Chapter 6
Editor: Princess&Jodi
The person who was calling Luo Changzhou wasn’t any stranger. It was Lin Runluo, the girl who, during gym class earlier, had helped some other classmate ask Yu Pei for his contact info. She wasn’t particularly into relationships herself, but she just loved playing matchmaker. And now, it seemed like she had set her sights on Luo Changzhou.
Yu Pei figured it’d be a bad time to “wake up” now. It’d definitely interrupt their conversation. Besides, he was still drowsy, so he decided to just keep sleeping.
But, maybe it was because the classroom was too quiet, because he unintentionally “eavesdropped” on Luo Changzhou and Lin Runluo’s chat. It wasn’t like he wanted to, but every single word of theirs entered his ears with precision.
“Mn, what is it?” Luo Changzhou answered Lin Runluo, hearing her voice, but he didn’t even look up, still gripping his pen, scribbling down whatever he was working on.
Lin Runluo, hearing his response, immediately plopped herself into the seat right in front of him, propping her chin on her hand and staring at Luo Changzhou’s expressionless face. She cleared her throat and said, “Luo Changzhou, um… I wanna ask you something.”
“Go ahead.” Luo Changzhou’s response was quick.
“That….” Lin Runluo hesitated for a bit, probably finding it a little awkward to ask, however she finally spat it out: “Do you have a girlfriend?”
The moment she asked that, Luo Changzhou’s hand stopped writing, and he lifted his eyelids to look at her.
Maybe it was because he was mixed-race, but Luo Changzhou’s features were more striking than most—his deep-set eyes, high cheekbones, and ice-blue pupils always carried a bit of coldness with them, completely devoid of emotion. When he looked at someone, it was like he was peering through ice water—so cold and detached.
Seeing his reaction, Lin Runluo, as if afraid he might misunderstand, added hurriedly, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking for myself! Someone else asked me to do this.”
“Oh.” Luo Changzhou dropped his head again, his tone unchanged, as flat as ever, “No.”
“Really?” Lin Runluo was surprised. After all, in everyone’s eyes, a guy as good-looking as Luo Changzhou should’ve had a girlfriend by now. “Then what type do you like?”
“Good-looking ones.” Luo Changzhou responded with just three words, his voice indifferent, sounding somewhat cold.
Lin Runluo: “…That’s it? Nothing else?”
“En.” Luo Changzhou, true to form, kept it short and simple.
Lin Runluo still couldn’t believe it. She thought he was just brushing her off, so she pressed, “Don’t you have any other requirements?”
“What else would I need?” This time, it was Luo Changzhou’s turn to ask, “Isn’t being good-looking enough?”
Lin Runluo was stumped. She stammered, “Then, what about personality? Don’t you care about that?”
Luo Changzhou didn’t even lift his head as he replied, “If they’re good-looking, I can forgive anything. So, they still have to be good-looking.”
Lin Runluo: “…”
Even Yu Pei, who was lying there almost couldn’t help but laugh at that response. His drowsiness vanished without a trace.
“But—”
Lin Runluo was about to say more, but Luo Changzhou interrupted her, “Stop asking. We’re talking too loudly.”
“Huh?” Lin Runluo was confused by what he meant, “But it’s the long break right now and there’s hardly anyone in the classroom, so we’re not bothering anyone.”
“But my deskmate is sleeping.” Luo Changzhou said softly.
Yu Pei froze when he heard this. Only then did he realize that from the very start, Luo Changzhou’s voice hadn’t really been cold. It was more like he had lowered it on purpose—as if he was afraid it would wake his deskmate up.
Since Luo Changzhou put it that way, Lin Runluo couldn’t really argue. She could only pout, “Fine then.” Then with that, she slid out of the seat in front of him and dashed out of the classroom, probably to “report” back to whoever sent her.
Luo Changzhou remained at his desk, quietly writing, occasionally flipping through a book, each movement barely making a sound.
But despite the peaceful setting, Yu Pei couldn’t fall asleep anymore. An impulsive urge had crept up on him slowly—he wanted to become good friends with Luo Changzhou.
It wasn’t because of anything his doctor, Uncle Zhuang, or his big brother had suggested. It was something deeper, something almost instinctual—the basic human drive to gravitate towards those who were kind, gentle, and exceptional. It was a primal pull, a desire to connect with good people.
What’s more the more he interacted with him, the more he realized that despite Luo Changzhou’s cold appearance, there was a hidden softness beneath the surface. It wasn’t something he did on purpose. It was the kind of warmth that just accidentally slipped out, like a drop of sweet syrup in your drink. No wonder all the girls were into him the moment he arrived at school.
Yu Pei thought to himself, dating someone like Luo Changzhou would probably make one really happy. Not that he could date him—after all, they were both boys. But being friends? Yeah, that sounded pretty good.
It had been a long, very long time since he had met such kindness.
However even though he had this thought, he didn’t immediately get up and start chatting with him, because rushing into things never worked out. What’s more even though he really wanted to be friends with him, Luo Changzhou had only just transferred, so he didn’t know much about him—he didn’t know what he liked, what he hated, and didn’t even if going up to talk to him right now would annoy him or interrupt his studying. So he decided to wait until Luo Changzhou stopped studying, and then chat with him.
