Chapter 127

Chapter 127

As soon as the competition ended, St. Maria's resumed normal classes.

Meng Shijiu found himself unusually busy. Besides completing his coursework at St. Maria's, he had to go to Federation HQ at least once a week.

One afternoon two weeks later, in the St. Maria's study hall.

At a seat by the right-hand classroom window, the silver-haired Alpha rested his head on his crossed arms, his face buried in the crook of his elbow, showing just a sliver of his cheek.

Meng Shijiu had fallen asleep.

According to observations by St. Maria's students, Meng Shijiu rarely fell asleep in the study hall, and it mostly happened after the weekly elective class on Classical Governance Philosophy.

Typically, the silver-haired Alpha would make it to the study hall, sit down, review his notes for five minutes or so, and then, without realizing it, he'd lay his head on the desk and quietly fall asleep.

The sleeping silver-haired Alpha looked very peaceful. His eyelashes, rising and falling with his breath, the tips of his ears peeking out from his fluffy silver hair, and the soft, pale curve of his cheek pressed against his arm—you could see all of this clearly now.

Meng Shijiu usually slept for forty minutes, which meant on those days, he would stay at St. Maria's for an extra forty minutes.

Thus, in the course evaluations for the elective classes over these two weeks, St. Maria's students all voted for Classical Governance Philosophy and expressed no objection to adding a few more classes.

Completely unaware that he had been set up, Meng Shijiu looked at the additional classes on his schedule, seething with indignation and a touch of confusion. But since it was the will of the people, he could only silently accept it.

Twenty minutes later.

On this autumn day, with the chilly wind whistling outside the window and the classroom temperature maintained at a constant 23 degrees Celsius, Meng Shijiu was awakened by an almost suffocating warmth.

The person lying on the desk stirred slightly, lifting his face as something slipped from it.

The silver-haired Alpha reached back blindly, fumbling toward the back of his neck, and felt a light sheen of sweat.

Meng Shijiu pushed himself up to sit.

The soft hat that had been resting on his head tumbled from his face into his lap, and the thick scarf was half-draped around his neck. He looked up in confusion and met the face of a red-haired Alpha, who was leaning in close, with a wide, silent grin of pure amusement.

Cui Suifu had somehow sidled up to his desk, propping his elbow on the table, resting his chin in his hand, and watching him with rapt attention.

Meng Shijiu hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the fluffy hat, rolled up the scarf, and threw them all back at Cui Suifu, his voice a little hoarse. "Are you out of your mind..."

Cui Suifu deftly caught them but didn't respond. His gaze remained fixed on the silver-haired Alpha as he quietly lowered his head and gently kissed the scarf twice.

Meng Shijiu, speechless, raised his hand and pushed Cui Suifu's face away, breaking the intense stare. He then glanced down at the time.

He still had to go to the Federation today, and it was about time to get going.

Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, Cui Suifu was quicker, pressing down on the back of his hand. His fingertips were warm, his grip restrained yet stubborn.

Meng Shijiu looked up and met the red-haired Alpha's silent gaze, filled with a pleading intensity that seemed capable of burning through a person, firmly holding onto his hand, unwilling to let go.

He left his hand there, letting Cui hold it, while his other hand reached for the water cup.

Seeing he was about to go, Cui Suifu, though reluctant, said nothing. Instead, he picked up the water cup first and held it to the silver-haired Alpha's lips.

He tilted his wrist slightly, causing the cup to tip.

The silver-haired Alpha lowered his eyes.

His lips were somewhat dry. He frowned slightly in resistance but gently parted them nonetheless.

Just as the water was about to flow into his mouth, Cui Suifu suddenly loosened his grip a little, and let the cup drop suddenly.

Meng Shijiu had just looked up when, the next second, the cup was raised again. The silver-haired Alpha paused, lowered his eyes, and parted his lips once more.

But the cup dropped again.

Cui Suifu finally stopped messing around, obediently offering him water, though his gaze never left the silver-haired Alpha for a moment.

The silver-haired Alpha's eyes, still hazy with sleep, now held an undisguised irritation due to thirst.

Cui Suifu couldn't help himself as he watched, his eyes fixed on the slightly trembling crimson between those parted lips. He wished he could just force his way in, stir around a few times, and then suck hard.

...

