"I heard from your Auntie that you went out?"
"There are a few company documents I brought home. Look them over and write up some proposals. Give them to me before you leave for school tomorrow."
He Qinghuan lowered his eyes and said mildly, "Understood."
Standing by the window, Gu Wang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw He Qinghuan leave.
For Shen Zhao's birthday, they were going straight to You Qing Bar. Gu Wang was rushing through that day's homework, while Song Zhiyan had commandeered the seat in front of him. Every time Gu Wang wrote down an answer, Song Zhiyan copied it.
Song Zhiyan said, "Wangwang, hurry up, hurry up."
Gu Wang said helplessly, "I'm doing the work and you're copying. Stop rushing me."
Their class had the most homework out of all the classes. After the subject teachers assigned theirs, Li Shuya added more. The workload wasn't much lighter than that of the seniors.
Someone like Gu Wang could get the answer to almost any question just by looking at it and still go to bed on time every night. For someone like Song Zhiyan, staying up until midnight or one was routine.
Song Zhiyan used to play games until the early hours; now he did homework until the early hours. At first, he and Shen Zhao even checked in on Moments every day with posts along the lines of-Another day of studying hard. Keep it up!
Shen Zhao stood beside them in a pink T-shirt with the Pink Panther on it. It was flashy as fuck. Even Gu Wang had never worn such a youthful color before.
"Hurry up, you guys. This is so annoying."
Song Zhiyan's pen was almost throwing sparks against the paper. He roared, "Rush, rush, rush! Stop fucking rushing me! One more word and I'm throwing the shoes I bought you out the window!"
Shen Zhao perked up at that. "Quick, quick, quick! Throw them! I'll go pick them up myself!"
Song Zhiyan said, "..."
Ranran, who was standing beside Shen Zhao, nudged him. "Baby Zhao, is that Yue Feng?"
Yue Feng came upstairs, actually carrying an enormous cake in a pink cardboard box. Shen Zhao, who had been grumbling just moments before, froze when he saw him. "Wangwang, take a look for me. Did that bastard Yue Feng really buy me a cake?"
Gu Wang glanced out the window and froze too. He couldn't figure himself out, but he could read other people well enough. He was like those modern-day lifelong singles who were professional relationship analysts, only unable to analyze themselves accurately.
Gu Wang was still considering how to tell Shen Zhao when Song Zhiyan said without thinking, "Yue Feng's trying to get with you, Shen Zhao."
Shen Zhao frowned. Yue Feng was He Qinghuan's childhood friend, and things between He Qinghuan and Wangwang were complicated right now. By rights, he shouldn't get involved with Yue Feng.
Yue Feng came over and handed Shen Zhao the cake.
"Thanks for teaching me badminton yesterday. Happy birthday."
Song Zhiyan froze. Fuck, he's good at this!
Yue Feng knew Shen Zhao would never accept a cake bought solely for his birthday, but with a roundabout excuse, that wasn't necessarily the case.
Shen Zhao was rather stupid.
Watching Shen Zhao circle the corridor with the cake, Gu Wang resignedly returned to his homework. He couldn't watch over these two for the rest of his life. When it came to relationships, no one else could interfere.
He Qinghuan came upstairs after Yue Feng.
It was afternoon now, and there was no evening study session on Tuesdays. Shen Zhao had picked a good time. The only people left in the classroom and corridor were those going to celebrate his birthday.
There was Shen Zhao's deskmate Ranran, their class president, League Branch Secretary, and academic representative, along with a few boys Gu Wang recognized but couldn't name, and then Yue Feng.
He Qinghuan came up carrying a bouquet of sunflowers and pushed it straight into Shen Zhao's arms. "Happy birthday."
Shen Zhao thanked him blankly. Everyone around them was shocked too. Shen Zhao hadn't told them He Qinghuan was coming.
They were going out with He Qinghuan. That was a little nerve-racking.
A few girls started checking mirrors, fixing their hair, and touching up their lipstick.
Shen Zhao wasn't conceited enough to flatter himself. He didn't even have to think to know He Qinghuan was here for Gu Wang. Buying him flowers was merely incidental.
Fuck, he hadn't even put my age or name on them. Talk about half-assed!
He Qinghuan stood by Gu Wang's windowsill and asked, "How much is left?"
Gu Wang kept writing. "One more paper."
