The Cannon Fodder Became the Empire's Beloved Omega - Chapter 40

He dodged?

The Omega’s reaction from afar made Gu Yu pause his movements, his brow instinctively furrowing.

The other had never shown such an expression in front of him before. Even when avoiding him, there had always been a hint of awkwardness. But just now…

What exactly happened?

Considering certain possibilities, his heart tightened slightly.

Just as he was lost in thought, a burst of discussion suddenly arose beside him.

“Is that the one who gave the freshman speech at the orientation ceremony?” “Probably? Hey, now that you mention it, last time I was too far away to see clearly, but up close, he’s really cute.”

“Isn’t it collaborative practice next? I wonder if he has a partner yet. I kind of want to invite him.”

“Wow, you’re so sneaky! I was just about to say that!” “Ah, me too.”

Gu Yu’s expression stiffened.

As they spoke, people outside the classroom began filing in. He lifted his gaze toward Yu Ruan’s direction, only to find that several people had already gathered around him. The group entered the room chatting and laughing, instantly evoking an intensely unpleasant feeling in him.

Noticing the gaze from the opposite corner of the classroom, Yu Ruan felt somewhat flustered. He distractedly shifted his attention to the conversation in front of him, pretending not to see those eyes that had inadvertently turned his way.

“Yu Ruan, I heard you haven’t found a partner for the practice yet, right?” asked the boy who had initiated the conversation earlier. “Want to join us?”

Before the words fully landed, another voice abruptly cut in: “Hey, isn’t that a bit too cliquey?” Then, someone slung an arm over Yu Ruan’s shoulder, and a grinning face appeared before him. “How about partnering with your senior? We’re experienced, skilled, and guaranteed to deliver quality work.”

“With your level, you’re not embarrassed to show off?” someone else interjected with a laugh, then turned to Yu Ruan. “Don’t mind him, but you could consider me. Top grades, definitely more reliable than this guy.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. Then can you consider me too.” “Me too.”

“…” Watching the sudden crowd swarming around him, Yu Ruan felt completely overwhelmed. He didn’t even know their names, and such abrupt invitations felt far too forward.

Just as he hesitated over how to politely decline them, a lazy voice sounded from a distance: “He does.”

“Who?” the interrupted person snapped angrily.

“Me.”

Instantly, the noisy classroom fell silent. Hearing that familiar icy tone, the previously talkative crowd suddenly clammed up like roosters with their necks wrung.

Yu Ruan’s mood was somewhat complicated. Meeting that seemingly indifferent face, he hesitated for a moment before accepting the other’s goodwill: “Mm, I already have a partner. Sorry.”

Upon realizing their competitor was Gu Yu, everyone promptly withdrew their tentative olive branches. In an instant, the Alphas surrounding Yu Ruan scattered like startled birds, allowing him to breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Carrying his bag, he hesitantly walked over to Gu Yu and sat down: “Thank you.”

“No need,” the other replied flatly. “Next time something like this happens, just refuse outright.”

Yu Ruan nodded and softly responded with an “Mm.”

His mind was still preoccupied with the earlier matter. Now that he was face to face with the person in question, he couldn’t help but feel an urge to ask for the full story. However, the topic was rather awkward, and after mulling it over for a long time, Yu Ruan still couldn’t bring himself to ask directly.

The distracted demeanor of the Omega beside him was unusual, stirring suspicion in Gu Yu. His brows furrowed slightly as he lowered his gaze in thought for a moment before asking, “Is something wrong?”

He could tell even that?!

Yu Ruan was startled: despite his best efforts to act normal, he had still been seen through at a glance. This person was far too perceptive.

Unsure how to respond, he hesitated for a while before honestly nodding. “Mmm, a little.”

“Schoolwork?”

“No.” Yu Ruan vaguely dodged the question. “It’s something else.”

This was sounding more and more familiar.

Could it be that some clueless person had gone to him and spoken ill of Gu Yu?

Gu Yu’s frown deepened, his mood sinking. He lowered his gaze to the neatly formatted text on the light screen, the stylus in his hand abruptly halting mid-swipe and freezing on the screen. After a long pause, he asked as if casually, “You can tell me. Maybe I can help.”

“…” Yu Ruan froze. He glanced at the other’s cold, aristocratic profile, strikingly distinct in the sunlight, and couldn’t help but wonder what the chances were of being thrown out of the classroom if he told the truth.

Gu Yu glanced sideways at him, lazily lifting an eyelid to signal him to continue.

After much hesitation, Yu Ruan decided to be honest. “Actually…”

Gu Yu watched the plump, slightly pouted red lips move slowly as Yu Ruan spoke, and a sudden tension gripped his heart—

Rumors about him at school had always been more negative than positive, and with the added complication of the heir succession, the divide was even wider. If the other person decided to distance himself because of this, Gu Yu could only accept it.

After all, there were plenty of people on the capital planet who didn’t want the two of them to get along.

