Chapter 65: The Alpha Confession Showdown
“Pursuing Shen Zhuo, not allowed.”
______
The theoretical class had all fifty students of Class S attending together.
In the afternoon, their practical class would be conducted separately.
When Shen Zhuo arrived at the classroom with his book, Ai Li had already chosen a seat in the last row.
Ai Li, bored, was twirling a pen when he saw Shen Zhuo enter through the back door, and his eyes lit up.
“Shen Zhuozhuo, over here!”
Shen Zhuo sat down beside him, momentarily feeling as if he had returned to their days at the aristocratic school when they were fifteen.
“I heard from Ji Weishen that Commander Du is here as well?”
Shen Zhuo didn’t respond.
Suddenly, leaning closer, he startled Ai Li.
Shen Zhuo narrowed his eyes.
“Did he mark you?”
There was a faint scent of sea salt and lemon.
Ai Li blinked. “Oh, it was just a temporary mark, to soothe my pheromones.”
Shen Zhuo raised an eyebrow. “Oh…”
“Hey, that expression of yours. You did something with Commander Du last night, didn’t you?”
Shen Zhuo turned his head. “…”
Ai Li: “!”
“Let’s not talk about that. Do you remember what I told you about Yu Xueying yesterday?” Ai Li’s face became serious. “He’s gone missing.”
Shen Zhuo glanced over. “What happened?”
Ai Li shook his head. “I don’t know. My dad told me this morning. When he contacted the Yu family, things were chaotic over there.”
“My dad said the Command Center’s vehicles were parked outside.”
The Command Center?
That meant it was related to the underground gland trafficking organization.
Yu Xueying was an S2, likely targeted as well.
Although there could be many possibilities, Shen Zhuo didn’t believe in coincidences.
So, even after Xun Qing was bailed out, their gland replacement plan was still ongoing…?
Upon further thought, Shen Zhuo felt some details didn’t add up.
It seemed like there was a deeper conspiracy.
One he hadn’t yet uncovered.
“Class is starting.”
A familiar voice abruptly pulled Shen Zhuo’s thoughts back.
The boy raised his eyes toward the podium.
The alpha was dressed in standard military uniform, no longer exuding the previous sharp and lethal aura, but still carrying a subtle sense of pressure.
When the man, who held military power, taught from a book, there was a very special quality about him.
The first class was Du Xun’s.
As Shen Zhuo lowered his gaze to open his book, he caught sight of a figure.
Feng Muya.
She was sitting in the front row, staring at Du Xun with utmost seriousness and adoration.
Ai Li noticed it too.
He hadn’t attended the palace dance event, having been called to the Queen’s side, so he didn’t know what had happened that day.
But he could guess now.
“I thought Her Highness the Princess was here to study, but it turns out she’s here for…”
Ai Li clicked his tongue twice.
He didn’t finish the last three words. Shen Zhuo lowered his head and opened his book to the first page.
Shen Zhuo had thought he might feel jealous.
Or maybe a little temperamental.
But surprisingly, he didn’t.
Du Xun had given him plenty of security.
He trusted Du Xun, and he trusted himself.
“Strategic command deployment is conducted before war…”
Du Xun’s voice was very pleasant.
Deep and unhurried, with just the right amount of detachment.
Like the warmth of a spring breeze melting the ice beneath snow-capped mountains.
But Shen Zhuo preferred the man’s voice in the midst of passion, sensual and ambiguous, as if it could melt him.
“Shen Zhuo.”
His name sounded in his ear.
Shen Zhuo expressionlessly pushed away the images from last night in his mind.
Everyone turned to look.
Some were curious, some gleeful, and others quietly attentive.
“What do these symbols and numbers represent?”
Du Xun showed none of the gentle demeanor he had last night in the dormitory, where he was so soft he could practically melt into water.
Now he was serious and stern, like a teacher catching a student daydreaming.
Ai Li almost burst out laughing, covering his mouth before coughing twice and pointing to a specific passage in the book.
It was a long explanation. Various symbols and numbers were arranged in nearly two thousand characters.
Shen Zhuo glanced at it.
“It represents a breakthrough of the encirclement, requiring a surprise attack, with the left and right flanks covering, within one kilometer of the enemy.”
Everyone: …
Everyone: wc?
Du Xun’s lips curled slightly, almost imperceptibly, as he picked up the book again.
“Shen’s answer is correct. This is precisely what we’ll be discussing next.”
Even Feng Muya turned her head, surprised, to look at Shen Zhuo.
She had been secretly observing him earlier.
He hadn’t even opened his book.
How could he answer a question they hadn’t even covered yet by just glancing at it?
“Now I believe that Young Master Shen not only knows how to fight but also aced the written exams himself.”
“No wonder he volunteered to join the special task force…”
“Damn, a genius? I remember Ai Li also has a photographic memory…”
“No point in competing for the top three spots on the exam this semester. Let’s just see what third place gets in terms of prizes.”
After Shen Zhuo sat down, Ai Li winked at him.
Nudging his arm, he leaned in and whispered:
“We’re still as in sync as we were back then.”
Throughout the two-hour class, Shen Zhuo was repeatedly called upon to answer questions.
Sometimes they were review questions from earlier content.
Sometimes they were from chapters they hadn’t yet covered.
Each time, Shen Zhuo skimmed the textbook and answered fluently.
By the end of the class, Shen Zhuo had answered eight questions.
