Damn it, I'm surrounded by insane Alphas!

(I'm really too diligent)

Today's word count is also 6, but I feel like I'm writing too many side stories, so I can't write the last three chapters! Then I need to hurry up and start writing a new story!

A few days later, on Monday, Wen Yiheng opened the office door at exactly nine o'clock, right when the Academic Affairs Office started work.

He rarely comes to the academic affairs office; he communicates via email or asks a teaching assistant to make an appointment.

Upon seeing who it was, Teacher Wang from the Academic Affairs Office stood up to greet them warmly.

"Teacher Wen? What a rare guest! Why did you come in person?"

Wen Yiheng smiled and handed her a cup of coffee, saying, "The course enrollment lists for the courses I'm in charge of this semester should be out by now, right?"

"It's out, it's out. I was going to email it to you today. Please have a seat, I'll print a copy for you."

As Teacher Wang typed on the keyboard to download the file, he clicked his tongue in amazement, "Wow, your class is the most sought-after again this year. More than 3,000 people signed up for the general elective course, which is forty students. The competition for civil service exams isn't even this fierce."

Wen Yiheng smiled and said, "Please don't make fun of me," her gaze already fixed on the printer.

In fact, all he needed to do was confirm whether one person's name appeared on the paper.

The list was being presented page by page, and he flipped through it: student ID, name, college.

It's not on the first page, it's not on the second page, it's not on the third page...

His fingers stopped.

Sometimes.

This surname is uncommon, so it's unlikely to be a duplicate name.

Wen Yiheng breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked up, smiled at Teacher Wang, and said, "Thank you for your hard work. I'll be going now."

Teacher Wang stared blankly at Teacher Wen, who was beaming with joy, for a few seconds, then muttered, "That's strange, why did Teacher Wen come to pick up the list herself this time?"

Wen Yiheng walked out of the academic affairs office and down the stairs, knowing that his class was hard to get a seat for.

This little guy is pretty clever; he actually managed to snatch it.

Haha. Hahaha.

Little did he know that his precious Shi Ran had spent a fortune, emptying his pockets and bleeding money, to secure his class.

To be honest, the first thought that popped into Shi Ran's mind the second after the proxy bidder told her that they had successfully snagged the item was regret.

If I didn't manage to snag one, I'd be happy to get my money back.

Tongzi scolded him with exasperation: "I've never seen anyone so uncooperative!"

"Then give me some gold coins!"

Then, when faced with a difficult question, Tongzi stopped talking.

Not only Shi Ran, but Zhou Lin also managed to snatch one.

Shi Ran didn't react much to this, but what made him furious was that Song Yu also managed to snatch it!

This kid got lucky; he got the coins without spending a penny. Shi Ran was so angry that she didn't speak to him for two days.

Song Yu coaxed him for two days and paid for two meals at the cafeteria before Shi Ran's expression finally softened.

On the first day of the elective course, Song Yu diligently saved a seat for Shi Ran and thoughtfully ordered a cup of milk tea, presenting it with both hands, his posture as humble as if he were serving an empress dowager.

"Hehe, you can't blame me, boss! Next time! Next time, I'll definitely help you snag a spot in Teacher Wen's class, okay?"

"I'm just curious about how his general election speech was, it's not like I'm voting for him."

Song Yu didn't call him out on it, and nodded with a smile, "Alright, alright, you're not interested in Teacher Wen at all... I was just talking in my sleep and calling Teacher Wen's name, okay?"

Shi Ran was taken aback. "Was I talking in my sleep?"

Song Yu curled his lip teasingly, waved his phone, and said, "I also have a recording, do you want to listen?"

Shi Ran reached out to grab it, but Song Yu was prepared and leaned back, almost tipping the chair over.

Just then, a figure walked into the classroom, and the class instantly fell silent.

It wasn't completely silent; the chatter subsided, but it felt even more intense because... Wen Yiheng was wearing a very unusual black short-sleeved shirt today.

He rarely wears such dark colors; he usually wears white, light blue, or light gray, looking clean and refreshing.

Today's black outfit, with its neckline just below his collarbone, makes his skin look very fair.

