It was Friday, and the bell rang for the end of the last class. He Wei got up, still feeling drowsy, while other students were packing their bags. After taking a few seconds to fully wake up, he grabbed his phone and car keys to leave.
He strolled to the back door of Class 1 and glanced toward the last seat in the third row but noticed that it was empty. He Wei tilted his head and asked an omega who was cleaning up his desk, “Where’s Lu Heyang?”
“An omega came to see him a moment ago, and he left,” the other party replied in a shy and low voice.
“OK, thanks,” He Wei said.
He Wei didn’t have to think twice about why an omega was looking for Lu Heyang. Growing up, he had always thought that Lu Heyang was an aloof alpha who kept his distance from others—ironically, this sense of indifference might be what made him more attractive.
He Wei thought that aside from his face and figure if Lu Heyang was more gentle and approachable, others might not be overly obsessed with him.
Alternatively, he could also use the excuse that “my ideal type is an omega over 1.8 meters tall with a six-pack” as a reason for rejection, which was quite effective.
He Wei went downstairs and bought two bottles of water from the vending machine on the overhead floor. After waiting at the stairway for a while, he saw Lu Heyang coming from another corridor.
“How many times have you rejected someone at the prep school?” He handed Lu Heyang the water.
Lu Heyang didn’t say anything, unscrewed the cap of the bottle, and took a sip of water. They walked out of the school building. It was early summer, and the tulips in the flowerbeds were in full bloom, emitting a mild fragrance due to their variety. Students were strolling along the central avenue toward the school gates. There were many couples in the crowd.
The Preparatory School had never been restrictive when it came to dating. If students had a significant other, their parents would investigate their backgrounds more thoroughly than anyone else. If it was deemed suitable, the parents would turn a blind eye; if it wasn’t, they had many ways to put an end to the relationship.
“Hey, what kind of person do you like?” He Wei suddenly became curious, even though he knew he wouldn’t get a definitive answer.
Lu Heyang replied, “Someone over 1.8 meters tall with a six-pack.”
He Wei scoffed, “Oh, shut up!”
Lu Heyang skipped right over the topic and asked, “Where are we going?”
“Let’s eat first,” He Wei bit the tip of his tongue and chuckled, “After eating, let’s go to Huyan Mansion.”
“To do what?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t know. Just say if you want to go or not?”
Huyan Mansion was located in a picturesque location on the outskirts of the capital. The entire area was exclusively accessible to members and provided services for leisure, socializing, and conducting public relations affairs. Huyan Mansion was one of the most discreet places in the region, known only to the wealthy and high-ranking officials.
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.
“Last time I took an omega there. He couldn’t even watch for two minutes before he threw up and cried for me to take him home. Later, he called me and said he had nightmares for several days and asked why I liked watching such perverted things,” He Wei was both amused and helpless, “It’s the perverted things that are interesting. Life is so boring. How else can you satisfy your curiosity?”
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It seemed like he had forgotten that half a minute ago, he had asked Lu Heyang if he wanted to go to Huyan Mansion.
“Didn’t you say that?” Lu Heyang put the car keys back in his hand, “Curiosity.”
“Oh… Lu Heyang is secretly a big pervert.” He Wei regained his composure and clicked his tongue a few times, “Sooner or later I will expose this and ruin your reputation.”
Lu Heyang smiled but said nothing.
As they walked out of the school gates, He Wei took off his wristband and raised his hand to push back his bangs. Suddenly he thought of something, “Oh, right, today is Friday.”
He raised his elbows to make a boxing pose and said, “I heard that Seventeen will be on today.”
Lu Heyang looked at him and asked, “Who?”
“Come and you’ll find out. You won’t be disappointed.”
Lu Heyang didn’t inquire further, and the two of them headed toward the parking lot. On their way there, they passed by the bicycle shelter, which was specifically reserved for the Preparatory School students to park their vehicles. The bikes were disorderly arranged, ranging from mountain bikes costing a few thousand to heavy-duty motorcycles worth hundreds of thousands.
By the end of the day, most of the vehicles in the shelter had already been driven away. Even though the old bicycle among them appeared quite inconspicuous at first glance, it still caught their attention, especially since there was an alpha squatting next to it.
