TL: Hua
Shen Boyan was startled; his footsteps shifted, and he kicked a stone on the ground with his heel. The young man in front noticed someone and instinctively turned around. Under the light, his ears turned slightly red.
Shen Boyan quickly lowered his head, concealing his thunderous heartbeat, and walked past the young man unhurriedly. Xia Shu’an watched the strange student walk by silently, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
Did he hear that?
He probably didn’t hear it. If he did, he would probably forget it soon.
On the second day of class, Shen Boyan’s mind was full of the boy’s wide-eyed expression, and he simply didn’t pay attention to class. It was rare that he didn’t even hold up the book, which made his deskmate extremely satisfied.
During recess, Shen Boyan habitually looked down the window. The boy was walking side by side with the girl. Although they were not alone, the others were obviously trying to deliberately make space for the two of them. Shen Boyan feels that he can still read that kind of atmosphere.
After school, Shen Boyan walked to the path automatically, wondering if he would see him again.
Yesterday’s time, yesterday’s place—Shen Boyan hadn’t seen him yet, but he saw yesterday’s cat first. This is probably a stray cat, but he has never seen a stray cat like this.
Shen Boyan doesn’t think much about cats; neither does he like them nor does he dislike them.
He once had a hard time guaranteeing his own life and had no time to care about whether a cat had enough to eat or whether it would be injured.
but–
Thinking of the teenager’s “meow” yesterday, the light in the boy’s eyes moved. He stared at the cat in front of him expressionlessly, and the cat also stared at him. The two of them stared at each other with their big eyes (cat) and small eyes (human). After a while, Shen Boyan squatted down and called out to it:
“Meow meow.”
Before Maomao could react, someone made a sound behind him.
“Pfft.”
It was a very light snort, filled with the innocence of a teenager. Shen Boyan turned around subconsciously, and then his pupils dilated slightly.
The young man stood behind him, carrying a school bag. He originally had a smile on his face, but when he saw the person being laughed at turning his head to look at him, he immediately stopped smiling and revealed an innocent expression on his beautiful and delicate face, trying to use his prominent face to soften people’s hearts. The young Xia Shu’an knew how to make use of his face even better than he did as an adult.
The boy walked towards him slowly, his shoes making crunching sounds on the leaves on the ground, and occasionally there was the sound of a kitten meowing.
The boy stopped two steps away from him.
The moment he opened his mouth, Shen Boyan realized that he was talking to himself. This was not a subconscious apology after accidentally bumping into him on the road, but a conversation after locking in a specific target. After realizing this, Shen Boyan’s chest suddenly felt tightened, and a strange emotion kept leaking out from unexpected angles, filling the whole chest.
“Hello, student.”
He was used to hearing the young man’s voice, but when these four simple words fell into his ears, Shen Boyan still felt a sense of dizziness and strangeness. His mind was dazed for a moment, but his lips wriggled and his vocal cords vibrated. He made a mechanical and cold voice.
“Hello.”
Xia Shu’an couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. He didn’t know if he was doing the right thing. The cold response from the boy in front of him made him a little timid. However, he was not a timid person, and maybe this person was just introverted and not good at socializing. Doesn’t he talk to the kitten just now?
Thinking of this, Xia Shu’an summoned up the courage and said softly, “Hello, I bought some cat food and kitten toys. Can you help me play with the cat?”
Afraid that he would misunderstand, he immediately added, “I am allergic to animal fur, so I cannot get close to it.”
After he finished speaking, he felt a little nervous again, and his cheeks were hot. This was the first time he had made such a request to a stranger so boldly. But fortunately, although the tall boy in front of him looked cold, he was very nice.
He agreed.
“Ok.”
He responded with a low voice.
“This is cat food; you can put it in this tub, and this is a cat teaser; you just have to hold it and tease the cat.”
The boy excitedly took out a lot of things from his backpack and handed them to the other boy. At the end, he said embarrassedly, “Sorry, I’ve wasted your time.”
“It’s fine.”
The boy’s voice is still a little hoarse and unnatural, as if he has a cold.
