What's Wrong with This Alpha? - Chapter 29

Chapter 29 – No Way

Duan Yi shoved Jiang Wangshu aside and turned to Sheng Yunze. “Don’t mind them.”

Ever since Sheng Yunze joined their class, everyone had discovered that the legendary “untouchable flower” wasn’t as cold and aloof as they’d imagined. Gradually, their boldness grew. Led by Duan Yi, they became increasingly disrespectful toward Commander Sheng.

Duan Yi realized this wasn’t a good sign. And now they were trying to get Sheng Yunze to look at porn movies?

He was about to say, “Sheng Yunze’s already got two kids. He’s probably got more bedroom experience than all of us put together. How could he possibly be interested in your amateur stuff?”

But when he turned around, he saw Sheng Yunze’s pale, beautiful face—that face that seemed to radiate superiority.

If you looked closely, you could see a hint of stiffness in his expression.

Suddenly, Duan Yi realized something.

Sheng Yunze is still in high school.

Has Sheng Yunze ever looked at porn movies before?

Duan Yi froze for a moment, but Jiang Wangshu had already explained their purpose.

In an instant, Sheng Yunze’s expression changed.

Pingtou felt a wave of murderous intent pass over him. Being the first to sense danger, he whispered, “Forget it. Asking Commander Sheng to look at porn movies? Are we looking for death?”

Duan Yi saw Sheng Yunze’s normal reaction and let out a sigh of relief.

Of course, how could he possibly agree to watch porn with Jiang Wangshu?

Sheng Yunze, that face-conscious chuunibyou, would only secretly watch it himself.

Duan Yi turned and confiscated Jiang Wangshu’s phone. “Watching porn in this sacred hall of learning? You think I won’t report you, arrest you, and shoot you?”

Jiang Wangshu had only mentioned it casually; he wasn’t bold enough to actually do such things in class. As the crowd dispersed, he pulled out a test paper. “Xiaoduan, don’t get nervous. I was just joking.”

But this brief incident was like a catnip stick, pricking Duan Yi’s curiosity: Has Sheng Yunze really never seen porn?

No way! He’s already in high school.

That afternoon, the school announced the list for the provincial physics competition team. Sheng Yunze and Fang Yun stood out among the names.

Sheng Yunze ranked first, Fang Yun sixteenth.

Besides them, Class 2 had another student at twenty-first, making three from Second High School in total.

Duan Yi lingered at the announcement board and ran into Bei-ge.

Leaning against the glass window, he asked about the rankings. After hearing Sheng Yunze took first place, he learned the rest were mostly from First High School.

Duan Yi was speechless. Bei-ge chimed in with enthusiasm, “How’d you find out about this? Planning to hit the books hard?”

“What’s the point in studying?” Duan Yi retorted, clearly defensive. “My grades are already set.”

Bei-ge shrugged. “You’re not dumb. You’re different from those Commander Sheng types in your class. You’re an art student—500 points is more than enough.”

In Class 1, Duan Yi was the classic “relationship student.” He stood firm as a C-grade student in a class full of academic superstars. While every class had one or two art students, his presence still stuck out like a sore thumb.

School gossip buzzed that Duan Yi had used backdoor connections to get into Class 1, taking up a spot that should’ve gone to someone more deserving. In other words, his reputation didn’t match his position.

So far, only a couple of forum posts had mentioned it, keeping the rumors below the surface.

Bei-ge nudged him. “Want to watch the physics competition next week?”

“Already? Don’t they need more training time?”

“A week’s enough. Third-year time is precious, kid.”

Duan Yi’s eyes lit up. “Hey, Bei-ge, did Second High’s direct admission spots come out yet?”

Bei-ge put on a wise look. “Don’t ask me about this. Go ask your Old Class Teacher yourself.”

Duan Yi shrugged, his eyes drifting toward the fourth-class guy he often played basketball with. Suddenly his mind flew to the basketball court, and chatting with Bei-ge became pointless. He quickly grabbed the fourth-class guy’s shoulder and dragged him away.

