Chapter 17
I Can Smell Your Pheromones

Chapter 16 | TOC | Chapter 18

Chapter 17: I Can Smell Your Pheromones

Unlike Alphas, Omegas can’t control the intensity of their pheromones.

Even so, Xu Tangzhou could rarely smell the scent of his own pheromones.

Twenty years ago, the ABO sex ratio reached the lowest of the century with a ratio of 3:5:2. The sharp decline of Omegas had encouraged them to begin pursuing gender rights for themselves. Pheromone blockers appeared around that time. It quickly blocked Omega pheromones which prevented Alphas from being induced into estrus by the Omega pheromones. This allowed Omegas to transition from a position of becoming mates with someone after estrus, to being given the autonomy to choose who they want. Through this, the true meaning of gender equality was achieved.

Every Omega would use the pheromone blockers after they’ve differentiated until they’re either in a relationship and then temporarily marked, or they’ve entered the wedding venue and then fully marked.

However, Omegas who don’t use pheromone blockers were usually viewed as boldly flirting.

Xu Tangzhou didn’t want to boldly flirt.

He felt a pit sinking in his stomach*.

TN: The raws say his mood was like he f***** a dog, which means he felt like “HOLY S***”, so this is the closest I got.

Xu Tangzhou accompanied the program group to an unfamiliar foreign country as the only Omega. He also wasn’t acquainted with any other Omega whom he could borrow items from.

Luckily, the chokers were non-essential items that were used as preventative measures. On the other hand, pheromone blockers, gland patches, and other similar items were often sold at convenience stores.

The only problem was that the medicine prescribed by Qiu Yin had disappeared. He didn’t know if he would still be sensitive toward Ling Che’s pheromones. In the event he would get a nosebleed in front of Ling Che while they were filming… it would be quite a sight.

After sitting for a few minutes, the faint scent gradually became more prominent. He felt that if anyone entered the room, they would be able to smell his scent.

Xu Tangzhou needed to go to the convenience store.

He had no choice but to tie a piece of clothing in a ridiculous knot around his neck to cover his glands, hoping that the smell would be concealed. Then, he gritted his teeth and went to knock on Ling Che’s door -- He had to discuss with Ling Che because they didn’t have any money aside from the starting funds.

Before Xu Tangzhou walked out of the room, he sniffed himself and made sure there was no leftover scent. Afterward, he traveled through the corridor toward Ling Che’s room.

The camera hanging on the wall seemed to be interested, curiously following his movements while making a small sound.

Ling Che was taking a bath.

When he came to open the door, water droplets were still dripping from his hair. He wore a pair of shorts and draped a towel over his shoulder.

Xu Tangzhou didn’t know where to look, and his eyes secretly followed along Ling Che’s mermaid line. The young Alpha’s body was vigorous and powerful. His abdominal muscles were beautifully sculpted and outlined*. It was very stimulating.

TN: some other descriptors I got from my friends on Twitter were “chocolate abs”, “washboard abs”, and my personal favorite, “organic 8-pack rolls” XD

If Ling Che didn’t speak, then as a face fan, he really could*!

TN: It means that he thinks Ling Che is hot~

“What are you doing?” Ling Che fiddled with the piece of clothing wrapped around his neck, “Late-night cosplay?”

Xu Tangzhou ignored his impulses, and became a calm and collected person: “My blocker is gone.”

Xu Tangzhou told his story.

The impatient expression Ling Che originally wore had gradually receded. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at the camera on the wall.

In order not to delay the itinerary, the people working for the program packed the luggage after Qi Mu had finished checking. Ling Che remembered that those items were packed inside the printed cartoon pouch that contained Xu Tangzhou’s personal items.

No matter how much the show liked to pit them, they shouldn’t joke about this. If the show group truly did it, then he definitely wouldn’t tolerate it.

“I need to buy one.” Xu Tangzhou said embarrassedly, “It’s a bit expensive, so I plan to first use the initial funds. Tomorrow, I’ll ask Momo if I could pay for it with my own money, so it wouldn’t be included in our PK* expenses.”

TN: More often used as a gaming term, but PK means Player kill, or in this case, the competition against other players.

Ling Che didn’t care where the spending money was going to come from. As a straight Alpha, he only asked: “Where to buy it?”

Xu Tangzhou: “Convenience store.”

Ling Che seemed to think it was too simple: “They sell it at a convenience store?”

Xu Tangzhou thought, ‘Haven’t you been in love before? You don’t even know about this.’

It seems that if an amazing person was single, then there must’ve been a reason.

Pheromone blockers needed to be bought in person, so Xu Tangzhou went to his room to grab his passport. Unexpectedly, Ling Che was already dressed and waiting for him.

