“Forget it.”
Song Yu, wearing Lu Qiwen’s jacket, had just asked a question but then fell silent again.
Even if he didn’t understand what others were thinking, he certainly understood alphas.
Although he was also a beta, seeing the pale faces of the alphas below, he could guess that there was probably more than just a scent on this jacket.
Zhou Fang, noticing Song Yu looking around, thought he was searching for Lu Qiwen and pointed toward the mountaintop. “It’s halftime now. Brother Lu will be out soon.”
“They’ll be coming down from the mountaintop in a bit.”
Song Yu relaxed and leaned back against the seat. He wasn’t actually curious about Lu Qiwen’s whereabouts, he was just looking for a snack bar. After all, to boost his follower points, running errands to buy something would easily solve the problem.
“Is there a place to buy things around here?”
“Yeah,” Zhou Fang pointed behind him. “Over there.”
“Alright, I’ll go buy something.”
“Hey, I’ll take you. If you get lost, I won’t know how to explain it to Brother Lu.”
Song Yu couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not that clueless.”
“No, no, I’m coming with you.”
Seeing how insistent the other was, Song Yu even suspected that Zhou Fang would try to pay for him later, so he immediately gave up on the idea.
“Forget it…”
The waiting process was boring. Song Yu propped his elbows on his knees, the drawstring of the jacket wrapped around his fingers, and he casually asked, “Does he come here often?”
Who “he” referred to went without saying.
Zhou Fang thought for a moment. “Not much recently. Before, he was here almost five days a week, but last month he only came once.”
Truly, Lu Qiwen.
Who would have thought he enjoyed such thrilling activities?
In the original text, Lu Qiwen was mostly described in terms of how he looked down on and antagonized Lu Zhi, with additional details about his appearance and bad temper.
Lu Zhi’s evaluation of Lu Qiwen was “an angel’s face, a devil’s heart.”
Seeing the beta lost in thought, Zhou Fang immediately straightened up. “Although Brother Lu enjoys these things, he really doesn’t like people getting close to him.”
“Especially omegas. Brother Lu is famously chaste around here!”
Zhou Fang raised his voice as he spoke, afraid Song Yu might not hear him clearly.
But Song Yu was absorbed in his own world, only nodding slowly in response to Zhou Fang’s words.
Was that a yes or a no?
Zhou Fang couldn’t tell. Scratching his head, he was about to say something else when several roars echoed from the mountaintop, and the large screen beside them instantly lit up.
“They’re here!”
The crowd erupted instantly.
“The flag! Get it out quickly! Don’t miss it!”
“Camera, camera!!”
Seeing the crowd’s momentum, which seemed almost strong enough to push over the wooden railing in front of them, Song Yu tightly gripped the wooden frame. “Is… is this really okay?”
“It’s fine!” Zhou Fang immediately pulled out a flag from beside him and handed one to Song Yu. “It’s about to start! That black car is Brother Lu!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a countdown began on the screen. The moment the beeping ended, the race cars on the screen immediately surged down, indistinguishable from one another.
As the camera panned, a pure black race car emerged like a black panther awakened in the night. While the other cars were still jostling for position, it shot forward like a terrifying black lightning bolt, accelerating precisely through the gaps in the formation.
The night added both danger and excitement to the race. The roar of the racing engines instantly drowned out all other noises, immediately igniting screams from the crowd.
Zhou Fang had long since stood up, waving flags and cheering. Song Yu, unable to describe the surge of impulse and excitement within him, also rose to his feet, his gaze fixed intently on the black racing car.
The camera gradually zoomed out. After just two turns, the cars behind began to separate into a clear order, though the gaps remained tight, a single misstep could allow others to overtake.
Only the black car raced alone along the optimal line of the track, leading the entire field. Moonlight reflected off its dark body, casting a uniquely cold, metallic gleam.
The camera shifted, revealing a split-screen display of six sections.
Song Yu stared at the top-right corner, where Lu Qiwen appeared.
