Chapter 19

Chapter 19

SM Forum

+Casual Chat+

#Hot #Explosive #Decoded. Core Knowledge Star Building, Sophomore Year, Lab 3065.

"OP" Mint Milk Tea: "OP is a sophomore who happened to be assigned to Professor Qiu's lab class. Since I needed to make up for last semester's experiment, I arrived very early.

The following is from my perspective, stated as objectively as possible. Corrections and additions are welcome.

So, 1 arrived very early, came in, found a spot, turned on the preheating lamp, and started the experiment, seeming pretty normal.

Crush entered right at the last minute, seemed to be in a generally bad mood, cold-faced (ps: looks even better with a cold face, totally my type ahhh). Ahem, initially, the two were far apart, zero interaction. Felt like they either didn't know each other or weren't close.

When Professor Qiu took attendance, both raised their hands to ask questions. Ps: mentioned in another thread. At this point, it started feeling a bit tense. Here, it's clear Brother Pei knows 19's name. OP, like most other posters analyzing this, thinks the two probably know each other.

Later, during the experiment, OP's position happened to be a bit in front of their two lab tables. I overheard a bit of their conversation, roughly as follows. Ps: OP wasn't intentionally eavesdropping [slides into a kneeling apology pose].

19: You stopped my graph?

1: It overloaded.

Silence then, 19 was probably looking at the graph.

19: How did it overload?

1: A wire got knocked loose.

19: How was it knocked loose?

After a few seconds.

1: Sorry.

19: Do you need me to take you to the school clinic to get your hand checked?

1: Classmate Meng is truly so helpful.

OP personally thinks 1 was probably doing this on purpose here. 1 has always gotten full marks in lab class. Such a basic mistake is pretty unlikely.

After that, the two didn't interact much. Don't know their exact scores, but by Professor Qiu's standards, they'll probably get a C on this lab.

OP left after finishing the experiment. The two were standing quite far apart, one left, one right, really did seem not close.

Finally, OP received the campus evacuation notice, but OP was already off campus. Just got back online, also waiting for updates."

1L: "So did they really get into a fight? When did these two have a falling out?"

2L: "I'm more curious... if he could fight 1, crush's mental power level must be pretty high too, right? Wasn't it discussed earlier that this year's general admissions didn't admit any A-level Alphas?"

3L: "Not necessarily recruited by Principal Shen, right?"

4L: "Must be. Already decoded in another thread."

5L: "I feel like crush was already in a bad mood today. Rut period?"

6L: "Wouldn't you take leave during a rut period?"

7L: "Last week, an Alpha didn't take leave during his rut and almost forcibly marked a passing Omega."

8L: "...Can't coddle that. Leaving."

9L: "Is the person above trying to pose as an anti-fan to attract crush's attention?"

10L: "Don't expose him! No more fun to watch."

11L: "How many this week?"

"Could 1 also be in a rut period?"

"Unlikely. 1's rut period just ended not long ago."

"The question isn't whether they actually fought, right?"

"Probably... 1 came out with blood on his lab coat..."

31L: "Then what about crush?"

32L: "What about him?"

33L: "Uh, I think 31L means—aren't there already plenty of F4's sycophants?"

34L: "Hmph, the person above only dares to shout that on the forum."

"A bit worried crush might get targeted."

"Speaking of which... I find it very puzzling that no one has managed to dig up crush's identity yet."

"Maybe he really is a commoner."

"No way. The outfit 19 changed into after the fight (alleged) today was another private custom piece from some high-end brand."

"Is the second floor still sealed off?"

"Just reopened."

203L "Haven't Played on Forums for Years": "Must you report a rut period?"

204L: "Did you grow up in a hospital? Isn't this common sense?"

205L: "Wait."

206L: "Wait..."

207L: "! Is that s20?"

208L: "@Haven't Played on Forums for Years, wait big shot, don't leave yet."

220L "Haven't Played on Forums for Years": "What happens if you don't report it?"

"..."

"...Hmm..."

"You'll get conduct points deducted."

"231L" HaventUsedTheForumInYears: "So it's not a big deal."

"I mean, you're not wrong..."

"But it's just like getting your allowance at the start of the month—it's just kind of assumed."

"Though there are indeed some Alphas who never take leave during their rut..."

HaventUsedTheForumInYears: "So don't take a page from Meng Shijiu's book."

