At this moment, it was time for classes to end. A group of people is in between the buildings for first, second, and third-year students. Many students are coming and going.
Xu Yin and Xu Ling are quite well-known in the school, so when people see them together, many passing students express excitement, anticipating some drama.
For Xu Ling, this moment is particularly tough. Being surrounded with subtle gazes is usually Xu Yin’s experience, but now it’s Xu Ling facing scrutiny, and his usual tricks are unexpectedly exposed.
Yan Ningchuan stands before him, his handsome face consistently calm. Xu Ling, nervously sweating, stammers, “I… I didn’t…”
“But not only this time, there was also the time witnessed by Lin Jia. That makes it twice already,” Yan Ningchuan calmly continues, “Do you want to claim it’s just a coincidence that we happened to witness both incidents?”
Xu Ling remains silent, unsure how to respond. The surrounding gazes become even more nuanced, and Xu Ling trembles.
Suddenly, the P.E. teacher shouts from behind, “Hey, hey, class is over. Why are you all gathered here?”
Xu Ling visibly relaxes.
The group exchanges glances.
The P.E. teacher approaches and alertly said, “Disperse! It’s time to go! Don’t you all have no more classes that you don’t even need to go to your respective classroom anymore?!”
The P.E. teacher is well aware of the tension between Xu Yin and Xu Ling and won’t let students start a fight after his class.
“…Let’s go, let’s go,” someone says quietly.
Xu Ling feels a sense of relief, looking at Qu Yi and Ye Xunran with pleading eyes, eager to leave this place.
However, the two are still in a daze. If it were usual, they would have already taken Xu Ling back to the classroom.
But now, Yan Ningchuan’s words linger in their ears, and Lin Ye’s recorded audio is still playing in their minds. For the first time, they realize that Xu Ling, the guy they usually know, might be a bit different.
This realization leaves them dumbfounded, unsure of what to do.
Seeing their hesitation, Xu Ling becomes anxious and directly calls out to Ye Xunran, “Xunran?”
Ye Xunran is startled, and he assesses Xu Ling with a subtle yet unfamiliar look before hesitantly glancing at Xu Yin.
However, Xu Yin seems to have been completely uninterested in them the whole time.
He’s been smiling at Yan Ningchuan.
Xu Yin’’s thought, ‘Lao gong is so cute.’
After his laughter, he tells Yan Ningchuan, “Forget about them, let’s go back to the classroom.”
Yan Ningchuan sends a disapproving look.
Wang Feifei whispers, “Why leave? Make Xu Ling answer.”
Xu Ling hears it and glares at Wang Feifei in resentment.
Xu Yin, hands still in his pockets, stands unaffected.
A breeze blows, tousling his slightly long black hair.
He stands in the wind, his voice gentle, “Even if we force him to answer today, he’ll just deny it. Let’s not spread rumors without clear knowledge. Blame it on the bell ringing for the next class. Everyone can go back to their respective classrooms.”
“As for them,” Xu Yin gestures with his chin towards Ye Xunran and Qu Yi, shrugging, “even if they waver now, when Xu Ling sheds a tear later, they’ll go back to how they were before.”
Xu Yin speaks bluntly, and Xu Ling’s expression changes dramatically. Ye Xunran and Qu Yi freeze in place.
Qu Yi angrily says, “Do you think we’re fools?!”
Xu Yin blinks.
As if asking, ‘Did I say something wrong?’
Qu Yi wants to curse, but when he thinks about the P.E. class just now, where he briefly wavered and regretted it when Xu Ling teared up, he suddenly felt a choked sensation.
His expression changes several times, and suddenly, he turns to look at Xu Ling, furrowing his brow.
Xu Ling’s eyes welled up with tears.
Qu Yi: “…”
Qu Yi: ‘Why does Xu Ling always seem to be crying for real?’
Seeing Qu Yi noticing his tears but not immediately expressing concern as usual, Xu Ling’s heart turns cold.
Xu Yin also has no patience to continue dealing with them. As he said, he doesn’t believe that those “good buddies” from Class 7, who are willing to break ties with the original host for Xu Ling, will truly wake up one day. He has no intention of wasting time dealing with Xu Ling.
Talking about the original host’s inner struggle due to family ties and self-torment, Xu Yin has no emotional attachment to the Xu family.
His father told him not to come home, and that suits him just fine.
So, the starting point for any argument with Xu Ling doesn’t even exist for him.
