[Esports] Team Leader Xie, your mid laner is causing trouble again.

"I dare not contact you, let alone come back to see you, until I am cured."

Xie Jichuan's voice was low, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

Li Zhi's eyes were brimming with tears. Upon hearing this, she first glared at him angrily, a look that was both fierce and aggrieved:

"I think you're really quite ill."

After saying that, he awkwardly turned his head to the side and asked in a low voice, "Are you sick? What's wrong?"

Xie Jichuan was somewhat reluctant to speak.

After all, admitting to being allergic to Omega pheromones in front of your crush is like admitting you're impotent.

How is this any different from the incompetent husbands in the film?

He remained silent for a few seconds before finally speaking, his voice strained as if squeezed out from between his teeth:

"I am allergic to Omega pheromones."

The air became quiet.

The silence was ominous.

Xie Jichuan thought to himself, "Oh no, I was just as expected. I should have known better than to say anything."

His gaze was fixed on Li Zhi's eyes, not daring to miss a single emotion, awkwardly trying to find a way to explain himself:

"Although I'm not 100% cured yet, at least when I'm exposed to Omega pheromones, I can act like a normal person and don't have any other symptoms."

"You...don't think I'm not a qualified Alpha because of this."

He spoke these words very carefully, even with a hint of humble pleading.

Li Zhi didn't react much, seemingly deep in thought.

Xie Jichuan was completely panicked.

A faint aroma of mint liqueur wafted out.

He wanted to get closer to the Omega in front of him, but he kept his distance and didn't touch him. The scent became the only outlet, spreading between the two of them with anxiety and unease.

Li Zhi sniffed, looked up and glared at him again.

"I know you're a normal Alpha now," he paused, his voice trailing off slightly, "put away your dog smell."

The compatibility is still too high.

As soon as he smelled this scent, he felt his neck burning uncontrollably.

Even my thoughts became limp, as if I had been soaked in warm water, and my limbs and bones felt weak.

Xie Jichuan gave a somewhat aggrieved "Oh," took a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down.

It's true what they say, karma works out. I just cursed someone for having dog-like pheromones today, and now the retribution has come so quickly.

The taste of the mint liqueur gradually faded, but those eyes remained fixed on Li Zhi, as if afraid that she would disappear in the blink of an eye.

Without the interference of pheromones, Li Zhi's brain started working a little faster:

"So that night at the base entrance, you smelled my pheromones, that's why you acted that way?"

Xie Jichuan nodded and continued to explain, "The higher the compatibility, the stronger the reaction. I was unconscious for three days before I woke up."

For the past two years, Li Zhi has been unable to understand why Xie Jichuan's attitude towards him had changed so drastically.

I was indulging him one day, and the next day he became a stranger.

He considered countless possibilities, but never this one.

The truth was revealed so suddenly that Li Zhi didn't know what expression to make.

But the grievances in his heart only intensified, as if something was blocking his throat, making it hard for him to breathe.

"So just because I'm an Omega, you're going to break off our friendship?"

Xie Jichuan sighed.

This idiot, doesn't he know what he feels for him?

If it were just about being friends, he would have a million ways to maintain a distance from Kurichi.

Meals can be staggered, training sessions can be held in different rooms, and even if we bump into each other in the hallway, we can take a detour.

But his heart was already firmly locked on Li Zhi.

How can I get him to keep his distance?

"It's not because you're an Omega," Xie Jichuan's voice was gentle, tinged with helplessness, "but because you're Li Zhi."

He smiled, a smile that contained both bitterness and a resigned acceptance of his fate.

"You've become an Omega, and I don't want to be helplessly watching you suffer from pheromones, feeling nauseous, vomiting, or falling into a coma before you do, forcing you to endure the discomfort to take care of me."

I want to be your support, I want to take care of you forever.

"But I can't even accept the most basic Omega pheromones, which only makes us both suffer because of this relationship."

After hearing this confession, which could be described as a declaration of love, Li Zhi's emotions became even more intense:

"So you're just going to cut the Gordian knot? Since there's no future, you're just not going to start at all?"

Xie Jichuan didn't mention that after he woke up, all his communication devices were thrown away, including his cell phone and phone number.

He didn't mention that he had to go to the hospital every few days for treatment, including IV drips, tests, and repeated desensitization treatments. Just maintaining a normal life had almost drained all his energy.

It was really tough at first.

Even when she was half-asleep while lying on the treatment bed, she dreamed of Kuriyuki's face.

In his dream, Li Zhi was still smiling, her eyes bright, tugging at his finger and asking why he hadn't come back yet.

Waking up to a white ceiling and the pungent smell of disinfectant, the contrast was more unbearable than the treatment itself.

At first, he did consider finding Li Zhi through Shi Kai, but as the treatment failed to improve, he gradually became timid.

The desire to contact Kurichi faded away day by day.

In fact, he didn't dare to contact Kuriyuki at all.

She was afraid that her beloved would see her in this disheveled state, and that Li Zhi would feel pain and sadness because of her.

However, he made the decision himself, and he has to bear all the consequences.

He didn't want to say these things to elicit sympathy and beg for forgiveness; he believed that if he made a mistake, he should make amends through his actions.

The words of explanation circled on his lips several times, but he ultimately swallowed them back.

All I could do was awkwardly admit, "Yes, rather than clinging to that slim hope, it's better for you to live your own life well."

Li Zhi was completely expressionless; he hadn't expected things to turn out so dramatically.

What Xie Jichuan never expected was that Li Zhi was someone whose brain was controlled by pheromones.

This presumptuous attempt to be nice to him—did they even ask him if he wanted it?

Li Zhi felt like she was about to laugh out loud, but when she tried to force a smile, she realized she couldn't.

Before he could define those vague feelings, Xie Jichuan cruelly left.

There was no explanation, no farewell, not even a decent ending.

Li Zhi wasn't even sure if that counted as liking someone.

He only knew that when Xie Jichuan was around, the lights in the training room were brighter than usual.

What's the point of bringing back things that were uprooted before they even fully matured?

Everything is in the past.

Standing in the cramped backstage room, looking at the tall Alpha in front of her, Li Zhi suddenly felt very calm.

Like a glass of water that has been stirred up for a long time, it has finally settled down.

People change, and feelings expire.

Even if something happened in the past, Li Zhi himself would never allow those lost feelings to be rekindled.

Li Zhi took a deep breath and raised her eyes.

"Okay, I understand. Is there anything else you want to say?"

Even when a beautiful Omega is angry, she is still charming.

Her eyes still bore traces of tears that hadn't completely dried, her chin was slightly raised, and her gaze was coldly lowered, like a queen sitting on her throne scrutinizing a subject who had overdue for his return.

Xie Jichuan was captivated by his aloof demeanor, momentarily forgetting where he was and what he was saying; only one thought remained in his mind—

So beautiful.

He replied blankly, "No, that's all."