35: Enjoy This Night
Sweat slid down from Qian Kun’s temples and dripped onto the back of his hand. The heat of it was almost scalding, and it barely snapped him back to himself.
He didn’t notice Qiao Yishan’s shy, smiling expression at all. He simply sidestepped her and strode forward a few steps.
When Shen Jin first saw that several Omegas around Qian Kun were already itching to make a move, he almost wanted to back out. He wondered if he had been a little impulsive. Yet before long, Qian Kun appeared right in front of him.
“You came to find me?”
Qian Kun’s deep gaze felt like it could pin him in place. Shen Jin grew a little uneasy under that look.
He lifted his head. Post-rain sunlight fell over Qian Kun’s slightly damp hair. The tall figure in front of him carried a vitality and bold ease that Shen Jin didn’t have.
Shen Jin gave a very soft “Mm.” If they hadn’t been this close, it might not have been audible.
He handed the water over and asked, “Your injury… is it okay?”
Qian Kun took the bottle. The condensed droplets on it matched his mood, bubbles rising and bursting in his chest one after another.
He wasn’t someone without pain. Pain just kept his mind clear enough that he wouldn’t do something he couldn’t undo.
Maybe it was because of that that Shen Jin had chosen to walk toward him.
“If I say I’m fine, would you believe me?”
Qian Kun felt he was pretty despicable. He didn’t hurt that much, but he still wanted to use the injury to steal Shen Jin’s attention.
The sunlight made Shen Jin squint. He wanted to ask why Qian Kun was still playing basketball then.
Yet he’d noticed early on that Qian Kun seemed to love sports. It was as if there was too much energy gathered in him, and only this kind of intense exercise could burn part of it off.
“Then… try to take it easy,” Shen Jin said, feeling he couldn’t stop someone else’s hobby.
When it truly got uncomfortable, he wouldn’t just let it go, either.
Qian Kun watched Shen Jin tilt his head slightly, brows drawn together as if he were struggling with whether to say more, only to give up and squeeze out that one sentence. It was honestly a little too cute.
Qian Kun discovered he could increasingly read Shen Jin’s true thoughts beneath the expressionless face. His micro-expression interpretation skills were improving by the day.
He held back a laugh and restrained the urge to pat down the little tuft of hair sticking up on Shen Jin’s head. Shen Jin like this was a bit like a fluffy rabbit.
The moment rabbits came to mind, Qian Kun’s smile faded considerably.
“Alright. I’ll play a little longer, then I’ll come off the court.”
At the very least, they could still be classmates.
He shouldn’t want too much.
Seeing that his roommate really wasn’t forcing himself, Shen Jin finally let his worry ease and left the court.
Qian Kun tightened his grip on the bottle, forcing himself not to turn around. In that instant, the smile vanished completely. There was none of the mildness he had shown Shen Jin, only a sharp, chilling aura that nearly made Qiao Yishan’s legs go weak when she faced it head-on.
Before she could even speak, Qian Kun walked straight past her and returned to his spot, as if he truly hadn’t seen her at all.
Was he blind? She’d been standing here for so long. Why could he notice Shen Jin from that far away instead?
No one paid attention to her strained smile now. Everyone was talking about the two big shots in second year. It looked like they might be making peace, and people felt like they missed several episodes in the middle.
Qian Kun was quickly surrounded by a group of Alphas.
“Kun-ge, didn’t they say you two fought last night, and even used medicated wine?”
“How is the Ice God bringing you water? That’s so damn dreamlike. I swear this bottle has magic. It’s not ordinary water anymore!”
Liu Qimai was the most excited of all. “Ge, you’re my real big brother. Can I buy this bottle from you? You know I…”
He wanted to say that Qian Kun knew he had a little something else in his feelings for Shen Jin.
Qian Kun glanced at Liu Qimai. The grin on Liu Qimai’s face stiffened immediately.
Only then did Qian Kun slowly twist the cap open, lift his head, and take a sip. He set his palm around the bottle again.