So during class, he kept sneaking glances at Luo Changzhou, resting his head on his right hand, waiting for the perfect moment.
However even by the end of school, that moment never came, because Luo Changzhou spent every second studying, and Yu Pei, who wasn’t exactly an academic star, felt embarrassed by how diligent he was. Interrupting him just felt wrong. He couldn’t for the life of him understand how Lin Runluo had had the guts to talk to him while he was in the middle of studying.
He was confused.
*
Yu Pei sighed, packing his things up slowly. Then seeing Luo Changzhou about to leave his seat, he stood up immediately, and, trying to stay calm, said, “Luo Changzhou, see you tomorrow!”
However the moment he said it, he regretted it. His tone was way too stiff, it was as if he was challenging Luo Changzhou to a fight or something. What’s more Luo Changzhou also seemed very surprised by the sudden sentence, because the second the words left his mouth, those deep blue eyes shot over to him, carrying a hint of surprise.
This wasn’t Yu Pei’s first awkward attempt at making friends this way—it had happened back when he was still the chubby, slacker type. It was just that it ended in a disaster every time, so afraid that it would be the same this time, he ducked his head hurriedly, yanked his bag up, and hurried out of the classroom, leaving Luo Changzhou behind.
And on the way home, he kept urging Zhang Geng to drive faster. Zhang Geng joked, asking if he was in a rush to see his big brother, Howe he didn’t explain.
The school road was usually always crowded after school was over, sometimes bikes could even move faster than cars. He was just worried that if they went too slow, Luo Changzhou would catch up with them. Then if Luo Changzhou didn’t actually want to be friends, and actually caught up with them, what would he do? Roll down the window and greet him? Or just pretend not to see him?
Yu Pei was torn and hesitant, still regretting how awkward his goodbye had been. Finally, when they passed the intersection where he’d separated from Luo Changzhou, he breathed a sigh of relief.
But then Zhang Geng suddenly said, “Oh no, it’s raining.”
Yu Pei froze, then he looked out the window subconsciously, and sure enough, he saw fine threads of rain falling. The sky quickly darkened as a downpour arrived, driven by a cold wind. In mere seconds, the world outside had turned a gloomy shade of grey, with only the splashes from raindrops hitting the ground showing any sign of brightness.
“This rain is bad news for the students without umbrellas.” Zhang Geng said as he turned up the heat in the car, afraid Yu Pei who was in the car with him would be cold.
The warm air spread through the car, quickly driving away the chill brought by the sudden rain, however Yu Pei, looking out at the gloomy world, could still feel the cold creeping in.
This rain came so suddenly and so fiercely that anyone without an umbrella was going to be drenched. Even those who had one would probably end up soaked, and he hadn’t forgotten that Luo Changzhou rode a bike to school.
Staring at the misty splashes of rain blankly, he suddenly regretted rushing out of the school. If he’d taken his time, he could’ve asked Zhang Geng to give Luo Changzhou a ride home, and they could’ve chatted in the car—a perfect chance to start a friendship.
But now, he had wasted this opportunity.
He scolded himself in his heart silently, his eyebrows furrowed, his already pale lips turning even more white as he bit them in frustration. By the time they reached home, his mood had only worsened. However he put on a calm face as he entered the living room, pretending as if nothing had happened.
Yu Qing, who was sitting on the couch reviewing some documents, looked up the moment he heard the sound of his footsteps: “Ah Pei is back?”
“En.” Yu Pei answered. “It’s raining outside.”
Yu Qing glanced out the window and said, “It’s coming down pretty hard. Did you get caught in it?”
Yu Pei replied: “No, the rain didn’t start until after Uncle Zhang picked me up.”
“That’s good.” Yu Qing let out a soft sigh. “Make sure to take your medicine after dinner. You’re not in the best of health, and we don’t want you getting sick.”
“En.”
Yu Pei responded obediently, then after his response, an awkward silence enveloped the living room. Yu Qing seemed to struggle for something more to say, then after a moment, he hesitated before starting again, “Ah Pei…”
“Big brother, I still have homework, so I’ll go upstairs first.” Yu Pei interrupted him, then lowering his head, he gripped his backpack as he ran upstairs
Yu Qing didn’t have time to stop him, and could only watch, standing there in place, as his figure quickly disappeared at the top of the staircase. Sighing deeply, he returned to the couch and sank back into his paperwork.
The moment Yu Pei entered his room, he shut the door and flicked on all the lights.
The warm yellow light filled the space, casting a cozy glow over the soft green walls that turned into a warm orange. Bathed in this warm light, the room looked inviting and comfortable, providing a stark contrast to the cold, wet night outside.
However despite the warmth, Yu Pei shivered inexplicably. The relentless rain pounding against the windows seemed like a vast cage, trapping him and whatever warmth he had in this small room. And alone with his own shadow stretched across the floor, he couldn’t shake the feeling of loneliness and cold that crept into his heart.
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