Hello, I'm Vin, the translator of this novel. I just shifted my work to a different site. I'm really sorry for making y'all wait. Thank you for being here, and enjoy reading it!

When the woman came closer, Jiang Xu could clearly see that she was not young, and she was at least in her fifties or sixties. Her clothing was decent, but her hair was messy, her face looked weary, as if she had been through a rough journey.

The class monitor immediately turned his head to Jiang Xu. He was about to speak when a security guard’s angry shout came from behind.

“It's you again! Are you ever going to stop?” The guard stormed out of the security office, holding a black baton, pointing it aggressively at the woman. “How many times have I told you, don’t come to our school again! If you keep harassing our students, I will call the police!”

The woman was so frightened that she stepped back repeatedly, waving her hands in panic: “I.....I mean no harm. I’m here to find my grandson. His name is Jiang Xu. He studies at your school.”

The guard said, “If you want to find him, call him yourself. Don’t block people at our school gate. You are interfering with my work. If the school leaders see this, how would I explain it?”

The woman, anxious, wiped her tears. Her voice was choked with sobs: “If I could call him, would I have come to your school? Please, do me a favour. I have urgent matters to see him. Please make an exception…”

“Go, go, go.” The guard, seeing that reasoning was useless, impatiently interrupted her. “Go wherever you want, just don’t come to our school.”

After saying that, he turned to Jiang Xu and the class monitor: “She's a crazy woman, just ignore her. You two should go quickly.”

The class monitor reacted first, grabbed Jiang Xu, and they left.

They found a Chinese restaurant by the roadside, ordered a dry pot and two other dishes. They were both hungry and ate everything in one go.

Even after the meal, the class monitor didn’t mention the woman, and Jiang Xu didn’t explain.

On the way back, the class monitor asked, “Should we enter through the back gate? It should be open.”

“It doesn't matter,” Jiang Xu said. “I want to take another look at her.”

Because the incident had happened suddenly, he hadn’t had a good look at the woman’s face, so he wanted to see her properly this time.

However, when the two reached the school gate, the woman was already gone.

Back in the dormitory, Jiang Xu immediately called Jiang Huo.

Jiang Huo was probably still at the research institute, busy with something. When he answered, he asked directly: “Son, what’s the matter?”

Jiang Xu explained the encounter with the woman to Jiang Huo.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Huo reacted strongly: “She came looking for you?”

Jiang Xu asked: “Is she my grandmother?”

“It should be her.” Jiang Huo’s anger rose. His voice trembled. “She came looking for your mom and me a few times. We ignored her. We thought she had calmed down, but now she’s gone to see you.”

After speaking, he hurriedly reminded, “Xiao Xu, don’t respond to her at all. If she harasses you, call your mom or me. Otherwise, you can call the police.”

Jiang Xu replied with an okay.

“I’ll try to handle this as soon as possible.” Jiang Huo paused, then said, “I'm sorry you had to encounter this.”

Jiang Xu smiled: “Dad, you should have told me earlier. That way, I could have been prepared mentally.”

Jiang Huo spoke haltingly: “I saw how tightly you were focused on studying, so…”

Jiang Xu said: “But we are family.”

Jiang Huo was silent for a long time, then seemed to relax suddenly. He laughed out loud: “You’re right. Next time something like this happens, I will definitely tell you.”

The next morning, Jiang Xu went with the class monitor and the rest of the group to gather at the school gate. Before boarding the bus, Jiang Xu made a point of looking around.

Still, he didn’t see the woman.

However, once on the bus, a female alpha in the group sat in the seat in front of Jiang Xu. She turned around and patted her chairback.

“Jiang Xu,” the female alpha said, “recently, there’s an older female omega at the school gate asking around for you. Did you know?”

Jiang Xu asked, “When did this happen?”

The female alpha scratched her head. “It’s been a few days, I think. I’ve only heard about it for two or three days.”

Jiang Xu replied with an "oh" and said to the female alpha, “Thank you.”

The competition lasted for two days, and during the next two days, Jiang Xu didn’t have time to think about these things.

On the weekend night, Jiang Xu, along with the class leader and others, took the bus back to the school. After settling in, they ushered in a new week.

After October 1st, it felt as though time had been set to fast-forward.

This year was a lot warmer than last year. It wasn’t until near the end of the semester that the first snow of the year fell. The dense flurry of small snowflakes nearly covered the gloomy sky. Looking up, the snow and sky had already blended into one.

