Chapter 50.1

Jiang Zhihuo: “?”

What does this mean?

“Ah, I know.” Jiang Zhihuo didn’t understand what Yan Mu meant by these two sentences. He suppressed other thoughts and tried to understand the logic behind them.

“You think the term ‘homosexuality’ is difficult to explain clearly. After all, it’s a subjective understanding. No matter how you explain it, you can’t perfectly respond to the doubts, so you directly took the blame for me? Wow, Yan-ge, you’re so righteous!”

This long paragraph was well-reasoned, logically consistent, and sincerely expresses emotions at the end, making it an excellent explanation.

But Yan Mu shook his head. “No.”

“Ah?” Jiang Zhihuo looked at Yan Mu with a puzzled expression.

Yan Mu looked at him earnestly.

His pupils were completely black, like the night sky after rain. The sun was shining perfectly in the middle of the afternoon. Everything was bathed in warm autumn light, and a soft glow seemed to spread across his eyes, carrying sincerity and affection.

A thought suddenly popped into Jiang Zhihuo’s head, which was quite inappropriate.

Could this be a confession…?

It shouldn’t be, right?

The moment that idea popped into his mind, his heart felt like it skipped a beat, then started pounding faster and faster. Without thinking, he looked away and reached up to grab his shoulder.

His right hand pinched his left shoulder.

This was his subconscious action. Once he felt nervous or didn’t know where to put his hands, he would habitually grab his shoulder.

“Then what does this mean?” Jiang Zhihuo asked.

The stronger the feeling grew in his heart, the less hope he had for an answer. Jiang Zhihuo pushed down his excitement and waited quietly for Yan Mu’s reply.

Yan Mu’s voice was as earnest as his eyes.

He said, “I’m pursuing you.”

“Ah…” Jiang Zhihuo put down his hand.

Too sudden! He was momentarily unsure of how to express his reaction or what words to use.

“I get it, but why? Don’t you have a ‘white moonlight’? I’m definitely not like him, so it wouldn’t make sense for you to use me as a replacement, right?”

He stuttered, looked away, and pinched his shoulder again while nervously tapping his fingers. “I, I, I, um, here…”

Yan Mu noticed the nervous fingers and finished Jiang Zhihuo’s sentence. “I know there’s a tattoo there.”

Jiang Zhihuoo looked up, a little surprised. “How did you know? Even if you did, this… no, why?”

At that moment, Jiang Zhihuo was confused and lost. His words didn’t make much sense. He seemed to say a lot but also nothing at all.

He didn’t deny having a good impression of Yan Mu, nor did he deny being moved when he saw Yan Mu willing to hurt himself. He also didn’t deny the sense of loss he felt upon realizing he could use special inhibitors and had no reason to continue living in Yan Mu’s house.

Being touched, having a good impression, and feeling confused were one thing but holding it inside and expressing it openly were quite another.

Jiang Zhihuo had been reluctant to think about this matter in detail; there were just too many practical factors involved.

Everything else could be overlooked, but the key point was that Yan Mu had a ‘white moonlight,’ and as for him… his tattoo and his family…

“Waah! It’s God Yan and Huo-ge… um!” Two girls walked by nearby; one couldn’t help but shout, while the other quickly covered her mouth.

“They’re in love; don’t disturb them!” After saying that, she quickly left the basketball court.

Yan Mu raised his hand and put it on Jiang Zhihuo’s shoulder. Jiang Zhihuo seemed startled and suddenly looked up.

Yan Mu looked at him, his lips slightly parted as if about to speak, when the school broadcast sounded over the sports field. The female announcer’s clear voice called out, “All high school senior participants competing in the high jump, please report to the stage for pre-competition check-in.”

Due to the large number of participants and events, each game was checked in after the previous game started, which could save time to the greatest extent.

Jiang Zhihuo was relieved, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, “You go over first, don’t say anything yet, let me sort things out.” He pinched his brow. “I’m a little confused right now.”

Yan Mu reached out, his fingers warm as they brushed his brow, and said, “I don’t want you to answer me right now.”

Jiang Zhihuo: “Ah?”

Yan Mu didn’t respond but smoothed out the wrinkles slightly and said, “I’ll go first.”

When Zhu You found Jiang Zhihuo, he was sitting on the flowerbed with a bitter face looking at the forum.

