Xie Sui spoke right against his ear, his voice slightly nasal, his breath warm.
For some inexplicable reason, the skin there grew a little sensitive. Song Yu tilted his head away uncomfortably, but his eyes remained fixed worriedly on Xie Sui's face. He asked quietly, "If it really hurts, lean on me. I'll help you over."
Xie Sui watched his face, his throat a little hot, and answered with a low, husky chuckle, "Okay."
So easy to fool. Where had he found the courage to come near me?
The infirmary was practically empty on Friday night.
Xie Sui wasn't really hurt at all.
After examining him for ages, the doctor found only a small bruise on his arm. Applying medicine, he muttered, "How did you bang yourself up? You weren't fighting, were you? Kids your age never learn anything good, only the bad."
Song Yu inspected him from every angle and eagerly suggested, "Sir, why don't you check him again? I'm sure that can't be his only injury." Xie Sui was so good at enduring pain, yet he'd hurt enough to lean against him. It couldn't be that simple.
The doctor rolled his eyes and ignored him.
Holding back a laugh, Xie Sui asked Song Yu, "Want me to take you home afterward?"
Song Yu froze. Take him home? There was really no need. A phone call would bring someone to pick him up, and he'd promised the system not to expose his identity-though that useless thing had disappeared for months on end, and he had no idea what news it would bring when it returned.
Come to think of it, Xie Sui had apparently never asked about his family background.
If he didn't bring it up, Xie Sui didn't ask. He was really too considerate.
Song Yu said, "No, I should take you home. You're injured."
While the doctor applied the medicine, Song Yu sat down and messaged his grandmother, saying something had come up at school and he might be home a little late.
Grandma Meng was so worried that she called him straightaway.
Song Yu had no choice but to take his phone outside and speak quietly.
On the other end, the elderly woman complained in a soft voice, "What's come up to hold you back? Your cousin, uncle, and aunt are all here tonight. It's rare to get everyone together. I wanted us to have dinner as a family."
Song Yu felt a little guilty. "Sorry, Grandma."
Grandma Meng adored him too much to blame him. She only said, "It's fine. When will you be finished, Yuyu? I'll send someone to get you."
Song Yu checked the time. "Half an hour. I might not be at school by then. I'll send you the address."
Satisfied, Grandma Meng laughed. "All right, all right."
Song Yu closed the call screen and saw Ma Xiaoding's messages.
[Sadako Never Forgets the Well Digger: Brother Yu, my dad took me home. I might not survive tonight [crying][crying][wave]]
[Sadako Never Forgets the Well Digger: But don't worry. As long as I'm around, nobody's going to dare give you up!]
Song Yu tugged at the corner of his mouth. He shouldn't have accepted that stupid challenge at the Book Mountain Building. If he hadn't, maybe he could have gone with Xie Sui to deal with Wang Ci, and then perhaps Xie Sui wouldn't have gotten hurt.
Standing in the doorway with his phone, Song Yu turned to look at Xie Sui inside the infirmary.
Under the cold white light, the boy's brows were slightly furrowed, his lips pressed into a straight line, his eyes half lowered, his expression indifferent. Yet somehow, Song Yu saw a trace of vulnerability in him.
Once the medicine was applied, the doctor gave them some precautions.
Song Yu went outside with him. After thinking it over for ages, he finally voiced his lingering displeasure. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to see Wang Ci?"
Xie Sui turned his dark eyes toward him and smiled. "You were already nervous enough. I didn't want you worrying."
Song Yu was puzzled. "What was I nervous about?"
Xie Sui raised a brow. "Who told me last night that he couldn't sleep because he was afraid he couldn't win?"
Oh, that.
Song Yu explained, "I just made that up because I wanted to chat with you. Who's scared of him?"
Then Song Yu went, "..."
What am I saying?!
Xie Sui laughed aloud, his words laden with meaning. "You wanted to chat with me?"
Song Yu explained again, "I was bored and wanted someone to talk to. Don't read into it."
Holding back his laughter, Xie Sui said, "Next time, you can just call me."
Song Yu said, "...I was worried about interrupting your studying."
Xie Sui couldn't be bothered to call him out. His gaze settled on Song Yu's face, a faint smile playing on his lips. "There's a thread on the forum. Have you seen it?"
"You use the forum too?"
Song Yu was stunned to hear him mention it. In his mind, a study god like Xie Sui, who stood at the very top of the school pyramid, was above such worldly things.
Amusement colored Xie Sui's voice. "I didn't before. Last time, someone insisted on sending me a link so I could see how many fangirls he had, so I downloaded it while I was at it."
Song Yu said, "...Oh."
Xie Sui lowered his voice and said very casually, "The thread has an interesting title. 'A future vast as the sea, finding peace with Sui and Yu.'"
