The Cannon Fodder Became the Empire's Beloved Omega - Chapter 8

Yu Ruan had a feeling that this matter wouldn’t be so simple.

He walked forward, lost in thought, barely registering the enthusiastic chatter from Yu Fei. Following behind him, Gu Yu appeared indifferent, seemingly uninterested in the tales of love and hate that Yu Fei was so animatedly sharing.

Soon, they arrived at the classroom door.

Inside, the classroom was buzzing with heated discussions likely because the school’s disciplinary notice had already spread. Ji Huai, who was once the center of attention, now sat alone at his desk, his expression grim. His tightly bitten lower lip had turned a stark, bloodless white.

As if sensing something, he suddenly looked up, locking eyes with Yu Ruan, who had just stepped into the classroom.

For a few seconds, their gazes held. Yu Ruan could almost feel sparks flying from the other’s eyes, crackling intensely in the air.

Yu Ruan decided it was best not to provoke the protagonist.

Pretending not to notice the slightly unsettling glare, he turned away and asked Gu Yu, who was leaning against the doorframe, “Do you have any preferences for seating?”

Gu Yu lazily lifted his eyelids but said nothing.

Yu Ruan guessed his meaning was probably, “Whatever, anywhere is fine.”

Feeling he had grasped the young master’s intention, Yu Ruan scanned the classroom for an empty seat and picked one with ample sunlight and an excellent view for Gu Yu.

Their class wasn’t large, and there were plenty of seats available. This spot was relatively good certainly not one that would offend him.

“Well, how about sitting here for now?” Yu Ruan tentatively suggested. “Once Professor Ye arrives, he can assign you a proper seat.”

Unexpectedly, Gu Yu merely glanced in the direction Yu Ruan had pointed, his expression showing little interest as he fluttered his lashes and asked, “Where do you sit?”

“Huh?” Yu Ruan was momentarily caught off guard. “I sit.”

He instinctively pointed toward his own seat.

In the next moment, the figure lazily leaning against the wall straightened up and strode purposefully in the direction Yu Ruan had indicated.

Yu Ruan stared in disbelief as Gu Yu tossed his bag onto the desk, pulled out a chair, retrieved a book from his bag, leisurely sat down, and draped it over his face.

He was asleep.

“…” Yu Ruan was speechless.

The young master truly had his own unique way of doing things.

After a few words of self-consolation, Yu Ruan patted the equally stunned Yu Fei on the shoulder and resignedly made his way to his own seat.

Fortunately, the young master wasn’t entirely inconsiderate. Although he had taken the seat next to Yu Ruan, he hadn’t crowded him out. In fact, his sleeping posture was rather elegant.

A section of pale wrist peeked out from the neatly pressed cuff of his uniform, and the clean lines of his profile made him stand out even more, giving off an unapproachable aura.

For a moment, the entire class’s attention was fixed on the two of them.

A mix of complicated and unfriendly gazes converged on Yu Ruan, making him blink in confusion.

Soon, this gesture was misinterpreted by everyone as a sign of grievance after being bullied.

Instantly, sympathy surged among the students. Their gazes quickly shifted to ones of encouragement, as if saying, “Don’t be afraid, speak up if you’ve been bullied, we’ve got your back.”

Yu Ruan: “?”

What did they mean? What had they misunderstood?

A Beta girl rushed over, wiping her tears, and grasped his hand. “Yu Ruan, we all know you don’t like to complain. But it’s okay, the whole class is here to support you!! If you’re being bullied, don’t be afraid, you must speak up boldly!!”

Yu Ruan: “…”

The direction of this plot didn’t seem quite right.

Generally speaking, wasn’t this kind of treatment reserved only for the protagonist, Ji Huai?

He instinctively glanced at the other person and, sure enough, the already gloomy expression on that face grew even darker.

Noticing Yu Ruan’s gaze, Ji Huai slightly restrained the gloom in his eyes. He gave Yu Ruan a gentle smile and said softly, “That’s right, Yu Ruan. If you’ve been bullied, don’t hesitate to speak up. I believe everyone would be more than willing to help you.”

