Training the Dog

The next morning, Wu Qie left home at the usual time.

Standing in the entryway, he hesitated for a moment before changing into a pair of ordinary running shoes—less convenient for sprinting and jumping, but still comfortable.

As he went out, he grabbed the car keys that had been sitting on the shoe cabinet for seven or eight days collecting dust.

When he opened the door, he saw a Cullinan parked in front of his house.

Wu Qie paused.

Then he turned around and looked behind him in confusion, though he didn’t really know what he was looking for.

Maybe he suspected he had opened the door wrong.

At that moment the car door opened.

Zhao Shu stepped out, frowning beside the car door, and called from a distance,

“You’re going to be late. Hurry up.”

Wu Qie had no idea what kind of wind had blown this young master to his doorstep today.

His brain short-circuited for a moment, and he forgot to politely decline.

Expressionless, he turned and walked toward his own battered little car.

He pressed the key.

The old-fashioned unlocking sound rang out—

Beep beep.

The sharp sound felt almost provocative.

The black-haired young man lifted his foot and prepared to climb into the driver’s seat.

Before he could get in, someone grabbed his elbow from behind.

The Alpha’s grip was strong.

Caught off guard, Wu Qie stumbled backward.

He turned around and met a pair of displeased eyes.

“What do you mean by this?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking why you’re driving to school yourself. Does that mean we’re not practicing basketball anymore? Not today or in the future?”

Zhao Shu’s voice was low, heavy with brewing anger.

Wu Qie finally understood what it meant to be accused before even speaking.

He tugged at his arm, trying to shake off the hand gripping his elbow.

It didn’t work.

Still, his voice remained light and gentle when he spoke.

Perfectly calm.

Exceptionally tolerant.

Almost benevolent.

“You’ve improved a lot recently. Your current level is enough to handle the autumn tournament. If you don’t want to practice anymore, it’s understandable. No need to keep wasting time.”

…

People often say smiles don’t disappear.

They just transfer.

Wu Qie believed embarrassment worked the same way.

When his words successfully caused the person blocking his car door to fall silent, a strange joy surged up from the soles of his feet.

Of course he quickly felt guilty about his own dark satisfaction.

“Could you let me get in the car?” he said.

“We can talk about it at school… we really are going to be late.”

“Sure. My car door’s open. Are you blind?”

“…But I want to drive myself to school.”

“Oh.”

The hand gripping his elbow not only didn’t loosen—it tightened.

“……”

Facing Zhao Shu’s darkened expression, Wu Qie subconsciously curled his fingers around the car key in his hand.

He had to admit that after delivering those sharp remarks, he had absolutely no idea how to end the situation peacefully.

The oppressive atmosphere made him want to flee immediately.

So he instinctively looked away and stayed silent.

Fortunately Zhao Shu wasn’t the type to just stand there being verbally beaten.

Soon he found his voice again.

“Lin Zuwen did stop me yesterday.”

Mm-hm.

Wu Qie said,

“We’re going to be late.”

Zhao Shu continued,

“We weren’t even in a normal relationship before getting engaged. I’m an Alpha. A highly compatible Omega kept me there during a normal social gathering. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”

I’m not making a big deal out of it at all!

Wu Qie replied,

“We’re really going to be late.”

Zhao Shu said,

“Then what does this mean? Driving yourself to school means you want to cancel our one-on-one evening training, doesn’t it?”

Wu Qie lowered his voice and patiently explained.

Driving himself to school wasn’t meant as a protest or an expression of dissatisfaction.

He fully understood—and even respected—the complicated emotional entanglements that could arise between an Alpha and an Omega with the so-called Eye of Aphrodite compatibility.

He simply thought that if daily extra training wasn’t necessary, his commute could return to normal and become more flexible.

His wording was extremely polite.

After finishing, Wu Qie even felt confident enough that if he were ever fired from Hongtie High School for offending the Zhao family, he could probably find work at the neighboring Hongtie Kindergarten.

