I Heard You Only See Me as a Friend - Chapter 38.2

“Wine strengthens a coward’s courage”; Ji Wan felt his courage was very great right now. He turned around to face Feng Jin and reached out an arm to hook around Feng Jin’s neck: “Who is it? Would the all-powerful Brother Feng not know?”

“I don’t really know. Probably someone who makes Ji Wan cry every time,” Feng Jin said the truth with a straight face. “Student Ji Wan stays motionless every time, only capable of passive defense how could he be a match for the active party? From a scientific perspective, being made to cry every time is an inevitable result.”

Ji Wan wasn’t someone without any competitive spirit; he fought with Feng Jin for first and second place in every exam, he was just able to be open-minded about the results and adjust his mindset well. Now, being told this by Feng Jin, the alcohol and competitive desire surged up together. Ji Wan grabbed Feng Jin’s collar and pulled Feng Jin’s upper body down, bringing their faces close together. “You’re the one who provoked me first. Don’t blame me for not showing mercy,” Ji Wan said coolly.

In the darkness, Feng Jin curled his lips and leaned in for a kiss.

When Ji Wan woke up the next morning, his mind was blank, and his head felt a bit groggy and unclear. “Awake? Get up and brush your teeth to drink something.” Feng Jin’s voice came from below. Ji Wan looked down and saw Feng Jin pouring him honey water. “I’m getting up now.” While preparing to climb down from the bed, Ji Wan recalled the events of last night.

Did his gift get delivered? He didn’t forget, did he? Oh right, it was delivered, and then… Ji Wan’s steps faltered. He turned his head somewhat stiffly to look at Feng Jin, and Feng Jin also happened to finish pouring the water and turned around to face him.

The corner of Feng Jin’s mouth was bitten by someone, leaving a mark. It didn’t look very obvious, but with this wound on Feng Jin, it was definitely something that could make one’s heart skip a beat.

“I had a headache earlier too,” Feng Jin frowned. “It felt better after drinking honey water.”

Ji Wan: “…”

Ji Wan quickly scrambled back onto the bed using both hands and feet, pulled up the quilt to cover himself properly, and said in a deep voice with his eyes closed: “I don’t think I’ve had enough sleep. I’ll sleep a bit longer. You don’t need to worry about me; go do your own thing.”

Why couldn’t he have blacked out and forgotten everything from yesterday? Drinking leads to trouble! He’s never drinking again! It’s far too easy to act on impulse after drinking!

Now that he was sober, he was able to notice that Feng Jin’s behavior was different from usual. Recalling what Feng Jin said before about having a low alcohol tolerance, Ji Wan was 100,000% certain that Feng Jin was also drunk last night.

But the drunk Feng Jin didn’t injure him, yet he had bitten and injured Feng Jin.

Ji Wan tossed and turned in bed as if lying on needles. The quilt he had pulled over his head was lifted. Ji Wan opened his eyes and felt Feng Jin’s gaze.

“I’m sorry.” Ji Wan faced the mistake he made last night directly, saying guiltily, “Shall I treat you to dinner?”

Feng Jin raised an eyebrow and began to lie through his teeth: “No need. It’s not a big deal. For my previous birthdays, Kong Liyan and the others have done even more outrageous things. I don’t hold grudges on my birthday, let alone when I was the one who initiated the trouble last night.”

“I see.” Learning that Kong Liyan and the others had done even more “death-seeking” things, Ji Wan breathed a sigh of relief. He sat up from the bed and went to wash up.

Watching Ji Wan’s figure temporarily disappear into the washroom, Feng Jin’s eyes dimmed slightly. He hadn’t slept all night.

He knew he would forget many things every time he woke up after being drunk, but he refused to forget every single event he experienced with Ji Wan tonight every look from Ji Wan, every movement.

The rare proactive Ji Wan, the Ji Wan willing to hug his neck, the Ji Wan who pressed his entire body against him in an attempt to suppress him, and finally the Ji Wan whose eyes turned red and who bit his lip in a fit of embarrassment.

All of these, he could not forget.

He felt the alcohol slowly fade while being wide awake; the precious memories were not forgotten as they had been in previous years, but were cherished and preserved.

Feng Jin touched the small wound at the corner of his mouth and broke into a smile.

Ji Wan had been worried about what would happen when Kong Liyan returned to the dorm and saw the wound on Feng Jin’s mouth. When Kong Liyan actually returned, Ji Wan held his breath and pretended to read a book, while actually sneaking glances at Kong Liyan’s reaction.

“Brother Feng, thanks for the room you booked last night! Awesome, truly awesome! I won so many matches in a row!” Kong Liyan went to pat Feng Jin’s shoulder. “Huh, what happened to your mouth ”

Kong Liyan went silent. From Ji Wan’s angle, he could only see the back of Kong Liyan’s head, not his expression.

Therefore, he didn’t see Kong Liyan’s distorted and pained face. Kong Liyan silently used mouth shapes to accuse Feng Jin of being a beast, but in the end, under Feng Jin’s cold gaze, he endured the pain and spoke against his conscience.

