After they finished eating, Lu Jingran escorted Zhou Le home, reminding him to check with Dr. Xiao Zhang and offering to go with him.
Zhou Le suddenly recalled that Dr. Xiao Zhang was the only person who knew he was an Omega. Bringing an Alpha there… what if something slipped?
Even if Lu Jingran had already guessed his status, a vague suspicion was still worlds apart from it being openly confirmed.
“Uh, I’ll go tomorrow… or maybe later. No need to go now.”
“Class Rep, you should go on home. I’ll be fine.”
Lu Jingran seemed to understand his hesitation and didn’t press further. He simply reminded Zhou Le, “Make sure you go soon, and remember to take your medicine.”
Zhou Le nodded vigorously.
Lu Jingran looked at him quietly.
The boy was shorter than him, and even after eating, his complexion still looked unwell, with a faint flush of weakness coloring his cheeks.
Those adorable eyes stared directly at him, unwavering. Though they weren’t as bright as before, just being looked at like that was enough to warm one’s heart.
Lu Jingran stepped forward, and before Zhou Le could react, he cupped his face and pressed their foreheads together to check his temperature.
He did feel a bit feverish—warmer than Lu Jingran, but not overly hot.
“Do you have fever medicine and a thermometer at home?” Lu Jingran pulled back slightly and asked.
Zhou Le’s brain froze, and it took him a moment to respond. “Y-yes, I do.”
“Good…” Lu Jingran lowered his gaze to meet Zhou Le’s eyes.
With his face held like that, Zhou Le didn’t know where to look or what to do.
The Alpha’s gaze was direct and focused, as though he wanted to take in every detail of Zhou Le’s face.
Under the intensity of that gaze, Zhou Le’s cheeks grew even hotter, and his heartbeat raced.
“Take your medicine properly. Don’t make me worry.”
The boy’s voice was soft and gentle, the words slipping into Zhou Le’s ears.
A few seconds later, Lu Jingran released him.
“Go upstairs. I’ll watch until you’re up.”
Zhou Le wasn’t even sure how he made it upstairs, his steps unsteady as he wandered toward his bedroom.
His mother noticed his distracted look and asked him about it, but Zhou Le gave vague, half-hearted answers.
Sitting at his desk, he remained dazed for a long time, snapping back to reality only when Lin Xiaoxiao called.
“Spill it! What’s going on?!”
Zhou Le lowered his eyes, pretending to be clueless. “What… what are you talking about?”
Lin Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes. “Don’t play dumb with me! Obviously, you and the class rep! What’s going on between you two? That *vibe*!”
Zhou Le stayed silent, lowering his head and biting his lip.
“What’s going on… How do I define this? How do I put it?”
“We’re… good friends. The class rep… treats me like his little buddy. He’s naturally a kind person,” Zhou Le said, his voice getting smaller with each word.
Lin Xiaoxiao wasn’t convinced. “Do you think I’m blind? Chen Nan and Sheng Qian have spent way more time with him. Have you ever seen him wipe their mouths, pick them up for school every day, buy them medicine? He’s totally treating you like his Omega!”
“Zhou Le, are you seriously that oblivious? Don’t you realize that Lu Jingran has feelings for you? He likes you!”
Likes you—
It hit him like a brick, making his heart skip a beat before racing wildly.
“No… it’s not like that. He doesn’t,” Zhou Le mumbled, looking down, his eyelashes trembling. He didn’t dare look at Lin Xiaoxiao.
Lin Xiaoxiao kept talking, but Zhou Le couldn’t process her words.
Lu Jingran… the class rep… likes him?
How could that be possible?
He was so ordinary, not attractive, and on top of that… he was a disabled Omega. Why would the class rep like him? If he had to like someone, it would be someone like Liu Yanyan, a campus beauty, not him.
Thinking of how kind Lu Jingran had been to him recently, especially the way he cupped his face and spoke to him earlier, Zhou Le was overwhelmed by a confusing mix of emotions.
It was bittersweet and left him feeling a bit muddled. Being liked was supposed to feel good, but Zhou Le’s first reaction was to deny and avoid it.
“You’ve been reading too many romance novels! How could the class rep like me? I’m a Beta, and he’s an Alpha. There’s no way,” Zhou Le said defensively.
Lin Xiaoxiao clapped her hands. “That’s exactly what’s strange! You’re a Beta, not an Omega. So why would the class rep be interested?”
“If you were a nice-smelling Omega, it would make sense since Alphas and Omegas are naturally attracted through pheromones. Maybe he’d just be into your type. But you’re a Beta—you don’t even have pheromones.”
