The words of the Alpha sounded like a drumbeat in Jiang Heng’s ears. Jiang Heng looked at him with some disbelief, slightly widening his eyes. For a moment, he even doubted whether he had misunderstood Shen Huaizhi before or if all Alphas were like this, with such domineering tendencies.
But he had to admit, when Shen Huaizhi said that, he felt a slight flutter in his heart. Just a little bit.
There were so many people in the classroom, and if something were to really happen, it would actually be quite exciting.
Jiang Heng blinked, his eyelids half-drooping, looking a bit tired. While Shen Huaizhi hadn’t straightened up yet, he reached out and lightly tugged at Shen Huaizhi’s collar, smiling with a hint of mischief. “Class Monitor, what do you want to do?”
He asked earnestly, as if he hadn’t understood the implications of Shen Huaizhi’s words. His fluttering eyelids trembled, and his complexion appeared a bit pale.
Shen Huaizhi lowered his eyes, his previously light expression showing a hint of disturbance.
Jiang Heng continued relentlessly, “Our Omegas have bad tempers too.” As he spoke, he smoothed out Shen Huaizhi’s collar. This action seemed natural and intimate. Shen Huaizhi, who initially just wanted to force someone to wrap themselves in a blanket, now found some not-so-proper thoughts popping up in his mind again.
What did he want to do?
He wanted to kiss him, to hug him, to do some more excessive things.
But he was afraid of scaring him. Afraid that he would realize how scary Alphas could truly be.
After a while, Shen Huaizhi sighed. “Jiang Heng.”
Jiang Heng nodded, his eyelids drooping slightly as he looked at Shen Huaizhi.
“Don’t tease.” Shen Huaizhi’s tone softened again. “Wrap yourself in the blanket and sleep for a while, okay?”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Heng’s hand, which was smoothing out Shen Huaizhi’s collar, paused.
Damn, it was useless.
Once he got what he wanted, he didn’t cherish it at all.
Seeing his expression, Shen Huaizhi inexplicably found it a bit amusing. He reached out and affectionately patted Jiang Heng’s hand, then casually touched his head.
A few seconds later, Jiang Heng expressionlessly took the blanket.
This person knew exactly how to hit him where it hurt when he couldn’t resist his gentleness.
Because he wasn’t feeling well, Jiang Heng, who had been forcing himself through classes recently, ended up sleeping for the whole morning, causing several teachers to glance at him with concern.
At noon, Jiang Heng went back and added a sweater, feeling like he was alive again.
–
Evening after school.
“Jiang Heng, are you guys going to play basketball tonight?” Chen Xingchi looked at Jiang Heng, who suddenly became lively as soon as the bell rang, unable to see any trace of the sickness he had in the morning.
Jiang Heng responded with a casual “Why? Are you going?”
The day before, He Ci mentioned about a provincial basketball game, and Jiang Heng had met with the other team a couple of days ago, agreeing to train today to test the waters.
Seeing Jiang Heng’s gaze, Chen Xingchi chuckled, “Are you going to Thirteen High? I heard there are a lot of beauties there.”
Jiang Heng raised an eyebrow, teasingly pulling at the corner of his mouth, “So, are you going to go back and change your clothes?”
“Take a shower and spray some cologne?” Chen Xingchi immediately realized, jumping up and patting his knee, “You’re absolutely right!”
“It’s true that people in love have different thoughts.”
Jiang Heng remained silent for a moment, resisting the urge to tease Chen Xingchi. Just then, Shen Huaizhi, who had gone to the head teacher’s office to get some materials, returned.
Shen Huaizhi glanced at Jiang Heng, “Why did you take off your jacket again?”
With fewer people in the classroom now, Shen Huaizhi tossed the materials onto the table and casually reached out to touch Jiang Heng’s forehead. His temperature seemed normal.
Jiang Heng didn’t avoid it this time and let him touch.
“No fever,” he said, his nose slightly blocked, but after sleeping for almost a whole day, he felt pretty good.
Shen Huaizhi nodded, collected the homework, and then said, “Let’s go. He Ci is still waiting for you outside, right?” He didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping Jiang Heng from playing basketball.
It was Jiang Heng’s freedom to do what he wanted. If Jiang Heng didn’t feel well later, he could take care of him.
