WCHM Chapter 58

The bathroom lights were bright. Lu Chi gave a lazy hum, still keeping his eyes closed as he answered leisurely beneath a head full of foam, “Some classmates bullied me and secretly signed me up.”

 

Lin Jingsi paused, but Lu Chi did not seem to care. Lazily, he asked, “How did you know? I remember contestants aren’t allowed to check the roster.”

 

The Federation combat tournament actually had very strict rules. Lin Jingsi’s strength and background were too overwhelming, so he enjoyed certain special privileges, such as being free to come and go after matches every day.

 

The other students competing alongside him were nowhere near as unrestricted. They had to remain inside the prepared rooms within the venue, regardless of victory or defeat, and were not permitted to leave.

 

Lin Jingsi looked at the Beta with his eyes closed. After a moment, expression unchanged, he piled white foam onto Lu Chi’s head and awkwardly shaped it into two cat ears. Once finished, his expression turned faintly satisfied. Scooping warm water over Lu Chi’s hair, he said, “The arena screens cycle through the contestant lists. Your name appeared in the D-rank zone four days from now.”

 

Although it had only flashed by for less than a second, Lin Jingsi still caught those two familiar characters. At the time, the commentators had casually brought up Betas as a topic, and the male commentator’s tone had been lofty and disdainful, full of contempt toward the Beta gender.

 

Lin Jingsi lowered his eyes, fingers rubbing through Lu Chi’s damp hair. His voice stayed flat, asking, “Which trash signed you up?”

 

The commentators’ words were unpleasant enough.

 

But everyone participating in the combat tournament was an Alpha. Being admitted into the Federation Academy already proved that their mental power far exceeded the standard threshold, and Lu Chi was only a low-grade Beta. If he encountered opponents like that in the arena, it would be very difficult for him to avoid having his mental power shattered.

 

In more severe cases, he could even end up paralyzed or brain-dead.

 

It was blatant malice and targeting.

 

Lin Jingsi remained expressionless as he considered how to let those pieces of garbage experience paralysis for themselves, but after hearing him, Lu Chi opened his eyes, a soft laugh escaping through his nose. 

 

“I forgot who it was…”

 

Thinking back over the records from the past month, he simply said, “But after the tournament, I’ll write you a list. You can go down the names one by one and help me send them your regards.”

 

Lu Chi had no interest in the whole “endure humiliation for years before taking revenge” routine. He wanted Lin Jingsi, the privileged top-tier dragon among men, to go crush those people violently first. Then, once he himself became strong enough later, he would personally crush them again.

 

A double slap across the face. Loud enough to be satisfying.

 

Naturally, Lin Jingsi agreed to whatever he said and nodded with a simple “Okay.”

 

The two sat face-to-face in the bathtub. Lu Chi lowered his gaze toward the reflection in the water and only then realized there were two white foam cat ears perched atop his head. Whenever he tilted his head, the foam ears swayed too.

 

“…”

 

Kind of cute.

 

The Beta raised a brow, suddenly entertained. He had Lin Jingsi gather up his silver-gray hair and shape it into a pair of sheep horns instead. The alpha silently obeyed, fingers brushing over his scalp with a faint ticklishness. And just like that, the sheep’s horns were quickly finished.

 

Lu Chi admired himself in the reflection for a while before suddenly lifting his head and ramming hard into Lin Jingsi’s broad shoulder.

 

Splash!

 

Lin Jingsi’s muscles were too hard. Lu Chi bounced right back and toppled into the bathwater with a loud splash, hot water spilling all over his face.

 

Steam curled thickly through the room, but before the Alpha could reach out to catch him, Lu Chi had already surfaced again, wet lashes dripping, his sharp, beautiful eyes overflowing with laughter. He leaned over and repeatedly squeezed Lin Jingsi’s shoulder, sounding genuinely amazed.

 

“Wow, Lin Jingsi, your shoulders are so hard!”

 

“……”

 

Lin Jingsi said nothing, silently flexing his muscles harder.

