Forced to Date 3 Alphas in a Comic: CHAPTER 5

Forced to Date 3 Alphas in a Comic: Chapter 5: Coach, I Want to Play Basketball

Mi Yu was in a very bad mood today. After school he had gone to the gym with a stomach full of barely contained anger, fists already primed, only to find no trace of the human leech anywhere. He let out a contemptuous snort. At least the guy had enough sense not to show his face. With nowhere to direct his frustration, he changed into his jersey and decided to pour everything into basketball and let the exercise burn it off. The moment his lean figure emerged from the gym changing room, a wave of screams and cheers erupted from the stands. “God, Mi Yu, can you do something about your fan club? They’re giving me a headache.” A boy who had already been warming up on the court called over to him with clear irritation. This boy was a third-year student named Wei Tong, a senior team member with solid skills. He had always had a problem with Mi Yu being a starter as a second-year student, and took any opportunity he could to make cutting remarks. Mi Yu swept him with a cold look: “Is this gym your family’s property? People can come if they want.” “Well, what can you do when the campus heartthrob is so popular.” Another boy carrying a basketball walked over to smooth things over. “There are a bunch of cute omegas up there watching. Let’s not fight.” “Unbelievable.” Wei Tong gave a cold laugh but didn’t dare push it further. Setting aside the fact that Mi Yu was terrifying in a fight and his family’s circumstances left Wei Tong’s in the dust by a factor of hundreds, Mi Yu’s supporter group was not to be messed with either. Especially that one, Chao Xun, who was like a mad dog. Mi Yu couldn’t be bothered with him and went off to train on his own. Schools generally didn’t let omegas stay to watch for too long. When basketball players got heated and the adrenaline was running high, not everyone could keep their pheromones in check. If any alpha happened to be in a sensitive period, the chance of things escalating was even higher, and that could create safety issues. About half an hour later, the security staff started clearing the stands, telling the students still clinging to the railings to head back. It was at exactly this moment that an omega somewhere released pheromones, not a faint trace but a sudden full wave of scent that spread through the air. The creamy sweetness hit instantly, reaching the alphas playing on the court below. “Why is there omega pheromone in here?” “Get the blockers!” The alpha players scrambled for their pheromone blockers and suppressants while the omegas up in the stands dug out their suppression patches. “Are you serious right now? What is wrong with you, just letting your pheromones out like that!” Wei Tong, being an alpha, immediately felt his body temperature rise and started cursing loudly. Even as he cursed, he lost control and began leaking his own pheromones. Several other players were affected in the same way. Now it became a feedback loop, the stands and the court triggering each other in a cycle. Within moments the air was thick with a mixture of scents carrying the emotions embedded in each pheromone: irritation, fear, anxiety, excitement, longing…… Mi Yu hadn’t been triggered into releasing his own pheromones, but the smell was enough to make him grimace. The sickly sweetness turned his stomach, and the other alphas’ scents made him want to lash out. He was just stepping back toward the rest area to find blockers when the coach came walking over from the side, holding something roughly the size and shape of a fire extinguisher, and proceeded to spray it liberally throughout the gym. It was a pheromone blocker. Ten minutes later the stands had been cleared, the players had their pheromones under control, and the security staff opened the doors and windows to air the place out. “Alright, everyone go wash your faces.” The coach set down the comically oversized blocker. “Back in formation for training in five minutes.” The whole incident had left everyone in a foul mood, especially Mi Yu, who felt like this had been a uniquely terrible day. A basketball came flying at him from a diagonal angle, heading straight for his face. He reacted instantly and deflected it with his hand. It hit the floor with a thud and was intercepted by the opposing player. A few minutes later, a basketball struck him on the wrist, catching him completely off guard and leaving his whole arm numb. Third time was the limit. Mi Yu’s patience snapped on the second. “Who the hell passed that.” Mi Yu stood where he was and swept the court with a cold stare, quickly locking onto one player. This was the substitute brought in to replace the injured team member. It wasn’t as though they had never played together before, but today he was playing like it was his first time. There was no team coordination whatsoever. Mi Yu hurled the basketball in his hands. The ball followed the same trajectory as the first one and landed squarely in the other boy’s face. A large red mark