After the basketball game, the spectators in the stands were even more excited than the players on the court.
Some were thrilled, some were disappointed, some were smug, and some were unconvinced.
The smug ones, of course, were the supporters of Yu Jiu. Some couldn’t wait to post the results on the school forum and take the opportunity to gloat:
[Yu Jiu is [mfn]YYDS, or 永远的神 (yǒng yuǎn de shén) means “eternal God” and describes an outstanding person or thing[/mfn]YYDS! 72:41! Just try to top that!]
[My hubby was absolutely amazing on the court—hands down the most handsome guy in school! No contest!]
[Wasn’t someone saying earlier that a beta couldn’t possibly beat an Alpha? So, how’s that face-slapping going for you? LOL!]
[And you all hyped up that transfer student so much! Didn’t he still lose to our Yu [mfn]宝 /bǎo – in this scenario it could mean (treasure/precious)[/mfn]Bao? Next time, stop using gender as an argument. Our Yu Jiu is the ultimate beta bug—you can never underestimate him!]
Of course, such comments didn’t sit well with Zhai Chi’s supporters, who quickly fired back:
[So what if he won the game? What’s there to brag about? Zhai Chi was clearly dominating in the first half.]
[Yu Jiu only won because he’s familiar with the court as a senior. He couldn’t even show a little sportsmanship to the new student.]
[Did those blindly slamming Zhai Chi even watch the game? He clearly lost because Xu Shi was dragging him down. One-on-one, Zhai Chi definitely wouldn’t have lost.]
[Yu Jiu, the one who got challenged, had to bring in the team captain to help him. Was he that scared of losing? Even if he won, it wasn’t a fair victory.]
Neither side was willing to back down, and the argument grew more heated.
“Pfft, you’re the ones who weren’t playing fair!” Outside the forum, Yu San was uploading the latest stunning photos of his idol, Yu Jiu, while scrolling through the posts. When he saw people attacking his idol, he couldn’t help but grumble.
While the two camps were battling it out on the forum, Yu Jiu had already left the gym.
The torrential rain outside had stopped, and the dark clouds overhead were dispersing, making it noticeably brighter than when they’d entered the gym.
Yu Jiu found a sink in a quieter spot, turned on the faucet, and splashed cold water on his face. The coolness washed away some of the heat from his cheeks, soothing his flushed face a little.
Hearing Yu San still fuming, he asked curiously, “What’s this about playing unfair?”
“Just people talking nonsense on the forum.”
In just a short time, the forum had already erupted into a new round of battles. It seemed the more popular you were, the livelier things got.
Yu San grumbled, “That group from Class Ten is saying you only won the game because of the captain. They’re calling it an unfair victory.”
“…”
Unfair victory?
Yu Jiu paused for a moment. “They might be right.”
Although it wasn’t because of the captain—it was because someone else went easy on him.
“What do you mean, ‘might be right’? They’re just sore losers! They’re even saying the transfer student only lost because Xu Shi dragged him down. But isn’t Xu Shi the teammate he chose? They teamed up specifically to target you, so they’re no saints either—”
Yu Jiu turned his head and glanced at him, and Yu San immediately shut up.
“Don’t talk about others like that behind their backs,” Yu Jiu said lightly.
Yu San nodded furiously, almost like a bobblehead.
He had nearly forgotten that Yu Jiu hated hearing gossip and debates like this. That was probably why Yu Jiu was always so out of the loop when it came to rumors.
Yu Jiu wasn’t angry with Yu San, though—after all, Yu San was upset because of him.
But as for Zhai Chi, Yu Jiu couldn’t explain his behavior either. There were reasons even he didn’t understand.
Why had Zhai Chi helped him?
If Zhai Chi didn’t want Xu Shi to win, he could’ve refused the match in the first place.
Or maybe Zhai Chi realized midway that Xu Shi was using underhanded methods and decided to teach him a lesson?
Or could it be that Zhai Chi had some other purpose for playing the game?
Yu Jiu paused mid-motion as he washed his hands and shook his head slightly.
Some things he didn’t dare think about—or shouldn’t think about.
Once you start to hope, you’re bound to end up disappointed.
“By the way, Jiu-ge, where should we eat later? How about going off-campus to celebrate?”
Yu San asked while scrolling through the forum, waiting for a reply. But after a while, the person next to him didn’t respond.
Confused, Yu San looked up and saw Yu Jiu zoning out as he let water run over his hands.
“Jiu-ge… are you okay?”
Yu Jiu looked dazed and a little pale.
He blinked, coming back to his senses, and thought for a moment about what Yu San had just said.
“Maybe it’s just the heat,” he said casually. “I’ll head back to the dorm and take a shower. You go ahead and eat—I’ll grab something from the cafeteria later.”
With that, he turned off the faucet, shook the water off his hands, and headed back to the dorm.
Yu San stood there, still somewhat puzzled.
… Too hot?
He looked up at the sky. It was late April, and after the rain, the weather was pleasantly cool.
Was it because Yu Jiu hadn’t taken off his school jacket while playing?
Shaking his head, Yu San walked in the opposite direction from Yu Jiu. After a few steps, something suddenly occurred to him. He spun around and shouted, “Wait, but—”
But the school cafeteria wasn’t serving meals today because of the afternoon holiday!
…
Back in his dorm, Yu Jiu walked to the balcony, hung up his umbrella, and then entered the bathroom.
