Xia Yu stared at the person who had suddenly appeared under the basketball hoop, then glanced at the empty spot beside him. He looked utterly baffled.
When had Qin Han moved over there?? He remembered that just a few seconds ago, Qin Han had still been right next to him! And that ball earlier didn’t seem like something one could catch with a single hand!
Zhang Chengrui and the others quickly gathered around Xie Ling. Xia Yu and the other Omegas wanted to rush over too, but Xiao Yanfei held them back.
Qin Han casually tossed the ball toward an empty spot on the court. He eyed the human wall surrounding Xie Ling and spoke up. “Mind making way?”
His voice sounded no different from usual at first glance, yet it made all those Alphas who had been strutting their stuff on the court moments ago freeze up stiff.
The group instinctively stepped back.
Qin Han crouched down beside Xie Ling.
Zhang Chengrui’s heart pounded with dread, his nerves on edge. “Xiao Ge, is it really okay to just leave Ling Bro—who’s in who-knows-what shape—with Qin God like this?”
Xiao Yanfei frowned. “Then why don’t you go?”
Zhang Chengrui paused, glancing at Qin Han’s back. It was handsome and striking, but for some reason, it scared him. So he strategically abandoned his Ling Bro. “I think as long as we’re watching from here, nothing bad will happen.”
Xiao Yanfei said nothing. He had stepped aside earlier for two reasons. First, Xie Ling’s condition reminded him of that time during their scheduled fight when Xie Ling had suddenly passed out. Qin Han had taken him to the hospital back then, so he probably knew something about it. Second…
Zhang Chengrui’s beastly instincts were spot on. Qin Han was scary.
Xiao Yanfei hadn’t sensed any pheromones from Qin Han, but that simple line—”Mind making way?”—carried an inexplicable pressure. It was as if he were annoyed that they were in the way.
Xiao Yanfei pondered this thoughtfully.
Only when Qin Han crouched beside Xie Ling did he realize that Xie Ling was sweating even more than he’d imagined, his face deathly pale.
“Again…” Qin Han started speaking, then realized his voice wasn’t right. He paused for two seconds, adjusting back to his normal tone and pace. “Anemia again?”
If Xie Ling’s head had been clear, he would have noticed that Qin Han’s voice was still off. But right now, he had no energy to spare for that.
His body ached and felt awful all over.
If only there weren’t so many people watching. He just wanted to lie right down. A soft, fluffy cushion would make it even better.
As he thought that, what seemed to be a cushion-shaped object leaned in on its own.
It wasn’t particularly soft or fluffy. It was hard and hot.
Xie Ling’s back pressed against Qin Han’s chest, and Qin Han supported his elbow. The young man’s slightly subdued voice whispered right by his ear. “Can you stand?”
Xie Ling didn’t reply. He shook off Qin Han’s hand and tried to stand on his own. He barely moved when a wave of weakness dragged his knees back down.
Sweat beaded on his pale forehead from the pain.
Qin Han’s gaze darkened, his fingers trembling faintly behind his back.
He desperately wanted to just haul the guy up from the ground, but he knew he couldn’t. He couldn’t let Xie Ling sense even a hint of coercion from him, even if that coercion was meant to help.
Their relationship was far too delicate for that.
“You can order me to help you up. Let them all hear it.”
Xie Ling blinked in confusion. “What?”
“I know you’re tough enough to stand on your own.” Qin Han felt irritated inside but kept his patience. “But I want you to boss me around. Can you do that?”
???
Qin Han’s sudden appearance to block that ball for him had already been weird enough. Now this? Xie Ling was starting to think Qin Han had been body-snatched.
Xie Ling shot him a look that said, Are you trying to mess with me?
Qin Han knew exactly what he was thinking. “I don’t mean anything else by it. I was just standing outside for a bit earlier and saw too many people lining up to wait on you hand and foot. I want to hold onto this spot.”
So that’s what this was about. Fighting for a chance to serve him food.
Who knew Qin Han would ever stoop to this.
For a split second, Xie Ling even felt like his body wasn’t hurting as much. Of course, that was just an illusion.
He probably couldn’t stand on his own after all.
But doing exactly as Qin Han said felt a little…
“Forget it. I’m not doing something so childish and over-the-top.” Xie Ling grabbed Qin Han’s hand. “Well then…”
Before he could finish, Qin Han yanked him to his feet. Qin Han’s hand lingered on Xie Ling’s waist for two seconds before sliding up to steady his shoulder.
