The Strongest Alpha is Overwhelmingly Omega After Rebirth - Chapter 26

The surroundings suddenly grew noisy, and Lin Yan slowly opened his eyes.

Ning Youji nudged his leg. “We are here.”

Lin Yan was still half-asleep, his voice thick with drowsiness. “Are we? That was fast.”

A four-hour journey felt fast only to Lin Yan. Seeing that he still was not getting up, Ning Youji playfully shook his leg again.

Lin Yan let out a comfortable hum and held up a single finger, smiling as he muttered, “One more time.”

Amused by Lin Yan’s request, a shallow smile spread across Ning Youji’s lips as he shook his leg twice more as requested.

Lin Yan laughed, sat up straight with satisfaction, and stretched his arms, finally feeling energized. Remembering something, he reached out and squeezed Ning Youji’s thigh. “Is it sore?”

“It is fine,” Ning Youji replied. It had been sore, but the shaking had helped.

The training location was a prestigious university in Nancheng, known as the “Temple of Top Scholars.” The training period was set for one month. Below, the accompanying female teacher was handing over the student count to the university staff.

As they got off the bus, the teacher walked over in her high heels. “Follow this teacher now,” she told them. “Life does not offer many opportunities like this. Since you have grasped it, cherish it well.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the students responded excitedly. This was a university many would fight tooth and nail to enter.

After the teacher left, the university staff member spoke. “I will have two seniors take the Grade 10 and 11 students to their classrooms. Grade 12 students, follow me.” The staff member was a woman who looked very authoritative. On someone else’s turf, everyone was quite obedient.

Entering the campus, Lin Yan could not help but look around. He thought to himself that the learning environment for top students was incredibly nice.

“Look,” Lin Yan said, tugging at Ning Youji’s sleeve. “This is our future university.”

Ning Youji seemed amused by his casual remark. “To get in here, you need to be in at least the top three of your entire grade.”

“Joke,” Lin Yan said confidently. “Do not forget I am the one who is going to surpass you.”

“Fine,” Ning Youji glanced at him meaningfully. “I will wait for you to surpass me.”

Lin Yan and the others were led to a large, spacious classroom reserved for Grade 11 intelligence training. Compared to their high school classrooms, it was on a completely different level.

Seeing the room empty, someone asked, “Senior, where is everyone?”

“Oh,” the senior replied. “They probably went to the main hall to watch the competition. The teacher just took the Grade 12 seniors there to compete.”

“Can we go watch?” someone asked excitedly.

“You can,” the senior said, pushing her glasses up her nose as she gave a friendly reminder. “But it is likely almost over. I thought it would be better to bring you to the classroom first so you can pick your seats. You can sit wherever you like; the teacher will not rearrange you for the next month. Not everyone gets an opportunity like this.”

Everyone was smart enough to understand. Almost everyone made a strategic choice, but Lin Yan casually wandered to the back row and took a window seat, just like back at school.

Just as he sat down, the chair next to him was pulled out. Lin Yan looked up, not at all surprised by who it was. “You came here in Grade 10, right? How was it? Were they as good as you?”

“I never came,” Ning Youji said dismissively. “It seemed pointless.”

Lin Yan rolled his eyes. This guy really knew how to say things that would offend people. But then again, a man at the top of the food chain would naturally find things boring. Still, he felt a sudden urge to strangle him.

Deciding to drop the subject before he actually acted on that urge, Lin Yan pulled out the advanced physics paper he had not finished the night before. There was one final problem he had not asked the system teacher about yet.

He turned to Ning Youji. “How do you calculate the last part of this question? You must have finished this paper, right? Let me see.”

“I did not bring it,” Ning Youji said, leaning closer to him. “Which question? Let me see.”

The distance between them naturally closed, and neither felt anything was out of the ordinary. The classroom was filled with Grade 11 students from their school.

Ji Qing sat in the same row, his gaze fixed on Ning Youji’s back as he frowned. It had been tolerable when they were not in the same class, but seeing this scene now caused a flicker of disgust to cross his eyes as he looked at Lin Yan. He stood up and walked out the back door.

A few girls in the front row could not sit still. They pulled out their phones and started taking photos in Lin Yan and Ning Youji’s direction. As students of the 36th century, they had to balance gossip with their studies.

Before coming to the training camp, the girls had already looked at the university’s online forum. One of the top-pinned posts was a beauty poll for the intelligence trainees. It seemed that whether one was a top student or a slacker, the obsession with looks remained the same.

Ning Youji was ranked first, followed by Gu Yu from the Nancheng Affiliated High School in second, and Ji Qing in third. Scrolling all the way down, no one saw the name of the High School Number 1 delinquent.

One girl said indignantly, “Is our boss not standing high enough? Why is he not on the ranking?”

“Maybe they only look at the school ranking list and left him out.”

They decided they had to get a photo and put him on the list. “Who just got a photo of him?” a girl asked.

“I did, but it does not even capture one-tenth of his beauty. Ning Youji’s back is too bright; he covers half of Lin Yan’s face! Ugh.”

The girls sighed. Hearing this, Qiao Xi stopped writing, hesitated for a moment, and then looked up. “I have a few photos of Lin Yan,” she whispered.

Everyone turned to look at Qiao Xi. They did not know she liked Lin Yan; they only knew she was pretty, sweet, and a great student—the “flower” of Grade 11.

