After Transmigrating as a Beta, I Got Messed Up with an Alpha (BL) - Chapter 11

“Achoo!”

Pei Yule’s dark eyes met Huo Juan’s, but before a coherent thought could form, he let out a massive sneeze.

Being doused with cold water in early winter, standing in the hallway talking to Fei Yisa, and then being hit by the biting wind—it was chilling to the bone. This body, which had no history of illness in its “memories,” was unexpectedly shivering. Pei Yule’s nose wrinkled, and he couldn’t stop another sneeze from following.

“You’ve definitely caught a cold.”

Fei Yisa snatched the black towel from Pei Yule’s hand and draped it over his head, rubbing vigorously. Clearly unaccustomed to such caretaking, his movements were heroic but rough as he dried the water droplets. He added, “Don’t stand out here. Go back to the classroom. Shen Pin and I will go to the infirmary to get you some medicine.”

“Oh, thanks…” Pei Yule rubbed his nose. He truly felt lightheaded as the wind blew and the sneezes continued. He abandoned his attempt to figure out Huo Juan and followed Fei Yisa’s advice, turning back to his seat.

During this brief walk, he sneezed several more times.

Pei Yule had been a sickly child in his previous life; his childhood was inextricably linked to hospitals, visiting several times a month. Fortunately, it was never anything major—just frequent fevers and colds due to a weak constitution. Usually, if he started with a string of sneezes, a fever would follow shortly after. His parents had tried everything from traditional to Western medicine, but nothing improved his health.

It wasn’t until middle school that his “weakling” constitution began to improve. However, he remained susceptible to catching chills. He had to be very careful to keep warm, often wearing long sleeves even in the summer.

He didn’t mind that his appearance was the same after transmigrating, but if his constitution had also followed him here, that would be unfortunate. The original owner rarely got sick; he truly envied that. He hoped he wouldn’t turn into a carbon copy of his old self.

Pei Yule grumbled inwardly, but his sneezes wouldn’t stop. With each sneeze, his head felt dizzier. This familiar prelude to illness made him depressed. He rubbed his cold nose and slumped onto his desk to rest, waiting for his friends to return with the medicine.

The chair next to him was pulled out. That heart-tightening, inexplicable pressure appeared beside him, and the now-familiar scent of cold cypress wafted into his nose.

Huo Juan was back.

Perhaps because his head felt heavy and his body weak, Pei Yule didn’t bother looking up at the Alpha next to him. He stayed face-down on the desk.

I hope he isn’t blind enough to harass me now. The consequences of annoying a sick person are very serious…

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he felt a tug on his jacket. It wasn’t a gentle pull; it was quite forceful. Shen Pin’s jacket was already oversized on him, and with this yank, there was a sharp zip as the zipper was dragged down. The loose collar slid off, revealing half of his pale shoulder.

“…”

Pei Yule had taken off his wet sweater and undershirt earlier. He was bare underneath the jacket. As his skin hit the cold air, goosebumps broke out instantly. He shivered and looked up at Huo Juan, who was still holding the jacket.

“What are you doing?”

Huo Juan didn’t let go. Seeing Pei Yule look up, he pulled even harder. With another zip, the zipper was dragged further down, the collar flying wide. The cold wind rushed in. Pei Yule tried to grab the jacket back but failed. Huo Juan held the hem firmly, his voice devoid of emotion:

“You have pheromones on you.”

He wasn’t an Alpha or an Omega; how could he have pheromones? Pei Yule found it nonsensical.

Shen Pin said the jacket was unworn, and it was—but since Shen Pin had been carrying it, it had inevitably picked up a trace of his scent. An ordinary person wouldn’t notice, but as a top-tier Alpha, Huo Juan was extremely sensitive to other people’s pheromones. Even the faintest scent was loud to him.

Pei Yule opened his mouth to argue, but only another loud sneeze came out. His brain felt like mush. He sniffled. “So cold…”

Huo Juan’s gaze fell on Pei Yule’s nose, which had turned red from sneezing, then slowly swept over his eyes, which were slightly misty from the exertion. The mist made Pei Yule’s eyes look more distant than usual, lacking their typical spark.

The boy’s bare shoulder clearly indicated he had nothing on underneath. No matter how warm the school jacket was, its effectiveness was halved when it was so oversized and hollow.

At first, Huo Juan simply wanted to remove the jacket tainted by someone else’s scent. However, seeing that the boy was bare underneath and noting the many eyes watching them in the classroom, he paused. He reached out with his fingers and slowly pulled the zipper back up for Pei Yule, adjusting the collar properly.

Then, Pei Yule felt his vision go dark. A jacket carrying warmth and a faint cold cypress scent was draped over him, covering him from head to toe.

Simultaneously, a chorus of faint gasps echoed around the room.

“?”

Pei Yule confusedly pulled back the jacket that still held the Alpha’s body heat. He was completely baffled by this move.

What did this mean? Giving him his own jacket?

Huo Juan was now wearing only a thin white shirt. The fabric perfectly outlined his solid muscle lines. In early winter, anyone else would look like they were sacrificing health for style, but on Huo Juan, it was simply a pleasure to behold.

“Wear it.”

