At seven in the morning, Aunt Zhang steamed the dumplings with various fillings and packed them in palm-sized square lunch boxes.
The freshly made dumplings had thin skins and abundant fillings, emitting a delicious aroma.
Each box contained six dumplings, with lean pork and cabbage, lotus root and minced meat, and corn and carrot fillings, two of each. Each dumpling was as big as half an adult man’s fist.
An Wuyang got up early to help with the packing.
They prepared over thirty boxes, a few more than the number of students in their class.
The dumplings were packed into two large thermal boxes.
An Wuyang knew he couldn’t carry them to school by himself, so he glanced around and ran to the door of the gym: “Dundun’s dad?”
Hearing this endearing but slightly cheesy nickname for the first time, Huo Yunchuan nearly dropped his dumbbell on the floor.
“What’s up?”
“The dumplings are packed,” An Wuyang said, leaning on the door frame.
“Okay, wait for me.” Huo Yunchuan remembered his promise from the previous day, so he didn’t hesitate and put down the dumbbell, walking out.
“Such a great physique…” As he passed by, An Wuyang couldn’t resist reaching out to touch his abs, his tone filled with admiration.
Huo Yunchuan was already used to the little angel’s constant compliments about his looks and physique.
Usually, he liked to wear formal attire when going out, but this time, he was just helping his wife carry dumplings, not going for a business meeting.
Feeling a bit pressured, he picked an outfit he didn’t often wear from his wardrobe: casual clothes.
Very low-key.
Huo Yunchuan effortlessly carried the two large boxes of dumplings downstairs and placed them in the car trunk.
At the school, he carried a box in each hand, so An Wuyang had to hurry to keep up with him.
The thin and lanky boy asked in amazement, “Isn’t it heavy?”
The man, striding ahead, glanced at him and said, “Heavy? It’s just over thirty boxes of dumplings…” Each box had only six small dumplings.
With their mutual lack of understanding, they reached the classroom.
There was still some time before class, but since it was the beginning of the school year, the students were still in the habit of arriving early like in high school.
When the students saw the thermal boxes, their first reaction was: “Huh! Delivery guy!”
But seeing who was carrying the boxes, they quickly changed their minds.
“Wow, so handsome!” someone exclaimed.
Hearing someone praise his husband, An Wuyang smiled proudly, feeling pleased.
“Where should I put these?” Huo Yunchuan, not looking at anyone else, calmly asked the little angel.
“Put them… on the first desk in the third row, then you can go,” An Wuyang said, patting his husband’s strong arm, enjoying the firm feel.
“Just use and discard?” Huo Yunchuan joked, rare for him.
“No!” An Wuyang quickly explained, flustered, “Everyone is watching you, it might cause you trouble.”
Huo Yunchuan adjusted his cap, patted An Wuyang’s shoulder twice, and then walked away smoothly.
The quiet classroom erupted, cheering at his departing figure, “Hey handsome, don’t leave!”
They hadn’t even gotten his phone number!
A girl sitting in the front row rushed over and asked, “Who was that just now? Are delivery guys that handsome?”
An Wuyang: “??” How could anyone mistake his husband for a delivery guy?
Fortunately, another student who knew better intervened, “What are you talking about? Which delivery guy can afford Burberry?”
“Ah, so…” The classmates looked at the thermal boxes on the desk.
An Wuyang quickly smiled and said, “These are homemade dumplings from my family, let’s open them and share.”
He deftly opened the thermal box and asked the girl in the front to help distribute them.
“Dumplings? Wow…” For these students from afar, this was a delightful surprise!
“Oh my god, having a local classmate is such a blessing!”
The first student to receive a box opened it and saw six large dumplings, feeling overwhelmed with happiness.
The first one to eat: “Three different fillings, oh my goodness, I’m in heaven…” The food was delicious, with fresh ingredients, perfect seasoning, and unique sauce!
“Thank you, classmate. What’s your name?” As everyone enjoyed the dumplings, they didn’t forget to ask the busy student.
“My name is An Wuyang, and I’m happy to treat everyone to dumplings today,” the boy said, with a very healing smile.
Wen Ling entered the classroom, wondering if he was in the right place.