Moreover, the cuffs are a bit tight, and the fabric follows the line of the upper arm down to the shoulder, forming a neat curve.

For the first time, everyone realized that Teacher Wen's muscles were also quite impressive.

His thin, bony muscles and refined appearance, combined with this unexpected sense of strength, create a striking contrast, making him seem like two completely different people.

Song Yu was dumbfounded. "Holy crap... Teacher Wen has been spending a lot of time in that freezing gym this holiday!"

Shi Ran stared for two seconds, then looked away.

Wen Yiheng...are you alright?

What's with the screen? All that taro milk you drank just grew on your breasts, huh?!

Tongzi's voice sounded softly: "Why does it smell so sour?"

Shi Ran retorted inwardly: "It's because you haven't showered, isn't it?!"

Tongzi was shocked by his harshness. "My god, you really need to find someone to date, okay? I think your hormones are all messed up."

【Shut up!!】

Shi Ran irritably pulled out his textbook. He felt that no one in the class was paying attention during the entire lesson.

His gaze was fixed on Wen Yiheng's face and chest, occasionally shifting slightly downwards to her narrow waist and her fair arms with prominent veins.

Shi Ran also stared at Wen Yiheng's hand holding the page-turning pen, noting its distinct knuckles and long, slender fingers.

Those were the same hands that, two months ago, had stroked his hair, pinched his chin, and even been kissed by him...

But now, they simply hold the page turner and tap around on the screen with ease, as if nothing had happened.

Shi Ran really wanted to send a WeChat message directly to Wen Yiheng and ask her:

Were you doing this on purpose? Well, let me tell you, you've achieved your goal! Okay?

But he didn't send it.

Because Wen Yiheng didn't look at him once during the entire class, he was afraid that if he sent her a question, she would reply with a red exclamation mark, and he would only be ridiculed by the system.

This lesson was quite frustrating for Shi Ran.

What nonsense about the bright moon shining high above you and shining alone on me? The bright moon has even changed its profession to something else entirely.

When the bell rang, he almost reflexively picked up his bag and was about to leave.

Before the chair could be pushed away, Song Yu grabbed him with a force as strong as if he were stopping a bull that was about to crash into a wall.

"What's your rush! Teacher Wen's class is all about what happens after class, you know that?"

Shi Ran was stunned, and sure enough, she saw the students swarming forward and surrounding the podium.

Some people were taking photos, some were recording videos, and some were just standing there, trying to get closer to Wen Yiheng.

"If you don't go now, your thousand will be wasted." Song Yu's voice drifted over to my ear.

Shi Ran instinctively retorted, "You only spent a thousand."

"I'm buying it for free."

Song Yu's self-righteousness only made Shi Ran angrier.

Moreover, he saw Zhou Lin also squeezed into the front row, his back view very conspicuous. However, when he thought of that awkward scene, he still shook his head.

"I'm not going, I have things to do."

He shook off Song Yu's hand and went out through the back door.

"Sometimes."

Just then, a voice came from the podium, calling out to him.

The buzzing in the classroom seemed to be paused instantly. Shi Ran paused, then looked up at the podium.

All eyes were on him. Surrounded by the crowd, Wen Yiheng smiled at him, a slight curve at the corner of her mouth, as if she had returned to the time when she only had eyes for him.

"Could you wait for me in my office for a moment?"

Song Yu watched the spectacle from the sidelines, unable to suppress the smirk on his face.

Shi Ran gave a confused "hmm" and turned to leave.

His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to explode. What was going on...?

Didn't he ignore me? Why is he telling me to wait for him in front of so many people...?

However, he had to admit that Wen Yiheng had really captivated him for that one second.

It could also be a form of vanity.

Regardless, he felt the thousand was worth it.

Shi Ran went to Wen Yiheng's office with ease.

The door wasn't locked; it opened with a gentle twist of the handle, as if it had been prepared to welcome him.

He stood at the door, hesitated for a moment, then went inside.

The office wasn't big, but it was very clean.

Several neat stacks of papers sat on the table, and the bookshelves were filled with professional books, arranged alphabetically with meticulous care.

