IWHBDR Chapter 11

Jiang Huan and Wu Ping instinctively avoided responding to that comment, but somehow, they both caught on to its meaning. They glanced over at the table across from them and wisely decided not to ask any further questions.

For a moment, the only sounds at the table were those of eating and the bustling calls of vendors in the background.

After the meal, Rong Shu rubbed his now full belly and smiled, his eyes curving. “I’m so full.”

Chen Jing nodded. “Their food is pretty good. No wonder they’re always so busy.”

Jiang Huan walked over, holding some leftover skewers that he had packed up. “Boss, are you all planning to walk around the night market some more? Wu Ping and I are heading back since these skewers won’t taste as good once they get cold and greasy.”

“I’ll head back with you guys,” Chen Jing said, moving toward Jiang Huan. He then turned to Rong Shu and added, “Weren’t you planning to come to my dorm later? I still have a paper to finish, so I’ll head back first to work on that.”

“Alright, I’ll catch up with you later,” Rong Shu agreed.

After Jiang Huan and the others left, Shen Huaixiu, with one hand in his pocket, tilted his head and asked, “Where to?”

Rong Shu smiled, his lips curling up. “How long have you been here? Have you had a chance to explore this area?”

“I just got here for the start of the semester, so I haven’t had the chance yet.”

“Well, then, let me play host today. Let’s go!”

Rong Shu led Shen Huaixiu into the bustling street, blending into the lively crowd and slowly moving forward with them.

The roadside stalls offered a wide variety of goods, from snacks to toys, to attractive bags, clothes, and accessories. There were even dedicated stalls selling drinks for those who got thirsty.

Walking from one end of the busy street to the other, someone with an empty stomach could easily find themselves full, and those with empty hands could end up with them full.

At one point, Rong Shu stopped and bought two cups of lemon tea, handing one to Shen Huaixiu. He noticed a ring-toss booth nearby with a crowd gathered around watching the fun. Tugging on Shen Huaixiu’s school uniform sleeve, he suggested, “Let’s go play that too!”

Shen Huaixiu nodded in agreement and followed him over.

Once Rong Shu was in place, he called out to the nearby stall owner, “Boss, give me ten rings.”

His clear and bright voice instantly drew a lot of attention. With the cute and playful cat ears on his head, he stood out among the crowd, attracting plenty of admiring glances.

Rong Shu handed half of the rings to Shen Huaixiu. “How about we compete to see who can get that big teddy bear way in the back?”

Shen Huaixiu looked at the plastic ring in his hand, tossing it lightly to feel its weight. It was light as air, but he responded in a low voice, “Sure.”

While they were talking and moving to the center, they didn’t notice a student from another class standing nearby, recording them with their phone.

“I’ll go first!” Rong Shu declared, and with that, he flung a ring toward the large white teddy bear in the distance. However, as soon as the ring touched the bear’s soft material, it bounced off and landed on the ground beside it, narrowly missing its mark. “This is harder than it looks!”

Shen Huaixiu didn’t say anything in response. Instead, with a slight flick of his wrist, he sent a black plastic ring flying through the air. The ring glinted under the lights and drew everyone’s attention—

“You got it!”

Rong Shu exclaimed in surprise, grabbing Shen Huaixiu’s arm in excitement. “You’re amazing! A perfect shot on the first try!”

Even Shen Huaixiu was a bit taken aback. Although he had a feeling he might make it when he threw the ring, he hadn’t expected it to be so successful. As Rong Shu’s hand firmly gripped his wrist, a tingling warmth spread through him, softening his usually cold demeanor. “Just a lucky shot.”

“This isn’t just luck, it’s skill! And we still have eight rings left—come on, you do it! You’re incredible!”

Rong Shu said this as he reached out to take the large teddy bear from the stall owner, holding it in his arms with a broad, joyful smile.

The surrounding crowd began to murmur with envy, their gazes fixed on the pair.

“Those two guys are not only good-looking but also lucky. That big bear is something a lot of people have tried to win but couldn’t!”

“That bear must be the most expensive prize at this stall!”

“Wow, that cat-eared guy is so cute!”

“Isn’t the other guy just as handsome?”

“He’s a bit… fierce, but still good-looking. I prefer the cat ears!”

Hearing this conversation, Rong Shu looked up and glanced over, meeting the eyes of a young child. He smiled and playfully wiggled his own cat ears.

Seeing this, the child shyly hugged their father’s leg, thinking that the older brother was really handsome and the cat ears were super cute!

“What else do you want?”

Shen Huaixiu followed Rong Shu’s gaze to the child clinging to their father’s leg, then quickly returned his attention to Rong Shu.

Rong Shu turned his head, scanning the area with his dark eyes. “I don’t want anything else. You can use the remaining rings as you like.”

Shen Huaixiu nodded and threw the remaining rings with a swift motion. This time, without a clear target, the success rate was low. Out of the eight rings, only one managed to land on a keychain with a cat’s head. When the stall owner handed it over, he asked, “Do you want to play more?”

“No, thanks, boss. We’ll come back next time!”

The stall owner, smiling, replied, “You can come back next time, but this guy shouldn’t.”

