“What jujube?” Jiang She smiled gently and asked calmly.

Chu Tao pursed his lips, took out a bag of wild jujubes from his backpack, and picked out a round, large one.

He thought for a moment. If he smelled another Omega’s scent on Jiang She, he probably wouldn’t be happy either. So, whether intentional or not, he felt the need to appease Jiang She a little.

Chu Tao raised his arm, revealing a small section of fair, well-defined forearm, and held the jujube near Jiang She’s mouth. “I brought this from my grandma’s place. Try it.”

Jiang She raised an eyebrow slightly, opened his mouth, and unhesitatingly took the jujube from Chu Tao’s hand.

As his teeth bit through the jujube skin, a sweet and sour juice filled his mouth. The wild jujube was fresh and crisp, with full, juicy flesh, carrying a unique mountain freshness.

Xu Yuan looked at Jiang She’s satisfied expression, feeling a bit puzzled.

Did the class monitor just feed him directly?

And Jiang She didn’t refuse at all.

They were close friends, but this action felt a bit too clingy. Anyone with hands and feet wouldn’t need a peer to feed them; only girls liked this kind of closeness.

Jiang She spat the jujube pit into his palm, lightly licking the corner of his lips with his tongue, and said to Chu Tao, “It’s tasty. Give me another one.”

Chu Tao took another jujube from the bag and fed it to Jiang She, moving with such ease that it was almost bewildering.

Jiang She didn’t reach out to take it at any point, openly waiting for Chu Tao to continue feeding him.

Xu Yuan’s eyes widened, “???”

Chu Tao handed the whole bag to Jiang She, his gaze lowered as he pressed his thumb against the joint of his middle finger with a gentle squeeze. “I ran into an Omega who twisted his ankle on the way upstairs. I took him to the infirmary.”

Jiang She replied, “Oh.” How obedient of him—he even took the initiative to explain.

Fang Sheng clicked his tongue, “The class monitor’s on point! He knows Ah She would get jealous.”

Xu Yuan laughed, “Wow, what a romantic encounter. Didn’t that little Omega suggest they get together?”

Chu Tao: “…”

Fang Sheng calmly took off his school jacket and threw it over Xu Yuan’s head.

In the first period, Teacher Yang Liu came in with a square white board, on which “XX Days Until College Entrance Exam” was written in black marker.

“From today on, you’re essentially high school seniors, with less than a year until the entrance exams.

“I know many of you don’t care much about exam scores and have been just coasting through these past two years, expecting your family to provide a future for you.”

“You’re old enough now that you don’t even listen to your parents, let alone me. But I just want to mention one thing—our classmate Jiang She. From the first year of high school until the first semester of the second year, he ranked around one thousand in the grade. This time, in the final exam, he ranked in the top three hundred.”

“This isn’t just a difference of seven hundred ranks; it’s the difference in future social circles. If Jiang She continues to improve, his circle won’t be you all anymore—it’ll be the elite from various industries. When it comes to family businesses, no one in this class has a bigger one than Jiang She’s. Your generation might get by relying on family wealth, but what about the next generation? And the one after that? You might want to ask Jiang She what he thinks, why he studies, and then think about whether you want to just coast through senior year.”

After Yang Liu finished, she lowered her eyes and opened the Chinese textbook, her face taut.

There were still a few optional texts she hadn’t covered yet; they weren’t part of the exam material, but the school required her to go over them.

Still, she didn’t plan to cover them in detail—just a quick overview this period.

As she started writing on the board, Dai Wenjian turned around enthusiastically, stretching his neck and asking Jiang She, “She-ge, why do you study?”

He was asking purely out of curiosity. If Yang Liu’s speech could have inspired him, it would have done so long ago. He just didn’t like studying and would do anything in the future, as long as it didn’t involve learning.

Still, he was curious why She-ge had suddenly changed his attitude toward studying.

Fang Sheng crumpled a paper ball and tossed it at Dai Wenjian. “Our She ge has high aspirations. Turn back around.”

Dai Wenjian dodged the paper ball, which flew right over his desk and landed perfectly in the chalk tray beneath the blackboard.

Fang Sheng gasped quietly in surprise, but luckily Yang Liu was too focused on the board to notice.

Dai Wenjian, undeterred, glanced at Yang Liu, then leaned closer and drawled, “She-ge, come on, tell me.”

Dai Wenjian’s movements were a bit exaggerated, and Chu Tao was affected by him too. To let them finish their conversation faster, he shifted slightly, making room for Dai Wenjian.

Dai Wenjian whispered, “Thanks, Class Monitor.”

