Chapter 5
Time seemed to freeze. Both sides stared at each other, feeling as though they were in a dream.
Lu Jingran squinted slightly at the camera aimed at his lower body.
"What are you doing?"
His voice wasn't exactly cold, but it was clear his tone wasn't friendly.
Zhou Le hadn't had time to explain before Chen Nan, who had just exited the stall, saw Zhou Le and widened his eyes, "Shit, why are you here?"
Lately, it seemed like he kept running into him.
His gaze shifted downward, and he noticed Zhou Le's phone. The camera was pointed directly at Lu Jingran's waist, a very obvious position. Lu Jingran's hand was still on his abdomen, clearly in the process of pulling his pants up.
If this had gone one step further...
"Fuck! You pervert, come here!" Chen Nan shouted as he reached out to grab Zhou Le.
Instinctively, Zhou Le wanted to run.
Though he wasn't sure what was happening, running seemed like the right choice.
But before he could fully turn around, someone grabbed the back of his neck—his fate sealed.
An Alpha's hand touched his skin, gripping his spine. With just a simple action, Zhou Le was completely subdued.
Pitifully, Zhou Le looked up, "Class leader..."
He could explain. This was definitely a misunderstanding.
Lu Jingran met Zhou Le's pleading gaze.
The skin under his fingers was smooth, soft, and fair. Because of his proximity, Zhou Le trembled slightly.
Lu Jingran couldn't help but move his thumb, gently rubbing against it.
Zhou Le's body instinctively tensed, furrowing his brows and closing his eyes.
So sensitive.
Lu Jingran's gaze stayed on Zhou Le's face for a while, his voice softening, "Let's go."
Behind the teaching building, on the sports field, the three of them surrounded Zhou Le.
"I really didn't mean to," Zhou Le hurriedly explained. "Someone hired me to check the stall he was in this morning to see if he'd left his keys."
"To avoid any disputes, I took a picture as proof, so he couldn't say I didn't check properly and refuse to pay."
After explaining, Zhou Le showed his chat log with a student from Class 7 to Chen Nan.
Chen Nan took it and handed it to Lu Jingran.
"Lu-ge, take a look." Simultaneously, he arrogantly instructed Zhou Le, "Don't move."
Zhou Le obediently stood still, looking at Lu Jingran with hopeful eyes, hoping the other would clear him of any wrongdoing.
The person who contacted him was a guy named Xiao Lan from Class 7. His tone had been bad from the start, while Zhou Le had spoken gently the entire time, even calling him... "ge"?
Lu Jingran's eyes flickered slightly.
Zhou Le's heart raced, and he asked cautiously, "Is... is there a problem?"
Lu Jingran glanced at him.
Zhou Le anxiously watched his reaction.
It wasn't hard to imagine Zhou Le, obediently calling someone "ge," with that sweet smile of his.
Lu Jingran's gaze returned to the phone.
Eventually, Zhou Le had asked for 3 yuan, but Xiao Lan thought it was too expensive and bargained, only willing to pay 1 yuan.
1 yuan.
It was supposed to be class time, and Zhou Le had snuck out, risking getting caught and scolded by their homeroom teacher, Xu Yue. But for that 1 yuan, he'd sneaked out anyway.
What could 1 yuan even buy? Maybe a pen...
As Lu Jingran was thinking this, a new message popped up on Zhou Le's phone.
Xiao Lan: [You little shit, where are you? Answer me! Did you find it or not? Damn it.]
Xiao Lan: [What, cat got your tongue? Answer me! If you don't reply soon, I'm not even giving you that 1 yuan, you piece of shit!]
Seeing Lu Jingran's face grow darker and darker, Zhou Le's heart sank.
No way… Is he going to hit me?
What's with that expression?
Zhou Le couldn't help but notice that the Alpha pheromones around him seemed to weigh down the atmosphere.
He thought for a moment. His conversation with Xiao Lan didn't seem off, and he certainly hadn't mentioned Lu Jingran. So why was he...
"Lu-ge, tell me, how should we deal with him?" Chen Nan rolled up his sleeves, enjoying Zhou Le's nervous expression more and more.
He didn't really care about the chat log; he just wanted to beat Zhou Le up. Who told him to touch his butt? No one had ever dared to do that before, even if it was indirectly caused by him. It still wasn't okay.
Chen Nan was getting excited and had already decided where to punch Zhou Le first when suddenly, Lu Jingran handed Zhou Le his phone back and calmly said, "Reply to the message."
???
Not only was Chen Nan confused, but Zhou Le was also stunned.
Lu Jingran looked at him. "He said if you don't reply, you won't even get the 1 yuan."
Chen Nan: "Huh? What? Lu-ge, are you serious?"
But Zhou Le reacted immediately, quickly grabbing his phone and typing away.
In the end, he received Xiao Lan's transfer.
Once Zhou Le received the 1 yuan, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Thanks, class leader."
Zhou Le's small face, with its cute and innocent features, looked especially touching when he smiled sincerely.
Lu Jingran's gaze lingered on his face, staring.
Sheng Qi'an glanced between the two, then cleared his throat, interrupting them. "So... what was that about stir-fried beef with mint?"
