I Heard You Only See Me as a Friend - Chapter 14 

By the time Ji Wan came down from the broadcasting booth, Kong Liyan was standing at the starting line for the 800-meter sprint, while Feng Jin was warming up for the 5,000-meter long-distance preliminaries on the other side.

Ji Wan glanced at Feng Jin. Feng Jin happened to be looking over as well, but the moment their eyes met, Feng Jin immediately turned his head away.

Ji Wan calculated mentally that there was just enough time to watch Kong Liyan’s race before heading over to Feng Jin’s. Thus, he first walked toward Kong Liyan’s competition area to spectate.

The starting gun fired, and the athletes at the starting line gave it their all, charging forward with every ounce of strength. Kong Liyan’s speed was quite fast; he stayed right behind two boys from the sports class and, living up to expectations, secured third place.

After running, the Alphas were covered in sweat, which in turn carried their pheromones. Some Alphas and Omegas, who couldn’t quite tolerate others’ pheromones, consciously stood to the side to clap and cheer, while the Betas, who couldn’t smell pheromones, stepped forward to hand out water and offer support.

Kong Liyan reached the finish line looking as exhausted as a dead dog. His pheromones were quite strong, so he felt awkward leaning on his other Alpha or Omega friends. His eyes darted around, and he lunged toward Ji Wan, who was standing at the finish line clapping.

“Wan, give me a hand,” Kong Liyan wailed while hanging onto Ji Wan’s neck. “I can’t go on, my legs are broken. I might just collapse on the spot.”

“…Take a moment to recover.” Ji Wan helplessly handed a bottle of mineral water to Kong Liyan and supported him as they walked slowly toward the area where Feng Jin was warming up.

The area where Feng Jin was located was noisier than elsewhere, with a much higher concentration of beautiful Omegas. The onlookers didn’t dare to shove their phones in Feng Jin’s face at such close range, so they used their eyes as cameras, staring intently at him instead.

Ji Wan finally managed to find a gap and squeezed through with Kong Liyan.

Feng Jin had been staring ahead expressionlessly while warming up, not casting so much as a glance at the spectators on either side. After Ji Wan and Kong Liyan emerged from the crowd, he sensed something and glanced over.

With that look, he saw Kong Liyan hanging entirely off Ji Wan, their bodies partially pressed together.

Kong Liyan’s pheromones surged from his body, spreading along the arm he had draped over Ji Wan’s shoulder, completely rubbing onto Ji Wan’s person.

Yet Ji Wan was utterly oblivious.

Feng Jin instinctively furrowed his brow.

Ji Wan was clean and insulated; his body should not carry the scent of someone else’s pheromones.

Kong Liyan was gulping down water when his gaze suddenly met Feng Jin’s, causing him to choke instantly.

“Cough, cough, cough, cough!” Kong Liyan let go of Ji Wan and turned away to cough, catching his breath in the process. By the time he recovered, Feng Jin had already withdrawn his gaze and continued his warm-up.

Kong Liyan took another sip of water, still shaken.

Heavens, that was terrifying. Why did I suddenly feel my skin crawl? Was it just my imagination?

Probably.

Ji Wan, however, didn’t notice any problem. He joined the other classmates in cheering for Feng Jin, waiting for the competition to begin.

The race officially started. The competition in Feng Jin’s group wasn’t particularly fierce, and he took the lead without much effort.

While casually resting his hand on Ji Wan’s shoulder, Kong Liyan bragged: “There are no sports class students in this group. Brother Feng taking first is just basic operation; he hasn’t even used his full strength. Running at this pace, he won’t be tired at all afterward. Just wait and see.”

In fact, Kong Liyan had never seen Feng Jin need anyone’s support after a run.

By the time Feng Jin reached the final lap, he was already more than half a lap ahead of the second-tier group. The people behind him were panting heavily, while his expression remained normal, save for a bit of sweat.

Feng Jin was the first to cross the finish line, and enthusiastic applause immediately broke out around him. Several Omegas tried to hand him water, but Feng Jin politely declined them all.

Kong Liyan pulled Ji Wan along to congratulate Feng Jin. He had originally wanted to congratulate him while showing Ji Wan a display of Feng Jin’s superior stamina and constitution. But as Feng Jin walked over while wiping his sweat, his pace actually grew slower and slower.

When the two sides finally met, Feng Jin’s dark eyes swept over them. His gaze lingered for half a second on Kong Liyan’s arm draped over Ji Wan’s shoulder, then dropped to stare at the unopened mineral water in Ji Wan’s hand.

Ji Wan had intended to give the water to Feng Jin, but after seeing him reject several people along the way, he hesitated: “Do you need this?”

