This is my first ABO novel. I usually stay away from them because I don't understand the idea of the second genders, but I started this book after reading another story by the same translator and I was hooked by the humor. Thank you Chipaholic for translating such a gem!
It's a campus romance that follows our MC, Li Cheng, who's a member of the swim team also widely recognized as the school delinquent at a prestigious high school. He only got in because the swim coach at the school took a gamble on him, even though he's an omega in a sports world dominated by alphas and betas. His personality is brash and impulsive and totally different from the ML, Xiao Yiheng, who has the cool prince vibes going for him and is also the #1 student with impeccable grades.
**Warning: Spoilers Ahead**
They meet due to a random encounter one night as LC is escaping from the school dorms to join his friends at an internet cafe, and from there it's a series of misunderstandings as everyone around them thinks that they're interested in each other. One of LC's underlings, Hu ge, hilariously refers to LC and XYH as mom and dad respectively, because he thinks they're friends with benefits, and later after he acknowledges LC as his big bro, he calls XYH sister-in-law XP.
Eventually they get past the misunderstandings and XYH realizes his feelings for LC and actively starts pursuing him, even volunteering to be the TA for the weekend health education class LC is taking to spend more time with him. There were lots of good moments there too, like XYH's double standards with LC vs everyone else in the class and Wei Huohuo's observation notes on their interactions. Then we get some chapters of LC being his tsundere self, where he pretends to be tough on the outside even though he likes XYH as well.
Once they get together, the relationship is smooth sailing for the most part and the story focuses more on their other struggles, LC with winning recognition for his abilities as an omega first at his swimming training camp and then at the international youth competition, and XYH with his super A parents. As they go long distance right after getting together, there are some small struggles along the way as LC is cluelessly pursued by other alphas at the swimming camp and they barely have time to even talk on the phone due to the rigorous training schedule.
However, they manage and there are some sweet scenes as well whenever XYH manages to sneak up for a visit. It was hilarious when he's caught by the security guards trying to climb over the wall and gets mistaken for a student athlete attempting to escape the training camp, and is brought to the swim team captain LC for "discipline" XD
I really like the romance here. Even though their personalities are so different, they complement each other really well. As an orphan, LC has always needed to be strong to fend for himself and his sister, and in XYH he finally has someone to take care of him. And for XYH, he grew up under the controlling influence of his parents but finds the courage to break free from them with LC's help. If he hadn't met LC, he might've stuck with the path his parents chose for him to study foreign relations and never switched to pursuing his true passion of being an artist. Here's a snippet that helps to illustrate that:
He had grown accustomed to self-reliance since childhood. As he grew older, his self reliance had become a more powerful thing. He was used to taking care of others, and he was more used to being depended on. When he was in the orphanage, his sister relied on him; when he entered school, the younger brothers only followed after him; on the field, his teammates also regarded him as the backbone... This was the first time that someone took care of him and cared about his preferences.
Li Cheng's personality had always been straightforward. He really couldn't hide his words: "Xiao Yiheng, why are you being so good to me?"
Xiao Yiheng's eyes were dark, and he asked in a low voice, "What is the reason for an alpha wanting to take care of an omega that has been marked by him?"
It was an instinct, but not just an instinct.
Li Cheng's heart was shaken and he looked away in panic.
It was so strange-was there any alcohol in the milk for primary school students? Why did he feel that his face was very hot and his heartbeat was very fast?
Overall I really enjoyed this story. The reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that both MC and ML are a little too excellent at whatever they do and there are too many exceptions made for them, like with XYH's admission to the art training camp and getting admitted into the prestigious art university after dropping out halfway through the training camp.
Here are some other scenes from the book I really enjoyed.
Becoming duck parents together:
Xiao Yiheng looked at the tiny lump of fluffy thing and cold-heartedly said, "I'm not interested in raising a pet. This duck should be returned to its owner. At our age, we must focus on our studies. One would lose their sense of purpose if they indulged in distractions. It'll be really extremely stupid to spend too much energy on raising a pet. Moreover, ducks don't have control over their excretion so keeping this kind of pet around is just asking for trouble... Hey, are you listening?"
Li Cheng paid him no heed as he lied face down on the lawn. He opened his phone's camera and aimed it towards the little duck's face, "Look here, ducky. You're so cute. Daddy will take a picture of you."
Xiao Yiheng: "..."
What's so 'cute' about an ugly duck that had just broken out of its shell? Does Li Cheng have an eye problem or a brain problem? If we're talking about who's cute, why don't he look at his reflection in the mirror?
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LC has his cute moments, like when he used the cute hair tie provided by his sister in the middle of a fight with XYH
Li Cheng was already doing the final preparation before the fight-He used a hair tie to tie up the top of his hair. A glistening orange suddenly stood there and Xiao Yiheng couldn't stop himself from staring at the lil' orange swaying left and right.
What tactic is this?
Distracting the enemy with cuteness?
That's such a foul.
Xiao Yiheng forced himself to look away: "...Li Cheng, I only said that you have a wild character. It doesn't mean anything else."
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LC tries to leave his claim on XYH discreetly by sending him breakfast before class starts, but all of their classmates misunderstood his "loving" note XP
"Wait, there is something else on the flipside!" The classmate sitting behind said loudly, "It has been signed with a heart!"
Question mark, question mark, question mark appeared on the heads of the whole class..
"But there is a sword in the heart!" The classmate said bitterly, "My God, God Xiao, does Li Cheng want to fight you after school in the small garden? Does he want to stab your heart?"
Three exclamation marks again popped up on their heads.
Xiao Yiheng was silent.
Liu Ke could clearly see that his face had a queer expression and hastened to smooth things over: "What?! Where did you see this "sword through the heart"? It's obviously an "arrow through the heart". This is a love letter! I see, Li Cheng is asking Lao Xiao to go on a date in the small garden after school."
The gossipy male classmate disagreed with Liu Ke's interpretation, insisting that it was not a "love letter" but a "duel letter". Other students in the class also stood on the same front with him, and some people kindly advised Xiao Yiheng asking him not to be afraid of the school tyrant's provocation, and to send the duel letter to the principal. They were confident that the principal would definitely come forward to solve the problem.