The Coach Everyone Wants to Steal

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Isn’t it true? Jiang Xilu’s drool was practically dripping onto my shoes.”

“…That has nothing to do with me.”

“You feeling proud that they’re trying to poach you?”

“Not exactly proud, but honestly, no one would feel upset over something like that.

What kind of answer are you looking for?”

“Are you some unknown subspecies of Omega or something?
Hm?

Giving off some mysterious scent no one knows about, making people lose their minds over you, like a siren out at sea—

Not necessarily earth-shattering, but the moment you open your mouth, you can coax people into dying for you willingly…”

“Zhao Shu, in public, could you maybe restrain yourself and say a little less stupid nonsense?”

The meaningless banter drifted over from the sidelines, mixed with Zhao Shu’s occasional irritated curses.

He kept pestering the black-haired Beta, asking when he had ever played against people from Didu No. 1 High School, while the latter rolled his eyes and repeated like a broken recorder,

“What does that have to do with you,”
“I don’t need to report this to you,”
“Shut up,”
“Stop yelling,”
and “Go away.”

Students at Hongtie High School were top-tier.

Even the teachers had been recruited at high salaries, pulled from across Jiangnan Province as industry elites.

But Didu No. 1 High School was slightly different.

As Hongtie’s northern counterpart, it was rooted right at the foot of the imperial capital.

Its students were either wealthy or powerful, and even the teachers might come from prestigious bloodlines.

So compared to Hongtie, Didu No. 1 carried a much stronger sense of hierarchy…

At the very least, no student there would dare ask a teacher, “What kind of succubus are you?”

—This Beta is actually a coaching instructor, and he’s not treated well at Hongtie.
The students don’t respect him enough.
He should come to our school instead.

That was Jiang Xilu’s first thought.

He craned his neck, watching as the black-haired Beta expressionlessly pushed away Zhao Shu, who was leaning too close.

He was itching to step forward and start poaching—

Just a day ago, sitting on the bus, he had been complaining nonstop that this joint training was meaningless, just tagging along with Hongtie for nothing, and they should at least be charging fees.

But at this moment, he suddenly understood the true meaning of this training camp.

Jiang Xilu took a step toward the sidelines where the two were still bickering—

Right then, the tall Alpha who had been quiet the entire time turned his head and said,
“We don’t usually talk to teachers like that.”

Jiang Xilu: “?”

Jiang Xilu: “What do you mean?”

The one speaking was Pei Qingyu.

He said,
“Wu Qie is Zhao Shu’s fiancé.”

Watching Jiang Xilu go from confused, to shocked, to looking like he had just gotten dumped before even starting a relationship, the Hongtie basketball team withdrew their gazes in satisfaction, swallowing the rest of their words—

Even though… they were about to break off the engagement.

As Zhou Kai dragged the dejected Jiang Xilu back to Didu No. 1’s side, Pei Qingyu turned around and looked again at Wu Qie and Zhao Shu.

Their conversation had reached its conclusion.

Teacher Wu said expressionlessly,

“Are we playing the scrimmage or not?
If you say one more word of nonsense, you’re sitting out today.”

Zhao Shu stood with hands on hips.
“You’re really living the good life now, huh, threatening me.”

“Cut it out.”

“You only act this tough with me.”

“That’s because no one else is like you—”

Zhao Shu suddenly asked,
“If you talked to Pei Qingyu like this, would you dare?”

The black-haired Beta’s retort stopped abruptly.

Pei Qingyu, whose name had been mentioned, naturally turned his head.

His calm gaze landed on Wu Qie—just as Wu Qie’s gaze met his.

He clearly saw a flicker of discomfort flash across the Beta’s face.

Exactly the same evasive expression as yesterday in the restaurant.

Teacher Wu shifted slightly, and his face disappeared behind Zhao Shu’s broad frame.

Before Pei Qingyu could catch more, he heard Wu Qie change his tone—

Softer, but more rigid in pronunciation.

