After Pretending to be a Beta, the Omega was Discovered by the School Heartthrob Chapter 50

The next day, Lu Jingran didn’t show up to class. He was absent the entire morning.

Even Xu Yue, their homeroom teacher, didn’t know why, and it was Sheng Qian who explained that Lu Jingran was feeling unwell and had taken the day off.

The whole class was shocked.

“Nearly three years, and this is the first time I’ve heard of the class rep taking a day off.”

“Right? But I guess he’d have to take one, he’s an Alpha, and they have susceptibility periods every year, right? Doesn’t he take leave for that?”

“Nope, I heard the class rep has amazing self-control over that stuff. After getting a suppressant shot in the morning, he’s fine for the day.”

“Wow, that’s kind of intense.”

No one had ever heard of an Alpha being able to fully control their pheromones during susceptibility. It practically defied biology.

“Maybe he just has a really good suppressant brand, high enough to keep it under control.”

“That actually makes sense—his family’s wealthy, after all. They’d be able to buy any suppressant on the market, so it’s probably the best.”

“So, if it’s not the susceptibility period, what’s wrong with the class rep? I remember he’s always been in great health.”

“Who knows…”

Listening to his classmates go back and forth made Zhou Le’s mind spin. He wanted to know how Lu Jingran was doing but didn’t dare to ask Sheng Qian.

Nor did he dare ask Lu Jingran.

He kept typing and deleting worried messages in the chat.

His rational side told him not to think about it, not to look, not to respond to Lu Jingran. They weren’t from the same world. Maybe it was the pheromones, maybe just a passing fancy, or maybe he was just something new to Lu Jingran. Though Zhou Le knew Lu Jingran wasn’t that kind of person…they were just too different.

To him, Lu Jingran seemed untouchably tall and out of reach. He’d never imagined being able to have a conversation with him. Even the fleeting attraction he’d felt due to his own pheromone instability used to make him feel guilty. Now that Lu Jingran had actually confessed, Zhou Le didn’t know how to react.

After Lu Jingran finished saying those things yesterday, Zhou Le had been in a daze. Before he could react, the call had already ended.

But that was for the best, because he wouldn’t have known how to respond anyway.

Zhou Le glanced at the empty seat next to Chen Nan and frowned.

After class, someone came by asking him to deliver something to the second-year students, but Zhou Le didn’t feel like moving, so he declined.

Xia Linchuan, sitting nearby, noticed he’d turned down a chance to make money and thought the world must be ending.

Even Lin Xiaoxiao, who didn’t approve of him being with Lu Jingran, felt sad seeing her friend so down.

“Hey, you don’t have to be like this. Maybe we’re just overthinking things, you know?” Lin Xiaoxiao tried to comfort him. “Remember Liu Yanyan? The class rep didn’t even like her, so it’s even less likely…”

“It’s not overthinking.” Zhou Le interrupted her, looking down. “He told me.”

Lin Xiaoxiao paused. “Told you what?”

Zhou Le was silent for a while. “He confessed to me.”

Lin Xiaoxiao: !!!

Xia Linchuan: !!!

It took a moment for them to regain their composure.

“Who? The class rep? He told you that himself?” Xia Linchuan’s milk carton fell out of his mouth, and Lin Xiaoxiao gestured for him to lower his voice.

Zhou Le nodded.

Lin Xiaoxiao: “Did you accept him?”

Zhou Le shook his head.

Xia Linchuan: “Did you reject him?”

Zhou Le shook his head again.

Lin Xiaoxiao was growing anxious but kept her voice down. “Then what’s going on between you two? What exactly are you guys now?”

Zhou Le looked at him in confusion and desperation, “I don’t know.”

“What should I do?”

Lin Xiaoxiao replied, “How should I know what you should do?!”

Oh my god, the person her dream crush liked was actually the friend sitting right beside her. What kind of fantasy world was this?

Her previously unreachable, idealized campus crush liked her friend? She didn’t know if she should be upset or thrilled.

It was like finding out that your best friend secretly became close with your idol!

