Chapter 090: Like a Siberian Husky

Jiang Xintong: What did I do in my past life to deserve this?

Although she was complaining in her heart, she still stepped in to smooth things over, after all, he was her brother.

Perhaps after today, he wouldn't be anymore—she never had such a troublesome son!

In public, no one would know what kind of weird game you two are playing!

"Ahem, your senior said he couldn't reach you, and I couldn't get through to your phone either. Since no one was at your place, we decided to come and check on you," Jiang Xintong briefly explained the reason.

Lin Miao awkwardly got down from Yan Jiming and explained, "I was revising the materials on the tablet earlier and didn't check my phone. Come on up, I'll just change my shoes."

He held the elevator door open with his hand, his attitude sincere and natural, so straightforward that it was hard to refuse.

They all headed upstairs together and upon entering the room, they noticed the lingering smell of cold food in the living room. Indeed, as Lin Miao had said, his tablet was still propped up on the table, while the dishes on the table were barely touched.

Anyone with a clear mind could see what was going on.

"You really don't take care of yourself," Jiang Xintong sighed, continuing to help Lin Miao save face.

"I counted for him, he hasn't eaten for over thirty hours, probably trying to live forever," Yan Jiming didn't elaborate much, but his words were enough.

If Lin Miao hadn't been so obsessed with his project, he wouldn't have been forcibly "kidnapped" by Yan Jiming to go out for a meal.

It all made sense.

"The food is cold, let's go out to eat, will you join us?" Yan Jiming invited Huo Shize and Jiang Xintong.

Jiang Xintong smiled, "Then I won't be formal. Shize, you're coming too, right? Don't you have something to talk about with Miao Miao?"

"Mm," Huo Shize wasn't in a hurry to talk to Lin Miao about his purpose. The person in front of him looked even thinner than when they last met, completely different from the vague figure in his memory.

They each drove their own car. Yan Jiming said he didn't want to intrude on the couple's time, and Jiang Xintong secretly pinched him, leaving a bruise.

Lin Miao's comment was: Serves him right.

By the time they got to the restaurant, Lin Miao was really hungry.

He always had good table manners; even when his stomach was aching from hunger, he ate delicately and leisurely, making it seem like his food was more delicious than anyone else's.

Lin Miao ate as much as an Alpha, but no one thought he was overeating, and they were even worried if he had enough.

"My stomach isn't a bottomless pit," although he wanted to show how many plates he had emptied, all the plates had been cleared, making it seem like he hadn't eaten much.

After the meal, Lin Miao took out his tablet again. He was so full he could barely stand, so he took the opportunity to continue revising his proposal.

Huo Shize had indeed been sent by Lin Miao's mentor. In fact, Lin Miao's mentor was also Huo Shize's mentor, but one was a graduate student and the other a doctoral student.

The instruments needed for Lin Miao's research project were not available at their campus, so they would need Huo Shize's help.

Coincidentally, the mentor knew they were acquainted. When Lin Miao was a freshman, Huo Shize was a senior, and both were favorites of the mentor, so he had them coordinate privately.

Hearing that Lin Miao was conducting the experiment alone, Huo Shize offered his help if needed.

Lin Miao politely declined. It wasn't very convenient; even though they were under the same mentor and from the same school, what Lin Miao had was the research result of their group. Adding an "outsider" to share the results midway wasn't appropriate.

"Alright, if you need any help, feel free to contact me."

"Well, if I really need help, I won't hold back. Thanks in advance, senior." Lin Miao flashed his signature smile, and just as he finished speaking, a cherry was popped into his mouth by Yan Jiming.

He didn't blame Yan Jiming for messing around at a time like this, but when he bit down, the sourness nearly wiped the smile off his face.

He's doing this on purpose! That jerk is definitely doing it on purpose!

Lin Miao gave Yan Jiming a hard kick under the table, but Yan Jiming dodged it.

This only made him angrier!

He thought his little action was well hidden, but Jiang Xintong across the table could barely keep watching.

Jiang Xintong was internally scolding a Q-version of Lin Miao in her mind: You had your chance and you blew it! Your crush is right in front of you, and you're flirting with another Alpha!

Some people are just meant to stay single forever!

Jiang Xintong still had some intention of matchmaking Lin Miao and Huo Shize, after all, Lin Miao had been crushing on Huo Shize for years and had been heartbroken for ages after a breakup.

She didn't think Lin Miao would give up so easily, so she came up with all sorts of excuses, even framing it as being 'for his own good,' handing him chance after chance, but this guy just wouldn't take the hint.

Jiang Xintong thought that Huo Shize was the most suitable Alpha to marry a beta, as he had a good character, naturally and through upbringing, and would never mess around because of pheromones.