“Stop talking nonsense, Zhao Shu.”

Pei Qingyu withdrew his gaze and looked down at his feet.

When Wang Jiajia came over to remind the captain the match could resume, Pei Qingyu raised his head again—

His expression was as calm as a still lake.

“Let’s continue.”

No one knew what he was thinking.

The first half ended amid Zhao Shu and Jiang Xilu’s constant trash talk.

Hongtie trailed by three points.

Not a big gap, but not small either.

Since this wasn’t a formal match, experience mattered more than victory.

During halftime, the players gathered around Coach Sun Mi and Wu Qie.

Zhao Shu’s face was gloomy.

Pei Qingyu looked distracted.

The other three players were visibly tired, breathing heavily.

After briefly reviewing the first half, Coach Sun handed things over to Wu Qie.

This segment hadn’t originally been planned.

But over time, trust in Wu Qie had grown steadily.

Wu Qie tapped his fingers, thinking.

“The point guard is too thin.

He can’t secure rebounds from explosive forwards, and lacks initiative in contesting.

The center’s low-post offense and physical confrontation are average…

If they break through our forward line and rely on Zhao Shu and Pei Qingyu, even a comeback is possible.

It’ll be difficult.”

He bluntly pointed out their flaws.

Wang Jiajia, Gao Fan, and Lu Jianing stood stiffly, jaws tight, hands behind their backs, listening seriously.

No one protested.
No one made excuses.

After a long period of adjustment, they trusted Wu Qie just as much as Coach Sun did.

Some even felt it was a waste for someone like Wu Qie to coach a high school team.

Yet the black-haired Beta seemed pleased they were quietly listening.

He tilted his head, smiled at the three players, and said gently,

“For the second half, we switch to a three-core strategy.

Zhao Shu and Pei Qingyu, keep an eye on Jiang Xilu and Zhou Kai.

Full-court pressure defense. Any issues?”

He was asking Zhao Shu and Pei Qingyu.

Zhao Shu didn’t answer.

Wu Qie kicked him lightly.

Zhao Shu took a swig of water, looking impatient.

“You’ve already decided, what problem could I have?
Why don’t you ask Pei Qingyu if he can handle Zhou Kai?
That guy’s slippery like an eel, running all over the court.”

Earlier, Pei Qingyu had been shaken off by Zhou Kai while chasing the ball.

Zhou Kai had suddenly stopped, causing Pei Qingyu to overcommit and get thrown off.

Fortunately, he hadn’t fallen badly.

Feeling Wu Qie’s gaze on him, Pei Qingyu paused, then said simply,
“No problem.
I can.”

He touched the tip of his nose.

But Wu Qie had already looked away.

“Wang Jiajia is fast.
Run, increase tempo.
Feed Gao Fan—hit some threes to catch up.
Push the pace before their defense sets.”

Wu Qie clapped his hands.

“The gap isn’t that big.
Stay sharp.”

The players responded and dispersed to rest.

The sweaty Alpha scent in the air thinned slightly.

Wu Qie quietly exhaled and picked up his phone, now focusing on recording Didu No. 1’s performance.

[Emphasize defensive communication—especially in pick-and-roll defense, weak-side help, and corner rotations…

Jiang Xilu has a foot injury but reduced explosive runs this season.

Strong marking ability.

Offensive transitions must be quick—]

Halfway through typing, he noticed a shadow on his screen.

He frowned, assuming Zhao Shu was bothering him again.

But when he looked up—

It was Pei Qingyu.

Wu Qie froze briefly.

His grip tightened on his phone.

Being alone with him made him uncomfortable again.

He forced a smile.
“Do you have a question, classmate Pei?”

Pei Qingyu looked as calm as ever.

But his eyes were unreadable.

His gaze dropped, locking onto Wu Qie’s.

He raised his hand—the same hand that had touched his nose earlier.