Xu Ze was fixing the bike chain with his bare hands. It had presumably fallen off in the morning when he parked it and hadn’t noticed. The old bike often had various problems, and he was used to it.
“Want some help?”
Xu Ze lifted his head. He Wei looked down at him, he still had that smirk on his face that seemed to suggest he would die if he didn’t stir up trouble.
“No, thank you,” Xu Ze replied without glancing at He Wei’s side. He quickly averted his gaze and focused on repairing the unruly chain.
“Isn’t it difficult to wash the oil off your hands?” He Wei seemed very interested in this bicycle that looked like it was about to be scrapped. He even took a closer look and asked, “How long does it usually take to fix?”
The temperature seemed to be on the high side today. Xu Ze could feel a thin layer of sweat on his back, and his neck was getting hot as well. In his line of sight were his hands which had been rubbing black oil all over. At last, he accurately placed the chain on the gears and turned the pedals a few times. Then he stood up and replied, “Three to four minutes.”
After that, Xu Ze twisted his fingers to wipe his hands on his clothes without thinking.
“Hey, your school uniform,” He Wei reminded him.
Xu Ze’s hands stiffened halfway, and then he carelessly rubbed his palms together. He smelled the heavy smell of motor oil, which he had never found so unpleasant.
Suddenly, a tissue was handed to him. The thumb pressed against the tissue was fair and clean, and as he looked ahead, the wrist was slender. The alpha’s tone was flat, “I only have one, use it to wipe.”
Xu Ze was stunned and raised his head, but as his eyes moved upward, they stopped halfway before settling on the bridge of Lu Heyang’s nose—it seemed like he was looking directly at him, but in reality, they hadn’t made eye contact.
“Thank you.” Xu Ze took the tissue. His throat didn’t seem to be feeling too well, and the voice he made was unlike his own.
“No problem.” Lu Heyang glanced at his phone and said to He Wei, “Let’s go.”
After dinner, He Wei had some clothes delivered for them, and the two of them changed out of their school uniforms before driving to the Westside. The population shift in the Westside was relatively frequent compared to other areas in the capital, making the situation more tricky. Most of the buildings there were old, with weathered exteriors. The cement roads were uneven and full of potholes. Looking around, most of the neon signs outside the shops were missing characters or components, and very few were fully intact.
“No wonder you wanted to change cars,” Lu Heyang said as he looked out the window.
“Driving a supercar in a place like this would be asking for trouble,” He Wei chuckled, “It’s a mess here. The higher-ups have left it untouched for years. You don’t want to stand out.”
The car drove into a narrow alley and arrived in front of a building half a minute later. On the walls of the building were several faded and worn-out billboards. The entire building was dark, inside and out, but faint, indistinct voices could be heard from a distance.
The two of them climbed the stairs and pushed aside the hardened and yellowed rubber curtains to enter the building. They walked through the empty, dimly lit hall. He Wei led Lu Heyang to stop in front of an elevator. The building looked like a demolition site in disarray, but the elevator was still running. The voices they had heard outside seemed to be getting closer—they didn’t seem to be coming from far away but from underground.
The elevator doors opened. Lu Heyang and He Wei stepped inside. The elevator walls were plastered with advertisements. He Wei pushed the button for the -2 floor. As the elevator descended, the cacophonous sounds intensified.
Ding—
The moment the doors opened, it was as if a heavy curtain was lifted, and the previously muffled sounds suddenly became sharp and assaulted their eardrums with a thud.
“This used to be a shopping mall, but it was abandoned.” When they exited the elevator, the surroundings were so noisy that He Wei had to lean close to Lu Heyang’s ear, “Someone connected the -2 floor garage and the -1 floor supermarket to create an underground club.”
The air was filled with various smells—pheromones, perfume, cigarettes, alcohol… An omega in a bikini had sidled up to Lu Heyang at some point and pressed her soft breasts against his arm.
Lu Heyang turned his head and lowered his eyes. He saw the omega holding a pack of cigarettes between two fingers, with one in her mouth. Her lips parted slightly as she exhaled a blueberry-burst-flavored cigarette at him. Beneath the long, curling lashes were a pair of eyes adorned with purple contact lenses.