Those usually sharp phoenix eyes were now as keen as a hawk’s, locked firmly on the track ahead. Shifting gears, braking, steering, accelerating, every movement flowed seamlessly. In a fleeting moment, he even caught a glimpse of a faint, almost imperceptible curve at the corner of Lu Qiwen’s lips, a relaxed confidence as if he alone dominated the entire track.
He was savoring it, the thrill brought by speed.
Watching the supremely confident and dazzling Lu Qiwen before him, Song Yu couldn’t help but recall the original story, where Lu Qiwen would ultimately fall victim to Lu Zhi’s schemes, leaving him with paralyzed legs.
Suddenly, it felt as though his heart had been seized, otherwise, why would breathing feel so difficult?
The spectators were positioned halfway up the mountain. As Lu Qiwen sped past on the track, a powerful gust swept through. Even from a distance, the wind was strong enough to make everyone squint.
Zhou Fang patted Song Yu’s shoulder and immediately said, “Come on, let’s take a shortcut to the finish line!”
Many others had the same idea. Just as they arrived, they saw a black racing car charging toward them from afar.
“Hurry up!”
“We’ll lose the best spots if we wait!”
The black car was the sole focus on the track. The engine’s roar reached its peak, matched by the crowd’s screams.
The checkered flag’s reflection on the black car body was the classic symbol of victory. As it gradually came to a stop, the other cars crossed the finish line one by one. The outcome of the race was no surprise at all.
“As expected, Brother Lu won!” Zhou Fang grinned, nudging Song Yu with his shoulder.
“Whenever Brother Lu races, he never loses!”
Song Yu swallowed hard, unable to control himself. The scene replayed over and over in his mind, his heart still pounding at an indescribable pace.
As the black car slowed and returned to the pit area, Lu Qiwen casually rested one hand on the steering wheel while calmly unbuckling his seatbelt with the other.
“Damn!” The driver of the second-place red-and-white car had also performed well, even beating his previous record by a slight margin.
“Tell me, how did you drive like that? You’re insane!”
Lu Qiwen opened the car door and shrugged, delivering the most infuriating line in his usual tone.
“Just drove casually.”
“Right, right, casually, of course.” The man felt he’d asked a pointless question, after all, who didn’t know Lu Qiwen’s temperament?
“Enough talk. You haven’t been around for so long, tonight, I’m definitely making you pay!”
“School started, that’s why.”
“You might as well skip school and head straight to the racetrack.”
Lu Qiwen shook his head. “Not interested.”
As they spoke, Zhou Fang had already brought Song Yu to the pit area. “Brother Lu!”
“How was it?” Lu Qiwen took a bottle of water handed to him by someone nearby, but his eyes remained fixed on Song Yu.
Zhou Fang, however, assumed Lu Qiwen was asking for his thoughts on the race. He raised his hands excitedly, waving them around. “That turn just now was absolutely insane! You didn’t even touch the brakes! I could practically see sparks flying from the tires on the screen!”
“You even broke the track record here!”
“Hey, Brother Lu, you-”
Before Zhou Fang could finish, he keenly noticed Lu Qiwen’s gaze. His enthusiastic tone instantly dropped. “I-I’ll go check on Brother Xiang!”
With that, he jogged toward the driver of the red-and-white race car, unable to resist glancing back at the two behind him.
Song Yu met his gaze. Unlike Zhou Fang, he didn’t know much about racing and couldn’t offer any technical analysis, but…
“It was thrilling.” His eyes were unwavering, their light color seeming to deepen in the darkness, yet still bright and captivating. “I saw you cross the finish line.”
“You’re really amazing, Lu Qiwen.”
Song Yu couldn’t help but express his admiration.
Lu Qiwen had received countless compliments before, some exaggerated, some simple, but none had ever sounded as pleasing as the words from the person in front of him.
“Thank you.”
Seeing the barely concealed joy on Lu Qiwen’s face, Song Yu couldn’t help but smile.