Pheromones… Could it be because of them?
It was possible. The class rep had caught a whiff of his scent before, back in class when he had borrowed his uniform to help him.
A top Alpha wouldn’t miss the scent of his pheromones in that situation.
So… was his kindness just because of the pheromones?
If someone else had a similar scent, would he be this good to them too?
“Um, I’m going to sleep now. Let’s talk later.”
Before Lin Xiaoxiao could reply, Zhou Le ended the call.
Sensing his unease, Little White came over from the living room. Zhou Le picked it up and tucked it into his blanket. The warm, fluffy creature seemed even more well-behaved than usual.
Holding it close, Zhou Le eventually drifted off to sleep.
By Monday, Zhou Le’s cold was almost gone, and his voice was back to normal, thanks to the special medicine Lu Jingran had given him.
In class, Lin Xiaoxiao noticed Zhou Le and Lu Jingran coming in together and clicked her tongue, her gaze fixed on Zhou Le, who averted his eyes uneasily.
After two classes, Lin Xiaoxiao hadn’t gotten a chance to corner Zhou Le. During the long break, she pretended to need the restroom, sneaking back in and immediately pressing Zhou Le into his seat.
“You still haven’t told me everything about the weekend.” With only the three of them in the room, Lin Xiaoxiao was direct.
Zhou Le felt uncomfortable. “W-what else do you want to know?”
“What else?” Lin Xiaoxiao sized up his evasive expression, astonished. “Don’t tell me… Are you two already dating?”
“Huh?” Xia Linchuan, who had been mopping nearby, immediately stopped.
“No, we’re not! Don’t say such things!” Zhou Le protested.
Lin Xiaoxiao sat down, looking at him seriously. “What do you actually think?”
“To be honest, if you really want to be with the class rep and have decided on it, Xia Linchuan and I will support you.”
“But Zhou Le, I still have to remind you: someone like the class rep is not someone we can really get close to. First of all, his family background is completely different from ours. And secondly, don’t let me jokingly saying I want to marry the class rep fool you—I know my place. If it weren’t for school, someone like him would probably never cross paths with us in this lifetime. We’re just NPCs in his life.
“The gap between us is too big. He has a good family, good grades, and good looks. And what about us? We’re as ordinary as it gets. I’m worried about you getting hurt. If he’s just acting on a whim, what will you do? Once you’ve encountered someone like him, how will you ever truly fall in love with anyone else again?
“Feelings like these are hard to shake once you’re caught up in them. Especially with someone like you—you’ll just end up exhausting yourself.”
…
Lin Xiaoxiao’s words buzzed in Zhou Le’s ears, circling over and over.
How could Zhou Le not know these things? For days, he’d been feeling suffocated, like something was stuck in his chest—something he couldn’t express, yet couldn’t let go of.
He was confused, too, unsure how to face Lu Jingran.
He couldn’t exactly bring up the topic outright. After all, Lu Jingran hadn’t done anything wrong—he was simply being kind.
Yes, “so” kind. So kind that Zhou Le felt like no one else would ever treat him this well again in his lifetime.
To say he wasn’t moved would be a lie.
On one hand, he couldn’t bear to let go. On the other, he couldn’t just accept and enjoy this kindness without feeling conflicted.
These thoughts consumed Zhou Le over the past few days, leaving him distracted no matter what he did.
Lu Jingran continued to pick him up and drop him off from school every day, calling it “on the way.” They even had lunch together.
He noticed Zhou Le’s odd behavior—the quiet gloom, the occasional zoning out. But since Zhou Le wouldn’t say anything, Lu Jingran couldn’t find a way to ask directly, so he just tried to do little things to make Zhou Le happy.
That evening after school, as they arrived home, Lu Jingran stood downstairs and said, “Hold out your hand.”
Zhou Le didn’t know what he meant, but still obediently held out his hand.
Lu Jingran took out a delicate red string bracelet from his pocket, woven with gold threads in a way that wasn’t too flashy for a guy to wear.
He lowered his head and helped him put it on.
“I got this at a temple; it’s for protection.”
“I heard it’s really effective. You should wear it every time you go out to deliver food at night.”
“…”
Zhou Le looked at the bracelet, not saying anything for a while.
He looked up, and Lu Jingran smiled at him. “Do you like?”
Zhou Le felt a lump in his throat.
He looked at Lu Jingran’s face for a long time, then said hoarsely, “I like.”
