Chapter 29

Sebastian’s voice was remarkably gentle, the setting sun melting slowly behind his back was also remarkably gentle, and the shallow, cool evening breeze brushing past remained thoroughly gentle.

It was gentle to the point where Asher, who had been completely bristling with thorns just a moment ago, inexplicably wilted downward.

Softening completely, a tiny patch of pink staining his ear tips.

When he personally delivered the line about "coaxing," it was far from looking like this, nor did it hold this flavor. How on earth did it turn completely off-key the moment it escaped this man’s lips?

The exact phrase "coaxing"—whenever he blurted it out himself, it sounded boisterous and manly. Yet the moment Sebastian voiced it, how on earth did his own temper evaporate into thin air?

While his temper completely evaporated, he strictly still had to maintain his explosive persona. He could only launch a white-eyed glare that he deemed to be thoroughly cool: "Who the hell wants to embrace you? Two massive grown men executing a relentless cycle of embraces—aren't you terrified of vomiting up the meat you just consumed?"

Finishing his line, he turned his body around to march straight down the stairs.

Trailing behind his back, Sebastian couldn't resist a soft chuckle. "Why the hell do you turn your back to deny your own words faster than a flash? I merely paced out to use the restroom, and you suddenly charged over to unleash a barrage of verbal blows, demanding to let you coax me. Now that I permit you to coax me, you choose to abandon the task. Why are you this difficult to serve? Little swindler?"

Asher couldn't hold himself back, turning his head around with a thoroughly fierce face. "If you were genuinely just pacing out to use the restroom, would I have sprinted over to unleash a massive horde of yapping?"

"If I weren't genuinely pacing out to use the restroom, what else could I be doing? My backpack is strictly still resting on my seat."

Asher froze completely on the spot.

Right.

Sebastian’s backpack was still resting on his freaking seat.

Reflecting on the groundless, self-indulgent wave of emotional yapping he had just unleashed a moment ago, a violent rush of red instantly flooded Asher’s neck lines, to the point where he desperately wished he could excavate a crater into the earth to bury himself right now.

Recently, his system truly was turning increasingly impulsive and increasingly irrational—all driven by Sebastian goading his mind. Sure enough, he still shouldn't remain friends alongside him.

Exactly. Severing his friendship alongside him; the man lacked the absolute qualifications. He had struck an agreement to completely refrain from getting along alongside Sebastian for the rest of his existence. Yet purely because of a single suppressant, a few minor instances of assistance, and a handful of meticulous details, he had actually found it in his heart to forgive him?

Asher let out a heh, preparing to unleash a line of text blows to inflict a wound on Sebastian.

Yet Sebastian spoke up in a warm voice once more: "But everything you stated holds absolute truth. My heart indeed felt a sliver of discomfort, but it was merely a single sliver, far from being as catastrophic as your imagination pictured. My departure for Northmont back then was an absolute error on my part, but in truth, it was far from being driven by that incident. As for exactly what drove it, I’ll disclose the truth to you in the future. As for exactly how far into the future that milestone sits, it tracks strictly along your own actual performance."

Only then did Asher's mood restore a fraction of its balance, letting out a light scoff. "Exactly as if anyone holds a burning desire to know."

While delivering the line in this manner, his pace descending the stairs instinctively slowed down regardless.

Sebastian followed behind with an unhurried step. "Rest easy, this matter has genuinely passed from my heart a long time ago. That incident alongside Yellow Sea that day could hardly be described as a battle of words; his emotions were simply a fraction too agitated. If an unyielding hurdle genuinely remained locked within my heart, I would have completely refrained from returning. My return demonstrates that absolutely nothing remains wrong, so there's zero necessity for you to worry over me."

"Who the hell is worrying over you? Refrain from harboring self-indulgent assumptions."

"Flawless. In any case, the individual whose face turned crimson with absolute urgency just a moment ago was far from being myself."

"I call this demonstrating loyalty and being an upstanding brother. If the subject were swapped out for Elliot, Milo, Caleb, or Mason today, I would execute the exact same sequence. You completely must refrain from elevating your own status."

As Asher yapped along the path, he abruptly froze his pace, turning his body around.

Sebastian came within a hair's breadth of crashing straight into his embrace, raising an eyebrow. "What's this? Genuinely calculating to deliver a brief embrace to coax me?"

Asher turned completely freezing: "Beat it. The two of us stepped out to use the restroom. Bicker-yapping on the staircase for a long while before returning—do you desire to make Mason conclude that we launched an open urination command on the spot?"

