..."
Song Zhiyan also sensed that his words had plunged the atmosphere into a strange silence, but he had not forgotten why he had come. Lowering his voice, he asked, "Sister Ou says she has cramps. What should I do?"
Gu Wang had never had a boyfriend, much less a girlfriend. All he knew about menstrual cramps came from girls complaining online, or the occasional girl in class who fainted from the pain or even had to miss school.
It must hurt a lot.
Going by information he had browsed online, Gu Wang said uncertainly, "Drink more hot water?"
Song Zhiyan's face fell.
"Or brown sugar water? Go buy a bag of red dates at the school shop. That might work too."
"I'll go buy some in a bit, then." From where Song Zhiyan stood, he could see Meng Ou inside the classroom. She was slumped over her desk, clutching her stomach, looking miserable.
Even the usually oblivious Song Zhiyan felt the pain.
He finally understood why He Qinghuan had been so careful putting a bandage on Gu Wang, why he had disregarded his own safety to block those blows for him. Last night, Song Zhiyan had thought He Qinghuan was an idiot. He could have dealt with Du Zhou before handling the others. Song Zhiyan asked himself whether, if Meng Ou were being beaten, he could finish dealing with things on his end before helping her. The answer was no.
Out of Song Zhiyan's sight, He Qinghuan gently squeezed Gu Wang's little finger. "Wangwang knows so much."
His tone was clearly complimentary, yet Gu Wang inexplicably felt a chill.
A familiar sense of suffocation gripped his heart.
Unable to pull his hand free of He Qinghuan's, he could only say helplessly in a low voice, "I read it online."
Gu Wang heard no reply from He Qinghuan and turned to look at him. The morning sun had just risen, and scattered flecks of light fell across He Qinghuan's face, as though his whole body were radiant.
He Qinghuan liked to zip his school uniform all the way up, the collar covering part of his chin and giving him an inexplicably ascetic air. His features were cool, untouched even by the sun's warmth.
Gu Wang felt a little lost. He thought he probably did like He Qinghuan. Just as when he played games, Gu Wang knew he was very goal-oriented. His willingness to use any means was not obvious, and he did not like dithering over something for ages.
When He Qinghuan had blocked those blows for him last night, Gu Wang had known he was done for.
If they really did get together, Gu Wang lowered his eyes, he was not afraid of Jiang Chi either. Speaking of Jiang Chi, Gu Wang did not seem to have seen him around. Could the novel's male lead really have so little presence?
Gu Wang had never been loved before. He had no family, and his friendships were all superficial. No one would give up their own interests, or even damage them, to protect him.
Previously, He Qinghuan had given Gu Wang the impression that he was merely teasing him on a whim, joking around a little. Gu Wang had thought it was one of the games people in their circle played. He had seen plenty of them, in all sorts of forms.
Gu Wang also found it rather funny. Why had He Qinghuan not liked the Original Host, who had been so passionate and bright, but instead liked him, someone emotionally detached and slow to warm up?
In any case, the Original Host had ended up with He Qinghuan at the end of the book. If it was unavoidable, he hoped he would not end up too miserable.
But he did not want to go through all those horrors before getting together with He Qinghuan. Gu Wang did not understand why He Qinghuan had allowed the Original Host to end up like that.
Had the Original Host's family and friends all thought he was dead? He had actually been by He Qinghuan's side the whole time. Why?
Gu Wang was lost in thought.
He Qinghuan looked calmly at the few tall plane trees beyond the corridor balcony. Autumn was approaching. Some leaves were still lush green, while others had already turned golden.
For the first time, He Qinghuan felt that tomorrow was a word worth looking forward to. Countless thoughts and impulses had surfaced in his heart lately, only to be forcibly suppressed when he saw Gu Wang. But the more he suppressed them, the louder they clamored.
On the morning of sports day, the Physical Education Representative collected a bag of sweatbands from Li Shuya, the kind worn around the forehead, and put his own on first. Everyone's was a different color. Li Shuya had bought them out of her own pocket, partly to make their class stand out a little among all the students, and partly because sports day was hot, and sweatbands could at least absorb sweat.
The Physical Education Representative stressed that everyone had to wear one, especially during the opening ceremony later. They had to show the entire school their class's spirit and style!
So official.
