Chapter 33
Behind the west lawn of Star Source University lay a forest planted with tall arbor trees. In summer, they were lush and gloomy; in autumn, they turned brilliant gold. It was the top choice for students to relax, chat, and date. But if the script were flipped, it could also be described as fraught with danger.
In the gloomy dusk, He Yuan was dragged here by a few thuggish Alphas, who formed a circle to block his path, smiling wickedly as they used coercion and bribery.
“Since you’re sick anyway, playing around won’t hurt.”
“And you look sweeter than a Beta. This illness of yours is actually quite good!”
“Exactly. Under normal circumstances, no one would want you. We’re willing to play with you; you should be grateful!”
“We aren’t bullies either. As long as you cooperate and satisfy us, we won’t shortchange you.”
“Don’t pull a long face, Omega. Smiling looks better!”
He Yuan looked disgusted enough to vomit. He clenched his fists in anger, suddenly shouted, gathered all his strength, and charged headfirst toward the gap between two Alphas in front, attempting to escape.
But he was too weak. He couldn’t even handle one Alpha, let alone so many now.
Naturally, he was caught, one arm twisted behind his back, the back of his neck held down.
He struggled with all his might, like a big white goose grabbed by a fierce hunter—twisting, flapping, shouting. Except for inciting more ferocity from the hunters, it was meaningless.
Rough fingers viciously ground over the smooth, tender skin at the back of his neck. An Alpha clamored, “It’s useless here anyway, what’s the point of having it?!”
“Ah—!” He Yuan screamed in pain, turned his head, and fiercely bit the man’s arm.
The man went mad with rage and punched He Yuan in the stomach. Stars danced in He Yuan’s eyes as he doubled over and retched, but nothing came out.
…
No, it can’t be like this!
He Yuan is so weak, so soft, so cute, so wonderful…
He is meant to be cherished and loved, how can he be bullied?!
He wanted to save him. He wanted to beat up and kill all those Alphas bullying He Yuan! But he…
Clearly seeing it, he couldn’t walk over.
He shouted He Yuan’s name loudly. He was close at hand, yet no one paid him any attention.
Until the end, when He Yuan was beaten unconscious and the villains had left, he could finally move.
He urgently threw himself next to He Yuan, held him in his arms, caressed his face, and gently shook him. But He Yuan wouldn’t wake up. Then his weight became lighter and lighter, spots of light emerged from his body, constantly scattering. His body gradually became transparent, gradually blurred, gradually vanished…
“Xiao Yuan? Xiao Yuan… Xiao Yuan!”
Wen Su shot up from the bed with a whoosh.
Surrounded by darkness, he had been dreaming.
He… had a dream again.
He pressed his forehead. He was covered in cold sweat from head to toe. Even though it was just a dream, it felt so real, so soul-stirring, that he still had lingering fears after returning to reality.
He couldn’t bear it, yet only in dreams could he see He Yuan.
It had been half a month since they parted.
At first, his dreams were low-level, mostly like “He Yuan woke up late and got scolded for being late to class,” “Didn’t get along with classmates in the dorm and was isolated,” “Accidentally knocked over dishes while eating and got covered in mess,” “Couldn’t keep up with the curriculum because of the suspension, burned the midnight oil but still failed the test”—life obstacles causing great frustration.
But recently, the level of the dreams had escalated.
He started dreaming of private scenarios, like He Yuan being coveted, stalked, forced, surrounded by hungry wolves with no way out.
Every time he woke up, he was also confused and ashamed. Why would he have such dreams?
What was inside his head?
Thinking wildly like this, wasn’t it also disrespectful to He Yuan?!
Forcing himself not to think or dream anymore resulted in not only being unable to control it but intensifying it.
On the surface, he was still the Rose Admiral, steady, cold, and devising strategies, but in reality, he was going crazy.
He secretly booked anonymous psychological counseling. The analysis result was that his desire for love, protection, and mistrust toward the partner were too strong.
He couldn’t accept breaking off the relationship, and feared even more that the other party couldn’t live well after the break-up.
He felt he was very powerful and wanted to be the hero shielding the other from wind and rain, but having no opportunity, he resorted to fantasy.
The adjustment suggestion was mindfulness, focusing on the present, and appropriately lowering his self-evaluation.
Wen Su looked confused.
