The Little Deer Under the Headlights Should Be Run Over

Wu Qie sobered up in an instant.

The black-haired young man who had been curled up in the corner slowly widened his drunken, hazy eyes.

Yet his pupils, like those of a startled cat, shrank into a tight point.

A face surfaced uncontrollably in his mind.

A long time ago, at some social event he had just attended for the first time.

It seemed to be a cocktail party hosted by Pei Qingyu’s mother’s side of the family.

As the host’s Alpha son, the boy always seemed to linger on the edge of the crowd.

But when Wu Qie knocked over an entire wall of wine and stood there in utter embarrassment, the boy descended like a savior from the sky.

“Are you alright?”

There was no blame.

Even though he was facing a completely unfamiliar face who had ruined everything through sheer recklessness, the boy merely asked lightly whether he was okay.

And before anyone noticed the real culprit, he quietly took Wu Qie to the lounge to change clothes.

The collapsed wine wall became an unsolved mystery that night.

After the party, Wu Qie sat in the back seat of a Maybach.

While listening to his father laughing and mocking the mysterious guest who had knocked down a million-dollar wine wall like a bowling ball, Wu Qie quietly fiddled with the cuff of the shirt beneath his suit jacket.

No one knew that the shirt had already been replaced with a different brand.

His father’s laughter could not drown out the memory in his mind.

In the dim lounge, the boy had smiled at him and said—

“It’s alright. Don’t be nervous. They won’t know.”

Wu Qie rarely encountered young people who were this gentle and kind.

He liked him.

He liked Pei Qingyu.

It didn’t matter if people criticized how shallow “love at first sight” was.

Even a prince could fall in love with Snow White at first sight like some kind of pervert while she was sleeping.

The next time Wu Qie saw Pei Qingyu was at school.

Standing at the podium, Teacher Xiao Wu raised his head—

And saw Snow White herself sitting in the back row of the classroom in a school uniform.

He was so shocked that he nearly smashed the teaching plan in his hand into the face of the student in the front row.

At that moment, he immediately thought—

Maybe it would be better to forget it.

Then Lan Yin appeared.

Wu Qie was not the type to live with his heart and actions out of sync, so he temporarily let the matter go.

And later…

Later, Lan Yin dumped him.

His family celebrated joyfully and insisted on stuffing him with a fiancé.

The fiancé was also his student.

Yet everyone told him cheerfully—

“No problem, no problem. Your student might even be bigger than you when he pulls it out.”

That passionate love at first sight that had once flared brightly before being abruptly extinguished halfway—

Now welcomed a triumphant resurgence from the ashes.

…And at this very moment, it was mercilessly exposed.

***

Wu Qie had written everything honestly across his face.

Zhao Shu stood above him and admired for a moment the confusion on the face of the black-haired Beta who had been giving him a bad attitude all afternoon.

Satisfied, he stepped back to his original position.

The overwhelming pressure and the tequila-scented pheromones mixed with real alcohol withdrew along with him.

Wu Qie realized he could breathe freely again.

At the same time, he heard his own heartbeat pounding like a drum.

He blinked and licked his slightly dry lips.

He heard the boy beside him sneer.

“You really thought you hid it well.”

Wasn’t it hidden well?

“You should be glad you’re a Beta. Otherwise everyone in the basketball gym this afternoon would’ve been rudely assaulted by your mating pheromones.”

Wu Qie gazed gloomily at Zhao Shu.

After a long silence, he gave up resisting.

“I didn’t.”

He protested quietly.

He was extremely confident he hadn’t stared at Pei Qingyu like an idiot.

Everything had been within a reasonable range.

Hearing that honest-to-a-fault denial, Zhao Shu didn’t even bother mocking him this time.

Zhao Shu wasn’t some brainless idiot.

He had eyes.

From that plate of sour plums that should never have appeared for the so-called “lucky god,” to the inexplicable borrowing of a pen during exams, to the team scrimmage that afternoon—

Wu Qie had almost without hesitation chosen Pei Qingyu every time.

Sure, it was perfectly reasonable for a point guard and small forward to cooperate.

But from beginning to end, Wu Qie probably hadn’t even realized it himself—

He simply couldn’t control his urge to feed the ball to Pei Qingyu.

A point guard’s job might be organizing offense and defense.

But that didn’t mean it was illegal for a point guard to score himself.

Wu Qie’s hands weren’t broken either.

He just wanted to pass the ball to Pei Qingyu.

—It was practically like a love-struck Alpha insisting on buying cars, houses, and jewelry for their Omega.

Stupid to death.

Zhao Shu kindly offered Wu Qie a hint.

But by the end, his tone grew increasingly disdainful.

After finishing, he turned his head and discovered the person beside him sitting upright and listening attentively like an elementary school student in class.

