Chapter 25.3
Editor: Princess
Luo Changzhou had been at this school for a while now, and he knew Yu Pei’s health wasn’t great. But he didn’t know the exact details until now. This was the first time Yu Pei had mentioned his condition.
“Don’t admire them.” Luo Changzhou said. “I’m way cooler than them.”
The way he said it, so full of confidence, made Yu Pei want to laugh. But the funny thing was, it was actually true.
“What’s so great about playing basketball?” Luo Changzhou continued. “It just makes you tan. Look at me, I don’t play anymore.”
He sat down beside Yu Pei, pulled out his workbook, and said, “You’re nice and pale. My mom really likes ones like you that are pale.”
Yu Pei knew that Luo Changzhou had stopped playing basketball so he could spend time tutoring him. And now, he was trying to comfort him in the weirdest way possible. However even though it sounded kind of strange, Yu Pei still nodded along. “Yeah, as long as I have you, it’s enough.”
Smiling slightly, Luo Changzhou lowered his head to go over a chemistry lesson with him.
Today’s chemistry class hadn’t covered a lot of material, and the concepts weren’t too difficult. But as Luo Changzhou went over the notes, he realized something—Yu Pei’s chemistry was terrible. He didn’t even know how to balance a basic chemical equation, so he made him start memorizing the periodic table.
Halfway through, he suddenly asked, “Can I give you a homework assignment?”
“Huh?” Yu Pei looked up in confusion. “Sure.”
He even pulled out a new notebook, ready for Luo Changzhou to write down a question. But Luo Changzhou didn’t touch the notebook. Instead, he pulled a neatly folded piece of stationery out of his bag and placed it in front of Yu Pei.
It was a cream-colored letter paper with delicate silver embossing—a beautiful, high-quality piece of stationery. And in the center, written neatly in black ink, was a single chemical equation:
ZnSO₄ + Mg = ?
Luo Changzhou asked him, “Can you solve this?”
Yu Pei was still distracted by how fancy the stationery was. But he looked at the equation—it didn’t seem too hard. Still, he hadn’t memorized the periodic table yet, so he shook his head. “Nope.”
Luo Changzhou chuckled softly. “That’s fine. I’ll teach you later.”
Then, he folded the letter paper back up carefully and slipped it into his bag.
“Huh? Why wait until later?” Yu Pei asked. “Isn’t this my homework?”
Luo Changzhou turned to look at him.
Yu Pei had always thought that Luo Changzhou was the most handsome guy he had ever seen. Because of his mixed heritage, his features were deeper and more striking than most. And his most captivating feature—his deep blue eyes—felt like the ocean, capable of pulling people in.
Yu Pei stared blankly for a second. His heartbeat started to quicken. Warmth spread from his face down through his entire body. He saw Luo Changzhou’s lips curl into a smile—gentle, soft, full of warmth. Then, in a low voice, Luo Changzhou said, “It’s a secret.”
Yu Pei instantly ducked his head, his fingers brushing against his cheek lightly.
His hands were always cold, like ice, so when he touched his own flushed face, the contrast was startling.
Luo Changzhou didn’t seem to notice Yu Pei’s reaction. He simply lowered his head and started organizing his scattered books. “Come on, it’s almost time to go.”
“Mm-hmm.” Yu Pei didn’t dare say anything else. He quickly gathered his things, but as he did, he pressed his palm lightly against his chest.
Underneath, his heart was pounding—loud, fast, intense.
He didn’t know why his heartbeat was so erratic. It felt like he had heart disease, not asthma. He peeked up at Luo Changzhou, but just as he did, Luo Changzhou happened to look at him too.
Their eyes met.
He flinched, then looked away quickly, as if avoiding eye contact would somehow make his reaction less obvious. But then, he found himself wondering, why did he feel so guilty?
This feeling, was oddly familiar.
He wracked his brain, trying to remember when he had felt this way before. But no matter how much he thought about it, nothing came to mind. So, as soon as he and Luo Changzhou said their goodbyes and he got into the car, he found himself staring out the window, lost in thought.
Outside, the trees lining the street were lush and full of life. Spring had arrived, and everything was vibrant and green. Even from a distance, he could feel the freshness of the season.
His brows furrowed, then his gaze wandered until it landed on a small white wildflower blooming timidly in the bushes. And in that moment, it hit him—he had felt this way before.
Back when he had a crush on Qi Wenqiang.
Back then, he had been so careful. So nervous. Even just looking at her had felt like an act of caution, like he was afraid she would notice his feelings.
But… but this was different.