He had only ever heard of encouraging people to be confident. What kind of situation warrants suggesting someone be unconfident?
However, the analysis result also woke him up.
That’s right, he was indeed very worried about whether He Yuan could live well without him because he was truly very weak. Running a mere 800 meters left him out of breath, he needed two hands to lift a suitcase, he would get drunk directly from smelling a tiny bit of pheromones. He was kind and enthusiastic, had no guard against others, and overestimated himself, thinking he was strong.
Especially since he was lively, cute, and pretty…
How could he not worry?!
Wen Su was very anxious and somewhat regretted driving He Yuan away on an impulse back then.
If nothing else, just because He Yuan valued the position of life assistant very much. Being driven away without leaving any leeway like that was equivalent to denying his self-worth. He must be very, very sad.
At that time, he made the decision with the mindset of cutting the Gordian knot, but how could he forget that since he loved He Yuan, He Yuan’s feelings should be the first consideration!
The more Wen Su thought, the messier his mind became. He wished he could grow wings and fly to He Yuan’s side to confirm how he was actually doing.
Autumn afternoon. Star Source University was holding a Sports Meet. On the stadium field, there were not only athletes and cheerleaders from various grades and majors, but also a circle of student stalls on the periphery. They sold instant noodles and rice, fried and grilled foods, desserts and drinks, etc., as well as sports supplies like colorful flags, ribbons, whistles, and small trumpets. There were also intellectual mini-games like ring toss, fishing, and darts. It was quite lively.
He Yuan was doing volunteer service here.
He especially liked participating in collective activities, but unfortunately, his athletic nerves weren’t good enough to gallop on the field.
It just so happened that these stalls were initiated by the Student Union. His good friend was in charge and found him a job inside, serving concurrently at several stalls.
Wearing the Student Union volunteer hat and armband, he helped scoop ice cream balls one moment, rearranged the prizes for the ring toss the next, picked up and cleaned darts later, and gave directions to off-campus personnel coming to watch the Sports Meet. Running here and there, he felt a strong sense of participation.
Previously, during that period when he was particularly lost after being marked by General Wen Su, hearing his good friend talk about the Sports Meet and Drama Festival made him yearn for it yet feel sad, thinking he had no chance to live that kind of life again.
Unexpectedly, things took a turn, and wasn’t he right in the middle of the Sports Meet now?
Life is unpredictable like this, so no matter when, one shouldn’t feel down or give up hope!
“He Yuan! Something happened, something happened! Come help put out the fire!”
Suddenly, a classmate ran over waving his hands and grabbed his arm.
“Li Yue got injured. The team relay race is short one person. Come quickly!”
“Me?!” He Yuan pointed at the tip of his nose in surprise.
“Yes, it’s an emergency, come on, come on!”
“But I run very slowly…”
“Can’t worry about that much. We can’t enter without enough people. We have to participate first!”
…That made sense too.
As soon as his expression loosened, the classmate dragged him away like the wind.
Arriving at the field in a bustle, he was stuffed into the team dizzily. He heard the starting gun fire, and the people in front ran one by one!
Only when participating in the competition did he realize that time flowed much faster than when watching the competition!
Seeing it was his turn, he placed his toes nervously and excitedly at the spot closest to the starting line, waiting for the person opposite to come over so he could run for his life!
He felt he was too slow, as if walking. He couldn’t help getting anxious, then tried even harder, closing his eyes and charging forward with all his might.
Finally reaching the 100-meter finish line with great difficulty, he forcefully handed over the baton, but his feet couldn’t stop at all. His diving body flew out with a splat at the end of the line.
An arm steadily caught him.
It wasn’t a classmate. The remaining classmates in the team were about to run and couldn’t be distracted. Moreover, this person was wearing a shirt and trousers, looked dry and clean, and emitted a rich floral scent. Obviously not an athlete.
While panting frantically, he looked up with difficulty. The person in front of him was wearing a pair of large sunglasses. That face was…
Mm!!!
He Yuan’s expression froze unexpectedly. The person extended an index finger and made a “shh” gesture, a clear smile hanging on the corner of his mouth, saying: “Find a quiet place to chat?”
He turned and walked away.
He Yuan looked back at the field, thought there was nothing for him to do anymore, and followed.
It was like this again. The Tulip Admiral was always so confident, never giving people a chance to refuse.
