Pretending to Be an Alpha in an All-Alpha Boy Band - Chapter 64
Chapter 64: The Piano Room
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?!”
Yuan Shiyuan had initially worried he might be mistaken, but after exchanging a few secret signals, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Jiang Heng was his childhood friend from the welfare institute!
Yuan Shiyuan instinctively took a step forward, raising his arm in mock reproach and lightly punching Jiang Heng’s shoulder with his fist.
“Judging by that look on your face, you recognized me long ago, didn’t you?” he realized belatedly. “You knew all along and didn’t tell me!”
Jiang Heng’s expression turned slightly awkward, his deep voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible grievance. “You didn’t recognize me at first.”
“It’s only natural I wouldn’t recognize you!” Yuan Shiyuan retorted. “You couldn’t speak as a kid, and you had straight hair. Plus, you used to be so skinny, barely taller than me. But now…” Yuan Shiyuan tilted his head back, looking up at the Alpha towering half a head taller than him. He gestured at the height difference between them, too lazy to finish his sentence.
“I hinted at it later,” Jiang Heng said. “I hinted at it the very first time we met.”
Yuan Shiyuan mentally replayed their first encounter.
His memory was sharp, and he instantly recalled the oddness of that day. When Jiang Heng shook his hand in greeting, he seemed to have squeezed it slightly?
“You call that a hint?”
Yuan Shiyuan had initially taken it as a provocation, a way for Jiang Heng to assert dominance. How had he responded back then?
He seemed to have gripped back with even greater force, didn’t he?
“Yeah, that was my secret code. You had quite a strong grip back then.”
“Hahahaha,” Yuan Shiyuan chuckled awkwardly. “You know how Alphas can be—sometimes they just get this inexplicable competitive streak.”
Jiang Heng continued, “After that, I kept hanging around you, but you never recognized me.”
Only then did Yuan Shiyuan realize the truth.
No wonder he kept “coincidentally” running into Jiang Heng in various places. During the first recording of their group variety show, when Yuan Shiyuan got lost in the company building, it was Jiang Heng who guided him out.
So, this kid had been secretly following him all along, then “casually” showing up to make an impression.
Every “coincidence” had been intentional, carefully orchestrated by Jiang Heng.
Looking into Jiang Heng’s earnest and somewhat hurt eyes, Yuan Shiyuan suddenly felt like a callous “heartbreaker.”
“The main thing is, you’ve changed so much! It’s not my fault I didn’t recognize you!”
Yuan Shiyuan cleared his throat twice, trying to change the subject, then suddenly remembered something. “And you even called my Yuanbao ugly!”
Now I get it, Yuan Shiyuan thought. That’s why Jiang Heng kept staring at my plushie keychain earlier, only to call it “average” later.
At the time, Jiang Heng had been puzzled, as his friend didn’t seem like the type to be so rude or tactless.
So, he was secretly testing me again.
Jiang Heng froze, a faint blush creeping up his neck. “You even named your plushie?”
“Is that not allowed?”
“No… it’s not that…” Jiang Heng’s expression grew increasingly flustered, a flicker of hidden delight flashing in his eyes.
“It really isn’t very cute,” he murmured, regaining his composure. “I should have prepared a different gift back then.”
Around that time, Yuan Shiyuan was being adopted. Though Jiang Heng felt a pang of loss, he was genuinely happy for his friend. Yuan Shiyuan’s adoptive family came from a working-class household in a big city.
To them, who lived in a small town, big cities were like the distant skyscrapers they saw on tv dramas—unattainable and glamorous. He was genuinely thrilled that his friend would finally have a better life.
Yuan Shiyuan would no longer have to endure hardship at the welfare institute and could now receive a better education.
As their parting drew near, Jiang Heng wanted to give his friend a farewell gift. Children like them didn’t have allowances, but they would often collect bottles and save the coins. Yuan Shiyuan was the one who usually kept the money.
A few days before their farewell, Yuan Shiyuan pulled out his little pouch and, as if dividing up family property, handed all the coins to Jiang Heng. After some back-and-forth, Jiang Heng finally accepted half.
Jiang Heng spent a long time meticulously choosing a plush toy from the boutique, finally selecting what he considered the most beautiful and adorable one, using up all his coins.
Now, looking back, this carefully chosen gift didn’t seem so perfect after all.
“Why does it have to be perfect?” Yuan Shiyuan asked, as if reading Jiang Heng’s mind. He found Jiang Heng’s guilt both laughable and heartbreaking. “I really loved that plush toy. It was so cute, and I always kept it with me.”
“Besides, it was the best gift you could give me at the time.”
“I really liked it. Every time I saw it, I thought of you.”
Jiang Heng’s breath caught in his throat, his heart racing. He was about to say something when Yuan Shiyuan playfully nudged his shoulder with his fist, grinning.
“My good brother, my best buddy.”
“……”
Yuan Shiyuan blinked, his voice puzzled. “Why that face?”
“Nothing.” Jiang Heng’s gaze darkened. After a moment of silence, he hesitantly asked, “You said earlier… you’re afraid of the dark now?”
“Why are you suddenly afraid of the dark?”
