Ji Wenzhen had been incredibly busy these past few days. After finishing one surgery, the next one immediately followed. By the time he was completely done, it was already two or three in the morning.
He turned on his phone and saw that his call log with the kid was still from a few days ago. Their conversation had been pitifully short.
That morning, as Ji Wenzhen put on his white coat, his phone suddenly vibrated. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, unlocked the phone, and checked the message.
It was from Dr. Zhang.
Ji Wenzhen pursed his lips, and his previously tense body relaxed. He immediately lost interest in chatting. Instead, he focused on buttoning up his white coat and leisurely glanced at the message.
His expression was exceptionally cold.
Dr. Zhang’s message was brief, respecting the value of doctors’ time, and only included the most important part: he wanted to swap shifts with him.
Ji Wenzhen instinctively began typing a refusal but paused mid-sentence. He calculated the time and realized he hadn’t seen the kid in two weeks and still hadn’t fulfilled his promise from the last time.
The watch’s hands showed 7:00. It would take less than twenty minutes to get from the hospital to the school. Bo Xinghang was probably still at morning exercises or in the study hall.
Ji Wenzhen moved his finger and sent Dr. Zhang a message saying, “Okay.”
The consequence of working overtime for a week was not seeing the sun. A few days ago, Ji Wenzhen’s car was borrowed by a psychologist from a neighboring department, so he had to rely on someone else for transportation.
Sunlight filtered through the car window, gently covering his arms. The cool white skin appeared softer and warmer—a sign that summer was approaching.
“Beep, beep.”
Ji Wenzhen shifted his gaze from the window and took his phone out of his pocket.
Kid: OK, come on over.
Doctor Ji’s slender fingers hovered over the screen, but before he could reply, the driver timely reminded him.
“Doctor Ji, we’re here.”
Ji Wenzhen looked outside and noticed they had just passed a food street near the Provincial Experimental School. There were places like Full Marks Barbecue and Top Scorer Sushi. In the blink of an eye, they had reached the school gate.
These shop owners certainly knew how to seize a business opportunity. In this age of materialism, there were still high school students who believed in these superstitions, so each store had an auspicious name.
It was quite amusing.
Doctor Ji smiled subtly and opened the car door with one hand, nodding politely. “Sorry for the trouble.”
The driver smiled and scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. “Don’t mention it, Doctor Ji. I had nothing else to do anyway.” Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and asked, “Should I come pick you up when you’re done?”
Doctor Ji put his phone away, straightened his collar, and replied calmly, “No need. I can’t be sure what time I’ll be finished.”
“Oh.”
The driver looked at the Provincial Experimental School building and seemed curious. In all his years working at the hospital, he had never heard of Doctor Ji having siblings. But since it was a personal matter, he didn’t ask further and just nodded. “See you later, Doctor Ji.”
“See you.”
The infrastructure at the Provincial Experimental School was excellent. The large letters at the entrance shone brightly, and it was clear the entire building had been carefully renovated and maintained.
Looking inside, there was a large playground with well-planned areas, including a basketball court, a football field, and rows of fitness equipment.
Today was the seniors’ last flag-raising ceremony, which was a significant event. Nearly four thousand students from all three grades crowded the schoolyard, creating a strong visual impact.
Occasionally, there were a few whispers, but the voices of thousands of people were all mixed together, creating an unbearable noise.
The homeroom teacher wiped away some sweat and patted Bo Xinghang on the back, offering silent encouragement. Bo Xinghang smiled and walked onto the stage. Seemingly sensing something, he looked toward the entrance.
Their eyes met.
Upon seeing Doctor Ji, the young man slowly opened his mouth to speak.
But they were too far apart for Doctor Ji to hear what he was saying, so he had to rely on trying to read his lips.
Doctor Ji frowned, unsure if he understood correctly. The kid repeated himself impatiently, and Doctor Ji finally deciphered what he was trying to say—I want to pull off something big.
Pull off something big?
What was this kid planning now?
He must have been getting old, unable to keep up with the young people’s way of thinking.
Ji Wenzhen subconsciously shook his head, but when he looked up, even from a distance, he could see Bo Xinghang pouting, his exceptionally handsome face feigning pitifulness, putting on a cute act.
—I’m begging you.
Ji Wenzhen: “…”
He gave in.
On the surface, Doctor Ji calmly adjusted his glasses and nodded slightly, but inwardly, he sighed.
Perhaps it was true that as he got older, his patience increased. Facing this mischievous kid, he was surprisingly tolerant of watching him mess around.
Having received permission, Bo Xinghang was delighted.
He looked away and tapped the microphone. The sudden “thump-thump” sound echoed across the sports field, and the students fell silent, turning their attention to the center, waiting for what would come next.
Bo Xinghang stood tall and lean, and when he spoke, his voice was clear and clean. “Respected teachers and dear students, good morning.”
The homeroom teacher was surprised by his formal start. He had thought this kid wouldn’t apologize properly and would just do a perfunctory job to get it over with.
Although it didn’t quite match reality and felt a bit strange, the teacher slowly exhaled.
This kid was somewhat sensible after all.