However, hearing these words come from his mouth only made Yu Ruan feel even more horrified.

After all, just yesterday, the other person had acted as if he wished Yu Ruan dead. Today, he had suddenly done a complete 180-degree turn there had to be something fishy going on behind it.

Yu Ruan didn’t feel that he had been bullied by Gu Yu. On the contrary, the one who had bullied him was now gently encouraging him to stand up for himself.

He felt his eyelid twitch. Considering the usual antics of the plot god, he decided to pretend he hadn’t heard Ji Huai’s hypocritical words.

Just staying calm.

Seeing Yu Ruan’s reaction, Ji Huai’s expression shifted slightly, and he said with a sigh, “So, is it because of what He Xin did before that you resent me now?”

At this point, his voice choked up a little: “You have to believe me, I really didn’t mean for any of that to happen. Deep down, I’ve always trusted you, but the evidence was just too overwhelming, so?”

Yu Ruan tugged at his hand, trying to slip past Ji Huai. Unexpectedly, at that moment, Gu Yu who had been covering his face with a book suddenly removed it. His slightly cold gaze swept over, taking in the somewhat ridiculous scene before him.

Instantly, the air seemed to freeze.

For a moment, Ji Huai felt an Alpha aura so chilling it made his limbs go cold, pressing down on him like a threat. His legs went weak, and he took a step back.

This feeling was even more terrifying than when Li Hong had lost his temper in the past!

He instinctively let go of Yu Ruan’s hand.

The next second, that terrifying aura vanished as abruptly as it had appeared.

Ji Huai was still shaken. Glancing at Yu Ruan, who seemed oblivious, he forced a smile and said, “This, this classmate, you look unfamiliar. Are you a new transfer to our class? If it’s your first time at the school, remember to report to Professor Ye first.”

Gu Yu cast him a weary glance, shifted his posture, and covered his face with the book again.

“…” Ji Huai’s expression instantly soured.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

A moment later, a cold voice, laced with iciness, drifted out from beneath the book: “Don’t disturb my sleep.”

“…” Ji Huai nearly choked on his anger.

How could there be an Alpha so utterly lacking in chivalry?!?!

What good was being good-looking?!?! He was definitely destined to die alone, no Omega would ever want him in this lifetime!!!

Furious at the Alpha who had shown him no respect, Ji Huai shot a glare at Yu Ruan and thought: Birds of a feather flock together. No wonder these two could become friends.

His face flushed red with humiliation. Gritting his teeth, he forced out a smile, muttered a low “Sorry,” and hurried away.

Witnessing Ji Huai’s disheveled state, Yu Ruan wasn’t sure what expression to wear.

To be honest, he kind of wanted to laugh.

Although he knew the young master was difficult to please, Yu Ruan hadn’t expected him to be so dismissive of the protagonist shou.

Yu Ruan had thought that in this world, there wouldn’t be an Alpha Ji Huai’s protagonist halo couldn’t win over.

After all, the plot had clearly stated that Ji Huai possessed a pheromone that could easily make any Alpha fall for him beloved by all, the very definition of a heartthrob.

And through their interactions these past few days, Yu Ruan had come to realize that this setting was indeed perfectly replicated. Even if Gu Yu fell in love with Ji Huai at first sight, it wouldn’t be strange.

But the result…

For the first time ever, Yu Ruan felt something akin to sympathy for the protagonist shou.

Ji Huai was different from him. Yu Ruan had grown up as the protagonist’s foil, already accustomed to such humiliating situations. But Ji Huai, who had sailed smoothly through life for so many years, was probably experiencing public embarrassment for the first time.

His emotions right now must be anything but calm.

Instinctively, Yu Ruan glanced toward Ji Huai’s seat and indeed caught sight of a face clouded with uncertainty.

In that moment, Yu Ruan couldn’t help but feel a little worried for Gu Yu.

