Lin Wangye thought that once he stepped into school, his life would finally get on track.
But what he didn’t expect was that the track would be a little too… straight.
The intensity of studying in the third year of high school goes without saying. Even as a sort of repeat student, the pressure on Lin Wangye was still huge. Not only did he have to make up for his weakest subject, mathematics, but he also had to study current events, which changed every year.
Aside from studying, after school he had to rush straight to the Qingsen internet cafe for training.
Lin Wangye didn’t want to skip his evening self-study sessions.
To catch up as quickly as possible, he had to put in a lot of effort in different areas. During evening study time, he could ask Lu Chengxuan and Fu Xuexue for help with homework, just so he wouldn’t drag down the class’s average score.
But the city league was an even more urgent matter.
Lin Wangye didn’t want to joke around with the future of the Phantom Wail team. If he messed up during the match, he’d have to sacrifice evening study time for training. He stayed up late every day, only to go back and rest after training.
As a result, Lin Shen always felt guilty whenever he played games.
He originally thought he’d found someone who, like him, was just drifting through life, waiting for things to happen.
But he never expected that underneath Wangye’s seemingly carefree exterior was a heart of pure ambition.
Watching Lin Wangye tirelessly push himself, both in his studies and in the game, to always move forward—it made Lin Shen feel pretty bad inside. Losing at games day after day became pointless, and for the first time, he couldn’t help but start watching news with Lu Chengxuan.
Lin Wangye swore that he wasn’t working this hard because he actually loved studying.
It was because he deeply understood that times had changed.
In this society, life requires money and skills. He had known this truth long before.
It was just that, in his past life, he had a safety net.
No matter how tough things got, Lin Shen would always stand strong. Even if a storm was coming, Shi Yuan would always be there to hold an umbrella over him.
He didn’t have to endure much hardship or take any real damage.
But now, things were different. His dad clearly wasn’t as reliable as before, and he might even need him to take care of him.
The person he thought about day and night—he didn’t even know where they were.
Shi Yuan had never shared anything about his past with Lin Wangye. Whether it was his family or his previous experiences, Lin Wangye knew absolutely nothing. He had no idea what kind of life Shi Yuan had led at this age.
But not talking about the past, and the absence of anyone who could be called family around Shi Yuan, made it clear to Lin Wangye that this was tied to the scars of his past.
He didn’t choose to ask about it.
Because in his mind, they still had plenty of time. He was confident that, sooner or later, he’d be able to truly step into Shi Yuan’s heart.
Unfortunately, fate didn’t give him that chance.
Still, meeting the seventeen-year-old Shi Yuan wasn’t a bad thing for him. At least now he had some control over the situation. He didn’t have to keep chasing after those years he could never get back, years lost that might always remain out of reach.
This time, whether for Lin Shen or Shi Yuan, he wanted to be the protector.
To do that, he had no other choice but to work extremely hard.
‘Heroes of Glory’ was a massively popular online game, drawing countless players since its beta stage. Walk into any internet cafe and you’d see at least 90% of people playing it. With the professional league in its warming-up phase, the buzz around it was growing, and the latest news was plastered all over the official website.
The school didn’t reveal specifics about transfer students, but the cool and aloof Lu Chengxuan walked home with Lin Wangye every day, so plenty of other students saw them.
No one said anything out loud, but behind the scenes, the gossip was endless. Some even went so far as to speculate that Lin Wangye might be Lu Chengxuan’s half-brother, a secret love child.
There might have been a few people who didn’t care about these school rumors.
But once the team poster of Phantom Wail, after their victory, was featured in Heroes of Glory’s game news column, things changed. Lin Wangye became a hotshot who could rival the school heartthrob.
Although he had just arrived, he was already receiving the kind of celebrity treatment.
Walking around, he’d get approached by guys trying to strike up a conversation, which he could brush off as just making new friends. But what Lin Wangye couldn’t handle was the insane amount of love letters he started receiving. The pile grew so thick it was like a math textbook, and—here’s the kicker—none of them were addressed to him…
Instead, the letter was for him to pass on to Lu Chengxuan!