After the last exam, everyone gathered in the classroom. The subject teachers came to assign winter break homework. Finally, Teacher Deng stayed behind to emphasize the important points for the holiday.

Fei Miao turned around and leaned on Jiang Xu's desk, propping his chin with both hands, looking upset. “I finally have a holiday, but I’m not happy at all.”

Duan Qing patted Fei Miao’s shoulder sympathetically. “I haven’t even started my winter break homework, but I already feel like I’m going to be drained by it.”

Duan Qing’s words hit the nail on the head, and Fei Miao banged his hand on the desk angrily.

“Why is there so much homework? This is no holiday at all. It’s just a way to make us study at home…”

Before he could finish, a piece of chalk flew from the teacher’s desk, tracing an arc in the air before accurately landing on Fei Miao's head.

“Fei Miao.” Teacher Deng’s voice rang out. “I’m speaking up here, and you’re talking down there. Do you want me to give you my spot up here?”

Fei Miao quickly covered his head with both hands and turned back.

Jiang Xu had already packed everything that needed to be packed and taken it back to the dorm. As soon as Teacher Deng left, he zipped up his backpack and was ready to leave.

But Fei Miao had left a lot of books on the desk, and Jiang Xu figured he would need to make two trips to carry everything. So, Duan Qing and Jiang Xu decided to help him out a bit.

The three of them each grabbed a cardboard box filled with Fei Miao's things.

On the way back to the dorm, Fei Miao kept complaining nonstop. “Twenty-seven test papers? Is that even humanly possible? I won’t be able to enjoy my New Year’s. While others are watching the Spring Festival Gala, I’ll be stuck in my room writing test papers.”

Duan Qing comforted him. “Next year, we’ll be in the fourth year of high school. The workload will only increase, and not decrease. You need to adjust quickly.”

“Ah!” Fei Miao looked up in despair. “How can I adjust? I can’t do it!”

Then, suddenly, he remembered something. He turned to Jiang Xu.

Jiang Xu walked at the far end, holding a box in his arms, his eyes straight ahead, quietly listening to their conversation.

Even though they had gotten much closer to Jiang Xu, he still didn’t say much in front of them.

In the past, Fei Miao couldn’t understand how someone could be so quiet, speaking so little day in and day out. But after spending more time with Jiang Xu, he realized that some people were just like that, cold and slow to warm up, as if they had built a wall in their hearts. Only after standing by the wall long enough could one find a tiny door to get in.

“By the way, Jiang Xu.” Fei Miao asked, “Has there been any news about that female omega who came looking for you?”

Jiang Xu shook his head. “No news.”

Before, Jiang Huo and Wen Yueling wanted to have a serious talk with her, but they had lost contact with her for a long time and didn’t even have her contact details. After waiting for over a month without hearing from her, they tried to track down her old address.

However, that house had already changed ownership. After asking around, they found out from a neighbour that the woman’s daughter-in-law had divorced her son, who was still in prison, many years ago. She was now living alone, raising her grandson. Life had gotten harder for her, and when her grandson fell seriously ill last year, she had to sell the house to pay for medical expenses. Now, no one knew where she had gone with her grandson.

Clearly, the woman had come to ask them for money. Jiang Huo and Wen Yueling didn’t want to meet her, so she had no choice but to change her target to Jiang Xu.

But for some reason, after that last visit, she had not shown up again.

The winter break was about to begin. The security guard opened the gate. Apart from the school’s own students, many parents had come to help.

Although the snow had stopped falling, the accumulated snow hadn’t been cleared yet, and many people’s footsteps had left a dense trail on the ground.

The cold wind blew across the faces of the three, making them all shiver involuntarily.

“It’s so cold.” Fei Miao quickened his pace. “I wonder if my dad has arrived. When I called him earlier, he had just left.”

Duan Qing asked, “Is your dad coming to pick you up?”

“Yes.” Fei Miao asked back, “What about you?”

“My mom’s coming to pick me up,” Duan Qing said. “She should be here by now, waiting outside the school.”

“Isn’t your mom coming in?”

“She’s too lazy to come in,” Duan Qing said with a laugh. “I don’t have much stuff. A single suitcase is enough. There’s no need for her to help, so she’s waiting in the car.”

As the two of them spoke, they both looked at Jiang Xu.

“Jiang Xu, is anyone coming to pick you up?” Fei Miao asked.

