What's Wrong with This Alpha? - Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Jealousy

“I’m awake! I’m awake! I’m awake!” Duan Yi jumped up straight, looking around quickly.

Jiang Wangshu gave a thumbs-up. “Amazing! You can sleep standing? Do you know what Old He’s face looked like when he came to make you read your apology and found you sleeping down there?”

Duan Yi yawned. “Did he think I mastered some super martial art?”

Jiang Wangshu sighed and shook his head. “He thought you were hopeless. Ruined. Like mud that can’t be shaped. Next week’s criticism report will definitely include your morning meeting sleeping incident.”

Duan Yi’s many great achievements made him ignore this.

He looked confused at his previous spot, thinking, Why do I remember leaning on someone while sleeping?

After the morning meeting, Duan Yi hurried to copy homework.

At that moment, Duan Yi was grateful he’d chosen science. A few options and numbers copied quickly. He didn’t write the big questions at all. If he did, it would cause problems. No teacher would believe Duan Yi could solve big questions.

At the same time, he was also grateful to Dad.

The only reason Duan Yi could stay in Third Year Class 1 with such bad grades was because his dad provided 70% of Hangzhou Second High School’s funding.

That’s how the life of rich people is—so selfish, boring, and dull.

After copying, Jiang Wangshu took back his homework book and said the same thing, “Good thing I didn’t choose liberal arts. You’d never finish copying in time. One subject could make you fail—I’m talking about politics.”

Duan Yi, done copying, wanted to sleep. Jiang Wangshu nudged him, “Why do you sleep all day? Comrade Duan, there’s less than 200 days left until the high school exam! Aren’t you nervous?”

Duan Yi: “The ones who should be nervous are Mom Duan and Dad Duan. I’m not nervous, but I want to sleep.”

While talking, Duan Yi pulled out a blanket from his drawer, wrapped himself tightly, put on an eye mask, and collapsed on the desk.

Jiang Wangshu: “You’re well-equipped for school.”

Duan Yi mumbled a soft “Mm,” the eye mask saying: Handsome sleeps first.

When he lay down, half the blanket fell to the ground, exposing the blue-white school uniform on his back. A black pen had written five big words, “Ad space for rent.”

Below were many rows of small letters, each with ugly handwriting in different colors,  “Senior 2 Class 1 Jiang Wangshu seeks girlfriend. Call 189xxxxxxxx”, “Xiao Le game training—guaranteed results in 3 days. Add WeChat 125xxxx”, “Homework copying, food delivery, seat saving. Call out ‘Hao Shanshan’ three times”, “Everyone has weak moments. Just learn to hide them. You can’t see…”

The last line looked old, probably written during freshman year. The ink had faded.

The Chinese teacher Yu Wenshu said, “Stop sleeping! Class is starting. Who’s the class cleaner? You know class is starting but didn’t erase the board? Class President, come up and erase it. We’ll do a quick writing test before class. Did you memorize last night’s homework?”

Yin Xing wiped the board half-heartedly with a wet cloth.

Dozens of students below quickly buried their heads in their desks, pretending to study hard.

Yu Wenshu laughed coldly, hands behind his back. “I’ll call on those with their heads down! I’ll call whoever I see looking down.”

Jiang Wangshu immediately lifted his head.

“Jiang Wang—Duan Yi, come up and write from memory.”

He first called Jiang Wangshu, but halfway through the name saw Duan Yi sleeping so deeply he changed his mind.

Jiang Wangshu put his hands together. “Amitabha Buddha, Miss Duan, you’ve just saved a life today—better than building seven-tiered pagodas.”

Yu Wenshu raised his head slightly. “Wake him up.”

Jiang Wangshu pushed Duan Yi. “Hey, handsome, wake up and party!”

Nothing happened.

Jiang Wangshu took a deep breath and whispered in Duan Yi’s ear, “Class is over.”

Duan Yi instantly woke up, stood up by reflex, walked to the back door, and even turned off the classroom lights.

The whole class was silent: …

Yu Wenshu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Duan Yi, where are you going? Come up and write!”

Duan Yi looked confused, his expression very cute. The class girls instantly turned into motherly fans and gasped.

He said, “Huh?”

