Chapter 46: The Person in His Arms, Eyes Turning Red…

At first, Ji Laili felt a little embarrassed, but he quickly focused on warming up Shen Yu’s hands.

Pale and cold, the exquisitely beautiful young man stood still, obediently letting him do it.

Even though he wasn’t cold at all.

His differentiation period hadn’t ended yet, and he was, after all, an Alpha. His cold hands were just a physiological trait.

But that didn’t stop Shen Yu from enjoying the younger Alpha’s attention and the comforting warmth he provided.

The two stood with their backs to the freshmen. The training Alphas had no idea what they were doing, but they were used to seeing Ji Laili and Shen Yu together. Some even sympathized with Ji Laili.

“Ji Laili got called aside again. What kind of deep-seated grudge is this?”

“Poor guy. Got targeted by Shen Yu. But I believe one day he’ll beat him!”

“Maybe Shen Yu thinks the same thing. He’s afraid Ji Laili will surpass him, so he keeps dragging him away to torment him during training.”

“Torment?” One Alpha was doubtful. “Why do I feel like this is special treatment? And blatant special treatment at that?”

This statement was immediately met with opposition.

“Special treatment? If Shen Yu gave you one-on-one training, would you dare take it?”

“Special treatment? Ridiculous. Any other Alpha would just be a warm-up snack.”

“I keep saying—fighting alone isn’t enough! You need intelligence too!”

“Trust me, these two Alphas are absolutely destined to be lifelong enemies!”

For some reason, rumors about their rivalry spread like wildfire—how they were bound to be arch-enemies, destined to fight to the death in the future.

Lei Po and Zhai Yifei, who had secretly fueled these rumors, remained silent, taking pride in their handiwork.

They had worked hard to make their clueless friend—who only knew how to laugh foolishly—realize the situation.

But Eugene, the only one who had actually noticed something off about the two, was frustrated.

“Stupid Alphas. They’re being played like fools and still counting their star credits.”

The freshmen glared at him.

They didn’t dare speak out immediately because of Eugene’s strength, but Lei Po wasn’t afraid. He sneered, “Eugene, when it comes to stupidity, no one beats you.”

The cocky Alpha smirked. “Just looking at your face, I finally understand what ‘stupidity’ really means.”

Eugene was instantly enraged. An Alpha who couldn’t even beat him dared to provoke him?!

But in the next moment, his anger faded, and he looked down at Lei Po with a superior gaze. “You did say one thing right—stupid Alphas who only know how to fight need intelligence the most.”

And he, Eugene, was the only one who had seen the truth!

These foolish Alphas would never understand.

“The world is drunk, and I alone am sober.”

Quoting a literary phrase, Eugene looked down at them with an overwhelming sense of superiority.

“The Federal Military Academy should really test your IQ before admitting students.”

“Since you’re all clueless, I’ll be merciful and enlighten you. This whole thing is just a distraction—meant to fool idiots like you.”

“Ji Laili and Shen Yu? They’re definitely involved.”

He delivered his verdict with absolute certainty.

As expected, the Alphas around him widened their eyes in shock, their faces turning red with disbelief.

Ha, these clueless freshmen were too easy to mess with.

Eugene finally regained some confidence, exuding arrogance.

—‘Beep beep—’

His wrist communicator suddenly vibrated.

Eugene frowned and looked at it. A challenge request?

Before he could even check who sent it, his device started vibrating wildly.

The beeping wouldn’t stop, flooding with hundreds of challenge requests, nearly crashing his communicator.

Eugene’s eyes widened.

What the hell?!

In the next second, a fist came straight for his face. At the last moment, Eugene dodged.

When he turned, he was met with a group of enraged Alphas, their eyes bloodshot, radiating fury.

Eugene: ???

These Alphas weren’t just angry—he had insulted their intelligence and accused their comrades of something absurd!

The freshmen exploded in rage!

What do you mean Ji Laili and Shen Yu are involved?! Who would believe that?!

Feeling personally insulted, they swarmed him.

Even Eugene’s arrogance started to waver. “Hey, you idiots! What do you think you’re doing?! I—I’m your acting instructor!”

Suddenly, his voice rose in pure outrage.

“WHO JUST HIT MY ASS?!”

“Shameless!”

His indignant roar was drowned out by the chaos.

---

“What’s going on over there?”

Ji Laili glanced curiously toward the commotion, craning his neck to see the crowd of Alphas gathering.

Before he could get a better look, a cool touch gently but firmly pulled his face back.

Caught off guard, he found himself staring directly into a pair of deep, dark eyes. A humid warmth surrounded him, wordlessly saying: Don’t look at them.

Ji Laili blinked. “Aren’t you curious?”

Shen Yu frowned. “They’re all just Alphas. Nothing worth watching.”

Alphas were either fighting or chasing after little Omegas, always doing something dumb. Nothing interesting there.

“I’m an Alpha too.” Ji Laili pointed out.

“That’s different.” Shen Yu said instinctively.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he froze, staring at the younger Alpha.

Ji Laili’s eyes curved into a bright crescent, smiling. “True. We’re friends, after all.”

“Shall we continue?”

He eagerly rotated his wrist, looking at Shen Yu expectantly.

Shen Yu was a master at close-combat, but ever since he became an acting instructor, he hadn’t really trained others—only Ji Laili.

That day, he had said, “You’re my responsibility.”

And since then, he seemed to have taken that responsibility very seriously, handling all of Ji Laili’s combat training personally.

Ji Laili figured it was probably because close-contact training required physical touch, and Shen Yu didn’t like being near other Alphas.

Because of their training, they had grown even closer.

During Shen Yu’s susceptibility period, his emotions were unstable, and sometimes, he would tear up. At first, Ji Laili would discreetly shield him.

But over time…

Bit by bit, Shen Yu had ended up leaning against him.

Now, with his eyes rimmed red and dark irises misty with unshed tears, he murmured, “This way, it’s more discreet.”

“You don’t mind, do you?”

How could he?!

Of course, Ji Laili let him lean in, fully shielding his face.

At the same time, the icy-sweet scent of irises wrapped around him, lingering in the air. With every breath, the fragrance seeped into his lungs.

Lately, his nose had been acting up—his allergies were getting worse.

Whenever he let go, he’d see a fleeting, unreadable emotion in Shen Yu’s pale, tranquil face. A depth that was cold and distant, tinged with an inexplicable sense of loss.

Such a complicated emotion… Ji Laili, who usually only felt joy or relaxation, couldn’t quite understand it.

The system, however, thought something was off.

Yet, whenever Ji Laili asked what was strange, the system would fall silent.

It was just an AI—how could it understand something so complex?

So most of the time, it simply remained quiet.

But when Shen Yu gazed at Ji Laili with that deep, brooding look again, the system repeatedly checked his corruption levels—seeing no change—and convinced itself:

A cheerful host means good luck.

After all, they say boys who smile often have the best luck.

Just like now, after repeatedly comforting itself, the system fell silent once more.

Ji Laili didn’t notice Shen Yu’s strange expression and focused on training instead.

Meanwhile, the freshmen, who were convinced they were witnessing something suspicious, thought: See that?!

The way Shen Yu is looking at Ji Laili is terrifying! He’s definitely thinking about how to torment him!

Eugene, whose nose was already crooked from frustration, wiped away the nosebleed and stared intently.

Such intense emotions—Shen Yu was definitely treating Ji Laili differently!

Just wait!

He had to find evidence—solid, undeniable evidence!