Although Jiang Heng saw Yuan Shiyuan as a bit of a crybaby, he knew his friend was actually quite brave.
As a child, Yuan Shiyuan never showed any fear of the dark. To save on electricity bills at the welfare institute, he rarely even turned on the lights in his room.
Although the small town’s infrastructure was underdeveloped, the night sky was always brightly lit. If they wanted to read or play games, they would gather in the courtyard, bathed in the natural, luminous moonlight.
Yuan Shiyuan didn’t want to dwell on these negative memories, much less play the victim in front of the cameras. He brushed it off with a casual joke: “I just suddenly got scared of the dark. It’s nothing important. Why are you asking about it?”
He had intended to brush the topic aside, but Jiang Heng suddenly gripped his shoulder, gazing down at him with an intensely serious and complex expression.
“It is important,” Jiang Heng said. “Because you used to be fearless.”
“I always get the feeling… you’ve been through so much.”
They were currently on a break during the game, but the villa was covered in cameras, recording every word of their conversation.
As Yuan Shiyuan froze in shock, the danmaku went wild:
— This can’t be scripted, right? It can’t be?!
— Holy shit, is this some kind of childhood friends to lovers plot? Reuniting with your childhood friend after years apart, and now you’re in the same group?! KSWL!
“Oh no, oh no! JH Stock’s ranking is definitely going to skyrocket now!” [Screaming]
“JH Stock is currently third. I bet we can rally support and surpass the captain, maybe even dethrone the twins and seize the top spot!” [Excited]
Several pairs of eyes locked onto the two men.
Ying Mingche suddenly strode out of the shadows, forcefully wedging himself between them.
“Wow, what a coincidence! Jiang Heng turns out to be childhood friends with Princess Yuanyuan!”
“That’s definitely something to celebrate, but you can’t just forget about us newcomers just because you’ve reunited with an old friend, right?” Ying Mingche said with a sly smile, then wrapped his arms around Yuan Shiyuan’s waist, his tone tinged with feigned grievance. “We’ve been waiting for you inside for ages.”
Yuan Shiyuan glanced sideways at Ying Mingche, long since immune to these sudden embraces. He simply patted the arm circling his waist.
While reuniting with an old friend was certainly cause for joy, they were still filming a show. He quickly regained his composure. “You’re right.”
“It’s hot outside too. Let’s go inside now.”
Ying Mingche solicitously shielded Yuan Shiyuan from the sun. As they passed Jiang Heng, the smile in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, veiled hostility.
Jiang Heng calmly shifted his gaze and followed Yuan Shiyuan into the house.
The director finished tallying the bead counts and announced the rankings:
“Ranking from highest to lowest bead count: Yuan Shiyuan, Bo Jin, Pei Yanbing, Ying Mingche, Ying Mingxi, Jiang Heng.”
Ying Mingche sneered, “Looks like our childhood buddy isn’t pulling his weight. How’d he end up dead last?”
Yuan Shiyuan, expressionless, stuffed an apple slice into Ying Mingche’s mouth. He knew perfectly well why Jiang Heng was last—Jiang Heng had given almost all the beads he found to Yuan Shiyuan earlier.
From the start of the game, Bo Jin had been obsessively searching for beads, determined to redeem himself after his humiliating performance on the reality show Struggling to Survive, where his earnings had consistently ranked at the bottom.
The next moment, devastating news struck:
“Before we explain the new game rules, we need to divide into two teams. Team members will be assigned based on income ranking: the 1st, 3rd, and 5th highest earners form one team, while the 2nd, 4th, and 6th highest earners form the other.”
Having finally secured second place, Bo Jin was now forced onto the other team due to his high income. “Huh?”
“Wait, this team formation is completely unfair!” he protested. “Shouldn’t the top three earners form one team and the bottom three form the other?”
If we follow the director’s division, then Yuan Shiyuan, Pei Yanbing, and Ying Mingxi would be on one team, while Bo Jin, Ying Mingche, and Jiang Heng would be on the other.
Bo Jin objected, “Why split us into two teams? Scepter is an inseparable whole, a family. Why are you tearing us apart?”
“Director, please don’t break up our family. Thank you.”
— Scepter’s first real team spirit emerges… because they’re being separated from ○. [Facepalm]
— Little Yuan’s “I can’t even be bothered to explain” face is hilarious! LOLOLOL! So cute!
— I get their frustration though. Who wouldn’t want to be on ○’s team? If it were me, I’d throw a fit too.
— Poor Brother Huo! He spent the whole game frantically collecting beads, finally getting second place, thinking he could show off… only to be separated from Little Yuan. If he’d just found a few fewer beads, he’d have been third and on ○’s team! (。
— Found Brother Huo’s ID card! Come claim it quick! [Clown emoji]
The director seemed to be suppressing a laugh as he turned to Yuan Shiyuan. “Shiyuan, what do you think?”
Yuan Shiyuan glanced at Ying Mingche. “A temporary separation is for a better reunion. Just bear with it for now.”
“I have no objections,” he told the director, “I’ll follow the arrangements.”
“Then let me explain the rules of the game.”
“The game we’ll be playing next is ‘Cat and Mouse’. Currently, Yuan Shiyuan’s team has the highest earnings, so they’ll be the ‘Mice’.”