“I’m going back by myself.” Jiang Xu replied. Since his home wasn’t far from the school, he could just take the subway for a few stops.

“Then why don’t you just take my family’s car?” Fei Miao said. “I’ll ask my dad to drive you.”

“No need.” Jiang Xu explained. “I just moved into a new place close to the school. I can take the subway.”

“Isn’t that more convenient?” Fei Miao, holding his box, moved around Duan Qing to Jiang Xu’s other side and said eagerly, “It’s such a hassle for you to drag your box around. It’s much more convenient to have a ride, and my dad has been wanting to meet you. He also wants to see what the top student in the whole grade looks like.”

He then chuckled.

Jiang Xu: “…”

It’s just a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth. What does he think I am, a freak with three heads and six arms?

The three of them had just reached the outside of the dorm building when Fei Miao kept pestering Jiang Xu, talking nonstop.

“Just take my family’s car, it won’t take much time. You’re my best bro, how can I bear to see you going home on the subway during the winter break?”

Jiang Xu sighed, about to speak, when a familiar voice suddenly called out from not far away.

“Jiang Xu.”

Jiang Xu froze for a moment; his raised foot remained frozen on the first step of the stairs.

He thought he must have been imagining things, standing there dazed for a while until Fei Miao excitedly elbowed him twice.

“I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it…” Fei Miao’s eyes widened in shock as he said, “Look who’s here!”

Jiang Xu turned his head.

There were many people around the school, and the area outside the dorm was packed.

Even so, Jiang Xu spotted the familiar figure at a glance.

Standing behind the crowd, Jin Jiayue wore a black coat, with his hands in his pockets, and a light-colored, thick scarf wrapped around his neck. The skin on his face was as white as the snow falling from the sky.

After locking eyes, Jin Jiayue waved at him.

In that instant, Jiang Xu felt his breath catch in his chest for a moment.

Nothing stirs the emotions more than seeing a familiar person in a crowd. He turned and ran straight toward the crowd.

Jin Jiayue also pushed his way forward.

“Ge.” Jiang Xu, still holding his box, strode up to Jin Jiayue, his eyes shining with surprise and a curve on the lips that he could barely suppress. “What are you doing here?”

Jin Jiayue smiled at him, and when he spoke, white mist puffed out of his mouth. “You’re done with your exams, right? I came to pick you up.”

The snow had stopped falling, but the air was still cold.

Jiang Xu quickly sized Jin Jiayue up, and even though he confirmed that there was no snow on him, he still felt uneasy.

“How long have you been waiting?” Jiang Xu asked. “The snow seems to have just stopped.”

“I came after the snow stopped,” Jin Jiayue noticed his concern, “Don’t worry, I didn’t wait long.”

Jiang Xu looked around at the people nearby. Most of them were parents of students, and a few were students. Some had noticed them and occasionally glanced in their direction.

More precisely, they were staring at Jin Jiayue.

Jiang Xu thought for a moment and said, “Do you want to come inside and wait?”

Jin Jiayue didn’t refuse but asked, “Can Omega enter the dorm building?”

“They can,” Jiang Xu said. “Normally, they can’t, but since the holidays are about to start tomorrow, some parents of students are coming in to help pack things up.”

Upon hearing this, Jin Jiayue didn’t say anything further.

When they returned to the outside of the dorm, they saw a few omega students entering the building with their alpha partners. One omega, obviously the alpha’s partner, was holding hands with the alpha, his cheeks flushed red.

In contrast, Jin Jiayue remained calm and even greeted Fei Miao and Duan Qing, who were waiting for them.

“Hello.”

The last time Fei Miao saw Jin Jiayue was in the school’s conference hall. Jin Jiayue had been on stage, and Fei Miao had been in the audience. There had been half the conference hall and a sea of people between them. Now, with no distance between them, Fei Miao could even count the number of eyelashes on Jin Jiayue’s face.

Fei Miao stood frozen for a moment, and then suddenly, his face turned redder than the omega from earlier.

“G-g-g-Good afternoon, Mr Jin!” Fei Miao stammered.

Duan Qing, beside him, couldn’t stay composed either and hurriedly said, “Good afternoon, Mr Jin!”

Jiang Xu introduced them from the side, “They’re my classmates and friends, Fei Miao and Duan Qing.”

As they climbed the stairs, Fei Miao suddenly remembered to ask, “Mr Jin, are you here to pick up Jiang Xu?”

