PA chapter 3

After saying that, Qu Baiyuan went to sit at the dining table and opened his laptop.

In order to play games, Yan Leyan installed a high-speed router on the first floor, which was much faster than the one upstairs. During the first two days, when they were playing around, Yan Leyan mischievously changed the password to “There’s no Alpha I can’t handle,” and forgot to change it back.

As a result, Lin Sheng unfortunately became the first victim of this embarrassing situation, and he gritted his teeth and beat up Yan Leyan. Yan Leyan, unable to contain his laughter, reminded him that the handsome guy just now seemed to be hitting on him.

Lin Sheng quickly covered his mouth, casting a wary glance at Qu Baiyuan. Qu Baiyuan, however, was focused on the computer screen and didn’t notice their commotion.

He felt like he had seen that Alpha somewhere before but couldn’t remember. He propped up his chin and stared blankly, occasionally glancing towards the dining table, feeling like he was about to be caught, then quickly looking away.

Not long after, the kitchen announced that the barbecue dinner was ready on the lawn.

When Bai Ji came downstairs, he had changed his clothes, let down his ponytail, and his hair was slightly curly, draped over his shoulders. He warmly invited Lin Sheng and Yan Leyan to join them. Lin Sheng hadn’t refused yet when Yan Leyan promptly agreed.

Lin Sheng: “…”

He didn’t really want to hang out with these people, and he couldn’t put his finger on what felt off, but it just didn’t feel right. It was like encountering an opponent whose intentions were unclear in a match, and he looked unfriendly.

Yan Leyan was playful and mischievous by nature, and as he chatted, he went with Bai Ji to the lawn.

Lin Sheng stood in place, and when Yan Leyan turned back to call him, he reluctantly walked out. Qu Baiyuan also closed his laptop and stood up, his eyes on Lin Sheng, as if he wanted to go out with him.

Not being good at socializing, Lin Sheng didn’t know how to refuse such a kind look and could only stand at the door waiting for him. It was then that he noticed how tall the guy really was. Lin Sheng was 180cm tall, considered tall among alphas despite being an omega, but Qu Baiyuan was half a head taller, estimated to be over 190cm.

As the two walked towards the lawn, they didn’t speak, but Lin Sheng felt a kind of instinctive pressure. He felt the same way when facing a powerful opponent in a match.

“Lin Sweetie! Hurry up!” Yan Leyan shouted from the other side, making Lin Sheng want to strangle him. He had told him many times not to call him that in front of others, but he never listened. Which 180cm tall man wanted to be called Sweetie by others!

Sure enough, Qu Baiyuan turned to look at him, eyebrows raised, a smile playing on his lips, showing interest in this nickname. “Lin… Sweetie?”

Lin Sheng could only say vaguely, “Um, he just calls me that randomly.”

“Very fitting,” Qu Baiyuan said seriously, without any hint of teasing. Lin Sheng felt like his hair was about to stand on end.

Picking up the pace, they walked to the middle of the lawn. Lin Sheng instinctively ran to the grill, avoiding sitting next to Qu Baiyuan. He didn’t know why, but he just felt an intuitive need to keep his distance from that person.

At this point, Yan Leyan had already started drinking beer with Bai Ji and the others. Lin Sheng caught sight of him and shouted, “Yan Leyan! Minors shouldn’t drink alcohol!”

“What’s the big deal?” Yan Leyan muttered, “I’ll be an adult in two months, rounding it off, I’m already eighteen.”

Bai Ji asked him, “Is Lin Sheng an adult now?”

“Not yet, he just turned seventeen.”

“Tsk, still underage,” Bai Ji sounded regretful, “what a pity.”

Yan Leyan sensed the implication in his words. “Don’t even think about it! I’m warning you, he’s the champion of the 70-kilogram division in the previous National Comprehensive Combat Championship.”

But Bai Ji’s focus was a bit off. “Does he weigh 70 kilograms? Why does he look so skinny?”

“You’ll know whether he’s skinny or not when he fights. Don’t mess with him.”

Bai Ji diverted his gaze from Lin Sheng and said diplomatically, “In that case, you’re the cute one.”

Yan Leyan chuckled and scolded, “Get lost, Poseidon!”

Lin Sheng listened as that piglet divulged his secrets to others with a few words, itching with hatred, and sprinkled chili flakes on the barbecue meat. Then he heard Qu Baiyuan ask, “Are you guys high school students? Which school?”

“Yeah, we’re at Wu Zhong!” Yan Leyan answered readily because Wu Zhong was the top-ranked public high school in City C. When he mentioned his school, he usually waited for others to praise it. Then he asked, “And you?”

Qu Baiyuan said, “Hatton School.”

Yan Leyan suddenly fell silent. Hatton School was a legendary private school, the school of schools for the elite, where even the rich couldn’t afford to attend. Not to mention the outrageous tuition fees, just the qualification to apply to the school eliminated ninety percent of the applicants. It was said that the students who attended were the children of celebrities from various fields, and the students it cultivated were elites in various industries.

Yan Leyan usually only saw the name of this school in the news, like when a child of a certain big entrepreneur enrolled at Hatton School, or when a certain big star’s child graduated from there.