He spoke unhurriedly.
“Don’t covet someone else’s things.”
It sounded like he was speaking to Liu Qimai.
It also sounded like he was warning himself.
When Shen Jin came to the court, it wasn’t only Qian Kun’s side that noticed. Plenty of people on the third-year side noticed too.
One senior who often did duty shifts with Shen Jin was named Yu Pingling. Ever since he’d found out his buddy had a “little fiancée,” he’d been dedicated to pushing them into a “married first, fall in love later” plot.
Because of their personalities though, the relationship had been stuck in place, and even faintly sliding backward.
Of course, Yu Pingling felt Ke Minghuai was more at fault.
When he spotted Shen Jin, he immediately told Ke Minghuai, who had just come off the court.
“Our Xiao Jin’s getting more and more considerate. He’s definitely bringing that for you. Your luck with romance is unreal!” Yu Pingling clicked his tongue. He had already sensed something off when he was on duty with Shen Jin before. “I’m telling you, even I can see it this time. He’s genuinely disappointed in you. Even you can’t keep being this awful. Don’t leave again. Research never ends, but if your wife runs off, you’ll never get him back.”
“I know,” Ke Minghuai said. This time, the normally silver-tongued Ke Minghuai didn’t argue.
Ke Minghuai thought Shen Jin might be willing to reconcile, and his emotions stirred as well.
He kept his nerves taut, turned his back, and waited quietly.
He was thinking about how he should ease the fragile relationship between them.
Thud.
The basketball in Yu Pingling’s hand rolled away. He stared through a gap in the crowd at the scene. “Ah Huai, we got it wrong! Ice God… doesn’t look like he came to find you.”
Ke Minghuai’s stiff smile froze completely. He stood up abruptly.
Before today, Ke Minghuai had never believed Shen Jin would treat anyone else in a special way, until he saw it happen in front of his own eyes.
Yu Pingling broke out in a sweat for his friend. “If his rival is that guy, even an Alpha has to avoid his edge. The numbers on him are straight-up inhuman. It’s probably just classmates though. They still look pretty polite. They even kept distance while talking.”
Yu Pingling called to him several times, but Ke Minghuai didn’t respond.
A few years ago, during a basketball game, Ke Minghuai had told Shen Jin he hoped he’d come watch, and maybe even bring him water.
Shen Jin had said he still had tutoring class. When he declined, he’d even joked that he didn’t want to be treated as an enemy by a whole group of Omegas. His tone had been teasing, but there’d been no ripple at all in those smiling eyes. Shen Jin had refused from the bottom of his heart.
Ke Minghuai hadn’t forced it. He’d only thought Shen Jin was too shy.
So it wasn’t that he couldn’t bring water.
At this point, Shen Jin didn’t plan to go back and catch up on sleep. There was a three-school joint sports meet next week, scheduled earlier than in previous years. He was responsible for coordinating with the organization departments of the other schools. This year it wasn’t just them and First High and Fifth High. A private school had also submitted a last-minute application: Shengshi High School.
This hadn’t happened before, but the school leadership was more than happy to see it. It meant saving a huge sum of money.
For Nanhu, which prided itself on frugality, it was an unexpected delight, money that could be used to improve the school’s facilities and resources.
*
During the second class period in the afternoon, the physics teacher announced a last-minute change. They would be going to the multimedia classroom to attend class together with the specialty class students.
The specialty class gathered students with all kinds of strengths, including art, sports, music, and performing arts exam prep.
Those students often needed to take leave, so they were grouped into one class.
This time, a large batch of art students had gone out to the mountains for sketching. Their physics teacher had been temporarily assigned to accompany the group, leaving only a small number of students behind. So the school simply merged the two classes.
“Isn’t Ao Tian in that class too?” Ao Tian was Zhao Haotian’s nickname.
“The moment I think of him, I lose all interest in class!”
“What’re you panicking for? He just got out of the hospital. Our Kun-ge could crush him with his pinky.”