Jin Jiayue responded with a simple “Mm-hmm.”

Fei Miao’s expression shifted between joy and disappointment, looking extremely conflicted. Finally, he managed to force a smile that looked even worse than crying, “That’s great, bro, you’ve got someone picking you up.”

Jiang Xu was speechless.

“Are you going back on your own, or is someone picking you up?” Jin Jiayue asked Fei Miao and Duan Qing. “I drove here, and if it’s convenient, I can give you a ride.”

Fei Miao and Duan Qing immediately shook their heads.

“Thanks, Mr Jin, but my dad is coming to pick me up.”

“My mom is waiting outside too.”

“That’s too bad.” Jin Jiayue said, “I was hoping today would be the first time I meet you all. If it’s convenient, how about we have dinner together later?”

Fei Miao hesitated for a moment, his face turning even redder. “Mr Jin, actually, we have plenty of time during the winter break.”

Jin Jiayue smiled broadly and pulled at his scarf. “Then how about you find some time during your break, and I’ll treat you to dinner?”

Fei Miao excitedly inhaled a sharp breath and nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at food. “Yes, yes, we’d love to!”

Back in the dorm, no one else was there.

The dorm was much messier than usual. There were other people’s suitcases and various odds and ends scattered around, but the bed and desk were already tidied up, so Jiang Xu didn’t have to worry about Jin Jiayue seeing anything inappropriate.

Jiang Xu had already moved his box into Fei Miao’s dorm. He took off his backpack and placed it on the desk, pulling out a chair to face Jin Jiayue.

“Please sit and wait for me. I’ll tidy up and clean the room.”

After saying this, he turned on the lights and the heater in the room.

Jin Jiayue sat down on the chair. He didn’t look around but casually flipped through the books on Jiang Xu’s desk.

It was his second time in Jiang Xu’s dorm. He wasn’t familiar with the rest of the place, but Jiang Xu’s desk hadn’t changed much since last time. It was neatly organized, with a few novels that clearly looked like they were borrowed from the library placed in the top-right corner for easy reach.

Jin Jiayue picked up one of the books and looked at it closely--

"The Delicate Pregnant Husband, Don’t Try to Escape."

Jin Jiayue: "..."

A year had passed, and his alpha’s taste really hadn’t changed at all.

The room temperature was rising slowly, and Jiang Xu quickly heated some water, poured a cup, and placed it in front of Jin Jiayue. He also handed him a hand warmer.

Without thinking, he glanced at the book Jin Jiayue was holding, and his hand trembled slightly as he was halfway through passing the hand warmer.

“Brother, I haven’t cleaned the desk yet.”

“Go ahead and clean up the other things first.” Jin Jiayue didn’t even look up, reaching out to turn a page of his book. “I’ll read a little longer, and then we’ll talk.”

Jiang Xu: “…”

He suddenly had a headache.

With Jin Jiayue around, Jiang Xu’s speed increased more than a little. In just ten minutes, he had finished packing his suitcase. He placed the suitcase aside and continued tidying up the bed and desk.

Jin Jiayue had already put the book back and was sitting on the chair, bored, looking at his phone.

“What’s for dinner tonight?”

Jiang Xu stood at the desk, placing the books he needed to return to the library to one side and packing the rest into the suitcase. He spoke while cleaning up, “Do you want to eat out or eat at home?”

“I don’t want to eat out,” Jin Jiayue replied.

“Then let’s eat at home.” Jiang Xu said, “Wait for me to put everything away, and then we’ll go to the supermarket to buy ingredients.”

Jin Jiayue said, “Okay.”

The heater began to take effect, and the temperature in the dorm rose. Jin Jiayue felt a little warm and took off his scarf, draping it over his knees. His legs were crossed, one hand holding the hand warmer, and the other resting on the back of the chair, supporting his chin. He tilted his head, watching Jiang Xu busying himself.

Just then, there was the sound of a door unlocking from outside.

When the door opened, Zeng Yun and Du Quan entered, chatting and laughing. However, before they could finish speaking, they turned around and saw Jin Jiayue sitting in the chair.

Both of them froze at the same time. Without waiting for Jiang Xu to speak, they quickly retreated from the dorm.

But after a few seconds, as if they had confirmed the room number, Zeng Yun and Du Quan pushed each other in and entered again.

When they saw Jiang Xu standing by the desk, they finally relaxed.

“Senior Jiang, is this your friend?” Zeng Yun asked.

