Before the food even arrived, the group of leaders had already been fleeced out of over 100,000 Alliance Coins.
Mu Chenxing beamed from ear to ear and immediately had the cafeteria staff serve the dishes. With exaggerated seriousness, he explained that the budget had been tight, so the meal might not be too lavish today, and asked the leaders to bear with them.
The leaders hadn’t come for the food in the first place. They’d already been scalped at the start—how could they complain? Even if Mu Chenxing served them diet food today, they’d have to swallow it with a smile and praise it as thrifty and economical.
Luckily, Mu Chenxing wasn’t that stingy. There was fish and meat, veggies and staples, plus soup and dessert. It wasn’t extravagant, but from a student budget perspective, it was pretty decent.
During the meal, Mu Chenxing played host the whole time.
At the large round table for ten, nine leaders sat with him as the only student.
Of course, he knew when to quit while ahead. After raking in the donations, he instantly transformed into the sweet, soft little Omega. Once he’d cleaned them out, he handed the floor over to Zhang Yunli.
Zhang Yunli had years of workplace experience under his belt. He first apologized for the earlier strong-arm donation push, then offered tea in place of alcohol to make amends to the leaders.
The principal’s partner, a mid-level general’s partner, a top-tier expert in biological pheromones who had given up a high-salary, high-status job for family reasons to transfer to the Military Academy as a teacher—this heavyweight Association advisor was apologizing to them, and his mid-level general principal partner sat right beside him.
The couple had donated 20,000 in one go, while the others chipped in just a few thousand or ten thousand each. Who could stay mad?
At least, none of these leaders did.
Fortunately, Fu Mingyuan knew the score. He raised his cup and said, “I’ll set up another gathering later and treat you all to make up for it.”
That was code for giving them a chance to recoup their losses.
The leaders’ smiles widened as they repeatedly demurred, “No need,” and “You’re too kind.”
Mu Chenxing, mid-bite of meat, overheard and leaned toward Zhang Yunli. “Teacher…”
Zhang Yunli shot him a glare and whispered, “You little punk, at least give me a heads-up next time.”
No real blame there?
Mu Chenxing chuckled. “I was afraid if I tipped you off early, the principal wouldn’t show.”
He couldn’t vouch for the others, but he knew the principal couple had deep pockets, which was why he’d dared to play it this way.
A pair of chopsticks dropped some meat into his bowl.
Both teacher and student turned at the same time—one bewildered, the other disdainful.
“Ignore them,” Pei Yao praised from Mu Chenxing’s other side. “You did great.”
Mu Chenxing glanced at the meat in his bowl, taking two seconds to process before kicking Pei Yao under the table. On the surface, though, he smiled. “Thanks, Teacher. You’re too kind.”
Not a single person at the table was glancing over? Everyone here was sharp as a tack.
Pei Yao smiled back. “Not at all. You’re doing an excellent job as Association president. I really admire you.”
The chopsticks veered toward another dish.
Mu Chenxing went on high alert, quickly thanking him before burying his face in his bowl and turning toward Zhang Yunli.
Pei Yao smirked faintly and put the food in his own bowl instead.
Zhang Yunli glanced at him, then picked up his chopsticks to add some to Mu Chenxing’s bowl. Coolly, he said, “As Association president, there’s nothing wrong with pulling out all the stops to fundraise—you did great, and no one will fault you for it. I spoke up because our positions differ. I was just collateral damage.”
Mu Chenxing grinned, swallowing his food and flashing his teeth. “Teacher, you’re an Association advisor too.”
Zhang Yunli: “…”
He clamped another chopstickful into Mu Chenxing’s bowl. “Eat your food!!”
Mu Chenxing chuckled and kept eating.
On the other side, Pei Yao leaned in again now that they’d gone quiet. “I was the first to donate to your Association, setting an example for the others. Shouldn’t President Mu thank me?”
Mu Chenxing: “…”
Fake smile. “Thanks, Teacher. Our Association’s broke, so we can only offer commemorative coins in return. Hope you don’t mind.”
Pei Yao: “I don’t mind, but that was still 10,000…”
Mu Chenxing tensed. “Our Association doesn’t accept refunds.”
