Nineteenth Day of Pretending to Be an Alpha

Before leaving the hospital, Xie Songchen helped Kang Xu settle in, paid the medical bills, and said to her, “You just need to stay in the hospital for a week, then you can go home. I’ll come see you often these days.”

“A week?!” Kang Xu’s face fell. “Xiao Chen, can’t I leave earlier?”

While tidying up the sheets, Xie Songchen replied coldly, “No.”

Disappointment flashed in Kang Xu’s eyes as she said, “I was supposed to watch your basketball game.”

Xie Songchen paused for a moment. After a brief silence, he looked at Kang Xu and said, “It’s okay if you can’t make it.”

Feeling guilty, Kang Xu whispered, “It’s my fault. If I hadn’t fallen, I’d definitely be able to go this time.”

Since childhood, Xie Songchen had heard this kind of talk countless times. Kang Xu was always busy with work, leaving early and returning late, earning money to support her son’s education while also taking care of her elderly mother. She often missed his parent-teacher meetings, sports days, even graduation ceremonies. His father was rarely around, always finding excuses to skip promised events. In essence, his parents had been absent from all the important moments of his growth.

This time, Kang Xu had finally managed to take time off to watch his basketball game—only to fall right before the match. She let out a long sigh and handed the ticket to Xie Songchen. “Why don’t you give the ticket to your dad? He might be free…”

“No.” Xie Songchen took the ticket and interrupted her with a frown. “He won’t come.”

Kang Xu was taken aback and tentatively asked, “So… you still hope your dad will come, right?”

“Not hoping.” Xie Songchen’s voice was icy, making the whole ward feel colder. “It’s just a game.”

With that, he stuffed the ticket into his pocket, slung his bag over his shoulder, and left the ward with a simple goodbye. Sadness washed over Kang Xu’s face. She knew she had missed out on much of Xie Songchen’s growth, and even if she wanted to make up for it now, it was difficult.

After leaving the ward, Xie Songchen closed the door behind him. Leaning against it, he slipped his hand into his pocket, unconsciously tightening his grip on the ticket, crumpling it slightly. He stood there for a while until a nurse came to open the door, and then he left.

Expectations were something he shouldn’t have. He should have learned this long ago.

The next morning, Chu Mo remembered the basketball game in the storyline and thought he should plan ahead. Before leaving, he asked Chu Yun, who was eating breakfast, “Hey, when is your school’s basketball game?”

Chu Yun thought for a moment and replied, “The fifth.”

Chu Mo nodded, deep in thought.

“What’s up, bro?” Chu Yun looked at him and asked, “Are you coming to watch the game?”

Chu Mo nodded earnestly. “I haven’t watched you play in a long time. I want to see it live.”

“Really?” Chu Yun’s eyes lit up, and he looked genuinely happy.

“Of course it’s true,” Chu Mo said.

But then Chu Yun’s expression turned a bit conflicted. “But our basketball game tickets are hard to get. They sold out in ten minutes.”

Chu Mo was surprised. “Your basketball game is that popular? Why?”

“All because of Xie Songchen,” Chu Yun rolled his eyes. “He went on a TV show last semester, his fans skyrocketed, and a bunch of people from outside the school are fighting with us for tickets.”

Chu Mo knew Xie Songchen had been on a TV show but didn’t realize he was that popular. Chu Yun continued to complain, “The show invited me too, but they kept using you as a gimmick—saying you’d be a judge—so I couldn’t be bothered with them.”

Chu Mo vaguely remembered that when he attended a red carpet event as a CEO, he went viral on short video platforms. The show had tried to ride that wave by claiming he’d be a judge. Many contestants signed up because of that, only to find out they’d been duped.

“So, there are no tickets left?” Chu Mo frowned. “Do I have to buy second-hand tickets online?”

Chu Yun thought for a moment and said, “The ticket prices have probably been inflated to thousands, and you might not even get one since it’s the national league finals.”

Chu Mo felt a headache coming on. Why does completing a task have to cost so much unnecessary money?

Just as Chu Mo was pondering whether to buy the ticket, Chu Yun suddenly said, “Xie Songchen is the captain. He probably has extra tickets from the organizers.”

Chu Mo was taken aback. “You want me to ask Xie Songchen for tickets?”

Chu Yun fell into thought. He knew Chu Mo and Xie Songchen were like oil and water.

“Forget it, bro,” Chu Yun said. “I’ll ask for you.”

“No way!” Chu Mo’s face darkened. “You can’t have any contact with Xie Songchen!”

The overprotective brother-CEO persona must not collapse.

Chu Yun frowned. “Bro, between me and Xie Songchen…” there’s nothing at all.

“No matter what, you have to keep your distance from him,” Chu Mo insisted. “As for the tickets—do you think something like this can stump me?”

With that, Chu Mo headed straight out to work, leaving Chu Yun looking helpless.

Once in the office, Chu Mo took out his phone and searched online for second-hand basketball tickets. As expected, just like Chu Yun said, he couldn’t snag any on the resale platforms.

