The round of self-introductions ended with them all in a good mood. The class which had been strangers a moment ago, quickly began to feel comfortable with one another.
Zhang Zhengxin stood on the podium and turned his head to look at the clock on the wall. “Boys, come with me to the textbook department to carry the first volume of textbooks here.” He glanced at the boy with his head lowered by the window and said, “Xu Qichen can stay here.”
Xu Qichen did not reply, simply keeping his head lowered and observing the graffiti left by past students on the desk.
Xia Zhixu looked at his back and hesitated to speak, but Chen Fang, who was sitting in the second column, said, “Zhixu! Let’s go!”
“O,” Xia Zhixu stood up, “Okay.”
The girl beside him got up to give him space to get out of the seat. Xia Zhixu smiled and said thank you, and walked out.
Chen Fang stood at the door waiting for Xia Zhixu, and as soon as he saw him come out, he threw his arm over his shoulder and said, “You’ve been showing off again.”
“No, I just mentioned it because he also explained the origin of his name.”
The pair followed the rest of them to the textbook department, and each one carried a large stack of books. Chen Fang laughed and said, “I think you’re going to be the class grass again.”
“Knock it off,” Xia Zhixu rolled his eyes. “I think most of the boys in our class are quite handsome.” Then he grinned widely, revealing his sharp incisors, “Aside from you, hahaha.”
Chen Fang was clearly not happy with that, “Tell me then, who’s handsome?”
Xia Zhixu randomly said a few names, then added casually, “And… the one who sits in front of me isn’t too bad either.”
“Xu Qichen ah.” Chen Fang pursed his lips, “He’s too fair, even fairer than most of the girls in our class.”
Xia Zhixu immediately retorted, “What’s wrong with being fair? Is it better to be like you, so dark that you glow? Fated to forever be a lightbulb.”
“Hey, what’s up with that! You’re asking for it!”
The two of them squabbled all the way back to the classroom. Xia Zhixu put the books on the podium and turned back out to go for a second round, but the boy behind him said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Zhang said that’s all of it.”
Xia Zhixu nodded and turned around to see Xu Qichen, who was still looking out the window alone. Half his face was lit up by the sunlight while the other was in the dark, but both held the same lack of expression.
The girls sitting beside them had become friends quickly and left for the restroom together. Xia Zhixu dusted off his hands and thought to himself that he should have gone to wash his hands earlier too.
But now there were only the two of them at their seata, so it was a good opportunity to say hi.
Xia Zhixu sat down in his seat. He originally wanted to pat his shoulder, but when he was about to touch him, he glanced at his dusty hand and took it back. Finally, he only lightly touched the boy’s back with the back of his hand.
Xu Qichen’s body moved and he turned his head slightly to look at Xia Zhixu behind him, but his expression remained unchanged. The amber colored pupils met Xia Zhixu’s eyes.
“Do you remember me? From the bus this morning… and at the school gate, you asked me for a candy… do you remember?”
He was not able to restrain the expression of expectation on his face.
Xu Qichen nodded.
His sharp tooth peeked out happily, “Actually, I bought the candy for you, but I couldn’t find you when I went back, so I ate it myself.” Then his smile turned slightly embarrassed.
“No worries.”
For some reason, Xia Zhixu felt like he was stepping on eggshells around Xu Qichen. It was almost as if there was a note on his face saying ‘Fragile item, handle with care’.
“Uhm… What happened to you this morning? Why did you suddenly turn so pale?”
Xu Qichen spoke in a dull tone, “I have hereditary low blood sugar. I was in a rush this morning, so I didn’t eat breakfast.”
Xia Zhixu was glad that he finally spoke more than two words at a time, but it quickly turned into heartbreak.
Hereditary low blood sugar… that must make his life pretty difficult.
“Then afterwards…”
“An aunt selling breakfast nearby brought me aside to rest.”
“Oh…”
There were many questions he wanted to ask, especially about his injuries, but Xia Zhixu was afraid that he might accidentally step on the other party’s minefield and destroy the little connection he had finally established. Therefore, he didn’t continue to ask, but smiled and said, “It’s such a coincidence that we ended up in the same class. Let’s be friends.”
Xu Qichen’s eyes flickered, perhaps hesitating.
The corners of Xia Zhixu’s mouth also gradually drooped with his hesitation.
A moment later, Xu Qichen nodded.
With a [Ding!], his smile recovered, and became even brighter than before.
Friends.
This word seems to be the most common and ordinary classification in interpersonal relationships, with a subtle sense of just a distance away from intimacy.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
If only I really had the ability to tell the future.
If only I had known that I would love you.
I wouldn’t have used the word ‘friend’ to limit the scope of our relationship and set a boundary.
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Xia Zhixu, who was bored at the lack of activity, stared at his back until he heard his name being called.
“Xia Zhixu, why don’t you be the Math representative?” Zhang Zhengxin looked up from the roster at Xia Zhixu’s confused face. “It’s an important subject, so please do your best.”