“Friendly reminder, Kun-ge seems to have taken leave this afternoon.”
Everyone turned around. Sure enough, only Shen Jin was in the last row, filling out forms. The seat next to him was empty.
When Qian Kun came back at noon, he hadn’t been in his seat long before he covered his head and endured for over ten minutes. Shen Jin couldn’t stand watching it and wanted to send him to the hospital, but Qian Kun shook his head with an unreadable look and glanced out the window.
“I’ve got something to handle.”
From his attitude, it didn’t seem like something that would make him happy.
Shen Jin pointed at his phone, meaning: contact me if something happens.
The strongest impression Shen Jin had was that after he said that, the smile that suddenly bloomed on Qian Kun’s face was so clear.
Shen Jin noticed Zheng Zhepeng’s face had gone pale. Sure enough, at the entrance to the multimedia classroom, Zhao Haotian blocked Zheng Zhepeng’s path, chewing gum and blowing bubbles.
Zhao Haotian’s hand was still wrapped in bandages. If he hadn’t wanted to give Zheng Zhepeng a little “lesson” outside school that day, he wouldn’t have ended up like this.
He slapped one palm against the wall. “Yo, Xiao Yueyue. Long time no see. Didn’t expect it, did you? I’m still back.”
Zheng Zhepeng trembled and immediately wanted to flee.
Shen Jin reached out and pulled him back with one hand. Zhao Haotian lifted his eyes and met Shen Jin’s cold brows and eyes.
“This is school. You want a disciplinary action?”
Zhao Haotian stared at Shen Jin for a long moment, then smiled.
“Shen Jin, it has nothing to do with you. Don’t stick your nose in it.”
The hidden camera incident last year, when Zhao Haotian had planted a camera around Shen Jin, ended with him receiving a punishment. Because the evidence was insufficient, and the school wanted to protect Shen Jin’s reputation, not many people knew the details.
Zheng Zhepeng had offended Zhao Haotian because he had reported the matter to a teacher. As far as Shen Jin was concerned, there was no such thing as making peace.
Just imagining that he had nearly been silently watched and recorded made Shen Jin’s skin crawl.
Why could a pervert like you live so freely?
Shen Jin didn’t believe this was his first time doing something like that. Yet he’d gone years without leaving a flaw. That meant he was an “evolved” pervert, especially cautious.
Shen Jin remembered that before Ke Minghuai went abroad, he said he’d already found a lead. Ke Minghuai wouldn’t lie about that.
Yet Shen Jin had waited nearly two semesters and still hadn’t caught the pervert’s tail.
Voyeurism didn’t form overnight. Psychologically, it could become addictive. Shen Jin didn’t want any more victims to appear.
During class, Shen Jin sat near Zheng Zhepeng. Even though he could feel eyes on him from that side the whole time, the period passed without incident.
Only when class ended and everyone returned to their classroom did no one pick a fight.
Shen Jin let out a quiet breath. Zheng Zhepeng came over to thank him, shy and relieved. He desperately wanted to hug Shen Jin to show his gratitude, but the moment he saw Shen Jin’s look, he gave up immediately. The others laughed and teased, and the atmosphere lightened.
By dismissal time, Shen Jin was still arguing over sports meet venue issues with the cadres from several schools. When things finally settled and he returned to the classroom to leave, he noticed Zheng Zhepang’s backpack was still in his desk, but the person himself was nowhere to be seen.
Shen Jin’s heart lurched. He thought of something and quickly called Zheng Zhepeng. The call connected, but there was no voice on the other end.
Only intermittent sobbing came through, along with information Zheng Zhepeng “accidentally” revealed.
Shen Jin called the homeroom teacher with one hand and sprinted toward the top-floor restroom with the other, taking the stairs three at a time.
The restroom door wasn’t closed. Inside, Zhao Haotian and a few sloppy-looking classmates were cornering Zheng Zhepeng. Zheng Zhepeng was trembling as he started to remove his clothes. Even if he was a Beta, there were plenty of ways to humiliate someone.