Pei Yao paused for two seconds, then laughed despite himself. “Relax, no refunds.”
Still smiling, he looked at Mu Chenxing. “I just mean your Association seems like it’ll go far, but I can’t support you anymore going forward.”
Mu Chenxing sensed a trap. Glancing at the other teachers who seemed oblivious, he replied cautiously, “What do you mean, Teacher Pei?”
Pei Yao grinned. “Nothing much. My little boyfriend’s ambitious with his career. I need to save up to support him, so I can’t keep backing your Association.”
Mu Chenxing: “…”
Who asked him?
Fake laugh. “Then you should work hard and make money, Teacher Pei.”
Pei Yao dropped the smile, feigning distress. “A guy on a fixed salary like me can’t work that hard… You think my little boyfriend will mind that I don’t earn enough?”
The leaders kept talking, but Mu Chenxing noticed everyone’s pace suddenly slow, their voices dropping.
Dry laugh. “Teacher Pei, you’re joking. Your boyfriend—”
He stalled.
They both knew exactly who this “little boyfriend” was. If he played along and said the boyfriend wouldn’t mind, then…
Pei Yao didn’t get the rest, leaning in with a smile. “Hm? What’s wrong with my boyfriend?”
Mu Chenxing forced a smile. “If the salary’s low, Teacher Pei, you could ask the leaders for a raise. If that doesn’t work, just switch boyfriends.”
Pei Yao: “No way, my little boyfriend—”
A hard kick landed on his shin under the table.
He chuckled lowly and backpedaled. “Fine, then. I’ll apply to the leaders for a raise—sigh, dating’s tough. Gotta give money and sweet-talk him.”
The table chatter halted awkwardly for two seconds.
Mu Chenxing felt every pore on his face scanned clean.
He couldn’t respond to that, nor ignore it, so he kicked under the table again.
“Teacher Pei,” Zhang Yunli turned back from chatting with Deputy Principal Li, his smile skin-deep. “My student’s only a freshman. Don’t share your messy personal life and corrupt the kid.”
Fu Mingyuan shot a cold glance over. “Teacher Pei, eternal bachelor—when did you get a boyfriend?”
Pei Yao raised a brow. “Look at you two. What’s wrong with me dating? I didn’t announce it to the world. I was just sharing with this student. What’s the harm?”
Zhang Yunli: “…Come on, share with me.”
He patted the rice-burying Mu Chenxing. “Switch seats.”
Seeing Pei Yao’s speechless look, Mu Chenxing held back a laugh, picked up his bowl, and stood. “Sure.”
Under the leaders’ watchful eyes, they swapped seats and tableware.
Zhang Yunli smiled at Pei Yao. “Go on, Teacher Pei. Share your love life with me.”
Pei Yao: “…”
Fu Mingyuan stretched over Mu Chenxing to clamp a bite for Zhang Yunli. “Teacher Pei, you share. My Yunli doesn’t need you serving him food.”
He smoothly added one to Mu Chenxing’s bowl too. “Neither does my student.”
Pei Yao: “…”
Mu Chenxing blinked, unable to hold back a laugh. Sensing the leaders’ subtle glances, he ducked his head and dug in—tons of dishes he’d long eyed but never tried. Today, he’d eat his fill.
With the little interlude over, the leaders picked up the conversation again, even diving into work talk.
Mu Chenxing ate while eavesdropping on their discussions—teaching topics, research projects, training regimens. He half-got it, half-didn’t, but stayed riveted.
Of course, it’d be perfect without Pei Yao staring.
But with Zhang Yunli blocking the way, Fu Mingyuan tossing him topics now and then, and the other leaders chiming in, Pei Yao had no shot at talking to him.
Free from schmoozing, Mu Chenxing focused on eating. By the third spin of the lazy Susan, he was stuffed and set down his chopsticks.
The leaders, busy networking, barely ate. Pei Yao hadn’t touched his food at all—Mu Chenxing glanced and saw his bowl nearly full.
Unbidden, he recalled their first meal together. Pei Yao hadn’t eaten a bite then either.
