Now that I hear it again... it feels a bit strange.
More subtly, he felt as if Levy had glanced at him.
When he looked over again, the man was frowning and saying to the group, "Keep it down, don't say everything!"
His words had no effect; instead, he was pulled over directly.
"Stop nagging! You're the only one who hasn't participated today, it's almost your turn!" Someone said, shoving the pressure ball into Levy's hand. "Hurry up, if you can't soften it, you'll have to accept the punishment!"
Levi scoffed: "I brought this thing with me, how could I not be able to squeeze it..."
Before he could finish speaking, the pressure ball flew out of his hand with a "whoosh".
"Hahaha! I knew he was going to fall for it!" The group burst into laughter.
"Didn't you know we put something on it to make it more difficult?"
"Levy, you're hopeless! Where did you wander off to just now?!"
"Alright, let's go with the truth." Levi chuckled and scolded, then reached out and pulled out a card without saying anything.
He flipped the card over, and the people who had gathered around immediately exclaimed, "What a coincidence!"
Levi was also taken aback, because he had drawn the card that was in front of him.
"I'm not giving you time to think this time. Hurry up, do you prefer someone older or younger?"
Qin Chu was surprised by the coincidence and subconsciously looked up at Levi.
Levi looked at him and said, "I like...people older than me."
"You've got no problem with that. The main issue is the reason. What's the reason?" someone pressed.
Levi leaned against the table, stared at the card for a while, and a nostalgic smile appeared on his lips: "There's no particular reason. It's just that I had just differentiated into an alpha... I was only fifteen or sixteen years old, and at that time, I really wanted to mark my brother."
Qin Chu's fingers tightened, and he subconsciously gripped the cup in his hand.
Author's Note:
I'll keep the word count low these next couple of days; I'll continue once I've squeezed out a draft.
Chapter 96, Fifth Story (15)
"Damn! That's amazing!"
Whistles erupted from the private room.
After the whistle was blown, someone realized that Qin Chu was still there, and that Qin Chu was with Levi...
Someone else is busy patching things up:
"How old were you back then? That doesn't count!"
"You keep talking about your brother, but I haven't seen you have a brother in all this time. Where is your brother?"
Levi had put down the card and sat back down next to Qin Chu.
Upon hearing this question, he leaned back on the sofa and glanced at Qin Chu: "My brother... my brother doesn't want me anymore."
My heart skipped a beat.
Qin Chu turned to look at the people around him.
Levy still had a smile on his face, as if he had just said something insignificant.
Qin Chu's thoughts instantly became complicated. Various pieces of information connected, and various emotions surged. His heart felt like it had been gently scratched, yet also like it had been squeezed hard by a hand.
Even without Noah's reminder, Qin Chu knew on his own that his emotions must be running high right now.
He lowered his head, trying to pour himself a glass of water to distract himself.
But when he filled the glass, he realized he had poured wine.
Qin Chu, who never drinks, suddenly felt an urge to tilt his head back and gulp down the entire glass of wine.
But before he could make a move, his other hand had already picked up the cup.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't drink? Why are you drinking now?"
Levy's voice rang in Qin Chu's ears, low and deep, carrying the smell of alcohol.
He took the glass of wine and sipped it from the cup that Qin Chu had just used.
How do you know I don't drink?
Have you asked?
When did you ask that question?
The question was stuck in his throat, but at this moment, Qin Chu felt that he couldn't bring himself to ask it.
The personal terminal beeped twice. Qin Chu looked down and saw that it was a message from those Omegas.
Before entering the private room, Qin Chu sent them a message saying he had something to do and told them to eat first. Now that they had finished eating, they asked Qin Chu if he was going home alone.
Qin Chu then realized that he hadn't told them about the military academy students' gathering here.
Thinking of the chaotic scene he encountered when he first entered, Qin Chu hesitated for a moment, then decided to notify the alpha in the private room first.
He could recognize these few Omegas, but not their models…
Qin Chu subconsciously wanted to ask Levi.
He turned his head again and saw that the man had finished his drink and was leaning back on the sofa looking in his direction.
Qin Chu turned his head back.
"What is it?" Levy asked.
"...Who are the models in my downstairs art studio?" Qin Chu asked, staring at the wine table.
Levy chuckled: "It's been so long, and you still haven't realized it?"
"...Why bother recognizing so many people?" Qin Chu retorted stubbornly.
“That’s true.” Levi actually agreed somewhat. He randomly called out a few names in that direction, and the alphas immediately came over.
Qin Chu told them that their artist was also in the restaurant: "Should I call them over?"
The alphas were taken aback, clearly not expecting such a coincidence.
Several people already showed happy expressions, and Qin Chu thought they would agree, but he saw them all shake their heads. One of them even looked warily at the group of people behind him.
Qin Chu was somewhat puzzled, but he didn't insist any further.
Although the alphas said they didn't want to, they were clearly distracted when they returned to the table.
A few minutes later, someone couldn't sit still any longer and left the private room under the pretext of going to the restroom.
A few minutes later, when the person in front still hadn't returned, another person made an excuse to pee.
Not long after, four or five people disappeared from the private room.
With so many people gone, someone realized something was wrong and asked curiously, "What's going on? Why did everyone go to the restroom? What's in the restroom?"
Qin Chu watched for a while and then understood.
The restroom is probably located near the Omega booth.
He was even more confused.
If you want to see your artist so badly, why won't you call him in?
Levi, too, had just desperately tried to stop him.
Seeing the question marks all over Qin Chu's face, Levi chuckled but said nothing.
Inside the private room, several alphas began whispering about going to find someone. A short while later, the door to the private room was opened.
The people who had gone out earlier gradually returned.
A group of people rushed forward and demanded, "Tell the truth, where have you been!"
"Are you guys up to something?"
After laughing and joking for a while, the alphas who had just gone out managed to reintegrate into the party, except that they were looking down at their personal computers more often to send messages.
Amidst the atmosphere of the gathering, a subtle tension permeated the air, a scene of people seemingly lost in their own thoughts, outwardly appearing friendly but inwardly estranged.
The group had been playing all day, and it was almost late at night; they were starting to get tired.
Just as we were about to discuss leaving the room, there was a sudden knock on the door of the private room.
The alphas who were engrossed in their computers all looked up and exchanged glances.
Then, as if in a race against time, they rushed to the door.
The door to the private room opened, and several Omegas stood in the hallway outside.
The alphas who opened the door quickly slipped out through the crack and slammed the door shut behind them.
Although it had only been a short while, the remaining alphas in the private room had already seen the spectacle outside the door and immediately cursed, "These kids are definitely up to something!"
"I'm so jealous, all the grandmas are in pairs!"
The person celebrating their birthday laughed in anger: "What's the point of eating? Get out of here!"
A large group of people left the private room, and naturally, they engaged in some verbal sparring along the way.
The commotion continued until they reached the fork in the road. A group of single men went back to the military academy, while the remaining few walked towards the base in pairs.
The worst off were the single guys in the base; they were on the same path but had different fates, so they cursed at each other and ran away.
Qin Chu and Le Wei walked behind. There seemed to be some activity in the distance; the sky was flashing, probably fireworks.
"Shall we go see it?" Levy asked.
"Forget it, let's go back," Qin Chu said.
He was feeling a bit confused and didn't want to wander around outside.
The couples walking ahead were clearly interested, and the Omegas waved to Qin Chu, indicating that they wanted to go and take a look.
Qin Chu nodded to them and continued walking towards the base.