Life really is just one big stage full of NPCs.

—

In the afternoon, right before evening study period, Lu Jingran finally showed up, wearing a mask and looking a bit under the weather.

Now that he was here, Zhou Le felt like he could breathe a little easier, and he even found it easier to work through his assignments.

Originally, they were supposed to use the two evening study periods for homework, but for some reason, it turned into a debate session for biology class.

The class was split into eight groups of six, with each group randomly assigned to argue for or against genetic mutation and dominant/recessive inheritance issues. School administrators would come by to observe at some point.

It seemed like there was some sudden inspection or a video that needed to be recorded, so they’d rushed Class 3 into putting on a performance.

It was just a formality, so they only needed to put on a good show.

Before long, everyone was drawing lots for group assignments.

As luck would have it, Zhou Le and Lu Jingran ended up in the same group, along with Sheng Qian, Lin Xiaoxiao, and Xia Linchuan.

Chen Nan was not pleased. “Did you guys rig this? Why do the five of you get to be in one group?”

“I’m going to take that spot back.”

He started to move, but Sheng Qian stopped him. “What group are you in?”

“Four,” Chen Nan replied.

Sheng Qian turned around, found someone from Group Four, and swapped papers with them, so now he was in Group Four.

The person who got swapped in was overjoyed at the chance to be in Lu Jingran’s group.

Chen Nan watched as Sheng Qian waved the paper at him in victory, looking smug. “What’s there to show off about? Just because you’re popular?”

He grumbled but quickly made his way to Group Four’s table to sit beside Sheng Qian.

When Lu Jingran approached their table with his notebook, everyone there fell silent.

He looked too striking, too intense. People naturally wanted to follow his lead.

“Hello, class rep,” Li Li, who had moved over from Group Four, broke the silence first.

The guy next to her, Ren Xiao, couldn’t help but laugh. “You sound like it’s the first time you’ve seen the class rep.”

“Well, I haven’t been this close to him before. What’s so funny?”

Aside from those two, everyone else in the group remained silent.

Zhou Le watched Lu Jingran, trying to catch some clue from his expression, but there was nothing there. Lu Jingran didn’t even look up at him. Zhou Le could only catch a faint hint of red in his eyes.

Lin Xiaoxiao and Xia Linchuan exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.

The whole group, except for the two newcomers who were unusually excited, sat in awkward silence.

The other groups had already started discussing their topics, but it was as if they’d never even met each other, leaving the atmosphere painfully tense.

Li Li glanced at Lu Jingran, wondering why the class rep wasn’t saying anything. Shouldn’t he be taking the lead?

Finally, when it seemed like nothing would happen, Li Li decided to make a good impression on Lu Jingran by taking initiative. “I’ve never been in a debate before, just watched one, so how about we each share our thoughts on the topic first?”

No one opposed, but no one agreed, either.

Li Li chose the easiest target, “Zhou Le, why don’t you start? Just share your thoughts on the topic.”

Naturally, she didn’t want to go first. Ideally, Zhou Le would start, stumble over his words, and then she’d chime in confidently and impressively to establish herself as a sharp, straightforward thinker.

As she expected, Zhou Le stumbled, struggling to articulate anything coherent. He wasn’t very strong in biology and usually relied on memorization. Genetics calculations were challenging for him, and debating wasn’t his style either.

Seeing Zhou Le flounder, Li Li saw her chance and was about to speak up when Lu Jingran took over, validating Zhou Le’s points and expanding on them. After he finished, he turned to Li Li, cueing her to continue the discussion.

Li Li was caught off guard. How could she follow up on Lu Jingran’s complex points?

“Um… I think… I think… well, I…” She stammered under everyone’s gaze, now experiencing the same awkwardness Zhou Le had just felt.

“I think we could approach it from this angle—”

“Okay, let’s write down our potential debate points and discuss them together,” Lu Jingran interrupted, putting an end to her train of thought. She swallowed her words.

Once Lu Jingran spoke, everyone started flipping through their biology textbooks.

At that moment, something fell out of Lu Jingran’s book.

