Chapter 56

Chapter 56

"In the next two months, this new instructor will be teaching with me," Alva extended his hand, formally introducing the man beside him to the students. "Commander Ling Pei, the commander-in-chief of the Vanguard Legion. I believe everyone should already know him, so I won't introduce him further. Ling Pei, would you like to say a few words?"

The man's expression was cold and stern as he scanned the stunned faces, his gaze settling on a black-haired youth, acknowledging with a low hum.

The crowd erupted into a burst of enthusiastic cheers, clapping and cheering excitedly, only Yi Ye looked utterly bewildered.

Could someone tell him what was going on?

Wasn't Ling Pei a general? Why was he here? Are active-duty commanders really this available?

By the end of the class, Yi Ye still hadn't fully figured it out. He tentatively guessed it might be related to Principal Howard's bet. But as the commander-in-chief of the Vanguard Legion, coming to the military academy to teach a bunch of rookies—he couldn't imagine how Ling Pei had agreed to it. Could Principal Howard have lured him with something valuable?

"Let's go, Yi Ye, let's hit the showers!"

Yi Ye snapped out of his thoughts as a few Betas called out to him.

"You guys go ahead," he waved them off.

The training ground had washrooms, separated by gender and ABO type. Students at the Imperial Honor Military Academy usually showered after training, and Kaiser often went. But Yi Ye was a bit of a neat freak, preferring to tough it out and run back to the dorm rather than use the facilities there.

However, today the training ground's temperature control system had malfunctioned, and heat was pouring out in waves, making the place unusually stuffy. Coupled with the fact that the instructors had switched to Ling Pei and Alva team-teaching, the training intensity had doubled. His chest was drenched in sweat, and his long hair clung to the back of his neck like seaweed fresh from the ocean.

He tugged at his collar, fanning himself, feeling uneasy.

Bai Chuan approached with a water bottle, seeing him sitting on the ground, radiating heat.

"I'll grab you a couple of ice packs."

"No need," Yi Ye sniffed at his own sweat, grimacing. "I'll just hit the showers. You head back to the classroom first?"

Bai Chuan shook his head, "I'll wait here for you."

Yi Ye didn't waste time, pulling a towel from his bag and heading to the washroom.

Fortunately, there were few Betas at the Imperial Honor Military Academy, so he didn't have to queue like the Alphas when it got crowded. Yi Ye slung the towel over his shoulder, picked a packet of shower gel and shampoo from the machine at the washroom entrance, paid, and rushed to the innermost shower.

The shower stalls were separate, with curtains for privacy, not the open communal baths he had imagined, which gave Yi Ye a bit more sense of security.

He quickly stripped and showered, drying off and stepping out of the shower stall in just a few minutes.

The Beta washroom was opposite the Alpha section, with a connecting clothing room in between, furnished with several benches and a few small sofas, serving as a common area.

Yi Ye, wearing a thin shirt and disposable slippers, sat on a bench drying his hair. As he dried, he pondered why Ling Pei was here, occasionally greeting a few Alpha classmates who passed by. His voice carried a hint of moisture, and the corners of his eyes were flushed with heat, giving him an unusually alluring appearance.

But he was completely unaware, only noticing that the Alphas seemed to act differently around him today—some blushing, others seemingly choked up, staring at him without saying a word.

Yi Ye frowned in confusion.

Did showering make these guys lose their minds?

Indeed, they had lost their minds, but not from showering.

Yi Ye had no idea how stunning he looked sitting there drying his hair, damp and fresh from the shower. His long legs and slender waist, the white shirt unbuttoned to reveal a pale chest, the delicate collarbones—his striking beauty was even more breathtaking at that moment.

Even blinking seemed like a loss, making it impossible to look away.

Even though he was just a Beta, the Alphas couldn't help but swallow hard as they watched him.

This is so weird. They knew Yi Ye was handsome... but why hadn't they noticed before that Yi Ye was actually so... alluring? Was it because he always called everyone 'bro' and slung his arm around their shoulders, masking his charm with his cheerful personality?