One day, Lin Wangye was walking out of the school supermarket with Jiang Bowen, arms around each other’s shoulders, each holding a grilled sausage, when a long-haired girl suddenly blocked their path. She blushed, shoved a letter into Lin Wangye’s hand, and turned to run off.
“Ah-ha!” Jiang Bowen teased with a raised tone.
Lin Wangye stood frozen in place, staring down at the envelope, decorated with pink stars drawn in colorful pens. He managed to keep his composure, carefully putting it into his pocket without a single wrinkle, and muttered in confusion, “I’m not a delivery guy. Why can’t they just give it directly to Lu Chengxuan?”
“With Lu Chengxuan’s vibe? Who would dare?” Jiang Bowen shrugged. “There was this one time, a girl handed him a love letter right in the hallway, and he just walked past without even acknowledging her. She was so embarrassed, her eyes got red instantly. Ever since then, no one’s dared to walk past the seventh-grade class door.”
Lin Wangye had always respected girls.
When he was younger, Shi Yuan had scolded him for fighting with girls. He’d explained that boys naturally had more strength than girls, and when conflicts happened, bullying the weaker side was just plain wrong. So, no matter what, Lin Wangye always made sure to handle any girl, of any age, with a softer approach.
Growing up, Shi Yuan rarely showed a strict side—he was mostly gentle.
But those few times he did, they taught Lin Wangye a lot.
On the other hand, Lu Chengxuan’s cold, indifferent attitude toward girls, it was something Lin Wangye could never understand.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He quickly hurried back to the classroom and slapped the love letter down on Lu Chengxuan’s desk with a ‘smack.’
“Here!”
It was the break before class, right after lunch.
Most of the students were either reviewing or chatting with their friends. The sudden noise caught everyone’s attention, and dozens of eyes turned toward the love letter in the middle of the fourth-row desk.
Lin Shen, who had been dozing with his head on the desk, sleepily lifted his head. The crease from his sleeve had left a red mark on his cheek, and he groggily twisted his body away, clearly annoyed.
“If I keep living like this, I’ll only make it to fifty. Can you just spare me and not scare me to death early?”
Well, funny enough, you really didn’t make it to fifty.
Lin Wangye secretly rolled his eyes in his mind, waving his hand to signal Lin Shen to keep sleeping, then redirected his frustration back at Lu Chengxuan. He complained, “I’m running around delivering love letters for you all day, and you don’t even look at them? If you don’t, what’s the point of me handing them over?”
At this, Lin Shen instantly perked up. He leaned in close to examine the love letter on the desk, his nostrils flaring slightly. “She even sprayed perfume on it—lily scent. Look at this, she’s really putting in the effort.”
Lu Chengxuan, who was busy marking English homework, didn’t even glance up. He continued checking the papers with a cold, detached attitude.
“I’m not going to look at it. You don’t have to deliver them, either.”
After saying that, he quietly scanned the classroom with a glance. As if on cue, everyone immediately turned their attention elsewhere, pretending to be busy with their own things, though their ears were still keenly tuned in to the gossip.
Lin Wangye could really relate to the feeling of liking someone but not being able to get their attention. And these love letters were from young girls in their prime.
He reached out and poked the letter on the desk, trying to reason with him. “She put so much effort into writing this. Even if you don’t want to accept it, at least look at it and give her a decent reply, right?”
Lu Chengxuan’s expression didn’t change. He glanced at him and asked calmly, “If I look at every letter, how much time would I waste every day on this?”
“Wha…”
Lin Wangye instinctively wanted to argue but stopped himself. He suddenly realized how many letters there were, and his words got stuck.
“If I read them, and she doesn’t give up, keeps writing more—what if she writes a second letter? With the college entrance exam just over a hundred days away, how much time would she waste on this? Who’s going to take responsibility for that?”
Lu Chengxuan spoke with a calm tone, his words measured and logical.
At that moment, Lin Wangye suddenly felt dazed.
It was like he wasn’t looking at an eighteen-year-old high school student, but rather Lu Chengxuan, the business tycoon who would one day rule the world twenty years from now.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
