I Heard You Only See Me as a Friend - Chapter 12 

By the time Ji Wan grew weary of reading, Feng Jin also happened to close his book, standing up with an expression as if he had finally cleared his mind.

Ji Wan also planned to get something to eat, so he simply left the library with Feng Jin.

They walked out of the library’s main entrance and stood under the shade of the trees by the roadside. Feng Jin came to a halt. Ji Wan also stopped, and just as he was about to bid Feng Jin farewell, he remembered something.

The doctor said Feng Jin needed relief every two to three days. Didn’t that mean they would have to meet every few days? What should they do for the remainder of the holiday?

“For the rest of the break, I won’t bother you,” Feng Jin said, clearly having thought of the same issue. “We don’t live together, so traveling back and forth is too much trouble. However, when school starts in a few days, I’ll likely need to bite you as soon as you get back to the dorm.”

“Mhm.” Ji Wan nodded; he felt this approach was quite reasonable. After all, he and Feng Jin had only just met. Having them bound so tightly together meeting frequently even during holidays was still a bit difficult to adjust to for now.

“Then it’s settled. Come early; I’ll be waiting for you in the dorm,” Feng Jin said.

Just as the two were about to go their separate ways, Ji Wan suddenly spotted two familiar figures through the rows of landscaping trees.

It was his stepmother and Ji Ke.

The two were talking as they walked, each carrying several shopping bags emblazoned with designer logos. They had clearly just come out of the shopping mall.

“Mom will buy you a few more beautiful outfits to wear. You, too don’t be too reserved sometimes. Put on these beautiful clothes and hang around the Young Master of the Feng family more often. Try to catch his attention, you hear?” the stepmother said.

“What kind of excuse would I have? It would be too abrupt, Mom,” Ji Ke said coaxingly. “I’d be embarrassed, too. Can’t we just wait for him to get to know me naturally and take the initiative to talk to me?”

An Alpha’s senses are excellent. As an elite Alpha, Feng Jin overheard their conversation without much effort.

He couldn’t be bothered to waste time listening to such far-fetched delusions. He would never give anyone with ulterior motives a single chance to approach him.

Feng Jin was about to leave when he heard another name.

“Isn’t Ji Wan in the same class as him? Pretend you’re going to see Ji Wan; that way you’ll have plenty of chances to meet. Your pheromones smell wonderful; maybe you’ll pique his interest. What Alpha doesn’t like an Omega?” the stepmother said.

Feng Jin froze. He turned to look at the person beside him, only to find that the gentle smile on Ji Wan’s face had vanished. His aura had become unexpectedly sharp, tinged with a cold edge.

Sensing his gaze, Ji Wan looked over and smiled again. “See you at school in a few days. You should head out first.”

…Perhaps there was something he didn’t want Feng Jin to hear.

Feng Jin hesitated. Just as he was about to leave, he heard a few more lines of dialogue.

Ji Ke complained unhappily, “Mom, Ji Wan is better looking than me. If I hang around Feng Jin while visiting him, will I be overshadowed? I don’t want to go.”

“You silly child, how could Ji Wan possibly overshadow you?” The stepmother patted the back of Ji Ke’s hand, scolding him with motherly affection. “You are an Omega. In terms of attraction, he can never compete with you. Without pheromones, what does he have to attract an Alpha?”

Ji Ke stared at his mother with wide eyes. The stepmother gave a soft smile and said quietly, “He is your stepping stone. Haven’t I told you that since you were little?”

Feng Jin’s brow furrowed. He stopped his attempt to leave and stepped closer to Ji Wan.

“Who are they to you?” Feng Jin asked, jerking his chin toward the two people.

“They are…” Ji Wan hadn’t expected Feng Jin, who looked ready to bolt a moment ago, to stay and ask questions. He paused before continuing, “My stepmother and my stepbrother.”

Feng Jin became thoughtful.

It wasn’t hard to imagine that as a Beta, Ji Wan must have faced no shortage of verbal belittlement at home. After all, in the default rules of this society, Omegas and Alphas were considered more precious than Betas.

Yet Ji Wan was clearly not inferior to anyone.

“You should go,” Ji Wan said. Seeing Feng Jin standing there as if his feet had taken root, with no intention of moving, he couldn’t help but reach out to push him.

On one hand, he didn’t want to expose his messy family dynamics. On the other, he didn’t want Feng Jin to have to face two people who clearly had designs on him.

However, he couldn’t budge Feng Jin. Instead, his movements were spotted by the stepmother and Ji Ke, who were drawing closer.

“Ji Wan? What are you doing here?” the stepmother’s startled voice called out.

Ji Wan didn’t speak. The stepmother’s gaze quickly swept over to Feng Jin.

She was momentarily dazed by Feng Jin’s appearance, but quickly snapped out of it. Due to her nature as an Omega, even though Feng Jin kept his pheromones well-restrained, she could roughly sense that this was an Alpha and a very powerful one at that.

Sensing she finally had something to hold over Ji Wan, the stepmother dropped her usual gentle demeanor and said severely, “Pulling and pushing with some random man? And in public, no less! How disgraceful! Even though you are a Beta, acting like this is just too—”

The stepmother didn’t get to finish. Ji Ke suddenly reached out to grab her clothes, whispering urgently, “Mom, that’s Feng Jin.”