“The Mice get a 10-minute head start to find hiding places. They must avoid being caught by the Cat for half an hour, during which they can move freely. If a Mouse is caught, they must surrender half their beads to the Cat; if they remain uncaught, the Cat must give half their beads to the Mouse.”
Based on team earnings, Yuan Shiyuan, Pei Yanbing, and Ying Mingxi were confirmed as the hiding Mice, while Bo Jin, Ying Mingche, and Jiang Heng formed the hunting Cat Team.
Yuan Shiyuan raised his hand to ask, “So we should distribute our beads in advance, right? Concentrate as many beads as possible on teammates who are less likely to be caught.”
“Exactly, Shiyuan is very clever. If a caught player has few beads, surrendering half to the Cat Team won’t be a significant loss.”
Conversely, this “sacrificial Mouse” could serve as a decoy for the team, drawing the Cat’s attention. With few beads, being caught repeatedly wouldn’t matter, as long as the core team members remained hidden.
Yuan Shiyuan seemed to understand the situation perfectly. He draped his arms over the shoulders of Pei Yanbing and Ying Mingxi on either side, pulling the two Alphas closer.
He lowered his voice. “They’ll definitely target me first. Especially Ying Mingche—he’ll cling to me like a leech from start to finish… So we can’t keep too many beads on me.”
Yuan Shiyuan clearly knew Ying Mingche well.
Across the way, Ying Mingche immediately consulted with his team. “Let’s grab Princess Yuanyuan first.”
Bo Jin, already annoyed, snapped, “You just have to call him that, don’t you? Are you addicted to it?”
Ying Mingche shrugged dismissively. “What’s it to you? I like it.”
Jiang Heng, who had played hide-and-seek with Yuan Shiyuan countless times as children—a common game at the welfare institute—silently observed the opposing team.
He glanced calmly across the room. “He knows we’ll be after him. He won’t carry too many beads.”
“So what if he doesn’t?” Ying Mingche retorted nonchalantly, then smirked. “That’s not my real goal. As for how many beads he actually has…”
“I’ll just count them one by one after I catch him. Then we’ll know.”
In that brief exchange, both teams had revealed their initial strategies.
The director distributed communication devices and heart rate monitors. “The heart rate data connects to your mobile phones. Whether you’re on the Cat Team or the Mouse Team, if your heart rate fluctuates beyond the normal range for a short period, your approximate location will appear on the map, but your specific member information won’t be displayed. So, during the chase and escape, you’ll need to maintain a steady heart rate.”
“Alternatively, you can constantly provoke your opponents to raise their heart rates and reveal their positions.”
“Only by doing this can the Cat Team hunt more effectively, and the Mouse Team conceal themselves more successfully.”
Heart rate too?
Ying Mingche had once suffered the consequences of his heart rate betraying him. In Yuan Shiyuan’s presence, he couldn’t control it at all!
Fortunately, years of exercise and fitness training meant his heart rate wouldn’t spike too much during simple pursuit or searches.
“Director, can this data really be transmitted in real-time? Is it sensitive enough?” Ying Mingche worried the heart rate monitors might not be sensitive enough, potentially hindering his pursuit of Yuan Shiyuan.
“Try it and see,” the director replied.
After a moment’s thought, Ying Mingche turned away from the camera, snapped a photo of his abs, and sent it privately to Yuan Shiyuan.
Across the way, Yuan Shiyuan’s mobile phone buzzed. He tapped to open the message and saw a photo of Ying Mingche’s chiseled abs.
Speechless. Is Ying Mingche insane?
Yuan Shiyuan’s heart rate remained unchanged, and his location didn’t appear on the map.
Just as Ying Mingche was about to suggest there might be something wrong with the heart rate band, Yuan Shiyuan unexpectedly lifted the hem of his shirt in front of the camera, revealing his taut abdominal muscles.
As an S-rank with highly developed senses, his vision was exceptional. Not only could the two alphas sitting beside Yuan Shiyuan clearly see the lines of his muscles, but the three alphas across from him could discern every detail with perfect clarity.
Ying Mingche’s mind went blank, momentarily stunned.
The air hung still.
Five icons intermittently appeared on the map: two cartoon rat icons and three cartoon cat icons.
This meant that apart from Yuan Shiyuan, the heart rates of the remaining five Alphas had all exceeded normal levels.
Yuan Shiyuan calmly lowered his shirt, glanced at the map, raised an eyebrow slightly, and smirked.
“Looks like the heart rate band is still quite sensitive.”
Little Yuan’s abs… I’m gonna go wild and lick them all over!
Whoa, O just casually lifted his shirt in front of everyone like that? I’m shocked by how bold he is!
Wait a minute… is that a red mark on Little Yuan’s abs? Looks like a hickey. Am I seeing things? O.O
—+1, I really wanted to see it too, that super red mark. It looked like a hickey, freshly sucked…
—Okay, I admit it, the hickey on ○’s abs? I did that. [Smirking emoji]
They had only ten minutes to hide.
As the countdown began, Yuan Shiyuan and Pei Yanbing scrambled to find hiding spots within the villa.