After hearing everything, Wu Qie thought for a moment.

Then he nodded seriously.

“Oh.”

That afternoon, he probably hadn’t controlled his strength very well.

Next time he would correct it.

“Are you thinking ‘I’ll fix it next time’?”

“…”

Seeing how easy his thoughts were to read, Zhao Shu once again had the impulse to throw him out of the car.

He didn’t know how prosperous the Wu family’s business in Penang had been before, to raise such a young master.

…It was hard to describe.

Throw him into the world of fame and profit, and he’d be chewed up overnight until not even bones remained.

Even if Wu Qie were an Omega, Zhao Shu wouldn’t want him.

After all, it would affect the intelligence of the next generation.

“You currying favor with Pei Qingyu is useless.”

When mentioning his childhood friend, Zhao Shu’s voice became unusually cold.

“He’s a traditional Alpha. He’ll definitely want an Omega in the future. He won’t like a Beta.”

As expected, the black-haired Beta’s eyelashes trembled slightly.

Then they slowly lowered.

A small shadow fell beneath his eyes.

“Okay.”

Wu Qie answered.

Then he paused and looked up again.

“That wasn’t currying favor.”

“If you like someone…”

“As long as they exist, you can’t help wanting to be good to them.”

Zhao Shu had nothing to say.

The Rolls-Royce stopped at the entrance of Wu Qie’s familiar neighborhood.

The Alpha opened the door and told him to get out.

There was still a long distance inside the neighborhood, but Zhao Shu refused to drive him even that far.

In the end, Wu Qie rode home on the security guard’s tiny patrol electric scooter.

***

Wu Qie went home, washed up, and went to sleep.

The next morning he woke up still half asleep.

Under the disapproving gaze of his family, he drank hangover soup, grabbed his car keys, and sat in his car.

He wanted to take out his phone to play some music.

But when he touched his pocket—

His expression turned blank.

His phone was gone.

Only then did he slowly recall everything that had happened the night before.

Including how bravely he had emphasized to Zhao Shu—

“As long as he exists, I can’t help wanting to treat him well.”

His face turned red, then white, then green.

He leaned his forehead against the steering wheel and buried his face in his hands with a deep sigh.

Then he glanced at the time on the dashboard.

Only 7:30 a.m.

Wu Qie got out of the car and went back inside to ask his parents at the breakfast table for Zhao Shu’s home address.

At first Li Junbi thought she had misheard.

She looked at him in surprise.

The black-haired young man stood there meekly with lowered brows.

“My phone… I left it in his car last night.”

The couple exchanged a glance.

Apparently they thought his drunkenness hadn’t been a complete waste.

Wu Qie obtained the Zhao residence’s address.

Then he returned to his car under their burning gazes.

Pretending no one remembered that he would see Zhao Shu at school later anyway as his teacher—

Meaning there was absolutely no need to drive to his house early in the morning.

***

Zhao Residence.

Zhao Shu sat at the table slowly eating breakfast.

Halfway through, he heard a car outside.

He raised an eyebrow, assuming Zhao Guipu had forgotten something and driven back.

But the engine sounded too cheap.

It didn’t resemble any car in the house.

Soon the butler, Steward Cang, entered the room with a complicated expression.

“Your teacher from school is outside.”

The old man’s voice carried the worry of someone whose master had caused trouble again.

“What did you do at school this time?”

…What could he have done?

Zhao Shu laughed.

He instantly guessed who was outside.

“Let him in… actually, forget it. I’ll go out.”

He tossed aside his toast without hesitation.

The person waiting outside the door was far more interesting than breakfast.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw a shabby car parked outside the courtyard that clashed with everything around it.

The car engine was off.

The person leaning against the door had his head lowered, staring absentmindedly at his toes.

Sunlight formed a halo on the tips of his messy hair.

The Beta’s appearance was plain, but his features were gentle.

His entire presence carried a quiet atmosphere.

Zhao Shu thought he perfectly matched humanity’s stereotypical image of a “teacher.”

Standing on the porch without stepping down, the boy crossed his arms and observed him for a while.

When the other person remained completely absorbed in staring at the ground and didn’t notice him at all, Zhao Shu became impatient.

He lifted his foot and kicked the decorative pot of succulents beside the door.

The noise made Wu Qie jerk his shoulders and quickly raise his head.

Across the courtyard, Wu Qie and Zhao Shu’s eyes met.

The boy stood beneath the porch with cold brows.

Wu Qie moved his lips and unconsciously straightened his back.

“What is it?”

Zhao Shu asked.

His voice carried no emotion.

Cold enough.

Wu Qie’s gaze drifted slightly.

“Thank you for last night. My phone should still be with you—”

Zhao Shu suddenly laughed.