???
Song Yu stopped walking.
He stood frozen in place.
Fuck!
That ship thread he wished he could block and always hurried past?
Xie Sui had clicked on it?! Did he know the "Sui" in "Sui and Yu" referred to him?!
Xie Sui stood beneath a streetlamp. His peach blossom eyes naturally looked heartless, yet his gaze gave an impression of tenderness and deep affection. His lips curved. "Their analysis was actually right. I added that line about having plenty of time ahead on the spot because I wanted to say it to you."
Song Yu couldn't get a single word out.
Xie Sui smiled.
"The thread says we're made for each other. Taking what you said last time-that approaching someone and showing kindness for no reason means ulterior motives-now there's the repeated rescues and deliberately finding things to talk about."
He asked softly, "Song Yu, you're almost making me think you like me."
Song Yu said, "..."
His ears quickly reddened, not from shyness, but anger!
Like him, my ass!
"No! Can you stop reading all that weird stuff? Does friendship where you'd take a knife for your buddy without expecting anything in return just not exist anymore?"
"How many times have I explained why? Why won't you believe me? If you have to ask, it's because I'm kind!"
Xie Sui wasn't surprised.
His seemingly casual probing just now had been aimed at something else all along.
He hadn't seriously considered why Song Yu approached him before, because he hadn't thought it necessary. Now that he was beginning to realize how special this kid was to him, he was finally taking it more seriously.
From Song Yu's reaction, he more or less got the answer he wanted.
There was a purpose.
It was just that this purpose might be unexpectedly innocent.
Song Yu raked irritably through his hair, suddenly feeling wronged.
So Xie Sui still didn't fully trust him?
He thought his approaching him had ulterior motives?
He even thought he coveted his looks, just like those scum gongs?
Somehow, he felt as if his sincerity had been wasted, as if he'd been betrayed.
The more Song Yu thought about it, the angrier he became. Fuck!
"Fine, fine, fine! Everything I do has ulterior motives! I'll stay out of your business from now on, okay?"
With that, Song Yu turned and strode away on his long legs, clearly suppressing his anger.
Xie Sui said, "..."
I took it too far.
Watching Song Yu storm off, Xie Sui felt a rare touch of helplessness. He strode after him, reached for his hand, and caught him firmly. His voice, however, lowered, a little lingering tenderness beneath its coolness. "I'm sorry."
Song Yu gave a humorless laugh.
Actually, Song Yu had misunderstood Xie Sui.
If Xie Sui was beginning to question why he'd approached him,
it wasn't because he distrusted him. On the contrary, it was because he was beginning to care.
Having lived as far as he had in his previous life before being reborn at fifteen, Xie Sui didn't think anyone could get close enough to scheme against him. Skilled at reading people and keeping his abilities hidden, he could see through many people at a glance, making suspicion, doubt, and wariness superfluous.
Of course, he couldn't tell Song Yu any of that.
Remembering the image of him Song Yu held, Xie Sui paused.
His lashes trembled slightly, his skin looked even paler in the moonlight, and his expression held a trace of helplessness as he smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry. This is the first time someone's been so good to me. I'm still not quite used to it."
Song Yu had still been angry, but remembering that he was injured, he swallowed it back.
Then those words made him pause.
He recalled the humiliating situation Xie Sui had faced when they first met, and the disbelief and fear in his eyes when he'd accepted the medicine from him.
...Fear of kindness.
They'd grown increasingly comfortable with each other lately.
It had almost made him forget the inferiority and vulnerability buried in Xie Sui's bones at this age.
Song Yu lowered his head and looked at Xie Sui's hand around his wrist.
His grip was so strong it hurt a little.
His rolled-up uniform sleeve exposed his arm, where faint blue veins were barely visible.
Xie Sui said softly, "I'm sorry. Don't be angry. I won't ask that question again."
With his voice lowered, it almost sounded like he was wheedling, sending a tingle through Song Yu's ear.
Song Yu said, "..."
Fine.
He wasn't angry anymore.
But Song Yu still felt he needed to make something clear. "I'm explaining this one last time."
"You're the first person my age I met in Jing City. I feel like we really have a connection, and I really feel for you and want to treat you well. It's that simple. Just think of me as a great philanthropist spreading love and justice. Didn't we mention Peter Pan yesterday?"
"...Right, what you consider an introductory children's book. You can think of me as someone like Peter Pan-just, kind, and here to make you happy. Understand?"
...What a jumbled mess of an explanation.
But Xie Sui laughed.
His voice mingled with the night breeze, low and gentle.
"Okay. I'll remember."
My Peter Pan.
Satisfied with his apology, Song Yu was about to keep going when his phone suddenly rang, interrupting his thoughts.
He checked the caller. Ou Yilian.
