ABMSI Chapter 14

“Where’s Fu Duqiu from your class?”

The words had barely fallen when Duan Wei frowned. The man’s face practically screamed “trouble.” Duan Wei gave him a once-over. “What for?”

“Got some business with him.”

The big guy knew who Duan Wei was—after all, Duan Wei had a reputation at school for being difficult to mess with. So he didn’t say much else. He glanced into the classroom but didn’t see the person he was looking for.

He only lingered for a moment, but that vicious, hostile look on his face was enough to scare off the few remaining students in the room.

Hands shoved in his pockets, Duan Wei endured the increasingly heavy metallic tang that came with the man’s approach. He stepped forward despite his discomfort and said, “He left a long time ago. If you’ve got something to say, find him tomorrow.”

Just as he finished, the big guy’s phone rang in his pocket. He answered, shouting a few things into the receiver. Duan Wei only caught snippets—“school gate,” “Li Alley”—as if they were making some kind of plan. Before he could hear more, the call ended.

The man cast Duan Wei a glance, then turned and walked off with his phone in hand.

Watching him leave, Duan Wei felt a faint unease rise in his chest. He was about to follow when a voice called from behind:

“Brother Duan!”

Peng Yan came running breathlessly down the corridor, backpack bouncing, bent over with his hands braced on his knees as he gasped for air.

“What’s wrong?” Duan Wei turned to ask.

—

Outside No. 1 High School was a narrow alley. The entrance bustled with street vendors and food stalls, a haven for late-night snacks left unchecked by city management.

But the deeper one walked, the darker it grew. The streetlights had long been broken, and with the surrounding buildings abandoned, the place carried a suffocating eeriness if you weren’t walking with company.

Fu Duqiu walked in alone, hands in his pockets. His phone buzzed continuously inside—he knew exactly who was messaging him, but he didn’t want to reply.

After all, he had already done what he needed to. There was no reason to get further involved.

He walked deeper, shadows thickening around him, but the phone still wouldn’t stop—shifting from message vibrations into a barrage of calls.

Fu Duqiu hesitated. In his impression, Ye Qiong was always busy with work and would only call when something urgent had happened.

He stopped, pulled out his phone, and its glow illuminated a small patch of the alley. Only then did he realize he was standing at a crossroads. On the screen, an unfamiliar number flashed, with several missed calls already logged.

His fingertip had just brushed the “answer” button when a group of people emerged from the alley.

One look told him they weren’t up to anything good—after all, who else would be hanging around such a deserted place late at night? Right then, the dim streetlamp overhead flickered weakly, and Fu Duqiu finally saw his situation clearly.

What stood before him was… a human color palette.

No exaggeration—it really was a palette.

Each one had dyed their hair a different shade—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, the whole rainbow lineup. Their Alpha pheromones radiated unchecked, heavy in the air. Every single one of them was an Alpha.

At the very front stood the largest of them all, wearing a black T-shirt. He was actually fairly good-looking, but the oppressive force of his presence twisted his features into something fierce and menacing.

A dark alley, a gang of street thugs—for many, this was the stuff of teenage nightmares. Fu Duqiu swept his calm gaze over them, his face unreadable, then tapped the screen to hang up the call.

“You’re Fu Duqiu, right?” the lead Alpha tilted his head, studying the boy who stood alone yet eerily composed.

Fu Duqiu didn’t respond right away. After a brief pause, he finally spoke: “Li Shao?”

The name made Li Shao arch his brows. He glanced at the Alphas around him, then let out a mocking laugh. “So you know why we’re here waiting for you, huh?”

Fu Duqiu stayed silent, his expression calm as ever. His eyes flicked around, taking in the scene—the alley entrance was completely blocked by this pack of street punks. There was almost no way out.

The newcomer’s hostility was clear—there was no avoiding a fight. Fu Duqiu withdrew his assessing gaze and met the Alpha’s eyes head-on.

Seeing him stay silent, Li Shao grew annoyed and took a few steps forward. “What, scared now?”

“Say what you came to say.” Fu Duqiu frowned. That string of unfamiliar numbers was calling again.

“Fine. Then let’s talk it out properly tonight.” Li Shao shoved his hands into his pockets, eyes narrowing. “First off—it’s about Xu Yingying.”

The name was unfamiliar. It took Fu Duqiu a moment to recall she was the girl who’d confessed to him in the cafeteria earlier that day.

Before he could reply, Li Shao continued, “The whole damn school knows Xu Yingying is mine. You show up acting all high and mighty, like you’re some big shot. Stay the hell away from her, got it?”

Fu Duqiu had been about to say it was she who approached him first, but considering Xu Yingying was just a girl, he let it drop.

His silence, however, Li Shao took as him being unable to argue back. He launched into a string of rambling accusations—nonsensical, illogical—that only deepened Fu Duqiu’s frown.

“And the second thing?” Before Li Shao could finish, Fu Duqiu cut him off impatiently. “About the office theft.”

“…”

Li Shao froze. Fu Duqiu’s tone wasn’t questioning—it was certain.

And he was right. The recent uproar over stolen cellphones from the teacher’s office traced back to Li Shao himself.

