On Friday night, Seventeen arrived backstage. After getting ready, he opened his locker and stuffed his backpack inside. He rarely left any traces here. Every time he came, his backpack contained a pair of boxing gloves, a pair of gym shorts, a can of paint, and some basic medicine. When he left he took them with him.
He was like an employee ready to quit and leave at any moment, never leaving any extra belongings at his workplace.
A few boxers were sitting in the room, either drinking or smoking, but no one was talking. When Seventeen got up in front of the locker, one of the boxers finally spoke, “Fighting with Elead, you’re truly not afraid of death.”
Seventeen closed the locker door and tore the velcro on the boxing gloves. With his head down, he stood in the shadowed corner where no one could see his expression clearly. Seventeen said, “When it’s my turn, I have to fight.”
The boxers had mixed feelings about this 17-year-old alpha. While they disapproved of his weekly matches and his tendency to leave abruptly without a word, they also recognized that he had earned his position through his strength, one punch at a time.
In this place, some people were capable of crippling their friends, who were like brothers offstage. While some, blinded by revenge, would not hesitate to take drugs to compete. In comparison, Seventeen’s “false compassion” and “hypocrisy”, which they had once ridiculed, never disappeared and now seem more genuine.
Perhaps it could be called the childlike conscience of a teenager, but it was clear that such a thing didn’t apply here, and it was very out of place.
Everyone knew why Seventeen had been chosen to fight Elead this time. Tang Feiyi had many ways to torture someone. If Seventeen really had an unspeakable relationship with him, he could have avoided this match altogether.
But Seventeen accepted the match arrangement in silence, without raising any objections.
“I advise you to be careful,” another boxer said, “Elead has just joined the club, and now he’s trying to make a name for himself. You’re still young, so don’t end up losing an arm or a leg for this kind of fight. It’s not worth it.”
Seventeen listened quietly and put on his boxing gloves. He raised his head and said, “Thank you.”
When Lu Heyang and the others arrived at the arena, the second match had just ended. The three of them sat in the front row, and within a minute, Xiao Feng sneaked over with drinks in his hands. He said while handing the drinks to them, “Seventeen is in the fourth match. That guy named Elead is notorious for being brutal, so there are far fewer people betting on Seventeen today.”
“Are Seventeen’s earnings based on the number of matches or the bets?” He Wei asked curiously.
“It’s based on the number of matches. His earnings for a single match are actually the lowest here,” Xiao Feng said, “He only gets a cut if the bets exceed 800,000 but that rarely happens. It’s only when the big boss comes to watch the match and bets on him.”
“800,000?” He Wei thought it was ridiculous, “Most of the people who come here are just looking for fun. Even if they bet, they won’t bet that much. 800,000 for a single game is clearly exploitation.”
Xiao Feng quickly made a shushing gesture, “There is no fairness in this kind of place. Human lives are worthless.”
After saying this, he slipped away. He Wei opened the drink and took a sip before suddenly asking, “Do either of you have any interest in alphas? Can you sponsor Seventeen?”
Gu Yunchi replied, “You’re sick, go get some help.”
He Wei scoffed and then turned to Lu Heyang. Before he could speak, Lu Heyang calmly said, “Watch the match.”
Getting the cold shoulder, He Wei rolled his eyes and turned his attention toward the arena.
The third match was over in a matter of minutes. The names of Seventeen and Elead popped up on the big screen, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Shortly after, two alphas came out of the competitor’s tunnel one after the other.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Seventeen followed behind Elead, looking no different than he had in previous fights. He was wearing the same thin old gloves with peeling and stained leather.
Stepping into the octagon cage, Seventeen lifted his head and glanced at the first row of the audience directly across from him.
The lighting in the audience was dim, but Seventeen accurately pinpointed a specific seat within it.
Amidst the full and roaring crowd, Lu Heyang locked eyes with him quietly—just for a brief moment. Seventeen turned to face Elead.
A shrill whistle blew, and the match began.
Almost immediately after the whistle, Elead threw a left hook that Seventeen couldn’t dodge completely. It grazed his lower jaw, causing him to stagger. He used the twist of his body to generate power from his waist and followed with an unexpected spinning punch that landed right on Elead’s left cheek.
