TAO | Chapter 24

Jiang Zhan froze as if something had choked him, his body rigid and stiff. The moment his gaze met Wei Xiaochi’s, it was as though he had been stung by a scorpion, and he quickly turned his head away.

The raging fire of anger hadn’t been vented yet, but Li Suilin had struck right where it hurt, effortlessly calming the usually hot-headed and domineering alpha.

Li Suilin wasn’t surprised by Jiang Zhan’s reaction; he simply smiled faintly.

“Since you have no objections, we’ll settle it this way. If your grades don’t improve by next week, you and Qin Zheng will have one-on-one tutoring in my room.”

Jiang Zhan’s face turned frighteningly pale, his eyes clouded with anger, as if a dark shadow had overtaken him. He didn’t argue with Li Suilin but kicked the conference table with great force.

Han Ziyang was greatly shocked, his eyes wide open. He glanced between Jiang Zhan and Li Suilin, then looked at Wei Xiaochi, who was still out of the loop.

No way, no way?

After three hours of makeup classes in the morning, with a break every forty minutes, and only five minutes for each break, Wei Xiaochi was drained. Today, Jiang Zhan was especially short-tempered, and every break, his face would be roughly treated by him.

Finally, they managed to make it to noon, and Li Suilin’s mother called them downstairs for lunch.

During the time of tutoring, Wei Xiaochi usually ate with the others, except for a few rare occasions.

Li Suilin’s mother was particularly gentle, and Wei Xiaochi really liked her. However, due to his low self-esteem and social anxiety, he never dared to get too close to her. He would shyly feel embarrassed for a long time when she praised him.

Wei Xiaochi never envied or felt jealous of Li Suilin’s family background, academic achievements, or popularity.

The only thing he admired was that Li Suilin had a loving and caring mother.

When it was time for lunch, Han Ziyang was the first to rush out.

Actually, Wei Xiaochi had a deep love for food; he couldn’t stand hunger, and when it came to eating, no one was more eager than him.

But since this wasn’t the school cafeteria, it didn’t feel quite right to rush like that in someone else’s house. Wei Xiaochi kept his composure and followed Jiang Rui.

Just as Jiang Zhan was about to leave, Li Suilin called out to him.

Hearing Jiang Zhan’s name, Wei Xiaochi, who was eagerly looking forward to lunch, stopped in his tracks. He turned his head and glanced at them.

Jiang Zhan raised an eyebrow, his nose bridge sharp, and the corners of his lips curved into a sharp arc, still wearing that haughty, infuriating expression.

Li Suilin stood opposite Jiang Zhan. Wei Xiaochi couldn’t see his expression.

But, as if having eyes in the back of his head, Li Suilin turned around and smiled at Wei Xiaochi, “You go ahead and eat. We’ll be down in a bit.”

At the sound of this, Wei Xiaochi felt like a malfunctioning machine finally clicked into place. He didn’t dare stay a moment longer and quickly walked downstairs.

When the king of hell is fighting, the little devil gets the bad end.

Wei Xiaochi took a step and felt a chilling gaze fixed on him. He didn’t dare to look back and hurried down the stairs.

Once Wei Xiaochi disappeared, Jiang Zhan, with a dark expression, withdrew his gaze, only to find Li Suilin smiling gently at him.

Jiang Zhan furrowed his brows, impatiently asking, “What did you call me for?”

Li Suilin got straight to the point, asking, “Did you take Xiaochi to the hospital for a gender test yesterday?”

Jiang Zhan’s expression suddenly turned violent, like a wild beast whose territory had been trespassed. His shoulder and back tensed with aggression.

His voice was low, but the anger was palpable, “Who told you that?”

Li Suilin wasn’t surprised that Jiang Zhan was angry. Alphas were creatures with a strong possessiveness, especially toward people they cared about.

“Yesterday, Xiaochi told me you took him to the hospital. He didn’t say exactly what test it was, but today, he’s wearing a lot of suppressants.”

Connecting the dots, Li Suilin could easily guess the answer.

Jiang Zhan was always direct and blunt in his actions. Li Suilin could even imagine the scene: once Jiang Zhan confirmed that Wei Xiaochi would undergo differentiation, he probably dragged him to a store to buy all kinds of suppressants and inhibitors without saying a word.

Li Suilin was somewhat troubled. “You’re scaring him. If you don’t change that temper of yours, you’ll regret it one day.”

“You don’t need to worry about it,” Jiang Zhan glared at him, completely unappreciative.

Seeing that Jiang Zhan was clearly resistant, Li Suilin shrugged, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, “Fine, I won’t interfere, not my problem.”