The Alphas were shocked by their own thoughts, their muscles tensed as they hurriedly fled to the bathroom, staying inside for a long time before coming out.

Yi Ye watched them flee one after another, completely baffled.

His hair wouldn't dry, and he didn't like using the hair dryer—the high-pitched sound hurt his ears. So he tossed the towel aside, grabbed a hair tie, and casually tied up his damp hair. It would dry naturally in the breeze. Then he bent down to grab his shoes from the closet.

As he was about to change his shoes, a figure approached from a distance. He paused, quickly picking up his shoes to leave.

"Stop," came a voice from behind.

Yi Ye wished he had run faster and slowly turned around. "Isn't this General Lin Pei? It's been a while."

"We saw each other 10 minutes ago," Lin Pei said expressionlessly.

He hesitated, then added, "I mean, formally. We didn't get a chance to talk during class."

Lin Pei looked up, acknowledging the statement with a slight nod, then his gaze swept over Yi Ye's shoulder. Yi Ye followed his gaze and realized. "The shoulder injury healed a long time ago, General. No need to worry."

"Alright."

"So... I'll go?"

He picked up his shoes, ready to leave.

"You're going out dressed like that?"

Lin Pei's expression darkened as he took in Yi Ye's disheveled appearance—his shirt unbuttoned, his hair dripping water that soaked his back, outlining his spine. But Yi Ye didn't seem to understand, tilting his head in confusion. A rare sense of helplessness washed over Lin Pei. He closed his eyes for a moment, then stepped steadily in front of Yi Ye, buttoning his shirt one by one.

Yi Ye froze. "I... I can do it myself..."

"Be quiet."

Lin Pei's tone left no room for argument, leaving Yi Ye in a dilemma. He tried to step back, but Lin Pei silently closed the distance, pushing him step by step until his back hit the wall, leaving him no room to retreat. So Yi Ye simply gave up, hanging his head as Lin Pei buttoned his shirt for him.

What should have been a simple task took Lin Pei an unusually long time.

Yi Ye: "General..."

"Call me instructor while on campus."

"...Instructor."

"You seem to have buttoned it wrong."

"Did I?" Lin Pei lifted his gaze, calmly undoing the buttons and redoing them. Yi Ye felt like he was deliberately stalling, but given Lin Pei's personality, there was no reason for him to do something so trivial.

After readjusting the collar, Lin Pei finally withdrew his hands. "Put on your jacket when you go out. Don't just wear the shirt."

He spoke like a concerned elder, and Yi Ye nodded obediently.

"And your shoes," Lin Pei glanced at the dress shoes in Yi Ye's hand. "Change them before you go out."

"I can change them at the door... I'll change them now!" In that moment, his intuition told him that if he didn't change now, Lin Pei might just do it for him.

Yi Ye quickly sat down and put on his shoes. This time, Lin Pei didn't say anything, his expression calm, though it was unclear what he was looking at.

He was looking at the injury on Yi Ye's foot.

The ankles and calves were covered with several bruises, left from the training session earlier. Ling Pei noticed that he didn’t like to exert his full strength during training or combat, often holding back his true abilities. Even when knocked down, he’d just lazily get back up, brushing off his injuries and showing no desire to retaliate.

This was a stark contrast to the Yi Ye he had seen.

Against the Zerg, the youth was fiery and determined, but now he seemed as carefree as a meandering stream.

Ling Pei didn’t see anything wrong with that. As the older one, he knew there were moments when people had to make tough choices. However, looking at the injuries on Yi Ye's ankles, he still felt a sense of irritation.

"You’re all dressed—"

"Take a seat."

The moment he spoke, Yi Ye was stunned to see the man suddenly squat down. A large hand grabbed his ankle and lifted it. Yi Ye tried to pull away, but Ling Pei pressed hard on a bruise, making him wince in pain. His strength drained like air from a balloon.

"Holding back doesn’t mean you let people walk all over you," Ling Pei said sharply. "You’re doing a terrible job of pretending."