He promptly rejected the call.
But Ou Yilian seemed determined and kept calling.
Song Yu could guess what it was about.
Wang Ci, obviously.
He stopped declining and answered.
"Need something?"
Ou Yilian's voice was full of anger. "Is Xie Sui with you?"
Song Yu said, "Guess."
Ou Yilian was extremely agitated, her voice downright icy. "I called his home, and his grandmother said he wasn't back. His phone is off, so you're the only option left. Can you find him? Find him and tell him to come to my office right now! If he's late, he needn't bother coming to class next Monday."
Song Yu laughed in anger. Since when did Ou Yilian get to order him around? But she had no idea her end was near. Since she would be leaving soon, Song Yu decided to give her one last lesson.
He smiled into the phone. "He's here. We're coming right away. Buy one, get one free-I'm coming too."
He put away his phone and told Xie Sui, "Come on. I'm going to get revenge for you."
Outside the office.
After hanging up, Ou Yilian's face filled with fear and panic again. She took a long time to compose herself outside before walking back in on her high heels.
A woman sat inside the office.
Impeccably made up and wearing a long dress, she sat in a chair with a handbag in her hands, her expression icy.
Wang Ci's mother.
Ou Yilian gave her an ingratiating smile. "Mrs. Wang, I've called that student over. When he gets here, you can ask him anything you like."
Wang Ci's mother raged, "My son is still lying in the hospital! If the driver hadn't come looking for him after waiting at the gate, would he have been locked in that shabby little building all night?!"
"Ask him what? What else is there to ask? So vicious at such a young age! He should spend a few years in prison!"
Faced with Wang Ci's mother's fury, Ou Yilian could only smile shamelessly. She didn't dare offend the Wang Family and agreed, "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right."
The dean stood nearby with a sour expression, deeply displeased. He knew Xie Sui, the exemplary student ranked first in his year. Why would he have appeared in that place for no reason? Something was clearly off.
But he was the one who'd nearly locked them in, and the Wang Family really wasn't someone an ordinary teacher in Jing City could afford to offend. He kept his head down and said nothing.
Wang Ci's mother had been in a foul mood for days. Her nails nearly pierced her bag as she raged, "His grandmother is his only family? No wonder a thing without parents has no manners. Call his grandmother here too. Let her see what kind of trash she's raised."
Song Yu reached the door just in time to hear that.
He pushed the door open and entered.
"Why don't you take a look at what kind of trash your son is first?"
The boy's voice was cold and mocking.
Seeing that it was Song Yu,
Ou Yilian's expression soured, but a malicious thought also arose in her mind. Up against the Wang Family, Song Yu would probably have every last one of his thorns plucked clean. Society would teach him how to behave sooner or later.
Wang Ci's mother shot to her feet and glared fixedly at Song Yu. "It was you?!"
Song Yu pulled up Wang Ci's text on his phone and held it straight up in front of Wang Ci's mother. "Can you read? This is your son's number, isn't it? Take a look at what kind of trash he is."
Even without reading closely, the words "whore," "destroy," and "hell" conveyed the message's overflowing malice.
But Wang Ci's mother merely glanced at the number and confirmed it was her son's, unmoved. Her fury undiminished, she tried to slap the phone away. "Who are you to tell me what my son is like?!"
Her gaze was utterly cold. "You think you'll get away with this because you're young? I'll contact my lawyer. This isn't over. I'll see you in court!"
Song Yu swiftly pulled his phone back, his expression blank. "Oh, legal action? Couldn't be better."
Ou Yilian was delighted. Afraid Wang Ci's mother would take her anger out on her, she was desperate for someone else to bear it. Nothing could be better than Song Yu walking straight into the line of fire.
See you in court. How could a child from an ordinary family take the Wang Family to court? Even the cost of hiring a lawyer would probably be beyond his means.
She curled her lips in delight and stepped forward. "Mrs. Wang, he isn't Xie Sui. He's Xie Sui's deskmate."
Wang Ci's mother was already furious with Song Yu. She looked over at him with the icy disgust of an upper-class society lady and sneered, "Birds of a feather, indeed."
At that moment, Xie Sui stepped forward and pulled up the video he had backed up from Jiang Xiu's phone. He said calmly, "Teacher, why don't you ask me what actually happened first?"
Ou Yilian froze. "What?"
Wang Ci's mother sneered.
Everyone in the office turned their eyes to him.
The video played on his phone.
It was Wang Ci's voice.
Sleazy and disgusting.
"I knew you'd come if I took that photo. I couldn't be bothered going to school these past few days, and I was bored at home, so I looked into your background."
"I heard your mother was a whore? No wonder you're such a little seducer yourself..."
"You should know, your grandmother's getting old. Any little accident could kill her..."
