27: I’m Fated with Shen Jin!
Shen Jin figured Qian Kun was probably worried his condition wasn’t good. Still, that mood was only a short burst in the moment.
Once it passed, he wouldn’t keep sinking into it.
Words alone didn’t prove anything, but action did. There was no need to make Qian Kun break his promise because of him.
Almost instantly, Qian Kun understood why Shen Jin had suddenly said that.
Wasn’t he being a little too considerate? Shen Jin was only a teenager. At this age, wasn’t he supposed to be willful and reckless?
Each of them carried their own thoughts, and they got into the car without incident.
Qian Kun glanced at Shen Jin, who was watching the scenery outside the window, then remembered to check his phone.
He’d forgotten to switch accounts on WeChat. The moment he swapped over, he saw that familiar avatar at the top of his recent chats. He couldn’t help looking at Shen Jin, only an arm’s length away. The city, washed clean by rain, flickered past like a fleeting backdrop, making Shen Jin look detached from the world.
Thirty-two times. He finally accepted the friend request.
Shen Jin turned his head. “?”
Qian Kun’s mouth curved. “Nothing.”
Having learned his lesson from last time, he wasn’t going to make him mad and drive him off again.
Also, Shen Jin was livelier than he’d been when they first met. Some things needed restraint.
Liu Qimai was still firing off complaint after complaint, and the group loved drama. They egged him on to cut ties entirely.
The main group chat was too lively, no wonder Shen Jin had seen it.
They were still hyping it up in there. Qian Kun’s reply, as always, was short: On the way.
It would’ve been better if Qian Kun hadn’t shown up at all. The second he did, the classmates who’d been comforting Liu Qimai instantly changed their tune.
[@Maizi, the main character is here!]
[I knew Brother Kun wouldn’t stand you up on purpose. If he did, then it definitely wouldn’t be Brother Kun’s fault!]
Liu Qimai was used to Ninth Class’s hardcore face-judges. In their eyes, Qian Kun had grace and presence. A guy like that would never do something like ditching someone.
Heh. You’re all fooled by the surface.
Now that Qian Kun finally showed his face, Liu Qimai immediately switched to bombardment mode and hammered out a stream of messages.
Liu Qimai was already at the meeting spot. A girl beside him had been staring at his phone screen. She also saw Qian Kun’s reply, and her eyes lit up. “Ah Kun is really coming?”
“Probably soon.” Only then did Liu Qimai notice Ji Zhen. He flipped the screen down.
“What’s with him, anyway? Looking at how miserable you were, I thought something huge happened.”
“Honestly, I’ve never seen Kun-ge in a hurry.”
“Who has? Kun-ge has never been nervous.”
“We’re waiting on him, and only him!”
“Kun-ge always keeps his word. It’s rare for him to break plans. Brothers, later we have to hit him with a punishment challenge.”
They’d booked a private dining room that was basically an all-in-one setup: booth seating, chessboards, and games. There were more than thirty people inside.
“Who knows.” Liu Qimai still remembered that when Qian Kun saw the message, he told him to come over first. His tone barely changed. Only people who had known him for years understood that when Qian Kun truly had emotions, he didn’t blow up or rant. He got terrifyingly calm.
Liu Qimai shuddered. He actually leaned toward Qian Kun really having something going on.
He made such a loud fuss in the group chat because he wanted to force Qian Kun to show up and see whether help was needed.
Liu Qimai then suddenly noticed what Ji Zhen was wearing today. Long legs and a slim waist, a light-blue crop top, her legs fully on display, plus a neat bun and light makeup. It gave her a pure-but-sexy vibe.
“I’m saying, young lady, this outfit of yours…” Even among close friends, it was stunning.
“What do you think?” This was her straight-A kill look. On the way here, every Alpha had turned their head to look. If it could attract Alphas, then it would be even more lethal for Betas.
Liu Qimai stammered, so she asked Zhou You instead.
Zhou You glanced at the shy expressions on a few Alpha classmates nearby. “You know exactly how charming you are, don’t you?”