The young master seemed wealthy, but Li Hong, the protagonist gong, was no slouch either! For now, Yu Ruan had the upper hand and didn’t need to worry too much. But if Gu Yu openly humiliated Ji Huai like this, what if he faced retaliation from the protagonist gong?!

Yu Ruan felt it was necessary to subtly hint at this to the young master.

His gaze fell on the book covering Gu Yu’s face, and he thought back to their earlier exchange, hesitating to speak.

However, before Yu Ruan could open his mouth, the person he intended to speak to sat up first.

Gu Yu propped himself up on the chair and leisurely straightened his posture. His dark eyelashes drooped slightly, carrying a hint of lazy weariness as he asked in a casual tone, “Got a problem?”

“…” Yu Ruan hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Go on.”

“It’s nothing, really!” Yu Ruan chose his words carefully, “It’s just.”

Suddenly, Gu Yu cut him off, his eyes fixed on a spot in the classroom. “Does he have some grudge against you?”

“Huh?”

For a moment, Yu Ruan didn’t catch on.

He followed Gu Yu’s line of sight and paused for a few seconds before belatedly realizing: Was the young master asking about his relationship with Ji Huai?

Yu Ruan understood: Of course, no one could escape the “true fragrance” law of the protagonist halo. Even someone as ill-tempered and sharp-tongued as Gu Yu couldn’t resist the allure of the heartthrob’s pheromones.

This was the proper course of the plot!

He instantly felt relieved, comforted by the thought that the storyline was finally back on track.

Perhaps the plot gods had been displeased by his accidental humiliation of Ji Huai with Ye Yizhou’s help yesterday and decided to introduce a new golden finger for the protagonist shou to retaliate twice as hard.

Having figured this out, Yu Ruan’s gaze toward Gu Yu was suddenly filled with understanding.

He hoped that, considering their long history as roommates, Gu Yu would go easy on him when the time came for his own humiliation.

“I get it, I get it,” Yu Ruan said understandingly.

Gu Yu: “?”

His handsome brows furrowed, his jaw tightened, and he pressed his lips together, silently staring at the suddenly cheerful Yu Ruan with visible confusion.

Just then, someone abruptly cut in, plopping down boldly at their table.

Yu Ruan looked up good grief, it was Yu Fei again.

“I know the answer to this!” He draped his arm over the back of his chair, speaking with eager excitement. “Let me tell you, new classmate, Ji Huai has had it out for Yu Ruan for ages! They’re constantly at odds, openly clashing and secretly competing. I really don’t get it, Yu Ruan is an Omega, so it’s not like he could pose any threat to Ji Huai. What’s he even after? Could it be that he’s jealous Yu Ruan is better-looking than him?”

Yu Fei vented to his heart’s content, and even after finishing, he seemed to have more to say.

Seeing that Yu Fei looked like he was gearing up for another round, Yu Ruan quickly cut him off. Although their friendship was somewhat superficial, they had at least been comrades in misfortune, both playing the role of cannon fodder together.

He couldn’t just stand by and watch Yu Fei recklessly dig his own grave in front of Gu Yu, repeatedly trampling all over the person Gu Yu held dear.

Yu Ruan shot an apologetic glance at Gu Yu and stepped in to apologize on Yu Fei’s behalf. “Sorry about that, he can be a bit too outspoken. If he offended you, I’m really sorry.”

Hearing this, Gu Yu languidly lifted his gaze. Those dark blue eyes shifted slightly toward Yu Ruan, lingered for a few seconds, then lazily dropped again.

He said nothing.

Yu Ruan felt an inexplicable sense of relief: No reaction was the best reaction!

He was quite pleased.

Just then, the class bell rang. Accompanied by the melodious chime, someone hurried into the classroom:

“Just got the notice today’s combat class has been temporarily changed to a joint practical session with Class Two. The teacher wants everyone to head to the training ground. Pack up your things quickly and come with me.”

A joint class? Combat class? With Class Two?

Instantly, upon hearing those words, Yu Ruan jolted awake, his senses sharpening immediately.

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