TAO | Chapter 53

Wei Xiaochi opened his mouth in astonishment but eventually swallowed back the words he wanted to say.

Jiang Zhan had lost the game and was in a bad mood. Wei Xiaochi wanted to comfort him but was afraid it might backfire. After all, he was just an outsider who knew nothing about basketball, and Jiang Zhan was so proud.

He had already made his point clear earlier. Either Jiang Zhan’s comprehension skills were lacking, or his usual stubbornness was acting up again. Jiang Zhan clearly wanted to be comforted with pheromones, yet he wouldn’t admit it, forcing Wei Xiaochi to “take the initiative” to let him catch a whiff.

Dealing with a boyfriend like this in an early relationship was really…

Wei Xiaochi didn’t even know what to say. Still, considering Jiang Zhan’s frustration over losing, he decided to give in and agree to go home with him.

But staying the night? No way. He had to work at the milk tea shop tomorrow.

Wei Xiaochi repeatedly confirmed their plans with Jiang Zhan, and only after seeing that he understood did he feel reassured.

Since Wei Xiaochi didn’t want to stay the night, Jiang Zhan’s expression looked a bit sour, but he didn’t say much, and they headed to the locker room together.

Han Ziyang’s prediction was spot on. The moral education team had indeed come to gloat.

Seeing the moral education team’s alpha players standing at the locker room door, Wei Xiaochi swallowed hard and braced himself as he walked over with Jiang Zhan.

Han Ziyang and Li Chenyang were in the middle of exchanging their trademark verbal jabs, swearing and mocking each other with an ease that left Wei Xiaochi in awe. His jaw practically dropped.

The No. 2 High School coach had been called away by the organizing committee, and the moral education coach wasn’t present either. With no authority figures around, the two chatterboxes let loose, spouting gold-standard trash talk that would require heavy censorship if aired on TV.

That was until Li Suilin stepped out of the locker room. “Are you two done yet?”

The problem children immediately went silent. Faced with the real master of passive-aggressive sarcasm, their elementary school-level trash-talking didn’t even deserve to shine his shoes.

Everyone said Jiang Zhan had a fiery temper, but he was straightforward—he fought openly, on or off the court. If you didn’t like it, he’d beat you until you had no choice but to submit.

Li Suilin, on the other hand, was sneaky. Those who had suffered at his hands would feel chills just seeing him smile.

Li Suilin addressed Jiang Zhan, “Hurry up and change; everyone’s waiting for you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his phone rang. Disliking the noise, Li Suilin went to the hallway to take the call.

Feeling out of place in the locker room, Wei Xiaochi saw Jiang Zhan looking at him and quickly said, “I’ll wait here; I’m not going anywhere.”

Seeing how inseparable they seemed, Yang Shuo couldn’t help but feel sour. With Jiang Zhan’s bad temper, even he managed to get an omega? The universe must be blind.

Even worse, Yang Shuo realized he and Jiang Zhan liked the same type: the obedient, good-student kind of omega.

Ugh.

Li Suilin’s arrival put an end to the trash-talking duel between Han Ziyang and Li Chenyang.

Thanks to this venting session, though, Han Ziyang’s frustration from the loss was mostly alleviated, and his mood had lightened considerably.

Han Ziyang was the type to move on quickly. Once he let something out, it no longer bothered him.

Grinning cheekily, he challenged Li Chenyang, “How about a rematch next time? Dare to take us on?”

Li Chenyang smirked disdainfully, “Afraid of you? Please.”

Then, a sudden voice interjected, “I’m not going.”

Both Han Ziyang and Li Chenyang turned to look at the lazy Yan Shen. His notorious slothfulness was well-known—if he could lie down, he wouldn’t sit; if he could sit, he wouldn’t stand.

Han Ziyang rolled his eyes. “Are you eighteen or eighty? You’ll have all the time in the world to sleep when you’re dead. If you’re not going to live it up now, then when?”

Yan Shen remained unmoved, repeating, “Not going.”

Frustrated with Yan Shen’s laziness, Han Ziyang turned to Li Chenyang. “Is he this sluggish even in a relationship?”