Besides the one he was working on, he still had a math paper.
He Qinghuan's assignments were different from theirs. He had special advanced papers, fewer in number than everyone else's. They weren't particularly difficult for him either, and he had finished everything before class ended.
As soon as Gu Wang finished speaking, He Qinghuan reached across his field of vision, hooked another pen off his desk, and pulled over the paper he had set aside.
He stood with the paper resting on the windowsill. The sill was narrow, but because it was Gu Wang's paper, He Qinghuan worked even more carefully than he did on his own.
In a momentary lapse of judgment, Song Zhiyan said, "He Qinghuan, do mine too?"
He Qinghuan probably looked so approachable around Gu Wang that it had emboldened Song Zhiyan to this extent.
He Qinghuan worked much faster than Gu Wang. He had practically worn these questions out. Where other people practiced a hundred, he practiced a thousand. Even Gu Wang, who had already attended a top university, might not have done as many questions as He Qinghuan.
After finishing Gu Wang's, He Qinghuan pulled Song Zhiyan's over. Three minutes later, he tossed it back.
Song Zhiyan said, "..." Had he just filled it in at random? But he couldn't tell whether the answers were right anyway.
The writing on Gu Wang's paper was neat and attractive, and He Qinghuan had thoughtfully filled in his name and student number too. On Song Zhiyan's paper, the multiple-choice answers had flown clear outside the brackets, and the short answers were all scrawled together.
This must be love, Song Zhiyan thought.
"Done!" Gu Wang tossed down his pen and stretched. Outside the window, He Qinghuan raised a hand and ruffled his hair. Gu Wang ducked backward and nearly toppled over, chair and all.
Walking ahead with Shen Zhao, Ranran lowered her voice and asked, "Is Gu Wang dating He Qinghuan?"
"No," Shen Zhao said. "He Qinghuan's pursuing our Wangwang."
Ranran covered her mouth in surprise. "No way. Wasn't Gu Wang pursuing He Qinghuan before? How come it's the other way around now?"
Shen Zhao didn't know how to explain either. He wasn't sure what these two were doing or what had happened between them, but he was firmly on Gu Wang's side. He snapped, "What, is our Wangwang not handsome or outstanding enough? What's wrong with He Qinghuan pursuing him?"
Ranran pinched him. "Why the fuck are you snapping at me? I was just asking!"
You Bar stood in the bustling city center. It wasn't fully dark yet, but the lights along every shopping street were already on, and plenty of people were out for a stroll. The pigeons were still in the square.
As they crossed the square, Shen Zhao ran ahead with the cake. "Fuck off! Stop chasing me!"
Perhaps it was the sweet smell of cake on him. As soon as he entered the square, the pigeons chased him, not because they wanted to eat it, but purely out of curiosity about that sweet scent.
The group of teenage boys and girls drew plenty of attention, especially the boys at the very back. One glance was enough to tell they weren't from ordinary families.
He Qinghuan watched the pigeons on the ground. There were white ones and gray ones, flying low over the pavement and flocking around the people feeding them.
On the spring outing in the second semester of their first year, Gu Wang had run up to He Qinghuan carrying a bag of pigeon feed. "He Qinghuan, want to feed the pigeons?"
He Qinghuan had never liked group activities and had been reluctant even to attend the spring outing. He didn't like pigeons either, much less feeding them.
"No." His refusal was crisp and unhesitating.
"All right, I'll go myself." Gu Wang pattered off again. The pigeons crowded around him and hopped onto his head. Finally annoyed, the boy scattered feed wildly. "Fuck, stop following me! You're so annoying!"
"Taking pictures of pigeons?" Wen Ting asked, walking over in a sunhat.
He Qinghuan saved the photo, switched off his phone screen, and gave a quiet hum of assent.
A child charged at the flock, sending the pigeons scattering. One landed on Gu Wang's shoulder.
Gu Wang's expression was indifferent as he shooed it off. He was so composed that he seemed like a different person from before.
The Qing Bar was liveliest at night. Shen Zhao had booked a private room on the second floor. The wall facing the main floor was glass, allowing them to see everything below while people outside couldn't see in.
Song Zhiyan gave a faint, ambiguous smile. "You're really splashing out, Shen Zhao."
Shen Zhao waved a hand. "Small change."
