“Have you heard? Xu Shi from Class Ten is challenging Yu Jiu for the position of vice-captain on the basketball team this afternoon!”
“Xu Shi? Him again? How many times has he already been crushed? Doesn’t he ever learn?”
“This time it’s different! Apparently, he found himself a strong ally to back him up.”
It was two in the afternoon, and it was pouring outside.
This year, the rainy season in Jinyi City arrived earlier than usual. It was only late April, yet it had already rained for an entire week.
Jinyi City First High School allowed a half-day off-campus leave on weekends, but due to the heavy rain, many students were stuck on campus, gossiping to pass the time.
“Do you know the new transfer student from Class Ten? Zhai Chi.”
“You mean the one who just transferred back from abroad? The one who’s supposedly competing with Yu Jiu for the title of school heartthrob?”
A new celebrity had recently emerged in First High. Anyone who frequented the school forum knew about him.
Zhai Chi, an Alpha who had transferred from a prestigious Chinese school in Country A, made a grand entrance on his first day. His luxury car was allowed to drive directly into campus—a privilege never granted before. The school principal personally greeted him at the gate and arranged his accommodations. His enrollment was so high-profile it resembled a leader inspecting the school.
But Jinyi City First High had no shortage of wealthy, show-off second-generation heirs. What truly made Zhai Chi famous was his looks.
Before Zhai Chi’s arrival, the school heartthrob title had been dominated by Yu Jiu for two consecutive years. Then, one day, a forum post appeared out of nowhere, praising Zhai Chi while tearing down Yu Jiu. The ensuing debate over who deserved the title spiraled into a heated argument, with thousands of replies piling up under the post.
Things got even crazier when someone organized a new school heartthrob poll. The voting thread stayed pinned on the forum for a week, and the results remained deadlocked.
“It’s him,” said the girl who had started the conversation. “He agreed to team up with Xu Shi for a 2v2 basketball match against Yu Jiu.”
“Teaming up with Xu Shi? That’s a direct challenge to Yu Jiu! Since they couldn’t settle it with votes on the forum, I guess they’re taking it to the court now?”
“I heard Zhai Chi is really good at basketball too. If he and Yu Jiu face off, who do you think will win?”
The girls exchanged glances, collectively falling into indecision.
“Isn’t it obvious? Zhai Chi, of course,” a nearby boy chimed in. “No matter how good Yu Jiu is, he’s just a Beta. How could he possibly beat an Alpha?”
“…”
Yu Jiu was, after all, a “veteran” at First High. Compared to the new transfer student, many of the students naturally favored him. Hearing someone dismiss him, one of the girls immediately retorted:
“So what if he’s a Beta? Why does that make him inferior to an Alpha? Xu Shi is an Alpha too, isn’t he? And yet he’s been thoroughly crushed by Yu Jiu every time!”
“Besides, Yu Jiu is so strong—who’s to say he won’t one day differentiate into an Alpha himself?”
“Differentiate into an Alpha? You’ve been reading too many school novels,” the boy sneered. “Yu Jiu’s already 17. The chances of late differentiation happening biologically are only 0.1%. Do you really think he’s that lucky? Anyway, Zhai Chi isn’t like Xu Shi. There’s no way Yu Jiu can win today.”
“You’re the one who’s bound to lose! The match hasn’t even started—how can you be so sure? If you’re so confident, why don’t you go up against Yu Jiu instead?”
“I think you’re just jealous. So what if Yu Jiu can’t differentiate? If a Beta were as excellent as Yu Jiu, I’d marry him in a heartbeat!”
“You…”
The boy had made the remark casually, but suddenly found himself the target of several girls. Stunned for a moment, he retorted in dissatisfaction:
“What’s so great about being ‘excellent’? He’s just a street brawler who loves fighting off-campus! Always showing up with injuries—if you like someone like that, don’t come crying when you end up as a victim of domestic violence…”
“Hey, Wang Yu, watch your mouth! Do you even know how to talk?” A hot-tempered girl stood up abruptly. “What do you mean, a ‘street brawler’? Have you ever seen someone who tops the class every time and wins gold at the city math Olympiad, and still call them a thug?”
She wanted to say more, but her companions quickly pulled her back.
“Let it go, Ling Wei. There’s no point arguing with someone so full of himself. The angrier you get, the more he’ll enjoy it.”
The girls collectively ignored Wang Yu and kicked him out of their group chat.
Still fuming, Zhong Lingwei thought to herself: If only Yu Jiu really were an Alpha.
That would shut up all these self-righteous Alphas once and for all!
At 3 PM, in a minimalist villa in the Happy Community at the city center, a boy in a school uniform stood in the bathroom, looking into the mirror.
Reflected in the half-length mirror was a face that looked slightly fatigued.
