Chapter 47
Bai He removed the hand that had been scratched and shifted slightly to the side. "Don't touch me."
"Okay." Qin Yao straightened up.
Bai He stood up. "Will you get lost?"
Qin Yao's expression stiffened. "…Probably not."
"Then go eat on your own." Bai He turned off his phone and walked away. He felt that he shouldn’t stay there too long. Recently, Qin Yao seemed to have undergone some kind of internal transformation, becoming rather odd. If Bai He stayed any longer, he might soften up again.
Without looking back, Bai He left. Qin Yao didn’t follow. As Bai He stood at the dormitory entrance, he remembered that he hadn't told Qin Yao about the incident from the previous night.
He took out his phone and sent Qin Yao a message.
He briefly explained the issue about not turning off the live stream last night. The reply came quickly.
Insomniac: [Thanks for letting me know, Bai He.]
Insomniac: [🌹❤️]
Bai He frowned at the rose and heart emoji, then turned off his phone and entered the dorm.
The afternoon was fully packed with classes. After resting for half an hour, Bai He grabbed his books and headed to the teaching building. Whenever he had time, he would work on or revise some of the content for Heaven and Earth.
Time flew by when he was busy. Before he knew it, class was over. Bai He walked out of the classroom, trailing behind the crowd. He went to the main cafeteria to have dinner. As he exited the cafeteria, he noticed two medical vans parked outside.
The university regularly arranged for medical vans to collect blood samples. Students who donated blood could earn credit. In his previous life, Bai He had often seen these medical vans at his university.
However, unlike his previous life, in the ABO world, aside from blood collection vans, there was also a van for collecting pheromones.
Bai He had learned from the forums that the requirements for donating pheromones and blood were quite strict. Only students who met health standards could donate either.
Additionally, students donating pheromones only registered at first; the actual collection wasn’t done on-site.
Bai He was well aware of his own physical condition. Whenever he saw these vans, he would choose to leave. He wasn’t suited to donating blood or pheromones.
There were quite a few students lining up to donate blood or register for pheromone donation. The reason was simple: donating earned a lot of credits.
Over four years of university, every student needed to earn 32 elective credits. Besides clubs, blood and pheromone donations were the second fastest way to accumulate credits.
Bai He participated in a club, which would award him 25 credits after a year, but it still wasn’t enough. He needed to find other extracurricular activities to join.
As he bypassed the medical vans, Bai He unexpectedly spotted Xia Tian. Xia Tian was sitting in front of the pheromone donation van, signing a form. After signing, he stood up and met Bai He’s gaze.
"Bai He-ge! What a coincidence." Xia Tian ran over, bouncing with energy. "Are you here to earn credits too?"
Bai He shook his head. "I’m just passing by."
He glanced behind Xia Tian. "Are you donating pheromones?"
"Yeah." Xia Tian nodded. "You get eight credits for one donation. I’m just short of eight credits."
Bai He was a bit startled. "Eight credits?"
"Yes, eight!" Xia Tian put his hands on his hips, grinning. "Isn't that a lot?"
Bai He nodded, a bit at a loss for words. Suddenly, he became serious. "Are there any specific requirements for pheromone donation?"
"Of course." Xia Tian started counting on his fingers. "The donor needs to be in good physical health, have healthy glands, and be mentally stable. Today is just for registration, though. You’ll need to go to the hospital for tests later. If you pass, then you can donate."
"I see." Bai He's fleeting hope was quickly dashed. He wanted to donate, but he knew his body’s condition.
Although he was in much better shape than before, he still wasn’t fit enough to donate pheromones.
For the sake of his health, he decided against it.
Xia Tian noticed Bai He’s rapidly shifting expressions and blinked. "Bai He-ge, aside from pheromone donation, I just heard from the medical staff that there’s another project available today."
Bai He snapped back to attention. "What project?"
"It sounds like some kind of therapy companion volunteer program." Xia Tian glanced at the medical van from earlier. Seeing that one of the staff members was free, he grabbed hold of Bai He and pulled him over. Once they were standing beside the van, Xia Tian brought up the question again. The masked staff member replied, "This is a new volunteer program we've recently approved. According to your school’s usual practice, it should also be worth eight credits."