People often said Lu Qiwen had a strange temper, but in Song Yu’s eyes, he was just a kid who wasn’t hard to please at all.
It almost felt like he could be won over with a single piece of candy.
“Did you have fun?” After a moment’s thought, Song Yu unzipped his jacket and pulled out a milk-flavored Wangzai milk candy from his pocket, holding it out to Lu Qiwen. “This is all I have for now. In recognition of Comrade Lu’s championship win, I, Comrade Song, will temporarily represent the organization and award you this candy.”
Lu Qiwen raised an eyebrow at the single piece of candy in Song Yu’s hand, as if to say, “Is that it?”
“Hey, don’t be picky! I told you, this is all I have right now. I didn’t have time to stop by the store.” Song Yu pouted slightly. “This is the only thing on me at the moment.”
But given the Lu family’s status, something this simple probably didn’t even catch their eye.
“Fine, if you don’t want it, I’ll eat it myself.”
Song Yu wasn’t upset. He held the candy in his hand, tore open the wrapper, and poured it into his palm, about to pop it into his mouth.
But Lu Qiwen stepped forward, grabbed his wrist, lowered his head, and used his tongue to swipe the candy from Song Yu’s palm.
Song Yu froze when he felt the wet sensation on his palm.
“Tastes average.” Lu Qiwen’s gaze never left Song Yu from the moment he took the candy. His tongue swirled the milk candy in his mouth, brushing past his canine teeth as the sweetness gradually released, overpowering the lingering taste of menthol.
For the first time, Lu Qiwen felt that the sweetness of milk candy might be more effective than mint at suppressing the tremor he felt when touching Song Yu’s skin.
Song Yu’s mind suddenly turned to mush, unable to process anything.
We’re just buddies, right?
Licking someone’s palm… that’s normal, isn’t it?
“Were you really watching me the whole time?”
“Oh, okay.”
“What are you daydreaming about?”
“Mhm.”
“Did watching the match turn your brain to mush?”
“Could be.”
Lu Qiwen: “…”
He stepped forward, raising his hand to ruffle his hair, only to see Song Yu jolt as if suddenly awakened, leaping back a full step.
Lu Qiwen: “?”
Realizing what he had done, Song Yu let out an awkward chuckle. “I-I need to hurry home! If I don’t catch the subway soon, I won’t be able to get back!”
“I can give you a ride.”
“That… that really won’t be necessary.” Song Yu wore an expression that clearly said, “I’m only thinking of you.”
“Look at you, you just finished a match and must be exhausted. Just tell me where we are, and I’ll find my own way back.”
“I’ve had the honor of witnessing Brother Lu’s heroic performance today. This match will be forever etched in my memory!”
Lu Qiwen’s expression shifted through a spectrum of colors, like a painter’s palette.
Suddenly, he remembered the photo he had seen on Jiang Yuanheng’s phone that day.
“That day… did Lu Zhi come looking for you?”
Lu Zhi?
Hearing that name, Song Yu felt a momentary daze. After all, Lu Zhi had been busy campaigning for a student council position all week and hadn’t once shown up to cause trouble. By that calculation, it must have been the Sunday before last.
“How did you know?” Song Yu couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt.
“Take a guess.”
Staring at Lu Qiwen’s handsome face, Song Yu’s gaze wavered.
Could it be that Lu Zhi had deliberately shown off in front of Lu Qiwen? It wasn’t impossible!
Damn protagonist, ruining his image in front of his superior!
“That guy is annoying and troublesome.” Song Yu didn’t bother hiding his disdain for Lu Zhi.
But right after saying it, he quickly glanced at the system, afraid the OOC warning would sound.
However, the system remained completely silent, only showing a notification that his follower points had increased and the urgent task had been completed.
“And that day, he said he was looking for Jiang Yuanheng.”
Lu Qiwen’s expression remained neutral as he simply watched him, neither confirming nor denying whether he believed it. Song Yu grew anxious.
