I Heard You Only See Me as a Friend - Chapter 2

During recess, the classroom was a scene of rowdy chaos. The study representative, a boy as thin as a bamboo pole, rushed back from outside looking utterly shocked, his glasses nearly sliding off the tip of his nose. He hurriedly adjusted them and announced a major piece of news to the entire class: “A transfer student! A new student has transferred into our class!”

A commotion rippled through the room. Someone asked, “Alpha or Omega?”

“It’s a Beta!” the representative shouted.

“Tch…” The high spirits of the class instantly vanished by half. “I heard a little Omega beauty transferred into Class 5. Now that would be exciting.”

“But… but…” The study representative stuttered for a long while before finally getting the second half of his sentence out. “But this Beta ranked first in the entire grade for the monthly exams!”

Everyone: “…”

Everyone: “???”

No way. First place in the grade has always been…

Everyone turned their heads in unison to look at the boy sitting in the corner of the last row.

He was tall with long legs; the desk could barely contain them. He was leaning back against his chair with his eyes closed, taking a nap, his profile possessing superior, sharp lines.

Sensing their gazes, he opened his eyes and looked up, casting a cold glance over.

The crowd instantly retracted their stares and began whispering around the study representative: “How is that possible? Did you misread it?” “Has a person who can outscore Brother Feng even been born yet?” “If they’re more powerful than Brother Feng, wouldn’t we have to address them as ‘Daddy’?”

The study representative took some clear tape from the podium, pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, and taped it to the wall near the blackboard.

The ranking list!

Everyone’s eyes lit up as they crowded forward to look.

Their familiar “God of Study,” Feng Jin, was ranked second in the grade. Meanwhile, the person in first place stood proudly at the top of the list with a one-point lead.

Ji Wan.

Just who was this sacred being?

The bell rang for class, and the noisy room gradually quieted down as they awaited the arrival of their Chinese teacher and headteacher.

The headteacher arrived at the door right on time, and behind him followed a person.

Is this the number one student who managed to push Feng Jin down?

Everyone craned their necks, waiting to catch a glimpse of the newcomer. They were purely curious about this person’s appearance, yet they didn’t care too much about looks. As the saying goes, a big shot’s appearance isn’t important—even if they look like a gorilla, they are still your “Daddy.”

Without any psychological preparation, the moment they actually saw the person, the class fell into a moment of eerie silence before erupting into a stir.

Standing on the podium, Ji Wan heard two sturdy Alphas in the front row whispering:

“How can I call him ‘Daddy’? I’m a ‘Mama-fan’! Mama loves him.”

“Bullshit, how could you ever give birth to such a beautiful son?”

Ji Wan: “…”

Their whispering was really quite loud.

“Alright, quiet, quiet!” The headteacher tapped the podium and said with a smile, “A new student has transferred to our class. It seems everyone is very welcoming. This new classmate is very impressive; he ranked first in the grade this time.”

Ji Wan introduced himself, and the headteacher continued: “I asked you before, and you said you liked sitting toward the back. Then you’ll sit…” The headteacher pointed with a grand gesture. “You’ll sit in front of Feng Jin. Since you both have excellent grades, you can help each other with your studies.”

The students sucked in a breath of cold air and looked toward that back corner in unison.

Feng Jin, with his eyes half-lidded and arms crossed, frowned slightly. His face showed not a hint of joy regarding his new front-desk neighbor.

…Could they really “help each other,” or would the new student end up splattered across the floor?

Under the pitying gazes of his classmates, Ji Wan walked to his new seat and sat down, beginning a new day of lessons.

When class ended and the headteacher left, Ji Wan was quickly surrounded by enthusiastic classmates. Ji Wan was used to being surrounded, but the “warm” greetings he heard this time were different from before.

“Classmate, have you ever studied boxing?”

Ji Wan: “…No.”

“Then have you practiced Sanda (Chinese kickboxing)?”

Ji Wan: “…Also no.”

“Heavens, then you’ll need to run fast. Are you a fast runner?”

