“I’ll take three flowers, and some sushi too.”
“Hi! I’d like this one, this one, and this hair clip. Can you wrap them up for me?”
“Hey, that’s mine! I just paid for it.”
“I’ve paid too, look, I have the transfer record.”
“So do I! What’s going on here?”
As the crowd grew, things became chaotic. Zhou Le and the others could hear people talking, but they didn’t know how to handle it.
Some customers even started grabbing roses directly from Zhou Le’s hands.
Not wanting to risk snapping the delicate stems, Zhou Le held firm, “Hey, you can’t just take them!”
“What do you mean, can’t? I already paid!” the man said, clearly frustrated.
As the man tried to snatch the flowers from Zhou Le’s hands, a hand reached over Zhou Le’s shoulder and firmly grabbed the man’s wrist.
“Let go.”
Zhou Le looked up, only able to see Lu Jingran’s sharp jawline.
Standing protectively in front of him, Lu Jingran shielded Zhou Le from the man.
“What are you doing?!” The man instinctively tried to pull away but found he couldn’t budge.
No way. He couldn’t believe a young student had such a strong grip.
But to his surprise, he really couldn’t escape.
As he looked up, he noticed two other boys standing behind Lu Jingran, eyeing him with unfriendly expressions.
With no choice, the man sheepishly released the rose in his hand.
“I really did pay. Check my WeChat,” the man muttered, still indignant.
Lu Jingran glanced down at Zhou Le. “Check WeChat.”
Zhou Le immediately understood, and after a quick check, he indeed found a recent transfer of ten yuan.
The man perked up. “See? I told you I paid.”
Lu Jingran asked coldly, “What’s your name?”
The man was thrown off. “Huh?”
Lu Jingran: “What’s the name on your WeChat account?”
The man panicked, his eyes darting around, unable to give a straight answer.
Realizing something was off, Zhou Le quickly called out to the surrounding crowd, “Who sent over ten yuan? Whose account is ‘Let It Be’?”
A small girl squeezed her way through the crowd, hand raised. “Me! I sent it. I bought some sushi earlier and haven’t picked up my rose yet. Is it wrapped?”
The truth was now clear.
Both Zhou Le and Lu Jingran turned to look at the man.
Humiliated, he turned and quickly slipped away without another word.
“What a guy,” Lin Xiaoxiao muttered in exasperation.
Lu Jingran turned to Zhou Le, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Zhou Le said, though he winced slightly in pain.
Noticing Zhou Le’s awkward stance, Lu Jingran asked, “What’s wrong with your leg?”
“Not sure…” Zhou Le looked down and tried moving it, but his knee throbbed with pain. He must’ve knocked it against the table during the scuffle.
He hadn’t felt it while talking, but now the pain was setting in.
Zhou Le moved to lift his pants to check, but someone knelt down first.
“Class rep! You don’t have to…”
But Lu Jingran didn’t listen. He rolled up Zhou Le’s pant leg, slowly inching it up.
The pale skin of Zhou Le’s knee was revealed, just within arm’s reach.
Zhou Le hadn’t expected Lu Jingran to kneel down and personally check his injury.
He could feel the class rep’s breath close to his skin, like a gentle caress.
No one had touched him like this before, and Zhou Le instinctively wanted to pull away.
But with Lu Jingran’s firm grip on his calf, he couldn’t move.
As the pant leg was rolled up past his knee, a bruise the size of a fingernail appeared, with a hint of purple. The impact had clearly been hard.
Gently holding Zhou Le’s knee, Lu Jingran brushed his thumb across the bruise.
“Ah…”
Zhou Le hissed in pain, his brows knitting together.
Meeting Lu Jingran’s worried gaze, he quickly reassured him, “It’s nothing, class rep. It’ll be fine in a few days.”
Lu Jingran stayed silent, rolling his pant leg back down. “Sit down. I’ll handle the selling.”
“Huh?” Zhou Le hadn’t expected him to offer that and immediately replied, “No need, it’s just a minor injury.”
Lu Jingran gave him a long, intense look.
Eager to explain, Zhou Le continued, “Really, class rep, I’m fine. This is barely a scratch compared to what I’m used to.”
But Lu Jingran’s gaze remained fixed on him, filled with genuine concern and affection.
The depth of his expression was almost too much for Zhou Le to bear.
The intensity felt like…like Zhou Le was the most important person to him, someone whose pain he couldn’t stand to see.
Zhou Le avoided Lu Jingran’s gaze.
“Hey, how much is the sushi?”
“I’m coming,” Zhou Le responded, then turned to Lu Jingran and said, “Class Rep, I’m heading over.”
Lu Jingran didn’t stop him, and Zhou Le took a deep breath.
After packing up the sushi and seeing off the customer, Zhou Le cautiously glanced back.
Lu Jingran was still looking at him with that intense gaze, which made Zhou Le’s heart skip a beat. He quickly looked away.
“Wow, we’re really selling well—sushi’s all sold out,” Lin Xiaoxiao marveled. “I feel like if this keeps up, I won’t need to go to school. I could just set up a stall for a living. What a bright future!”
