7: G-U-N, GUN
“October 24.”
Shen Jin started spinning his pen again, a small black whirlwind flying between his fingers.
He wasn’t a talkative person by nature, but the way Qian Kun spoke always carried a provoking edge. It made it impossible for Shen Jin to continue playing the role of a quiet, pretty gentleman.
Qian Kun froze for a moment, unable to immediately catch up with Shen Jin’s leap in logic.
Shen Jin’s brain worked fast. He was always quick to latch onto gaps others tended to overlook.
Luo Ying let out a small “ah.” That date was unforgettable to her. The first day of Scorpio, Shen Jin’s birthday.
When Qian Kun glanced over, she lowered her voice and answered.
Liu Qimai recalled the spectacle of Brother Kun’s birthday party last year. November 22. Easy to remember. 11-22, the tail end of Scorpio.
Seeing everyone react, Shen Jin sat back in his seat, perfectly composed. Winning back two rounds in a row lifted his mood just a little.
“Call it?”
Shen Jin looked indifferent, as if the other person didn’t even exist in his eyes.
Call what?
Of course, “big brother.”
Since Qian Kun had insisted on calling himself “big brother,” then by birth month logic, Qian Kun was over twenty days younger than him. And who said a few days didn’t count as younger? Even one minute mattered.
Someone in the crowd sucked in a sharp breath.
Qian Kun rarely interacted with people in class, but his past “achievements” were enough to make scalps tingle. Rumor had it that half a year ago, he’d driven some rich young master who crossed him straight into dropping out.
Shen Jin spoke with a cold face, his tone barely rising or falling.
Yet in the eyes of Class 9, he suddenly looked towering, unreachable, and confidence bloomed again.
They hadn’t done anything wrong.
Why should they let this group of spoiled second-gens act so arrogant all the time?
If this kept up, anyone would explode sooner or later.
Things had already escalated this far. If they backed down now, wouldn’t that just make them look pathetic?
One by one, they straightened their backs and stood behind Shen Jin.
Like they were backing him up.
Just as everyone thought Qian Kun was about to snap, his head lowered a little instead.
With no smile at all, he said, “Are you sure you want to hear me call it? I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it.”
“If you don’t try, how do you know I can’t?”
Shen Jin snorted softly. Call it or don’t. He reached for a physics paper.
The moment he lowered his head, a domineering presence brushed faintly against his ear.
Along with a low, pleasant voice.
“Big… brother.”
Just two simple words, short and crisp, like beats landing on a drum.
They made Shen Jin’s ear itch.
It didn’t sound like addressing someone.
It sounded like a provocation.
Shen Jin couldn’t help covering his ear. When he looked up again, all he saw was Qian Kun’s disappearing back at the corner of the rear door.
Their exchange had been quiet. Only fragments could be heard, nothing clear.
To everyone else, it looked more like Qian Kun baring his fangs, ready to bite Shen Jin’s ear off.
Once Qian Kun left, he took most of the attention with him.
Seeing their boss gone, the transfer students knew that staying would only get them roasted by Class 9’s bookworms. They scattered in small groups.
Shen Jin reminded Jiang Yifan and the others that they should seriously think about what condition to ask for. Judging by the situation, the other side wouldn’t go back on their word.
The class immediately got excited.
One suggested cross-dressing. Another suggested running naked around the track. Ideas flew everywhere.
A row of luxury cars was parked at the school gate, a rare sight outside an ordinary public school.
Because it was late, families had come to pick their kids up, worried. Thankfully it was nighttime, so it wasn’t too eye-catching.
Qian Kun walked leisurely in front, the others trailing behind.
They all felt that approaching him now probably wouldn’t end well. Shen Jin had stripped his face several times today. If Brother Kun hadn’t mellowed out over the years, he wouldn’t have let it slide so easily.
“Go home, organize your wrong questions, and send them over. I’ll take a look,” Qian Kun said.
“Huh??” They’d been planning to game all night.
“You want them laughing at you again?”
Of course not.
Liu Qimai and the others were deeply moved.
Brother Kun was Brother Kun. He lost in score, but not in grace.
Judging by how calm he looked, he’d definitely already figured out how to deal with Shen Jin.
They’d just wait and see.
Zhou You walked up to Qian Kun’s car and unlocked his phone. He pulled up a picture from a group chat.
“You haven’t checked the group, right? Ji Zhen and the others heard about you getting punished and made a petition. They’re collecting signatures, hoping you’ll change your mind and go back to their school.”
Ji Zhen was a former private-school classmate. They used to hang out together a lot.
“She’s way too free. What kind of nonsense is this?”
“They just think your Kun-ye got ripped off big time.”
Qian Kun took the phone, used Zhou You’s account, and replied under the petition with two words.
Rejected.
