His noisy fussing brought Xie Sui back to his senses a little, and he put the matter of his illness aside for now.
Turning his head, he met Song Yu's light tea-colored eyes, now seething with anger. His gaze was clear and bright; despite his fury, Xie Sui found him adorable.
After spending these days together, Xie Sui had really gotten the hang of dealing with him.
Ignoring his threat, he merely curved his lips and asked, "What subject are we studying today?"
Song Yu said, "Uh, huh?"
All his pent-up anger went straight back down. Mention studying, and he thought of the monthly exams; think of the monthly exams, and he thought of his Dad Song persona and the top-student image he had established for himself. And so he settled right down.
Song Yu scratched his head. "Chinese, I guess. I still have Chinese homework."
The city library was even farther away than school, so Song Yu simply took a taxi to school. Plenty of students lived far away and had not gone home for the weekend. The first-floor reading room in the school library was packed, with practically no seats left, all occupied by seniors.
"Let's go to the second floor."
Song Yu did not want to squeeze in with them either.
There were far fewer people on the second floor, relatively speaking, and they chose a corner.
Song Yu laid out his homework. He had only just sat down when he saw rain starting outside the window.
The sky was misty, making the whole school seem especially quiet. Summer rain came down hard as soon as it began, its pattering rushing in from beyond the glass as droplets trickled down the window.
Pen in hand, Song Yu found everything interesting before he started studying. He said enthusiastically, "This is the first rain I've seen since coming to Jing City."
Xie Sui glanced outside and responded mildly, "Mm."
Noticing his lack of enthusiasm, Song Yu asked, "You don't like rainy days?"
Xie Sui had never liked sharing his feelings with others, but with a perfunctory reply on the tip of his tongue, he changed his mind. He smiled and said, "No, I don't."
Rainy days brought back bad memories.
It seemed that the day he died had been rainy too.
He did not want to say more about it.
Xie Sui said, "Give me all the test papers you did yesterday."
"Okay."
Seeing that he did not want to elaborate, Song Yu naturally refrained from asking further.
Although he had come to do his Chinese homework, people always liked to overestimate themselves. He had thought that if he finished his homework in half an hour, he would have nothing to do-so he had also brought his math workbook, with the test papers tucked inside.
"Here. I wrote something for every question on this paper."
He even sounded a little proud.
Xie Sui took it and chuckled softly. "You wrote 'Solution'?"
Song Yu: "..."
Do you understand the situation?! I'm your goal for the semester now! The person you're supposed to help!
Before he could get angry, Xie Sui seized the initiative, elegantly pressing his pen against Song Yu's lips. "No loud noises here."
Song Yu: "..." Fuck!
Gritting his teeth, he lowered his head and started his Chinese homework.
With their first year of high school only just beginning, the homework was all fairly easy. The only nuisance was the weekly essay.
Their Chinese teacher was, after all, a deeply sentimental middle-aged man who had made them write their semester goals right at the start of school. The essay prompt he had assigned this time was equally literary.
"What you never forget will surely echo back."
Eight characters. They were to choose their own title and angle.
Before the break, he had even specifically stressed, "Anything you can find online, I can find too." That one sentence put an end to their hopes of taking shortcuts.
Song Yu dreaded writing essays more than anything.
Biting his pen, he struggled for ages before making those eight characters his title.
"What you never forget will surely echo back."
He only said to choose our own title, not that we couldn't copy one.
Great, eight characters. One percent done.
Wait, did the title count toward the word count?
Whatever, no point thinking so much. Song Yu looked it up on Baidu and copied its meaning. Nice, thirty characters in the bag.
He scraped together bits and pieces to pad the word count.
Across from him, Xie Sui went through his test papers with particular care, then picked up a pen and began writing in a notebook.
Song Yu's thoughts wandered everywhere as he wrote his essay, and he went to pester him. "Are you writing me a study plan?"
Xie Sui said, "Notes."
Song Yu said, "Math notes? I take those myself." He had even asked Xie Sui about Venn diagrams last time.
Holding his pen, Xie Sui did not look up. "Middle school material. Your foundations in functions are particularly muddled."
Song Yu said, "Oh, okay."
After much stumbling, he finally filled the eight-hundred-character requirement. He had studied the four characters for "never forget" in great depth, listing over a dozen categorized possibilities and feasible approaches to "remembering." He did not know whether the teacher would be satisfied, but he certainly was.
Once he finished writing, Song Yu was unbearably sleepy.
"I'll sleep for half an hour. Wake me up then."
Xie Sui said, "Mm."
The library lights had come on, soft and bright.
It was quiet here, with only the scratching of Xie Sui's pen across from him. After he fell asleep, Xie Sui deliberately made his movements gentler.
The rain outside grew quieter.
The surroundings were comfortable and peaceful.
Yet Song Yu did not sleep very soundly.