Feng Jin took the water and tilted his head back to take a few gulps.

Kong Liyan didn’t see anything wrong with Feng Jin accepting Ji Wan’s water. He was just about to ask if Feng Jin felt tired at all so he could continue his bragging, when Feng Jin suddenly spoke.

“I’m tired.”

Kong Liyan: “…???”

“Are you finished resting?” Feng Jin continued to ask.

Kong Liyan: “…Huh?”

Kong Liyan looked at Feng Jin with a confused mind. Following Feng Jin’s gaze, he slowly let go of the hand he had on Ji Wan’s shoulder, only to watch Feng Jin place his own hand there instead.

Was Feng Jin actually tired after this run?

Looking at this scene, which could only be described as bizarre, Kong Liyan thought to himself: This doesn’t seem very scientific.

Feng Jin suppressed the uncalled-for scent on Ji Wan’s body, and only then did he feel somewhat satisfied.

Kong Liyan’s pheromones didn’t suit Ji Wan at all; he would be a “good person” and help Ji Wan cover them up.

Ji Wan supported Feng Jin as they strolled along the sidelines, completely unaware of the changes occurring on his own body.

The scent from Kong Liyan was masked, replaced by Feng Jin’s pheromones. Those pheromones enveloped him in public, as if wanting to isolate him from the rest of the world.

When it was almost time for Ji Wan’s standing long jump, he headed toward his competition area.

A male Beta from his class who was participating in the same event encouraged him: “Don’t feel any psychological pressure. It’s the participation that counts. There aren’t many boys in our class; everyone was just pulled in to make up the numbers.”

“Mhm, I don’t feel any pressure.” Ji Wan was quite open-minded about his athletic performance. “I’ll just jump casually.”

The temperature had risen again over the past few days, and today was not cold at all it was the scorching “Autumn Tiger” weather. Those preparing for the long jump had all changed into athletic shorts to ensure their performance wasn’t hindered.

Although Ji Wan had no intention of competing for a rank, he still prepared seriously. Seeing that time was almost up, he went to the restroom area to change into the athletic shorts he would wear for the jump.

Over there, Kong Liyan was chatting casually with Feng Jin. As an Alpha male in the midst of puberty, it was inevitable for Kong Liyan to notice the physiques of those around him. He glanced around aimlessly, noticing not only the lightly dressed athletes but also many people taking photos with their phones.

“Look at those people taking pictures,” Kong Liyan said. “If you check the forums tonight, there’s bound to be another round of beauty pageants.”

“There’s actually such a thing?” Feng Jin asked nonchalantly.

Kong Liyan said with relish: “Of course! Last time, they argued over who was the ‘King of Beautiful Legs’ at the Sports Meet for three whole days! Wait, didn’t I tell you this before? You really didn’t take it to heart at all.”

“Pretty boring,” Feng Jin commented.

“It’s called adolescent restlessness, okay?” Kong Liyan disagreed with Feng Jin’s assessment. “Brother Feng, you’re so devoid of desire; you hardly seem like an Alpha. You’re practically like a Beta.”

After saying that, Kong Liyan sighed: “They say Alphas have strong possessiveness, but I suspect you’ll let your Omega wander around however they want in the future without even bothering to manage them.”

Possessiveness could that word even be associated with Feng Jin?

Feng Jin said nothing, so Kong Liyan began to scan the area aimlessly again out of boredom.

As Feng Jin’s childhood friend, Kong Liyan’s own family background was also quite good. He had seen plenty of good-looking people with great figures growing up, so his aesthetic threshold was quite high. He wasn’t looking around with any ulterior motives now. Everyone was a pillar of the nation focused on studying; why pay attention to figures? Superficial, far too superficial.

Just as Kong Liyan was thinking this, his gaze shifted and a pair of legs in athletic shorts burst into his vision.

The shorts ended just above the knee, revealing legs that were long and straight. The lines of the calves were smooth, and the ankles were just the right amount of slender. Under the sunlight, the skin seemed to glow with a moist luster, appearing blindingly white.

Kong Liyan froze. Instinctively, he was about to look closer when his vision went dark his entire field of view was blocked by Feng Jin.

Feng Jin blocked Kong Liyan’s line of sight, stole a glance at those legs, then locked eyes with their owner and immediately looked away.

The autumn sun blazed down from a cloudless sky, making the heat feel even more intense.

Feng Jin gripped the mineral water bottle in his hand, making it emit a series of creaking sounds.

The weather is still too hot, Feng Jin thought expressionlessly. So hot it makes one feel restless and irritable.