So strange, why did the Tulip Admiral come to their school?
The Sports Meet was underway. As long as they left the stadium area, other places could be called quiet.
By the flowerbed behind the teaching building, Song Pei stopped. He Yuan quickly bent over, pressing his hands on his thighs, huffing and puffing.
“Gen-General Sir, why… did you… come here?”
“Tired like this.” The smile at the corner of Song Pei’s mouth deepened: “But I see you are quite happy? Sit down and talk.”
He Yuan sat by the flowerbed and looked up: “I am very happy!”
Song Pei asked curiously: “Why?”
“Mm.” He Yuan blinked and thought about it. “Because I feel useful? Although I didn’t run very fast, I didn’t drag them down! I really like that feeling of trying my best for a goal! And although running is hard, it is challenging myself, which I also like very much! And, and, I feel this was the fastest I’ve ever run. I feel particularly amazing! I want to try signing up for racing in the future too, to be a bit more confident!”
Listening to this heartfelt long speech, Song Pei sighed with emotion: “You really don’t need to adapt at all.”
“Adapt to what?” He Yuan paused. “I’m not a freshman, I’m very familiar with the school.”
Song Pei froze, thinking fine, since it’s like this, there’s no need to spell it out.
He turned and sat down next to He Yuan, answering his initial question: “Your school invited military academy students for a combat exhibition match for this Sports Meet and asked me to be a guest. I haven’t entered a campus for a long time. It’s full of youth, I really envy it. So after things over there ended, I walked around everywhere and suddenly saw you running.”
“So that’s it.” He Yuan thought that’s right, he had heard General Wen Su say before that the school wanted to establish a military college and was doing various preliminary preparations.
Song Pei asked: “How long have you been back at school?”
“Almost twenty days.”
“Continuing classes in your original class?”
He Yuan shook his head: “I applied for a one-year suspension before. It’s not that I can’t terminate it early, but it’s the middle of the semester now. Joining directly probably won’t be effective. So I decided to follow the original plan of suspension, and use this free time to self-study while doing other things I want to do.”
“What things do you want to do?”
“Mm, currently considering whether to join a club, develop a second major, or take some formal courses on being an assistant.”
“Still want to be an assistant?” Song Pei was a little surprised.
He Yuan nodded seriously: “After what happened before, I feel I quite like and am quite suitable for being an assistant. Not just a life assistant, a professional assistant works too! Of course, the most important thing is to learn my first major well!”
Walking out of the past and facing the future so smoothly, even someone as unrestrained as Song Pei had to admire him.
“What is your first major?”
“Acoustic, Optic, and Electronic Design.”
“No wonder you could make such a beautiful exterior for the Chongming Bird.”
Song Pei still remembered this. He Yuan was especially happy and said: “If General Sir likes it, I can make one for your mecha!”
“Sure, if there’s a chance.” Song Pei took out his phone. “I just took a few photos of you. Want to see?”
“Mm?” He Yuan leaned over, somewhat unexpectedly. There were photos of him standing in the team looking nervous, and photos of him closing his eyes and striving forward while running.
This was his first time participating in a race; the photos were very meaningful.
He politely asked Song Pei to send him the photos, so Song Pei added him as a friend.
After sending the photos, he suddenly froze, stood up, and said apologetically and anxiously: “I still have waiter work to do! General Sir, I won’t chat with you anymore. Goodbye!”
He waved his hand, turned, and ran. Song Pei called out to him, his expression a bit hesitant.
“Little student He Yuan, leaving Wen Su, are you… sad?”
He Yuan paused.
He lowered his eyes, then looked up and said: “Sad for a little bit.”
Song Pei understood.
It could be said that he was the one who first clarified the whole matter with Wen Su and He Yuan, so he had an obligation to pay attention to the follow-up of these two people.
Seeing him today, the Omega could be said to be reassuring. As for Wen Su…
Song Pei flipped his wrist and slid his finger.
This Omega, He Yuan, had very thick nerves; he didn’t even ask him to delete the photos.
So, should he send these photos to Wen Su?
What was certain was that Wen Su absolutely wanted to see them.
What was uncertain was, seeing such a happy He Yuan, such a… He Yuan who was completely unaffected and didn’t need him at all, would Wen Su really go crazy?!
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