Chapter 36: Isn’t It Cute?

“Senior, what method are you talking about?”

Shen Yu replied concisely, “For healing, go find Eugene.”

At first, Ji Laili was touched, but as soon as he heard the second half of the sentence, he instantly froze.

“Senior, I will definitely get treated, but going to Senior Eugene…”

Recalling Eugene’s miserable state during their fight, Ji Laili’s brow twitched, a slight burning sensation lingering. He rubbed his nose and hesitated, “Maybe… let’s forget it?”

Shen Yu gazed at him quietly, his dark eyes seemingly filled with reproach.

Feeling a slight pang of guilt, Ji Laili sighed. “It really wasn’t his fault.”

“During today’s match with Senior Eugene, I actually learned a lot. Did you see it, Senior? Was I cool?”

The Alpha grinned, trying to change the subject.

His intent was obvious, but Shen Yu, under his smile, relented.

He had indeed seen it.

When Shen Yu arrived, the two Alphas were in the middle of their fight. It was also his first time seeing Ji Laili in that way.

While he was surprised by the other’s strength, he also found it unsurprising.

Ji Laili was so unique—wasn’t it natural for him to be this capable?

As he watched, Shen Yu’s glands heated up, his pale face tinged with a faint blush, making him uncomfortable.

Even though Alpha was just sparring, his movements were sharp and precise, holding his own against Eugene without being at a disadvantage.

But Shen Yu could only focus on the way the young Alpha’s forearm tensed when he moved—so sexy and alluring.

His chestnut curls bounced mid-action, and beneath his brow bone, his eyes gleamed intensely. A hint of blood on his body only added a strange kind of allure.

A purely physical combat scene had dragged Shen Yu into a different train of thought…

His eyes flickered with dark emotions as he lowered them, a slight redness at the corners. He earnestly praised the Alpha.

“Very cool.”

Ji Laili was delighted, proud and smug. “I think so too! Even though I lost, I improved a little, right?”

He was utterly pleased with himself.

He had been so caught up in the conversation that he completely forgot about the wound on his brow. It was only when Shen Yu, his voice hoarse, reminded him that he suddenly recalled it.

“Oh, I almost forgot about that.”

Ji Laili reached out and grabbed Shen Yu’s wrist.

The young Alpha’s body was warm. When their skin touched, Shen Yu instinctively flinched, but he quickly steadied himself.

Just like last time, when Ji Laili pulled him along, he didn’t feel disgusted—only warmth.

Ji Laili rolled up his sleeve, revealing a faint bite mark on his wrist. Compared to before, it had already healed significantly.

“Not bad, the mark is almost gone.”

He rummaged through the inside pocket of his military uniform and pulled out something, holding his fist up to Shen Yu’s face with a grin.

“Senior, wanna guess what this is?”

Shen Yu glanced down.

The Alpha’s fingers were curled into a loose fist, slightly larger than his own…

He was distracted. “What is it?”

“Guess!” Ji Laili said mysteriously.

Shen Yu hesitated. “…Candy?”

A beautiful man, with slightly red-rimmed eyes, hesitatingly guessing ‘candy’—

Ji Laili was hit right in the heart by this sight. He laughed, eyes crinkling in amusement.

“Senior, you’re so cute. But you’re wrong.”

“It’s something else.” He winked playfully. “I’ll bring you candy next time as a reward, okay?”

Then, he opened his palm, revealing its contents.

A few small, adorable band-aids shaped like little dog heads.

The fluffy heads had perky ears, goofy tongues sticking out in an innocent smile—super cute.

They were a hit among small Omegas as soon as they were released.

As for Alphas, they probably wouldn’t even spare them a glance.

“Look, isn’t it cute?”

Shen Yu had never been interested in such things before.

But now, looking at the goofy little dog, he thought—perhaps it carried a tiny trace of Ji Laili’s cuteness.

So, he nodded and picked up one of the dog-shaped band-aids.