He tossed the phone back and told the driver to go.
Zhou You sighed and told the group it had been Qian Kun who replied.
Their hopes were officially crushed.
Inside the car, Qian Kun looked out at the city sinking into the night.
The expression on his face vanished, the mask he wore in front of others peeling away.
Why choose this place?
Qian Kun had never answered that question, letting everyone speculate.
Even if he said it, no one would understand.
Strange things had been happening around him since the start of the year.
For example, his school suddenly received a requisition notice with no warning, forcing all students to transfer within half a semester.
Coincidentally, the project was undertaken by his family and the Xie family, boosting both households’ standing again.
Qian Kun himself didn’t care whether it was public or private school. He had no prejudice either.
He’d chosen private school simply out of habit. The management was loose, with fewer rules.
He picked one close to home at random.
Then the headaches started.
Endless stabbing pain tore through his brain, like ten thousand needles grinding.
At first he could endure it, but as decision day approached, the pain trapped him in constant irritability.
His family knew this couldn’t go on. They consulted famous doctors from home and abroad, ran every test imaginable.
Aside from frequent pheromone surges, all his bodily functions were normal.
Too normal.
Which made it abnormal.
Ever since he came here, the headaches vanished without treatment.
As if something were deliberately guiding him to this school.
If that was the case, then he wanted to see what exactly was here.
Sooner or later, something or someone worth his attention would appear.
If it were a person, they’d have to possess an attraction strong enough to make him stop at first glance.
Qian Kun scoffed at the idea.
No matter how strong the attraction, his self-control wouldn’t be swayed by anyone.
This kind of forced arrangement irritated him.
So irritating that he didn’t even want to spare it a glance.
The first two weeks passed peacefully.
He started doubting his own speculation.
Until that morning reading session, when he saw Shen Jin standing at the podium.
Maybe… this was it.
The pent-up gloom and anger he’d accumulated didn’t erupt the way he’d expected.
More than anything else, he wanted to know what made Shen Jin special.
So what followed was mostly probing. Teasing. Deliberately leaving deep impressions.
Dim yellow streetlights slid across his face as scenery drifted past.
He leaned back slowly, sinking in and out of the darkness.
*
Shen Jin was also one of the few day students.
The moment he stepped out of the school gate, he saw a pair of hands waving wildly at him.
It was his younger brother, Shen Xie’an. Just hearing the name told you everything. The treasured blend of the Shen and Xie bloodlines.
Compared to the eldest son who’d spent eight years apart from the family, their parents only wished peace and safety for Shen Xie’an. Their favoritism was obvious.
With such vastly different treatment, the brothers should’ve been at odds.
Yet Shen Xie’an had been clingy with Shen Jin since childhood.
The Shen parents were busy with work and sometimes even neglected Shen Xie’an, let alone Shen Jin.
When Shen Jin saw the nanny slacking off, he’d help out.
Once, at a family gathering, someone whispered that Shen Jin was adopted.
Shen Xie’an lunged without a word, beating the person black and blue. Only after elders from both sides intervened did things settle.
The moment Shen Jin got in the car, Shen Xie’an excitedly blurted, “Ge, did a bunch of rich kids transfer into high school? I just saw a limited-edition Aston Martin! So flashy, ahhh!”
Most alphas loved sports cars.
Yet Shen Xie’an, an omega, had been obsessed with them since childhood too. Another oddball.
Shen Xie’an attended Nanhu’s middle school and often browsed the high school forums.
Shen Jin gently pushed him away when he got too close.
His tone softened. “You’re grown now. You can’t keep leaning on me all the time, okay?”
Shen Xie’an looked wronged but didn’t dare defy him. He sat properly.
Shen Jin noticed the little cowlick sticking up on his head and felt an itch in his fingers.
However as a dignified older brother, he couldn’t lose his majestic aura. He forcibly suppressed the urge.
I don’t want to. I don’t find it cute at all.
Shen Xie’an remained blissfully unaware.
He grabbed a carton of milk from Shen Jin’s hand and drank it. His brother said if he didn’t drink now, he wouldn’t grow taller.
Even though he felt that being 172 cm in eighth grade wasn’t short at all.
Shen Jin looked away. “You had monthly exams too, right? Got your papers back?”
Shen Xie’an turned pale.
His brother was a top student.
He himself was a future academic disaster.
Truly a tragedy for the family.
With trembling hands, Shen Xie’an offered up his paper for inspection.
Then he said weakly, “It seems like there were guests at home today.”
Shen Jin stared at the 28 points on the paper and felt the urge to rub his forehead.
So all that summer tutoring had gone to the dogs.
He didn’t understand how a family full of geniuses had produced such a little slacker.
“How do you know?”
“Uncle Feng said Dad didn’t even work overtime today. That means there must be an important guest, right? I don’t know who though.”
Shen Qing was usually at the company. Lately he’d also been helping the Ke family with projects, staying impossibly busy.
When they arrived home, voices drifted from the living room.
Their mother, Xie Yan, told Shen Xie’an to go upstairs.
Instead, she asked Shen Jin to stay and accompany the guest.
This was rare.
Shen Jin quickly understood why.
The guest was a dignified woman. Every gesture carried the refinement of an old family. Only faint lines at the corners of her eyes revealed her age.
She was the mother of Shen Jin’s fiancé, Ke Minghuai.
The last time they’d met was years ago.
After exchanging pleasantries for over ten minutes, Madam Ke prepared to leave.
Shen Jin’s parents intended to see her off personally, but she specifically asked Shen Jin to accompany her.
“I haven’t seen Xiao Jin in a long time either. We can talk a bit more. Xiao Jin, walk Auntie out?”
“Alright.”
Shen Jin escorted Madam Ke to the car.
Through the window, her face wasn’t very clear, but her words were.
“Xiao Jin, are you still in your differentiation period?”
Shen Jin nodded.
Madam Ke pondered for a moment. “Your differentiation period has been quite long. Before Ah-Huai left, he specifically told me to take good care of you. If you have any difficulties, don’t be polite with Auntie.”
“You’re too kind, Auntie.”
Shen Jin had always felt an inexplicable pressure around Madam Ke, even though she’d never once spoken harshly.
“You’ve always been sensible. I’ve always treated you as my daughter-in-law. If you had remained an omega, this truly would’ve been a match made in heaven.”
Shen Jin caught the most important word in that sentence.
“If.”
He’d expected this.
Sure enough, Madam Ke continued.
“Ah-Huai is capable. This time he was even officially sent abroad. In the future, he’ll have his pick of top universities. His prospects are limitless.”
“For someone like him, not passing on his genes would be a pity. For him, and for everyone else. Don’t you think?”
“You call him big brother. You wouldn’t want to see him put in a difficult position, would you?”
“He’s always taken good care of you. Some things he can’t say to your face.”
“Consider this Auntie’s request. This time, Xiao Jin, take the initiative.”
When Shen Jin returned, his demeanor was unchanged.
Xie Yan sensed that Shen Jin was still upset with her and didn’t ask much.
For years, their parent-child relationship had hovered in this awkward middle ground.
Like a peach pit stuck in the throat.
Too big to swallow. Too painful to spit out.
Watching Shen Jin go upstairs, Xie Yan nudged her husband. “Why don’t you ask Xiao Jin what the Ke family really means?”
Shen Qing snapped back irritably, “She came in person. What else could it mean?”
“What kind of attitude is that!”
“My fault, my fault. Don’t be mad.”
All of Shen Qing’s sternness vanished as he placated her.
“I’m mad at the Ke family. Some high-and-mighty aristocrats! They never took our family seriously at the company. I could endure that, since they helped us when we were drowning in debt. That debt had to be repaid.”
“But now they’re saying the engagement won’t be canceled. They just want to switch candidates. From Xiao Jin to Xiao An!”
“What, are our sons unsellable? Do they get to pick and choose like this!”
“‘This one differentiated, so swap to another.’ As if that’s fine!”
Xie Yan laughed. “If you’ve got the guts, say that to the Ke family’s face.”
Shen Qing: “…”
More than half of the Shen family’s business relied on the Ke family’s connections.
He really didn’t have the freedom to act recklessly.
After stewing for a while, the couple went upstairs to tell Shen Xie’an about the Ke family’s proposal, planning to ask the younger son what he thought.
Shen Xie’an was still sighing over the exam paper his brother had marked up.
The moment he heard this, his temper exploded.
“Tell them to get lost.”
Then he shoved his stunned parents out the door.
“Xiao An, you mean…?”
“Didn’t hear clearly? Then I’ll say it again.”
Shen Xie’an took a deep breath and spat out, “G-U-N. GUN. Make it quick!”
As if his big brother didn’t already dislike him enough!
He might as well pour gasoline on the fire and roast himself on it, huh!
Back in his room, Shen Jin flopped onto the bed and rolled around with zero image.
He found a comfortable position and lay face-down, unmoving.
After playing corpse for a while, he finally remembered he still had something to do.
He took out his phone and opened Ke Minghuai’s chat window.
The last message was still the safe-arrival update after landing.
Shen Jin typed several times in the blank space, deleting each attempt.
He didn’t know how to phrase it.
Suddenly, a friend request popped up.
[Little one, wanna marry one?]
Shen Jin: “…”
Another message followed almost immediately.
[Wrong send. Add me, class rep~]
Author’s Note:
Qian Kun: This is guidance from the heavens.
Shen Jin: …Care to be cannon fodder?
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