Limited First Love Chapter 1
[Translator's Note: (1) gullible/naive/muddle-headed shou x dishonest/manipulative gong... (2) simple and cliche, please don't expect a mindblowing, life-changing plot, thank you ^~^]
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 1 Love Came Too Quickly
"Choose the most beautiful Omega in your heart?" Guo Wei looked at the push notification in the dialog box on his phone. "Our university has such activity?"
Wang Tong, across from him, mumbled through a mouthful of bread, "Click on it. My elder brother is number 14."
Guo Wei cooperatively clicked on the link. "Wait a moment..."
As he scrolled down, he also took a look at the photos of the other candidates.
"There are actually so many cute Omegas in our school!" he exclaimed. At the same time, he found Wang Tong's brother. "Wow, your brother is really handsome, doesn't look like you at all..."
Before he could finish, Wang Tong hit him with the bread packaging. "The pictures are all Photoshopped! He looks exactly like me in person."
Guo Wei lowered his head to look at the photos on his phone and then raised his head to look at Wang Tong's face.
Wang Tong, a Beta like him, had a clean and tidy appearance. He was quite pleasant to look at, except for his somewhat small eyes. In contrast, the Omega in the photo had big eyes with double eyelids. His skin was so fair it seemed like it could be broken by a mere touch, and he also had a certain vibe with what people called an "internet celebrity."
"Impressive," Guo Wei exclaimed, "Your brother's photo editing skills are amazing!"
"You can really exaggerate about anything. Someone who doesn't know any better would think you're mocking me." Wang Tong suppressed a laugh. "Just vote already."
"With such high votes, he should have a good chance of winning, right?" Guo Wei said as he ticked the box beneath the photo of candidate number 14. He did not immediately press send, but instead scrolled down a few more times, then instantly froze.
"First place is impossible, but squeezing into the top three might still be achievable," Wang Tong commented.
"This one! Why is this person's votes so high?" Guo Wei showed his phone screen to Wang Tong in surprise. "Looks quite ordinary. Is he manipulating the votes?"
Wang Tong glanced at it, his surprise even exceeding Guo Wei's. "Don't you know him?"
Guo Wei was puzzled.
"This is the dream lover of all Alphas within a hundred-mile radius, publicly acknowledged as the school's most beautiful Omega," Wang Tong said. "You're already a sophomore, how come you don't even know this big celebrity? Are you living under a rock!"
"Huh?" Guo Wei looked at the photo, then blinked twice. "Really? Looks quite ordinary, not even as good-looking as your brother."
"I've told you, they're Photoshopped," Wang Tong sighed. "Most of these photos are heavily edited. Can't you tell?"
Guo Wei scrolled up and down the screen. "It's just... maybe the lighting's a bit different?"
Compared to the carefully selected photos of most candidates, Ruan Yiyun's picture lacked polish, its lower resolution hinting at a more candid origin.
Upon closer inspection, the facial features were indeed impressive, but amid the array of delicately featured Omegas on the selection page, it wasn't to the extent of outshining all others. The more Guo Wei looked, the more he felt there might be some manipulation in the vote count.
"It's a random nomination process," Wang Tong explained, "Once nominated, contestants upload their own photos. Ruan Yiyun's must have been taken casually by the nominator. Trust me, he's way better looking in real life!"
Guo Wei cast his vote with a bewildered shake of his head. "I don't get it."
Wang Tong couldn't be bothered to explain further and simply waved his hand. "Thanks!"
"Your brother is now fourth." Guo Wei looked at the redirected page. "Is this voting exclusive to students from our university?"
"Yeah, otherwise my elder brother would be out there buying votes." Wang Tong sighed. "Can't stand that guy. He's excessively vain."
Guo Wei, staring at the final statistics, was once again shocked. "More than half of the people voted for that Ruan guy!"
The total number of participants barely reached two thousand, a mere fraction of the student body. Ruan Yiyun had over nine hundred votes, and it was unlikely his photo alone garnered such a following. His popularity seemed genuinely substantial.
"You really live in your own little world," Wang Tong sighed.
Guo Wei shrugged off any deeper thoughts, casually stashing his phone into his pocket, and smiled at Wang Tong.
