SCOM - Chapter 27
Chapter 27
The curtains were drawn tight, casting the dormitory into darkness. One could only vaguely make out a person lying on the bed.
Zuo Luohuan had one hand draped over her eyes, a thin blanket casually covering her waist. She was not sleeping soundly. Unsettled by some dream, a fine sweat broke out on her face. Her fingers, which had been loosely resting, gradually clenched into a fist, her body tensing.
An all-too-familiar pheromone spread out, overwhelming and unrestrained. For a moment, Zuo Luohuan sensed something was wrong. Aside from the few days she had fainted late in her differentiation, she had never released such a large amount of pheromones.
However… these thoughts were quickly cast aside. At this moment, Zuo Luohuan’s entire focus was on the warm, soft body in her arms. She looked down and saw the person buried in the crook of her neck, revealing a fair, beautiful nape. The gland was facing her, like an innocent young beast, clearly afraid of what was to come, yet still choosing to offer itself up.
She tried hard to identify the person’s pheromones but couldn’t recall the scent at all. She only felt that to her, it was an extremely alluring pheromone, so much so that she lost all control. She raised a hand and pressed it against the person’s gland, kneading it with an air of absolute dominance.
The gland beneath her fingertips was soft and warm. The person in her arms was panting softly by her ear. Finally, she could no longer resist the temptation. She lowered her head and bit down on the gland on their nape, marking and possessing them with her own pheromones.
Zuo Luohuan’s eyes snapped open. She had been startled awake just as she tried to see the person’s face in her dream. She propped herself up on the bed with both hands, panting slightly, unable to come back to her senses for a long time.
That kind of dream…
Zuo Luohuan brought her hands up to cover her forehead and cursed under her breath.
She had just come back for a nap after her morning classes, yet she’d had a dream like that. Zuo Luohuan rolled out of bed, walked to the window, and yanked the curtains wide open. The evening sun instantly flooded in, reflecting in her eyes.
Only then did Zuo Luohuan feel completely awake and calm.
She went to the washroom to freshen up and changed into her military uniform. There was still over an hour until training time, so she decided to head over early.
Today’s training was combat, and the instructor was Kang Guang. His classes were always intense, which was perfect for venting her excess energy.
Before heading downstairs, Zuo Luohuan opened her cabinet, took out weight bands, and strapped them to her wrists and ankles. Only then did she leave.
When the other six people arrived one after another, Zuo Luohuan had already finished her run and was sitting by the training ground’s fence, resting.
“You’re so early today?” Jiang Hong, the first to enter, walked over and kicked the wire mesh fence, looking at the sweat on Zuo Luohuan’s forehead. “Training behind our backs?”
Zuo Luohuan nonchalantly raised her eyes. “Can’t I?”
“What’s wrong? Still haven’t cooled down?” Jiang Hong, relying on his years of knowing her, felt something was off and asked strangely.
Zuo Luohuan leaned back loosely, her gaze unconsciously falling on the entrance to the training ground. Ji Yuezhi and Ding Wuming were walking side by side, likely coming from the Disciplinary Committee, still discussing something.
The lights in the training ground were too bright, so much so that she now found them a bit glaring.
Jiang Hong, having received no reply, turned and sat down next to Zuo Luohuan, waving a hand in front of her eyes. “Who are you looking at?”
Four people had just arrived at the entrance, and Jiang Hong couldn’t figure out who Zuo Luohuan was watching.
“In the military exercise, who are the people worth noting from the other three military academies?” Zuo Luohuan, still not answering his question, turned her head and asked.
At the mention of serious business, Jiang Hong’s expression turned solemn. “The Northern Military Academy has several skilled fighters you should know. Yundong Military Academy has inherited Jia Hailan’s style in command strategy these past few years; you need to watch out for someone named Cha Lili. As for the United Military Academy… they don’t seem to have anyone special, pretty average in all aspects.”