He felt a bit off—uncomfortably hot in a way that wasn’t normal.
At first, he thought it was just the usual post-exercise heat, but after resting for a while, it still hadn’t subsided.
Yu Jiu took off his clothes and stepped into the shower, letting hot water wash over him. Instead of improving, however, his condition seemed to worsen after the shower.
He felt dizzy.
This wasn’t a new sensation to him.
Frowning, Yu Jiu leaned against the bathroom door for support. When he realized the symptoms weren’t easing, he sighed, reached into the pocket of his discarded pants, and retrieved a small black bottle. He tipped out the last pill and swallowed it.
After taking the medication, he walked over to his bed and sat down.
He’d planned to lie down for a bit, but with evening classes coming up, he was afraid he’d oversleep—and besides, he didn’t feel like he could sleep anyway.
This wasn’t the first time this had happened, but it had never been this frequent. It had been less than a week since the last occurrence.
Yu Jiu couldn’t figure out what was causing it.
Was it because he’d come into contact with Alpha pheromones during the game?
But Xu Shi had used his pheromones to interfere with him on the court before, and apart from finding the smell (like stinky snail noodles) disgusting, Yu Jiu had never experienced any other effects.
The only other contact was when Zhai Chi helped him up…
Thinking of Zhai Chi, Yu Jiu recalled the fresh, minty scent on him. But that wasn’t the smell of pheromones.
And their contact had been so brief—it couldn’t possibly have had such a serious effect.
Yu Jiu furrowed his brow and looked down at the bottle in his hand.
If it wasn’t a person causing this, could it be the medicine?
If the medicine could hear his thoughts, it would probably feel wronged.
After sitting still for about ten minutes, he finally felt less uncomfortable. Standing up, he grabbed his phone, put on a jacket, and left the dorm.
Downstairs, Zhai Chi emerged from the bathroom almost at the same time. He’d also returned to the dorm to shower.
The second-year male Alphas’ dorms and male Betas’ dorms were in the same building, with Class 1’s dorms on the fifth floor and Class 10’s on the second.
Unlike Yu Jiu, who zoned out after his shower, Zhai Chi immediately picked up his phone to scroll through the forum.
He wanted to see if anyone had posted recent pictures of Yu Jiu after he left the gym.
After the game ended, Zhai Chi had watched Yu Jiu leave the basketball court. He’d wanted to follow him but was stopped by Cheng Yuanchao.
While Cheng Yuanchao genuinely wanted to help Yu Jiu during the game, he clearly had other intentions too. From the moment his ball was intercepted in the first quarter, Cheng Yuanchao had set his sights on Zhai Chi, the new transfer student.
The third-year students were about to graduate, and half of the school’s basketball team was made up of seniors. While the first- and second-year players could fill the starting lineup, their skills still fell short compared to their third-year seniors.
As the captain, Cheng Yuanchao had a strong sense of team pride, even though he was about to step down from his position.
The reason he specifically chose Yu Jiu to be the vice-captain was simple: he valued his skill.
And when he deliberately set up a one-on-one match between Yu Jiu and Zhai Chi during the game, it was with an ulterior motive: he wanted to observe.
The result of his observation? He absolutely couldn’t let Zhai Chi, this transfer student, slip away!
As soon as the game ended, while the others were still celebrating, Cheng Yuanchao directly extended an invitation to Zhai Chi.
For Zhai Chi, joining the basketball team wasn’t much more than a formality—it was simply a matter of being official or unofficial. However, the captain’s enthusiasm was overwhelming. By the time Zhai Chi agreed to join the team and finished dealing with Cheng Yuanchao, Yu Jiu had already left the gym.
He had finally gotten a chance to have Yu Jiu “look at him properly,” but before he could make the most of it, Cheng Yuanchao’s fervor had ruined everything.
When he couldn’t find any updates about Yu Jiu’s whereabouts on the forum, Zhai Chi closed his phone in disappointment and stuffed it into his uniform pocket.
Now, if he wanted to talk to Yu Jiu again, who knew when the next opportunity would come?
Feeling a bit annoyed—and hungry—Zhai Chi grabbed his school card and decided to head down to the campus store to grab a snack.
Leaving his dorm, he crossed a long corridor and reached the stairwell. There, he heard the sound of footsteps. Instinctively, he looked up—and froze mid-step.
On the staircase between the second and third floors, someone in a school uniform stood with one foot on the first step and the other slightly raised behind them. That person had also stopped, looking down at him.
Yu Jiu hadn’t expected to run into Zhai Chi here.
And Zhai Chi certainly hadn’t expected it either.
The person he’d just been thinking about and wondering how to approach was suddenly standing right in front of him. Yet, it was as if he’d lost all his words, forgetting how to start a conversation.
Yu Jiu moved his leg slightly.
Zhai Chi’s eyelashes fluttered, as if afraid Yu Jiu would walk away. He hurriedly said, “You…”
Yu Jiu stopped mid-step, pausing at that single word.
Zhai Chi blurted out, “H-have you eaten?”
Yu Jiu: “…”
Suddenly meeting his gaze, Zhai Chi held his breath.
Unconsciously, Yu Jiu also slowed his breathing, keeping his tone calm as he replied, “No.”
Zhai Chi quickly added, “Then… want to grab a meal together?”
After a brief silence, Yu Jiu answered, “Okay.”
Yu Jiu: stands there, calmly
Zhai Chi: *forgets words, starts stuttering*
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They’re so cute