He is not my Alpha! - Chapter 16
“The most exciting moment has arrived! The Best Creative Award for this school anniversary celebration goes to—Class 1 of Grade 11 with $The Lotus Reflecting Red!”
As soon as the broadcast announcement finished, the cheers from the class seemed to go through the roof. The girls who danced applauded each other, and the boys eagerly scrambled to receive the award.
The entire hallway and teaching building were filled with cheers.
Li Jiang was the most excited, practically wanting to stand on his desk to celebrate. He kept saying to Ji Yifei, “Holy crap, Ji Yifei, you’re awesome too!!! I’m telling you, you absolutely deserve credit for this award!”
He then rushed over to Chen Ken and patted him.
“Class Monitor, what are you spacing out for! Hurry to the broadcasting room and get the award!”
Chen Ken was hunched over his desk writing something. Startled by Li Jiang’s approaching footsteps, he abruptly stood up and quickly closed his notebook.
Li Jiang was surprised by the intense reaction.
Chen Ken stammered, “Oh, oh,” twice, quickly put his things into his desk, and hurried off to receive the award.
But as he reached the door, he inexplicably turned his head, and his eyes met Ji Yifei’s.
Ji Yifei exchanged a silent look with him, got up, and walked toward him, but Chen Ken waved his hand, indicating that everything was fine.
Ji Yifei sat back down. Shang Yan asked him, “What’s wrong?”
Ji Yifei shook his head and replied, “Nothing.”
A moment later, Han Dongjun walked over and knocked on Ji Yifei’s desk. Ji Yifei looked up at him and asked, “What is it?”
He noticed that Han Dongjun’s expression was off.
Han Dongjun waved his hand, gesturing for him to come outside. Ji Yifei stood up and walked toward the door with him.
The previously bustling corridor had become quiet. Many homeroom teachers had arrived, and students had returned to their classrooms.
Han Dongjun led him all the way to the stairwell before stopping. Ji Yifei felt like he was becoming immune to stairwells.
“What is it?” Ji Yifei asked. Han Dongjun had been silent the whole way, which gave Ji Yifei an inexplicable feeling of unease.
Han Dongjun glanced at him, assumed his classic pose—hands in his pockets—and looked at Ji Yifei, asking, “Are you hiding something from me?”
Ji Yifei was stunned and replied, “No, we grew up together. Is there anything about me you don’t know?” As he spoke, his hand subconsciously reached for the back of his neck.
Han Dongjun scanned the area, confirmed they were alone, and moved closer, asking, “Tell me honestly, during the first semester of Grade 9, when I was away for tutoring, did you do something?”
Ji Yifei lowered the hand resting on his neck and stood straighter. The expression on his face changed slightly.
His voice became much smaller, even trembling slightly. He asked, “What… what do you mean?”
Seeing his expression, Han Dongjun confirmed his suspicion. He pulled Ji Yifei further down the stairs, took his phone out of his pocket, and showed Ji Yifei a photo.
The photo’s angle was blurry, and it was obvious that it had been taken from a great distance and heavily zoomed in.
The person in the photo was squatting by the roadside, sporting pink hair, wearing a black t-shirt, and looking down at a cell phone.
The moment Ji Yifei saw that pink hair, his heart trembled violently. He felt as if he was nailed to the spot, unable to move at all.
He tried to speak again, but his voice became hoarse, and no sound came out of his mouth.
He stood there with his mouth open for a long time. Han Dongjun held the photo up in front of him, motionless, just like him.
Ji Yifei wanted to argue or casually dismiss it, but in the end, he said nothing. He felt the person in the photo was too glaring.
He finally just lowered his head, unwilling to face the picture anymore.
He thought those things were in the past, that the photos and memories should be permanently sealed, but facts proved that the truth always comes out.
The two didn’t speak for a long time.
Until Han Dongjun’s phone vibrated. He put the phone away and glanced at it, finding a text message from Shang Yan.
The message read: Come back quickly. The homeroom teacher is here.
He turned off his phone and put it in his pocket. Ji Yifei only lifted his head when he heard the click of the phone closing, meeting Han Dongjun’s eyes again.
Han Dongjun spoke, “I need to know the whole story by tomorrow morning.”
He looked at the person in front of him, who opened his mouth again but finally managed to say only one word, “Okay.”
Han Dongjun told him the content of the message, and the two walked back to the classroom.
