After Pretending to Be an Alpha, I Was Exposed by My Rival - Chapter 1

“Extra! Extra!”

“Lin Anran has confessed to Zhou Yijue for the 8th time this semester—and got rejected again!”

Chen Qing sprinted into the classroom and spread the news. In an instant, most of the Alphas in the room rushed out. In the corridor, they crowded together like a dark mass, peering down at the two people standing below the teaching building.

“Damn it! That bastard Zhou Yijue actually rejected our school’s white moonlight again!” Li Jiankai gripped the stainless-steel railing so hard his knuckles turned white. He looked ready to storm down and beat up the guy who kept rejecting their precious Anran.

“Why would such a beautiful Omega like Anran fall for Zhou Yijue’s terrible temper? Even though he’s the second-strongest Alpha in our school, he doesn’t even know the meaning of ‘cherishing beauty.’ He’s already rejected Anran eight times in less than a year—sob… my precious Anran, come into big brother’s arms, I’ll love you forever!”

Sun Zhengqiang clenched his fists, tears of grievance streaming down his face.

The person I like doesn’t like me, and he’s being bullied by the person he likes—yet I can’t even beat that guy to stand up for them.

Mom… I can’t take this injustice anymore.

“Shut up already. Don’t ever mention anything related to ‘second’ in front of Zhou Yijue—second place, forever runner-up, anything. If he hears you, you’re dead.” Liu Kai slapped Sun Zhengqiang across the face, stopping his piercing wails.

The boys in blue-and-white school uniforms leaned over the fifth-floor railing, craning their necks downward. On the open ground below the teaching building, two similarly uniformed students stood facing each other.

One was tall, the other slightly shorter.

The taller one had a backpack slung over one shoulder, his eyebrows raised, his expression fierce and intimidating—radiating a clear “don’t mess with me” aura.

The shorter one’s face was flushed red, eyelashes trembling slightly, his voice gentle and soft like water.

“Zhou Yijue, I like you.”

“Get lost. You’re blocking the way.” Zhou Yijue frowned and rejected him as bluntly as ever, then brushed past Lin Anran and walked away.

No one noticed that Zhou Yijue’s body was tense and his complexion looked worse than usual. But because he always wore that same bad-tempered expression, everyone assumed it was normal and didn’t think anything of it.

“Zhou Yijue, you don’t like anyone anyway—why not try dating me?” Lin Anran refused to give up and chased after him, trying to grab his hand. But the moment their fingers touched, Zhou Yijue violently shook him off.

“None of your business. Get lost.”

Zhou Yijue tightened his grip on his backpack strap. Veins bulged on the back of his hand from the force, sweat beading at his temples. His face looked unwell, and the rising heat inside his body made his cheeks flush red. A hollow, floating weakness under his feet made him panic.

He quickened his pace, shaking off Lin Anran, and rushed to a rarely used restroom in the research building, locking the door behind him.

In the mirror was a young, handsome face—but now his cheeks were tinted with an abnormal flush. Fine sweat dripped down, and a faint, cool mint-like scent began to spread in the air.

Zhou Yijue bit his lower lip hard, leaning against the sink to steady himself. He tried not to tremble as he opened his backpack and took out a vial of medication, injecting it into his arm.

The clear liquid entered his body, and his breathing slowly steadied. The cold sweat stopped. But the lingering mint fragrance still remained in the air, refreshing yet strangely alluring.

He exhaled and tossed the used syringe back into his bag. It couldn’t be thrown away carelessly—if exposed, he’d be in serious trouble.

Frowning, he looked at himself in the mirror. One button of his shirt had somehow come undone, revealing a pale, elegant collarbone. His skin was damp with sweat, giving him a strangely restrained, almost forbidden beauty.

But he didn’t like his skin tone—it was too fair. Not masculine enough.

A real man should look like a real man.

Strong muscles, bronzed skin—but he had none of that. His muscles were only lightly defined, and his skin stayed naturally fair no matter how much he tanned. One pinch would leave a red mark. Compared to a real Alpha, he was far from it. The only thing that might pass was his 184 cm height.

Grinding his teeth, Zhou Yijue removed his shirt, scooped water, and washed the sweat off his upper body. The sweat from his earlier heat cycle carried his faint mint scent. He had to wash it off completely before leaving—otherwise those “dog-nosed” Alphas would notice.

He was an Omega.

A being destined from birth to be an appendage to Alphas.

But he refused.

Since his first heat at sixteen, he had been using suppressants to hide his identity and successfully disguised himself as an Alpha.

He was always irritable because he feared exposure. Interaction with either Alphas or Omegas made him uneasy. Even his only friend was a Beta.

Zhou Yijue wiped himself dry with tissues, sniffed the faint scent under his armpit, and confirmed it was barely detectable. As long as no one got close, they wouldn’t notice.

He threw the tissue away, put his uniform back on, and forced his expression into its usual fierce glare.

Click.

The restroom door suddenly opened from the outside.

Zhou Yijue’s breathing stopped.

The person who walked in was an Alpha—and a very powerful one.

Even though suppressants had been injected, his body was still sensitive to Alpha pheromones.

He didn’t move.

His thoughts spiraled.

What if he notices the lingering mint scent?
Will he realize I’m an Omega?

Alphas were supposed to be extremely sensitive to Omega scents—but how sensitive exactly?

He didn’t know.

He was just a fake Alpha.

A highly dangerous situation: a powerful Alpha alone with an Omega who had just taken suppressants and was still weak.

He couldn’t move. If his disguise was exposed, he would be forced out of the mecha department into some low-physical-demand major like pharmacy. Even though he was second only to Lu Chizhou in the elite mecha program at Lycaman Academy.

Omegas were rare. Most were naturally fragile. To protect reproduction, the state had created countless laws for Omegas—but also stripped them of many rights, such as participating in mecha training.

Reason one: prevent sudden heat cycles from disrupting Alpha soldiers.
Reason two: “protect the weak Omega.”

For the eternity of humanity.

Go to hell with eternity.

He just wanted to live freely.

Footsteps approached from behind.

Zhou Yijue kept his posture, fingers still fastening his shirt buttons. Sweat began to reappear on his forehead, and his palms grew damp.

Who is it?

Should I just run?

Or… should I just kill them to silence them?

A pleasant, low male voice sounded behind him:

“Excuse me, could you move?”

Zhou Yijue froze for a moment, then looked at the mirror—

And saw the person behind him.

…Maybe killing him to silence him wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

“I know I’m handsome, but we’re both Alphas. Falling for me won’t lead anywhere.”

Lu Chizhou curled his lips into a smile. That smile stabbed straight into Zhou Yijue’s eyes.

Zhou Yijue exploded.

“You’re handsome my ass.”

“I can take that as jealousy, right?” Lu Chizhou smiled even more.

The more he smiled, the angrier Zhou Yijue became.
The angrier Zhou Yijue became, the more Lu Chizhou smiled.

A vicious cycle.

Yet in front of Lu Chizhou, Zhou Yijue couldn’t control his temper. He hated him—this bastard had everything he wanted: SSS-level mental power, perfect physique, bronzed skin, eight-pack abs… not to mention his crushing dominance in both academics and mecha simulations, always locking Zhou Yijue into second place.

Zhou Yijue had always been a genius.

Until he met Lu Chizhou.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t beat him.

Grinding his teeth, face dark with rage, Zhou Yijue looked like a hedgehog about to explode.

“You’re dead meat. One day I’ll step all over you.”

Lu Chizhou smiled casually. “Sure, I believe you. But aren’t you going to hurry? Class is about to start. Next is Sci-fi Mecha Dissection Analysis Lab Tutorial, in Room 406 on the fourth floor of the research building.”

“I know that already, you don’t need to—ugh.” Zhou Yijue bit his tongue mid-sentence.

“Yes, yes, I won’t ‘ugh’ you.”

“If killing wasn’t illegal, you’d be a corpse right now.”

After Lu Chizhou left—

Zhou Yijue kicked the marble sink in frustration.

What the hell did that bastard come in here for?

Did he discover my secret?