Who Told You To Fool My First Love? - Chapter 9

Faced with the sudden intruder, Lu Zhen frowned slightly, though he didn’t say much, turning back to pull on a clean T-shirt. “It’s nothing.”

Seeing Qiao Muyu still standing there in a daze, Lu Zhen had to remind him: “If you’re coming in, close the door.”

Qiao Muyu came to his senses: “Oh.”

After locking the door, Qiao Muyu realized there was barely any room to stand. The storage room was small and packed with shelves and boxes of various sports equipment, leaving only a narrow, cramped path.

He had no choice but to edge his way to Lu Zhen’s side, squeezing into the tiny space and grabbing his waistband, hesitating over whether to take his pants off.

Lu Zhen glanced at him, finally noticing that a large part of his clothes was soaked, giving off a faint, sweet sugary scent: “What happened to you?”

Qiao Muyu said resentfully: “Someone accidentally spilled cola on me earlier. I had to come change.”

Lu Zhen understood and asked no further, turning to the side to continue organizing his own things.

Seeing Lu Zhen acting so indifferent, as if he didn’t exist, Qiao Muyu thought to himself that they were both guys anyway—there was no point in being coy about changing clothes in front of each other.

So, he turned his back to him and took off his wet pants.

The pants were off, but his skin remained coated in a sticky, soda-drenched residue. It was invisible, but the clammy feeling was incredibly uncomfortable.

Qiao Muyu patted his pockets, only to realize he had forgotten to bring tissues.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking softly: “Um, Lu Zhen?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have any napkins?”

“I do.”

“Can you give me some?”

Behind him came a faint rustling sound as things were rummaged through. A few seconds later, his forearm was lightly touched: “Is this enough?”

Qiao Muyu turned around and saw him holding out a pack of tissues.

“That’s enough, thanks.”

He reached out to take them but didn’t look closely, missing his grab, and the tissues hit the floor.

Lu Zhen instinctively bent down to pick them up. As he rose, his gaze accidentally swept across Qiao Muyu’s exposed skin.

The pair of legs before him were slender and straight with smooth lines, completely devoid of excess fat. The hem of his white school uniform shirt was long, reaching down to the tops of his thighs, faintly revealing the edge of his underwear.

What caught Lu Zhen’s eye most, however, was a small, pale red scar conspicuously branded onto the skin of Qiao Muyu’s left inner thigh. It stood out sharply against his fair skin, and the shape was quite peculiar—at a casual glance, it looked remarkably like a shallow, red fish.

Lu Zhen’s brow twitched violently, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “What is the deal with that scar?”

Qiao Muyu didn’t expect him to be staring there, so he immediately felt uncomfortable and hurriedly used his clothes to cover it: “This is a wax burn I got by accident a long time ago.”

Lu Zhen’s pupils constricted. He suddenly grabbed Qiao Muyu’s wrist with surprising strength. For some reason, his fingertips were trembling slightly.

Qiao Muyu was startled: “Wh-what are you doing? You’re hurting me!”

Lu Zhen realized his loss of composure and gently let go, but his eyes remained fixed on him. The faint light in his pitch-black pupils was now almost piercing: “When were you burned?”

“Just…” Qiao Muyu didn’t understand why he was asking, so he replied offhandedly, “When I was a kid.”

“How old?” Lu Zhen pressed, his speech rapid-fire.

“Six or seven? It was too long ago, I don’t remember clearly.”

“You just said it was a wax burn?”

“Yeah.” Qiao Muyu tried to recall: “I only remember that the power went out that night. I went to the bathroom with a friend while holding a candle, and we accidentally knocked it over, and I got burned like this.”

Qiao Muyu had assumed the scar would fade over time, but more than a decade later, aside from becoming slightly lighter in color, the shape hadn’t changed at all.

Fortunately, the scar wasn’t in a visible area, and since he didn’t like wearing shorts, no one else ever saw it except for himself.

He only ever saw it when he was showering, so he never gave it much thought.

He didn’t understand why Lu Zhen was so curious about it. When he looked up at him, he was stunned by the silent, churning, complex emotions in the depths of Lu Zhen’s eyes.

Just as Lu Zhen opened his mouth, a voice from outside called out: “Lu Zhen, are you in there? Are you ready? The 1,500-meter runners need to head to check-in!”

Seeing Lu Zhen hesitate, Qiao Muyu urged him on: “What are you staring at? Hurry up and go race.”

Lu Zhen had to pick up his bag and head for the door. At the entrance, he paused and looked back: “Come find me after the race. I have something to tell you.”

Qiao Muyu replied, not understanding why: “Oh, got it.”

After Qiao Muyu changed his pants and returned to the Class 1 bleachers, just as he was about to sit down, a girl walked over and told him: “Class Monitor, the broadcast just announced that the winners of the high jump competition should go collect their awards. Since Lu Zhen is still running the 1,500, could you go pick it up for him?”

“Sure.”

Qiao Muyu went alone to the judges’ stand in the center of the field, where several students who had just won medals were taking photos and looking cheerful.

By the podium, three student volunteers wearing little red hats were guarding a pile of medals and certificates, looking bored.

Before Qiao Muyu could speak, one of the girls in a red hat saw him and stood up happily: “Senior, what are you doing here?”

Qiao Muyu recognized her. Her name was He Miaoyin, a grade below him. She had joined the student council in her freshman year, just as Qiao Muyu had taken over as president, and he had been very helpful to the newcomers.

Plus, He Miaoyin was cute, thoughtful, and diligent, so he had a good impression of her.