“Brother Feng, how could you be so careless? Biting your own mouth while eating? You have to be careful next time,” Kong Liyan said with tears in his eyes. “Mhm,” Feng Jin responded. “I didn’t notice. I’ll be careful next time.”

The matter seemed to be glossed over like that. Ji Wan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, giving a thumbs-up in his heart to Kong Liyan’s denseness.

Time flew by during classes. The progress of Ji Wan’s class was faster than other classes. With two or three months left in the semester, all the courses for the three years of high school had been taught.

Once all the courses were finished, the subject teachers immediately arranged a placement exam covering everything learned in the three years of high school.

Most people had completely forgotten the knowledge they learned in the first year; a small number managed to write out some things, but the only ones who wrote out all the answers and only missed a few questions were Feng Jin and Ji Wan.

“From now on, everyone should learn more from Student Feng Jin and Student Ji Wan! If they can do it, can’t you? No, you definitely can; you aren’t worse than them!” The homeroom teacher gave an impassioned speech after the results for each subject came out. “Everyone in our class can get into the university they want!”

After class, the teacher stopped speaking and called out: “Feng Jin, Ji Wan, come to the office with me.”

Ji Wan didn’t know why the teacher wanted them. After following to the office, the teacher explained.

“You’ve finished everything for the three years of high school and have a good grasp of it. It just so happens that in a while, there will be a joint high school knowledge competition across the province. The top fifty schools will select students with good grades to participate, and prize money will be awarded based on the final ranking. The prize money for the top few is quite significant, and if you rank well, the school will also issue encouragement bonuses after you return. The whole competition won’t take many days; do you have any intention of participating?” the teacher said with a smile.

When Ji Wan heard the words “prize money is quite significant,” he decided to participate, and Feng Jin also agreed.

Since he decided to participate in this competition, Ji Wan naturally spent his subsequent time reviewing intensely. Sometimes late at night he still wanted to keep studying. To avoid disturbing others, Ji Wan chose to bury himself under the quilt and study on his phone.

But every single time, before he had been buried for ten minutes, Feng Jin would lift the quilt and confiscate the phone.

“Brother Feng, you’re being too strict,” Ji Wan whispered. “I’ll just look at a few things and then sleep.” “Look at a few things? Until 2:00 AM?” Feng Jin ruthlessly put Ji Wan’s phone away. “Sleep. Don’t stay up late; you can wake up early tomorrow to look.”

Feng Jin was cold and heartless. Ji Wan had no choice but to endure the pain and fall asleep.

The competition was scheduled for a weekend and was not in their city. It required taking a bus to the neighboring city. The school gave them Friday and Monday off to make the round trip easier.

When the time came, Ji Wan packed his luggage and took the bullet train with Feng Jin to the neighboring city. The participants stayed in a designated hotel. When Ji Wan and Feng Jin arrived, it was already afternoon, and there were quite a lot of people in the hotel.

“Let me check for you… I’m sorry, there are no more double rooms, and no more single rooms. There are only king-size bed rooms left. Is that okay?” the receptionist asked with a smile.

For an Alpha and Beta combination, they were usually friends. They wouldn’t fight due to pheromone conflict like two Alphas, nor would they be like an Alpha and Omega who would catch fire due to pheromone attraction; it was just ordinary sleeping. An “AB” combination was their most welcomed “King Bed Room” combo.

Ji Wan didn’t mind. Feng Jin spoke: “It’s fine. We’re roommates anyway.” Hearing them say this, the receptionist was even more relieved and quickly opened a room for them. Feng Jin took the room card, and the two went to the room to drop off their luggage.

Entering the room, Ji Wan first saw the large bed proper and normal, no problems at all. The other coffee tables, cabinets, and TV also looked completely normal, without any of those subtle, ambiguous designs.

Ji Wan set his luggage down with peace of mind and watched Feng Jin sit on a stool and yawn. Traveling was prone to making people tired. Ji Wan had slept all the way on the train, so his spirit was fine, but Feng Jin hadn’t closed his eyes once, so it was normal that he was tired now.

Ji Wan suggested: “How about you shower first? I’ll go order some food and come back. We’ll read some books after eating and then sleep.” As Ji Wan spoke, he instinctively looked for the bathroom. When he entered just now, he hadn’t even noticed what it looked like.

Ji Wan looked around a couple of times, but when he saw the bathroom, he was stunned. Eighty percent of this bathroom was transparent, while the remaining twenty percent consisted of frosted glass in various shapes. It wasn’t with the washroom and toilet at all, but sat quietly in the corner of the room. When Ji Wan took a general scan of the room upon entering, he hadn’t even noticed it.

Ji Wan: “…”

Feng Jin followed Ji Wan’s gaze and also paused.

“It’s fine. As long as our thoughts don’t slide downhill, there are always more solutions than problems,” Ji Wan snapped back quickly. “When one of us showers, the other can just face away. I’m going out to buy food in a bit, so you’ll be the only one in the room; you don’t have to worry about me peeking at you.”

Feng Jin didn’t follow this line of conversation. He frowned: “No, we aren’t familiar with this place. I’ll go with you, just in case something happens.” Ji Wan: “…You don’t need to follow me. It’s not that dangerous.” He observed when they came over; there was a school a few hundred meters away, and not much further was a police station. It was dinner time now, and students were out buying food; it was crowded. Even if something happened, it would be easy to get help from kind-hearted students.

