“I’d like to ask you to collect a pheromone sample for me. Would that be alright? I was going to go to the infirmary, but they’re fully booked today. I’m afraid I won’t make it in time if I wait until tomorrow.”
“Pheromone sampling? That’s a pretty simple procedure,” Cen Chi replied, nodding as his gaze swept over Chi Zhan’s face. “But I’ll need to apply for a sampler. It might take a little while.”
Chi Zhan hadn’t expected Cen Chi to agree so readily. He froze for a second, then lit up with surprise.
“Really? Thank you so much! I… I don’t even know how to repay you.” As he spoke, he reached for the chips beside him, offering them to Cen Chi, who politely declined.
“It’s no trouble at all,” Cen Chi said with a light smile. “No need to be so formal. But…why do you need a pheromone sampling done?”
Cen Chi’s confusion was understandable—after all, Betas didn’t usually have any need to collect pheromones.
“The registration page for the Crown Prince’s secretary selection requires a pheromone sample, regardless of gender. I only just found out myself.”
“I see.” Cen Chi chuckled softly. “That’s certainly a sought-after position. But I imagine there’ll be a flood of applicants. Failing to make the cut would sting, wouldn’t it?”
“I’ve got to give it a shot. Even if I don’t get selected, I’ll just keep trying. There’ll be other chances.”
Cen Chi nodded without commenting further. He picked up his communicator and tapped a few commands.
“I’ll help you once the equipment arrives.”
“Alright.” Chi Zhan hesitated, then added, “Let me treat you to a meal sometime.”
“Sure,” Cen Chi replied breezily, clearly not taking it to heart.
But Chi Zhan wasn’t just being polite—he was already scrolling through reviews of upscale restaurants.
Though he hadn’t paid much attention to his new roommate’s lifestyle, he’d heard a fair bit thanks to Tao Ran’s parents working in luxury retail. According to Tao Ran, Cen Chi’s luggage and casual wear were all custom-made. He never seemed to eat at budget eateries either, and Chi Zhan had occasionally seen him descending from the third floor of the campus dining hall.
Meals on the third floor were notoriously expensive, crafted with premium ingredients. Just hearing the prices was enough to make someone suck in a breath.
Chi Zhan gaped at the reservation prices—but he still chose a well-reviewed restaurant.
Between the school stipend and this month’s bonus, if he scrimped and saved, he could probably cover the cost of a single meal.
Though Cen Chi was a Beta, his features were striking—if the average person’s attractiveness was a four, Cen Chi easily broke the ten-point scale.
He was even on par with the Crown Prince himself.
But unlike the prince’s sharp and commanding presence, Cen Chi was low-key, his aura almost nonexistent.
While Chi Zhan pondered, Cen Chi had picked up a medical journal and was flipping through it casually.
The secretary selection, huh… He was curious. What kind of person would that impossibly picky Crown Prince end up choosing?
The communicator buzzed. Cen Chi glanced at the encrypted channel string, scanned the message, and deleted it immediately.
The air conditioning hummed steadily. Now that his nerves had settled, Chi Zhan finally noticed the heat and shrugged off his jacket.
“Chi-Chi, why haven’t you treated your wound? If you leave it like this, it’s going to take longer to heal.”
“I ran out of healing spray,” Chi Zhan said helplessly. “I’ll have to wait until next month.”
“There’s still a whole week until then. Just use mine.” Tao Ran rummaged around, but after a long search, he frowned. “Crap, I think I lost it at the tournament venue!”
Tao Ran was famously forgetful—yesterday he lost an umbrella, today a jacket. Losing a bottle of healing spray was hardly a surprise.
“It’s just a small cut, nothing serious,” Chi Zhan began, but then Cen Chi’s voice cut in.
“Use mine.”
As a med student, Cen Chi’s desk was always lined with countless vials—strange and exotic concoctions that came in larger allocations than standard meds.
Chi Zhan was about to decline, but Cen Chi had already tossed the spray over. Left with no choice, he caught it and offered a quick thanks.
The spray Cen Chi gave him was clearly higher grade. Its strong alcoholic scent was more refined, and the mist was finer. Instead of the usual burning sting, it felt pleasantly cool. Within minutes, the wound had faded dramatically.
Definitely a med student.
Tao Ran munched on some chips, then said, “Someone said they might’ve seen my spray. I’m going to check it out.”
With that, only Chi Zhan and Cen Chi were left in the room.
The doorbell rang. The sampler had arrived. Cen Chi carried the box over and opened it on the desk.
The pheromone sampler was a highly precise instrument, equipped with a sampling needle, distillation unit, and filtration system. Cen Chi carefully sterilized the needle, then glanced at the dazed Chi Zhan.
“Strip.”
Chi Zhan blinked.
“Do I need to take my clothes off for pheromone sampling?”
Cen Chi explained patiently, “For Alphas and Omegas, the collection site is on the back of the neck. But Betas are different. Their pheromones are faint, so we have to sample from multiple points to gather enough for a standard dose—that means your nape, shoulder, and lower back. It’s hard to manage without undressing.”
“Got it.” Chi Zhan nodded.
He quickly pulled off his T-shirt.
“Lie down on my bed.”
Cen Chi’s bunk was the lower one, so it was easier to work with.
Cen Chi was meticulous—his space was spotless. As Chi Zhan lay on the bed, he immediately noticed the white coat draped nearby and a faint, pleasant scent. He couldn’t quite place it, but it smelled… natural, like some kind of plant?
As Chi Zhan pondered the fragrance, Cen Chi’s voice came from above.
“Don’t tense up. It might sting a bit. Stay still, or the needle might slip—understand?”
Chi Zhan tensed.
“Yeah, I understand.”
He was a bit afraid of needles—especially when they came from behind, where he couldn’t see a thing. The uncertainty only made it worse.
But Cen Chi didn’t jab him right away. Instead, he gently kneaded Chi Zhan’s shoulder.
“Relax.”