Under the sunlight, Wu Qie clearly saw a three-centimeter cut on his right middle finger.

The skin had split open.
No longer bleeding, but pale from sweat and friction.

“Probably scraped it on a splinter from the floor earlier.”

The gym wasn’t well-maintained.

Wu Qie blinked, staring at the wound.

“The cut… it’s so long…”

A flash of panic crossed his face.

Pei Qingyu caught it completely.

He smiled faintly.

But when Wu Qie looked up, his expression returned to normal.

“It’s fine.
Not serious.
I just wanted to ask if the teacher could—”

“Duan Bairui.”

Wu Qie turned and called the Omega.

“Bring the first-aid kit.
The captain hurt his hand—help him bandage it.”

His tone shifted.

Under Pei Qingyu’s emotionless gaze, the Omega rushed over with the kit, while Wu Qie hurried off to report the court safety issue.

They passed each other.

Pei Qingyu watched his back for three seconds.

Then looked away.

“Classmate Pei?”

The faint scent of plum blossoms surrounded him.

The irritation in his chest eased slightly.

Pei Qingyu lowered his gaze at Duan Bairui preparing the bandages.

The Omega looked up carefully.
“Your hand…”

Pei Qingyu didn’t move.

“Not needed.”

His voice was cold.

The Omega looked startled.

Pei Qingyu didn’t bother apologizing.

His patience was gone.

The whistle blew for the second half.

He turned and walked back onto the court.

—Enough pointless testing.
It ends here.

The second half began.

With the tactical shift, Hongtie came back to life.

Wang Jiajia stopped panicking.
He controlled the ball instead of rushing passes.

His speed and explosiveness finally showed.

The previously overlooked trio turned the tide.

Within five minutes, they closed the gap to one point.

Even Jiang Xilu kept glancing toward Hongtie’s bench.

Didu No. 1’s head coach even ordered an assistant to investigate Wu Qie.

The match ended about half an hour later.

Hongtie lost by only five points.

Compared to last year’s crushing defeat, this was nothing.

But that wasn’t the focus.

The Didu coach stared at a photo on an A4 sheet—

The same face as Wu Qie standing across from him.

Keywords jumped out:

“NSAA* three consecutive championships,”
“Four-star player,”
“Second differentiation failure at age eighteen—classified as Beta.”

Wu Qie followed Sun Mi to shake hands.

When it was his turn, the Didu coach grabbed his hand with both of his.

Wu Qie: “?”

“If you’re dissatisfied with Hongtie’s salary, you’re always welcome at Didu No. 1.”

Wu Qie: “……”

Amid Sun Mi shouting, “What’s wrong with your school?!”, Wu Qie quietly pulled his hand back.

Later that night, after dinner and a shower, Wu Qie sat cross-legged at a low table.

He opened his old laptop and logged into Picline.

After a long pause, he typed, deleted, and finally logged in.

Username: “Hongtie Basketball Dept Instructor W.”

He posted a detailed match analysis.

Within minutes, likes and comments exploded.

People praised him.

Then a private message popped up.

[sssssss: Jiang Xilu and Zhou Kai’s coordination is nearly flawless.
You can’t isolate one of them.
Instead of relying on surprise tactics, focus on your main forward’s stamina and strong wing defense.]

Wu Qie frowned.

Then admitted it made sense.

Checking the profile—Bulbasaur avatar.

“ssss”… clearly “Shu.”

He snorted.

[Hongtie Basketball Dept Instructor W: Basketball is a five-player sport.
A single core won’t go far.]

Reply came instantly.

[sssssss: Oh.]

Then sent match footage.

[sssssss: We play them tomorrow.]

[Hongtie Basketball Dept Instructor W: Wow, you really want to win, huh?]

[sssssss: …Isn’t playing to win the point?]

Wu Qie chuckled, resting his chin on his hand.

At least when typing, Zhao Shu sounded more like a normal person.