Chapter 4
Editor: Princess&Jodi
By the time students reached their final year of high school, PE teachers generally didn’t make them do much anymore, so after they run 800 meters, the teacher had them do a few more exercises and then let them go off for free time.
Yu Pei sat back down, watching the boys playing basketball not too far away quietly. Luo Changzhou was among them.
Maybe it was because the run had made him a bit hot, but Luo Changzhou had taken off his school jacket and was now wearing just a plain white T-shirt, and among the group of boys in their red uniforms, he stood out noticeably. Yu Pei was so engrossed in watching him that he didn’t even notice when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
Turning around, he saw that the person who had tapped him was a particularly lively, outgoing girl from his class named Lin Runluo. Smiling, he asked her, “What’s wrong?”
With the annoying scarf no longer in the way, his delicate features stood out brightly in the morning light, making him look almost unreal. Lin Runluo stared at him in awe, blurting out, “Yu Pei, you’ve really lost weight.”
Nearly everyone who saw him again after some time said the same thing that by now, Yu Pei had lost count of how many times he’d heard it, so he just smiled again and said, “Yeah.”
“You look so much more handsome now that you’ve slimmed down. We almost didn’t recognize you.” Lin Runluo sighed. Then, lowering her voice and gesturing toward the three girls behind her, she continued, “Actually, I came over because some girls wanted to meet you.”
Yu Pei was a little surprised when he heard this. After all, this sort of thing had never happened before. Following where Lin Runluo was pointing, he saw three girls standing off in the distance, who, seeing that he was looking their way, suddenly became both excited and a little shy. Yu Pei looked down at the ground, muttering, “What’s there to meet? We’re about to…… graduate.”
He had originally meant to say, “We’re about to take the university entrance exam, so we should focus on studying”, but quickly reconsidered, because with his grades, that wouldn’t have been very convincing, so he switched gears mid-sentence.
Lin Runluo pouted and said, “Graduating doesn’t matter, we could still get into the same university…” But then she suddenly trailed off, her expression changing. “Wait, do you still like Qi Wenqiang?”
The mention of that name made Yu Pei’s pupils shrink, however since his head was lowered, Lin Runluo couldn’t quite make out his expression. All she heard was his faint reply, “How could that be possible? I just don’t want to waste anyone’s time. With my grades, what university could I even get into?”
Lin Runluo: “Aren’t you studying art? You’re taking the art exam, so your cutoff score is different from ours.”
Yu Pei didn’t even bother arguing with her, he just said, “Just give them my contact info. You already have it, right?”
“Alright, I’ll go tell them.” Lin Runluo immediately grinned when she heard Yu Pei say this, then she ran toward the three girls.
Yu Pei sighed as he watched her retreating figure. Then he turned his gaze back to the basketball court but accidentally caught sight of someone he least wanted to see—Qi Wenqiang.
She was standing nearby, holding a bottle of water, also watching the boys playing basketball, just like he had been. Yu Pei knew for sure that she was watching her boyfriend. He just didn’t know if it was the same boyfriend he had known before his break from school.
Thinking this way, he stopped avoiding her and let his gaze linger on her. After all, his spot was hidden enough. Qi Wenqiang was very pretty, had good grades, and could dance. At the school’s art festival, her water-sleeve dance had stunned countless boys, and Yu Pei had been one of them.
However he had never entertained the idea of confessing to her, because Qi Wenqiang would never like someone like him, a fat kid. She preferred tall, handsome boys who played basketball—the kind of boys most girls liked, so he had always been self-aware, only admiring her from afar but never trying to get close to her.
What he didn’t know was how his crush on Qi Wenqiang had become public knowledge, then it wasn’t long before he heard her response: “How could I ever like that gloomy, weird fat guy?” Even though he had always known what the outcome would be, hearing those words from her own mouth had still hurt.
Yet now, six months later, seeing her again didn’t seem as hard as he thought it would be. Avoiding her only made things worse.
After all, he probably wouldn’t like her anymore anyway, so what was there to care about?
He turned his head, no longer looking at her, and when the bell rang, signaling the end of school, he made his way to the stone benches where the students had left their bags. He searched for his but couldn’t find it until he realized that it had been squished underneath a dark blue backpack.
He grabbed the strap of the other bag, intending to pull it off, however just as he touched one end of the strap, the other end was lifted up effortlessly. Looking up subconsciously, he found himself staring into a pair of deep blue eyes—Luo Changzhou’s.
Luo Changzhou glanced at Yu Pei’s hand that was still gripping the strap and raised an eyebrow. “School’s out.”
“Oh.” Yu Pei let go hurriedly and reached for his own bag. Then seeing Luo Changzhou still there, he hesitated before saying, “Then…. see you later.”
