ABMSI Chapter 20

Seeing Fu Duqiu rattle off that whole string of words without even pausing for breath, Duan Wei couldn’t help but marvel.
“Impressive. You came up with that on the spot today, huh?”

“…” Fu Duqiu shot him a glance, clearly holding something back. “Didn’t even need to think. Anyone could’ve figured it out—with their knees.”

Duan Wei: “…”

Class time had already started. When the group returned to the classroom, all eyes immediately turned toward them.
Old Qin stood on the podium, gave them a look, and said, “Come in.”

As soon as Duan Wei sat down, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.
Avoiding Fu Duqiu’s gaze, he took it out and saw a text flashing in the notification bar—it was from Peng Yan:
[Duan-ge, why aren’t you replying to my WeChat messages?!]

That reminded Duan Wei—he really hadn’t logged into his main account for quite a while.
So, hiding under the desk like a seasoned pro, he switched accounts.
Immediately, his phone went wild—messages flooding in like a dam had burst.

The vibrations went on for several minutes straight until, finally, Duan Wei’s trusty old Nokia crashed.

Cursing under his breath, he fiddled with it for quite a while before the screen finally came back to life.
Carefully—like he was handling some priceless heirloom—he opened WeChat, only to be greeted by nearly a hundred unread messages.

Most of them were from Peng Yan.
When he clicked in, his screen was filled with question marks and several memes of people being struck by lightning.

[Duan-ge, what’s going on between you and Fu Duqiu??????]

Just as he expected.
So he quickly typed back:
[After we ran off that day, I suddenly differentiated, so we went to the hospital together.]

[Then what’s with those two boxes of fruit?]

Duan Wei stared at the phone for a moment, thought it over, and decided it was best not to mention that Fu Duqiu had spent the night at his house.
He replied:
[My mom gave them to him—to thank him for his heroic act.]

The other end went silent for a bit before another message popped up:
[Thank god, thank god, thank god my Duan-ge hasn’t been defiled 555…]

Duan Wei: “…”

After a bit more nonsense chatting, Duan Wei left the conversation and noticed a few messages from Xu Jianian.

A lot had been happening lately, so his contact with Xu Jianian had been spotty.
As always, the messages were full of concern.
A warm feeling bloomed in his chest—Xu Jianian was such a good person.
How could the original story make her fall for someone like Fu Duqiu?

Completely blind.

[By the way, Xiao Wei, I just added you to a group.] Xu Jianian suddenly texted.

Before Duan Wei could even respond, his phone vibrated several times again.
A notification popped up—Group Name: No.1 High Omega Concentration Camp.

He hadn’t even had time to process that before the group chat exploded with images, almost freezing his ancient phone again.

[Newly crowned school heartthrob—today’s fresh pics!!]
[Aaaaahhh kisses, love you, sisters!!]
[I wanna know what his pheromones smell like…]
[AAAAAHHH must be intoxicating!!]

And all those pictures—every single one—were candid shots of Fu Duqiu taken at the school gate that morning.
Some from afar, some close-up, some crystal clear, others blurry.
In a few, Duan Wei—who had been standing right next to him at the time—had been edited out, leaving only Fu Duqiu shining alone in all his glory.

“…” Duan Wei’s gaze lingered on the photos, then drifted up to the group name.

He suddenly felt like he hadn’t entered a No.1 High Omega group chat…
but a Spider’s Den.

At that moment, Xu Jianian sent a message in the group:
[Brothers and sisters, we’ve got a newcomer!]

[Welcome, welcome!!]
[Newbie, post a selfie!!]
[Tell us what your pheromones smell like!!]

Holding his phone, Duan Wei didn’t know what on earth to say.
After typing for a while, he finally sent a polite message:
[I’m Duan Wei.]

The group went dead silent.

Then, in the blink of an eye, all those candid photos of Fu Duqiu that had been flooding the chat…
were frantically deleted, one after another.

[It wasn’t me who sent the photo, it was them! @xxx]

[Bullshit! You totally sent it! Don’t pin it on me!]

[I’m sorry, Duan-ge! Boss! No, no—Dad! I swear I didn’t mean to spread the school heartthrob’s pictures!]

[I didn’t sniff the school heartthrob’s pheromones! I’m not curious at all! Please spare me, Dad!]

“…”

Duan Wei stared blankly at his screen, completely baffled.

The original Duan Wei had always disliked seeing guys more handsome than him getting attention at school, so he assumed that’s why all these Omegas were suddenly panicking like their lives depended on it.

So, feeling magnanimous, he sent a comforting message:
[Don’t worry, I don’t mind.]

The little sending circle spun a few times before the message finally went through.
The group chat went dead silent for a long while.
Then a cautious new message popped up:
[So… should we continue?]

The words themselves looked neutral, but the nervous testing tone practically leapt off the screen.

