The Wolf Girl's Secret Box

Chapter9

Edren’s father, Fermoson, was a Regional Sales Director at a large corporation, one that employed thousands. On Monday evening, the company hosted a major internal gathering, offering lavish prizes as incentives for all employees. The grand prize was a seven-day family trip to Hawaii—and, against all odds, Fermoson drew the winning ticket.

“Adeline, Catherine, and I are taking Alec on a trip next week. You’ll stay home and look after the place. Be careful and don’t get into trouble, okay?” Fermoson said.

“...” Aldren sadly ate his grilled fish, finding it as tasteless as wax. Could he say no? This was a seven-day family trip, and he was part of the family, too—yet now he was being left out.

“Don’t be sad. We’ll take you another time,” Catherine said, thoughtfully pouring her eldest son another half cup of milk as she tried to soothe the little one who was on the verge of a meltdown. “Getting into Excellence University is your goal. You submitted that application yourself, remember? To earn the school’s recommendation, you need to maintain B+ grades or higher in all your courses for the next three years. Unfortunately, several crucial tests next week are directly tied to your application. And this trip has a strict timeframe. That’s why we couldn’t take you, Aldren. You have to understand.”

What else could Aldren say? He poked his fish gloomily with his fork.

"Don’t make this hard on us, Aldren. Remember, we love you.” Alec rubbed salt in the wound. “We’ll bring you coconuts, if we remember.”

The conversation ended with the family vote passing the proposal by an overwhelming three-to-one majority.

As expected, he’d be home alone for the next week. Aldren wasn't a pessimistic person. Since it was now a done deal, all he could do was try to accept it.

Besides, looking at it another way, he’d have a whole week of freedom. He could leave his socks scattered everywhere, eat junk food to his heart’s content, and have all the snacks entirely to himself!

Seen that way, it wasn’t so bad after all, was it?

“Will you bring me souvenirs?” Edren asked uncertainly.

“Just coconuts.” Alec kindly answered for his parents.

The brothers bickered playfully again.

At the start of the second week, the Kane family (except Edren) boarded a vacation flight bound for picturesque Hawaii—sun, sand, and bikinis awaiting them.

Meanwhile, Edren rose to the alarm clock’s call and headed to school as usual.

If memory served, Monday’s PE class included a long-distance running test. Edren’s PE teacher was also his soccer coach—a towering 6-foot-2 man who was a great friend outside of class but turned deadly serious during lessons, his forehead wrinkling so deeply it could trap a mosquito.

Before class, the coach pulled Edren aside. Judging by the furrow in his brow, the conversation wouldn't be pleasant.

“Even though you're a key player on the soccer team, I won’t show you any favoritism. Do you know what your problem is?” the coach asked, flipping through the class's test records.

“Poor endurance,” Edren admitted, at least aware of his shortcomings.

The coach scrutinized the thin test sheet repeatedly, his frown deepening. “Your best long-distance run was a B. If you don’t achieve at least a B+ this time, forget about Excellence University. Start looking at other schools now. They don’t take useless pastries.”

Trash...

Trash...

Trash...

Trash...

Those four words stabbed heavily into Aldren’s chest. He desperately wanted to retort that if he was considered trash, then half of Xiba Middle School would need to be remade from scratch. But he dared not say that to the coach's face. He knew without thinking that the consequences of speaking up would be severe.

“There’s no way to boost your physical fitness in such a short time,” the coach said regretfully.

Aldren’s shoulders slumped.

“But there is a way to improve your grades,” the coach added.

...Could you please stop panting so much, Coach?

“What is it?” Aldren asked urgently.

"It's a very opportunistic method—a solution that barely counts as a solution.” The coach flipped his wrist to glance at his watch. “But it's the only feasible option in such a short timeframe. ...Actually, it's still incredibly difficult. Go back now—class is about to start."

“Oh no, Coach! You can't do this to me!” Aldren spread his arms to block the coach’s path, his 5’10” frame utterly insignificant beside the burly trainer.

“...” The coach was almost moved by his fearless spirit. He closed the test records, rolled them up, and tapped them against Edren’s shoulder. “The plan is this: have someone in your class who can run an A in the long-distance test lead the way for you. If you can manage that, your long-distance score might still be salvageable.”

“Who can run an A?” Edren saw a glimmer of hope.

“Hmm, let me see.” The coach pretended to open the test records again. “There is one. Not many. Just one.”

“Who?”

“Olivier Hoxen.”