“Mm.” Luo Changzhou grunted softly, pulling out a bottle of water from his bag and taking a long drink.
Having worked out all morning, there was quite a lot of sweat that was dripping down from his forehead, trickling down his neck and disappearing into his shirt collar. After finishing the bottle, he tossed it effortlessly into a nearby trash can, slung his backpack over one shoulder, and looked down at Yu Pei. Then in a low voice, he said, “See you this afternoon.”
With that, he turned and walked away without looking back.
Yu Pei stood there, a bit stunned. His aloof new desk mate had said more sentences than he had. Watching Luo Changzhou’s retreating figure, he suddenly felt that maybe his new desk mate wasn’t as cold as he seemed.
Even if he really was cold, he was probably like ice cream—cold and misty on the outside, but sweet once you took a bite.
Yu Pei didn’t dwell on Luo Changzhou for long, because he grabbed his bag and made his way to the parking lot, where the family driver was already waiting in the usual spot. Today, it was just the driver. Yu Pei climbed into the backseat and said, “Uncle Zhang, let’s go.”
“Okay, little young master.” Zhang Geng replied, started the car, then pulled out of the school grounds slowly.
Yu Pei relaxed, leaning his head gently against the window, which was cracked open just a bit to let in some air.
The weather in early spring was just like this—warm during the day but cold at night. The sunlight streaming through the window, tinted by the car’s sunblock film, eased the soreness in Yu Pei’s body that was caused by the side effects of his medication.
He hadn’t taken his medicine this morning. If he had, he would’ve slept through the whole morning, but even so, the leftover effects from the night before still made his body ache all over.
Zhang Geng glanced at the teenager in the backseat through the rearview mirror, his gaze lingering on the slight furrow in his brow. Opening his mouth, he asked, “Little Young master, are you feeling unwell?”
“Ah, no. I was just wondering whether I should bother with my homework today……” Yu Pei opened his eyes quickly. If Zhang Geng found out he wasn’t feeling well, he’d definitely tell his big brother and Uncle Zhuang, and he would end up stuck at home for a few days before he could return to school. That’s why he quickly made up an excuse.
Everyone in the family knew he struggled with his studies, what’s more he was known for doing his homework only occasionally, so this excuse wouldn’t raise any suspicion.
Sure enough, Zhang Geng just laughed and shook his head, however he didn’t say anything else.
Yu Pei let out a quiet sigh of relief, then turned to look out the window.
Most of the students, aside from the boarders, would go home at lunchtime to eat and rest, so as he looked outside, he saw a few familiar faces from his class riding their bikes home. However he didn’t lower the window to say hi.
For one, he wasn’t close with any of them. For another, he was in a car while they were on bikes—greeting them would probably only make them dislike him, right?
Thinking this way, he just watched quietly as his classmates, chatting and laughing, were left behind as the car sped past them.
Watching their bright smiles, he felt a pang of melancholy, along with a hint of envy. He envied that they had friends, that they were healthy. For a moment, he even fantasized about riding a bike to and from school himself, thinking that maybe then he’d make some friends too. But as soon as he remembered his physical condition, he quickly dismissed the idea, and feeling a bit down, he pulled his gaze back inside the car.
However just as he turned his head, he caught sight of another familiar figure. And looking closer, he saw that it was really someone he knew—not just any classmate, but his new desk mate who had just transferred that morning, Luo Changzhou.
Like the classmates he had been envying, Luo Changzhou also rode a bike to and from school. However unlike them, he didn’t have any friends around him—he was by himself.
His back was slightly hunched, both of his hands gripping the handlebars tightly. The veins on the back of his hands stood out, and his deep blue eyes stared unblinkingly at the red light ahead. Just then, the car that Zhang Geng was driving stopped right next to him, giving Yu Pei a clear view of him through the black tinted window.
The red light lasted a full 90 seconds. Yu Pei used to think that this 90 seconds was a bit long, however he didn’t feel that way at all today. He was too absorbed in watching Luo Changzhou who was next to the car.
Zhang Geng noticed through the rearview mirror that the teenager had been staring outside the window, so he followed his gaze, and saw a student from Nan Hua High School in the same uniform. He said knowingly, “That’s little young master’s classmate, right? Do you want to say hi to him?”
Yu Pei froze. “Huh? What? No—”
However before he could finish, Zhang Geng had already lowered the window without waiting for his answer. Yu Pei didn’t have time to stop him, and so suddenly found himself locking eyes with Luo Changzhou, who had glanced over lightly.
“Hi…” Yu Pei smiled stiffly, raising his hand awkwardly to greet him as he stared into his deep blue eyes.
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