Cucummato (TianShan)

2. Mo Guan Shan

He's confused whether he's being done a favour or he's being bullied but after a while, he realized he just need to accept the offerings. Throwing the vegetables is out of the question. He's not the one to waste food and the cucumbers and tomatoes were fresh and crisp. He eats the gifts right away and every single cucumber tastes juicy and the tomatoes are sweet, signs if being freshly picked.

Eating those things in front of his classmates was his way of telling the person behind this scheme that her efforts are not wasted. Sometimes he wishes that she'd reveal herself soon. He badly needed a girlfriend.

"Hey, Redhead! Let's play basketball!" Jian Yi called and dragged him to the school's basketball court. He has no idea when they became friends and how he ended up in this clique but he's not complaining.

"I have a part-time job! I need to go," Mo Guanshan said but the other boy's unfazed. He's the type to not listen to excuses.

"Nah, it's just one game and Xixi said he's gonna team up with He Tian and I don't want to lose! He Tian's a god, I need another god to beat him!"

God. He's been called God by their classmates because of what's happening to him, receiving offerings everyday like some god worshipped by an avid devotee.

Mo Guanshan sneaked a glance towards He Tian. Now that's a real god. His father's a known CEO of a big company and he's a seriously cool guy, always surrounded by girls. Like a manhua protagonist.

Sometimes he'd wonder why he's the one receiving all those vegetables.

"Oh, brought yourself a backup, huh," He Tian commented, his cheek bulging with a lollipop. His usual smirk is making Mo Guanshan feel so inferior.

"Of course. You need to lose at least once, you jerk!"

They played basketball and honestly, Mo Guanshan felt a little bit honored to be playing basketball with a school Alpha. Although no matter how fun the game went, He Tian seemed distant and unreachable, like he's inside a glass case or a simulation. He's there but he isn't, and for Mo Guanshan it's irritating.

Maybe their worlds just isn't synching and they're just passing by each other and not truly meeting.

"What's wrong, Little Mo? Out of gas all of a sudden?" the Devil asked while opening a bottled water. They've just finished the game with a win and a loss.

"Shut up. I'm just thinking," Mo Guanshan answered.

"Thinking about your veggies?" He Tian grinned and offered him his bottle. Mo Guanshan snatched it with a grimace.

"Fuck you," he said and swigged from the bottle until it's empty.

"Maybe you rescued a fairy or something," the raven-haired boy commented, as if thinking hard about it while staring up at the clouds. Mo Guanshan can't help but stare at He Tian's neck and the way his Adam's apple moves as he speak. The guy is seriously out of his league, driving him to wonder why he's in this public school.

He Tian took a side glance, catching him staring intently that he almost ran away to hide his embarrassment.

"How would I know?" he murmured.

"He's hoping it's the girl he likes," Jian Yi chimed in while clinging on the grimacing boy. He Tian raised an eyebrow and laughed softly.

"So Little Mo's got a crush on someone," he teased. Mo's face went redder than it should be. He reached out to ruffle Mo's hair playfully but he quickly pushed his arm away.

"You make fun of it as if it's such a weird thing," commented Zhan Zheng Xi. Mo Guanshan knows that if not for Jian Yi, this guy and He Tian wants nothing to do with each other. They're not enemies per se, just not on the same plane. Maybe it's the intensity of their personalities that wouldn't yield and Jian Yi in between them becomes the bond.

He Tian laughed with his hands in his pocket.

"Oh no. Don't take me wrong, I happen to have a big crush on someone myself," he proudly anounced. Jian Yi enthusiastically clapped in mock support.

Mo Guanshan stared at He Tian's confident face. Every girl in school wants his attention and if he's got a crush on someone, that person must be drowning in luck.