ABMSI Chapter 11

A pout-mouthed frog and a screen full of “lonely and single” memes popped up on Fu Duqiu’s phone, followed by a stream of stickers. His gaze lingered on the messages for a long time before he exited the chat page. Just as his finger touched the delete option, he instinctively glanced sideways at Duan Wei.

Duan Wei had one leg casually crossed over the other. If it weren’t for the fact they were in class, Fu Duqiu wouldn’t doubt for a second that he’d toss his legs right up onto the desk.

He seemed to be in a good mood. His phone was flipped face down in his desk, and he was half-smiling as he stared at old Qin up at the lectern. Sometimes he chewed on his pen cap, sometimes spun the pen in his fingers. In a forty-five-minute class, he couldn’t seem to sit still for even a single moment.

Fu Duqiu quietly drew back his gaze and looked again at the new messages popping up on his phone. He cast another glance at the unbothered Duan Wei beside him, and after a long hesitation, dismissed his doubts. He swiped the screen and hit delete.

Of course, Duan Wei had noticed the constant glances from his side. When Fu Duqiu wasn’t paying attention, he pulled out the phone he’d stashed against the wall and propped with his leg.

What Fu Duqiu had seen earlier in Duan Wei’s desk was just a phone case, angled perfectly.

Ha. Think you can play me?

Unlocking the screen, he sent a few messages. Sure enough, the screen was full of red notification dots. Looking at the long string of “lonely, lonely, lonely” he’d sent earlier, Duan Wei smirked inwardly for a long time, barely holding back laughter that scratched in his throat.

He could practically imagine Fu Duqiu’s expression seeing all those messages—oh, that had to feel satisfying. His shoulders shook for a while before he finally calmed down and tried re-adding Fu Duqiu.

But knowing this male lead’s temperament, a direct friend request would never be accepted.

So he spammed several friend requests in a row, each with a different groveling “remorseful” note attached. Yet even then, his phone screen still showed rejection after rejection.

He’d overplayed his hand.

Fu Duqiu could really hold a grudge.

On the blackboard, the chalk notes had already been wiped and rewritten a few times. Then the dismissal bell suddenly rang. Old Qin picked up his lesson plan and walked off the lectern. Up front, Peng Yan woke with a start, stretched his arms in an exaggerated yawn.

The moment class ended, more than half the students left the room. The hallway filled with classmates going out to catch some sun. Fu Duqiu set his book down on the desk, then got up and walked out of the classroom.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows, scattering faint fragments of light across the desks. Frowning at yet another rejection message on his screen, Duan Wei got up and followed Fu Duqiu out, already scheming.

The winter wind slipped into the balcony, making Duan Wei shrink his neck. At the corner of the hallway, just as Fu Duqiu pulled out his phone, Duan Wei clenched his teeth, hurried up, hooked an arm over Fu Duqiu’s shoulder, and said, “Ha! Caught you playing on your phone!”

“……” Fu Duqiu gave him a bland glance and said nothing.

At that moment, two students from Class Eight happened to walk by. After yesterday’s drama in evening self-study, they had already spun a whole soap opera in their heads about “the school bully comforting an omega in heat, only to be abandoned by the transfer Alpha.” And now, seeing this scene, they exchanged ambiguous looks with their friends.

Other students from outside classes, who didn’t know the backstory, couldn’t help blushing. Standing together, Fu Duqiu and Duan Wei were just too striking: one tall, one short; one calm and steady, the other lively and mischievous—a perfect CP template.

As for the gazes around them, Duan Wei was oblivious. He forced a smile at Fu Duqiu, guilty enough that the smile came out stiff. Then, with a performance worthy of an actor, he glanced at the phone still lit up in Fu Duqiu’s hand and asked, “Who’re you chatting with? A girl?”

His unusual behavior naturally made Fu Duqiu narrow his eyes. Without hiding anything, he simply turned the screen toward Duan Wei. A whole row of friend requests appeared in view.

Duan Wei took one look, and his brain spun fast. “Cute girl, huh? Why’re you rejecting her?”

“You sure,” Fu Duqiu’s gaze sharpened as he asked him, “this is cute?”

With the phone tilted flat, the “girl’s” profile picture came into view. When Duan Wei had picked it, he’d been in a mischievous mood and chosen the ugliest frog he could find: long droopy mouth, all green and gloomy, its face so tragically comical that it practically begged to be smacked.

Cute? Not even close.

Duan Wei regretted not changing the profile picture beforehand. He paused, then forced it out: “It’s cute… I like frogs the best.”