The silver-haired Alpha had just stepped out of the classroom when the red-haired Alpha, who had been following him, cornered him in an empty stairwell, pressing him against the wall and kissing him fiercely, holding him by the waist.

Meng Shijiu only broke free when his tongue was sore and swollen.

He pursed his lips, leaving the red-haired Alpha crouching pitifully in the corner, and quickly walked out of St. Maria's.

*

Meng Shijiu entered a nearby milk tea shop.

As soon as he walked up to the counter, the clerk smiled and handed him the milk tea that had already been prepared.

The silver-haired Alpha took the pre-ordered milk tea, glanced at the clerk at the counter, and casually asked, "Why are you alone? Where's Xiao Yuan?"

Xiao Guo grinned and said, "Oh, he took a leave today. There's a new employee covering for him, and he's busy in the back right now."

Meng Shijiu nodded, asked no further questions, picked up the milk tea, and walked out.

He hadn't gone far from the shop when See's voice echoed in his mind.

See: "Host, someone is following you from behind."

Meng Shijiu didn't stop walking, his expression unchanged. "Mm."

Meng Shijiu: "There's another one ahead."

Ever since he left the school gate, two people had been following him.

There weren't many people around, making it difficult to hide. These two had continued to follow him even after he left the milk tea shop, clearly harboring ill intentions.

Whose people were they?

See recalled the people the host had offended. "Either they're Qian Zhangli's people or Paul's people."

See: "It's more likely to be Paul's."

Just then, the terminal in his pocket chimed. Meng Shijiu casually took it out and glanced at it—it was a message from Jie Mucong.

[Jie Mucong]: "Shi Jiu, I've found some information about that reagent from last time."

Meng Shijiu replied briefly and put away the terminal, responding to See in his mind.

Meng Shijiu: "Maybe it's both."

He leisurely opened the milk tea.

See: "Host, is there something wrong with this milk tea?"

Meng Shijiu: "It's likely."

If this milk tea were spiked, then these two had probably been tailing him for a while.

They'd been following without making a move, so the milk tea was likely laced with a sedative.

Thinking this, Meng Shijiu hesitated briefly.

If it were Paul, it wouldn't be a big deal. But if it were Qian Zhangli... although he didn't know his motive, this could be an opportunity to get leverage on him, since they hadn't uncovered any solid intel so far.

But if he went along with their plan...

The warmth of the milk tea soothed his palm, and suddenly, a pair of dark purple eyes appeared in Meng Shijiu's mind.

After a long silence, Meng Shijiu slowly drew out the straw.

...He didn't want his family to worry, but backing down now...

That wasn't his style.

...

Seeing the silver-haired Alpha lower his head and take a sip, the person following from behind signaled the partner up ahead. The two no longer concealed their footsteps, quickly advancing from the front and rear.

The silver-haired Alpha wavered slightly, and the milk tea cup slipped from his hand.

Before he completely collapsed, the person from behind stepped forward and caught the cup.

Another person supported the silver-haired Alpha, and after confirming no one had noticed, guided him into a vehicle.

*

Inside the car.

See: "The car's signal is jammed."

Meng Shijiu: "Got it."

Meng Shijiu said quickly, "Once we're out, there probably still won't be any signal. When that happens, you come out, find a place with signal, and send my brother the location."

See: "Okay."

Meng Shijiu thought for a moment: "Send one to my teacher as well."

See: "Okay."

The two who had bundled him into the car acted quickly. He felt his limbs being quickly bound, a black cloth tied over his eyes, and his body laid out on the back seat.

There was already a driver in the car.

Three people in total.

See: "Host."

Before Meng Shijiu could respond, the person sitting to his right had already grabbed his elbow, easily rolled up his sleeve, and the cold tip of a syringe was instantly pressed against his skin.

Everything seemed normal, except for the hand holding him... Meng Shijiu's heart suddenly sank.

That hand was trembling slightly.

Meng Shijiu: "Who?"

See: "...Qian Chunyan."

Meng Shijiu wasn't too surprised.

So, these were Qian Zhangli's people.

...What did Qian Zhangli want with him this time?

Soon, a cold, transparent liquid was pushed into his vein, but it wasn't the expected sedative.

See: "It's just a regular inhibitor."

The drug had been swapped out by Qian Chunyan.

But Meng Shijiu inexplicably felt that Qian Chunyan's hand was shaking even worse. The tremor transmitted through his skin was subtle yet impossible to ignore, like a leaf of grass struggling in the wind and rain.

