The young man stood tall and lean, radiating the mature aura of an Alpha.
His expression was cold and emotionless, making it hard for anyone to meet his gaze.
Xiao Lan swallowed, unsure if he should speak, but Lu Jingran walked towards him.
His footsteps echoed in the empty hallway, unhurried but steady, each step seeming to press down on Xiao Lan’s nerves, making his body tense involuntarily.
Xiao Lan cursed internally, but forced a flattering smile.
What a nightmare! It was as if Lu Jingran had a radar for Zhou Le—how did he keep catching him every time he bothered Zhou?!
“Brother Lu, what brings you here?”
“We were just joking around, look, I scared him so bad.”
When Lu Jingran heard him say “scared him,” he turned his gaze to Xiao Lan, who immediately backed down.
Lu Jingran moved closer, standing in front of Zhou Le.
Zhou Le, still clutching his supplies and looking down, seemed deep in thought and didn’t notice him right away.
Lu Jingran reached out and gently touched his shoulder.
Zhou Le snapped out of it, looking up as if waking from a dream, his gaze slowly focusing.
“Class rep…?”
Realizing who was in front of him, Zhou Le visibly relaxed.
After a moment, he remembered his purpose and held out the items he’d brought. “Class rep, look, I found it.”
“Mm.” Lu Jingran nodded slightly.
Zhou Le grabbed Lu Jingran’s hand to apply the medicine, but then noticed Xiao Lan was still there, making him uneasy.
Sensing this, Lu Jingran turned and looked at Xiao Lan.
Xiao Lan hesitated, then got the hint. “Right, okay, Brother Lu, I’ll head out. If you need anything, just let me know later. Me and Zhou Le are good friends, you know? So, if there’s anything, just say the word!”
Lu Jingran ignored him completely, leaving Xiao Lan to slink away awkwardly.
But there was something strange about it…
When Lu Jingran turned just now, his tall frame completely blocked Zhou Le from view, as if he were intentionally shielding him.
What’s going on here? Xiao Lan couldn’t quite put his finger on it but felt unsettled as he walked away.
With Xiao Lan gone, Zhou Le finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Lu Jingran asked, “Are you afraid of him?”
Zhou Le paused, looking down. “Not really… I just don’t want any trouble.”
He wasn’t even sure why he’d been so frightened earlier. Maybe it was because of the adrenaline or skipping lunch that he’d frozen up like that. That must be it.
“Class rep, lift your hand. I’ll put the medicine on.” Zhou Le reached into his bag and took out the iodine, cotton swabs, and band-aids.
With no surface nearby, they moved to the window.
Zhou Le gently held Lu Jingran’s hand, carefully cleaning each finger with the cotton swab.
“Class rep, tell me if it hurts. I’ll be more gentle.”
“…Mm.”
The sunlight from outside shone on Zhou Le’s focused face, casting a fine, soft glow over him, making him look gentle and sweet.
His small nose was slightly upturned, his eyelashes soft, and even the corners of his eyes had a hint of cuteness.
Lu Jingran found himself watching Zhou Le intently as he carefully tended to his injury, not even realizing how long he had been looking.
Zhou Le glanced up at Lu Jingran between moments and noticed him staring.
Even after being caught, Lu Jingran didn’t look away.
It felt a little strange.
“Did I… hurt you too much?” Zhou Le frowned slightly and asked softly, as if speaking too loudly would make the pain worse.
Being treated so gently and carefully made Lu Jingran feel as though he was something incredibly precious to Zhou Le.
“Mm.” Lu Jingran lowered his gaze, finally looking away. “A little.”
Zhou Le immediately said, “Then I’ll be more gentle.”
He not only eased his touch but also kept an eye on Lu Jingran’s expression while softly blowing on the wound, as if trying to lessen the pain that way.
It felt like a feather brushing his hand, a faint tickling sensation.
As Lu Jingran looked at Zhou Le, a flicker of something complex appeared in his lowered gaze.
“All done.” Zhou Le scratched his head sheepishly as he looked at the bandaged wound. “It’s not as neat as the one you did for me the other day, class rep.”
Lu Jingran raised his index finger.
The bandage was slightly uneven, not as smooth as if he’d just slapped it on himself.
“It’s fine,” Lu Jingran said. “It doesn’t hurt much anymore.”
“Really?” Zhou Le relaxed, smiling with relief. “That’s great.”
His genuine happiness spread to the corners of his eyes, and his whole face took on a soft, sweet expression.
Maybe it was just the way the sunlight hit his face, but to Lu Jingran, Zhou Le’s smiling face seemed to…
prick a bit.
—
In the later games, Xiao Lan’s class dropped out, and the remaining members from Class Seven, after being thoroughly defeated, lost any spirit to compete against Class Three. In the end, Class Three took first place overall!
