Thanks to Lu Jingran, Zhou Le dreamed about him that night.
In his dream, Lu Jingran was everywhere, constantly teasing him in different ways. Sometimes he used his pheromones, sometimes his hands, his lips… every touch set Zhou Le ablaze—
Ahhhhh!!!
What was this?! Ahhhh!
When Zhou Le woke up, hazy memories flooded his mind, and he almost strangled himself.
How could he dream something like that?! About the class rep, of all people!
Lu Jingran’s feelings for him were nothing but pure, innocent friendship, and here he was doing… what?
Not only had he sniffed Lu Jingran’s pheromones in secret, he’d touched his fingers, and now he was even having these kinds of thoughts at night?
Just kill him now. What was this?!
Even if Lu Jingran forgave him, he would never forgive himself. He almost opened the window to jump.
But when the cool morning breeze hit, he sobered up.
Little White was yowling in his room, and Zhou Le quickly covered its mouth, worried about waking his mom.
Could it be the influence of pheromones? This was terrifying! When had he become so… vile?
If Lu Jingran found out, he’d tear him to pieces in seconds.
This was too much; he’d have to consider getting that gland removal surgery. He couldn’t go on being this kind of Omega!
With his heart pounding, Zhou Le walked into class, greeted Lin Xiaoxiao and Xia Linchuan, and took his seat.
In the front, Lu Jingran and his group filed noisily through the door.
When Zhou Le looked up, he saw Lu Jingran with his backpack, entering from outside.
The guys around him were all tall and thin, wearing school uniforms, laughing and talking, giving off a youthful, energetic vibe.
Especially Lu Jingran, who walked at the front, exuding the cool, aloof aura of a school heartthrob. His handsome, clean-cut face and the slight droop of his eyes were mesmerizing.
Zhou Le suddenly recalled last night’s dream, where Lu Jingran towered over him, telling him to open his mouth.
Ahhhhh!!!
Zhou Le pinched himself hard, the sting on his arm pulling him back to reality.
As if sensing Zhou Le’s gaze, Lu Jingran looked over, catching his eye precisely.
He looked at him and gave a small, relaxed smile.
A moment ago, he’d looked unapproachable, but the instant he saw Zhou Le, he smiled warmly, like a spring breeze.
Help, he was smiling at him!
Who could take it?
Bang—
Zhou Le couldn’t handle it and slapped the desk.
Lin Xiaoxiao, who was touching up her makeup, flinched. “What’s wrong with you?”
Zhou Le buried his head, his face burning.
—
The competition results were in, and as expected, Zhou Le’s team took first place at the school level. The school awarded each team member 5,000 yuan, but because Sheng Qian would be going abroad for a while, their team couldn’t compete at the city level.
Though a little disappointed, it made sense. The first semester of their second year was almost over, and with high school halfway through, putting in that much effort for a city-level competition that might stretch into spring wouldn’t be worth it. Their real goal was the college entrance exams.
Zhou Le was thrilled with his 5,000 yuan prize!
And the school was fast—within half a day of the announcement, the money was already deposited in his account.
It was Zhou Le’s first time seeing such a large sum in his account, and he felt like he could float with joy just looking at all those zeros.
At the same time, a message popped up on his phone.
A few people had joined the group chat—it turned out to be Chen Nan and Lin Xiaoxiao.
Chen Nan: [Finally, time to throw a celebration party! No one’s allowed to leave after school, especially you, @Zhou Le!]*
Chen Nan: [I’m in a great mood today, so we’re having seafood! Anyone who doesn’t show is disrespecting me. You’ll be answering to me at school every day if you don’t come!]
He added a cheeky, arrogant GIF.
Since there was nothing planned that night—Uncle Zhou had gone back to his hometown for a few days—Zhou Le figured he’d take the day off.
Just as he was thinking, a private message came in.
It was from Lu Jingran.
Do you want to go?
He probably wanted to make sure Zhou Le wasn’t busy.
Zhou Le: [I’m good, class rep. I’m free tonight.]
Lu Jingran: [Alright.]
Lu Jingran: [You can ride with me. I’ll drop you off after we eat.]