“Then will he be moved?”
Ji Zhen didn’t say who “he” was, but everyone there understood.
Zhou You thought of something, didn’t answer, and instead asked, “Didn’t you say he isn’t a shallow guy?”
Ji Zhen said, “Still, food and sex are human nature. He can’t possibly not appreciate beauty.”
Qian Kun and Shen Jin got out at a shopping mall, and the driver went down to the underground garage.
After they entered the elevator, Shen Jin pressed a different floor. He had seen the sign earlier. The fourth floor was the entertainment area.
Qian Kun was headed to the fifth. He froze. “You’re not coming with me?”
Shen Jin looked at him like it was odd. “It’s your gathering. Why would I go?”
Shen Jin wasn’t good at socializing. Besides, as a stranger, it wouldn’t be right to join a get-together of close friends.
Qian Kun said, “So you’re just walking me to the door?”
Shen Jin said, “Yeah.”
His tone made it sound like that was only natural.
It was a distance where Qian Kun could always find him, and a distance that let Qian Kun feel at ease about going to his appointment.
Qian Kun braced a hand against the glass wall and turned his back. He’d thought…
He’d been thinking about how to introduce Shen Jin, how to help him adjust. Now that he thought it through, how could Shen Jin agree so easily?
What fantasy was he indulging in?
Qian Kun could tell persuasion wouldn’t work, so he pointed at WeChat. “Every fifteen minutes, send me a real-time photo. If you don’t, I’m coming down to find you.”
Shen Jin said, “That’s not necessary…” He wasn’t a little kid.
Qian Kun glanced over casually. The elevator’s white lighting cast a cool tone over him. He only stared in silence.
Shen Jin swallowed the rest of what he wanted to say.
Today, every time Qian Kun closed his eyes, he saw those lost, bewildered eyes in the rain.
The impression was too deep. He couldn’t relax.
Shen Jin sensed the stiffness in the air and stopped struggling. “Got it.”
When they reached the fourth floor, Shen Jin stepped out at once, only to be stopped by the voice behind him.
“Shen Jin.”
“You can be more willful with me.”
Shen Jin turned back. The elevator doors slid shut, sealing off the last sliver of space, and sealing away that leaked softness.
It felt like an illusion. Shen Jin stood there for a moment.
He thought, today really did scare Qian Kun badly.
Saying something like that to a classmate felt… inappropriate.
Shen Jin exchanged a bunch of coins at the arcade counter. He wandered around the game hall and picked a few machines to play.
It was loud here, and in an environment like this, it was easy to forget the unpleasant things.
When he passed the claw machines, a few elementary students in school uniforms were blaming each other. The kid who had been “in charge of the money” had lost everyone’s game funds, and a little boy was wailing so hard it drew scolding looks from passersby.
Shen Jin glanced over, then casually chose a claw machine and focused on grabbing a pink octopus plush.
Maybe he stood out too much. Maybe he was the only one who didn’t look at them like they were bratty troublemakers. In any case, he quickly caught the kids’ attention, even the crying boy.
He grabbed it.
The kids went, “Wow!”
It dropped.
The kids sucked in their breath in unison. “Ahh—”
Over and over, he had managed to catch it, but every time it neared the chute, the claw opened as if it had a mind of its own.
He was always just a little short. He couldn’t get it.
Hearing the chorus of little voices behind him, Shen Jin found it oddly amusing.
After failing several times, he finally got it to tumble out.
Shen Jin took the pink octopus from the prize slot. He looked at the sniffling little brat and asked, “Want it?”
The kid’s eyes were full of tears, like he couldn’t believe something this good could happen.
Shen Jin remembered how, when he was little, Shen Xie’an had almost been kidnapped in a place like this.
He’d gone to buy ice cream and came back to find his little brother missing. He’d been so scared he could barely think.
He’d snuck his brother out to play. If his brother got lost, he would be the one to blame.
He found Shen Xie’an, traded himself for his brother, and the traffickers liked kids who didn’t cry or fuss, so they agreed quickly.
