This incident indeed did not escalate.
Apart from the students in Class 1 of the senior year, hardly anyone else discussed or even knew about it.
This included Old Jiang and the grade supervisor.
Even after a day had passed, Zhang Zhi’liang could still faintly smell that nauseating odor, and the people in class kept their distance from him, as if fearing that too much contact with Zhang Zhi’liang would provoke Zong Yuan’s disdain.
As for Zong Yuan, the feelings among the students in this class were quite complicated.
They both admired and feared him.
He Xiu’xiu furrowed her slender brows, concealing her subtle dissatisfaction. “Weren’t you looking for Fu Xin? How did you end up provoking Zong Yuan?”
Zhang Zhi’liang caught a glimpse of Zong Yuan talking to Fu Xin amidst the crowd and he gritted his teeth as he replied, “Zong Yuan is too much of a bully!”
Though he was angry, his voice was low and soft, as if afraid Zong Yuan would overhear him. He Xiu’xiu’s eyes flashed with disdain; he was timid and cowardly, nowhere near the Zong Yuan she idolized. She had thought Zhang Zhi’liang was already quite capable and good enough, yet one could never avoid comparisons.
She tucked her fallen hair behind her ear. “On Saturday, it’s my birthday party. When Zong Yuan and Fu Xin come, if you have anything to say to Fu Xin, just say it then.”
Zhang Zhi’liang explained, “I just want to apologize to Fu Xin; I don’t like him. I just feel guilty for rejecting him.”
He held He Xiu’xiu’s hand. “Xiu’xiu, about what you said before…”
He Xiu’xiu shyly withdrew her hand. “Let’s talk about it later.”
Fu Xin was diligently writing something when Zong Yuan leaned over to take a look. It was a jumbled mess of notes. Fu Xin held his breath, nervously pausing his movements.
He only relaxed when Zong Yuan lost interest and turned his gaze away.
What he was writing was indeed a chaotic jumble, yet it concealed quite a bit of information.
For instance, at the beginning of one page, the first letter of each paragraph combined to form the sentence, “Today I had skin contact with him fifty-seven times, six times less than yesterday.”
It was the kind of trivial “insignificant detail”.
As school was about to end, the principal came to the classroom to look for Zong Yuan. “Come have dinner at my place tonight; your aunt misses you.”
Zong Yuan paused for a moment. “Sure, Uncle, I’ll be there an hour after school ends.”
The principal was puzzled. “Aren’t you coming with me? How fast can I drive?”
Zong Yuan smiled slyly. “My motorcycle isn’t slow either.”
The principal chuckled. “Well, that still takes an hour.”
“Needed it,” Zong Yuan said, tilting his body to look into the window of Class 1 of the senior year from the corridor. “I’ll take him home first.”
The principal opened his mouth but ultimately didn’t say anything, walking away with a grim expression.
That evening, Zong Yuan dropped Fu Xin off at the corner. “Bye, see you tomorrow.”
Before Fu Xin could say goodbye, Zong Yuan had already sped off in the direction of the school. Furrowing his brow, Fu Xin felt a surge of dark thoughts flood his mind.
Who was he going to see?
Why didn’t he tell me?
He started running towards the school, hiding in the dark area at the corner of the wall. The sky was already dark and he felt even less visible now.
Zong Yuan had long disappeared. Although Fu Xin didn’t know the way, he stubbornly continued down the path.
Zong Yuan was warmly received by the principal and his wife. Mrs. Principal, surnamed Li, was a longtime friend of his mother. Since coming to this world, Zong Yuan hadn’t contacted his parents even once, feeling guilty, despite 0046 saying it didn’t matter and not to worry.
At the dinner table, Mrs. Li personally called Zong Yuan’s mother, holding the phone up to his ear. Zong Yuan cleared his throat and answered, “Mom.”
On the other end, the sound of mahjong tiles being shuffled was audible and his mother exaggeratedly choked up, “You ungrateful child, have you forgotten your mother?”
Zong Yuan replied, “I haven’t.”
“I won’t listen! Whatever you say, I won’t believe you. Your dad has a bad temper and you have an even worse one! Oh, what a miserable life, you two always arguing and then giving me the cold shoulder. I have to suffer every day!”
Zong Yuan felt a pain in his temples and swiftly hung up, bringing silence to the world.
The principal hesitated, unsure whether to continue, “Yuan Yuan, about that friend of yours…”
“He studies well,” Zong Yuan interjected, taking a bite of food and thinking for a moment. “Getting into an ordinary university isn’t a problem, but he might struggle with English.”
The principal was silent.
With Zong Yuan saying this, he felt it wasn’t appropriate to press further, so he sighed and started talking about other topics.
The meal lasted about two hours. When Zong Yuan stood up to leave, Mrs. Li wanted to keep him for the night. “Stay one night; it’s dangerous out there when it gets dark.”
Zong Yuan shook his head. “I have things to do in the morning. Uncle, Aunt, I’m leaving.”
He then patted their five- or six-year-old child on the bald head before deftly hopping on his bike and leaving.
Zong Yuan spent two hours at the dinner, while Fu Xin waited in front of the school for the same amount of time.
He didn’t know if he would see Zong Yuan again. As time dragged on, his gaze grew increasingly hollow and his mind spiraled into some wild thoughts.
Just then, the sound of a motorcycle engine suddenly broke the silence of the night, loud and clear.
To Fu Xin’s ears, it sounded like a heavenly melody.
