Still trailing at the back.
School during the holiday was nothing like it usually was. Students who had stayed behind played basketball on the field, sunlight scattered here and there, and the entire campus basked in a golden glow.
Gu Wang returned to the classroom. The homework he had sorted out yesterday was still on his desk.
He packed the thick stack of test papers into his backpack, then received a call from Li Shuya. "Wangwang, have you reached school yet?"
Great, even Li Shuya had started calling him Wangwang.
But Gu Wang didn't dwell on it. He murmured a yes. Last night, he had asked Li Shuya whether anyone would be on duty at school today, so she knew he was coming back. He simply hadn't expected her timing to be so precise.
"There's a letter to He Qinghuan's father on my desk. I was going to have him take it home yesterday, but look at me, I forgot. He Qinghuan is on the third floor of the multipurpose building right now. Wangwang, could you deliver it for me?" Li Shuya spoke at an unhurried pace, her voice too gentle to refuse.
He Qinghuan was at school too?
Gu Wang wanted to say, couldn't he come get it himself?
As though anticipating what Gu Wang wanted to say, Li Shuya explained first, "Our office is about to be locked, and no one will be able to get in afterward. He Qinghuan won't make it in time if he comes now, so I'm sorry to trouble you with the trip, Wangwang."
Li Shuya was also an influential teacher at the school. Her office contained plenty of important documents and exam papers, so the school's strict management was understandable.
Then Gu Wang thought that he could return He Qinghuan's key at the same time, and agreed without further thought.
The multipurpose building was Jinyang's newest building, completed less than two years ago. Jinyang offered a wide variety of PE activities, which required plenty of equipment and facilities, making the multipurpose building essential.
Gu Wang stood before the building's indoor map. The third floor housed the swimming pool.
Was He Qinghuan out of his mind? Coming to school to swim during a holiday?
Taking the elevator up, Gu Wang lowered his eyes, lost in thought.
Although things between him and He Qinghuan were indeed strange now, as long as He Qinghuan didn't loathe him the way he had before, Gu Wang could treat him like an ordinary classmate.
At least He Qinghuan really hadn't done anything to hurt him now. To be precise, He Qinghuan had never truly hurt the original owner of this body. The original had put on a one-man show all by himself.
He had taken the stage alone, performed alone, and taken his final bow alone. He Qinghuan might not even have deigned to be an audience member.
Now that Gu Wang had chosen to take his bow early, it wouldn't cause much of a stir either.
With a ding, the elevator doors slowly opened.
The first thing he saw was the shimmering blue water. The entire floor belonged to the swimming facility. The multipurpose building had been donated by an anonymous tycoon, with an excessive display of wealth.
The huge glass windows all around reflected the sunlight outside onto the water, filling the pool with fragments of silver light.
The floor beneath his feet was wet. Gu Wang narrowed his eyes as he searched for He Qinghuan. Boys chatted in groups of three or five in the surrounding rest areas. Some were shirtless, others wore T-shirts and shorts, and some even lay in chairs wearing sunglasses and sunbathing.
If He Qinghuan was here, Gu Wang felt he should be able to spot him at a glance. He was simply too dazzling.
There were plenty of books and test papers in his backpack, and carrying it made Gu Wang's hand ache. He put it on a nearby chair first, planning to walk around the pool. If he couldn't find him, he would leave.
Gu Wang was somewhat well-known at school. At least, quite a few people recognized him as soon as he came in. Besides, not many people wore white shirts and jeans to the swimming pool.
Someone entered the water in the distance. Gu Wang only caught sight of an arm rising above the surface and a splash before the person swam swiftly toward him.
Gu Wang stopped. He had a feeling it was He Qinghuan.
He stopped directly in front of Gu Wang.
The boy rested both hands on the pool wall. He wasn't wearing a swimming cap. Raising one hand, he swept the wet hair plastered to his forehead back, looked at Gu Wang, and beckoned with a finger.
Gu Wang paused and didn't go too close. Standing there, he looked down at He Qinghuan. "Ms. Li asked me to bring you a letter for your dad. And your key." The key was small and didn't belong to him, so Gu Wang had kept it in his hand.
At Gu Wang's obvious wariness, the corners of He Qinghuan's eyes lowered slightly.
