Special Halftime

At the bench, Sun Mi was already crying.

“Did you see it?!”

“Teacher Xiao Wu!”

“Your special training worked!”

“Hakeem Olajuwon’s Dream Shake!”

Zhao Shu knew Wu Qie was watching.

That realization made him run even harder.

When he became the fastest player on the floor.

The highest jumper on the floor.

The strongest player on the floor.

The Beta’s eyes would inevitably fall on him.

Seven minutes into the game, Yicheng found themselves unexpectedly uncomfortable.

They had expected to crush Hongtie.

Instead, they had been dragged into Hongtie’s rhythm.

Just as Wu Qie predicted—

Yicheng wasn’t invincible.

Accustomed to overwhelming opponents, they now found themselves sprinting constantly in an attempt to keep up with Zhao Shu.

Every time they adjusted, another pass punished them.

Sometimes the ball went to Pei Qingyu.

More often, it found Gao Fan.

Within minutes, Gao Fan had already buried three three-pointers.

Eventually Yicheng became so nervous whenever he approached the arc that they were forced to call a timeout and assign a dedicated defender to him.

The entire pace of the game had been seized by one player.

Zhao Shu.

Sweat dripped from his jaw.

Crashing onto the hardwood.

The crowd’s emotions rose with every possession.

Everyone loved an upset.

Everyone loved drama.

And Zhao Shu took advantage of every free second.

Substitutions.

Free throws.

Dead balls.

Moments that usually lasted less than three seconds.

Every single one was spent looking toward the same place.

The same person.

Wu Qie stood at the sideline with his arms folded.

Expression calm.

One hand resting against the opposite arm.

His index finger tapped lightly against his sleeve.

Compared to Sun Mi’s excitement, he looked almost cold.

But Zhao Shu noticed something.

Every time he looked over—

Wu Qie was already looking back.

Never once had his gaze wandered elsewhere.

Across the crowd.

Across the court.

Their eyes met again and again.

Wu Qie had been watching him the entire time.

The halftime buzzer sounded.

The score difference was only five points.

Hongtie still trailed.

But morale had never been higher.

Especially because moments before halftime, Zhao Shu had thrown down a monstrous dunk directly over Yicheng’s star power forward.

The same player already signed by a CBA team.

The same player long hailed as the country’s brightest prospect.

His face was black as a thundercloud.

Meanwhile Zhao Shu was immediately swallowed by teammates.

Everyone was hugging him.

Slapping his back.

Pounding his shoulders.

Congratulating him.

By the time he finally escaped and reached the sideline—

Wu Qie had already been stolen away.

The scouts.

The managers.

The observers.

All those lofty spectators from the stands had descended.

When Sun Mi finally managed to call everyone back together, Wu Qie returned carrying seven or eight business cards.

He casually stuffed them into his pocket.

As Zhao Shu approached, the scent of sweat and tequila pheromones drifted over.

Wu Qie frowned slightly.

He looked Zhao Shu up and down.

Like evaluating a strange animal.

Then he asked:

“Your veins are about to explode.”

“Why are you so worked up?”

Zhao Shu almost cursed.

I played that well.

Can’t you praise me once?

Unfortunately, Wu Qie didn’t give him the chance.

His gaze shifted toward the referee table.

Then he told Sun Mi:

“I’m applying for a special halftime.”

Special halftime was a rule introduced after secondary gender differentiation became commonplace.

Intense competition often caused Alpha and Omega athletes to become physiologically unstable.

To compensate, many sports extended halftime breaks significantly.

Football halftimes could even reach forty-five minutes.

Players exceeding certain emotional thresholds would enter designated isolation rooms to regulate themselves.

“I’m perfectly fine.”

“I don’t need a special halftime.”

Zhao Shu looked furious.

Wu Qie ignored him.

After obtaining Sun Mi’s signature, he walked past.

Then suddenly—

He lifted a hand.

And lightly patted Zhao Shu’s chest.

The overactive heart inside almost stopped.

“What?”

Zhao Shu lowered his head.

Their eyes met.

“You did well.”

The cool voice remained calm.

Wu Qie glanced down at his own palm.

Then looked back up.

A faint smile touched his lips.

“You’re covered in sweat.”

That wasn’t even close to the most enthusiastic praise Zhao Shu had received that day.