He gave himself 98 out of 100 for his own courtesy and gentleness.

Unfortunately, when he looked up hopefully, Zhao Shu’s expression had not softened at all.

It had gotten worse.

The scent of tequila-like pheromones spread through the air.

Wu Qie sneezed.

Then Zhao Shu—who had clearly run out of patience—snatched the car key from him and pushed him straight into the waiting Cullinan behind him.

Things didn’t calm down once they arrived at school.

A bright green Lamborghini Aventador was parked aggressively at the school entrance.

The car door opened.

Lin Zuwen stepped out.

The aquamarine anti-bite collar around his neck sparkled brilliantly under the sunlight.

Wu Qie glanced over and joked,

“Isn’t he afraid of getting kidnapped wearing something like that?”

But Zhao Shu looked unusually serious.

“You might hear people saying nonsense today. Don’t pay attention to it.”

Wu Qie slowly formed a question mark above his head.

What nonsense?

The last time rumors about Zhao Shu and Lin Zuwen spread, no one even knew about Zhao Shu’s engagement yet.

Wu Qie had just been a bystander eating gossip like everyone else.

After the engagement was announced, the rumors died down.

He had no idea why Zhao Shu looked so tense—

Until he got out of the car and learned the truth.

The dazzling collar around Lin Zuwen’s neck had been a gift from Zhao Guipu.

Just last night.

Brand new.

It was a coming-of-age gift from the Zhao family’s head to the Lin family’s newly presented Omega son.

Many gifts like that had appeared at last night’s party.

But the ones Lin Zuwen brought to school today were only the expensive car and the collar.

The collar itself was beautiful.

Expensive for a high school student.

But that wasn’t the important part.

The important part was who gave it.

Zhao Guipu.

Over the past fifty years, countless wealthy families had risen with Jiangcheng’s development as a free trade port.

Yet somehow people had collectively placed Zhao Guipu on a pedestal.

Decades ago the Zhao family had merely been one powerful merchant clan among several.

Then Zhao Guipu appeared.

At seventeen he took control of the family’s collapsing shipping fleet.

He left school early, boarded ships himself, and spent nearly a year drifting across the four oceans learning the trade firsthand.

He studied more than fourteen hours a day.

Shipping manuals.

Geography.

Thick dictionaries.

Two years later, the failing fleet began operating again under his leadership.

Once, Zhao Guipu had said:

“The Zhao family may be the ship king of Jiangcheng’s harbor, but one day my ships will sail the world.”

People laughed at him back then.

But eventually something changed.

Now even a single extra sentence spoken by Zhao Guipu at a banquet could influence market rumors.

His reputation grew almost mythical.

Like the butterfly in the Amazon whose wings cause a tornado in Texas.

So now, overnight, people interpreted Lin Zuwen’s collar as a sign.

Perhaps Zhao Guipu supported Lin Zuwen and Zhao Shu.

Perhaps the Zhao family was reconsidering the engagement.

Wu Qie’s first reaction to hearing this rumor was strangely random.

There are two jujube trees in front of my house.

Sitting in the office while Teacher Xiao Wang stared at him worriedly, Wu Qie realized something.

This time it was different.

Before, the Lin family’s gossip had been limited to a small circle.

This time it had exploded everywhere.

And now it involved him.

So he sent a message to his mother.

[Wu Qie: Look at the in-laws you chose. Bloodbath already.]

His mother replied bluntly.

[Junbi: What nonsense is the Lin family spreading now?]

Wu Qie sent her a screenshot showing the collar’s 480,000 yuan price tag.

She went silent for a while.

Then replied.

[Junbi: Hongtie High is supposed to be a prestigious private school. How did a collar start a storm like this?]

Wu Qie had no answer.

[Wu Qie: People say Mr. Zhao changed his mind.]

[Wu Qie: Zhao Shu already denied it but no one cares.]

[Wu Qie: My whole morning has been chaos.]

[Junbi: Which Mr. Zhao?]