Yi Ye shot him a glare.

What the hell is he doing?

Ling Pei pulled off Yi Ye’s shoes, took out some medicinal oil from his pocket, and dabbed it on the worst bruises, pressing his warm palm over them.

Yi Ye shivered, using all his strength to pull his leg back! But no matter how much he struggled, Ling Pei’s grip didn’t budge, leaving Yi Ye breathless and worn out.

Just then, people from the showers started trickling out, glancing curiously their way. Yi Ye felt embarrassed and ashamed, his ears turning red, and he couldn’t help but snap at him: "Instructor, do you get off on touching people’s feet? This is seriously messed up!"

Ling Pei just hummed in response.

"???" What are you humming about!

He really is the protagonist from a mature-rated game. He’d thought Ling Pei was decent, but now he realized the guy was a total creep! A big creep!

"Quit it... hahaha! That tickles!"

Yi Ye was ticklish all over—his waist, back, neck, and ankles—and couldn’t stop laughing when touched. He laughed until his sides ached, sprawled on the leather bench. His hair tie slipped off, leaving his hair a tangled mess.

He looked... completely wrecked.

Distracted by laughter, Yi Ye didn’t realize he’d planted his foot on Ling Pei’s leg. When he finally noticed, the muscle under his foot felt like a rock, hard and unyielding.

How much longer is he going to keep this up?!

Yi Ye was about to faint from anger, thinking that this guy looks like Jiang Duming, and why do they both like to do such things!

Three minutes later, Ling Pei finally let go.

He took the shoes and helped Yi Ye put them on, as if nothing had happened, stood up with a calm expression, and then threw the ointment to him.

"Follow the way I just did, apply it twice a day."

?

So this was to teach him how to apply the medicine?

"I already know how to do it myself!"

"Teaching it again to reinforce the knowledge."

Yi Ye: ...What a righteous argument.

How come he hadn’t noticed before that Ling Pei had such a thick skin?

"Can I leave now?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Ling Pei nodded: "Sure."

Yi Ye snatched his clothes and bolted as if he'd seen a ghost, glancing back over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed. After turning the corner and disappearing for two seconds, he suddenly popped his head back out, mouthing the word "pervert" before vanishing completely.

Ling Pei was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

*

"So weird, really weird."

Yi Ye muttered to himself as he walked, returning to the training ground to find Bai Chuan.

Bai Chuan smoothed out his messy long hair and caught a faint whiff of Alpha scent lingering on him. His eyes darkened slightly as he casually asked, "Did you bump into someone on the way? You look really angry."

"Of course, it was Ling Pei!"

Yi Ye grabbed him cautiously, "From now on, not just Bush Meihua, but you need to be careful around this guy too. He's such a creep..."

Bai Chuan's eyes flickered: "What did he do to you?"

"He touched my feet! Even if it was to help me with medicine... don't you think it's weird for a grown man to have his feet touched by someone else?"

Yi Ye was completely immersed in his rant, completely unaware that Bai Chuan's expression had turned icy for a moment. When he looked up, Bai Chuan was back to his usual indifferent self.

"Maybe it was just the instructor's usual concern. It's pretty normal."

"Normal?"

"Yes."

Bai Chuan answered so casually that Yi Ye started to wonder if he hadn't fully gotten used to the ways of the ABO world yet.

"We should head back to the classroom."

Bai Chuan put a hand on Yi Ye's shoulder to turn him around. As he slightly raised his head, he saw Ling Pei standing on the second floor in the distance. Their eyes locked for a moment, then quickly looked away, as if nothing had happened.

Ling Pei watched the two figures walk away, his fingers drumming on the railing.

The person next to Yi Ye seemed to be his younger brother, as Alva had mentioned in class, an Omega with exceptional psychic abilities. Ling Pei wasn't impressed; he'd seen plenty of geniuses, and Bai Chuan wasn't one of the best.

But his features... inexplicably reminded Ling Pei of someone.

To be exact, someone even more insane than Howard.