What's Wrong with This Alpha? - Chapter 57

Chapter 57 – Confession

Duan Yi froze, his legs turning to jelly. Sheng Yunze had just blurted out their relationship to Duan Ji Huai.

For a moment, Duan Yi was paralyzed with fear. Should he drop to his knees, clutch Xiaoduan Dad’s leg, and sob, “Even if the seas run dry, the rocks crumble, and the heavens and earth shatter, Sheng Yunze and I will never break up”? Or should he stand his ground, shout, “Okay, the tutoring was a lie, but our love is real! If you’re going to hit me, please don’t hit my face”?

Four legs, 15% off—one for each of us. That leaves one for later when we need to sneak back to class. How does that sound…?

Before he could say anything, Xiaoduan Mom let out a delicate “Oh my!”

Her voice was soft and sweet as she recovered first. She dabbed Duan Ji Huai’s suit with her handkerchief. “Honey, why don’t you go and change?”

Duan Ji Huai’s mind, scattered like shattered glass, slowly pieced itself back together.

His hand trembled as he held his teacup. The trembling intensified until he finally set the cup down with a clink.

Duan Ji Huai stared intently at Sheng Yunze, who met his gaze without flinching. “Uncle Duan, everything I’ve said is true.”

Seeing that Old He hadn’t yet reacted, Duan Yi reluctantly spoke up. “Dad, I…”

Sheng Yunze continued calmly, “If you give me ten million to leave Duan Yi, I’ll take the money and run away with your son.”

Duan Yi’s jaw dropped.

Duan Ji Huai, overwhelmed by the sudden revelation, struggled to process it. Instead, he followed Sheng Yunze’s line of thought. “Is ten million enough?”

Sheng Yunze paused. “Enough for eloping, but not for a proper dowry.”

Duan Ji Huai nodded and turned to Duan Yi. “An Omega?”

Duan Yi stood ramrod straight, like a schoolboy awaiting a command to relax.

His eyes narrowed as he noticed Duan Ji Huai’s hand slowly reaching for the yellow wooden ruler Old He had left on the table.

In a flash, Duan Yi’s hand slammed down on Duan Ji Huai’s.

Beneath their intertwined hands lay the bright yellow mathematical ruler.

The table trembled violently, its legs shaking and emitting a pitiful “squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak,” a testament to the intensity of the silent battle between father and son.

Duan Ji Huai: ……

Duan Yi: Pressed his lips together, furrowed his brow, and shook his head desperately, tears welling in his eyes.

Duan Ji Huai: “Let go.”

Duan Yi placed his right hand on the table, his index and middle fingers standing upright. He then abruptly bent them, mimicking a tiny figure kneeling on the surface, complete with a mock bow.

Duan Ji Huai: ……

Duan Yi: His sincere eyes sparkled brightly.

Duan Ji Huai: “…Do you really think your childish antics will work now?”

Duan Yi sniffled, his voice choked with emotion. “Dad, as the saying goes, even a tiger wouldn’t devour its own cub.”

Gritting his teeth, he yanked Sheng Yunze forward. “If you truly want to hit me, you’ll have to step over my boyfriend’s corpse first!”

Sheng Yunze: ……

He looked earnestly at Duan Ji Huai and said, “Uncle Duan, we just broke up.”

Duan Yi: =口=!

Young love is so fragile.

Promises made in youth are too beautiful to last.

Duan Ji Huai: ……

“Don’t you have any sense of brotherhood?”

Sheng Yunze retorted venomously, “I don’t have brothers like you. And technically, we’re married. Ever heard the saying, ‘When disaster strikes, birds in the same forest fly in different directions’?”

Duan Yi: “Fuck! I’m breaking up with you!”

Sheng Yunze, his face impassive, replied, “We already broke up thirty seconds ago. Your current breakup is invalid.”

Duan Yi looked at him pitifully. “Can we get back together?”

Sheng Yunze faltered, his heart softening slightly. “…Fine.”

Duan Yi immediately switched gears, his expression turning vicious. “Now I can break up with you for real! We’re done!”