"Passable enough. Except pacing to the restroom while holding hands delivers a sensation that plunges my memory straight back into kindergarten."

"Beat it."

"You beat it. This is the freaking Alpha restroom. Roll your frame straight into the Omega restroom next door."

"On regular days at school, I habitually step into the Alpha restroom anyway. In any case, every stall features partition boards, what on earth is there to fear? Could it be that you fear being outmatched by my length?"

"..."

Sebastian concluded that this person genuinely possessed an absolute capability—one fraction of a second he could goad your heart into absolute softness and profound tenderness, making you desperately want to pin him down to launch an immediate confession, yet the very next fraction of a second he could enrage your system to the threshold of a cardiac arrest, leaving you desperately wanting to excavate his brain to evaluate whether he had consumed some kind of romance-severing, straight-male pill.

His restraint reaching its absolute limit, he hoisted Asher straight out from the Alpha restroom, stuffing him securely inside the Omega restroom.

Then, letting out a colossal sigh. He, a top-tier Alpha, fearing a measurement of lengths? Could he possibly experience a failure across that front?

Ridiculous.

In the future, he truly had to offer a meticulous education to teach this Omega—who lacked an awareness of the boundaries of heaven and earth—how to behave like a proper human being.

Sitting at the large round table at the opposite end of the vacant patch of concrete, the remaining five individuals chewed their meat, drank their alcohol, and appreciated the view of the two staggeringly handsome big shots executing a cycle of shoving, yanking, and clashing along the staircase with immense interest.

It wasn't until their silhouettes vanished completely into the depths of the restrooms that Eugene spoke up, his psychological craving unfulfilled: "I feel exactly as if I am spectating a melodramatic romance drama—the faithless predator Sebastian pairing alongside the explosive Asher. Would you children state whether it turns out superior for me to compile a fanfiction tracking Leonardo and the comic actor, or a dual-Alpha version tracking the melodrama drama?"

Caleb delivered a swift tap against the back of Eugene's head. "What on earth is your mind tracking day in and day out? Ash and Boss Seb are sworn rivals—rank one and rank two, a battle to the bitter end. Stop blindly fumbling with groundless thoughts all day, otherwise you won't even comprehend exactly how you dropped dead when the day comes."

Mason nodded in absolute endorsement: "Exactly, exactly. If you continue to launch a groundless romantic pairing command along this trajectory, even your Big Brother Mason won't be able to shield your frame."

Elliot took a shallow sip of his alcohol, letting out a cold scoff. "Whether Eugene can be shielded or otherwise, I lack proper clarity, but I evaluate that your system, Mason, sits in absolute peril."

Mason: "Holy crap? How the hell is this tied to my frame again? Do you all look upon my good temper to conclude I am easy to bully?"

Crushing the vacant pop can held in his hand until it turned completely flat, Elliot asked flatly, "I’ll simply ask you: the two sons of this household—does one answer to Yellow Mountain and the other to Yellow Sea, a pair of twins? Following the catastrophic incident involving Yellow Mountain at High School No.1, the administration specially admitted Yellow Sea purely to silence the commotion, didn't they?"

"Holy sh—, you possess clarity across that too?"

Elliot’s dad served as the chief of the municipal police bureau, so regarding this specific case, he tracked a basic baseline of understanding. "Then do you possess the awareness that the definitive reason Yellow Mountain leaped down from the school building back then was campus bullying?"

"..."

"And do you possess the awareness that throughout the entirety of High School No.1 back then, Sebastian was the solitary individual who looked after Yellow Mountain? As fate would have it, on the day the incident transpired, Sebastian had requested a leave of absence to step out. Returning late, his eyes caught the exact fraction of a second Yellow Mountain leaped down from the sixth floor, crashing straight right before his face."

"..."

"At that juncture, Sebastian hadn't even hit his fourteenth birthday—staring with his own wide eyes as his classmate crashed into a bloody, mangled mass right right before his face."

"..."

"Furthermore, I gathered from my friends over at High School No.1 that once Yellow Mountain was successfully rescued through emergency care, Sebastian and several classmates paced over to visit him. Yellow Mountain blurted out to Sebastian that he detested him."

"Why exactly? What error did Sebastian commit? Didn't Sebastian treat him exceptionally well?"

"Exactly, Sebastian treated him exceptionally well, but Yellow Mountain calculated that if Sebastian hadn't requested a leave of absence to step out that day, he completely wouldn't have encountered the catastrophe. Furthermore, Yellow Mountain as an individual... uh, how should I put it? Highly volatile, his brain wiring a fraction abnormal."