He smiled and replied: “I’m here to pick up an award for a classmate—men’s high jump, first place, Lu Zhen.”

“Oh, it’s him.” He Miaoyin picked up the pre-prepared medal and handed it to Qiao Muyu: “Here.”

“Thanks.”

Qiao Muyu had the gold medal and was just about to leave when He Miaoyin called out to him again: “Senior, would you mind having a word with me in private?”

Qiao Muyu didn’t think much of it and nodded: “Sure.”

The two of them went to a shaded area off to the side of the gym where no one was passing by.

He Miaoyin walked in front. After she turned to face him, Qiao Muyu noticed her face was much redder than before, and there was a touch of expectation and shyness in her eyes.

He instantly realized what was happening, but still spoke calmly: “Is there something you need?”

He Miaoyin nodded slightly, gathered her courage, and spoke slowly: “Senior, actually, ever since you left the student council, I’ve felt quite lonely. I used to be so happy every time we had a meeting because I could use the chance to see you. Even if you only said a few inconsequential things to me, I could stay happy for days. Senior, I’ve always liked you. Could you consider being with me?”

Qiao Muyu froze, feeling flustered.

He wasn’t good at rejecting others, much less dealing with matters of the heart. He was afraid of saying something too harsh and hurting her feelings.

After weighing his words for a moment, he said tactfully: “Um, you’re a great person, but this isn’t a good idea, right? The school doesn’t allow early relationships.”

He Miaoyin smiled: “You could use that to block others, but I know you aren’t that rule-abiding. You’re like me—you aren’t as ‘goody-two-shoes’ as you look, are you?”

Qiao Muyu choked.

This girl’s intuition was sharper than most. She had even caught a glimpse of his fake honor student persona.

He touched his face awkwardly. Then, a flash of inspiration hit him, and he remembered the excuse Lu Zhen had used to turn someone down. Clearing his throat with a serious expression, he mimicked it: “Sorry, actually, I already have someone I like.”

“Oh?” This answer was completely unexpected for He Miaoyin. “Is it Senior Xu Runcan? You seem very close with her.”

Qiao Muyu shook his head quickly: “It’s not her. Xu Runcan and I are just friends.”

“Then who is it? Do I know them?”

Qiao Muyu hadn’t expected her to follow up, and he was momentarily speechless.

The hesitation that flashed across his face was keenly captured by He Miaoyin, who narrowed her eyes in dissatisfaction: “You aren’t lying to me, are you?”

“I’m not! I…” Qiao Muyu thought quickly, “The person I like is from another school, you don’t know him. He was my classmate in middle school. Actually, I’ve liked him since middle school, but I didn’t dare say anything for the sake of our friendship. I only recently found out he likes me too, so we made a pact to study hard and get into the same university. I don’t want to date in high school; it would affect my studies! Yep, that’s exactly it!”

After he finished speaking, Qiao Muyu gave himself a huge mental thumbs-up.

His lie was well-constructed, and his tone and expression were sincere enough that one had to believe him.

He Miaoyin went completely silent. She lowered her head to hide the disappointment in her eyes: “Alright, I understand. I’m sorry to bother you.”

After saying that, she turned and ran away as if escaping.

Qiao Muyu sighed in relief and started walking away, but as he turned the corner, he nearly collided with someone standing there.

“Lu Zhen?” Qiao Muyu said, surprised. “What are you doing here? Is the race over?”

The bangs on Lu Zhen’s forehead were dampened by sweat, making his dark eyes and brows look even sharper and more intense—he looked like he had just stepped off an intense track.

“It’s over,” Lu Zhen said. “I came to look for you as soon as I finished, but someone told me you went this way with a girl.”

Qiao Muyu realized: “You heard everything we just said?”

Lu Zhen: “Yeah.”

Qiao Muyu felt awkward and didn’t know what to say. Was he supposed to discuss his tips and tricks for rejecting confessions with him?

Fortunately, Lu Zhen just looked at him with an inexplicably resentful expression and didn’t ask further. Qiao Muyu quickly changed the subject: “Right, you said you had something to tell me before the race. What was it?”

Lu Zhen pressed his lips together, struggling with himself for a moment before letting out a light sigh. Finally, he said flatly: “It’s nothing. Just wanted to tell you I took first place.”

“Is that so? Congratulations.”

Qiao Muyu only then remembered he was still holding Lu Zhen’s medal: “By the way, this is the high jump gold medal I picked up for you. Keep it safe.”

“Thanks.” Lu Zhen took it, then asked: “Can I take you out to dinner after school?”

“Huh?” Qiao Muyu blinked, not understanding why the conversation had turned even more abruptly than his own. “Dinner? Just the two of us?”

Lu Zhen nodded: “Yeah.”

Qiao Muyu was suspicious of this inexplicable invitation, but fortunately, he had a legitimate reason to refuse: “How about next time? Hu Jun said he’s organizing a dinner for the athletes after the meet ends at his family’s restaurant.”

“A dinner?”

“Yeah. It’s rare that we don’t have to attend evening self-study today.”

Lu Zhen frowned, looking reluctant: “Can I skip it?”

Qiao Muyu: “How can you do that? You’re the biggest contributor to this sports meet. You have to come.”

Lu Zhen turned it around: “Will you go to the dinner?”

“Yes.” Qiao Muyu sighed. “Since I’m the Class Monitor, I have to keep an eye on them so they don’t cause any trouble.”

“Then I’ll go too.” Lu Zhen immediately changed his mind.

Qiao Muyu: ?

Man, you change your tune fast.