He Yanwu, having received a satisfactory answer, returned to the guesthouse. He deliberately changed his clothes, tidied up a bit, and strolled over to the gymnasium. Li Heng wouldn’t show off or flaunt, but He Yanwu would, and it was best that he did — because that was just his nature.
It was still early, and there weren’t many people in the gym yet. Most were sports students doing their pre-training preparations. Maybe they had just finished eating and hadn’t started any intense activities yet. When He Yanwu entered the locker room, he saw these people chatting idly in small groups.
“If you ask me, that omega is pretty scheming, all that before was just an act. He used to walk with his head down, didn’t even dare to look at people, but look at him now.”
“No way, could anyone act for ten whole months?”
“Just ten months? Take away a vacation and it’s not even ten months.”
“I think so too. Without a bit of scheming, how could he hook He Yanwu? Do you know what kind of person he is?”
“Hey, don’t talk nonsense. I heard from my roommate in the medical school that He Yanwu only teaches Yuan Yi professional courses because someone else asked him for a favor.”
“You really believe that? I’m from the medical school too. With so many medical students, why would he specifically ask him for help? Besides, you guys don’t even know—Yuan Yi only listens to him. And that bag Yuan Yi was carrying the other day, a lot of people saw it, right? In the end, it was He Yanwu who took it. People say Yuan Yi is cold and indifferent to everyone now, but I don’t think so. It’s all just for show. Who knows what he’s secretly giving He Yanwu? He looks all pure on the outside, but deep down, he’s anything but.”
He Yanwu had been wrapping his hands with boxing bandages. At first, when he heard people talking about that omega, he didn’t think of Yuan Yi at all. But the more he listened, the more something felt off. He started unwrapping the bandages and chuckled as he asked, “So? What does he give me, and what does that have to do with you?”
The group was momentarily stunned. Seeing that it was He Yanwu, their expressions showed varying degrees of awkwardness. But since they had already been caught talking, and being big, rough alphas, they couldn’t just take back their words. Confrontations between alphas sometimes happened just like that—sudden and unpredictable.
Especially the one who claimed to be from the medical school—he looked both embarrassed and a little jealous. There was an omega girl from his department whom he had been pursuing for a while. It was going well, and she had been just about ready to accept him.
Then He Yanwu showed up, and suddenly, that girl seemed obsessed, constantly bringing up “Senior Yanwu” in every conversation. Just hearing it made him furious.
He Yanwu pointed straight at him and asked, “What’s your name?”
The person being pointed at replied, “Xu Zhan. Senior Yanwu, no matter what, Yuan Yi is already married, and his husband is even a decorated hero. Isn’t it inappropriate for you to be so close to him?”
He Yanwu said, “Whether it’s appropriate or not isn’t for a junior like you to judge. You haven’t even grown all your adult teeth yet, and you’re already badmouthing people behind their backs. If this stirs up trouble, can you handle the consequences?”
Xu Zhan said, “What’s there to handle? I said it—what can you do about it?”
He Yanwu tossed his bandages aside. “What can I do? You have two choices—either apologize right now, and I’ll pretend I never heard any of this, no hard feelings. Or, we compete, and you apologize afterward. But let me be clear—if you choose to compete, you’ll have to apologize exactly how I tell you to, and if you end up embarrassing yourself, don’t blame me for being unfair.”
Xu Zhan asked, “Compete in what? Boxing?”
He Yanwu scoffed, “Boxing? You? Let’s stick to what you guys are good at. Basketball—four of you against me alone. If you win, say whatever you want. But if you lose, you have to publicly apologize.” He pointed at Xu Zhan. “Especially you.”
He didn’t really care if the younger students gossiped about him and Yuan Yi during their idle moments, but casual chatter was one thing—spreading nonsense was another.
Xu Zhan scoffed, “Four of us against you alone? You really think highly of yourself.”
The problem was, winning like this wouldn’t earn them any respect, but losing? That would be even worse. Not that losing was an option, but no matter how he looked at it, this was a bad deal. And what he really wanted was to prove himself in front of that omega girl!
The hot-blooded alpha spun the basketball in his hands. “I’ll take you on alone. First to lead by twenty points wins.”
He Yanwu pushed the locker door shut. “You asked for it. Lead the way.”
The gym quickly became lively. After all, they hadn’t been the only ones in the locker room earlier—who wouldn’t want to watch something like this?
Besides, Xu Zhan was a sports student, and basketball was his specialty. Before heading to the court, he had already told his friends to call more people over. There was no way he was losing to He Yanwu today.
And people did come. More and more gathered around.
He Yanwu casually waved someone over to toss the jump ball. As he and Xu Zhan leaped up, his explosive jump was shockingly powerful.
The moment the ball was in play, He Yanwu launched his attack. His speed was dazzling—before anyone could react, bang!
The basketball traced a perfect arc through the air and sank cleanly into the hoop.
Next, it was Xu Zhan’s turn to go on the offensive. However, before he had taken more than a few steps, He Yanwu had already stolen the ball. With a sharp whoosh, the ball soared through the air—another basket. This time, a three-pointer.
Panic crept into Xu Zhan’s heart. Sweat was already dripping down his back, and it wasn’t just because his opponent had scored twice in a row.
It was because he had just realized—if He Yanwu had this kind of speed and power, then no matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to catch up!
He was still very relaxed, and he kept making shots into the basket.