Jiang Heng glanced at Chen Xingchi, who was trying to make himself invisible, lightly chuckled, and nodded. He had already told Shen Huaizhi that he was going to train today and had also asked for his opinion.
Taking family members to play basketball was quite novel.
Thirteen High was a few bus stops away from Third High, and there was no evening self-study there. But it was generally known that there was a basketball training match today, so there were still quite a few people left in the school.
As soon as they entered the school, He Ci saw the Alpha who had strongly recommended Jiang Heng to participate in the basketball game.
The Alpha’s name was He Zishu, tall and strong. At the moment, he was standing at the school gate, talking to the students nearby. As soon as Jiang Heng and the others entered, He Zishu immediately looked at them.
He Ci paused for a moment and subtly glanced at Shen Huaizhi.
Then he looked at Jiang Heng again.
Jiang Heng seemed unaware of He Zishu’s gaze, talking to Shen Huaizhi with a tilted head and a smile, standing very close to each other, in an intimate posture.
He Ci hesitated for a moment before saying, “Jiang Heng, the basketball team people are here to pick us up.”
As soon as he finished speaking, He Zishu walked over to them.
“He Ci! Jiang Heng!” He Zishu’s face was filled with a hearty smile. Although his playful confession to Jiang Heng was rejected the other night, it didn’t hinder him from considering Jiang Heng as a respectable teammate.
He Ci greeted him somewhat awkwardly.
Jiang Heng seemed to have just noticed the other person. He raised his eyelids and nodded to He Zishu, “Is everyone here?”
He still had a bit of a nasal tone when he spoke, which made Shen Huaizhi involuntarily furrow his brows.
“Waiting for you. Let’s go. Did you bring your jersey?” He Zishu asked.
Jiang Heng made a sound of acknowledgment and subconsciously looked at Shen Huaizhi.
The latter slightly furrowed his brows. “Brought it.”
He Ci: …
Did he find himself a babysitter? Damn, should he start calling Shen Huaizhi “mom” from now on?
He Zishu glanced at Shen Huaizhi with some surprise, feeling a sense of familiarity with him but unable to remember where he had seen him before.
Before he could ask, Jiang Heng took the lead, “This is my family.” He raised an eyebrow, showing no intention of hiding anything.
Jiang Heng had indeed told the basketball team that he would bring his family over. Seeing that the other person was so handsome and judging by his aura, his pheromone level should be higher than his own. The slight sense of competition he had felt vanished in an instant.
An Omega like Jiang Heng was only worthy of a powerful Alpha.
Seeing He Zishu look at him, Shen Huaizhi’s inherent repulsion towards Alphas made him slightly furrow his brows. It was as if his territory had been invaded, and he subconsciously showed a bit of a fierce aura towards the other person.
He Zishu was almost overwhelmed by Shen Huaizhi’s sudden dominance.
Alphas didn’t need any verbal communication between them. Just the suppression of pheromones alone could determine superiority or inferiority.
Fortunately, it was only for a moment, and Shen Huaizhi quickly eased his aura.
Jiang Heng seemed unaware of the surging undercurrent between the two, and continued to introduce, “And this one,” he pointed to Chen Xingchi, “is my little brother.”
Chen Xingchi twitched his mouth, “…”
He Ci immediately hooked Chen Xingchi’s shoulder to take advantage, “Little brother, let’s go.”
The playground of Thirteen High was a bit larger than that of Third High, and there were already many people outside the playground.
As Jiang Heng and the others walked over, they overheard several girls talking.
“I heard the basketball team recruited an Omega from another school?”
“Wasn’t it mentioned during the promotion? I’ve never seen an Omega join the basketball team before.”
The basketball team of Thirteen High was composed of students from several neighboring schools. When they trained before, they mostly went to Thirteen High. The students from their own school were familiar with the members of the basketball team.
Seeing He Zishu bringing a few unfamiliar people over, the discussions became more intense.
“That guy wearing the Third High uniform is so handsome! He looks so familiar…”
“Isn’t that the most alpha of Third High? Did the basketball team recruit him too?”
“I don’t think so, otherwise they would’ve used him as a publicity stunt.”
“Oh my god, I have to take a picture and post it on social media! Ahh, I’ve heard rumors about a super handsome alpha at Third High before, and now that I’ve seen him, I feel like I’m entering my heat early.”
“Pull back your pheromones, you’re suffocating me!”
“The guy next to him with the crew cut is also handsome! And he’s wearing a basketball jersey!”
“Oh my god! How can I choose between the two? Can I have both?”
“No, isn’t the crew-cut guy an omega? He doesn’t look like one at all.”
Jiang Heng paused for a moment, glanced at the crowd outside the field, and found it unusually noisy. He couldn’t quite understand why so many people would gather to watch a basketball game.
After a moment of contemplation, he asked He Zishu, “What’s with the promotion?”
He Zishu, who was chatting with He Ci, paused at his words and looked a bit conflicted. “Um… It’s about the prize money for the basketball game. We need crowdfunding… So we organized this training match to show potential sponsors if it’s worth their investment.”
Jiang Heng raised his eyelids, and his previously slightly amused expression faded a bit. “So, is this the reason you allowed me to join the team?”
Seeing his misunderstanding, He Zishu quickly shook his head. “No, no, we can’t joke about winning or losing.”
He added in a low voice, “During the promotion, we may have exaggerated a bit about you.”
“How did you exaggerate?” Jiang Heng suddenly became interested.
He Zishu hesitated, “You were praised as the shining Omega, the pride of the basketball team, the number one Omega basketball player, the Alpha among Omegas…”
After saying this, he felt that the promotional slogan was a bit shameless.
He Ci: …
Chen Xingchi: … After he finished speaking, the slight discomfort Jiang Heng had just felt disappeared instantly. Instead, he nodded in agreement and said, “It’s hard not to agree with your words.”
He wore a smile again, his eyes shining as if there was nothing contradictory about himself.
Shen Huaizhi furrowed his brows even more, his emotions becoming even more subdued.
After accompanying Shen Huaizhi and the others to the best viewing spot, Jiang Heng suddenly remembered something and asked He Zishu to go ahead onto the court first.
After they left, Jiang Heng bumped into Shen Huaizhi’s arm.
“Class leader.” He raised his eyes, the smile in his eyes intensifying.
By now, the sky had darkened, and the lights on the playground were shining brightly. They were standing in front of the lights, and the boy’s jaw was slightly raised, casting him into the light.
The faint, persistent emotion in Shen Huaizhi’s eyes suddenly disappeared as he turned his head. “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Heng smiled, tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Nothing, just drawing some strength from the Alpha before the game.” After speaking, he twitched his nose, as if sniffing pheromones.
For an Alpha, this gesture was tantamount to seduction. Shen Huaizhi’s gaze gradually darkened, and he flexed his fingers, eventually lifting his hand to lightly touch the back of Jiang Heng’s neck, his fingertips just brushing lightly.
“Play well.”
On the basketball court, several boys were warming up before the game.
Seeing Jiang Heng approach, they teased with a smile, “What’s up? Still reluctant to part?”
Just now, He Zishu had mentioned that Jiang Heng had brought family members with him. They were all Alphas, not fools, and they could easily discern the nature of the relationship between the two. They weren’t particularly surprised.
Jiang Heng tugged at the corners of his mouth, his previously gentle expression suddenly tinged with a hint of mockery. “What’s the matter? Do you want to start trash-talking within the team first?”
“No, no, no, we’re just joking,” one person said, then turned to continue watching the game outside.
“Is your family member the famous Alpha from Third High?”
Jiang Heng sighed.
The person continued, “I heard from the girls in our class before. You have to hold on to him tightly. Alphas like him are hard to come by. If I were an Omega, I would also like such a handsome Alpha.”
Jiang Heng glanced at him but didn’t say anything.
Seeing the awkward silence, the person felt like he had talked too much and awkwardly touched his nose, trying to smooth things over. “Didn’t you say you liked someone last time?”
“Why don’t you shut up?” He Zishu couldn’t stand it anymore and apologized to Jiang Heng, “He’s not all there in the head. Jiang Heng, don’t think too much about it.”
Jiang Heng gripped the basketball in his hand, shook his head, and began warming up.
After a while, he suddenly looked up again and said softly, “He’s the person I mentioned last time.”
After speaking, he glared fiercely at the group of people. “Why do you Alpha guys talk so much bullshit?”
“Are we playing or not?”
“Let’s play! Aren’t we just showing some concern for the only Omega in the team?”
“Damn it, even I want an Omega like this!”
Admitting to being their Omega in front of so many people, which Alpha wouldn’t envy that?
Their opponents today were a team formed by students from several schools.
Unlike the last game outside of school, the opponents this time were relatively stronger.
Jiang Heng wasn’t considered a key player in the team. They had a tall Alpha of nearly two meters in their team, who had a significant advantage in shooting and jumping. The opposing team was particularly wary of this Alpha.
Perhaps because they hadn’t played together with Jiang Heng before, the opponents didn’t bother to defend him and simply let him go after a beautiful and agile rebound. He Zishu, without hesitation, passed the ball back to Jiang Heng as soon as he regained possession.
Jiang Heng reacted swiftly and smoothly, leaving no time for the opponents to react as he made a two-point shot.
Scored!
It was at this moment that the opponents seemed to notice the new member on their side. They heard he was an Omega.
“Ah!” Jiang Heng’s team scored the first two points, and Chen Xingchi, Jiang Heng’s loyal fan, jumped up excitedly. “Jiang Heng is really amazing at basketball!”
Hearing him say that, He Zishu, who was used to Jiang Heng’s skills, also suddenly felt excited. He explained to Chen Xingchi, “He used to play for the team in Yuan Cheng. There are still videos of him playing basketball circulating in some circles in Yuan Cheng.”
Chen Xingchi was a little surprised. “When can you give me a copy of the video?”
After saying that, he felt like his behavior was a bit inappropriate and turned to look at Shen Huaizhi. The latter seemed to not be listening to their conversation, focusing intently on the court instead. His gaze followed Jiang Heng’s every move, almost entranced.
He Zishu joked, “Then you should ask Shen Huaizhi if he’s willing.”
“Isn’t it inappropriate for two Alphas like us to share videos of someone else’s Omega?”
Chen Xingchi: “…”
“That’s not appropriate.” Shen Huaizhi, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. While his gaze remained on the court, he addressed He Zishu, “Send me a copy too.”
He Zishu had thought that Shen Huaizhi might ask him to delete the video or something, so he was a little surprised at his request. He nodded in response.
Shen Huaizhi didn’t push too hard either.
The atmosphere suddenly became more relaxed. As the game on the court became more intense, He Zishu and Chen Xingchi discussed enthusiastically, their voices no less loud than the other screaming spectators. Shen Huaizhi, on the other hand, surprisingly didn’t mind the noise. He used to prefer a quiet atmosphere, but today, he felt that liveliness was also good. This liveliness belonged to Jiang Heng, and he belonged to this liveliness.
Midway through the game, there was a bit of an altercation on the court. An Alpha from the opposing team, who wasn’t particularly tall, bumped into Jiang Heng, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
“What’s going on?”
“Fouled, damn it! Can’t you play fair? The score isn’t that far off, is it?”
“This is acknowledging how strong Omegas can be!”
“No, playing dirty like this during a game?”
Chen Xingchi, who had shouted too enthusiastically earlier, couldn’t help but chime in.
At the words, Shen Huaizhi lowered his brows, his gaze falling on the Alpha who had just bumped into someone, narrowing his eyes.
Seeming to notice his gaze, the Alpha looked towards Shen Huaizhi’s direction, then raised a middle finger in his direction.
This time, Chen Xingchi couldn’t hold back anymore. “Damn, is this guy crazy?”
He Zishu pressed on his shoulder. “Wait, you can’t go over there now.”
Shen Huaizhi made a sound of agreement, his face devoid of expression.
“Wait until they’re done.”
They couldn’t interrupt the normal order of the game.
The referee called a halt.
“Jiang Heng, are you okay?” He Zishu wanted to reach out and help.
Jiang Heng subtly avoided his touch, using one hand to prop himself up from the ground.
He hadn’t fallen heavily, but maybe because his nose was a bit stuffy, the fall gave him a headache.
The Alpha who bumped into him bent over apologetically. “I’m really sorry, didn’t see you there.”
That apology sounded insincere. It was clear to anyone with eyes that he had intentionally bumped into Jiang Heng.
Jiang Heng tapped his tongue against his teeth, lifting his eyelids to look at him. “Is that so?”
The person nodded. “Yes, I’m really sorry, I don’t have experience playing with Omegas.”
“After all, Omegas are a bit fragile, and I didn’t expect that a light bump would make you fall.”
After hearing this, Jiang Heng’s teammates didn’t look too pleased.
“Chen Ji, playing a game and still engaging in gender discrimination?”