He subconsciously twirled the stylus in his hand, then gripped it tightly. Collecting his emotions, Gu Yu leaned back in his chair, pretending not to care as he waited for Yu Ruan to continue.

“Actually, it’s like this,” Yu Ruan said quietly. “I asked my friend about the details of the previous dance and I’ve been wondering whether I should give up on partnering with you.”

He cautiously observed Gu Yu’s expression, speaking word by word. When he reached the last sentence, he noticed the other’s pen tip suddenly pause. Gu Yu lifted his head sharply, a flicker of unreadable darkness passing through his eyes.

“Why?” Gu Yu asked, as if casually.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yu Ruan struggled to explain, “I heard that last time you.”

“?”

“Won the championship alone.”

“…” Gu Yu stiffened slightly.

“So, I was thinking, if I partner with you, I might hold you back,” Yu Ruan said earnestly. “After all, you can win the championship on your own. There’s really no need to lose it because of me.”

Staring into the unusually sincere sea-blue eyes of the Omega before him, Gu Yu felt, for the first time, what it meant to be rendered speechless.

An awkward silence spread between them.

Yu Ruan blinked in confusion. Beside him, the usually indifferent Alpha’s expression froze, his brow twitching slightly as if deep in thought. After a long pause, he suddenly blurted out, “My year was missing one person.”

Yu Ruan: “?”

“At the beginning of the semester, someone thought my face wasn’t authoritative enough,” Gu Yu stated matter-of-factly. “He challenged me to a fight, so we sparred during combat class.”

He paused briefly, his gaze flickering toward Yu Ruan. Instantly alert, Yu Ruan couldn’t help but ask, “And then?”

Yu Ruan remembered how effortlessly Gu Yu had taken down Li Hong, so he instinctively assumed Gu Yu must have won the match. Still, he couldn’t help feeling a little tense.

“Nothing much,” Gu Yu replied lightly, as expected. “We both ended up in the hospital. He dropped out.”

Yu Ruan: “…”

Gu Yu: “So there was only one person left for the competition.”

So that’s how it was…

Though a faint sense of doubt lingered in his heart, Yu Ruan felt convinced by Gu Yu’s explanation.

He hadn’t expected that Gu Yu had faced a situation similar to his own when he first entered Xingyun. Thinking that someone like Gu Yu, who probably led a smooth, untroubled life had also endured hardships, Yu Ruan felt a surge of sympathy.

So Gu Yu had been bullied before.

No wonder he’d said those things earlier. It seemed Gu Yu’s privileged life wasn’t as perfect as Yu Ruan had imagined. There must have been many unspoken struggles behind the scenes that Gu Yu had never shared.

Yu Ruan’s heart ached with empathy. He felt a heavy weight in his chest and a deep sense of guilt over his earlier assumptions.

Just then, the Alpha beside him spoke again, “Besides, the game isn’t just a game.”

“?”

Noticing Yu Ruan’s puzzled look, Gu Yu explained, “Last year’s challenges were simple, so one person could handle them. But based on the examiners’ past habits, this year’s difficulty will likely double. Competing alone would make it easy to fail in the first round, it’s not a good idea.”

“So?”

“Consider it mutually beneficial,” Gu Yu lowered his eyelashes, his tone indifferent. “It’ll be easier with two people. Think of it as helping each other out, no pressure.”

It took Yu Ruan a few seconds to realize that Gu Yu was subtly trying to comfort him, and he was deeply moved.

He nodded and quietly thanked Gu Yu, feeling even more remorseful for his earlier assumptions.

As Yu Ruan contemplated how to apologize, the melodious class bell rang outside the classroom. Seeing the professor stroll in, he reluctantly set the thought aside and opened his course materials.

Class passed quickly.

It was the last lesson of the day. As soon as the bell rang, the students collectively sighed in relief, chatting and laughing as they filed out of the classroom.

Finishing the last page of his notes and hitting save, Yu Ruan finally relaxed and began packing his things.

At the edge of his vision, someone stood quietly. He instinctively glanced over and saw Gu Yu leaning lazily against the wall, his hand resting on the windowsill slender, well-proportioned, and with distinct knuckles. Bathed in the twilight, he stood silently gazing into the distance, as if waiting for Yu Ruan to leave together.

Yu Ruan froze for a moment, his heart inexplicably skipping a beat. He immediately stood up, quickly packed his belongings from the table into his backpack, and said apologetically, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Hearing this, the other shifted his gaze toward him. “It’s fine.”

He slowly moved away from the window and walked over to Yu Ruan. The evening sun stretched his shadow long, and as he approached Yu Ruan, whose height only reached his nose bridge, the scene instantly took on a slightly comical tone.

Following his line of sight, Yu Ruan belatedly looked down at the ground.

The two of them, walking one behind the other, had their shadows momentarily overlap due to the distance between them. The slight difference in their heights made the image on the ground resemble an intimate couple leaning against each other, as if one were whispering secrets into the other’s shoulder.

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