The pool area was spacious, and even a small sound produced a loud echo. A group seemed to have come up the entrance stairs, shoving each other and laughing. Gu Wang's attention was drawn away, and he instinctively wanted to turn around.
"Give me the key," He Qinghuan said after his gaze swept over the boy leading the group at the stairs.
Gu Wang's attention was drawn back.
He pressed his lips together. Without thinking much about why He Qinghuan wanted the key right now, he walked over, crouched, and offered the key in his hand to He Qinghuan, who was still in the water.
"So good," He Qinghuan said softly, an unmistakable smile in his eyes. He reached out, but not for the key. He caught Gu Wang's wrist and pulled hard.
"Mmph." Caught completely off guard, Gu Wang tumbled into the water. Water splashed everywhere, and the churning splashes echoed through the empty swimming facility.
Author's note: Sharing a bath with his wife.
Chapter 29
Gu Wang could swim, but he had fallen in without any warning. As he flailed in panic, he choked on several mouthfuls of water. Before he could steady himself, someone gripped his waist and lifted him.
When people lost their balance, they instinctively clung to whoever was closest. He wrapped his legs around the waist of the person holding him, unable to worry about their bodies pressing tightly together, and looped both arms around the neck before him.
Gu Wang's entire face was wet. Water dripped from the tips of his hair, droplets clung to his lashes, and his eyes resembled those of a startled fawn. Only after a long moment did they slowly focus.
In a rare moment, He Qinghuan's heart softened.
The churning water fell quiet.
He Qinghuan rested his forehead against his. His lashes were wet too, his eyes extremely dark, his features clean-cut yet strikingly deep-set. Gu Wang stared, momentarily dazed.
"Wangwang, don't be scared." He Qinghuan softly coaxed the frightened boy, pressing him against the pool wall and freeing one hand to pat his back soothingly.
Gu Wang tried to break free of He Qinghuan's hold. It was no use.
He Qinghuan looked slender, but in reality, he wasn't. For someone of his background, knowing some self-defense was the bare minimum, and He Qinghuan had practiced sanda since childhood.
He Qinghuan was bare-chested, while Gu Wang wore only a thin shirt. Their skin pressed close together, and Gu Wang could feel the layer of muscle on He Qinghuan's body. Realizing there was practically no distance between them now, his face abruptly burned.
It wasn't what Gu Wang wanted; his body's reactions were beyond his control. Even soaking in the water couldn't cool him down.
Gu Wang had been frightened, and he had only just recovered from his cold. Even his eyes seemed brimming with water. His voice nasal, he tried and failed to sound fierce. "Are you out of your mind?"
Gu Wang didn't regret saying it at all. He looked into He Qinghuan's eyes. After watching him for a moment, He Qinghuan reached out and brushed Gu Wang's hair aside so it wouldn't block his vision.
He Qinghuan showed no intention of letting him go. Gu Wang pushed him. "He Qinghuan, you..."
He never finished. He Qinghuan raised his index finger. "Shh. Tell me in a moment."
Gu Wang paused. What was wrong?
The boys' laughter drew closer and closer. He Qinghuan placed his hand on the back of Gu Wang's head and pressed his face into the crook of his neck, lifting his eyes toward the newcomers.
"Long time no see," the boy said.
Du Zhou crouched naturally beside the pool. "Yours?" As he spoke, he reached out to tease the person in He Qinghuan's arms.
He Qinghuan's gaze settled lightly on Du Zhou's wrist. Du Zhou froze, feeling as though He Qinghuan's gaze were slicing open the skin on his hand inch by inch.
He had no doubt that if he actually touched this person today, He Qinghuan would chop his hand off.
He Qinghuan was capable of it. There was little he wasn't capable of.
He Qinghuan's hand remained on the back of Gu Wang's head, but Gu Wang's back was fully exposed to Du Zhou's gaze. Du Zhou's eyes flickered. This boy had extraordinarily beautiful shoulder blades. His wet white shirt clung to his skin, creating an intensely provocative, gorgeous beauty.
But He Qinghuan held him in an utterly protective embrace. Du Zhou only dared look, and didn't even dare let his gaze linger for long.
Gu Wang recognized the voice as belonging to Du Zhou from last night.
