Facing the sudden intruder, Lu Zhen frowned slightly but said nothing. He turned back and pulled on a clean T-shirt: “It’s nothing.”
Seeing Qiao Muyu still standing there dazed, Lu Zhen had to speak up to remind him: “If you’re coming in, close the door.”
Qiao Muyu snapped out of it: “Oh.”
After locking the door, Qiao Muyu realized there was hardly any place to stand. The equipment room was small and crammed with shelves and boxes full of sports gear, leaving only a narrow aisle.
Consequently, he had to shuffle over to Lu Zhen’s side, squeezing into the cramped space with him. He gripped his waistband, hesitating over whether to strip down.
Lu Zhen glanced at him and finally noticed a large wet patch on his clothes, emanating a faint, sweet scent: “What happened to you?”
Qiao Muyu looked resentful: “Someone accidentally spilled Coke on me just now. I came to change.”
Lu Zhen understood and didn’t pry further, turning sideways to continue organizing his own things.
Seeing Lu Zhen acting so calm—as if he didn’t even exist—Qiao Muyu thought to himself: We’re both men, there’s no need to be prudish about changing in front of each other.
He turned his back to Lu Zhen and pulled off his wet trousers.
The pants were off, but a sticky residue of soda remained on his skin. It was colorless but uncomfortably tacky. Qiao Muyu felt his pockets, only to realize he had forgotten to bring tissues.
He hesitated for a moment before speaking softly: “Um, Lu Zhen?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you have any tissues?”
“I do.”
“Could I have some?”
The sound of rustling followed as Lu Zhen rummaged through his things. A few seconds later, Qiao Muyu felt a light tap on his forearm: “Is this enough?”
Qiao Muyu turned back and saw a pack of tissues being handed over.
“It’s enough, thanks.”
He reached out without looking closely and missed, sending the pack of tissues tumbling to the floor.
Lu Zhen instinctively bent down to pick them up. As he straightened and looked up, his eyes accidentally grazed the exposed skin of Qiao Muyu’s legs.
The legs before him were long, straight, and lean. His oversized white school shirt draped down to his upper thighs, faintly revealing the edge of his underwear.
But the most striking thing was a pale red scar branded onto Qiao Muyu’s left inner thigh. It stood out starkly against his fair skin, and its shape was peculiar—at a casual glance, it looked like a faint red fish.
Lu Zhen’s brow twitched violently, his Adam’s apple bobbing: “What’s the deal with this scar?”
Qiao Muyu hadn’t expected him to stare there. Feeling instant discomfort, he hurried to cover himself with his clothes: “This? I got burned by candle wax a long time ago.”
Lu Zhen’s pupils were constricted. He suddenly grabbed Qiao Muyu’s wrist with surprising force; for some reason, his fingertips were trembling slightly.
Qiao Muyu was startled: “Wh-what are you doing? You’re hurting me!”
Realizing his loss of composure, Lu Zhen let go, but his eyes remained fixed on him. The faint light in his dark pupils was almost predatory: “When were you burned?”
“Just…” Qiao Muyu didn’t understand why he was asking, so he answered casually, “When I was a kid.”
“How old?” Lu Zhen pressed rapidly.
“Six or seven? It was too long ago, I don’t really remember.”
“You said it was candle wax?”
“Yeah.” Qiao Muyu tried to recall. “I just remember there was a power outage that night. I went to the bathroom with a friend carrying a candle, we accidentally knocked it over, and I got burned like this.”
Qiao Muyu had originally thought the scar would fade over time, but even after ten years, while the color had lightened, the shape remained almost unchanged. Fortunately, it was usually hidden, and since he didn’t like wearing shorts, no one ever saw it. He only ever saw it himself when showering, so he hadn’t given it much thought.
He didn’t understand why Lu Zhen was so curious, but when he looked up, he was stunned by the wordless, turbulent emotions swirling in Lu Zhen’s eyes.
Just as Lu Zhen opened his mouth to speak, a shout came from outside: “Lu Zhen! Are you in there? Get ready, the 1500m runners need to go to check-in!”
Seeing Lu Zhen hesitate, Qiao Muyu urged him: “What are you dazing for? Go to your race.”
Lu Zhen had no choice but to grab his bag and head for the door. At the threshold, he stopped and turned back: “Find me after the race. I have something to say to you.”
Qiao Muyu gave a confused reply: “Oh, okay.”
…
After changing, Qiao Muyu returned to the Class 1 spectator stands. Just as he was about to sit down, a girl approached him: “Monitor, the broadcast said the high jump winners should go collect their medals. Lu Zhen is still running the 1500m; could you go collect it for him?”
“Sure.”
Qiao Muyu headed to the rostrum facing the center of the field. He saw several students who had just won awards taking commemorative photos, looking jubilant. By the podium, three students wearing red volunteer hats were lounging, guarding a pile of medals and certificates.
Before Qiao Muyu could speak, a girl in a red hat saw him first and stood up happily: “Senior! What are you doing here?”
Qiao Muyu recognized her—He Miaoyin. She was a year below him and had joined the Student Council back when he first became president. He had taken good care of the newcomers back then. Between her cute appearance and her diligent, meticulous nature, he had a good impression of her.
He replied with a smile: “I’m here to pick up an award for a classmate. Senior Boys’ High Jump, First Place, Lu Zhen.”
“Oh, it’s for him.” Miaoyin picked up the prepared medal and handed it to him. “Here.”
“Thanks.”
Qiao Muyu took the gold medal and was about to leave when He Miaoyin called out: “Senior, do you have a moment to talk privately?”
Without thinking much of it, he nodded: “Sure.”
…
The two walked to a shaded, deserted area on the side of the gymnasium.
Miaoyin walked ahead. When she turned to face him, Qiao Muyu noticed her face was much redder than before. Her eyes were filled with a mix of anticipation and shyness.
He instantly realized what was happening but kept his cool: “Is something the matter?”
Miaoyin nodded slightly, gathering her courage: “Senior, actually, ever since you left the Student Council, I’ve felt quite lonely. I used to be so happy every time there was a meeting because I could see you. Even if you only said a few trivial things to me, it would make my day for a long time. Senior, I’ve always liked you. Would you consider dating me?”
Qiao Muyu froze, feeling a bit helpless. He was never good at rejecting people, especially when it came to romance; he was afraid of being too harsh and breaking someone’s heart.
After a moment of deliberation, he said tactfully: “Um, you’re a great person, but this isn’t right. The school doesn’t allow ‘early love’ (dating).”
Miaoyin laughed: “That excuse might work on others, but I know you aren’t actually that much of a rule-follower. Like me, you aren’t as ‘good’ as you look, right?”
Qiao Muyu was stumped. This girl is sharp; she actually saw through my ‘fake model student’ persona.
He rubbed his face awkwardly. Suddenly, a spark of inspiration hit him—he remembered the excuse Lu Zhen used to reject confessions. He cleared his throat and imitated him solemnly: “Sorry, I actually already have someone I like.”
“Eh?” This answer was completely unexpected for He Miaoyin. “Is it Senior Xu Rongcan? You two seem very close.”
Qiao Muyu shook his head quickly: “Not her. Xiao Xu and I are just friends.”
“Then who is it? Do I know them?”
Qiao Muyu hadn’t expected a follow-up question and was momentarily speechless. The flash of hesitation on his face was caught by He Miaoyin, who narrowed her eyes suspiciously: “You aren’t just lying to me, are you?”
“I’m not! I…” Qiao Muyu thought on his feet. “The person I like is from another school, you don’t know him. He was my middle school classmate. Actually, I’ve liked him since middle school, but I was too shy to say it. I only recently found out he likes me too. So, we’ve promised to work hard together to get into the same university. I don’t want to date in high school so I don’t affect my studies! Yeah, that’s it!”
After finishing his speech, Qiao Muyu gave himself a mental thumbs-up. This lie was detailed, his tone was sincere, and his expression was earnest. It was convincing.
Miaoyin fell silent. She lowered her head to hide the disappointment in her eyes: “Okay, I see. Sorry for bothering you.” With that, she turned and ran away without looking back.
Qiao Muyu let out a sigh of relief. He started to walk away, only to nearly collide with someone standing around the corner of the wall.
“Lu Zhen?” Qiao Muyu was surprised. “What are you doing here? Is the race over?”
The hair on Lu Zhen’s forehead was damp with sweat, making his dark eyes look even deeper and sharper—he looked like he had just stepped off a fierce battlefield.
“It’s over,” Lu Zhen said. “I went to find you as soon as I finished, but someone told me you went this way with a girl.”
Qiao Muyu realized: “Did you hear what we just said?”
Lu Zhen: “Yes.”
“…”
Qiao Muyu felt incredibly awkward. He didn’t know what to say—was he supposed to exchange tips on how to reject confessions?
Fortunately, Lu Zhen only looked at him with a strangely resentful gaze and didn’t ask further. Qiao Muyu quickly changed the subject: “By the way, before the race, you said you had something to tell me. What was it?”
Lu Zhen thinned his lips. After a moment of inner struggle, he let out a faint sigh and said simply: “Nothing much. I just wanted to tell you that I took first place.”
“Really? Congratulations!” Qiao Muyu remembered the medal in his hand. “Oh, right, I went and picked up your high jump gold medal for you. Keep it safe.”
“Thanks.” Lu Zhen took it, then asked: “Can I take you out to dinner after school?”
“Huh?” Qiao Muyu blinked, not understanding why the topic had shifted even more abruptly than his own. “Dinner? Just the two of us?”
Lu Zhen nodded: “Yes.”
“…”
Qiao Muyu was suspicious of this random invitation, but fortunately, he had a legitimate reason to decline: “Maybe next time. Hu Jun said there’s a team dinner for the athletes at his family’s restaurant after the games today.”
“A team dinner?”
“Yeah, since we don’t have evening self-study today.”
Lu Zhen frowned, looking reluctant: “Can I not go?”
Qiao Muyu: “No way. You’re the hero of this sports meet; you have to be there.”
Lu Zhen then asked: “Are you going?”
“Yes.” Qiao Muyu sighed. “As the class monitor, I have to keep an eye on them so they don’t cause trouble.”
“Then I’m going too,” Lu Zhen immediately changed his mind.
Qiao Muyu: ?
Man, you change your mind fast.