Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Subtle gazes drifted towards the three people from all around, among which was one particularly gloomy stare. His lashes were exceptionally long, casting a lingering shadow beneath his eyes.

Ye Lingxi stood alone amidst the crowd, with people keeping their distance, leaving an empty circle around him.

This beautiful Omega was notorious within the school for his terrible temper—reckless and heedless of consequences.

It wasn't that they were exactly afraid of him; no one wanted to needlessly provoke an unpredictable mad dog—who knew if he might suddenly lunge and tear a chunk out of you.

He held a cup of pomegranate juice in his hand—an opaque one.

Although Ye Lingxi had taken medication for his blood phobia, he had chosen an opaque cup just as a precaution.

Seeing the pomegranate juice in the silver-haired Alpha's hand, Ye Lingxi's forward step faltered, a mocking twist pulling at the corner of his lips.

A look of self-mockery crossed his face.

—Too late again.

Slightly irritated, the Omega casually flung the pomegranate juice in his hand.

The next instant, the juice carved a sharp arc through the air before smashing into a trash can with a dull thud.

A few splattered drops landed on the ground, resembling fresh bloodstains.

Ye Lingxi averted his gaze but couldn't escape the sharp pain in his head.

"Who the... what..."

The person beside him was startled, turning to see the barely contained violence in Ye Lingxi's eyes, and swallowed their words.

Zou Yun sat among the crowd. Someone nearby tried to get his attention, calling "Brother Zou" several times, but he seemed not to hear, his gaze fixed in a certain direction.

"—Brother Zou?"

Zou Yun lifted his eyes to glance at the person who called him, then walked away, preferring to be out of sight and out of mind.

Beside Meng Shijiu, the black-haired, green-eyed Alpha stood with a calm expression, though his body was slightly rigid.

Just before departure, Meng Shijiu had casually tossed See to Yue Xuanli.

Yue Xuanli and the pair of silver, vertical cat pupils in their arms stared at each other eerily, like two cursed statues.

They had been "holding" it like this the whole way. The black-haired Alpha's arms encircled the black cat as stiffly as iron brackets. Anyone could tell both they and the cat were quite ill at ease.

Meng Shijiu was being a jerk, shamelessly pretending not to see.

Yue Xuanli found it amusing, unable to tell whether they had offended him or the cat had.

Ignored, Cui Suifu rubbed his nose: "The cat's quite pretty."

Yue Xuanli: If you don't know how to talk, you can shut up.

See: "If you don't know how to talk, you can shut up."

See wriggled free of the black-haired Alpha's stiff embrace and nimbly leaped onto Meng Shijiu's shoulder.

The black cat's head affectionately nuzzled against Meng Shijiu's cheek, acting coaxingly.

As the soft fur of the cat's ears brushed against his jawline, the silver-haired Alpha instinctively closed his eyes for a moment. His eyelashes trembled faintly in the sunlight, like butterfly antennae startled by the wind.

Fresh snow and dark ink.

The spring-turning-to-summer sunlight poured down like a ladle of warm water from between the tree branches, soaking the newly green leaves until they gleamed.

It cascaded down, draping the silver-haired Alpha in a thin layer of silvery radiance.

Meng Shijiu lifted the cat from his shoulder and cradled it in his arms. The little black cat wasn't much bigger than a handful. He lazily smoothed its fur, his gaze sweeping over the seemingly relaxed crowd. "Are everyone treating this like a vacation?"

See: "So are we going to suffer?"

Meng Shijiu was very satisfied with today's sun, squinting comfortably. "Yeah, that's the point of school."

See: "?"

See: "Do you think Shen Huaixu will show up today?"

Meng Shijiu: "If he shows up, I'll drink another cup of pomegranate juice."

See already knew what he was going to say but played along anyway. "And if he doesn't?"

Meng Shijiu: "Then I'll drink two more cups today."

Meng Shijiu's gaze swept over the Prince standing obediently beside him, not uttering a word. "Why is he so quiet today?"

See said gloomily, "Because of another kind of bloodline suppression..."