“This villa is huge,” Yuan Shiyuan said, his head spinning from wandering. “My sense of direction isn’t great… Let’s not carry all the pearls yet. We should distribute some first.”
“Then I’ll draw the fire while you two hide properly.”
Yuan Shiyuan poured some of the pearls from his backpack into Pei Yanbing’s, then split the rest with Ying Mingxi.
Just as he was about to explore the rest of the villa to familiarize himself with the layout, Ying Mingxi suddenly called out.
“Shiyuan.”
“Hmm?”
Yuan Shiyuan turned his head, and Ying Mingxi gently pinched his chin, tilting it up.
Ying Mingxi lowered his gaze to meet Yuan Shiyuan’s eyes, then reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear, his fingertip lightly rubbing the corner of his eye.
“You got a little dust there,” Ying Mingxi said, offering a small bottle of mineral water. “This bottle is small and easy to fit in your backpack.”
Yuan Shiyuan grinned brightly and stashed the water in his bag—a perfect decoy to mimic the bulk of the pearls.
“Thanks, Brother Mingxi!”
As Yuan Shiyuan walked off in another direction, Pei Yanbing followed close behind.
“Captain, are you planning to hide here?” Yuan Shiyuan asked, his eyes fixed on the corner of Pei Yanbing’s eye. “Just now, there was no dust on your face.”
Ying Mingxi was lying.
Yuan Shiyuan dismissed the thought. “Maybe Brother Mingxi just misread it? Captain, why don’t you hide here? There’s a hidden wardrobe door! If you don’t look closely, it just looks like a wall.”
How could Ying Mingxi have misread it?
And even if he did, why would he make so many unnecessary gestures?
Pei Yanbing wanted to press further, but seeing Yuan Shiyuan’s complete absorption in the game, he glanced at the hiding spot Yuan Shiyuan had picked for him and said, “Alright, I’ll hide here.”
“Is it too small?”
After Pei Yanbing entered the wardrobe, the space was indeed cramped, with barely any room to spare.
But Yuan Shiyuan’s slender frame meant that if he sat on Pei Yanbing’s lap, they could just barely squeeze in.
“Captain, I’m going to head out now,” Yuan Shiyuan whispered. “Remember to keep an eye on our group chat. I’ll report the Cat Team’s locations there.”
“I’ll distract them. If things get dicey, remember to switch hiding spots immediately.”
In less than five minutes, both Pei Yanbing and Ying Mingxi had found hiding spots. Only Yuan Shiyuan was still wandering aimlessly through the villa.
He was exceptionally skilled at hide-and-seek, but playing it in the villa put him at a slight disadvantage—his sense of direction was poor, and he was mildly prone to getting lost.
Fortunately, while collecting pearls, Yuan Shiyuan had repeatedly crisscrossed the villa, carefully memorizing directions, routes, and the positions of different paintings, decorations, and ornaments.
As Yuan Shiyuan strolled leisurely through the villa, the ten-minute countdown was drawing to a close.
The Cat Team was on the move.
His mobile phone vibrated, and a message from Ying Mingche appeared: Yuanyuan Baby, all hidden and snug? 😉
Seeing the text version of “Baby” immediately gave Yuan Shiyuan goosebumps.
Even after differentiating into an Omega, he still couldn’t stand being called “Baby” by an Alpha.
Ying Mingche: I’ve already decided what I’ll do once I catch you.
Yuan Shiyuan: You’ll have to catch me first.
Ying Mingche: Oh? Look behind you. Who’s that behind you?
Yuan Shiyuan instinctively turned around and saw Ying Mingche approaching silently from the end of the corridor, beneath the chandelier. Noticing Yuan Shiyuan looking his way, Ying Mingche held up his phone, wiggled it playfully, and flashed him a mischievous grin.
Meanwhile, Jiang Heng was also slowly approaching from the other side.
Yuan Shiyuan reacted swiftly. He bolted for the staircase, braced his palm against the banister, and flipped over the railing, landing lithely below. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from sight.
His movements were so swift that even the cameraman filming him couldn’t keep up!
After chasing for what seemed like forever, Ying Mingche and Jiang Heng hadn’t even caught a glimpse of Yuan Shiyuan’s shadow. They stood bewildered, looking at Yuan Shiyuan’s cameraman, spinning in place.
– Little Yuan’s seriously fast, huh?!
– ○’s always been good at sports. I used to sneak over to the neighboring campus to watch him play basketball—so cool!
– The cameraman’s expression is the funniest part. Watching ○ disappear right under his nose, totally losing track of him. I’m dying of laughter.
As he ran, Yuan Shiyuan focused on steadying his breath and controlling his heart rate. Fortunately, his physical conditioning had always been excellent, and he had leveraged his agility and clever tactics to evade Jiang Heng and Ying Mingche’s pursuit.
He crouched in a corner behind a vase near the fireplace, strategically positioning himself to maintain visual coverage. From this vantage point, he could observe Bo Jin moving in the garden below and Jiang Heng pacing the corridor.
Ying Mingche’s exact location, however, remained unclear.
Yuan Shiyuan sent Ying Mingche a message: Why aren’t you posting your abs anymore?
Ying Mingche: Do you want to see them?
