STIDM 33

By their third year, Yan Lu was often busy with competitions. Since he had already been marked, there was no need to hide that he was an Omega anymore. Still, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he continued pretending to be a Beta.

Zhong Zong didn’t attend the first few competitions, but that changed after a group dinner one evening. While chatting, Little Lemon casually mentioned that during one of the matches, an Alpha had taken a liking to Yan Lu and started pursuing him.

Zhong Zong immediately looked upset, glancing sideways at Yan Lu with a dark expression.

Yan Lu blinked, confused. “Why? Didn’t your professor ask you to work on his project?”

“I can take a few days off.”

Little Lemon, sensing the sudden shift in mood at the table, silently buried his face in his bowl of rice and focused on eating.

Yan Lu didn’t think much of it. He kept training as usual. Soon, the competition came. As soon as he got back to the dorm, he began packing for the trip.

With his bag slung over his shoulder, Yan Lu headed downstairs and happened to run right into Zhong Zong. He jogged over, threw an arm around his shoulders, and gave him a kiss, then playfully bit his lips until they turned flushed red before grinning.

“What’s this? You came just to see me off?”

“I told you I’m coming with you.”

“What?”

“The competition.”

Yan Lu was stunned. Who the hell brings their boyfriend to a competition? It felt like dragging a whole family along. Worse, he knew he’d end up sleeping with Zhong Zong and wouldn’t be able to get out of bed. How the hell was he supposed to compete?

Yan Lu immediately tried to turn him down. But Zhong Zong just smiled calmly and went on doing whatever he wanted, completely ignoring the rejection.

Once they got in the car and left the city, it was too late to change anything. Yan Lu could only sigh helplessly. Between the two of them, he was usually the one being shameless, but now that Zhong Zong was the one being difficult, there was nothing he could do about it.

Zhong Zong saw the look on his face and reached out to pinch his cheek. “Relax. I’m not sharing a room with you tonight.”

“What? If you’re not sharing with me, who are you sharing with?”

“There aren’t any single rooms?”

“Are you kidding? Everyone’s bunked up, two or three to a room…”

Yan Lu went quiet. He was the only Omega on the team, and there were no other Omegas around.

Sometimes Little Lemon would come along, sometimes he wouldn’t. When he didn’t, Yan Lu just went along with the coach’s arrangements and shared with a Beta.

Yan Lu had never thought much of it. But he knew Zhong Zong would be jealous.

And sure enough, Zhong Zong’s face turned completely dark. He turned his head to the side, shut his eyes, and didn’t say another word the rest of the way, no matter how much Yan Lu tried to tease him.

Yan Lu grew frustrated. “Why are you ignoring me? There are so many people on the team. It’s not like I’m some delicate little flower who must have a room to myself. Or… do you not trust me?”

That finally got a reaction. Zhong Zong opened his eyes and gave him a look.

“So what you’re saying is, when I go abroad with my professor, I can share a room with someone else too?”

“You try it and see what happens.”

All he could do was sit off to the side, scratching his head in frustration. After a long pause, he frowned and muttered, “Fine, next time I’ll pay extra for my own room during competitions. But when you go abroad, you’re not allowed to mess around.”

“You don’t trust me?”

Hearing his own words thrown back at him, Yan Lu could only sulk and shake his head.

“I do trust you.”

Trust you, my ass. You’re walking hormones. Even if you don’t hit on anyone, others will definitely hit on you. How the hell am I supposed to feel at ease?

Zhong Zong knew when to stop. He didn’t stay mad. Instead, he opened his bag, took out motion sickness patches, and gently stuck one behind Yan Lu’s ear.

Then he pulled out a U-shaped neck pillow from his large backpack and tucked it around Yan Lu’s neck.

Watching him pull out one thing after another like magic, Yan Lu couldn’t help grinning wide.

“Aiyo, Little Zong Zong. Since when were you so domestic and wifey?”

“…”

“Let me marry you and take you home, yeah? You can feed the baby and do my laundry.”

Zhong Zong’s expression didn’t change. He placed his hand at Yan Lu’s waistline and gave it a firm rub. Half of Yan Lu’s body went numb instantly.

Zhong Zong brushed his fingers over Yan Lu’s eyelids.

“Shut up. Sleep.”

Yan Lu didn’t dare say another word. He obediently closed his eyes.

He usually hated traveling by car. It always made him carsick, nauseated, gave him headaches. Most of the time, he could only rest properly after reaching the hotel, needing a whole day of sleep before he could even function for the next day’s match.

But this time, it wasn’t that bad.

Maybe because he had a devoted little wife on board.

When Yan Lu woke up, he felt completely refreshed, in such a good mood he couldn’t stop smiling. The more he looked at Zhong Zong, the more he liked him. Once they reached the hotel, he grabbed his shirt, wrapped his arms around his waist, and refused to let him leave.

Usually, Zhong Zong spoiled him rotten. But today, he was firm, pried Yan Lu’s hands off, and said, “I’m going to book a separate room. You can’t sleep with me tonight.”

“… ”

Yan Lu flopped back onto the bed, sulking. “Then at least wait until I fall asleep before you go.”

“Alright.”

The next day, thanks to a good night’s sleep and a solid breakfast, he was in excellent shape.

He quickly dealt with his opponent and stepped down from the ring.

When he got to the lounge, he saw Zhong Zong staring intently at the television showing the live broadcast. The plastic water bottle in his hand had already been crushed flat.

Martial arts competitions always came with risk. Injuries were common, and when the opponent was dirty, playing sneaky tricks under the cover of rules wasn’t unusual either.

Even though Yan Lu had won smoothly, he’d still picked up a number of bruises from the opponent’s cheap shots.

As soon as the door opened, Zhong Zong stood up and walked over, his face dark, his eyes stormy like he was about to charge out and beat that Alpha into the floor.

Yan Lu quickly stepped forward and grabbed him, holding him back.

“Where are you going?”

“Out for a smoke.”

“I’m hurting. Come put medicine on me.”

An Alpha’s possessiveness and instinct to protect their Omega wasn’t a joke. Especially not for Zhong Zong, who had sat through the entire match watching how many punches and kicks Yan Lu had taken. If Yan Lu had let him go out, Zhong Zong would’ve definitely gone off and beaten that guy half to death.

But it was just a match, and that Alpha had already lost. If Zhong Zong, who was even stronger, went after him now, it would be nothing short of bullying.

Thankfully, Yan Lu’s soft tactics worked. Zhong Zong stayed, silently treating his injuries. His face was still dark, lips pressed into a tight line as he applied the medicine.

After the competition, they returned to school. Zhong Zong flew off to the U.S. together to continue his research project.

After waking up from a nap in the dorm and feeling bored, Yan Lu got up and went looking for Little Lemon.

He climbed barefoot onto Little Lemon’s bed, aimed for his ass, and gave it a slap.

Little Lemon let out a loud yelp and jolted awake, struggling so hard he nearly knocked Yan Lu off the bed.

The blanket hadn’t shifted yet, so Yan Lu didn’t notice anything strange. But the moment it was lifted, the scent of an Alpha came flooding out. Yan Lu scrambled back in shock, eyes wide as he stared at the flushed-faced Little Lemon.

“Qin Shu, that beast! He marked you?!”