What's Wrong with This Alpha? - Chapter 24

Chapter 24 – Showing Off

“Why does this feel so wrong…” Jiang Wangshu said, feeling stressed.

Duan Yi didn’t notice the strange tension between the two. He told Nan Yi, “Go back.”

A small smile appeared on Sheng Yunze’s face, his eyes shifting slightly, looking pleased.

His smile lasted less than two seconds. Duan Yi looked at Nan Yi and said naturally, “I’ll come find you later.”

Sheng Yunze’s smile, which could only be measured with a protractor, froze on his face.

Duan Yi still didn’t realize he’d said something wrong.

Now it was Nan Yi’s turn to look pleased. His smile grew wider, showing a clear challenge in his eyes.

He glanced at Sheng Yunze before looking back at Duan Yi. “Okay, I’ll call you.”

Then he bent down, putting one hand on Jiang Wangshu’s shoulder. In a mysterious way, he whispered, “Keep an eye on Sheng Yunze for me.”

Jiang Wangshu didn’t understand. “Why? Comrade Nan, do you need to talk so close? We spies don’t use fancy political words.”

Nan Yi said, “Stop pretending you don’t know. Can’t you see what Sheng Yunze feels for Duan Yi?” 

Jiang Wangshu advised him, “Don’t make up stories about double A relationships. Stop seeing them everywhere, okay? The school beauty and Duan Yi have the purest friendship. Also, since you’ve become an Alpha, stop bothering Xiaoduan. There are plenty of others out there…”

Nan Yi said, “I won’t. Just keep an eye on Sheng Yunze for me. Don’t let Duan Yi be alone with him. Got it? If anything happens between them, you’ll get a beating.”

Jiang Wangshu said, “Damn… Can I even stop this? If I could, I would’ve stopped your early romance with Duan Yi centuries ago!”

Nan Yi stood up. “Duan Yi, I’m leaving!”

He waved.

Duan Yi was busy counting people with Sister Ma. He waved back half-heartedly. “Go go go.”

Nan Yi said, annoyed, “You’re being too dismissive. In elementary school, you used to call me big brother.”

Duan Yi said, “I called you little sister! You’re only a few months older. Did you also expect me to call you little brother? Why don’t you mention how in kindergarten you called me dad?”

Nan Yi stared at Sheng Yunze, showing off his decade-long friendship with Duan Yi. After his show, he really left.

“Hey, Commander Sheng, did you get your number?” Sister Ma pulled a number tag from under a crumpled, scribbled table. Seeing Sheng Yunze’s dark expression, she lowered her voice, “You’re with President Duan’s group. You two should go together for registration.”

Jiang Wangshu was tearing his booklet—a free women’s health guide that came with Zhiyin magazine. After removing the cover, he tore each page into four pieces and handed them to classmates who hadn’t signed up for events.

“Teacher’s order: write at least five news reports each. One report equals two points. You can earn back all those points you lost for eating snacks in class, talking in dorms, or getting named in records. Hurry up and write.”

In no time, Jiang Wangshu’s small papers were gone.

In Third Year Class 1’s spectator area, some borrowed pens while others checked materials.

Jiang Wangshu had earlier gone to the teacher’s office and pulled out five pages of good sports meet reports from the internet. He handed them to Pingtou: “Remember not to copy the same ones.”

Then he turned to Sister Ma, “Sis, later show them the sports event schedules. Make sure they don’t copy the wrong events. Last year, when Duan Yi ran the 1500, Jian Qiao copied a standing long jump report for him. It was school-wide news, and their names are still on the forum. What a shame.”

“Okay, I’ll send a handwritten copy later. Where’s Hao Shanshan? She knows the deputy director of the broadcast station, right? Have her announce more for our class. We’ll get more group bonus points and not let Class 2 surpass us.”

“She has the standing long jump this morning. I’ll talk to her when she returns.”

Duan Yi stole a glance at Sheng Yunze’s number tag. “Are you with me this afternoon? I left my watch with you. I can’t check the time.”

Sheng Yunze, still angry, spoke sharply, “Don’t you have a phone?”

Stung by the retort, Duan Yi asked, “What’s wrong? Bad mood?”

“No.” Sheng Yunze put the number tag in his pocket, sat down, and zipped his uniform all the way up. He pulled his cap over his eyes to sleep.

Duan Yi told the teacher about the remaining tasks, then sat next to Sheng Yunze and nudged his leg. “Hey, really mad?”

Sheng Yunze ignored him.

Duan Yi took an orange from the class snack box, peeled it with effort, and offered half to Sheng Yunze.

