Meng Guang clutched his chest, unable to look anymore. He felt as though his soul had taken a critical hit. His cousin's innocent, wholesome, elementary-schooler-like texts instantly made him feel like an old beast corrupted by society.
Song Yu held his phone for a while, thinking that Xie Sui would probably turn him down, right? After all, every time he invited Xie Sui to his apartment for a meal, the answer was always a refusal, and usually no more than three characters.
Before long, Xie Sui's reply arrived.
[Okay]
Sure enough, it was no more than three characters, but he had actually agreed.
Song Yu froze, then couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from rising.
[All right, I'll send you the address. See you tomorrow morning.]
Watching his expression, Meng Guang remembered his own irretrievable youth and said sourly, "You're just asking a classmate to do homework with you, but you're acting like you scored a date with the school beauty. Do you really need to be that happy?"
Wen Yuan rolled her eyes in the passenger seat, brushing back her long hair as she said coolly, "Keep your garbage thoughts rotting inside your own belly. Don't say them out loud and corrupt your cousin. Go fooling around with girls and see if I don't break your legs."
Mayor Meng, who was driving, couldn't help laughing either. "Yuyu, don't listen to your cousin. At your age, doing homework together is exactly what you should be doing."
Attacked by both his parents, Meng Guang rubbed his nose sheepishly and protested, "What did I even say! How did this become fooling around with girls? You're no fun, Mom. You're seriously no fun."
In an excellent mood, Song Yu gazed at him leisurely, curled his lips, and said meaningfully, "I didn't score a date with the school beauty, but I did get the school hunk."
Meng Guang immediately stopped being annoyed and perked up. "Impressive!"
He kept asking.
"Your deskmate really is pretty good-looking, though. What about you? Have you landed any hunk title? School hunk, year hunk, class hunk-he can't take all three, can he? Oh, wait, Yuyu went there to be a study god."
Song Yu: "..."
Sorry to disappoint. He hadn't become a school hunk, a class hunk, or a study god. He had become the school bully.
Of course, he wouldn't dare say any of that in front of his uncle and aunt. He glossed over the important part and answered Meng Guang's earlier question.
"Xie Sui and I are evenly matched, but I don't really like the limelight. The girls at school haven't discovered me yet, so I haven't been voted any kind of hunk."
Meng Guang grinned.
"Then their eyesight must be pretty bad. How about this? I'll name you the city hunk and have my dad officially vouch for it. Help you win back some dignity."
Song Yu couldn't stop laughing. "It's a well-deserved title, but wouldn't that still be a little inappropriate?"
Everyone in the car laughed.
Neon lights flickered outside the windows along the road into the city center.
Warm and cheerful.
After arriving home, the family enjoyed a harmonious meal together.
After dinner, Grandma Meng asked about his first week at school.
Song Yu faltered, then stumbled through his answer. He described his high school life as a straight line between classroom and apartment-studying hard, basically, simple but fulfilling.
If his family hadn't all known his grades, he might have established the image of a conscientious study god again.
He went upstairs to his room.
After Song Yu finished a practice paper,
Song Yu lay on his bed and played with his phone for a while.
First, he went to bother Xie Sui.
[What homework do you still have left?]
The reply came quickly.
[Depends on you. I've finished all of mine.]
Song Yu was dumbfounded. His fingers flew across the keyboard.
[You finished everything? You finished everything on Friday night? Then what homework are you coming over to do!]
Xie Sui replied.
[Tutor you.]
[Accomplish my goal for the new semester.]
Xie Sui's goal for the new semester.
Help his deskmate take first place in the city.
Song Yu: "..."
Why did he actually feel a little touched?
Fine, he would fight hard for that first-place spot! Otherwise, he would be letting down Xie Sui's trust and effort!
After switching out of the chat,
Song Yu glanced over and, struck by a pang of conscience, tapped Ma Xiaoding's creepy Sadako avatar for the first time and took the initiative to message him.
[Your Husband Brother Yu: ?]
One question mark was enough to express concern, neither impolite nor particularly awkward. Perfect.
Perhaps straight guys all thought alike.
Who knew how Ma Xiaoding's brain worked, but he immediately understood the deep concern behind Song Yu's question mark. First, he howled and wailed for a while, then sniffled.