Before Fu Duqiu could respond, a flash of inspiration hit him. He quickly added, “Just accept her first. Chat with her for a bit. If you don’t like her, you can always pass her over to me, right?”

Trying to cover his nerves with charm, Duan Wei smiled—soft, sly, and a little too eager. With his boyish features, pale lips, and crescent-moon eyes when he smiled, he looked all warmth and approachability, almost flirtatious.

Staring at the row of friend requests on his screen, Fu Duqiu paused, then tilted his head toward him. “So you like this type?”

“Of course,” Duan Wei answered quickly, seeing his chance. “I like this type.”

“……”

Fu Duqiu didn’t reply. He just looked at Duan Wei thoughtfully, then tapped his phone screen and clicked accept.

Right after, Duan Wei felt the vibration from the phone in his pocket. He didn’t forget to politely say, “Thanks,” then walked a few more steps with Fu Duqiu before finding an excuse to slip away.

He hurried back to the classroom. As soon as he sat down, he pulled out his phone. Finally making it into the friend list—of course the first step was to make a good impression. Duan Wei carefully thought about what to write, then sent several messages in a row:

[Hello senior, I’m a second-year at No. 1 High School.]

[Sorry, senior, my classmate just took my phone and sent you a lot of messages QAQ]

[I didn’t send anything weird, right? I’m really, really sorry.]

Forcing himself to stomach the disgust, Duan Wei typed out those messages, nearly adding in some pitiful whining. The chat window, however, stayed completely silent. He stared at the screen for a long while before the words typing… finally appeared at the top.

But it didn’t last long. His phone buzzed, and Fu Duqiu’s reply popped up:

[Mm.]

That’s how you flirt with girls? At this rate, if you’re not single and lonely, who is?

Duan Wei curled his lip, shoved his phone back into his pocket, and decided not to send anything else.

Duan Wei’s Guide to Chasing a Husband, Rule No. 1: Don’t be too eager. Reel in the big fish one step at a time.

Because he’d been too busy trying to hit on Fu Duqiu, he hadn’t slept a wink that whole class period. Now, just as he was about to stand up, a wave of dizziness washed over him, making him flop back down into his seat.

During the break, Xu Jianian walked over and sat down next to Peng Yan. Looking at Duan Wei with concern, she said, “Why do you look so pale?”

In truth, she didn’t even need to say it—Duan Wei had already felt his body acting strangely. He’d been tired recently, constantly sleepy, and even after sleeping, his energy never returned. The more he slept, the more exhausted he became.

“I don’t know,” Duan Wei shook his head. “Maybe I caught a cold.”

After a pause, he said to Xu Jianian, “Did you eat matcha cake? Smells so good.”

“What?” Xu Jianian blinked, stunned. She frowned, looked herself over, and said hesitantly, “That’s… my pheromone scent.”

Duan Wei didn’t get what she meant. “Well, it’s pretty strong.”

At that moment, Peng Yan, sitting beside them, turned his head and said to Duan Wei, “Bro Duan, actually I’ve been meaning to ask—when you smelled pheromones in the bathroom before, was that mine?”

“Yeah,” Duan Wei paused, recalling the faint whiff he’d caught back then. “Your heat scent was too strong, I just picked up a little of it.”

“That’s not right,” Xu Jianian frowned. “By logic, a Ba shouldn’t be able to smell anything.”

Peng Yan furrowed his brows, then suddenly said, “Could it be… you’re about to differentiate?”

In this world, secondary differentiation existed. Most people went through it around seventeen or eighteen, though it varied. Some only differentiated once in their whole life.

Hearing this, Duan Wei’s lethargy disappeared instantly. He perked up, excited: “Seriously? I’m gonna become an Alpha?”

There’s luck like this in the world?

He’d read through the whole original novel. The original Duan Wei, despite his high combat prowess, was just an ordinary Ba from start to finish. Differentiation wasn’t the biggest deal in the world, but it wasn’t trivial either.

But thinking about it—since Fu Duqiu had shown up, the main plotline had been going off-course anyway. Maybe differentiating was possible too.

The idea alone had Duan Wei, himself a Beta even in real life, buzzing with excitement.

If he really became an Alpha, what would that feel like?

His imagination spun further and further—he even started deciding what his pheromone scent would be. He didn’t notice in the slightest the looks Peng Yan and Xu Jianian were exchanging beside him.

They watched Duan Wei, half in a daze and grinning to himself, opened their mouths… but in the end, kept their thoughts unsaid.