Wu Qie paused and slowly finished the last word.

“…right?”

As soon as the words fell, Wu Qie watched helplessly as the Alpha boy descended the steps with arrogant composure.

Each step made him regret the time he had caused trouble for Lin Zuwen and called Zhao Shu’s guardian to school.

Back then Zhao Shu had been the one embarrassed.

Now the tides had turned.

The Alpha’s physique was naturally larger than a Beta’s.

Standing before Teacher Xiao Wu, the Zhao family’s young master was both taller and broader.

His shadow enveloped him.

It gave Zhao Shu the illusion that the person before him was prey waiting to be hunted.

Lowering his head, he stared at the Beta’s clean, slender neck.

He tilted his head slightly.

The oppressive aura of someone accustomed to authority, though immature, had already begun to take shape.

“I thought you deliberately left your phone with me.”

Zhao Shu spoke slowly.

Under Wu Qie’s confused gaze, he smiled.

“Just like how you deliberately left that pen with Pei Qingyu so you’d have an excuse to talk to him next time.”

Wu Qie watched as the color gradually drained from his own face.

At last, that expressionless face that always looked at Zhao Shu like he was dirt showed genuine human emotion.

“Nonsense.”

Wu Qie was close to breaking.

On the way here, he had prayed the entire time that Zhao Shu had also been drunk last night.

Maybe he’d forget everything he had deduced in the car.

Clearly, heaven had not heard his sincere prayer.

Zhao Shu wore a faintly mocking smile.

Just like last night in the car, he maliciously enjoyed the sight of the black-haired young man panicking.

A frightened deer standing in the middle of a highway at night under headlights could never survive.

The first rule of traffic was yield to speed, not the road.

If you ran into the car yourself, you could only be crushed.

“What did you come to my house for?”

Zhao Shu didn’t even bother asking how he had found the address.

Wu Qie answered quickly.

“My phone.”

Zhao Shu glanced at his watch.

7:45.

There was still some time before class.

“You don’t have an early class. I don’t mind being late.”

“If you don’t tell the truth, we can just stand here wasting time.”

Wu Qie: “…”

Zhao Shu continued.

“Standing is tiring. Want to go inside and sit while we waste time?”

“My house has cameras. If my brother sees it later, he’ll think I’m abusing you again.”

Wu Qie finally spoke.

“Don’t tell Pei Qingyu.”

Zhao Shu raised an eyebrow.

“Teacher Wu likes using commands when asking for favors?”

Wu Qie went silent.

He almost crushed his molars before speaking again.

“About Pei Qingyu…”

“Could you please not tell him?”

Zhao Shu thought for a moment.

What benefit would there be in telling Pei Qingyu that his future fiancé secretly liked him?

From Pei Qingyu’s perspective, it would probably feel like Zhao Shu had personally put a green hat on himself.

…That bastard would probably be smug to death.

Zhao Shu suddenly felt annoyed.

Even the teasing expression on his face faded.

He looked Wu Qie up and down.

The Beta clearly looked frightened, yet also stubbornly unconvinced.

Zhao Shu wanted to ask if he was blind.

But he didn’t need to ask.

If he liked Pei Qingyu, he was definitely blind.

“Fine.”

With a sour expression, Zhao Shu agreed.

Wu Qie looked surprised that the young master of the Zhao family was suddenly so easy to talk to.

Zhao Shu pulled Wu Qie’s phone from his pocket and stuffed it into his hand.

Wu Qie’s phone model was old.

The battery was ancient.

After a whole night without charging, it had already shut down.

He slowly pocketed the hot-potato phone.

Even though ten thousand curses ran through his mind, he still politely glanced back at his car and asked:

“Do you want a ride to school?”

“No.”

Zhao Shu rejected lazily.

“What good could happen staying around you, disaster star.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t talk to me at school either.”

“Okay.”

The answer came extremely fast.

Almost willingly.

Now it was Zhao Shu’s turn to feel annoyed.

He frowned, then relaxed again.

“I’ll talk to my brother later.”

“The marriage alliance is fine, but the rest is none of their business.”

“Even if we get a marriage certificate tomorrow, we’ll never develop feelings for each other in this lifetime.”

“Okay. Go ahead and say it. Thanks for the trouble.”

Wu Qie replied while already opening his car door without looking back.

“Goodbye.”

Before Zhao Shu could react, the electric car shot forward with a smooth press of the accelerator.

The person inside never argued once.

It was as if he didn’t care at all what Zhao Shu had said.

Zhao Shu: “…”

Zhao Shu: “?”

That’s it?

He just left?

The moment the words “Pei Qingyu” disappeared, he suddenly regained his composure?

Fine.

Very fine.