The stepmother’s next scolding word got stuck in her throat. The expression on her face shifted violently from severity to daze, and then to embarrassment and helplessness.

Finally, she raised a hand to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, tidying herself up. She said gently, “Xiao Wan, why didn’t you tell the family you were out with a classmate? You made Mom misunderstand; I thought it was some outsider from society. I was afraid you’d fall into bad company, so I was a little hasty just now.”

Ji Wan remained silent. He didn’t want to talk to these two at all, but with Feng Jin present, he couldn’t allow Feng Jin to be dragged into this muddy water with him.

Just as Ji Wan was about to speak, a strong arm suddenly reached out and draped over his shoulder, pulling him close.

Feng Jin held Ji Wan’s shoulder with a “best buds” expression and said to the stepmother, “Fall into bad company? That’s not a very nice thing to say.”

“What?” The stepmother’s eyes widened slightly.

“How could Ji Wan fall into bad company? He’s the top student in the grade, someone who spends his free time studying in the library.” Feng Jin lifted his thin eyelids, glanced at Ji Ke, and a cold smile touched his lips. “If he’s ‘falling into bad company,’ then those who only manage to score at the bottom of the rankings must have an even higher probability of degeneracy. You’d better spend more time caring for and educating them instead.”

Ji Ke’s face turned pale. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt Feng Jin was directing those barbs specifically at him.

The stepmother pursed her bright red lips and tidied her hair again, forcing a smile before quickly leading Ji Ke away.

Ji Wan watched them disappear into the distance. Feng Jin then withdrew the arm from his shoulder.

Ji Wan’s mood was rarely this light; he felt the sky was a few shades bluer and even the clouds were doing a celebratory dance.

Ji Wan looked at Feng Jin. “You know Ji Ke?”

Feng Jin said lazily, “I don’t. But when I looked at the ranking list earlier, I noticed there was another person with your surname ranked in the six hundreds. I guessed it was him.”

Ji Wan let out a long sigh of relief. He stared at the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves for a moment. Coming to his senses, he was about to thank Feng Jin, but Feng Jin just waved his hand and hurried away, looking like he didn’t want to hear a single “thank you.”

Ji Wan watched Feng Jin’s retreating back until he vanished, and then he laughed.

At a deserted corner, Feng Jin stopped. He looked at the hand that had just held Ji Wan and pursed his lips.

Before he had stepped in to help Ji Wan push back against those two, he hadn’t realized… given Ji Wan’s height, his arm fit perfectly around him.

It felt very comfortable.

For the remaining days of the holiday, Ji Wan stayed in his room studying. His stepmother seemingly tried to communicate with him to learn more about Feng Jin, but he brushed her off by saying they weren’t close and that the meeting that day had just been a coincidence.

After a day of deep thought, the stepmother began desperately pushing Ji Ke to study. However, Ji Ke was used to being lazy and couldn’t focus at all, resulting in a chaotic mess at home.

Ji Wan watched with cold detachment. On the day he could return to school, he immediately left with his books.

The air outside felt ten times fresher than the air at home. Ji Wan returned to the dorm smoothly and pushed open the door.

Inside, Feng Jin and Kong Liyan had already returned and were sitting at a table together playing games.

“Wan-ah, you’re back.” Kong Liyan took a break from his busy schedule to greet him. “I brought a ton of snacks and put them on that table. Help yourself, don’t be shy!”

Ji Wan smiled and nodded. He put down his bag and went to the washroom to wash his hands and face.

Just as he splashed a handful of cold water onto his face, he heard Kong Liyan cry out from outside, “Brother Feng, where are you going? I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die! Emergency backup needed!”

“We’ve won. You can handle the rest,” Feng Jin said.

“You trust me too much! I’m touched!” Kong Liyan said with heroic passion. “Then go on, watch me crush the rest by myself!”

Immediately after, the washroom door was pushed open and then locked from the inside.

Ji Wan turned his head and saw Feng Jin walking toward him. Feng Jin stood right behind him.

Feng Jin’s dark eyelashes drooped. The two locked eyes, and Ji Wan mysteriously understood what Feng Jin wanted to do.

“I just got off the bus; I haven’t showered yet.” Ji Wan lowered his voice and tried to nudge Feng Jin away. “Give me five minutes.”

“For this sort of thing, it doesn’t matter,” Feng Jin said, placing a hand on Ji Wan’s shoulder.

Ji Wan didn’t object further. He closed his eyes and felt Feng Jin’s movements.

The skin over the gland on his nape was pierced, and pheromones were injected into his body. He couldn’t smell the fragrance, but he could perceive the slight heat and the aching swell.

Separated only by a wall, Kong Liyan was still passionately playing his game, shouting loudly, “Brother Feng, hurry up! I can’t hold on much longer!”

“Wan, come eat some snacks! Don’t be shy, you can have whatever you want of mine.”

Finally, Kong Liyan asked in confusion, “What are you two doing in there? Why isn’t there a single sound?”

While Kong Liyan was making a racket outside, the injection of Feng Jin’s pheromones didn’t stop for a moment.

Ji Wan’s head was pressed against the cold tiles. Finally, he couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan.