Chapter 7
Editor: Princess
But Yu Pei quickly pulled himself together again, kicked off his fuzzy slippers, took his school uniform off, then dove right onto the bed. The soft, warm blankets wrapped around him immediately. He fished his phone out and scrolled through his contacts until he found Luo Changzhou’s name.
He regretted having been so…… shy this afternoon. He had barely greeted Luo Changzhou before rushing off.
School had been over anyways and the classroom had been almost empty. What’s more Luo Changzhou was his desk mate, the closest person to him since transferring schools, so there was nothing wrong with chatting a little more with him.
Holding his phone, he hesitated. Should he send a message or give him a call? He did want to check on Luo Changzhou, but calling him at night seemed too forward, especially since they weren’t that close yet. Plus, what if he disturbed Luo Changzhou while he was studying?
His mind was full of Luo Changzhou, so much so that he completely ignored the other group messages from his backup “friends” who didn’t even respond when he sent them messages. He quickly typed a [Goodnight] and sent it off, before closing the group chat and focusing on drafting a message for Luo Changzhou. How could he show concern without being intrusive or disrupting Luo Changzhou’s studies?
As it turned out, his worries had been somewhat justified. Luo Changzhou really hadn’t brought an umbrella today.
**
Luo Changzhou always checked the weather every day before going out, however since the weather forecast said it was supposed to be sunny today, he didn’t bring one. But the weather forecast betrayed him, because the moment he stepped out of the school gate, he was drenched.
It was already dusk, and with the heavy downpour, no one really noticed who was getting soaked in the rain, so of course, no one offered him an umbrella.
Besides, holding an umbrella while riding a bike was much more dangerous than getting wet, so he just rode home through the rain.
**
Luo Changzhou had just gotten out of the shower when Yu Pei’s message came through. He was toweling off his hair and casually picked his phone up to see who had messaged him. When he saw the sender’s name, his eyebrows arched in interest.
He had already noticed his new desk mate on his first day at the new school— he was a strikingly beautiful teenager.
When he arrived, the new desk mate their home room teacher had assigned to him had been asleep at his desk, his head resting on his arms. He’d heard that, he’d taken half a year off school due to illness and had only just returned this semester, so he hadn’t been able to help but steal a few more glances at him.
The early spring sunlight had been gentle, warm, and bright. He had entered the classroom bathed in that soft light, while Yu Pei slept peacefully within it, his face partially turned toward him, showing only half of his features. His long lashes had been closed, making him look like a quietly slumbering cat—so serene and docile that he hadn’t been able to help but feel the urge to rub his hair to see if he would nuzzle back like a kitten.
Which was why he had moved extra gently and lightly while packing his bag.
Then later, when the teenager woke up, he hadn’t seemed to be fully awake as he sat there dazed, with a sleep mark on his forehead that stood out vividly against his pale, moon-like skin, his wide, pale tea-colored eyes just staring at him.
Making it so that in a strange, impulsive moment, he had given him a notebook, the cover white, just like the teenager’s face when he had first seen him.
Who would’ve guessed that the teenager would send such a message later that night? Luo Changzhou prided himself on having a good memory, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember ever meeting the teenager before.
So if they hadn’t met, how could it be considered a “reunion”? And as for being friends, was that really all Yu Pei wanted?
He frowned slightly as he stared at the [Goodnight] on the screen. He was still deciding whether to respond when another message popped up:
[Did you make it home? If you got caught in the rain, don’t forget to take some cold medicine. Take care of yourself. See you tomorrow ;D]
Looking at the smiley face at the end, an image suddenly flashed in Luo Changzhou’s mind—Yu Pei smiling at him through the car window that sunny morning. The light had been too good that day, making it hard not to feel a little better.
He tapped the smiley face with his finger, his frown softening as he replied: [Got it. Goodnight.]
Yu Pei, satisfied after sending his message, spent the next few minutes scrolling through his classmates’ social media posts. But it was all the same old stuff, and worse, he accidentally stumbled on a post of Qi Wenqiang showing off her current boyfriend. The post made him choke a little, but thankfully, Luo Changzhou’s reply came through, lifting his mood immediately.
Then feeling content, he put his phone down and went to sleep, waking up the next day ready to share some of the imported candies his friend Gu Zheng had sent him with Luo Changzhou.
However when he walked into the classroom, full of energy, there was no sign of Luo Changzhou, even until after the first class started.
At first, he thought maybe Luo Changzhou was late, but after three classes when he still didn’t show up, Yu Pei, who had skipped so many classes himself in the past knew immediately, that—Luo Changzhou was probably sick from having been caught in the rain last night.