As he was carried away, the last thing he saw was Shen Xie’an, snot running, little legs wobbling as he stumbled after them.
After that, his memory turned blurry. He tried to recall it, but he couldn’t.
Still, Shen Xie’an’s crybaby personality was probably set in stone right then.
Shen Jin smiled with a hint of nostalgia and told the kid, “Stop crying, and it’s yours.”
The kid was a male Omega. He nodded hard.
So easy to coax. Shen Xie’an had grown up, and he wasn’t as soft and adorable as he used to be.
Shen Jin, as the older brother, sighed. Far away, Shen Xie’an sneezed three times in a row, still unaware his beloved big brother was silently complaining about him.
A child beside him blinked wide eyes. “Fairy big brother, can I have one too?”
Shen Jin: “…”
Kid, I’ll give you one more chance. Say that again.
The moment Qian Kun opened the private room door, old classmates who’d been waiting swarmed him. They made him drink a cup of ultra-sour plum juice as punishment before they finally let him go.
At his old school, he had always been the center of everyone. If Nanhu’s main campus hadn’t been unable to transfer that many students, they might’ve all followed him over.
For this gathering, when they heard Qian Kun might not come, they’d planned to disband on the spot.
If Qian Kun couldn’t make it, they’d set another date. They were old classmates, and they met privately often enough. When they hung out, it was relaxed.
As soon as Qian Kun sat down, Ji Zhen appeared in a super short skirt, showing off pale legs. The seating was a long continuous row. She stood in front of him, pretty and bright. “Move over.”
Qian Kun swept his gaze over her and shifted his body to the side. Her knee brushed against his deliberately as she slid into the seat farther in.
Ji Zhen felt that with a guy like Qian Kun, who was hard to lure, being blatant was second-rate. Teasing halfway, half-hidden like a pipa behind a veil, was something no boy could withstand.
Qian Kun had entered a rapid growth stage, and she’d heard from the group chat that his exercise volume had increased again lately. Even if he was a “Beta” without an Alpha’s pheromone-driven impulses, he still had male instincts, right?
Ji Zhen looked at Qian Kun with a mix of anticipation and nerves.
Then she realized his expression didn’t change at all, like the person who’d just walked past wasn’t a vibrant teenage girl, but a piece of wood.
Qian Kun lounged back, legs crossed, distracted.
Someone offered him a cigarette. Remembering someone’s sharp nose and how he didn’t seem to like smoke, Qian Kun waved it off.
Qian Kun played some tabletop games with a few classmates, then moved to the side and chatted with Zhou You on and off.
Every so often, he checked the phone on the table, like he was waiting for a message.
Liu Qimai desperately needed the bathroom. He couldn’t find it for a moment, but he remembered that on the way in he had used the restroom in the entertainment area downstairs, right by the elevators.
After he handled it, he reached for the elevator rail and abruptly widened his eyes.
He looked at the person surrounded by children in the distance. He rubbed his eyes. No way. He wasn’t seeing wrong, was he?
His heart thumped hard. Ever since that barbecue stall incident, when he had seen Shen Jin’s cool and fierce counterattack, his mind had been full of wild grass.
Zhou You, that bastard, had told him to “use his brain” and save his energy.
Besides, every time he managed to scrape together courage, the second he faced Shen Jin’s spotless, dust-free face, his courage flooded away.
Today was different. This was off campus.
What was this called? This was fate’s arrangement!
Me and Shen Jin, we’re fated!
Fate was right in front of him. If he still didn’t act, was he even an Alpha?
That withered grass revived again.
Zhou You, you destroyer of romance. This time I’m not listening to you. I’m doing it myself.
Liu Qimai stepped closer a few paces and confirmed it really was Shen Jin, then went upstairs.
In the private room, people gathered in small clusters. Everyone was an old acquaintance, and there were no real rules at a reunion. At this moment, Liu Qimai walked to the center of the room.
He hesitated, pacing back and forth, thinking how to start.
Someone teased, “Are you on fire? You’re gonna spin us dizzy.”