While delivering his words, Elliot utilized a finger to tap against his own temple.

"But a rumor is merely a rumor along that line; there are bound to be alternative hidden details locked in the center section. As for the exact specifics, I also lack a proper clarity. In any case, the commotion was swiftly suppressed, Sebastian executed a transfer command, and the crowd at High School No.1 closed their mouths to refrain from delivering a single word. It’s remarkably normal for you children to lack awareness."

Elliot gave the pop can held in his hand a slight spin. "To speak the absolute truth, if I were a young master possessing a prominent family background like Sebastian, and treated an impoverished student exceptionally well, only to have that individual leap down from right before my face to turn mangled, followed by him shifting the absolute blame and detestation onto my frame—I would have plunged into an absolute psychological shutdown right on the spot. Therefore, the moment Sebastian returned, I felt exceptionally astonished. Beholding the fact that he can still function with such absolute normality, my astonishment expanded to an even greater threshold."

Before his words could complete, Milo delivered a violent poke straight into his waistline, driving him to abruptly realize Eugene was still sitting at the table. For a brief moment, he felt apologetic to the absolute extreme, wanting to deliver an explanation yet lacking an idea of how to open his mouth.

Yet Eugene waved his hand with a massive dose of magnanimity first: "Not every single elite-training student across the universe is cut from the exact same cloth. I belong to the specific model that is remarkably attractive to affection, wouldn't you state that's correct, Class Representative?"

Mason launched a massive torrent of colorful praise, blowing Eugene into an absolute loop of simple chuckles.

To dilute the gravity of the atmosphere, Milo put on a cryptic front to speak up: "Let me disclose a secret to you children. Back when Boss Seb departed, Ash likely endured a fair trace of emotional impact."

Caleb held zero conviction: "Did you even recognize Boss Seb at that juncture? And you claim to possess clarity again."

Milo whispered in a stealthy whisper: "Although I lacked an acquaintance alongside Boss Seb back then, Ash and I shared the exact same classroom, didn't we? Across that timeframe, we strictly had to compile a weekly journal entry every single week. I commit it to memory with absolute clarity—the solitary instance Ash secured an A+ rating on his journal tracked exactly to that occurrence. Guess what the journal topic read?"

The remaining four individuals shook their heads with total decision: "Zero desire to know."

"How on earth do you all lack a desire to challenge your cognitive boundaries?" Milo expressed an intense disappointment. "The title of that weekly journal entry read: In Commemoration of My Partner, Sebastian. Holy mother of god, you children lack the awareness—the specific word 'commemoration' utilized inside that text was a pure stroke of rogue genius. Reading through the entire text, my tears splashed right on the spot, to the point where I nearly wanted to go purchase a funeral wreath to deliver to this martyr named Sebastian."

"..."

"What kind of expressions are you all displaying? Don't look upon it with absolute zero conviction, genuinely. At that juncture, I held absolute conviction that Ash possessed a partner named Sebastian who had met a glorious end, and my heart felt broken for him for a long while. As it turned out, heh, this person abruptly transferred straight into our school out of nowhere. Wouldn't you children style it hilarious? No... what on earth kind of expressions are you all displaying anyway?"

Milo caught a flash of an ominous premonition, turning his head backward.

Frozen completely on the spot.

Drenching himself under Asher’s 'you are a dead man' gaze, Elliot shifted his chair a fraction forward, blocking the frame of the violently trembling Milo.

Meanwhile, Sebastian tilted his head with immense interest to look toward Asher. "In Commemoration of My Partner, Sebastian?"

Asher put on a serene face. "Artistic creation."

"Do I possess an opportunity to read its glory?"

"None. But a century later, I will definitively compile a fresh entry for your frame again."

"I accept your excellent blessing."

...

You deliver a line, I deliver a line, revolutionary brotherly sentiment completely forgotten.

The crowd reached absolute conviction: the unity, mutual aid, and tenderness displayed by these two against external elements during the military camp were a pure illusion—a battle to the bitter end remained their authentic foundation after all.

After launching a few biting lines to counter Sebastian, Asher looked down to gauge the time. Six-thirty; the high school track should have completed their dismissal. Hoisting his bag to sling it over a single shoulder: "Enjoy your food in a slow manner. I am fatigued, heading home to sleep ahead."

Sebastian also slung his own backpack. "I'll accompany him."