Qiao Xi opened her phone and skillfully found a hidden album. She clicked a photo from their first year when Lin Yan was playing basketball. “Use this one,” she said, showing it to them. “This was from the second semester of Grade 10. My photography skills are not great, so this is all I have.”

The girls took the phone and were stunned! Then, they started squealing.

Lin Yan, disturbed in the back row, looked up. The girls quickly covered their mouths, their eyes full of stars. In the photo, the sunlight hit the side of Lin Yan’s face as he dunked the ball. His eyelashes cast a long, rebellious arc in the light, making him look exactly like a campus prince.

“Oh my god! This!” The girl holding the phone was speechless, her hands trembling.

“What kind of supreme beauty is this? Why are you only bringing out this treasure now?!”

Another girl asked from the depths of her soul, “Can I lick it?”

The others did not find it gross; instead, they looked like they were ready to try. Qiao Xi snatched her phone back. “It is not convenient.”

Ultimately, they uploaded the photo to the university forum. Not long after, the replies started rolling in.

1L: Is this junior also in the training camp? I am in love with his looks! 2L: Where is he? Where is he? I need to see him in person! 3L: Holy crap! What kind of god-tier beauty is at this training session?! 4L: Why is he not on the ranking? I am gathering people to vote right now! 9L: Is this not our school’s boss? Everyone, vote for Lin Yan!

Soon, a senior opened a separate thread to pull in votes. In just half an hour, Lin Yan’s rank jumped into the top five and was still climbing.

The two youths by the window in the back row had no idea what had happened in those thirty minutes. Lin Yan had finished a math paper and moved on to an advanced one, encountering a problem right away. He had already asked Ning Youji so many questions that anyone else would have been annoyed.

Lin Yan studied the question for a bit, then leaned over tentatively. “I hit another problem I do not understand. Brother Ning, what do you think I should do?”

Ning Youji’s pen paused, and the smile in his eyes deepened. “If you do not understand, move to the next one.”

“That is not the behavior of a good student,” Lin Yan said. Seeing that he was not coming over to explain, he felt uncertain. “I think I need the guidance of a teacher. What do you think?”

Ning Youji looked at him and unconsciously twisted his wrist. Lin Yan, sensing the signal, immediately and eagerly grabbed his wrist to massage it. Fearing Ning Youji would refuse, he steeled himself and went into “flattery mode.”

“Brother Ning is amazing! This is the third paper you have written, right? Look at me, I am only on my second and I am already stuck. A top scholar is a top scholar. My Brother Ning really is my Brother Ning.”

Ning Youji enjoyed the praise and moved his other hand. Lin Yan’s eye twitched as he ground his teeth. Good one, Ning Youji. Just you wait until you fall into my hands. I will make you pay back double!

After finishing the first hand, Lin Yan started on the other. He wore a fake smile. “Are you comfortable now?”

The curve of Ning Youji’s eyes deepened. “It is fine. You can use more pressure.”

“…” He is even being picky!

Lin Yan held back his irritation, but just as he was about to increase the pressure, voices came from the door. The students who had gone to watch the Grade 12 competition were back.

The entering students all glanced toward the back and whispered. Lin Yan looked at Ning Youji and leaned in suspiciously. “Are they looking at you?”

Ning Youji said nothing, his expression becoming more unreadable as the room filled up. Lin Yan realized he was still holding Ning Youji’s hand and tried to pull back, but Ning Youji flipped his hand and gripped Lin Yan’s instead.

Just as Lin Yan was about to question him, the whispering in the room suddenly intensified.

“God Gu Yu is here!” “God Ning and God Gu Yu are together again after a year!” “My god! I am actually in the same classroom as two legendary scholars!”

Ning Youji instinctively tightened his grip, causing Lin Yan to hiss. “Are you unhappy that people are calling you a legend?”

As the words left Lin Yan’s mouth, a youth walked toward them. He was tall and slender, and he leaned his hand naturally against their desk. The blue veins were visible through his fair skin. His eyes were the same color as Ning Youji’s, perhaps even darker. Below his right eye was a small mole, and his features were excessively delicate.

He wore the uniform of the Nancheng Affiliated High School with a white turtleneck sweater that covered his long neck. He had a cold aura, yet he gave off a non-aggressive feeling. The youth tapped his fingers on Ning Youji’s desk.

“Ning Youji, long time no see.”

His voice was clear and pleasant, and he dragged out the ending slightly, making it sound strangely comfortable, like a breeze brushing past the ear.

Lin Yan clearly felt Ning Youji’s mood change; the hand holding his was significantly stronger now. Lin Yan was puzzled, but looking at Ning Youji, he seemed to understand something and gently squeezed his hand back.

He looked up and casually scanned the youth in front of them. His voice was soft and even more nonchalant than usual, but it carried a sharp edge of provocation.

“Hey, classmate, you are blocking our light.”

His eyes were light in color, but at this moment, they gave off a particularly tense and dangerous feeling. “Also, the bell has already rung. Please follow classroom discipline and return to your seat.”

Lin Yan’s voice was neither loud nor soft, but the hostility in it was clear. The noisy classroom fell silent as everyone’s gaze moved between the three of them. It was the calm before a great drama.

Ning Youji’s lips curled up slightly, and his fingers tightened, holding Lin Yan’s hand even closer.