“Damn, Chen Ji, what do you mean by that?”
Chen Ji smiled, glancing at Jiang Heng. “Don’t misunderstand, I didn’t mean anything else.”
“Yeah, you called an Omega to play, didn’t you think about the consequences?”
“Damn, who the hell knew you guys would be pulling tricks behind our backs!”
Seeing that Jiang Heng’s teammates were itching to fight with the other side, Jiang Heng’s expression darkened directly. He had never been a person with a good temper, but the game was supposed to continue.
However, at this moment, he couldn’t hold back anymore.
Before Chen Ji could continue mocking, the next second, his expression suddenly changed drastically.
He was grabbed by an Omega, forcefully pulled by the back of his neck, and slammed onto the ground.
Jiang Heng’s movements were too fast, so fast that no one nearby had time to stop him.
By the time they reacted, Chen Ji was already pinned to the ground, with Jiang Heng’s foot on his leg and a hand pressing his head, forcing his face onto the ground.
“Sorry, I just lightly bumped into you, didn’t expect you to fall like this,” Jiang Heng said, eyes lowered, lips tugged into a slow, mocking apology.
Chen Ji’s teammates reacted immediately, wanting to rush forward to pull him away.
Jiang Heng’s teammates stepped forward to block them.
Both sides became chaotic in an instant, but surprisingly, no one really moved to separate Jiang Heng and Chen Ji.
Chen Ji couldn’t move under the pressure, but he stubbornly retorted, “I won’t fight an Omega!”
“Got the guts to play dirty?”
Jiang Heng pondered for a moment. “Playing dirty?”
He glanced down at Chen Ji’s hand, resisting the urge to step on it.
“A fight, a fight!”
“Which Alpha’s pheromones?”
While breaking up the scuffle, He Zishu scolded, “Chen Ji, are you crazy? Using pheromones against an Omega?”
Jiang Heng furrowed his brows. “Ah.”
What a pity, he couldn’t smell anything.
He was about to say something else when a cold male voice cut in.
“Weren’t we here to play ball?”
Shen Huaizhi, who knows when he came in, kept his gaze low, looking displeased. When his gaze fell on Jiang Heng, it stopped.
Chen Ji immediately said, “Right! To play ball!”
Shen Huaizhi made a sound of agreement and reached out his right hand towards Jiang Heng.
Jiang Heng lifted his head, his expression slowly solidifying. After a few seconds, he grabbed Shen Huaizhi’s hand with a blank face, using the other’s strength to stand up. Without looking at Chen Ji, who was still struggling on the ground, he threw himself into Shen Huaizhi’s arms.
“Boyfriend, I’ve been bullied.”
His tone was so aggrieved.
Shen Huaizhi was slightly stunned, then gently patted his back as if to comfort him.
He still kept his gaze low, but his eyes landed on Chen Ji, who was trying to stand up.
The next second, Chen Ji, who was already about to stand up, suddenly went weak in the legs.
The pheromones of a top-tier Alpha oppressed them in that moment. Not only Chen Ji, but even the nearby Alphas were affected.
But at this moment, none of them said anything.
Regardless of which Alpha it was, they would all be angry if their Omega was “bullied”.
Not directly using pheromones to attack the opponent was already considered relatively mild. Chen Ji’s face instantly became particularly ugly.
Fortunately, Shen Huaizhi quickly restrained his pheromones. He looked down at Chen Ji, who was about to kneel down, with a somewhat superior attitude, and casually said, “Weren’t we here to play ball?”
“I’ll play in the second half, alright?” He asked Jiang Heng’s teammates.
Several boys glanced at each other and immediately nodded, “Alright! Of course!”
Jiang Heng had already hidden behind Shen Huaizhi at this point, looking like he needed protection. He held onto Shen Huaizhi’s hand and hesitantly asked in a low voice, “Captain, are you really going to play?”
He didn’t know if Shen Huaizhi had ever played basketball before.
Shen Huaizhi nodded.
Jiang Heng smiled, “The opponents, you wouldn’t possibly refuse to let my Alpha stand in for me, would you?”
“Right, this Alpha who looks down on Omegas? It shouldn’t be humiliating to switch to another Alpha, right?”
He didn’t distrust Shen Huaizhi at all. On the contrary, he was full of pride.
Author’s note: Fight back against bullying.