“Here’s an orange. Don’t be mad. We don’t have class today. Enjoy the day.”

Sheng Yunze lifted his cap slightly, glancing sideways at Duan Yi.

His way of looking at people was actually quite attractive. The corners of his eyes were slightly upturned, full of attack and aggression.

“You still won’t eat? Waiting for me to feed you?” Duan Yi changed the subject.

Sheng Yunze provoked him, “Try it.”

Duan Yi: ……

He suddenly stuffed half an orange into Sheng Yunze’s mouth. The force nearly made Sheng Yunze fall off his chair. With half an orange in his mouth, he silently glared at Duan Yi.

Duan Yi complained, “Eat it. Missy attitude. Still want someone to serve you?”

Jiang Wangshu squeezed in, “Where’d you get the oranges? Give me one.”

Duan Yi looked up. Jiang Wangshu already pulled out several from the snack box. Pingtou pushed in, rummaging through like a bear. He found Jiang Wangshu had taken the last few oranges and given them out.

Jiang Wangshu ate half an orange. Pingtou asked if there were more. Jiang Wangshu pointed at his mouth, “Just this half.”

He took out the half-eaten orange, still with bite marks.

Duan Yi ate his half of the orange, finding it too sour. He didn’t want to eat it anymore. After chewing for a while, he put it on his hand, feeling sticky. He planned to find a trash bin to throw it away.

Before throwing it, he asked Sheng Yunze, “Want more?”

Sheng Yunze: “You can’t finish it?”

Duan Yi: “It’s too sour. I don’t want it.”

Sheng Yunze took it without thinking. “Give me.”

Just as he bit into it, he saw Pingtou standing there with arms crossed, staring at Jiang Wangshu in shock, like he was looking at an alien.

“You want me to eat half the orange you’ve already bitten? Gross! There’s your spit on it! I tell you, men only eat leftovers from their wives!”

…Suddenly, Sheng Yunze found it hard to swallow that bite.

Duan Yi froze, looking at Sheng Yunze. “Um… are you still eating it?”

Sheng Yunze swallowed the last bite without expression. “You ask after I’m done?”

Duan Yi: =口=!

Damn! It’s not like I made you eat it! I was just being polite!

What’s your problem? You think my spit is gross?

Fuck! You’ve eaten plenty of leftovers anyway!

He only roared in his head.

Sheng Yunze had eaten many leftovers from Duan Yi before. After they got married, they often ate each other’s leftovers. So Duan Yi’s question was just a habit.

He never thought Sheng Yunze would actually eat it!

Eating leftovers from the school beauty, Duan Yi suddenly felt important. I’m the first person in Second High School history to do this.

Duan Yi took out wet wipes from his bag to clean his hands and tossed a pack to Sheng Yunze.

As he stood up, Sheng Yunze suddenly asked, “Are you going to find Nan Yi?”

“Nope,” Duan Yi replied. “I’m writing a communication report. I don’t have to run this afternoon anyway. I’ll write something touching about Hao Shanshan’s standing long jump.”

He ripped out a whole page from Jiang Wangshu’s notebook, using the entire A4 sheet to write. Jiang Wangshu cried out in pain.

Sheng Yunze suddenly felt uneasy. “What are you writing for Hao Shanshan?”

“Just copying a section,” Duan Yi said. “I wrote similar things for Jiang Wangshu and others before. We’re in the same class.”

Sheng Yunze made a dismissive sound in his mind. He remembered being in different classes with Duan Yi during his first and second years of high school, even in different buildings.

Then he recalled not being in the same middle school either, and thoughts of his early unrequited love with Nan Yi came to mind.

Looking at Duan Yi’s paper, he felt increasingly annoyed and coldly commented, “Dog’s writing.”

Sheng Yunze’s writing had won national calligraphy awards. Duan Yi’s ears burned from his teasing.

“I don’t make a living from writing.”

“How many did you write?” Sheng Yunze asked.

“Just four. I gave Jiang Wangshu one for our class, and I wrote for Hao Shanshan and you too.”

When hearing he was included, Sheng Yunze made a satisfied sound, feeling better.

“What about the last one?” Sheng Yunze asked.

“For Nan Yi,” Duan Yi said without turning his head.

Sheng Yunze’s face darkened. “Why write for him? He’s a second-year student.”

“Just because…” Duan Yi said, sounding confused. It wasn’t tiring to write one more anyway. Besides, Nan Yi had annoyed him for several nights, bombarding him with WeChat messages and QQ messages until Duan Yi gave in.

As soon as Duan Yi put down the pen, Sheng Yunze grabbed the tip.

