Not a Meal

Duyi ate and read his book with a hint of irritation.

He had been left alone today because Haoran had his rut.

Duyi just didn't understand why he couldn't just f*p one out and go to school anyway?

It was awkward to sit and read in silence.

His silence was then disrupted by a slightly irritating, sweet, and disgustingly familiar voice behind him.

"Are you by yourself today?"

Duyi turned, only to see Miaomiao's smiling face.

He immediately began grabbing his lunch and books to leave the cafeteria.

He began to walk away when he noticed that the people around him had all suddenly stood and ran to the edges of the room, away from him.

Or more specifically, away from the person behind him.

A weird smell of lily and pine overtook his senses before he turned and faced Miaomiao.

"Your perfume is so strong, look at these people running away from you idiot! Who are you trying to attract?"

"Oh my god, is she an alpha? I always thought she would be an omega!"

"Can Duyi smell it? I thought he hadn't differentiated though!?"

[Xiao Hei, what's going on?]

-...I don't know, let me check.

-...

[Xiao Hei?]

-...Host, something went wrong with her differentiation process.

-Because she chased you for a long time, the hormones her body produced release a higher level of alpha combinations as a result of her instincts to chase "prey" being aroused by you.

Duyi felt that his body suddenly turned hot and he began to sweat a bit.

"...Why are you at school during your rut? Go home."

The concentration of the smell got higher and higher, and Duyi felt like he was being drowned in the scent of pine.

His breathing got harder as he backed away from her. Subconsciously, he wanted to breathe fresh air.

He rejected the overbearing scent of lily and pine.

[Wait, why can I smell it?]

-...Host, were you especially irritable today?

[...]

-Congratulations, it seems your differentiation period is near!

[...But I didn't have a growth spurt yet!]

Duyi tripped over his own feet as he was moving back, and his hips hit the floor.

A massive purple python, around 8-9 meters long slithered from the kitchen area and wrapped him intimately.

It seemed that his spirit animal was a snake. Great, he's an manifester.

[Xiao Hei, what's wrong with me?]

-It seems your body is going into heat host.

Immediately, the scent of grapefruit spread and a pair of wolf ears appeared on Miaomiao, blush spreading on her cheeks.

[Heat? Not rut?]

-... It seems that you have been nurtured by your reliance on Haoran for a bit and now Miaomiao has accelerated the process.

-Your body has been releasing omega compounds for a bit host, especially when you felt hunted by Miaomiao and Xiao Wen...

[... F*ck Xiao Hei.]

At this point, Duyi's nose and ears had turned red, and tears were brimming in his eyes.

He felt tortured by the smell of pine and couldn't help but want to get closer, but his rationality urged the snake to wrap him and attack anyone who got near.

Someone on the side began yelling, "F*ck, the scent is so sweet!"

Some people began to mindlessly surround him, mostly alphas.

The snake bit a few people who got too close, but without releasing venom.

Wrapped by the snake, no one was able to get close to Duyi.

He writhed on the floor and tears fell. He turned even redder from embarrassment.

"... He's too cute..."

"It's pretty. And the smell is super sweet."

"I want to take him home."

Alphas were all enraptured in the scent, but the snake firmly defended Duyi.

An omega had ran to hit the dispersal fans overhead, but because the smell had accumulated and was constantly restored, it wasn't of much help to get rid of the pheromones.

On top of this, no one had noticed, but the doors had all been locked at some point.

No one could go in or out.

Duyi curled into a ball and glared at Miaomiao. He currently couldn't get up, but the snake had wrapped around him.

"...It's your fault, you f*cking dog."

His head was so hazy, he felt like he was on the verge of losing his consciousness.

The snake brushed against him a bit, and he felt the sensations pass through his entire body.

Duyi trembled and shook.

He couldn't continue to stay here.

He clumsily grabbed his phone from his pocket, and called the last person on the list, unable to dial a phone number while his hands shook and his vision was blurred.

Duyi's chest heaved.

More and more smells were released into the air. And other manifesters' animals started to either shrivel up or became more aggressive.

Brr- Brrr-

The phone was picked up by the second ring.

"Come save me! I'm about to be eaten!"

The smells accumulated until the room was as pungent as a perfumery.

He sat and waited for twenty minutes and cried.

He felt like he had been sitting for five hours.

Bam! Bam! Crrrrr, Bam! Bam!

Slamming noises were heard outside the door of the cafeteria.

Crash!

Tap, tap, tap.

Duyi was suddenly enveloped in the scent of tall grass and ocean salt.

Whoever it was, the snake didn't attack, and Duyi was firmly picked up, shivers racking his entire body.

He tears fell even more fiercely.

He glared at Miaomiao again, "I told you a long time ago to stay away from me! Go back to your crazy boyfriend and leave me alone..."

He was carried away as he sank down in a daze.

Duyi kept shivering.

People in this world were scary.

He was particularly obedient in Haoran's arms even as he yelled.

People kept talking.

"He was even cute when he was angry!"

"Of course the tank came to get him."

"If he didn't have a big snake, I would've picked him up first!"

Duyi turned and bared his teeth at that person specifically, and the snake hissed viciously.

Haoran's eyes had darkened as well.

Duyi finally curled in on himself...or rather the person who picked him up.

Haoran took the initiative to ask a question this time, "Are you okay?" "Hm." to which he received a brief answer.

The grapefruit smell then turned less fierce, and began to have a mellow sweetness mixed in with a bit of sour.

Shivers continued to rack his body as Haoran walked with Duyi in his arms.

Pressed against his chest, Duyi could hear Haoran's steady heart and feel his breath.

He slid his hand up and grabbed his Haoran's shirt collar.

"I was scared." "Hm."

"Thank you for picking me up." "Yes."

"Don't take me home." "..."

The snake continued to follow the two down the street.

"...Are you sure?"

Duyi nodded and sniffed.

He hadn't cried so hard since kindergarten.

He didn't want his mom to see him.

"...You can use my suppressants then." "...good."

His voice was small. He could smell grass and sunshine beating on the ground with a hint of saltiness. Instead of feeling drowned, it was like a light breeze blowing in his face from a prairie next to the ocean.

He fell into a state of relaxation.