When an Alpha is Marked by One of His Own Kind

Chapter 8

In the training room, Lele split a pair of disposable chopsticks and rubbed the separated sticks together a few times. He didn't notice the fine particles that fell onto his pants.

A serving of guantangbao sat on the table, still piping hot. Lele could have drooled from the scent that rose with the steam, but he was actually a bit distracted-

His mind drifted to the conversation he'd had with Lu Zhe outside the front doors of their HQ.

"Qiao-ge is resting, he probably won't come down for a while. If you have something urgent you need to talk to him about, why don't I take a message?" Lele suggested. He flashed a disarming smile, masking the curiosity in his words.

But that excessively beautiful man only shook his head. He wore an exceptionally understanding look. A soft smile touched his dark eyes. His voice was warm and gentle as he said, "No problem. I'll wait a while."

Lu Zhe's intense pheromones, however, had already betrayed his true feelings. That deep and dangerous scent was like a silent, hidden threat. It was unnoticeable, at first. But when one drew closer, the cold became obvious. It was a clear sign that Lu Zhe's warmth was only a mask.

In the training room, Lele thought back on Shen Qiao's reactions every time he heard Lu Zhe's name. Lele still thought, in his heart, that it wasn't appropriate to make Lu Zhe wait like that. He slapped his chopsticks down on the table and got up, making his way out of the training room and heading upstairs.

A teammate was lured in by the delicious scent of Lele's guantangbao. Seeing him take off, abandoning his food, that teammate called out at his back, "Lele, how about you let your ge taste test the baozi from this place? Free of charge!"

Lele's voice drifted back from the corridor: "Your services won't be necessary. This is one sweet burden I can carry myself!"

......

Auntie Zou, a member of the janitorial staff, was mopping the dormitory floors. She pushed a mop from one end of the hall to the other. When Lele sprinted up the stairs, he nearly trampled over the mop in his haste. It was only when Auntie Zou called out "AI AI AI!" in warning that Lele managed to grab hold of the railing by the stairs and yank himself to a halt.

After mopping up the pile of filth by the stairs, Auntie Zou turned to Lele and gave him a heavily accented scolding:

"Young fellas should do everything with composure. Where are you going with your ass on fire?"

Lele let out a forced laugh and looked past her at the glossy, sparkling floors that were reflectively clean. He lifted one leg up high, like a red-crowned crane, but still hesitated. In the end, he put his foot down and stayed in place, unable to bring himself to taint the freshly mopped hallway. To the auntie, he said, "Zou-yi, is Qiao-ge in?"

"Dunno where he ran off to, but he weren't in his room," Auntie Zou answered as she continued to mop, without lifting her head again.

Lele was somewhat surprised.

He lingered there for a moment before turning and heading back downstairs. Had he missed Shen Qiao while he was busy ordering takeout?

Wait!

If Shen Qiao had just left the building, wouldn't he have had a 100% chance of running into Lu Zhe?

When that thought occurred to him, Lele barreled back downstairs, taking the steps two at a time. If he intervened too late, then he might only be able to help take care of Lu Zhe's corpse.

On the second floor, Lele subconsciously glanced at the window and saw their new teammate Xu Xiao standing there. Xu Xiao was holding up his phone, like he was taking a picture of something outside. He snapped a shot quickly and stuffed his phone back into his pocket.