“...” Him? Aldren should have realized it. Only that guy possessed such monstrous stamina to breeze through the long-distance test. Aldren finally understood why the coach had said it would be difficult to pull off. Olivier wasn’t the type you could just casually approach. And besides—wait, was his fan club still picking on him?

Nothing was more hopeless than needing someone’s help only to discover they hated you.

Aldren stared blankly at his classmates. Most were wailing over the coach’s announcement of the long-distance test, while he felt as if the doors to Excellence University were slowly closing before him.

For the sake of his future goals, should he beg him once? Edren wrestled internally. Promise not to bother him afterward, and keep his fan club from causing trouble?

Edren shuffled back into the crowd, ignoring the shoves from classmates. He stole glances at Olivier, who stood with his back turned, warming up for the run. All he could see was the dark back of his head.

As if sensing someone watching, Olivier turned around. Edren quickly averted his gaze, swinging his arms as if warming up.

He remained silent until the test began. Having Olivier pace the front was as difficult as boosting stamina in a short time—after all, leading the pack was a thankless task that offered him no benefit whatsoever.

Standing at the starting line, Aldren was extremely nervous. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. ...Alright, just give it one shot.

Before the starting gun fired, he lowered his head to double-check his shoelaces were tied tight.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced to his right. A few people away, he spotted a pair of bare feet. He looked up—it was Olivier. He should have known. A pang of guilt washed over Edren. Olivier still hadn't found his sneakers. Yet there he stood, tall and dark-haired with dark eyes, his expression as impassive as ever, seemingly unaffected. It looked like he intended to run the long-distance test barefoot. Five kilometers on an 800-meter synthetic track meant over six full laps. Aldren frowned and pressed his lips together. Just imagining it made his soles ache.

Feeling eyes on him once more, Olivier turned his head. This time, his gaze locked with Aldren's. That instant of eye contact unsettled Edren. Olivier’s jet-black eyes were bottomless, concealing too many unreadable depths. He didn’t know this was the gaze of a hunter—one that fixes on its prey until it’s secured.

But Olivier quickly concealed his emotion. His lowered eyelids hid everything, making Edren think he’d imagined it.

The coach bellowed the ready command. Olivier crouched low, leaning forward into the pre-run stance.

“Three, two, one. Bang!”

Like arrows released from a bow, everyone surged forward.

Aldren’s eyes remained fixed on Olivier. The gunshot startled him momentarily, but he snapped out of it and joined the sprinting crowd.

Long-distance running was never his strong suit, a fact Edren had always known. By the fifth lap, his breathing grew labored. The air filling his lungs felt woefully inadequate, his legs heavy and sluggish. The track stretched endlessly before him, the finish line a distant blur.

“Stride wider. Breathe in through your nose, exhale through your mouth.” Someone caught up from behind, whispering the advice in his ear. Aldren’s ears were ringing, and the voice sounded miles away. Still, he tried to follow the advice, and it did make him feel slightly better.

“That’s it. Don’t give up, Aldren. Now, stay behind me. Run with me. Sprint with me.” The speaker didn’t wait for Aldren’s response. Knowing how difficult it was to speak while running, he simply moved ahead of Aldren.

It was Olivier.

Aldren realized Olivier had already lapped the entire field and was now pacing him at the end. But by then, he had no energy left to dwell on it. His thoughts drifted away. Once he pushed past the most agonizing peak, lifting his feet to run became less difficult and increasingly comfortable. Guided by Olivier, he launched his final sprint.

After crossing the finish line, the waiting girls rushed to support him, their enthusiasm undiminished by his sweat-soaked state. He circled the inner grass verge of the track, pausing several times to switch supporters. To satisfy as many of their caring gestures as possible, he ended up walking an extra lap.

The test results arrived swiftly, and the bold B+ sent him into ecstatic joy. This meant he was one step closer to the university he’d longed for.

“Not bad,” the coach remarked, satisfied with his performance. “Just remember to train more.”

“I will,” Aldren replied.

“You owe a big thanks to Olivier,” the coach remarked while recording the results, offering a gentle reminder. “He gave you quite a boost.”

Aldren nodded in agreement. He really should go thank him. His eyes scanned the field, but Olivier was nowhere to be seen.

“How did Olivier do?” Aldren asked.

The coach snorted. “What do you think?”

This time, Edren could only offer an awkward chuckle. How could he have forgotten? That was the monster, Olivier. Even without shoes, his strength meant he’d undoubtedly come in first again—no question.

“He ran seven laps in the time it took you to run six,” the coach added.

Edren was speechless. He really did owe Olivier a proper thank you.