He was a gentleman with a good temper, pretty much perfect. Even though there was no romantic connection between Huo Shize and her, he had never made Jiang Xintong feel uncomfortable.

Even though their arranged marriage was a done deal, Huo Shize had never tried anything inappropriate with her just because they were bound to marry in the future.

Such a good man, Jiang Xintong always thought Lin Miao had good taste, but he was just way too insecure.

He'd been secretly pining for years without anyone catching on. Otherwise, with the friendship between the Jiang and Lin families, Jiang's parents wouldn't have taken someone else's love and approached the Huo family.

What a letdown!

Jiang Xintong was really frustrated, but she couldn't show it too obviously.

Betas don't have it easy in society, and making the first move on an Alpha would be social suicide. Jiang Xintong couldn't bear to see Lin Miao lose face, but seeing him so clueless made her equal parts frustrated and heartbroken.

But she couldn't overstep her bounds; she'd finally set up some chances for them to connect, and it turned out like this.

"By the way, senior, I really have a few questions I don't understand." Once Lin Miao entered study mode, his attention became very focused, and it was hard to pull him out of it.

Huo Shize was a genuine top student and quickly explained Lin Miao's doubts clearly.

Jiang Xintong felt a bittersweet feeling, like a mother seeing her son finally grow up.

"Can you take me back?" She tried to send Yan Jiming away, but this guy didn't know what was wrong with him and insisted on finding an excuse to stay.

Jiang Xintong's eyelids were almost twitching, but she couldn't get this stubborn guy to understand her hint.

"The restaurant is about to close for lunch, why don't we move to a café and continue sitting?" Jiang Xintong suggested.

It took Lin Miao a moment to process this: "Aren't you going back? Yan Jiming, go take her."

Lin Miao was still completely absorbed in their study session, and his tone didn't hide any underlying meanings.

Yan Jiming opened his mouth to say something but stopped, and finally, under their curious looks, he stormed off to pay the bill, only to find that Huo Shize had already paid.

Now he was even more angry!

The key was that Huo Shize had seized the moment to spirit Miao Miao away!

"Come on, you're just being a third wheel while the two lovebirds are trying to nurture their relationship." Jiang Xintong finally had the chance to tease after they parted ways.

Yan Jiming's face instantly darkened, looking rather intimidating.

"There's nothing between them yet, where did you get the idea they're a couple? Besides, isn't he your fiancé?" Yan Jiming originally wanted to say more, but he restrained himself and didn't say anything more hurtful.

"I think you're just like a father who can't bear to let his daughter get married. Don't you know how long Miao Miao has been crushing on him? Now that they finally have a chance to be together, how could I possibly compete? There are so many good Alphas out there; with my qualifications, I can surely find someone. Don't worry about it."

Yan Jiming didn't respond, seemingly really angry, and drove the car at high speed.

Jiang Xintong comforted him: "I know you're close to Miao Miao, but you also have to think about him, don't you?"

Yan Jiming stopped at a red light and finally spoke: "Huo Shize is already old and still single; who knows if he's gay? What if he doesn't like Miao Miao? Aren't you just giving him false hope and then pushing him into a deeper abyss?"

Jiang Xintong, hearing that he was concerned for Lin Miao, smiled with her eyes curving: "Of course, I've looked into this thoroughly. Huo Shize's love life is quite clean, and his family has a good atmosphere. I feel that even if he marries a beta, his family would treat Miao Miao well."

Yan Jiming exhaled heavily: "How good can it be? Definitely not as good as my family!"

Jiang Xintong was almost amused by Yan Jiming's childishness: "Your family treats Miao Miao like their own son; how can that compare?"

Lin Miao's mother and Yan Jiming's mother have been classmates since elementary school and attended university in the same city. No matter the gender of the other's child, they would treat them as their own; naturally, no in-laws could be closer to Lin Miao than they are.

Yan Jiming slammed on the brakes: "I still don't think it's okay."

Luckily, Jiang Xintong was wearing a seatbelt; otherwise, she would have flown out of the window. This guy's bad habit of sudden braking really needs to be changed.

But it was just this jolt that suddenly loosened a deeply rooted thought in her mind.

Just as she has always seen Lin Miao and Yan Jiming as her own brothers, she naturally assumed that the two were also like brothers.

Therefore, the scene she saw in the elevator earlier, apart from feeling embarrassed, didn't provoke any extra thoughts; otherwise, she would have had to explain.

Because she was straightforward, she didn't think in a twisted way, considering it just a playful fight between brothers, nothing to explain.

But now... Jiang Xintong looked incredulously at Yan Jiming in the driver's seat, that inexplicable thought becoming clearer and clearer.

This guy is way too nervous about Lin Miao, isn't he?!