“It’s just a big bear. You can’t be that petty!”

“I’ll be in trouble if you come too often!”

“Ha ha!”

Leaving the stall, Rong Shu, holding the tall teddy bear, became even more noticeable in the crowd.

“Let me see that keychain!” Rong Shu extended a hand to Shen Huaixiu, who placed the cat-head keychain in his palm.

Rong Shu instinctively wiggled the cat ears and observed the black, furry cat-head keychain. He gave it a gentle squeeze before handing it back to Shen Huaixiu. “It’s pretty nice. You keep it!”

Shen Huaixiu took the keychain, responded with a nod, and said nothing more. His cold, black eyes briefly softened with warmth. He then noticed Rong Shu’s untied shoelaces and gently tugged on his sleeve. “Wait a moment.”

“What’s wrong?” Rong Shu, puzzled, bent down so Shen Huaixiu could tie his shoelaces, finishing with a neat bow.

The unexpected gesture made the boy holding the teddy bear look surprised, and the cat ears hidden in his black hair twitched slightly.

“All done, let’s go.” Shen Huaixiu stood up, his expression as natural as if he had just done something simple. Meeting Rong Shu’s eyes, he felt a subtle, involuntary tremor in his heart. “What’s wrong?”

Rong Shu, trying to calm his racing heart, smiled and asked softly, “Are you this nice to everyone?”

Shen Huaixiu was momentarily taken aback, then realized that his action of tying Rong Shu’s shoelaces might have been a bit sudden. “Sorry. If you didn’t like it, I won’t do it again next time…”

Rong Shu reached out and grabbed his sleeve, smiling as he leaned closer. “I liked it. Thank you.”

The boy’s eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky, and Shen Huaixiu could distinctly hear the pounding of his own heartbeat.

On the way back, they nearly missed the curfew. The gatekeeper yelled at them, “Are you coming in or not? Hurry up, we’re locking the gate!”

“Coming in, wait a minute!” Rong Shu dashed in with the teddy bear, and the gatekeeper remarked, “Where did you get such a big one? It’s almost as tall as a person!”

“Pretty cool, right, Uncle?”

“Very cool!”

Rong Shu laughed and walked with Shen Huaixiu toward the dormitory. At the bottom of the stairs, he handed the teddy bear to Shen Huaixiu. “You head back first. I need to find Chen Jing; I have something to do.”

“What’s the matter?” Shen Huaixiu, still holding the bear, didn’t move, his black eyes focused on Rong Shu with an intense seriousness.

Rong Shu felt a pang in his heart. “Oh, he has a few questions he can’t solve. I need to explain them to him. You go ahead!”

“Don’t stay out too late. Come back before lights out.”

After saying this, Shen Huaixiu went upstairs with the teddy bear in his arms. Rong Shu, left behind, suddenly realized that he had just been cared for.

A smile unconsciously lifted the corners of his lips, and his eyes were filled with joy!

When Chen Jing saw him come in, he said, “You two took so long at the night market. If you hadn’t come soon, I would have gone to sleep.”

“Sleep? It’s only this early!” Rong Shu replied, glancing at the empty bed next to him. “Where’s your roommate?”

“At the study room. He won’t be back before lights out, don’t worry.” Chen Jing moved a chair and gestured for him to sit. “I just contacted Lin Xia to help check the anonymous ID behind the post from last time.”

“Our class monitor is an admin?” Rong Shu asked, a bit surprised.

“The class monitor is the vice president of the student council. Being an admin of the school forum isn’t a big deal. You didn’t know this until now, did you?”

“Yeah, just found out.” Rong Shu nodded without any embarrassment, and Chen Jing wisely fell silent.

In reality, despite spending so much time with Rong Shu, who seemed easygoing with a smile, Chen Jing suspected that he might not even remember most of the names of people in their class over the past two years.

“Here, this %&2234 is the ID behind the anonymous account. I’ve masked the IP. You can use it safely!” Chen Jing said, moving aside to give Rong Shu space. Rong Shu patted his shoulder and stood up. “Thanks!”

“Don’t mention it!” Chen Jing sat back down, pouring a glass of water for him. “Where did you two go? You were out for so long?”

Rong Shu turned to look at him, his eyes filled with amusement, clearly pleased that Chen Jing asked. At that moment, Chen Jing’s heart tightened. “Forget it, I don’t want to know!”

Hearing this, Rong Shu’s expression showed a hint of regret.

Not rushing to contact the person, Rong Shu used a secondary account to post several posts disparaging Shen Huaixiu. Each post was automatically deleted within 30 seconds after being posted.

Chen Jing stared at him blankly. “What are you doing?”

“Leaving some traces. Otherwise, if the account looks too clean, no one will take the bait!”

“…”

Rong Shu, satisfied with his deleted post record, opened the private message window for %&2234: “Are you there? I’d like to discuss Shen Huaixiu with you. You probably don’t like him either, right?”

After sending the message, Chen Jing couldn’t help but ask, “Do you think he’ll respond?”

“Let’s wait and see… Ah, we’re in luck!” Rong Shu smiled as he saw the reply appear in the window.

 

Author’s note: 

Shen Huaixiu: I can’t help myself

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