The Physical Education Representative handed them out one by one. Gu Wang looked at his: a red background with two white stripes, one at the top and one at the bottom.
He turned to look at Song Zhiyan, who had already put his on. Not bad, a little handsome, though that bright golden yellow was particularly eye-catching.
Gu Wang smiled, revealing a row of teeth as white as bone china. His eyes curved, clean and beautiful.
Instinctively, he looked over at He Qinghuan again. His was solid black. He had his head lowered, both hands tying it behind his head, his jawline smooth and sharp.
Some people had a jawline alone that could make you imagine their face.
He Qinghuan's was not elastic; he had to tie it himself. After casually knotting it, he leaned lazily against the wall beneath the window. A few stray locks lay over the strip of black on his forehead. He had cool, pale skin and an inherently cold air, but in his usual school uniform, with an occasional smile, he did not seem particularly unapproachable. That was why He Qinghuan was well-liked and highly regarded at school.
He Qinghuan was both the host and the student representative for the opening ceremony. He had to give a speech and did not need to join the class formation. He was the only one in class wearing a white shirt. Though white should have looked clean and gentle, he somehow suppressed those qualities and looked impossibly cold.
But today was a little different. Once he tied the black band around his forehead, a sharp intensity hit them head-on, carrying a hint of arrogance and abandon.
Behind them, Zeng Xiao murmured, "Actually, I think the class monitor could pull off the school delinquent look too."
Her deskmate nudged her. "A school delinquent should look like Wangwang."
Zeng Xiao sighed. "Wangwang's been better behaved lately. He doesn't really look..." She glanced toward Gu Wang, and her voice cut off.
Today, Li Shuya had asked everyone to wear their autumn uniforms. Their school's autumn uniforms were a vivid red, so bright it hurt the eyes. Usually, hardly anyone wanted to wear them, since the color was so hard to pull off, but Li Shuya had made a special request because it suited the atmosphere of sports day.
Gu Wang leaned against the windowsill, winding the band around his fingers. The bright red uniform made his face look particularly striking and bold. Shen Zhao said something out in the corridor, and he laughed. That languid air killed Zeng Xiao on the spot.
It was not that Gu Wang thought so himself, but the Original Host really did have such an eye-catching face that whatever expression Gu Wang made, it looked good and never out of place.
Shen Zhao leaned on the windowsill and looked around Gu Wang's classroom. "Your class is pretty good-looking," he drawled.
Before Gu Wang could speak,
Shen Zhao added, "He Qinghuan accounts for half of it, and you account for the other half. Hahahahaha!"
Gu Wang said, "..."
They had not yet been called to assemble outside. Yue Feng slipped out through their classroom's back door carrying two takeaway containers. He gave one to Shen Zhao, then looked at Gu Wang and gave him the remaining one.
Seeing what was inside his container, Shen Zhao's face fell. "I told you I don't like kiwifruit. It's sour."
Before Gu Wang could react, Yue Feng snatched the container from his hands and swapped it with Shen Zhao's. "Then have the dragon fruit. It's not sour."
Shen Zhao said, "Okay, then."
Gu Wang said, "..."
He really could not stand watching these two anymore. Shen Zhao was pitifully foolish, while Yue Feng was as cunning as they came. Gu Wang could not watch over Shen Zhao forever. Naturally, he would intervene where he could, but where things were beyond his control or involvement, forcing his way in could only backfire.
Many adolescent tragedies came from rebellion: the more you told someone not to do something, the more they insisted on doing it; the more you thought they were wrong, the more they insisted on proving themselves right. Really, where were all these everlasting, earth-shattering, sincere romances supposed to come from? It was all pride at work.
On this matter, Gu Wang had to admit he was somewhat pessimistic. Nothing in particular had influenced him; he had thought this way ever since people around him started dating.
In a certain sense, he and He Qinghuan were actually the same kind of person.
Shen Zhao leaned against the wall, tossing pieces of sliced dragon fruit into his mouth. Beside him, Yue Feng fussed like a father. "Is it good? I peeled and cut it myself."
Eating, Shen Zhao answered indistinctly, "It's okay."
Gu Wang tossed the band aside and set aside the fruit Yue Feng had given him too. He did not like sour things either.
Gu Dazhi asked him on WeChat whether he wanted him to come cheer him on.
Gu Wang was bewildered. Cheer him on for what?
