ABMSI Chapter 72

In just a few months it would be time for the college entrance exam. Suddenly, No 1 Highschool was drowning in tests big and small—piled thick like snowdrifts. Aside from one monthly exam last semester, Duan Wei had basically spent his time goofing off, and this abrupt plunge into “military-style learning” left him feeling like someone shoved him into an ice bath with no warning.

He did some mental math: with his current ability, helping Duan Wei get into a decent university shouldn’t be a problem. If he performed well, maybe he could even land a spot in a respectable tier-one school.

Maybe that was the biggest gift he could give the original owner.

He wasn’t sure why, but suddenly he wanted to do something for him. Maybe because he’d taken over his body. Or maybe because, in this identity, he’d been enjoying all the care and affection of friends and family—for free, like some cosmic freeloader.

Something he had never tasted in the real world before.

That thought made him pause. Pen in hand, he looked around the classroom at the faces he’d long grown familiar with.

Peng Yan, Xu Jianian…

And—

His gaze slid to the person beside him. The other boy was scribbling calculations on scratch paper, long thick lashes casting shadows across his face; even the dry scratch of his pen suddenly sounded pleasing.

And Fu Duqiu.

Just silently saying that name in his heart made him freeze for a second. He abruptly turned his eyes away and stared down at his test paper as if it held the secrets of immortality.

“What are you doing?” Fu Duqiu finally asked, unable to endure it. “You’re glaring at me, then glaring at the desk like it offended you.”

“…Nothing.” There was no universe in which he’d admit what was actually on his mind. Spinning his pen, he muttered, “It’s just a question I can’t solve.”

The second he said it, he regretted it. Sure enough, Fu Duqiu put his pen down. “Which one? Let me see.”

They used to do this all the time, but ever since the confession, Duan Wei had been deliberately keeping his distance. If he could handle something alone, he did. If he could avoid Fu Duqiu’s help, he refused it like expired food.

So he shook his head. “I’ll figure it out myself.”

“…” Fu Duqiu frowned a little. It wasn’t anger exactly, but it wasn’t sunshine either. His voice stayed calm—and even had a faint coaxing gentleness. “Didn’t we agree you wouldn’t avoid me?”

That shut Duan Wei up. He knew he was being ridiculous, but he still didn’t want to let Fu Duqiu “help him for no reason.” So he stiffened and bluffed, “Actually, I suddenly get it now.”

“Do you?” Fu Duqiu casually tapped a big question on the paper. “Then explain the method to find the coordinates of points A and B on this parabola.”

He might as well have hit him with a folding chair. The embarrassment was nuclear. Duan Wei exploded instantly. “Say it then, say it! Who do you think I am, huh?!”

He stared at the paper like he wanted to murder it. After a long tortured silence, Fu Duqiu asked softly, like coaxing a child, “Can you do it?”

Duan Wei surrendered. “…No.”

“Need my help?”

“…Yeah.” A real man knows when to bow his head.

Seeing him cave made Fu Duqiu feel instantly entertained—Duan Wei was just too easy to tease, too fun to rile up. So he cleared his throat and, with a half-laugh, said, “Then beg me.”

“???” Duan Wei’s temper hit the ceiling. He raised his pen like a dagger, practically threatening mutual destruction. “Teach me or not!”

It was a self-study period. Everyone was neck-deep in textbooks. The noise drew every eye in the room.

By the window, the two boys sat close enough that a single release of pheromones would have been enough to flatten the other. The superior Alpha raised both hands over his head in surrender, smiling, “Teach, teach, I’ll teach.”

He laughed softly afterward. He’d done it on purpose—prodding Duan Wei to push back so he wouldn’t feel awkward being helped.

And it worked. Now Duan Wei wasn’t embarrassed at all. He was just plotting how to take Fu Duqiu down a peg.

“I’ll accept any condition you give me.”

Fu Duqiu murmured meaningfully. Duan Wei paused, then obediently looked back at the paper. Fu Duqiu leaned in and began explaining.

Everyone around them mentally burped.
This dog food was too filling.

The bell rang soon after. Next class: PE. As brutal as the workloads were, No 1 Highschool was at least humane enough not to cancel their rare physical activity. The moment the bell rang, Class 8 charged out like horses tasting freedom.

They were doing athletic tests today, but since Duan Wei had just finished a heat period not long ago, the PE teacher excused him until next class. So he sat idly in the sports equipment room, staring through the window at the students outside.

The longer he stared, the more spaced-out he became.
Then suddenly he snapped awake—realizing he’d completely forgotten something.

