TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 92

After Xia Tong withdrew from the arena, he couldn’t regain his senses for a long time.

He felt like he had just played the villain.

The way he threatened others must have been really annoying… But for Zero, if he had to be the bad guy, then so be it! Zero had endured so much—so what if he got cursed out by the Saber-Tooth Tiger team? He didn’t care!

The cocoon pod’s hatch slowly lifted. Xia Tong pushed himself up from his seat and leaned his upper body out, only to discover that the other four pods had already opened. His teammates were all looking at him with teasing or half-smiling expressions.

“I…” Only then did Xia Tong suddenly realize that after teammates were eliminated, they wouldn’t automatically exit the arena. Instead, they would watch from a spectator’s perspective as he and the remaining opponents played it out—they just couldn’t interfere.

In other words… everything he had just done had been witnessed by his teammates in full detail.

“S-sorry!” Xia Tong’s face flushed bright red. He apologized in a fluster, helpless rush. “I made the decision to forfeit on my own. I didn’t show sportsmanship, and I even… even abused my authority for personal reasons… I’m sorry!!”

“Oh my, even ‘abused authority for personal gain’—looks like Xia Xiaotong has learned quite a few idioms lately.” Shi Ya waved a hand indifferently and chuckled. “It’s fine. You saw how Fire and Island played that garbage round just now. They clearly didn’t even want to win.”

“Hey, that’s nonsense! If I could win while lying down, I’d gladly take it!” Zhou Yanjun said shamelessly. “But compared to that, I’d much rather hear those Saber-Tooth Tiger guys kneel and apologize. Damn, that felt amazing! It had the vibe of them paying respects at grandpa’s grave!”

Shi Ya’s face filled with disgust. “…What kind of morbid metaphor is that?”

Bo Yu was even more concise: “The apology was well done.”

Only then did Xia Tong finally feel relieved. He thought that he truly hadn’t misplaced his trust—Polaris was a place full of humanity. No one treated victory, fame, or profit as absolute guiding values.

Thinking this, he turned with a smile to look at Lin Mingfei—only to discover that the alpha had, at some point, silently walked out of his pod and was already striding out of the training room without a word.

“Z—Zero!” Panic surged in Xia Tong’s heart. He had never seen Zero leave without saying anything like that. That back view clearly sent one signal—

He was angry.

Zero was angry because of what he had done.

It felt as if someone had suddenly pinched the very tip of his heart, breaking the skin—sharp pain piercing through. Terrified and at a loss, Xia Tong hurried out of his pod and chased after him. “Zero, wait for me!!!”

His legs were short; he had to jog the whole way to catch up to Lin Mingfei. Lin Mingfei walked abruptly and quickly, pushing the club door open and heading straight outside. Afraid Lin Mingfei would run somewhere he couldn’t find, Xia Tong rushed out after him.

A blast of cold wind swept over him at once, wrapping and piercing his whole body. The temperature difference between indoors and outdoors was shocking. He shivered violently, hugging his arms tightly. Even his speech faltered.

“Z-zero, you… you—achoo!”

Lin Mingfei finally stopped. Still facing away, his hands hanging at his sides slowly curled, then clenched into fists. At last, as if giving up, he turned back.

“Why did you come out? Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?!” He strode quickly toward Xia Tong, scolding loudly. He looked even angrier than before. “Go back inside, you hear me!”

At last, Xia Tong met his eyes. The little omega’s cheeks were red from the cold. He trembled in the wind, choked by the grievance rising in his throat. The corners of his eyes were red too, tears falling in streams.

“Why did you r-run away… You know I-I can’t catch up to you.” He stammered like a scratched record, pitiful and a little ridiculous. “I’ll apologize to you, o-okay?”

The word “apologize” tugged at Lin Mingfei’s heart. He really couldn’t bear to watch anymore. He took off his thin coat, wrapped Xia Tong in it, and forcefully pushed him back indoors.

Xia Tong’s teeth were chattering uncontrollably. Once inside, Lin Mingfei didn’t say another word—he first rubbed warmth back into Xia Tong’s frozen hands, then got up to go to the kitchen to slice ginger and make him some soup.

“Z-zero…” Seeing him about to leave, Xia Tong immediately got up from the couch, anxious again. He shuffled over, arms wrapping around Lin Mingfei’s waist, clinging like a puppy and rubbing his face against his back.

“Don’t be mad at me… wuwuwu, I won’t dare do it again…”

Trapped by him, Lin Mingfei couldn’t move very well. His motion of slicing ginger gradually stilled.

“I’m not…” he said softly, almost like a sigh. “I’m not angry at you.”

“Then why did you run and ignore me? Wuwuwu!” Xia Tong sobbed.

