SMS CHAPTER 22

For a brief moment, Yan Chengfeng thought he had misheard.

But Zhen Ning spoke clearly, his voice crisp. Every word was distinct, his expression calm, and it didn’t seem like he was joking at all.

“I-I didn’t mean that at all…”

After a while, Yan Chengfeng finally grasped the absurdity of what Zhen Ning had just said, and his eyes widened.

He stared blankly at Zhen Ning’s profile, unable to utter a single coherent sentence. “How could you think—”

How could there be an omega like this?

Yan Chengfeng looked at Zhen Ning’s face in confusion. How could an omega stand so calmly in front of an alpha and ask something like, “Are you going to mark me yourself?” with such a composed demeanor, as if he were merely asking, “Can you heal me?“ instead?

Mark?

Me… mark Zhen Ning?

These simple words struck Yan Chengfeng with unprecedented shock. His mind short-circuited, leaving him overwhelmed by a mix of absurdity and helplessness.

How could that happen?

They had once been the best of friends, as close as brothers. Even after reuniting following their fallout—and even with Zhen Ning now being an omega—their relationship initially resembled that of enemies at each other’s throats. While things had eased a bit, shifting into an awkward teammate dynamic, something like marking… How could that possibly happen?

Yet another voice inside Yan Chengfeng’s mind argued: Zhen Ning is an omega now, and you are an alpha. From a physiological perspective, why wouldn’t it be possible?

And what if… it was another alpha?

What if, one day in the future, another alpha marked Zhen Ning—the person who had once been his closest friend?

The moment he realized this, Yan Chengfeng’s mind was thrown into chaos. He suddenly understood that there didn’t seem to be a single path forward.

His expression and reaction were exactly what Zhen Ning had expected.

Zhen Ning watched his face intently, not missing a single subtle shift in the alpha’s expression—confusion, helplessness, and inner turmoil. He took note of every change.

After a while, Zhen Ning averted his gaze, his eyelashes fluttering slightly.

“I know,” Zhen Ning said. “I know you didn’t mean it like that.”

“I just wanted you to realize that if this is a question you can’t even answer yourself, then don’t criticize the choices I’ve made.”

Zhen Ning continued, “I’ll think about the consequences of the suppressants in the future. At least for now, I don’t care.”

Yan Chengfeng wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Zhen Ning’s tone had suddenly grown much colder.

Zhen Ning didn’t look at Yan Chengfeng. Instead, he gazed out the window at the sky. After a moment, he spoke calmly, “This is my personal matter. At least, I don’t care. As long as I can perform well this year, just like I did in the last match, that’s enough for me.”

Yan Chengfeng finally snapped out of his daze, gritting his teeth as he spoke, “But you—”

“The upcoming matches, the Spring Split, the Summer Split, the future World Championship, those are the things you should be concerned about.” Zhen Ning slightly turned his head, interrupting him. “Just like you said before, since right now all you care about is playing well, then please don’t interfere in my matters.”

Yan Chengfeng rarely heard Zhen Ning speak so much at once.

Zhen Ning usually spoke so little that his words could practically be counted. He appeared to be someone whose temper would never fluctuate—reserved, calm, neither sad nor happy.

But Yan Chengfeng had known for a long time that when Zhen Ning was willing, he could speak with an unmistakable finality. Back when he left, phrases like “My choice” and “My future” had already pushed Yan Chengfeng away, and now, with “My personal matter” and “Don’t interfere,” he was still just as resolute in pushing Yan Chengfeng away.

It felt as though he had been doused with cold water from head to toe. Yan Chengfeng’s heart sank, and the next moment, the anger he had been holding back slowly started to surface.

Yan Chengfeng realized how pathetic he had become.

They had only played two games together, and he already thought they were back to how things used to be. He had forgotten that back then, Zhen Ning had never truly cared about him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have disappeared for three years.

“Of course, I don’t deserve to interfere in your business.” Yan Chengfeng sneered. “You can just think I’m being downright pathetic for asking you this, but I hope you realize that if any other member of the team were in the same situation, I’d do the same thing and ask the same question. So don’t get too full of yourself.”

Zhen Ning didn’t respond.

For some reason, the way Zhen Ning remained silent made Yan Chengfeng feel oddly unsettled. He frowned, his mouth slightly open, instinctively wanting to say something more. But before he could, he saw Zhen Ning nod and turn around.

He heard Zhen Ning quietly say, “Alright.”