[Sadako Never Forgets the Well Digger: Thanks, Brother Yu qwq I'm okay qwq I survived my dad qwq]
He had finally learned to use "Q, W, Q," found it wonderfully novel and was very proud of himself, and insisted on using it three times in a single message.
[Your Husband Brother Yu: Talk normally.]
[Sadako Never Forgets the Well Digger: qwq]
[Your Husband Brother Yu: ...]
Ma Xiaoding jolted, and his tone finally returned to normal.
[Sadako Never Forgets the Well Digger: ...But I think you might be in trouble. I told everyone to keep their mouths shut and not give you away, but someone was recording while you guys were fighting. The video's probably all over the forum by now. The dean might come after you. Watch out, Brother Yu [candle]]
As for the dean,
Song Yu wasn't worried about that. With the subsequent incidents involving Wang Ci and Ou Yilian, that old Master Extermination would surely have his hands full and no attention to spare for them.
Thinking of the forum, Song Yu frowned, logged in, and took a look.
His arranged fight with Gao Feng at Book Mountain Building that day had already attracted plenty of attention. After the fight, practically everyone on the forum knew he was the person behind the ID "Your Husband Brother Yu."
The front page was filled with smug, boastful posts and declarations of love from fangirls.
Previously, he had only been an online troll. Now he was a handsome school bully who could fight.
The forum had exploded all at once.
There were especially many posts calling people out.
[All you bros who were clamoring to fight Brother Yu and beat him up, come take a number.]
[You gentlemen who swore Brother Yu was ugly, short, and pathetic, come on, post a selfie.]
[Why are you ladies upstairs being so polite? Tsk, I'll just shout it-get out here and take your beating, you dumbass trolls.]
Of course, there was also a group whose posts went like this.
[Brother Yu won. Where are all the people who offered their first night, first kiss, a car, and a house?]
[I've already anonymously told the principal he'll receive a Maserati within three days. You guys figure it out.]
[Please, no, big brothers and sisters [crying] [crying]
This little bro has nothing going for him except his virginity. I'm saving my first time for my wife, sob sob sob [poking fingers together] [aggrieved]]
[Nothing going for you except your virginity???]
[It's fine, give me your first night. I'll use your back door.]
[???!!!! This is a student forum! I suggest the mods ban the person posting porn above for a week! Give us back a clean, wholesome forum!]
The corner of Song Yu's mouth twitched. He skimmed the posts floating around the forum without paying them much attention.
He had actually come back this time because he was a little curious about the thread Xie Sui had mentioned.
"A future vast as the sea, finding peace with Sui and Yu."
Why did even the name sound so unhinged?
Song Yu's finger hovered over the screen for a long time. Finally, he gritted his teeth and tapped it.
The declaration in the opening post was particularly badass.
-My husband Brother Yu, I found you a husband. Are you happy? [toothy grin] [toothy grin] [laughing]
[laughing]
Song Yu: "..."
*No, little sister :)*
He had clearly seen it once before, but looking at it now still made him feel suffocated.
Forget it.
I'll look next time.
Not ready to accept all this nonsense for now, Song Yu put down his phone and went to sleep.
That morning, the sky was no longer clear as it had been the past few days. It was overcast, as though rain was coming.
Song Yu slept until nine. Still a little drowsy after waking, he rubbed his eyes, then remembered that he had arranged to do homework with Xie Sui today. He instantly stiffened, his expression changed, and he washed up and changed at lightning speed before running downstairs in his slippers.
At this hour, his grandmother was usually watering flowers in the courtyard.
"Grandma, has anyone come to see me today?"
He pushed open the door, only to freeze.
In the garden, Grandma Meng and Xie Sui were standing together, chatting.
Many jasmine plants grew in the courtyard, their green leaves and white flowers fresh and elegant.
Xie Sui wore a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, exposing his forearms as he helped Grandma Meng water the plants. Tall and slender, with exquisite features, the boy made a picturesque sight in the garden.
Grandma Meng seemed particularly pleased with Xie Sui, her eyes full of smiles. "You're Yuyu's deskmate. I may have to trouble you to look after him more over the coming year. His health isn't good, and I'm always worried something will happen to him at school. Ah, it's my fault for softening back then. I couldn't stand firm against him and let him stay away from home."
Xie Sui paused, then tilted his head and asked, "His health isn't good? Does he have some illness?"
