3: I’ll Safeguard the Alpha on the Other Side’s Life for You
Shen Jin stopped spinning his pen. As if he’d finally remembered there were people sitting beside him, he answered at last, “What… do you want?”
His gaze lingered on Qian Kun for barely a second before shifting to Liu Qimai.
Liu Qimai’s heart skipped a beat.
He hadn’t expected this ice sculpture of a person to look past Qian Kun and notice him instead. Damn it. What was he even getting excited about?
He couldn’t help glancing smugly at Qian Kun, only to find that the smile at Brother Kun’s lips had grown even deeper.
That was bad.
Being ignored by Shen Jin again and again, even someone like Qian Kun, who’d deliberately reined in his temper these past few years, couldn’t possibly feel nothing at all.
Sure enough, Qian Kun smiled in a way that made a whole group of omegas blush.
“Class rep,” he said lightly, “looking at the person you’re talking to is basic respect.”
Shen Jin’s fingertips trembled almost imperceptibly. He finally met that teasing gaze and shot back, “What kind of respect do you want, then? Staring at you the whole time?”
No one expected Qian Kun to accept so readily. He answered openly, without the slightest hesitation. “Sure. Look all you want.”
Classmates: we can’t out-flirt him, we really can’t.
Shen Jin was seething. He knew perfectly well that Qian Kun was doing this on purpose, but he didn’t want to retreat just like that. He glared at him in silence, cold eyes tinged with flame.
Qian Kun seemed to have had his fill of teasing. He glanced again at the dissatisfied alphas gathered around Shen Jin.
What a devoted group of flower guardians.
“Just two people competing isn’t very interesting,” Qian Kun said with a grin. “I’ve got eight people here. You bring out eight too. If we’re going to gamble, let’s make it big.”
Eight people. That was exactly the number of students assigned to Class 9 this time.
Class 9 exchanged looks, excitement bubbling up almost immediately.
They’d thought this would be a battle between gods. They hadn’t expected to get dragged into it themselves.
Thinking about it, letting Shen Jin shoulder everything alone really wasn’t decent.
Even if Class 9 ranked near the bottom among the parallel classes, dealing with a bunch of rich kids who only knew how to eat, drink, and play around should be more than manageable.
Why use an ox knife to kill a chicken?
They were already sharpening their blades.
Only Zhou You took an extra look at Qian Kun.
Back when Qian Kun represented the school in various competitions, he’d towered over everyone else. Even students from major competition provinces couldn’t snatch a finals championship away from him.
Anything Qian Kun set his sights on, he would get, no matter what.
It was just that he’d participated less in recent years, so fewer people knew.
Proposing an eight-on-eight competition, was it really because a one-on-one was boring, or because he thought Shen Jin would be blamed by his classmates if he lost?
Faced with his classmates’ eager looks, Shen Jin agreed. “Fine. Whoever loses agrees to one condition from the other side.”
Before Qian Kun could respond, Liu Qimai jumped out. “No way. That’s way too cheap for them. If they lose, I want them kneeling down and singing ‘Conquer’!”
Class 9 responded in perfect unison. “Pah, in your dreams!”
Qian Kun brought it to a decisive close. “Deal. Just don’t cry when you lose, class rep.”
Shen Jin didn’t flinch at all. “Same to you.”
The standoff between the two sides came to a temporary halt.
Class 9 immediately launched into heated discussions about how to choose the remaining seven participants besides Shen Jin. In the end, they decided to vote.
The class monitor was the first to sign up. “Someone as outstanding as me, surely you all aren’t blind. I suggest you know what’s good for you.”
The study committee member wasn’t about to fall behind. “To be honest, I’ve been holding back all this time. It’s finally my moment to shine.”
The PE committee member chimed in. “When it comes to charging into battle, how could you leave me out?”
The classmates looked at one, then another, utterly torn.
Why not just let them fight it out?
Shen Jin didn’t join the discussion. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention, he took two deep breaths.
Whenever Qian Kun focused on someone, it gave off an illusion of being watched by a beast.
It felt as if a net had been cast in front of him. Shen Jin didn’t quite dare to keep looking into Qian Kun’s eyes.
“Brother Kun, class is about to start. You’re heading out again?” Liu Qimai noticed that Qian Kun wasn’t at his seat.
“Buying some water.”
Liu Qimai turned around. “Brother Kun doesn’t have water?”
Zhou You saw several bottles of water gifted by admirers still sitting in Qian Kun’s desk compartment. Without changing his expression, he said, “No.”
When Qian Kun reached the skybridge connecting the two teaching buildings, he felt the heat in his chest intensify. He tugged his collar open with one hand and pulled out his necklace.
The gemstone on it had turned yellow.
It was a sensor specially customized by his family. Whenever his emotional fluctuations exceeded the normal threshold, it would issue a warning.
Just a warning.
Qian Kun planned to leave it to cool down on its own.
*
Class 9, which had previously taken a very Buddhist approach to studying, suddenly erupted with unprecedented enthusiasm.
When the homeroom teacher walked in, he thought he’d entered the wrong classroom and even stepped back out to check the room number.
