After Transmigrating as a Beta, I Got Messed Up with an Alpha (BL) - Chapter 10

“What happened?”

Fei Yisa looked at Pei Yule’s soaking wet hair in shock. “It’s not even raining outside. Did you—”

A spark of realization hit him. He frowned, quickly putting the pieces together, and said with certainty, “You were bullied.”

Fei Yisa had differentiated into an Omega in elementary school. Because he was thin and small back then, he was the type to be picked on, so he was all too familiar with this situation. Although he had shot up in height since middle school and the bullying had stopped, as someone who had been through it, he could tell at a glance what Pei Yule had encountered.

It was a trick even elementary schoolers were bored of, yet here were high schoolers still playing it.

Pei Yule gave a non-committal “Mm” and said, “It looks like it.”

He had seen this kind of thing on TV, in novels, and in anime. He just hadn’t expected to encounter it himself. Truly, if you live long enough, you’ll see everything. Rather than being angry, he found it somewhat fascinating.

But considering he had even experienced transmigrating into a book, being splashed with water didn’t seem that bizarre.

Pei Yule shook his damp hair and brushed back his dripping bangs with his fingers. He felt a bit depressed; his backpack contained nothing but books and pens. Was he supposed to attend class with wet hair and clothes like this?

It was early winter. Wet clothes clinging to the skin was incredibly uncomfortable and an easy way to catch a cold. He had left in a hurry today and forgotten his jacket; otherwise, he could have stripped off the wet layers and just worn that.

There were only two classes left. Going home to change seemed like making a mountain out of a molehill, and since his academic progress was already severely lagging, he didn’t want to skip class for no reason.

“Wait, I think I have a towel…”

Fei Yisa started looking for a towel, but Shen Pin already knew what to do. He went back to his seat, pulled a black towel from his bag, and handed it to Pei Yule. Then, he took a sports jacket out of his desk and said briefly, “I haven’t worn this one yet. Use it.”

“Thank you.” Pei Yule thanked Shen Pin happily as he took the towel and the jacket.

It was a godsend; his problem was solved. Shen Pin didn’t talk much, but he was likely used to taking care of Fei Yisa, so he was always very prompt with practical help.

Seeing that Shen Pin had it covered, Fei Yisa stopped looking for a towel and urged Pei Yule to change.

Pei Yule was straightforward about it. He pulled off his wet sweater and the shirt underneath and slipped into Shen Pin’s jacket, zipping it all the way up.

Once he was dressed, Fei Yisa rolled up his sleeves and began questioning him: “Tell me, who was it? Who dares to bully you?”

The three of them had been hanging out after class lately, and Pei Yule’s relationship with them had improved significantly. He could see that Fei Yisa wanted to stand up for him. While grateful, Pei Yule shook his head and said, “Forget it. It was probably an Omega.”

He wasn’t letting it go because he was soft-hearted toward Omegas; it was just that this public school was full of untouchable aristocratic kids. Especially the Omegas who could attend this school—their backgrounds were usually formidable. The original owner’s family was just average. For the sake of a quiet campus life, less trouble was better than more.

He didn’t want to become the center of attention over this. Of course, he wouldn’t let the bad behavior slide forever either; he’d just be more careful for a few days.

Fei Yisa pinched a damp strand of Pei Yule’s hair. Even if it was just plain water, he wasn’t happy with the “generosity.” “How can we just forget it? Even if it’s an Omega, they shouldn’t get away with it. This isn’t a prank. It’s lucky it was only water; what if it was something else? They need to be taught a lesson. Did you see who it was? Which Omega?”

Pei Yule was honest: “I didn’t see.”

That was another reason he was letting it go. Over the past few days, he had encountered quite a few Omegas with that same Magnolia scent. Trying to distinguish between them was asking too much. Since everyone’s status was so high, if he accidentally picked the wrong person, he’d be in for a world of trouble.

He wasn’t the same reckless newcomer he was when he first transmigrated. He believed in planning before acting to avoid offending the wrong people.

Honestly, he still regretted his impulse that day when he picked Huo Juan.

Thinking about how he hadn’t offended anyone since arriving—and neither had the original owner—Pei Yule used his novel-reading brain to deduce that the water incident was likely related to Huo Juan.

Fei Yisa and Shen Pin were now his friends; only that one man was the main culprit disrupting his peaceful school life. Lately, because Huo Juan hadn’t been at school, Pei Yule felt the stares had lessened, but occasionally he still caught unfriendly, scrutinizing, and jealous glares.

Beauty truly is a curse.

It was definitely because Huo Juan had dragged him into his private territory the other day. That had invited this kind of resentment.

Fei Yisa was puzzled: “Then how do you know it was an Omega?”

Pei Yule replied, “The pheromones on that person smelled like Magnolia. Sweet. It had to be an Omega.”

He had only realized in the last few days that he seemed to be able to tell Alphas and Omegas apart by their scents. No matter how gentle an Alpha’s pheromones were, they always felt slightly aggressive. Only Omegas had scents that were mostly sweet, soft, and comfortable to smell.

