Chapter 03
"You know how much I hate it when you keep butting into my business!"
Luo Xin's voice cut sharply through the air as she shot a glare across the table, her irritation directed fully at the man sitting opposite her. Guo Chen, who had been leisurely chewing on peanuts as though he had not a care in the world, nearly choked at the intensity of her expression.
"Whaat… I'm not, how could I possibly do that, Sister Xin?" he replied, forcing an awkward smile that did nothing to soften her mood. If anything, his tone only made things worse.
He swallowed hard.
Because he knew Luo Xin well enough to understand that her glare never came alone.
Just as he expected, the shift in the air followed almost immediately. A heavy, suffocating pressure settled around him, pressing down against his chest as her pheromones were released without restraint. They were sharp and overwhelming, carrying the rich scent of sandalwood and amber, and they wrapped around him like an invisible force that made it difficult to breathe.
Guo Chen's expression twisted in distress as his lungs struggled to draw in air, his eyes quickly turning red at the corners.
What made it worse—what made it absolutely unfair—was the fact that the omega sitting beside them remained completely unaffected.
Jiang Li continued sketching quietly in his notebook, his posture relaxed as though nothing unusual was happening at all.
Which meant…
The pheromones were aimed only at him.
"Jiang… Li… help… me…" Guo Chen managed to choke out between strained breaths, his voice barely audible.
At that, Jiang Li finally paused. He lifted his head slowly, his honey-brown eyes drifting toward the two of them before a soft chuckle escaped his lips.
"Ah, Xinxin… let him go. You're going to kill him," he said lightly.
The effect was immediate.
The oppressive scent faded just as quickly as it had appeared, and Guo Chen sucked in a desperate breath, his body sagging forward as he gasped like someone who had just been pulled out of deep water. His chest heaved, his eyes watery and unfocused, completely drained from the brief but intense pressure.
Meanwhile, Jiang Li had already lowered his gaze back to his notebook, as though the entire exchange had been nothing more than a minor distraction.
To him, their argument gradually faded into background noise.
The café was warm and filled with gentle sounds—the low murmur of conversations, the soft clinking of cups, and the comforting aroma of coffee, milk, and brewed tea. His pencil moved steadily across the page as he sketched, his focus settling entirely on the image forming beneath his hand.
A long bridge stretched across the paper, and on it stood a lone figure, caught somewhere between motion and stillness.
For a moment, nothing else existed.
Then the bell above the café door rang.
It was a simple sound, one that usually wouldn't have drawn any attention, but something about it made Jiang Li pause. His hand stilled mid-motion, and slowly, almost instinctively, he lifted his head.
His eyes widened slightly.
It wasn't the arrival itself that caught him off guard.
It was the scent.
It drifted through the café with quiet authority, threading its way through the softer aromas already present. Rich and unfamiliar, it carried the deep warmth of whiskey layered with the dry, grounding edge of rosewood. It was intoxicating in a way that was difficult to describe—subtle, yet impossible to ignore.
And more than that—
It wasn't just a scent.
It was pheromones.
Jiang Li blinked, his thoughts momentarily scattering as the sensation lingered. He was certain he hadn't consumed any alcohol, and he had never even liked whiskey, yet somehow, it felt as though the taste of it had settled faintly on his tongue.
His fingers tightened slightly against the edge of his notebook as he turned his head toward his friends, his gaze unfocused.
"Can you smell that?" he asked quietly.
Guo Chen and Luo Xin both looked at him, confusion evident on their faces.
"Smell what?" Luo Xin replied, her brows knitting together.
Jiang Li hesitated.
His hand moved unconsciously to the hem of his shirt, fingers fidgeting as a faint warmth spread across his cheeks, tinting them a soft, rosy hue.
The change was subtle, but not unnoticeable.
Guo Chen stared at him in disbelief.
Jiang Li… was blushing?
For a moment, Luo Xin looked equally stunned, her expression blank with disbelief as though she had just been told something completely absurd.
