Only Wing

Perhaps Chuga will never forget the night before the coming-of-age ceremony.The storm outside the window came so fast that it pushed the tender morning glory vines in the yard down into the mud.

In the windowless living room, father and mother sat upright at the other end of the long table with serious expressions, as if they were pronouncing the doomsday.

A thin document lay on the table between Chuga and them.On the title page, the emblem of the wolf tribe with a crown on its head and wings on its back is eye-catching.

That's the hallmark of the Human Rights Watchdog Committee.

"Open it." Father ordered.

Chuga stretched out his hand and dragged the document in front of him, took a deep breath, and opened it.

What you need to know is on the first line of the text.But he forced his gaze to stay somewhere else for a while, as if fulfilling a secret lucky prayer, and then slowly moved upwards.

The prayer didn't work, what appeared before him was an all-too-familiar letter.

β

"β is like a wing, it represents freedom." The mother's gentle voice sounded in my ear.

free?Chu Jia gently closed the document, looked at the wings of the wolf emblem on the title page, and felt a little ridiculous.

In the name of protecting the rights and interests of vulnerable groups, the Human Rights Supervisory Commission issued a special agreement 30 years ago: minors are only distinguished by their external gender before they reach the age of 18.However, the prohibition is prohibited. As we grow older, some characterizations of the inner gender will still be revealed undisguised.

It's not that Chuga didn't suspect that he was a Beta.

Although the Human Rights Supervisory Committee expressly prohibits the disclosure of the internal gender of minors, there is no way to prevent minors from secretly reading the internal gender identification certificate issued at birth.Of course, Chuga also secretly searched for his own identification, but found nothing.

It can only be said that his parents hid that secret too well, so good that he suspected that his inner gender was not what everyone expected.

However, when he actually saw the test results, Chu Jia still felt that he had been hit in the head.

Beside his ear, his mother was still comforting something softly, but he didn't hear a word clearly.On the other side of the long table, his father's expressionless face looked more and more serious.

Chuga suddenly felt as if he was about to suffocate.

He tried his best to pretend to be the most mature and calm expression, accepted the internal gender identification, and hid in his room under the pretext of studying for the exam.

Lightning flashed across the moment the door closed, illuminating his lonely expression.

That was the first time Chuga felt the loneliness belonging to Beta.

The storm blew all night.Normally, the sound of crackling raindrops is an excellent lullaby; but this night Chuga buried his head in front of the desk and never closed his eyes.

Before he knew it, the morning light was twilight, and the sound of the rain was replaced by chirping birds, so he took off his glasses and quietly went out to wash up.

The one in the mirror in front of the sink was still the handsome top student, but with a tired expression.

There is no Alpha's talent, no Omega's rarity, but even a Beta must have the determination and will not to lose to anyone.Whether it is learning, physical fitness, expertise or other aspects, you have to pay more than before.

From now on, I have to work harder - he whispered to himself in the mirror.

Before going out to the venue, Chuga changed into a navy blue suit for the first time, but it looked no different from her everyday school uniform from a distance.After thinking about it, the mother picked another bunch of light yellow frangipani from the garden and put it in the towel bag on his chest.

"Xiao Jia is so handsome today."

Chu Jia smiled, but another face appeared in his head.

The annual coming-of-age ceremony is scheduled to take place in the Confucian Temple in the scenic western suburbs of the city.The sky in golden autumn and October is particularly blue, and the aroma of sweet-scented osmanthus blends into the humid air, sweet and greasy like the smell of pheromones.

No, maybe there really are pheromones in the wind.

Adult Alphas and Omegas have different pheromone smells, but juvenile pheromones are often difficult to distinguish.Chuga has also smelled the smell of pheromones on his own body, sometimes like musk, sometimes more like Omega's smell.Thinking about it now, this may be the two-way feature of Beta.

It's 45:[-] a.m., some time before the ceremony begins.The square outside the Confucius Temple is already bustling.The glamorous young men and women are in groups of three or four. Upon closer inspection, they are all classmates and alumni that Chu Jia meets on a daily basis.

I don't know when this custom was formed, but in short, the once-in-a-lifetime coming-of-age ceremony has become a good show to show off your youth.The girl put on makeup and boldly showed off her colored nails and the height of her heels.Some of them wore high-end custom-made dresses, and some even wore replicas of ancient clothes that their parents spent a lot of money to buy back from the Textile Research Institute.The relatively low-key boys are also in suits and leather shoes, or in traditional costumes.

The school Chu Jia attended was a well-known aristocratic school in the city, and most of the students were from wealthy families.The contest of family and family strength, which is difficult to see on weekdays, is on the stage today.It's no wonder that there are still a circle of adults carrying "long guns and short guns" around the square, almost all of them are reporters from various newspapers and radio stations and scouts from entertainment brokerage companies.

