There’s a psycho who has a crush on me

Chapter 16

Editor: Princess

On Monday, when it was time for school, Luo Changzhou did something that was totally out of character—he got up super early. He knew Yu Pei’s schedule was practically set in stone and aligned with his.

However he still made it to school right at 7 a.m., parked his bike, and stood by the entrance, watching the number of students trickling in increase steadily until the person he’d been waiting for finally showed up.

Yu Pei looked just like the first time he had seen him. Walking alone, his figure slender and calm, wrapped snugly in a deep blue scarf. His pale face was almost completely buried in the scarf, but even so, Luo Changzhou recognized him instantly.

Trying to steady his racing heart, he walked towards him quickly, only to slow his steps as he got closer. Then taking a deep breath, he finally called out, “Ah Pei.”

Yu Pei had been walking with his head down, wondering if Luo Changzhou would remember his promise from last Friday about bringing him tea. However just as he was thinking about it, he suddenly heard Luo Changzhou’s voice. At first, he thought he was imagining it, but when he turned around, he saw that it was really Luo Changzhou.

“Changzhou?” He called out, surprised and delighted, but something felt off. “Huh? How come you’re here so early today?” Luo Changzhou was always the one to arrive later than him.

Without missing a beat, Luo Changzhou replied, completely unfazed, “Didn’t you say you couldn’t figure out your homework? I came early so I could help you out.”

Yu Pei hadn’t expected him to be this considerate—coming to school early just to help him with his homework! He looked at Luo Changzhou, touched. “Changzhou, you’re so good.”

Luo Changzhou just smiled at him and said, “Come on, let’s go to the classroom. I brought the tea for you.”

“En en.” Yu Pei followed behind Luo Changzhou and went into the classroom with him.

Their classmates were momentarily stunned to see the two of them walk in together. Then it quickly clicked that they’d probably become good friends. The girls especially felt a pang of envy toward Yu Pei for getting to be Luo Changzhou’s deskmate. After all, being desk mates or sitting next to someone in school was the fastest way to bond. Of course, neither Luo Changzhou nor Yu Pei had any clue what was running through their classmates’ heads.

Right now, the only thing on Yu Pei’s mind was the tea Luo Changzhou had brought for him.

“This is Pu’er white tea.” Luo Changzhou pulled a small green clay jar out of his backpack after sitting down and put it in front of Yu Pei. “It’s not bitter at all.”

Yu Pei opened the lid, and a faint tea fragrance wafted out. Leaning in for a look, he saw that the jar was full of tea leaves, each covered in fine white fuzz. They were packed tightly together, filling the little clay jar in a way that made them look extremely cute.

“It’s really not bitter?” Yu Pei asked him.

Luo Changzhou nodded. “Mm.”

Yu Pei was happy when he heard this. He pulled a white porcelain cup from his backpack, something he had prepared specifically for drinking tea. “Then I’ll give it a try later.”

“What are you guys drinking?” Tan Qiming, overhearing their conversation, turned around to look. Then seeing the white porcelain cup in front of Yu Pei, he immediately laughed and teased, “You two even have matching couple cups?”

Luo Changzhou’s cup was just a plain white porcelain one—nothing special—but among a sea of students drinking out of thermoses or plastic water bottles, it did stand out.

Yu Pei’s cup, though different in shape, was also entirely white. At first glance, it did look a bit similar to Luo Changzhou’s, though calling them “couple cups” was definitely a stretch. Tan Qiming’s comment was clearly just a casual joke. Yu Pei ignored him, however Luo Changzhou, who seemed to be pondering something, glanced at Tan Qiming for a moment. Then before Tan Qiming noticed, he lowered his gaze hurriedly and said to Yu Pei, “Take out your physics worksheet. I know you’re worst at physics, so let’s start with that.”

“Oh, okay.” Yu Pei replied obediently. As he spread the worksheet out on the desk, his eyes couldn’t help but wander back to the green clay jar Luo Changzhou had given him. And feeling restless, he asked, “Changzhou, can I go make a cup of tea first?”

Luo Changzhou was busy writing formulas on the worksheet and didn’t even lift his head. “En, go ahead.”

Yu Pei picked his cup up, hesitated, then grabbed Luo Changzhou’s cup as well. “Changzhou, I’ll get some hot water for you too.”

Anyone who has ever sat at an inner seat next to the wall in school knows this: if you want to get out, you’re inevitably going to brush against the person sitting on the outside.

The classroom they were in wasn’t particularly spacious, and the gap between desks wasn’t very wide either, so before Luo Changzhou could react, Yu Pei had already squeezed past him, his back lightly brushing against his. The sensation of two firm patches of warmth pressing against his back stunned Luo Changzhou for a moment. By the time Yu Pei came back, Luo Changzhou couldn’t help but shift uncomfortably, trying to avoid him.

Yu Pei didn’t notice anything unusual. He just placed the steaming cup of water in front of Luo Changzhou, added some tea leaves to his own cup, and turned his attention to the physics worksheet on the desk, waiting for Luo Changzhou to explain the problems.

“This question needs to be done like this…..” Luo Changzhou took a deep breath. and, maintaining a calm expression, began teaching Yu Pei how to solve the physics problems.

Normally, when Yu Pei drank from his water bottle, Luo Changzhou wouldn’t think much of it. But now that Yu Pei had switched to a smaller tea cup, he found himself needing to refill it with hot water almost every class. And each time, Yu Pei would brush against him on his way out, making it so that by the end of the morning, he was so rattled that even the bitter tea couldn’t calm him down.