Two seconds later, Shen Zhao was pinned to the sofa and being pummeled. He was spending Song Zhiyan's money. He had paid the reservation fee himself, but Song Zhiyan was covering the rest today, so Shen Zhao felt no pain at all.
When Shen Zhao made his wishes, he took his time and thought them through quite seriously. He considered everyone in the room. When he reached He Qinghuan, he silently recited his wish.
If he's serious about liking Wangwang, then I hope he likes Wangwang more, and for longer, than Wangwang likes him.
Then came Yue Feng.
I hope he buys a raspberry cake next time. I don't like cherries.
He took so long that everyone else had already started cracking sunflower seeds. Moved by his own wishes, he opened his eyes expecting applause, only to find people reading menus and choosing songs. Wangwang was even poking his cake with a fork!
Shen Zhao said, "..."
Gu Wang pulled a paper bag out of his backpack. It had been crushed, so he shook it twice before handing it to Shen Zhao. "Here's your present. The song is an extra."
"Oh, you shouldn't have. I... Aaaaaah!" Shen Zhao covered his mouth. "Th-this, isn't this the STY jacket I saved in my shopping cart?"
STY catered exclusively to young people and was a rising streetwear brand. Its designs were fresh, and its prices were ahead of the competition too. This jacket was a new autumn release and had cost tens of thousands right from launch. That really was expensive for students. However wealthy their families were, they still had fixed allowances.
Shen Zhao certainly didn't have that kind of spare cash. He still had pesticide-flavored drinks and Calabash Brothers to buy.
Yue Feng also gave Shen Zhao a watch. Without even looking at it, Shen Zhao tossed it into his backpack. "Okay, thanks. Next."
Yue Feng said, "..."
Song Zhiyan had hired someone to queue for the shoes last month. Song Zhiyan loved sneakers, while Shen Zhao preferred canvas shoes and skate shoes. A limited-edition collaboration had happened to come out last month, available only for a limited time, and Song Zhiyan had bought them well in advance.
Shen Zhao said obnoxiously, "Next."
Song Zhiyan slapped him on the back so hard he nearly knocked the breath out of him.
Shen Zhao acted delighted with everyone else's presents. Whatever they gave him, he made a show of loving it immensely. Ranran and the others had felt embarrassed after seeing the gifts from Gu Wang and his friends, but they relaxed when they saw how much Shen Zhao liked theirs.
Once all the presents had been given, Shen Zhao sidled up to Gu Wang. "Wangwang..."
Gu Wang had promised to sing for him. He didn't really lack anything material, and clearly Gu Wang singing was more appealing to him.
"Start cutting the cake. I'll go downstairs and sing for you." Gu Wang stood, opened the door, and left.
Sitting by the window, He Qinghuan watched Gu Wang politely say something to the person onstage. That person looked like a university student too. He took the guitar from around his neck and handed it to Gu Wang, who lowered the microphone a little and sat on the stool. He didn't like playing guitar standing up.
He was still in his school uniform, with the school crest printed on it. One look was enough to tell he attended nearby Jinyang. Jinyang students were all good students, or else children from wealthy families.
The boy before them didn't look like someone an ordinary family could have raised, but he certainly didn't resemble the usual brainless rich kids who tossed their heads around in Qing Bars.
He could make you look at him involuntarily, then lose yourself.
Even when Gu Wang lowered his voice, it didn't become very deep. He was a teenager, after all, with a clear, bright voice. Lowered and slowed, it sounded softer and gentler.
He sang a song none of them had heard before.
"Across mountains and lakes,
Across rivers and streams,
You said you were a little tired and wanted to stop,
Stars above when you look up, fireflies below when you lower your eyes,
Don't stop,
Don't stop,
Snowfields and grasslands still lie ahead."
Gu Wang had written this himself in university. He didn't know why he had written it either. It had rained heavily that day, and inspiration struck on his way back from the music shop, so he wrote it down. He composed the melody later in his spare time. He hadn't expected there would actually be a chance to use it.
Shen Zhao ran downstairs, jumped onto the stage, and gave Gu Wang a huge hug. With tears in his eyes, he said, "Wangwang, I love you."
Gu Wang wiped the tears off his face and returned the guitar to its owner. "Thank you."
The young man said there was no need to thank him, then praised him. "You sang beautifully!"
He