Yu Wenshu’s gaze fell on Jiang Wangshu, who used his textbook to cover himself.

Yu Wenshu scanned the class and called out, “Sheng Yunze, come up.”

“Oh—” Jiang Wangshu led the jeers. “Teacher Yu sure knows how to pick.”

The class immediately erupted in “oh-oh-oh” chants, driving Duan Yi crazy. He suddenly kicked Jiang Wangshu’s desk. “Oh you big dummy! Oh!”

Ever since Old He caught them holding hands, the class had been looking at them through colored glasses.

Unfazed by the jeers, Sheng Yunze walked to the front without changing expression.

Duan Yi had just woken up, still half-asleep. He hadn’t memorized anything for the dictation and didn’t even know what to write.

The first half of the sentence was already on the blackboard.

To stop Duan Yi, that sneaky troublemaker, from copying, he and Sheng Yunze were given different sentences to write.

Duan Yi’s:

“Indigo comes from the blue plant, but it’s bluer than the plant.”

“A teacher doesn’t need to be wiser than the student, and a student doesn’t need to be worse than the teacher.”

“Facing the blue sky, ______________?” Zhuangzi asked this question.”

Sheng Yunze’s:

“The world’s praise doesn’t make him work harder.”

“A teacher exists to…”

“In ancient poems, many famous lines use “wind and rain” to express feelings, such as…”

The rest of the class silently recited Xunzi’s “Encouragement to Learn” in full.

Sheng Yunze quickly finished his perfect answer but didn’t leave.

Duan Yi stood at the podium, scratching his head and signaling frantically to Hao Shanshan. She mouthed wildly, but Yu Wenshu caught her in the act.

“Keep telling him, and I’ll deduct points.”

Hao Shanshan fell silent.

With no one to rely on, Duan Yi had to depend on himself.

His eyes burned with intensity as he wrote with god-like speed. After finishing on the podium, he tossed the chalk and walked down without looking back.

A real man never checks his test paper.

His writing read:

“Indigo comes from blue, yet is deeper than blue.”

“True.”

“A teacher needn’t be wiser than the student; a student needn’t be inferior to the teacher.”

“True.”

“Facing the azure sky, I slowly form a question mark. Zhuangzi made this sound.”

Third Year Class 1’s laughter nearly lifted the roof.

Yu Wenshu marked a big X and demanded rewrites. Duan Yi couldn’t improve his answers, so he simply added “To be fair” before each “True.”

Duan Yi was proudly sent to stand in the hallway by the angry Yu Wenshu.

His lonely figure was deeply etched in his classmates’ eyes. Duan Yi thought angrily, I’m already standing outside anyway. Why make me write it down first? Just going through the motions? Might as well skip that step!

Sheng Yunze’s desk was by the hallway window. When Duan Yi stepped out, he ended up standing right next to him.

He stole a glance at Sheng Yunze. The “school beauty’s” desk was just like all other third-year students’—piled high with reference books. On top lay Second High School’s group-purchased review materials, covered in circles.

Unlike Duan Yi’s messy desk, Sheng Yunze’s test papers were neatly organized.

Duan Yi would throw away each paper after writing on it. During class, he’d drag his small stool around looking for someone to share a desk. His desk drawer yielded only half-used papers—the other halves torn off to make paper airplanes or pass notes in class.

“Hey, hey… Miss Sheng… Old Sheng…”

Sheng Yunze kept his eyes glued to the blackboard, refusing to look at him. But he answered, “I’m younger than you.”

“Okay, okay, Xiao Sheng, Xiao Sheng.”

In truth, Sheng Yunze was only three months younger than him. Duan Yi was born in June, while Sheng Yunze came in September—a Virgo, the most difficult zodiac sign to deal with.

Duan Yi whispered, “I didn’t mean to do that night. I had my reasons.”

He was referring to taking advantage of the chaos to touch Sheng Yunze.

Of course, he said this with clear guilt.

Because after touching Sheng Yunze, his pheromones were indeed calmed.

Sheng Yunze had been unhappy since their last group fight together. Duan Yi couldn’t figure out why.

To be honest, even after being married to Sheng Yunze for over ten years, he still hadn’t really understood this person.