“Why?”
His classmates all laughed, and Zhang Zhengxin deliberately put on a stern attitude. “It seems that you were not listening to me just now. I have already said that the position of class representative is quite special, and we will temporarily arrange it based on everyone’s high school entrance exam results. Your math score is the best in the class, so you will be the Math class representative.”
Xia Zhixu nodded embarrassedly.
“Then let’s encourage him with a round of applause.”
Everyone’s applause made him feel even more embarrassed, so he stood up and bowed, “Thank you, thank you.”
To be honest, he had no interest in being a class representative. It was a very boring job – distributing and collecting assignments and making announcements on the teacher’s behalf everyday. But since he was appointed, he could only accept this misfortune.
“Okay, next, for language…” Zhang Zhengxin pushed his glasses up, “The one in our class who scored the highest in Chinese is Xu Qichen… It’s quite rare that it’s a male student.”
Xia Zhixu subconsciously looked at the person sitting in front of him. When his name was called, his back straightened, as though surprised.
Zhang Zhengxin looked closely at the roster, “Xu Qichen scored 112 in Chinese, that’s really very high!”
The students began to murmur. That’s 112 out of 120 marks. For Chinese, anything around 110 was incredibly difficult to attain, since it’s nearly impossible to score full marks for the essay portion. Only by attaining a perfect score in the other portions and writing an excellent essay can one have a slim chance of scoring 110 marks.
Zhang Zhengxin had abandoned all the airs of a proper teacher, looking at him and saying, “Xu Qichen, I’ll be counting on you to be my right hand in the future.”
Unlike Xia Zhixu, Xu Qichen did not reply. The silence made the atmosphere very awkward.
At this moment, in the silent classroom, a lonely applause began.
Everyone turned to look at Xia Zhixu, who was applauding on his own.
Xia Zhixu shrugged and said with a smile, “Shouldn’t we be encouraging him with a round of applause?”
His voice had a natural appeal, and the classmates who had originally thought Xu Qichen was a bit strange also applauded with Xia Zhixu.
When the applause gradually faded and finally ended, Xia Zhixu heard a very quiet voice.
“… Thank you.”
Rubbing his palms that had turned red due to clapping loudly, Xia Zhixu couldn’t help but smile.
Wasn’t he too easily satisfied?
There were still two minutes until the end of the class. Zhang Zhengxin cleared his throat and said, “This afternoon, at three o’clock, the school will hold the high school freshman opening ceremony in the auditorium, and there will be a military training mobilization meeting tomorrow…”
“We really have to go through military training…”
“I don’t wanna!”
Zhang Zhengxin patted the desk and said, “I haven’t finished speaking yet. Everyone should arrive in the classroom before 2:45PM. After we have marked your attendance, we will go down together. Got it?”
“Got it!”
The bell rang signalling the end of class, and the students in the classroom suddenly became lively. Zhang Zhengxin shook his head and shouted towards the seats by the window, “Xia Zhixu, come out with me for a moment.”
Xia Zhixu stood up confusedly.
He had been thinking about the journey home.
He and Xu Qichen had taken the same bus to school in the morning. So, that means they can go back home together, right?
But when the bell rang, Xia Zhixu, who was prepared to ask Xu Qichen to walk home together, was called back. He could only cancel his original plan.
What a pity…
Zhang Zhengxin brought him out of the classroom into the corridor. “So, at tomorrow’s meeting, there will be a speech segment by the freshman representative after the principal’s speech. Our class is one of the representative classes. You’re the student with the highest entry score, and you also seem more outgoing, so I think you’re one of the most suitable candidates.”
Xia Zhixu didn’t speak, but his eyes wandered. He saw Xu Qichen walking out of the classroom with his head lowered, and his heart immediately followed him, turning down the corner towards the stairs.
“So, when you get home, prepare a draft for the speech.”
Xia Zhixu looked back at Zhang Zhengxin, hesitating. “But… I’m very bad at writing speeches, can I just look one up on Baidu?”
Zhang Zhengxin laughed out loud, “For such an important event, it’s best if you write one yourself. It’ll be very awkward if you end up using the same speech as someone else.”
“You’re right…” Xia Zhixu lowered his head in dismay, counting the steps in his mind. By now, Xu Qichen was probably already on the second floor.
“If you lack confidence in your speech, perhaps you can ask our language representative to look it over for you,” Zhang Zhengxin patted him on the shoulder. “He scored full marks on his entry essay.”
Xia Zhixu’s eyes immediately lit up.
What a great idea!
“Thank you Mr. Zhang, I’ll do my best!” Xia Zhixu excitedly ran off towards the stairs. He nearly ran into Chen Fang, who was waiting for him on the landing.
“Hey, why did he call you out?”
Xia Zhixu hurriedly replied, “It’s about a speech. I’ll tell you about it later, gotta run for the bus!” Then he quickly dashed down the stairs.