He widened his eyes in the darkness, watching as Zong Yuan zoomed past him like the wind. The black motorcycle nearly blended into the night and there was no one on the back seat.
Fu Xin felt a bit of relief wash over him. He exhaled, about to turn back, but after just a few steps, he heard that familiar voice once more, growing closer.
Zong Yuan, wearing a helmet, didn’t see him at all, while 0046 curiously remarked, “Was that Fu Xin just now?”
Zong Yuan suddenly slammed on the brakes. “Fu Xin!”
He turned the motorcycle around and, sure enough, spotted a familiar figure in the corner.
The motorcycle came to a precise stop in front of Fu Xin. Zong Yuan took off his helmet, revealing a pair of eyes filled with displeasure, but to Fu Xin, they sparkled like a galaxy, so romantic and beautiful that it left him in a daze.
Zong Yuan asked, “What are you doing here?”
In the middle of the night, right in front of the school.
Fu Xin hesitated for a moment. “I forgot to bring some homework.”
Zong Yuan felt a headache coming on. “What homework would make you come here at this hour? Don’t you know the doors are locked?”
Fu Xin didn’t respond, looking quite aggrieved. Zong Yuan sighed, “Get on the bike.”
But Fu Xin didn’t listen; instead, he suddenly asked, “Where did you go?”
Zong Yuan casually replied, “Out to eat.”
Fu Xin’s expression was completely shrouded in darkness, with only his fluffy hair illuminated by the warm glow of the streetlight. His voice was soft and gentle, “Was it with your girlfriend?”
Zong Yuan burst out laughing, “What girlfriend?”
Fu Xin gazed at him for a long while, his eyes filled with an ambiguous meaning, before he got on the bike, wrapping his arms around Zong Yuan’s waist. “Let’s go.”
Zong Yuan huffed, “The wind’s strong; lower your head.”
He drove quickly. As Fu Xin held onto him, he gradually shifted from resting on Zong Yuan’s shoulder to his back, his gaze locked in place.
Avoiding the wind, he picked up a strand of Zong Yuan’s hair that had come loose. The warm yellow light from the roadside intermittently illuminated it; it was a long, curly strand, clearly a woman’s hair.
Fu Xin’s expression turned deep as he forcefully pulled the hair out and tossed it away into the wind.
A woman’s hair was on his back.
What had they done?
Kissing, hugging, lying on a bed together—oh, and eating.
Zong Yuan dropped Fu Xin off right at his doorstep. Fu Xin didn’t even ask how he knew where he lived. The first thing he said was a question filled with undisguised emotion, “You lied to me.”
Zong Yuan frowned, recalling everything he’d said that day, and replied firmly, “I didn’t.”
Fu Xin muttered softly, “You clearly lied to me; you said you didn’t have a girlfriend.”
Zong Yuan insisted, “I really don’t.”
Fu Xin pointed out, “But there’s a long strand of hair on you.”
Zong Yuan tried to reason with him, “Where’s the evidence?”
“I tossed it away.”
Oh, wait, Mrs. Principal has long curly hair. Zong Yuan suddenly remembered and was about to explain when 0046 curiously asked, “Zong Yuan, why does Fu Xin look like he’s jealous?”
Jealous? Zong Yuan felt a bit dazed and cautiously replied, “Actually, the person I had dinner with tonight does have long curly hair.”
Fu Xin seemed to fall into a pit, but instead, he smiled lightly, his voice gentle, his eyes deep and dark. “Is that so? Is she your girlfriend?”
0046 triumphantly squealed, “See? He’s jealous! Zong Yuan, you idiot, Fu Xin is jealous! You’ve caught someone’s eye!”
“Shut up.” Zong Yuan’s eyelids twitched. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
He thought to himself, jealousy comes in many forms; how do you know this jealousy is just jealousy? Even if it is jealousy, it doesn’t have to be that kind of jealousy.
Looking at Fu Xin, he felt somewhat helpless. “Quick, go back to sleep; don’t you have to get up early tomorrow?”
He gently ruffled Fu Xin’s hair, his voice deep and pleasant. “Don’t overthink it; there was only one woman at dinner tonight. She’s the principal’s wife and I call her ‘Aunt’.”
“She’s at least twenty years older than me,” he added, lightly tapping Fu Xin’s forehead. “What do you think about every day?”
Fu Xin paused for a moment. “The principal’s wife?”
He looked earnestly at Zong Yuan, who seemed upright and honest. The stone that had been weighing on his heart dropped, and he returned to his usual self, stammering, “You… Why didn’t you say that earlier?”
A slight blush crept onto his cheeks and Zong Yuan naturally pinched his face. “Hmm, now you can relax and go back to sleep.”
This statement was overly ambiguous, causing Fu Xin’s heart to race wildly. He blurted out, “Do you like boys?”
Only after asking did he realize what he had just said, staring at Zong Yuan with a startled expression, hiding a cautious fear.
That look was heart-wrenching. He asked directly, but Zong Yuan replied vaguely, “The moonlight is pretty nice tonight.”
Fu Xin looked up at the sky. The night wasn’t particularly beautiful; the stars were dim and the crescent moon hung there—how was that nice?
Zong Yuan let him ponder, the corners of his lips curling up as he happily hopped on his motorcycle.
0046 asked, confused, “What do you mean by that?”
Zong Yuan’s voice, filled with laughter, was swept away by the wind through his helmet. “What’s in the sky?”
“Stars, the moon,” 0046 replied.
Zong Yuan chuckled, “So that’s enough.”
