Lu Xingci paused slightly before finally reacting. His eyes took on hints of a smile as he gently answered, “I don’t have a strawberry flavoured one, I’ll make it up to you next time. Is that okay?”

Duan Jiayan met his gaze. Him asking his question, was not really because he wanted Lu Xingci to swap his sweet, but because he wanted to give himself a way to talk to him. 

He nodded and after thinking about it, extended his hand once again, “Then pass me that sweet.”

After he got it, Duan Jiayan opened the wrapper and threw the sweet into his mouth.

As there was something in his mouth, his words were slightly muffled, “Not angry.”

Lu Xingci looked at him, “Hmm?” 

Duan Jiayan saw the other looking hesitant and for some reason, he somehow did not want to see Lu Xingci looking like this so he unconsciously raised his voice, ‘I’m not angry!”

His volume ended up being too loud, making the empty classroom all the more obvious.

Duan Jiayan suddenly realised that he might have been too fierce. He scratched his head before mellowing his tone, “Previously, when I brought up being marked for the third time, I did not mean to question your feelings for me.”

He paused for a bit before continuing, “I was just thinking that before I properly thought things through, it’ll be very unfair of you to be bound to me due to such a reason.”

Duan Jiayan really rarely spoke such serious and considerate words.

He looked a little uncomfortable as he spoke, his gaze was hooded and his eyes kept wandering about.

Just as Lu Xingci opened his mouth to speak, he suddenly thought of something and looked at the tip of Duan Jiayan’s ears.

It was red. 

Even though the red was not very obvious, but he was most definitely embarrassed.

This scene turned Lu Xingci’s heart into a soft mess.

He leaned closer to Duan Jiayan a little to help dispel Duan Jiayan’s concerns.

“The matter of me liking you will not change regardless of whether I’ve marked you or not. No matter how many times the mark happens, it will not affect me.” 

“Compared to that, your health is most important,” Lu Xingci looked into his amber eyes as he spoke. “Previously I was too anxious and did not properly consider your wishes before giving you a mark, it was my fault.”

He paused for a little while before continuing, “But if you can, I hope you do not keep matters such as your body feeling uncomfortable from me in the future.”

“Can you promise me that?”

He spoke slowly and sounded very logical. 

Duan Jiayan listened as he slowly spoke and could not pick out any parts that were unreasonable.

In the end, Duan Jiayan nodded his head and softly agreed.

Everyone was feeling restless by the last lesson on Thursday, which was Self-Study.

Just a few more hours and it’ll be the new year. Because of that, a good portion of the students in class found it difficult to sit still. 

That night was Zhao Minjun’s language self-study period. As the lesson was coming to an end, Zhao Minjun stood up and smiled at her students, “In the new year, I wish that all of you will make improvements in your students and achieve better results.”

She lowered her gaze towards the boys who were about to burst out of their seats, “I wish everyone a Happy New Year!”

Students here and there replied her in turn. Perhaps because they felt embarrassed, the greetings were all very soft.

Duan Jiayan was the first to reply loudly, “Teacher Zhao! Happy New Year!” 

With him taking the lead, Zhou Xingchen followed suit, “Happy New Year Teacher!”

Zhao Minjun laughed and nodded her head as the other students also gave her their greetings.

The school bell rang as this was happening.

“Go go go,” Zhou Xingchen said excitedly, he ran up to Duan Jiayan’s spot. “Let’s go to Nanshan to usher in the new year.” 

There were quite a few students going to Nanshan Square. After a discussion was held, they all decided that they might as well head over together.

Nanshan was located in the middle of quite a few schools. So it was not just Yi Zhong students, but students from several other schools also chose to welcome the new year there.

The place Duan Jiayan and the rest alighted was close to Nanshan’s basketball court. There was a crowd there, it seemed like two schools were having a basketball match.

The atmosphere there felt very lively. 

Shen Chilie patted him on the shoulders and motioned to the further end of the basketball court, “Son, look over there.”

Duan Jiayan looked in the direction he motioned to and saw a familiar figure.

“That’s Cheng Zi and his group of friends right?” Shen Chilie asked. “Opposite them seems to be Jiu Zhong?”

There was a boy hugging his leg on the basketball court with a pained expression on his face. The students from both teams were crowding around him to check on his situation. 

Lu Xingci alighted from the other car and saw them standing on the spot. He asked, “Why aren’t you moving?”

Duan Jiayan continued looking at the basketball court, “The students playing basketball are my elementary school classmates.”

He frowned as he spoke, “One seemed to have sprained his leg.”

On the basketball court, some boys from San Zhong looked very depressed. They had initially invited Jiu Zhong for a basketball match. As the match went on, they did not mind the fact that their opponents were playing aggressively, but someone on their team sprained their leg while jumping for the ball. 