 

Lu Chi fought back a laugh. Like a child discovering a fun new game, he tilted his head and slammed into him again, only to bounce off and splash back into the water. The sheep’s horns on his head tilted sideways and collapsed onto his forehead, making him look like he was wearing a giant mushroom cap.

 

Lin Jingsi stared at him, his gaze strange and soft.

 

…The person before him was different again from how he looked in bed.

 

The cold composure and effortless dominance had faded. That superior face now crashed playfully into his arms, and Lu Chi seemed to be in a very good mood. His light brown eyes were bright and dazzling, droplets of water clinging to them as they curved into laughter.

 

So beautiful.

 

After playing enough, beautiful Lu Chi suddenly grabbed Lin Jingsi’s hand. His fingers had soaked in hot water too long and now felt warm and soft. Lin Jingsi watched him lean closer under the lights, lashes lowered, fine and delicate. Resting against his shoulder, Lu Chi lazily smiled and began teaching him palm reading.

 

“Flip it over here. There are a few basic lines. They represent your life, career, love…”

 

Lu Chi paused.

 

Under the bright lighting, the Alpha’s career line cut deep and sharp across his palm, while the love line was so faint it was almost blurred away completely. As for the lifeline, halfway through, it was abruptly severed by another crease and vanished entirely.

 

What a bizarre palm.

 

After a pause, Lu Chi honestly informed him, “…Customer Lin, you seem kind of short-lived?”

 

In the original novel, it seemed Lin Jingsi’s own mental power had once burned his brain out. He killed many people afterward, but soon after, he recovered again, stronger than before.

 

“……”

 

Lin Jingsi lowered his head as though he had not heard a thing, reaching instead for Lu Chi’s hand.

 

“Mhm. What about you?”

 

“Me?”

 

Lu Chi let him turn his hand over for inspection. The bathtub was not small, but they sat very close together. Lin Jingsi’s tall body enveloped him completely, warm, damp breaths brushing against Lu Chi’s ear as he leaned down.

 

Lu Chi’s palm twitched.

 

Lin Jingsi was tracing the center of it. At the same time, he unconsciously rubbed his lips against the Beta’s damaged gland and asked softly, “Your love line is very faint. Why?”

 

Lu Chi blinked. “Maybe?”

 

Under the light, the love line intertwined with the life line across his palm. Lin Jingsi studied it carefully before continuing, “But your career line is very deep. That should be a good thing.” The young Alpha nodded to himself with satisfaction, his handsome face serious, clearly deeply concerned about Lu Chi’s fate.

 

Very quickly, though, he frowned again.

 

“Why is part of your life line missing? Does that mean you’ll suffer some kind of setback? Or nearly die?”

 

“When? Why? Can you tell me at what age?”

 

“What exact date? Morning or afternoon? Because of what?”

 

“Who did this to you?”

 

“……”

 

Lu Chi looked at him for a few seconds, meeting that icy, vigilant stare like he was facing a mortal enemy, then couldn’t help laughing. “Lin Jingsi, palm reading is just a way of estimating fortune. You don’t need to take it this seriously.”

 

There was even less need to look like he was about to blow up the entire world over it.

 

Lin Jingsi frowned stubbornly at him. “But your life line is missing a section. Is there a solution? I can pay.”

 

“Aren’t you also offering curse services?”

 

“…”

 

Lu Chi calmly withdrew his hand, pinched the back of this lunatic’s neck, and slowly pressed down on his gland. “Stop going crazy. Keep washing my hair.”

 

At moments like this, he became the owner who looked ready to slap him at any second again.

 

Cold.

 

And incredibly sexy.

 

As a wild beast with its weak point seized, Lin Jingsi went silent for a moment, Adam’s apple rolling, before obediently reaching out to continue washing the Beta’s hair. A while later, though, his hands started wandering downward again.

 

Water splashed noisily, mixed with faint moans and soft laughter from the young man. Much later, the sound of the automatic dryer finally started up.

 

Two soft beeps rang out.

 

The naked Alpha returned to the bathroom carrying clothes he’d prepared beforehand, kneeling halfway before the sink to help Lu Chi dress.