Li Chenyang, embarrassed, replied, “He’s never been in one. Probably too lazy to bother.”

Jiang Rui couldn’t help but chime in, “Then what’s he gonna do about… you know, that?”

Han Ziyang looked puzzled. “What’s that?”

Even Wei Xiaochi turned to Jiang Rui, curious about the strange English term.

Jiang Rui waved Han Ziyang off. “Kids stay out of grown-up conversations.”

But with Wei Xiaochi, he softened his tone. “Teacher Wei, cover your ears. This topic isn’t suitable for you.”

Wei Xiaochi: …

Han Ziyang: …

Suddenly, Yan Shen said to Wei Xiaochi, “You should practice Pilates more.”

After a pause, he added, “As for me, I’ll find someone who moves on their own. I like them spicy.”

This was the second time Yan Shen had told him to practice Pilates. Wei Xiaochi, curious, asked, “Why Pilates?”

What was Pilates?

“You shut up,” Jiang Rui pointed at Yan Shen. “If you want to stay alive, zip it. If Brother Zhan finds out you’re messing with Teacher Wei, you’re dead meat.”

Yan Shen shrugged, looking innocent. What he’d said wasn’t teasing—it was an alpha’s genuine advice.

Jiang Rui turned back to Wei Xiaochi with a bright smile. “Don’t listen to his nonsense. Just spit twice for good measure. Talking to him will only dirty your mouth.”

Wei Xiaochi: …

After all that chaos, Wei Xiaochi figured that Pilates wasn’t anything good and decided not to talk to Yan Shen anymore—not even sparing him a glance.

He’d always kept his distance from delinquent students. As for Jiang Zhan…

He was an exception.

Han Ziyang, resting his chin in his hand, pondered over the topic. His mind wandered to the omega he’d seen at the indoor gym the other day.

What was his name again?

After much thought, Han Ziyang finally remembered: Xie Chi.

Yan Shen’s drowsy phoenix eyes snapped open. “You know Xie Chi?”

Han Ziyang, unaware he’d said the name out loud, replied, “I don’t know him; I just saw him once. Why, do you?”

Yan Shen muttered, “So he transferred to your school.”

Han Ziyang raised an eyebrow. “You know Xie Chi?”

Before Yan Shen could respond, the locker room door swung open. Jiang Zhan grabbed Wei Xiaochi and pulled him inside, slamming the door shut behind them.

With everyone else chatting outside, the locker room was just the two of them. Jiang Zhan pressed Wei Xiaochi against the locker door and enveloped him in a tight hug.

The alpha, with his broad shoulders and long legs, his T-shirt stretched taut over a straight back, embraced Wei Xiaochi and buried his head against his shoulder like a sulky beast.

For someone so fierce and aggressive on the court, he turned into a clingy mess the moment he was near Wei Xiaochi.

Wei Xiaochi curled his fingers slightly and asked softly, “Is it because of the loss… are you upset?”

Jiang Zhan tightened his hold, burying his face in Wei Xiaochi’s neck. His voice was muffled. “No.”

It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle losing; he just wasn’t satisfied. The game had been full of his mistakes—he could’ve played better, maybe even won, wrapping up the season perfectly for the team.

And then there was the fact that he’d yelled at Wei Xiaochi earlier, driving him away in front of everyone.

All of it left Jiang Zhan deeply unhappy.

With just one word, “No,” Wei Xiaochi couldn’t figure out why Jiang Zhan was in a bad mood and didn’t know how to comfort him verbally.

He wasn’t a talkative person anyway. As his grandmother used to say, he was like a gourd with its mouth sawn shut—not a single word would come out no matter how much you hit it.

Wei Xiaochi raised a hand, gently patting the alpha’s back as if soothing a cat.

After a while, Jiang Zhan spoke again, “Are you really not staying the night? Aunt Zhou wants to see you.”

“I have plans tomorrow,” Wei Xiaochi said with a troubled look.

He couldn’t keep staying out all night, nor could he keep taking leave from the milk tea shop. Unlike Jiang Zhan, he didn’t have the same freedom to control his time and money.