There was no way he liked Luo Changzhou.
Or, well, it wasn’t that he didn’t like him. Of course, he liked him—Luo Changzhou was his friend. But he liked him the same way he liked Gu Zheng, right?
He sat there, dazed. His hand slowly moved to his chest, pressing over his heart.
When he looked at Gu Zheng, his heartbeat was normal. Even when he had liked Qi Wenqiang, his heart had never raced like this.
Only when he looked at Luo Changzhou did it beat wildly, like it wanted to leap out of his chest and land right in Luo Changzhou’s hands.
His mind went blank for a moment. His eyebrows knitted together slightly, a conflicted look in his eyes. It wasn’t until Zhang Geng parked the car and called out to him that he finally snapped out of it.
Zhang Geng glanced at him through the rearview mirror. “Little young master, did something happen at school today?”
“Huh? No, nothing.” Yu Pei quickly adjusted his expression. He rummaged through his backpack and pulled out the box of tea Luo Changzhou had given him. “Luo Changzhou gave me this. It’s tea. I can’t finish it all, so I was thinking of giving it to big brother.”
Zhang Geng looked at the garage and said, “The eldest young master is home today, so you can give it to him now.”
“Really?” Yu Pei perked up immediately. He peeked outside and spotted Yu Qing’s car parked neatly in the garage. He grabbed his things quickly and hurried toward the house.
As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Yu Qing sitting at the dining table. Smiling, he dropped his backpack on the floor, and sat beside him. “Big brother.”
“Ah Pei is back. Come eat.” Yu Qing smiled as he handed Yu Pei a bowl of rice.
“Mm.” Yu Pei took the bowl, then pushed the box of Jin Jun Mei tea toward Yu Qing. “Big brother, this is for you.”
Yu Qing picked up the box and inspected it. When he saw that it was Jin Jun Mei, he paused and asked, “Ah Pei, where did you get this?”
Yu Pei didn’t know much about tea, so he answered honestly, “Luo Changzhou gave it to me. He’s my desk mate. But he already gave me a lot of Pu’er white tea before, and I can’t finish it all. So I thought I’d give this one to you.”
Yu Qing’s brows furrowed slightly. It wasn’t that Jin Jun Mei was particularly rare or expensive—he had seen much pricier teas before. But it wasn’t something that students typically gave as gifts. If he didn’t know Yu Pei’s personality so well, he might’ve assumed that someone was trying to use Yu Pei to get close to him.
“You gave him cherries before, didn’t you?” Yu Qing asked him.
Yu Pei responded: “En.”
Yu Qing said, “I bought a lot of cherries. Take some more for him this afternoon.”
“Mm-hmm!” Yu Pei nodded enthusiastically. “Luo Changzhou is really good to me. He even helps me study every day.”
Hearing this, Yu Qing’s last bit of doubt faded away. He thought to himself, They’re just students. There’s no need to overthink things. Yu Pei was growing up, so it’s good for him to have friends.
So, he said, “Ah Pei, why don’t you invite him over to our house sometime? Gu Zheng will be coming soon, too. It’ll be livelier with more people around.”
Yu Pei: “I already invited him to my birthday party during the National Day holiday!”
“That’s good.” Yu Qing smiled, then, he let out a quiet sigh and glanced at the documents sitting beside him. He finally spoke again, his voice gentle. “Ah Pei.”
Yu Pei had noticed the documents earlier. He had known this conversation was coming. Yu Qing wasn’t the type to bring work to the dining table unless it involved him.
When Yu Qing finally said his name, Yu Pei lowered his head slightly, like he could somehow avoid the conversation just by looking away.
But no matter what, he had to face it eventually.
“Ah Pei, this is the share transfer agreement. You need to sign it.” Yu Qing said softly, but his words carried weight.
Yu Pei’s hand stiffened. He didn’t reach for the document, and Yu Qing didn’t move either, clearly waiting for Yu Pei to take it himself.
“Ah Pei.” Yu Qing called out again.
Yu Pei looked up slowly, his eyes red-rimmed as he stared at Yu Qing.
Meeting his gaze, Yu Qing felt an ache in his chest.
“I…” Yu Pei’s voice was small. “I don’t want to sign it.”
“Why not?” Yu Qing’s voice remained gentle.
Yu Pei turned away, refusing to look at him. His voice was choked. “No matter what, big brother will take care of me, so just keep the shares. You work so hard for the company. If you have more shares, it’ll be easier for you to have a say in things.”
Yu Pei might not involve himself in company affairs, but he wasn’t clueless either.