule laughed. “If they won’t look, then take your shirts off for me—I don’t mind!”
Feng Yu laughed. “Yao Shule, stop being horny.”
“Fuck off,” Yao Shule shot back.
They’d been high school classmates and were quite close.
There was a subway from campus to the Great Wall, so they took the metro. The ride was lively, with most of the conversation revolving around games.
One student from the School of Economics and Management noticed how quiet Jiang Rong was. Since he wasn’t very talkative either, they ended up standing together on the subway.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you at the outdoor club,” Jiang Rong said.
“I’m Yao Shule’s roommate,” Jiang Rong replied. “I hadn’t joined him for these activities before.”
The student asked, “How’s your stamina?”
“Average,” Jiang Rong said. “I’m not great at sports.”
“Then you could join our club,” the student suggested. “We can go hiking together. My stamina isn’t great either—I don’t dare join hikes over fifteen kilometers. I’m afraid I won’t keep up with the main group.”
“Then you could try shorter routes,” Jiang Rong said.
“I want to. Want to add each other on WeChat?”
“Sure.”
They added each other. The student—Jiang Jie—noticed Jiang Rong’s WeChat avatar was an orange cat.
“You like cats too?” Jiang Jie asked.
“Yeah, I do,” Jiang Rong replied. But he couldn’t keep one.
“I have three at home. I’ll show you—one Russian Blue, one British Shorthair, and one tabby.”
“Why doesn’t the blue one have a tail?” Jiang Rong asked.
Jiang Jie had to explain the cat’s past. “I was an exchange student in the UK before and adopted a blue cat there. Later I brought it back to China. When we took it to get washed, it got startled by a truck horn and became stressed. After that, it kept biting its tail. My family ended up cutting its tail off. When I came home from school and found out, I was so angry I cried.”
“I would’ve cried too,” Jiang Rong said, unable to understand his family’s decision.
They chatted about cats the whole way.
When they reached the meeting point, He Siming and Ding Yan had already arrived.
Ding Yan was entertaining the girls, making them laugh, while He Siming stood off to the side. He didn’t join in, and treated every girl who tried to approach him the same—keeping a distance of about one and a half meters.
Finally, he spotted Jiang Jie and Yao Shule approaching—but didn’t see Jiang Rong at first.
“Where’s Jiang Rong?” He Siming asked, his tone noticeably urgent.
Li Yizhou pointed behind them. “Back there.”
He Siming focused his gaze and stopped when it landed on Jiang Rong’s face.
Ding Yan exclaimed, “Holy shit—who’s this? Is that Jiang Rong? He just changed his hairstyle and it’s like he became a different person. Gotta admit, he’s pretty handsome!”
He Siming’s eyes stayed fixed on Jiang Rong’s face. “Mm. You finally said something sensible.”
Ding Yan: “……”