Jiang She looked up, tapped his pen on the desk, then leaned his index finger on the pen cap and said casually, “To chase someone.”

Dai Wenjian looked puzzled. “Chase who?”

Jiang She smirked, raised his pen, and tapped Chu Tao on the back meaningfully. “Class Monitor, why don’t you tell him who I’m chasing?”

Chu Tao jolted at the tap, his ears turning slightly red, his rounded earlobes glowing delicately in the sunlight.

His jaw clenched, his throat went dry, and he unconsciously tightened his grip.

So Jiang She was studying hard just to stay with him.

Dai Wenjian, still oblivious, continued pestering Chu Tao, “Who? Who is She-ge chasing?”

Chu Tao opened his mouth, about to tell Dai Wenjian to turn around, when Yang Liu’s voice rang out.

“Talking, talking, always talking! Dai Wenjian! Did my words just go in one ear and out the other?”

Startled, Dai Wenjian shrank back and turned around.

Chu Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Yuan, seated in the back row, observed everything, frowning as he rocked his chair, which creaked under the strain. Beside him, Xu Bo Xue couldn’t take it anymore and grumbled, “Yuan-ge, stop rocking! It’s noisy.”

Xu Yuan straightened up, propped his chin on his hand, and muttered, “Don’t you think Ah She and the Class Monitor are actually pretty close?”

Xu Bo Xue looked somewhat speechless. “I figured that out ages ago. The Class Monitor and She-ge have a mutual understanding—you’re the only one who still thinks they aren’t close.”

Xu Yuan frowned, smacking his lips. “Still…do you think they’re just regular buddies?”

Xu Bo Xue, his nose buried in a novel, replied casually, “Not exactly super close, but they’re good friends, at least enough to go to karaoke together.”

Xu Yuan added, “Today, the Class Monitor fed She-ge a jujube, and She-ge just ate it without hesitation. Doesn’t he have a bit of a germaphobia? Normally, he’d even wash it if he took it from the bag himself.”

Xu Bo Xue exclaimed, “What jujube? Damn, why didn’t the Class Monitor give me any? Have I been misplaced all along?”

Xu Yuan shot him a glare, annoyed. “Go back to reading your novel.”

After class, Xu Yuan watched as Jiang She and Chu Tao walked out of the classroom together, not sure where they were headed.

He ran over to Fang Sheng and plopped down in Jiang She’s seat.

“Hey, son, don’t you think Ah She and the Class Monitor are acting a bit odd?”

Fang Sheng lounged lazily at his desk, fiddling with his phone, and replied nonchalantly, “Dad doesn’t think anything’s odd.”

Xu Yuan snatched his phone, then reached over to touch Fang Sheng’s chin.

Fang Sheng recoiled, his hair standing on end. “Whoa! What are you doing?”

Xu Yuan, equally disgusted, shuddered, hugging his arms. “Ugh, that’s so gross. But really, how does the Class Monitor do it so naturally?”

Fang Sheng raised an eyebrow, a smug look in his eyes. “Oh, what are you trying to say?”

Xu Yuan squinted. “Don’t you think the Class Monitor and Ah She seem a bit… too closed? Feeding jujubes, for instance—none of us guys have ever fed each other, and then there’s that time with the basketball court. The Class Monitor just mentioned it, and Ah She didn’t go. Don’t you think Ah She is overly… I don’t know if ‘indulgent’ is the right word. What’s a better one?”

Fang Sheng suggested, “Spoiling?”

Xu Yuan shivered. “Whoa, that’s even worse!”

Fang Sheng gave him a meaningful smile. “Oh, really? Is it?”

Xu Yuan: “…”

Is it really not?

Maybe it kind of is!

Ah She spoiling the Class Monitor? Has the world gone mad, or is it just him?

Xu Yuan, still shaken, muttered, “You don’t think the Class Monitor is one of those Omegas in disguise, like in those TV dramas—the ones who take suppressants to pass as an Alpha at A High, do you?”

After all, Chu Tao was far more delicate-looking than most Alphas, with his fair skin, slender build, and scholarly demeanor. If he hadn’t seen Chu Tao take down the big shot from the vocational school himself, Xu Yuan might have thought he was more like an Omega than an Alpha.

Fang Sheng grinned slyly. “Do you think Ah She might be into Alphas?”

Xu Yuan’s fingers trembled with excitement. “Right? You think so too! I knew I had a sharp eye—I saw through their secret right away! Ah She’s impressive—if he’s going for it, he’s going big!”

Fang Sheng didn’t move an inch and replied, “Idiot, as long as you’re happy.”