bloomed across the boy’s face instantly. Mi Yu stood there and said: “I’d suggest you quit the team, go home, and study. Swear off basketball forever.” The boy’s expression was equally ugly. His play had genuinely been off today, but being mocked like this by someone a year below him and then having a ball thrown at his face was more than he could take. “Can’t catch properly and you blame everyone else?” The rest of the team had noticed his poor performance a long time ago, but none of them would call it out the way Mi Yu had. They were all waiting for the coach to step in. The coach had been watching the substitute’s performance all evening. He walked forward: “Qu Shuang, come in for Wang Nan.” Qu Shuang didn’t play Wang Nan’s position, but whatever the coach said went. He walked over immediately. Wang Nan came off the court with a sour face and went to practice with the substitutes on the side. The team coordination improved slightly with the change, but still wasn’t flowing well. Mi Yu in particular was playing with barely controlled fury, his aggression on the court intense enough to make the atmosphere press down on everyone. The coach stood beside the oversized blocker and observed the training, unmoved by the tension in the air. Mi Yu’s skill was beyond question, but not everyone could coordinate with him well. He was too independent. Sometimes he wouldn’t even listen to the team captain. Nobody dared say anything to him except the coach. He needs a proper point guard soon, the coach thought. Otherwise he’d have no choice but to put Mi Yu on half-court rotations. Early May. The sunlight was brilliant and the roses along the school walls were in full bloom, pink flowers covering the fences and railings everywhere, swaying gently in the breeze. Chao Xun had spent the previous night reading, copying homework, and then in the small hours, having thought of basketball, dug out a ball and practiced with tutorial videos until he had recovered the feel of how he used to play before finally going to bed. He had barely slept at all that night. His eyes had only just closed when Uncle Lin came to wake him up. He drifted into the car in a daze, arrived at school just in time, and walked into the classroom still holding his breakfast. Fortunately a teenager’s body bounced back quickly. He was still sleepy but didn’t feel particularly tired. The moment Chao Xun walked into the classroom, he noticed Mi Yu’s seat was empty. He had probably stayed at training too late last night and was sleeping in somewhere skipping morning classes. If he had known, he would have skipped too and gone back to sleep. What a waste. Chao Xun, aspiring good student, felt genuine regret. After he sat down, Ke An’an looked at his face. Still nothing on it at all. Ke An’an asked in surprise: “You came in so late I figured you must have been doing your makeup.” Chao Xun pulled out his homework and books and laid them on the desk. He hadn’t had time for makeup. He hadn’t even had time for breakfast. “I’ve decided to just forget about makeup going forward. I’m not going to bother with it anymore.” Ke An’an was puzzled. In most omegas’ thinking, when you liked someone you paid attention to your appearance and used makeup to put your best face forward. “Aren’t you still trying to pursue Mi Yu?” Chao Xun offered a reason: “I thought about it, and the thing is, I wore makeup every day before and he never gave me a second look. That road leads nowhere. I’m going to try a different approach.” Ke An’an watched him looking entirely serious, as though he genuinely had been thinking through alternatives, and nodded: “Fair enough.” Chao Xun thought it over and figured he would need access to Ke An’an’s omega group chat for reliable first-hand information about Mi Yu going forward. He asked: “Can you check the group and see when Mi Yu’s next training is?” Ke An’an opened the group and asked around: “They’re saying it’s usually Monday, Thursday, and Friday after school, and sometimes Saturday afternoons as well.” So the school tyrant was actually quite dedicated when it came to training. Interesting. Chao Xun planned to avoid running into Mi Yu in the early stages, and first try to get onto the school team. He needed the coach’s approval to have any legitimate reason to cross paths with Mi Yu. Otherwise showing up on the first day and running straight into him would immediately look suspicious and he’d be thrown out before he could say anything. He nodded at Ke An’an: “Thanks. I’ll be counting on you for information going forward.” Then he reached into his bag and pulled out a paper bag for Ke An’an. Inside were the original host’s cosmetics, many of them still sealed and unused. He had noticed yesterday that Ke An’an came to class wearing makeup, and since he had no use for any of it going forward, he might as well give it away. It could serve as a thank-you gift at the same time. Ke An’an took it and opened it, immediately going still. The makeup inside was not cheap. These were all things he had admired but never been willing to