Bite

Wu Qie sat in the back seat of his family’s Maybach.

Even after the car had driven three kilometers away from the resplendent hotel, he still hadn’t snapped out of it.

The seat beneath him didn’t feel like leather.

It felt like Zhao Guipu’s thigh.

For the fifth time, Wu Qie shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

The driver glanced at the rearview mirror and asked if the air conditioning wasn’t comfortable, saying they could open the window once they got off the elevated road.

Normally polite and responsive, Teacher Wu was unusually silent today, like he had lost his voice.

His eyes were unfocused as he raised a hand to touch his waist through his clothes.

Then he felt his face heat up.

The man’s hand against his waist had felt like a snake with scales crawling across his abdomen.

Just recalling it made his scalp tingle.

…But seriously, did acting really need to go that far?

The ringing phone interrupted his thoughts.

Without looking, he picked up.

On the other end, Zhao Shu was breathing heavily, asking where he had gone, saying he and Pei Qingyu had searched for him all night.

Wu Qie switched the phone from his left hand to his right and said, “If you couldn’t find me, couldn’t you just call?”

There was a pause.

Then Zhao Shu started stammering.

Too lazy to dig into the erratic mood swings of this Alpha—cold one moment, searching the whole world for him the next—Wu Qie changed the subject.

“What were you looking for me for?”

“To ask where you are,” Zhao Shu replied.

“Tonight’s thank-you banquet was a mess. Someone knocked over the champagne tower downstairs, my brother didn’t show up, and while I was cleaning things up, I heard a Beta wandered upstairs and beat up a guest invited by my brother’s business partner…”

“……”

“When I heard it, it sounded like something you’d do, so I called to check if it was you.”

Wu Qie tightened his grip on the phone.

Good thing Zhao Shu wasn’t in front of him—otherwise he’d see him guiltily looking away and pretending to be busy.

Staring at the city lights flashing past outside, Wu Qie’s voice remained steady.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m almost home. If you keep putting everything on me, you’ll be hearing from my lawyer tomorrow.”

On the other end, there was a faint rustling sound, probably Zhao Shu touching his face.

“There aren’t many Betas in the world who can beat up an Alpha. Last time, my bruise took four or five days to fade. What does that count as?”

“It means your metabolism is fast.”

The old guy just now would probably be swollen for ten days to half a month.

Wu Qie said this coolly, then paused, unable to hold back:

“Your family is holding a funeral today. Guests downstairs are mourning. And your brother is throwing a party upstairs. Doesn’t anyone think that’s… weird?”

Zhao Shu said meaningfully, “The dead are gone, but the living still have to eat.”

A whole family of weirdos.

Wu Qie muttered inwardly.

The past two days had been complete chaos, and now that things had finally settled, he felt utterly exhausted.

He leaned back, closing his eyes, but didn’t hang up.

He heard Zhao Shu call his name.

He lazily responded, waiting for him to continue.

“…Are we… okay now?”

Zhao Shu’s voice sounded unusually cautious.

Wu Qie thought for a moment.

“I don’t think so. That time I was drunk, and then your father’s situation interrupted things. Anyone with a conscience wouldn’t reject you in that moment.”

Zhao Shu seemed to have expected this answer.
He said “oh” and didn’t get angry.

For a moment, Wu Qie felt like he had more to say.

But in the end, there was only silence.

After a while, Zhao Shu muttered,

“Anyway, you won’t find a better marriage partner…”

He paused.

“Neither will I.”

It sounded like both of them understood something without ever having discussed it.

The car moved quietly, the city noise sealed outside.

In the dark back seat, Wu Qie curled his lips slightly, half sighing, half amused.

“I’ll look around a bit more. If I can’t find anyone, we’ll talk again.”

…

After listening to Zhao Shu’s entire theory about how “there are barely any marriageable S-rank Alphas in the world, stop dreaming,” Wu Qie returned home with his head still buzzing.

