TAO | Chapter 113

Wei Xiaochi’s bad mood lingered all the way until the end of morning classes.

During lunch, Jiang Zhan noticed how distracted he was and instantly grew serious. “Did someone bully you?”

Wei Xiaochi quickly tried to calm the alpha. “No.”

“Then why do you keep frowning?” Jiang Zhan narrowed his eyes. “Be honest—did someone bully you?”

Wei Xiaochi hadn’t expected Jiang Zhan to be this perceptive. He lowered his gaze and changed the subject. “Um… from now on, I’ll come find you during second period break.”

Zhang Mingyang not studying in class was most likely because of Jiang Zhan. As for whether his recent drop in test scores was also related… that, Wei Xiaochi wasn’t sure.

But either way, he felt somewhat responsible. He didn’t want that on his conscience.

Jiang Zhan’s eyes lit up immediately, but he still lifted his chin in that typical alpha pride. “Well, if you insist on coming to find me…”

Wei Xiaochi stared at Jiang Zhan, who was clearly trying (and failing) to hide his joy. He looked downright smug.

Jiang Zhan was just such a simple and straightforward person—give him the tiniest bit of attention and he’d be over the moon.

Wei Xiaochi’s gloomy mood slowly lifted, and suddenly, all that irritability didn’t feel so important anymore.

In a soft voice, he said, “Mm, I’ll come find you.”

The corners of Jiang Zhan’s mouth curved up even more, and he gave a satisfied little hum. “Knew you liked me.”

“…”

Jiang Zhan had many great qualities. But knowing when to stop? Not one of them. He left the already reserved and modest Wei Xiaochi completely speechless.

Wei Xiaochi stammered out a quiet “Mm,” then quickly picked up a piece of meat and placed it into Jiang Zhan’s bowl. “C-Come on, eat.”

If Jiang Zhan had a tail, it’d be wagging at full speed right now. He happily picked up the meat and stuffed it into his mouth.

—

Since that conversation in the morning, Xie Chi hadn’t shown up again in front of either of them.

Zhang Mingyang, too, stopped disappearing between classes. Unless necessary, he stayed put in the classroom, head down and focused. Gone was the guy who used to constantly provoke Wei Xiaochi with passive-aggressive comments. Lately, he was quiet—even in class, he didn’t raise his hand like before.

Zhang Mingyang had always been the type who loved showing off in class, the kind of “academic alpha” everyone low-key disliked. Especially when compared to someone like Li Suilin—modest, polite, effortlessly outstanding—Zhang Mingyang’s arrogance felt even more unbearable.

But he never saw it that way. He always thought people were just jealous of his brilliance.

Recently, though, Zhang Mingyang had clearly mellowed out. He could go a whole day without saying a word.

He’d started changing long ago—but Wei Xiaochi hadn’t noticed, not until Xie Chi said, “He seems to like you.” That one sentence shook him enough to pay a little more attention.

Deep down, Wei Xiaochi didn’t believe a word Xie Chi said. But people are weird. Once someone plants a certain idea in your head, even if you don’t believe it, that idea makes your perception… strange.

That’s exactly where Wei Xiaochi was now—subtly distancing himself from Zhang Mingyang without even meaning to. Just enough to hold back until the memory of that line faded.

—

When the bell rang after second period, Wei Xiaochi picked up his books and walked over to Class Seven’s door.

He rarely came looking for Jiang Zhan, let alone entered another class’s space. Standing at the door, he poked his head inside.

Jiang Zhan sat in the very back row by the window. The early autumn sunlight was still bright and harsh, casting soft light across the alpha’s sharp features, blurring his profile into something dreamlike.

“Come in. Why are you just standing there?” Jiang Zhan called out, drawing quite a few stares.

He clearly had been waiting—Wei Xiaochi had just appeared at the door and Jiang Zhan already locked eyes with him.

Han Ziyang saw him and immediately called out teasingly, “Whoa, Teacher Wei is visiting our class? What an honor! Everyone, a round of applause for Teacher Wei!”

He started clapping in perfect rhythm, and the rest of the class joined in with whoops and laughter.

Wei Xiaochi braced himself, stepping into the classroom with an awkward smile, nodding stiffly. “Hi… everyone.”

Jiang Zhan lifted his leg and kicked Han Ziyang in the thigh. “Can you shut up?”