“Don’t write for him,” he said coldly. “Let me remind you—our teacher said our class must get the most moral education points this year.”

Moral education points are extra points given at the sports meet. First place gets 16 points, second place gets 8 points, third place gets 4 points. Points go to the athlete’s class. Each time a class is mentioned in the announcements, they get 2 points.

Last year, Class 2 got the most moral education points—216 points.

Sheng Yunze’s voice was very bossy.

Duan Yi rubbed his nose. “If I don’t write, I don’t write…”

As class president, writing a report for another class did make him feel a bit guilty.

He mumbled, “I don’t see you being so proud of your class either. Why are you bringing this up today?”

Sheng Yunze suddenly changed his mind. “If you want to write, you can.”

Duan Yi felt there was some trick.

Sheng Yunze: “But you have to promise me one thing.”

Duan Yi: “What thing?”

Sheng Yunze: “Let’s make a bet.”

Duan Yi got excited. “Bet on what?”

Sheng Yunze: “The 1000-meter race this afternoon. If you win, I’ll promise you one thing. If you lose, you have to promise me something.”

Duan Yi was shocked at first, then got very happy: Wow! Is this real? If I win against Sheng Yunze, can’t I ask him for his pheromones openly?

He tried to stay calm and not get too excited. “What do you want me to promise?” he asked. “It better not be too crazy. What if you make me run naked around the playground?”

Sheng Yunze made a disgusted face. “I’m not into that kind of thing.”

Duan Yi: “Can’t you stop teasing me now?”

Sheng Yunze was quiet for a moment. “If I win, you have to call me ge in front of the whole school.”

Duan Yi: ?

What kind of demand is this? That’s too easy!

Is he trying to pull some kind of trick on me?

Duan Yi felt he could call him right now. Not just “ge”, but “Gege”, “Husband”, “Darling”… He could come up with so many nicknames that Sheng Yunze wouldn’t even need to complete this bet.

Come on! What haven’t I called him in bed? I’ve said things way more embarrassing than this!

Duan Yi thought high school Sheng Yunze was too innocent. He couldn’t understand how he became so stuffy later.

Sheng Yunze: “You didn’t let me finish.”

Duan Yi thought, How can such a simple thing take so long to explain? Then he heard Sheng Yunze continue: “I want you to shout it in front of the whole school.”

Duan Yi: …=口= Husband, I really underestimated you.

Sheng Yunze patted his shoulder and left the frozen Duan Yi behind. “Think about it carefully.”

Then he walked down from the audience seats.

The Disciplinary Committee Chairman saw him come and greeted him warmly, “Sheng-ge, you’re here to see us?”

Sheng Yunze nodded calmly, “I’m checking how well you’ve mastered your work.”

The chairman laughed heartily, “Of course! We got some new freshmen this year. They’re all busy down there. Sheng-ge, I’ll show you around!”

Sheng Yunze had been thinking the same thing, but the chairman was puzzled. Why would Sheng-ge come check my work under this blazing sun? Isn’t he the laziest one? He used to refuse even if we begged… Did the sun rise from the west today?

He kept these thoughts to himself.

After taking a few steps, Sheng Yunze suddenly rolled up his sleeves.

Two layers of school uniform? Anyone else would look like an idiot. But Sheng Yunze’s handsome face makes it look stylish, like a fashion magazine photo.

The chairman quickly agreed, “It’s already November, but the sun’s still burning hot!”

Sheng Yunze moved his wrist to stretch. His watch glinted in the sunlight, “Mm. Buy some water for them.”

The chairman nodded eagerly. Then he noticed the watch, “Sheng-ge, you changed your watch today…”

The watch cost about the same as Sheng Yunze’s usual one, but it looked different. Anyone who knew him would see the difference right away.

Sheng Yunze seemed to realize this too, and he gave a perfect “oh, I see” look.

His face still looked the same, but the Disciplinary Committee Chairman could sense a bit of smugness.

Sheng Yunze said casually, “You mean this? It’s not mine. It’s Duan Yi’s.”

The Disciplinary Committee Chairman was confused. “Duan Yi? Why does Duan Yi’s watch end up with you, Sheng-ge…?”

Sheng Yunze was in a good mood today and asked, “Does it look nice?”

The Disciplinary Committee Chairman said, “It looks nice, but it’s Duan Yi’s watch…”

He couldn’t figure out why Duan Yi’s things would be on Sheng Yunze.

Sheng Yunze, feeling happy, walking around showing off the watch.

The watch was like a sign saying “I own this,” making it very noticeable.