Ten points.
Twenty points.
Less than ten minutes had passed in total.
Xu Zhan’s score was still zero, while He Yanwu had already tossed the basketball to an unknown junior who stood there, dumbfounded.
The whole court was in shock. Not everyone necessarily knew Xu Zhan, but anyone who played basketball did! He was a well-known basketball player at Ji Hua University!
At this moment, He Yanwu took the bottle of water handed to him by Pan Yuechen and downed it in one go. Then, he casually tossed the bottle behind him—such a light bottle flew more than ten meters and landed straight into the trash bin behind him.
The trash bin had a moving lid—it wasn’t still. To do that, he needed precise strength and accuracy.
Everyone in the gym was stunned. Xu Zhan panted heavily, feeling utterly frustrated, but he had to admit that he was no match for him—not even close. And he also remembered something else.
“Hey! You still haven’t told me how I’m supposed to apologize!”
“Up to you. At my age, do you really think I’d bother arguing with you?”
If you don’t care, then why did you even play this match?!
He was truly about to lose it. His chest heaved violently.
Xu Zhan felt that this was a thousand—no, ten thousand times worse than being made to apologize on the spot! This was a competition between Alphas, a competition between males. And he had lost—lost so miserably.
He stared at that tall, imposing figure and suddenly asked, “Senior Yanwu! Do you dare swear that you don’t like Yuan Yi?”
Someone snapped at Xu Zhan, “Are you out of your mind?”
Did he not understand the importance of knowing when to stop?
He Yanwu turned around. “I admire him. And, Li Heng is my brother. You better watch what you say.”
Xu Zhan shouted, “Fine! I’ll apologize publicly on the forum! If I ever dare to badmouth any of you behind your backs again, I’ll never graduate!”
He Yanwu: “Up to you.”
He called over Pan Yuechen. “Junior, can you help me get my hand wraps for boxing? They’re in the locker room, on the seat. Black.”
Pan Yuechen said, “Of course! Be right back.”
It didn’t take long before he returned. “Senior, I didn’t see the hand wraps you mentioned. Are you sure you remembered correctly?”
He Yanwu suddenly lifted his gaze, startling Pan Yuechen. Then, he smiled and said, “Seems like I really misremembered.”
Pan Yuechen was still a little confused and asked, “So, Senior Yanwu, are you still going to box?”
He Yanwu said, “No, I’m going to find a place to catch up on some sleep.”
He returned to the locker room, picked up his bag, and indeed didn’t see his hand wraps. However, a faint trace of scent in the air caught his attention.
Carrying his things, he wandered back to the guesthouse—sure enough, there was someone inside.
He shut the door tightly. While removing his communicator and activating the sonic interference system, he asked, “That was fast. Have you got results on what I asked you to investigate?”
The visitor looked extremely ordinary, with an unremarkable presence—the kind that would be instantly overlooked in a crowd of Alphas. But his eyes were exceptionally sharp.
He projected three photos and said, “These are the current candidates submitted to the military department—our Sirius Fleet’s Vice Captain Fei Qian, the commander of the Vajra Mecha Division, Luo Qizheng, and the captain of the Beiming Fleet, Li Xianji.”
He Yanwu considered these three for a moment. “They were all promoted by my grandfather.”
The visitor replied, “That’s right. However, Luo Qizheng married General Cao Lie’s youngest son, Cao Yuran—an Omega whom you once saved. If I recall correctly, he even sent something to our fleet before. Now, the Cao family and the Luo family have grown quite close.”
He Yanwu knew of Cao Yuran—this person had even had a meal with Yuan Yi before. But he had no particular opinion of him.
“How’s Fei Qian been lately?”
“He assigned a team of guards to secretly protect Madam after learning she was carrying your child. But they’re all stationed outside the campus. Winter Wolf wanted me to ask you—would it be better to request security from the Marshal instead?”
“No need. Besides, even if we did ask, the old man wouldn’t send anyone over.”
“This… I don’t quite understand. Hasn’t the Marshal always wanted a great-grandchild? Wouldn’t he take this seriously?”
“He does take it seriously. But Fei Qian is my second-in-command. His actions come from good intentions—if the old man replaces him now, that would be a slap in his face. Fei Qian is one of our own. Denying his efforts at this moment would make it seem like the old man disapproves of him taking over my position. If that happens, it won’t be good for either the old man or the Sirius Fleet. Fei Qian’s position in the Sirius Fleet must not be shaken. If he is, that would shake my foundation, and many brothers under him would see their futures affected as well.”
A new leader always comes in with sweeping changes. With so many people under his command, it wouldn’t just be one or two who’d get burned in the process.
“What if he really does have a problem…?”
“If he really did, the old man would’ve gotten rid of him long ago.”
“I was being short-sighted. I’ll go relay this to Winter Wolf right away.”
“Wait. Have Winter Wolf come see me. Also, find a way to bring me a few doses of my suppressant.”
“?!”
“Hurry up and go!”
The visitor quickly disappeared into the hidden compartment under the bed. As soon as he was gone, He Yanwu rushed straight into the bathroom and turned on the cold water.
People really shouldn’t act on impulse.
That damn Xu Zhan—once his competitive streak flared up, he released a flood of pheromones. He Yanwu thought it wouldn’t affect him, but in the end, this cursed susceptibility period hit him out of nowhere!
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1