 

The Beta’s fingertips were flushed pink from soaking too long in water. Hooking an arm lazily around Lin Jingsi’s neck, he kissed him absentmindedly before lowering his head to put his ring back on. “Thanks.”

 

“…No need to thank me.” Lin Jingsi lowered his eyes and kissed his damaged gland.

 

The two returned to the bedroom. Lin Jingsi tapped on his terminal and transferred Lu Chi’s payment twice for the palm reading.

 

He didn’t send too much money to Lu Chi’s account all at once. After all, fourth-class citizens in the Federation were classified as welfare recipients. If their daily income suddenly exceeded fifty thousand credits, the AI “Cocoon” would immediately flag it in real time and report it to the police for questioning about the source of the “illegal income.”

 

Indeed… Any amount of money exceeding what the Federation deemed appropriate for one’s citizen rank was automatically classified as illegal income or stolen funds, and local law enforcement would forcibly confiscate it.

 

If you refused to hand it over, that proved the money holder had suspicious origins and criminal tendencies. The police had the authority to detain you, imprison you under the charge of disrupting social order, and sentence you to no less than several months of labor service.

 

But if you surrendered the money, then you were considered a lawful, orderly citizen. Only then could you leave the station and return to your numb, machine-like existence.

 

After hearing Lin Jingsi’s calm explanation, the system was dumbstruck.

 

[Th-this… this world’s police are even more evil than me?! Then what if the money comes from some rich young master from a major conglomerate?! Would they still dare arrest us?!]

 

Lu Chi smiled faintly.

 

[There’s always a bigger power standing behind them.]

 

This was undoubtedly a distorted society. Large and small factions clung to the lower classes like enormous parasites, densely packed together, sucking out every last drop of blood from them. And those factions, in turn, were latched onto by even larger top-tier powers, feeding off each other in endless mutual parasitism.

 

These powers operated under unspoken rules. It wasn’t something that could be changed just because one person, or even one faction, said no.

 

Reality did not bend to individual will.

 

Even someone as powerful as the Main Protagonist, Lin Jingsi, could not fully free himself from the shadow of the Federation. The system struggled for a while with its smooth little brain before suddenly exploding into curses a few seconds later.

 

[Fuck, so that Second Male Lead deliberately encouraged you to blackmail him?! He was digging a trap for you to jump into?!]

 

[That filthy, disgusting, perverted, impotent bastard! One day I’m personally going to castrate him!]

 

“…”

 

Lu Chi suddenly rubbed his face, asking in his mind, […What exactly have you been reading now?]

 

[Host Baby, don’t worry!] The system huffed angrily. [I went surfing on the public forums and absorbed the essence of internet trolls. I’ve now evolved into a mature cyber ghost! I’m going to flame all those trashy assholes who bullied my Baby to death!]

 

[Castrate, castrate, castrate! I’m cutting it off!!]

 

“…”

 

Alright then.

 

Lu Chi rubbed his face again and let it continue entertaining itself. Just then, a warm touch brushed against his fingertips. He lifted his eyes and met Lin Jingsi’s deep green gaze.

 

“Want some water?” The Alpha studied him carefully. “You look a little oxygen-deprived… Is it because of your life line?”

 

“…”

 

He’d almost forgotten… this one was also a complete weirdo with abnormal thought processes, ah!

 

Sitting by the table, Lu Chi accepted the hot water and took two sips, suddenly feeling like his life was a little miserable.

 

And a little funny.

 

Lin Jingsi sat beside him. After a moment, he suddenly heard the Beta next to him laughing. Once he’d laughed enough, Lu Chi tilted his head against the table and asked in a husky voice, “What do you think the odds are of a senile old cat successfully castrating someone?”

 

“…”

 

Lin Jingsi paused, having absolutely no idea what he was talking about, and answered expressionlessly, “Sorry. I don’t know.”

 

Lu Chi laughed again for no reason. The long hair Lin Jingsi had carefully tended earlier was smoother than before, fluffy and soft where it fell around his shoulders and neck. As the strands shifted, sharp little pale ears peeked through.

