15 : Secretly loved him

 What is he saying—!

Yin Luo turned around, before he could even show any expression, his face flushed red. His cheeks and ears burned, then the heat quickly spread to other areas.

Eventually, his entire body turned pink.

Lu Ran chuckled softly.

This teasing laugh made Yin Luo both angry and embarrassed, but he couldn't curse. His face reddened, and all he could manage was, "What...what nonsense are you talking about?"

"That's true." Lu Ran wasn't intimidated at all; instead, he was aroused by that beautiful face. He moved slightly closer, his gaze sweeping lightly over Yin Luo, finally settling on his upper body. "I've never seen a boy with pink elbows." Yin Luo

: "..."

So that's what he meant.

[How did this little lamb turn bad?]

Yin Luo couldn't help but complain to the system when Lu Ran suddenly approached, startling him. He took a small step back, his voice trembling slightly: "Wh...what are you doing?"

He's so timid.

Lu Ran, afraid that teasing her any longer would make her really angry, asked, "Why were you crying just now?"

Yin Luo slowly put the clothes she had picked up back on the chair. "When did I cry?"

"Just now, I handed you—" She stopped halfway through her sentence, noticing several obvious red marks on Yin Luo's wrist, probably from when he had pressed on it.

Crying from pain?

So delicate.

Lu Ran had held back.

Yin Luo was already much shorter than him, looking thin and pale, small and frail, so he certainly didn't dare touch her like he would greet the boys on the basketball team.

But those red marks were clearly visible, seemingly silently accusing their owner of his "abuse."

Looking at it this way, Yin Luo's wrist was very thin, with prominent wrist bones and a light-colored mole.

Lu Ran's thoughts gradually wandered.

"I accidentally put that towel away by mistake." Yin Luo didn't notice Lu Ran's gaze, turned around, squatted down, and pulled out the white towel that was underneath. "It's your own fault for not putting it away properly, don't blame me."

System: [Bullying Value +2!] Yin

Luo scoffed, "Even Little Wool has become stingy."

A moment later, Lu Ran took the towel, seemingly accepting his reason.

Yin Luo didn't think much of it, threw his dirty clothes into the basin, and left the dormitory with it.

The door slammed shut, and a faint fragrance wafted in on the breeze

.

Lu Ran had smelled this scent while Yin Luo was showering, standing at the door, and muttered to himself, "What shower gel did she use? It smells so good..."

He stared at the towel for a while, then suddenly looked down.

The towel seemed to have a bit of that scent on it too.

*

Lu Ran didn't mention the towel again, and the little incident passed quietly.

Yin Luo decided to let Little Wool roam free for a while, fattening her up before taking advantage of her. So, he didn't bully her anymore, just remaining indifferent.

But in Lu Ran's eyes, Yin Luo's attitude towards him had improved considerably.

A guy in the same major on the basketball team named Zhao Xinyan, who was on good terms with Lu Ran, noticed that Lu Ran seemed preoccupied these past few days and teased him, "What's wrong? Are you in heat? But it's only autumn, isn't it?"

"Get lost." Lu Ran sat on the open ground of the training field, his long legs dangling loosely on the ground, looking nonchalant. After a while, he asked Zhao Xinyan again, "I have a question for you."

Zhao Xinyan knew something was wrong from his expression: "Go ahead."

Lu Ran hesitated, then finally spoke after a long pause: "If someone took your towel, what do you think that person wanted to do?"

"A thief?" Zhao Xinyan pondered for a moment, "No, usually, people who steal towels are perverts."

"..." Lu Ran muttered, "They don't look like it..."

Zhao Xinyan didn't hear him clearly: "What?"

"Nothing." Lu Ran felt he might not have explained clearly, so he went for it, "It's just... after stealing the towel, hiding it in his closet, and when he was caught, he looked like he was about to cry." As

soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Xinyan gave a meaningful "Oh": "Then it goes without saying, it must be someone who has a crush on the towel's owner."

Lu Ran paused.

Zhao Xinyan's words seemed to have enlightened him. Suddenly, Yin Luo's harmless pranks became understandable.

Because Yin Luo had a crush on him.

Because it was a crush, she didn't dare to show it, so she deliberately did these things to attract his attention.

No wonder he looked so evasive when questioned.

He was clearly afraid, afraid his crush would be discovered.

Seeing Lu Ran remain silent for a while, Zhao Xinyan chuckled twice and gossiped, "Hey, who took your towel?"

Lu Ran snapped out of his reverie, his voice a little hoarse: "Are you sure stealing a towel means you have a crush?"

"What else could it be? A towel

is a personal item; only a pervert or someone who likes you would steal it."

"But what can you do with a towel?"

"It has many uses." Although Zhao Xinyan was single himself, he was incredibly perceptive in these matters. "Hey, the person who got your towel must be a guy. You! You're bisexual? But you like guys?"

"No, I'm straight."

"Then I'm relieved about my safety."

Lu Ran's eyebrows showed disdain.

Zhao Xinyan: "But you never date, and you hang out with us guys every day. Maybe he thinks you like guys. Why don't you find a girl to date? I've seen so many girls at school confess to you, but you haven't accepted any of them."

Lu Ran scoffed: "How could I be so casual? I have to meet someone I like, and I'll definitely marry her someday."

Zhao Xinyan was incredulous. Lu Ran had the face of a playboy, but his thinking was much more traditional than his peers. He was still curious about the towel: "Hey, tell me, who was that guy who took your towel? Did you share a dorm? I remember you shared a dorm with some third-year PE students, right?"

Lu Ran didn't answer: "Tell me first, what would you do with the towel?"

Zhao Xinyan grinned mischievously and whispered something in his ear.

After hearing it, Lu Ran's shoulders stiffened.

Seeing Lu Ran's furrowed brows, Zhao Xinyan assumed he was unhappy and quickly changed the subject: "If you really want to know if he likes you, there's a way."

Lu Ran took a breath, seemingly still reeling from what they'd just said: "...What?"

Zhao Xinyan: "Don't we have a basketball game this weekend? Let's see if he comes. If he likes you, he'll definitely come."

"He might even bring you water."

*

"This weekend? Our academy seems to have special training this weekend." Li Xun said apologetically, "If it ends early, I'll head over."

Zhang Chu: "I'm going home this weekend, so I can only cheer you on."

Lu Ran said casually, "It's okay."

"Hey, it seems Yin Luo isn't going home this weekend." Zhang Chu looked towards the sink and raised her voice, "Yin Luo, there's a basketball game this week, are you going?"

Li Xun and Zhang Chu are background characters in the book, so Yin Luo naturally doesn't need to play the villain in front of them. Therefore, they've gotten along well this semester, and neither of them has any prejudice against him anymore.

At this moment, Yin Luo had just finished washing her face and came over from the balcony.

She glanced , "Oh."

[Bullying value +1.]

—From the stingy little sheep.

After saying that, Yin Luo didn't look at Lu Ran again. As she turned to pack her bag, she was reminded of a task by the system: [Host, for the basketball game this weekend, you need to pretend to deliver water and then pour the water on Lu Ran.]

[Got it. The little sheep is getting harder and harder to fleece now. He doesn't care about me anymore.]

System: [...]

Yin Luo was focused on chatting with the system and didn't notice the gaze behind her.

The boy had just washed his face, his skin still damp, his eyes red and moist.

His lips were also red.

Beneath his loose clothes was a waist so large one could easily wrap one arm around him.

Lu Ran suddenly remembered Zhao Xinyan's jokes—

"What could he possibly do, crawling into bed at night with your towel?"

"Maybe he even secretly called your name then."

Lu Ran's throat tightened slightly.

Yin Luo…would he do that to himself?

He couldn't imagine what the boy would look like when he did that to himself.

He'd be unbelievably beautiful.

His whole body would turn red, he'd have that kind of expression, he might cry softly, but bite his lip tightly out of fear.

Maybe he'd secretly call out—

"Hey, why are you so hard?"

Lu Ran's breath hitched for a moment; he felt a soft, fleshy person bump into his chest.

Looking down slightly, Yin Luo was pressing his arm, his eyelashes trembling slightly, his expression indescribable, just a complaint from him with reddened eyes. "It hurts so much!"

← Previous Chapter Next Chapter →