Liu Qimai steeled himself and shouted, “Everyone be quiet, let me say a few words.”
The music stopped. Everyone looked at him.
Liu Qimai cleared his throat and said solemnly, “Lately I’ve been a little moved by someone. I haven’t started pursuing yet, but I just saw him. I want to invite him up. Is that okay? Do you mind having one more person?”
“Sure, why not!”
“Ha, I thought it was something serious. What are you waiting for? Go!”
“I want to see what kind of heavenly fairy made Young Master Liu’s heart sprout!”
Qian Kun was playing chess with Zhou You. He spared some attention, looked at Liu Qimai’s nervous face, and asked with interest, “Since when? Who?”
Zhou You’s face went stiff. He covered his face.
Liu Qimai, you’re playing with fire.
Liu Qimai didn’t catch Zhou You’s warning look. People around him egged him on, and they all went downstairs together.
A mixed group of guys and girls followed to the fourth floor. From a distance, they watched Liu Qimai approach a cool, detached boy surrounded by kids. The two exchanged a few words. Before long, Liu Qimai came back with a miserable expression.
Seeing how badly he’d failed right out the gate, nobody wanted to kick him while he was down.
Teenage feelings had barely poked their head out before they were slapped back into the shore. Tragic.
When they returned, everyone could tell the answer from Liu Qimai’s drooping head.
Someone pulled out a photo they’d secretly snapped from far away. It was a little blurry.
Still, you could vaguely see it. Amid a bright, childlike scatter of colors, the boy stood there casually. He wore a white T-shirt, his legs straight and long beneath casual pants. His features weren’t clear, but there was an inexplicable icy, ascetic chill.
A girl peered through the crowd’s gap at the photo. When she saw the person in it, her eyes flew wide in shock.
Even from far away, she wouldn’t mistake him. It was Shen Jin.
The girl was named Xie Hanzhu. When Shen Jin was little, her family had taken him in for a few months.
She’d grown up hearing her parents say he was a little monster who brought death to mothers and aunts, a freeloader who came to their house to eat for free.
Later, the family didn’t want to raise him, so they tossed him to another household.
How could Liu Qimai possibly fall for him?
At private school, there was never an explicit class division. Still, for people like her whose family assets were too low, she was lumped with the nouveau riche tier. She was mid-to-low level, only slightly above the bottom-tier work-study students.
Ji Zhen and the others wouldn’t openly look down on her, but they wouldn’t bring her along either.
She’d used every trick she had to barely squeeze into Ji Zhen’s little clique, and even then she was still optional, still disposable. She still didn’t dare speak to Liu Qimai.
Shen Jin… why did he deserve it?
No one paid attention to a girl with low presence. Someone said something, and soon others agreed.
“Tsk, tsk. That aura. No complaints.”
“He looks hard to chase. Mai-zi, don’t start by challenging a nightmare difficulty.”
“I think we’re going to be throwing a breakup party for Mai-zi soon.”
“What do you mean? I thought Ninth Class was already trash enough. I didn’t expect it. I didn’t expect it at all. I trusted you for nothing!”
Liu Qimai was furious. He hadn’t even started and they were all pouring cold water on him. What was so bad about him? He had money and looks. How could he not chase someone down?
“Ninth Class, that’s your class at Nanhu, right? Sounds like everyone there is something else. If Nanhu weren’t done recruiting, we could’ve gone and taken a look.”
“There’s still a chance. Isn’t there a three-school joint sports meet? Adding us wouldn’t be a problem. Who’s going to talk to the principal?”
Qian Kun didn’t bother with the gossip. He’d already stood up, his gaze never leaving his phone.
He was counting seconds. Fourteen minutes, thirty-five seconds. Shen Jin still hadn’t sent a message.
Someone laughed and held up a phone screen for him. “Kun-ge, you also think Mai-zi won’t succeed, right?”
Qian Kun smiled indifferently and swept his eyes over it.
Then his gaze stopped.
Author’s Note:
I suggest you switch to another one.
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