ABMSI Chapter 73
by Suxxi“Let’s go. Duan-ge will keep time for you.”
As soon as he said that, Duan Wei slung an arm around Peng Yan and walked past Fu Duqiu. When they brushed shoulders, he even shot Fu Duqiu a glare—on purpose, though he had no idea what, exactly, he was mad about. Fu Duqiu, of course, was just as confused. The whole group headed toward an open area.
The PE teacher stood to the side with a stopwatch. With college entrance exams coming up, training for a strong body was considered just as important as studying. The students lined up by student number next to the exercise mats, and since Peng Yan’s number was near the front, he naturally fell into the first group.
Looking around at the line of students, Peng Yan whispered while the teacher wasn’t paying attention, “Brother Duan, you know what to do.”
Duan Wei rolled his eyes. Oh, he knew exactly what Peng Yan meant. During group tests like this, the PE teacher had to focus on the stopwatch and couldn’t monitor everyone at once, so students usually paired up with someone they knew and just… reported whatever passing score they felt like later.
Duan Wei looked utterly speechless. He muttered quietly, “Come on, you’re an Alpha.”
“Alphas have weak moments too,” Peng Yan replied without even blinking. “Brother Duan, Brother Duan, Brother Duan…”
When a macho guy starts acting cute to your face, no one can resist it. Duan Wei shoved him away, annoyed, and reluctantly agreed: “Fine.”
The whistle blew. Peng Yan propped himself up and started doing push-ups, groaning with effort. Duan Wei counted beside him, though his mind slowly drifted away.
Why had he gotten so angry just now?
Now that he’d calmed down, Duan Wei felt his earlier reaction was pretty strange. He glanced to the side at Fu Duqiu—just in time to meet his eyes. Fu Duqiu was staring back, a thoughtful look in his gaze.
Nearby, a few Omegas continued to ask whether he needed someone to count for him. Fu Duqiu kept turning them down one by one, which only made Duan Wei remember the messages he’d seen on his phone earlier. He came to a very clear conclusion:
Fu Duqiu was a flirt.
Eating from the bowl while eyeing the pot.
Holding what’s in front of him while thinking about what’s on his phone.
Realizing this, Duan Wei felt enlightened, almost proud of himself—unlike those people fooled by Fu Duqiu’s looks. His eyes, clearly, could see through appearances to the truth.
After a while, the whistle sounded again. Duan Wei casually reported a slightly above-average number, and Peng Yan came over, asking, “Brother Duan, what was my actual score?”
Duan Wei hadn’t really been counting at all. He replied lazily, “I forgot.”
Peng Yan: “???”
Just as Duan Wei was about to leave, someone suddenly grabbed his right wrist. Fu Duqiu had appeared behind him at some point, sensing his mood was off. His voice was soft: “Won’t you count for me?”
“…Aren’t there plenty of people begging to count for you?” Duan Wei glanced at him. “Why do you need me?”
He meant it literally, sincerely. But anyone who heard that sentence could taste the faint vinegar in it. Even Peng Yan opened his mouth, speechless.
Fu Duqiu froze for a moment. After processing it, he suddenly laughed, like he’d discovered treasure. He asked quietly, “Are you jealous?”
“Jealous of your damn—” Duan Wei snapped instinctively.
Fu Duqiu: “Then you’d better ask my damn who.”
Duan Wei: “…”
The PE monitor called out student numbers in the distance, and it happened to be Fu Duqiu’s turn. He replied to the monitor, then turned to ask, “Really won’t help me?”
Duan Wei stared at him for a moment. After a long pause, he unexpectedly said, “Fine.”
Fu Duqiu immediately felt something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Not until the timer started did he realize just what Duan Wei was up to.
“1… 2… 3…” Duan Wei counted lazily, not even bothering to match the rhythm. His eyes watched Fu Duqiu, but the numbers coming out of his mouth were whatever he felt like saying.
Fu Duqiu found it hilarious. While doing push-ups, he laughed. “And you still say you’re not jealous?”
“29… 28… 26…” Duan Wei continued, ignoring him, the numbers getting lower and lower.
Fu Duqiu saw that he wasn’t responding and chuckled. He planted his hands more firmly on the ground, tightened his core, and sped up. Within moments, students around them began to notice, voices rising one after another:
“Damn, the school hunk is insane!”
“He’s gotta be close to a hundred.”
“Why is he so good at literally everything? Is his whole life just hacked?!”
With more and more people watching, Duan Wei had no choice but to actually count properly. A few minutes later, the whistle blew. Even with a couple minutes wasted joking at the start, Fu Duqiu’s score was still astonishing.
Reluctantly, Duan Wei went to report the number to the teacher. Even though he still had a weird fire simmering in his chest, he ended up reporting Fu Duqiu’s exact score anyway.