It was a small photo. In it, a boy smiled brightly and genuinely, exuding a warmth that was contagious.

The photo landed in the center of the table, visible to everyone.

The atmosphere grew tense.

Ren Xiao turned his head, examining the photo closely. “Hey, Zhou Le, isn’t this you?”

“When did you take this? It looks nice.”

“…”

Zhou Le, of course, knew it was him. He recognized it the moment it fell out of the book.

Without a word, Lu Jingran picked up the photo, slipped it back into his book, and closed it.

“Let’s start writing. We’ll discuss it in 15 minutes.”

Lin Xiaoxiao and Xia Linchuan glanced at each other and then both turned to look at Zhou Le.

Outside the gym, on the second floor, Lin Xiaoxiao and Xia Linchuan took Zhou Le there during lunch.

Lin Xiaoxiao bought Zhou Le a boba milk tea and got a tasty drink for Xia Linchuan as well.

Lin Xiaoxiao said to Zhou Le, “I take back what I said before. Can you please just date the class rep?”

“…”

Lin Xiaoxiao continued, “I’m sorry, but after seeing him today, I just lost it. This is the first time I’ve seen him like that, and my heart is breaking for him, sobbing and all.”

“He actually kept a small photo of you! Was that from that competition you guys did?”

Zhou Le lowered his eyes and nodded silently.

It was a photo they’d taken together last time.

But it should have only existed as a digital copy, with the printed one going directly to the school. So, either Lu Jingran had asked for the digital version and printed it himself, or he requested it directly from the school.

In either case, he had clearly cherished it privately for a long time.

Zhou Le held his milk tea, looking even more conflicted, unable to take a single sip.

Lin Xiaoxiao said, “He’s kept it hidden for so long! Sob, sob!”

As a die-hard fan of Lu Jingran, her heart was breaking.

Xia Linchuan shook his head, saying, “I never thought the class rep could be… such a passionate person.”

Those who didn’t know the backstory might simply assume Lu Jingran, as class rep, kept Zhou Le’s photo for practical reasons—maybe for submitting materials on behalf of the class, which is often organized by class officers. So to them, the photo dropping out of Lu Jingran’s book might have just seemed odd without any deeper meaning.

But Lin Xiaoxiao and Xia Linchuan knew, and there was no denying how it made them feel.

The three of them, caught up in their thoughts, headed toward the stairwell—only to run straight into Lu Jingran and two of his friends.

Both groups froze, the silence thick and awkward.

Except for Chen Nan.

“Zhou Le? You’re not heading to the cafeteria at this hour?” Chen Nan asked curiously. It was rare to see Zhou Le relaxing at school during lunch, especially at mealtime. Sometimes, even before the bell fully rang, Zhou Le was already downstairs.

Before Zhou Le could reply, Sheng Qian had already dragged Chen Nan away.

“Hey, what are you doing, Sheng Qian? Let go of me!” Chen Nan’s voice trailed off as they walked away.

Lin Xiaoxiao and Xia Linchuan, reading the room, quickly headed down the stairs.

Suddenly, only Lu Jingran and Zhou Le remained, face-to-face.

The silence lingered between them.

Lu Jingran didn’t walk away, but he didn’t make any move toward Zhou Le either.

“Class rep, are you… alright?”

Zhou Le took a step closer, but Lu Jingran stepped back.

Zhou Le paused, his hand still holding the milk tea.

Lu Jingran looked at him with an expression of detachment.

Zhou Le felt a hollow ache, watching him.

“I… I just wanted to check if you were okay…”

Lu Jingran lowered his eyes and noticed Zhou Le still wore the red string bracelet he’d given him.

“I’m fine.” Lu Jingran’s voice was low. “I just had a cigarette. You might want to stay away.”

Alphas nearing their susceptibility period could have unstable, aggressive pheromones. He didn’t want Zhou Le to get scared.

But Zhou Le, still oblivious, brought his milk tea closer to Lu Jingran, offering it with the straw facing him.

“This one’s pretty good. Want to try?”

“Sweets can make you feel better.”

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