"Compared to him, my elder brother is the real vote manipulator," Wang Tong said, grabbing a plastic bag nearby. "Which bottle do you want?"
Guo Wei casually grabbed a bottle of cola. "Hehe, thanks!"
A small favor in exchange for a bottle of ice-cold cola was a pretty good deal. After all, he had no intention of voting for anyone, so there was no loss.
Twisting off the cap, he quickly let out a surprised cheer, "I won!"
"Really?" Wang Tong immediately leaned over. "Such good luck?"
"I get another bottle," Guo Wei exclaimed happily, "Eat quickly. After we finish, let's go redeem it!"
Wang Tong gestured to him and took a big bite of his bread.
They had bought this bottle of cola just earlier at a nearby convenience store, not too far away. It would only take a two-minute walk after going downstairs.
Although the prize was trivial, the act of "winning" itself brought a strong sense of thrill. Guo Wei walked down the street gleefully, occasionally tossing the bottle cap like a coin and catching it.
"Be careful not to drop and lose it," Wang Tong reminded him.
Guo Wei laughed, "No worries, I'm quite nimble... Ah!"
Before he could finish his sentence, the bottle cap fell to the ground with a sound, bounced twice, and rolled forward along the road.
"Told you!" Wang Tong exclaimed.
Guo Wei didn't waste time responding. He lunged after the runaway cap, the downhill slope propelling it forward with increasing speed.
Watching his prize slipping away, Guo Wei, in desperation, shouted at it, "Stop for me!"
Of course, the bottle cap ignored him, but not far ahead, a stranger halted upon hearing his cry.
At the moment the person turned around, the bottle cap rolled and bumped into the stranger's shoe, spinning in place twice before coming to a stop.
The person glanced at Guo Wei, bent down, and picked up the small bottle cap.
"Thank you," Guo Wei panted, looking at the bottle cap with a smile, "It's mine."
The person simply nodded, wordlessly holding out the cap.
While receiving the bottle cap, Guo Wei finally glanced at the kind passerby.
His hand froze in mid-air.
"What's wrong?" the person asked, puzzled.
Guo Wei hesitated for two seconds, suddenly came to his senses, and took the small bottle cap. His fingertips briefly brushed against the other's skin during this process, leaving a slight sensation. Unconsciously nervous, he clenched the bottle cap and vigorously rubbed his hand against his pants seam twice.
Such a beautiful person.
Guo Wei stared at him for two seconds, but the inexplicable shyness that surged inside him caused him to avert his gaze. However, the face introduced into his eyes just moments ago lingered in his mind.
Flawless and fair skin, a smile as gentle as a spring breeze, eyes carrying a hint of peach blossoms.
"...Th-thank you!" he exclaimed, lowering his head.
The other person smiled at him, then quickly turned around and continued walking forward.
Guo Wei was left standing dumbfounded in place, his heart pounding incessantly.
"Oh my god." Wang Tong finally reached his side at this moment. "Isn't that Ruan Yiyun?"
Guo Wei swallowed hard.
"What's wrong, struck dumb?" Wang Tong, seeing his expression, couldn't help but laugh. "I thought you said he looks quite ordinary."
Guo Wei glanced at Ruan Yiyun's gradually retreating figure and recalled the photo he had seen not long ago. He thought, "The photographer must be a criminal, turning something so magical into something so mundane."
"Stop staring." Wang Tong chuckled, pushing him. "Wipe off your drool and let's go!"
Guo Wei took a dazed step forward, only to be pulled back by Wang Tong.
"Wrong way." Wang Tong snickered in amusement, pointing to a side road he had just passed during his sprint. "The convenience store is over there!"
Guo Wei, embarrassed, turned around, but his gaze reluctantly stuck to Ruan Yiyun's receding figure.
"Seriously?" Wang Tong was a bit speechless. "Just a smile from him and you're acting like you've lost your soul?"
"...He's really beautiful," Guo Wei murmured.
He wasn't just referring to his facial features. There was a certain charisma about him. Ruan Yiyun's features weren't particularly striking, yet his smile was captivating. It only took two seconds of eye contact for Guo Wei's brain to turn into a puddle of mush.