Yet he found himself unable to answer.

By the time he recovered—

Wu Qie was already gone.

Zhao Shu stood frozen.

Completely frozen.

This Beta truly knew how to kill him.

As far as Zhao Shu was concerned—

He was already dead.

Back at the bench, Wu Qie prepared to discuss second-half strategy.

Everyone was present.

Except Zhao Shu.

“…”

Three minutes ago the Alpha had been loudly declaring that he didn’t need special halftime.

Now he had vanished.

Pei Qingyu spoke from nearby.

“He didn’t need it at first.”

“But after you said those two sentences…”

“He went straight to isolation.”

The mockery in his voice was impossible to miss.

Wu Qie glanced at him.

Nearby, Duan Bairui looked terrified.

Ever since some point during training camp, the relationship between these two seemed to have become strangely bad.

Nobody understood why.

Fortunately, Wu Qie simply ignored it and continued discussing tactics.

Twenty minutes later—

Still no Zhao Shu.

With less than ten minutes remaining before play resumed, even Sun Mi was beginning to worry.

Wu Qie finally stood.

“I’ll go check.”

Three minutes later.

He stood outside a closed isolation room.

Tequila pheromones leaked through the crack beneath the door.

Alongside the sound of running water.

The room was large.

It contained emergency suppressants.

A shower.

Everything needed for emotional regulation.

Fortunately, the pheromone concentration remained within safe limits.

No susceptibility episode.

Wu Qie relaxed slightly.

He knocked.

“Zhao Shu.”

The water stopped.

Silence followed.

Then movement.

Finally, the door opened a crack.

A pair of wet dark-brown eyes appeared.

“Twenty minutes.”

Wu Qie said flatly.

“I thought you’d died in there.”

Zhao Shu remained silent.

The door opened wider.

A soaked basketball uniform lay crumpled on the floor.

Water streamed down the Alpha’s chest.

Broad shoulders.

Narrow waist.

A physique impossible to ignore.

Wu Qie paused.

Blinking slowly.

“…You said you didn’t need special halftime.”

His tone was genuinely confused.

“Do you still think the application was unnecessary?”

Normally twenty minutes was enough for any Alpha to calm down.

Perhaps S-rank Alphas were simply different.

Zhao Shu leaned against the doorframe.

Expression lazy.

“Mm.”

Wu Qie stared.

What kind of answer was that?

“Does that mean you’re not playing the second half?”

Zhao Shu didn’t answer.

Which was answer enough.

Wu Qie sighed.

“Hurry up.”

“Halftime’s almost over.”

Then suddenly—

A hand grabbed his wrist.

He tried to pull away.

Failed.

The Alpha’s thumb rubbed lightly over the protruding wrist bone.

As though reluctant to let go.

“What are you doing?”

Wu Qie asked.

“Letting you feel my temperature.”

Zhao Shu smiled.

“What are you nervous about?”

“I haven’t even said anything.”

It sounded innocent.

Reasonable.

Open.

Then he promptly dragged Wu Qie into the room.

Bang.

The door slammed shut.

Wu Qie’s back hit the wall.

The Alpha approached.

Still damp.

Still radiating heat.

His throat moved.

A quiet swallow.

“The first half went well.”

“I still have to play the second half.”

Somewhere along the way, Zhao Shu had finally learned something.

Barking alone didn’t work.

Not with this person.

His gaze darkened.

Fixed entirely on the Beta before him.

“Without any willingness to sacrifice…”

“Why knock on this door?”

He sounded relaxed.

Confident.

As though he already knew the answer.

As though he knew Wu Qie would never abandon the game halfway through.

The air grew hotter.

More humid.

The pheromones became stronger.

Zhao Shu closed his eyes briefly.

Trying to remain rational.

Trying not to scare him.

But the wrist in his hand softened.

The resistance disappeared.

Zhao Shu opened his eyes immediately.

Their gazes collided.

For the first time, he could clearly see his own reflection in Wu Qie’s eyes.

He knew Wu Qie wasn’t an Omega.

Knew there were no soothing pheromones.

Only the scent of skin.

Soap.

And the person himself.

The isolation room felt smaller and smaller.

The Alpha lowered his head.

And pressed a kiss against those constantly fluttering eyelashes.

“Just help me out this once.”