Sheng Yunze: ……

“Childish.”

“Takes one to know one.”

Duan Ji Huai rubbed his forehead. “Duan Er, you…”

Xiaoduan Mom suddenly covered her mouth and burst into laughter. Her laughter dissipated the tense atmosphere in the room.

Duan Ji Huai’s fury, shock, and confusion vanished in an instant, replaced by helpless amusement as he watched Duan Yi.

“Don’t doubt whether you’re my biological son,” Duan Ji Huai sighed. “If you weren’t, I would have beaten you to death long ago.”

Duan Yi rubbed his nose.

Sheng Yunze sensed Duan Ji Huai’s tone softening. His sweaty palms began to warm, and he tentatively closed his hands, his racing heart gradually returning to normal.

Sheng Yunze felt as if he had narrowly escaped death. As he exhaled in relief, he noticed Duan Ji Huai remained silent. A smug thought crept into his mind: Does this mean he accepts me now?

Even Duan Ji Huai, who had weathered countless storms, couldn’t immediately process that his son had suddenly become a “daughter.” He remained skeptical. “Omega… what exactly does that mean?”

Duan Yi had no idea how to explain the concept of parallel universes. “It’s a long story… After the car accident, I don’t know what happened. I just suddenly became an Omega.”

Duan Ji Huai supplied the term, “Secondary differentiation?”

Duan Yi, unfamiliar with the term, blindly agreed. “Exactly! That’s it!”

Duan Ji Huai had a business partner whose spouse had undergone secondary differentiation, transforming from an Alpha into an Omega. This explanation was surprisingly easy for him to accept.

“I don’t have time to question you thoroughly now,” Duan Ji Huai said. “Once I’ve cleaned up the mess you made at school, you’d better have a satisfactory explanation for me.”

Duan Ji Huai gave Sheng Yunze a meaningful look.

Duan Yi interrupted, “I told you, I didn’t do it!”

“Then show me the evidence,” Duan Ji Huai retorted.

Duan Yi silently turned his head away.

Old He had two teachers from the Political Education Office escort Xu Huifang, who was feigning unconsciousness, to the infirmary.

Xu Huifang’s theatrics dragged out the resolution of the matter. Helpless, Old He knew there would be no progress today. Dealing with Xu Huifang and her husband was like trying to reason with a soldier—impossible.

After settling Xu Huifang, Old He finally had a chance to apologize to Duan Ji Huai.

Xu Huifang’s tactics were crude: she was throwing caution to the wind, determined to make a scene. Without a public spectacle, Duan Ji Huai would never agree to compensation.

Unable to produce solid evidence that Duan Yi had beaten Xu Liang, she stubbornly insisted on Duan Yi undergoing a medical examination.

After shouting and stomping in the office proved ineffective, she resorted to feigning unconsciousness to elicit sympathy.

Old He knew this wasn’t over.

He first noticed the tea stain on Duan Ji Huai’s suit and, startled, assumed it had just been splashed there.

Duan Ji Huai paid no attention to the tea stains on his suit. “I trust the school will handle this properly,” he said. After a pause, his tone turned firm and authoritative. “I also trust my son.”

Duan Yis heart warmed, but before the feeling could fully settle, Duan Ji Huai added, “If he really did hide an inducer, he’ll be expelled immediately.”

Duan Yi: …

Am I even his real son?!

Xiaoduan Mom leaned in to whisper in Duan Yi’s ear, “Your dad was so worried about you. He almost ran a red light on the way here. He’s just too stubborn to admit it.”

She gently soothed Duan Yi with her pheromones, nodding at Duan Ji Huai. A faint trace of Duan Yi’s tightly concealed pheromones had leaked out, confirming he was indeed an Omega.

Unaware of this, Duan Yi said apologetically, “I know, I’ve caused you both so much trouble again.”

“Nonsense,” Xiaoduan Mom replied. “I’ve been wanting to visit your school for ages. Since we’re here, why don’t you give me a tour?”

Duan Yi immediately agreed. “Sure…”

Only after agreeing did he hesitate. What about Sheng Yunze?

