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Chapter 18
Editor: Princess
He was looking at the teenager beside him.
Yu Pei still looked the same as the first time he’d seen him, lying there in the same sleeping position. It was late spring, just turning into early summer, and it seemed like he’d had a haircut recently—most of his pale face was exposed. The sunlight filtered through the branches outside the window, scattering into dappled fragments, softly falling on his hair and brows, brushing his cheek with a faint warmth.
Luo Changzhou wanted to touch his face too, but just as his fingers were about to brush Yu Pei’s cheek, he suddenly remembered they were in the classroom, and there were a lot of people around. So, his hand abruptly changed direction and reached for Yu Pei’s notebook instead.
The notebook he had given Yu Pei was well-kept. The handwriting on it was neat and elegant, much like its owner, giving off a warm and gentle feeling. But that feeling was abruptly interrupted on the next page, which was covered in messy black scribbles. Luo Changzhou couldn’t help but smile, shaking his head as he flipped past the page. He figured he’d just help the teenager rewrite the notes later.
However as he turned the thin page, what appeared before him wasn’t a blank new page, but a small sketch.
He froze for several seconds before reaching out to touch the sketch. The person in the drawing was someone he knew very well, because he saw this face in the mirror every day.
It was a drawing of him, with his face turned to the side as he wrote.
He had seen Yu Pei draw before, but it was always casual doodles during breaks—still life cubes, various fruits, or bouquets in different shapes. He had never seen Yu Pei draw people before.
He couldn’t quite describe how he felt at this moment. Time seemed to stretch and slow under some invisible spell. He touched the sketch carefully, his fingers brushing over the blue eyes of the person in the drawing.
The paper felt cold, like the chill of Yu Pei’s fingers when he handed him a hot water bottle this morning. Yet it also seemed to carry color—not the blue of a ballpoint pen, but a faint pink, like the budding flowers of Yu Pei’s fingertips, blooming with a soft “pop” in his heart.
*
Yu Pei ended up sleeping until the last class, and when he woke up and saw that only he and Luo Changzhou were left in the classroom, he thought school had already ended. He sat there dazed for a while before remembering that the last period was P.E.
“Ah!” He smacked his forehead. “My notes!”
“…How did I sleep for so long?”
Yu Pei kept sighing, confused about how he’d slept through the whole morning just from taking one pill. He had no idea that Luo Changzhou had been sitting next to him, quietly acting as an air conditioner, making it so that even though everyone else in the class was too busy gawking at the blue-eyed new transfer student, they still didn’t dare interrupt him, which caused him to be able to sleep so peacefully.
Luo Changzhou watched Yu Pei knock his own head for a while, then smiled and handed him the notebook. “Stop hitting yourself. I’ve written all the notes for you.”
Yu Pei took the notebook and opened it, and behind the page of his scribbles, he found pages of neatly written notes in Luo Changzhou’s strong, clear handwriting. He didn’t know how to thank Luo Changzhou, hence he could only just hug his notebook and say, moved, “Changzhou, you’re so good.”
“Let’s go.” Luo Changzhou said with a smile, slinging his bag over one shoulder. “It’s time for P.E.”
Yu Pei stuffed the notebook into his bag and followed Luo Changzhou out, replying with a quick, “Mm-hmm.”
*
P.E. class wasn’t much different from usual. Because as always, after lining up with everyone, Yu Pei stepped aside to watch the others jog around the track and do their warm-ups. If there was anything different this time, it was that he had a new job—watching over both his and Luo Changzhou’s bags.
Before the jogging started, Luo Changzhou handed his bag to him, asking him to find a stone bench to put it on.
Yu Pei agreed and carried both their bags to a shady spot under a tree where he often sat alone. There was a stone table there, and the spot was pretty hidden—hardly anyone ever came by. Yu Pei sat down and watched Luo Changzhou run through the gaps in the fence.
However it might have been a little too secluded though, because Luo Changzhou had to glance around a few times before he saw where Yu Pei was.
“Why’d you pick such a hidden spot? I almost couldn’t find you.” Luo Changzhou’s tall nose glistened with a bit of sweat, probably from the run.
As he said this, he unzipped his jacket roughly, pulled off his school uniform, and used it to wipe his face. Then, with one hand, he pushed back the stray hairs on his forehead. His hair was thick and black, and as his long fingers combed through it, the contrast between black and white was striking. His deep blue eyes, darkened by the backlight, glanced at Yu Pei as he chuckled, “But being hidden is good. No one will bother us here.”
Yu Pei stared at him blankly, unsure why his heart was beating a little faster. He hadn’t even been running.
Luo Changzhou tossed his school uniform onto the stone bench beside him casually, then pulled a dark blue notebook out of his bag and said to Yu Pei: “Get your notebook. I’ll explain the problems to you.”
“Huh?” Yu Pei still hadn’t snapped out of it.
Luo Changzhou glanced at him, a faint smile in his eyes. “Didn’t you fall asleep this morning?”