spend money on. Not only were there major brand products, but also limited edition items and collaboration pieces. Ke An’an’s father was the manager of a household goods company, and his mother was a teacher at the school. By the standards of Longbei Private High School his family was considered ordinary, though compared to the general population they were solidly middle class. Even so, as a high school student, these products were beyond what he could comfortably afford. He knew Chao Xun had more money than him, but being willing to give such a generous gift was something else entirely. He was so moved he was practically tearing up: “Xunxun, thank you, you’re so good to me! Just say the word if you need anything, ever. I hope you win over the great campus heartthrob Mi very soon.” Chao Xun smiled back at him. Mi Yu didn’t appear for the rest of the school day. Chao Xun let out a quiet breath of relief. His being absent was actually perfect. After saying goodbye to Ke An’an, he went to the gym on his own. It was right after school and the gym was still nearly empty. He went straight to the coach’s office and knocked. A slightly hoarse voice came from behind the door: “Come in.” Chao Xun pushed the door open and immediately saw a man with medium-length wavy hair, around thirty-five, wearing a shirt that wasn’t particularly well put-on with the buttons undone to the chest and a black pendant hanging around his neck. Even the coaches in the comic world were stylishly handsome in their own way. Chao Xun looked at the nameplate on the desk: [Basketball Coach: Xie Qian Yi] Xie Qian Yi said: “What do you need?” Chao Xun walked over and said very politely: “Hello Coach Xie, I’d like to join the basketball team. I was wondering what the requirements are.” At that, Xie Qian Yi put down his pen, tilted his head, and looked Chao Xun up and down several times: “You don’t look like someone who exercises much. You want to play basketball?” Sharp eyes. Chao Xun took that without objecting, and said sincerely: “I’ve played before, I’ve just been out of practice recently and gotten a little out of shape…… Could you give me a chance to show you what I can do?” Xie Qian Yi studied him with an expression that hovered between a smile and not quite a smile, enough to make the boy start to fidget: “Chao Xun, right?” Chao Xun froze. The original host’s reputation had apparently reached even the school basketball coach. Xie Qian Yi saw his surprised expression and smiled slightly: “You used to come every single day and cheer from the stands louder than anyone. Hard not to know who you are.” Chao Xun took a quiet breath. He remembered now. That had indeed happened. Xie Qian Yi asked with open curiosity: “Now that omegas aren’t allowed in during training, you’ve decided to infiltrate from the inside?” Someone please help me. Original host, are you trying to close off every single path I might take? He quickly explained: “I’m not an omega. I was pretending before. I’m actually a beta.” “……” The coach appeared to be struck speechless by this and didn’t say anything for a moment. Chao Xun added: “It’s true. You can check the records or look at the forum posts. Either one will confirm it.” Then a sudden inspiration struck him. He remembered that omegas had a specific physical marker, located at the back of the neck. Chao Xun lowered his head: “You can look at my neck if you want. No gland.” Xie Qian Yi blinked, and found himself looking before he had consciously decided to. The section of neck the boy had bared was fine and smooth, a few strands of dark hair lying softly against it, the skin looking almost luminous in the light. And it was flat. No raised gland where an omega would have one. Chao Xun held the position for a few seconds to let him see clearly, then raised his head. His eyes seemed to say: see, I’m not lying. Xie Qian Yi smiled slightly: “Alright. First tell me what position you want to play.” Chao Xun: “Point guard.” Xie Qian Yi’s expression immediately turned peculiar. What are the odds? This kid couldn’t possibly have gotten wind of the team’s situation and come here specifically with Mi Yu in mind. Chao Xun read the coach’s face and understood his concern immediately. He added: “Coach, don’t worry. I do like Mi Yu, but I also genuinely like basketball. I was too busy pretending to be an omega before to let myself play, but now that it’s all out in the open, I’ve made my peace with it.” He said it with full conviction: “Mi Yu cares so much about basketball, and I want to put in the effort too. I want to help the school team win the championship this time!” That last part was not entirely truthful. He had no idea whether Mi Yu genuinely loved basketball or not. He was simply guessing that someone with Mi Yu’s self-driven personality must like something enough to train this regularly. This kid is refreshingly blunt, Xie Qian Yi thought, and laughed. Watching him talk about the omega pretending so matter-of-factly and with such a sincere tone, he relented: “Fine. I’ll give you a chance. Don’t disappoint me.”