Seeing him look over, Cui Suifu's eyes immediately brightened. His red hair looked like a burning flame in the sunlight, the tips dancing with fine, scattered golden light.

The tall Alpha gazed intently at Meng Shijiu. "Is this distance okay?"

Meng Shijiu was puzzled. "What?"

Cui Suifu: "You said to stay away from you, that you're fond of living."

The second prince of Lottelance, unruly by nature, was surrounded by constant danger—hidden arrows, schemes, assassinations... Smart people knew to keep their distance. After all, no one wanted to become a casualty in the game of power.

Cui Suifu took a tiny step back.

"Is this far enough?"

Meng Shijiu glanced at the distance, which hadn't really changed at all. Letting him fuss, he shook his head lazily as if unwilling to expend even a shred of extra energy.

Cui Suifu retreated another tiny bit, looking at Meng Shijiu questioningly.

Meng Shijiu: "Did your legs break?"

"..."

Cui Suifu could bear it no longer. He leaned in abruptly, closing the distance between them in an instant. The red-haired Alpha still restrained himself from touching, only letting his warm breath brush against Meng Shijiu's ear—

To squeeze out time for this training camp, Cui Suifu had wrapped up a load of business in advance. He hadn't seen him for a week and was going crazy with longing.

He was never one to endure patiently.

From the moment the jade-faced silver-haired Alpha entered his field of vision—from that first meeting to this one—he could only see him.

Seven days, 168 hours, 10,080 minutes.

Longing was gnawing away almost all his reason.

After the silver-haired Alpha shattered his defenses without even lifting a finger, and after realizing this affection had grown far too overwhelming, Cui Suifu fell into another despair born from his refusal to succumb.

The corner of his mouth lifted in a self-mocking curve, yet his eyes were brooding like a trapped beast.

—It took every ounce of his self-control to restrain himself from violently pulling the person into his embrace, from burying his face in the other's neck and inhaling their scent like an addict.

...The tall, imposing figure pressed closer, still refraining from pressing the person into his arms. Instead, he said meaningfully, his voice hoarse and low: "No matter how far, there should still be a distance between a dog and its master."

Cui Suifu whined, aggrieved: "You didn't reply to a single message I sent you."

Cui Suifu accused: "You're giving me the cold shoulder."

"..."

Meng Shijiu didn't even want to bring it up: "You're giving me the 'hot' shoulder."

See meowed in agreement.

Over the past few days, Meng Shijiu had watched with immense patience the stream of what could only be described as harassing, rambling messages from Cui Suifu, resisting the urge to block him and just exiting their chat window.

See: Host is the best!

Impulse is the enemy.

With a stern face, Yue Xuanli coldly and forcefully separated the two. Cui Suifu was furious but didn't dare say a word, only his gaze, like a starving hound, remained glued to the silver-haired Alpha.

Only when the person turned their back did Cui Suifu frown slightly, his expression blank as he bared his teeth in a silent snarl.

His white canine teeth showed. He griped to himself: So meddlesome.

Yue Xuanli suddenly turned her head back.

Her dark green eyes held a trace of barely perceptible irritation.

Yue Xuanli: "If your eyes itch, go to the hospital."

Cui Suifu gritted his teeth: ...

I'll endure.

Meng Shijiu's gaze swept over the crowd again, this time spotting many familiar faces.

Ye Lingxi, Zou Yun, Wen Qiuyu, Qian Chunyan... Meng Shijiu's gaze paused.

—Zong Geman was here too.

He looked like a dandelion puff ready to scatter at any moment. His gray eyes met Meng Shijiu's directly, yet his gaze lacked focus, hollow like some creature whose soul had been drained.

The presence of this antagonist from the original novel was too low, too inconspicuous. No one wondered where he had been these days, why he appeared in the training team again just as his body recovered—

Oh, right. Meng Shijiu thought. "Commoners" probably didn't have the right to refuse either.

Meng Shijiu felt creeped out by his stare. Despite being in the sunlight, a strange chill ran down his spine.