Last time, he had dreamed of an island, blue skies, and the sea.
Words that sounded so bright had been chilling and oppressive in his dream, accompanied by gunshots and blood.
This time, the dream was fragmented, but he was no longer an outsider.
Inside a luxurious villa, an ornate chandelier hung overhead, piano music drifted through the air, and wineglasses clinked softly.
Amid the mingling and toasts, a group of socialites in evening gowns wore expectant yet nervous smiles, their voices full of longing. The word he heard most was "Xie." It seemed to be a banquet to welcome someone.
In front of the villa, the estate's wrought-iron gates opened, and a long black car drove inside.
But he only saw the car door open. Someone seemed to step out, yet before he could even make out what they looked like, the scene in his dream shifted to a rainy night.
Rain poured down, the entire sky hanging low, pressing heavily downward. A boy stumbled out of an apartment, vivid red blood spattered across his school uniform.
Just like his crimson eyes, vicious and crazed.
After a few steps, the boy slowed, his tall, elegant frame seeming to snap like bamboo in an instant.
He bent over, braced himself against a pillar, and could not help throwing up.
Someone woke Song Yu.
"Half an hour's up."
When Song Yu woke, he still felt a little dazed. The rain outside had not stopped.
But there were many more people in the library now.
He stared blankly at the person before him for a long while. He wanted to say something, but stopped with the words on his lips.
A silent, oppressive rainy day.
Looking into Xie Sui's dark, fathomless eyes, he said awkwardly, "Are you hungry?"
Xie Sui had not expected that to be the first thing he asked upon waking. Handing him the notes he had finished, he said with amusement, "There's a cake shop outside."
Song Yu nodded.
It was not dinnertime yet.
"Let's get something to eat first."
When they entered the cake shop, many people looked their way.
They found somewhere to sit, and Xie Sui said, "I'll go buy something. Sit here for now."
Song Yu looked up, saw how many people were in line, and agreed.
Bored while waiting, Song Yu opened his phone. He tapped in and out of a few apps at random, his eyes on the screen but his mind elsewhere. His head was still full of that dream. He did not like rainy days? It made sense that he wouldn't. Rainy days were unlucky days for Xie Sui.
Several breaking points in his life had all happened on rainy days.
In Gentle Control, although the first gong's attitude was ambiguous and his words and actions overly intimate, Xie Sui had always simply regarded him as a friend, his only friend. He had been born into terrible circumstances, yet his heart was unexpectedly pure, and he had never thought of those disgusting things.
The slightest kindness and tenderness were magnified infinitely and treasured earnestly. So after graduating from high school, when the first gong drugged him and tricked him into going to Wang Ci, how desperate had he been?
He had seen his good friend's hideous true colors.
And he had seen the truth that he was all alone.
Song Yu felt a weight in his chest.
It hurt terribly.
The more he thought about it, the more his teeth itched with anger. He rather wanted to go to the hospital, pin Wang Ci to his bed, and beat him up again.
Just then, he casually tapped into the forum.
A newly posted thread caught his eye.
[So jealous. Other people get the school hunk studying with them at fifteen, while I have nothing.]
The main post contained two photos.
They showed him and Xie Sui, with Xie Sui writing while he slept. In a corner of the library, gentle light shone down on Xie Sui's white shirt and black trousers. His profile was handsome and cool, his eyelashes long in the photo, his whole presence possessing an indescribable quality.
Meanwhile, he lay asleep on the desk, with only half his dark-haired head showing.
The girl taking the photos sat on the other side of the library's second floor. From her angle, the rest of him was blocked by a bookshelf, making it impossible to tell whether he was a boy or a girl.
1: Is that God Xie?
2: Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!! Who's God Xie at the library with?!
3: OP, your photography skills suck!
4: Any sisters at the library?! I think this is the second floor! Hurry and take a look for us! I refuse to believe Brother Yu's been cheated on, sob sob sob.
5: Dream on. Would someone studying in the library on the weekend be checking the forum?
6: The chicken drumstick in my hand suddenly doesn't taste good anymore, TuT.
7: My happily swinging little feet slowly stop.
8: Sob sob sob sob sob sob, other people's weekends, other people's fifteenth year.
9: OP, get a clearer shot! Let me see who it is!
15, OP: ╥﹏╥ Sisters above, I'm sorry. I... I went to the bathroom, and they left while I was gone. But I asked someone, and apparently they went to the cake shop by the gate. I'll follow them and take a photo for you. Oh, the person opposite God Xie was a guy too, not his girlfriend, and I remember his clothes. Wait for my good news.
The thread, originally overflowing with jealousy, began changing tone.
[???]
[??? A guy? Is it the man I'm thinking of?]
Of course, the ship the girls tacitly understood had zero presence among the boys. It never even occurred to them that it might be Song Yu. The male students came in swearing right away; their resentment after years of being single was no joke.
