Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"I didn't," Tian Ruan puffed out his cheeks.

Facing the young man's bright hazel eyes, his face was as pale as snow under the sunlight, with rosy lips and a delicate, straight nose bridge—Yu Jingmo lowered his gaze, not missing a single subtle expression on the youth's face.

Tian Ruan truly had a pretty face, especially when he widened his eyes slightly—more radiant than the dawn.

"I haven’t personally thanked Principal Li yet, so I came today specifically for that," Yu Jingmo changed the subject.

Tian Ruan guessed it was about his enrollment and asked, "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No need. Attend your class," Yu Jingmo glanced at Tian Ruan’s white and blue-striped sportswear. "Gym class?"

"Yeah," Tian Ruan nodded. It seemed Yu Jingmo wouldn’t witness the protagonists' intimate moment.

Yu Jingmo didn’t react much and was about to head toward the school building when a lanky, clueless boy ran over, studying Tian Ruan worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Tian Ruan: "I’m fine."

Not everyone in Su City knew Yu Jingmo—at least, Wang Weiqi paid no attention to business tycoons. But seeing Yu Jingmo in his immaculate suit, hair perfectly in place, and an imposing aura, he instantly straightened his posture and said seriously, "Sorry, sir. My classmate here is kinda clumsy and bumped into you."

Tian Ruan: "..." *Who are you calling 'sir,' you fool?*

Yu Jingmo remained unfazed. "It’s fine."

Wang Weiqi: "You’re such a great guy!" He even gave Yu Jingmo a thumbs-up.

Yu Jingmo gave him a look like he was an idiot before walking off to handle his business.

"Come on, bro, let’s partner up for the partner push-ups," Wang Weiqi said, already buddying up and reaching to throw an arm around Tian Ruan’s shoulders.

Tian Ruan sidestepped. Yu Jingmo paused mid-step at the words and glanced back at them. Tian Ruan met his gaze. "...Dream on! I’m not partnering with you."

Wang Weiqi: "??? Then who are you partnering with?"

Tian Ruan: "I can do push-ups by myself."

"But this PE class is for partner push-ups."

"I’m doing it alone," Tian Ruan announced defiantly, striding toward the field.

"..."

A man in a suit approached—slightly shorter, with an unremarkable face, blending in like an unrelated passerby. He stopped beside Yu Jingmo and glanced toward the field. "The young sir is so full of youthful energy. A perfect match for you."

Yu Jingmo walked away without hesitation. "Assistant Xu, save those words for next time. I’ve heard enough flattery from the butlers and maids at the manor—it’s like they’re pre-programmed robots."

Assistant Xu hurried after him. "...Understood."

Even as an employee, his attempts at flattery were being nitpicked.

The field was already crowded with students from three classes—about sixty students—buzzing with chatter just like any other high schoolers.

Both boys and girls wore white sportswear and blue shorts, most with white or black knee pads. Those with fancier gear also sported wristbands and headbands.

The headbands wicked away sweat, preventing it from dripping into their eyes. Lu Qiuyan wore a black headband, and paired with the light scrapes on his face, even the standard PE uniform looked unexpectedly cool on him.

Many girls were sneaking glances at Lu Qiuyan—such a cool and handsome guy was a rare sight in this elite school.

Under the protagonist's spotlight, even Tian Ruan's pretty face looked dull by comparison when he moved closer.

However, Tian Ruan didn’t mind. He sized up Lu Qiuyan and nodded approvingly—sure enough, as the Zhu Jueshou, he was different from all those showy try-hards. Wait, did that include himself?

"Fancy meeting you here," Lu Qiuyan said to Tian Ruan. Though his expression remained aloof and detached, it was still much friendlier than how he treated others.

Now the girls were noticing Tian Ruan too.

Tian Ruan nodded. "You seen Yu Shang around?"

Lu Qiuyan: "No."

Wang Weiqi also came over, eyeing Lu Qiuyan. Seeing the other’s tall stature, long legs, and toned forearms, he immediately tried to cozy up: "Sweet, man! For the partner push-ups later, wanna team up?"

Tian Ruan: "?"

Lu Qiuyan: "Doesn't matter to me."

Wang Weiqi: "Yeah. Awesome, bro! I’m Wang Weiqi. You’re Lu Qiuyan, right?"

"Yeah."

Tian Ruan was stunned. In the original novel, no one partnered with Lu Qiuyan—had the plot changed because of his interference? This can't be happening! This was supposed to be the first intimate moment between the protagonist couple!

If Wang Weiqi stole the opportunity, it would be a total cosmic injustice.

"Wang Weiqi," Tian Ruan warned, his voice turning sharp.

Wang Weiqi flinched. "What? You didn’t wanna partner with me. No take-backs now, I’ve already agreed with Lu Qiuyan—"

"If you dare partner with Lu Qiuyan for the push-ups, I swear, you’ll die a gruesome death."

"Huh?"

"Die a gruesome death—or if not, you’ll wind up castrated."

"..."

This wasn’t an idle threat. In the original novel, a cannon fodder character who liked Lu Qiuyan tried to drug him but had an accident that left him castrated.

An eerie silence fell over them.

Wang Weiqi shuddered violently. "What the hell?! What are you talking about?"

Lu Qiuyan’s gaze at Tian Ruan also turned strange.

Tian Ruan clarified awkwardly, "Dead serious."

Wang Weiqi didn’t believe him. "Then what do you mean?"

"It’s true… Can't go into details." Tian Ruan kept his expression solemn, playing mysterious in hopes of scaring Wang Weiqi off.

Seeing how serious he was, Wang Weiqi started having second thoughts. "Could it be…?"

Tian Ruan nodded, not caring what conclusion the other had drawn.