Ji Laili chuckled. “See? I told you—no one can resist a cute puppy.”

“The nurse at the medical bay recommended these to me. She didn’t think I’d actually like them.”

“…The nurse at the medical bay?”

Shen Yu’s gaze darkened. Suddenly, the cute little dog didn’t seem so adorable anymore.

“You two are close?”

Last time, outside the isolation room, Ji Laili had also greeted a medic.

What was their relationship?

Ji Laili beamed, “Of course! We’re friends—she’s my connection in the medical bay!”

Shen Yu’s gaze turned ice cold.

Another ‘friend.’

It seemed like he could run into Ji Laili’s ‘friends’ anywhere. Those Alphas were always hanging around him, all buddy-buddy.

Did they not have anything better to do?

Clearly, these Alphas weren’t training hard enough if they had so much free time.

Shen Yu’s mind turned sinister—if they were exhausted to the point of collapse, would they still have the strength to lift their hands? If so, then they needed to train harder.

Alphas were truly detestable creatures.

Even self-hatred couldn’t stop him from thinking that.

Shen Yu was already considering going to Instructor Aeg to revise the new recruits’ training schedule—and how to keep Ji Laili out of it.

If Ji Laili was this much stronger than them, why should he train with them?

And Eugene… Shen Yu’s gaze grew even darker. That Alpha, who had hunted him down in his past life after he defected from the Federation, was still just as annoying.

Should he deal with him early?

In the past life, Eugene had caused him a lot of trouble. If Ji Laili hadn’t mentioned his name, Shen Yu would have already forgotten him.

Suddenly, something cool pressed against his wrist.

Shen Yu instinctively looked down—

A little dog, tongue out in a silly grin, was now stuck to his wrist.

He raised his eyes and saw Ji Laili smiling as he pressed another identical band-aid onto his own brow, covering the faint bloodstain.

“There, all set. No need to go to the medical bay now.”

“See? Stocking up on essentials is always useful.”

“Right, Senior?”

Shen Yu stared at the little dog and let out a soft ‘mm.’

Somehow, it seemed a bit cuter now.

Ji Laili had to hurry off to combat training—he had already skipped ten minutes. After a few more words with Shen Yu, he rushed off.

The Alpha’s energetic figure disappeared from view.

Shen Yu stood in place for a while before silently following from a distance, trailing after him to the training grounds.

Along the way, Ji Laili seemed to sense something and turned back several times.

His alertness was beyond what Shen Yu had expected, but after a couple of times, Ji Laili stopped looking back.

Shen Yu smoothly followed him to the training grounds.

The moment Ji Laili arrived, the little dog band-aid on his brow instantly caught the attention of the other Alphas.

Lei Po raised an eyebrow, reaching out playfully, “This Omega-ish little thing is kinda fun. Where’d you get it?”

“An Omega gave it to you?”

The Alphas around Ji Laili teased, winking. “Must be nice to have a lover.”

“With that face of his, it’s no surprise an Omega would like him.”

“Hell, you skipped ten minutes of training for this? Damn, not only are we weaker than you, but now we’re losing in love too—”

As they chatted, they still kept an eye on the combat techniques being demonstrated by the assistant instructors.

They even patted their chests and promised to teach Ji Laili everything later.

Such good friends.

Ji Laili sighed at that, dodging Lei Po’s hand and covering his band-aid. He turned to the teasing Alphas and clarified, “Still single, don’t worry—I won’t steal your spot.”

Zhai Yifei smirked. “You bought it yourself? Suits you.”

“Correct.” Ji Laili flashed a thumbs-up, then glanced at Lei Po, who was frowning. He shrugged. “Brother Po, I’m still injured.”

Lei Po, remembering how shallow the wound was, was speechless.

“…And yet you still bothered to stick that thing on.”

Ji Laili just chuckled, his gaze flickering toward a departing figure.

His fingers brushed over the little dog band-aid.

“Isn’t it cute?”