Yuan Shiyuan: Not really. Don’t bother.
Ying Mingche: What, afraid you’ll fall for me?
Yuan Shiyuan: No, they’re just too ugly.
Yuan Shiyuan: Hasn’t anyone ever told you? Your abs pics are seriously ugly, hideous, and eye-searingly awful.
Yuan Shiyuan: Don’t send them to me. I don’t want to see them.
A few seconds of silence from the other end, then a single: ?
Ying Mingche’s temper flared completely.
The map showed Ying Mingche’s location—perfect, on the second floor.
Mission accomplished, Yuan Shiyuan swiftly relayed the Cat Team’s positions to his teammates in the group chat while keeping an eye on Jiang Heng’s movements.
As Jiang Heng moved left, Yuan Shiyuan circled right. He even took a moment to wave and smile at the camera for his fans, all while casually finding more pearls along the way.
The third floor was small and almost completely exposed, with few places to hide. The Cat Team had likely scouted the area beforehand, focusing their attention primarily on the first and second floors, as well as the garden.
Pei Yanbing happened to be hiding on the third floor.
Clutching his newly acquired pearls, Yuan Shiyuan pushed open the hidden door, stirring up a cloud of fine dust.
The cabinet was pitch-black inside. As soon as Yuan Shiyuan squeezed in, a bone-chilling aura enveloped him.
“Captain, I’ve found so many more,” Yuan Shiyuan whispered, his lips almost brushing Pei Yanbing’s ear.
The cabinet was cramped, leaving little room to move. He could only kneel awkwardly beside Pei Yanbing’s leg, one hand braced against the wall, his waist arching downward in a slender curve.
Surrounded by darkness, Yuan Shiyuan felt a flicker of fear, but the presence of Pei Yanbing beside him kept him from being truly frightened.
He shifted slightly, his knee accidentally bumping against something solid.
Pei Yanbing let out a muffled groan.
“I’m sorry! Did I hit you somewhere?” Yuan Shiyuan quickly apologized, but a pair of large hands gripped his waist, lifted him up, and settled him firmly on Pei Yanbing’s lap.
“Sit like this. It’s more comfortable.”
“But won’t you be uncomfortable?” Yuan Shiyuan protested. He’d been running around earlier and was inevitably sweaty, and Pei Yanbing was such a clean freak…
“I won’t be uncomfortable,” Pei Yanbing assured him.
He could clearly feel the warmth radiating from Yuan Shiyuan’s body. The prolonged exertion had made Yuan Shiyuan’s scent even more fragrant and heated. With his excellent night vision, he could see Yuan Shiyuan’s chest rising and falling with each breath, the blush blooming on his face beneath the pink strands of hair.
Worried about being discovered, Yuan Shiyuan kept his breathing shallow and his movements restrained. He carefully transferred the beads, his soft fingertips accidentally brushing against the Alpha’s abdomen and fingers several times.
In the nearly sealed space, his fragrance filled Pei Yanbing’s nostrils without restraint.
So fragrant.
“Is there a camera in the closet? I don’t see one.”
“There’s a camera outside the room, but none inside. This hidden door is so well concealed that even the production team didn’t find it.”
Therefore, the closet they were in was completely free of cameras.
Now completely at ease, Yuan Shiyuan abandoned all pretense of composure. Knowing the fans couldn’t see him, he casually adjusted his posture, finding a comfortable position nestled in Pei Yanbing’s arms.
He continued lowering his head, slowly transferring the beads. He didn’t dare move too quickly, afraid of the beads clinking together or accidentally rolling onto the floor, which would alert anyone outside.
“I found so many!” Yuan Shiyuan exclaimed with a hint of triumph. “There were tons hidden behind the fireplace, and no one even noticed!”
At that moment, Yuan Shiyuan resembled a cat returning from a hunt, its jaws laden with prey, meticulously tucking its spoils into their cozy den.
Having no experience interacting with friends, Pei Yanbing instinctively praised, “That’s amazing.”
In the darkness, Yuan Shiyuan seemed to freeze for a moment, the corners of his lips curling upward in a hint of smugness.
“I’ll be going now.”
As Yuan Shiyuan lifted his head, his forehead bumped against the Alpha’s chin, the corner of his eye brushing against warm, thin lips.
He froze, momentarily stunned. Before he could react, a large hand clamped down on the back of his neck. Those thin lips, now inches from his eye, grazed the corner of his eye again, moving slowly back and forth.
What the—?
Yuan Shiyuan could clearly feel Pei Yanbing’s breathing grow ragged. Bewildered, he whispered, “Captain, are you… kissing me?”
Before he could get an answer, a danger signal flashed through his mind.
Something’s wrong! Pei Yanbing’s heart rate is skyrocketing! And high heart rates show up as precise locations on the map…
Yuan Shiyuan immediately shoved Pei Yanbing deeper into the cabinet. The next second, the door was abruptly yanked open halfway.
A large, bony hand snaked inside, clamped down on his ankle with pinpoint accuracy, and dragged him out.
Using the momentum to spring to his feet, Yuan Shiyuan slammed the cabinet door shut behind him. He looked up to meet three pairs of burning eyes.