After saying hello to a few classmates who had a good relationship with him on weekdays, Chu Jia found an opportunity when no one was paying attention and walked to the main entrance of the Confucius Temple.Three simple tents of different colors were temporarily set up in front of Shi Majesty carved with dragons and phoenixes, and three completely different badges were printed on the tents.

【Please choose the entrance channel according to your inner gender】

This is the sign posted outside the tent.

The emblem on the red tent on the right is a wolf head, which is the totem of the Alpha population.The alpha wolf of human society is always standing on a high place and looking down.

The emblem on the blue tent on the left is a crown, and a round pearl is shining at the top.After a century of human rights struggle, today's Omega population is like the jewel in the crown.

There were already many people lined up in front of the red and blue tents; in comparison, the yellow tent in the center was obviously much deserted, and the single wing on the emblem that was about to fly seemed lonely.

Compared with public schools with a relatively balanced population ratio, in this private elite school, there are more families composed of Alpha and Omega, and the offspring born are more likely to pass the genetic screening of the population—this is not true. incomprehensible.

According to the instructions on the signboard, Chuga walked into the waiting passage in front of the Beta tent.Although he didn't look sideways, he could still feel the curious gazes from the left and right aisles.

Not a leader, not a treasure, in today's world Beta means the mean, maybe those people are also curious: how come the dignified key class monitor Chu Jia is just a Beta...

In any case, once this road is stepped out, there is no room for turning back.Chuga quickly walked into the tent.The furnishings inside are extremely simple: there are two people sitting at a long table, all in suits and leather shoes, with hairstyles parted in the middle and calm expressions. At first glance, they thought they were two robots.

This is probably the most typical Beta.

The person sitting by the door asked Chuga to take out the internal gender identification certificate, shine the emblem on the title page under the purple light, and return it to Chuga after confirming that it is correct, signaling him to get the item from the next person.

Chuga has heard about it a long time ago. During the coming-of-age ceremony, the population agencies under the Human Rights Monitoring Committee will distribute some commemorative items to their respective adults, and the content has not changed for many years.

For example, Omega got a small trial bottle of estrus suppressant, condoms and a booklet on self-protection. Alpha's gift was an enthusiastic and provocative interview magazine with successful people plus a CD, a tie, and a pair of crystal sleeve studs with a wolf's head.

As for Beta's gift, it was in the paper bag that Chuga took over.

First, two volumes—Constitution and Criminal Law, and then a coupon magazine full of advertisements from various sponsors, a bottle of mineral water, two pencils, and a hardcover notebook with a single wing.

It's quite usable.

Chu Jia, who took the paper bag, saw that the staff took out a small square box. After opening it, there was a round silver badge inside. You don't need to look carefully to know what pattern is printed on it.

"Please wear it all the time during the coming-of-age ceremony, it will allow you to meet more friends of the same group."

This sentence is really a bit ironic in this school full of big A's and little O's - Chu Jia thought silently.

A day ago, it was still forbidden to disclose the internal gender of minors, and students were not even allowed to discuss in private.However, after only one night, the ban became a dead letter.Not only that, but the officials are afraid that the world will not be chaotic and will label everyone as a species-what will happen next can only be a carnival about sexism.

Chuga was used to restraining his emotions, so he obediently asked the staff to pin the silver badge on the lapel of his shirt.However, as soon as he stepped out of the tent, he quickly moved it under the handkerchief pocket on the left breast, covering it as much as possible with the frangipani petals.

Stepping over the high red threshold of the Confucian Temple, there is a long and solemn green brick corridor ahead.The pines and cypresses beside the road are towering, mixed with several ancient osmanthus trees.The sturdy tree trunk spreads huge umbrella-shaped canopies, much like the majestic canopy of the emperor when he is on tour.

Just under the sweet-scented osmanthus tree closest to the gate, Chu Jia vaguely smelled the breath of several pheromones mixed together.

For students of Chu Jia's age, unless they have already mixed into the society, the identification of pheromones is still in its infancy, and it may even be difficult to distinguish between big A and small O.However, for Chuga, other pheromones are not important, and what he pays attention to is only one of the breaths that he is already very familiar with.

It was a boy in a smoky-gray suit, already about 1.8 meters tall; a well-proportioned figure showed that he was exercising regularly.Judging from his appearance, he probably also has some mixed blood. The slightly sunken eye sockets and the high bridge of the nose make his eyes long and deep.

Ye Zhechen.

Chuga silently recited the name in his heart.

Ye Zhechen.

That was the object of his secret liking.