Xia Linchuan clicked his tongue. “Bro, couldn’t agree more.”
Chen Nan snorted. “You guys think you’re selling so much because of who, exactly?”
Lin Xiaoxiao had once been sarcastically mocked by Chen Nan when she’d gotten close to Lu Jingran. Back then, they weren’t that familiar with each other, and she knew Chen Nan had a bit of a temper, so she didn’t talk back. But now that she knew him better, she also knew Chen Nan was just loud and liked to argue, so she didn’t hold back anymore.
“Thanks to the class rep, sure—but definitely not because of you. What are you even doing other than eating?”
Chen Nan didn’t expect to be dismissed like that and was furious. “What’s wrong with me eating? It’s not like I’m not paying. I paid double for my food!”
Lin Xiaoxiao replied, “We could still sell even if you didn’t eat, you know?”
Chen Nan retorted, “The only reason you’re selling at all is because of Brother Lu. What’s there to brag about?”
Lin Xiaoxiao shot back, “Who says so? The class rep isn’t the only good-looking one here, okay?”
Chen Nan laughed, “Oh? Then who is it, you?”
Lin Xiaoxiao glared at him, then turned to Zhou Le and said, “Le Le, call her over!”
Everyone was a bit confused until Liu Yanyan emerged from the back.
She was dressed in a white dress, her hair tied up, holding a light-colored rose, smiling gently and gracefully.
Lin Xiaoxiao grinned, “Our Le Le called for her. See? We have a school beauty, don’t we?”
Chen Nan couldn’t stand being taunted. “Fine! Have her help you guys sell, then. We’re out of here!”
He added dramatically, “Brother Lu, let’s go. Helping them is just a thankless job.”
After Chen Nan finished speaking, he was about to pull Lu Jingran away, but before he could even grab hold of him, Sheng Qianan tugged him back.
Chen Nan looked confused, and Sheng Qianan gave him a subtle shake of the head.
Chen Nan didn’t understand and reached for Lu Jingran again, only for Sheng Qianan to stop him once more.
Chen Nan frowned, “What are you pulling me for?”
Sheng Qianan rolled his eyes: *Hopeless.*
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward.
An uncomfortable silence.
Lin Xiaoxiao hadn’t expected Chen Nan to respond like that, and she couldn’t think of anything to smooth things over, standing there speechless.
Liu Yanyan felt even more lost. She looked at Lu Jingran’s indifferent profile, realizing he had no interest in her at all, and a pang of sadness arose in her heart.
Her arrival hadn’t sparked the attention she had hoped for.
Zhou Le stood off to the side, glancing around at everyone, feeling a bit unsure. But he knew he couldn’t let things end like this!
He looked up and noticed that Lu Jingran was watching him.
Zhou Le stepped closer.
“Class Rep, Liu Yanyan came over to help, and Lin Xiaoxiao didn’t mean anything by it. Please don’t misunderstand. You’re all very important to us.”
Lu Jingran looked down at Zhou Le’s lips, which were moving gently as he spoke, his face showing a hopeful, appeasing expression.
As Zhou Le approached, a soft scent wafted over.
Was it because of the faint scent of roses?
No, it wasn’t that scent—it was more like the smell of Omega pheromones from before.
A peaceful, gentle aroma that’s hard to forget.
Very alluring.
If… if Zhou Le were an Omega, speaking to him in such a soft voice, Lu Jingran wasn’t sure if he’d be able to keep other thoughts from crossing his mind.
His thoughts drifted, but outwardly, he still looked calm and emotionless.
With his naturally aloof expression, it was hard to tell the difference between calm and anger.
Zhou Le said a lot, but Lu Jingran’s expression didn’t budge.
Zhou Le began to panic, unsure of what to do.
Finally, he gathered the courage to tug on the corner of Lu Jingran’s sleeve, and spoke to him softly, “Class rep…”
This took Lu Jingran by surprise.
Zhou Le leaned in closer, his voice even softer.
Tiny and gentle, like he wanted to cling to Lu Jingran, almost pleading, acting a bit coy.
Uncontrollably, Lu Jingran’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
He looked away. “It’s fine.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Just focus on selling flowers. There are still so many left.”
Hearing Lu Jingran’s tone soften, Zhou Le relaxed.
“Alright, alright, let’s keep going.” Xia Linchuan directed, “Lin Xiaoxiao, come here and help me sell these hair clips. I don’t know much about them, so come and help me pick some out.”
Lin Xiaoxiao suddenly realized how inappropriate her earlier words had been. She’d been annoyed seeing Chen Nan so upset, but that didn’t justify saying things that made it seem like the class rep wasn’t doing anything.
This time, she stayed silent, quietly standing next to Xia Linchuan.
Chen Nan was shocked.
No way, he just let that go?
What was up with Brother Lu? He’d clearly been angry just now, and then Zhou Le came over, said a few soft words, and that was it?
What, was he won over that easily?
No way, did Zhou Le cast a spell on him?
Just a few coaxing words, a single “class rep,” and that’s it? Really?!
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