Unfortunately, Xu Ze’s attention wasn’t on the question Lu He Yang had asked, because he didn’t think being grabbed around the neck by Tang Feiyi was worth paying attention to at all. Compared with the injuries he’d suffered while boxing, this was truly insignificant.
Xu Ze simply didn’t understand why Lu He Yang was loosely holding his neck like this, with a grip so light that it made him feel a little itchy—he thought Lu He Yang could use a little more force.
“I had a bit of a conflict with someone at the club,” Xu Ze said. “It’s nothing.”
He really was terrible at lying. His eyes darted away, and he even had to rely on little movements to cover it up—Xu Ze raised his hand and lightly touched the back of Lu He Yang’s hand with his fingertips.
Lu He Yang said nothing. He released his hand, but his gaze remained fixed on Xu Ze’s neck. His fingertip brushed over the strangulation mark. Xu Ze’s Adam’s apple bobbed once with Lu He Yang’s movement, and he watched him without blinking.
“It doesn’t hurt,” Xu Ze added, although he knew Lu He Yang probably didn’t care about that.
After a while, Lu He Yang unusually asked him back, his tone somewhat cold. “Then what would make you feel pain?”
Xu Ze sensed the heavy atmosphere but couldn’t figure out what exactly had gone wrong. He guessed that Lu He Yang might have something upsetting him, so after hesitating for a moment, he asked, “Did something happen that made you unhappy? If you don’t mind, you can tell me.”
To prove that he was a qualified emotional dumping ground, Xu Ze added, “I won’t tell anyone.”
His cautious yet bewildered appearance always seemed to amuse certain people very easily. Lu He Yang smiled, seemingly a little helpless. “You really won’t get deceived by people?”
It was a strange question, but Xu Ze shook his head and answered seriously, “No.”
Everywhere except when he was around Lu He Yang, Xu Ze was practically full of defenses and vigilance. He didn’t cause trouble or act impulsively, and could be considered impervious to persuasion.
“Are you sure?” Lu He Yang smiled again.
He suddenly stepped half a step forward, turned his head slightly, and reached out toward Xu Ze. For a moment, Xu Ze thought he was about to hug him. Lu He Yang’s movement was so misleading that Xu Ze nervously held his breath as he approached, his hands instinctively settling around Lu He Yang’s waist. The faint, cool moisture and pheromones from Lu He Yang enveloped him, while the breath he exhaled against Xu Ze’s neck was warm. Xu Ze felt a tingling sensation spread from his scalp all the way to his fingertips, and he stared motionlessly at Lu He Yang.
With a creak, Lu He Yang opened the locker beside Xu Ze’s head and took something out.
Today, he and Xu Ze had been assigned to the same locker room, and even their lockers were close together. Lu He Yang had simply arrived a little late; by the time he got to the locker room, Xu Ze had already gone to class.
Realizing it had all been a misunderstanding, Xu Ze didn’t feel disappointed. His mind had gone completely blank, and he hadn’t even had time to build up any expectations. Xu Ze simply looked at Lu He Yang’s profile, so close to him, unable to stop himself from wanting to kiss him.
But he couldn’t, so just being able to look was good enough. Xu Ze was content with the situation as it was. He had never expected to obtain anything. Instead, he could more easily receive little surprises, even if they might seem insignificant to other people.
Lu He Yang took out his clean clothes, straightened up, and faced Xu Ze. He looked down at the hand Xu Ze still had around his waist and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Xu Ze immediately lowered his hand. His fingers still held a trace of the water from Lu He Yang. Xu Ze rubbed his fingertips together. They were wet, just like Lu He Yang’s face and lips.
“Do you have anything to do after school?” Lu He Yang asked again.
“No. Why?”
“I mean, I’d like to invite you to dinner,” Lu He Yang said.
Xu Ze’s gaze drifted for a moment, and he didn’t quite understand. “Huh?”
“Wait for me. I’ll take a shower.” Lu He Yang walked toward the showers as he spoke. “It’ll be quick.”
“It’s okay.” Xu Ze answered instinctively.
If he was waiting for Lu He Yang, he didn’t mind how long it took.
After Lu He Yang went into the showers, Xu Ze sat on a chair and waited. It was getting close to the end of class, and the alphas gradually finished their training and returned to the locker room. People kept walking past him, but Xu Ze didn’t look at his phone or do anything else. He simply sat there quietly and waited.
About fifteen minutes later, Lu He Yang came out of the shower room. As he walked toward his locker, he put on his wristband. After putting his things away, he turned around and looked at Xu Ze. Xu Ze was still sitting there looking at him.
Lu He Yang walked over to Xu Ze, and Xu Ze raised his head slightly.
The alphas coming and going nearby were talking, but the two of them alone remained silent. Lu He Yang looked down at Xu Ze and slowly dried his hair, while Xu Ze looked up at him. Being looked down upon like this brought back an intimate memory for Lu He Yang, but the memory remained unspoken between them.
“Let’s go.” Lu He Yang’s gaze swept over Xu Ze’s neck before he spoke.
The two of them walked from the swimming center to the school gate. Along the way, Xu Ze could feel other people’s eyes on them, as though seeing him and Lu He Yang together was something unusual—which, indeed, it was.
A car was parked beneath a tree beside the sidewalk on the right. An alpha wearing white gloves walked over to Lu He Yang and handed him the car keys. Lu He Yang said, “Thank you.” The alpha nodded without saying anything else or even looking at Xu Ze. Another car then drove over and took the alpha away.
Lu He Yang opened the passenger-side door. Xu Ze thanked him and got in. Lu He Yang closed the door and answered a phone call outside the car. It was probably He Wei calling. Lu He Yang spoke with a faint smile while glancing at Xu Ze through the car window.
“What do you want to eat?” After getting into the car and fastening his seat belt, Lu He Yang took Xu Ze’s backpack from his lap and put it in the back seat.
“Anything is fine,” Xu Ze said.
Just as he expected. Lu He Yang took a box of bandages out of his own backpack. They had been left behind by He Wei. The white bandages were covered in cute little bears. No one understood why He Wei liked this style, just as no one understood why he had decorated the interior of his sports car in pink.
“Put one on your neck.” Lu He Yang handed the bandage to Xu Ze and started the car. “Let’s eat somewhere near your house. Is there anything good around there?”
Xu Ze opened the bandage, paused, and said, “Noodles.”
“Then we’ll have noodles.”
“Okay.”