A group of self-righteous and inexplicably strange people had swarmed around him just to spew a bunch of repulsive nonsense.
Trapped amongst this pack of men, Qi Ningze trembled all over with fear and whispered, “I’m not gay. Get away from me.”
Would it really be so bad if this bunch of men just beat him up directly? That would still be a hundred times better than hurling insults at him. Besides, why on earth did they all think he was gay? To be honest, he didn’t even know what his own sexual orientation was.
The athletes exchanged glances. One of them, possessing a violent temper, directly slammed Qi Ningze down to the ground and demanded with a fierce scowl: “Huh? You’re not gay? Then can you explain why you’re clinging to Yang Le’an all day long?”
Qi Ningze stared up at him in utter disbelief with clear, wide eyes, echoing his words back: “You guys actually think Yang Le’an and I are a couple?”
As a minor cannon fodder, why do I keep getting dragged into things with the protagonist shou? He was wishing he could stay as far away from the protagonist shou as possible.
Clenching his fists and taking a deep breath to muster his courage, Qi Ningze answered the athletes with complete earnestness: “You guys can rest assured, I will never harbor any improper thoughts toward Yang Le’an.”
However, the moment those words left his mouth, the System’s voice echoed directly inside Qi Ningze’s head:
[New plot unlocked: Through daily interactions and mutual understanding, cannon fodder Qi Ningze gradually comes to realize that he harbors unique feelings toward Yang Le’an. Harboring a deep, secret crush on Yang Le’an, cannon fodder Qi Ningze finally confesses his feelings for him under the pressure of the crowd.]
[New Mission: Express your hidden affection and love for Yang Le’an implicitly in front of everyone.]
Qi Ningze: “……”
Slaps to the face always came so quickly, and to top it off, it was the System itself that was forcing him into a corner.
Fortunately, the hot-tempered athlete clearly didn’t believe a single word of Qi Ningze’s claim. Sneering coldly, he issued a threat: “If you don’t do as we say today, just wait to be taught a lesson.”
Several people nearby quickly pulled him back, offering words of comfort: “We just came to teach him a lesson; giving him a good beating later will do.”
“Yeah, why get yourself so worked up over such a trivial matter?”
Piecing together snippets from their conversation, Qi Ningze managed to glean another piece of news: someone had hired this group of people to teach him a lesson, which was why he had run into this trouble today.
Qi Ningze took a few steps back, his dark eyelashes fluttering lightly like delicate butterflies.
Pursing his lips, he looked up at the group before him with misty, obsidian eyes, speaking in a tone as soft and gentle as a passing spring breeze.
“Can you give me a more time to think about it?” Pausing for a moment, Qi Ningze added: “You guys know… in my heart, there is only room for him.”
The youth stood leaning against the wall, his skin as pure and translucent as winter snow while the bustling sunlight illuminated his ink-black hair. He looked so breathtakingly beautiful that it was impossible for anyone to utter a single word of refusal.
The surroundings grew deathly quiet. A bunch of blockheaded athletes simply stood there in a dazed trance, staring blankly at Qi Ningze until the arrival of newcomers finally shattered the silence.
Nervously watching them, Qi Ningze awaited their response in his heart.
To his utter astonishment, however, the group’s attitude underwent a complete 180-degree shift, as if they had been replaced by entirely different people.
The athlete who had been extremely hot-tempered just moments ago scratched the back of his head and smiled shyly: “No worries, no worries at all! Come whenever you want, we won’t force you.”
The surrounding people also snapped out of their trances and chimed in eagerly: “We’re all students, so naturally we wouldn’t force anyone against their will.”
“You’re welcome to come whenever you like. We’d love to have you!”
“In that case… would you be willing to add us on WeChat? It’d be great to just chat and hang out sometime.”
This sudden wave of enthusiasm made Qi Ningze instinctively take a few steps back. Shuffling closer to the doorway, he stammered, “Ah, I’ll see if I have any free time later. I don’t really use my phone much, so if you guys need anything, just look for me directly.”
Glancing around once more, Qi Ningze blinked and said, “Next time… please don’t corner me like this anymore. It really makes things difficult for me.”
Though he had no idea why their attitudes had suddenly flipped, seizing this opportunity to sneak away quietly sounded like an absolute blessing.
“We won’t! We promise we won’t drag you down here again next time!” One of the athletes boldly stepped right up to Qi Ningze and asked cautiously: “Do you really like Yang Le’an?”
Qi Ningze originally wanted to shake his head, but remembering his assigned mission, he nodded instead.
His dark bangs partially obscured his eyes, allowing the athletes to catch only a glimpse of a subtle, ambiguous shyness hidden within his gaze.
Qi Ningze murmured: “I… naturally like Yang Le’an.” Following that, he began rambling off all the qualities he admired about Yang Le’an:
“He’s very serious when doing things.”
“He works extremely hard at his studies.”
“At such a young age, he’s already learning to support himself and striving hard for the things he loves.”
Sometimes, Qi Ningze couldn’t help but feel that Yang Le’an was perhaps a bit too ambitious until the day he accidentally caught sight of the scars covering Yang Le’an’s exposed arms.
It had been a Sunday. Qi Ningze was sitting on the sofa munching on an apple when he suddenly heard soft, restrained murmurs coming from the kitchen.
Instantly dropping his apple, Qi Ningze hurried over to Yang Le’an’s side.
The moment he stepped into the kitchen, this was what met his eyes: lying on the floor was an old, battered kitchen knife stained with fresh, dripping blood.
Yang Le’an was sitting right beside it, clutching his wound with one hand while skillfully tearing off a strip of fabric from his own shirt to use as a makeshift bandage.
Rushing forward to grab the other’s hand, Qi Ningze turned pale at the sight of the thick, lengthy scars slashed across his arm.
Guided by Yang Le’an’s silent gestures, Qi Ningze helped wrap the torn fabric tightly around the wound.
Staring at the bleeding injury, tears welled up uncontrollably in Qi Ningze’s eyes, his voice trembling: “What happened to you? Why were you suddenly so careless?”
Amidst his overwhelming terror, Qi Ningze also caught sight of things he had never noticed before.
Yang Le’an’s arms were covered in dense, interwoven scars, and even bore burn marks from cigarette butts.
For a moment, Qi Ningze’s mind went entirely blank as a flood of questions rushed through his heart.
Yet seeing that Yang Le’an was still bleeding, he shoved all his thoughts aside and scrambled frantically to help.
Only after managing to settle everything did Qi Ningze finally let out a breath of relief.
Observing all of Qi Ningze’s tiny, expressive reactions, a flicker of amusement danced within Yang Le’an’s dark eyes.
Extending a hand toward Qi Ningze, he offered reassurance: “It’s fine, I just accidentally cut myself. It’s really no big deal.”
Qi Ningze’s face turned pale once more. Recalling the massive patches of scars on Yang Le’an’s arms, fresh tears spilled uncontrollably from his eyes.
“But you were bleeding, and it was such a large area… with so many wounds, it must hurt terribly.”
Yang Le’an froze for a beat. Concealing the scars on his arm with his sleeve, he stated flatly, voicing a truth born from experience: “It’s fine. I’ve gotten used to it long ago.”
In that exact moment, Qi Ningze could genuinely feel the emotional weight behind Yang Le’an’s words. He even felt as though the Yang Le’an of that instant was fragile, timid, and as delicate as glass shattering at the slightest touch.
Recalling the genuine memories the two of them had forged together, Qi Ningze’s words grew all the more earnest, overflowing with rich, authentic emotion.
It would have been fine if he hadn’t spoken up, but the moment he finished, the entire group of athletes suffered a collective mental breakdown.