The window was open, and the wind made the curtains billow slightly, and...

A cake box.

As he approached and examined the area, he heard footsteps behind him.

"You saw it?"

Wen Yiheng's voice sounded from behind him, with a hint of a smile.

Startled, he immediately stopped and turned around.

"Teacher Wen."

Wen Yiheng closed the door and walked to his side. "I added the shop owner on WeChat before I left last time. He saw that you really like the cakes in the shop, and since they recently released a new product, he specially sent one over for you to try."

Tongzi's voice echoed in his mind, drawing out the tone: 【Oh ho ho ho~】

Shi Ran ignored the AI.

So, it was the cake from the Japanese restaurant where they had their first date?

"Thank you, teacher."

His tone was curt, and he picked up the cake and walked out.

Wen Yiheng called out to him, seemingly a little surprised, "Do you have something else to do later?"

Shi Ran turned around and said, "No."

"Then let's eat here," Wen Yiheng pulled out a chair, gesturing for him to sit down. "The boss cares a lot about... your feedback."

The system has become even more yin and yang: [Oh ho ho ho ho ho!!!]

Shi Ran simply muted it.

He nodded, obediently sat back down, and only after lifting the lid did he discover that the cake was decorated with a few dried figs, as if hinting at something.

Wen Yiheng didn't look at him anymore.

He turned on his computer, his fingers resting on the keyboard, but he didn't type anything.

Shi Ran picked up a fork and put it in her mouth, only to find it was cheesecake. The cream was very smooth and the sweetness was just right. It was delicious.

The moment he swallowed, his nose suddenly stung with tears.

The room was quiet, so quiet that only the sound of his chewing and the faint breathing of the person opposite him could be heard.

Wen Yiheng is busy. He's the one who called her here, so why is she pretending to be busy?

I really hate Wen Yiheng.

Shi Ran thought to herself.

He's hot and cold on a whim. Just when you think he cares about you, he takes all his kindness back the next second. He's completely unpredictable.

Shi Ran grew angrier the more she thought about it, and slammed her fork into the cake with a loud "crack," scraping the porcelain plate with a grating sound.

Wen Yiheng looked over and caught a glimpse of his stern face and furrowed brows.

"Is it not tasty?" His voice was a little hesitant.

Shi Ran didn't even raise his head.

"It's awful." His voice was harsh. "This owner should just close down the business. What's the point of running a restaurant?"

Wen Yiheng was taken aback, then suddenly chuckled softly, with a hint of helplessness in her voice.

Shi Ran was so embarrassed and angry by his laughter that she shoved the cake again.

Wen Yiheng stopped laughing, but the curve of his lips remained. He slowly said, "Actually... I did it."

Shi Ran's hand paused for a moment.

Okay, you've lied to me again, haven't you?

Is it fun to tease me?

He looked up at Wen Yiheng. "Really? That makes sense."

Wen Yiheng's smile deepened. He knew, of course, that the child was just throwing a tantrum, so he went along with it and coaxed him.

"It's because my skills are terrible... I promise I'll never embarrass myself like that again, okay?"

She avoided his gaze, her tone unwavering, "It's good that you know."

Just then, Shi Ran's phone suddenly vibrated.

He looked down and found that he had been added to a new group.

Scrolling to the top, the group announcement prominently displayed several lines of text, in bold on a red background, resembling a court summons.

[Hello students, this semester the school is cracking down on the practice of bidding for courses for profit. Violators will be penalized with deductions from their academic credits. We will be contacting each student in the group later to understand the situation. Please cooperate.]

Suddenly, he stood up.

Damn! What does that mean?

Why did he have to run into the line of fire?

I hope he won't spend a thousand dollars only to have his academic credits deducted in the end!

Seeing this, Wen Yiheng stopped smiling. "What's wrong?"

Shi Ran's arrogance vanished completely. Her hand gripping the phone trembled slightly, and she swallowed nervously. "It's nothing, I have something urgent to attend to, first—"

Before she could finish speaking, Wen Yiheng's phone rang.

He glanced at his phone, his brow furrowing slightly. "The Academic Affairs Office?"

Suddenly, my heart sank.

Wen Yiheng stood up with her phone in hand, turned to Shi Ran and said, "Wait a moment, I need to take this call."

Shi Ran gripped the bag strap tightly and nodded.

He watched Wen Yiheng walk into the inner room and slumped back into his chair.

It's over, the sky has fallen.

He could see Wen Yiheng's back in the inner room from afar, but he couldn't hear what he was saying. Halfway through his sentence, Wen Yiheng suddenly stopped.

He slowly turned his head and glanced back at Shi Ran, as if confirming something.

Shi Ran subconsciously avoided it.

Help! How can this be more painful than being slowly sliced ​​to death?

He would rather Wen Yiheng just come out and say, "You've lost credits, and I'm very disappointed in you."

Anything is fine.

Don't do that. Look at me from a distance where you can't hear me, with an expression he can't understand.

at last.

The incredibly long three minutes were finally over.

Wen Yiheng hung up the phone and walked out. She didn't look up, but stared at the approaching toes of the shoes. They were dark brown Oxford shoes with the laces tied meticulously, just like Wen Yiheng herself.

Wen Yiheng sat down opposite him, and tentatively asked, "Teacher, what does the academic affairs office want with you?"

Wen Yiheng looked up at him, her expression calm, but after looking at Shi Ran for two seconds, she suddenly smiled.

"It's nothing, a few students had some problems with their course selections, and they asked me to check on them."

Shi Ran's heart sank.

Which student?

Wen Yiheng did not answer, but picked up a list from the table and tapped it lightly with her fingertip. Shi Ran's breath stopped.

"Sometimes."

Wen Yiheng called his name.

How did you end up choosing my class?

Shi Ran's voice caught in her throat. What could he say? That I scrimped and saved to hire someone to steal from me? That I spent a thousand yuan just to attend one class?

He couldn't bring himself to speak.

Wen Yiheng didn't urge him, she just looked at him and waited.

"You know I'm not trying to criticize you," Wen Yiheng finally spoke, her voice very soft. "I just want to know how much you spent."

"one thousand."

Wen Yiheng's fingers paused, then curled slightly.

"You're quite generous."

Wen Yiheng's voice carried a hint of helplessness and a touch of heartache.

Shi Ran lowered her head and stared at the canvas bag on her knee.

That bag was a gift from the manager when I worked at the coffee shop during summer vacation. It was gray and had the shop's logo printed on it.

The T-shirt he was wearing had faded after being washed many times, and he was too lazy to buy a new one, plus he didn't have any extra money.

Wen Yiheng had seen all of this.

Shi Ran suddenly felt ashamed, as if her entire self had been laid bare and exposed in front of Wen Yiheng.

He's hypocritical; he appears indifferent but actually cares deeply. He puts on a brave face even when he's not, and he'll scrimp and save even a thousand dollars.

What will Wen Yiheng think of him?

he does not know.

The very act of trying to guess Wen Yiheng's thoughts was already causing him pain.

Shi Ran had never felt so tormented. He grabbed his bag and stood up abruptly, wanting to run away again, just like that night at Wen Yiheng's house, when he was brought back to his original form and fled in panic.

But he had only taken two steps when someone grabbed his wrist.

"Sometimes."

Shi Ran struggled to shake off that hand; he didn't want Wen Yiheng's condescending comfort.

Afraid of hurting him, Wen Yiheng had no choice but to let go, but took a step forward to block the door.

Shi Ran no longer knew what she was doing, haphazardly pushing and shoving the people blocking her way. Wen Yiheng just stood there, enduring it.

"Shi Ran." He grabbed Shi Ran's wrist again and called his name softly, "Look at me."

Shi Ran paused for a moment, her breathing gradually calming down, and looked up to meet those eyes.

"I'm going to lose credits, right?"

No, it won't.

"How could that be... It was already mentioned in the group chat..."

"Shi Ran," Wen Yiheng lowered her eyes, "you won't lose any credits, and the money will be refunded. You don't need to worry about anything, trust me, okay?"

Shi Ran stared at him blankly.