“Princess Yuanyuan,” Ying Mingche said with a mocking bow. “Run.”
Yuan Shiyuan’s heart nearly stopped.
Thank God I reacted quickly! Getting caught will only cost me half my beads—a small loss.
The real prize was still with Pei Yanbing.
The immediate priority was to prevent them from discovering the other Mouse Team member hiding in the cabinet.
Fortunately, the heart rate fluctuation icon only indicated the presence of a Mouse Team member, without revealing their specific identity. Moments ago, only Pei Yanbing’s heart rate had fluctuated, but he had quickly regained composure. The Cat Team members had clearly mistaken the icon that popped up on the map for him.
“How did you even find this place?” Yuan Shiyuan feigned surprise, trying to distract them. “Are you cheating?”
“Your heart rate gave you away,” Ying Mingche said, tapping his mobile phone map. The heart rate fluctuation icon had already vanished. He grinned at Yuan Shiyuan’s slightly reddened, tear-rimmed eyes. “Didn’t expect to get caught, did you?”
Three against one—if they couldn’t catch him, they’d be utter failures.
“So you want half my beads?” Yuan Shiyuan pretended to be reluctant, haggling. “It’s not even been half an hour yet, right? How about another round? If you win, I’ll give you all the beads.”
“Just let me go this time, okay?” He gazed at the three Alphas with pleading, teary eyes, putting on a pitiful act of being backed into a corner.
“Another round?” Bo Jin said. “Sure, we’ll play, but not for the beads.”
Yuan Shiyuan deftly hooked his arm around Bo Jin’s and steered the Alphas out of the room, preventing them from discovering Pei Yanbing.
“You don’t want the pearls? What do you want then?”
“Agree to one thing,” they said, as if they had planned this in advance. “Let’s play another round. If we find you, you grant us a wish. If we don’t, we’ll give you all the pearls we have.”
Yuan Shiyuan pondered briefly before agreeing. “Alright.”
As they prepared for the new round of hide-and-seek, Yuan Shiyuan playfully shook his fist at Jiang Heng, feigning ferocity.
“Was this your idea?” he demanded. “You definitely know my favorite hiding spots.”
Yuan Shiyuan suddenly realized: could this be a trap set by the three of them together?
Jiang Heng didn’t deny it, chuckling softly. “Then you should find a new hiding place. Somewhere I don’t know.”
“You know I always find you in the end.”
Ever since they were children playing hide-and-seek, Jiang Heng had always managed to ferret out Yuan Shiyuan. With Jiang Heng’s analytical skills helping the others, his chances of being caught were high.
But what request could they possibly want to make?
If they didn’t want the pearls, what did they want?
With less than ten minutes remaining until the game’s end, Yuan Shiyuan only needed to hide for ten minutes—a seemingly easy task.
Behind a garden sculpture, Yuan Shiyuan constantly monitored the three Alphas’ positions. Bo Jin and Ying Mingche were both visible, while Jiang Heng had just come down from the second floor and, seemingly unable to find him, was now heading toward the garden.
He watched Jiang Heng exchange a few words with Bo Jin, then head around the back of the villa.
With all three Alphas’ positions confirmed, Yuan Shiyuan immediately circled around to the other side, preparing to do the opposite of what they expected: take the elevator back up to the third floor.
The most dangerous place is the safest place.
His mobile phone vibrated—a message from Ying Mingche: Princess Yuanyuan, where are you?
Another message followed immediately: Please, just tell me~
What a jerk.
Yuan Shiyuan: Useless trash, noob. [Middle finger emoji]
Ying Mingche replied instantly: Baby, do you really think you can still get away? ^^
With only two minutes left until the game’s end, Yuan Shiyuan refused to believe they could find him in such a short time. He deliberately avoided the stairs, leisurely watching the elevator ascend.
But Ying Mingche’s last message sent a sudden jolt through his heart.
He had confirmed the positions of all three Alphas. Jiang Heng had circled around to the back… but why had Jiang Heng circled around?
That direction seemed to lead to the stairwell entrance! And just a short distance away, the elevator entrance…
Was Jiang Heng planning to systematically search the stairwell floor by floor, observing which floor the elevator stopped at, and then waiting for it to halt?
Wherever the elevator stopped, he would stop too?
So right now, Jiang Heng… was just outside the elevator?
With a ding, the elevator reached the third floor. As the metal doors slowly slid open, Yuan Shiyuan’s pupils dilated sharply.
Jiang Heng stood just outside the elevator, slowly stepping inside. Yuan Shiyuan tried to slip out on the opposite side, but two tall figures suddenly blocked his path.
He instinctively recoiled, accidentally bumping into another scorching chest. Jiang Heng’s hand clamped down on his waist…
The three Alphas had completely sealed off all exits from the inside out. Ying Mingche entered the elevator, seized Yuan Shiyuan’s wrist, and pressed it against his cheek, slowly rubbing it.
Ying Mingche chuckled softly, “Got you.”
“So what are your demands?”
The game ended, and everyone regrouped. After Yuan Shiyuan recounted the entire sequence of events, Ying Mingxi and Pei Yanbing immediately turned their gazes toward Jiang Heng and the other two Alphas.