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Even though they were waving such a large flag of peace, both sides still did not hold back and neither wanted to lose.

The best player on San Zhong was a boy with the hair on his forehead dyed a cherry blossom pink. The boy saw that his friend was unable to move and was worrying about where he could go to find someone to sub in for him when he caught sight of a familiar figure standing outside the court. 

For a moment, he found it a little unbelievable and only after a closer look did he confirm that it was indeed Duan Jiayan.

‘Duan-ge! Duan-ge!” Cherry Blossom Pink looked at him with bright eyes. “Duan-ge, come and give this a shot! Cheng Zi broke his leg.”

He spoke loudly. A few boys on the court did not come from San Zhong’s elementary school and did not recognise Duan Jiayan. They only saw a tall and slim figure walking out from the crowd and stopping by the metal fence.

His eyes and hair were light in colour and he had a very beautiful face. 

“Who is that? Do you guys know him?”

“That’s Duan Jiayan, the one that was previously from our elementary school.”

“The previous school tyrant?” The boy had a sudden realisation. “The one that you were all chasing after shouting ‘daddy’ during your graduation?”

Jiu Zhong’s small forward saw what was going on and felt it was simply ridiculous, “He’s not even from San Zhong, why are you guys calling him over to sub in?” 

Cherry Blossom Pink fought back, “He was previously from San Zhong.”

Even though the boy beside him did not know Duan Jiayan but after hearing his title of school tyrant, he also chimed in, “Have you heard of our school motto? As long as you graduate from San Zhong, you will always be considered someone from San Zhong, even if you die you will be San Zhong’s ghost.”

Duan Jiayan also opened his mouth.

He shot a smile at Jiu Zhong’s small forward, “Bros, they’re lacking one member, let me sub it alright?” 

The students from Jiu Zhong looked at each other, obviously feeling like this situation was rather confusing.

They aren’t even aware of how good this guy is, if they let Duan Jiayan sub in and they lose in front of this huge crowd, that’ll be so embarrassing. But if they don’t let him sub in, it’ll look like they’re bullying him.

Seeing that they were in a stalemate, Heipi who had come along to join in the fun ran towards the basketball court, “Didi!”

Ever since the previous match in the internet cafe where the students of Jiu Zhong lost to them in Ionia, they were only fit to be Heipi’s little brother. 

Seeing Heipi, the students from Jiu Zhong could only tolerate it, “Da-ge!”

Heipi spoke very sincerely, “Give your big brother some face and let my big brother sub in!”

Jiu Zhong, “……Alright then.”

They then turned to Duan Jiayan and motioned with their chin, “Bro, you have to go around the fence and come in through there.” 

They were in the innermost basketball court which was quite a distance from the entrance. Add to that the fact that there was a huge crowd around them, he would have to travel quite a distance to come in.

Duan Jiayan saw that they have agreed and nodded.

In the very next second, he grabbed onto the metal fence and stepped onto the gaps between the iron mesh before swinging himself over.

He released his hand and dropped straight onto the basketball court. 

This entrance of his was too wild and the crowd was already shouting in excitement before the match even started.

“Duan-ge!” Cherry blossom pink saw him warming up his arms and legs while taking off his jacket and could not resist asking, “How are you still so wild after all this while— No, how are you still so cool!”

The students from Jiu Zhong also slowly started to react.

“Isn’t the name Duan Jiayan a little familiar?” 

“Isn’t Yi Zhong’s school tyrant also called that? The one that got into an early relationship with the school hottie.”

After the student heard the words ‘early romance’, he suddenly slapped his thigh and turned to Duan Jiayan and said, “You were the LeBlanc!”

The night they had arranged for a match with Heipi in Ionia, Heipi had found his school’s hottie and tyrant to fill in the empty spots at the last minute.

A LeBlanc and a Vladimir, each one fiercer than the other. 

Duan Jiayan looked at him, “You are?”

The other person pointed to himself, “I was the Ezreal that played with you that night, the one that got beaten half to death by your husband. Where is he?”

“My husband……” Duan Jiayan subconsciously looked towards the outside of the court.

Lu Xingci was standing by the dark green metal fence, quietly looking at him. 

The boy was standing tall and straight. With his fair complexion, he looked just like a character in the movie as he stood there on such a cold and noisy night.

Duan Jiayan felt his ears heating up and for some reason felt a little guilty. As if he was trying to convince himself, he said, “Laozi has no husband!”

His retort was too earth-shattering and for an instant, his voice resounded through the entire court.

Chen Yue jumped and turned to look at Lu Xingci. 

Who would have thought that the latter was looking at Duan Jiayan while seemingly deep in thought? His brows were relaxed and he was even smiling.

Chen Yue felt a chill run down his spine and quietly asked, “Pining after someone for so long, will it result in one developing problems with their mental state?”