The boy had a small, well-defined face, with delicate and sculpted features. His eyes were bright and clear, black and white in stark contrast. Though the face was impeccably handsome, the fresh wound on his temple added a flaw to its perfection.
The injury was new, still oozing tiny beads of blood.
Yu Jiu picked up a cotton ball soaked in alcohol from the first aid kit and leaned closer to the mirror, skillfully cleaning the scrape on his temple.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed with vibrations. Glancing down, he freed one hand to answer the call.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Brother Jiu, are you back yet? The match is about to start—where are you?”
Yu Jiu pressed the alcohol-soaked cotton ball against his wound, not even flinching, and replied casually:
“I was doing a good deed. Do you believe me?”
The person on the other end paused, then said, “Another good deed? Which street or alley this time? Want me to call some guys to back you up?”
Yu Jiu: “…”
“No need. I’ll be back at school soon. You head to the gym first.”
“Got it! Waiting for you.”
The call ended briskly.
After stopping the bleeding on his wound, Yu Jiu ran his fingers through his bangs, which were fluffy and a little messy. They barely covered the injured spot, saving him the trouble of using a bandage.
He packed up the first aid kit and returned it to its original place before heading downstairs.
In the living room, someone was crouched down, cleaning up shards of broken glass. Hearing footsteps, they looked up, quickly set aside their cleaning tools, and hurried over.
“Xiao Jiu, are you okay? How’s your injury?”
“I’m fine, Aunt Zhang,” Yu Jiu replied, glancing toward the downstairs bedroom. “How is she?”
Aunt Zhang was the housekeeper hired to care for Yu Jiu and his mother.
Five years ago, the Yu family had faced a series of misfortunes. Yu Jiu’s parents divorced, his maternal grandfather went to prison for a crime, and his grandmother passed away from a sudden heart attack brought on by stress. Since then, his mother’s mental state had deteriorated, leaving her in need of constant care.
Aunt Zhang sighed. “She’s okay now. I managed to coax her to sleep.”
Yu Jiu nodded. “That’s good.”
As he turned to leave, Aunt Zhang called after him.
“Wait, Xiao Jiu. Your mother wasn’t in a good mood today. She didn’t mean to hurt you… but your head injury should really be checked at the hospital.”
Yu Jiu smiled faintly. “I know. Thank you, Aunt Zhang. Be careful while cleaning up the glass—don’t hurt yourself. I’ve got a match this afternoon, so I’ll be back next weekend. Please take care of her until then.”
“Alright. You be careful too. And… try not to play with the Alphas so much. It’s not safe.” Aunt Zhang glanced at the back of Yu Jiu’s neck, hesitating.
Yu Jiu’s expression darkened slightly, but he maintained his smile.
“I know. Don’t worry, Aunt Zhang.”
Leaving the villa, Yu Jiu’s carefully maintained lighthearted demeanor faltered. The smile disappeared from his lips as he glanced at the lush greenery lining the front yard. He reached up to touch the back of his neck, where the slightly longer strands of hair covered his gland. As long as he was careful, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Taking a deep breath, he opened his umbrella and left the community, hailing a cab back to school.
At the school gate, someone was already waiting for him.
“Bro, you’re finally here!”
A figure darted out from under the gatekeeper’s shelter and squeezed under his umbrella. Yu Jiu blinked in surprise before recognizing the person.
“Yu San? Didn’t I tell you to wait in the gym?”
What was he doing at the gate?
Yu San, a classmate of Yu Jiu and one of his most loyal fans, grinned.
“I have something urgent to tell you!” He couldn’t hold back his excitement. “Do you know who your opponent is today? It’s that new transfer student from Class Ten—the one who’s been battling you on the forums all week!”
Yu Jiu: “…”
He hadn’t even known someone had been battling him on the forums all week.
Although the rumor that Yu Jiu and the transfer student were competing for the title of the school’s most handsome guy had spread far and wide, almost everyone in the school knew about it—except for a few exceptions.
Yu Jiu was one of those exceptions.
He never browsed the forums or listened to gossip. His energy was already stretched thin, balancing school exams and family matters.
So, ignorance was bliss. Yu Jiu didn’t care much about it. He merely gave a nonchalant “oh” and asked, “Did you bring what I asked for?”
“Got it.” Yu San handed him a bottle.
It was a completely black, opaque bottle that gave no hint of its contents.
“Wait, Brother Jiu, are you even listening to me? This is serious! You should never have agreed to the match with Xu Shi! By the way, why did you agree to play against him?”
Yu Jiu took the bottle, opened his umbrella, and started walking toward the gym. He responded casually, “Why shouldn’t I agree?”
“Why? Isn’t it obvious? Xu Shi is clearly trying to mess with you! He knows he’s no match for you on his own, so he brought someone in to even the odds. Why would you agree to something so shady?”