“Yan Ningchuan,” Xu Yin says, “Don’t waste time on such matters.”
Yan Ningchuan pauses, asking, “You don’t care?”
Don’t care?
For a moment, Xu Yin once again becomes the focal point of everyone’s attention.
Yet, the young man at the center of their gazes smiles and calmly says:
“Yes. I don’t care.”
Until they returned to the classroom, Wang Feifei was still saying, “I never expected Xu Ling to be this type. He’s even more deceitful than a white lotus! Looks so cold, but the drama is overflowing.”
Lin Jia had already heard about what happened after class, sneering, “To turn good buddies against Xu Yin in just a year and directly make Xu Yin change classes, how innocent can he be?”
As the final bell rang, students returned to their seats, taking out their textbooks.
Yan Ningchuan flipped to the page they were supposed to study today, recalling Xu Yin’s “don’t care” statement, and furrowed his brow.
A soft voice came from beside him.
“Don’t overthink it. I’m not sad. When I say I don’t care, it’s because I truly don’t.”
Yan Ningchuan turned his head.
Xu Yin propped his chin on his hand, looking at him sideways, and whispered, “You’ve probably heard some things about my family. I just think it’s unnecessary to hold my father in such high regard now. After all, he hasn’t treated me like a son, has he?”
Seeing Yan Ningchuan’s tightened brow, Xu Yin chuckled, “Actually, not everyone needs family ties. For me, realizing this has made my life much easier.”
“Really.” Xu Yin lightly tapped Yan Ningchuan’s forehead with a pen.
Yan Ningchuan’s brow relaxed, and his ears turned red.
After withdrawing his gaze, he sat upright and looked forward.
The teacher had entered, put down the textbook, and opened the PowerPoint.
Xu Yin also refocused, intending to listen attentively to the lesson.
Even though he didn’t know how much he could improve his grades in a year, Xu Yin wasn’t one to give up easily. So, he approached each class with seriousness, striving to keep up with everyone else.
However, just as he opened his notebook, he heard the boy beside him lower his voice and speak again, “Then what else could make you sad?”
Xu Yin paused.
He moved his fingertips, smoothing the corner of the notebook, and raised the corner of his lips, “There’s still someone very important in my heart.”
Turning back, he met eyes with Yan Ningchuan once again.
Xu Yin’s eyes curved into a smile.
In this world, there exists someone who can stir his emotions.
As long as that person is well, there won’t be cloudy days in Xu Yin’s life.
On the other side, in Class 7.
The whole class quieted down, waiting for the teacher to enter the classroom, and the atmosphere became quite delicate.
Lin Ye and Qu Yi sat in the fourth row.
Lin Ye nudged Qu Yi with his elbow and whispered, “Bro, you can’t still not believe it, right?”
“Do I look that stupid?” Qu Yi’s tone was somewhat irritable. “I heard the recording!”
Lin Ye glanced at him and kept quiet.
Although he was Qu Yi’s younger brother, he never showed as much… concern for Xu Ling as Qu Yi did.
Using the term “concern” might not be accurate. Anyway, Lin Ye, as a big guy, always found it strange that Ye Xunran and Qu Yi seemed so concerned and upset whenever they saw Xu Ling cry. It’s not like they were raising a son or taking care of a girlfriend…
But he couldn’t say this to Qu Yi.
Qu Yi was clearly annoyed right now.
Leaving aside the recording just now, Xu Ling’s reaction was suspicious!
If what Xu Yin said turned out to be true, what about before?
Were all those complaints Xu Yin made… actually true? Did they misunderstand Xu Yin?!
Qu Yi’s mind was in chaos, and he couldn’t help but think about it.
All this time, he had been quite sympathetic towards Xu Ling. A guy with such a cold demeanor, once his eyes turned red, Qu Yi did feel a bit sorry for him. But at this moment, reflecting on what had happened in the past year, he suddenly realized… Xu Ling, despite appearing strong, seemed to be crying quite often?
Once or twice a week… three or four times?
Qu Yi counted on his fingers and suddenly felt a bit skeptical about life.
Didn’t he used to hate guys who cried all the time?
He pressed his fingers against his temples, thinking about how things had gradually evolved between them ever since Xu Ling transferred in.