Feng Jin stood up, however. Perhaps because he was tired, his expression carried a hint of coldness and a trace of anxiety that wasn’t fully hidden. As his tall body approached, it carried a full sense of pressure. Ji Wan instinctively took a step back and was grabbed by the arm by Feng Jin.

Feng Jin’s refusal left no room for maneuver: “No, too dangerous. I’m going with you.” The attitude of being unwilling to let go was too clear, and Ji Wan went quiet.

Feng Jin noticed something was wrong and added an explanation: “You came out with me; if something really happened, I wouldn’t be able to rest easy for the rest of my life.”

Ji Wan’s expression softened slightly. He patted Feng Jin’s hand, signaling him to let go: “It’s fine. You go shower; just act as if I went out by myself. Besides, even if we go out together, we can’t always be stuck together.” Ji Wan smiled: “Moreover, being here is surely safer than when I go to university in a new city in another province in the future. You might not necessarily be there then.”

I will be. In university, we will also be at the same school. At least, we will definitely be in the same city.

Feng Jin moved his mouth but ultimately didn’t say the words. Universities were large enough that as long as they didn’t intentionally make an appointment, they might not even run into each other for four years. This meant he would no longer be able to get news of Ji Wan at the first opportunity whether Ji Wan was cold or hot, who he developed a good feeling for, who he was close to, or even if he started dating, he would be unaware. At most, he could only use his reputation to ensure others didn’t bully Ji Wan.

That’s not enough. Anxiety spread in his heart, and Feng Jin lowered his eyes.

Ji Wan tried to reason with Feng Jin: “Furthermore, when working in the future, maybe we’ll have to run around all over the place every day. How can one worry about everything? As a friend, you’ve already done enough. I’m not as weak as you think; I was living just fine before I met you. Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll definitely call you.”

Feng Jin didn’t speak. Ji Wan patted Feng Jin’s hand, picked up a room card, and turned to leave.

Ji Wan wasn’t actually very hungry. After leaving the hotel, he walked toward the school. There was a snack street there with many things, and they were of good quality and low price. Ji Wan chose the most popular shop, bought two portions of rice noodles, and returned the way he came. While walking, he took out his phone to send a text asking Feng Jin if he had finished showering.

Feng Jin replied instantly: [Run into trouble? Send me the location.]

Ji Wan: “…” Ji Wan felt both amused and moved. He stopped joking and replied honestly: [No trouble, I’m already back downstairs. Just asking if you’ve finished your shower; I’ll come in once you’re done.]

Feng Jin: [Oh.] [Then I’ll shower now. Give me two minutes.]

Ji Wan: “…” Since Feng Jin had only just started, Ji Wan wasn’t in a hurry to go back. He walked at a snail’s pace while looking down at his phone.

As he walked, Ji Wan suddenly heard his own name. “That person named Ji Wan, I don’t understand why you’re so afraid of him. He’s just a Beta. He was able to get first in the grade before because I hadn’t transferred here. Now that I’ve transferred, I’ll take first place. He’s lucky he didn’t run into me head-on, otherwise, he could only be a perennial Number Two. Ha, this competition will show you who is better.”

Ji Wan slowly looked up and saw two people walking diagonally ahead, wearing the uniforms of his former school. He didn’t know the boy walking closer to him; the boy had his head held high, his face full of pride and disdain. Ji Wan couldn’t see the face of the person walking with this boy, but judging by the figure, it should be the person who was second in the grade when he was there.

The “Number Two” adjusted his glasses: “You’re full of it.” “What… you’re insulting me? You actually dare to insult me?” The boy was embarrassed and angry.

The “Number Two” analyzed slowly: “When he was there, he beat me by at least thirty points every exam. Your best time was less than ten points higher than mine.” The boy was momentarily speechless, then sneered after a while: “What do you know! At least I’m handsome. It’s harder for a handsome guy to settle down and work hard at studying than it is for you ordinary people.”

At this point, they reached the elevator. The elevator doors just happened to open, and the two walked in, then turned around to face the elevator entrance. Ji Wan, who had also reached the front of the elevator, walked in calmly and nodded to the wide-eyed “Number Two” in greeting.

“Long time no see,” Ji Wan said. “Long… long time no see.” A smile broke out on the “Number Two’s” face. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon; I thought it would be tomorrow.”

Ji Wan smiled. Before he could speak, the boy next to him spoke: “Lin Ang, is this your friend? Why don’t you introduce us?” After speaking, he turned back to Ji Wan and showed an eight-tooth smile: “Classmate, what floor are you on? I’ll press it for you?”

Ji Wan gave the floor number. The boy pressed it, then turned back with his eight-tooth smile: “Let me introduce myself, I’m Liu Xiang, here for the competition with Lin Ang. Classmate, what’s your name?”

“Me? My name is Ji Wan,” Ji Wan said. Silence fell in the elevator. In the silent air, a wave of intense embarrassment surged.

Liu Xiang: “…?”