Yu San was indignant. As the number one “Jiu” fan in the school, and Yu Jiu’s deskmate, he couldn’t tolerate anyone scheming against his idol!
Yu Jiu replied calmly, “He made an offer. If he loses, he’ll pay me.”
“Even if he pays, it’s not worth it!” Yu San protested. “He’s obviously scheming. He changed the match format from one-on-one to two-on-two. His side got a strong reinforcement, while your side… He knows full well that the basketball team members are against you. Whoever you pick outside the team will only drag you down. If he had any real skill, he’d dare to challenge you one-on-one!”
Yu San adjusted his oversized glasses, which covered nearly half his face, as he ranted indignantly.
Yu Jiu watched his perpetually slipping glasses and felt secondhand exhaustion on his behalf.
He was well aware that his status as a Beta basketball team vice-captain made him unpopular among the Alpha players. On top of that, his infrequent participation in team training meant he didn’t have good relationships with most of the team.
After some thought, he joked lightly, “I didn’t want to agree at first, but his offer was too good to refuse.”
“…” Yu San hesitated. “How much did he offer?”
“Two thousand.”
“…” Yu San was stunned.
Two thousand yuan was a lot for a high school student. While Yu San knew Xu Shi came from a wealthy family, he hadn’t expected him to spend so much just to get Yu Jiu to agree to the match.
“But…” Yu San still didn’t understand. “You’re not short on money. Why accept his terms?”
As far as he knew, Yu Jiu’s family was at least as well-off as Xu Shi’s, if not better.
Yu Jiu’s gaze flickered slightly as he looked at the black bottle in his hand. He replied casually, “There’s something I want to buy, but my family won’t let me.”
“…”
High school students often had hobbies their parents didn’t understand. Yu San had assumed that someone like Yu Jiu—a cold, emotionless “study machine”—would have parents eager for him to develop new interests. But apparently, parents were the same everywhere, and even top students like Yu Jiu didn’t have financial freedom.
Yu San was surprised.
“But what if you lose?”
“If I lose, it just means I’m not good enough. I’ll give up my position as vice-captain.”
He said it casually.
By then, they had reached the gym.
Yu Jiu walked to the awning outside, closed his umbrella, and shook off the water droplets before hanging it up on a nearby rack. He opened the black bottle and glanced at the single pill inside.
His previously casual expression turned serious.
It was the last one.
It seemed he had to win today’s match.
He furrowed his brows slightly, didn’t take out the pill, and tightened the bottle cap before slipping it into his pocket.
Following him into the gym, Yu San suddenly remembered something.
“Oh right, Brother Jiu, have you found a teammate? That Zhai Chi is a tough opponent. You can’t underestimate him…”
“Who?” Yu Jiu froze mid-step.
He stopped abruptly, and Yu San, unprepared, didn’t react in time. He adjusted his glasses again.
“Zhai Chi, the transfer student? What’s wrong?”
“…”
Yu Jiu blinked, a rare moment of unease flashing across his face. After a brief pause, he said, “Nothing. Let’s go.”
He had a childhood friend named Zhai Chi.
Same name, same pronunciation…
A transfer student returning from overseas… Was it just a coincidence?
Yu Jiu frowned slightly. Distracted, he walked into the indoor basketball court. As soon as he reached the entrance, he heard a wave of excited cheers from inside.
“Ahhhh, he’s so handsome!”
“Is that transfer student a professional? That body—is it even real? Is this the charm of a top-tier Alpha?”
“OMG, I can’t control my pheromones anymore!”
On the court, a tall figure dribbled past two defenders and made a clean jump shot from the three-point line, sinking the ball effortlessly into the hoop.
Yu Jiu entered just in time to see the player land gracefully after the shot. His striking posture was indeed enough to set the crowd screaming.
The moment Yu Jiu saw him, his gaze froze in place.
The figure’s back on the basketball court was unfamiliar, but the side profile visible from Yu Jiu’s angle was all too familiar.
He felt an urgent need to see the person’s full face and unconsciously took a step toward the court.
“Ah! Yu Jiu!”
“Yu Jiu? Is he here? Where?”
Someone in the audience shouted his name, triggering a chain reaction as if lighting a firecracker.
On the court, with a loud bang, the player dribbling the ball slapped it against the floor but forgot to follow up. The basketball lost control, bouncing and rolling out of bounds.
The player didn’t chase after it. Instead, he first glanced at the audience, then followed the crowd’s excited gazes to the entrance of the basketball court.
Yu Jiu, startled by the sudden shouting, also glanced at the audience before returning his gaze to the court.
And then, his eyes met the player’s.
Both of them froze in place.
——————————————————————————————————
Author’s Note:
This is a school-based ABO story. No mpreg and some custom world-building!
Daily updates, tentatively scheduled for 9 PM~