Chu Mo was puzzled. Is this game really that popular? It’s just a college basketball game, isn’t it?

He searched online and found that the game was part of the national college basketball league, which had always garnered a lot of attention. Plus, with a popular player like Xie Songchen, even more people were scrambling for tickets.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he searched for Xie Songchen’s name. What he found was shocking.

On Weibo, there were many fans of Xie Songchen—mostly Omegas. They posted tons of photos of him, from screenshots on variety shows to basketball shots and even candid campus photos. Regardless of the photo, the comments always turned into—

“I love seeing Xie Songchen in his jersey, he just oozes hormones.”

“Watching him play, I realized how toned he is, totally drool-worthy.”

“When he dribbles, his jersey outlines his abs. Drool-worthy +1.”

“He’s a science genius, yet his physique is like a basketball athlete. Who’s dating this Alpha?”

“I’ve seen him in a suit, and the words ‘mature young college student’ just pop into my head.”

“Can someone sell me a game ticket? Urgent!”

Wow, Chu Mo thought. These Omegas are really intense, huh?

He couldn’t help but chuckle internally. Isn’t Xie Songchen just an ordinary male college student? How did they make him sound so…

At that moment, Xie Songchen walked in with a cup of coffee, placing it on the desk. Chu Mo quickly put away his phone, took a sip, and realized—it was back to a latte.

He looked up at the tall Alpha in front of him, feeling a strange sense of unreality.

The Alpha who had so many Omegas drooling over him online was the same one who brought him coffee every day…

Asking his secretary for basketball tickets… no matter how I think about it, it feels like a loss of face. Completely out of character for me.

“Did your suit arrive?” Chu Mo suddenly noticed that Xie Songchen was already wearing a tailored suit. “That was fast.”

In the suit, Xie Songchen exuded a different aura than usual. On a male college student brimming with hormones, the high-end suit gave him a sense of maturity—someone just stepping into society. This maturity, combined with his youthful innocence, created a unique charm.

Mature young college student. The phrase from Weibo suddenly popped into Chu Mo’s mind. He couldn’t help it and ended up choking on his coffee.

“Cough, cough, cough…” Chu Mo coughed violently, tears welling up. If it weren’t for maintaining his persona, he might have burst out laughing right then. That description was just too cheeky. How did those Omegas come up with it? Did Xie Songchen know about it?

The more Chu Mo thought about it, the funnier it seemed.

Watching him, Xie Songchen suddenly walked behind him and gently patted his back.

Once Chu Mo recovered, he quickly gestured for him to step back. “I’m fine. Don’t touch me.”

Xie Songchen took a step back, looking at Chu Mo with something unsaid.

Chu Mo thought, Asking Xie Songchen for tickets is out of the question.

Every time he thought of the basketball game, he remembered those explosive comments from the Omegas on Weibo. It was hard to guarantee he wouldn’t burst out laughing. He’d have to find someone online to buy a ticket at a high price.

After all, it had been a while since he watched Chu Yun play. He could do it for his brother.

Standing to the side, Xie Songchen swallowed hard. His hand was in his pocket, once again gripping the ticket tightly. A hint of hesitation flickered in his eyes.

Last night, he had thought about it for a long time. His mind kept replaying Kang Xu’s words.

He wanted to give this ticket to someone.

Chu Mo looked up at him, coldly asking, “Why aren’t you working?”

Chu Mo’s attitude was the same as usual—still high and mighty, seemingly uninterested in anything other than work and his brother.

Meeting his gaze, Xie Songchen took a deep breath, as if making a sudden decision.

“Yesterday, I asked if you could promise me something. Do you remember?”

Chu Mo was taken aback, then frowned. “I told you—if you’re asking me to agree to you being with my brother, you’re dreaming.”

“Is your family rich?”

“Can you make my brother happy?”

“Don’t have any inappropriate thoughts about my brother!”

Under Chu Mo’s barrage of questions, Xie Songchen’s lips pressed into a thin line, his jaw tight. After a moment, he spoke.

“It’s not that.”

Chu Mo’s eyes filled with confusion, his frown deepening. “It’s not that? Then what is it?”

Tension filled the air as Xie Songchen tightened his grip.

He knew that once he said it, Chu Mo was unlikely to agree. He shouldn’t have any expectations.

Suddenly, Kang Xu’s words echoed in his mind again—

In this world, there will always be people worth your trust and expectations.

Swallowing hard, after a long silence and hesitation, he lowered his gaze and broke the quiet.

“…It’s just, do you have time…” At this point, his throat felt parched.

Chu Mo watched him, patiently waiting for him to continue. Outwardly calm, but his tense body betrayed his nervousness.

“Do you have time…” He swallowed again, looking up at Chu Mo, his voice dry.

“…to watch a basketball game?”

The moment he asked, it was the first time he felt so nervous.

An Alpha inviting another Alpha to watch a basketball game—It seemed like such a strange thing.

The office fell silent.

He knew he was likely to be rejected.

But at this moment, there was a faint, almost imperceptible glimmer of hope in his eyes.