Song Yi had also noticed Lu Xingci’s ambiguous smile and also felt terrified, “If there are any issues with class monitor, will he do anything to Xiao-Duan?”

Chen Yue, “Who knows, maybe a forced marking along with a forced marriage?” 

Song Yi, “……”

Song Yi’s thoughts went haywire for a moment and he suddenly felt that associating such brutish actions with the class monitor was indeed quite exciting.

Realising he was making some wild thoughts, Song Yi immediately tutted and said, “Freedom to love, freedom to love.”

The match had started. 

Before Duan Jiayan came, the match’s overall score was 2:0. In the third match, Jiu Zhong already had a 13 point lead. If they lost this match then it’ll be Jiu Zhong’s victory.

When he went into the court, he just so happened to get his best position, the power forward.

Duan Jiayan had only ever played with two people on San Zhong’s team. Furthermore, the last time they played together was during last year’s elementary school gathering. After getting on the court, Duan Jiayan was a little unfamiliar with his teammates’ rhythm. Not only that, his teammates were also trying to accommodate him.

What’s more, the scores between the two teams were too far apart and it will inevitably affect the player’s morale. The boys on San Zhong were all a little dispirited. 

But Cherry blossom pink was very confident in Duan Jiayan. In the newly restarted match, Cherry blossom pink was so aggressive that it seemed as if he had just taken some medicine. As a result, even though they could not score, it was also difficult for Jiu Zhong to score into their hoop. Both sides could not get any points.

The match was in a deadlock.

San Zhong’s point guard had the ball and had brought it to the centre. He was hesitating as he did not know who to pass it to.

“Give it to Duan-ge!” Cherry blossom pink shouted. 

He saw that his other teammates were all being blocked and thus could only pass it to Duan Jiayan. After getting the ball, Duan Jiayan quickly rushed into the opponent’s paint. His movement speed shocked the others, the boy blocking him saw him moving and immediately followed.

Seeing Duan Jiayan raise his arm and was about to shoot the ball in from the left, the boy reached out to try and block the shot.

Realising the other’s intentions, Duan Jiayan lowered his arm along with the ball and directly did a lay-up from the right.

The ball jolted in the hoop before rolling through. 

The people blocking him finally realised that Duan Jiayan had finished a deceptive double-pump right in front of his eyes.

“Bro,” Jiu Zhong’s small forward was shocked silly. “You were treated like a monkey by the other team?”

“God damn!” The boy was also depressed. “Are all LeBlanc players also this tricky when playing basketball?”

“……” 

Outside the court, Zhou Xingchen was also shocked, “He even knows how to do that?”

Gu Li was confused, “What’s that?”

Zhou Xingchen, “A double-pump! It mainly relies on one’s abdomen and really tests one’s waist strength! 6666 wow!”

Gu Li paused for two seconds, her gaze could not help moving to Duan Jiayan’s waist. 

Thinking she was really impressed by Duan Jiayan, Zhou Xingchen continued to praise him, “You can’t tell huh, he should at least have a set of 4 pack abs?”

Gu Li once again could not help but turn to look at Lu Xingci.

She was not sure if she was thinking too much but Lu Xingci’s cheeks seemed to have moved slightly, as if he was pressing his tongue against it.

Gu Li could feel her face heating up and she gave a slap to the back of her boyfriend’s head, “Enough talking Zhou Xingchen! You’re so perverted!” 

Zhou Xingchen, “????”

That double-pump brought the morale of San Zhong back up.

With Duan Jiayan’s opening, the other’s on the team had found their centre and thus tried to find ways to throw the ball to him.

The score was slowly evening out but the players on Jiu Zhong were not dumb. They had noticed the change in the opposing team and started to tightly block Duan Jiayan. 

In the last few minutes, Duan Jiayan was surrounded by two players and with no other choice, could only pass the ball to Cherry blossom pink.

After Cherry Blossom Pink had gotten the ball, he bounded for Jiu Zhong’s hoop like a small tornado. But he got blocked as he was jumping and could only watch as his ball was about to fall into Jiu Zhong’s forward’s hands.

Just as Cherry Blossom Pink was about to fall into despair, a figure suddenly appeared behind Jiu Zhong’s forward. Duan Jiayan reached out his hand to intercept the ball before stepping into the paint. His sole pressed against the ground as his arm reached out to complete a shockingly fast slam dunk.

Because of this sorcery-like dunk, there were howls and shouts all around him from both boys and girls. 

By the wire fence, Heipi was shouting loudly, “Duan Jiayan! Duan Jiayan!”

Zhou Xingchen followed closely after, “Duan Jiayan is too god damn handsome!”

Shen Chilie, “How can Duan Jiayan be so damn handsome!”

Just then, someone outside the court shouted, “It’s over!” 

