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SMS CHAPTER 37

Flaw

America had once been the place Yan Chengfeng most wanted to visit during his youth training period because the highest-level international tournaments for Forest of the Full Moon were held there.

However, after Zhen Ning left, it became Yan Chengfeng’s biggest sore spot.

Last year, when KYM qualified for the World Championship for the first time, the whole team traveled to the United States. According to Tao Luo, the moment they landed, Yan Chengfeng acted like a “fussy third-grade schoolboy.”

At meals, he would sneer, “Is this all American steak and fries have to offer?” When he saw police cars with sirens blaring, he’d remark sarcastically, “Oh, what excellent public security~” And when he crushed opponents in American ranked games, he’d smirk and mock, “Looks like the high-tier players in America aren’t all that.”

Li Feng had kept anxiously reminding him, “Be careful—don’t say anything that could cause trouble between the two countries,” worried he might say something inappropriate in front of the American tournament organizers.

Yan Chengfeng had always believed that Zhen Ning’s life abroad must have been happy. After all, it was a decision he had made after carefully weighing the pros and cons.

Zhen Ning rarely made mistakes.

But now, Yan Chengfeng stared blankly at Zhen Ning’s face.

After hearing Yan Chengfeng’s question, all color seemed to drain from Zhen Ning’s face. He didn’t respond immediately. Only after a brief pause did he slowly blink.

Yan Chengfeng hesitated, unsure whether he had said something inappropriate or if Zhen Ning was simply feeling unwell due to being in heat.

Just as he parted his lips to speak, Zhen Ning interrupted him.

“It was in America. I had been living there for about half a year. At first, I thought it was just a regular cold or fever, but the medication didn’t help, so I went to the hospital.”

Zhen Ning’s gaze rested on Yan Chengfeng’s shoulder, his voice calm. “The doctor told me I had differentiated into an omega. They said it was likely a misclassification at birth, which is relatively common.”

He didn’t shy away. Instead, he provided a detailed answer.

Yan Chengfeng was momentarily stunned. After a pause, he muttered, “I see…”

Yet, something felt off.

It was a perfectly ordinary answer. Zhen Ning had responded clearly and smoothly, his logic seemingly flawless.

But it was precisely his calm, slightly hesitant demeanor that made it feel unsettling.

Differentiation errors weren’t trivial matters. Yet, apart from his initial pallor, Zhen Ning showed no further emotional fluctuations. His recounting was so smooth, it felt almost rehearsed.

His response was perfectly reasonable, leaving no room for doubt. And yet, even though Yan Chengfeng couldn’t put his finger on it, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

He watched as Zhen Ning closed his eyes again.

Yan Chengfeng thought for a moment, attributing Zhen Ning’s pale complexion to the discomfort caused by his heat. After a brief hesitation, he released a bit more of his pheromones.

Whenever the topic turned to America, Yan Chengfeng couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander.

He mulled over it for a while before his mind jumped to another unresolved matter from their game of truth or dare that had been bothering him—

“Oh, right.” Yan Chengfeng tried to keep his tone neutral, acting as if he didn’t care at all. “When you were in America, did you make any… close friends?”

However, Yan Chengfeng didn’t get a response from Zhen Ning.

He soon realized that Zhen Ning had closed his eyes, his eyelashes gently rising and falling with each breath, already lost in sleep.

Yan Chengfeng paused, then his heart softened.

See? I told you I’m good at soothing omegas, he thought smugly. Didn’t believe me, huh? But now you’re already asleep.

Yan Chengfeng pressed his lips together and, after some inner conflict, carefully placed his hand on Zhen Ning’s lower back before closing his eyes too.

His breathing gradually steadied.

The room was filled with a warm atmosphere. The two of them, embracing each other, seemed to have drifted into a deep sleep simultaneously.

Yet moments later, Zhen Ning reopened his eyes.

His gaze fell on Yan Chengfeng’s carefree sleeping face. He quietly observed Yan Chengfeng’s brows and eyes at such close proximity for a long time.

After a while, Zhen Ning lowered his eyes, subtly curled his body further into the alpha’s embrace, and then closed his eyes again.

Following their BO3 match with ZC, the Spring Festival holiday arrived.

The Spring Split schedule was relatively relaxed, as the biggest highlight of the year was always the end-of-year World Championship. Because of this, the Spring Split included a mid-season break of moderate length, with the quarterfinals resuming after the holiday.

It was a time for each team to catch their breath and adjust their strategies.

Before the break, however, the tournament organizers gathered the quarterfinal teams to record New Year’s greetings and short interviews, filling the holiday period with this material.

With many teams present, each member had to wait their turn for interviews, making the process long.

Xu Hao was in the lounge on the phone with his new omega boyfriend, while Li Feng and Xu Minghe went to visit the other teams. Yan Chengfeng, uninterested in socializing, went to the nearby vending machine to get a bottle of water.

He unscrewed the cap and took several large gulps absentmindedly.

It had been four days since Zhen Ning’s heat ended.

Since then, Zhen Ning had moved back to his dorm, and their relationship had become subtly distant and strange.

They had agreed to be temporary partners, and they had indeed made a temporary mark and engaged in intimate acts, such as sleeping in each other’s arms.

Yet after Zhen Ning’s heat period ended, their relationship seemed to come to an abrupt stop, as if they suddenly had no reason to interact anymore.

So what if we don’t interact? Isn’t it nice to have some peace and quiet? Yan Chengfeng told himself.