Come to think of it, Xu Yin never actually hit Xu Ling. Every time Qu Yi was about to throw a punch, they were always there. When asked what happened, Xu Yin would complain that Xu Ling had said something really offensive. But each time, Xu Ling would remain silent, cold and stubborn, sitting there until everything is settled. Then, when he casually turned back, Xu Ling’s eyes would be red. Sometimes, when he caught him looking, Xu Ling would turn away, but that single teardrop falling was still caught by him…
…Those scenes were strangely similar to what happened this afternoon?!
Qu Yi frustratedly ran his hands through his hair.
Had they all been played by Xu Ling?!
Qu Yi angrily turned around, looking to the back row.
Xu Ling met his gaze with slightly reddened eyes.
Upon realizing he was being watched, Xu Ling turned his head away.
However, that single teardrop still fell into Qu Yi’s eyes.
Qu Yi: “…”
He gritted his teeth and turned away.
Seeing his hostile reaction, Xu Ling was suddenly startled.
He quickly wiped away the tears, lowered his head, and his thoughts raced in his mind.
This shouldn’t be the right reaction. Did this strategy not work anymore? Perhaps the evidence, especially the recording, was just too straightforward…
Xu Ling tightly clenched his hands, his heart pounding rapidly.
Qu Yi no longer looked at him, but there was still Ye Xunran beside him, who hadn’t spoken a word since they entered the classroom.
Nervously contemplating, Xu Ling took a deep breath, relaxing his body.
Ye Xunran stared at the blackboard, but his mind was elsewhere.
Whenever he thought of Xu Yin’s “I don’t care” from earlier, his heart would ache slightly.
What doesn’t he care about?
His father? Or perhaps them, the… former brothers?
Ye Xunran kept rubbing the tip of the pen in his hand, feeling inner turmoil.
Suddenly, his sleeve was tugged.
Ye Xunran snapped back to reality, looking to his side. The cool-looking guy lowered his eyes and whispered, “Xunran, would you be willing to hear me explain?”
Ye Xunran’s expression was subtle. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “Why would you do this?”
Xu Ling stayed silent for a few seconds and said, “I…”
Biting his lip, he closed his eyes and continued, “I admit I was angry today. He wanted to hit me at noon, but when we got back to Class 12, he acted like nothing happened. People from Class 12 are all supporting him, probably not believing he did anything to me. I couldn’t hold back…”
When Xu Ling opened his eyes again, his voice was hoarse, “He’s too hypocritical, Xunran.”
This time, Xu Ling’s eyes weren’t red, and he didn’t shed tears.
But Ye Xunran could sense that Xu Ling was holding back.
Because his voice choked up.
Xu Ling continued, the choking becoming more pronounced, “What Yan Ningchuan guessed was all fake. It was only today that I lost my mind and did something to make you misunderstand. I’m sorry… I’ve never lied to you before. You have to believe me…”
Ye Xunran hesitated, “What about noon?”
At noon, when he entered the restroom, he heard Xu Ling’s cry. When he rushed over, he saw Xu Yin raising his hand, not hearing what they had discussed before.
Xu Ling choked, “Do you still doubt me? I told you, it was just now. I couldn’t control myself and said those things…”
The sound of Xu Ling choking sounded so pitiful that as soon as Ye Xunran heard it, his heart softened instantly. All the doubts from before couldn’t stay, dissipating rapidly.
He rubbed Xu Ling’s head, “You promise?”
Xu Ling nodded, leaning gently towards him, “Of course…”
Ye Xunran’s body tensed.
Xu Ling lowered his head and asked, “Xunran, would you regret getting into this mess with Xu Yin because of me?”
Ye Xunran couldn’t speak for a moment.
Xu Ling gently held his hand.
Ye Xunran trembled slightly, and his Adam’s apple moved faintly.
Avoiding eye contact, he said, “…It’s not about regret. If he had been as calm back then as he is now, we wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
In the front row, Lin Ye passionately conveyed like a sports commentator, “It seems like Xu Ling is successfully conquering Ye Xunran. Ye Xunran is loosening up! It seems like he has been conquered again! My goodness, even in such a situation, can he still be conquered again? Is Ye Xunran too mentally weak, or is Xu Ling too powerful?”
“…” Qu Yi, “Did you also commentate on real-time events between me and Xu Ling before?”
Lin Ye, “Ahem.”
Qu Yi: Damn it.
Qu Yi admitted that he had some inexplicable feelings towards Xu Ling before, but he hated being played by someone.
Thinking that he might have been fooled by Xu Ling like an idiot before made him furious. He couldn’t focus on a single bit of the class!
The afternoon classes quickly ended, and students headed to the cafeteria for dinner.