Just as he was thinking this, from another direction, the Student Council Vice President, Wen Qiuyu, walked towards him.

"Senior, we meet again." Wen Qiuyu still wore that weary yet gentle expression.

He extended his hand, his black eyes behind silver-rimmed glasses looking directly into the silver-haired Alpha's jade-green eyes, his words loaded: "Sorry for the trouble."

Meng Shijiu reached out and lightly touched his hand: "Then don't cause trouble next time."

Wen Qiuyu was amused by his tone, letting out a soft chuckle, a barely noticeable curve lifting the corner of his mouth before vanishing instantly: "Alright."

Meng Shijiu petted the cat: "How can he laugh?"

See: "Why shouldn't he laugh?"

Meng Shijiu: "I only help out occasionally, but he's the one working like a beast of burden every single day."

See: "..."

They didn't have to wait long before a massive aircraft emblazoned with golden irises descended upon Blue Crane Square.

About two minutes later, a young black-haired, black-eyed Beta stepped off the school shuttle.

Wen Yunye stood by the door in a white uniform embroidered with the school emblem, holding a megaphone. His calm tone concealed resentment: "I am Wen Yunye, your counselor for this training session."

"Line up, scan your cards, and board." He stated simply.

Then he hurriedly moved aside to make way for the trainees.

Meng Shijiu nodded: "Now that's the normal state of a beast of burden."

See: "Watch your words."

The crowd gradually boarded the vehicle.

Before boarding, Meng Shijiu made eye contact with Wen Yunye.

This glance held no particular meaning; it was simply acknowledging an acquaintance. But Wen Yunye seemed to understand something, then nodded expressionlessly at him as if to say, "I got it."

Meng Shijiu: ?

Before Meng Shijiu could voice his question, Wen Yunye cleared his throat and pointed at the silver-haired Alpha, ensuring those nearby could hear: "Ahem."

"—You, come with me to the front separately."

Meng Shijiu: ...

Yue Xuanli frowned, about to speak, but Meng Shijiu tugged at her sleeve.

Meng Shijiu: "It's fine."

Meng Shijiu glanced at the red-haired Alpha following behind.

The red-haired Alpha was very understanding: "You go ahead."

After Meng Shijiu turned back, a certain prince glared fiercely at Wen Yunye as if issuing a warning.

Wen Yunye: Raise my salary.

Wen Yunye: Raise my salary!

Wen Yunye: I said raise my salary, Shen Huaixu, are you listening?!

The training camp was located in a western autonomous region called Yanbei, bordering Qiyu—a sparsely populated land of vast, open horizons.

From high above, the colors of the terrain could be seen growing increasingly deeper.

Wen Yunye, as usual, shoved a bottle of pomegranate juice toward Meng Shijiu, who accepted it without changing his expression.

This time, he also shoved a few comic books over.

"..."

Meng Shijiu then remembered that during their last meeting, he had indeed scrounged a few comic books from Wen Yunye.

They were palm-sized, wrapped in plastic covers, and handed over to Meng Shijiu.

Meng Shijiu hesitated briefly: "Thanks."

Wen Yunye shook his head: "Remember to tell Principal Shen the price is a thousand per book."

Meng Shijiu: "..." Truly—never forgetting his original intent.

Wen Yunye seemed very busy; after saying just a few words, he hurried away, leaving Meng Shijiu to himself.

This was a small lounge near the cockpit at the front of the school craft; it was quiet and empty. Having gotten the comics, Meng Shijiu decisively settled in and refused to leave.

Meng Shijiu found a spot by the window and started flipping through the newly acquired comic books.

The sound of pages turning and the sipping of pomegranate juice were both subtle, yet noticeable in the quiet space, like soothing white noise.

See wondered, "Didn't you get these for Ye Lingxi?"

Meng Shijiu had his own reasoning: "I'm vetting them first."

Meng Shijiu declared righteously: "What if there's inappropriate content? What if the protagonist turns evil!"

See was moved to tears: "Host is so kind!"

Meng Shijiu: "^^"