My Romance With The Cold-Blooded Heartthrob - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Lin Fei and Xia Yang exchanged a glance, clearly noticing that something was off with Wen Shu today. Xia Yang quickly cut in to smooth things over: Haha! Pei Xian, don’t take it to heart. Wen Shu is just like that. Didn’t we establish from the start that food isn’t allowed in here? Someone got criticized for it last time, and Wen Shu just doesn’t want you to get in trouble.

Wen Shu took a deep breath. He realized he had indeed been rude—inexplicably so. “Sorry,” he said, waving the phone in his hand. I went to take a call.

Pei Xian watched Wen Shu walk past him without so much as a sideways glance. He stared fixedly at him; the Wen Shu who had smiled at him last night felt like a beautiful dream, while this cold version was the one he was familiar with. However, Pei Xian looked down, irritably squeezing the cigarette pack in his hand. I’m going out for a moment, too.

What’s up with those two? Lin Fei narrowed her eyes. Something feels wrong. I’ve never seen Wen Shu be so blunt. They’re acting like kids in a lovers’ quarrel.

Around the corner of the training room, Wen Shu ran a hand through his hair. Hearing footsteps behind him, he started to stand up, only to be pressed against the wall by a sudden force. His hands, which he tried to pull free, were seized and pinned together above his head.

“What are you doing!” He didn’t even need to look to know who it was—that familiar scent of tobacco gave it away.

Pei Xian looked down at the immobilized Wen Shu. Because of his anger, the corners of Wen Shu’s eyes were tinged with red, and his voice carried a slight tremor. He was a completely different person from the cold figure in the room moments ago. Pei Xian couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

Wen Shu felt the man’s rough fingers brushing against his arm. Whether it was because his own body temperature was rising or the other’s was high, a scorching heat radiated through. Let go! Pei Xian!

Hearing this, Pei Xian actually let go instantly. He gave a self-mocking laugh, then leaned back in, pressing against him again. I’m not going to be that obedient anymore.

Wen Shu was about to break away when the person in front of him lowered his head and asked in a low voice, Why?

Wen Shu stopped and feigned ignorance. What?

You know what I mean. Pei Xian raised his head. The look in his eyes was so piercing that Wen Shu didn’t dare look him in the eye and could only turn his head away. Let me go first.

I won’t, Pei Xian refused stubbornly. “I said I’m not going to be that obedient anymore. He didn’t want to listen anymore; being obedient brought no benefits. He had wanted to pin Wen Shu like this for a long time—to be this close to him, instead of being far apart in that damn training room.

Wen Shu struggled hard to break free, but Pei Xian was incredibly strong, pinning him with just one hand. However, Wen Shu was never one to be threatened. Closing his eyes, he slammed his head hard against Pei Xian’s.

With a thud, Wen Shu felt a surge of pain in his head. Before he could react, he heard Pei Xian curse. Wait! You really just charged at me like that?

Wen Shu opened his eyes. Pei Xian’s forehead wasn’t even red, but Wen Shu’s own head was throbbing. He couldn’t help but reach up to touch it. Ouch.

Are you okay? What is your head made of versus mine? Pei Xian looked regretfully at the red mark on Wen Shu’s forehead. That head was much more precious than his own. He hadn’t expected Wen Shu to be so ruthless as to just headbutt him. Does it hurt?

Yes! Wen Shu’s bangs were damp with light sweat, sticking to his porcelain-like skin. He brushed them back uncomfortably. Is your head made of stone? How can there be no mark at all?

Pei Xian tapped his own head silently.Maybe.

But this interruption actually made the frozen atmosphere a bit more harmonious.

After rubbing his head, Wen Shu noticed his wrists were covered in red marks, as if they were bruised into his skin. His wrists felt a bit sore and swollen. Pei Xian followed his gaze, saw the marks, and awkwardly hid his hands behind his back.

Wen Shu rubbed his wrists resentfully. If you treat your girlfriend like this in the future, you’ll definitely get chewed out.

There won’t be one, Pei Xian countered immediately. He looked at Wen Shu nervously, licked his dry lips, and repeated, There won’t be one.

You were the one who started ignoring me and acting so cold, Pei Xian said slowly, his voice trailing off with a hint of grievance. His lowered hands clenched unconsciously in the air.

Wen Shu got annoyed seeing him like that. Now he was acting obedient, but just a moment ago he was forceful, looking as if he wanted to devour him. “Then what was all that just now?” The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Wen Shu reached out to demonstrate. “You just wrenched my hands up like this.”

As his wrists crossed above his head, showing the deep marks on the jade-like skin, a pair of large, well-defined hands covered the red marks. Wen Shu’s eyes widened, his pupils shrinking. The man’s deep, mellow voice rumbled in front of him: Like this?

In the shadows of the corner, where no one could see, two pairs of hands crossed over the youth’s head. The tall figure loomed over him, blocking out the sunlight. There was a strange moisture in the air, and the atmosphere turned ambiguous. Pei Xian looked at Wen Shu’s delicate lips, his eyes darkening, and he couldn’t help but lean down closer.

“You actually have the nerve to demonstrate!” Wen Shu was stunned, breaking the silence. Let go of me, now.

Pei Xian pouted and let go, moving away silently. You promised to tell me why.

Wen Shu sighed. He knew he had been strange today, but e had to find an excuse to brush it off. Because all the team members are here today. I don’t want them to think I’m too familiar with you and that I’ll give you special treatment.

“Familiar?” Pei Xian suddenly felt enlightened. He was definitely much closer to Wen Shu than that group of people whose names Wen Shu probably hadn’t even memorized. From that perspective, they had to pretend to be unfamiliar. Thinking of it this way, it felt like a little game between them. “Fine, I suppose we should think of them.” Pei Xian considerately took his teammates’ feelings into account.

By the time the two returned to the training room, everyone had arrived. Lin Fei spotted Wen Shu immediately. “Come here!” But as soon as he got close, she saw the marks on his hands. She pulled him behind her. Who did this?

Xia Yang heard this and turned his head. Why is there a mark on his forehead, too?

Lin Fei tried to stand on her tiptoes to see the injury on Wen Shu’s head, but she couldn’t see it clearly. She asked anxiously, “What happened? Is it serious?”

Wen Shu chuckled at their panicked expressions. He crouched down slightly and brushed aside his bangs to show the red mark. “It’s fine. It just looks a bit swollen. It hurt a bit earlier, but I don’t feel much now.”

It was obvious—the two had gone out one after the other and come back together. Xia Yang wanted to stand up for Wen Shu but couldn’t say it in front of the new members. “Was it that kid Pei Xian? Lin Fei said he’d be hard to manage, and I didn’t believe her. All this just because he wasn’t allowed to eat in the training room? What will happen later?”

Lin Fei was even angrier. The two had been gone for a while, and she hadn’t gone out to check because the members had arrived. Now, something like this happened under her nose. “No, I’m going to have a talk with him.”

“Alright, alright.” Wen Shu quickly held them back, feeling like the youngest child in a family whose older siblings were taking turns to go out and settle a score for him. “It’s not his fault. Don’t be mad, you two. It’s their first day meeting everyone.”

Fortunately, Wen Shu managed to stop them. On the other side, Pei Xian felt the eye daggers from the two captains and uncomfortably rubbed his neck.

Alright, I’ll take attendance first so everyone can get to know their teammates’ faces.

Pei Xian.

Present.

Wen Shu nodded. “Alright, from today on, everyone is a teammate. I’m sure you heard us during the interviews: debate team training is very hard. We have morning and evening sessions that take up a lot of personal time. I hope you can all learn what you want to learn this year.”

“Morning training is from 6:30 to 8:00 AM to practice articulation and review the previous day’s debates. Evening training is from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, three times a week—two free debates and one internal match,” Lin Fei added. This is our tentative plan. We will adjust later based on your class schedules and finals week. Any other questions?

Seeing the silent atmosphere, Xia Yang joked, It’s not training time yet, so you don’t have to be so serious. Ask us anything while you have the chance. Any question is fine.

At this, the room immediately erupted into chatter. What is the usual training content?

If we have no foundation, will the captains walk us through it?

Do the captains have partners?

This last question immediately broke the formal questioning. Everyone looked at the three of them expectantly.

Wen Shu raised an eyebrow, a hint of a smile in his voice. How did it get to that topic?

The girl who asked got even more excited and pointedly asked, Captain Wen! Does Captain Wen have a partner?

Pei Xian scoffed. They really aren’t familiar with him at all if they don’t even know Wen Shu is single. He was dying to answer for him, but he saw Wen Shu fall into thought for a moment. Pei Xian got anxious—was this a question that actually required thinking?

“Alright, stop teasing them,” Xia Yang interrupted. “Speaking of which, it’s quite strange. Every person who becomes a captain of our debate team, without exception, stays single for the entire year. If they had a partner in their freshman year, they break up by sophomore year. Usually, they don’t find someone until junior year.”

Pei Xian breathed a sigh of relief, his tensed nerves finally relaxing. Exactly, you have to study hard in college. In his mind, it should stay that way. Forget junior year; there was no rush at all. It would be best if Wen Shu didn’t date for his entire college life so he could focus on training—and so Pei Xian could see him more often.

Someone as good-looking as Captain Wen doesn’t have a partner? the girl couldn’t help but ask.

Wen Shu actually has a lot of pursuers, Xia Yang thought about it carefully. He’s been on the ‘Confession Wall’ since the start of freshman year, and consistently ever since.

Pei Xian felt his heart leap into his throat, and he leaned forward unconsciously. He realized then that he didn’t actually know that much about Wen Shu.

Alright, Wen Shu interrupted Xia Yang. How did the conversation turn to me? No more questions? That’s it for today. Everyone, head back early.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.