The palace dance event and the military’s public announcement hadn’t spread to the general public.
So, aside from Feng Muya and Ai Li, everyone else thought Commander Du was targeting Shen Zhuo.
There was only one three-hour-long theoretical class each day.
So, when the bell rang, Du Xun stayed behind to organize his teaching materials, while Ai Li dragged Shen Zhuo back to the dormitory.
Before they could reminisce about their past heroic deeds, Ai Li was called away.
“My butler brought me something. You go back first. I’ll come find you later.”
As Shen Zhuo turned, the space in front of him darkened.
The boy raised his eyes indifferently.
“Something you need?”
In front of him stood five alphas, all at least S1.
In broad daylight, in the wide school hallway, Shen Zhuo was completely surrounded.
His fingers curled slightly into his palm.
Shen Zhuo looked at one of the alphas.
That man’s face was flushed, veins bulging at his temples, lips moving but unable to speak.
The boy repeated.
“Something you need?”
One of the alphas beside him nudged him with an elbow. “Say it.”
“You say it, I’ll say it!”
“Well… I… I…”
Shen Zhuo frowned.
“My patience is limited,” his expression was cold. “Five seconds.”
Whether they were here to pick a fight or not, these people weren’t worth his time.
But Shen Zhuo didn’t want to get punished on his first day for beating up classmates or suppressing them with pheromones.
The boy’s natural demeanor was already cold.
When he wasn’t speaking or smiling, he exuded an even stronger “do not approach” aura.
Only in front of those close to him did he show a gentler side, which was now completely absent.
His cold, probing gaze pierced through the curtain of his long eyelashes.
His pitch-black eyes, covered with a layer of frost, sent chills down their spines.
The alpha flushed even more.
“I, I’m an S1, and I… I…”
The man took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and blurted out, “Can I pursue you?”
The alpha next to him immediately followed up. “I’m also an S1. I want to pursue you too!”
“I’m fine with a secret relationship. I don’t need a title!”
“I don’t mind if you have several boyfriends!”
“I’m an S2. I’m ranked higher than them. Can you pick me?”
“Damn it, we said no bringing up ranks! You’re cheating!”
Suddenly, they all started arguing amongst themselves.
Shen Zhuo: …
Shen Zhuo: ?
He had thought these people were sent by Feng Muya to cause trouble.
Turns out they were here to confess?
The boy narrowed his eyes and remained silent. After a few seconds, everyone noticed the omega’s silence and quieted down in unison.
“You’re such an excellent omega. You could have more than one alpha.”
The red-faced alpha finally collected himself and sincerely asked:
“Could you give us a chance?”
“No…” the boy began.
“You can’t.”
Just as Shen Zhuo was about to refuse, a man’s voice, laced with anger, sounded from behind.
The five alphas froze.
When they saw who it was, their faces visibly paled.
“C-Commander Du…!”
Du Xun stood behind them, holding a thick copy of Strategic Deployment and Command Theory, looking rather grim.
Those stormy gray-blue eyes seemed ready to unleash a tempest at any moment.
“Ares isn’t a place for your love affairs.”
Du Xun glanced at them coldly. “Five thousand words of self-reflection. On my desk by tomorrow.”
The young alphas were instantly terrified.
“But… but we have the right to pursue love too…”
One of them muttered as they walked away.
“Pursuing love is fine.”
The man paused, looking at the boy. “Pursuing him is not.”
One of them blurted out, “Why not?”
From the moment Du Xun appeared, Shen Zhuo had relaxed, casually fiddling with the gemstone on his ring.
Before Du Xun could respond, the young alphas were already pushing each other and running away.
Du Xun turned around, looking displeased but not overly so.
He pressed his lips together. “Let’s go back.”
Shen Zhuo nodded.
The moment they returned to the dormitory and closed the door, Shen Zhuo found himself pinned against it.
With their size difference, the boy was completely encased within the alpha’s arms, leaving no room for escape.
Alpha bent slightly, his nose brushing against the delicate skin of Shen Zhuo’s shoulder and neck.
“Does this happen to you often, Madam?”
The alpha’s voice was muffled.
Even the rosemary scent surrounding them carried a note of melancholy.
Shen Zhuo slightly raised his pale neck, his fingers playing with the gemstone on his ring.
“A few times, I guess. At the palace dance, someone even wanted to be my lover, saying one night would be enough…”
The rosemary scent grew heavier.
A strong aroma of jealousy filled the air.
Like a large, aggrieved dog, the alpha’s nose rubbed against the boy’s nape, near his gland.
[Am I still not treating you well enough?]
[Or do you not like me anymore…]
Shen Zhuo finally couldn’t hold back his laughter.
He released a high concentration of soothing pheromones.
He raised his hand to circle Alpha’s slim waist, gently caressing it up and down.
“But I rejected them all.” The boy coaxed softly.
“I haven’t stopped liking you.”
Shen Zhuo chuckled lightly and said:
“I like you the most, my alpha.”
Du Xun froze for a moment.
Shen Zhuo felt himself being hugged tighter.
The next second.
A sharp pain shot through his nape.
“Mm… Du Xun…”
The pain lasted only a moment, immediately replaced by the overwhelming rush of rosemary pheromones, bringing intense pleasure.
Shen Zhuo’s legs went weak.
Du Xun held him up by the legs, lifting him effortlessly—
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