While they were talking, the others had already entered the training ground. Guan Xue quietly fell a step behind, looking at Ji Yuezhi’s jacket. The small burn mark was gone. Right, it was the next day; of course he would have changed his clothes.
But Guan Xue was still bothered by what she had seen last night. She thought for a moment and decided not to go over to Zuo Luohuan, instead sending a message: 【Did you bring back the jacket from the trial?】
Zuo Luohuan had already stood up when she received the message. She glanced at Guan Xue’s text and replied: 【? I brought it back. What, you have your eye on my jacket?】
Guan Xue: 【…No, just asking. Did Ji Yuezhi return your jacket? I'd love to wear your jacket for a day too~】
An old jacket for a new one, that naturally counted as returning it.
Zuo Luohuan: 【He returned it. Also, get lost.】
She had never seen such a provocative Beta.
Guan Xue felt very wronged. She was just showing some concern, and Zuo Luohuan was so fierce. Serves her right that a spark landed on her jacket last time. If something similar happened again, she definitely wouldn’t remind her.
Her resolve was firm, but Guan Xue forgot that she had never reminded Zuo Luohuan about it from the beginning, nor did she know that the other party was completely unaware of the burn mark on the back of her jacket.
“Everyone’s here. Good.” Kang Guang arrived on time for class. Under the overly bright lights of the training ground, the marks on his face looked even more terrifying. Paired with his smile, he resembled a string-puppet murderer from a horror movie.
Kang Guang walked a circle around the seven students, finally stopping in the middle. “Military academy exercises emphasize teamwork. We must learn wilderness survival, how to use various weapons, and most importantly, when we encounter students from other academies, we must be able to beat them. But before we start today, there’s something I really want to confirm.”
His words were laced with ill intent.
“You all have an anonymous forum, right? I remember the thread about who’s stronger, Ji Yuezhi or Zuo Luohuan, started a year ago and still has no conclusion. And you haven’t fought in the trial grounds either.” Kang Guang pointed at the two of them. “Now, you two fight. After you’re done, we’ll start class.”
Zuo Luohuan said, “Instructor, you’re abusing your authority for personal reasons.”
“I am abusing my authority. You got a problem with that?” Kang Guang grinned. “You don’t have to fight, but everyone else will be punished.”
...
In the end, Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi had no choice but to step forward. Although rumors of their rivalry had spread since the beginning of the school year, this was the first time they had truly stood face to face, ready to fight.
“Hurry up, everyone’s waiting for class to start,” Kang Guang urged.
The other five were all enjoying the show. Who didn’t want to know the outcome of a fight between Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi?
Zuo Luohuan looked at Ji Yuezhi standing opposite her. His expression was indifferent, his eyelashes lowered, casting a small, faint shadow on his high-bridged nose. His figure was like a graceful pine tree. She couldn’t help but be slightly dazed.
Ji Yuezhi struck first, aiming straight for her throat without any mercy.
Even after differentiating into an Omega, his attack speed was unaffected. Zuo Luohuan was startled and quickly retreated to dodge, simultaneously trying to grab his hand.
But Ji Yuezhi seemed to have seen through her intentions. Just as she was about to get close, he instantly changed his direction of attack, and his elbow struck her shoulder heavily. Before she could counterattack, another wave of dense attacks came at her.
Unlike any opponent Zuo Luohuan had ever faced, Ji Yuezhi was like a precision instrument, calculating her every move and weaving a dense net to ensnare his prey.
Zuo Luohuan was repeatedly forced back by Ji Yuezhi, her shoulder, forearm, and leg all taking hits.
The five people watching from the side, plus Kang Guang, were all stunned by Ji Yuezhi’s artistic combat style. Every one of his attacks had an indescribable rhythm, with no wasted movements.
Jiang Hong couldn’t help but mutter, “Some people’s level of skill has nothing to do with their secondary gender.” Ji Yuezhi was indeed strong enough.