Luo Changzhou had replied to his message last night, even telling him goodnight, so maybe their relationship was closer than he had thought.
So thinking this way, he pulled his phone out during the break and sent a quick message: [You didn’t come to class today. Are you sick?]
Then when he didn’t reply right away, he waited for a while, then still not getting any response, he assumed he was still asleep, and so planned to check again after school.
Without Luo Changzhou sitting beside him, Yu Pei felt off. His desk mate’s desk was usually always so neat that now, with him absent, it was like he had never been there at all. It made Yu Pei feel like his memories of having a kind desk mate were just an illusion.
He felt a bit lost, but composed himself and popped a candy into his mouth.
The sweet and sour taste flooded across his tongue, spreading everywhere, filling his nose with a rich and sweet fruity fragrance, and leaning back against the wall, he felt that the feeling of loss he was feeling with Luo Changzhou not being around was a bit like when Gu Zheng had just transferred schools and left.
—Sure enough, the absence of a friend was always hard.
**
Yu Pei was in a low mood, and even until the afternoon, when Luo Changzhou still hadn’t shown up or replied to his message, his mood sank even further. And unable to focus in class as he was thinking about Luo Changzhou, he simply took a sketchpad out and started drawing a small portrait of him.
In the afternoon, in between classes, a few girls approached him to ask where Luo Changzhou was.
Yu Pei said to them: “Didn’t it rain yesterday? He probably got sick from having been caught in it.”
The girls gasped, looking a little worried but also oddly a little pleased. Yu Pei found their reactions strange until one of them asked, “Then do you have his contact info?”
The moment she asked this, it all made sense then—they probably wanted to take advantage of him being sick to send a caring message so they could leave a good impression on him.
However he wasn’t about to let that happen. If so many people sent him messages, then wouldn’t his concern be lost in the crowd’s? Plus, sharing Luo Changzhou’s contact info without his permission would be rude.
So he told a little lie.
“I don’t have it.”
“But you’re his desk mate. How could you not have his number?” The girl was surprised. “What’s more you asked for everyone else’s contact info the first day you came back to school. You didn’t ask him for his?”
“Yeah.” Yu Pei lowered his eyes, looking at the top of his desk, his right hand tapping his pen—this was his subconscious small tell whenever he lied, something only those particularly close to him knew. “He’d just transferred at that time, and I didn’t feel comfortable asking him.”
The girl thought about it and agreed. She probably wouldn’t have had the guts to ask for his number on the first day either even if she and Luo Changzhou were desk mates. However she was completely unaware that Luo Changzhou had given his number to Yu Pei voluntarily.
Not getting Luo Changzhou’s number, the girls left, disappointed.
With Luo Changzhou not around, Yu Pei only felt that the morning classes today just dragged on and on boringly that by the time he hung in there until the last class rolled around, he was already packing his bag before the bell rang, planning to dash out the moment the teacher said class was over.
His seat was in the middle of the class, not too far forward, and not too far back. He usually left through the back door, but today, as there were several girls he didn’t recognize blocking the way, probably from another class, he turned to head out the front, only for Tan Qiming, who sat in front of him to stop him.
“Hey, Yu Pei, look behind you.” Tan Qiming nodded toward the back door, signaling for him to look back.
Yu Pei did as he wanted, turning his head back to give a perfunctory glance then turned back to ask, “What’s wrong?”
Tan Qiming asked him: “Have you seen those girls?”
Yu Pei: “I’ve seen them.”
“They’re all here for you.” Tan Qiming raised his eyebrows, smiling at him.
“No way.” Yu Pei denied subconsciously. “How could they possibly come for me?”
Tan Qiming asked back: “Why not?”
“They’re probably here for Luo Changzhou.” Yu Pei felt that he didn’t have that much charm to attract so many girls. In his perception, only a handsome and academically excellent shark like Luo Changzhou was someone everyone would like. “But he’s not here, so they’ll leave after they don’t see him.”
Then almost as if to prove his point, the girls peered around the back door for a while then really left.
Yu Pei said to Tan Qiming. “See? They were here for Luo Changzhou.”
Tan Qiming didn’t respond immediately. Yesterday’s rain had been sudden and heavy, but today’s sky was clear, the light pouring in brightly. He stared at Yu Pei’s fair face for a moment before saying, “I’m serious. You’ve gotten a lot more handsome since you slimmed down, so now, plenty of girls from other classes are asking about you.”
**
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