DPT chapter 52

Sheng Li recalled his student days when Zuo Chi, as the student council president, often appeared at various events. In his sophomore year, almost every Monday’s flag-raising ceremony featured Zuo Chi summarizing the week’s work on stage. He watched Zuo Chi from below, thinking how impressive he was, even scolding others for whispering beside him, “Keep it down, I can’t hear what Ah chi is saying.”

He used to think of Zuo Chi as his friend, and with such an accomplished friend, he naturally felt happy.

Xiang Yiqun often teased him, “People who don’t know would think you’re the one ranked first in the class.”

Sheng Li: “Tsk, the one ranked first tutors me after school. Do you have that privilege?”

But now, he knew Zuo Chi was more than just a friend to him. He looked up at the person he liked, weighing the gap between them, feeling like a heavy stone was pressing on his heart, heavy and suffocating.

“Hey, isn’t that…” Xiang Yiqun nudged Sheng Li’s arm, looking towards the man on the left in the front row, unable to recall his name.

Sheng Li turned his head, only able to see the man’s profile, but he instantly knew who he was — Han Qice, the Alpha who pursued Zuo Chi in junior high, the one who talked to Zuo Chi at his birthday party.

Han Qice’s gaze followed Zuo Chi on stage, looking very serious.

Sheng Li knew Zuo Chi was popular, but he never felt… never felt like someone might snatch Zuo Chi away from him.

Qin Xu, Han Qice… and who knows who else he doesn’t even know about, all could replace him as the closest person to Zuo Chi.

His features stiffened, his chest felt tight: “Why do so many people like him?”

Tai Xingyu and Xiang Yiqun exchanged glances, unsure whether to respond.

After a while, Tai Xingyu spoke up, “Zuo Chi is good-looking and outstanding. It’s normal for people to like him.”

Sheng Li looked sharply at him, “…”

Tai Xingyu bumped Sheng Li’s shoulder, “Don’t overthink it. It doesn’t matter who likes him. What matters is who Zuo Chi likes.”

Sheng Li forced a smile, but couldn’t muster one.

Zuo Chi used to like him, but now? Thinking about his own terrible behavior over the past year, his heart sank further.

Zuo Chi’s speech ended, and he walked backstage. Sheng Li stared at his back, instinctively wanting to follow, but he stood up, then sat back down. The school celebration was crowded, and many classmates from the same year had heard about their engagement and broken engagement rumors. It wasn’t appropriate for him to approach Zuo Chi now. He didn’t mind gossip, but what about Zuo Chi?

He patiently watched the ceremony. Many classmates returned for the celebration, and after the ceremony, there were naturally gatherings. He followed his classmates to visit their high school teachers and was persuaded to have dinner.

A former classmate who used to play basketball together draped his arm around him, “Hey, Sheng, we haven’t seen each other since graduation. Today, not having a drink would be disrespectful, right?”

Others chimed in, “Exactly, buddy, it’s rare for us to get together. How about a couple of drinks?”

They reminisced about some fun and interesting things from the past, getting more excited as they spoke, as if they had returned to their sixteen or seventeen-year-old selves. Shen Li wanted to leave early, but seeing how enthusiastic everyone was, he agreed to stay for the dinner gathering.

The two nearest big restaurants to the school were just two. When Shen Li and his friends arrived at the restaurant, they found students from other classes also gathering here. Almost the entire second and third floors were reserved by students from their school.

During high school, Shen Li hadn’t been diligent in studying; his time was spent playing basketball, video games, and making friends. In such a lively gathering of peers, he felt right at home.

But perhaps due to recent lack of rest, he felt tired and sleepy after drinking just two glasses of wine.

He suggested stepping outside the private room for a smoke to wake up a bit. As he walked towards the safety exit, he overheard the name “Zuo Chi” and stopped in his tracks. Two men were chatting, one of whom Shen Li recognized as the youngest son of the Zhang family.

“I heard Zuo Chi no longer works for the Zuo family?”

“Is that true? Isn’t Zuo Lie just a useless figurehead?”

“I don’t know the specifics. But someone like Zuo Chi can still live a decent life no matter what.”

“That’s right. Even if he does nothing, he can rely on an Alpha.” The young master of the Zhang family smirked. “Isn’t he very close to that illegitimate son of the Qin family? Even if the engagement with the Qin family fell through, there’s still Shen Li. I heard Shen Li even used to bring food to him at the company.”

“What’s going on? Aren’t they friends?”

“Do you really believe that? They were friends before, but Zuo Chi has become an Omega now. They were engaged before, how could they not have crossed that line?”

“Are you saying… they slept together?”

“Hahaha, they definitely did more than sleep… Damn.”

The young master of the Zhang family looked up and saw Shen Li standing at the corner, staring at them with a terrifying expression, causing his legs to go weak. He had never witnessed Shen Li getting into a fight, but he had heard of Shen Li’s glorious deeds in the past.

Shen Li exuded a chilling aura, his fists clenched by his sides, making a cracking sound.

With anger boiling in his chest, he resisted the urge to pin them against the wall and beat them up, warning, “Don’t let me hear you gossiping about Zuo Chi again.”

Shen Li gritted his teeth. “He’s more capable than the majority of Alphas, he doesn’t need anyone’s help.”