The number was absurd. If there were a push-up event at the sports festival, Duan Wei had no doubt Fu Duqiu would break a record.
Amid the gasps and chatter, Duan Wei turned around—only to see Fu Duqiu standing behind him with a half-smile. His forehead glistened with a light sheen of sweat from the workout, and the sunlight made it shine.
“What’s wrong with you?” Fu Duqiu asked softly, walking a few steps closer.
Of course Duan Wei wasn’t going to admit anything. First, it would totally get misunderstood. Second, his secret flirting account would be exposed. So he pretended nothing happened: “Nothing.”
He was terrible at hiding his emotions; it was like he’d tattooed I say the opposite of what I feel across his forehead. Seeing this, Fu Duqiu felt a warm tug in his chest. He didn’t call him out, simply asked, “What number did you report?”
“Ten.” Duan Wei tossed out a random number and tried to leave.
Fu Duqiu laughed, grabbed his wrist, then politely let go when Duan Wei stopped walking. “You really weren’t jealous?”
“Why would I be jealous of you?” Duan Wei looked genuinely baffled. “I was too lazy to count for you in the first place.”
“Let me selfishly guess why you’d be jealous,” Fu Duqiu said, pausing as if actually thinking. Finally he concluded, “Because you like me.”
“You’re not selfish,” Duan Wei shot back instantly. “You’re delusional.”
Seeing he’d calmed down, Fu Duqiu smiled lightly. “I didn’t agree to let them count for me.”
“And what does that have to do with me?” Duan Wei grumbled. Though he kept his head turned to the side, refusing to look at him, he wasn’t walking away anymore.
“Even if you haven’t agreed yet,” Fu Duqiu looked at him seriously, eyes clear and focused, “I won’t ask anyone else.”
At that, Duan Wei panicked a little. He couldn’t let this affect the guy’s judgment, so he quickly protested, “There’s no need. Whoever you like is your business, it has nothing to do with me.”
“Right,” Fu Duqiu nodded calmly. “I like you. So I’m not liking anyone else.”
Sure, it sounded great. Yet just earlier he’d been flirting on his phone with another girl.
Even though that “girl” was Duan Wei himself.
“You can like anyone you want,” Duan Wei said, indifferent. “Don’t limit your options because of me.”
To him, this was pure logic. Life is long—who knows who they’ll end up with? Dating should be about finding the best person. And he, in his mind, was full of flaws, definitely not the best choice.
But when the words reached Fu Duqiu’s ears, they twisted into something entirely different. His smile faded. His voice dropped, low and tight:
“So… you think I just can’t find anyone better right now, so I’m settling for you?”
“….” For once, Duan Wei choked. He wanted to say that wasn’t what he meant—but now that Fu Duqiu said it, he realized how wrong his wording had sounded.
He looked at Fu Duqiu’s expression, then quickly looked away.
Seeing he wasn’t answering, Fu Duqiu went on, “You really underestimate how much I feel for you.”
“…”
A breeze swept past them. Leaves rustled down from the trees lining the path, falling near the bulletin board of model students. A few students walked by, whispering when they saw the two of them standing there.
In the distance, the whistle blew again. Fu Duqiu finally tore his gaze away and said, “Come on, time to gather.”
Duan Wei wanted nothing more than to vanish on the spot. He nodded quickly and started walking. But after only a few steps, someone grabbed his hand again.
This time, the other person didn’t let go. He held tight, like it was something precious he was terrified of losing. Duan Wei’s fingers were cold from the wind, but the moment they touched Fu Duqiu’s palm, warmth spread through them, gently heating his whole hand.
“I won’t like anyone else,” Fu Duqiu said firmly.
Just one simple sentence—but it sent a tremor through the heart of someone who originally didn’t feel anything at all. Duan Wei opened his mouth, still insisting, “…You’re free to like whoever you want.”
“Yes. It’s my freedom,” Fu Duqiu replied without missing a beat. “So liking you and no one else—that’s my freedom.”
Duan Wei: “…”
Fine. He couldn’t win.
But this time, unlike the instinctive resistance from before, something was slightly different. The feeling rose and vanished so quickly he couldn’t even name it.
The afternoon classes passed. Duan Wei ate dinner with his friends, then returned to the classroom for evening study hall.
With exams approaching, evening self-study wasn’t the lazy, half-hearted mess it used to be. Everyone was genuinely focused—even the slacker Peng Yan was happily drowning in textbooks.
Class meant concentration, so Fu Duqiu didn’t bring up the incident from earlier. Duan Wei yawned his way through several test papers and was just about to take out his phone for a break when the screen lit up.
His mom’s number appeared.
He wisely held the phone a little farther from his ear after answering—only to hear her frantic shout:
“Duan Wei! Your dad’s been admitted to the hospital!”
Author’s note:
Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious.