Chapter 50.2

The 100-meter sprint was happening on the field. The referee blew a long whistle, then came the loud bang of the starter gun, white smoke puffing from the barrel. The whole field erupted with cheers and shouts.

Near the equipment room, two people walked side by side.

After saying it, Jiang Zhihuo realized his words might have come out wrong, especially since the forum incident also involved Yan Mu confessing to him. He pressed his lips together. “No, what I meant was…”

He thought for ages but couldn’t figure out how to explain it clearly. Once the words were out, there was no taking them back, so he gave up. “Forget it, think whatever you want!”

Jiang Zhihuo felt his back-and-forth hesitation was pretty ridiculous, and it even made him a bit mad at himself.

If he couldn’t explain it, then he just wouldn’t say anything!

Goodbye, friend!

He turned to leave, but Yan Mu grabbed him. “Are you avoiding me again?”

Jiang Zhihuo was a little startled. “What?”

Yan Mu realized he had been too pushy and let go, explaining, “Last time, you avoided me too…”

Jiang Zhihuo took a moment to remember what Yan Mu was talking about.

After moving out of Yan Mu’s place, he had avoided him for a while.

But the current situation was different!

Previously, it was because of that dream he had, feeling too embarrassed to face anyone. This time… this time he wasn’t planning to avoid him at all?

Thinking it through, Jiang Zhihuo suddenly felt that storming off wasn’t right. No matter how hard it was to put into words, they had to talk about it.

He turned back and said straight up, “That was definitely a confession, right?”

Yan Mu: “Yes.”

Jiang Zhihuo kept going boldly, “I don’t get it. Don’t you have a ‘white moonlight’? Are you trying to make me a replacement this time? Your Huo-ge conquers the heavens and earth—he won’t be anyone’s stand-in!”

Yan Mu: “I don’t.”

Those three words were said with such certainty that Jiang Zhihuo didn’t know how to keep going. He shifted back to himself. “Besides, this tattoo of mine, he, he…”

Before he could finish, Yan Mu gently touched his shoulder, tracing the shape of half a shell through his clothes.

Jiang Zhihuo: “This tattoo is for…”

“Mhm. I know, you got it for someone else.”

“You know?”

“How did you find out?”

Wait, is that the look someone should have when they know??

Yan Mu wasn’t angry at all—he only looked at him and asked, “What were you thinking when you got the tattoo?”

His tone seemed to carry a hint of subtle amusement.

This reaction is off, isn’t it?

“?” Jiang Zhihuo said, “Are you sure you want me to say it?” 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to.” Yan Mu said, “I don’t mind.”

Jiang Zhihuo was completely confused, even more than when he saw the confession on the forum.

He knew the tattoo was for someone else, but he didn’t react at all?

This weird conversation successfully derailed what Jiang Zhihuo wanted to say, leaving him to admire, “Yan-ge, you’re really something, being able to roll with it like that.”

Yan Mu stared at Jiang Zhihuo’s slightly puzzled expression, choosing not to keep talking about the tattoo. Instead, he spoke each word seriously, “I don’t treat you as a stand-in.”

As soon as he said this, the mood turned serious, and Jiang Zhihuo couldn’t help but straighten up. “Ah, and then?”

“I can’t explain this to you right now, but I haven’t seen you as anyone else.”

“I’m pursuing you seriously. I don’t want you to avoid me because of this.”

Even though he’d practiced these words in his head many times, Yan Mu still slowly looked away when he got to the last part.

“I hope…” He paused.

Jiang Zhihuo squinted.

At such a serious moment, he shouldn’t be thinking about anything else, but he clearly saw that Yan Mu’s earlobes seemed to be turning a little red.

“I hope you can get to know me better.”

This scene reminded him of that time outside the animal hospital, when Yan Mu’s ears had turned red while saying, “Can our relationship ease up a bit?”

It was exactly the same situation.

“Pfft.” Jiang Zhihuo couldn’t help but laugh softly.

Yan Mu: “?”

He was pretty sure he’d only confessed his feelings, and he was definitely being serious about it. Was it really that funny?

Seeing Yan Mu’s confused expression, Jiang Zhihuo realized he’d gotten the wrong idea, so he quickly covered his mouth to hold back his laughter. “I’m not laughing at you! I’m just happy! Okay, okay, keep going! I’m listening!”

Well, if Jiang Zhihuo could actually sit still and listen quietly, he wouldn’t be the Jiang Zhihuo everyone knew.

Yan Mu went on, “You can take your time thinking about it. I’m not asking for an answer right now. You can enjoy it first.”

Jiang Zhihuo: “Enjoy what?”

Yan Mu cupped his face, his thumb brushing gently across his skin as he said softly, “The feeling of being pursued.”

The touch made him shiver.

Jiang Zhihuo’s face instantly went hot, the spot where Yan Mu touched him burning like crazy, constantly reminding him of how smooth that move had been.