It didn't take Meng Shijiu long to figure out the reason.

Qian Chunyan was afraid—afraid that by swapping the reagent again without authorization, he might cause another tragedy he couldn't bear.

After all, the last time he swapped Qian Zhangli's reagent, all he was left with was a corpse on the operating table, never to open its eyes again.

Qian Chunyan held Meng Shijiu's elbow, watching as the Alpha named Xue Li finished the injection and casually tossed the empty syringe aside.

The Beta gently pulled Meng Shijiu's sleeve back into place, his fingers remaining curled tightly at his side. His brow was tense, and a few strands of golden hair fell as he lowered his head.

Suddenly, the silver-haired Alpha's pinky finger silently and lightly brushed against his palm.

Qian Chunyan froze instantly. He glanced briefly at the other two, and seeing they hadn't noticed anything unusual, he breathed an internal sigh of relief.

Meng Shijiu closed his eyes. In the darkness, his other senses were amplified.

The surrounding silence was short-lived before a pair of hands suddenly approached, brazenly frisking him.

His terminal was quickly located and confiscated, and then the hands moved down from the back of his neck, over the bumps of his spine, and continued their search.

"—What are you doing!" Qian Chunyan's voice suddenly exploded beside him.

The hands on Meng Shijiu's body jerked away, followed by a scuffle of colliding bodies and the sound of a shoving match.

The narrow space was instantly filled with intense commotion.

Suddenly, the car fell silent.

"Searching him," a cold voice replied.

"I'll do it," Qian Chunyan quickly responded, his breathing somewhat hurried as he realized he had overreacted.

Meng Shijiu couldn't see: "What happened?"

See was silent for a moment before replying, "...Nothing."

The cold voice remained unhurried: "I think it's better for you to stay out of it to avoid suspicion, given that your trustworthiness has always been limited."

No one answered him.

Xue Li gave a low, derisive snort and yanked the silver-haired Alpha upright from where he lay.

Rough fingertips moved purposefully, probing downward from his waistline, thoroughly and skillfully checking every possible hiding spot.

A low chuckle suddenly came from inside the car.

The sound was faint, almost devoid of any warmth.

The next second, Xue Li was violently hauled up by a fierce force.

"Xue Li." The Beta's voice was lowered to a whisper, little more than a breath, yet each word landed with piercing clarity:

"He's already here."

"Try touching him one more time, I dare you."

Xue Li's counterattack followed immediately after those words.

...

Meng Shijiu: "...How is he?"

See: "...He's fine, just took a couple of hits. The other guy got it worse."

*

No matter what racket followed, the driver in front remained steadfastly at his post, circling continuously. It was impossible to tell how long they kept circling before the car finally stopped.

Upon reaching their destination, Meng Shijiu was scooped up into a bridal carry by Qian Chunyan.

Xue Li reached for the silver-haired Alpha again, but his hand was intercepted. Though fuming, he said nothing more.

He frowned and led the way inside.

Qian Chunyan followed closely behind, holding the silver-haired Alpha tightly as they moved deeper into the building.

See had already left according to the original plan.

After being carried by Qian Chunyan for a while, Meng Shijiu gradually realized something was off.

...Qian Chunyan had never been here before.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, almost completely cut off from any outside noise.

Not long after, all three of them stopped in their tracks at the same time.

Suddenly, Qian Chunyan's fingers traced two words very lightly on his side: *Hold breath*.

Meng Shijiu held his breath.

The next second, he was set down.

Almost simultaneously, the muffled thud of a heavy door being pushed open echoed.

The room that was opened still contained a lingering haze of knockout gas.

With Xue Li supporting him, Meng Shijiu had just stepped into the room.

The next second, Xue Li moved with lightning speed. A flash of a blade, and he cleanly sliced open the silver-haired Alpha's arm.

Blood welled from the wound, and the knockout gas was instantly absorbed in large quantities into the bloodstream. Meng Shijiu lost consciousness immediately.

Qian Chunyan, having just put on his gas mask, witnessed this scene.

"You..."

"Standard procedure." His voice came through the mask, devoid of emotion. "Everyone brought in gets this treatment. With an Alpha's healing ability, the wound will close up soon."

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Author's Note: Merry Christmas [Heart]