Xia Shu’an thought he would say something like “I also like cats very much” or “Cats are very cute,” but the boy didn’t say anything. He just took the thing in his hand, turned around, and walked to the cat.
The kitten had already set its sights on the stick in his hand, and an instinct derived from DNA made it stare closely at the ball above. The boy handed the stick to it, and it:
Snapped!
Snap it again!
The cat’s eyes shone brightly, and it became addicted to the game of “hunting the prey.”
Xia Shu’an watched with relish. Due to his physical condition, he had never been around animals since childhood, but the more he couldn’t get something, the more he wanted it. He really wanted to have his own cat or puppy one day. Because he wanted to maintain an image, he didn’t express much emotion when he saw the cat at school that day. It wasn’t until he saw this stray kitten here yesterday that he couldn’t control his impulse and even went out to buy cat food and cat toys.
Fortunately, this kind student was willing to help him!
Xia Shu’an’s eyebrows were curved with happiness, but because it was already night, as an underage student, he shouldn’t go home too late. After only playing with the cat for about ten minutes, Xia Shu’an stood up and said, “Thank you, student. Thank you very much today!”
“It’s fine.”
The boy returned the remaining cat food and cat teasing stick to him and watched as the boy stuffed the things back into his bag and stood aside without moving.
Xia Shu’an: “Are you waiting for me?” He asked in surprise and soon laughed again: “Thank you, let’s go together then!”
Shen Boyan lowered his head and answered softly, standing two fists away from his side and walking out of the path. Waiting until the sight in front of him was steep and vast, Shen Boyan then nodded to him and walked in the opposite direction.
Xia Shu’an suddenly stopped after taking a few steps. He turned around and saw only the back of the boy riding a bicycle away. He was a little annoyed and said to himself, “If I had known earlier, I would have asked him if he would be able to come over tomorrow.”
“Forget it; let’s come over and take a look tomorrow.”
The next night, Xia Shu’an waited for the boy at his usual place.
“Student, is that you?!” Xia Shu’an was both surprised and happy. He just came to try his luck. He didn’t expect to actually meet that student again.
The boy nodded and stretched out his hand.
“Anymore?”
“Yes, yes!”
Xia Shu’an was pleasantly surprised and took out everything in the bag.
“I’m just here to try my luck. I didn’t expect you to be here. Are you waiting for me? You’re such a nice person, student!”
Facing the boy’s good guy card, Shen Boyan said nothing. He just took the cat food and cat toys, turned around, and started playing with the long-awaited kitten.
The third day, the fourth day
On the fourth day, the young man suddenly said, “I can’t come here every day, so how about we come here every three or five?”
Shen Boyan nodded.
“Ok.”
Life seems to be back on track. Shen Boyan maintains the frequency of seeing him three times a week, for about ten minutes each time. Sometimes the cat didn’t show up, so they just walked to the entrance of the alley together, which took no more than three minutes.
They chatted for no more than ten sentences each time they met. Shen Boyan found out that his name was Xia Shu’an (he already knew it), but he only told Xia Shu’an that his surname was Shen, and he didn’t tell him which class he was in. Xia Shu’an was very reasonable, and seeing that he didn’t want to say too much, he thought that he was just plainly socially uncomfortable and that he came over in the evening just because he liked cats.
This kind of friendship between gentlemen due to cats is a very interesting and novel experience for Xia Shu’an. However, if possible, he hopes to know his name before he leaves Changning City, and then, in the time to come, he will always remember this plain but special “cat friend.”.
“Well, see you the day after tomorrow.”
“See you the day after tomorrow.”
Shen Boyan’s expression was cold, and after saying goodbye to the teenager at the entrance of the alley, he turned around and walked towards the place where he lived.
If he goes back through this alley, it will take about ten minutes longer than taking the main road to the school, but ten minutes is nothing at all. Anyway, even if the extra ten or so minutes were not enough for him to remember what the teenager looked like,.
The boy is very cute, with long and thick eyelashes, pink lips, and surprisingly chubby cheeks, but a very thin neck and a small Adam’s apple. When he talks, his Adam’s apple rolls up and down, making Shen Boyan think of a kitten greedily licking the cat’s food from his hand.