Seeing her reaction, Guo Chen let out a loud laugh, though it was quickly silenced by another sharp glare from her.
Turning back to Jiang Li, Luo Xin studied him more carefully, her confusion deepening.
"What are you even talking about? If you mean pheromones, there are plenty of Alphas and omegas here. I can't just—"
Her words trailed off.
Jiang Li wasn't listening anymore.
His gaze had drifted past her, fixed intently on something—or rather, someone—across the café.
At a nearby table sat a man dressed in a crisp black shirt, his dark hair slightly tousled as though he had run a hand through it moments before. His sharp features were softened by the faint curve of a smile, his dark eyes narrowing into crescents as he spoke casually with the people around him.
There were others seated nearby, their presence blending into the background.
But in Jiang Li's eyes—
There was only him.
As if sensing the weight of his stare, the man's gaze shifted.
Their eyes met.
Jiang Li froze.
The flush on his cheeks deepened instantly, his breath catching as though something had tightened around his chest. But the moment was brief—so brief it almost felt unreal—because the man only glanced at him for a second before standing up, completely uninterested, and turning to leave.
The scent of whiskey and rosewood lingered faintly in his wake.
Before Jiang Li could think, his body moved.
His chair scraped loudly against the tiled floor as he stood abruptly, drawing a few curious glances from nearby tables, but he didn't notice any of it. His attention was fixed entirely on the man as he hurried after him.
And yet, just as he drew close—
He stopped.
His steps faltered, hesitation gripping him as he suddenly found himself at a loss. He didn't know how to approach him, didn't know what he would even say if he did.
So he stood there, frozen.
"Shen Yu, are you going to that place… what was the name of that club again?"
The voice came from someone walking beside the man, casual and unbothered.
Shen Yu.
The name echoed clearly in Jiang Li's mind.
So that was his name.
"I don't know," the man—Shen Yu—replied with a slight shrug, his tone indifferent.
The conversation continued, but Jiang Li barely heard it.
The scent lingered around him, wrapping itself around his senses in a way that made his legs feel weak. His vision blurred slightly at the edges, his eyes half-lidded as he struggled to steady himself.
Whenever Shen Yu was near—
Whenever he moved, or even stood still—
Jiang Li felt as though he might freeze completely.
…
Even now, standing in front of him once more, nothing had changed.
The words he wanted to say refused to form, caught somewhere between thought and action as Shen Yu's presence pressed in around him. The scent alone was enough to overwhelm him, spreading through the air like something dangerously addictive.
Then Shen Yu spoke again.
His voice was colder this time, sharper, and it made Jiang Li flinch instinctively.
A moment later, Shen Yu's interest seemed to fade, his attention shifting away as he turned toward his sister.
And just like that—
It felt as though something inside Jiang Li's chest had frozen over.
Speak.
Say something, Jiang Li.
The voice rang sharply in his mind, louder than anything else, cutting through the haze that had settled over him.
Before he could stop himself, the hesitation shattered.
"You asked me what I wanted," he said, the words leaving his lips before he could reconsider. "I'm answering you now. I don't want anything… I was just staring at you."
The moment the sentence ended, regret hit him immediately.
What was he even saying?
A grimace flickered across his face as the urge to turn and run rose sharply within him. He had just embarrassed himself beyond repair, and every instinct in his body screamed at him to escape before it got worse.
But before he could move—
He froze.
Shen Yu's reaction stopped him completely.
The cigarette slipped from Shen Yu's fingers, falling soundlessly to the ground as his usual careless expression fractured, shifting into unmistakable shock. His gaze locked onto Jiang Li, sharp and searching, as though seeing him properly for the first time.
And under that gaze—
Jiang Li stilled once more.
His thoughts scattered, his eyes falling into that same dazed, unfocused state.
Like a fool.
Like a creep.
He could only stand there, unable to move, unable to look away.
…