"Cui Suifu" replied to "HaventUsedTheForumInYears": "Is Meng Shijiu #19 in this post?"

"!"

"!"

"!!!"

"The Prince!"

"! So many things to unpack, where do I even start?"

"Does the big shot mean #19 really is in rut?"

"If it's news from an S20-tier user, then I believe it."

"Is the Prince back?"

"Still our Prince, doxxing himself as usual."

"Welcome back, Prince."

...

"Gotta bounce, this thread's getting nuked."

"Thread locked. 1 user muted. Keep the forums clean. [Rose]"

……

"Your account has been suspended and will be unlocked in seven days. During the suspension, you cannot post or reply to any threads on the forum. Appeal/Quiz Entry: [Link]"

Cui Suifu tsked and exited the now-locked post: "Qian Chunyan is as annoying as ever."

Beside him, Pei Ruji closed his book.

The black-haired Alpha stood up from the sofa, sounding exasperated: "If you keep deliberately exposing him in front of his 'carefully chosen playthings,' he might become even more annoying."

"Cui Suifu" sent a friend request to "HaventUsedTheForumInYears."

"...Annoying." The red-haired Alpha muttered, shutting his terminal, his low voice like a cello at midnight, with a burn like strong liquor. "Speaking of which."

"—Do you really hate this Meng Shijiu?"

This time, Pei Ruji didn't avoid the question. Cold, jade-green eyes surfaced in his mind.

The black-haired Alpha's voice echoed in the empty lounge:

"Hate."

Like a hound on a scent, the esteemed Second Prince of Lottelance suddenly raised his dark eyes, which lit up with excitement.

Pei Ruji turned his head.

The twilight at the window faded fast, falling into the Alpha's dark red pupils like dark wine settling:

"Don't ask."

The light in the red-haired Alpha's eyes went out like a snuffed candle.

"Alright, if even you think he's trash," Cui Suifu stood up, like a fierce beast retracting its claws. He put his hands behind his head, his neck and shoulders forming a sharp line, his canine teeth pressing against his lower lip as he smiled.

"Then next time we meet—I wouldn't mind showing him his place."

...

...

The next day, at 4 PM.

Sunlight like melted honey spread warmly across the ground. Tree shadows stretched long, their edges blurred by the wind.

It wasn't too hot, and the breeze carried a coolness.

Another rare fine day at St. Maria.

Two students who had just come down from the tennis court walked over and sat down beside a plane tree.

Student A took a swig of water and looked up: "Nice weather today. Haven't played outdoors in a while."

Student B sighed with feeling: "Seems like the weather's been better since the Crush arrived."

"Yeah, I wonder where Shi Jiu is now?" Student A complained. "It's been 20 hours since his latest photo appeared on the forum."

"What's wrong with this year's sophomores? They're so undisciplined."

Student B agreed, clinking his water bottle with Student A's.

Lush green leaves swayed gracefully.

Meng Shijiu, sitting right above them in the plane tree and enjoying the breeze: ...

Meng Shijiu: "How many is this?"

See: "Counting from when you sat in the tree, it's the fourth."

See: "No matter what topic they start with, it always turns to the host in the end."

Meng Shijiu: "You think maybe this 'Crush' isn't referring to me?"

See: "No possibility."

Meng Shijiu opened his terminal and tried setting "Crush" as a blocked keyword. He then watched as the number of recent posts on the forum decreased by nearly two-thirds.

Meng Shijiu: ...

See: "This just proves how good-looking you are."

Meng Shijiu: "But I can't shake this weird feeling."

Meng Shijiu removed the filtered term, and the forum returned to normal.

See breathed a sigh of relief, tucking the fanfic he found on the forum last night deeper into the system's internal storage.

"Crush" and "19" were just common nicknames used by St. Maria's students for Meng Shijiu.

But in some posts laced with a lot of unspeakable stuff, Meng Shijiu had only one nickname—"[Snowflake]."

—Much later, when this [Snowflake] symbol evolved into a [Flame] symbol, the students of St. Maria still tacitly kept it from Meng Shijiu without a word.

—Mostly out of fear.

"Beep—"

A message pinged on his terminal.

[Yue Xuanli]: "[Image]"

Meng Shijiu tapped the image.