He stumbled back three steps, turning his head away so no one could see how flustered he was. “I-I get it. Don’t you have a competition? Go, go on.”

After saying that, he spun around and walked off, worried Yan Mu might grab him again. He picked up his pace, practically speed-walking away.

Yan Mu, who had just confessed and watched the other person run away. “?”

Jiang Zhihuo splashed cold water on his face, trying to get himself together.

He gripped the edge of the sink, staring at his reflection in the mirror.

Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm!

It was merely a little smooth talk!

They’d already kissed, but some flirting had his heart racing like a startled deer. How pathetic was that?

Even though he kept telling himself this, Yan Mu’s voice wouldn’t stop ringing in his head.

Jiang Zhihuo splashed more cold water on his face, feeling the heat finally fade. He changed into clean clothes, got himself looking decent, and went to the sports field.

The senior high jump had been going on for a while now, with only six or seven participants left competing.

Jiang Zhihuo pulled up his hood, put on a mask, and melted into the crowd.

The forum gossip was still going strong, and he didn’t want to get caught up in any shipping chaos while watching the competition.

Bai Yujun was at the sports field too, watching the event.

The stands were packed, with people standing in a circle around the edges.

Bai Yujun’s hair had grown out, lightly covering the collar around her neck. She still wore a white dress, looking as ethereal as ever.

After Bai Zhengou’s whole mess, she’d been stuck dealing with cleaning up the Bai Family’s affairs. It was exhausting, but she felt more free than she had in ages.

She owed her escape from that nightmare to Jiang Zhihuo.

Honestly, she was pretty curious about Jiang Zhihuo’s real identity, what he did for work, and why he’d approached her about the investigation. However, she never asked. Digging into Huo-ge‘s business wasn’t smart.

A girl next to her nudged her, pointing at the tall guy in a mask standing at the front of the crowd across from them. “Isn’t that Huo-ge?”

Jiang Zhihuo spotted Bai Yujun too and waved at her.

Bai Yujun smiled and nodded, telling the girl, “Mhm, that’s him.”

The girl covered her mouth. “Oh, pfft.”

She laughed briefly, then went back to looking serious.

After all, both the God of Learning Yan and the school bully Jiang had pursued Bai Yujun, but ended up ‘getting together’ themselves. If she shipped them too obviously, it might hurt Bai Yujun’s feelings.

Bai Yujun felt helpless about her friend’s reaction.

She’d actually… known about Jiang Zhihuo and Yan Mu for quite a while now.

That night at the bar, even though she was drunk, the alcohol hadn’t been that strong. She woke up feeling groggy after a while, but her head was still spinning, so she kept resting.

Later, someone came in and dragged Yan Mu out to the balcony, asking if they were ‘kissing.’ The whole thing was pretty loud, and she heard everything.

It’s still the same rule: don’t dig too deep.

Bai Yujun decided to keep pretending she was drunk, acting like she didn’t know anything. She even secretly shipped the two of them. Whatever else was going on, two handsome guys together? That was definitely a sight worth seeing.

Another round finished, and they raised the bar to 1.85 meters. Only three participants were left.

Yan Mu and two other participants.

1.85 meters was already way past the national third-level athlete standard—crazy difficult for anyone who wasn’t a professional.

Yan Mu went first. His first two attempts came up short, knocking the bar down both times.

Third attempt.

Yan Mu walked back to his starting position.

He wasn’t really worried about winning the sports meet. He was used to being good at everything and didn’t like giving up when he knew he could do better.

He steadied his breathing, taking a deep breath.

The gym got super quiet after they raised the bar.

This height was seriously intimidating—even taller than the referee standing nearby.

Everyone held their breath, watching Yan Mu’s final jump.

Yan Mu closed his eyes for a second, then opened them.

Just as he was about to start his run, Jiang Zhihuo’s voice cut through the silence from the stands. “Go Yan-ge, you can do it!”

The voice echoed clearly in the quiet gym, bouncing around again and again.

Yan Mu looked over at Jiang Zhihuo, and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Yan Mu never smiled, but what if he did? It was absolutely devastating. It was as if someone had stepped directly on your heart, causing it to race and pound wildly.

Yan Mu looked away, took a step back, and then broke into a smooth, powerful run. He launched himself like a bird in front of the bar, his body curving in a perfect arc, his shirt sliding up just enough to reveal a stripe of skin at his waist.

The guy competing was ridiculously attractive. Every single move sent this wild, chaotic excitement rushing through your chest.

He cleared the 1.85-meter bar and landed solidly on the mat, then stood up under the bright gym lights.

They stared at each other across the distance, through the crowd and across the entire arena.

Like stars falling, radiating brilliant light.

His head was completely full, absolutely full, of Yan Mu’s voice.

“You can take your time thinking about it. I’m not asking for an answer right now. You can enjoy—”

“The feeling of being pursued.”

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The author has something to say: 

Finally! Finally, it’s my favorite ambiguous time of them before being together~ 

Ah~ Everyone, I’m so happy~~