After Transmigrating into a Book, I Saved the Cheap Shou - Chapter 16

He hurried back to the classroom, but the first period had already ended. Gu Jingning felt helpless — he had accidentally skipped another class. It was all that guy Pei Yuanqing’s fault. He had no idea what that lunatic was going crazy about.

He pushed open the classroom door. With a whoosh, everyone inside turned to look at him in unison. After nearly two years at this school, this was the first time he had received such collective attention.

Usually, aside from a few close friends, everyone treated him like air. Gu Jingning scratched his head. This was the first time he was getting treatment beyond being a mere background character.

As soon as he returned to his seat, he noticed several glances drifting his way, accompanied by intermittent whispering.

He listened carefully and only caught a few scattered words: “bullying… junior… no one around…”

Gu Jingning’s heart tightened. Had something happened to Su Chen again? But there hadn’t been any major plot developments lately. Besides, they had just been together earlier, and he hadn’t noticed anything unusual about Su Chen.

He instinctively wanted to message Su Chen, but after thinking about it, he held back. He had been appearing in front of Su Chen too frequently lately.

While he was pondering, the chair beside him was pulled out. An Alpha covered in sweat sat down. His uniform still carried the heat of his body, and the orange blossom scent of his pheromones grew stronger with his body temperature. Fortunately, Gu Jingning had good self-control. Other than him — who was sitting extremely close and sensitive to smells — no one else was affected.

“Late again?” Gu Jingning asked.

“Didn’t hear the alarm.” Jiang Yunhe pulled out his homework from his bag and gestured to Gu Jingning. “Quick! Lend me your math homework!”

Gu Jingning handed over yesterday’s assignment. “Didn’t your roommate wake you?”

“I can’t get along with those guys, you know that. It was only Lin Mo’s death-threat chain of messages that finally got me out of bed.”

Seeing Jiang Yunhe start scribbling furiously, Gu Jingning stopped bothering him.

“Oh right! Want to play basketball during lunch break? We made a 5v5 match with Class 3 for next week. Want in?”

“Final exams are coming up soon and you still want to play ball?”

“Balance work and rest, you know. So, you coming or not?”

Gu Jingning thought for a moment.

“Sure, count me in.”

The morning passed quickly. The moment the bell rang, starving students swarmed toward the cafeteria. Jiang Yunhe dragged Gu Jingning to the front of the pack, determined to finish lunch fast and claim the basketball court.

After getting their food, the two wolfed it down. Gu Jingning spotted Su Chen holding a tray and looking for a seat. He raised his hand and waved in Su Chen’s direction, signaling that there was an empty spot beside him.

Su Chen nodded at Jiang Yunhe in greeting, pulled out the chair next to Gu Jingning, and sat down.

Jiang Yunhe had assumed Gu Jingning was calling over a friend. When he looked up and saw an unfamiliar Omega, he remembered the rumor Lin Mo had told him yesterday and immediately started winking and making faces at Gu Jingning.

Gu Jingning ignored Jiang Yunhe’s teasing and glanced at Su Chen’s pitifully small meal.

One rice, one vegetable dish, one soup — eating so little explained why he looked so frail and delicate.

“Ning! Ning! What are you spacing out for? Eat faster! We only have fifteen minutes left of lunch break!”

Seeming to notice Su Chen’s confusion, Jiang Yunhe explained, “We’re going to play basketball later. Junior, if you’re interested, want to come watch?”

Before Su Chen could answer, Gu Jingning turned Jiang Yunhe’s face forward. “Stop randomly flirting.”

“I barely said anything!” Jiang Yunhe pretended to act shy, cupping his own face. “Besides, I already have a boyfriend. We’re very much in love.”

Gu Jingning was long used to Jiang Yunhe’s antics. He picked up his empty tray, said goodbye to Su Chen, and dragged Jiang Yunhe away with him, missing the disappointed look on Su Chen’s face behind them.

As soon as Gu Jingning left, An Zhixia hurriedly sat down in the empty seat across from Su Chen and asked anxiously, “Where’s my brother? Where’s my brother? Why is he gone already?”

Su Chen quietly continued eating. “He left.”

