extra chapter (1/2) Thank you so much Snow for the ko-fi! 💕
On Friday night, Xu Ze arrived a little later than usual, but it was still early before the match. He went backstage and brought two crates of drinks to the lobby to restock the vending machines.
The vending machines were spread out in various places. While refilling the third one, Xu Ze happened to look up after opening the glass door. His eyes were immediately fixed in a direction as if they were glued to it.
In the right corner, there was a claw machine that wasn’t usually popular but was occasionally used by couples.
Lu Heyang was leaning over and gripping the joystick to catch a plush toy. Next to him was a curly-haired omega in a miniskirt, looking through the glass with him and pointing at a plush toy while laughing.
The scene was aesthetically pleasing, and Xu Ze just stared at it. In terms of gender and pheromones, alphas and omegas were always attracted to each other. Xu Ze was constantly reminded of this at such moments.
Cheerful music came out of the machine as Lu Heyang had successfully caught the stuffed animal. The omega cheered, and Lu Heyang bent down to pick the toy up. It was an ugly little blue-white shark plush.
Lu Heyang handed the little shark plush toy to the omega and the omega took it. She hesitated before tiptoeing over to whisper something in Lu Heyang’s ear.
After being here for so long, Xu Ze was no fool. He had received many similar hints or even direct requests. He could guess what kind of words they were.
Xu Ze saw Lu Heyang turn his head to the side and lower his eyelashes to look at the omega. But suddenly, he raised his eyes and looked straight at Xu Ze.
Since Xu Ze wasn’t expecting it, he barely had time to react. By the time he regained his senses, Lu Heyang had already looked away and flashed a smile at the omega. Xu Ze could see his lips forming the words “I’m sorry”.
The omega seemed shy and waved at Lu Heyang before running off. Xu Ze’s eyes followed the little shark in her arms. It was roughly made, but it had a kind of ugly cuteness. Xu Ze found himself wishing for that little shark. If Lu Heyang gave him one, he would surely treasure it.
While Xu Ze was still focused on watching the omega, Lu Heyang walked up to him and asked, “Do you know her?”
Xu Ze silently turned his head back. He picked up a few drink bottles and put them into the vending machine. His movements were a little stiff and he didn’t dare to look directly at Lu Heyang. He replied, “Mn.” She was a waiter at the bar, and he had come into contact with her before.
“You know her well?” Lu Heyang asked as he corrected a drink that Xu Ze had placed in the wrong slot.
Xu Ze stared at the drink. It was a can, and the slot where he had placed it had bottled drinks. The difference was so noticeable that anyone with eyes could tell the difference and would not misplace it. Yet, he had misplaced it.
“Sort of,” Xu Ze paused and then asked, “Do you want her contact information?”
“You have her number.”
It seemed like a question, but Lu Heyang said it as a statement. From Xu Ze’s perspective, as Lu Heyang had asked about the omega three times in a row, he should be interested in her.
Xu Ze nodded, and then swiftly took out his cell phone from his pocket to find the omega’s number for Lu Heyang. He didn’t feel any particular emotions. People who got jealous were often possessive to some extent, but he didn’t feel possessive toward Lu Heyang. He just felt a little surprised and thought: Ah, Lu Heyang likes this type of omega.
Just as he unlocked his phone, he felt something heavy press down on his head. Lu Heyang pushed the brim of his cap down. Xu Ze heard Lu Heyang say, “Put the drinks in.”
Xu Ze remained quiet for a moment then put his phone away, and continued restocking the vending machine. After that, neither of them spoke until Xu Ze closed the glass door of the last vending machine and said, “I have to go backstage.”
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.
Lu Heyang lifted the brim of his cap again as if he were playing with a switch. He asked, “Are you going to win today?”
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Xu Ze was immediately caught off guard. The bright lights inside the vending machine lit Lu Heyang’s profile, creating a perfect sketch of his exquisite features. Lu Heyang tilted his head slightly forward and gazed into Xu Ze’s eyes under the brim of his cap. He said, “I shouldn’t have asked you that. Sorry.”
This only strengthened Xu Ze’s determination to tell him. Xu Ze tilted his head and leaned in closer to Lu Heyang’s ear. They were about the same height. Xu Ze didn’t have to tiptoe or lift his head. He cupped his hands around his mouth like a child whispering a secret and told Lu Heyang, “I’ll win.”
After saying that, Xu Ze stood upright and put his hands down with a serious expression on his face.
“Good,” Lu Heyang smiled, “He Wei said he wanted to play pool today. If you don’t have any other plans after the match, would you like to join us?”