Soon after Yan Mu posted those few words, the entire thread exploded. It shifted from gossip to pure chaos, the screen flooded with ‘Ahhhhh,’ making everyone’s eyes feel overwhelmed—

Ahhhhh, damn, it’s really the God of Learning Yan! He’s confessing! It’s a confession!!

Oh my god! What is this! What did I see?!

How did the CP I was shipping suddenly become real?!!

Huo-ge! Accept him! Date! Marry! Marry! Ahhhhh!!

After reading so many campus novels of the campus popular guy X school bully, I can finally witness a love story belonging to the campus popular guy one day!

So it is the God of Learning Yan in the photo! Oh my god!

What is it? The forum only posted two sentences. Why are they getting married already?

Jiang Zhihuo twisted open the drink and took a big gulp.

“Zhihuo-ge?” Jiang Zhihuo’s expression was really strange, Zhu You asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I’m thinking.” Jiang Zhihuo moved aside a little, making room for Zhu You. “Have you seen the forum?”

Zhu You sat down, propped up his chin, and rested his elbows on his knees. “I saw it; it’s so romantic.”

Jiang Zhihuo: “?”

Romantic?

Jiang Zhihuo: “Do you have some misunderstanding about romance?”

Zhu You gazed into the distance, his eyes filled with longing. “Liking the same sex is still hard to be accepted these days. Many people choose to hide it and don’t dare hold hands in public. Isn’t it romantic to have someone who’s willing to tell everyone openly that they’re pursuing you?”

Zhu You was a beta. Most people in this world were betas. Alphas and omegas were rare, and sexual orientation was still mainly judged based on traditional gender—male or female. People tend to follow societal norms as the standard behavior; for example, most relationships were between males and females, and few dare to openly challenge or promote anything beyond these common perceptions.

Because of this, when Zhu You realized he was actually attracted to the same sex, he struggled with intense confusion and self-denial. Having gone through it himself, he understood how rare it was for someone to openly and confidently express this to everyone without hesitation.

He asked Jiang Zhihuo, “Why do you always have a bitter face, Zhihuo-ge, don’t you like him? But why did you kiss him in the equipment room?”

A death question!

“Cough cough.” Jiang Zhihuo was drinking, suddenly choked, and wiped the water stains from his cough with the back of his hand. “That was an accident; our situation is a bit special.”

“How special?” Zhu You looked at Jiang Zhihuo in confusion.

There were too many special places.

For instance, A turned into O; the heat he kept needing to touch; he knew Yan Mu still had a ‘white moonlight,’ and he couldn’t bring himself to let go of the past.

In short, there were many reasons, like a mess of tangled threads, which couldn’t be explained clearly at all.

Jiang Zhihuo struggled to organize his language but failed several times. His lips opened and closed many times, but he couldn’t even say a word clearly.

Zhu You tilted his head to look at Jiang Zhihuo; his eyes blinked.

“I…Em…Ahhhh! Forget it, forget it!” Jiang Zhihuo gave up struggling, stretched out his hands and feet, and leaned straight back.

He was deeply confused and about to collapse, but Zhu You beside him chuckled softly. “Zhihuo-ge, you’re so cute.”

Jiang Zhihuo: “?” 

Jiang Zhihuo: “Please take back your words.”

Zhu You: “I won’t! You’re cute.”

Can cute be used to describe the big school bully? No! Not in this life!

Jiang Zhihuo stood up, his devil claws stretched out towards Zhu You’s fluffy hair, and rubbed it hard. Zhu You couldn’t run away at all. The only thing he could do was to protect his bangs. “I sprayed hairspray! Zhihuo-ge! Bangs! Don’t mess up my bangs!!”

After rubbing a handful and just as he was about to let go, Sun Liyu arrived with a group of Class 1 students from a distance and surrounded Jiang Zhihuo in the crowd.

Sun Liyu: “Huo-ge! What’s going on between you and God Yan!!!”

Chang Luo slowly poked his head out from the crowd. “Hey, you guys were arguing just a few days ago. What made you two suddenly get along so well?”

Zhu You’s head was still resting under Jiang Zhihuo’s hand as he spoke on his behalf. “Oh, don’t ask yet. Your God of Learning Yan just confessed to Zhihuo-ge, and now he’s all tangled up. He hasn’t figured things out himself, so he can’t answer you.”

“Wow, did I let you speak!” Jiang Zhihuo pressed Zhu You’s head down again, deciding to mess up his bangs as well.

Zhu You’s explanation was about the same as saying nothing, and the classmates in Class 1 started asking questions again.

“So when did you guys get together?”

“How did you get the god of learning?”

“Hey, you guys are using the word ‘get’ very spiritually!”

“Is it because of tutoring? Tutoring can really bring in feelings!”

“Bullsh*t, there must have been feelings long ago; otherwise, how could he get the God of Learning Yan to tutor him on his own initiative?”

“Damn, you didn’t see how God Yan rushed in to get the bag yesterday. I even suspected that what I took wrong was not a bag, but a bomb!”

Jiang Zhihuo: “?”

The little bit of entanglement and melancholy in his heart was all gone by the group of people who came over to gossip in a lively manner.

“Why ask so much?” Jiang Zhihuo sandwiched Zhu You, “This is a private matter, a private matter, okay?”

Zhu You reached out to Sun Liyu for help. Sun Liyu patted Jiang Zhihuo and rescued him. So the little cutie Zhu You stood behind Sun Liyu, covered his flying bangs, and said, “He confessed publicly on the forum! It’s no longer a private matter!”

Jiang Zhihuo stretched out his hand, pretending to be fierce.

Zhu You stuck out his tongue and quickly shrank back.

He really couldn’t answer anything to this group of people. Jiang Zhihuo said, “I need to be alone for now. No one is allowed to follow and no one is allowed to ask either!”

After saying that, he took off—running very fast.

“Hey, hey, hey—Huo-ge!”

Sun Liyu was full of curiosity. Besides the God of Learning Yan’s confession, there was also the matter of the omega. He wanted to chase after him, but Zhu You grabbed him from behind. “Don’t go. Let Zhihuo-ge think it through carefully.”

Jiang Zhihuo wandered aimlessly around the sports field, but due to the sports meet, it was crowded everywhere. Even the classroom was occupied; a group of students was secretly watching a movie with the projector behind drawn curtains. He wanted some time alone, but there was nowhere to go. Unconsciously, he found himself heading toward the equipment room.

There was no one here, but this place…

Jiang Zhihuo remembered the scene here a few days ago, and his ears were slightly hot.

Finding a quiet spot was rare, but he felt too embarrassed to stay. Filled with melancholy, Jiang Zhihuo lifted his foot to leave—then heard two voices speaking behind the half-closed door.

“Delete the post!!”

The voice was rude and unreasonable and sounded like He Xiezhou’s.

Since the ‘post’ was mentioned, the other person must be Yan Mu.

Jiang Zhihuo approached the door.

Sure enough, Yan Mu used his usual cold voice and only said a word. “Reason.”

“It’s all fake!” He Xiezhou said angrily, “This is slander!!”

“Oh.” Yan Mu said expressionlessly, echoing He Xiezhou’s words from before, “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you’ll naturally stand upright and have nothing to fear from slander.”

“……” He Xiezhou didn’t expect Yan Mu to use those words to stop him. Realizing he was in the wrong, he lowered his head reluctantly and said, “I’m sorry.”

Yan Mu glanced at him coldly.

“I’m sorry!” He Xiezhou said again, “I said I’m sorry! I’ve already apologized; what else do you want?!”

Yan Mu sneered. “Is this an apology?” He grabbed He Xiezhou by the collar, his alpha aura flaring fiercely. He Xiezhou, merely an ordinary person, couldn’t withstand it; his muscles began to spasm involuntarily.

“Do you need me to teach you how to apologize?”

He Xiezhou was terrified. He lowered his head and spoke with extreme humility, “I-I’m sorry, I was wrong. I won’t dare to do it again…”

Yan Mu released his grip, still indifferent. “The one who should be hearing this apology isn’t me.”

Without giving He Xiezhou a chance to speak, he opened the door and walked out—only to run into Jiang Zhihuo, who had been eavesdropping. “……”

“Cough.” Jiang Zhihuo coughed softly, covering his mouth with his fist to hide his embarrassment.

Yan Mu didn’t mind. He lowered his head and sent him a string of numbers. “Account password. He Xiezhou will contact you later.”

Although Yan Mu was disgusted by He Xiezhou’s habit of throwing dirty water, how He Xiezhou should apologize and whether Jiang Zhihuo was willing to accept it was up to Jiang Zhihuo alone.

Jiang Zhihuo glanced at the screen and followed Yan Mu toward the venue. “Aren’t you going to take care of the forum?”

Yan Mu glanced back at him.