Jiang Xintong knew that Yan Jiming deliberately acted childishly in front of them, but he's an Alpha, with so much family business waiting to be inherited; how could he really raise a naive fool?

Yan Jiming has been participating in competitions since elementary school, winning awards effortlessly since childhood. If it weren't for his erratic personality, the omegas chasing him could line up abroad, even many Alphas couldn't resist his charm, bending like incense sticks.

It's just a pity that Yan Jiming only shows interest in omegas, never eats the grass near his nest, and because of his extremely difficult-to-match pheromones, he hasn't had a steady relationship, even his reputation has been tarnished by too many rumors with omegas.

Others might not know, but Jiang Xintong knows, this guy is still a greenhorn who hasn't tasted anything yet.

Could it be... because there's no suitable omega, he's already targeting his own brother!

Yan Jiming felt prickly all over under Jiang Xintong's strange gaze: "What's with that look?"

"Nothing." Jiang Xintong flicked her hair, "I just think you're too idle, how about I introduce you to some sisters?"

"You too." Yan Jiming frowned, seemingly complaining, "Earlier, Lin Xiaomiao also gave me a bunch of omega profiles, scarier than my mom forcing me to go on blind dates! There were even many of my exes in there, even scarier!"

Jiang Xintong knew about this, raising an eyebrow: "And then, did you pick any?"

Yan Jiming looked displeased: "No, but he arranged for me."

"That's not bad, get out more. I think you're just pent up. Once you find a suitable omega and get some action, your temper won't be so irritable, like you're PMSing."

Yan Jiming frowned tightly, looking like an older brother who sees his younger sister going astray, feeling frustrated but unable to scold her: "You're an omega, don't always be so crude. Aren't you worried you'll never get married?"

Jiang Xintong laughed: "Hey! Isn't it because you guys often joke around without any boundaries? I'm just picking up your bad habits."

Yan Jiming took a deep breath, the veins on his forehead forming the word "endure" written on his forehead.

"Let's talk about it later, kids shouldn't meddle in adult business."

"Oh." Jiang Xintong didn't continue.

She always had an intuition that she absolutely must not bring this matter up with Yan Jiming. Alphas are mostly proud and arrogant. If Yan Jiming found out about his own feelings, who knows what kind of scene he'd cause.

If Lin Miao can't end up with the person he likes, and Yan Jiming marries a beta, that would be a total disaster.

Jiang Xintong sat back down, silently thinking for a while, thinking back on past moments, trying to trace back when Yan Jiming started to have feelings for Lin Miao.

But upon reflection, she found that the two had always been like close buddies, with no hint of anything romantic at all.

That's a bit strange, after so many years without any romantic development, suddenly they're into each other?

"Tsk." Yan Jiming's intuition was quite sharp. "Why do I feel like you're hiding something from me, something pretty rude."

"Not at all." Jiang Xintong probed, "I just wonder if Lin Miao's date will go anywhere."

She observed Yan Jiming's face in the rearview mirror, dark as a storm cloud, as if he was holding back a lot of anger.

He even dropped her off at her building, then turned around and headed down another road, not planning to go home at all.

Tricky. She wondered if Lin Miao had noticed.

But judging from the way they were in the elevator earlier... probably neither of them noticed.

Jiang Xintong took the elevator back from her garage, thinking it over. The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed, especially today, Lin Miao's attitude towards Huo Shize was so natural, like he'd never liked him before.

Although Lin Miao had always been good at hiding his feelings, the admiration in his eyes would always slip through.

But today...

Jiang Xintong started to get a headache just thinking about today. It seemed like their Lin Miao had been possessed by something strange, his mind was all about his experiments and papers, really acting like he didn't care at all.

Jiang Xintong had the impulse to just not care anymore. The younger generation has their own luck, and she'd enjoy hers.

She went home, took a shower, and started her skincare routine. Finally, she couldn't resist and secretly texted Huo Shize to gossip a little.

Lin Miao and Huo Shize didn't go to a café, but directly to the school library.

Lin Miao still had the library card his advisor gave him, so naturally, he wanted to make the most of it before returning it.

He even got a book list from Huo Shize, since he couldn't ask for book recommendations every day, he might as well get it all done at once.

But Lin Miao was still quite loyal, treating Huo Shize to afternoon tea.

The two of them got a small room in the library, and Lin Miao obediently held his tablet and started listening to lectures, organizing everything he didn't understand or needed to review, and Huo Shize would explain anything that was hard to grasp on the spot.

Lin Miao was listening intently when Yan Jiming showed up.

This guy wasn't even a student at their school, how did he get into their library so easily?

Isn’t anyone going to do something about this?!

Fortunately, Yan Jiming's major is different from theirs, so even if he comes, he can only sit alone and brood.