By the afternoon, when Yu Pei was about to go refill his cup again, he immediately stopped him. And snatching the cup, he said, “It’s inconvenient for you to get in and out from the inside seat. From now on, I’ll go get the water for you.”

Yu Pei was deeply moved by this, his heart swelling with gratitude. However he didn’t know how to express the emotions surging through him. In his entire high school life, no one had ever treated him as well as Luo Changzhou did. Not only was this handsome and gentle person his deskmate, he had also become his good friend, patiently helping him with his studies. Yu Pei was still thinking about how to repay Luo Changzhou when he heard him say, “Didn’t you tell me over the weekend that Aoki soda was really good?”

“Yeah.” Yu Pei answered. “That soda has a cedar fragrance—it smells amazing.”

Hearing this, Luo Changzhou turned to smile at him, his blue eyes looking deep and mesmerizing under the bright light. “Then how about I treat you to one after school?”

This was essentially an indirect way of asking to walk home together. Of course Yu Pei wasn’t about to pass up the chance to spend more time with Luo Changzhou. But then he remembered that Zhang Geng would be waiting for him at the parking lot after school…

Luo Changzhou seemed to guess what he was thinking, because he added the next moment, “I remember someone picks you up after school—your dad, right?”

Zhang Geng had indeed greeted Luo Changzhou before, but Luo Changzhou didn’t know that Zhang Geng wasn’t Yu Pei’s father. Yu Pei was usually very low-key in class. What’s more everyone wore uniforms in high school, so unless someone deliberately pried, who would know whose family was wealthy? So it was even less likely anyone would guess that Yu Pei had a personal driver to pick him up from school every day.

When Luo Changzhou said this, Yu Pei simply explained: “Uncle Zhang isn’t my dad… um, he’s my uncle.”

“Then you can ask your uncle to park at the traffic light over there and wait for you. I can take you there on my bike.” Luo Changzhou told him. “That way, we can still go grab soda together.”

Yu Pei thought this plan was perfect.

Nan Hua High School didn’t allow students to ride electric scooters. They could only be dropped off by parents or ride bikes or take public transport to school. As a result, the school gate was always crowded during dismissal, with people squeezing together just to get out. If Luo Changzhou gave him a ride on his bike, they could avoid the worst of the crowd. Yu Pei quickly agreed and sent Zhang Geng a message during the break, saying he’d be going to buy soda with a classmate after school.

Zhang Geng had been assigned to drive Yu Pei to and from school since Yu Pei’s first year of high school, taking over from the former driver. And in the two years since then, this was the first time Yu Pei had told him he’d be going home with a classmate.

The Yu family was well aware of Yu Pei’s condition, so seeing him making a good friend was something they wholeheartedly supported. Hence Zhang Geng replied with a simple, “Okay.”

After handling Zhang Geng, Yu Pei shot Luo Changzhou a happy look, silently telling him the plan had worked. When Luo Changzhou saw Yu Pei’s bright, smiling eyes, his own lips curved up involuntarily.

Both of them couldn’t wait for the school day to end.

When Yu Pei climbed onto the backseat of Luo Changzhou’s bike after school, he felt a surreal sense of disbelief. His hand rested on Luo Changzhou’s waist lightly. And under his fingers, he could feel the firm, elastic muscles—completely different from the soft, slender feel of his own waist after losing weight.

They weren’t the only ones riding two to a bike. Plenty of boys and girls at Nan Hua High School paired up this way, but same-gender pairs were the norm. The school had strict rules against early romantic relationships, and any boy-girl pair caught riding together would definitely be dragged off by the dean for a lecture.

“This is the place right?”

The bike slowed to a stop, and Luo Changzhou’s voice pulled Yu Pei out of his thoughts. He looked up to see the bright red sign of Yu’s Icing Sugar Milk Tea Shop not far to their right. Inside, several students wearing Nan Hua High School’s distinctive red uniforms were chatting and ordering drinks.

Yu Pei nodded and hopped off the bike. “En, this is the place.”

“Let’s go.” Luo Changzhou said, adding with emphasis, “My treat.”

“Okay.” Yu Pei didn’t argue about paying. In his mind, letting Luo Changzhou treat him this time would give him the chance to treat Luo Changzhou next time—a perfect opportunity to spend more time together.

However as soon as they stepped into the shop, he saw someone he really didn’t want to see—Qi Wenqiang.

She was holding onto her boyfriend’s arm, standing in line ahead of them, chatting and laughing brightly. Her presence was so conspicuous that Yu Pei instantly felt uncomfortable. Luckily, Luo Changzhou was tall, so he could stay out of sight by hiding behind him. Luo Changzhou probably didn’t even know all their classmates’ names yet, and even if he did, it wasn’t likely he’d go out of his way to greet Qi Wenqiang.

Following the principle of mutual avoidance, Yu Pei only glanced at Qi Wenqiang briefly before planning to turn away. But to his dismay, she turned her head just then and locked eyes with him.

Yu Pei thought she was going to greet them, but instead, she just looked at him, then glanced up at Luo Changzhou. Then without saying a word, she turned back around as if she hadn’t seen them. Her demeanor, however, became noticeably more restrained as she continued talking to the boy beside her.

“Here.” Luo Changzhou had already bought an Aoki soda by this time and handed a cup to Yu Pei.

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