This was the first time he had seen a living student from Hatton, and after being surprised for a while, he said, “Then your parents’ names must often appear in the news, right? I might have seen them.”

Qu Baiyuan smiled and said, “It’s not that exaggerated. Hatton is mostly made up of ordinary people like us.”

Yan Leyan thought to himself, Well, then I’m not even an ordinary person anymore? But he was carefree, knowing that there might be a big difference in social status between him and the other person, but he didn’t think it was a big deal. After all, weren’t they all just two eyes and one mouth?

Lin Sheng, on the other hand, was unaware. He only knew that it was a private school, and that was it.

His mother passed away early, and his father’s whereabouts were unknown. He had been living with his grandfather, who was a martial arts coach, since he was a child.

In his seventeen years of life, he had only studied and trained, not even playing mobile games, let alone caring about celebrity news. Compared to Yan Leyan and his peers, he felt like he was still living in the 2G era, and as a result, he himself was a bit slow, with the only time he was agile being in the boxing ring.

He put the cooked meat on a plate and brought it to the table for them to eat. Bai Ji invited him to join them, but he shook his head and said no.

Yan Leyan said, “Don’t mind him, he seems to have a match next month and needs to watch his weight.”

Bai Ji exclaimed, “That’s too miserable. What’s the point of life if you can’t enjoy good food?”

Yan Leyan raised his cup and clinked it with Bai Ji’s. “What the White Prince said is absolutely right. Cheers!”

Bai Ji encountered such a hearty omega for the first time and felt as if they had met too late. Before long, their side was full of empty bottles.

Qu Baiyuan looked at Lin Sheng’s back, recalling the appearance of this seemingly gentle and soft omega in the octagonal cage.

Sweat, blood, exposed bodies, the sound of fists hitting flesh, and his fierce expression, along with his strong and resilient muscles… This contradictory contrast made him intensely curious.

Once something caught his interest, he would dive into it without hesitation.

It piqued his interest, so he inevitably had to thoroughly study, crush, and dissect it, analyzing it bit by bit until he got bored and was willing to stop.

He stood up and walked to Lin Sheng’s side. Lin Sheng was earnestly brushing sauce onto the chicken wings. Sensing someone beside him, he casually said, “Wait, these are not ready yet.”

Qu Baiyuan said, “I know.”

Lin Sheng turned to look at him. 

He said, “I’m not here for food.”

“Then what do you want?” Lin Sheng asked him.

Lin Sheng’s eyes were almond-shaped, making his somewhat aggressive face look much gentler. Qu Baiyuan carefully looked at him face to face for the first time and felt that he looked unrealistically handsome in real life.

The wind blew the smoke over, and Lin Sheng choked and coughed. Qu Baiyuan reached out and took the brush, “Let me do it.”

Lin Sheng dodged, “No need.”

Qu Baiyuan touched the back of his hand and immediately withdrew his hand, leaving a smooth and soft feeling only at his fingertips.

This omega seemed a bit nervous.

Qu Baiyuan stepped back a half step to the side until a burnt smell wafted from the grill. He pointed at the chicken wings, reminding, “The other side is already burnt.”

Lin Sheng realized he forgot to turn them over.

He was somewhat annoyed as he threw the burnt food into the trash can and put a few new skewers on the grill. Qu Baiyuan took the brush and said, “Let me just do it.” Lin Sheng handed him the brush this time and stepped aside to watch.

By now, it was already dark, and the courtyard lights and surrounding ambient lights were lit up, casting scattered dots on the lawn, as if the starlight had fallen on it. Lin Sheng saw his slender, articulate fingers under the starry light, elegant as if playing the piano.

The atmosphere seemed to become less awkward. Lin Sheng was about to speak when Yan Leyan called out from the side, “Lin Sweetie, how much chili did you put in! It’s so spicy!”

Lin Sheng turned and said, “If it’s too spicy, you can grill your own!”

It was only then that Bai Ji and the others realized it was Qu Baiyuan who was cooking. They stared at him curiously for a while. Bai Ji said quietly, “Something’s not right!”

The girl Yan Xue nodded in agreement, “Ge actually cooking himself, the sun will rise from the west tomorrow morning.”

Tong Lize, who rarely spoke, pointed out incisively, “Ge’s heart has been moved.”

The other three suddenly realized what was going on and joined in the excitement. Yan Xue shouted loudly, “Qu Ge, it’s not spicy at all! Put less sugar! It’s too sweet!”

Lin Sheng felt very uncomfortable and suddenly excused himself saying, “There’s no more beef, I’ll go to the kitchen to get some.” Then he quickly left the scene.

Seeing Lin Sheng leave, Qu Baiyuan also put down the brush and turned to the onlookers, “Alright, now you guys grill yourselves.”

Yan Xue laughed heartily as she stood up, “Let me do it, let me do it.”

Lin Sheng’s figure soon disappeared behind the main building, and Yan Xue couldn’t help but smirk, “This omega is so shy and cute. Go for it, ge!”

Qu Baiyuan looked at her with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, “What are you guys making a fuss about? I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Yan Xue gave him a knowing look, implying something as she glanced in the direction Lin Sheng had left, “You can act tough now, but earlier, who was it that couldn’t take their eyes off him?”