STIDM 34

Little Lemon peeked his red-cheeked face out from under the blanket. “Who are you calling a beast! Watch your mouth.”

“Oh? Already taking his side that fast?”

“He’s not like that. And besides, you got marked back in freshman year. That means Zhong Zong is…”

“Please. I was the one who fucked Zhong Zong, not the other way around.”

Little Lemon was completely shut down by Yan Lu’s shameless logic. After a pause, he muttered quietly, “Well, for the record, I was the one who princess-carried Qin Shu onto the bed.”

He dove right back under the covers, refusing to deal with Yan Lu any longer.

His ass was still sore. That smack from Yan Lu earlier had nearly made him cry.

But when Yan Lu heard the part about the princess carry, he nearly burst into tears from laughing.

Damn shame he hadn’t been there to witness it. That scene must’ve been beautiful. Yan Lu laughed and laughed, until Little Lemon finally exploded, kicking off the covers and shouting, “What the hell’s so funny!”

“Qin Shu. Princess carry. Hahaha….”

“What’s so funny about that? You get to fuck Zhong Zong, and I can’t carry my own man?”

Yan Lu was laughing so hard his stomach hurt. Still laughing, he crawled onto Little Lemon’s bed, pestering him for all the juicy details.

Little Lemon stayed shy and silent for a while, but eventually gave in under Yan Lu’s relentless questioning.

It all started with that sinful thing called alcohol.

The marking wasn’t supposed to happen. They were supposed to be in a pure, hand-holding relationship.

They had only made things official three months ago. They were dating, holding hands, sharing kisses, and taking things slow.

But then Qin Shu’s older sister came to visit yesterday. Out of nowhere, Qin Shu dragged Little Lemon over to meet her without even telling him beforehand.

Qin Shu’s sister was a cheerful and straightforward Alpha. The moment she saw Little Lemon, she couldn’t help teasing him. Every time she joked, he blushed, and the only way he could hide his embarrassment was by downing glass after glass of alcohol.

Before he knew it, he was completely drunk, dizzy, and couldn’t even walk straight.

It was too late to get back to the dorm. The gates were locked, so Qin Shu brought him back to his off-campus apartment. Who would’ve guessed Little Lemon, drunk out of his mind, would get up in the middle of the night, pick Qin Shu up, and throw him onto the bed.

Just like that, it all spiraled into drunken chaos.

“You know that’s not okay, Classmate Chen. How could you make such a mistake?”

“What?”

“Losing control after drinking. Tsk tsk. No self-restraint at all.”

Little Lemon snatched the blanket back and buried himself under it again.

This was so humiliating. He wanted to disappear. Little Lemon screamed silently in his mind.

Yan Lu kept teasing him, completely unaware that his own karma was right around the corner, and it was going to hit hard.

The next morning, Yan Lu went to the training ground as usual. After warming up, a junior came over to ask for pointers.

With a clean move, he knocked the junior down, then helped him up and began explaining.

“Your stance just now was really unstable. If I had thrown a punch like this, you should’ve…”

Before Yan Lu could finish his sentence, the coach walked over.

“Yan Lu, come to my office for a bit.”

He had no idea what was going on. He patted the junior on the shoulder and told him to keep practicing, then followed the coach.

The coach sat behind his desk sipping tea, while Yan Lu stood respectfully in front of him.

After a full cup, the coach finally spoke, his tone thoughtful.

“I had originally planned to recommend you for the national team. But your secondary gender is going to be a serious obstacle.”

“Coach, I…”

“Yan Lu, I know you’re one of the most promising students I’ve ever had. But as an Omega, your body just isn’t built for it. A lot of the time, your mind will be willing, but your strength just won’t match.”

Yan Lu clenched his fists and lowered his eyes.

He wanted to say he could do it. That he had the strength. The determination.

But who could predict the future? If he did get into the national team, he’d be facing far more powerful opponents, including Alphas with innate advantages. Would he really be able to keep up? Could he survive that level of competition? It was a question without an answer.

But he had trained in martial arts for so many years. He had competed in countless matches, both big and small. To say he should give up on the national team now was something he could not accept.

The coach sighed, clearly sensing the unrest in his heart.

“You might not be able to make it to the national team, but I still hope you keep walking this path. You’ve got talent…”

“Can’t join the national team, and you still call that moving forward?”

Yan Lu cut him off, his voice sharper than intended. He could no longer pretend to be calm. All he could do was clench his fists tighter and stop himself from saying something reckless.

“Martial arts is a pursuit with no end. Not reaching a certain goal doesn’t mean your path ends there.”

“…”

“Yan Lu, I want you to become a teaching assistant.”

He was stunned. He looked up at his coach in disbelief.

“Once I retire, I want you to take over for me.”

“Coach…”

Yan Lu walked out of the office in a daze.

In just one day, he had experienced both devastation and unexpected hope.

He couldn’t join the national team, but he’d been handed something solid. A future. A stable job. And someday, he’d train students of his own, and send them to the national team in his place.

Should he be laughing? Or crying?

Lost in thought, he wandered out of the training hall. Zhong Zong was leaning against one of the columns outside, sipping a cup of coffee. The moment he saw Yan Lu’s dazed expression, he walked over quickly.

“What happened?”

“You’re back?”

“The project wrapped early. Why do you look like that?”

“The coach said I can’t join the national team.”

Zhong Zong was stunned. Just as he was about to say something, Yan Lu added in a dazed tone, “Then he told me to become an assistant coach, to take over for him in the future.”

Zhong Zong let out a breath that was somewhere between a sigh and a laugh.

“You said yes?”

“I told him I’d think about it.”

“You should take your time and think it through.”

That evening, after walking around together for a while, Yan Lu kissed him briefly at the base of the dorm building and was about to head upstairs.

But for once, Zhong Zong did something out of the ordinary. He held onto Yan Lu’s hand and pressed a warm key into his palm.

Yan Lu looked down at the key, then looked up at him.

“What’s this?”

“A key.”

“I can see that. I’m asking what it means. What’s it for?”

“It’s for a house.”

“Huh?”

“Yan Lu, will you come live with me?”

“What?!”

Clutching the key, Yan Lu’s heart was racing.

Living together. That step… he didn’t think he was quite ready for it.

Living together meant that from now on, all those moments when he hadn’t washed his face, hadn’t brushed his teeth, or even gone a few days without washing his hair and looked like a total mess, those would all be on full display in front of Zhong Zong.

And after training, when he was drenched in sweat and smelled awful, he’d have to let Zhong Zong see that too? Over and over again?