“It’s true! Cheng Yao can vouch for me! I’m not close with him at all!”
Seeing Song Yu so eager to distance himself, Lu Qiwen narrowed his eyes, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth. Then, he bit down on the milk candy and headed straight for the parking lot.
“Let’s go.”
Song Yu was still sweating nervously, and when he heard Lu Qiwen say “let’s go,” he didn’t immediately react. “Go where?”
“Weren’t you going home?” Lu Qiwen turned back to look at him. “If you miss this chance, you can try hailing a cab here yourself.”
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Song Yu hurriedly caught up.
“Oh, right, didn’t you just say rewarding me with a single candy was stingy? Well, I just made a decent sum. Let me treat you to a late-night snack!”
The two disappeared quickly. By the time Zhou Fang turned back to look for them, they were already gone.
“They left that fast?”
The man standing in the maintenance area, staring at his beloved car, quietly took a drag of his cigarette and shook his head with a sigh. “Young people…”
There were plenty of late-night eateries open. Song Yu led him to a spicy hotpot place he had fallen in love with after trying it once.
Considering how frugal he usually was, the fact that he could spend a hundred yuan here on his own said a lot.
“Hurry up and pick something! I’m telling you, it’s delicious!”
Lu Qiwen glanced disdainfully at the slightly greasy table. “You’re sure it’s good?”
“Just trust me!”
Thinking that Lu Qiwen probably hadn’t tried this kind of food before, Song Yu took the initiative and ordered two portions of all his usual favorites.
“Eat up! My treat! You can handle spicy food, right?”
“I can.”
When the hot pot arrived, the red oil glistened brightly. With just a gentle stir of the spoon, the ingredients hidden beneath, juicy beef slices, lotus root, and luncheon meat soaked in the broth, were revealed.
Song Yu was practically drooling. He quickly grabbed a disposable bowl and chopsticks from the side and placed them in front of Lu Qiwen.
“Just scoop it out and eat it directly!”
However, Lu Qiwen didn’t raise his hand for a long time, his brows furrowed more deeply than Song Yu had ever seen since they met.
Song Yu stood up, opened his own chopsticks, and picked up a piece of beef. “Lu Qiwen.”
Hearing his name, Lu Qiwen looked up. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Song Yu swiftly stuffed the chopsticks with beef into his mouth.
Tender, savory, and spicy flavors unfolded layer by layer. Lu Qiwen unconsciously began to chew.
“How is it? Isn’t it delicious?”
Song Yu sat back down, his eyes sparkling as he stared at Lu Qiwen, hoping to hear his opinion.
“Not bad.” Lu Qiwen elegantly wiped his mouth with a napkin.
Song Yu wasn’t surprised by Lu Qiwen’s “not bad.” In his view, “not bad” from Lu Qiwen was equivalent to his own “delicious.”
Pleased, Song Yu picked up a piece of luncheon meat and popped it into his mouth. To him, eating at the restaurant was even better than ordering takeout.
Coming here was definitely the right choice!
Meanwhile, Lu Qiwen was stunned. He watched as Song Yu used the chopsticks he had just bitten and stammered, “You…” for a while.
“Eat up.” Song Yu was too busy enjoying his meal to remember anything else. “If you don’t eat soon, I’ll finish it all.”
Lu Qiwen hesitated for a long time but ultimately didn’t ask.
After eating and drinking to his heart’s content, Song Yu realized he now faced a serious problem.
It was midnight. The subway had stopped running, and the dormitory curfew meant he couldn’t get in.
Unless he took a taxi, but he couldn’t bear the expense.
He wiped his mouth with a napkin, wearing a pleading smile.
Lu Qiwen put down his chopsticks. “What is it?”
“Brother Lu, you’re the best!”
The sudden “good person card” left Lu Qiwen puzzled.
“Let me stay at your place tonight, please! I’ll leave on the earliest subway tomorrow!”