Chapter 53 - Did I smell?

No matter how hard he tried to forget that incident, the memories stuck to him like a magnet, a constant reminder of bad omen, he just couldn't get it out of his mind. 

Zeke Roderick fuċkɨnġ wanted to court him! 

He even went out of his way to ask permission, as if he was asking if Jian Yu consent! 

The silverette Beta was sure he would have swooned at such a charming confession if not for the blood pooling and creating a large puddle on the ground. 

Even with the constant side jobs from sapphire-eyed Female Alpha from the Zero house and sudden intensive training session from her, Zeke had taken over the majority of his attention. 

It was then, he managed to convince himself that it was just a confession of an injured man with a hole in his stomach, a man that was swimming in the pool of his own blood and wasn't in his right mind when he spouted that nonsense. 

Thinking like that calmed him down a bit. It wasn't like Zeke would have any recollections of it once he healed up. But...

Did Jian Yu want him to remember? 

He wasn't so sure about that. Did he want him to? 

The silverette was a hundred percent certain the Alpha didn't recall any of it when they met in school. He flirted as usual, asking about his days and all, not forgetting to throw in one or two bad pick-up lines. 

It was even easier for Jian Yu to feel more flustered when he knew the man did that for a specific reason, for more than just to rile him up. 

Yet… 

Never once had he brought up the courting matter. 

Was he disappointed? 

He shouldn't feel this way but yes, he did feel disappointed, maybe a little upset. 

So, when Zeke said 'favorite person', Jian Yu was lost for words entirely; uncertain what to make of the emotions waging war inside of him. 

"--Yu? Darling?" 

Jian Yu blinked his eyes and almost backtracked the moment he realized how little the distance between them. "I--" 

The Alpha had his nose up in the air as. His thick neck was bȧrėd for the world to see and the motion made his suit jacket stretch across his shoulders, emphasizing their broadness and the defined lines of his biceps. 

Jian Yu had to swallow dryly.

Zeke was – well, Jian Yu couldn't think of any adjective other than radiant. Maybe enthralling? Captivating? 

"Sir?" Wetting his lips, Jian Yu hesitantly called out. 

"Oh! You weren't listening to me before. As much as I love calling you 'darling'--" 

"Please don't. I'd rather you not." Jian Yu told him, trying not to sound snappy and bitter but failing miserably as he hurriedly ducked and snatched one of the training boots. Clothes be damned, he had more sets of uniform. 

Jian Yu settled himself on the wooden benches, chugging off his dress shoes, all the while glancing at the other from the corner of his eyes. The man was acting strange. He was sniffing in the air, completely ignoring Jian Yu's raised eyebrow and befuddled stare. 

The black-haired man frowned. The scent was rather thick, weaving in the air and…

And he actually liked it. Where did it come from? 

The jade-eyed Alpha continued sniffing shallowly at the air, feeling the back of his mind prickle at him as he inched closer and closer towards the source. 

Just, where exactly was it coming from?

It was only after a few more persistent sniffs and an indignant yelp from Jian Yu that Zeke's mind finally snapped back to realization. 

"Sir! Sir Roderick! What are you doing…!?" 

A few seconds were the only thing he had to fully understand the situation and in those few seconds, he needed to draw his conclusions pertaining to his imminent future. 

What had he done? Sniffing at Jian Yu's shoulder out of blue? Was he out of his mind? 

If before he had the chance to win Jian Yu's heart, now he was sure he would be banned from even coming close! 

But since Zeke Roderick never made wise decisions, like ever (it couldn't be help, with the position they were in where he was sitting so close to the Beta that their thɨġhs were touching each other and his nose was still THERE, might as well just signed a death warrant) he ignored every single protest tumbling out from the lips of a very red beta, and instead, retracted his face from Jian Yu's shoulder--

--which he'd been subconsciously sniffing for the past minute--

--only to reach a hand out to grip the other's wrist firmly. Very seriously, he looked the silverette in the eye, his face only inches away from the other. "Did you…" 

He asked with every ounce of seriousness. "Did you put on cologne?"

"What?" Jian Yu's nose scrunched up cutely before shaking his head. "No, I don't," He confirmed. His eyes darted between his trapped wrist and Zeke's jade eyes, then to his wrist again. His cheeks were flustered red as he stared at the other wide-eyed that only seemed to widen when he reached a conclusion. 

"Did I--" Jian Yu gulped. "Did I smell?" He tugged his loosened collar, bringing it up to his nose and took a long sniff. 

Zeke almost choked. He felt like he was going to pass out. "No! It isn't like that at all! You actually smell really nice!" He waved dismissively, trying to hide a wince at how stiff he sounded. 

Zeke felt his cheeks color. 

Not cologne. It was just Jian Yu's scent then, yet today it smelt especially strong, overwhelming if he had to say. He had never heard of a Beta experiencing heat or rut, maybe it was Zeke himself? Was his rut close enough to cause his sense of smell to enhance already? 

He couldn't possibly say that the delicious smelling Beta that his scent was turning him on, now could he?