36: Who is this? Are they studying or dating?
37: Gross, and they're even eating cake. Aren't two guys being way too sickeningly sweet? Barf barf barf barf.
38: OP, take a photo! Hurry up! Publicly shame him, this is infuriating! I want the city's number one studying with me too!
Song Yu was expressionless.
Suddenly, a flash went off to his right, aimed at him.
He turned his head unhappily and saw a girl with a ponytail, wearing a No. 1 High School uniform. She had probably only realized after taking the photo that she had forgotten to turn off the flash. Mortified, she buried her head in a pile of books, not daring to look at him.
Song Yu said nothing, lowering his head to keep watching the thread develop.
40, OP: I took it... I feel like... he looks kind of familiar!
41: Post it, post it, post it. Let me see who's so shameless. I'm working my ass off finishing homework, and what are they doing? Disgusting, all lovey-dovey. Hurry and post the picture. Once it's up, brothers, put "embarrassing" in the replies.
42, OP: [Image]
In the photo, a boy sat at one side of the cake shop, his head lowered as he absentmindedly played with his phone. His hair was light-colored and soft, his skin fair. His well-behaved looks were paired with a cool expression; he looked like someone you should not mess with.
At the same time.
43, Your Husband Brother Yu: Me.
"..."
For an instant, the bustling thread fell silent and froze.
Then the forum erupted.
The screen filled with hahahas, screams, and "Brother Yu is so handsome."
Someone manually called out the brother in post 41. [Picture's out. Brother in 41, say something. The guy with the username Longbow Fears No Length.]
57, Longbow Fears No Length: Handsome.
58, Longbow Fears No Length: Who could look at this and not call him handsome?
Every word seemed to have come from trembling hands.
The replies below were particularly unanimous.
Row after row of:
[Embarrassing]
Author's note: Aaaaah, I forgot to set the scheduled posting time, sorry.
Sorry, I got carried away having fun during Mid-Autumn Festival, QAQ... There's not much content, so please make do. Tomorrow's will be longer. It's about time for Yuyu's monthly exams too.
Thank you to the little angels who sent me Overlord Tickets or watered me with nutrient solution~
Thank you to the little angels who threw [grenades]: Si u, Pavilion, Hehe, 1 each;
Thank you to the little angels who threw [land mines]: Ruoyu Sijin, Lingluo, A Kitten Pinning Down Slippers, 2 each; Shuli Pukou, Sleepless Late at Night, Lin Xiao, That Hurts~ Bro, Want Sweetness Lately, aries, Fat Pear, Biluochun, Juli, 28325914, demeter, Xuan, Youyou, I Am Su Jinyan, A-Ci, No Cure, predestined Wangxian, sakura, Xinxin Cutie, l Qin q Cuanjiu, It's Gu Yan Zhu, Yanyan, It's Jiang Ci, Half Moon, 1 each;
Thank you to the little angels who watered me with [nutrient solution]:
Grant Me Lasting Joy, 50 bottles; Qi Nian, 30 bottles; That Hurts~ Bro, 24 bottles; Wei Qiu, Chimu Yiqing, Ji Cub's Old Mother, jia, 20 bottles each; Cowardice Beyond the Skies, 18 bottles; Want Sweetness Lately, Dirt-Eating Girl Can Spit Dirt, 15 bottles each; Mu Jiu, aries, 13 bottles each; Guoguo's Bag, Falling Star, Yun Li, Xi Qi, Everyone Is Responsible for Caring for Plants, sakura, Demon King, Song Yi, Fifth of the Seventh, 35572537, Fat and Soft, youth Is My First Wife, Mu Xia, Deer Drink from the Stream in the Empty Woods, 10 bottles each; 27545208, 9 bottles; Shen Yi'an, 8 bottles; Ruan Ye Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah, Beyond the Stars, Kuromi, 6 bottles each; yu_, Yansheng, Jiu Muci Is Me, Whale Fall, Dengzi, 5 bottles each; Yilu Ronghua, Mu Jinliang, 4 bottles each; Yan Wu, Misty Rain, Xi Jiuming, Professor Beast, 3 bottles each; Mo'er, Wei Ji Li Yu Shen Yi, predestined Wangxian, Yunyi, 2 bottles each; What a Big Second Master He, Cat Who Loves Candy, Not Changing My Name Until I Top, So Silly, Mu Zifeng, Want to Urge Me to Change My Name, Slacker King, Shengxiao, Pale Paper and Ink Charm, Fenglan, Colorful Gourd Watermelon, A Friend's Clear Understanding, Rabbits Love Grass Near Their Burrows, kon, Adorable, Quietly Eating Candy, Jiang Shier, Whatever, Little Mushroom Who Loves Girls, Fading Lamp Lalala, 1 bottle each;
Thank you all so much for your support. I'll keep working hard!