Garbage Picking

Xu Xiaozhen, a determined beta struggling at the bottom of society, tries to change his fate through education. One night while scavenging, he picks up a living person who introduces himself as Zhou Yan—a man with a mysterious background. At first, Xu Xiaozhen hopes Zhou Yan is an alpha so he can receive some subsidies, but eventually, it doesn’t matter. After being lonely for so long, having someone around feels lively. Xu Xiaozhen spends his savings to buy Zhou Yan new clothes, while he himself can’t even bear to turn on the lights at night. Yet, he uses the water heater to boil water for Zhou Yan. When Zhou Yan complains about the lack of a fridge, Xu Xiaozhen buys a used one from a recycling station overnight. When bullied, he wishes Zhou Yan would stay far away to avoid being dragged in. Later, during a late secondary gender differentiation at age eighteen, Xu Xiaozhen, overwhelmed by the unfamiliar heat, is fully marked by Zhou Yan—only then does he learn Zhou Yan is an alpha. That night, Xu Xiaozhen fantasizes endlessly about their future together but fails to notice Zhou Yan’s mocking, disgusted gaze, as if looking at trash. Later, Zhou Yan becomes Gu Yanye, a lofty, privileged elite who no longer needs Xu Xiaozhen. He coldly remarks, *"A lowly 18th-class commoner—me staying with him this long is already a tremendous mercy."* They meet again at the empire’s most elite academy, where Xu Xiaozhen enrolls as a freshman. From above, Gu Yanye catches sight of him, his long-dead heart suddenly pounding with pain. After a long pause, he twirls a cigar and smirks to a friend: *"He chased me all the way here. Since he’s working so hard, I might grudgingly offer him a lover’s position."* Only later does he learn that an omega with a permanent mark but no mate’s pheromone relief will develop pheromone disorder syndrome. Xu Xiaozhen, having differentiated too late and now pregnant, suffers severely—nearly dying along with the child. Too poor for mark removal, on a calm, sunny afternoon, he buys a fresh razor for the first time, sterilizes it with expired alcohol, and carves out his own gland with his hands.