Zhou Le was about to reply “OK” but realized he had ridden his bike to school. If he took Lu Jingran’s car there and back, how would he get to school in the morning?
Just as he thought this, it was as if Lu Jingran read his mind. He replied: [I’ll pick you up for school tomorrow morning. It’s on my way.]
…
It was like he’d thought of everything, always ready to solve any issue.
“Zhou Le, if anything happens, call me.”
“No matter what, I’ll be the first one there.”
A strange feeling welled up in Zhou Le’s heart—he couldn’t quite identify it. His mind was spinning, so he brushed it aside.
Zhou Le: [Got it.]
After a pause, he added: [Thanks, class rep.]
After school, they got into a chauffeured car, even bigger and flashier than the one Zhou Le had ridden before—black, sleek, and impressive.
Lin Xiaoxiao squeezed Zhou Le’s arm in excitement, nearly pinching the life out of him, and whispered in his ear, “Oh my gosh, finally, I get a taste of luxury!”
She then carefully angled herself in the car to snap selfies with her phone.
With so much space, Xia Linchuan stretched out, gaming comfortably with his legs extended.
The sky was dimming outside, and so was the car interior.
Zhou Le looked around and, suddenly, his gaze met Lu Jingran’s.
Lu Jingran’s dark eyes seemed to hold a captivating presence in the dim light, gazing steadily at Zhou Le, as if he’d been watching him all along.
Zhou Le blinked and averted his eyes.
He pulled out his phone, checking his reflection.
Nothing seemed wrong; he wasn’t dirty, was he?
Was there something on his face? It didn’t look like it, but the dim light made it hard to tell.
Beside him, Lu Jingran noticed his quietly worried expression and smirked.
When they arrived at the restaurant and got out of the car, Xia Linchuan’s jaw dropped when he saw the name of the place. “Whoa, it’s here?”
Gui City Garden.
The biggest five-star hotel in the city.
Lin Xiaoxiao was clueless and whispered, “Is this place famous?”
Xia Linchuan could only reply, “It’s the provincial-level business venue of choice, handpicked by the mayor. You tell me if it’s famous.”
Lin Xiaoxiao’s mouth formed an “O” shape.
Zhou Le was also stunned. This felt unreal, like he’d stepped into a legend; he never thought he’d get to visit a place like this.
Looking at the massive illuminated sign taller than himself, Zhou Le clutched his small backpack tightly.
Such a high-end place? Chen Nan wasn’t kidding about treating them, was he? He really wouldn’t make them pay, right…?
After a moment, a server came out to greet them. “Is this the reservation under Young Master Chen Nan?”
“Hello, everyone. This way, please.”
Lin Xiaoxiao gave Xia Linchuan a nudge, snickering quietly, “Young Master Chen Nan, ha! Sounds like a novel.”
Chen Nan strode to the front confidently, as if he was used to it. “Let’s go.”
The group walked inside, and Zhou Le glanced around. There were a lot of polite servers in smart uniforms—it seemed like a nice place. Zhou Le thought it wouldn’t be too bad to work somewhere like this in the future.
Falling behind as he took in the surroundings, Zhou Le looked up to see the others already getting into the elevator.
Luckily, Lu Jingran was waiting for him at the front. Zhou Le quickly picked up the pace to catch up.
On the 5th floor, Chen Nan had reserved a private room. This floor was pretty quiet.
“Sit anywhere,” Chen Nan said, taking a seat to the side of the spot facing the door. Lu Jingran sat directly facing the door, with Sheng Qian on Chen Nan’s right.
Zhou Le, Xia Linchuan, and Lin Xiaoxiao looked at each other, unsure about the seating etiquette in such a fancy place, but sensing it probably wasn’t as casual as it seemed.
As they hesitated, Lu Jingran called Zhou Le over and took his backpack to hang on the wall.
Zhou Le naturally took the seat next to Lu Jingran.
When a server entered, Chen Nan instructed, “Bring out the dishes we ordered earlier. We’re all starving.”
“Certainly. Please wait a moment.”
Lu Jingran opened his phone and showed it to Zhou Le. “Want anything else? You can pick.”
Zhou Le blinked, holding Lu Jingran’s phone a bit awkwardly. “I can just order like this?”