“I was… I was angry at myself.” Lin Mingfei hesitated, jaw tightening. He suddenly set the knife down hard on the cutting board in frustration.

“Why would you be angry at yourself? You’re so good…” Xia Tong sniffled, confused.

“I was thinking… maybe I’ve been too incompetent… that’s why you worked so hard, exhausting yourself trying to protect me.” Lin Mingfei closed his eyes briefly; his expression was unreadable.

Xia Tong froze, letting out a stunned “Huh?” with a rising tone.

Clearly, Lin Mingfei’s thoughts were far more delicate—he had considered things Xia Tong had never even imagined.

“I… I didn’t think that much.” Xia Tong felt like his brain had stopped working. He didn’t understand, and since he didn’t understand, he couldn’t find the right answer. The more he thought, the more anxious he became—almost crying again.

“In my heart, you’re especially good. You don’t have a single flaw! You’re tall, handsome, long legs, great body, smart, amazing at gaming, and you handle things so steadily. You’re perfect! And they still talk behind your back like that—they’re the ones who are too much! If they’re too much, shouldn’t they apologize to you? Wuwuwuwu!!”

He rambled incoherently, crying so hard that a big snot bubble formed and popped with a “pfft.” Lin Mingfei happened to turn his head and see it.

The scene was too funny. Even though Lin Mingfei had been feeling defeated, he couldn’t help it—

“Pfft—” He burst out laughing.

Strange—how could Xia Tong praise him like that… even call him perfect? The filter on this kid was way too over the top.

But why was he actually angry about it? Xia Tong was clearly a simple, straightforward boy, honestly expressing his likes and dislikes—so pure it could melt anyone’s heart…

Lin Mingfei shook his head self-mockingly, feeling a little unhinged, realizing his reaction had been over the top, way too much.

It was probably because he had never before received such open, direct “protection” from someone. He wasn’t used to it, so his first instinct was to wonder if he had done something wrong, making Xia Tong feel unsafe.

But he was gradually beginning to understand—Xia Tong wasn’t a helpless, naive omega. He had his own thoughts, his own pursuits, and wanted to help those he cared about.

So… I am someone he cares about. Lin Mingfei secretly rejoiced at the thought, realizing maybe he should also change a bit—to accept Xia Tong’s expressions of affection.

Lin Mingfei took a gentle breath, reached over to a nearby paper roll, pulled out a few sheets, folded them, and pressed them against Xia Tong’s little nose, rubbing it forcefully. The delicate little omega squealed and recoiled: “Ouch ouch ouch…”

“I can’t take you anymore.” The alpha mock-scolded, feigning anger. “Even though I don’t care about winning or losing, throwing flying kisses at the Saber-Tooth Tiger team right in front of us—isn’t that a bit much?”

As expected, the single-celled Xia Xiaotong’s attention was successfully diverted. He muttered in a muffled voice: “Flying kiss…?”

“The ‘mua’ one.” Lin Mingfei roughly demonstrated, rolling his eyes.

“Ah? That’s called a flying kiss?” Xia Tong asked in confusion. “I saw it back when I was watching The Temptation of Returning Home with Fatty. The heroine kept going ‘mua’ at the hero!”

Lin Mingfei: “…I’m going to cut Zhou Yanjun’s line later.”

“So you’re not angry anymore?” Xia Tong tugged at Lin Mingfei’s sleeve anxiously.

“No.” Lin Mingfei shook his head, smiling warmly. “You don’t need to go out of your way for me.”

“I’m not going out of my way—I’m just… dumb. I often don’t understand what you’re saying… it’s just—”

“No, that’s not it.” Lin Mingfei interrupted, feeling a tingling warmth in his chest—a mix of heartache and fondness. He said seriously: “You’re the cleverest. You’re the smartest person I’ve ever met. If you ever see me losing my temper again, hit me with your fists—hard. I’ll know I was wrong.”

He held Xia Tong’s five fingers tightly in his hand, pressed them against his chest, and pounded lightly. “Like this.”

Xia Tong blinked, tears turning into a smile. “I won’t hit you.”

“Why not? Too precious to hurt me?” Lin Mingfei teased.

“My hands hurt too.” Xia Tong pouted. “You’re too hard!”

Lin Mingfei smiled. “Alright, go sit on the couch. I’ll make you some ginger soup to warm you up, or you’ll catch a cold tomorrow.” He patted Xia Tong’s head and nudged the little omega toward the living room.

Xia Tong obediently went, jumping onto the sofa and lying back, looking up at the window. A few white specks floated across the pure night sky, like night elves sneaking out.

“It’s snowing!!!”

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