In the afternoon, the Old Class Teacher came to the classroom to announce seat changes. “Everyone, prepare your desks now. We’ll switch during class meeting.”

This was Class 1’s tradition: every week, the entire class shifted left in groups. This way, everyone got a chance to sit in the middle.

At the beginning of the school year, because of Duan Yi’s underwear-stealing incident with Sheng Yunze—which Duan Yi still stubbornly insisted was just a misunderstanding—Sheng Yunze had been avoiding him ever since. During the initial seating arrangement, Sheng Yunze sat by the window near the door, while Duan Yi was by the window facing the track field, practically three thousand kilometers away.

Now with the shift, they ended up in the same row, separated only by the aisle. Roundabout, that meant they were basically desk partners.

During evening self-study.

Hao Shanshan couldn’t help but take a deep breath, sniffing the air.

“Smells amazing! Whose shampoo is that? Hand it over, I need to buy the same.”

Jiang Wangshu recognized the scent immediately—it was Duan Yi’s shower gel.

Strictly speaking, it couldn’t be called shower gel. It was a luxury item Xiaoduan Mom had sourced from some artisan workshop abroad, more like an essential oil. The stuff was insanely expensive—just a few milliliters cost over a thousand yuan. To Duan Yi, though, it was basically the same as regular shower gel. He’d poured it into an empty bottle of a common brand and placed it on the soap rack, where it looked no different from his roommates’ supplies.

Only Jiang Wangshu knew the truth—that Duan Yi himself was like this shower gel: someone who appeared ordinary on the surface but was actually a precious young master inside.

“You went back to shower this afternoon?” Jiang Wangshu sniffed the air curiously.

The faint, high-end scent lingered in the classroom. It was hard to identify exactly, but carried the unmistakable aroma of money.

Duan Yi showered every night before bed. The essential oil’s scent acted like a natural sleep aid, almost like his mother’s bedtime alarm, having become a habit through repetition.

After skipping class all afternoon to play basketball on the field, he was naturally exhausted.

“I played basketball with Class 4 this afternoon,” Duan Yi said, pretending to be calm as he sat down. He turned left to see Sheng Yunze’s seat right next to him, ready to say the greeting he’d practiced all afternoon. But when the words reached his lips, he choked on them.

Sheng Yunze sat quietly at his desk, working through practice problems with his headphones on, as if Duan Yi’s arrival didn’t matter at all.

Duan Yi suddenly felt deflated. Whatever, he thought, he’s wearing headphones. What if I greet him and he ignores me? That’d be so embarrassing.

Jiang Wangshu said, “I’ve never seen you so obsessed with cleanliness before. Didn’t you just need to dry off after being out in the cold all afternoon?”

Duan Yi slumped over his desk, dejected. “I’m not obsessed. You’re making things up.”

“Oh, right,” Jiang Wangshu said, “have you seen Nan Yi? After the sports meet, Old He gave him a punishment—cleaning the basketball court. I haven’t seen him in days.”

Sheng Yunze’s pen paused on the test paper, leaving a small ink dot.

“Why do you care about him?” Duan Yi asked listlessly. “You should focus on your mid-term exams instead.”

Jiang Wangshu looked like he’d discovered new territory. “Xiaoduan, you’re amazing! I can’t believe you actually mentioned midterms!”

Duan Yi felt a bit embarrassed and tried to cover it up by pulling out a pristine white weekly test paper. Instead of asking Jiang Wangshu to copy his homework, he spread it on the desk and cleared his throat. “I just wrote some random stuff.”

Jiang Wangshu’s expression was beyond surprised. To avoid getting slapped by Duan Yi in embarrassment, he added, “I’m just surprised for no reason.”

The Old Class Teacher was off duty today, so Amy was in charge of the evening study hall.

During the second evening, the Political Education Office called a meeting and summoned Ah Mi away. Class 1 instantly turned into a leaderless self-study session.

The classroom, once so quiet you could hear a needle drop, now buzzed with hushed whispers. The Abbot boy, who hadn’t done a single assignment, rubbed his fingers together and declared, “This old monk senses something fishy.”

