Looking up, Yun Xingze saw it was Lu Ranxu.
“Xingze, something’s wrong.” Lu Ranxu’s expression was grim as he pulled Yun Xingze aside and lowered his voice. “The academic office is looking for you, they want you to withdraw from the competition.”
Yun Xingze frowned. “What?”
Lu Ranxu said urgently, “I heard someone reported you. You should go to the office first.”
From a distance, Luo Wenchuan saw Yun Xingze being pulled away and paused mid-step.
Suddenly, Zhuo Feiyue sent him a message.
After reading it, Luo Wenchuan realized Yun Xingze seemed to be in trouble.
His gaze instinctively returned to the young man.
Yun Xingze and Lu Ranxu headed to the academic office together.
Upon entering, the director looked up at him. “You’re here, Yun. I couldn’t reach you during your match, so I asked Lu Ranxu to find you.”
Then, the director turned to Lu Ranxu. “You may leave now.”
Lu Ranxu, unsure of what was happening, hesitated before stepping out, whispering to Yun Xingze not to panic.
Taking a deep breath, Yun Xingze asked calmly, “Director, may I ask why I’m being forced to withdraw?”
“Someone reported you, claiming you entered a heat cycle backstage after the match without taking suppressants,” the director said, looking at him with a serious expression. “It’s said your pheromones lingered backstage, so we have reasonable grounds to suspect you used them to influence the fairness of the competition.”
Yun Xingze was stunned, taking a moment to process the meaning behind those words.
He left pheromones backstage?
But his pheromones had only surged when he reached the cherry blossom grove.
The director continued, “I checked the medical records. You did visit the infirmary that day due to an uncontrolled heat cycle. The doctor said you took suppressants approximately twenty minutes after the onset.”
Yun Xingze replied firmly, “I did enter a heat cycle that day, but I absolutely did not leave any pheromones backstage. My matches were already over, I had no reason to do that.”
“I believe you’re not that kind of person either,” the director said slowly. “But I reviewed the backstage footage, and you were indeed clutching your neck near the locker room, showing signs of an impending heat cycle.”
Yun Xingze frowned. “So what? I told you, I left the venue shortly after my heat started. I didn’t leave any pheromones behind.”
“But someone claims they smelled it,” the director interrupted. “If true, this is a very serious matter. Even a trace of Omega pheromones can send Alphas into a frenzy. If you did this backstage, you’ll have to withdraw from the competition.”
“Someone smelled it?” Yun Xingze was both confused and shocked. “Who?”
The director clapped his hands, and the door opened to reveal an unremarkable Beta male entering.
Yun Xingze narrowed his eyes at him.
The Beta glanced at Yun Xingze and said timidly, “That day, I was backstage and definitely smelled Yun’s pheromones. Luckily, I’m a Beta, or I wouldn’t have been able to continue competing.”
Yun Xingze found the boy familiar perhaps they had crossed paths backstage.
“Yun Xingze, you might have left pheromones without realizing it,” the director said in a softer tone. “But since this has happened, you must take responsibility. To prevent panic, please withdraw from the competition.”
Yun Xingze turned his icy gaze toward the Beta.
Under Yun Xingze’s scrutiny, the boy shifted uncomfortably but quickly masked it.
“You claim you smelled my pheromones backstage,” Yun Xingze said coldly. “Then tell me what do they smell like?”
The Beta froze.
The director also looked at him. “Karl, answer the question.”
After stammering for a moment, just as Yun Xingze thought he was lying, the boy seemed to recall something and said, “It… it was the scent of roses.”
Yun Xingze was stunned.
The director turned to him. “Is he correct?”
Yun Xingze stared at Karl in disbelief before his brows furrowed deeply.
“So, you did leave pheromones backstage, didn’t you?” the director said. “In that case, please sign the withdrawal agreement. Don’t worry this won’t affect your academic credits.”
Yun Xingze quickly strategized in his mind when suddenly, a knock sounded at the door.
The person who entered was Su Zinan.
Su Zinan anxiously ran to Yun Xingze’s side and asked, “What’s going on, Xingze? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
The dean’s office director repeated Karl’s accusations verbatim.
Su Zinan stepped forward, glaring sternly at Karl. “You’d better take responsibility for your words, student. Don’t make baseless accusations.”
At that moment, Chi Yu also entered the room.
Su Zinan glanced back at Yun Xingze before continuing to Karl, “Xingze’s match had already ended that day. What reason would he have to release pheromones? To seduce an Alpha? You must be framing him!”
After speaking, Su Zinan moved beside Yun Xingze and reassured him, “Don’t worry, Xingze. Chi Yu and I will definitely help you.”
Yun Xingze watched Su Zinan’s performance and suddenly let out a cold laugh. “How very kind of you.”
