What Does It Have to Do With You?

For a moment, the basketball gym fell silent like a graveyard.

Everyone was stunned, unable to believe what they had just seen.

That utterly ordinary Beta—average in build, height, and even gender presence—had snatched the ball from Zhao Shu and completed a long-range shot flawless in form, speed, and distance.

“Teacher Wu?”

More shocked than the players was Teacher Xue, who had been idly supervising from the sidelines.

The head coach was absent today, so as assistant coach, he had been tasked with keeping an eye on the boys—mainly to stop them from tearing down the gym.

Instead, he had just witnessed their advisor deliver a stunning performance.

Teacher Xue’s gaze drifted instinctively to the scoreboard.

Before this, Pei Qingyu and Zhao Shu had been split between teams.

The score had been tight, as usual in internal scrimmages.

Opportunities for external friendlies were rare.

Within the team, everyone knew everyone’s moves.

The routines were repetitive.

They were almost bored of each other.

Wu Qie’s appearance was like a stone thrown into a placid lake.

“Teacher Wu,” Teacher Xue stammered, “y-you actually play?”

Wu Qie nodded.

“Yes.”

Not even a modest “a little.”

“Then… would you like to scrimmage with them?”

Ignoring the way Zhao Shu looked as though he’d stepped in something foul, Teacher Xue extended the invitation.

Wu Qie blinked in mild surprise.

Zhao Shu ground his teeth slightly.

After a brief pause, Wu Qie glanced down at his shoes.

“I suppose that’s fine.”

Because he had been invited, he was given the right to choose a teammate.

Under the collective, intense stares of the team, his gaze swept across every player.

Then, past the crowd, it settled on the expressionless boy standing apart.

“Pei Qingyu… classmate?”

Silence.

Zhao Shu let out a disbelieving laugh.

Pei Qingyu, who had been watching from outside the circle, was suddenly called out.

He turned, assessing Wu Qie from head to toe with cool scrutiny.

Then he stepped forward and stood beside him.

Up close, Wu Qie tilted his face slightly and smiled.

“Is that okay?”

“…Yes.”

Pei Qingyu nodded.

“Okay.”

…

Zhao Shu had no idea how things had turned into this.

By the time he processed it, Wu Qie was already warming up at the sideline.

While stretching, the black-haired Beta politely asked the sophomore starting point guard if he would mind being replaced.

His tone was so courteous it sounded like he was asking to borrow five million.

The sophomore Alpha was bewildered.

But after meeting Wu Qie’s eyes, he inexplicably flushed red and nodded vigorously.

“Teacher Wu, how do you know how to play?”

“I played in middle school.”

“Damn, that’s impressive! Didn’t you go to high school abroad? Aren’t people there tall? I heard even Betas can hit two meters!”

“It’s manageable.”

“Your form is textbook. Were you professionally trained?”

“…In a way.”

“How tall are you?”

“One meter seventy-nine point seven.”

“Why so exact?”

“Because once I confirmed there would be no secondary differentiation, I stopped growing. I’ve been heartbroken about it since I was eighteen.”

Laughter erupted.

They said any male creature over 1.8 meters would have it engraved on their tombstone.

Wu Qie’s 179.7 cm was indeed a lingering grievance.

He did not hide it.

Behind him, Pei Qingyu removed the towel from his neck.

Silent as ever.

It was unclear whether he was even listening.

Zhao Shu looked away with disdain.

He was already calculating how to crush this impromptu “Avengers Alliance.”

The whistle blew.

If three minutes earlier the advisor’s participation had felt playful, three minutes later, no one was playing anymore.

Zhao Shu grabbed a rebound and landed hard.

His breathing and heartbeat already felt different from earlier rounds.

His teammates were panting from sudden bursts of aggressive movement.

Nearly half the players kept sneaking glances at the Beta in long sleeves and pants weaving among them.

He looked completely at ease.

Not a drop of sweat on his pale face.

Breathing steady.