The two of them had finally managed to ease some of the tension between them with a duo queue, but after this conversation, they were right back to the cold, awkward atmosphere they had before.

They parted ways on bad terms.

Yan Chengfeng was absent-minded the entire afternoon. He kept staring at the empty seat beside him, growing angrier the more he thought about it. But the angrier he felt, the harder it became to stop himself from thinking about it.

There was a scheduled training match in the afternoon, so they didn’t continue their duo queue.

In the past, Lei Tao had always played the AD role, but this time, it was split evenly between Zhen Ning and Lei Tao. Joe didn’t explicitly state why, but everyone could vaguely sense that the starting AD for the next match would most likely be Zhen Ning.

Zhen Ning was back beside Yan Chengfeng.

They were sitting very close, but Yan Chengfeng didn’t catch a single trace of pheromones from Zhen Ning. He had covered himself up tightly once again. Yan Chengfeng knew that Zhen Ning must have taken another dose of suppressants.

However, Yan Chengfeng couldn’t shake the feeling that he could still vaguely smell that sour apricot fragrance from noon. It was as if the scent had been buried deep in his memory, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t push it out of his mind.

In fact, he found himself unable to stop… recalling it over and over.

During the break, Yan Chengfeng kept a tight expression and stole a glance at Zhen Ning sitting beside him.

Zhen Ning’s profile was calm as he looked at the data analysis chart from the previous match. His tranquility only made Yan Chengfeng more irritable.

The last training match started, and Yan Chengfeng forced himself to focus again.

The BP was standard, with strong meta picks and no unusual combos like Noble Frog and Vine Witch. They won effortlessly, but there was nothing particularly exciting about it.

Throughout the match, there was almost no communication between him and Zhen Ning. By the end, Yan Chengfeng was left feeling utterly bored.

It seemed that their relationship had just started to close in a little after the duo queue in the morning, but now, after the conversation at noon, they had once again drifted back to their previous distance.

The training match had been intense, and everyone was exhausted afterward.

Due to the version update, the Forest of the Full Moon servers were undergoing maintenance for several hours. After they listened to Joe’s post-match review, they collapsed into their chairs, temporarily at a loss for what to do.

“Since the server’s going to be down tonight and we’re all bored to death, how about we play Truth or Dare!”

Tao Luo was the only one still full of energy. She cheerfully suggested, “There’s some fruit wine left in the fridge. What do you say? Wanna play?”

Xu Hao looked up from his phone screen. “Sure, I’ve got nothing else to do.”

Lei Tao stood up and said stiffly, “You guys play. I’ll go back and rest—”

Tao Luo grabbed him. “Rest, my ass. Every time you go back, you’re secretly watching videos. You think I don’t notice? Seriously, you’re joining us.”

Lei Tao: “…”

Xu Minghe smiled. “I’m good either way.”

Yan Chengfeng: “I don’t care.”

Tao Luo’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Zhen Ning. “How about you, Zhen Ning? Wanna join?”

Yan Chengfeng pretended to be indifferent as he raised his eyes. He saw that Zhen Ning hesitated for a moment, then lightly nodded after a brief pause.

Tao Luo clapped her hands happily. “Great, let’s all move to the living room!”

Before they left the training room, Yan Chengfeng couldn’t help but glance back.

Zhen Ning’s expression clearly showed some hesitation, and Xu Minghe, with a smile on his face, was saying something to him. From his lips, it looked like he was saying, “Let’s relax for a bit.”

So, everyone moved to the living room, grabbed the fruit wine and snacks, and the atmosphere quickly became lively and chaotic.

Tao Luo and Lei Tao sat in the middle. Yan Chengfeng and Xu Hao sat on the left side of a sofa, while Zhen Ning and Xu Minghe sat across from them. Their eyes met for a moment, but after a brief silence, they both instinctively looked away.

Tao Luo cleared her throat. “Let’s make one thing clear before we start. If we’re going to play, we’re playing to the fullest. So, anyone who lies during Truth or Dare, they’ll—”

She paused, then clapped her hands. “They’ll have to give the opposing team an extra first blood in the next match!”

The others fell into an eerie silence for a moment.

Xu Hao couldn’t help but speak up. “…You’re really ruthless.”

Tao Luo: “Hehe, then don’t lie! If you really don’t want to answer, just drink.”

Tao Luo’s rule was ruthless—not like the usual “if you lie, you’ll gain thirty pounds” type of oath. Everyone in the room knew that how they performed in a match was the most important thing to them—it was the one thing they would never joke about or take lightly.