Ying Mingche grinned brilliantly. “It’s not an unreasonable request.”
“We just want to swap Yuan Shiyuan onto our team.”
Even the usually good-tempered Ying Mingxi’s expression turned cold.
Yuan Shiyuan immediately explained, “Just for one night—just one night! I only need to be on their team for one night. Tomorrow, we’ll be a team again.”
“I’ve let our team down.”
He hadn’t expected to stumble so badly, let alone that Jiang Heng would still understand his gaming habits so well after all these years. Yuan Shiyuan lowered his head and sighed. “I threw away my DPS.”
Pei Yanbing asked, “So tonight, you’re on their team?”
“Mhm,” Yuan Shiyuan replied. “But don’t worry, my body may be in Cao’s camp, but my heart remains with Han. Even if I’m lying in their bed, my thoughts will still be with you all.”
“After sleeping with them tonight, I’ll come back to you.”
“……”
This episode’s script was custom-made for my NTR fantasy.
Why does Little Yuan feel like a cuckolded wife selling herself to the enemy for her husband’s sake? [色]
What’s Little Yuan babbling about? This is way too suggestive! [怒]
“We’ve explained the backstory. Princess Yuanyuan, we’ll be taking you now.”
“Thank you for letting us have Princess Yuanyuan.”
Ying Mingche forcefully gripped Yuan Shiyuan’s wrist, about to pull him away when he met resistance.
Ying Mingxi, with a gentle smile, seized Yuan Shiyuan’s other wrist, blocking his twin from taking him. The identical faces locked eyes, sparking silent, electric tension.
At the same moment, Pei Yanbing stepped forward, positioning himself protectively in front of Yuan Shiyuan. His eyes, emotionless as a frozen lake, concealed turbulent currents beneath the icy surface.
“What if we refuse?”
In the end, no one slept with Yuan Shiyuan.
The livestream of the group variety show exploded in popularity, but just as it reached its peak, Pei Yanbing suddenly entered his susceptible period. The show was forced to shut down, and Yuan Shiyuan and the others were packed off back to their company dormitory.
Such sudden emergencies were not uncommon. No one could predict or control the special periods of Alphas and Omegas.
That night, Yuan Shiyuan went to bed early and slept soundly in his dormitory cot.
Bo Jin, who had just returned from working out, entered the dormitory to find a dim yellow lamp glowing on the opposite bunk. Yuan Shiyuan lay sleeping, his cheeks flushed pink and the corners of his eyes damp. Perhaps dreaming, his lips parted slightly, and he murmured unconsciously in his sleep, his breath escaping in warm, inviting puffs.
Even Bo Jin, merely observing, felt his own body heat rising.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he forced himself to look away, then lowered the dormitory temperature by two degrees.
Having just finished exercising, Bo Jin’s muscles were still engorged with blood, and blue veins stood out on his neck. He took a sip of water, his gaze drifting back to the opposite bunk.
He found himself instinctively looking at Yuan Shiyuan’s legs.
The legs, toned from exercise, had smooth, graceful lines and porcelain-white skin. They were pressed tightly against a plush toy, rubbing it back and forth, the slightly fleshy thighs trembling subtly.
Suddenly, as if seized by a nightmare, Yuan Shiyuan’s lower abdomen tensed violently.
The force with which he was clutching the plush toy suddenly intensified, jolting him awake with a muffled whimper. His flushed cheeks wore a dazed, confused expression as his hazy gaze met Bo Jin’s across the room.
“You…” It took him a moment to gather his wits. “What are you doing here?”
Bo Jin paused before replying in a slightly hoarse voice, “This is also my dormitory.”
“Oh… right.” Yuan Shiyuan nearly forgot that filming for the show had ended.
He still radiated the warmth of sleep, his light pink bangs damp and plastered unevenly against his temples and forehead. His entire body was damp, as if he had just been pulled from water.
The tall Alpha across the room shifted in his seat, finally seeming unable to bear it any longer.
He rose and approached Yuan Shiyuan’s bed, pulling the blanket up to cover the slightly sweaty legs.
“Have you noticed… you’ve been smelling stronger lately?”
“Hm…?”
Yuan Shiyuan was still half-asleep, his voice thick with sleepiness, even his response nasal.
Bo Jin stiffened slightly at the sound. He averted his gaze and said in a low voice, “Don’t keep taking those strange pills.”
Bo Jin had consulted experts and learned that these capsules typically only lasted twelve hours. The fragrance on Yuan Shiyuan was remarkably authentic, suggesting a high-quality formulation that extended its duration and lingered longer.
This quality is far too good.
The mere scent of it made Bo Jin’s body burn with feverish excitement. If he hadn’t been injecting highly concentrated suppressants regularly, he doubted he could resist Yuan Shiyuan’s pheromones and would have erupted into his susceptible period on the spot.
Even now, he felt painfully engorged and terribly uncomfortable.
Yuan Shiyuan kicked off the blanket with one foot, mumbled in response, and nuzzled his cheek against the plushie.
Still half-asleep?
Bo Jin lowered his gaze to those unfocused eyes, leaned down, and gently touched Yuan Shiyuan’s cheek with his fingertip. Yuan Shiyuan didn’t flinch; instead, he instinctively nuzzled into his palm.