A month ago, after getting into a fight at school, Li Shao’s family cut off his allowance. A spendthrift by nature, he had racked up debt at an internet café—no small sum by the end of the month.

As the “palette gang” leader, he couldn’t swallow his pride and borrow money. Instead, he set his sights on the confiscated phones stored in the office. That day, when he saw Duan Wei climb through the window, he slipped in right after and took all the phones.

He thought he had neatly pinned all suspicion on Duan Wei. But Old Tong must have heard something from someone, because soon the suspicion shifted entirely onto him. And now, with Fu Duqiu spending so much time around Old Tong, Li Shao felt cornered. He’d dragged his crew here tonight to give Fu Duqiu a scare.

Every flicker of emotion on his face fell clearly into Fu Duqiu’s gaze. With a sideways glance, Fu Duqiu looked nothing like a high schooler being threatened—his voice calm as ever. “I’d advise you to return the phones now. You might get a disciplinary warning, but at least you won’t be expelled.”

He said “steal,” not “take.” The distinction made Li Shao flush with shame as his gang looked at him. Enraged, he stomped forward and grabbed Fu Duqiu’s collar.

But the moment he did, Fu Duqiu’s pheromones surged. If Alpha and Omega pheromones were meant to bind and complement, then between Alphas it was pure head-on collision.

The wave of a high-grade Alpha’s pheromones hit him full force. Li Shao’s knees buckled; he nearly collapsed then and there, cold sweat prickling down his back.

Fu Duqiu, eyes lowered, looked utterly indifferent.

“What are you waiting for?” Li Shao barked. If he couldn’t overpower him alone, surely a whole group could. He jerked his chin. “Get him!”

The “palette” crew, already trembling under Fu Duqiu’s pheromones, hesitated. They were just about to pick up whatever they could to fight when footsteps echoed from the alley’s entrance.

Li Shao, still clutching Fu Duqiu’s collar, turned his head. Two figures emerged from the other end, one in front, one behind. The first carried a thick down jacket draped over one arm. His slim outerwear showed off a tall, lean frame.

Unlike Fu Duqiu, the newcomer wasn’t radiating Alpha dominance. But with the lamplight flaring behind him and the faint mist of breath in the cold air, his presence was no less commanding.

“Yo.” Duan Wei stepped closer, finally taking in the scene before him. He arched a brow at the rainbow-haired lineup. “What’s this, a live cosplay of the Seven Fairies of Joy and Harmony?”

Beside him, Peng Yan couldn’t help but snicker.

Any student at No. 1 High would recognize Duan Wei. With his long list of “glorious deeds,” the palette crew instantly faltered.

Li Shao released Fu Duqiu’s collar. In school, he and Duan Wei were the two biggest figures, each minding their own turf. Neither wanted unnecessary trouble.

What’s more, the office theft had dragged Duan Wei in too. Putting on a casual smile, he said, “Brother Duan, you’re here?”

Duan Wei ignored him, stepping closer instead. He looked at Fu Duqiu. “Why didn’t you pick up?”

“Busy.” Fu Duqiu paused, realizing now the unfamiliar number had been Duan Wei’s. He smoothed his rumpled collar, answering lightly.

Their exchange left the palette crew and Li Shao dumbfounded. Rumor had it the two couldn’t stand each other—after all, Fu Duqiu’s silence during that night study session had forced Duan Wei to call in his parents. Li Shao had even considered pulling Duan Wei into his scheme to deal with Fu Duqiu but had dropped the idea.

And yet here they were, acting almost… close.

“Brother Duan,” Li Shao asked uncertainly, “this guy is your…”

“My little brother.”

The reply came fast. Duan Wei stepped up beside Fu Duqiu, slipping easily into his “school tyrant” persona, like something out of a gangster drama.

He slung an arm around Fu Duqiu’s shoulders. Though shorter, his swagger gave him all the presence he needed. One hand in his pocket, he tilted his head and drawled, “I’m taking him out for late-night snacks. What, your Seven Fairies want to tag along?”

Fu Duqiu turned his head, meeting the invasion of his personal space. He lifted a hand but didn’t push him away, tacitly accepting the “little brother” label.

There was a faint scent about the boy, subtle yet thicker in the cool night air.

From across the way, Li Shao shifted his gaze from Duan Wei to Fu Duqiu. Three people didn’t look like much, but with Duan Wei’s record in both one-on-one fights and brawls, the odds didn’t look good.

After weighing his options, Li Shao waved his hand with a forced laugh. “Then I won’t intrude on your meal. Hahaha—enjoy!”

Though unwilling, he knew better than to pick a fight with Duan Wei. He signaled his crew to retreat. But just as they turned, Duan Wei’s voice rang out behind them:

“I heard you went into the office right after me that day?”

“…”

Li Shao froze on the spot. His breath caught in the cold wind, sweat chilled by Fu Duqiu’s earlier pheromone onslaught. A shiver ran down his spine.

They turned back to see Duan Wei drop his hand from Fu Duqiu’s shoulder, flexing his fingers into a fist with a slow crack. “How about a little workout before dinner?”

As his words fell, Fu Duqiu chuckled softly. He slipped the bag from his shoulder and hooked it onto a nearby tree branch. “I’m in.”