The Strongest Alpha is Overwhelmingly Omega After Rebirth - Chapter 14

“Ding-dong! Congratulations, Host, on completing the Advanced Mission. You have earned 60 Free Points and a random study drop: Fast Calculation Method.”

After a grueling week, the mission rewards finally arrived. Simultaneously, Lin Yan’s academic breakthrough sparked a fresh wave of heated discussion across the school. As he walked into the classroom, his classmates greeted him with smiles rather than fear; a few boys even cracked jokes with him.

Lin Yan sat down and pulled out his physics paper. The initial sections weren’t a problem, but he hit a wall with the final two major questions. After pondering them for ages without a lead, he called out internally, “System Teacher, come take a look at these two. They are a bit difficult.”

There was no response.

“System Master, are you there?”

Lately, the System Master seemed to be “on business trips” frequently. Lin Yan sometimes suspected he wasn’t the only one this system was serving, though it insisted he was the sole user.

Glancing at the empty seat beside him, Lin Yan kicked Jiang Xue’s chair in front of him. “Where is my seatmate?”

Jiang Xue turned around. “The class monitor went to the office to collect some papers.”

Lin Yan pursed his lips, looking slightly disgruntled that his seatmate hadn’t taken him along. Just as he was debating whether to wait for Ning Youji or go find him, the study representative happened to pass by.

Driven by a strong will to survive academically, Lin Yan grabbed whoever was near. “Study Rep, are you good at physics?”

The study representative, Qiao Xi, let out a small “ah.” Her eyelashes fluttered nervously, and she froze for a moment before following Lin Yan’s finger to the paper. After three seconds of silence, she whispered, “I think I can do it.”

Lin Yan pushed the paper toward her. “Come, come, explain this to me.”

Qiao Xi stared blankly at him. They had been in the same class in Grade 10 as well. Qiao Xi was at the top of the class and very pretty, but they usually had no reason to interact. However, back in the second half of Grade 10, a senior had cornered Qiao Xi at their classroom door. She had rejected him multiple times, but he refused to let her go. While the other students stayed silent to avoid trouble, a youth from the back of the room suddenly sent a chair flying, putting a decisive end to the senior’s harassment. That senior was never seen again.

“What is it?” Lin Yan asked when she didn’t move. “Unwilling to explain it to me?”

Qiao Xi snapped out of it and waved her hands frantically. “No, no! I… I was just thinking about how to solve it.”

Lin Yan pointed to a specific part. “Here, I do not quite understand this.”

Qiao Xi looked where he was pointing. The youth’s fingers were long and slender, with faint blue veins visible beneath his fair skin, and a light, clean fragrance wafted from him. Her face turned slightly red. At this age of first awakenings, she found herself liking someone.

She patiently finished the explanation. Lin Yan had an epiphany and thanked her sincerely. “Thanks! As expected of the Study Rep, that was so easy to understand. Unlike my seatmate…” He stopped himself before he could complain further, feeling it would be a bit unfair. He looked at the problem on his paper and nodded in self-approval.

Tucking the paper away, Lin Yan looked up at Qiao Xi. “I will buy you milk tea some other day.”

Qiao Xi blushed and lowered her head. “No… it is okay.”

“Quite generous, are we?”

Ning Youji’s voice came from behind. Lin Yan turned to see his eyes curving like crescent moons, revealing a hint of his canine teeth.

“Why did you not make a sound when you came back?” Lin Yan thought to himself that it was a good thing he hadn’t finished that complaint.

Seeing her job was done, Qiao Xi turned and hurried back to her seat. Lin Yan called out after her, “Rep, I really mean it! I will get you that milk tea soon!”

Ning Youji sat down and smoothed the curled edge of a paper. “From now on, it is one cup of milk tea per problem explained.”

“My treat! It has to be my treat for Brother Ning.” Lin Yan hurried to appease the “Great Buddha.” “Forget one cup per problem; I will buy out the whole milk tea shop for you.”

November approached, and the Winter Sports Meet was drawing near. Traditionally, the school held a basketball tournament just before the event. Lin Yan had not planned to participate, but Jiang Xue had dragged him into it. Basketball was usually the domain of Alphas and those aiming for sports colleges.

Today was the final match. Ning Youji stood on the corridor looking down at the playground as a few students walked past, chatting.