But he had no time to dwell on it. Xiaoduan Mom seemed eager to leave, even forgetting to remind her husband to change his stained suit. She pulled Duan Yi out of the Political Education Office.

It was as if… she wanted to give Duan Ji Huai some time alone.

Sheng Yunze stopped on a small rooftop near the Political Education Office. “Uncle Duan.”

Duan Ji Huai had changed into a suit and dismissed his driver. He cut straight to the point, “I don’t support you dating Duan Yi.”

Sheng Yunze’s calm facade nearly cracked.

After a moment of silence, he said, “Uncle Duan, I’m serious about Duan Yi.”

Duan Ji Huai replied, “When I was seventeen, I was serious about everything, especially every girl with a ponytail. So serious I wanted to give myself an award.”

“Duan Yi is different,” Sheng Yunze insisted.

Duan Ji Huai raised a hand. “I don’t believe a single promise from a high school boy.”

When Duan Ji Huai wanted to have a serious conversation, his innate, overwhelming Alpha presence would spread like a storm.

Standing face-to-face with Sheng Yunze felt like a lion king confronting a young wolf cub, each refusing to yield.

Sheng Yunze endured the pressure. “I want a chance.”

Duan Ji Huai stared at him silently for a moment. “How will you prove it?”

“One day is enough.”

Duan Ji Huai asked curiously, “What if I’m not convinced?”

Sheng Yunze’s inherent sharpness resurfaced. “Uncle Duan, I’m pursuing Duan Yi, not you.”

Sheng Yunze spoke with such unwavering confidence that Duan Ji Huai was left speechless, momentarily choked by the audacity.

He wanted to scold him, but Sheng Yunze’s words seemed to hold a strange logic.

Sheng Yunze continued, “Because you’re Duan Yi’s father, I hope you’ll approve of me. But even if you don’t, it won’t change the fact that Duan Yi and I are together.”

He’s quite arrogant, Duan Ji Huai thought.

“I’ll handle the inducer and Xu Liang situation tomorrow,” Sheng Yunze declared.

Duan Ji Huai relented slightly, but his disapproval remained. “Duan Yi is an Omega, and you know how special their status is. I won’t allow any Alpha to hover around him until he comes of age.”

Sheng Yunze clenched his fist.

Duan Ji Huai paused dramatically before adding, “But you can secretly talk behind my back.”

Sheng Yunze: …

As Duan Ji Huai turned to leave, he couldn’t resist one last question. “You haven’t marked him, have you?”

Sheng Yunze lied without a flicker of emotion. “No.”

The one who marked Duan Yi was another Sheng Yunze from a parallel world. What did this high school version have to do with it?

“Did you secretly make some kind of shady deal with my dad?”

As soon as Sheng Yunze returned to class, Duan Yi rushed over.

Before Sheng Yunze could even sit down, Duan Yi was circling him like an anxious puppy. “My dad wouldn’t have paid you ten million to leave me, would he?!”

Duan Yi paced frantically, his voice earnest. “Don’t you dare agree, Xiaosheng! Do you know what long-term investment and sustainable development mean? When my dad gets old, we’ll team up and fight my brother, Duan Shaoheng, for the inheritance! Oh, Duan Shaoheng is just my brother. My old man doesn’t have any special talents, but he’s loaded! Snap out of it! Isn’t his inheritance more appealing than ten million?”

Sheng Yunze: “Uncle Duan thanked me, saying I’d rid the people of a pest, sacrificed myself for the greater good, and helped our nation’s Alphas resolve an epic crisis. He praised my selfless devotion to marrying you, calling it a heroic tale worthy of song and tears—a people’s hero, immortalized forever. My contributions to the country are so great, they’ll carve my name directly onto the Monument to the People’s Heroes.”

Duan Yi: ……

“Why are you willing to use so many words when you’re mocking me, but you can’t even manage a single word normally?”

Sheng Yunze spread out his test paper, propped his chin on his hand, and tapped his lips. “Give me a kiss, and I’ll tell you, darling.”