Yet, he couldn’t help but recall every little moment of those days they spent together.

No matter what… it was the first mark he had ever given in his life.

A young and spirited alpha, marking someone for the first time, kept telling himself that he didn’t care, that he was just “helping him out.” But since it was his first time, he couldn’t help but reminisce over and over again, unable to stop himself from recalling every detail of that moment, pondering every touch of skin.

The steamy bathroom, their intertwined breaths, and Zhen Ning’s beautiful eyes—cold, yet with a lingering gleam.

Then Yan Chengfeng snapped back to reality in shock.

Why are you always thinking about these things? This is Zhen Ning! You were just helping him, right? What is there to recall?

But another voice in his mind reassured him, What’s wrong with recalling it? It’s normal, isn’t it?

Alphas and omegas are naturally attracted to each other. Occasionally drifting thoughts aren’t your fault; it’s just biological instinct. So it’s completely normal.

Thus, Yan Chengfeng convinced himself with a clear conscience.

However, he didn’t realize that when reminiscing, what first came to his mind was always Zhen Ning’s face and their physical contact—not details related to pheromones, glands, or the mark, which were typically associated with gender attraction.

Yan Chengfeng casually grabbed a water bottle and walked back.

The lounge door was open, and from afar, he saw Tao Luo animatedly gesturing in front of Zhen Ning.

Yan Chengfeng frowned.

To Tao Luo, Zhen Ning was just someone recovering from a severe cold. She had always loved chatting with others and naturally didn’t think about keeping her distance.

Inside the lounge, Tao Luo was fidgeting with a small piece of paper in her hand, looking distressed. “I really hate recording interviews and Spring Festival greetings! I’ve racked my brain for ages and barely come up with anything. Zhen Ning, please help me check how this new bit sounds…”

Zhen Ning took the paper and quietly read it for a while.

He casually accepted the pencil Tao Luo handed him and helped revise a few phrases.

“Except for the last part ‘Hope everyone eats so well in the Year of the Tiger that they grow huge and bulky’, which might be a bit controversial and should be revised, everything else is fine,” Zhen Ning said softly, handing the note back to Tao Luo.

Tao Luo let out an “Ah” and said sheepishly, “I just wanted to wish everyone a tasty New Year’s dinner… I’ll delete that part then!”

Suddenly, she thought of something and leaned in close to Zhen Ning’s ear. “Let me tell you something, Yan Kitchen always likes to act cool, secretly writing his script and memorizing it in advance. So sneaky! But this year, I’m going to copy his trick, hehe…”

Zhen Ning’s eyelashes trembled.

Caring about his image, loving to show off, yet unwilling to let others notice—this was indeed Yan Chengfeng’s style.

Tao Luo glanced at her phone and exclaimed, “Ah! Li Feng said it’s time for my interview. I’ll go now. Catch you later!”

She bounced out of the lounge.

Zhen Ning placed the pen back into the holder, and when he lifted his eyes again, he saw Yan Chengfeng standing in the doorway, looking at him expressionlessly.

The moment their eyes met, it felt as if they were subtly connected for a brief second before they both looked away simultaneously.

After some time, Yan Chengfeng stepped into the lounge, his voice hoarse as he asked, “How’s your body feeling these past couple of days?”

Zhen Ning: “I’ve been resting well. I’m fine now.”

Yan Chengfeng gave a dry “Oh.”

“If you need any help, just say so.”

He pretended to be indifferent. “Also, keep an eye on your use of suppressants. Don’t always make Dr. Zheng worry.”

Zhen Ning blinked.

“It’s fine for now,” he said softly. “But probably the day after tomorrow, I’ll still need you to help with another temporary mark.”

Yan Chengfeng’s heart skipped a beat.

“I see.” He suppressed the flutter in his chest, coughing lightly. “That’s doable. Just let me know in advance when you need it. After all, I have my own plans and can’t always be available at your beck and call.”

Even though it was the Spring Festival break with no matches, every player had a flexible schedule, so the excuse of “having plans” didn’t really hold.

Zhen Ning gazed at Yan Chengfeng and said, “Alright.”

He thought Yan Chengfeng might say more, but the alpha suddenly fell into an unusual silence.

Zhen Ning looked up and noticed that at some point, Yan Chengfeng’s gaze had landed on the pen holder on the desk. He was frowning slightly, staring at the colored pencils inside with a peculiar expression.

Before Zhen Ning could react, Yan Chengfeng suddenly said, “But since I’ve helped you so much already, shouldn’t you help me with a few small favors too?”

Zhen Ning was taken aback. “What?”

Yan Chengfeng cleared his throat. “Don’t worry, I won’t make things difficult for you.”

“During the interview later… they’ll probably ask for some New Year’s wishes.”

After a moment, Yan Chengfeng nonchalantly said, “I’ve never been one to care about such things, and I’m too lazy to come up with something myself.”

The next second, he reached into the pen holder and, among several colored pencils, accurately picked the one Tao Luo had just used.

Yan Chengfeng stuffed the pen into Zhen Ning’s hand, lifted his chin, and said casually, “Just write something for me… whatever you want.”

Yan Chengfeng felt that his actions were smooth, and his excuse was natural and seamless. It was flawless no matter how you looked at it.

However, when he lifted his gaze, he found Zhen Ning looking at him thoughtfully.


Author’s note:
There truly wasn’t a single flaw!

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