After a closer look, he recognized the familiar face surrounded by people, confirming he wasn’t mistaken: “Everyone, why are you so happy?”
As he stepped inside, the smell of food filled the air.
“Wen Ling, you’re here?” An Wuyang noticed him, along with the bespectacled classmate: “Yuanhang, over here!”
Two steaming hot dumpling boxes were immediately handed to the two classmates.
“Here, the dumplings I promised yesterday. Give them a try,” An Wuyang said with a smile.
Glasses-wearing Xu Yuanhang held the dumplings dumbfounded, looking around: “Everyone has a portion… Your family must be really wealthy…”
His mother wasn’t lying; people in the capital are truly rich!
An Wuyang is definitely a friend Xu Yuanhang will keep…
Holding the dumplings that everyone else had, Wen Ling lazily smiled and said, “Thanks,” then returned to his seat, not in a hurry to eat.
Xu Yuanhang gave An Wuyang a thumbs up: “You did a great job as a host, the whole class will remember you.” Then he added, “Thank you, I didn’t have breakfast.”
“You’re welcome,” An Wuyang replied.
He stayed behind to tidy up the boxes, planning to leave them in the classroom and take them home in the evening.
When the teacher walked into the classroom, he was immediately handed a box of dumplings: “An Wuyang, bribing the teacher so blatantly isn’t acceptable.”
A well-fed student nearby said, “Teacher, these are our leftovers.”
“Get out of here!” The teacher knocked on the student’s head and, while eating the dumplings, told the class, “Our school’s military training is always conducted here, so don’t worry, it’s not strenuous at all.”
The students asked, “Teacher, how long does the military training last?”
The teacher replied, “Ten days to half a month, depending on your instructor’s mood.”
After finishing, the teacher wiped his mouth and glanced at the thermal box, then beckoned An Wuyang over: “Any more? Some of the office staff didn’t have breakfast.”
An Wuyang was momentarily stunned, then nodded, “Yes.” He squatted down, opened the box, and gave the rest to the teacher.
“Classmate, you have a promising future. You have the makings of a class monitor,” the teacher said, patting An Wuyang’s shoulder as he left with an armful of dumplings.
An Wuyang scratched his head, thinking: The teacher doesn’t actually believe I’m trying to cultivate relationships, right?
That would be a misunderstanding; he didn’t want to be the class monitor.
Once the instructor arrived, the intense training officially began.
Under the scorching sun, not only were the girls despairing and crying out, but even the boys couldn’t handle it; it was unbearably hot.
To cope with the training, An Wuyang brought several bottles of water.
But he still couldn’t help eyeing Xu Yuanhang’s iced soda enviously.
“Junk food, can’t have it, can’t have it…” He kept telling himself, taking another gulp of his lemon-flavored cool boiled water.
“Can you handle it?” Wen Ling came over and plopped down next to him.
“It’s pretty tough. How about you?” An Wuyang turned his head, panting heavily.
“In a bit… pretend to faint. I’ll carry you to the medical room,” Wen Ling said, chewing on a blade of grass. “Round trip, you’ll get at least half an hour of rest.”
“Huh?” An Wuyang uttered a sound, having known his classmate was full of schemes but never expected this: “Is that really okay?”
Wen Ling nodded.
“Forget it.” Having always been the good kid, An Wuyang honestly said, “I’d get caught if I lied. Find someone else to cooperate with you.” He pointed at Xu Yuanhang, “Like Yuanhang.”
“Back to the lineup!” the instructor blew a whistle and shouted.
Everyone reluctantly walked out from under the shade, back into the blazing sun.
After the previous round of training, An Wuyang was drenched in sweat, his skin turning red, his delicate and handsome face showing discomfort.
Suddenly, a girl in the lineup collapsed.
The instructor arranged for people to take the poor girl to the medical room.
An Wuyang glanced at Wen Ling, who was standing there as if nothing was happening.
As if noticing someone peeping at him, the tall boy in camouflage turned to the left and smiled, mouthing the words “Little Sheep…”
“???” An Wuyang had no idea what he was talking about.
An Wuyang turned back, keeping a wary eye on the instructor, afraid of being caught slacking off.
“Stand up straight! Don’t hunch your back and lower your head like that!” the instructor yelled loudly, immediately kicking one of the male students whose back wasn’t straight.
As the instructor walked past him, An Wuyang didn’t dare to breathe.
Due to the high level of mental tension and over a year of living a comfortable life, he swayed and collapsed under the scorching sun.
“Report to the instructor! I’ll take him to the medical room!” Wen Ling volunteered eagerly.
The instructor quite liked this well-postured boy. “Go ahead, a group of weaklings.”
Wen Ling blinked and walked over to lift the fallen classmate, heading towards the medical room.
“Hey, wake up.” Away from the instructor’s sight, he patted An Wuyang’s cheeks. “Look, doesn’t this look quite convincing? And you said you couldn’t do it.”
The truly unconscious teenager’s eyes were tightly shut, showing no reaction.
“Hey?” Wen Ling shook him harder. “An Wuyang? Wake up…”
Two minutes later, he finally accepted reality: this guy was really out cold!
“Damn…” Wen Ling sighed, carrying him and rushing to the medical room. “You better remember to thank me when you wake up.”
Wen Ling had never done something as foolish as running while carrying someone on such a hot day.
In the medical room, the school doctor muttered, “Another one?”
After examining him, he said, “This student has heatstroke. With this constitution, he’s not suitable for military training.”
Wen Ling asked, “Can you let him go back to rest?”
The school doctor agreed, “Sure, I’ll write him a certificate. You can give it to the instructor. When he wakes up, he can go back on his own.” Then, he pushed up his glasses and looked at Wen Ling. “As for you, you better hurry back to military training. No slacking off.”
This kind-hearted male student, tall and robust, looked like a perfect soldier. What did a mere freshman military training matter to him?
Wen Ling rolled his eyes, smiled politely, and said, “Thank you, Doctor.”
After a while, the school doctor wrote An Wuyang’s certificate and handed it over to Wen Ling.
“Sigh, I’m leaving. You just lie there.” Wen Ling glanced at the patient on the small bed and went back to military training.
As soon as he left, An Wuyang gradually woke up, feeling uncomfortable all over.
“Awake?” The school doctor smiled and walked over, holding a glass of water. “I’ve called your family, and they’ll be here to pick you up soon.”
An Wuyang took the water in a daze. “Thank you. Did I faint?” He had no memory of what happened afterward, and the school doctor mentioned…
“Yes, a classmate brought you here.” The school doctor coughed lightly. “I’m Jiang Shaofei’s senior. He asked me to take care of you.”
An Wuyang was surprised. “Oh, so you’re Shaofei’s senior. Thank you so much.”
“No need to thank me.” Since entrusted with the task, the school doctor naturally knew the identity of this student. However, he wasn’t the type to seek favor from others. Otherwise, he wouldn’t still be a small school doctor after graduating for many years.
A tall figure appeared at the door of the medical room.
Both of them turned to look. One’s eyes were full of admiration and awe, while the other’s face was filled with joy. “Yunchuan…” The young man lifted the covers and got out of bed.
“Let me hold you, okay?” Huo Yunchuan walked over and scooped the barefoot little angel into his arms. “Do you still want to go back for military training now?”
Hearing about his fainting, he placed his hand on the other’s forehead, feeling relieved when he sensed that the temperature was normal.
“No, no, no, I’m not going.” An Wuyang remembered the stern instructor and immediately held onto his man tightly with lingering fear.
“Thank you, Doctor.” Huo Yunchuan nodded towards the school doctor.
“You’re welcome. You can go now.” The school doctor said, “I heard you live nearby, which is why you rushed over so quickly.”
Huo Yunchuan nodded again, then bent down to pick up the little angel’s shoes, carrying him out of the medical room.
“Did you ask Shaofei to help me?” The little angel asked.
“What do you think?” Huo Yunchuan hugged him happily as they headed home.
“There are so many classmates here, and I’m wearing camouflage. Everyone can tell I’m a freshman.” An Wuyang twisted in his husband’s arms, babbling away.
“…Okay, you care about your image.” Huo Yunchuan had no choice but to put the shoes down and let him walk in his own.
1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading ❤️”