The young master of the Zhang family didn’t speak, while the other man patted his head and pulled him away, saying, “Young Master Shen, you’ve had too much to drink, please forgive any offense.”

After they left, Shen Li stood in place for a long time. He released his fists, his palms sweaty, staring at the snow-white wall, feeling his vision blur.

He had always known that after their engagement was canceled, Zuo Chi would face unusual scrutiny when he announced his engagement to Qin Xu. But instead of thinking about how Zuo Chi would fare, his first thought was that he couldn’t accept this result. He only cared about his own emotions, only cared about demanding an explanation from Zuo Chi.

He knew it was Zuo Yi who had pushed Zuo Chi into this engagement, yet he blamed Zuo Chi for abandoning him. If it weren’t for his past actions hurting Zuo Chi, how could Zuo Chi agree to Zuo Yi’s conditions to cancel the engagement?

He asked Zuo Chi to find a solution because he himself was powerless.

He was powerless, so he couldn’t change Zuo Chi’s engagement with the Qin family. He couldn’t change it, yet he couldn’t control himself from getting closer to Zuo Chi. He only thought about not losing Zuo Chi, fearing that if he let go, Zuo Chi would really get involved with Qin Xu, but he didn’t consider Zuo Chi’s reputation.

Previously, Shen Changyu had said he was “immature,” and Shen Li had scoffed at it, thinking that Shen Changyu’s idea of “maturity” was just “hypocrisy.” But now he realized that Shen Changyu was not wrong; he was indeed immature, selfish, and arrogant.

He liked Zuo Chi… but what right did he have to like him? If it weren’t for his actions, Zuo Chi wouldn’t have to endure these criticisms at all. He could temporarily shut people up, but this circle had many idle gossips, and he couldn’t control everyone.

He recalled the days when Zuo Chi had just turned into an Omega, recalling that rare vulnerable, lonely, yet stubborn Zuo Chi.

At least back then, he was there to help Zuo Chi through, but what about now? Now he was the culprit.

Shen Li’s heart trembled, he breathed heavily, his eyes stinging and itching, feeling as though a crack had been torn open in his chest, and the cold wind kept pouring in, making him tremble uncontrollably.

He had known Zuo Chi for too long, so long that he felt it was only natural for Zuo Chi to be by his side.

But it wasn’t. For people to move forward, they always needed something to support them.

Either respect or trust.

But he hadn’t given Zuo Chi either of these things.

Leaning against the wall, Shen Li grabbed his hair with both hands, consumed by regret.

Thinking about how Zuo Chi had once liked him, about the hurtful things he had said to him, the foolish things he had done, and all the moments they had spent together in the past year, he couldn’t absolve himself.

Footsteps behind him approached, an old classmate who knew him well: “Damn! It’s pitch black here, and suddenly there’s a movement, scared me. Shen ge, what are you doing here?”

Shen Li composed himself. “Just took a phone call.”

“Oh,” the old classmate said, “Done? Then let’s go back and continue drinking.”

“Yeah.” Shen Li agreed but didn’t move. His mind was in turmoil, and he just wanted to be alone quietly.

After the old classmate left, Xiang Yiqun came over.

“I went to your private room to toast, but you weren’t there. Asked around but couldn’t find you, someone said they saw you here just now.” Xiang Yiqun approached. “What’s wrong?”

Shen Li shook his head. “Nothing.”

Xiang Yiqun: “The math class representative knew I was going to toast, and we came all the way to your private room, but didn’t find you. He was disappointed.”

Shen Li glanced at him: “I said I wasn’t interested.”

Xiang Yiqun shrugged. “I told him you had someone you liked, and he didn’t say anything else, just wanted to catch a glimpse of you.”

Shen Li got up and returned to the private room, toasted around, and then said he had something to do and was about to leave first

His classmates tried to persuade him to stay longer: “We’re going to karaoke later, why leave now?”

Someone joked, “Yeah, so urgent, someone must be waiting for you at home.”

There was no one at home.

Sheng Li was stung by this joke. He smiled, but there was no joy in his lips. “I really have to go, I have work tomorrow.”

He wanted to leave, and no one could really stop him. Sheng Li walked out of the restaurant and called for a designated driver. While waiting, he took out a shriveled cigarette pack, pulled out a cigarette, didn’t light it, just held it in his mouth for satisfaction.

The autumn breeze blew by, and he caught a familiar scent of blackcurrant, subconsciously turning his head.

Zuo Chi stood on the high two-step platform, his gaze meeting his in the air, stunned for a moment, then walked down with a cold face.

He passed by him as if he didn’t exist, without even saying hello.

“Ah Chi.”

Sheng Li spoke, his eyes welling up with sourness. He wanted to apologize to Zuo Chi, he had said “sorry,” but it wasn’t enough. When he said “I’m sorry,” he didn’t fully realize the pain he had caused Zuo Chi.

Zuo Chi turned around, his brow furrowed. “Are you intentionally blocking me here?”

Sheng Li: “No… I’m waiting for a designated driver.”

Zuo Chi didn’t say anything, just looked at him.

But because he had turned around too abruptly just now, something slipped out of his suit pocket and fell to the ground.

With a “pop,” not heavy, nor light.

Sheng Li looked down, wanting to pick it up. Zuo Chi brushed his hand aside, moving faster than him.

But Sheng Li still saw it clearly, it was a small bottle of medicine.