Duan Yi scratched his head, stuck on three problems. He started inching toward Sheng Yunze’s desk, ready to tease him.

But when he looked over, he saw Sheng Yunze had already finished two test papers. The guy was picky about which questions he answered—most of the pages were empty, with only the big problems filled in.

Duan Yi couldn’t make out what Sheng Yunze was writing either. Since he wasn’t interested in whatever Sheng Yunze was doing, he quickly switched his focus to the Abbot’s words. “What’s the deal?”

The Abbot spoke mysteriously. “There’s been a recent campus legend at Second High School. Want to hear it, President Duan?”

Campus legend?

Duan Yi instantly sat up straight, all previous thoughts vanishing. He focused solely on the book before him, blocking out all distractions. “Since the founding of the republic, we’ve banned monsters from becoming spirits.”

Jiang Wangshu chimed in at the same time. “Are you talking about the early romance crackdown?”

Hao Shanshan perked up. “Early romance? Where’s that happening?”

Fang Yun, seated at the desk in front of them, turned easily to join the chatter. The four of them gossiped daily, growing more outrageous by the minute, complete with sunflower seeds.

“Crunch crunch,” Fang Yun said between bites. “Haven’t you checked the forum?”

Duan Yi shook his head.

He rarely used the forum, only logging in occasionally to check Sheng Yunze’s status.

Sheng Yunze didn’t use WeChat much, but he frequently changed his Koukou status. Recently, it had become an “annoyed” emoji. After studying it obsessively, Duan Yi concluded Sheng Yunze must be frustrated about the physics competition.

Jiang Wangshu watched him staring at Sheng Yunze’s signature like a Wangfu Stone, yet he didn’t add him. So he called Duan Yi a “Shengology expert”—short for “specialist in Sheng Yunze’s behavioral art.”

Besides, the forum was super boring.

The school’s confession wall was split down the middle—mostly confessions for Sheng Yunze and Duan Yi. Apart from that, it was just pointless posts about sports meets, class forwards, Second High School memes, “Don’t share this and you’re not a real Second High student,” “Today’s xx class student’s birthday—let’s wish her happy birthday,” or memes of Old He in drag, Old He’s wedding photos with his bros, stolen school beauty photos in a 9-grid wallpaper, “High-quality school beauty photos—download at your own risk,” setting up blind dates for Auntie dorm managers and Uncle security guards, complaining about the cafeteria, and occasionally provoking other high schools, sometimes even starting forum wars.

In short, Duan Yi thought all this behavior was totally elementary school level.

Fang Yun pulled out her phone from the desk drawer, opened the forum, and clicked on a short video.

The background was the roof of Second High School’s library—a hidden spot without cameras. The video was secretly filmed. On the library roof, there seemed to be a young couple, tangled together in a passionate embrace, wearing Second High’s school uniform.

“Shit?” Duan Yi muttered, startled.

Fang Yun: “The whole school’s gone crazy. This was filmed this morning. Old He’s meeting must be about this.”

At high school age, Omegas can’t judge if they want to commit their life to an Alpha. Lifelong markings happen easily, but the results are never good. Theyve seen Omega students marked, then dumped, then jump to their deaths in third year. Hundreds of young Omegas kill themselves each year—high school’s the peak age.

Second High’s strict about early romance. They crack down hard on boy-girl relationships, AO markings, and pheromones. Get caught and you’re punished. Lifelong marking? Immediate being expelled.

Duan Yi hid his Omega identity partly because of school rules. Being marked was bad enough, but with Sheng Yunze’s mark on him, getting caught meant both of them would be kicked out.

Sheng Yunze’s bright future and promising prospects shouldn’t be ruined by something he didn’t even do.

Schools have always cracked down on early romance, but students have always found ways to date. Even with strict rules, some still manage to sneak around.

As long as they don’t cause major trouble or get permanent records, Second High’s teachers just give verbal warnings and turn a blind eye.

You can’t stop young love with a few school rules.

“Are they crazy? Pulling this before midterms when Old He’s already breathing down our necks?” Pingtou leaned in, muttering. “Ugh, another round of ‘anti-yellow’ crackdowns coming.”

