“Hey, what are you kids doing?” A teacher’s voice suddenly interrupted.
“No fighting—let go!”
Lu Jingran released him.
Xiao Lan immediately stepped back several paces, clutching his neck as if he’d just come back to life, though his legs were a bit shaky.
Teacher: “What exactly were you doing just now, huh?”
Unfazed, Lu Jingran replied, “Giving each other encouragement.”
Teacher: “What?” Do you take me for a fool?
Lu Jingran: “If you don’t believe me, ask Classmate Xiao.”
Xiao Lan: “…”
Xiao Lan rubbed his neck. “Yes, teacher, we were… encouraging each other.” He almost bit his tongue saying it.
Teacher, righteously: “No need to be scared, young man; I’ll stand up for you.”
“Scared of what? He’s got the nerve to act scared?” Chen Nan broke free from Sheng Qian, pointing at Xiao Lan’s face and cursing.
The teacher caught him in the act, “You still claim you’re just encouraging each other? Is this how you do it?”
“Come on, all of you, to the office with me. No more participating in the sports meet.”
Seeing this, Xiao Lan panicked. This was their main event; they couldn’t just get taken away!
“Teacher, teacher, please, it’s really just a misunderstanding. We weren’t fighting, really.” Xiao Lan explained with a cheerful grin.
After a lot of persuasion, the teacher finally let them off and turned to leave.
Meanwhile, the announcement on the loudspeaker echoed across the field.
“All classes participating in the relay, please gather at the starting line. Our next race is about to begin.”
Lu Jingran and his group turned to walk away.
One of Xiao Lan’s followers, visibly shaken, asked nervously, “Brother Xiao… have we really angered Lu Jingran? What if they retaliate?”
They were used to doing such things themselves, yet feared the same could happen to them.
Xiao Lan was feeling a bit scared, too.
Although he’d never seen Lu Jingran specifically target anyone at school, he knew that in their elite circle, if they wanted to bring someone down, they could do it without leaving a trace.
But for him to suddenly come here over Zhou Le? Was it really necessary? Sure, they were in the same class, but was it worth it to protect him this much?
“Scared of what?” Xiao Lan muttered, trying to save face. “We’ll get them back on the track.”
Their main goal this time was to take first place; the rest didn’t matter. Lu Jingran might be strong, but the rest of Class Three’s guys were nobodies. Zhou Le had been a fluke.
Once they crushed them on the track, he’d like to see Lu Jingran still putting on that smug face.
Feeling a bit better, Xiao Lan even smirked to himself.
But when he took his position at the fourth baton exchange and saw Lu Jingran there, he suddenly froze.
“Lu… Brother Lu, wh-what are you doing here?” Wasn’t this supposed to be Chen Li? That guy from Class Three, the chubby one? He’d seen the roster!
Lu Jingran: “Take a guess.”
Xiao Lan: “…”
After a brief pause, Xiao Lan forced an awkward smile, “Ah, so Brother Lu’s running in person?”
“I’m so honored to be racing against you, Brother Lu. Truly thrilled.”
“Is that so?”
Lu Jingran’s lips curved into a faint smile. “I’m quite thrilled too.”
Watching him smile, Xiao Lan felt a chill run down the back of his neck.
“What the h*ll! What’s going on here?!”
The reality was that not only Lu Jingran but also Li Yang, Chen Nan, and Sheng Qian were all on the relay team. At each of the four relay points, an eerie silence hung in the air.
Class 7’s other lackeys looked at Xiao Lan nervously, pleading for help. It was clear they were all thinking, “It’s up to you now, boss.” But Xiao Lan just took one look at the tall figure beside him and shut his eyes in resignation.
Could someone come and save him? Why on earth did he have to be standing next to Lu Jingran?!
Meanwhile, when Class 3 saw Lu Jingran had stepped up to race, they gathered around the track to cheer him on.
Even the school beauty, Liu Yanyan, arrived in a short skirt, attracting quite a bit of attention.
“Ahhh, class rep! Class rep!” Lin Xiaoxiao shouted excitedly, raising her hand in excitement. If she had a banner, she’d probably pull it up with Zhou Le.
Zhou Le, still confused about the situation, had a vague sense that Lu Jingran was stepping in to teach Xiao Lan a lesson on his behalf.
For the first time, he felt like someone had his back.
Unbothered about offending Xiao Lan’s crew, Zhou Le joined in the cheering, “Go, class rep! You’re the best!”
“Go, class rep! Bring home that trophy!”
Many people cheered for Class 3, some because they were classmates, and some simply for Lu Jingran himself.
Though Zhou Le’s voice was drowned out in the crowd, he could still tell that Lu Jingran glanced over in their direction and even waved. Perhaps it was because they were the loudest.
Suddenly, the crowd reacted like fans hyped up by their idol, with even more intense cheers filling the air. Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought a celebrity had arrived on the field.
Caught up in the excitement, Zhou Le shouted, “Ahhh, go, class rep!”
Someone tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned around in surprise, “Liu Yanyan?”
She gave him a sweet smile. “It’s me.”
Afraid he might not hear her, she leaned close to his ear to speak.
The boy pulled back slightly, but after listening to what she said, he broke into an embarrassed, bashful smile—a soft, shy smile of a boy with a slight crush.
From a distance, Lu Jingran took in the scene.
He stared for a long time, his gaze settling on Zhou Le’s bright, joyful expression.
So he’s this happy, huh?
Lu Jingran’s tongue pressed against his cheek.
Watching this, Xiao Lan felt his legs go weak with anxiety.
He tried to approach Lu Jingran. “Uh… Brother Lu, I was out of line today. Maybe we could just….”
Bang!
With the sound of the starting gun, Li Yang dashed off.
The atmosphere on the track grew tense.
Li Yang, despite his laid-back demeanor, showed impressive strength in critical moments. His burst of energy put him well ahead of the others, leaving Class 7’s athletes struggling to keep up.
“Li Yang, you’re the best! Go, Li Yang!”
As expected, Li Yang was the first to pass the baton.
Chen Nan had been holding back all his energy, and the moment he got the baton, he didn’t even look back, just charged forward at full speed. He ran so fast that Sheng Qian had to stand at the exchange point to keep him from running straight to the finish line.
Sheng Qian ran steadily, keeping pace with his usual calm temperament, even glancing back at the others behind him. At one point, he even slowed down, worried he’d gone too fast.
When he handed off the baton to Lu Jingran, he gave a friendly reminder, “Try not to make the win too obvious.”
That was just Sheng Qian’s way—subtle, unassuming, never competing, yet somehow always impressive.
Lu Jingran took the baton, eyes down, and began to run.
Everyone could only see the sharp, cool figure of him on the track.
At that moment, the big electronic screen near the stands suddenly turned on, and without warning, Lu Jingran’s face filled the screen.
The young man’s calm gaze locked onto the finish line. Underneath the aloofness, there was an intensity so focused it was hard to look away.
Even while running, Lu, the school heartthrob, was captivating everyone with his looks!
The cheering around the track erupted.
Someone even started a chant.
“Lu Jingran! Lu Jingran! You can always count on—Lu Jingran! Ahhh!”
Class 3 wasn’t about to be left out.
“Class rep, you’re the best! Class rep, you’re the strongest! Class 3 will cheer you on all the way! Ahhh!”
No one knew who started it, but with the crowd pumped up, everyone joined in without hesitation. Lin Xiaoxiao pulled Zhou Le along, and together they cheered their hearts out.
And so, under everyone’s gaze, Lu Jingran effortlessly took the win.
“Ahhh, class rep, you’re amazing!”
“Yes! We won!”
“Lu Jingran is the coolest!”
“Brother Lu, you’re the best!”
“Brother Lu!!! You’re like a god!”
Even the guys were swept up in the excitement.
A crowd surged around Lu Jingran, not quite daring to hug him but hyping him up with loud cheers. The whole atmosphere was electric and heartwarming.
Zhou Le was in the middle of it all, jumping up excitedly with the others as they surrounded Lu Jingran.
“Class rep, you’re the best!”
“Class rep is a legend!!! Ahhh!”
Jumping with excitement, Zhou Le lost his balance and nearly fell, but Lu Jingran steadied him.
Just then, someone noticed an injury on Lu Jingran’s hand.
“Hey, Brother Lu, what happened?”
Only then did everyone see the cut on his right index finger, bleeding slightly with dried blood around it, making it look quite painful.
Lu Jingran hadn’t even noticed the injury himself until someone pointed it out.
He probably just bumped it somewhere.
“It’s fine,” he said quietly.
“That’s not great; you should wrap it up. You still have other events later, class rep.”
“Yeah, you need to get it bandaged.”
“Anyone have disinfectant, some cotton swabs, maybe a band-aid?”
Zhou Le suddenly remembered. “I have some! In the classroom! I’ll go grab it right now!”
With that, he dashed off at top speed, disappearing in seconds.
Lu Jingran didn’t even have a chance to call him back.
Carrying the supplies Lu Jingran had bought him, Zhou Le hurried out of the classroom. But as he rounded the corner, he ran into someone.
He froze.
“So, feeling pretty gutsy, huh?”
Xiao Lan appeared, his uniform slouched casually, smirking as he walked towards Zhou Le, closing in step by step.
Zhou Le instinctively tried to move aside, but he quickly realized the empty hallway offered no escape—and not another soul was around.
Before he could figure out what to do, Xiao Lan was right in front of him, standing so close that his chest was practically at Zhou Le’s face.
Zhou Le looked down, clutching his supplies, his entire body tense.
He should run, just turn and run!
But for some reason, he couldn’t move, as if some invisible force was holding him in place.
Was this the Alpha pressure? Why was his heart beating so fast? Why did his mind go blank, his limbs feel stuck, and his breath nearly stop…
No, this isn’t right. Even when Alphas had chased him before, he’d never felt like this.
Come on, Zhou Le, snap out of it!
He still had to get the medicine to the class rep. Hurry!
Otherwise, he will be beaet!
Xiao Lan had no idea what was going through Zhou Le’s mind.
He just found Zhou Le’s stillness kind of cute, his dark, round head a bit fluffy and tempting to touch.
So, almost unconsciously, he reached out—he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to hit him or pet him, but he reached out anyway.
Zhou Le thought he was about to get hit, so he hugged his supplies tightly and shut his eyes, bracing himself.
Just then, bam!
The sound of a ball hitting the hallway wall rang out—not too loud but intense in the quiet, carrying a distinct anger.
“What the h*ll? Who’s being an idiot?!” Xiao Lan flinched, his hand that was reaching out to touch Zhou Le’s head shook. He turned around, cursing.
But when he saw who was standing against the light, his anger instantly faded.
“Lu…Brother Lu…”