Moreover, in reality, his memories of the parallel world’s Sheng Yunze were becoming blurrier. For a moment, he couldn’t tell who was the real him.

Duan Yi had told Sheng Yunze about the sneaky system in his body controlling him—usually hidden, but causing trouble at critical moments. Sheng Yunze didn’t believe him.

If he said it again, Sheng Yunze might call the police and have him arrested.

Besides, the system’s activation pattern was unpredictable. Since it hadn’t caused real harm yet, Duan Yi decided to let it be and quickly treated it as a minor issue.

Yu Wenshu stopped teaching and warned him, “Duan Yi, don’t let your laziness affect others’ chances to get into Tsinghua or Peking University. Face the wall and stand still.”

Duan Yi reluctantly turned around, dragging out his words in complaint, “I’m—standing—right—here—”

The moment Yu Wenshu looked away, Duan Yi immediately started bothering Sheng Yunze, “Commander, Commander, pay attention to me! I’m really sorry.”

Sheng Yunze raised an eyebrow.

Duan Yi gave him a puppy-dog blink.

“If you really want to apologize, stop bothering me. Use your brain for studying instead. I’m afraid you’ll drag down my IQ,” Sheng Yunze said harshly.

Duan Yi slumped on the windowsill, “Not everyone’s as smart as you. I just don’t like studying and can’t understand it.”

Sheng Yunze thought there was some truth in his words.

Mainly because Duan Yi looked like a puppy when he slumped like that. When Sheng Yunze ignored him, his “puppy tail” drooped, unable to wag.

So Sheng Yunze opened a reference book. Though he didn’t look at Duan Yi, his tone was surprisingly gentle, “If you want to learn, you can understand. If you have questions, you can ask me. Though teaching you might shorten my life—”

He turned around, but Duan Yi was already gone from the windowsill.

“Hahaha, really? Why didn’t you bring me? I’ve never been there.”

Duan Yi had somehow moved to Class 2’s door, getting into a heated argument with someone.

“Are you doing self-study? Do you have headphones? I got sent out for standing punishment. Basic stuff. Wanna play basketball this afternoon? No, no…”

He was well-liked. In the whole hallway, every class’s troublemakers were his buddies.

Duan Yi looked at Sheng Yunze, his eyes lighting up. He ran over, “Someone from Class 2 just called me. What did you say earlier? Say it again?”

Sheng Yunze looked at him expressionlessly, “Duan Yi.”

“Mm-hmm, what?” Duan Yi listened carefully.

“You’re really annoying,” Sheng Yunze said coldly.

Duan Yi: =口=!

“Never expect me to accept your apology,” Sheng Yunze added sharply.

“I don’t get it.” Duan Yi rushed to the cafeteria, still out of breath.

A long line formed outside the milk tea shop. He stood in line, pouring his heart out, “Xiao Jiang, I already apologized. Why is your brother-in-law still so mean to me?”

Sheng Yunze’s nickname got updated again during their discussion.

Jiang Wangshu stared at the milk tea, eyes wide, “Don’t overthink it, sis. Maybe your husband just plain hates you, weirdo.”

Duan Yi: “I warn you once—take back those words now.”

Jiang Wangshu waved his meal card, “Me next! Me next! Let’s discuss relationship problems later. Food comes first!”

The infamous “Getting Tricked Every Time” milk tea shop at Second High School—closed 365 days a year, teetering on collapse.

Its unique blend of industrial sweetener and cheap milk powder created Second High’s special jasmine milk tea flavor. Students called it “Random Mix,” making them crave it despite themselves.

One sip—utterly disgusting.

Yet they kept coming back for more.

Endless self-torture, completely brainwashed by the jasmine milk tea. Getting tricked every time, just like the shop’s name.

At lunchtime, the line outside the shop was always the longest and hardest to join.

Jiang Wangshu swiped his meal card—balance empty.

Duan Yi went to buy milk tea. He reached into his pocket and realized he didn’t have his meal card.

Jiang Wangshu took a sip of his “Random Mix” drink and shrugged. “Can’t help you there.”

Beep. Nan Yi swiped his card for Duan Yi. “My treat.”

Duan Yi complained, “Why are you being so nice?”

Nan Yi held a tray. “Where are you eating lunch?”