Caught in the vortex of attacks, Zuo Luohuan was forced to retreat again and again. Finally, she calmed down and found her own rhythm. When Ji Yuezhi’s palm swept towards her, she didn’t retreat. Instead, she met it head-on, using the force to grab his hand. The excessively smooth touch of his wrist made her pause for a second, but she quickly used her strength to bend it outwards.
If she succeeded, she would break Ji Yuezhi’s hand.
Obviously, Ji Yuezhi also sensed Zuo Luohuan’s move. The hand she held trembled, and his other hand immediately followed up with an attack on her.
The distance between them closed once more. With almost every exchange, they brushed past each other.
Too close…
So close that Zuo Luohuan could smell the light, faint scent of irises on him, unconsciously reminding her of the scene from her afternoon dream. Back then, she had been holding someone in her arms, just this close.
Finally, Zuo Luohuan found an opportunity. She used her leg to tightly block Ji Yuezhi’s lower body attacks and used both hands to forcefully pin his hands behind his waist. He could only press close to her. From a distance, it looked more like he had fallen into her embrace.
Zuo Luohuan lowered her eyes to look at Ji Yuezhi’s nape. The snowy white, delicate skin was almost identical to what she had seen in her dream. She was a little dazed.
Losing focus is the biggest taboo in a fight. Ji Yuezhi seized the opportunity, raising his elbow to strike Zuo Luohuan. In that instant, he thought she would dodge, but she didn’t.
Ji Yuezhi’s elbow slammed directly into Zuo Luohuan’s nose.
...
Zuo Luohuan released Ji Yuezhi and took a few steps back, covering her nose with her hand.
“Useless.” Kang Guang shot Zuo Luohuan a cold glance, saying with disgust, “Is this all you’ve got?”
It had been a complete one-man show by Ji Yuezhi. Kang Guang had thought Zuo Luohuan might pull off some good moves later on.
“Awesome!” Guan Xue whistled at Ji Yuezhi, feeling he was more charming than ever for having hit Zuo Luohuan.
Ji Yuezhi stood in place, his lips pressed together. A moment ago, her hands had been almost completely clasped on his lower back, and that area was still burning hot. He raised his eyes to look at Zuo Luohuan and saw her frown as she casually wiped away the blood from under her nose.
She was not happy.
Ji Yuezhi could see it clearly from Zuo Luohuan’s actions and expression. Was it because he won?
Zuo Luohuan was indeed not happy. She hadn’t expected that after having that kind of dream in the afternoon, she would come to the training ground at night and still be thinking about such messy things.
Wiping away the blood from her nose, she wasn’t even sure if it was from the hit, or if her blood had rushed to her head from thinking about something she shouldn’t have.
Zuo Luohuan: “…”
“Alright.” Kang Guang first pointed out the problems with both of them, then said, “Pair up and warm up. Later, you’ll fight me.”
The warm-up was still fighting. When Jiang Hong and Guan Xue came over, Zuo Luohuan didn’t hold back at all.
“Holy crap!” Jiang Hong’s waist was nearly broken by a kick. He was speechless. “Zuo Luohuan, are you taking it out on us just because you lost?”
…Zuo Luohuan became even more unhappy.
“Are we still fighting or not?” she asked, raising her eyes.
“We’re fighting!” Jiang Hong was also fired up.
“Tsk tsk tsk, are all Alphas immune to pain?” Qian Mao nimbly dodged Yan Yan’s attacks, shaking his head and sighing. “Anyone who didn’t know better would think those two have some deep-seated hatred for each other.”
As Ji Yuezhi fought with Ding Wuming, the corner of his eye caught sight of Zuo Luohuan. He felt a little envious of Jiang Hong, who was her opponent. When she had fought him just now, there seemed to be an invisible barrier between them, yet Jiang Hong could spar with her so casually.
…He wanted to be closer to her.
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