“Why didn’t you help me stall for time? I saw him while I was queuing, but I still didn’t make it.” She ate her food in frustration, even the ribs in her mouth no longer tasted good.

“They’re going to play basketball. They said we could go watch, but you need to eat faster if you want to catch them.”

“Really? Then let’s hurry!”

—

On the other side, the two who had left the cafeteria arrived at the basketball court.

The midday sun was scorching, but it couldn’t dampen the male high school students’ passion for basketball.

Jiang Yunhe shot with one hand. The ball went cleanly into the hoop. “Is the Young Master Gu, who has been single for 17 years, finally about to end his single life?”

“Stop talking nonsense. I only see him as a younger brother.”

“Ah, a ‘love brother.’ I get it.”

Gu Jingning snatched the ball and threw it at him. “Love your head! He’s a real brother — realer than gold.”

“I don’t believe it. There’s no true friendship between opposite sexes.”

“Huh? Su Chen and I are both ma… le…” Oh… right. In this ABO world, one was a Beta and the other was an Omega. To Su Chen, he was the opposite sex.

Then! All the hugging and touching he had done with Su Chen so far — didn’t that count as sexual harassment?!!!

He had just scolded Pei Yuanqing this morning, and now it turned out the harasser was himself!

So if Su Chen didn’t have such a good temper, would he have been sent to juvenile detention?

Thinking of this, Gu Jingning instantly wilted.

“Male? Who still cares about male or female these days?” Jiang Yunhe looked confused. “I didn’t expect you to be so old-fashioned. No wonder I’ve never seen you with anyone. Are you planning to find a female Beta in the future?”

That was exactly what he planned. Although he had been in this world for a while, he still considered himself a straight man. He was even glad he hadn’t transmigrated as an Alpha or Omega — he couldn’t handle the fixed heat cycles every month.

Seeing that Gu Jingning didn’t deny it, his teammates looked at him up and down in amazement, as if they were looking at a priceless antique.

Not wanting to be treated like a monkey anymore, Gu Jingning gave everyone a knock on the head. “Stop worrying so much about my love life. Are we playing or not?”

Jiang Yunhe rubbed the back of his head and laughed sheepishly. “Playing!”

—

However, under the shade of a tree beside the court, Su Chen stood alone. He had heard the entire conversation clearly.

An Zhixia ran over from the vending area, still holding a bottle of water, and asked the statue-like Su Chen, “What’s wrong? Your face looks strange. Did you get heatstroke?”

Su Chen shook his head, his face pale. “I’m fine.”

“When should we go deliver water?”

Su Chen pointed at the screaming crowd by the court and said calmly, “We might have to fight through them first.”

“…Sigh, don’t worry. Those people aren’t cheering for my brother. Look over there.” An Zhixia pointed at the other basketball hoop, where Pei Yuanqing was also playing.

“Those people are here to deliver water to the student council president.” An Zhixia confidently put her hands on her hips. “Even if they want to give water to my brother, I’ll still squeeze my way in front of him with all my might.”

The moment she finished speaking, a girl was pushed out of the crowd and stumbled toward the court. At the same time, a boy dribbling the ball ran straight in her direction. The distance between them was less than half a foot, and the boy couldn’t brake in time.

Just as they were about to collide, Gu Jingning pulled the girl aside. Due to inertia, she fell into his arms.

Whistles rang out across the court. Gu Jingning quickly took a step back, awkwardly unsure where to put his hands.

The girl was momentarily stunned. After her friend nudged her, she blushed and handed the water in her hands to Gu Jingning, thanking him.

An Zhixia nearly crushed the water bottle in her grip.

Su Chen stared at Gu Jingning’s hands. The line of his jaw tightened, and dark emotions surged in his pitch-black pupils. He lowered his eyes and asked, “Why don’t you just act normal and go over to acknowledge him?”

“I can’t! My brother will be disappointed.”

Su Chen said impatiently, “What is there to be disappointed about?”

“You wouldn’t understand!” An Zhixia paced back and forth anxiously.

Su Chen took a deep breath. He knew his current mood was off and that he would end up taking it out on An Zhixia again. But what he had just heard and seen made it impossible for him to calm down and speak to her in his usual tone.

He could only turn and walk away. Even when An Zhixia called after him, he didn’t respond.