ABMSI Chapter 27

Maybe it was because he’d really worn himself out, but Duan Wei slept deeply—so deeply it felt like he’d sunk into another world.
Half-asleep, he caught faint whiffs of that familiar white pine scent, curling softly at the edge of his senses. It made him sigh in contentment, eyes narrowing lazily as he unconsciously leaned closer.

He shifted a little, his head sliding lower and lower until it finally found something soft and comfortable to rest on. Only then did he stop moving, settling into stillness.

He didn’t know how long he’d slept before faint voices began brushing against his ears. Duan Wei frowned, stirring awake in a daze—and when his eyes fluttered open, the first thing he saw was Fu Duqiu’s face right in front of him.

He froze.
His entire body was leaning against Fu Duqiu’s chest, half sprawled over him like he belonged there. His hand was still gripping Fu Duqiu’s arm tightly, as if afraid he’d slip away.

Realizing he’d basically used Fu Duqiu as a pillow the whole way, Duan Wei bolted upright—only for both of their earphone cords, somehow tangled together, to yank taut. The motion tugged Fu Duqiu’s earphones right out.

Fu Duqiu calmly set the empty calcium milk bottle aside and flexed his arm, which had clearly been pinned for over an hour.
“If you hadn’t woken up now,” he said dryly, “I’d have had to amputate.”

“I…” Duan Wei blinked stupidly for several seconds—his brain always needed time to boot up after waking. He stared blankly at Fu Duqiu for a good while before pointing at himself in confusion.
“How did I end up sleeping on you?”

Fu Duqiu’s tone stayed light and indifferent.
“You leaned over on your own. I couldn’t get you off.”

“…Seriously?” Duan Wei frowned. How come he didn’t remember any of that??

But Fu Duqiu didn’t look like he was joking, so Duan Wei accepted it, embarrassed but resigned. He gave a sheepish smile, reached over, and started rubbing Fu Duqiu’s numb arm.
“Sorry, man. Your shoulder’s like a pillow—it was irresistible.”

Just as he said that, Peng Yan’s voice came from the front of the bus:
“Duan Bro, we’re here!”

Only then did Duan Wei realize they’d already arrived. Outside the window, students were gathering on the pavement. This was Shunqing City’s largest amusement park. Glancing down, Duan Wei saw colorful billboards and a hotel designed like a traditional guesthouse.

He gave Fu Duqiu’s shoulder a few more friendly pats, slung on his backpack, and got off the bus.

Peng Yan, though, was looking at the two of them a little weirdly now—but Duan Wei, oblivious as ever, didn’t notice a thing. He hopped off the bus and landed on solid ground.

Old Qin stood at the front of the group, megaphone in hand, next to a tour guide.
“Line up like you do during morning drills!” he barked.

The students obeyed, forming rows with practiced ease. Duan Wei lazily stood in the very back, rubbing at his neck with a vague sense of discomfort. It felt… off.
He figured his heat period must be coming up soon.

“This afternoon, there’s no fixed schedule,” the tour guide announced once everyone quieted down. His Mandarin carried a regional accent.
“After choosing your rooms, you can move around freely, but don’t wander too far from the hotel. Four people per room. We recommend separating Alphas and Omegas if possible—but if the numbers don’t work out, pick roommates you know well to avoid… unnecessary incidents.”

At that, the bus erupted into lively chatter again. The students eagerly began forming groups. Peng Yan, who had brought alcohol and a deck of cards, teamed up with Duan Wei, and they soon added a Beta. That left one roommate slot open.

And then, unexpectedly, Fu Duqiu showed up.

From the start, everyone had wanted to room with Fu Duqiu. Despite his “don’t-talk-to-me” aura, he was the school heartthrob—having him as a roommate was practically a bragging right. So Duan Wei had never expected him to actually pick their group.

“You’re joining us?” he asked, surprised.

“Yeah.” Fu Duqiu nodded.

“Alright then, that’s all four of us,” Duan Wei said easily.