The two sauntered along with an unhurried step toward the direction of the setting sun, the distance separating them neither close nor far. Neither uttered a single syllable, their pace relaxed, completely stripped of the heavy gravity the other members imagined, looking pretty freaking harmonious after all.

Mason scratched his head. "Hearing this incident as an outsider delivers a trace of a catastrophic mass, so how on earth do the two of them look upon it as if absolutely nothing has occurred? Even heading home to sleep alongside each other?"

Elliot let out a yawn. "Otherwise? This matter passed eight hundred years ago. Any sharp spectator possesses the awareness that Sebastian carried zero trace of responsibility. His solitary error was perhaps treating others far too well, letting others take a mile when granted an inch, which is why he currently displays this 'strangers keep away' fierce front. Evaluate it yourself—aside from Asher, who else does he stay close alongside? Our relations being decent is purely because Asher is steel-bonded alongside us. Therefore—as long as Asher is present, Sebastian completely won't encounter a single fraction of an issue."

The remaining members listened with a thoroughly sallow, hazy confusion.

Too lazy to offer an explanation to this pack, Elliot lazily pulled out his phone.

With a sharp ding-dong, Asher’s WeChat illuminated.

Elliot: [During the military camp, I wanted to ask. What exactly is going on between you and Sebastian right now?]

Asher lacked an idea of what Elliot was tracking: [What do you mean what's going on?]

Elliot: [Don't you look upon him with absolute displeasure? Didn't you vow to drive him out of Riverdale Prep? Why exactly has the relationship turned this harmonious recently? Bitter rivals transforming into lovers?]

Asher typed a rapid response: [Lovers my ass, don't let your frame be infected by Eugene. The model I fancy is that specific soft, cute, Omega possessing an excellent personality, far from being this model of an Alpha who is tall, hard, and packed with toxic friction. Sebastian and I count as brothers at the absolute most.]

Finishing his line, he felt it still lacked a flawless fit, adding a supplement: [The specific model of brothers who will launch a fight when a fight surfaces, throw a tantrum when a tantrum surfaces, yet strictly still demonstrate absolute loyalty when the day comes.]

Elliot let out a smile.

Screen-captured, saved securely into the folder titled "Face-Slapping."

Dispatched straight to Sebastian: [Congratulations, President Seb, on successfully acquiring a brother.]

Turning his head to speak to Eugene: "Stop compiling text tracking Leonardo and the comic actor too. Compile a story tracking a calculating predator and an absolute idiot instead; it guarantees a booming success, trust my words."

Currently standing along the curb alongside Asher to wait for a taxi, Sebastian received the screenshot. Zooming in on the image, his fingertip tapped twice against the word "brothers."

Then, tilting his head sideways to lean close right before Asher's face, his narrow eyes squinted into a smile. "I recall our Ash habitually keeps his word since childhood."

Sebastian’s looks were crisp and cold, yet the precise fraction of a second his narrow eyes squinted into a smile, that mole beneath his eye anchoring his elongated eyes made him perfectly radiate the vibe of an austere, reckless male fox spirit.

Asher, this little virgin boy whose level of training fell short, would succumb to a dropped defense every single time the man offered a smile. Hooking the strap of his backpack: "Of course I keep my word."

"Then the coaxing you just stated you would deliver—you haven't delivered it yet."

"..."

"Nor have you embraced me."

"...What the hell is there to embrace between two massive men?!"

"But my heart currently feels a fair trace of displeasure—intense displeasure, what exactly should be executed?"

Sebastian had originally merely intended to tease Asher, yet he hadn't anticipated that this extreme proximity forced the sliver of casual loss and sour friction locked within his heart to remain completely exposed. Failing to preserve its hiding spot, it slipped out from his amber eyes, caught instantly by Asher.

Asher lacked an awareness regarding the true root of this loss, yet he could see perfectly that beneath this seemingly teasing, playful smile, Sebastian truly was unhappy.

Words delivered were water splashed out; he had personally told Sebastian that the moment he felt unhappy, he should voice it out to let him coax him. He completely couldn't back out of his word.

Thus, the hand hooking his backpack strap tightened, biting his lip violently as he braced his spine, stiffening his neck: "Although I completely cannot comprehend this bizarre preference of your massive frame, I resolve to still extend a wave of humanistic consideration toward you. Therefore... a single freaking embrace, just a single embrace. The moment the embrace completes, release your grip instantly, hear me?! Furthermore, this counts as the absolute last instance; in the future, if you raise a dramatic, clingy request of this nature again, don't blame me for turning my back to deny my own words!"

Finishing his speech, his two slender arms rigidly encircled Sebastian.