I’m just going to sit back and watch you dig your own hole.

Jiang Zhan snorted coldly, without even looking at Li Suilin. He arrogantly walked past him and left the room.

At one in the afternoon, Li Suilin received a phone call.

Five minutes later, he entered and announced, “The coach just called. The basketball league groupings are out. Next Saturday, we’re playing against Moral Education.”

Next Saturday, May 12th, and the school’s mock exams would be on May 16th.

If any of them failed the mock exams, they wouldn’t be able to participate in the games and would have to wait for a chance to substitute in.

So, they not only had to review their studies but also needed to prepare for the basketball game against Moral Education.

Last year, Moral Education’s high school basketball team ranked fourth in the city, and their school, No. 2 High School, ranked third. The top two were two vocational schools specializing in sports.

No. 2 High School and Moral Education had been rivals for years, so it was a surprise they would meet so early in the competition.

Even Han Ziyang, who was as carefree as ever, began to feel the pressure. He grabbed his hair in frustration, “Damn, can’t they just let us live?”

Li Suilin was much calmer. “It’s not that bad. Last year, the situation was worse, and we all made it through the exams.”

His attempt at reassurance, however, reminded everyone of the terrifying experience from last year.

Who could have guessed that the usually mild-mannered alpha would turn into a ruthless monster during lessons, giving brutal, no-nonsense tutoring?

Seeing his friends sulking, Wei Xiaochi silently began reviewing the material.

He didn’t know anything about basketball and had never even watched a game. But he knew the time was tight, and the task was heavy, so he put even more effort into it.

At the very least, he couldn’t be the one to hold everyone back. After all, he was getting paid for this.

After class in the afternoon, Han Ziyang threw his test papers up and shouted, “Damn it, it’s finally over!”

The struggling students, not used to such intense studying, slumped in their chairs as if their life essence had been drained.

Li Suilin glanced at the time, “It’s almost five o’clock. The coach wants you all to meet at six at school for two hours of practice.”

“Is this even a life to live?” Han Ziyang wailed dramatically, “Just kill me.”

Jiang Rui also looked defeated, as if all will to live had left him, “Count me out.”

Zhao Zifeng, always positive and full of energy, said, “It’s just right. I’m tired from studying anyway. Two hours of practice will be good.”

Among them, Zhao Zifeng had the most physical training, as he planned to pursue a career in sports, unlike Han Ziyang and Jiang Rui, who were full of complaints.

Wei Xiaochi wasn’t on the basketball team. He gathered his books with an expression that clearly said, “Not my problem.”

Jiang Zhan, with a bored expression, walked over and glanced at him before opening the door and leaving.

Wei Xiaochi froze for a moment, quickly stuffing his things into his bag and bidding farewell to Li Suilin, “Class leader, I’ll head back now.”

Li Suilin noticed Jiang Zhan’s small gesture and said meaningfully, “Be careful.”

Wei Xiaochi thought Li Suilin was just reminding him to be careful on his way, so he didn’t think too much about it, responded, and left with his bag.

When he left the Li family’s villa, sure enough, he saw Jiang Zhan waiting for him outside the door.

The alpha leaned against the stone pillar by the villa gate, his broad shoulders and long legs, his eyebrows and eyes low, with his side profile blending into the warm red and yellow sunset like a beautiful, timeless oil painting.

Wei Xiaochi was slightly stunned. Just as the door opened, Jiang Zhan looked up.

Their eyes met, and in that moment, Wei Xiaochi was drawn into Jiang Zhan’s dark, profound gaze.

He knew that Jiang Zhan was waiting to take him to the hospital to get the test results. To say he wasn’t moved would be a lie—his parents had never shown this much concern for him.

Wei Xiaochi, embarrassed, pushed his glasses up and quickly averted his gaze.

He cleared his throat and said, “Um, aren’t you going back to school for practice? Didn’t the coach just call…?”

Before he could finish, Jiang Zhan took a large step forward and skillfully pinched Wei Xiaochi’s face.

“My words are just wind in your ears, but Li Suilin’s words are like golden rules carved in jade?” Jiang Zhan’s brows twitched with irritation, his voice brimming with anger. “Why do you listen to him so much? Is it that whatever he tells you to do, you’ll just agree to it?”

Caught off guard by the sudden accusation, Wei Xiaochi froze in place, shrinking his neck back slightly.

After a moment of silence, he timidly corrected, “It’s golden rules carved in jade, not jade rules carved in gold.”

Jiang Zhan’s eyes widened in disbelief, his frustration mingling with astonishment. “You’re picking a fight with me about this right now?”

Author’s Note:
Jiang. Unreasonable. Zhan. 23333