Chapter 119

Chapter 119

The multi-school alliance challenge officially began. Due to the tight schedule, St. Mary's Academy announced a suspension of classes.

As for the Federation, after an eight-hour search, they still failed to locate El. She had vanished from Lottelance as if evaporated into thin air.

But strangely, everyone who knew El, including the command department of First Academy, seemed indifferent to the whole affair. Instead, they all pointed the finger at the person behind El.

Everyone believed that everything El had done, including her disappearance, must have been orchestrated by someone else.

First Academy.

The weather had cleared up, and the flags of various academies fluttered above the central stadium. As flocks of birds circled and salvos boomed, the first match officially kicked off.

Jie Mucong's first match was scheduled for the afternoon. She returned to First Academy early to watch the morning matches.

She walked into a convenience store, picked up a bottle of water, and saw two people already in line ahead of her.

The person in front of her was a student she knew who, upon seeing her, grinned and leaned closer.

"Senior Jie, been to St. Mary's? How does it compare to First Academy?"

Jie Mucong didn't even lift her eyelids. "The training grounds are decent. The coffee is terrible."

She hadn't met the person she wanted to see. Negative review.

Soon, it was her turn.

Just as she placed her water bottle on the countertop, a hand reached out from her right.

"Clink."

A slender index and middle finger gently placed a star coin beside her bottle.

She snapped her head up.

The very person she’d been looking for was standing right beside her, wearing the utility jumpsuit provided by the alliance, her tied-up long hair cascading down like a silver river.

The snow-white fabric neatly outlined the Silver-haired Alpha's figure.

Beside the Silver-haired Alpha, a certain prince Alpha stood leaning casually, his gaze thoughtful. Though merely standing next to Meng Shijiu, he exuded an aura of territorial possession.

Looking at Meng Shijiu, she curled the corner of her lips slightly, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Long time no see."

Meng Shijiu also slowly curved her lips. "Long time no see."

"Jie Mucong."

Their last conversation seemed to have ended with the bet at the dessert shop.

*

Central Stadium, Arena One.

A silver mech hovering overhead provocatively skimmed past the opponent's detection range.

Just as the audience awaited the killing blow, it suddenly halted, its mech arm elegantly raised.

Jie Xile's drawling voice came through the public channel. "Careful now, the next move is on the left."

The opponent's mech jerked to the left.

The silver mech, however, glided away leisurely, firing a beam at an empty spot.

The moment the opponent's mech was eliminated, Jie Xile's sincere apology came through the channel again. "Sorry, mixed up left and right."

On the other side of the spectator stands.

Meng Shijiu sat in the middle, with Jie Mucong and Cui Suifu on either side of her.

Meng Shijiu was conversing softly with Jie Mucong.

Given that Meng Shijiu had been wearing a "don't touch me" expression toward every Alpha who approached her today, Cui Suifu, reading the room, was exceptionally restrained, sitting upright and only daring to prick up his ears to listen.

Jie Mucong looked toward the arena. "My brother is quite annoying, isn't he?"

Cui Suifu immediately gathered Jie Mucong was referring to the person on the field who seemed to be his new rival in love, and inwardly agreed that indeed he was.

Meng Shijiu nodded, adding, "My brother is too."

Cui Suifu still remembered how Meng Shiyan had relentlessly pursued him in Frost, and inwardly agreed that indeed he was.

Jie Mucong turned her face slightly. "So it's best if you don't talk to my brother. He rarely speaks the truth."

Meng Shijiu: "..."

Cui Suifu's eyes lit up: What a good person.

Jie Mucong leaned forward a little more, lowering her voice further. "You can just chat with me. I won't lie to you."

A faint, almost imperceptible sigh tinged her tone. "After all, Alphas are either obsessive or have excessive control issues..."

The female Beta's voice still softly echoed in her ears.

The faint red tear tracks under Meng Shijiu's eyes, which hadn't faded since she left Meng Shiyan's room, grew slightly damp. The Silver-haired Alpha blinked twice, holding back the moisture.

Cui Suifu thought, Shijiu would never have gender biases.

Then he heard Meng Shijiu give an almost imperceptible nod and say, "Indeed."

Cui Suifu: !!!

Cui Suifu: "?"

Cui Suifu slowly turned his head, his face filled with shock and bewilderment. "I—"

Meng Shijiu and Jie Mucong turned to look at him.

The red-haired Alpha's words abruptly stopped.

Cui Suifu stared blankly at the Silver-haired Alpha before him.

He looked at her cool eyes glistening with moisture, her damp eye corners, and her slightly furrowed brows, all interwoven with a different kind of vividness and beauty.

Vibrant and radiant, dazzlingly brilliant.

A muffled sound escaped Cui Suifu's throat. "...Shijiu is always right."

He forced a smile at the Silver-haired Alpha and averted his gaze, but his eyes grew heavy and sank downward.

The sounds from the competition arena faded away. The heartbeat in his chest amplified, the thumping against his ribs clearly pounding in his ears. Blood rushed through his limbs, almost dizzying him.

He suddenly realized that perhaps there would never be a day again when his heartbeat wouldn’t falter at the sight of this person.

Every time he saw this person, his heart would race out of control just like the first time they met—pounding fiercely, vividly alive. In his increasingly labored breaths, he would profoundly realize that he was still alive.

Or rather, it gave him the fleeting sensation of being alive.

*

Jie Xile’s match was immediately followed by Meng Shijiu’s. He bid a brief farewell to the two of them and headed toward the arena.

The opponent for this match wasn’t decided by drawing lots but was directly assigned by the organizers based on preliminary ratings.

Meng Shijiu handed the crystal embedded with sunflower petals to the referee and turned to walk toward the Silver Cocoon.

The arena’s large screen lit up with a countdown: the match had already begun.

…

Ten minutes later.

The battle ended silently and decisively.

The Silver Cocoon moved like a shadow without warmth, cleanly slamming the opponent’s mech into the ground.

Like ice cracking slowly on a winter night, a chill crept up everyone’s spine.

The arena fell silent for a moment.

On Cloud Shadow’s live stream, the bullet comments scrolled:

“Holy crap, I didn’t dare watch just now.”

“Same here.”

“So… ruthless, merciless, bloodthirsty vibes… what am I even saying #*~!”

“…”

“Is it too late to withdraw from the competition now?”

“Caught the person above.”

“I was originally planning to skip straight to the finals’ 2v2v2, but the first match is already this intense?”

“The finals are in 2v2v2 mode?”

“Yeah, map-based match. Team up first, then individual combat. If a teammate gets eliminated during the team phase, the whole team is out.”

“Nineteen is so serious today.”

“Everyone, start grinding like this, okay?!”

“Not very likely, though. After all, it’s not just one or two matches—there’s strategy involved. Can’t reveal your full strength too early. Unless you’re Nineteen, then ignore what I just said :)”

…

In one of the backstage lounges.

The monitor screen glowed faintly.

An Alpha sitting next to Lucas glanced at the surveillance feed, then turned to look at the Alpha who had remained silent the whole time:

“So this is the kid you had overhaul the Silver Cocoon?”

Lucas didn’t speak.

The man chuckled. “Good eye.”

Lucas tilted his head slightly. “Don’t get any ideas.”

Inside the room, the others nearby immediately fell silent.

That Alpha met Lucas’s gaze, his smile unwavering, and retorted leisurely, “He’s not yours. What’s it to you?”

…

After leaving the arena, the silver-haired Alpha’s mood improved considerably.

He stayed alone in the lounge for a while, estimated the time, and then circled around to the back door.

The door opened quietly. Meng Shijiu glanced around, confirmed no one was paying attention, and turned sideways, ready to slip out.

His fingertips had just left the cold handle when his arm was seized. A pair of hands pulled him backward.

“…”

Meng Shijiu watched helplessly as the door closed again right in front of him.

The next moment, he fell into a tight embrace.

Meng Shijiu didn’t need to look back to know it was Jue Ning.

The guy moved without a sound.

Jue Ning’s palms were damp, firmly pressed against his waist. His breath brushed against the skin behind Meng Shijiu’s ear like a snake’s tongue: “Trying to run off somewhere?”

Meng Shijiu: You humans are terrifying.

Even caught red-handed trying to skip out, Meng Shijiu could still maintain an air of righteous indignation: “Why didn’t you come find me? I waited for five minutes—”

Jue Ning’s finger pressed against his lips.

In the next instant, Meng Shijiu’s knees were gripped tightly, and his whole body was suddenly lifted off the ground, easily hoisted up by Jue Ning. Amid the dizzying spin, his back sank into the soft sofa of the lounge.

His lips were cold, but his tongue was scalding.

Beneath the polite facade lay tangible desire.

Jue Ning’s fingers plunged deep into the silver-haired Alpha’s hair, his fingertips rubbing slowly yet forcefully against the scalp, instantly eliciting a violent shudder from the person in his arms.

After kissing for just a short while, Meng Shijiu pushed against Jue Ning’s shoulder and turned his face away, his voice somewhat muffled: “…That’s enough.”

“Hmm?” Jue Ning lifted his face in confusion, revealing a face dark with obsession, damp and shadowed. He leaned in closer again, cradled the back of Meng Shijiu’s neck, and captured his lips.

Wet, hot, sticky—the air was filled only with the sound of damp, intimate friction.

Meng Shijiu still pushed him away.

He had “promised” Shen Huaixu yesterday that they would meet today.

He still remembered Shen Huaixu’s words: “Let’s keep it quiet.” Now, doing anything with Jue Ning felt like Shen Huaixu was watching from the sidelines. He felt completely uneasy, all over.

Jue Ning's gaze lingered on his face, the searching intent growing deeper.

Meng Shijiu looked away and casually threw out an excuse:

"I'm hungry."

Jue Ning fell silent for a moment, his fingertips slowly grazing his cheek. After a moment, he let go and scooped him up, his tone unchanged:

"Alright, then Xiao Jiu owes me one."

Meng Shijiu looped his arms around his neck and pinched his cheek. "Who owes you anything?"

Jue Ning let him pinch, simply holding him steady and tight. "Then I owe Xiao Jiu."

As they left the lounge, Meng Shijiu couldn't help but glance back, almost as if he truly suspected that in some corner, he might meet Shen Huaixu's smiling, foxy eyes.

He didn't see it, but the moment he turned back, the eyes of the man holding him went pitch black, drained of all warmth.

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Author's Note: Darlings~~ Could you drop me some Moonstones? They're in the upper right corner of my author's column [Heart][Heart][Heart]

Writing the bonus chapter, haven't finished it yet. I have to say this now because I'm afraid I'll get too lazy to write it later orz

Everyone, it's getting cold, stay warm. I practically lived in the bathroom today.

Can't quite explain why, but I always feel like all 'older sister-younger dog' pairings have a soulmate vibe to them.