Xu Yin hadn’t eaten lunch, and later, he only had a little snack from the convenience store to fill his stomach. For dinner, he made an effort to eat more.
After dinner, they returned to the classroom, and evening self-study would start in half an hour.
The science homework was giving Xu Yin a headache. He flipped through the papers and whispered to Yan Ningchuan, “Can you teach me after you finish your homework?”
Yan Ningchuan glanced at Xu Yin’s nearly empty papers, “Sure, you can ask me anything you don’t understand.”
“Okay,” Xu Yin smiled.
Just after the smile, he composed himself, stood up, and said, “I’ll go to the restroom for a moment.”
Yan Ningchuan nodded and continued with his homework. However, after a few strokes, Xu Yin’s smiling face flashed in his mind, and Yan Ningchuan paused his pen.
After some contemplation, he put down the pen, stood up, and walked out of the classroom.
Although it wasn’t yet time for evening self-study, being in the senior year meant the students understood the urgency of time. Not many people were fooling around in the corridor and classrooms.
When Xu Yin entered the restroom, there was only one person inside.
Ignoring the presence of others, Xu Yin quickly walked to the large trash bin, leaning against the wall, and began vomiting.
018, who rarely appeared today, popped up a bubble, “This body has a really poor constitution.”
Taking a breath, Xu Yin responded in his mind, “After all, I haven’t had a proper meal for a long time.”
Just after the response, he vomited again, his stomach churning.
Blaming himself for not considering that this body’s stomach was already fragile, even if hungry, he shouldn’t have stuffed so much food earlier.
“Xu Yin?” An anxious voice suddenly sounded beside him. It turned out the person he glimpsed earlier was Ye Xunran. “Are you okay?”
Xu Yin coughed, straightened up, waved his hand, and turned to the sink, taking two handfuls of water to rinse his mouth.
Ye Xunran followed, saying, “Is it gastroenteritis1TL: A very common condition that causes diarrhoea and vomiting. It’s usually caused by a bacterial or viral tummy bug.? The school clinic is closed now. You’d better ask for leave from the teacher.”
“I’m fine,” Xu Yin stood up straight, politely declining the offer. He had just vomited, and his eyes and nose were red, and his throat was a bit hoarse, but these were physiological reactions.
Different from Xu Ling, who tried not to cry but couldn’t hold back, the guy in front of Ye Xunran was genuinely calm at the moment. Even in such a disheveled state, he calmly took a step back, maintaining a distance.
Ye Xunran felt his heart ache again, and he said with a bitter tone, “Xu Yin, I…”
Suddenly, footsteps approached, and a figure appeared in the restroom.
Ye Xunran had his back to the door and didn’t know who came in. He only saw the guy in front of him, who had changed from being calm and composed a second ago to a softer expression.
Ye Xunran was stunned. The next moment, Yan Ningchuan brushed past him, walking straight to Xu Yin. “Xu Yin, what’s wrong?”
Yan Ningchuan reached Xu Yin, placed a hand on his shoulder, furrowed his brow as he examined him, and asked seriously, “Why are your eyes red?”
Xu Yin wasn’t the type to enjoy making people worry, so as soon as he felt something wrong with his stomach, he immediately got up and left the restroom. He hadn’t expected Yan Ningchuan to notice.
But this person… had always been like this.
Xu Yin looked at the guy standing so close, and he smiled gently.
Well… that feeling of having a Lao gong to rely on was really nice.
Ye Xunran watched as the guy who had just calmly told him “it’s nothing” moments ago softly said to Yan Ningchuan, “I vomited.”
“It’s a bit uncomfortable.”
Ye Xunran: “…”
Yan Ningchuan froze in place.
Then, he solemnly supported Xu Yin and walked towards the exit.
Ye Xunran followed them, turned around, and wanted to say something, but no one paid attention to him.
Xu Yin: “Where are we going?”
Yan Ningchuan: “Teacher’s office, ask for leave.”
Xu Yin: “I probably just ate too much earlier. I’ll be fine after vomiting. It’s not that uncomfortable, really.”
Yan Ningchuan: “You still need to ask for leave, and you didn’t eat much at all.”
Xu Yin: “Alright.”
Yan Ningchuan tried to hold back but couldn’t resist. He reached out and touched Xu Yin’s head, whispering, “It stops being uncomfortable after vomiting?”
Xu Yin smiled.
