When an Alpha is Marked by One of His Own Kind

Chapter 16

Shen Qiao was rendered momentarily speechless by Lu Zhe's seemingly genuine display of deep emotion. He took a moment to look the man up and down, wondering what kind of tricks he had up his sleeve now.
Next to them, Big-Mouthed Zhou listened on with his big mouth hanging wide open.

"Lu... Captain Lu, what kind of behavior...?" Manager Zhou swept his incredulous gaze between Lu Zhe and Shen Qiao a few times, only to find that Shen Qiao looked completely baffled too.

Big-Mouthed Zhou suddenly felt like he'd been hit by a bolt of realization. He was sure he'd come to the right conclusion. He was sure he understood everything perfectly now. He walked up to Lu Zhe and lowered his voice, whispering conspiratorially-

"Lu, ah... is it, you know... is it that time of month for you?"

Lu Zhe was silent.

What fucking time of month?

Before Lu Zhe could say anything, Big-Mouthed Zhou gave him a knowing look. He suppressed his voice to an even smaller whisper and put on the air of a trusted confidante. With his back to Shen Qiao, he added:

"I get it. I understand it all.

"The budding flowers of love can never bloom in the rift, and you spend all day with those insensitive alpha teammates of yours. When that time of month comes for an alpha like you, it's only natural for you to want to seek out a partner. Any partner. I completely understand-"

At that point, Big-Mouthed Zhou paused deliberately and smacked his lips. He kept his tone mild and low as he continued, "But even if you aren't picky, you have to respect the basic laws of nature. Wolfy is an alpha too, and you know how the old saying goes. Proud, strong alphas aren't sweet..."

The warm, tender feelings that had risen up within Lu Zhe as soon as he laid eyes on Shen Qiao almost evaporated under Big-Mouthed Zhou's cloud of absolute bullshit.

He couldn't resist quirking up the corners of his lips. Snidely, he retorted:

"How would you know whether he's sweet or not?"

Big-Mouthed Zhou was silent.

Fuck.

He took a deep breath and gave Lu Zhe a look. "Captain Lu, I'm trying to help you, out of the goodness of my heart. You know not to go overboard, right?"

Lu Zhe hummed lightly. "No need for that."

His tone was cool and dismissive as he continued, "As you can see, I'm currently feeling weak and vulnerable and close to tears. Would you believe that I'll cure your internet addiction again if you insist on saying some more?"

Hearing that thinly veiled threat, Big-Mouthed Zhou instantly thought back to a friendly match between their teammates. He'd just so happened to fill in for a team member who hadn't shown up. Lu Zhe had dominated the jungle in such a fearsome display of his prowess that...

Big-Mouthed Zhou hadn't logged into the game for a full week after that.

With that memory in mind, Manager Zhou turned and marched back into his office. Just before shutting the door, he called out loudly-

"There's a fine for offline PvP between teammates!

"You could even be suspended!"

Lu Zhe said nothing.

......

As soon as a certain nuisance took his leave, Lu Zhe couldn't help but look at Shen Qiao again. It was only then that he found the other party had already started to walk away, as though to return to the training room like nothing had happened.