A secret pleasure surged through Bo Jin. He narrowed his eyes slightly and whispered, “Want some late-night snacks? I’ll take a shower and go get some.”
“I’ll get some milk tea and fruit too, whatever you like.”
“Oh… oh.” Yuan Shiyuan considered for a moment. That sounds good.
His hunger was indeed intense right now.
The sound of the shower echoed from the restroom, mingling with the overpowering scent of S-rank alpha pheromones.
An unfamiliar heat began to burn deep in Yuan Shiyuan’s abdomen, crawling up his spine with a secret itch and an aching emptiness.
Recalling what he’d learned in sex education class, he was almost certain this was an Omega’s heat cycle.
But… it didn’t quite feel right?
A normal Omega in heat wouldn’t be this lucid. Even the S-rank Omega he’d encountered during a sudden heat cycle earlier had lost his senses, even begging him for a temporary mark.
Yet Yuan Shiyuan’s mind remained crystal clear. If anything, he was simply ravenously hungry.
The gnawing emptiness in his stomach had become impossible to ignore. He desperately craved something to fill the void.
Then he caught a whiff of Bo Jin’s S-rank alpha pheromones lingering in the air, and suddenly everything clicked into place.
What he craved wasn’t just a midnight snack, but… an S-rank alpha’s pheromones?
Yuan Shiyuan tilted his head back and sniffed, his brow furrowing with unmet longing. Merely inhaling the pheromones from a distance wasn’t enough; it was like scratching an itch through his boot, awakening an even more ferocious desire.
Not enough.
Nowhere near enough…
He needed more direct pheromone exchange and contact.
While Bo Jin was out buying a late-night snack, Yuan Shiyuan remained sprawled on the bed, his expression dazed and unfocused.
The sight instantly reminded Bo Jin of that afternoon in the lounge, when Yuan Shiyuan had been pinned to the flying chess board by another alpha, his eyes rolling back in ecstasy.
The cold shower Bo Jin had just taken proved utterly useless. He cursed himself under his breath, his face dark with frustration, then carefully closed the door and began considering what late-night snack to buy Yuan Shiyuan.
Yuan Shiyuan’s instincts screamed at him: Get out of the dormitory now! Bo Jin’s pheromones will only intensify your hunger and emptiness.
He slipped out immediately and texted Bo Jin: Going out for some air.
The night breeze finally cooled the feverish heat clinging to his skin.
Yuan Shiyuan dared not wander far, sticking close to familiar paths, terrified of getting lost in the dark.
His aimless wandering led him to Pei Yanbing’s music room.
Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I’ve been here.
The moment he unlocked the door with his fingerprint, the screen lit up, displaying a message. To his surprise, he discovered that only he and Pei Yanbing had access to the music room.
Yuan Shiyuan sat at the piano bench and tried playing a few notes to distract himself. Instead, his feverishness intensified, and a strange itch began to pulse deep in his abdomen.
Am I imagining things? he wondered. I think I can smell Pei Yanbing’s pheromones…
This was Pei Yanbing’s music room, so the lingering scent of his pheromones was only natural. But the pheromones were overwhelmingly potent; Yuan Shiyuan could even clearly sense the mating signals they carried.
Their compatibility was already astonishingly high. Once he picked up these mating signals, Yuan Shiyuan’s gland began to uncontrollably heat up, and his “little faucet” threatened to overflow.
Just then, Yuan Shiyuan heard a faint, almost imperceptible panting.
Following the sound, he was astonished to discover another hidden door in the music room!
After a moment’s hesitation, he reached out and pushed it open.
Behind the hidden door was a small bedroom. The bedsheets were perfectly smooth, without a single wrinkle, as if no one had slept there. Yet the pheromones in the air grew even more intense, carrying a frenzied, desperate energy.
As Yuan Shiyuan turned to leave, a sudden rustling came from the wardrobe. He took only half a step closer when the pheromones seeping through the wardrobe door crack struck him like a blast of arctic air from an unexpectedly opened freezer, nearly freezing him solid.
Immediately following were rapid, disordered breaths, punctuated by stifled moans of excruciating pain.
Yuan Shiyuan hesitated before slowly opening the closet door.
The bright moonlight streaming through the window cast stark, fragmented shadows across their bodies.
Inside the spacious closet, clothes hung neatly in rows. In the corner’s shadows, Pei Yanbing was curled into a tight ball, clutching several items tightly to his chest. With these meager possessions, he had built a precarious nest, carving out a small, private territory that belonged only to him.
The items were the handkerchief and socks Yuan Shiyuan had casually given him earlier, along with the coat he had worn to the event.
The moonlight illuminated Pei Yanbing’s flushed face as he buried his cheek into the handkerchief, as if drawing the last dregs of comfort from it. His eyes were vacant and unfocused, as if he were struggling violently within a hallucination.
Sensing Yuan Shiyuan’s presence, Pei Yanbing abruptly looked up.
Then, a tidal wave of uncontrolled pheromones surged forth, flooding the entire room with the raw, primal possessiveness of an Alpha, completely overwhelming Yuan Shiyuan.