“It is the finals today! Class 7 against Class 5. Ji Qing from Class 5 is so cool—a top student and a sports genius!” “The school delinquent is also fire at basketball! He is insanely handsome!” “Class 5 sent the entire championship team from last year. Class 7 is going to have a hard time.” “Plus, someone from Class 7 went into their rut. I do not know if they can even play.” “I heard someone from Class 5 intentionally released pheromones in the restroom to trigger a Class 7 Alpha’s rut.”

Ning Youji gripped the railing, then turned and walked past them.

Class 7 had very few basketball players to begin with. Finding a five-man team was already hard, and now they were down one player.

“Brother Lin, what do we do now?” Han An, the sports representative, was anxious. “The game starts in ten minutes, and we are still missing a person.”

“Damn those bastards from Class 5.” Jiang Xue was furious, knowing the inside story. “To use underhanded tactics… they really think we are pushovers.”

Lin Yan glanced at him. “Save the talk for later. Right now, we need a substitute.”

Just then, Lin Yan looked up and saw a youth walking slowly down from the teaching building. The boy wore a white school uniform, his legs were long and straight, and the tall trees by the playground shed falling leaves in the breeze. Ning Youji’s cold, ascetic look made him look exactly like a male lead from a campus novel—especially appearing in a moment of crisis.

A smile touched Lin Yan’s light brown eyes. “I found our man.”

The teammates looked at each other, and before they could process what he meant, Lin Yan had already pulled the person over. When they saw it was Ning Youji, everyone froze.

Someone dared to speak up. “Brother Lin, I know you trust God Ning, but he is a scholar. This sport… it might not be suitable.”

“Exactly,” another added. “Studying and sports are two different things. You really think God Ning is invincible?”

Jiang Xue, however, was beaming. “I was just about to suggest Brother Ning! We are definitely going to win now!” He remembered that half-court shot in the dark alley. That posture and focus were extraordinary. He patted his teammate’s shoulder. “If Brother Lin chose him, it cannot be wrong. Just play your hearts out.”

The others were still confused. No one had seen Ning Youji play basketball in a year and a half, and his Grade 10 physical scores were average.

Lin Yan smirked. “Just play as usual. Leave the rest to us.” He had total faith in the man who could sink a half-court shot.

The two went to the restroom to change into their jerseys. Lin Yan placed his school jacket on top of Ning Youji’s, their clothes overlapping.

Ning Youji glanced sideways. “So the ‘good thing’ you mentioned was dragging me into a basketball game.”

The autumn wind carried a chill. Lin Yan leaned in to appease him. “It is an emergency, Brother Ning. It is time to show off those hidden skills. It is no fun keeping them tucked away.” He then pointed to the Omega girls in skirts nearby. “Plus, there are pretty Omegas cheering for you. Is that not great?”

Ning Youji turned his dark eyes toward him, his smile fading. He reminded him, “You are also an Omega.”

“That… that does not stop me from appreciating beauty.” Lin Yan still had not gotten used to his identity.

Ning Youji licked the roof of his mouth, his expression unreadable. “Is that so?”

Once word spread that God Ning was playing, the crowd grew. Class 5 had a great lineup—all five were last year’s champions. Lin Yan felt a surge of adrenaline. From the start, he was heavily marked by the opponents. Just as he was debating whether to push through or risk a turnover, he saw a shadow in his peripheral vision.

With a clever feint, he bounced the ball off the ground, passing it perfectly to Ning Youji. Ning Youji drove toward the basket with such intensity that the Omega girls screamed. Ji Qing from Class 5 seemed to have expected him and moved to block.

Ning Youji dribbled, meeting Ji Qing’s eyes, and chuckled. “Sorry, you are guarding the wrong person.”

Almost as soon as he spoke, Ning Youji threw a high lob. A nearby youth accelerated suddenly, the sound of his sneakers screeching against the floor. He leaped into the air.

Slam dunk!

The crowd erupted. It was like a movie; that leap and dunk were incredibly cool. Class 7 was ecstatic. “Brother Lin is too good!” “As expected of our delinquent!”

The game continued. Having seen each other’s styles in the dark alley, Lin Yan and Ning Youji moved with perfect synergy. The score gap began to widen.

But the champions were not pushovers. The Class 5 small forward intercepted a ball and charged, but Lin Yan stayed glued to him. As the situation hit a stalemate, a shout came from behind. “Throw it up!”

