Chapter 98: Who Says Only Those in the Light Can Be Heroes?

And then, one kiss followed another.

The most unreliable phrase in the world was “just one last kiss.”

Ji Laili learned that lesson the hard way—his lips aching even more than before.

After kissing half the night, it was no surprise when he spotted dark circles under Shen Yu’s eyes.

Thinking back to how he had once questioned those dark circles, convinced that Shen Yu had them because he was simply too competitive…

Ji Laili’s expression turned complicated.

He had completely miscalculated.

“Are we going to the training grounds together?”

His thoughts were interrupted by Shen Yu’s voice. Seeing a rare hint of nervousness beneath Shen Yu’s usually calm demeanor, Ji Laili smiled.

“Of course, we’re going together.”

Training with his boyfriend—what a strange and novel experience.

How could they possibly go separately?

…And then, Ji Laili realized that maybe it would have been better if they had.

The moment they walked in, they instantly became the center of attention.

Along the way, they had already drawn countless stares, but the moment they stepped into the training grounds, the once noisy space fell into complete silence.

Every single gaze locked onto them.

Shen Yu swept a cold glance over the Alpha cadets, and—almost immediately—they turned away, pretending to be indifferent. But in reality, they were stealing glances at the two of them in secret.

After all, the academy forums had nearly exploded yesterday.

Nobody could believe that Ji Laili and Shen Yu—two people universally recognized as sworn enemies—could possibly be involved with each other.

Absolutely impossible!

There was no way they, as a collective, could be outsmarted by that bastard Eugene of all people!

That guy was truly vile, trying to use mental warfare to brainwash them into believing Ji Laili and Shen Yu were a thing. Too ruthless.

It had to be his imperial background at play.

The Alphas were certain their judgment was correct… yet, an uneasy feeling crept into their hearts—especially seeing how naturally the two of them were standing together.

And then—Shen Yu smiled at Ji Laili.

Alphas: Bro, stop. We’re actually gonna pass out from shock.

Since they were in training, Ji Laili and Shen Yu both restrained themselves.

But after training, the Alphas still kept looking back at them every few steps—practically gluing themselves to Ji Laili’s shadow in an attempt to observe further.

That was when Lei Po stormed over.

“Laili, what the hell happened yesterday?”

With an unfriendly glare at Shen Yu, Lei Po sneered, “Oi, Shen Senior, you couldn’t wait to make a move on him, huh?”

At that moment, every Alpha who had planned to leave instantly froze.

Holy shit.

Brothers, we’ve got a live scandal!

Somehow, Eugene had also appeared among the crowd. He eyed Lei Po like an idiot, clicking his tongue in disdain.

“Tch. Alphas from remote star systems really are dumb.”

Eugene crossed his arms, amused, waiting for Lei Po to get beaten up.

That Alpha Shen Yu was ridiculously petty. Calling Ji Laili that intimately? Yeah, Lei Po was done for.

The thought of someone else suffering the same fate he had made Eugene feel strangely satisfied.

But then—

A calm voice spoke up.

“You seem to have a lot of opinions about Alphas from remote star systems?”

Eugene turned, only to see Zhai Yifei, standing before a group of his followers.

The highborn young master of the Zhai family glanced at him with light, casual disdain—an unspoken arrogance always present in his demeanor.

Although Zhai Yifei had never abused his noble status in the Federation Military Academy, it was undeniable that he had naturally attracted a following of well-off Alphas who liked to stay close to him.

Even so, that innate arrogance made most Alphas uncomfortable.

Eugene scoffed internally.

How the hell had Ji Laili managed to suck up to this pampered noble brat?

His expression turned mocking as he narrowed his eyes at Zhai Yifei.

“Oh? Are you standing up for Alphas from remote systems now?”

Eugene snorted.

“You? Please. You’re not even qualified to do that.”

His tone dripped with sarcasm.

“You’re the grandson of a high-ranking general. The noble young master of the Zhai family. What’s this? Trying to put on some ‘down-to-earth’ act for me?”

His lip curled in disgust.

“That’s seriously revolting.”

Crossing his arms, Eugene sneered.

“If you want to play the clown, at least find a better audience. I don’t feel like watching.”

“Watch your mouth!” One of Zhai Yifei’s followers snapped, frowning.

A bunch of new Alpha recruits, none of whom could match Eugene in strength.

Eugene rolled his eyes. He didn’t even bother looking at them.

These weak Alphas weren’t even worthy of seeing his nose hairs.

While Zhai Yifei’s followers looked furious, Zhai Yifei himself remained unbothered.

Instead, he let out a soft chuckle—

One that never reached his eyes.

And just as quickly as it came, it was gone.

In no time, that cold and arrogant expression returned.

“So what if an Alpha is from a remote star system? Being born in the Core Worlds—Senior Eugene, you must be very proud of that.”

“But considering you’ve ended up at the same level as these so-called ‘lesser’ Alphas, breathing the same air as them… shouldn’t you be ashamed enough to just end it all?”

Eugene’s face darkened.

Zhai Yifei gazed back at him with an indifferent expression, as if silently saying: You’re not so special after all.

This guy was truly insufferable.

Ever since that last incident, aside from Shen Yu and Ji Laili, the people Eugene hated most were Lei Po and Zhai Yifei.

Eugene sneered, deliberately mocking, “Who would’ve thought? The noble Young Master Zhai, standing up for Alphas from the outer systems. What’s the deal—you two got a thing?”

“A filthy mind sees filth everywhere.”

Zhai Yifei’s expression darkened slightly. His gaze on Eugene turned cold.

“The Zhai family does not look down on anyone. Neither do I.”

“But you, Eugene—you might not even qualify as ‘anyone.’”

With that, Zhai Yifei turned and walked away without hesitation, as if simply too disgusted to stay.

He walked fast, too—leaving Eugene standing there, shaking with rage.

Meanwhile, Lei Po remained completely oblivious to the situation, still focused on glaring at Shen Yu.

If he didn’t do something soon, wouldn’t his bro end up bullied to death?

Lei Po puffed up his chest and declared, “Listen up, Shen Yu! Bullying my bro means you’re bullying me! Watch yourself, or I’ll—”

His words faltered as he met Shen Yu’s gaze—those deep, unreadable black eyes, cold brows laced with a faint, chilling aura of killing intent.

Lei Po hesitated.

…Wait.

He probably couldn’t beat Shen Yu in a fight.

Then—!

“Then watch out, ‘cause I’ll get the instructor to beat you up instead!”** Lei Po snorted. “We’re all under Instructor Aiger—he wouldn’t play favorites forever, right?”

He glanced to the side, eyes landing on Zhai Yifei, who stood there with his usual detached expression.

Lei Po forced himself to say, “That means we have three on our side.”

“A three-on-one fight. Even without Instructor Aiger—Shen Yu, do you really think you have a chance?”

His eyebrows arched provocatively.

Three against one—if they still lost, they might as well go home and play in the dirt.

Besides, their instructors had always emphasized “flexible tactics.”

Lei Po saw nothing wrong with teaming up against one person.

What he never expected…

Was that the person to stab him in the back wouldn’t be Zhai Yifei, that venomous bastard—

But his own good bro, the very person he was trying to stand up for.

His “good bro” Ji Laili, who suddenly smiled apologetically—

And then.

Held Shen Yu’s hand.

The expressions of Lei Po and the surrounding Alphas shifted instantly.

“Laili, you—?”

Ji Laili scratched his cheek, looking a little sheepish.

“Po-ge, you should probably give up on that three-on-one idea.”

Then, with a bright smile, he dropped a depth charge straight into the sea of Alphas.

“I’m with Shen Senior now.”

His eyes curved. “Which means we’re actually on the same side—so now it’s two-on-two.”

……

What.

What the hell does ‘I’m with Shen Senior now’ mean?!

Lei Po’s brain blanked out.

The self-proclaimed tough guy just stared at Ji Laili in shock.

Then at their interlocked hands.

“What do you mean? Are you speaking in Federation Standard?”

He knew all those words individually.

But put together—they made no damn sense.

The Alphas around them all wore the same dazed expression, stubbornly clinging to their worldview.

“Did you hear what Ji Laili just said?”

“What do you mean ‘together’? Together as in… they fought each other, right?”

“Why didn’t he just finish his damn sentence? Damn it, I’m dying over here—this suspense is killing me!”

Ji Laili sighed helplessly. These Alphas were way too stubborn.

He opened his mouth to explain—

But someone beat him to it.

“Killing you? My ass!”

Eugene let out a cold laugh.

“You bunch of idiots. These two literally kissed, and you’re still trying to convince yourselves they just hate each other so much they wanted to bite each other to death?”

“Wake up already!”

“You heard right—they’re together! As in AO-together! As in ‘third leg involved’ together!”

“Did that finally get through your thick skulls?!”

The Alphas: Stunned. Frozen. Mentally shattered.

Seeing their expressions—worldviews crumbling right before his eyes—

Eugene felt utterly, incredibly satisfied.

Finally! The day had come!

He, Eugene, the true hero, had saved these clueless, delusional Alphas from their ignorance!

At this moment, he had only one thing to say—

“Who says only those standing in the light can be called heroes?”