Wang Weiqi quickly scrambled back, staring at Lu Qiuyan in horror. "Uh, sorry, bro. I'll sit this one out partnering with you."

Lu Qiuyan remained indifferent, like he couldn't care less, and just gave a nod.

Just like that, Wang Weiqi took off.

Soon enough, the classmates around Lu Qiuyan all backed away, eyeing the two of them with suspicion and unease.

The class monitor of Class 6 walked over and asked loudly, "Has everyone paired up?" A few half-hearted replies trickled in.

A girl pointed at Lu Qiuyan, "He hasn't..."

Monitor: "Then I’ll team up with Lu."

"No, Monitor!" A group from Class 6 dragged the monitor away, whispering, "Lu Qiuyan’s cursed! Anyone who pairs with him ends up a eunuch!"

Monitor: "Wait, what?"

Before long, the rumor that partnering with Lu Qiuyan for push-ups would turn someone into a eunuch spread across all three classes.

Of course, it also reached the ears of the people involved.

Lu Qiuyan: "..."

Tian Ruan: "..."

An icy autumn wind swept through, chillingly cold.

Lu Qiuyan stared expressionlessly at Tian Ruan. "You..."

"The student council is here!" The girls flocked together, craning their necks to see.

At Deyin, the student council sat at the top of the social food chain—whether because the student council president was Yu Shang or because every member might as well have been royalty. Who wouldn’t want to climb to the top of the pyramid?

Today, the student council was conducting routine inspections.

Ten people might not sound like much, but the student council commanded respect, and the scene fell silent. Leading the group was Yu Shang, holding a tablet, with Vice President Xi Qin on his left and Activities Director Xie Tangyan on his right.

The routine inspections covered classroom discipline, campus cleanliness, activity order, behavioral norms, and even class attendance. Yu Shang ordered, "Everyone return to your classes. Monitors, report numbers."

The Class 4 monitor said, "XX is on sick leave."

Yu Shang noted this on the form, then handed the tablet to Xi Qin. "Take it from here. I’ve got class."

Xi Qin: "If you’d rather be in class, be my guest. Hand it to Xie Tangyan."

Xie Tangyan nodded. "I’ve got it."

Xi Qin adjusted his glasses and smiled. "No sense of humor. Let’s move."

With that, the student council moved on to other classes.

The P.E. teacher blew his whistle. "Fall in, everyone."

Yu Shang changed into his gym clothes and rejoined his class at the back of the line. Glancing toward Class 6, he noticed that the spots in front of and beside Lu Qiuyan were empty, and he frowned slightly.

This level of isolation? Unacceptable. Next time, I’ll just dock Class 6’s points—that’ll straighten them out.

So when it was time for partner push-ups, with students from all three classes freely pairing up, Yu Shang walked toward Lu Qiuyan, standing there by himself.

Tian Ruan watched quietly as things seemed to fall back into place—or so it seemed, anyway.

Most students at Deyin High come from business families, so they tend to be a bit superstitious. They watched in horror as Yu Shang walked toward Lu Qiuyan, as if watching him walk into a pit of knives and flames, and cried out, "Student President, don't!"

Yu Shang stopped in his tracks. "?"

The class monitor of Class 1 slipped over quietly and whispered, "They say Lu Qiuyan is cursed—anyone who partners with him ends up castrated."

Yu Shang: "..."

"It's true. Tian Ruan said so."

Yu Shang fixed Tian Ruan with a blank stare. "Is that so?"

Tian Ruan: "…………No, I didn’t say that."

But no one believed his desperate denial now.

Yu Shang turned his gaze back to Lu Qiuyan, their gazes locked, and strode forward resolutely. "Bullshit."

Lu Qiuyan’s expression was complicated. "Aren't you afraid it might be true?"

Yu Shang: "I'm doing just fine."

For some reason, Lu Qiuyan recalled Tian Ruan’s earlier remark about "not small," and his eyes instinctively dropped. "Oh."

Yu Shang: "...What are you looking at?"

Lu Qiuyan immediately looked around. "Nothing."

Tian Ruan quietly sipped his nonexistent tea.

Yu Shang took a deep breath and told the gym teacher, "I’ll partner with Lu Qiuyan for the partner push-ups."

The crowd collectively gasped. "Student President, absolutely not!!"

Yu Shang’s voice turned cutting. "Quiet."

Silence fell instantly over the group.

It had to be said—whether in looks or demeanor, Yu Shang had inherited his father’s commanding presence. Just by standing there, no one dared to oppose him.

Tian Ruan zoned out thinking about Yu Jingmo.

Talk of the devil—Yu Jingmo’s tall, imposing figure arrived alongside Principal Li, dominating the whole room of over sixty people.

Even with Yu Jingmo’s carefully polite mask, not a single person dared to utter a word for a moment.

The gym teacher stepped forward with a nervous laugh. "Principal Li, Mr. Yu, what brings you here?"

Principal Li smiled warmly. "Mr. Yu wanted to see how gym class is conducted at the school."

Yu Jingmo: "From way over there, I could hear all the noise. What was that about?"

The gym teacher scratched his head. "Just the students messing around."

"Let’s hear it."

"..."

Carefully omitting the name of "a certain student," the gym teacher filled them in.

Yu Jingmo's expression remained unchanged, but the corners of his lips curled up as his deep, cello-like voice let out a single word: "Interesting."

Principal Li, however, disapproved: "Who would spread such rumors? It's very unfair to Lu. Who exactly said such things?"

The P.E. teacher had to admit, "It was Tian Ruan from Class 1."

Principal Li: "(silence)..."

Yu Jingmo raised an eyebrow slightly and glanced at Tian Ruan standing alone on the playground. "Bad kids deserve punishment."

Tian Ruan: "(silence)..."