Just as he finished sighing, he heard the boy on stage change his tone, and it almost made him faint from anger.
“I heard that two weeks ago, someone secretly took pictures of me fighting and posted them on the forum?” The boy’s voice, though smiling, had a distinctly threatening undertone.
The homeroom teacher knew this wasn’t good. He had expected that this grandson wouldn’t obediently reflect on his actions. He quickly started walking, ready to pull him off the stage.
“Yes, I was fighting.”
The audience went silent.
Two or three seconds later, the silence was shattered by an explosion of chatter.
The teacher’s hand froze mid-air, not expecting him to admit it so openly. He was unsure whether to drag him down or not.
If he did, it would confirm the fight, leaving no room for explanation. But if he didn’t, who knew what nonsense this kid might say next?
Bo Xinghang glanced toward the gate out of the corner of his eye. Ji Wenzhen clearly heard those words too, but his attitude was hard to read—not quite surprised, more like…angry?
What was he angry about?
Was it because it hurt his image?
Bo Xinghang tapped the microphone again. “Please hold on for a moment. I’ve invited the person involved.”
With that, he bypassed the teacher, hopped off the stage, and jogged confidently across the field to greet this so-called “person involved.”
The chatter in the audience continued.
“Who is he? So handsome! Does our school have someone this good-looking?”
“Shush, don’t say that. You must not be on the forum. He’s got nothing but looks. Last week he even got into a fight outside the school, and now he’s being called up to apologize.”
“I heard it was even in front of a bar. He must be a thug!”
“…Right! And he’s not good at studying either. They say he always hands in blank papers, and when teachers ask him, he just says he doesn’t know… Who would believe that?”
“No way… What a disappointment. Such a waste of a good appearance.”
“…See? He admitted it. He really did hit someone. Our school is a key provincial school, yet we somehow have a delinquent here. Who knows how he even got admitted back then…”
“Oh, and I heard his mom…”
Meanwhile, Bo Xinghang had already reached the gate. The security guard had long noticed this refined-looking young man, whose demeanor suggested he had a very good upbringing. For someone like him to get into a fight, he must have been extremely provoked.
The guard sighed quietly, lamenting the school’s tarnished reputation.
“Uncle, can you open the door and let him in?”
Ji Wenzhen added, “Please, if you would.”
The guard was about to give them a piece of his mind but stopped when the man spoke so politely. What was there to scold?
He swallowed back his words and pressed the controller to open the gate just enough for them to enter.
Ji Wenzhen walked in, nodded slightly in thanks, and followed behind Bo Xinghang at a steady pace.
The security guard watched them walk off into the distance and couldn’t help but grumble again, thinking it really ruined the reputation.
“Aren’t you asking me to pretend to be your brother?”
“I was at first,” the boy replied naturally as he walked ahead, “but now I’ve changed my mind. You promised me.”
Ji Wenzhen pressed his lips together, not wanting to continue the conversation.
He regretted agreeing earlier. This self-destructive speech was something he couldn’t comprehend; he had no idea what the boy was trying to achieve.
Along the wall by the entrance were posted red banners, with bold letters at the top reading “High School Second Mock Exam Results List.”
As Ji Wenzhen walked by, he casually glanced at the list but didn’t really pay much attention. With over a thousand names, the dense text made it impossible to recognize anyone.
It wasn’t until he saw the last sheet that he stopped. Since it was the last one, only a dozen or so names were hanging there, and the last one stood out significantly.
Chinese 0, Mathematics 0, English 0… No need to look further; they were all zeros.
Ji Wenzhen had a bad feeling. He quickly scanned the name, and sure enough, it was just as he suspected. A familiar name appeared before his eyes—Bo Xinghang.
He suddenly remembered a few days ago when the young man sat next to him and asked, “Is Hang-ge’s ‘Hang’ handsome?”
Handsome.
Our Hang-ge is really handsome.
Especially when paired with all those zeros, it’s even more striking.
He withdrew his gaze and took a deep breath.
As he walked out of the crowd, Ji Wenzhen was still lost in thought about the report card when Bo Xinghang nudged him with his elbow. He glanced over. “Is something wrong?”
“Nonsense,” Bo Xinghang replied bluntly but suddenly remembered he needed a favor. Instantly, his tone changed to a pleading one, his expression completely innocent. “Ji-gege, please help me.”
He stared at Ji Wenzhen, his slightly playful voice carrying a hint of a whine. The curve of his neck was extremely attractive, and as he spoke, his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, exuding a touch of allure.
Ji Wenzhen felt a tightening in his stomach, and his voice unintentionally became much huskier and deeper. “Do you really want me to help you?”
Bo Xinghang blinked and nodded vigorously. “Mm-hmm.”
“Alright.” Ji Wenzhen walked up onto the stage, pulling his long coat tighter around him, perhaps because it was cold, or maybe to cover something.
Ji Wenzhen raised the microphone. His tightly wrapped coat outlined the solid contours of his shoulders and back. His voice was deep, perhaps due to his profession, giving an inexplicable sense of trust.
“He is my younger brother.”