"If you want your deskmate and grandmother to be safe, that's fine too. Let me play with you for a month."
"..."
Dead silence.
The meaning of those words was all too obvious, explicit and full of malice. Now even Wang Ci's mother couldn't keep up appearances. A crack appeared in her expression.
The same went for Ou Yilian. When Wang Ci had asked her to change seats, she had roughly guessed some of it, though it had remained ambiguous. Now it was out in the open.
Xie Sui turned it off and said calmly, "He threatened me with my grandmother to make me go there, then brought a group of people and tried to sexually assault me. I fought back in self-defense and escaped. When you called Song Yu, we were in the infirmary. It's that simple."
An awkward silence settled over the office.
Ou Yilian opened her mouth, trying to find the words. "Well... Wang Ci was only joking. It was a joke between classmates, and you took it seriously and overreacted..."
Wang Ci's mother was much calmer than her. With her status, how could she take two high school students with neither power nor influence seriously? She gave a hollow smile, her gaze still mocking and contemptuous, as though she had seen through everything. "What kind of woman hasn't my son seen? Why would he be interested in you? So vicious, and it turns out you're a disgusting homosexual too. He told you to go, and you just went? Why do I get the feeling you threw yourself at him, desperate to suck up to him, and flew into a humiliated rage when my son wasn't interested?"
She smiled leisurely, her red lips full of mockery.
"After all, it takes two hands to clap. I think you were the one-"
Smack.
The sharp sound rang through the office.
The slap was delivered with effortless decisiveness.
It even frightened Ou Yilian, who had been about to agree.
"You-!!"
Wang Ci's mother looked up in disbelief, clutching her reddened cheek. Her composure shattered, and she glared furiously.
Song Yu stood there, the smile on his lips chilling. His lowered eyes were filled with violence as he asked her, "Can one hand make a sound?"
Can one hand make a sound?
Those words rang in Ou Yilian's ears too.
Wang Ci's mother went mad with rage. "Get his parents here too! Let them see how their son is dragging his whole family down! They can forget about staying in Jing City!"
Song Yu sneered and dialed first. "No need. I'll call them myself."
He called Meng Guang.
Unexpectedly, a woman's voice answered.
Her voice was light and gentle.
"Hello, Yuyu? Are you coming back?"
Song Yu froze. "A-Aunt?"
Meng Guang's mother laughed first on the other end. She seemed to be washing fruit. "It's me. Your grandmother decided to cook herself today. I confiscated Meng Guang's phone and sent him off to help pick out groceries at the supermarket. What's wrong? Do you need me to send someone to pick you up?"
Song Yu said, "N-no, nothing."
Never mind... Perhaps his aunt would be better at dealing with the woman in front of him.
He lowered his eyes.
"Aunt, can you come to No. 1 High School?"
Author's note: Thank you to the little angels who sent me Overlord Tickets or watered me with nutrient solution~
Thank you to the little angels who sent [Rocket Launchers]: Master Huav5, 3;
Thank you to the little angels who sent [Grenades]: Distant Waters and Faraway Mountains, alessa, Always Hongyuan No Matter What, 1 each;
Thank you to the little angels who sent [Land Mines]: Fried Chicken Drumsticks Are So Delicious, 3; Gentle Passing Years, lQinqCuan Jiu, 2 each; I Love Sa'e, muamua_ua, Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu, Distant Waters and Faraway Mountains, Screen-Licker, 36366872, Yan Qie, It's Jiang Ci, Heard of Qin Er, Candy Held in Lu's Mouth, Cat Qi, Xuan, 1 each;
Thank you to the little angels who watered me with [Nutrient Solution]:
Baiyu Zhaohua, Xiao Jinglian, deadlineIs the Primary Productive Force, 20 bottles each; Yearning to Cross, 14 bottles; l.y.f, 13 bottles; Scorching Burial, Ula Ula, Heard of Qin Er, White Bird, I Have a Tuft of Cowlick Hair, Are You a Demon!, Meow Mew Awoo, 10 bottles each; Mo Shangyang, The Meng Family's Berry, 7 bottles each; Mr. Integrity, 6 bottles; Drunken Wealth and Honor, White Emperor, Little Fangirl, Zhi Tu, 5 bottles each; Fried Chicken Drumsticks Are So Delicious, Wei Ji Li Yu Shen Yi, Miss Lan, Starry River, 2 bottles each; Lan Wangji's Xianxian, White Little Front Teeth, Eugenie Grandet, Mu, Xinxin the Cute Girl, Lan Qian, Pale Paper and Ink Charm, Assistant Zhang's Little Fangirl, Mi Rong, Hu Wei, Qing Zhuo, Jiajia, 1 bottle each;
Thank you all so much for your support. I'll keep working hard!