Shen Boyan threw down his schoolbag and lay on the bed, replaying today’s conversation with the boy in his mind as well as the kitten-like coquettish sounds he made when teasing the cat.
Unspeakable restlessness continued to accumulate in his body. Shen Boyan turned sideways uncomfortably, his knees slightly bent, and his fingers stretched down.
The next day, Thursday, during recess, Shen Boyan was holding a book. His deskmate came over to take a look.
“You are still reading English books. You are really learning well.”
Shen Boyan didn’t want to speak, so he hummed casually.
Seeing that he was silent, the tablemate started chatting with the person at the front table again.
“Hey, speaking of which, did the beauty of class three bid farewell to the transfer student?”
“She confessed but was rejected.”
“Tsk, he even rejected the class beauty. What does he want?”
“He’s a top student, not people like us.”
“Go away, who are you talking about?”
“The class beauty is the principal’s niece.”
“The school grass is a young master from a big city.”
“Damn it, do you have to stimulate me like this?!”
“”
Shen Boyan’s hand holding the book tightened, and soon he let it go.
After that, he really didn’t see the girl next to the boy, but it didn’t have any impact on him. He still looked at him from a distance and met him three times a week, and he still hasn’t told him his name.
Occasionally, he would think that maybe he could take the initiative to get close to him, and the other party would remember his name and face. He can also say hello to him when they meet on campus.
But what’s the point of getting closer?
As friends?
What’s the point of being friends?
People like him don’t deserve friends at all.
Friends are existences that can rely on each other and support each other, but he will only drag people into a bottomless quagmire.
Shen Boyan raised his head, and the stars in the sky blinked back at him. He turned around and left with his back to the boy, step by step.
It was already October when Xia Shu’an transferred here, and the final exam was coming soon. The final exam compressed their time, and they could only see each other twice a week.
When they met again, it was already after the final exam.
Xia Shu’an was wearing a thick down jacket with a scarf around his neck, wrapping his whole body tightly. Only his round eyes were exposed, and he looked very cute.
He exhaled and said, “Today is the last time we see each other this year. I have to go home to celebrate the New Year. I can only see you again when school starts.”
Shen Boyan frowned and asked, “Where is your hometown?”
Xia Shu’an was a little surprised that he would take the initiative to ask questions, but it was not a secret. He replied, “My home is in Rongchuan City.”
Shen Boyan: “Oh.”
Xia Shu said with peace of mind, “Oh? That’s cold, but this is indeed something you would reply with.”
He said with a smile in his eyes and a crooked brow, “Goodbye then, happy New Year!”
“Happy New Year.”
However, Shen Boyan did not have a happy New Year. He witnessed a group of people trying to kidnap a child. He rushed out to be a hero, but was stabbed and sent to the ICU. He stayed in the hospital for a whole month. When he was discharged, school had already started.
Shen Boyan, however, was relieved. It didn’t matter to him whether he was sent to the hospital or not. Instead of working without knowing where he was going, it was better to sacrifice his time to save a child and make the world have one more happy family.
The world will not stop because of one person. When Shen Boyan returned to school, everything was as before.
“What’s wrong? You seem a little absent-minded today.” His deskmate came over.
Someone replied casually, “It must be that the holiday mood has not passed yet.”
“That’s right. Who would be in a good mood right after the holiday?”
When school was over, Shen Boyan felt a little uneasy. Fortunately, he was there.
The boy was wearing winter clothes. He was furry all over. The tip of his nose was a little red, and his ears were pink and tender. When he saw Shen Boyan, he said happily, “Hello, Happy New Year!”
Shen Boyan’s mood suddenly calmed down: “Happy New Year.”
Shen Boyan kneeled down to feed the cat. The young man watched from a step away from him, with a happy expression on his face: “Mao Mao has grown up. I thought Mao Mao would definitely forget us after the New Year, but I didn’t expect that Mao Mao was also waiting for us.”
Shen Boyan: “Yeah.”
After a pause, he said, “It’s a different cat.”