Lu Jingran nodded.
Zhou Le looked down, scrolling through the options with his finger, his round eyes reflecting the phone’s glow as he focused intently.
Sitting beside him, Lu Jingran’s gaze traced from Zhou Le’s eyelashes to the tip of his nose, then to his lips, and down to his slightly pink fingertips. His chubby fingertips tapped lightly on the screen…
With an indulgent look, the Alpha lifted his glass and downed a bottle of water.
A moment later—
“Class rep,” Zhou Le said shyly, trying to hand back the phone. “I…I’m not really sure how to order. I’m fine with anything. I’ll eat whatever.”
The truth was, everything was so expensive—each dish was over a hundred yuan, with some even priced at a thousand. Zhou Le didn’t dare to order; just thinking about it made him nervous, even if it wasn’t his money. He’d never spent like this before.
Seeing Zhou Le’s hesitant expression, Lu Jingran responded quietly, “Alright, I’ll order.”
Not long after, the food arrived.
The dishes looked amazing. There was so much seafood, some of it in sizes Zhou Le had never even seen at the market. The sauce looked delicious, and there were crabs with rich, golden roe that looked so appetizing, along with what seemed to be… salmon sashimi!
Zhou Le’s eyes lit up. He actually loved seafood—shrimp, crab, and salmon were some of his favorites.
But he rarely had them because they were expensive. Sometimes, if there were leftover spicy seafood dishes at Uncle Zhou’s place, Zhou Le would carefully save them in the fridge, only bringing them out to share with his mom when he couldn’t resist anymore.
But now, he had fresh, high-quality seafood right in front of him, and he couldn’t help but swallow in anticipation.
Chen Nan, as the host, picked up his chopsticks first. “Alright, let’s dig in. We’re all starving.”
With that signal, everyone grabbed their chopsticks and started eating.
Zhou Le picked up a piece of salmon, dipped it in the nearby sauce, and took a few bites, nearly spitting it out.
“Cough! Cough!” It was so spicy!
The sauce was loaded with wasabi, and he’d dipped in way too much. The sharp taste shot straight up his nose, nearly wiping him out.
Not eating this often, he’d forgotten about the wasabi in the restaurant’s sauces and thought it was just oil and vinegar.
Seeing Zhou Le’s reaction, Chen Nan laughed. “Zhou Le, is this your first time having salmon? That’s wasabi; did you think it was just soy sauce?”
Chen Nan’s words were casual, but being called out like that made Zhou Le a bit embarrassed. He could only force a smile and brush it off.
After a moment, a glass of water appeared beside him.
Lu Jingran handed it to him.
Zhou Le took it and drank a few sips, calming down though his face was still flushed from the spice.
Chen Nan chuckled at his expense, but a quick look from Lu Jingran silenced him.
“Not a fan of wasabi?” Lu Jingran asked softly.
Zhou Le shook his head. “Not really used to it.”
Lu Jingran took his empty glass, refilled it, and pressed the service bell.
“Could you bring a different dipping sauce, please? Just oil and vinegar, with a small bit of wasabi on the side for us to add. Thank you.”
“Certainly, please wait a moment.”
Zhou Le watched Lu Jingran’s profile in a daze—was he doing that just for him?
Noticing Zhou Le’s gaze, Lu Jingran turned to him. “What is it?”
“N-Nothing.”
The dipping sauce arrived quickly, and Lu Jingran placed it beside Zhou Le, carefully opening the wasabi packet for him so he could add it as he liked.
Chen Nan, watching all this, took it all in.
Normally boisterous, Chen Nan felt unexpectedly down. If one paid close attention, they’d notice that even though he was the one hosting this gathering, he hadn’t seemed truly happy, and even his smiles lacked enthusiasm. Throughout the entire meal, he hadn’t exchanged a single word with Sheng Qian.
It was unusual. Normally, even if Chen Nan didn’t initiate conversation, Sheng Qian would talk to him. But today, he too stayed silent.
With a dry throat, Chen Nan forced himself not to look at the person beside him, standing abruptly. “I’m going to the restroom.”
With that, he opened the door and stepped out.
As soon as he left, Sheng Qian put down his chopsticks and didn’t touch his food again.