Before entering the class, they saw a boy standing by the door, dressed entirely in black, wearing a backpack, and standing with one hand in his pocket.
Ji Yifei and Han Dongjun walked closer. The boy glanced at them, stepped aside, and gestured for them to enter.
This boy is definitely over 185 cm tall. This was Ji Yifei and Han Dongjun’s first impression of him.
This person made both of them inexplicably not want to look at him. They felt something strange when they met his eyes.
Ji Yifei was certain he was an Alpha.
The two shouted, “May we report in,” at the door. When they opened the door and walked in, they noticed that everyone in the class was staring at them.
Yang Jingfei was the first to speak, “Teacher, these two look familiar. They shouldn’t be new students, right?”
This was followed by a burst of laughter.
He Jing glanced down at the class, gesturing for the two “old students” at the door to return to their seats.
As soon as Ji Yifei sat down, Li Jiang behind him teased, “I didn’t think our School Bully Ji would not only cross-dress but also like to pretend to be a new student.”
His remark made Ji Yifei smile slightly, and he turned around and gave him a “civilized” word in return.
He Jing, interrupted by the two who had just entered, coughed twice, and the class quieted down again. The person who walked in this time was the real new student.
The class fell silent when this person entered. He exuded a cold, ascetic aura. He stood a full head taller than He Jing. His sharp features gave people an inexplicable sense of unease.
Ji Yifei felt like he was constantly frowning.
A moment later, a round of applause broke out in the crowd, followed by group applause and continuous discussion.
Everyone was discussing something below. Li Jiang whispered behind them, “That is definitely an Alpha, no doubt about it.”
As soon as he said this, He Jing motioned for everyone to quiet down. The person on stage spoke, his voice sounding unfamiliar, “My name is Wei Zhiheng.”
He paused after saying this, then spoke again, “I am an Alpha.”
Everyone introduced themselves by including their secondary gender.
There was another round of wild applause from below the stage.
He Jing pointed him to the back row, saying it was due to his height.
The students in the front all followed her hand and turned their heads, noticing only one seat left, next to the person in the corner named Wen Xixin.
Li Jiang took a deep breath and exclaimed, “Is Wen Xixin going to be devoured alive by the new classmate…”
His remark wasn’t very loud, but it was just audible to Wei Zhiheng as he walked down the stage. As he passed Li Jiang, he said, “I’m not interested in eating people.”
…
Li Jiang’s face visibly turned pale. He turned to look at Zhou Tian, who rolled his eyes and sighed.
Shang Yan also sighed and said, “My condolences.”
The whole class watched Wei Zhiheng sit down, taking off his jacket and backpack and hanging them on the chair.
Wen Xixin next to him had been watching his movements. After he was fully settled, Wen Xixin said something.
Ji Yifei and the others were too far away, and Wen Xixin’s voice was too soft; no one heard what he said.
However, they saw Wen Xixin smile.
Then there was a collective “Huh?” from the students in the back row.
The classroom instantly erupted in chatter again. A group of people looked left and right, asking what was said. The person in the back row shouted out loudly, “They know each other!”
When he said this, the class went wild again.
“Holy cow, Wen Xixin actually smiled! Wow, do you know what this means!!!”
“Seriously? These two don’t even look like they’re from the same dimension, but they know each other? Is this a cross-dimensional link?”
He Jing, standing on the stage, clapped the podium. Everyone straightened up and sat properly.
“Alright, alright, stop discussing. If you’re really curious, go talk to the new student after class.”
She paused, shot a stern look at those still whispering, and spoke again, “Look carefully at the calendar, Class 1 students. What day is coming up?”
The people below answered in unison, “Monthly Exam—”
“It’s good that you know. Don’t forget what class you’re in. We still have the old rule: anyone whose scores fluctuate too much will be moved down. I don’t want to meet again in a week and find you’re all new classmates!”
“Yes—” the class replied. He Jing told everyone to start self-study, and then she walked out in her high heels.
The bell rang for class dismissal shortly after she left. This was the second-to-last evening study session. Everyone started discussing, and the topic never strayed far from the new student.
However, their subjects of discussion left the classroom with his deskmate immediately after class, not giving anyone a chance to ask questions.
“It’s over, it’s over. The new student has just arrived and I already confused him with my words. He must hate me now, ahhh.”
Li Jiang was fuming powerlessly at his seat, but he found that no one around him was paying attention.
Zhou Tian was looking down at his book. Shang Yan and Ji Yifei didn’t make any moves either.