Du Zhou's voice was distinctive, not because it was particularly pleasant, but because of his tone: especially frivolous and flippant, with an arrogance that seemed to hold nothing in regard.
Perhaps he more or less understood He Qinghuan's intent now. Gu Wang grew a little more compliant, his fingers curled behind He Qinghuan's neck. Wet with water, droplets ran from his fingertips over his wrist bones, dazzlingly pale.
His face rested in the crook of He Qinghuan's neck. The artery beneath the skin pulsed powerfully, almost in rhythm with Gu Wang's heartbeat.
Du Zhou slowly withdrew his hand, his gaze sweeping over Gu Wang's hand. He gave a couple of awkward laughs. "Relax. I'm not that kind of person."
He Qinghuan curved his lips. His eyes, washed by the water, held a chill. "Is that so?"
He looked at Yue Feng behind him.
Yue Feng understood. He stepped forward, slung an arm over Du Zhou's shoulders, and pulled him back, asking, "Could you have a little shame? You've already burned your bridges, and you're still reminiscing with Ah-Huan here? Aren't you embarrassed?"
"You're from No. 3 Middle School. How did you get in?" Yue Feng spoke like a machine gun too, leaving Du Zhou, who liked to casually parry people's words, unable to fend him off.
Unwilling to lose face in front of his buddies, Du Zhou gave Yue Feng a sinister look and sneered. "Yue Feng, you, me, and Ah-Huan are all the same. Why are you pretending to be good people?"
"Oh." Yue Feng folded his arms. "Don't call him Ah-Huan. That's not for you to call him. You're not worthy."
Du Zhou scoffed twice. He and Yue Feng had always fought back and forth, before and even more so now.
Du Zhou ignored Yue Feng and looked at He Qinghuan instead.
He Qinghuan curved his lips at him. "See yourself out."
Though He Qinghuan's perpetually superior air angered Du Zhou, seeing that even He Qinghuan now had someone he wanted to protect made him smile.
"Let's hope you can protect him." He leaned close to Yue Feng and whispered in his ear. After successfully making Yue Feng's expression abruptly darken, he felt thoroughly refreshed, called to his buddies, and headed downstairs with the whole crowd.
After he left, Yue Feng looked at He Qinghuan. "Ah-Huan, aren't you going to do something about him?"
"No hurry," He Qinghuan said mildly.
Yue Feng had no response. There was still a gap between the Du and He families. Du Zhou was an only son, so they generally couldn't touch him lightly. It wasn't that they couldn't afford to, but that doing so would bring plenty of trouble.
The person in charge of the He family wasn't He Qinghuan yet, either. Yue Feng had thought too simply.
Listening to their conversation, Gu Wang figured Du Zhou had probably left.
He lifted his head, blinked, and saw He Qinghuan's face clearly.
He Qinghuan's gaze swept seemingly casually over Gu Wang's face, catching the tension and panic in his eyes too.
He had been frightened.
Gu Wang struggled once, and He Qinghuan let him go.
Seeing him climb out, Yue Feng held out a hand. "Hi, I'm Yue Feng, He Qinghuan's childhood friend."
Gu Wang only briefly touched his hand. He knew about Yue Feng. He didn't appear much in the book, and he was indeed very close to He Qinghuan. He looked like the same sort as Song Zhiyan, but was actually ruthless.
Not a single person around He Qinghuan was simple.
Yue Feng grabbed a dry bath towel from nearby and tossed it to Gu Wang, saying, "Stay away from Du Zhou. Little kids like you are his favorite."
It wasn't surprising that Yue Feng and He Qinghuan occasionally called Gu Wang a little kid when talking about him. The two of them had started school late, spending a year at home with teachers first. They were actually a little older than Gu Wang.
"You know each other?" Gu Wang asked casually, drying his still-dripping hair.
Du Zhou had never been mentioned in the book, but now it seemed he knew He Qinghuan, and their relationship wasn't simple either.
"You could say that." Yue Feng concealed the fact that they were childhood friends. Gu Wang didn't need to know too much. "Anyway, just stay away from him. You ran into him last night, didn't you?"
Gu Wang froze for a moment, then slowly nodded. How did Yue Feng know he had run into Du Zhou last night?
The way Gu Wang looked as he stood there, puzzled and dazed, really was