To him in his previous life, Song Yu had merely been a stranger with whom he had crossed paths a few times.
In his hazy recollections, he vaguely remembered that Song Yu had poor health, but he hadn't paid much attention.
After all, the Song family had been in decline then, expanding overseas and gradually fading out of City A's elite circles. A sickly Third Young Master Song hadn't been worth the attention of someone who was then the head of the Xie family.
Xie Sui frowned slightly.
The way Song Yu kept looking for fights after arriving in Jing City had almost made him forget that he was ill.
Only his grandmother's mention of it brought it back to mind.
Grandma Meng sighed and shook her head. "Who knows? Yuyu fell into the water once when he was little, and his health has never been good since. After all these years, so many doctors both here and abroad still haven't given us a definite answer. Some doctors even said it was a mental illness."
"Don't be fooled by how lively he is now. When it really flares up, he gets so terribly weak. It's like a cold, but not quite, and he becomes delirious. It can scare you to death. His condition is stable now, and the episodes are less frequent, so we can finally rest a little easier."
After some thought, Grandma Meng added, "You don't need to worry too much, either."
Xie Sui smiled and nodded. "All right."
But when he lowered his head, his eyes were somewhat distracted.
Song Yu called out to Xie Sui from a distance, interrupting their conversation.
Studying at home was too inefficient. In the end, Song Yu suggested going to the library.
Xie Sui had come to tutor him in the first place, so naturally he went along with his suggestion.
Grandma Meng saw them out and frowned. "It's going to rain. What's wrong with studying at home? Why insist on going out?"
Standing outside the wrought-iron gate, Song Yu presented his argument convincingly. "Libraries help people concentrate."
Grandma Meng said crossly, "You'd better not work so hard only for your grades to drop after coming to Jing City."
Song Yu clicked his tongue and turned to Xie Sui. "I'm counting on you, Teacher Xie. Don't let my grades drop."
Still thinking about his illness, Xie Sui glanced at him with dark eyes and said mildly, "With grades like yours, there isn't any room left for them to drop, is there?"
"Show some respect when you speak!"
The impotent rage of a poor student.
"Believe it or not, one phone call and I can get a whole carload of people to beat you up!"
Yesterday's talk about rejecting special privileges and following socialism had already turned to thin air.
Author's note: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival. Love you all~
Remember to eat some tasty mooncakes~ (=^▽^=) Thank you to the little angels who sent me supporter gifts or watered me with nutrient solution~
Thanks to the little angels who sent [shallow-water bombs]: Lei, 2;
Thanks to the little angels who sent [rocket launchers]: Madman and Normal Person, 1;
Thanks to the little angels who sent [land mines]: Bored Minsui Rolling Around Online, 2; Twelve, Meeting You in the World Like Rain Meeting Flowers, l Qin q Cuan Jiu, I'm Super Handsome, Sweet Cookie er, Scattered, ?, A Wuwuwuwuwuwu, Yushu, Blow and Blow, Youyou, Yanyan, 37514937, Little Ju Peppa, Huajiu Is a Poached Chicken, Sea Blue, demeter, 1 each;
Thanks to the little angels who watered me with [nutrient solution]:
Little Ju Peppa, 30 bottles; Chuanxiong, 26 bottles; Morning Drifting Clouds, Summer Night Escape, Fuli, 20 bottles each; A Wuwuwuwuwuwu, 17 bottles; Jiujingkong, 13 bottles; Jiuxijiu.., Xiyao-chan, Changying, 26886654, Rainbow Little Koala, Can Never Get a Chicken Dinner, 19904864, 10 bottles each; A Grain of Pupil, Young Master Tang, 8 bottles each; 28561597, 6 bottles; Sweet Little Mi, amie, Chali, Yan Yi, Life Needs Sugar, 5 bottles each; pada, 4 bottles; Mu, Ziwei Star Rose Sword, Not Changing My Name Until I Top, encounter_07, Aiwo, Luoyi, 2 bottles each; Xi Jiuming, Luoluo, Jiajia, zy-, Gelai, Little-Tailed Bunny, 37549683, Cutie, Little Ai, 33227588, Lan Wangji's Xianxian, Wedding Ring, 1 bottle each;
Thank you all so much for your support. I'll keep working hard!