Jiang Wangshu snorted. “Which classes are they in? They’re screwed now—the whole school’s watching their relationship progress.”

Hao Shanshan grimaced. “The real disaster’s coming later. If Old He catches them, being expelled guaranteed. This mess is so big even First and Fourth High students are gossiping.”

“Boring,” Jiang Wangshu said. “My Little Huang Manhua is more entertaining.”

Duan Yi also found it dull. He had no interest in gossip. While they chattered, he turned back to his parabola problems.

“Wrong,” Sheng Yunze suddenly said.

Duan Yi nearly thought he misheard and quickly looked up.

Sheng Yunze had removed his headphones at some point and pointed at Duan Yi’s math test. “The first three questions.”

“I only answered three questions,” Duan Yi said.

Sheng Yunze nodded calmly. “I didn’t want to embarrass you by saying they were all wrong.”

“…Thanks for that,” Duan Yi said after a pause. He thought for a moment before asking, “You heard that too, right?”

“What did you hear? About early romance?” Sheng Yunze asked.

Duan Yi nodded.

“Oh, and?” Sheng Yunze prompted.

“You’re not interested?” Duan Yi asked.

“It’s not my early romance. Why would I care?” Sheng Yunze replied matter-of-factly.

Duan Yi had completely broken away from Jiang Wangshu’s four-person clique and was now operating independently. While Jiang Wangshu’s group was debating heatedly, Duan Yi preferred playing cat-and-mouse with the aloof Sheng Yunze.

He asked one question at a time, and Sheng Yunze answered one at a time.

The video showed the young couple in overly intimate poses—hugging, kissing, even their school uniforms pulled apart. Being a secretly filmed clip, it looked like some low-quality adult video from a shady website. The thought popped up in Duan Yi’s mind again.

He lowered his voice and asked, “Hey, Sheng Yunze.”

“Mm?”

“Have you seen those videos before?” Duan Yi asked, using his most innocent, curious expression.

He asked as casually as if he were asking, “Did you eat today?”

Duan Yi, afraid Sheng Yunze might be embarrassed, quickly added, “Don’t worry, it’s just you and me here. Tell me secretly, I won’t tell anyone else.”

Sheng Yunze suddenly smiled, but it was a fake smile, the kind that feels like a hidden jab.

This meant he was about to tease Duan Yi, and Duan Yi suddenly felt uneasy.

Sheng Yunze gestured with his eyes for Duan Yi to lean closer. Duan Yi thought it looked kinda restrained, and he obediently leaned in without thinking.

He was shorter than Sheng Yunze, and he always stared at him with puppy-like innocent eyes. Even though Duan Yi didn’t mean it, people kept seeing something seductive in his gaze.

Sheng Yunze snorted coldly and lowered his voice, “Are you looking for a fuck?”

Duan Yi froze like a crashed computer.

Sheng Yunze scanned Duan Yi from head to toe, his gaze so intense it felt physical, invading the seams of his school uniform.

Under that stare, Duan Yi shivered and instantly went still, wrapping himself in his uniform like a quiet chick.

When Sheng Yunze looked over, he noticed Duan Yi’s ears turning red. He raised an eyebrow: Could he actually be serious?

The thought made him feel a little happy.

With Duan Yi’s harassment finally gone, Sheng Yunze could finally settle down and focus on his exam.

After a few questions, Sheng Yunze found the silence around him too quiet. He should have been used to it, but after Duan Yi’s interruptions, he couldn’t get used to it again.

Fortunately, Duan Yi didn’t disappoint. After a while, he came back full of energy, shuffling over to interrogate him  “How could you say something like that?”

“Why not?” Sheng Yunze was in a great mood.

Duan Yi thought for a moment, “Well… it just doesn’t sound right. You keep talking about ‘fucking’ this and ‘fucking’ that, but you’ve never even been in a relationship…”

“Oh.” Sheng Yunze could feel his heartbeat almost stopping. The ink from his pen tip spread into deeper smudges as he asked, pretending to be casual, “So do you want to be in one?”