But Elead’s head merely tilted slightly. The muscles in his body and face were highly developed, so even if he was attacked, the pain wouldn’t have much impact on him.
No matter how good your boxing skills were, your weaknesses would be discovered. On the contrary, the difference in muscle and weight was often the most challenging to overcome. In a regular fight, such a physical difference like that between Seventeen and Elead wouldn’t be allowed, but this was an underground boxing ring with no rules.
Elead began to throw a series of quick punches. Although Seventeen tried to block, he struggled to protect both his head and stomach. His lower abdomen took a few hits. Fortunately, the jabs were slower, but they mostly served as setups for the heavy blows to come—sure enough, Elead drew his left arm back and positioned his fist directly against Seventeen’s right ribcage, exactly where his liver was.
“Seventeen will die if he gets hit like this.” He Wei’s expression turned unusually serious, “Why set this up like this? Did Seventeen offend someone?”
“Tang Feiyi,” Gu Yunchi replied, “Have you forgotten the incident at the hotel last time?”
The crowd suddenly erupted in cheers as Elead threw two powerful punches in a row. Seventeen managed to duck low and block with his forearm, but the force was overwhelming. When the second punch landed, Seventeen was thrown backward against the fence, struggling to even lift his hands.
Elead’s aggressiveness and brutality came as no surprise. In Seventeen’s moment of extreme weakness, Elead used a high-impact vertical elbow strike. If it hit the skull, even if Seventeen survived, he would likely suffer permanent damage.
The tip of his elbow was aimed directly at Seventeen’s head. He Wei couldn’t help but curse. Lu Heyang stared intently at the octagon cage, his lips tightly pressed together.
In the last split second, Seventeen made a final effort to prop himself up against the fence, tilting his head to replace the impact area with his shoulder. Elead’s elbow ended up striking him on the back of the shoulder. Seventeen was knocked down like a bird, spewing out blood as he fell toward the ground. However, Elead scooped him up midway. He pinned Seventeen’s left arm behind his back and used a knee on his back to push Seventeen down to his knees with his full body weight!
Seventeen’s left arm was twisted backward at an abnormal angle. His body instinctively wanted to curl up in pain, but Elead’s knee still pressed against his back. Seventeen was pinned immobile to the floor. The blinding spotlights shone on his face. Seventeen kept his mouth tightly shut, never letting out a scream, only the blood constantly flowed from the corners of his lips.
Elead grabbed Seventeen’s hair and was about to slam his head into the floor—the referee blew the whistle and entered the ring to call off the match.
Uncertain of who they were shouting for, the audience kept screaming, like a group of apathetic and bloodthirsty machines.
Elead stood up and walked around the octagon cage with his arms raised before exiting the ring. Seventeen lay motionless by the fence, making the crowd wonder if he was still breathing.
Ten seconds later, two alphas came into the ring with a stretcher and carried Seventeen away.
He Wei frowned. Seventeen was considered to be the same age as him, and to see him beaten like that was unsettling. He said, “Seventeen’s arm must be dislocated.”
As he spoke, he turned around to see that the seat next to him had become empty at some point. Lu Heyang was nowhere in sight.
“Where’s Heyang?” He Wei turned to ask Gu Yunchi on the other side.
“Don’t worry about it,” Gu Yunchi said.
—
“I… I’ll take you!” Xiao Feng immediately offered when he saw Lu Heyang coming out.
Lu Heyang just walked forward without answering or looking at him. Xiao Feng, who was still frightened from the match, followed alongside him and said, “Don’t worry too much. There is a doctor who will take care of Seventeen.”
The hallway was full of people coming and going. Lu Heyang silently brushed past them. A few minutes later, he arrived backstage. The moment he entered the corridor, he ran into Tang Feiyi.
Tang Feiyi’s face was somewhat somber. He glanced at Lu Heyang, who was looking directly at him, and then walked past him. After taking a few steps, Tang Feiyi turned around and looked at Lu Heyang’s back, narrowing his eyes as if he was thinking about something.
After Tang Feiyi walked out to the entrance, Xiao Feng, who had been hiding behind the corner, jumped out again. Xiao Feng had wanted to alert Lu Heyang that Tang Feiyi was coming out and that he should hide, but Lu Heyang had walked so fast that he couldn’t warn him in time.