“Ahhh! We won, we won! We actually won everything!”
“No way, we won?! We’re first?!”
“Yeah! Our class rep rocks! Sheng Qian rocks! Chen Nan rocks! Everyone rocks!”
“Wow! I heard the prizes include towels and toothbrushes—can I call dibs?”
“What’s so great about that? We won the relay, so we’re getting an oven! It’s a brand-name one too, costs a few thousand if you buy it.”
“Wow~” Zhou Le listened with wide, envious eyes.
An oven, that would be amazing.
But honestly, he’d be thrilled with a rice cooker. He really had his eye on the prize for the sprint champion.
Watching the students from Class Seven carry the rice cooker box back, Zhou Le couldn’t stop staring at it, unable to tear his gaze away.
A 5-liter rice cooker could hold a lot of rice, and it was automatic with a timer. The rice it cooked would definitely taste better than the half-broken one he had at home, which sometimes tripped the power. It would be fluffy, soft, and smell sweet.
Just imagining it was making Zhou Le’s mouth water.
Perhaps his longing gaze was too obvious, because the guys from Class Seven immediately noticed.
That rice cooker was one of the few decent prizes they’d won at this sports meet—how could they not show it off?
“Hey, Zhou Le! You want it, huh? Beg our Brother Lan, and maybe he’ll give it to you.”
“Yeah, beg us too, and who knows, we might take pity on you and give you a few hundred yuan to go buy one yourself, haha.”
“Yeah, come on, you know you want it. We’ll wait for you to ask nicely, hahahaha.”
Being mocked for being poor or timid, or for wanting money, had become routine for Zhou Le. He’d long since gotten used to it. Though it made him a bit sad, he kept a bright and friendly face.
After all, these might be future clients someday, so no point in offending them.
He’d just put on a half-hearted, fake smile when he realized someone was standing beside him.
Lu Jingran met his eyes, then looked ahead.
With just that one glance, everyone teasing Zhou Le went silent.
“You like that one?” Lu Jingran asked softly.
“Hm?”
Noticing Lu Jingran’s gaze, Zhou Le realized he was talking about the rice cooker.
“Yeah!” Zhou Le nodded eagerly. He really wanted it. “Class rep, is there more of the sports meet tomorrow? Are there any more events?”
He blinked, his eyes full of genuine hope.
Lu Jingran didn’t reply immediately. After a brief silence, he said to Zhou Le, “Go get it.”
Zhou Le: ???
Lu Jingran added, “That rice cooker—it’s yours.”
Class Seven: ???
What?! They hadn’t even gotten a chance to use it yet.
Wait, why did Lu Jingran sound so certain? They had worked hard to win that!
Zhou Le’s eyes lit up for a moment but then hesitated. “That’s… not right, though.”
While he did dislike those guys from Class Seven who followed Xiao Lan around and even bullied new students sometimes, he didn’t feel good about taking something from them—even if the class rep wanted to do it to teach them a lesson. He shouldn’t just take it. But… he couldn’t help the slight smile creeping up on his face.
In the end, Zhou Le’s expression turned into a mischievous grin, barely able to keep himself from smiling outright.
Lu Jingran remained calm. “They’ll agree.”
Zhou Le: Oh?
Lu Jingran said, “Because we’ll exchange it for the oven.”
Zhou Le: ???
His smile dropped instantly.
An oven?! That was a valuable oven! This didn’t seem fair at all!
Just as Lu Jingran finished speaking, Chen Nan walked over, carrying the oven and motioning to the guys from Class Seven, as if challenging them to a showdown.
Before the students from Class Seven even realized what was happening, the guy holding the rice cooker got a swift kick to the back of his knees.
“Hurry up and hand it over!” Xiao Lan shouted after kicking him.
Inwardly, he couldn’t help but curse: These idiots, why did you have to mess with Zhou Le in the first place?!
Zhou Le looked at the large rice cooker he could barely hold by himself, his eyes wide with disbelief. “Really, really… you’re giving this to me, class rep?”
The happiness felt too sudden, like he was dreaming.
Lu Jingran looked at him and smiled. “What else?”
Chen Nan chimed in, “You think we’d want it back? Do we look like we’re short on things like this?”
Shen Qianan added, “He mostly just didn’t want to lug an oven around campus, ‘cause it’s not cool.”
Chen Nan snapped, “Shut up!”
Zhou Le was so happy he didn’t know what to say, grinning with absolute satisfaction. “Thank you, class rep!”
Lu Jingran’s gaze lingered on Zhou Le’s small, joyful face peeking over the rice cooker, his eyes twinkling with excitement.
“Glad you like it.”