Shen Jin’s arrival froze everyone in place.
Zheng Zhepeng’s eyes lit up brighter than ever. Shen Jin, descending out of nowhere like this, was more dazzling than any Alpha. He was so handsome.
Zhao Haotian cursed under his breath. The pheromone suppression in that alley still haunted him. He didn’t want to provoke Qian Kun again, that guy whose level he still couldn’t figure out.
“Zheng Zhepeng,” Shen Jin said, “come here.”
One Alpha couldn’t stand Shen Jin’s cold, provocative tone and moved. Shen Jin caught him, twisted his arm behind his back, and slammed him into the wall. “Don’t make me say it a second time.”
The restroom filled with cries of pain. Seeing one of his men nearly have his arm twisted off, Zhao Haotian’s fury surged.
He felt like Shen Jin was grinding his pride into the dirt like trash.
I’ve already been generous enough not to touch you, and now you’re pushing it, trying to interfere in my business?
You think I can’t deal with you?
The others saw Zhao Haotian’s dark face and gestured for Shen Jin to let go. Then they let Zheng Zhepeng go too.
They could only watch as Zheng Zhepeng, on the verge of collapse, followed behind Shen Jin. The homeroom teacher arrived right after.
Only then did Shen Jin ease out of full alert. He saw the indifferent look on Zhao Haotian’s face and understood that once again there was no evidence. At most, it would be handled as school bullying.
He’d come too fast. No substantial harm had been done.
Yet to get evidence, someone would inevitably get hurt.
As expected, the dean’s next decision was to make Zhao Haotian write a ten-thousand-word self-criticism, post it on the school bulletin board, and bring his parents to school.
Shen Jin watched as Zheng Zhepeng was taken away by teachers for comfort, then realized his phone was missing. He must have dropped it during the scuffle, likely in the top-floor restroom. Shen Jin went back upstairs to look for it. He’d only been inside for a moment.
Bang.
The door slammed shut.
Shen Jin whipped around.
He tried to open it. The sound of a lock clicking came from outside.
Through the door, Zhao Haotian’s voice rang out. “I knew you’d come back for your phone. I picked it up first. Funny coincidence, isn’t it? This top-floor door was specially built by the principal to receive foreign guests. It’s sturdy, and it’s soundproof too. Kicking it open by yourself won’t work.”
Shen Jin’s heart sank bit by bit.
He thought of the school’s security cameras, cameras that could record this.
Then he remembered. This stretch was a blind spot.
His fingers clenched hard around the doorframe.
Just like last time outside school, Zhao Haotian seemed especially guarded about this kind of thing.
Shen Jin wouldn’t beg.
The other side would never let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“You’re not afraid someone will find out?”
“So what if they do? Do you have proof? Your mouth? I can say you’re trying to get revenge and frame me on purpose!”
“Words don’t count as evidence, Student Shen!”
“Then get lost,” Shen Jin said coldly, sliding down to sit on the floor.
His attitude seemed to provoke Zhao Haotian. Zhao Haotian heard the contempt in his voice, as if Zhao Haotian wasn’t even worth a glance.
Shen Jin was too proud. So proud that every Alpha in front of him seemed lower by comparison.
If Zhao Haotian hadn’t wanted so badly to conquer him, he wouldn’t have made that mistake and gotten caught by Zheng Zhepeng. He’d always prided himself on being a “smart criminal.”
“Shen Jin, I’ll admit you’ve got guts, and you’re damn attractive. If I were your classmate, I’d probably fall for you too,” Zhao Haotian said after a pause. “Even if I can’t touch you, that doesn’t mean I can’t do something else. This little lesson is something you brought on yourself.”
“Enjoy this night well.”
Clack.
The sound of a phone dropping to the ground.
Separated from Shen Jin by only a door.
Zhao Haotian tossed it down with a cold laugh and walked off, his footsteps fading.
Author’s Note:
Qianqian: Why is my wife’s phone off?
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