Jiang Xu awkwardly said, “He’s my partner, came to pick me up. It’s too cold outside, so I let him come in and wait.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Zeng Yun waved his hand, “It’s just that the dorm is a bit messy.”

After greeting each other, everyone went about their own business.

A few minutes later, the sound of a door unlocking came again. This time, it was Xu Zihui, who was talking on the phone as he entered.

The moment he saw Jin Jiayue sitting in the chair, Xu Zihui’s words abruptly stopped. He froze, blinking twice. Without waiting for anyone to speak, he quickly stepped out of the dorm.

A few seconds later, as if confirming the room number like Zeng Yun and Du Quan before, Xu Zihui hung up the phone and strode back into the dorm.

“Jin Jiayue?” Xu Zihui exclaimed in surprise, “What are you doing in our dorm?”

Zeng Yun hurriedly said, “Senior Xu, he’s Senior Jiang’s partner. He came to pick Senior Jiang up…”

Halfway through his sentence, Zeng Yun suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Jin Jiayue with an incredulous expression.

“You, you’re the Mr Jin who gave a lecture at our school last year?”

Jin Jiayue, still holding his phone, hadn’t even raised an eyelash when Xu Zihui spoke, but upon hearing Zeng Yun’s words, he nodded.

“It’s me.”

“…”

Zeng Yun looked at Du Quan.

Du Quan’s shock was no less than his own.

For a moment, the whole dorm was silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, until Jiang Xu’s voice broke the silence: “I’ve swept the floor twice and wiped the balcony windows. The rest of the cleaning, you guys can divide up.”

After a long pause, Zeng Yun was the first to react, quickly nodding: “Got it.”

Xu Zihui stood there for a long time before finally walking back to his desk. He pulled out a chair and sat down. The distance between him and Jin Jiayue was only about half a meter, and in his peripheral vision, he could see Jin Jiayue’s cold profile.

The black coat Jin Jiayue was wearing made his skin look even whiter. His hair had grown a little long, and he hadn’t used gel, so it casually hung down. When he looked down at his phone, a few strands of black hair covered his eyes, making them look faintly hidden.

To be honest, Jin Jiayue was indeed handsome. Xu Zihui had never seen an omega who looked better than Jin Jiayue in terms of appearance.

But he did seem a bit distant.

He seemed just as hard to approach as the rumours had suggested.

Xu Zihui couldn’t help but wonder how Jiang Xu and Jin Jiayue had gotten together.

As Xu Zihui was thinking, Jin Jiayue seemed to notice his gaze. He suddenly turned his chair halfway around with a screech, the chair scraping against the floor.

In the next moment, Xu Zihui could only see the back of Jin Jiayue’s head.

Xu Zihui: “…”

The rumours were spot on.

Jiang Xu didn’t notice the movement behind him. He put the hand warmer into the drawer, grabbed the handle of his suitcase, and turned to Jin Jiayue.

“Let’s go.”

Jin Jiayue stood up from the chair.

Jiang Xu pushed the chair under the desk with one hand, glanced at the scarf Jin Jiayue was holding, and said, “It’s cold outside, put the scarf on.”

“I don’t want to wear it,” Jin Jiayue said, raising his hand and wrapping the scarf around Jiang Xu’s neck. “You wear it.”

Jiang Xu replied, “It’s cold outside.”

Jin Jiayue took Jiang Xu’s hand, pressing the palm against the back of Jiang Xu’s hand. Having held the hand warmer for more than half an hour, his hand was burning hot.

“I’m really hot right now,” Jin Jiayue said.

Jiang Xu couldn’t argue, so he tugged at the scarf around his neck. “I’ll wear it for just a moment.”

Jin Jiayue smiled and pinched his hand.

Xu Zihui, sitting nearby, turned his chair around, leaning against the desk, facing Jiang Xu and Jin Jiayue. He was holding his phone, apparently playing a game, but his eyes were constantly glancing at Jiang Xu and Jin Jiayue.

From his angle, he could see Jin Jiayue smiling, his eyes curving with so much warmth that they almost overflowed.

Even though Jiang Xu spoke to Jin Jiayue in a half-commanding tone, Jin Jiayue didn’t seem angry at all.

Xu Zihui furrowed his brows, suddenly feeling that Jin Jiayue was a bit different from what the rumours had said.

Maybe none of them had truly gotten to know Jin Jiayue.