Old Tang didn’t speak loudly, but the heads of all the Alphas in Science Class 1 turned back in unison, their movements more uniform than an assembly line, each at about a 135-degree angle.
“What is it?” The Mistress of Extermination looked at him and all the Alphas in Science Class 1 with suspicion.
“Nothing, just asking. I heard she has excellent grades. She was the first in the city-wide joint exam for the arts stream, right? Perfect scores in Math and Foreign Language,” Old Tang smiled. Sometimes, giving the students a little incentive was necessary to make them work harder.
When he said this, not just Science Class 1 but the students in Arts Class 1 also exclaimed.
Zhong Xiu, standing in front, noticed that Shen Zhiqiu, to her side, seemed a little stiff.
It made sense. Shen Zhiqiu was a High-tier Omega, not a Top-tier one, yet she was constantly voted the most beautiful girl in school and her grades were excellent.
Now she had met a competitor.
Perfect scores in Math and English were something even Lin Xi couldn’t achieve. Although there were slight differences in difficulty between the arts and science streams, Zhong Xiu was quite curious about this Top-tier Omega.
Speaking of the transfer student, a rare smile appeared on the Mistress of Extermination’s face. “Xia Mu is an accelerated student, skipping a grade from Eighth High School.”
“Wow—”
Everyone exclaimed in unison again.
This time, Shen Zhiqiu turned around, preparing to go up to the stage. Zhong Xiu clearly saw her expression, which was completely wrecked.
However, when it was her turn to speak, she quickly composed herself, showing no abnormalities. She was as elegant and confident as always, which Zhong Xiu admired.
Someone as outstanding as her can also be afraid?
Or was it just the fear of the opponent being Top-tier? People are strange sometimes. Even without meeting or interacting with the person, the psychological defense crumbles simply because they hear how incredibly powerful the opponent is.
As a Beta, always considered the disadvantaged gender, Zhong Xiu could deeply understand this point. After all, her physics talent died exactly this way.
But speaking of Top-tier, Zhong Xiu only slowly looked at Lin Xi’s reaction at the end. Although the Alpha was standing right in front of her, she tried her best not to focus on Lin Xi.
Lin Xi’s back was tall and straight, blocking almost all of Zhong Xiu’s view. But it was obvious that she was seriously reading the material in her hand, completely unaware of her surroundings.
The Alpha I have a crush on is like a block of wood.
Zhong Xiu didn’t know whether to be relieved or frustrated.
Sigh, why am I letting her control my emotions again?
Shaking these thoughts away, Zhong Xiu picked up her little booklet and began reading silently, even though the words passed through her brain without leaving anything behind.
When Lin Xi went up, her cool, clear voice came through the speakers, surrounding Zhong Xiu from all directions. She struggled hard to resist, and her reading voice unconsciously grew louder.
The Omega student next to her nudged her. “Be quieter, you’re blocking my ability to hear Lin Xi speak.”
“Oh.”
After a while, the noise of the crowd calmed down.
Because the Dean of Students arrived.
Zhong Xiu knew this. The old Dean usually came over to pat Lin Xi on the shoulder as she stepped down from the stage, symbolically checking up on her—special treatment for a good student, given the Lin family company had donated a considerable amount of money to the school.
Especially since Lin Xi’s parents had gotten into a car accident and she had differentiated into a Top-tier Alpha, Zhong Xiu thought he should at least show some concern, perhaps asking if she was getting used to differentiation or if she had any suggestions for the school cafeteria.
However, this time, he didn’t say a word, walking past Lin Xi without a glance, heading straight to the classes behind her, looking utterly righteous.
Normally, Zhong Xiu wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but given the continuous changes in Lin Xi’s life, Zhong Xiu seemed to understand something.
Sure enough, when he passed Science Class 3, he smiled and exchanged a few words with Lin Yucheng, who was standing at the back of the class, just as he used to do with Lin Xi.
Lin Yucheng looked over, giving Lin Xi a smug, mocking look. His school uniform was still loud and flashy, and his grades hadn’t improved much, but this didn’t prevent him from getting the Dean’s favor.
The blatant provocation in his eyes, and the old man not saying anything to him, only giving some advice about studying hard and perhaps becoming a role model someday—Zhong Xiu suddenly felt that this usually kind-looking old man was now completely irritating.
Perhaps because she had promised Shen Zhiqiu, Lin Xi withdrew her gaze and quietly stood in her place, not looking over there again.
The way back to the classroom was crowded. Classes were all mixed together. Alphas took the opportunity to talk to Omegas, and the scene was chaotic. Zhong Xiu was surrounded by unfamiliar students, and Lin Xi was nowhere to be seen.
Midway, her collar was grabbed. A deep male voice came from behind, highly distinguishable despite the noise.
“Found it. This is where the bite mark is.”
Without turning around, Zhong Xiu instantly felt her blood freeze, and goosebumps erupted all over her body.
“I have to hand it to you, managing to get a Top-tier Alpha to ignore an Omega.”
He said “ignore,” not “kill,” so it seemed Zhang Mingming hadn’t told him the full truth either.
At this moment, Zhong Xiu’s mind was still automatically analyzing these potentially harmful factors for Lin Xi.
“Truly Lin Xi’s Beta fiancée.”
Lin Yucheng scoffed, leaning close to her ear and saying,
“You, like Lin Xi, right?”
The tone was chilling. Zhong Xiu immediately turned around, but the speaker was no longer behind her.
Separated by a few students, she only saw him smiling from a distance. That distinctive tear mole under the sun looked like a flashing blade.
“What are you looking at?”
“Ah, nothing.”
Lin Xi had walked up beside her at some point, holding a newspaper. Zhong Xiu’s icy fingertips regained some warmth.
“Old Tang said he wants your physics grade to be above the passing line by the end of the semester.”
Lin Xi had just been pulled aside by him for a talk. One purpose was to check if she was adapting after her differentiation—Old Tang knew a thing or two about Lin Xi’s family situation as her homeroom teacher. The other was a private concern: time was tight in the third year, and Zhong Xiu’s physics grade was worrying.
Lin Xi’s influence on Zhong Xiu had been quite significant over the past two years. Although her physics remained stagnant, her math score was raised entirely by Lin Xi, climbing from a barely passing 90 to consistently over 120, without losing points on foundational questions.
“Impossible.” He wants to achieve the impossible, Zhong Xiu thought without hesitation.
“Don’t you believe in me?”
“No, no, I don’t believe in myself.”
Studying was her responsibility; how could she push the blame onto her? Zhong Xiu just felt it was too difficult.
“How would you know without trying?” Lin Xi unfolded the newspaper in her hand, the blank space filled with some physics concepts. “I’ve already drawn up a study plan for you.”
There’s such a thing? Zhong Xiu was a little dazed. So all that time she was standing so seriously in front, she was making a physics study plan for me?
“It was fine before, wasn’t it?” She just followed the teacher’s review schedule and asked questions when she didn’t understand. There was no need for any plan.
“It’s too slow,” Lin Xi glanced at her. At the rate her math improved, passing physics would take an unknown amount of time.
“Oh,” Zhong Xiu wanted to find a hole to hide in. Old Tang’s move was too cruel. Criticizing her in public wasn’t enough; he had essentially forced Lin Xi to tutor her.
“Your math is okay. You had a foundation, so it was relatively easy to catch up. But physics,” Lin Xi paused, “I’ll tutor you with specialized topics after school.”
But physics is rotten through and through, beyond saving. Zhong Xiu finished the thought in her head and blushed.
“It’s not as bad as you think,” Lin Xi seemed to read her mind. Her performance in the recent universal gravitation and astrophysics test was actually quite good.
“Stop comforting me,” Zhong Xiu said dejectedly.
The two were among the last to return to the classroom. As they entered the back door, You Tian came running towards Zhong Xiu, weeping dramatically.
“What’s wrong?” Zhong Xiu was startled by his appearance. Snot was about to drip onto her school uniform.
Without thinking, Lin Xi pulled Zhong Xiu back, avoiding You Tian’s bear hug.
“The Student Union just came by! That dog Zhang Mingming got his revenge! My precious magazines, boohoo!”
He hadn’t been this upset when his exam papers were slashed, which showed that his magazines were his true Achilles’ heel.
“All confiscated?” Zhong Xiu took a pack of tissues from her desk and handed it to him.
“Yeah, only one left. I took it to the field and hid it in my back pocket,” You Tian cried, pulling a rolled-up magazine from his back pocket. The cover featured a sexy, hot Omega.
“…”
The content was too explicit. Zhong Xiu felt too embarrassed, only daring to glance at the magazine once before looking away.
It had to be said that Zhang Mingming was as petty as the eye of a needle. Among all the students in the class, whose desk didn’t contain a few explicit stories or romance novels? Only You Tian’s magazines suffered a cruel fate.
It had to be one hell of a coincidence.
“Only your books are missing. How do you know the Student Union took them?” Lin Xi found it illogical.
“Because of this,” You Tian angrily pulled out a note from his desk.
It read in shaky handwriting: “The Student Union was here.”
And it had a red stamp.
“Who else is so heartless? Who else!”
“Maybe he took it back to read himself,” Gao Lan said, stirring the pot. “To learn about the world’s sexiest Omegas, to better seduce his Cheng Ge.”
Zhong Xiu surprisingly thought she made a lot of sense.
“Damn, my books are ruined,” You Tian collapsed into his chair, his eyes hollow. “Hurry up and let it be afternoon. I need an Omega to save me.”
The only Physical Education class was on Monday afternoon, and the Alphas in the class were already rubbing their fists, their eyes glowing with excitement.
The reason was simple: P.E. was shared with the Omegas from Arts Class 1. The teacher said it was an AO pairing—exercise isn’t tiring with an AO combination. Omegas usually didn’t like sports and preferred to sit in the classroom and read, but Alphas were completely different, acting like wild monkeys when let out.
The combination of motion and stillness worked very well.
See, this was the difference between a P.E. teacher and a homeroom teacher. The former complied with natural instincts, while the latter lacked human nature.
P.E. classes were grouped by sport. Lin Xi was in the tennis class, and Zhong Xiu was in the badminton class.
The reason for choosing badminton was that Zhong Xiu wasn’t very good at other ball sports, and badminton was relatively simpler and beginner-friendly.
More importantly, the tennis court was right next door.
Lin Xi had changed into a blue POLO sports shirt, her hair tied back behind her visor. The seemingly heavy tennis racket was very flexible in her hand. Her entire demeanor integrated with tennis—clean and sharp.
Zhong Xiu’s gaze lingered on her legs. Because it was summer, everyone had changed into shorts. With sports shorts above the knee, most of their legs were exposed.
Lin Xi’s legs were long, pale, and incredibly straight. Her calves looked firm and strong. The tendons stretched out when she walked. Zhong Xiu suspected her entire calf was made of tendons. The muscle was refined, showing a long, slender shape when exerted.
Zhong Xiu felt a bit depressed. Are those even human legs?
Many Betas here were looking at the Omegas’ legs, full of envy. Due to their pheromones, almost every Omega had very slender legs, naturally straight and pale. Only Betas had to work hard for their leg shape and skin tone.
“Zhong Xiu, your legs are beautiful too. How do you do it?” The Beta student next to her asked curiously.
Looking at her hard-won legs, Zhong Xiu sighed. Having practiced dance with her mother since childhood, she had put in so much effort just to make her leg lines catch up to the natural advantages of Alphas and Omegas.
However, it was only difficult; it wasn’t impossible. Zhong Xiu remembered her mother’s legs being particularly beautiful. Her whole body proportion was harmonious. Her capital as a model stemmed from daily exercise and perseverance.
“Oh, genetics,” the classmate instantly lost interest.
It wasn’t that Zhong Xiu deliberately concealed it. Many Beta girls had asked her this question before, and every time she explained that it was because she had practiced dancing with her mother since she was little, people would just hear that her mother was a model and say, “Oh, genetics.”
So, she stopped explaining and went straight to the punchline.
The Alphas certainly didn’t miss this rare opportunity either, their eyes fixed on the Omegas’ slender legs. One Alpha was hit in the head by a basketball because he was distracted looking at legs.
Among so many Omegas, the most shapely was, of course, Shen Zhiqiu, the school beauty. Although they were all young girls, Zhong Xiu looked down at her own chest, then back at Shen Zhiqiu.
Okay, no comparison. Shamefully, in terms of development, she was about the same as that Alpha, Lin Xi. Maybe an A cup?
It might be small, but at least the shape was good. Besides, she was still in adolescence, Zhong Xiu could only comfort herself with that.
Shen Zhiqiu was wearing a pink POLO shirt. It seemed to be their tennis club’s customized uniform: Alphas wore blue, Omegas wore pink, and Betas wore pure white. The AO uniforms looked a bit like couple’s outfits.
“Lin Xi, doubles?” Shen Zhiqiu walked up to Lin Xi amidst the envious glances of the crowd.
This was P.E. class, one of the few times they could legitimately interact. Even if Lin Yucheng had an opinion, he couldn’t say anything. It was perfectly normal for the president and vice-president of the tennis club to play together. Moreover, Lin Yucheng was currently sitting in the Science Class 3 classroom and couldn’t interfere.
Singles were usually played between the same gender. Only doubles would have AO combinations. In Zhong Xiu’s memory, Shen Zhiqiu seemed never to have played singles with Lin Xi.
Actually, that wasn’t right. Not only Shen Zhiqiu, but no Omega had ever played singles against an Alpha.
Omegas had a huge natural gap in physical fitness compared to Alphas, a difference more pronounced than the gap with Betas.
“Sure,” Lin Xi replied casually, bouncing her custom racket on the ground, tapping the ball up and down.
That must be the legendary ball sense. Through the wire mesh, Zhong Xiu watched the tennis ball under her control, going left when told to go left, and right when told to go right, perfectly obedient.
Shen Zhiqiu called an Omega classmate, and Alphas didn’t need to be asked. Several volunteered immediately to play with them, including You Tian.
However, he wasn’t chosen. Shen Zhiqiu picked another Alpha girl, leaving him heartbroken. He moodily clung to the wire fence, and Zhong Xiu felt like smiling.
As soon as they took their places on the court, the area around the tennis court was instantly crowded. It was free practice time, and their gathering to watch tennis was related to exercise, so the P.E. teachers mostly turned a blind eye.
To avoid interfering with their game, everyone stood at both ends to watch. Zhong Xiu’s position was directly opposite Lin Xi, separated only by a wire mesh, offering an excellent view.
What foresight! Zhong Xiu silently gave her badminton choice a thumbs-up.
They were playing a friendly match. Lin Xi and Shen Zhiqiu had excellent coordination. It was obvious they had been teammates for a long time. The Alpha and Omega pair they were playing against, who were temporarily partnered, struggled a bit, still trying to coordinate, resulting in many bumps and mistakes.
Apart from the first two pre-arranged serves, they either tried to cover the same spot or let the ball pass right between them, while Lin Xi’s side was extremely relaxed.
Zhong Xiu recalled a rumor—that Shen Zhiqiu played tennis because of Lin Xi.
It was clear they were both relaxed and happy playing together, chatting casually between points.
Zhong Xiu couldn’t hear what they were saying from her spot. Just as she was about to look away, she suddenly made eye contact with Shen Zhiqiu, who had glanced over.
“You’ve been going home with her recently?”
Not just going home, the two were also seen entering and leaving the cafeteria together, practically inseparable. But Shen Zhiqiu knew Lin Xi wouldn’t answer if she asked directly.
Her? Lin Xi looked in the direction Shen Zhiqiu was looking. Zhong Xiu had already started practicing her serve, her gaze not directed their way.
“Yes.”
A strange feeling washed over Shen Zhiqiu. She didn’t know why, but she detected a hidden joy in Lin Xi’s cool voice.
This kind of pleasure was the emotion Lin Xi only showed the day before her parents came home in the past.
It’s as if going home with that Beta is such an anticipated event.