Duan Wei had no idea why they needed his permission to post Fu Duqiu’s photos—but since this was a good chance to soften his bad-tempered reputation, he typed:
[Mm. (smile)]

After sending it, Duan Wei put his phone away, deciding he really needed to get his main phone back from Qiao Ying.
Otherwise, this fossilized Nokia would eventually die a martyr’s death.

—

The morning classes were as dull as ever.
With the monthly exams approaching, the entire class had entered the tense review week.

Old Qin, one of No.1 High’s newer teachers, treated this minor exam like it was the college entrance exam itself.
He even organized study groups and conducted daily recitation checks to make sure everyone performed well.

The whole class suddenly turned studious—and even Duan Wei, the king of “three days fishing, two days drying nets,” got dragged into serious study mode for once.

Because his group leader was Fu Duqiu.

That academic prodigy, who had only been in Class 8 for less than two weeks, had already become the darling of every subject teacher—a human Swiss army knife, deployed wherever brilliance was needed.

But amidst the monotony of study sessions, an unexpected piece of good news arrived.

“After the monthly exams next week, the school will organize a one-week winter camp,”
Old Qin announced, pushing his glasses up his nose.
“If you want to join, register with the class affair’s monitor soon.”

The classroom instantly erupted into chaos.

For most high school students, even watching the evening news was more fun than sitting through another self-study session—let alone a whole week dedicated to playing outside.
So, the moment Old Qin stepped out, half the class bolted from their seats, racing to sign up.

Naturally, Duan Wei was excited too—because the plot had finally reached a point he recognized.

This winter camp marked the turning point in the male and female leads’ romance in the original story.

The camp was set in a huge leisure park in Shunqing City—mountains, rivers, even a ski resort.
A perfect setup for the author’s maximum level of melodrama.

And, predictably, during a “solo mission,” the male and female leads got trapped together overnight in a hunting pit in the forest—
She tended to him tenderly all night, and their love finally started to bloom.

Thinking of that, Duan Wei couldn’t help sighing contentedly, almost seeing the scene replay in his head like a movie.

Just as he was lost in thought, a voice beside him suddenly broke the silence:

“What are you thinking about?”

Duan Wei jumped in his seat, his heart skipping a beat.
He looked at Fu Duqiu a bit guiltily. “Nothing.”

He coughed, glanced at the books on his desk, and then said, “Group leader, do you think I could move up a hundred ranks in this monthly exam?”

He’d been thinking about it all day.
Getting his phone back from Qiao Ying wouldn’t be easy—
but maybe if he brought home a good-looking report card, she’d show mercy and return it.

Sure, the college entrance exam was still a distant dream—but he hadn’t completely lost his academic foundation.
Improving his ranking by a hundred spots shouldn’t be impossible.

Fu Duqiu thought for a moment before replying, “Do you know a story?”

That caught Duan Wei’s curiosity. “What story?”

Fu Duqiu said calmly, “One day, Zhang San sued his wife in court, claiming she’d squandered all his family’s wealth—two houses, four gardens, eight maids, and six servants.”

Duan Wei’s eyes widened. “Damn, then she definitely deserved a divorce.”

“But the judge dismissed the case,” Fu Duqiu continued, glancing at him with a faint smile.
“Do you know why?”

Duan Wei answered without hesitation, “Why?”

“Because a few days earlier, Zhang San discovered his hen had laid an egg.
He started imagining—hens lay eggs, eggs hatch into hens—so he went out and bought several estates in anticipation of future wealth.
Then his wife broke the egg.”

Duan Wei fell silent, sensing something off.

“So,” Fu Duqiu went on lazily, eyes still on him, “all that so-called family fortune he talked about in court… was just his imagination.”
He paused, then added, “This story has another name: wishful thinking.”

Duan Wei: “…”

Several Omegas sitting in front couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

Fu Duqiu’s words brushed against Duan Wei’s ears like soft fur, tickling and infuriating him at once.
His face flushed red. He couldn’t think of a comeback, but he sure as hell didn’t want to stay there being stared at like that.

So he abruptly stood up, grabbed Peng Yan by the collar, and said,

“Xiao Yanzi, come with me to the snack shop.”

“What for? Class is about to start.” Peng Yan complained, but still followed.

They walked out together.
The whole way, Duan Wei said nothing—just bought a sausage at the shop and squatted by the door, biting into it gloomily.

Peng Yan watched him gnaw at the sausage and asked,

“What’s wrong, Duan-ge? Sulking out here won’t help. Listen to me—let’s go teach that guy a lesson!”

Duan Wei frowned slightly, shook his head, and held up the empty bamboo skewer.

“That won’t work.”

“Why not?” Peng Yan shrugged. “Find a quiet alley and beat him up good. Leave no survivors—”

Before he could finish, Duan Wei suddenly stood up with a grin and snapped the skewer in half.

“Let’s go. Back to class. I’m going to study!”