The director interjected, “You can’t help him. If these allegations are true, he must withdraw from the competition.”
“That can’t be!” Su Zinan frowned at Yun Xingze. “Xingze, did you really go into heat backstage that day?”
The director said, “He admitted it, and there’s video evidence.”
Su Zinan gasped, covering his mouth. “This…”
Then he quickly added, “I believe Xingze didn’t intentionally release pheromones. Besides, there was no one in the backstage area at the time. Let’s just overlook this.”
“Absolutely not,” the director frowned. “Such behavior is strictly prohibited. We can’t ignore it just because it didn’t affect others.”
“It was just a little pheromone release. Why are you treating him like this?” Su Zinan argued righteously on Yun Xingze’s behalf.
Yun Xingze almost laughed at the absurdity. He suddenly said, “You’re going through all this trouble just to get me disqualified?”
Su Zinan froze momentarily before hastily replying, “Xingze, of course I don’t want you to withdraw. I’m fighting for your rights here.”
Yun Xingze raised his hand and slapped Su Zinan across the face.
The slap was swift, precise, and forceful even Su Zinan, who prided himself as the strongest Omega, couldn’t dodge it.
The other three were stunned by Yun Xingze’s action.
Su Zinan stood frozen, his eyes instantly reddening as tears threatened to fall. “You… why did you hit me?!”
“How did you know there was no one backstage then?” Yun Xingze stared at him expressionlessly, enunciating each word clearly. “You were there too, weren’t you?”
Su Zinan was momentarily speechless. Quickly recovering, he held back tears and said, “Xingze, I was just speaking up for you.”
Seeing Yun Xingze’s anger, Chi Yu suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
He said to Yun Xingze, “I need to talk to you. Come with me for a moment.”
Yun Xingze’s temper was at its breaking point. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Say it now. You have ten seconds. Right here.”
Chi Yu suddenly grew nervous.
But there was no turning back now.
Chi Yu swallowed hard before speaking to Yun Xingze. “Xingze, according to the rules, if you’re found disrupting the competition, you will indeed be forced to withdraw.”
“What do you want?” Yun Xingze looked up at him, his voice icy. “Get to the point.”
“But if you get back together with me… if I speak up, the school will definitely suppress this matter.” Chi Yu’s voice grew increasingly uncertain under Yun Xingze’s cold gaze.
He suddenly regretted agreeing to Su Zinan’s plan.
“Chi Yu, do you think I should be groveling in gratitude to you now?” Yun Xingze stared at Chi Yu, enunciating each word clearly. “Do you really believe I don’t know this was your and Su Zinan’s doing?”
Chi Yu’s face instantly turned deathly pale. His lips parted, his voice hoarse: “Xingze, how could you suspect me. I just wanted to help you.”
“Aside from you, and Luo Wenchuan who saved me that day,” Yun Xingze said slowly, “there couldn’t possibly be a third person in this world who knows the scent of my pheromones. If it wasn’t you, then who?”
Yun Xingze had been searching through the original owner’s memories and concluded that apart from Luo Wenchuan who had rescued him, only Chi Yu knew about his rose-scented pheromones; the original owner had once told Chi Yu about it.
Karl, who reported him, couldn’t have smelled the pheromones backstage. Moreover, after Luo Wenchuan saved him, he had quickly used scent blockers to erase all traces of the rose fragrance.
Therefore, the only way Karl could have known about his rose-scented pheromones was if Chi Yu told him.
Chi Yu froze.
He seemed to want to speak, but no words came out.
In that moment, endless regret and guilt assaulted Chi Yu’s heart.
Meanwhile, Su Zinan stood in the corner, secretly opening his light brain and minimizing the screen to check the school forum.
A few minutes earlier, he had created a burner account and posted: “Heard that first-year ‘monster rookie’ Omega Yun Xingze released pheromones backstage—do you think he was trying to seduce other Alphas or interfere with the match?”
Su Zinan had originally conspired with Chi Yu to have someone report Yun Xingze, after which Chi Yu would play the hero and save Yun Xingze from disqualification. This way, Yun Xingze would surely feel indebted to Chi Yu.
In reality, Su Zinan’s true goal was to tarnish Yun Xingze’s reputation. Whether Yun Xingze got disqualified or not didn’t matter to him—after all, if they faced off in a match, he was certain to win, especially since Yun Xingze was still in heat.
Wiping away tears, Su Zinan wanted to check how many replies his post had garnered.
But the moment he opened the forum, bold text glared back at him:
“Your account has been suspended for violating community guidelines.”
The suspension had taken effect the instant he posted, meaning his thread had never even gone live.
Su Zinan stood dumbfounded, his tears forgotten.
What the hell just happened?!