There was a low banana tree in the yard. The nighttime sea breeze blew across the leaves, making them rustle. Ling Che was standing next to the tree. Under the cover of darkness, his deep and handsome features made him seem like an arrogant aristocratic vampire much more than usual.

Even if he wanted to suck blood, the prey would have to wash its own neck and deliver itself to him. Only then would he begrudgingly take a glance at it.

Seeing Xu Tangzhou come out, Ling Che said “Why were you so slow?” and headed outside.

Xu Tangzhou was surprised: “You plan on accompanying me?”

They weren’t really familiar, but Xu Tangzhou still remembered Ling Che warning him not to make trouble.

Ling Che walked forward a few steps and stopped. He haughty looked down and said: “Wasn’t that what you meant when you looked for me?”

He didn’t realize that Xu Tangzhou only looked for him to discuss finances, and he automatically assumed that Xu Tangzhou wanted to be accompanied. The Omega was weak, pitiful, and helpless. He couldn’t turn a blind eye to it.

Xu Tangzhou knew that if he denied it, he’d be done for. There’s no guarantee that Ling Che would not suddenly become angry.

He quickly nodded his head: “ Yes, that’s what I meant!”

“Then walk faster.” Ling Che turned around and continued walking, not even waiting for the other person, “Otherwise go by yourself.”

The coconut grove was pitch-black, and the road was only lit with the fluorescent signs placed by the program team.

Xu Tangzhou’s felt a chill behind his back and meekly chased after him: “No no no, don’t make me go by myself! Don’t walk so quickly!”

*

They weren’t near the island’s main city, so there weren’t many people in the convenience store at 10 pm.

The clerk was a local, so upon seeing two distinctive Asian faces, he only gave a glance. They didn’t catch his attention.

Xu Tangzhou quickly found the world’s best-selling Mist pheromone blockers from among the dazzling shelves. The new ice cream flavor was no longer a new product anymore, but it was still placed in the most conspicuous location.

A Mist blocker was around 2,000 RMB, and it would be effective for a few months.

Ling Che stood next to the shelf, and he was even taller than it. He sullenly said: “Hurry up.”

Xu Tangzhou said anxiously: “I still haven’t used 60% of my Mist blocker! I don’t even know if we could still find it!”

Ling Che couldn’t understand his way of thinking.

Xu Tangzhou’s family was better off than many others, and he had grown up as if he were a pampered young master.

He grew up.

Ling Che: “Did you finish choosing?”

Xu Tangzhou chose the ice cream flavor: “Yes. I used this flavor last time.”

In reality, there wasn’t much to choose from aside from the flavors. After paying for it, he only needed to input his pheromone number, and then it could be used.

When they checked out, the clerk felt that Ling Che looked very familiar and kept staring at him. Ling Che turned to the side to avoid the gaze, but he happened to see some condoms* placed next to the counter.

TN: So I checked back in the simplified for this, and they just simply said "Personal items" and skipped most of the following dialogue HAHAHA

Xu Tangzhou stood behind him. Peeking his head out from behind, he said: “Help me grab a box of this, I want the thinner ones.”

Ling Che: “... What are you going to do with that?”

Xu Tangzhou looked up at him. Without a single evil thought in his delicate and slightly cold appearance, he naturally said: “To use it. The thinner ones are more comfortable.”

Ling Che: “... Comfortable?”

Xu Tangzhou nodded: “It’s really comfortable. It feels as if it didn’t exist.”

After saying that, Xu Tangzhou moved sideways and went to get it himself. Next to the condoms, he took the box of gland patches.

The moment he got the gland patches, he understood what Ling Che was talking about.

Xu Tangzhou’s ears burned red. As long as he was with Ling Che, his ears seem to often burn: “Did you think I was going to take condoms?! I’m not a pervert, how can I use it by myself?”

Ling Che suddenly remembered Xu Tangzhou’s New Year’s Eve live broadcast.

Daring to say any joke, daring to drive any car, he was definitely like an old driver*. How could he be so experienced?

TN: Drive any car = twist words to be R18+, and old drivers are “experienced”... ahem

For one of those reasons, he didn’t even need to think to know the answer.

“Are you ashamed?” Xu Tangzhou saw that he didn’t speak. He was about to die from embarrassment himself, yet he forced himself to feign calmness and picked up a box of condoms, “I’m sorry, I didn’t say it clearly. This one is also super thin.”

Written on the blue box, it said ultra-thin 0.01, extremely comfortable.

Before leaving, Ling Che coldly said: “I’ll wait for you outside.”

On the way back, Ling Che didn’t say much to Xu Tangzhou.

Xu Tangzhou wasn’t considered a talkative person, nor did he often take the initiative to speak. If he wasn’t careful, it was easy for him to come off as fierce. The way he tried to alleviate the misunderstanding seemed to have been slightly overdone. The other person was Ling Che. He wasn’t one of his fans, much less a friend.