Of course, her oath was kind of silly, since Tao Luo forgot that she, too, was part of the team. If one of her teammates gave up the first blood, as the jungler, she’d be dragged down too.

But it was also a clever move because, whether one believed in it or not, after Tao Luo’s declaration, anyone about to play Truth or Dare would most likely answer honestly.

Tao Luo was in high spirits. She said, “Let’s not use cards. We’ll go clockwise. I’ll start by asking. Xu Hao, Truth or Dare?”

Xu Hao lit a cigarette and, without hesitation, replied, “Truth.”

Tao Luo didn’t beat around the bush. “How many omegas have you been with this month?”

“The intensity’s this high right off the bat, huh…” Xu Hao chuckled through his cigarette, then after a moment, slowly answered, “Not many this month, only two. One of them’s been too clingy, so I haven’t really had the chance to branch out.”

Yan Chengfeng furrowed his brows. Xu Minghe and Lei Tao didn’t seem surprised, and Zhen Ning’s expression remained calm.

Tao Luo instantly got goosebumps, rubbing her arms while repeatedly spitting in distaste. “Ugh, ugh, ugh!”

“Only two?” She looked incredulous. “And you’re proud of it? Two-timing isn’t enough for you? What, planning to juggle even more?”

“It’s all consensual, adult AO stuff.”

Xu Hao wasn’t the slightest bit angry; in fact, he even seemed to take Tao Luo’s comment as a compliment. He smiled and said, “We haven’t even officially started dating, so how could I be two-timing?”

Tao Luo shivered and covered her ears. “Stop it, I don’t want to hear this, I beg you…”

Xu Hao laughed loudly. “Alright, then it’s my turn to ask.”

The next target was Zhen Ning.

Zhen Ning was a newcomer and the only omega in the room. While everyone was curious about him, they knew there were certain questions that were inappropriate to ask. Fortunately, they weren’t using cards with pre-written questions, so they could leave some leeway and avoid anything too harsh or awkward.

However, Xu Hao was the kind of guy who was a bit of a rogue and was no stranger to nightclubs and bars. Having experienced a lot, he wouldn’t settle for asking simple questions.

Tao Luo kept giving Xu Hao signals with her eyes and managed to squeeze out a sentence in a voice barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz. “…Can you tone it down a bit?”

Xu Hao: “Isn’t the point of this game to ask tough questions? Didn’t you just say we’re here to have fun?”

Tao Luo glanced at Zhen Ning’s expression, growing anxious. “That’s true, but—”

“It’s fine,” Zhen Ning interrupted her. He looked at Xu Hao and said flatly, “I’ll pick Truth. You can ask anything.”

Xu Hao paused for a moment, then laughed. “You’ve got it.”

He thought for a moment, then asked a question that wasn’t overly sharp but still not the easiest to answer.

“Has anyone ever made your heart skip a beat?” he asked Zhen Ning. “If so, when did it happen?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Tao Luo’s eyes lit up, and Xu Minghe and Lei Tao both paused briefly, glancing at Zhen Ning with curiosity.

Yan Chengfeng was initially stunned, then exhaled in relief.

Tao Luo and the others didn’t really know Zhen Ning, so they thought it was an interesting gossip question, but Yan Chengfeng already knew the answer all too well.

In the past, Yan Chengfeng understood Zhen Ning even better than he understood himself. Zhen Ning was a precisely functioning machine—cold and indifferent to an extreme degree. Not only was he uninterested in having feelings for anyone, but he was also absurdly indifferent toward everyday things. He didn’t have a favorite food or a song he particularly liked.

Yan Chengfeng felt like he could even answer for Zhen Ning.

A game like this was never going to work on Zhen Ning because what Xu Hao was bound to get was just a plain and indifferent “No.”

However, Zhen Ning’s reaction was different from what Yan Chengfeng had imagined.

Zhen Ning remained silent as he sat across from Yan Chengfeng, not speaking a word.

The silence stretched on so long that Tao Luo shot Xu Hao a reproachful glance. Xu Hao raised an eyebrow, signaling that he had already toned it down.

Yan Chengfeng was stunned for a moment.

A few seconds later, he saw Zhen Ning quietly raise his hand and pick up the glass of fruit wine in front of him.

The pale liquid in the cup swirled gently. Before Yan Chengfeng could fully process what was happening, he saw Zhen Ning pause for a moment, then raise the cup to his lips—

He tilted his head back and drank the fruit wine in one smooth motion.