Ji Qing made a move, seemingly trying to replicate Lin Yan’s dunk. But as his hand touched the ball, another hand appeared in front of him.

“Good vertical leap,” Lin Yan smirked, successfully blocking him. “Too bad it is a bit short compared to someone who climbs walls every day.”

He saw Ning Youji standing at the half-court line and smiled. With a swing of his arm, he threw a long-distance pass. The students were stunned; they never expected such a high, far pass.

Ning Youji caught the ball effortlessly; it was still warm from the other boy’s sweat. With a fadeaway jump, he flicked his wrist. The ball carved a long arc through the air. Everyone held their breath.

Swish!

A perfect “hollow” shot—it did not even touch the rim!

“Holy!” Jiang Xue yelled. “Another god-like three-pointer!”

Lin Yan walked over and bumped Ning Youji’s shoulder. “Nice shot.”

Ning Youji turned, lingering on Lin Yan’s face for a moment before naturally reaching out to rub his head. “Your dunk was very cool, too.”

Lin Yan froze as the boy walked away. After a moment, he instinctively touched the spot on his head where Ning Youji had patted him. Damn it! Is he treating me like a kid?!

By the final quarter, Class 7’s momentum was unstoppable. Lin Yan drove for a layup with Ning Youji’s coordination; Class 5 could not stop both of them.

“Time is almost up! Brother Lin, go!” Jiang Xue shouted.

Lin Yan jumped from where he stood and sank one last basket at the final second. The whistle blew. Class 7 had won.

Drenched in sweat and thirsty, Lin Yan saw Qiao Xi running toward him with a bottle of water. Just as he was about to take it, another bottle was thrust in front of him.

“You should not drink ice water right after intense exercise,” Ning Youji said, appearing beside him.

Qiao Xi realized her water was chilled and quickly withdrew her hand. “I am sorry, I… I forgot.”

“It is fine,” Lin Yan said, unscrewing the water from Ning Youji and gulping it down. He looked at Qiao Xi and added, “You should drink less ice water too; the weather is getting cold.”

“Changing clothes?” Ning Youji glanced at him, his voice flat. “Be careful, your Omega body might be weak.”

Lin Yan’s mouth twitched, and he crushed the bottle in his hand. “Which eye saw me being weak?”

As the two left, Qiao Xi watched them go, her palm feeling icy from the water bottle.

The restroom was empty. Ning Youji was washing his hands when he saw Lin Yan nearly trip through the mirror. He turned and caught him expertly.

“What is it?” Ning Youji frowned.

Lin Yan rubbed his head. “I just felt dizzy for a second.”

A faint scent seemed to drift out, vanishing instantly. Ning Youji, concerned, touched Lin Yan’s forehead. Feeling the cold fingers, Lin Yan looked up. “What are you doing?”

Ning Youji leaned in and sniffed his scent, then looked at him, his voice very low. “Besides dizziness, are you having any other reactions?”

Lin Yan rolled his eyes and bypassed him. “You are the one having reactions!”

When they stepped out, they ran right into the group from Class 5. Ji Qing stood at the front. Lin Yan had noticed earlier that Ji Qing was deliberately targeting Ning Youji during the game.

Ning Youji walked past with a blank expression, but Ji Qing suddenly called out his name: “Ning Youji.”

Ning Youji paused. Lin Yan noticed him narrow his eyes.

“Are you really being this heartless?” Ji Qing said out of nowhere. His almond eyes, usually harmless-looking, were now dark and terrifying. “You never expressed your stance; you just left without a word. What is the meaning of that?”

Ji Qing grew angrier, his gaze fixed on Ning Youji as if he wanted to swallow him whole. “Did you ever consider how sad he would be if you left like that?”

Ning Youji looked at Ji Qing for a long moment, said nothing, and then simply called Lin Yan’s name.

Lin Yan, who had been watching eagerly expecting a fight, was startled. “What is it?”

Ning Youji grabbed his wrist firmly. “We are leaving.”

Ji Qing narrowed his eyes at Lin Yan’s retreating back. Lin Yan’s wrist hurt from the grip. He looked up at Ning Youji’s expression and froze.

So, this is what it looks like when my seatmate gets angry, he thought. It is so damn quiet. And it hurts like hell.