 

After laughing for a while, he quickly opened his terminal and asked Lin Jingsi, “I heard people say these past few days that you’re really good at training people, too?”

 

Lin Jingsi paused, immediately understanding what he meant, and turned to look at him calmly as he asked, “You’re not planning to withdraw from the tournament?”

 

Lu Chi hummed, scrolling through training equipment on the starnet and frowning at the outrageous prices. “I’m not withdrawing.”

 

“I can’t spend my whole life running away.”

 

Lin Jingsi looked at him for a moment before saying quietly, “I can make the academy remove your slot. A Beta participating in the combat tournament already defies common sense. Anyone investigating even slightly would know why your name appeared there.”

 

The people in charge were only pretending not to see it because they were cooperating with those young masters.

 

“The three Alphas who bullied you that night are already bankrupt. The Lin family also received my message; they won’t touch you again. Lu Chi, you’re safe now. You don’t need to force yourself.”

 

A defective gland wasn’t just some simple sentence in a textbook, for mecha connected directly to the brain. After centuries of development, operation had evolved into complete synchronization and control through mental power. Even in a society that worshipped martial strength like the Federation, Alphas capable of piloting mecha in real combat were still considered geniuses among ordinary people.

 

So if it was that difficult for Alphas, then Betas had it even worse.

 

The Federation’s rigid hierarchy existed not only because of the conglomerates but because gender and rank were fixed from birth. Plenty of people had tried to break through those limits over the years, but mental power, like compatibility, remained an unexplored mystery hidden deep within the brain.

 

A Beta’s incomplete mental strength and inherently weaker physique meant they couldn’t even achieve the most basic mecha synchronization. Exerting themselves too much could cause headaches and weakness at best, unconsciousness and collapse at worst.

 

“You don’t need to worry.” Lin Jingsi looked at Lu Chi. “I’ll protect you.”

 

Lu Chi raised a brow, still smiling at the screen while selecting training equipment. “I can’t spend my whole life running away,” he repeated lazily.

 

“This isn’t running away,” Lin Jingsi said. “Lu Chi, you know what I mean.”

 

When facing something impossible, letting go and walking away was often the wisest and most rational choice. Ignoring the gap and blindly struggling forward instead looked more like a self-indulgent performance than intelligence.

 

Lu Chi turned and met the Alpha’s dark green eyes with a smile. “Then let me phrase it differently.”

“I can’t not try.”

 

Lu Chi had always been someone who dared to challenge things.

 

Both before death and after it.

 

He never searched for reasonable excuses to retreat ahead of time, and he always dared to dream and fight. Opportunity might truly descend at random, but the people capable of seizing and keeping it were always those who prepared for it.

 

Just like his life.

 

No retreat.

No avoidance.

No dodging.

 

Lu Chi always moved against the current. The world was one enormous makeshift theatre troupe, but the world was also one enormous performance stage. If you lacked the courage to even attempt something, if you covered your ears and backed away in fear, then perhaps it was better to honestly admit your own weakness and make peace with it.

 

There was no shame in retreating.

 

But Lu Chi’s sense of self-consistency was simple: try first, talk later.

 

He took a sip of water and said casually, “If you never try, how would you know it won’t work? If I can’t win, I’ll deal with it then. I can learn a few escape tricks, or just play dead on the spot.”

 

The silver-haired Beta seemed inspired by his own words. His eyes lit up as he immediately began searching for One Hundred Tips for Playing Dead During Matches, determined to avoid getting beaten into idiocy during the competition.

 

Lin Jingsi watched him quietly. After a moment, he suddenly stepped forward and fiercely wrapped his arms around Lu Chi’s slim waist. Lowering his head, the Alpha rubbed the sharp bridge of his nose against the Beta’s damaged gland again and again, almost absentmindedly inhaling his scent.

 

Scalding breaths brushed across the pale, slender neck.

 

That faint, icy scent, like fine snow, spread ever so lightly, seeping into the Alpha’s boiling blood.

 

Lu Chi laughed softly. After a pause, he patted the back of Lin Jingsi’s head like petting a dog, asking, “What’s wrong with you now?”