Han Ziyang just laughed and patted his pants, making room for Wei Xiaochi. “I’m just hyping you up. Gotta support our in-law.”

Other people might not understand how these two interacted, but Han Ziyang was very clear. In this relationship, it was Wei Xiaochi who had the upper hand. Jiang Zhan’s standing at home? Pretty tragic.

Jiang Zhan kicked him again.

Han Ziyang dodged smoothly and jogged out of the room, giving Wei Xiaochi a friendly pat on the shoulder as he passed. “Teacher Wei, please rein him in. He’s way too aggressive.”

Wei Xiaochi: …

“Get lost,” Jiang Zhan snapped and chucked an English textbook at him.

Realizing Jiang Zhan was actually getting mad, Han Ziyang quickly shrank his shoulders and scampered off.

Wei Xiaochi bent down to pick up the book, then walked over to Jiang Zhan.

“You shouldn’t throw books at people,” he said gently. “What if it hits someone’s head? That hurts a lot.”

He’d been smacked with a book corner by Fang Zhixin once—it really hurt.

Jiang Zhan opened his mouth to say something, then paused and just mumbled, “Mm.”

He pulled Han Ziyang’s chair closer to his own and looked up at Wei Xiaochi. “Sit.”

Thanks to Han Ziyang’s earlier example, no one dared to make more noise. They just stole glances at the two in the back row now and then.

Some had once suspected that Jiang Zhan’s sudden academic leap was due to cheating. But now? It was clear this was the real deal. He was genuinely putting in effort. With this sweet little Omega by his side, even the wildest alpha could be tamed.

If this wasn’t love, then what was?

—

At first, Wei Xiaochi was still a little awkward coming to Class Seven. He’d lower his voice whenever he helped Jiang Zhan with questions.

But gradually, he grew more comfortable. He even started greeting people he recognized—a massive step for someone with social anxiety like him.

Even someone as dense as Han Ziyang noticed the change. Wei Xiaochi used to give off such a dry, gloomy bookworm vibe.

Now… whether it was because he was genuinely opening up, or just because his face was more familiar, Han Ziyang sometimes found himself thinking—hey, he’s actually kinda cute.

One time, Han Ziyang casually said this out loud to Jiang Zhan and—no surprise—got smacked for it. Jiang Zhan’s reason? “You’re paying too much attention to him.”

In the past, you couldn’t tease Wei Xiaochi. Now? You couldn’t even compliment him.

Alpha possessiveness level: maxed out.

—

Friday night after dinner, Wei Xiaochi and Jiang Zhan were studying in the office when a call came in from Wei Dongjia.

They hadn’t seen each other since that awful school visit. Not a single word exchanged. Only Fang Yuan called Wei Xiaochi once or twice a week.

The phone rang nonstop. Seeing that Wei Xiaochi wasn’t picking up, Jiang Zhan glanced at the caller ID, then reached out and declined the call for him.

Wei Xiaochi blinked at him in surprise.

Jiang Zhan said, “You don’t want to answer, right? Then don’t. If you do, you can call him back later.”

Wei Xiaochi was shocked. He always thought Jiang Zhan hated Wei Dongjia and didn’t want him contacting his family at all.

Jiang Zhan seemed to catch onto that thought and frowned. “What kind of expression is that? You think I’m that petty?”

Truth was, Jiang Zhan did hate Wei Dongjia. He didn’t want Wei Xiaochi involved with that family at all. But Jiang Tang had advised him—he should respect Wei Xiaochi’s feelings and not force his own opinions onto him.

So even though he didn’t like it, Jiang Zhan still chose to respect his Omega’s choice.

He kept his face flat. “It’s not a big deal. Just treat him like a relative in the future.”

That was something Jiang Tang had said too.

Her exact words were: “Chichi might seem easy-going, but he’s strong-minded when it comes to the important stuff. If he can’t fully forgive, but also can’t cut ties, then treat Wei Dongjia like a relative—not family.”

Jiang Zhan placed the phone in Wei Xiaochi’s hand. “You decide. I won’t interfere.”

But after a beat, he couldn’t help adding, “If he calls just to yell at you, don’t blame me.”

Then, another line—his tone darkening a bit: “And if he calls to tell us to break up—absolutely not.”