The students who used to behave like unbridled horses the moment class ended were now all poring over books and doing problems with intense focus. Even the number of after-class questions had noticeably increased.
Even the private-school young masters who’d always treated Nanhu’s exams as optional had started opening textbooks.
The troublemakers reading books?
Troublemakers: don’t ask. We were provoked by their disdainful looks.
Class 9’s little bastards were despicable. They actually used psychological warfare. During assemblies, the class monitor would say things like, “Are you sure you can do it? Don’t force yourselves, hehe,” and then some committee member would follow up with, “Losing isn’t embarrassing. What’s scary is losing and still thinking you’re amazing,” or “People should know their limits,” or “Don’t smash rocks with eggs.”
Stuff like that, endlessly annoying.
Compared to them, even Shen Jin, who never gave anyone a pleasant expression, suddenly seemed fresh and refined.
The troublemakers had originally thought their grades were pretty good. Put them in a provincial key school, and they’d still stand out.
Their private high school might’ve emphasized extracurriculars, but academics were never neglected. Otherwise, their parents would never have sent them there.
When they’d first arrived at the main campus, they were still adapting to the environment and new classmates. They hadn’t taken the initial quizzes seriously, landing them all at the bottom of Class 9. That gave Class 9 the mistaken impression that their academics were trash.
Now that their fighting spirit had been ignited, they wanted only one thing: to see Class 9’s smug faces drop in shock.
Soon, other classes noticed something strange.
The notoriously lively Class 9 had suddenly fallen in love with studying. The atmosphere was tense enough that even students passing by treated the room with reverence.
After asking around, people learned that Nanhu’s omega poster boy, Shen Jin, had clashed head-on with the outsider sharks’ leader, Qian Kun. The two sides had agreed that whoever lost the upcoming monthly exam would kneel and call the other “Dad.”
The rumor spread further and further, even reaching other forums.
The omega-exclusive forum, which had been devastated after news of Shen Jin’s differentiation, sprang back to life.
- Even after differentiating, the Ice God still fears no authority. Mom is so proud of you.
- So what if he differentiated? Does that erase the fact that he used to be an omega? Brother Jin, stand tall.
- If it really comes down to it, Ice God just smile. I guarantee the alpha on the other side will hand you his life.
Ice God was another nickname for Shen Jin, passed around among omegas.
Luo Ying was having the time of her life reading it. Since news of Shen Jin’s differentiation had spread, the forum had been full of wailing about the “fall of the light of omegas.”
She screenshotted the comments and sent them to Shen Jin. Shen Jin received the message and had just tapped it open.
Then someone beside him spoke. It was Liu Qimai.
“Hey, ice block. You smile too?”
These past few days, he hadn’t seen Shen Jin smile at anyone even once.
At the front, Luo Ying let out an “ahhh” and collapsed onto her desk.
She’d accidentally sent the screenshot to the class group chat.
Realizing she still had two minutes to retract it, she hurriedly withdrew the message and immediately spammed Shen Jin with apology stickers.
Liu Qimai had already saved it and enlarged the last line to show Qian Kun.
“Brother Kun, we have to have backbone. We can’t give our lives to him.”
Qian Kun was doing practice problems. He hadn’t looked closely at Nanhu’s papers before and was familiarizing himself with them.
He hadn’t planned to respond to Liu Qimai, but sensing Shen Jin’s gaze, he slowly raised his head and glanced at the message.
Since coming to Class 9, Qian Kun rarely spoke proactively.
Shen Jin was someone impossible to ignore. Qian Kun often teased him, enjoying the sight of him showing other expressions.
Qian Kun casually joked, “You want the life of an alpha too?”
Shen Jin replied coolly, “You’re a beta, and you’re managing a lot.”
Qian Kun raised a brow. “Class rep, that’s not right. That’s gender discrimination.”
“I don’t discriminate against gender,” Shen Jin said. “I just discriminate against you.”
He’d only meant it as a counterattack, following Qian Kun’s words. This kind of back-and-forth had been happening often these days. Everyone knew they didn’t get along.
They were the kind who couldn’t coexist. Once they met, sparks were guaranteed.
It wasn’t until Shen Jin noticed the smile in Qian Kun’s eyes fade, returning to calm indifference, that he realized his words might’ve gone too far.
Damn.
Shen Jin really dared to say that.
That was the general thought shared by most of the class.
Qian Kun stood up.
Just as everyone thought he was finally about to make a move at school, and Class 9’s alphas prepared to rush over in support, Qian Kun simply walked to the front and wiped the words the teacher had left on the board earlier.
Only then did everyone notice the corner of the blackboard.
Today’s cleaning duty: Qian Kun, Jiang Yifan.
Somehow, it felt like the sack might be late, but it would arrive.
At noon, class monitor Jiang Yifan came over and told Shen Jin to try not to be alone. If anything happened, he could call for help.
Shen Jin knew what they were worried about, that he might get cornered and beaten. He didn’t think Qian Kun was that kind of person.
They’d only known each other a few days, but Shen Jin felt Qian Kun was someone deeply arrogant, someone who disdained underhanded tactics.
When they played basketball, Qian Kun played especially fiercely, nearly flattening several alphas from other classes.
“Brother Kun, did you eat gunpowder today?”
“That was brutal!”
“Is the gender listed on your profile fake? I don’t believe it!”
“Alphas never surrender!”
“Switch Liu Qimai in. Mai, hurry and sub this beast out!”
Liu Qimai laughed angrily. What did that mean? They thought he sucked?
“A-You, let’s go together. We’ll destroy them!”
Zhou You’s gaze drifted toward the distance.
It was Class 8’s grade beauty, Qiao Yishan, with several girls accompanying her.
It was said that Nanhu High School had once held a public vote for school belle. Shen Jin had won by a landslide, but he’d clearly stated he didn’t want the title.
Under an anonymous vote so blatant, the other omegas couldn’t very well force themselves into the position, leaving only class beauties and grade beauties to be chosen.
Qian Kun stepped off the court and wiped his sweat with the hem of his jersey. As the fabric lifted, it revealed a waist covered in lean muscle, brimming with youthful vitality.
Qiao Yishan would never have spared a glance for a beta before, but Qian Kun was absolutely the exception.
In terms of stamina, endurance, academics, intelligence, looks, and family background, Qian Kun was inferior to no alpha.
That was why, the moment he arrived at Nanhu, students from Nanhu and even nearby First and Fifth High Schools went crazy.
Qiao Yishan was nudged by her friends. Gathering her courage, she took out a bottle of water. “Qian Kun, have some water.”
Liu Qimai let out a wow. “She’s pretty. Nanhu omegas are really enthusiastic. A-You, you think Brother Kun won’t reject her too this time?”
Zhou You saw Shen Jin emerge again from the corner in the distance, something still in his hand. That direction led to the school convenience store.
Earlier, Zhou You hadn’t been looking at Qiao Yishan at all. He’d been looking farther away, at Shen Jin. By the time Liu Qimai turned to look, Shen Jin had already disappeared around the corner.
“You’re probably going to be disappointed.”
Almost as soon as Zhou You finished speaking, Qian Kun politely refused Qiao Yishan.
Even though she’d been rejected, Qian Kun’s gentle, gentlemanly attitude toward omegas made the girls blush even harder. They chatted with him for a while before finally leaving.
Liu Qimai leaned against Zhou You and shook his head. “A blue-face calamity.”
Zhou You stepped aside in disgust. “Stay away from me.”
“?”
“Stupidity is contagious.”
“Zhou You, you’re dead!”
Shen Jin had stood outside the convenience store for a long time earlier. In the end, under the puzzled gazes of some classmates, he gritted his teeth and bought a bottle of water.
It was imported and cost more than twenty yuan. For someone like Shen Jin, whose allowance wasn’t large, it hurt a little.
He’d noticed that Qian Kun usually drank this brand.
Even if he didn’t like the occasionally nasty side Qian Kun revealed, he shouldn’t hurt someone with words.
That didn’t mean he was backing down. Backing down was never going to happen, not in this lifetime.
If he’d misspoken, he wouldn’t deny it.
When Shen Jin returned to his seat, he hesitated for a moment, then wrote a note and stuck it to the bottle.
Taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, he quickly placed it on Qian Kun’s desk.
Once he was done, he immediately sprawled over his desk and pretended to sleep.
After more than ten minutes, laughter approached from afar.
Since they needed to focus on studying again, Liu Qimai and the others had drastically shortened their basketball time.
They used to play until the bell for first period rang. Now, they were back before even half of lunch break had passed.
There was no helping it. The most important thing right now was absolutely not losing the wager.
Seeing the bottle on the desk, Liu Qimai burst out laughing. “Brother Kun, another admirer!”
Qian Kun was about to toss the water to Liu Qimai when his gaze paused.
The note didn’t contain a confession. It was just a simple sentence.
I didn’t discriminate against you.
The handwriting was beautiful, light and decisive.
Qian Kun looked at Shen Jin, who was supposedly napping. The little swirl of hair at the top of his head was facing him.
Gradually, under Qian Kun’s gaze, Shen Jin’s ears turned red.
Like a rabbit backed into a corner, with nowhere to hide.
Qian Kun smiled silently. Pretending to sleep, huh.
“This is for me?”
Shen Jin didn’t answer.
It was too awkward. He didn’t want to face him.
Qian Kun noticed sunlight reflecting off the window onto Shen Jin’s body and stood up to close it.
Liu Qimai frowned. “Brother Kun, why are you closing the window?”
“There’s wind.”
Liu Qimai: ?
What wind?
Qian Kun glanced at Shen Jin, who still hadn’t moved. The pale skin of his neck was nearly translucent, the suppressor patch still in place. His arms lay loosely at his sides, and the school uniform shirt outlined his slender figure.
Behind his reddened ear was a small black mole.
Qian Kun looked away.
His mouth felt dry.
He suddenly picked up the bottle, twisted it open, and took several gulps.
Brother Kun, was the water sweet?
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Thank you for the chapter ☺️
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