He softly replied, “Just a bit, a tiny bit. Taking medicine will make it better.”
“Besides that,” Xu Yin teased when he saw Yan Ningchuan earnestly waiting for his next words, “If you smile at me, maybe I’ll feel better right away.”
…
Yan Ningchuan didn’t smile.
After Xu Yin finished speaking, he turned stiff as a board, walking with a rigid gait.
Xu Yin struggled to hold back his laughter, his shoulders trembling.
After explaining the situation and getting permission to leave from the teacher’s office, Xu Yin planned to return to the dormitory with his homework.
Yan Ningchuan, still like a wooden figure, accompanied Xu Yin to the stairs. Xu Yin, looking serious, asked, “Really, not even a little smile?”
Yan Ningchuan: “…”
“Alright.” Xu Yin sighed with feigned regret.
Suddenly, 018 spoke up: “Random mission is here.”
Xu Yin’s expression instantly changed. The task panel displayed text, and at the same time, a girl passed by them, chatting and laughing with her friends. As she descended the stairs, she missed a step, sliding and almost falling. “Ah!”
A shadow flashed by. She was caught by a hand, then lifted back up, landing safely on the platform of the staircase.
The girl, scared out of her wits, turned around and said, “Thank you…”
As she looked at Xu Yin, she was stunned.
Xu Yin smiled at her. “Be careful next time.”
The girl blushed, nodded shyly, and said softly, “Um, got it. Thank you!”
With that, she glanced at Xu Yin, curled her lips, blushing, and ran down the stairs with her friend. Even from a distance, their excited chatter could be heard.
Now, Xu Yin finally had the mind to pay attention to the content of the task panel – four points, the minimum score for a random task. Getting a random task now was already quite good.
As Xu Yin closed the task panel, he looked up to find Yan Ningchuan staring at him.
Xu Yin: “?”
Yan Ningchuan: “Next time, just let me know. I could have lent a hand.” He hadn’t noticed earlier.
Xu Yin chuckled, “It happened too quickly.”
Yan Ningchuan nodded, stealing another glance in the direction the two girls had left.
After a moment of silent contemplation, he raised his eyes again.
Xu Yin: “??”
Yan Ningchuan awkwardly pulled up the corners of his lips, revealing a rather strange… smile?
Xu Yin blinked, surprised, “Are you laughing?”
Yan Ningchuan’s mouth immediately straightened, and he walked down quickly with an expressionless face.
Xu Yin: Aiya.
He quickly followed, grabbing Yan Ningchuan’s arm and leaning in, “Are you angry?”
“No.” Yan Ningchuan’s tone was quite stiff.
“You are angry,” Xu Yin couldn’t help but smile.
Why? Just a moment ago, he didn’t want to smile. How did he suddenly change his mind?
Regardless, following the attitude of encouraging everything for his senior, Xu Yin coaxed, “I’m fine now, really!”
“You’re coaxing a child,” Class leader Yan’s tone was sharp.
“Hahahaha!” Xu Yin couldn’t hold back, laughing heartily, clutching his stomach.
Yan Ningchuan stopped, turned to look at him, frowned tightly, very displeased.
Several steps above, the boy laughed for quite a while before finally stopping.
The bell for evening self-study preparation rang.
The boy took a deep breath, suppressing his laughter.
Wiping away the tears from laughter, Xu Yin said, “Yan Ningchuan, you’re so adorable.”
Yan Ningchuan stiffened. In the darkness, even his face felt warm.
Slightly flustered, he tried to appear calm, “I’m a guy, what’s adorable about me?”
Xu Yin shook his head.
Step by step, he descended.
Yan Ningchuan took a step back, turned his face, afraid that Xu Yin might notice any clues on his face.
As Xu Yin stood in front of him, looking up at him, he gently smiled and said, “You really are adorable.”
Thump.
Yan Ningchuan’s chest trembled.
Gently patting Yan Ningchuan’s shoulder, Xu Yin raised his lips and coaxed, “Alright, the bell for preparation has rung. Let’s go back to the classroom.”
He smiled and intended to leave but was caught by the wrist.
Turning back, Yan Ningchuan avoided eye contact, holding his hand tightly and unwilling to let go, even gripping it firmly.
With a smiling gaze, Xu Yin shook that hand and said, “When you finish your evening self-study, can you teach me how to do my homework?”
Yan Ningchuan was slightly dazed.
After a moment, he softly responded, “Hmm.”
Under the dim corridor lights, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