"What exactly does it involve?" Bai He asked. He really needed those eight credits.
"A therapy companion volunteer helps care for patients undergoing treatment. The patients all have pheromone-related conditions. We need to find a matching omega or alpha whose pheromones can aid in the treatment."
The staff member patiently explained to both Bai He and Xia Tian, "It’s not difficult. You’ll just provide pheromone support. There’s no need to extract your pheromones. You only need to accompany the patient during treatment."
"This will take quite a bit of time, right?" Xia Tian asked as he held onto Bai He’s arm. "Bai He-ge, do you have a lot of classes right now?"
Bai He thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, sometimes my schedule is full."
"Then maybe it’s not worth it." Xia Tian patted Bai He on the shoulder. "After all, classes are the most important thing. You can worry about elective credits later—" He suddenly paused. "Ah, wait… you only have one year left until graduation, right?"
Bai He didn’t have much time left.
At this point, the staff member interjected, "Actually, the schedule is quite flexible. If your pheromones match with a patient, the treatment can be adjusted to fit your availability."
"Also," the staff member added with a smile, "you only need to release your pheromones. If the match is good, you can try it out. There’s no need to worry about anything else."
"My health might be a bit…" Bai He hesitated. "Are there no physical or other requirements?"
"It’s not as strict as pheromone extraction, but you will need to interact with the patient," the staff member explained. "Each option has its pros and cons. Take a look—very few students sign up for this project. In theory, it’s more convenient for you. There’s no need for extra tests, but still, few students come. Many omega students feel shy. However, interacting with the patient isn’t as scary as it sounds. You’ll just have conversations with them, and during treatment, you’ll release your pheromones from behind a partition. The patient won’t be able to touch you. It’s very safe."
Bai He understood and immediately said, "I’d like to sign up."
"Huh?" Xia Tian was surprised. "Are you serious, Bai He-ge? You’re really going to do it?"
"Yes." Bai He nodded, determined. "I don’t have much time left, and I really need those eight credits."
There were other extracurricular activities where he could earn credits, but those typically only awarded 0.2 or 0.4 credits at a time. It would take a long time to accumulate enough, and Bai He didn’t have that kind of time.
"Then I…" Xia Tian looked at the registration form the staff member handed them and then glanced back at the line he had been in earlier. After hesitating for a couple of seconds, he thought about how painful it would be to get a needle stuck into his gland. In an instant, he switched sides. "I’ll do it too! Doctor, I’m not donating pheromones anymore!"
The two of them successfully filled out the forms. The doctor handed them two collection tubes and nodded toward the van beside them. "Head over there and tell the doctor you need to have blood drawn. Then return the tubes to me."
They lined up next door to have their blood drawn and returned the samples to the staff member.
"We’ll test your pheromones through the blood sample and match you with a suitable patient. Once we have a match, we’ll notify you. Thank you for your help."
After parting ways with Xia Tian, Bai He returned directly to his dorm. Since he didn’t have any evening classes, he turned on his computer and pulled out a new notebook to begin deconstructing the world-building framework for Heaven and Earth.
The process was tedious. Even without diving into the finer details of the plot, just outlining the general framework took Bai He several hours. By the time he had filled over ten pages and compiled the framework diagrams on his computer, the sky outside had already darkened.
Bai He stood up to stretch, glanced at the clock, and saw that it was 9 PM.
As he reached for his water cup to take a sip, his phone suddenly vibrated twice in his hand. Someone was calling.
Bai He set down the cup and answered the phone. The voice on the other end was unfamiliar and extremely urgent.
"Hello, is this Bai He? I’m one of the medical staff who collected blood samples at your university this morning. You signed up as a therapy companion volunteer. We’ve matched your blood with a patient, and your pheromones are highly compatible with one of them. There’s been an issue with their treatment since this afternoon. The situation isn’t looking good. Could you please come to the hospital right away? We’ll cover your transportation costs!"
The urgency in the caller’s voice was palpable. While remaining cautious of a potential scam, Bai He calmly asked, "What’s the address?"
Comments
Post a Comment