A faint pink light shone down from above, creating an ambiguous atmosphere. Lu Heyang smiled at the omega, took the pack of cigarettes, and then tucked some bills into the omega’s bikini strap with his fingers.
“Young Master Lu is so generous,” He Wei grinned, tossing a cold beer he had just bought from another omega.
The crowd continued to cast curious glances at these two young, tall, and unknown alphas. He Wei didn’t care and held Lu Heyang’s shoulder to lead him to another passage. When they reached the end, they found themselves in a circular arena. It was not particularly large, and its terraced bleachers were packed with people. In the center of the arena was a sunken octagon cage enclosing a fighting ring.
The audience consisted of all types of people, from disheveled drunks, to white-collar workers in shirts, to even the wealthy in the VIP section.
After checking the tickets and entering the venue, a slim alpha rushed over bending his waist. He Wei leaned over to say a few words to him. The man immediately nodded and led them to the seats in the third row.
After they sat down, He Wei pulled out some bills and Lu Heyang handed him the cigarettes he had just bought. The alpha accepted both of them and tactfully slipped out.
Not more than half a minute later, the lights suddenly went out, plunging the entire venue into darkness. Then, a bright light shone down from the center of the ceiling, illuminating the octagon cage. At the same time, an electronic screen above it lit up, displaying the boxers’ names as Owen and Seventeen, followed by several betting numbers.
“Seventeen is the youngest boxer here, an S-level alpha who competes every Friday,” He Wei said, “But he wasn’t here last Friday when I came. I heard he had an early match on Thursday, and it was especially brutal.”
“He’s called just Seventeen?” Lu Heyang looked at the screen and asked.
“Yep, just Seventeen. He fights well, but I’ve heard that he doesn’t win often. In underground fights, there are always some dealings behind the scenes. If someone wants him to win, he has to win; if they want him to lose, he’ll definitely lose,” He Wei explained, “Deaths are common in these ring fights. Seventeen is quite smart, he doesn’t care about winning or losing, and he doesn’t seek fame. Even if he doesn’t earn as much as others, at least he can keep his life.”
Suddenly, screams erupted as a spotlight shone on the fighters’ entrance. An alpha walked out, arrogantly punching the air at the crowd. His muscles were so bulging that they were almost exaggerated. As he stepped into the octagon cage, Lu Heyang could finally see the other alpha blocked behind him—Seventeen.
In comparison, Seventeen looked much more youthful and slender, with an upright frame and well-proportioned limbs. His body had just the right amount of smooth muscles, appearing clean and relaxed under the lights—if you ignored the scars on his skin.
The screams grew louder. Seventeen put on his mouthguard, pulled on his gloves, and calmly glanced at the audience. The upper half of his face was covered in paint, obscuring his features, and leaving only his lips and chin visible.
The referee entered and the octagon cage was closed. The two alphas stood face to face inside, surrounded by dark steel wire mesh.
There were no judges, no rules, no weight classes, no scoring, and no medals; just unregulated violence, like the most primitive colosseum.
The shouts of the audience were almost breaking through the roof before the match even began. He Wei’s eyes lit up with excitement. He chewed a piece of gum and chuckled softly, “Isn’t this more exciting than the fencing, riding, and taekwondo we learned?”
Lu Heyang simply adjusted the setting of his wristband on his left wrist to a higher level and stared at Seventeen’s profile without saying a word.
Author’s notes:
Over 1.8 meters tall and abs, isn’t this it?
This novel can be considered to have a slight element of hidden identity that is revealed later.
“Someone over 1.8 meters tall with a six-pack.”
Xu Ze: …ahem… ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ
Lu Heyang’s vibe makes me feel so excited in behalf of Xu Ze. Like dayum, they’re both hot in their own auras. Phew!
THE CHEMISTRY IS ALREADY SO GOOD QAQ
Oh ho ho~ so that’s where Xu Ze got his wounds…
Remind me of Megalobox, ahem Seventeen def didn’t have good time on the ring but money is money 😭😭😭😭😭
I’m so scared for Xu Ze.. poor baby.
(ﾉ0)ﾉ lessssgooo
Oh wifey is fighting for a living 😔