He wanted to ask, "Who are you? Are you Wen Yiheng, or everyone's Teacher Wen?"

Is your gentleness reserved only for me, or is it shown to every student?

Is your patience reserved only for me, or is this just your nature?

He didn't ask.

Wen Yiheng looked at him and spoke softly.

"Thank you for choosing my class." He paused. "I'm very happy. Really."

What's so exciting?

Shi Ran turned his face away. He didn't like Wen Yiheng's ambiguous kindness, he didn't like that Wen Yiheng would take back every little bit of sweetness he gave, and he didn't like that Wen Yiheng could get closer but chose to wait.

He withdrew his hand from his grasp.

"Thank you, teacher."

Shi Ran turned to the side, opened the door, and ran away.

When Shi Ran returned to his dormitory, the group chat had been disbanded, and no one came to talk to him. It seemed that the matter was over.

Zhou Lin was also in the group. He didn't know how he had escaped, but he saw Shi Ran sitting there looking lost and dejected.

He had a vague idea of ​​what was going on.

He was unwilling to accept this. To be honest, he wished this matter would escalate and everyone would lose two credits, at least enough to drag Shi Ran down with him.

He really couldn't understand what Shi Ran's relationship with Teacher Wen was.

I can't believe I was able to help him to this extent.

In every class that followed, Zhou Lin observed Teacher Wen, but Teacher Wen never gave Shi Ran a second glance.

The two of them acted like complete strangers; it was so strange.

Could it be that he's overthinking things?

Not only him, but Song Yu also noticed something amiss.

He had subtly inquired about it with Shi Ran several times, but each time Shi Ran would impatiently walk away. Song Yu, having lost interest, stopped asking.

Even at the end of the semester, when Wen Yiheng's class required papers, Song Yu asked about it, "How's your paper coming along?"

"Not a single word has been written."

Song Yu nearly dropped his chopsticks. "Are you crazy? This accounts for half the points! The deadline is tomorrow at 3 PM, boss!"

Shi Ran said "oh," knowing when the deadline was.

He finished writing the paper a long time ago, but he deliberately doesn't submit it.

He wanted to know how far Wen Yiheng was willing to go for him.

The next afternoon, it was another rainy day.

It seems that all of his important moments with Wen Yiheng were filled with rain.

In addition to sending the paper to the teacher's email address, a hard copy of the paper also needs to be submitted offline.

Most people handed it in during the last class last week. Those who hadn't finished could leave it at the teacher's office door. The deadline was 3 p.m.

It's already 4:30.

Wen Yiheng sat quietly in her office.

Outside, the rain poured down, pounding against the glass as if seeking revenge. His fingers tapped the table, on which lay a stack of papers, arranged by student ID number.

Everyone in the class handed in theirs, except for Shi Ran.

What is this? A declaration of war?

After a whole semester of deliberate ignoring him, he finally began to rebel?

How can I tell him I don't care about your class, your grade, or you by not submitting my paper?

Okay, let's give it a try.

He stood up, poured out the cold tea from the cup opposite him, and then poured a fresh cup from the teapot.

It rained harder and harder.

He had barely put down his cup when there was a knock on the office door.

"Knock knock knock".

Wen Yiheng paused for a moment, then opened the door.

Shi Ran stood at the door, completely soaked.

Her hair clung to her forehead, and water droplets rolled down her hair, one by one, hitting the door frame.

The T-shirt was soaked through and stuck to my body, the outline of my shoulder blades clearly visible through the fabric.

He held the bag tightly to his chest, protecting it well, but his lips were trembling, and his whole body was shaking.

Poor thing.

She was both extremely disheveled and extremely beautiful.

Wen Yiheng stood inside the door, watching this scene, and her breath caught in her throat for a moment.

He waited a whole semester, wasn't this what he was waiting for?

A wet, desperate man, whose world can only be saved by him.

And now, Shi Ran appeared right in front of him.

Every detail was as he wished.

He even forgot to think one step further: inside and outside the door, the trap was wide open, and who had stepped in whose footprints?

Perhaps even the kites in the sunlight feel free.