Chapter 8

"Do you interrogate every one of Fu Cheng's 'friends' like this?" Shen Yi tilted his head and smiled. "No wonder Fu Cheng is so scared of you."

Fu Yuhe paused. "You've got some nerve."

"I'm just expressing my dissatisfaction." Shen Yi looked at him innocently.

He really was nasty, and he made no attempt to hide it.

Even when he said things like that, his expression was almost gentle and innocent.

And yet, for some reason, he was alluring, like a poppy: beautiful and dangerous.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Brother, are you in there?" Fu Cheng's voice came from outside.

Shen Yi pulled the towel from around his neck. "If there's nothing else, I'll head out first, Brother Fu."

"As for what you wanted to talk to me about..." He pressed an index finger to his lips. "I'll keep it a secret for you."

He walked toward the door, but before opening it, he paused, stepped back twice, and turned his head to ask, "But I'm a little curious. If I really were gay, what would you do, Brother Fu?"

Fu Yuhe's lips tightened into a straight line.

Chapter 4: Impure intentions

Shen Yi never got an answer to that question, and he didn't want one. He had just wanted to get under Fu Yuhe's skin. Watching Fu Yuhe's face darken was pretty entertaining.

Shen Yi opened the door. Fu Cheng stood outside, his hand half-raised as though he was about to knock. He froze when he saw Shen Yi come out of his brother's room.

"What were you doing in my brother's room? I thought you'd left without waiting for me to finish my shower," he said.

"You forgot to get me some clothes," Shen Yi said. "Your brother lent me a shirt."

Only then did Fu Cheng notice that the black T-shirt he was wearing belonged to his brother.

He blinked and said, "Oh." His brother didn't really like other people touching his things, let alone his clothes. Had he and Shen Yi gotten that close?

Still, that was good. He had worried that his brother might dislike Shen Yi because of the fight. He thought Shen Yi was a great person, so naturally, he didn't want his brother to hate him.

Shen Yi glanced at the sky outside. "It's getting late, so I'll head home. I still have some test papers to work on later."

"Why don't you stay here tonight? We can go to school together tomorrow..." Before Fu Cheng could finish, a voice interrupted him.

"No."

The door behind Shen Yi opened, and Fu Yuhe came out.

"Brother." Fu Cheng was taken aback.

He could easily tell that his brother was in a terrible mood right now. Even his tone was cold.

"Better not. It wouldn't be convenient," Shen Yi said with a smile.

He had only wanted to tease Fu Yuhe, not actually test his limits. Having him guard against him as though he were a terrible menace was amusing, but he would leave it for now. It wasn't the right time.

Still, Fu Yuhe thought he had an ulterior motive for approaching Fu Cheng, yet hadn't said so directly to Fu Cheng. That suggested Fu Cheng was very unlikely to listen to him on this matter, given his personality.

No matter how much Fu Cheng feared and respected his brother, he couldn't possibly listen to him about everything. If the brothers fell out because of him, that would be quite a sight.

"I'm off. See you tomorrow." Shen Yi picked up his backpack from the sofa and waved.

Fu Cheng walked him to the door. He glanced back and, seeing no sign of his brother, asked quietly, "What did you and my brother talk about in his room?"

Shen Yi said, "Want to know?"

Fu Cheng nodded. His brother rarely wore an expression like that at home.

Shen Yi blinked, brushed his fingertips over his lips, and said with a smile, "Secret."

Fu Cheng: "..."

Wow, now he was even more curious.

If his brother disliked Shen Yi, why had he lent him clothes and let him into his room? But if he had a good impression of him, his attitude didn't fit either.

Curious as he was, Fu Cheng would never dare ask his brother and risk getting on his bad side.

Soon, Shen Yi faced his first monthly exam since coming to this world.

The desks in the classroom had all been spaced apart, and a radio at the front was playing the English listening section. Shen Yi sat in the back row, pen in hand, writing down his answers.

The questions weren't very difficult for him, but he still went through them carefully, one by one. After he finished, he checked his answers and handed in his paper early.

Because there was going to be a parent-teacher meeting after the monthly exams, the students were more nervous than usual. Shen Yi wasn't particularly nervous.

He bought a popsicle at the little convenience store and sat down to rest on a bench in the shade. He took out his phone and glanced at it. The previous night, he had messaged his "parents" about the parent-teacher meeting, and both had replied.

[Dad: I don't have time. Ask your mom to go.]

[Mom: I'm abroad and can't make it back. Ask your dad.]

Shen Yi sighed.

Neither his father nor his mother cared about him. He was so pitiful.

The monthly exams lasted two days, followed by the long National Day holiday. Before the break, the teacher specifically reminded the students about the parent-teacher meeting, and the class erupted in groans.

Summer had passed, but the temperature hadn't dropped. Once the holiday began, Shen Yi's phone got much busier, with messages popping up nonstop.

Some were friend requests, some were messages from his old fair-weather friends, and others were from classmates asking him to hang out.

The weather had been rather hot and muggy these past two days, and Shen Yi didn't much feel like going out. He rested at home for two days, then dragged Fu Cheng, who was also free, out to play basketball on the morning of the third.

On the basketball court, the boys ran beneath the sunlight, fine beads of sweat glistening faintly on their skin. Besides Shen Yi and Fu Cheng, there were several classmates they both knew, who had played basketball with them before.

After playing for a while, Fu Cheng found himself running out of stamina and took a break on the sidelines. He took out his phone to check the time and discovered several missed calls, all from his brother.

His brother generally didn't call unless he had a reason, so Fu Cheng hurriedly called back. The call was answered quickly.