No wonder his vote count was soaring. It was even strange that anyone else got votes at all.
"Snap out of it." Wang Tong pulled him and shook him forcefully. "We're on the street. Don't embarrass yourself!"
Guo Wei, shaken back to some semblance of consciousness, quickly remembered something, and asked, "Is he single?"
"Strictly speaking, probably," Wang Tong answered, then quickly fell into surprise. "Really? You dare to think like that?!"
Guo Wei watched Ruan Yiyun's retreating figure, thinking, "If I don't take this opportunity to talk to him, I will regret it.
"Please, look in the mirror. No chance," Wang Tong spoke bluntly, "The Alphas who like him could fill the campus' central lake, and you, a Beta..."
Guo Wei cut him off and spun around. "Wait for me!"
"Hey!" Wang Tong shouted anxiously, watching him run in the direction of Ruan Yiyun.
Ruan Yiyuan had already walked far away. Guo Wei saw him turn to the other side of the road. Afraid he wouldn't catch up, he yelled, "Student! Wait a moment!"
His shout was much louder than when he called for the bottle cap. Not only Ruan Yiyun, but also many people ahead on the road turned to look.
Guo Wei's eyes locked on Ruan Yiyun, relief flooding him when he saw him turn back. He quickened his pace, catching his breath as he reached Ruan Yiyun's side.
Acting on impulse and still in a state of confusion, he couldn't find the words for a moment.
"Is something wrong?" Ruan Yiyun asked, puzzled.
"I, uh...” Guo Wei stammered, his confidence dwindling. He gripped the bottle cap tightly, his face flushing. "I... I wanted to..."
Ruan Yiyun, who had been half-turned, turned fully towards him. "Take your time, no rush."
Guo Wei looked at him, took a deep breath, and, for some unknown reason, abruptly extended his hand, "This, this is for you!"
Perplexed, Ruan Yiyun reached out, opened his palm beneath Guo Wei's tightly clenched fist. When Guo Wei released his grip, the small bottle cap fell into Ruan Yiyun's hand.
Ruan Yiyun looked at the bottle cap in his hand, his eyes slightly widening.
Meanwhile, Guo Wei, looking at his face, sighed inwardly. This person was so captivating no matter what expression he made.
In this moment, he felt truly fortunate being able to witness such a beautiful sight.
"What is this..." Ruan Yiyun raised his hand in confusion, examining the bottle cap.
"This is good luck," Guo Wei said, "a gift for you!"
Ruan Yiyun finally saw the words "another bottle" on the inside of the bottle cap. He paused, chuckled, and said, "Thanks."
Guo Wei hurriedly added, "It'll bring you luck, really, very magical!"
Ruan Yiyun set down the bottle cap and looked at him again. A faint smile played on his lips, but he remained silent.
Guo Wei's heart was pounding, his forehead hot. Unable to find the right words, he stammered, "Thank you for accepting it!"
Ruan Yiyun squinted, looked him up and down, and asked, "What's your name?"
"Guo Wei. Guo from 'Mr. Dong Guo', Wei as in future," Guo Wei quickly introduced himself, "Sophomore, majoring in Chinese Language and Literature at the School of Liberal Arts, Class 3, Batch 01!"
Ruan Yiyun awkwardly lowered his head, seemingly suppressing a laugh.
Guo Wei, realizing his overly detailed introduction was unnecessary, laughed sheepishly.
Ruan Yiyun looked at him again. "Do you want to ask for my contact information?"
A minute later, Guo Wei walked back, dazed, phone clutched in his hand. Wang Tong, still by the curb, stared in disbelief.
"What's going on?" He took two steps forward to Guo Wei. "Why did he take out his phone? Why did you scan his phone screen?"
Guo Wei lifted his head, a wide grin splitting his face.
"Did you guys really exchange contact information?" Wang Tong couldn't believe it.
"Hehe, hahahahahaha!" Overwhelmed with excitement, Guo Wei couldn't speak a word. He grabbed Wang Tong's shoulder, shook him vigorously, and laughed out loud while stomping his feet.