At home, only the resident maid Dorota was sitting in the living room watching a melodramatic romance drama.

Seeing Wu Qie return, she glanced at his slightly injured lips, hesitated, but didn’t ask anything.

Instead, she hurried to prepare sweet soup and boiled eggs.

Wu Qie collapsed onto the sofa, too exhausted to move.

Feeling annoyed, he grabbed the remote and switched channels.

The evening news was playing.

He turned his head—

—and saw him.

On TV, Zhao Guipu was dressed impeccably in a suit, every detail flawless.

He was attending a groundbreaking ceremony for a Japanese shipyard.

Under the media’s lens, he smiled gently, composed and elegant—the perfect image of a modern business leader.

Completely different from the man who had just threatened to throw someone into the sea.

The skin at Wu Qie’s waist seemed to burn again.

Unable to endure it, he sat up cross-legged and lifted his shirt to look.

Aside from bruises from the earlier fight, there were no marks.

…It was all in his head.

He lay back down again, speechless.

For the next month, he decided, he absolutely must not see Zhao Guipu again.

Otherwise, he might actually lose his mind.

…

Avoiding Zhao Guipu was easy.

They barely saw each other more than twice a month anyway.

The next day, aside from faint bruising and dark circles, Teacher Wu arrived at school as usual.

But the moment he pushed open the office door and saw the exquisite globe on his desk—

his world collapsed.

He stood frozen in the doorway for a long time, then silently withdrew his foot.

That globe—

the one he had once admired endlessly—

was now sitting neatly on his desk.

…while his old one had disappeared.

After a while, realizing he couldn’t stand there forever, Wu Qie walked in and tapped Teacher Xiao Wang, who was busy eating a pancake and reviewing lesson plans.

“Where did this come from?”

Teacher Xiao Wang’s eyes lit up.

“Mr. Zhao personally delivered it this morning! I saw him up close for the first time—he’s so handsome! A legendary Enigma-type man!”

Wu Qie nodded calmly.

The last bit of hope in his heart died.

…

Later, he learned Zhao Guipu hadn’t come just for him.

It was scholarship day.

After the flag-raising ceremony, all classes were canceled, and everyone gathered in the auditorium.

Wu Qie entered with messy hair, immediately realizing he was underdressed.

The entire hall was filled with formally dressed students and staff.

His seat—

was directly behind Zhao Guipu.

When Zhao Guipu entered, Wu Qie froze.

Their eyes met briefly.

Zhao Guipu’s gaze was calm, indifferent, as if nothing had happened.

Wu Qie’s heart pounded.

Then the man looked away.

…

Later, when Zhao Guipu picked up a water bottle, twisting the cap with long fingers, veins faintly visible—

Wu Qie stood up abruptly.

“I need the restroom.”

And fled.

…

He didn’t return.

Instead, he hid in the lounge, thinking for nearly an hour.

By the time the ceremony ended, he claimed a stomachache and stayed behind.

After eating some bread, he finally felt better.

When lunchtime came, he picked up his phone to message Pei Qingyu about basketball training.

But at the top of his chat list a message from ZHAO.

A video.

Wu Qie froze.

His first thought:

“Do I need to leave the planet?”

Hands trembling, he opened it.

The video showed Zhao Guipu’s office.

On one side sat Zhao Guipu, lighting a cigarette.

On the other sat the middle-aged Alpha Wu Qie had beaten yesterday—bandaged, fingers in casts.

They were negotiating.

The man demanded either the attacker be handed over or a better deal.

The video ended abruptly.

Wu Qie felt overwhelming guilt.

He immediately called Zhao Guipu.

He apologized.

He thanked him.

Zhao Guipu responded minimally.

Calm. Indifferent.

At the end, Wu Qie couldn’t help wondering—

If he didn’t care…why send the video?

As he prepared to hang up—

Zhao Guipu suddenly asked:

“Why were you avoiding me this morning?”

Wu Qie: “……”

Help.