A Beta's Fight to Survive at a Noble Academy

01 On the day Altland Academy opened for the new school year, Qiao Lang met a System that claimed it had come to change his fate. His so-called fate was that the world he lived in was actually a novel titled The Passerby Becomes the Noble Academy's Most Popular Student. And Qiao Lang, a Beta admitted on a special scholarship, happened to be a cannon-fodder character in the story. A noble academy, a passerby, and the most popular student. Put together, it sounded like a truly melodramatic mess. In The Passerby, people were ranked into all sorts of tiers according to their secondary sex characteristics and family backgrounds. In the miniature society that was Altland Academy, there were plenty of noble students you couldn't afford to offend. And the one you absolutely had to avoid offending was Shisheng Xia, a third-year student. This Alpha was just like his name, fierce as high summer. Qiao Lang had a clear taste of that the first time they met. 02 With the System's help, Qiao Lang had thought he could settle into a normal life from then on. Who could have guessed that the Alpha would stick to him like a shadow? Just like that scorching summer. Qiao Lang had never imagined getting together with an Alpha. Especially not a terrifying, violent Alpha like Shisheng Xia. He just seemed incredibly dangerous. If Shisheng Xia hadn't kept closing in on him, they would have been two parallel lines that never crossed. A free and unrestrained Beta, as carefree as the wind... But Shisheng Xia just had to twist those parallel lines into a knot. Even a forcibly picked melon can be sweet. The doctor said Shisheng Xia had no rut, so his pheromone imbalance was rather severe. Mm-hmm, what a deficient, pitiful Alpha. What Qiao Lang, a Beta, didn't know was this: Those out-of-control pheromones were like a rampaging monster, ravenously devouring every trace of his scent, as if their owner had gone mad with desire, too. Until one day, the Alpha really did lose control. Qiao Lang: ...Liar! He had no choice but to wear a collar. The densely packed bite marks on the back of his neck would fade, only to appear again, over and over, just like the Alpha's insatiable greed, with nowhere to go. [Please Read Before Starting] They're both inexperienced. One-on-one, Alpha-Beta romance, no turning into an Omega. Some chapters feature forum-style posts. Classic old-school melodrama, with random bursts of forced love and obsessive madness. Don't read if that's not your thing. New upcoming novel, Which Emperor Did You Drop? Please add it to your collection~ Was it the big one or the little one? 01 Chang Ling was cursed. The curse was called Hanahaki disease, supposedly caused by unrequited love. That was a real disaster, because the person Chang Ling loved was the one man he absolutely mustn't love: the Son of Heaven. To save his own life, he had no choice but to obey the System that suddenly appeared and work through its missions, no matter how miserable they were. 02 One day, on his way home after finishing work, Chang Ling encountered a brazen, reckless youth named Mu Shan Chi. At the sight of his strikingly beautiful face, so like the emperor's, Chang Ling impulsively stepped in to protect him. The youth's temper could be as fierce as fire one moment and as wild as a storm the next. “You like him?” At dusk that day, the sixteen- or seventeen-year-old youth saw through Chang Ling's feelings and laughed wildly from atop a wall. “How about I help you?” He jumped down from the wall and seized Chang Ling by the collar. “The price is that you can never avoid me again.” Chang Ling shook his head, but Mu Shan Chi didn't listen at all. Worse still, from that day on, the emperor, who had always been distant and cold, really did begin to show some concern for Chang Ling. It turned out that the youth had a remarkable background: he was also a member of the imperial family. Chang Ling brought wine to see the youth, intending to persuade him to stop doing this. But the youth just grinned and asked, “Where's my thank-you gift?” Wine? He said that wasn't nearly enough. He wanted more! 03 The fact that he could cough up flowers from this Hanahaki disease at any time and in any place caused plenty of trouble. Not only had Chang Ling become a frail beauty in the eyes of many, he also had to deal with Mu Shan Chi's bizarre whims. With Mu Shan Chi's “help,” Chang Ling's peaceful life turned into complete chaos. Though Mu Shan Chi looked like the emperor, their personalities were entirely different. He was wanton and arrogant, a blade with its edge exposed. And the emperor? He must be bedrock, Chang Ling thought. Bedrock, hard as iron and cold as ice, that no one could move. Only now did Chang Ling realize that he had actually compared Mu Shan Chi to the emperor. And the petals he coughed up had begun to change in strange ways, as if they were gradually taking on Mu Shan Chi's colors. 04 Chang Ling was relaxed and at ease in Mu Shan Chi's presence. When he laughed, he was like a bright, clear moon. Having seen him relaxed and natural, and witnessed his calm, friendly manner, Gong Cheng Qian looked at Chang Ling humbly prostrated before him and felt a malicious impulse stir. How could he? That adoring, obedient gaze... How could it fall only on Mu Shan Chi? Gong Cheng Qian held Chang Ling's chin and spoke softly. “Do you like me?” Meeting Chang Ling's startled gaze, as if his every thought hung on each word Gong Cheng Qian said, he smiled with satisfaction. Gong Cheng Qian lowered his head and breathed in the increasingly strong floral scent on Chang Ling. “Hush... I don't mind.” Don't play favorites, all right? Even if you meet the younger version of me, you should like me more. [Title and Blurb Are Tentative] Theme: Face difficulties with a positive attitude, and save yourself from danger amid one perilous situation after another!