“Oh.” Yu Pei finally understood and hurriedly unzipped his bag, pulling out the white notebook. He flipped it open in a rush, but the first thing he saw wasn’t Luo Changzhou’s bold handwriting, but the sketch he’d secretly drawn earlier.
He froze for two seconds before suddenly slamming the notebook shut with a loud “snap” and looking at Luo Changzhou.
Luo Changzhou didn’t seem to notice what he’d done, because when he turned his head back, he finally looked up and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…” Yu Pei mumbled, quickly tucking the sketch into the back pages of the notebook. Only then did he act like nothing had happened, spreading the notebook open on the table.
“The teacher covered linear algebra today.” Luo Changzhou said, lowering his gaze as he began explaining the day’s lesson to Yu Pei seriously.
At first, Yu Pei was listening really attentively, however his math was just way too bad. Even with a “great teacher” like Luo Changzhou, he mostly couldn’t follow along. So, after a while, his mind started to wander.
He stopped looking at the notebook and started sneaking glances at Luo Changzhou instead.
He felt that Luo Changzhou was the kindest classmate he’d ever had, even though he didn’t look particularly kind. His features were sharp and deep-set, and his face had such defined contours that he seemed like he was born with an aloof, no-nonsense kind of vibe. Even his deep blue eyes looked like a frozen sea, cold to the core.
But for some reason, he still thought he was really gentle.
“Do you understand?” Luo Changzhou explained for quite a while, before realizing that his “student” hadn’t been paying attention at all. He felt a little helpless.
“I understand, I understand.” Yu Pei nodded like crazy, but his fingers betrayed him as they tapped on his pen lightly.
Luo Changzhou seemed to understand that it was impossible for him to absorb all the material in just one P.E. class, so he stopped explaining and started packing up his bag.
And seeing that Luo Changzhou wasn’t talking anymore, Yu Pei was afraid that he was angry, so he pulled a piece of candy out of his bag hurriedly, unwrapped it, and held it out to him. “Changzhou, have some candy. It’s a new flavor—you’ve definitely never tried it before.”
Luo Changzhou stared at the blue candy sitting in Yu Pei’s palm for a moment before taking it and popping it into his mouth.
Yu Pei asked, “How is it?”
“Not bad.” Luo Changzhou replied, his voice muffled.
Seeing that Luo Changzhou still didn’t seem very enthusiastic, Yu Pei thought for a moment and added, “Changzhou, you must be tired from tutoring me today. How about I treat you to milk tea after school?”
Luo Changzhou didn’t say anything, but he looked at him.
And seeing a glimmer of hope, Yu Pei immediately pulled out his phone to text Zhang Geng, asking him to keep waiting at the intersection. “But I’ll still need you to walk me to the intersection.”
Luo Changzhou watched Yu Pei’s slender, pale fingers tapping away on the phone then suddenly said, “How about I tutor you every day, and you treat me to milk tea?”
Yu Pei froze when he heard this.
It wasn’t that he minded spending money on milk tea every day. What he was really thinking was that if he treated Luo Changzhou every day, then he’d get to walk home with him every day too.
“But… my grades are really bad. What if you get tired of teaching me?” Yu Pei hesitated.
Luo Changzhou just smiled at him. “I won’t.”
At the end, he added, “I’ll keep teaching you.”
Only then did Yu Pei break into a smile.
Even after parting with Luo Changzhou at the intersection, the smile in Yu Pei’s eyes hadn’t faded, and Zhang Geng noticing his good mood, asked with a grin, “Little Young Master, you’re in a good mood today?”
“En.” Yu Pei shook the milk tea in his hand at him. “Oh, right, Uncle Zhang, Changzhou said he’ll walk home with me every day from now on, so you can just wait for me here at the intersection. There’s no need to come to the school anymore.”
Zhang Geng replied, “Alright.”
Zhang Geng had met Luo Changzhou before and had a good impression of him. He thought the mixed-race student was polite, hardworking, and well-mannered. Plus, Yu Pei clearly enjoyed spending time with him. Walking home together after school every day wasn’t a big deal, so he agreed after some thought.
Yu Pei leaned against the car window, basking in the warm spring sunlight and sipping his sweet milk tea, feeling great. But when he got home and saw workers carrying furniture out, the smile in his eyes instantly vanished.
He stood there silently, his face completely expressionless.
Uncle Zhuang, who had been directing the workers, noticed Yu Pei and let out a sigh. He walked over and said softly, “Little Young Master.”
“M-Mom…” It took Yu Pei a long time to speak, and when he finally said the word, he stuttered, as if he didn’t know how to say it. “Her stuff isn’t done being moved yet? It’s been two days already.”
“Almost done. There’s not much left. Madam’s things will be completely moved out by today.” Uncle Zhuang said softly, lowering his head slightly as he leaned closer to Yu Pei.
Yu Pei remained silent, standing still like a statue, quiet and unmoving for a long time. Finally, his fingers, hanging by his side, curled slightly as he asked, “Will she ever come back?”