Zhou Le blinked, not understanding at first, but quickly realized. "Oh, right, stir-fried beef with mint, salty flavored. The class leader likes it."
"Likes it my ass!" Chen Nan's anger flared up again as he grabbed Zhou Le by the collar. "Tell me! Was it you who spread the rumor?"
"You even said Lu-ge was a pervert. You've got some guts." Chen Nan squinted his eyes dangerously.
Zhou Le, realizing he was being framed, shook his head furiously.
"It wasn't me! It wasn't me! It was Liu Yanyan who made that dish for the class leader, and I didn't spread the rumor either. It was..." It was Lin Xiaoxiao who posted it in the fan club chat.
But Zhou Le didn't dare say that. He wasn't sure what these Alphas were planning or if they'd retaliate against Lin Xiaoxiao.
Chen Nan: "Liu Yanyan? Who's that?"
Sheng Qi'an: "The school flower."
Chen Nan: "Oh."
Then Chen Nan frowned, "Wait, who's the school flower?"
Sheng Qi'an was too tired to respond.
Chen Nan continued, "Anyone who makes something that weird must be a freak."
"And you, you're the freakiest of them all!"
Chen Nan leaned closer to Zhou Le, sneering.
He still wanted to hit Zhou Le. Really badly.
Zhou Le could tell he was serious and didn't know what to do. He instinctively looked to Lu Jingran for help.
For some reason, he felt that Lu Jingran could save him.
"Enough. Stop messing with him. Let him go."
Chen Nan's enthusiasm was dampened. Reluctantly, he obeyed. He couldn't go against Lu Jingran.
"Now, tell me, what's really going on?" Lu Jingran asked Zhou Le.
Zhou Le didn't dare lie. He explained how Liu Yanyan had asked him to find out what Lu Jingran liked, telling him everything in detail.
Chen Nan narrowed his eyes. "How much did Liu Yanyan pay you for this?"
As soon as money was mentioned, Zhou Le brightened up. "Not much, just 1,000 yuan."
Chen Nan immediately flared up, "You're proud of that?!"
"1,000 yuan, and you sold out my Lu-ge?! You really need a beating!"
Chen Nan raised his hand, ready to strike.
Zhou Le instinctively shrank back.
"I don't like her."
Lu Jingran interrupted, stopping Chen Nan mid-swing.
"Whatever she gives me, I won't like it." Lu Jingran said calmly, "I don't like stir-fried beef with mint either. You can tell her that."
"... Okay," Zhou Le could only nod in agreement.
After saying his piece, Lu Jingran turned and left.
Seeing this, Chen Nan had no choice but to stop as well.
But before leaving, he still shot Zhou Le a warning look. "You'd better watch yourself, you stinky beta!"
Watching their backs as they left, Zhou Le suddenly felt a bit sad.
The 1,000 yuan... gone.
When he went to tell Liu Yanyan about it, her eyes reddened instantly, and she asked pitifully, "Did he really say that?"
There was still a glimmer of hope in her voice.
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Zhou Le panicked and tried his best to comfort her. "Don't be like this... You're so pretty and kind-hearted, you'll definitely find a great Alpha."
Liu Yanyan still looked heartbroken. "But Lu Jingran is the best Alpha. You wouldn't understand since you're not an Omega. You don't know how attractive he is, how much people like him."
Zhou Le: "..."
Zhou Le was at a loss for words.
Even though Liu Yanyan was upset, she still said, "But thanks anyway. I'll transfer the 1,000 yuan to you when I get back to class."
"No, no need." Zhou Le waved his hands. "I didn't really help with anything. I'd feel guilty taking the money."
In the end, he didn't get the money and had even managed to offend Lu Jingran and his group.
Feeling a bit down, Zhou Le was in a gloomy mood as he headed home.
"What's wrong?" Cheng Ying noticed her son's unhappiness and couldn't help but ask.
Zhou Le shook his head, not saying much. He changed his clothes and was about to head out.
Cheng Ying reminded him, "Hey, don't forget to bring Xiao Bai back from Uncle Zhou's. It's been days now, don't keep bothering him."
Xiao Bai was a stray puppy Zhou Le had picked up. It was snow-white, with a slight limp in its right leg, and was very endearing.
And quite the glutton.
After Uncle Zhou had fed it a few pieces of meat, it had refused to leave his restaurant.
This time, Zhou Le had to take him home. Otherwise, the dog would only get fussier the longer it stayed there.
At 9 PM, Zhou Le delivered his last order.
He rode his moped down the dark, empty street, with Xiao Bai stuffed into the food delivery box behind him.
The dog barked incessantly, clearly displeased.
"No matter how much you bark, you're not going back. Uncle Zhou's going broke feeding you."
"Woof, woof, woof!"
The muffled, excited barking seemed like Xiao Bai was trying to negotiate.
Zhou Le pretended not to hear.
The old moped rattled noisily down the road when suddenly, a sleek, black car sped out from the side street.
It was shiny and imposing, looking very high-end.
Zhou Le quickly hit the brakes.
The driver saw him too and stomped on the brake pedal.
But it was too late. The heavy black car sped straight toward Zhou Le.
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