“Seriously, you guys are too competitive. I’m practically fighting for my life, and you’re studying.” As he spoke, he reached out to snatch Zhou Tian’s pen.
“Zhou Tian, you too. I’m so miserable, and you won’t even show some compassion—”
Zhou Tian glared at him and said, “Do you need me to remind you that you’re third from the bottom in the whole class?”
At that, the sound behind them completely quieted.
Shang Yan was looking down at his test paper, his pen constantly marking key points, but his gaze kept shifting to the tip of the pen of the person next to him.
He felt that Ji Yifei’s entire demeanor had been off ever since he returned after being called away by Han Dongjun.
He wanted to ask but was afraid of meddling too much.
After much thought, he finally called Ji Yifei’s name.
Ji Yifei was thinking about how to explain things to Han Dongjun. Shang Yan’s call interrupted his thoughts. He turned his head and asked, “What is it?”
The person next to him asked, “What’s wrong… with you?”
Sure enough, my emotions were too obvious.
Ji Yifei quickly smiled, but in Shang Yan’s eyes, the expression was too fake.
He looked at Ji Yifei, who shook his head and replied, “What could be wrong with me… I just feel a bit nervous because the monthly exam is coming up, I guess.” He then gave an awkward laugh.
Not normal. Too abnormal.
Shang Yan said, “Oh.” Ji Yifei felt his heart sink with that sound.
But then Shang Yan added, “You can ask me if you have any problems. Don’t be nervous.” Then he added, “You’ll definitely do great.”
Ji Yifei felt his face getting a bit warm.
He responded with an “Mhm,” lowered his head, picked up his pen, and focused on the words under his hand, only to find his heart beating a little fast.
The back of his neck started to feel hot again.
He cursed his scent gland in his mind for being so weak.
Wen Xixin and Wei Zhiheng came out of the water fountain area together. Wen Xixin was walking a little faster. The person next to him took large steps, each one equaling his one and a half, so he had to speed up a bit.
“Um… how do you feel about the new school?” he asked, looking up.
He felt Wei Zhiheng was too tall, which meant he had to raise his voice every time he spoke to him while walking. He was afraid his voice wouldn’t reach his ears.
“It’s good,” Wei Zhiheng replied.
Wen Xixin sighed internally, swallowed, and continued, “Are you used to the classmates and teachers looking at you?”
After asking this, he felt a bit stupid. Who asks questions like that?
Sure enough, the person next to him chuckled coldly and replied, “It’s good.”
That cold chuckle translated in Wen Xixin’s mind to: How could you ask such a stupid question? Even if these people weren’t good, could I change schools?
He swallowed again, wanting to ask something else, but realized they had already reached the classroom.
Was the water fountain area this close to the class? He had only managed to ask two questions.
He followed the person in front of him back to his seat. He kept his head down the whole time. Only when he sat down did he realize something.
Was Wei Zhiheng walking so fast because he didn’t want to listen to me ask those stupid questions?
His heart felt even more anxious. He felt truly stupid.
He lowered his head, biting his lower lip, and unconsciously gripped his pen tightly. He desperately stared at the text on the desk, hoping it would quickly fill his mind so he wouldn’t think such random thoughts anymore.
He bit down harder and his grip on the pen became incorrect. The person next to him spoke, “Are you very bad at studying?”
“Huh?” His lower lip and the pen were released. He turned to look at the speaker and found the person next to him pointing at his right hand.
He realized his actions had led to a misunderstanding. He swallowed and explained, “No… it’s just… because this problem is a bit difficult.”
His voice was still very small, but since they were close, Wei Zhiheng heard the gist of it. He replied, “Oh,” and looked down.
Wen Xixin saw him writing the class and name in his new books.
He swallowed and asked, “Do you need me to help you write them?”
Wei Zhiheng wasn’t polite when he heard this. He placed the unfinished stack in the middle of their desks and said, “Thank you, cousin.”
This word “cousin” clearly touched Wen Xixin. He was visibly happier, swallowed, and replied, “You’re welcome.” He then carefully took a book, placed it on his desk, gently opened it, and meticulously wrote “Wei Zhiheng, Class 1 of Grade 11” on the first page.
His handwriting was beautiful, delicate, like the person himself.
Wei Zhiheng felt that he seemed to enjoy doing this. He simply put down his pen and watched him write. Watching him write his name, stroke by stroke, gave him an inexplicable sense of comfort.