Not for Sale

Wu Qie went back to his room and took a shower, and by the time he arrived at the dining hall, quite a few people were already there.

Since the venue had been reserved by the three schools, the dining hall had switched to a buffet-style setup, with a wide variety of dishes laid out in abundance.

Students from different schools sat scattered in small groups across the empty tables.

To them, Wu Qie was a new face, likely mistaken for a substitute player or some miscellaneous staff from Hongtie, so aside from a lazy glance from a nearby table when he entered, no one paid him much attention.

After a full day of travel, plus half an hour of basketball earlier, the black-haired Beta was in desperate need of carbs, so instead of going for the fancy seafood, he grabbed a simple bowl of noodles to fill his stomach first.

He found a corner table and sat down, focusing on eating, quickly taking a few bites until his stomach finally had something in it.

Only then did he slow down, and when he lifted his head, he belatedly realized there was now someone sitting across from him.

It was Pei Qingyu.

“…”

When did he get here?

Wu Qie hadn’t noticed at all.

But now, the way the other man sat there with food placed in front of him, chin propped on his hand as he watched him—it overlapped perfectly with that night at the banquet.

And just like that, it flawlessly dragged up some not-so-pleasant memories.

In theory, Wu Qie and Pei Qingyu didn’t actually have any conflict.

Wu Qie knew very clearly that all the awkwardness and discomfort came from himself, not from Pei Qingyu.

So at this moment, he made a conscious effort not to frown.

However, the black-haired Beta didn’t realize that his attempt at restraint wasn’t very successful.

“Teacher Wu.”

A faint smile hung on the young Alpha’s face, though whether it reached his eyes was unclear.

At the same moment his voice sounded, Wu Qie’s eyes narrowed slightly, like a cat whose territory had been encroached upon, a hint of wariness rising within him.

His dark pupils shifted restlessly, betraying a subtle unease.

That small reaction exposed his discomfort.

As if completely unaware—or simply not caring—about this subtle resistance, the Alpha spoke in his usual calm tone, initiating casual conversation.

“Did you take a shower after getting to your room?”

“… ”

Wu Qie tightened his grip on his chopsticks and gave a low “Mm.”

“I ran into people from Imperial No. 12 and Yicheng Affiliated, played a bit, broke a sweat.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he realized he didn’t actually need to explain any of that.

He just needed to get this conversation over with.

Annoyed at himself for fumbling, he began planning how to cut off whatever Pei Qingyu said next and send him away as quickly as possible.

But unexpectedly, Pei Qingyu didn’t continue the small talk.

Instead, he reached across the table and lightly touched the strands of hair hanging over Wu Qie’s forehead.

“It’s still dripping.”

His voice remained cool and steady.

“In this kind of weather, if you don’t dry your hair properly, you’ll catch a cold.”

His long, neatly trimmed fingers brushed lightly against Wu Qie’s cool forehead.

Wu Qie blinked, opened his mouth slightly, and looked at him in shock.

His body reacted before his mind could catch up—he stiffened and instinctively leaned back.

Pei Qingyu’s hand, extended midair, was left hanging there.

For a moment, the air seemed to freeze.

“…”

Holding his bowl, Wu Qie let out a slow “Ah” in his mind, then another “Ah” in a different tone.

He couldn’t quite figure out what was going on.

And when faced with an awkward situation he couldn’t understand, he had plenty of experience dealing with it: if you can’t handle it, just leave.

Muttering a vague “It’s fine,” he tightened his grip on his chopsticks, finished the noodles in a few quick bites, drank the soup clean, grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth, then stood up abruptly.

“I’m done. Take your time.”

With that, he swiftly withdrew.

The whole process was smooth and fast, leaving Pei Qingyu no chance to say another word.

As he left, he casually grabbed an orange to make up for missing out on the dessert table that had looked pretty decent earlier.

About ten minutes after Wu Qie left, Duan Bairui entered the dining hall.

As an Omega, he was naturally sensitive to the atmosphere, and with so many Alphas gathered in one place, it felt like a lamb wandering into a pack of wolves.

Even with his suppressant collar filtering pheromones at maximum, goosebumps still rose on his skin.

The air felt thick and suffocating.

After getting his food, he looked around and suddenly brightened when he spotted Pei Qingyu sitting in the corner.

The Alpha rested his chin on his hand, gazing out the window, seemingly lost in thought.

At school, Pei Qingyu rarely interacted with Duan Bairui.

Duan Bairui knew the gap between them was enormous, so he had never dared to approach him.

But people were strange—put them in a different environment, and even a faint acquaintance could feel like familiarity.

In this isolated mountain resort, Pei Qingyu was practically the most familiar person he had.

Summoning some courage, Duan Bairui walked over with his tray.

“Student Pei, may I sit here?”

A faint scent like snowy pine drifted toward him, enveloping him.

The oppressive heaviness caused by the crowd of Alphas dissipated instantly, like a sudden snowfall in the middle of summer.

The anxiety that had been weighing on him eased unexpectedly.

Before he could dwell on it, Pei Qingyu slowly turned his head.

Those usually distant eyes rested on him for a moment.

For some reason, Duan Bairui felt as if Pei Qingyu wasn’t really looking at him at all.

“Go ahead.”

It was rare for the usually aloof Alpha not to reject him.

Duan Bairui’s eyes lit up.

He sat down beside him and noticed the untouched food in front of him.

“You’re not eating?”

Pei Qingyu had only taken a strawberry puff.

His gaze lingered on it briefly before he pushed it toward Duan Bairui.

“If you want it, you can have it.”

He paused slightly before adding in a flat tone,

“Don’t Omegas like sweets?”

That was true for most Omegas, but being offered food like this felt a bit odd.

“Did you suddenly lose your appetite after taking it?”

The question was somewhat personal.

He thought Pei Qingyu wouldn’t answer.

But unexpectedly, Pei Qingyu looked at him again, this time properly.

After a moment, he said lightly,

“Is it that obvious?”

“… ”

Now Duan Bairui didn’t know what to say.

“Something a little confusing happened.”

Pei Qingyu’s gaze drifted away again, toward the courtyard outside.

“I never thought that when someone who had always been looking at me suddenly stopped without warning… even I would feel unsettled.”

He lowered his eyes slightly, noticing Duan Bairui’s completely confused expression.

Then he let out a soft, almost amused laugh.

“I’m just talking nonsense.”

He stood up.

“It’s not good to waste food. You can have the dessert. Thank you. See you tomorrow.”

With that perfectly polite line, he left.

The faint pine scent vanished with him, and the heavy atmosphere returned.

Duan Bairui sat there, only then realizing Pei Qingyu was already gone.

The next day, all three schools finally gathered together.

As Sun Mi put it, it was as noisy as frogs in a pond.

Wu Qie hadn’t realized just how chaotic a group of teenage Alphas could be until all three teams stood together.

Zhao Shu leaned over toward the neighboring team and called out,

“Hey cripple, why aren’t you resting at home instead of running around?”

Wu Qie: “…”

Teacher Wu silently zipped his hoodie up higher, covering half his face, and retreated into the shadows, trying to dissociate himself from the idiot nearby.

Even their teacher-student relationship felt embarrassing.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xilu had been scanning the Hongtie team since entering the gym, clearly searching for someone.

He didn’t find the person he wanted, but the person he didn’t want came right up to him.

Memories of last year’s match resurfaced instantly.

Zhao Shu stood in front of him, hands on hips, openly provoking him.

Jiang Xilu sized him up.

“Keep barking. Just make sure you’re this happy when you get crushed later.”

That single exchange filled the first training match with tension.

The match began immediately, fiery from the start.

Wu Qie sat on the sidelines, holding his phone, occasionally jotting down notes.

Imperial No. 12 had the advantage overall.

Hongtie struggled to keep up, though Zhao Shu’s defense kept the score gap manageable.

Wu Qie’s training had clearly paid off.

Zhao Shu was finally showing restraint, resisting Jiang Xilu’s attempts to provoke fouls.

After one defensive play, Zhao Shu glanced toward the sidelines.

Wu Qie sat there, half his face hidden in his hoodie, watching silently.

Their eyes met.

Wu Qie subtly pointed at the scoreboard.

They were still behind.

Zhao Shu raised an eyebrow and signaled for a timeout.

As soon as the whistle blew, he ran over and crouched beside Wu Qie.

“How was that defense just now?”

Wu Qie glanced down at him.

“Why were you provoking him in the first place?”

Zhao Shu shrugged.

“Dunno. Just don’t like his face.”

Then he immediately tried to grab Wu Qie’s phone to check if he had written anything praising him.

Wu Qie pushed him away.

“Stop acting like a dog.”

“Who are you calling a dog?”

They bickered until the game resumed.

Before Zhao Shu returned to the court, Wu Qie added,

“Tell Pei Qingyu to move more. Wang Jiajia can’t keep up with your passes.”

Zhao Shu paused, surprised.

“Why don’t you tell him yourself? Did you guys fight?”

Wu Qie looked away.

“No.”

Back on the court, Zhao Shu exploded into action.

He tore through the defense like a tank, unstoppable.

But when he passed the ball out, it was too strong—Wang Jiajia fumbled it.

Turnover.

Zhao Shu turned back, only to find Jiang Xilu staring at him oddly.

“What are you looking at?”

Jiang Xilu suddenly pointed toward the sidelines.

“You’ve got a better point guard sitting there. Why not use him?”

“Let him sit on the bench? Waste of talent. Might as well transfer him to our school.”

Silence fell across the court.

Zhao Shu and Pei Qingyu both turned at the same time.

Zhao Shu stepped forward.

“Are you stupid?”

“That’s our coach.”

“What makes you think you can just take him?”

Then he walked to the sidelines, pulled Wu Qie’s hood over his head, and pressed it down.

“This one’s not for sale.”

Wu Qie smacked his hand away, face slightly flushed.

Zhao Shu grinned.

“So when did you get to know Jiang Xilu, huh?”

“Teacher Wu, the court’s little enchantress?”