The muscles on the young man’s shoulder were evenly toned and soft. But as an Alpha, his build seemed slimmer and more delicate than Qin Han had expected.
Xie Ling glanced at the hand on his shoulder. “Next time you can’t catch a ball, don’t push yourself. Look at your hand shaking.”
“There won’t be a next time.” Qin Han’s voice seemed even lower than before.
Xie Ling didn’t notice. Instead, he perked up like a smug little cat with its tail held high. “True, a pro like me would never fail in the exact same way twice… Hiss—”
The pain flared up again.
Qin Han wasted no more time. Supporting Xie Ling, he started heading for the medical office. Just then, an unfriendly voice rang out from behind them. “Match isn’t over, and you wanna bail? Trying to weasel out?”
It was Hedgehog Head. He didn’t know when he’d sidled up next to Zhou Haoxuan, whispering, “Brother Xuan, it was a real shame we didn’t smash him harder with that basketball just now.”
Zhou Haoxuan stayed silent. He wouldn’t admit that for a split second, he’d inexplicably wanted to block that ball for Xie Ling himself.
If he said it out loud, his little bros on the court would probably faint on the spot.
Hedgehog Head shot a look at the remaining Class 19 guys on the court. They immediately surrounded Qin Han and Xie Ling.
Xie Ling cracked up at the sight. “No need for such a grand send-off. Sure, your noob asses bored your old man here into a hypertensive episode, but being weak isn’t your fault… Hiss—”
“Can’t even speak straight and you’re still acting tough.” Hedgehog Head stepped forward with a sneer at Xie Ling. “You said it yourself, Xie Ling—if we block even one ball, you start waiting tables for us in the cafeteria tomorrow. How about it? Wanna run down the menu of what you’ll be serving us?”
Zhang Chengrui: “Bullshit! Ling Bro’s just not feeling well. With your noob skills from before, you think you could actually defend against him?”
“Not feeling well? You’re always ‘not feeling well.’ And you call yourself a Strong Alpha? What, did you go through secondary differentiation into an Omega like Gu Ran? How about I take a whiff of your—”
Halfway through his words, a chilling, oppressive sensation surged from Hedgehog Head’s soles straight to the top of his head.
He shuddered violently and instinctively looked toward Qin Han.
That day when Qin Han had disciplined Zhou Haoxuan and another guy, Hedgehog Head hadn’t been there. He’d been out of school—and out of the country on vacation with his nouveau riche dad—until today. So while he knew some guy named Qin Han had made their boss eat dirt, he’d never actually seen what he looked like.
“Omega classmates, please use some barrier agent.” Qin Han suddenly addressed the onlookers at the edge of the court.
He then took two steps back, helping Xie Ling sit under the nearby basketball hoop.
Xie Ling: “You…”
“Wait here for me a bit.” Qin Han gave him a gentle smile.
The moment he stood, his expression flipped.
Hedgehog Head’s instincts screamed that something was wrong, but with so many people watching, he forced himself to look cocky as hell. “What, you gonna…”
“Shut it, shut it.” Fatty came up from behind and elbowed Hedgehog Head, then showed him the basketball he’d picked up from the sidelines.
It was the one Qin Han had intercepted and tossed away. The ball had gone flat, with five shallow punctures on it—made by Qin Han’s knuckles when he’d caught it.
“?” Hedgehog Head. “What the fuck???”
Fatty wiped the cold sweat beading on his forehead and whispered, “He’s the one whose pheromones pinned me and Brother Xuan down for a whole week that day…”
Before he could finish, every troublemaking Class 19 Alpha—including him and Hedgehog Head—went pale. They didn’t even have time to react before they all dropped to their knees at Qin Han’s feet.
It was like the deep, dark abyss of the ocean. Bitter seawater clogged every breath, and crushing pressure threatened to pulverize their organs.
Fatty curled into a ball on the ground and groaned inwardly.
What evil karma had he racked up? Qin Han’s pheromones felt way stronger than that day—almost violently destructive.
Hedgehog Head clutched at his uniform over his chest, gasping like a drowning man desperate for air.
Qin Han looked down at him, then crouched low. In a voice only they two could hear, he said, “You want to smell his pheromones?”
Hedgehog Head gaped in terror as Qin Han’s lips curved faintly. There was no mirth in his eyes—just cold cruelty.
“I haven’t even smelled them.” His voice was low and languid, like a devil’s whisper. “Are you worthy?”