He was actually quite baffled. Even a person whose pheromones smelled sweet could participate in such bullying.

Upon hearing his answer, both Fei Yisa and Shen Pin looked slightly shocked.

Fei Yisa grabbed Pei Yule by the shoulders and asked, “You’re saying… you smelled that person’s pheromones?”

“Yeah.”

Pei Yule didn’t understand why Fei Yisa looked so strange. “I don’t know much about specific scent categories, but it smelled like Magnolia… or maybe Osmanthus?” He couldn’t quite tell; either way, it was a light, elegant floral scent with a hint of sweetness.

“…”

Fei Yisa and Shen Pin exchanged a look. Fei Yisa opened his mouth to ask something, but Shen Pin pressed a hand on his shoulder. Then, the usually silent Alpha suddenly asked: “Can you smell the pheromones on me? What do they smell like?”

“Uh,” Pei Yule was confused. He didn’t know why the question was asked so suddenly, but he answered honestly: “I don’t know exactly what it is, but it smells like the scent of falling snow.”

It always felt a bit chilly, like one could get frostbite if they weren’t careful.

Shen Pin paused.

Fei Yisa’s expression immediately became very intriguing.

Seeing this, Pei Yule sensed something was wrong. He asked suspiciously, “What is it? Why are you both making those faces?”

Fei Yisa coughed. Ignoring Shen Pin’s attempt to stop him, he asked excitedly, “What about mine? Can you smell it?”

No matter how thick-headed one was, it was obvious their reaction was abnormal. Pei Yule hesitated for a moment, but meeting Fei Yisa’s eager eyes, he answered truthfully: “I can. It’s Lime.”

At that answer, Shen Pin’s expression became quite… complicated.

Fei Yisa snapped his fingers and let out a somewhat roguish “Whoa.”

“…Seriously, what’s wrong?” Pei Yule was lost. “Is it strange? Did I get it wrong?”

Even if he got it wrong, they shouldn’t be reacting like this.

“No, quite the opposite,” Fei Yisa said, giving him a thumbs up. “Your answer was 100% correct.” His scent was indeed lime, and Shen Pin’s was indeed early snow.

Pei Yule’s answer wasn’t the problem. The fact that he could answer was the problem.

Pei Yule still didn’t get it: “Then why the faces?”

Fei Yisa rubbed his chin. “Well, how do I put this…”

In this world, everyone’s pheromones were unique. Even if they smelled similar, there were subtle differences. Those subtle differences were usually only detectable by the owner’s partner.

Furthermore, normally only Alphas and Omegas could smell pheromones. Even then, it usually only happened when someone was intentionally releasing them, or during an Omega’s Heat or an Alpha’s Rut when they couldn’t control them.

Pei Yule was a Beta. By all logic, he shouldn’t be able to smell pheromones at all. Yet he could smell them even when they weren’t being actively released, and he could identify them accurately. That was the most extraordinary part.

In his eighteen years, Fei Yisa had only ever met one person with such a magical nose: Pei Yule.

Pei Yule was stunned. “You mean… you guys can’t smell them when you aren’t releasing them?”

He was genuinely shocked. He had been able to smell them ever since he transmigrated. He thought everyone could, so he hadn’t given it any thought. Now he was being told that wasn’t the case at all?

Fei Yisa explained, “Yeah. Think about it—an Omega’s pheromones are inherently seductive to others. So under normal circumstances, they aren’t released, and others can’t smell them. Only couples or spouses who have a marking bond can smell each other’s pheromones normally. The fact that you can smell them is incredible!”

“…”

Pei Yule finally understood why Shen Pin’s expression was so subtle when he identified Fei Yisa’s scent. He could clearly see that Shen Pin liked Fei Yisa, yet they weren’t a couple or spouses. And yet, Pei Yule knew what Fei Yisa smelled like even before Shen Pin did…?

It was a good thing this “Big Brother” Shen Pin wasn’t the lunatic from the book, otherwise Pei Yule feared he wouldn’t live to see the sunrise.

Pei Yule let out a dry laugh. “So that’s it. Well, maybe there are lots of people like me in the world; it might not be that rare…”

As they spoke, a commotion broke out at the top of the stairs. It felt as if various pheromones were gathering there. However, even with all those scents present, Pei Yule clearly caught a faint whiff of cold cypress.

This was…

Pei Yule instinctively looked up. He saw a tall boy surrounded by classmates walking toward them.

Refined features, sharp and imposing eyes—in a crowd, he was impossible to miss.

Huo Juan, who had been missing for four days, was finally back.

Seeing Huo Juan appear, looking no different than before, the slight anxiety in Pei Yule’s heart vanished instantly. Great, he’s physically fine. His absence must have had nothing to do with me.

As Pei Yule was observing Huo Juan, the other was also looking at him.

Huo Juan’s deep, dark gaze swept over the boy’s slightly damp hair, rested on his face for a moment, and then slowly slid down to the oversized jacket Pei Yule was wearing.

Author’s Note:

Huo Juan: Away for only four days, and he’s already wearing another man’s clothes.

Actually, the foreshadowing is exactly this: Pei Yule being able to smell pheromones.