Xia Shu’an was stunned.
“What?”
“I said, It’s not the cat before; it’s a different cat.”
After understanding what he said, Xia Shu’an was stunned.
“”
The next second, he panicked: “No, it’s not that I can’t recognize the cat. It’s just that I’ve always been far away from it and never touched it. Moreover, they look very similar and have the same fur.”
He started to speak incoherently. Shen Boyan didn’t want to laugh, but he still laughed.
The young man’s voice paused, and then a look of shame, anger, and unwillingness appeared on his face.
“Who told me not to pet the cat?”
“Well, you’re right.”
This person obviously doesn’t talk much at normal times, so why are the few words he says so irritating?
However, Xia Shu’an prides himself on being generous, and this episode did not affect their “friendship.”
Shen Boyan’s life has not changed at all. He still watches him every day. The morning speech is the time when he can look at him most openly. Sometimes he also watches him walk downstairs, talking and laughing with his friends.
In the new semester, the homeroom teacher began to remind everyone that this was already the last semester of senior high school. During the class, everyone was asked to talk about their dreams for the future from time to time. The calendar at the back of the classroom was turned over day by day. All these feelings that life was about to go far made Shen Boyan exceptionally restless.
He has never thought about the future. All he can imagine after graduation is going to the place where he is currently working and turning his temporary job into a permanent one. He knew that he would live in a lowly quagmire in the future. He could look up at the bright moon, but he did not dare to reach out and touch it.
He did not allow himself to dirty the moon.
But is it really possible? Could he really endure not touching it all this time?
Just like watching him walk on campus with girls, watching him marry someone in the future and enter a happy life together.
A life without him at all.
Unprecedented restlessness invades the heart of the boy who has not yet entered adulthood more and more day by day, making him uneasy, restless, painful, and helpless.
During the day, he told himself not to touch it.
At night, jealousy kept beating him.
Shen Boyan finally dialed that number, and a steady man’s voice came from the other end of the phone.
“Bo Yan.”
“Uncle Duan, how can I become a successful person?”
“Do you want to be a successful person? What is your definition of success?”
“I, I don’t know.” After a pause, he said, “At least, I have to have money—lots and lots of money.”
“Very good. I don’t understand the definition of success, but I know how to make money. I can train you and let you work for my company. You know, I only have one daughter, Yi You. You can support each other in the future.”
Shen Boyan intuitively felt that this choice was not suitable for him, but he was still too young to see such a long future. In the end, he could only answer, “Let me think about it again.”
However, before he had time to think clearly, an accident happened.
That day was Wednesday. On Monday, Xia Shu’an asked him to wait, saying that he might be late in the evening. Shen Boyan waited in that alley, and instead of the teenager, what greeted him was an adult who harbored ill intentions.
What was he thinking when he fell?
Oh, he was thinking, It’s great that Xia Shu’an hasn’t come yet.
Later, when he woke up in the hospital, he heard that a high school student had discovered him. His heart tightened, and when he was about to ask questions, Duan Congyi walked into the room with his “savior,” a boy he had never seen before.
Shen Boyan solemnly thanked him and felt relaxed.
It’s great that he didn’t see such a bloody scene.
Duan Congyi sat next to him.
“I took care of those people, but I don’t know if there will be a follow-up. However, if you still want to continue going to school, I will try my best to protect your safety.”
The boy on the bed looked pale. He moved his lips a few times, then suddenly raised his head and looked out the window.
Gradually, his eyes became firm.
“I won’t go back.”
“Uncle Duan, I want to learn from you.”
“Good.”
Shen Boyan did not go back or say goodbye to the boy. Desire had already grown in his heart. Every meeting with the young man only fueled the dark thoughts in his heart. If one day he grows up to be strong enough, he will definitely hold the young man in his arms at all costs.
But without that day, he would completely disappear from the youth world without giving himself a chance.
Outside the window, the green that represents spring is slowly sprouting, and Shen Boyan has a feeling in his heart.
They will meet again.
Xia Shu’an looked up at the sky and murmured, “He didn’t come today either.”