 

Lin Jingsi buried his head against Lu Chi’s shoulder and neck. After a long silence, he muttered hoarsely, his breath burning hot, “Watching you made me hard.”

 

“……”

 

Lu Chi suspected he’d switched channels midway through the conversation, absent-mindedly answering, “You really are a dog. In heat anytime, anywhere.”

 

“Mhm. Looking at Master LuLu makes me unable to stop going into heat.”

 

“…”

 

Psychopath.

 

Lu Chi laughed as Lin Jingsi kept kissing the back of his neck. Like a dog in rut, the Alpha licked and kissed the slightly raised gland over and over. Restless and low, he licked at it while his teeth itched.

 

“I really want to mark you.” A few seconds later, he repeated hoarsely: “I really want to mark you…”

 

Brave people shine, and Lu Chi had no idea how captivating he’d looked just now. Try first, talk later, such a simple phrase. But in all of Lin Jingsi’s life, he had never truly experienced those words.

 

He had always been pushed forward by others.

 

Raised inside the Federation from childhood, Lin Jingsi had undergone harsh, ruthless training. Yet the rebelliousness in his soul had never been erased. So-called “responsibility” and “mission” carried no real weight to him. Sometimes he would watch the countless people around him with a blank face while inwardly sneering with cruel amusement.

 

But humans were social creatures. His status meant he could never separate himself from his family, and he never intended to.

 

And why should he leave?

 

There had never been anything truly important in Lin Jingsi’s life. Never once had he stopped for another soul. Since there was nothing, it didn’t matter how he lived. The night his adulthood heat arrived, when Lin Jingsi looked down at his body’s reaction, the image that appeared in his mind was not some Omega from a storybook.

 

Instead, it was the cold metallic guns that had accompanied him for years, and the mechas he had trained with countless times.

 

The psychologist had been horrified, trembling as he cautiously suspected Lin Jingsi possessed some unspeakable fetish. Lin Jingsi had only looked at him and curled his lips mockingly, saying his fetish was killing people.

 

For the more he killed, the more excited he became.

 

The Beta doctor fled in terror, and so Lin Jingsi continued onward expressionlessly, pushed ahead by both family and society. He gave his all in every match and exhausted himself in every training session, but not for glory.

 

Because only during those moments did he feel like he finally had a goal. Only then could he truly control himself and tell himself:

 

Try first. Worry later.

 

He hadn’t reached his limit yet, so he would try first.

 

And he would win.

 

And now, Lin Jingsi saw something similar in Lu Chi’s eyes, though not entirely the same. Lu Chi was calm in a way entirely different from him. They shared certain traits, yet were fundamentally different people. His eyes were like a quiet sea, capable of holding every raging wave within them. Gentleness itself was a kind of strength. Lu Chi always looked carefree and casual, yet he maintained complete control over his own emotions and desires.

 

He was incredibly strong and self-contained.

 

Lin Jingsi felt himself being drawn in, unable to resist wanting to get closer, to be attracted, to approach…

 

And then to embrace.

 

Under the bright lights, the Alpha’s kisses became hotter and hotter.

 

Lu Chi pressed down the hand trying to slip beneath his shirt and lightly slapped him with a smile, eyes curving upward in warning.

 

“Lin Jingsi, do you really want to kneel and get slapped by me that badly?”

 

Breathing heavily, Lin Jingsi still leaned in to kiss him, licking slowly across Lu Chi’s flushed lips. Lu Chi teasingly hooked his tongue around the Alpha’s, treating it like stress relief before training.

 

After a long while, the Alpha lifted his eyes and stared at him before suddenly saying, “I can protect you.”

 

“Lu Chi, I can protect you.”

 

To be drawn in. To want to get closer.

 

And then to embrace him tightly and protect him with everything.

 

Strong people deserve to be spoiled without restraint. The road to becoming strong was a painful one. Only after walking through sweat and tears could someone arrive at the gentle strength Lu Chi possessed now.

 

And Lin Jingsi wanted to become the person Lu Chi could rely on.

 

Lu Chi paused, meeting those deep green eyes.

 

A memory suddenly flashed through his mind, of a calm night from not that long ago… when a young man held him tightly while hoarsely demanding that he rely on him more.

 

Now the shell had changed¹yep, he knows that Lin Jingsi is Liang Jiashu, and they’re both the same person. I’m really happy; I feared for Lu Chi’s morals for a while :)). 

 

But the person inside still carried the same soul, wearing the same stubborn expression, saying the same words.

 

What a strange feeling.

 

The silver-haired Beta smiled softly and gazed quietly at Lin Jingsi. After a moment, he lowered his head and kissed the tiger’s mouth pressing stubbornly against his gland before smiling faintly.

 

“Am I not relying on you already?”

 

“Lin Jingsi,” Lu Chi said, “actually, I’m not someone who likes asking others for help.”

 

But habits were terrifying things.

 

Ever since arriving in this world, he’d let Lin Jingsi carry him around everywhere. Whether it was threatening the Luo family or dealing with Luo Zexu, Lu Chi never felt annoyed at his sense of control being disrupted. Honestly, it even felt convenient.

 

Even when Lin Jingsi read through his chat logs, Lu Chi hadn’t felt offended in the slightest.

 

Under the lights, Lin Jingsi froze, whispering, “Lu Chi.”

 

Lu Chi hummed softly. Then he lowered his head and gently rested the side of his face against the Alpha’s broad, burning-hot palm. Silver hair cascaded softly downward, long lashes fluttering like butterfly wings as the Beta smiled at him.

 

“Lin Jingsi, you can protect me, right?”

 

The young Alpha looked like a statue frozen in place, cradling that beautiful, cool face in both hands. After a long silence, he swore hoarsely: “Yes. I can protect you.”

 

Lu Chi could rely on him.

 

Lu Chi nodded. Lin Jingsi held his face and kissed him quietly for a while before the Beta turned back to the holographic screen. After scrolling for a bit, he asked thoughtfully, “Which one do you think is better for training?”

 

“……”

 

“Lin Jingsi?”

 

Lin Jingsi snapped out of the rare softness Lu Chi had shown him and immediately cleared his throat. “None of these are professional enough… The S-class lounge has a private training arena. You can stay here and train with me.”

 

When it came to expertise in this field, Lin Jingsi truly was an unquestionable authority, so Lu Chi only considered it for a few seconds before nodding in agreement. Lin Jingsi held the person in his arms tightly, his gaze falling briefly onto the Beta’s slender ring finger. After a moment, he shifted his eyes away, expression unreadable.

 

…No matter who that person was.

 

Right now, the only one holding all of Lu Chi’s attention was him, Lin Jingsi.

 

And if that person dared to appear, he would kill him.

 

…………………………..

 

A flicker of murderous intent flashed through the Alpha’s eyes before vanishing just as quickly. Then he led Lu Chi, now changed into combat gear, toward the training room.

 

Opening his terminal, Lin Jingsi canceled all his matches for the next four days and explained quietly:

 

“My score has already multiplied several times over. Missing matches won’t affect anything. Before your competition starts, we need to confirm whether you can connect to a mecha and control spiritual power.”

 

Lu Chi nodded. Soon, he stopped walking and lifted his gaze toward the gigantic black mecha standing before him.

 

Cold metallic air rushed toward him, as something icy pressed against his temple. Lin Jingsi carefully attached a sensory chip to the Beta, his tall body tense, ready to catch Lu Chi at any moment.

 

“Close your eyes. Relax.”

 

“Use your spiritual power to connect forward, then pull it back.”

 

Lu Chi calmly closed his eyes. Pitch-black darkness spread instantly through his vision like spilled ink, but the next second… He suddenly froze as he “saw” the system’s cheerful yet sinister figure.

 

[Hehehe, filthy man! Watch me castrate you!]

 

Lu Chi: “……”

 

Lu Chi: “o.O”

 

“?!”

……………………..

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• 1
  yep, he knows that Lin Jingsi is Liang Jiashu, and they’re both the same person. I’m really happy; I feared for Lu Chi’s morals for a while :))