Ji Wan: “…”

Was his survival situation really this dire? He came here to study, not to participate in an escape room reality show.

The sincerity and pity in his classmates’ eyes made Ji Wan feel as if his life were nearing its end.

Suddenly, the students talking to him went silent and turned back as if sensing something.

Feng Jin, who had stepped out of the classroom at some point and returned, was standing behind them. Because of his height, his eyelids were half-lidded as he looked at them; combined with his sharp features, it created an aura of killing intent—though it was hard to tell if it was real or fake.

“What’s the noise about?” Feng Jin asked coldly.

The students surrounding Ji Wan immediately scattered like startled birds. With the space cleared, Ji Wan came face-to-face with Feng Jin’s gaze.

Feng Jin was still frowning slightly. He sized Ji Wan up for a few moments, then shifted his gaze and, without saying a word, walked back to his seat.

The bell rang again, and for once, Ji Wan found himself spacing out during class.

He had inquired about it: Feng Jin had been first in the grade since enrollment and had never dropped. Alphas have a strong sense of territoriality. Having held that position for so long, Feng Jin likely considered the “Number One” spot his territory. Now that it had been snatched away, it would violate biological nature to say Feng Jin’s initial impression of him was good.

Ji Wan hadn’t intentionally scored lower because he wanted to see the gap between their strengths; he hadn’t expected to win by just one point.

…An Alpha harboring defensive feelings toward him? He’d better keep his distance.

When school was dismissed, Ji Wan finished today’s homework in the classroom before packing his bag and walking out. He had checked the route: it was only a thirty-minute walk from school to his house. Since he wasn’t in a hurry, it didn’t matter if he walked slowly.

The people in the school had mostly dispersed. The bustling crowd was gone, leaving only boarders and those staying behind to play ball.

Ji Wan walked slowly. After leaving the school grounds, he followed the navigation to a winding alleyway. He continued forward, turned a corner, and saw several people squatting there, smoking. Their uniforms were either draped over their shoulders or tied around their waists, looking completely improper.

Hearing the noise, the group looked up. Once they saw Ji Wan’s face, one of them let out a whistle.

Ji Wan had seen the whistler before—he was the short-haired boy Feng Jin had pinned in the restroom and beaten mercilessly on the day Ji Wan came for his exams.

“I heard a very beautiful Beta transferred in. Is it you?” The short-haired boy’s gaze seemed to lick over Ji Wan’s entire body, a wicked smile curling his lips. “Meeting is fate, don’t you think?”

Ji Wan didn’t answer. He inconspicuously reached into his pocket and gripped the pepper spray inside.

His stepmother said he was “just a Beta” and wouldn’t run into trouble, but he knew better—he was likely to encounter more trouble than most, so he had prepared as much as possible. With just these few people, he could handle it.

“Don’t be nervous, we won’t do anything to you.” The squatting boys stood up with malicious smiles. They sized Ji Wan up and down, praising, “Betas are great; we love playing with Betas.”

Plotting against an Omega was risky; if they failed to control themselves and marked the Omega—even a temporary mark—they would face severe punishment.

But Betas were different. Betas couldn’t be marked. Even if they bit a Beta’s nape and injected a large amount of pheromones, no mark would be made, and even the scent would dissipate quickly. Even if he called the police, without tangible injury beyond a bit of broken skin, the police would at most give them a lecture.

They could pin this person down and vent their pheromones, watching his eyes turn red from the pressure and hearing his trembling whimpers without worrying about serious consequences. It was perfect.

“We brothers know how to dote on people; you won’t follow us for nothing.” The thugs whistled again. Looking at the person’s slender neck and thin shoulders, they were already imagining how to grip that slim waist with one hand and inject their pheromones.

As the thugs closed in, Ji Wan watched them coldly, calculating the best time to strike. Suddenly, the men stopped, their expressions turning stiff.

The sound of tires frictioning against the ground came from behind. Ji Wan turned back and saw an unexpected person.

Feng Jin was wearing a basketball jersey, his black hair at his forehead still damp, and the arm gripping the handlebar showed clear muscle definition. He stopped his bicycle, one long leg propped on the ground, frowning as he looked at the mess before him.

“Bro… Brother Feng! You’re going home today?” the short-haired boy stammered a greeting. “The timing is great, just in time for dinner at home, hahaha.”

The short-haired boy made a gesture, and the others slowly stood against the wall, leaving a wide path for Feng Jin to pass, waiting for him to leave.

To prevent Ji Wan from taking the chance to flee, they specifically left two people flanking him. Unless Feng Jin took Ji Wan with him, Ji Wan was trapped.

But how could Feng Jin take him away? His number one spot had been stolen; he likely wanted to teach Ji Wan a lesson himself, or perhaps hoped the thugs would be even more ruthless.

Ji Wan thought the same, so when he saw Feng Jin start pedaling again, his heart didn’t stir at all.

Feng Jin passed the group, but one meter past Ji Wan, he stopped again. He frowned and looked back, staring at Ji Wan for a second as if he didn’t understand why Ji Wan wasn’t following him. Then, he said succinctly: “Move.”

Ji Wan was stunned: “…?”

“Hey, wait, Brother Feng, what do you mean?” the short-haired boy immediately blustered. “He’s our… we’re getting revenge for you, it’s not right for you to take him away, is it?”

“Getting revenge for me?” Feng Jin let out a low, mocking scoff as if he’d heard a joke, then his face turned cold. “You think I need you to handle my opponent?”

“Ah, no…” The boy realized something was wrong and tried to explain, but Feng Jin didn’t listen.

Domineering pheromones swept out again. Ji Wan couldn’t smell them, but he could see the thugs covering their noses and mouths, fleeing at top speed.

Silence returned, leaving only him and Feng Jin.

“Tha—”

Before the word “Thanks” could be finished, Feng Jin kicked off and pedaled away cold-heartedly, clearly not wanting to talk to him.

Ji Wan: “…”

I’ll just thank him tomorrow before class.

Ji Wan continued forward. The alley was more winding than he expected; he needed to stay alert for other malicious people.

He turned a corner and found no one else—only Feng Jin, who should have left, stopped halfway. One hand was in his pocket while the other pressed on his phone. As Ji Wan drew closer, Feng Jin acted as if he had just finished a chat, stuffed the phone back, and cycled away again.

The first time, Ji Wan thought it was a coincidence. By the third time he turned a corner and saw Feng Jin, he finally realized something was up.

…Was Feng Jin specifically waiting for him to lead him out of this alley?

Ji Wan thought about it and stopped walking. He pulled a math paper from his bag and began looking at it on the spot.

Before he had looked for long, he heard the sound of bicycle tires. Shortly after, Feng Jin reappeared. Seeing the scene, Feng Jin endured it, but eventually couldn’t help himself. With a dark face, he cursed: “Are you sick? Why are you looking at a test paper in the middle of a path?”

Given Feng Jin’s usual temper, he would have added a few more taunts—saying that even with such effort he might not score well—but remembering Ji Wan’s higher score, he could only endure that sentence with a black face.

Is this how he managed to score higher than me?

“I just suddenly remembered a problem.” Ji Wan followed the flow and put the paper away, his expression gentle. “Thank you for reminding me. Classmate, did you drop something here? I’ll help you look for it.”

Feng Jin felt like he had punched a bale of cotton—he couldn’t tell if he was angry or not. He said darkly, “I found it myself.”

With that, he didn’t give Ji Wan another chance to speak. He turned his bike around and left again.

Ji Wan followed the alleyway. This time, he didn’t see Feng Jin again. It wasn’t until he completely exited the alley that he saw Feng Jin under a large tree about ten meters from the exit, his back to Ji Wan, playing a game on his phone.

An Alpha’s hearing is always sharp. Ji Wan intentionally made his footsteps heavier. Sure enough, he saw Feng Jin stuff the phone back into his pocket and step on the pedals. This time, he truly went far away.