Xu Ze could not refuse. He had been anxious that Lu Heyang would get upset after he kissed him, and that he would alienate him or get disgusted with him. Xu Ze had practically prepared for such an outcome, but Lu Heyang didn’t react that way.
Not every alpha could maintain their original attitude of generosity when they realized that someone of the same sex had feelings for them. Xu Ze felt content to maintain their current relationship like this and decided to restrain himself in the future. He would keep his feelings in check and avoid doing anything that would make Lu Heyang uncomfortable.
“Okay,” Xu Ze said.
Seventeen won. In the first half, he took two perfunctory punches to the face. In the second half, he fought with determination and speed and quickly wrapped up the match.
“Wow, Xu Ze is in a hurry to get off work.” He Wei was left unsatisfied, “Is he in a hurry? Will he still come to play pool?”
“He’ll come,” Lu Heyang said.
After Xu Ze left the ring, Lu Heyang and the others got up and headed to the pool hall in the southeast section. After six or seven minutes, Xiao Feng, who was nibbling melon seeds nearby, said, “Seventeen is here!”
Lu Heyang looked around and saw Xu Ze pushing the glass door open. He wasn’t wearing a cap. Xu Ze noticed Lu Heyang from afar as soon as he walked in. He kept his gaze fixed on Lu Heyang’s face as he walked toward the pool table. But when he reached him, he stopped looking at him and stared at the balls on the table.
“Did you apply medicine?” Lu Heyang asked.
Xu Ze raised his head, and the light flickered in his eyes. He replied, “No, it doesn’t hurt much.” He pressed the corners of his bruised mouth to demonstrate that it truly didn’t hurt and stated, “It’s okay.”
His face was still wet, indicating that he had just washed it. He seemed to have removed the paint hastily and with excessive force as there were red marks scattered unevenly across his face. These marks, along with the spots of water, made his face look like an unevenly dyed piece of paper, but despite this, his face still looked extremely clean.
For several seconds, Lu Heyang didn’t say anything. Xu Ze felt inexplicably nervous, so he tried to start a conversation, “Can you play?”
Lu Heyang picked up a cue stick from the table, “No, can you teach me?”
“Mn.” Xu Ze also took a cue. He rubbed chalk on the head of the cue and then bent his waist to strike. He stared at the object ball and pressed his left hand on the dark green table with his clean and slender fingers. Half of his handsome profile was illuminated by a lamp hanging above the table.
From bending down to taking the shot, it only took three seconds. Xu Ze made it look effortless as the ball thudded into the pocket and he straightened up.
Lu Heyang watched the ball disappear into the pocket, then turned his eyes to Xu Ze. Xu Ze looked focused. He dusted some chalk on Lu Heyang’s cue stick. He was about to say something, but when he locked eyes with Lu Heyang, his words got stuck.
“Hand…” Xu Ze quickly averted his gaze. He placed his left hand on the table in the correct position and said, “The hand should be like this.”
Lu Heyang placed his hand on the table like a proper beginner and moved his fingers with a touch of jerkiness, looking quite serious in his attempt to learn.
“I can’t do it,” Lu Heyang said to Xu Ze after trying.
“Can I touch your hand?” Xu Ze asked.
Lu Heyang didn’t answer directly but moved his hand in front of Xu Ze. Xu Ze hesitated for a second, then reached out and carefully arranged Lu Heyang’s fingers one by one. After that, he placed his hand five centimeters away from Lu Heyang. He bent at the waist and held up his cue stick to demonstrate the correct posture.
He Wei was playing with Gu Yunchi at the table next to them. He felt something was off while they were playing and looked over to Lu Heyang’s side.
“Did I miss something? Lu Heyang is supposed to be good at this. What’s he doing?”
Gu Yunchi didn’t even raise his head, “Mind your own business.”
“Lean a little to the side. This arm should be against the table, and your shoulder should be raised,” Xu Ze was still trying his best to teach. He leaned over the table, and the protruding spine and defined muscles were visible through his white T-shirt. His waist narrowed and sank into a subtle curve.
Lu Heyang lowered his gaze to look at him for a while. Then he leaned down, raised his shoulder, and gripped the cue. The side of Xu Ze’s face was right next to him. Lu Heyang suddenly asked, “What shampoo do you use?”
It was a rather unexpected question. Xu Ze suspected that he had misheard. He turned his head but realized that he was too close to Lu Heyang, closer than he had intended. Xu Ze quickly turned his head back to look at the pool table. He named the brand and thought that Lu Heyang probably hadn’t heard of it, so he added, “It’s cheap.”
He thought Lu Heyang didn’t like the scent. He was contemplating getting up to move further away because he felt embarrassed when he heard Lu Heyang say, “It smells good.”
Xu Ze was stunned, and before he could react, Lu Heyang made an almost impossible shot, pocketing Xu Ze’s object ball. Xu Ze blinked slowly, straightened up, and praised him sincerely, “You play well.”
“You teach well.” Lu Heyang leaned on the pool table and asked, “Do you come here often to play?”
“Mn, I play here with others.”
Lu Heyang curled up his lips and smiled, but Xu Ze felt that he wasn’t really smiling. Instead, he had a cold and somewhat indescribable look. Lu Heyang asked, “Who do you usually play with?”
“Other boxers or some customers who want to play,” Xu Ze told honestly.
“It costs money to play with Seventeen,” Xiao Feng brought sliced fruit over to the table and said, “Seventeen can even play blindfolded.”
Seeing Lu Heyang raise his eyebrow, Xiao Feng got the hint and immediately added, “I’ll go get the blindfold!”
He quickly brought out a black blindfold. Xu Ze glanced at the pool table to confirm the object ball and angle and then put on the blindfold. Lu Heyang noticed that after Xu Ze put on the blindfold, his lips, which were slightly pursed, opened a little, probably because he was nervous.
He wondered if Xu Ze got nervous like this when he played blindfolded with others.
“Are you going on the trip tomorrow?” Lu Heyang asked before Xu Ze began.
Xu Ze nodded, paused, and asked, “Are you going?”
“I am,” Lu Heyang said, “Did the teacher send you your room number?”
“She sent it, 1203,” Xu Ze paused again and couldn’t help but ask, “What about you?”
“I’m in 1205, He Wei is in 1204.”
“Mn.”
These few exchanges managed to make Xu Ze forget the angle he had set earlier, but he didn’t take off the blindfold to confirm again. Instead, he bent down by feel and moved the cue forward little by little, stopping immediately when it touched the white ball.
Lu Heyang reached out lightly to hook his waist and guided him in front of him, “A little to the left.”
Based on his instructions, Xu Ze moved to the left. Even though he was blindfolded, he still aimed at the 3 ball. The light shone on him. Xu Ze’s nose was straight, and his mouth was slightly open. His lips were subtly upturned, not too thin, and they had just the right amount of plumpness, making them the softest part of his otherwise cold face. The kind that looked very kissable.
Xu Ze held his breath and took the shot. Someone on the side suddenly cheered loudly for some reason, so Xu Ze didn’t hear the ball drop. He asked Lu Heyang, “Did it go in?”
“What do you think?” Lu Heyang replied.
“I don’t know.”
Xu Ze was about to take off the blindfold to check, but Lu Heyang stopped him by holding his wrist and said, “It went in. Do you want watermelon or hami melon?”
A seemingly random question, Xu Ze answered, “Watermelon.”
A few seconds later, he smelled watermelon right by his mouth. Lu Heyang said, “Open your mouth.”
Xu Ze’s heart was beating fast. He bowed his head and parted his lips, but his aim was off and he ended up inadvertently licking Lu Heyang’s finger that was holding the bamboo skewer, as if he was kissing Lu Heyang’s hand.
Xu Ze apologized awkwardly and then ate the watermelon piece.
After finishing the watermelon, Xu Ze pulled up the blindfold and looked at the pool table. Then he put the blindfold back on and started to shoot without delaying for even half a second. However, he missed the shot because he was too tense.
When Xu Ze didn’t hear the ball drop, he stood in place looking somewhat disappointed.
Of course, it wasn’t because he didn’t make the shot, but if he didn’t make it, Lu Heyang wouldn’t feed him watermelon.
He was just about to take the blindfold off when something cool touched his lips—it was watermelon. Xu Ze heard Lu Heyang say, “Since you missed, this piece of watermelon is a little smaller as punishment.”
This wasn’t a punishment, Xu Ze thought blankly. He stuck out his tongue and licked the watermelon. After making sure that it would not touch Lu Heyang’s fingers, he slowly bit into the watermelon.
It turned out that even failure could come with a reward. For Xu Ze, losing usually meant being covered in wounds and bloodstains, it meant someone would be disappointed, it meant falling short. But Lu Heyang always did the opposite. He would celebrate his loss by giving him expensive new boxing gloves and offering him a smaller piece of watermelon if he didn’t make the shot, the so-called “punishment” that wasn’t a punishment at all.
Xu Ze suddenly felt that Lu Heyang was strange, and this strangeness made him even more special in Xu Ze’s mind.
Author’s note:
Xu Ze was so moved that to repay his kindness, he sent the omega’s phone number to Lu Heyang (not)
Ack 🥺
Loved this chapter! 🥺
My kokoro… 🥹
The flirting….impossible to read without smiling 🥰