Seventeen looked back up with blood streaming from his chin. The crew-cut alpha had him cornered, relentlessly delivering punches to his face. Seventeen just raised his arms to block without fighting back. He Wei glanced around and finally concluded, “Seventeen has lost his spirit today.”
“It’s to promote the new fighter,” Gu Yunchi said, “Every time a new fighter comes, the first match is with Seventeen.”
Throughout the entire match, Seventeen hardly threw any punches. When the referee stepped in and called for a stop, he lay silently against the fence, his face covered in blood. The crew-cut alpha was about to throw a few more blows to his head, but the referee intervened—after all, this was a casual match, so there was no need to go overboard.
The crew-cut alpha stood in the center of the octagon cage, raised his fists in victory, and looked around with pride before walking away. Seventeen lay on the mat for a moment, then slowly sat up and glanced at the audience once more, seemingly without conscious thought.
The paint and blood on his face were mixed together and looked like a hopeless mess. His cheeks were swollen, making him almost unrecognizable. Lu Heyang sat about a meter above the octagon cage and looked down slightly. Separated by the dark wire fence, Seventeen sat inside, like a caged animal with broken claws. Their eyes met for half a second, and Seventeen turned his head away with difficulty.
The referee leaned down and asked Seventeen a few questions, but he shook his head and grabbed the railing to get up. Blood still dripped from his nose as he stiffly wiped his mouth and chin and walked out of the octagon cage with his head down.
“How frustrating,” He Wei looked disappointed, “Seventeen clearly had the upper hand, but he lost like this. His acting skills are really bad.”
“He didn’t seem committed today,” Gu Yunchi commented.
Lu Heyang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly asked, “When did he come here?”
“I heard it was last year,” Gu Yunchi took a sip of his drink, “He used to fight in other places.”
Seventeen’s figure disappeared at the entrance of the corridor. Lu Heyang withdrew his gaze. He unlocked his phone, swiped the screen with his fingertip, and paused on a message for a few seconds. Finally, he turned off the screen and said, “I’m going out to make a call.”
He Wei gave a mischievous squeak, “Who is it, an omega?”
Lu Heyang stood up and said matter-of-factly, “Yeah.”
After walking around the club, Lu Heyang realized that there was no quiet place to make a phone call. He wasn’t sure where he had ended up, but he found himself facing an elevator. Lu Heyang pushed the button and stepped inside. Upon reaching the first floor, the elevator doors parted, he proceeded down a short corridor and emerged from the building.
It was an alley with dim streetlights. Lu Heyang stood by the wall and dialed the number. About ten seconds later, the call was connected.
An adult female voice came from the other end, “Are you out having fun?”
“Yeah.”
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.
“P tfjgv atja joafg Lf Qfl mjwf yjmx, sbe’nf yffc tjculcu bea klat tlw fnfgs vjs.”
Oe Lfsjcu ijeutfv rboais, “Dfobgf tf mjwf yjmx, P erfv ab tjcu bea klat Tecmtl abb.”
“Should we go to Luanshan tomorrow at noon?” The omega let out a soft cough, “I’m landing early in the morning.”
“Vegf,” Oe Lfsjcu qjerfv jcv rjlv, “Hela rwbxlcu.”
“P mjc’a tfiq la, P vbc’a kjca ab dela.” Ktf bwfuj’r nblmf rbecvfv fztjerafv, “P’w ublcu ab riffq olgra. Tbe tfjv tbwf fjgis. Xbbv cluta.”
“Good night.”
Lu Heyang hung up the phone but remained standing in place as he saw two alphas approaching him.
Lu Heyang was standing beside the side entrance of the building he had just exited, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw that an alpha was already blocking the way.
At this moment, Lu Heyang got a fairly realistic perception of the chaos in the Westside.
Cornered with a wall behind him, three alphas adeptly blocked his path from both the front and sides. It was impossible to escape unless Lu Heyang could take on all three of them.
But regardless of whether he had the ability or not, he had no intention of fighting these three people. Confronting three thugs of unknown origin with knives and clubs head-on was not a wise choice. The upbringing of Lu Heyang, He Wei, and Gu Yunchi taught them that showing off impulsively and arrogantly was the most foolish thing to do. Since he was already in the situation, the most important thing now was to find a way to ensure his safety.
“This wristband has to be worth ten to twenty thousand, right?” The yellow-haired alpha leader looked Lu Heyang up and down and then glanced at his wrist to confirm that he was a spoiled rich kid. He grinned, “Where did this young master pop up from? Didya bring your wallet?”
Lu Heyang said nothing and took out his wallet from his pocket. He and He Wei had a habit of carrying cash instead of cards when they went out. Also, the cell phone he had was a spare one with no important data, so losing it or having it stolen wouldn’t matter.
One of the alphas snatched his wallet and opened it to check the contents. He took out all the cash, then proceeded to rummage through it once more and asked, “Where are the cards?”
Lu Heyang was about to respond when there was sudden movement on the left, where the side door was. In an instant, the alpha standing on Lu Heyang’s left let out a muffled grunt, as a thin yet strong hand grasped his neck.
A slender and tall alpha wearing a black hoodie swiftly stepped in front of Lu Heyang. He had a hood and a cap pulled low over his head. Lu Heyang heard him say in a cold voice, “Give him the money back.”
The alpha who was strangled immediately froze in place, while the yellow-haired guy next to him cursed and pointed his knife at the black-clad alpha, “Who are you to interfere in our business?”
The third alpha reached for his phone, and Lu Heyang understood that he was going to call for backup, so he said, “No cards, I just have cash.”
He gently patted the black-clad alpha on the shoulder, and the other man immediately understood his meaning. He released his grip on the alpha’s neck and took a step back while still standing in front of Lu Heyang.
Seeing the situation turn in their favor, the yellow-haired guy sneered and pointed his knife at Lu Heyang, “Crouch down against the wall. Take off your wristband and hand it over with your phone.”
“Let us go after I give the stuff.” Lu Heyang calmly stated, “I only brought these.”
“Tsk, just crouch down when you’re told,” The alpha on the right stretched out his leg impatiently to kick Lu Heyang’s knees, trying to force him down.
Before the tip of the man’s leg even touched Lu Heyang’s pants, the black-clad alpha suddenly stepped on his calf without warning. He quickly followed up with an elbow strike, sending the man tumbling to the ground, curled up and screaming in pain as the stick in his hand rolled a meter away.
His movements were astonishingly fast, demonstrating a level of professional skill. Seeing this the other two thugs made a run for it toward the alley. The black-clad alpha quickly captured one of them, landing a punch on his nose, and slammed the man against the wall by clutching the collar of his shirt. He turned to deal with the last one, only to find that Lu Heyang had already pinned that alpha to the ground and kicked the knife into a corner.
“SOUTH ENTRANCE, WE NEED BACKUP!” The first alpha who had fallen to the ground had somehow managed to make a call and was shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Let’s go,” Lu Heyang said.
However, the black-clad alpha turned around to lift the person cowering against the wall and demanded in a deep voice, “The money.”
The trembling man handed over Lu Heyang’s money, and as soon as the black-clad alpha got it, Lu Heyang pulled his hand and ran forward, saying, “Forget about the money.”
Lu Heyang dragged the black-clad alpha towards the side entrance, but the other pulled him back and said, “They’ll come from the inside.”
Instead, he led Lu Heyang and ran to the other end of the alley. On a summer night, the empty alley behind the building that never saw light had a cool, damp, musty odor. The dim yellow light flickered with every step as Lu Heyang watched the alpha in front of him. The cap and hood wobbled on his head but never fell off.
After taking a couple of turns, the alpha led Lu Heyang to hide in a narrow room and carefully locked the dilapidated door behind them.
They both tried to control their breathing, but it wasn’t easy after the strenuous activity. Their heavy panting filled the darkness. The small room seemed to be crammed with various items, leaving them with little space. They stood face to face, very close to each other. Lu Heyang could smell a hint of blood as well as subtle alpha pheromones.
“Are you injured?” Lu Heyang suddenly whispered.
The alpha had been listening intently to what was going on outside. It wasn’t until Lu Heyang spoke that he seemed to realize that they were standing so close. Subconsciously, he tried to step back, but immediately bumped into something and made a dull noise.
Lu Heyang pulled his sleeve, “Be careful.”
It was silent for a while before the alpha replied, “I’m not injured.”
“Thank you,” Lu Heyang said.
They fell into silence again, their breaths intertwined. Lu Heyang could sense that the other party was extremely uncomfortable. After a full half minute, the alpha finally spoke, “Your phone must be important. It can’t be stolen.”
“It’s important, so thank you.” Lu Heyang’s eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and he could see the top of the other person’s cap, while the alpha’s face was completely concealed inside.
Lu Heyang felt something being stuffed into his hand, which made a rustling sound—it turned out to be the crumpled roll of cash.
“Your money,” the alpha said.
His fingertips brushed over Lu Heyang’s palm, feeling cool. When Lu Heyang held the money, he accidentally brushed against part of the alpha’s fingers. It was only a brief touch, but Lu Heyang could hear the other person’s breathing becoming chaotic instantly, which seemed extremely clear in the current surroundings, especially considering their proximity.
It was at this time that Lu Heyang called out to him, “Seventeen.”
The rapid breathing stopped for two seconds and then became even more erratic.
The faint chirping of insects filled the air, and a dim light seeped in through the crack under the door.
“Mn.”
A long time later, the response to Lu Heyang was a single sound, low and hoarse.
Author’s note:
Seventeen (persistent, serious, cautious): Money and phone are very important and cannot be stolen.
Lu Heyang (not listening at all): Mm-hmm, whatever, I’ll strip off your little disguise first.
WHAT THE FRIES HHSHSOAHWJA WOMGGGG SISBWJAGSBA
It’s 1 AM, and I gotta sleep, but here I am, giggling and shiiiii~
Lu Heyang be like: Lemme expose you first bae
Oi oi oi Heyang LOL dont strip your wife’s disguise ww
now take him home and take care of owiee pls
Completely irrelevant, but whenever I heard ‘Seventeen’, I remember the K-Pop group 🙈.
Aww but so cute both of them
fr i was confused at first thinking the whole group was making an appearance 😭