Eyes calm.

At first, Wu Qie’s movement and passing were unremarkable.

Until the third minute, when he slipped a precise pass from beneath Zhao Shu’s arm to Pei Qingyu for a clean layup—

The rhythm changed.

It was like a machine finally wound tight.

The score began to widen.

Pei Qingyu’s team, previously trailing by three due to missing rebounds, was now ahead by three.

“Brother Shu!”

The shout snapped Zhao Shu back.

He steadied himself and drove forward with the ball.

Just past midcourt, he felt a breeze brush his neck.

Before he could react, Wu Qie appeared behind him and stole the ball cleanly.

Without looking back, he pivoted and sprinted.

Pei Qingyu ran alongside him.

A short pass.

A leap.

A hook dunk.

The rim thundered.

“Damn it!”

Zhao Shu cursed.

Pei Qingyu landed and glanced toward Wu Qie.

His once indifferent gaze had changed.

Wu Qie did not notice.

His eyes were on the scoreboard.

Only after confirming the updated numbers did he turn back—

And unexpectedly meet Pei Qingyu’s gaze.

He blinked, slightly surprised, then smiled.

“Nice shot.”

Zhao Shu launched another fast break.

The widening score gnawed at him.

Wu Qie and Pei Qingyu moved with wordless synchronization.

It was infuriating.

At his peak irritation, a faint trace of pheromones leaked.

The gym was filled with Alphas.

In contact sports, they were used to it.

They only knew one thing—

Zhao Shu was in a terrible mood.

He dribbled with enough force to crack the floor.

No passes.

He drove for a layup.

Pei Qingyu blocked and intercepted.

The ball bounced back perfectly into Wu Qie’s hands.

He turned and sprinted.

Pei Qingyu kept pace.

At midcourt, Wu Qie launched a long pass.

Pei Qingyu caught it under the three-point line.

A feint.

A step-back.

The ball arced high.

Swish.

Three points.

The referee’s whistle echoed in silence.

The score gap was six.

In just three minutes, Wu Qie had seized control of the entire court’s tempo.

It had become a two-man show.

Pei Qingyu realized he did not even need eye contact.

Wu Qie always appeared exactly where he needed him.

The passes arrived at the most comfortable angles.

Only to him.

As if they had been partners for eight hundred years.

Wu Qie had not expected to be the first to open the sports drinks he bought as a “greeting gift.”

He gulped two mouthfuls.

His heart still pounded.

He was out of practice.

Teacher Xue’s bear-like hand thumped his back.

“Teacher Wu, can you pretend to be a senior here? With you, we can order a dustproof case for the championship trophy now!”

Wu Qie laughed helplessly.

“I’m still not quite on their level.”

“You look younger than Wang Jiajia. Say you’re in eleventh grade and people would believe it.”

Laughter erupted again.

When Wu Qie stepped off, the score stood at 53 to 33.

Pei Qingyu’s team led decisively.

At least seventeen of those points had come from Wu Qie’s assists.

After he left the court, Zhao Shu began closing the gap.

Finally, after another player was knocked flat, the whistle signaled halftime.

Zhao Shu tossed the ball aside and strode toward Wu Qie.

Wu Qie had returned to his earlier, unobtrusive self, sipping his drink quietly.

As Zhao Shu approached, he caught the scent of sweet peach.

He paused, thinking it was an Omega.

Then realized it was the drink.

Annoyance surged again.

Wu Qie sensed the light shift as Zhao Shu stepped close.

A strong tequila-like Alpha scent enveloped him.

He looked up.

“What is it?”

“Even on the West Coast, you’d be competitive in top college leagues. Didn’t the NCAA recruit you?”

Zhao Shu’s gaze flickered.

“Now you’re just a useless liberal arts teacher?”

Wu Qie considered this.

Then he smiled.

“What does that have to do with you?”

The words were sharp.

Delivered with that gentle face and mild tone.

And somehow, that made them even harsher.