The glass display window gleamed like crystal, refracting a warm golden light. Various flavors and colors of ice cream were nestled in exquisitely patterned porcelain bowls, like museum pieces displayed on expensive silk scarves. Beneath them, fancy labels listed all kinds of exotic flavors.

Like blatant bait.

The "cat" took the bait, its lazy green eyes widening.

[Photosynthesizing]: [Where are you?]

[Yue Xuanli]: [NO3]

[Yue Xuanli]: [Are you coming? Send your location, I'll come pick you up]

Meng Shijiu left it on read.

Everything around him felt way too quiet.

When he glanced under the tree, the two students were already gone.

—"Hey, you're in my spot."

A low, gravelly voice came from under the tree, its tone husky as if he'd just woken up.

Cui Suifu stood under the dappled sunlight of the sycamore tree.

The Alpha's youthful body was like a military blade, his broad shoulders and narrow waist sculpted by the light into seductive curves. He wasn't even releasing pheromones, yet an intense, dangerous aura seemed to radiate from him in the sun.

From this angle, the prince, Cui Suifu, couldn't see the person, only their shadow on the tree.

Under the Alpha's unwavering gaze, the shadow vanished before his eyes like flowing water.

The tall, formidable Alpha narrowed his eyes, his voice a low, nasal hum: "Hiding where?"

Just as he was about to turn to the other side, he saw the shadow reappear on the rough tree trunk.

The red-haired Alpha curled his lip: Trying to trick me?

Cui Suifu planted a foot against the tree trunk, the muscles in his calf tensing like a drawn bowstring. The young prince was about to leap up—

The shadow in his eyes vanished suddenly, like a mirage.

—Unlike the shadow that disappeared like water earlier, this time it vanished into thin air.

In broad daylight, it was downright eerie.

The Alpha blinked, stunned.

Suddenly, something hit him square in the shoulder.

—"Thump"

Cui Suifu turned around, instinctively looking down.

The fruit ball that had hit the Alpha bounced and rolled on the ground.

—It was spring, and the sycamore balls had dried out and loosened, spilling white fluff when they hit the ground.

The Alpha followed the direction of the fallen fruit.

—The figure standing there was like a painting so captivating it demanded to be copied; the kind people would sell everything for, spend fortunes on, and fight over until they lost it all.

Under the sunlight, the silver hair gleamed like a river of stars. Those jade-green eyes narrowed slightly as they looked his way, the lashes casting delicate shadows on fair skin.

Cui Suifu saw only those eyes.

A siren.

The eyes of a siren.

Cui Suifu stared unblinkingly.

His pulse was going haywire.

His heart pounded like a war drum, a thousand noisy birds taking flight in his chest.

Standing there, a vision of effortless grace in the sunlight, the Alpha remained unfazed, using a tone that was deliberately instructive yet still lazy: "Climbing trees, minus three points, classmate."

See: "Beep—One of the main characters, F4 Cui Suifu, has appeared."

Cui Suifu, not daring to blink: Sounds familiar, like some annoying Beta said it before, but my brain can't process it now.

True to his bold and unrestrained nature, the Second Prince Cui Suifu shot back on instinct alone: "You... you... you climbed first..."

"—And which eye of yours saw that?" The silver-haired Alpha raised an eyebrow at him, his refined features taking on a stunning, impactful beauty.

See remarked drily: "I saw it."

See: "Using your ability again, huh?"

Meng Shijiu: "^^"

Meng Shijiu: "Randomly scaring a passerby."

With that, Meng Shijiu prepared to turn and leave—

The ice cream was waiting for him!

Cui Suifu, who had been frozen in place for a while, finally snapped back to reality upon hearing the silver-haired Alpha's words.

As if limbs stiff with rust could finally move, the tall Alpha took a few steps, the wind ruffling the stray hairs on his forehead.

The sunlight was abruptly blocked by his suddenly approaching figure.

The red-haired Alpha lowered his head, his gaze blazing, dark eyes sparking, the line from his jaw to his collarbone tightening.

"Uh... cl-classmate, which class are you in?"

"What's your name... you... you... don't go yet."

Meng Shijiu: "Is he a stutterer?"

See was bewildered: "...Wait... let me check again."

Meng Shijiu's gaze swept over Cui Suifu's face, which looked like it cost a fortune, and a thought suddenly struck him.

"Meng Shijiu."

The silver-haired Alpha replied, his voice flowing into Cui Suifu's heart like a stream.

Cui Suifu: ?