Huo Juan spoke concisely. He didn’t make Pei Yule take off Shen Pin’s jacket, but he insisted the boy wear his jacket over it, using his own pheromones to drown out the faint scent of Shen Pin.

This person shouldn’t have any pheromones on him. If he absolutely had to be stained by one, it could only be his.

“…”

Pei Yule’s confusion grew. His feverish brain made his thinking several beats slower. He faintly felt his body getting hotter; if he wasn’t careful, he was definitely going to burn up. Since Huo Juan told him to wear it… then he would wear it?

Because it really was cold.

After another sneeze, Pei Yule decided not to fight his own body. He momentarily ignored the stares of his classmates and wrapped the jacket around his shoulders. He sniffled again, feeling conflicted—even with an extra layer, he felt a strange mix of chills and surges of heat. He was definitely going to have a fever; medicine probably wouldn’t even touch it now.

His constitution really had reverted to his original “garbage” state. If he had known, he would have gone home early. There was no point in staying for lectures now. While he could still move, he should head home…

Pei Yule pushed back his chair and tried to stand up, his head swaying. Huo Juan looked up and intercepted him with a hand. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going home.”

His speech was still clear, and he was conscious, but his processing speed was lagging.

Huo Juan’s gaze swept over Pei Yule’s face. He noticed the boy’s eyes were even more dazed than before, and his cheeks were flushing. His eyes darkened. His fingers moved, about to reach out, but just then, Fei Yisa and Shen Pin returned from the infirmary.

Fei Yisa was still grumbling as he entered. “You need a permit just to get medicine. The infirmary has become such a pain. It’s not like we’re asking for suppressants. Class is about to start…”

Seeing Huo Juan sitting next to Pei Yule, Fei Yisa’s complaining stopped. He greeted him naturally. “Hi, Student Huo Juan. Haven’t seen you in a few days. You’ve gotten thinner.”

Huo Juan ignored him—he was like that with everyone. Fei Yisa didn’t mind. He turned his attention back to Pei Yule, but when he saw the boy’s complexion, he was shocked. “Xiao Le-le, why do you look so terrible?”

A man of action, Fei Yisa reached out to touch Pei Yule’s forehead. “You’re hot. You have a fever.”

“I think I do.” Pei Yule nodded slowly.

The fever had just started, so it wasn’t severe yet. His mind was clear, but his thoughts felt like they were behind a layer of gauze, in a state of mild zoning out.

“Come on, let’s go to the infirmary…” I should have done this sooner; what a waste of time. Fei Yisa scolded himself and tried to lead Pei Yule away. However, his peripheral vision caught Huo Juan’s face, and a spark of inspiration hit him.

Why did he need to do it? Wasn’t there a much better candidate right here? He had promised to play wingman.

He turned around, snatched the medicine from Shen Pin’s hand, and shoved it all into Huo Juan’s arms. He said with a grin, “Class is starting. We’re in the next room over. I’ll leave Le-le to your care, desk-mate. He has a fever; you’d better take him to the nurse.”

Right on cue, the school bell chimed. It perfectly emphasized his words.

“No, I don’t need…”

Pei Yule tried to refuse, but Fei Yisa gave him a secret wink, grabbed Shen Pin, and bolted.

—I told you I’d give you an assist!

Fei Yisa left like a whirlwind with the silent Shen Pin, leaving the other two in a brief, awkward silence.

Pei Yule didn’t want to trouble anyone, especially Huo Juan. Being splashed today was likely because of him; if he let the Alpha take him to the infirmary, he might be facing something worse than water tomorrow. Though, by putting on Huo Juan’s jacket just now, he had probably already offended half the school.

Before Huo Juan could speak, Pei Yule beat him to it. “No need for the infirmary. I’ll just sleep here for a bit.”

Without waiting for a response, he sat back down and buried his head in his folded arms, sinking into the fabric that was saturated with the scent of cold cypress.

And then, he actually fell asleep.

Huo Juan watched the head of curls mostly covered by his jacket. Pei Yule already had naturally curly hair, which Fei Yisa had then rubbed into a mess. Now it was a total disaster. However, the strands were fine and soft, and the color was light. Despite the mess, the “fluffy” look was quite cute.

Staring at the fuzzy head, Huo Juan’s eyes were deep and unreadable. After a while, he whispered, “Yanxi.”

“Hmm?”

Xu Yanxi, who had been resting his chin in his hand and acting like a ghost until now, replied casually.

“I’m going home,” Huo Juan said. He paused, his voice dropping slightly. “Check what happened to him.”

Drenched in the middle of winter—it obviously wasn’t because the boy was just playing around.

Huo Juan had only just returned to school after his Rut, yet he was leaving again almost immediately. Xu Yanxi didn’t ask a single question. He simply shrugged and smiled. “Sure.”

Huo Juan, who hadn’t even been back for half an hour, left the school. And under the watchful eyes of the entire class, he did not leave alone.

If Pei Yule were awake to see this, he would definitely scream: This man is determined to be the death of me!

Unfortunately, he was currently drifting in a feverish haze, completely unaware as he was carried away by Huo Juan. By the time he woke up and realized what had happened, it would already be too late.