But Peng Yan quickly pulled him aside, whispering nervously, “Duan Bro, he’s an Alpha. You sure you’re okay with that?”

“You’re an Alpha too, aren’t you? What’s the problem?” Duan Wei said matter-of-factly. In fact, he was already thinking about how, with Fu Duqiu as his roommate, he might be able to invite Xu Jianian over to hang out and maybe… help the romance plot along.

“But…” Peng Yan hesitated. “Aren’t you afraid he’ll, uh, make a move on you?”

“What could he possibly do? You’ve been watching too many of those videos, haven’t you?” Duan Wei gave him a look of pure exasperation and said with full seriousness,
“Listen, there’s zero chance between me and him. Stop overthinking it.”

He had the script, after all. Even if he’d become an Omega now, the male lead and the side character were never going to happen.

Peng Yan opened his mouth, then shut it again, defeated.

The four of them officially formed a team and started choosing rooms. Duan Wei had expected a cutthroat battle for the best ones—but all the rooms turned out to be nearly identical. He picked one near the corridor, opened the door, and immediately flopped onto the tatami mat.

“Ahhh… heaven,” he groaned, staring up at the ceiling. Then he sat up, wandered to the window, and looked out.

Across the way were elegant traditional-style buildings with black roofs and white walls, misty and beautiful in the afternoon light. Peng Yan tossed his things down and pulled out his phone, already calling up friends for an evening drinking party.

Seeing that, Duan Wei went to fetch Xu Jianian. Lately, she’d been busier than usual—always fiddling with her tablet, smiling to herself like she’d just read a juicy secret.

“What are you looking at?” Duan Wei asked curiously, trying to peek.

Xu Jianian quickly locked her screen and said, a bit flustered, “Nothing! Come on, let’s go!”

Still puzzled, Duan Wei let her push him along back to the room—only to find that in just a few minutes, it had already filled up with people.

The hotel had indoor arcade games and karaoke, and soon Class 8 had turned their suite into a mini party. They’d turned off most of the lights, leaving only a few warm yellow lamps glowing overhead. The table was covered in takeout boxes—and someone had even brought pot chicken from home.

Fu Duqiu sat by the window. When he saw Duan Wei come in, he patted the seat beside him, motioning for him to sit.

Naturally, Duan Wei dragged Xu Jianian along and plopped down next to him. Once they filled the gap, Class 8 formed a cozy circle around the room.

Peng Yan had just finished a round of Fight the Landlord with a few classmates. When he saw Duan Wei return, he immediately placed all the bottles of alcohol on the table and said excitedly, “Come on, come on, let’s play!”

“What are we playing?” Xu Jianian glanced at the playing cards on the table and said, “There aren’t enough cards for so many people to play.”

Peng Yan chuckled slyly and, like performing a magic trick, pulled out a dice from behind his back. “We’ll roll dice—highest number wins. Whoever loses has to either take a dare or drink.”

Duan Wei frowned at him. “Isn’t it usually Truth or Dare? What happened to the ‘truth’ part?”

After all, he’d seen in plenty of TV dramas that “truth” rounds were where sparks flew between the male and female leads—it was basically the ultimate plot accelerator for romance.

“Truth? Please. We all know each other too well already—hell, we even know what color each other’s underwear is,” Peng Yan slurred, clearly tipsy and speaking without filter.

Everyone around laughed but didn’t take his words seriously.

Fu Duqiu, sitting nearby, paused for a moment. In a rare quiet gap between the chatter, he turned his head slightly and asked Duan Wei in a low voice, “You guys are that close?”

Missing his chance to stir up romantic tension through the “truth” round, Duan Wei was still sulking about it. He shook his head. “Don’t listen to his nonsense. We just happened to see each other’s underwear back in middle school, that’s all.”

“…”
Under the dim, warm lighting, Fu Duqiu looked at him silently for a long moment before finally looking away.

Meanwhile, Xu Jianian, sitting nearby, secretly watched their interaction with a suppressed grin, barely holding back laughter.