[Junbi: Zhao Guipu??]

[Junbi: Why would a collar make him change his mind??]

Wu Qie sighed.

He stopped replying and prepared to teach class.

But the moment he stepped into the hallway, he felt dozens of eyes on him.

Wu Qie nearly lost his smile.

If he’d known Jiangcheng would drag him into this kind of drama, he might never have returned to China.

He even started resenting Zhao Guipu.

As an elder, couldn’t he have considered the consequences before giving such a gift?

Wu Qie walked through the hallway carrying teaching materials.

Students were chatting everywhere.

When they saw him appear, the hallway suddenly went quiet for a few seconds.

Wu Qie used all his strength not to roll his eyes.

Then someone suddenly slammed into his back.

The books in his arms scattered across the floor.

Wu Qie grabbed the classroom window frame just in time to avoid falling.

He turned around in surprise.

A strange male student stood there saying innocently,

“Teacher, I didn’t see you.”

Wu Qie was nearly 1.8 meters tall.

Claiming not to see him was clearly intentional.

He was still confused when he noticed another familiar face.

Lin Zuwen stood surrounded by Omegas and Betas, the glittering collar around his neck shining brightly.

Their eyes met briefly.

Lin Zuwen frowned instinctively, then quickly relaxed his expression and kicked the boy behind him.

“Watch where you’re going! You hit Teacher Wu—apologize.”

The boy glanced at Lin Zuwen and smiled.

“Sorry, teacher.”

Wu Qie responded calmly, but his gaze stayed on Lin Zuwen.

Lin Zuwen smiled brightly back, lifting his chin slightly while adjusting the collar on his neck so the aquamarine gem flashed in the sunlight.

Wu Qie smiled too.

“Student Lin,” he said gently.

“My things were knocked over. Could you help pick them up?”

Lin Zuwen looked down at the scattered workbooks and markers near Wu Qie’s feet.

He could easily pick them up with a single bend.

But he didn’t move.

At that moment, a slender hand suddenly reached down and picked up the workbooks.

“Teacher.”

Wu Qie turned around.

Pei Qingyu stood right beside him.

“Your pen,” he said calmly.

But before Wu Qie could take it, Lin Zuwen brushed past them.

Wu Qie instantly grabbed his shoulder.

“Pick it up,” he said coldly.

The hallway froze.

Then another arm suddenly shot forward.

Like grabbing a rebound in basketball, Zhao Shu snatched the pen out of Pei Qingyu’s hand.

Wu Qie suddenly felt heat behind him.

A broad chest trapped him between the window frame and Zhao Shu’s body.

“What’s this?” Zhao Shu said lazily.

“Passing gifts privately?”

Wu Qie turned his head and saw Zhao Shu’s raised eyebrow.

He looked like someone who had just caught a cheating partner.

“Zhao Shu,” Wu Qie said.

The hallway fell silent.

Wu Qie explained calmly,

“Lin Zuwen’s friend knocked into me. My things fell. My back hurts. I asked him to help pick them up.”

Zhao Shu nodded.

“Then pick them up,” he said to Lin Zuwen.

Lin Zuwen crouched and collected everything quickly.

Meanwhile Wu Qie reached for the pen Zhao Shu was holding.

Zhao Shu lifted his arm slightly.

The pen flew from the third-floor corridor down to the ground below.

A faint tap echoed.

“Oops,” Zhao Shu said calmly.

“My hand slipped.”

Wu Qie said nothing.

Then he slowly looked up.

His dark eyes were completely cold.

“I did nothing this morning except eat breakfast and come to school,” he said quietly.

“But the moment I walked into the hallway, everyone started speculating about Lin Zuwen’s collar, about the Zhao-Wu engagement…”

Students nearby began quietly backing away.

“I can’t understand why an Omega’s collar has anything to do with me—a Beta.”

He glanced at Lin Zuwen.

Then back at Zhao Shu.

“Zhao Shu,” he said flatly.

“I’m really tired of your high-school games.”