The score was set at 43-41.

They did not win but it was still enough to make one excited.

Just as they were all excited enough to climb the wire fence, someone shouted Duan Jiayan’s name.

Unlike how he treated the rest of them, the moment this person shouted, the proud and dazzling school tyrant who could not be held back turned around in an instant. 

“Duan Jiayan,” Lu Xingci was smiling as he shouted. “Duan Jiayan!”

The look in his eyes was so warm that it felt as if light was about to spill out at any moment.

Duan Jiayan saw him and his heart started to beat faster. He felt as if his weak points had been grabbed and all ability for rational thinking had vanished.

“—I like you.” 

In that instant, shouts that were more intense than the ones that happened during the basketball match rose, there were even boys whistling. Gu Li caught Zhou Xingchen’s wrist and shook him in disbelief, “Zhou Xingchen! What did Lu-ge say?! Did I hear wrongly?!”

Zhou Xingchen was also in a daze, “Lu-ge said… said he likes Duan Jiayan?”

Zhou Xingchen looked at Gu Li, confusion written all over his face, “Did I also hear wrongly?”

Gu Li had no energy to bother with him, “Aaaaaa! Did anyone record that? Aaaaaaaa!” 

Inside the court, Cherry Blossom Pink had also heard Lu Xingci’s words, “Duan-ge, who is that boy?”

He and Duan Jiayan were classmates for three years in elementary school. It was not that there were no boys that had confessed to Duan Jiayan before, but every one of them were straightforwardly rejected. He knew that Duan Jiayan was only interested in females.

Cherry Blossom Pink smacked his lips, “He’s rather good looking though a little tragic, this handsome fellow.”

“How is he tragic?” Duan Jiayan casually replied. He seemed to be thinking of something as he absentmindedly made his way forward. He took a few steps before turning around to say, “I’ll be going.” 

Cherry Blossom Pink paused, he did not think Duan Jiayan would leave so quickly, “You’re leaving just like this?”

Without waiting for his reply, Duan Jiayan reached out to take his jacket before pulling on the metal fence and swinging back over.

Though this time was different. This time he looked at Lu Xingci’s location and specially chose a spot to land on before jumping over and landing right in front of the other person.

He reached out to pull Lu Xingci’s wrist and realised someone was filming them. 

The atmosphere was an unbelievable one.

But Duan Jiayan did not wish to stop. He hesitated for a moment before sliding his fingers down to hold Lu Xingci’s slightly cold hand.

He then pulled the other along and headed out of the crowd.

The noisy crowd and lively atmosphere of the basketball court were soon left behind by them. Lu Xingci quietly let himself be tugged along as they made their way down the road. 

However, no matter where they walked, Nanshan was filled with people waiting for the new year to come. Duan Jiayan walked to a place with slightly lesser people. Not far from where they stood, fireworks suddenly appeared, both colourful and bright.

He suddenly stopped and let go of the hand he was holding, before turning to look at Lu Xingci.

“Just now, you said you like me.”

“It wasn’t only just now,” Lu Xingci answered. “I’ve said it many times.” 

Duan Jiayan had taken off his jacket for the basketball match and he was still feeling a little hot. The big down jacket was tightly gripped in Duan Jiayan’s hands, while he only had a thin long-sleeved shirt on.

He squeezed the fluffy down jacket in his hand as he hesitated.

The fireworks in his eyes overlapped with the ones from the theme park.

All of a sudden, he took a step forward and before Lu Xingci could react, he reached out and hooked his arms around the other’s neck. 

He looked up and bravely gave Lu Xingci a kiss on his cheeks.

The skin under his lips felt a little cold.

Lu Xingci was in a daze from Duan Jiayan’s sudden actions, his mind had gone blank for a brief moment.

He heard Duan Jiayan whisper, “I like you too.” 

He looked down and saw Duan Jiayan’s bright and clear pair of eyes that seemed to be expecting something.

‘F*ck,’ Lu Xingci exclaimed in his heart.

This will really be the death of him……

Duan Jiayan saw the other staring straight at him, the emotions in his eyes seem to be going out of control. 

Alpha pheromones started to permeate the air around them, as if trying to engulf Duan Jiayan’s breath whole.

His omega instincts for self-protection were going crazy in his head. Duan Jiayan instinctively took a small step backwards and saw the other reach a hand out, his fingers almost brushing over his lips. Duan Jiayan took another step back.

By the end, he found it a little difficult to stand straight.

He wanted to run. 

Without waiting for him to do so, Lu Xingci caught his wrist.

He used some strength to pull Duan Jiayan back to him, before opening his arms and bringing the other into his embrace.

“Running away after kissing me,” he leaned down and smiled softly. “Are you a little gangster?”

The author has something to say: Yes! Gangster, go back!