Thinking about it again, Ling Che might’ve not wanted to have a good relationship with him, since they only communicated because of the show. Once the show ended, they wouldn’t have any relations afterward because of the gap between them.

The two people walked back, one in front of the other. Xu Tangzhou felt at a loss.

“Xu Tangzhou.” Suddenly, Ling Che called out his full name.

Xu Tangzhou: “Hm?”

The two stood amid the dim coconut grove. With the illumination of the lamps placed along the path by the team for [Our Perfect Trip], the other person’s appearance could faintly be seen.

Ling Che’s gaze was cold: “Why did you want to participate in the show?”

There were no other people here, so Ling Che spoke straightforwardly without needing to pretend that they were good friends. This was the real Ling Che.

Xu Tangzhou didn’t really seem to understand what he meant, so he said doubtfully: “Huang Ge arranged it, didn’t you know?”

Ling Che continued asking for a clearer answer: “Why did you still participate while knowing that I was coming? You don’t mind?”

Is this a heart-to-heart talk?

Xu Tangzhou thought, ‘Does Ling Che still mind what happened at the previous annual party? He was clearly rejected, yet they still participated in the show together. Even if* it was Ling Che, it wasn’t so easy for him to just let it go.’

TN: This 饶是 took me for a spin, but it is synonymous with 就算~

Huang Qian told Xu Tangzhou that Ling Che wasn’t completely unwilling to talk. If they had the chance to chat, he could take the initiative to be friendly. Between two people, there would be no barriers if they communicate effectively.

Therefore he said: “I don’t mind.”

Ling Che: “Why?”

Xu Tangzhou said: “Because I like you. I originally didn’t want to participate in variety shows, but once I saw that you were the person I was with, I wanted to participate.”

Didn’t he make it very clear back at Fisher Hotel?

He’s his music fan, someone who likes his music.

He’s his face fan, someone who does *this* and *that* with him in his dreams -- Xu Tangzhou didn’t dare to say this. Dreams couldn’t be willingly controlled by him, and it wasn’t against the law to dream.

Ling Che didn’t speak for a full minute, as if he was stuck in place after being struck by lightning.

After some time, Xu Tangzhou suddenly realized that his words seemed ambiguous, so he immediately explained: “It’s not what you’re thinking! I didn’t want to leech off your popularity… I know that you don’t really like me. Don’t worry, I didn’t have any special intentions. I just like you. After the show is over, I won’t stick close to you. It doesn’t even matter if you deny that we are friends. Don’t be too burdened by this.”

Xu Tangzhou didn’t really want to be popular. He only wanted to work well and live up to Huang Qian’s expectations.

After the strange silence had passed, Ling Che spoke again in a very stiff tone: “I understand. Don’t tell others about this.”

Xu Tangzhou was confused: “Why can’t I tell others?”

Ling Che took a step towards him with an unclear expression: “At any rate, just don’t say anything. I don’t want to create any unnecessary misunderstandings.”

The oppressive feeling from the Alpha rushed toward his face. Xu Tangzhou subconsciously stepped back, but Ling Che stretched out his hand and held onto the back of his neck. They were clearly separated by a piece of clothing that was wrapped around his neck, but he was unable to budge like a pitiful cat.

The two people were very close together. Ling Che slightly lowered his head and said in a deep voice: “Got it? We just have to properly record the show. When we return, everything will go back to normal. Nothing will change.”

Xu Tangzhou nodded: “I got it.”

Ling Che still looked dissatisfied: “Also… I can smell your pheromones.”

In the latter half of that sentence, Ling Che spoke very seriously.

Xu Tangzhou hesitantly said: “Then, could you help me put on a gland patch?”

TN: Chinese terms as pinyin in this chapter

“Ge” (older brother, could be used as a respectful address for male acquaintances)

See glossary for more info.

Chapter 16 | TOC | Chapter 18

TN: Ah- I’ll regret this later, but no censoring of words from me. (Although I’ll try my best to avoid what I could if they don’t explicitly state hahaha… [double checks ch 66… cries in a puddle of tears])

Side note that my translation account twitter gets updates first! (I sometimes forget to put it on novelupdates...) https://twitter.com/littlemoontl

I usually don't go on my tling account unless I post updates, so if any questions either email or go to my main account (where I usually chat about other stuff)

Hello hello~ Please support the author at jjwxc, there's an Audio Drama S1 and a Season 2, and a simplified physical (You'll need to click on the ones that say 小行星)!

There's now a Spanish translation too! Gracias a Kuchiki Risa por traduciendo! (Español)

(Just a heads up that if there are any errors, feel free to reach out to me!)