[Old Gu: You're running the three thousand meters. I'll come cheer you on.]
Gu Wang hurriedly told him not to. This was not a kindergarten parent-child sports day. Besides, his three-thousand-meter race was tomorrow afternoon. He had no events today; he was a spectator.
Only then did Gu Dazhi abandon the idea of coming to cheer for his son.
He was asking how Grandma Gu was doing in the hospital when a flash of white suddenly passed beside him. Wen Ting's uniform was red, and she was not this tall. Gu Wang turned to look. Sure enough, it was not his deskmate.
Compared with sweatbands, He Qinghuan's and Gu Wang's bands looked more like hairbands. They had to tie them themselves, after all. Gu Wang could not get his right, so he had tossed it aside.
He had planned to ask Song Zhiyan for help later, but He Qinghuan got there first.
He Qinghuan looked focused, as though handling some extremely important, precious object, and did not tie it too tightly.
He tied an exceptionally pretty bow. Yue Feng had seen how carelessly He Qinghuan had tied his own knot, with one end far too long and hanging behind his neck, looking outrageously untamed.
Yue Feng knew that, deep down, He Qinghuan was a nasty piece of work who had no regard for any rules.
He was just very good at pretending.
After tying Gu Wang's band, he casually tossed the container of kiwifruit back into Yue Feng's arms. "He doesn't eat sour things."
Yue Feng said, "..."
He Qinghuan's phone rang. He straightened and ruffled Gu Wang's hair. "I'll head downstairs first."
Beside them, Yue Feng rolled his eyes. Haven't you still not won him over? You're acting like you're already dating.
Actually, Yue Feng understood too that, in this matter, Gu Wang had no right to say no.
But to Yue Feng's surprise, Gu Wang did not look particularly resistant. After a brief pause, he slowly nodded.
He Qinghuan left through the front door. Shen Zhao watched him go. In the past, he would certainly have scoffed at him because of Gu Wang, but now that their relationship had improved, Shen Zhao was not so hostile toward He Qinghuan either. Anyone who treated Wangwang well was a good person.
"Man, how is He Qinghuan so fucking handsome!" He sighed, thinking his Wangwang had pretty good taste in men after all. Most importantly, He Qinghuan was the one doing the pursuing now. He felt so proud.
Yue Feng leaned closer. "Look at me. I'm pretty good too."
Shen Zhao frowned. "You're okay, I guess." After seeing so much of someone on Gu Wang's level, anyone else looked average to him.
Actually, Yue Feng was good-looking, a sunny, boyish type who made people lower their guard. Otherwise, he could not have charmed Shen Zhao into such a daze.
Shen Zhao was not quite that stupid. Yue Feng was just too cunning.
Gu Wang had to carry the sign, a white one with "Year 2, Class 3" written on it. He planted it on the ground, rested both hands on top, and looked toward the podium.
He Qinghuan was dangling the microphone-dangling it, while everyone else held theirs properly. He stood to one side, dangling it carelessly, seemingly unafraid of dropping it. Zhou Hu, a head shorter than him, was saying something to him. He Qinghuan nodded in response while looking over at Gu Wang.
He smiled.
The classmate behind Zeng Xiao nudged her. "Is the class monitor smiling at you?" She stood first in the first column, right behind Gu Wang. From this angle, it really did look that way.
But Zeng Xiao was not that lacking in self-awareness. She punched her classmate. "Take a good look. Who's the class monitor looking at?"
"Oh, he's looking at Gu Wang."
Zeng Xiao covered her face. "I'll live long enough to see them get together, right?" At first, she had simply been a fan of their looks, thinking they were pleasing to look at together. Now, she felt their auras matched too.
As though they were supposed to be together.
He Qinghuan could not leave the podium for the entire morning, since he also had to read out messages of encouragement. Gu Wang sat beneath his class's canopy, drinking watermelon juice bought from the supermarket, his uniform mostly unzipped as he leaned lazily against Song Zhiyan.
It was something the Original Host had liked doing, and Gu Wang had done it instinctively too.
The boys' fifty-meter and hundred-meter races were taking place now, right in front of their class's canopy. Beside them was the triple jump, Shen Zhao's event.
Yue Feng was cheering from the side, being incredibly over-the-top.
Song Zhiyan shifted his shoulder and said,