Lin Miao couldn't help but laugh when he saw that sullen face: "Either go out and enjoy yourself, or just sit here like you're serving time."

Yan Jiming patted his book: "We’ve got exams coming up too, so what’s the big deal if I use your library to study?"

Lin Miao made a pleading expression: "Go ahead, look around all you want, and feel free to use my teacher’s library card."

Yan Jiming snorted, clutched his book, and sat directly opposite Lin Miao, not saying another word.

The desks in these private study rooms are for four people, but only two can sit on one side. Since Lin Miao needed to listen to Huo Shize's lecture, Yan Jiming was pushed to the opposite side.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with this, even though both Huo Shize and Yan Jiming are Alphas, and he is a beta.

To Lin Miao, everyone is just a person, and even in this world, Alphas and betas can still have genuine friendships.

Lin Miao was busy perfecting his framework and didn't have any extra thoughts to consider other things. When he asked questions, his eyes were filled with focus, and after getting answers, he would have an epiphany, his eyes sparkled like stars, utterly captivating.

Huo Shize's explanations were very patient, thorough, and well-organized, on par with the professors at school.

Whenever Lin Miao looked at him with anticipation, he couldn’t help but give it his all.

Huo Shize is not some easygoing pushover; he is just more restrained compared to other Alphas, which is part of his upbringing. For those without substance or those who deliberately act childish, he would also politely but firmly shut them down.

But now he was here, patiently explaining to a beta who wasn’t as well-prepared, and he couldn't resist the look in the other's eyes.

So bright, like a starry sky, making him want to catch a glimpse.

The questions Lin Miao asked didn't even make him feel foolish; the young man was very perceptive, able to draw parallels, like a sponge that never seemed to get enough, with a strong ability to comprehend, always making others want to share everything they knew.

With this back-and-forth of explanations and questions, the afternoon passed, and Lin Miao didn't even notice the time outside. If Yan Jiming hadn’t made sure he ate, Lin Miao might have pulled Huo Shize into an all-nighter.

"I’m so sorry, senior—your explanations were so good I lost track of time," Lin Miao said, feeling a bit embarrassed. It was almost summer, and by the time they left the library, it was already dark, and some restaurants had closed.

"No worries, I’m glad I could help."

The two exchanged polite pleasantries, and Lin Miao offered to treat Huo Shize to dinner. Yan Jiming said he knew a private restaurant that should have seats available at this time.

When they sat down, Yan Jiming finally took the seat next to Lin Miao.

Lin Miao didn't know what sudden ailment had struck Yan Jiming, but he was weirdly attentive during dinner, running around so much he practically set the floor on fire.

He couldn't control this suddenly hyper husky, and could only helplessly smile at Huo Shize, hoping he wouldn't mind too much.

After dinner, since both had driven, Lin Miao went back in Yan Jiming's car.

He didn't know what this guy was being so serious about, acting like an overexcited dog, nuzzling everywhere.

Lin Miao originally planned to go back and finish organizing the materials that night, but Yan Jiming seemed to have guessed what he was going to do and directly took him to his large apartment, making him go to bed early.

To prevent him from sneaking up in the middle of the night to revise his paper, Yan Jiming even moved in to sleep with him.

"What happened to basic trust? Do you really think I’d do that?" Lin Miao said righteously.

In fact, he really was planning to sneak up in the middle of the night to continue revising.

"You are!" Yan Jiming confiscated all of Lin Miao's devices without discussion, locked them in his own room to charge, and then wrapped Lin Miao up in a tight hug.

He was like a hugging pillow, pressed tightly into Yan Jiming's embrace. Those powerful arms encircled his waist, and even his legs were clamped, leaving him unable to budge. Not to mention, the guy's rock-hard muscles were pressing against him, making him ache.

Lin Miao was losing his patience. This scene felt oddly familiar—who was it again? Someone who used to cuddle him like this in sleep. Back then, he would have nightmares in the middle of the night, dreaming of being coiled by a snake, nearly suffocating.

He tapped the arm encircling his waist: "Ease up a little, I can hardly breathe."

Yan Jiming muttered under his breath, "No, if I let go, you'll run off... almost taken by someone else."

The latter part was mumbled too softly and unclear, so Lin Miao missed it.

Since arguing with this stubborn guy was pointless, Lin Miao had no choice but to tough it out and sleep. He had slept a lot during the day, so his sleep was shallow. In the middle of the night, he suddenly felt his neck damp and woke up in a daze, only to find Yan Jiming nuzzling and sniffing at his nape, his fangs leaving marks everywhere.

Although Lin Miao, being a beta, couldn't detect pheromones, the air felt unusually dense, unlike usual.

Only then did Lin Miao belatedly realize—this guy behind him was likely in his rut.