He forgot—he was still “online dating” Fu Duqiu!

Realizing this, Duan Wei hurriedly grabbed his phone. They’d chatted on and off over the past few days, and using the persona of a junior girl, he’d already built up some “connection” with Fu Duqiu. If he kept pushing, maybe sparks would fly.

Whatever happens, step one: turn Fu Duqiu straight.

Act now, think later. He sent a message. The boys finished their fitness tests first, and sure enough, he saw Fu Duqiu pull out his phone, look at the screen, and start typing.

Duan Wei: [Good afternoon, senior]

Fu Duqiu: [Good afternoon.]

Polite. Standard. Exactly what he expected. If Fu Duqiu ever replied enthusiastically, that would be the real supernatural event. So he struck again:

Duan: [Are you taking the physical test?]

The reply came quickly:

Fu: [Yeah, how do you know?]

Oh, if only you knew. Duan Wei smirked, thought for a moment, and sent a message dripping with fake sweetness.

A few hundred meters away, Fu Duqiu’s phone buzzed. He opened it and saw:

Duan: [Because I’ve been secretly watching you~ hehe v (heart)(hug)]

Fu Duqiu hesitated, frowning slightly. Why was Duan Wei still texting him with this account? And saying stuff that could easily be misinterpreted? That really didn’t seem like something Duan Wei would do.

After analyzing deeply like the academic genius he was, Fu Duqiu reached one conclusion:

Duan Wei is too shy to confess.

Otherwise, why make up a fake identity to say these things—while knowing perfectly well Fu Duqiu knew who it was?

Warmth flooded through him like early spring sunlight soaking into his bones. He glanced toward the equipment room and caught Duan Wei peeking at him like a nosy little thief.

Duan Wei panicked, whipped up the nearest book to cover his face… and then realized the book was upside-down. Cue frantic flipping.

Awkward. Silly. Adorable.

Fu Duqiu finally looked away, thought for a moment, and sent a reply. A nearby Alpha waved him over for the next exercise.

Across the field, Duan Wei saw the new message. He froze, blinked, backed out of the chat, reopened it to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.

Then—

BANG!!!

He slammed the book down like a gavel. The booming sound echoed and several teachers gave him death glares. Embarrassed, he muttered apologies, sat back down, and opened his screen again.

Fu: [Then watch me do push-ups later.]

It was a simple sentence. But coming from stoic, expressionless Fu Duqiu, it hit differently.

Duan Wei stared at it.

What the hell was this?
He confessed to him—and now he’s flirting with some random “junior girl”??

Watch push-ups?
Is he planning to take off his jacket later too?
Show off muscles for “the junior”?!!

The more he thought, the more it spiraled. The more it spiraled, the angrier he got. This was supposed to be a breakthrough. A huge step forward. Instead a fireball ignited in his gut.

He didn’t reply. He snapped the phone shut and stuffed it into his pocket like it owed him money.

What was this?!
A playboy—right under his nose?!

He felt toyed with. Whether he pictured the lantern-festival Fu Duqiu confessing to him, or this current push-up-show-off Fu Duqiu, all he wanted to do was explode.

He glared across the field at Fu Duqiu preparing for push-ups, fuming like a kettle, then stormed out of the equipment room.

Peng Yan was nearby. “Hey, Duan-ge, can you count mine for me?”

“Go find someone else!”

Peng Yan stared, confused. What did he do to offend this ticking time bomb of a man?

But Duan Wei’s eyes were fixed ahead.

A group of Omegas had gathered around Fu Duqiu—since push-ups required someone to count next to the person doing them. Seeing Fu Duqiu standing alone, several Omegas voluntarily offered to count for him.

He was taller than them, so no matter his angle, Duan Wei could see everything. Fu Duqiu smiled politely and refused each one in turn. Then their eyes met across the field.

Fu Duqiu lifted a hand, gesturing he was coming over, and walked straight toward him.

“Can you count for me?”

Fu Duqiu was wearing a hoodie today, looking more like a lively teenager than his usual cold prince persona. But the more Duan Wei looked, the more irritated he felt.

Peng Yan blurted out, “He just refused me!”

Fu Duqiu turned his gaze to Duan Wei. And suddenly, Duan Wei smiled calmly, as if nothing had ever been wrong.

“Sure, I’ll help.”

Fu Duqiu smiled in return.

And then—
Duan Wei grabbed Peng Yan’s shoulder, shot Fu Duqiu a resentful look, and said:

“Come on, bro, I’ll count for you.”

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Author’s note:
Love makes people dramatic.