Jie turned around, following the direction of the voice—and saw him.
It was the same passenger who had been sitting next to Di on the high-speed train earlier.
"Lin Zian, you'd better stay away from Di."
His voice was low and restrained, a growl forced up from deep in his chest, carrying an undeniable sense of warning.
For the first time, Jie faced him directly. The impact at such close range was undeniable—his face was strikingly handsome, to the point of arrogance, with clean-cut features and sharp lines, and eyes laced with a careless, almost mocking smile, as if nothing in the world was worth taking seriously. No wonder Di had seemed so shy and awkward in front of him.
Thinking back to the train ride, Jie hadn't actually seen Lin Zian's face clearly at first—his seat had been behind Di and Lin Zian. All he saw was Di quietly leaning against the man's shoulder, like a small creature that had been carefully placed somewhere safe. Instinctively, Jie had wanted to walk over and wake him up.
But when the conductor came by to check tickets, Lin Zian had simply raised a hand, making a quiet "shh" gesture, shielding Di naturally at his side. That unintentional gesture of protection made Jie freeze in his tracks.
Through the glass, he had watched the two interact—relaxed, natural, yet with a closeness that felt like an unspoken bond no outsider could break into. The sight made his chest tighten, as if an invisible hand was gripping it, his breathing growing heavy.
It wasn't until the moment Lin Zian stepped off the train that Jie saw his profile clearly—this was the senior who had set the ten-kilometer record for the track club, a record still unbroken to this day. But what was even more notorious than his record was his rumored romantic history—a "conqueror of a thousand hearts," the stories said, with tastes that knew no gender.
Perhaps that was why Jie had come charging over now.
He couldn't be sure whether the rumors were true, but one thing was certain—if this man really got close to Di, and if Di ended up hurt, Jie would never forgive himself.
Sunlight streamed in through the convenience store's glass windows, spilling into the space between them. Jie stepped forward, his tall basketball-player frame tensing instantly, broad shoulders like a wall, the muscles in his arms tightening with every movement, carrying the raw strength of something ready to burst at any second. It was the kind of primal force only the young possessed—direct, unyielding, and charged with heat and the heavy scent of male hormones.
"Bang—"
His fist landed squarely against Lin Zian's face.
Lin Zian grunted, his body knocked backward. He was two centimeters shorter than Jie, his head just reaching Jie's brow. His build was lean yet solid, muscles not overly pronounced but hard and tensile. He quickly regained his footing, his eyes cooling instantly.
Jie's breath came fast, veins standing out along his forearms as he grabbed Lin Zian by the collar, yanking him forward until only a single centimeter separated them.
His brows were as sharp as a blade, his voice low enough to sink into the bones—
"Stay away from Di."
They locked eyes, the air between them stretched as tight as a bowstring pulled to its limit.
Jie's gaze burned like fire, blazing with a warning and an unyielding sense of possession; Lin Zian's eyes, however, glinted with cold light, like the dark depths of a turbulent sea, hiding an edge both dangerous and unreadable.
In that moment, their eyes clashed—like blade striking blade, sending off sparks no one could hear.
It felt as though the first to look away would be the one to lose this unspoken battle.
The two-centimeter height difference between the tall, sunlit basketball player and the solidly built long-distance runner became a battle line neither was willing to cross, the tension between them pressing down like a physical weight.