Several boxers were standing outside the room at the end. One of them, an alpha who was smoking, was the one that Lu Heyang had seen last week when he came to visit Seventeen. He stubbed out his cigarette and said, “Your friend’s got some balls.”
His tone sounded a little sneering, but it was more like he struggled to express it clearly—it wasn’t really mocking.
Lu Heyang walked past them and pushed the door.
The room inside was dim. The air was filled with the scent of blood and medicine. Lu Heyang saw Seventeen sitting on the floor against the wall. His dislocated arm had been reattached. Blood-stained medical swabs and paper towels were scattered around his legs. An alpha was injecting something into Seventeen’s glands at the back of his head. Seventeen’s head was lowered, and he was biting on a folded towel with his eyes tightly shut.
“What are you injecting?” Lu Heyang asked the alpha, who should be the doctor Xiao Feng mentioned.
“An inhibitor to prevent pheromone disorder caused by the excessive pain,” the doctor pulled out the needle and stood up. He quickly packed his things and just left.
Seventeen relaxed his mouth and spat out the towel. He slowly lifted his head to lean back against the wall.
Besides the paint, his face was covered in bloodstains. His cheeks were swollen, and his lips were pale. Ever since he heard Lu Heyang’s voice, he had wanted to open his eyes, but he just didn’t have the strength.
Seventeen’s eyelashes fluttered, and he finally managed to open his eyes with difficulty. He looked at Lu Heyang without strength, his mouth opening and closing. Lu Heyang squatted down to get closer to him and asked, “What?”
“…I,” Seventeen’s voice was hoarse as he said, “I lost.”
When Lu Heyang gave him the boxing gloves last week, he said they were to celebrate his next victory, but today he lost. Even though this outcome was obvious from the beginning, he still felt a little regretful.
There weren’t that many dramatic comebacks and counterkills in the real world. It was more a matter of facing setbacks head-on over and over again. He couldn’t resist, so all he could do was try to get up as quickly as possible.
He didn’t want Lu Heyang to see him like this, but thankfully he was Seventeen now.
Lu Heyang looked at him and said, “It doesn’t matter.”
“Do me a favor,” Seventeen’s throat bobbed, “Help me… get my backpack.”
“Okay.” Lu Heyang stood up and walked to the locker next to him. He took Seventeen’s backpack out of the locker in the second-to-last row—he remembered that the last time Seventeen had returned the wallet to him, he had taken it out of there.
“The outermost, that little pocket,” Seventeen said.
Lu Heyang opened the zipper and took it out.
It was a crumpled roll of money.
“Thank you for taking me home and buying me medicine last time.” Seventeen looked like he was going to pass out any moment, his breathing was weak, “Last week…when you came, I forgot to give you the money.”
Lu Heyang remained silent for a while. Seventeen felt the stillness around him. He wearily closed his eyes, hoping that Lu Heyang could stay a little longer, even if only for a few seconds so that he could rest peacefully.
“I’ll take you to the hospital,” Lu Heyang finally said.
“I’ll just sit for a while,” Seventeen shook his head, his voice getting lower, “It’s always like this.”
There wasn’t much difference for him, whether he was bleeding heavily or lightly, whether the injury was minor or severe, the treatment was the same. It might take a little longer to heal this time, but he was mentally prepared for it.
“Don’t sleep. Let’s go to the hospital,” Lu Heyang put down the backpack and bent down on one knee next to Seventeen. He gently lifted his chin with his fingers to keep him from passing out.
But Seventeen closed his eyes and didn’t seem to have the strength to move even a little bit.
Lu Heyang called him, “Xu Ze.”
Author’s note:
Everyday battle losses:
Smart alpha: Add WeChat to transfer money.
Xu Ze: I’ll give you cash…
Cutie Xi Ze who puts black paint on his face weekly : spotless face, shine babe.
Me, after touching my face once : 🧟♀️
Xu Ze, hun, you’re not alone anymore.
I sadly understand that you enduring it all is solely because you felt like it was all you deserved/could do, but you now have a caring & protective bf, not alone anymore. 🫂Thank you sm for today’s chapter, I love this story so much</3
🥺🥺
Oh no…