The leaders kept talking. He hesitated, leaned back, pulled up his Holo-Screen, and searched Alpha pheromone disorder sequelae, muting the volume—
“…Five Senses Disorder, varying in degree and scope by individual… Complex cases, with many conditions medicine hasn’t conquered or even discovered yet…”
“What’re you looking at?” Zhang Yunli turned suddenly.
Mu Chenxing angled the Holo-Screen over.
Zhang Yunli was speechless. He glanced at Pei Yao idly chatting with the others, then patted Mu Chenxing’s head. “Don’t overthink it.”
“Mm.”
The meal dragged over an hour. Fu Mingyuan stood first to excuse himself, and the others followed.
Mu Chenxing wasn’t letting them off. He cheekily herded them to a clear spot nearby, roping in all the Association members and those two tables of Alphas for a few big group photos.
Once the leaders left, the Alphas tried to bolt.
Mu Chenxing politely asked, “Mind if I post the group photo on the Campus Network? Don’t worry, it’ll just be official Association event pics.”
The Alphas didn’t fully trust him but couldn’t guess his angle, hesitating.
Mu Chenxing thumped his chest. “Relax—the group shot has the principal and all. No funny business.”
The Alphas exchanged looks.
Mu Chenxing: “Take your time deciding. First, help us dismantle the venue setup.”
He pointed around. “Don’t damage the signs or banners—they’re reusable. Balloons you can take for friends. Streamers we need back…”
The Alphas: “…”
Mu Chenxing: “What’re you standing around for? You gonna watch us Omegas do the heavy lifting? You’re taller, stronger—surely not daintier than us? Show off those muscles. If you can’t fight, at least flex for us.”
The Alphas: “…”
Someone muttered, “Fine, fine. We ate the food—might as well help.”
With the out given, everyone pitched in.
The garish venue decor vanished in no time.
Mu Chenxing signaled the Omegas to keep up the lavish praise nonstop:
“Your jumps are amazing—you nabbed the ceiling stuff.”
“Wow, you’re so strong—that’s heavy!”
“God, you’re fast. We’d be at it forever without you.”
…
Lavished with soft-spoken flattery from the little Omegas, the Alphas puffed up one by one. After dismantling, they even volunteered to haul everything to the Association Office.
The gathering wrapped up perfectly.
That night, before run time, the Association’s first conference photos hit the School Official Website and School Forum.
Per Mu Chenxing’s instructions, the attendee list, donation amounts—all attached.
Including every Alpha’s donation from earlier.
Plus a full breakdown of the Association’s expenses since inception.
After posting, he waited a bit. Seeing no replies or bumps, he shrugged it off, changed, and headed out to exercise.
The afternoon bustle had everyone wiped, so he canceled the Association’s daily run training for a rest. He didn’t slack, though—laced up his shoes for an hour’s jog to his meetup spot with Pei Yao, then pulled up his Holo-Screen to study while waiting.
Just past 9:15, Pei Yao hadn’t shown. Tong Xiao’s video call came first.
“Got chewed out?” Mu Chenxing puzzled. “Why?”
He shrunk the lesson slides, opened the School Forum, and found the post. “Who’s flaming us?”
In that hour, the dead post now sported a “hot” tag.
Mu Chenxing calmly opened it and scrolled—
“…Shit.” He swore, telling Tong Xiao, “Gimme a sec to check. I’ll call back.”
“What’s to check? The group’s in chaos! Get back here—we need to strategize!” Tong Xiao fumed.
Mu Chenxing: “…Got something going on—hold up, lemme send a message first.”
“Okay.”
Mu Chenxing killed the call and focused on the replies.
“What’s up?” A cool, refreshing scent brushed his brow, the man’s voice laced with amusement. “Your face is all scrunched up.”
Mu Chenxing: “…”
Without looking up, “Got a question for you.”
Pei Yao sat a few dozen centimeters away, casual. “Shoot.”
Mu Chenxing: “Are Alphas really that hard up finding partners?”
Pei Yao: “…Why do you say that?”
Mu Chenxing: “I see you’ve been single for decades. I’m just curious—or do you have some unspeakable flaw?”
Pei Yao: “……I only teased you a couple times at dinner. That’s not grounds for a personal attack, is it?”
