On Monday, Dai Li returned to the familiar campus just as he had wished.
The math teacher lectured enthusiastically on the podium, while the students below were drowsy, doing everything except studying.
“I missed a whole week of classes, damn it.” Dai Li grumbled as he sat on his stool, while Xu Changxing beside him was busy writing an English test.
“Did I not give you all my notes?” Xu Changxing said in a low voice, without even raising his head as his pen continuously jotted down strings of letters.
“So many!” Dai Li kept his volume in check, holding up both hands in an exaggerated, frantic gesture and staring grittingly at Xu Changxing’s profile. “I do not care. You are going to tutor me, seatmate.”
“Which top student in the grade tutors the second-best student?” Xu Changxing dotted his final punctuation mark, turned his face to look at Dai Li, and kept his eyes completely calm.
“Hey, if I fail to get into college, I will have no choice but to go work on a construction site. In the scorching sun, I will be sweating profusely at the construction site. Can your conscience bear that?” Dai Li put on a miserable expression.
“Are you not a rich second-generation heir?” Too lazy to humor him, Xu Changxing opened his biology workbook instead. “Did you finish your homework? Teacher Li is going to check it later.”
“I never do biology.” Dai Li spread his hands and shrugged. “Hey, the top student is afraid of being surpassed and refuses to tutor the poor second-best student.”
“Hmm?” Xu Changxing narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Do not leave after school; I will tutor you until you cannot take anymore.”
“Playing the pity card failed, but reverse psychology still works like a charm, my dear seatmate.” Having apparently figured out how to handle Xu Changxing, Dai Li proudly lifted his chin.
“Do you want me to praise you?” Xu Changxing smiled without any warmth.
“If my dear seatmate praises me, I will be very happy and have even more motivation to study.” Dai Li made an exaggerated cheering gesture.
“You really are the greatest little Alpha in the whole world.” Xu Changxing tilted his head and offered a faint smile.
The midday sunlight filtered through the glass window, casting a warm glow over that near-flameless, perfect face. Dai Li was momentarily dazed, having to admit that Xu Changxing was even more delicate and pretty than an Omega.
Whether even the wind could not stand watching anymore, it suddenly whooshed and blew the curtain upward, letting it land right over Dai Li’s head as it fell back down.
“Damn it.” Dai Li frantically batted away the mischievous curtain, only to find that Xu Changxing had already turned back around, sitting upright and focusing intently on his problems.
Sure enough, the next second came the call: “Dai Li!” Unable to tolerate it any longer, the math teacher snapped a piece of chalk into two halves and pointed outside. “Stand outside!”
“Teacher!” Dai Li glanced at Xu Changxing, knowing he had been set up, and resignedly stood up. Before leaving his seat, he leaned in close to Xu Changxing’s ear and squeezed out two words through gritted teeth: “Just you wait.”
Acting as though he had heard none of Dai Li’s threats, Xu Changxing turned a deaf ear to the outside world, kept his eyes locked on the biology exercises in front of him, and let a faint smile tug at the corner of his lips.
The moment the bell rang for the end of class, Dai Li rushed right back inside. “Well, well, Xu Changxing.”
“What about me?” Xu Changxing slightly raised his eyes, propping his chin with one hand resting on the desk, and looked up unhurriedly at the exasperated Dai Li standing before him with a pretty curve on his lips.
Dai Li abruptly grabbed Xu Changxing’s shoulder through his thin T-shirt, pulling him forcefully close so that the tips of their noses were less than two inches apart.
Dai Li furrowed his brows and nose, narrowed his sharp phoenix eyes, and grinned. “My good seatmate, your blessings are yet to come.”
Dai Li returned to his seat and had just pulled out his pen to start his homework when he heard a familiar voice from outside: “Xu Changxing!”
Ma Tianqin leaned against the rear doorway of Class 1 and shouted inside.
Someone in the class passed the word along: “Xu Changxing, someone is looking for you.”
Xu Changxing turned his head to look at Ma Tianqin, who was holding a bag of snacks at the doorway. Just as he was hesitating whether or not to go out, a tall figure beside him stood up and strode toward the door.
“What on earth are you losing your mind over, Ma Tianqin?” Standing right in front of Ma Tianqin, Dai Li was a fraction of a head taller than him.
“I am pursuing someone, did I not tell you that ages ago?” Ma Tianqin beamed with a full face of smiles, peering past the gap between Dai Li and the door frame to catch a glimpse of Xu Changxing.
Dai Li shifted sideways to block Ma Tianqin’s line of sight.
Ma Tianqin pulled his neck back slightly, scratched his head, and then handed the large bag in his hand to Dai Li. “Here, help me give this to him.”
Dai Li casually took it, peeked inside, and then handed it right back to Ma Tianqin.
“What is wrong, is it too little?” Ma Tianqin asked, looking puzzled.
“He does not like snacks.” Dai Li blurted out.
“How do you know?” Ma Tianqin asked reflexively. “Well, what does he like? Give me some pointers.” Ma Tianqin looked eagerly at Dai Li.
“You cannot pursue him,” Dai Li said with absolute conviction.
“Why can I not pursue him?” Ma Tianqin was even more baffled.
“No reason why.” Dai Li could not come up with a valid reason.
Looking at the Alpha whose eyes were darting away evasively, Ma Tianqin smiled knowingly. “You like him too?”
“Who likes him?!” Dai Li suddenly raised his voice in retort, drawing curious glances from everyone around them.
“If you do not like him, then do not like him, why are you yelling?” Ma Tianqin rubbed his abused ear. “If you do not like him, why will you not let me pursue him?”
“Because he is a Beta and you are an Alpha, so the two of you are impossible.” Racking his brain, Dai Li finally came up with a somewhat plausible excuse and proudly lifted his chin to look righteous.
“Can you make up a lamer excuse? What era is it, Boss Dai, why are you still so feudal?” Amused, Ma Tianqin shook his head as he spoke.
“In short, the two of you are not a match.” Dai Li refused to budge. Even though he did not know why, he simply did not want Ma Tianqin pursuing Xu Changxing.
“Alright, Boss Dai, do not be so rigid about genders. Even if you want to pursue him yourself, I will not give up, okay? I am serious.”
Seeing that Dai Li was still stubbornly blocking the doorway, Ma Tianqin stood on tiptoe, leaned his upper body forward, and shouted inside: “Xu Changxing, I will come looking for you next time!”
Clamping one hand against the door frame with bulging veins and gritted teeth, Dai Li spat out: “Get the hell out of here right now.”
“I am not giving up.” After saying that to Dai Li, Ma Tianqin turned and walked away with his bag of snacks.
Angrily slamming his hand against the door frame, Dai Li returned to his seat and looked at Xu Changxing, who was nonchalantly writing his problems, feeling his anger flare up.
Suddenly, a large hand reached out in front of Xu Changxing, pinched the pen he was holding, and forced it to a stop. “When I was gone, did he come looking for you too?”
Listening closely, a hint of lingering anger seemed to be contained within those words.
Xu Changxing tried to pull his pen out, but Dai Li’s grip was too strong, even though he was only pinching the slender body of the pen with his fingertips.
“Let go. You are going to break my pen,” Xu Changxing said calmly.
Yet falling into Dai Li’s ears, it sounded just like a cat’s scratch.
He was acting spoiled.