After discussing the rules, they started playing—beginning with Peng Yan, going left in pairs. Losers would go into a “wheel match,” challenging the next person. Duan Wei’s turn was far down the line, so while waiting, he just propped his chin on his hand, sipping his drink and watching the chaos.

As the rounds went on, the dares got more and more ridiculous. Several Alphas, faces red like overripe pig livers, were soon pole-dancing around a coat rack in the middle of the room.
Duan Wei laughed so hard he could barely breathe, whipping out his phone to record every bit of their humiliation.

“Hahahahahahahaha—” He laughed till he was dizzy, even turning the clips into GIFs and spamming them everywhere, tears streaming down his face.

When it was finally his turn, the dice were placed in front of him. He decided that if he won, he’d make Fu Duqiu and Xu Jianian do something intimate as revenge for all the missed drama earlier.

He picked up the dice, thinking long and hard. Finally, an idea—stupid but reliable—popped into his head.

Acting on impulse, he handed the dice to Fu Duqiu first. Fu didn’t refuse, casually shook them back and forth beneath the lid, then lifted it.

“Holy crap—two ones, a four, and a six! Damn, even when the class genius rolls dice, he still gets higher than everyone else!” an Alpha joked.

Duan Wei frowned, pretending to be confident. “You’ve seen nothing yet. Watch and learn, I’ll show you what luck looks like!”

He picked up the dice. Not really knowing how to roll them properly, he just shook them wildly in every direction before slamming them down with a loud thunk and lifting the lid.

A two and a one.

The smallest possible total.

Peng Yan burst out laughing and gave him a thumbs-up. “Lucky King! Total Lucky King!”

“No way, rematch.” Duan Wei shoved the dice back at Fu Duqiu stubbornly.

There wasn’t actually a rule against re-rolling—but no one ever did, because if you won, why risk it again?

Still, Fu Duqiu looked at the tipsy Duan Wei leaning against the window, his voice soft and nasal from a lingering cold, his half-lidded eyes hazy. Even though he knew Duan Wei didn’t mean anything by it, there was something indulgent in his gaze as he said, “Okay, again.”

The classmates looked surprised, but nobody objected. Everyone watched intently as Fu Duqiu rolled again—this time, a five and a four.

Not bad—just a little lower.

Seeing him re-roll, Duan Wei perked up, picking up the dice and mumbling, “Heavenly spirits, lend me your power… six-six-six-six…”

He looked like a fortune-teller performing a ritual, and Fu Duqiu couldn’t help but laugh.

Duan Wei reverently placed the cup down and slowly lifted it. Under the warm yellow light, as expected—two ones.

“What the hell? How’s that possible?!” Duan Wei exclaimed, slurring his words. “Peng Yan, get away from me—you’re jinxing my rolls with your bad luck!”

“Duan-ge, I swear I’m already sitting miles away!” Peng Yan protested miserably.

Losing again, Duan Wei pouted, tossed the dice back at Fu Duqiu, and muttered, “Rematch!”

“Sure.” Fu Duqiu didn’t seem to mind at all—his patience almost unnaturally calm, unconcerned with winning or losing.

The two kept going back and forth, rolling again and again—four, five, six rounds in. Around them, their classmates exchanged knowing glances, smirking silently. The air thickened—not with tension, but something far more charged.
Only Peng Yan was screaming internally: Can these two stop flirting for five seconds?!

Finally, after who knew how many rounds, Duan Wei managed to win.

Fu Duqiu set the dice aside, looking at Duan Wei’s flushed face and trembling lashes, the boy’s drunkenness softening all his edges. “I lost,” Fu Duqiu said lazily. “So? What do you want me to do?”

“You lost, yeah,” Duan Wei grinned, paused for a few seconds, then pointed at him and said what he’d been planning all along.
“I want you… to hug Xu Jianian.”

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Author’s note:
Xiao Duan, you’re in danger. ⚠️