Duan Yi waved. “Not in the cafeteria. Thanks, I’ll treat you next time.”

He tore open the straw as he walked.

The cafeteria was crowded. Even if Nan Yi wanted to talk more, he couldn’t keep up with Duan Yi’s fast pace.

Duan Yi disappeared into the crowd.

“What are you drinking?”

As they left the cafeteria, they ran into Sheng Yunze.

He’d come slowly to eat, which wasn’t smart. At Second High School, if you run slow, you can’t get good food. Latecomers only get leftovers.

Duan Yi asked, “Why are you so late?”

Sheng Yunze said coldly, “I came early to see you playing out old feelings in the cafeteria.”

Duan Yi bit his straw, embarrassed like he’d been caught sneaking around. “Oh, Nan Yi? I just ran into him. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

He thought, Why should I be embarrassed?

Sheng Yunze frowned at the “Random Mix” drink. “Can humans drink this? Won’t it kill us?”

Duan Yi said, “It tastes okay. Want to try?”

Sheng Yunze snapped, “I don’t want to die.”

Duan Yi thought, I don’t want to be a widow either!

Then he thought, What’s the difference between being a widow and this?

Duan Yi said, “Drink it or waste it.” He held up the drink. “I’m broke. Nan Yi bought it. If you don’t want it, I won’t give it to you. Hmph.”

He took a sip through the straw and made a happy face. “Yum!”

Then he teased Sheng Yunze in a childish way, “Want some? Want some?”

Sheng Yunze: …

He suddenly bent down, lowered his head, and bit down on the straw in Duan Yi’s hand.

A cold scent like frost and the lavender smell from Duan Yi’s laundry detergent hit his nose all at once. Duan Yi’s legs went weak, and he froze.

—So close.

Gulp gulp gulp gulp gulp gulp… Sheng Yunze drank the milk tea expressionlessly.

By the time Duan Yi reacted, the milk tea was gone.

Sheng Yunze lifted his head with a deadpan face. “Ugh, it’s disgusting.”

After a moment, he added, “The milk tea your boyfriend bought is really poisonous. I can tell you’re walking on a tightrope for love.”

Duan Yi finally came back to his senses, looking at the milk tea he’d waited in line for hours to drink just one sip of… =口=! Damn it!

“Aaaahhhh!!!!”

He instantly lost it, fists flying as he started pounding on Sheng Yunze.

“Give me back my milk tea! Give it back!! You bastard! Bastard! Bastard!! I only had one sip!!!”

Then he switched tactics and began violently shaking Sheng Yunze by the shoulders.

Sheng Yunze calmly stopped him, “Okay.”

Duan Yi froze mid-motion, “Huh?”

He hadn’t expected Sheng Yunze to actually agree to such a ridiculous demand.

Normally, the School Flower Sheng would just turn around coldly and leave him with a chillier-than-winter back view.

And sure enough, Sheng Yunze did turn around. But he tossed back a line.

“Pig, come with me before I change my mind. Otherwise, I’m not buying it.”

Duan Yi dazedly followed him up a few steps, but his legs suddenly gave out, and his face planted on flat ground.

Sheng Yunze caught him steadily and looked down at him. “Trying to fake an injury for compensation?”

Duan Yi instantly leapt away, face flushed red. “No way! Hurry up and buy it already, I still need to pick up my takeout.”

He suddenly got angry, shouting, “Why did you call me a pig?!”

Sheng Yunze: “You drank a milk tea after eating at the cafeteria, and you’re getting takeout next. What else would you be if not a pig?”

Duan Yi thought he hadn’t eaten much, but after Sheng Yunze’s reminder—he realized he might have eaten too much after all!

Flushing red, he explained, “I didn’t have breakfast…”

Then added, a bit angry, “Oh, I get it now. You like pork spare ribs.”

Sheng Yunze didn’t answer.

After a moment, he suddenly said, “I like meaty things.”

But the cafeteria’s loud voices drowned out his words in the hall.

Duan Yi didn’t hear at all.

Author’s Note:

Ex-husband: I like meaty things

Xiaoduan eats a lot = meaty = likes Xiaoduan

Xiaoduan isn’t fat, but soft [pushes glasses]