“Hey! What’s the rush!? The bus comes every 10 minutes ah…”
With the sound of the wind rushing past his ears, Xia Zhixu finally ran out of the winding staircase. Suddenly, his broad vision was filled with people wearing the same clothes. It would not be easy to find Xu Qichen in this crowd.
He squinted and looked around.
He saw a thin figure on the avenue full of parasol trees, with one arm suspended by white gauze.
Pushing his way through the moving crowd, Xia Zhixu hurriedly ran behind him, stopped at a distance of about two or three steps, and tried to catch his breath so he could pretend that their meeting was a coincidence.
“Xu Qichen!”
Despite being called, he did not turn around, as though too absorbed in his own world.
Xia Zhixu did not let that deter him. He walked up to his side and asked, “Are you taking the bus home too?”
Xu Qichen turned his head to look at him, then nodded.
“We seem to be going the same way, let’s go together,” he said, as if simply adding the word ‘seem’ would hide his efforts.
Xu Qichen walked very slowly. His legs were not injured, so it seemed like this was just his habit. But XIa Zhixu was the opposite. He was always full of energy and brought the wind everywhere he went, so at this moment, he intentionally glanced at Xu Qichen’s legs and adjusted the frequency of his steps.
All to make himself seem like a tacit friend.
“Is your house near the bus stop?” Xia Zhixu tried to start a conversation.
But he quickly realised that his conversation skills still needed improvement. Asking questions that could be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ was a bad idea.
Especially when trying to talk to a quiet person.
“En.”
He was right. Xia Zhixu sighed lightly, but he quickly recovered his smile, “Me too. I live in the apartment opposite the bus stop. You don’t live there too, do you?”
“No.”
Wrong, wrong.
Xia Zhixu looked down at a leaf that had just fallen, which was still half green.
“I live on the same side of the road as the bus stop, but it’s around the corner.”
Upon hearing his gentle tone, Xia Zhixu seemed like a withered plant that had suddenly been watered, instantly regaining its vitality.
“Is that so? That’s also very close.” Just like that, they had arrived at the school gate, side by side. The gray bus stop sign was next to the school gate, where a large crowd of students were already waiting.
The two of them walked to the bus stop. Xia Zhixu looked at Xu Qichen’s injured hand and instinctively stood in front of him, preventing anyone from bumping into him.
At the jam-packed bus stop, he used his height and long limbs to make a human-shaped safe space.
“729 is coming.” Xia Zhixu turned around, “Shall we take this one?”
Xu Qichen glanced at the bus, which was not particularly full. “I don’t mind.”
Xia Zhixu nodded and fished his card out from his bag’s side pocket. He hurriedly pushed a path through to the front while looking back occasionally, “Don’t rush, take care of your arm.”
What a strange person. Xu Qichen looked at his tall figure and silently stood at the tail of the waiting crowd. One by one, the people in front got onto the bus, and it was finally Xu Qichen’s turn. The bus was full, and many students were standing.
“Xu Qichen, come here!”
He suddenly heard that person’s voice. Xu Qichen hesitantly made his way further in, and found that Xia Zhixu was behind a group of standing people.
Xia Zhixu’s smile was very bright. When he saw him, he immediately stood up, “Sit here.”
Xu Qichen, who was offered a seat, looked at Xia Zhixu’s curved eyes and expression of anticipation, and had no choice but to sit down.
“I got lucky and found an empty seat when I boarded.”
Xu Qichen looked out of the window silently.
Through the poorly wiped window, he saw the blurry reflection of his own profile and of the enthusiastic schoolmates behind him.
On the night before the start of school, Xia Zhixu made sure to check the route to Jingjian High School.
There was a straight bus there, with eight stops in between.
It felt a little far.
But in reality, when he heard his stop called, Xia Zhixu was surprised.
So soon?
Had he really reached home so soon?
Time was a clever scammer.
Xu Qichen stood up from his seat and they got off the bus together. They walked along the street for a while until the intersection, where Xia Zhixu would cross the road, while Xu Qichen would turn left and go home.
“I heard you scored full marks for the essay portion in your entry exam. That’s incredible, I can’t even imagine it.”
Xia Zhixu’s tone was easily recognizable as sincere, and Xu Qichen could only humbly answer, “I got lucky.”
“Just now, Mr. Zhang told me I have to make a speech as a freshman representative, but I’m not very good at writing speeches, and I’m bad at expressing myself. Can…” Xia Zhixu stopped in his steps, “Can you help me?”
Xu Qichen also stopped and looked back at Xia Zhixu’s worried expression.
He did not want to help.
Or rather, he did not want to form a connection with anyone.
But looking at this person, at his dark eyes, for some reason, something possessed him to agree.
“Sure,” Xu Qichen looked down, “but my skills are also limited.”
That person was a little too bright.
“… Then, goodbye.”
Upon returning home, Xia Zhixu finished his meal as quickly as possible. Before his mother, who had been waiting all morning, could ask about his first day at school, he slipped into his bedroom, pulled open the curtains, sat at his desk, took out a blank notebook, and began to contemplate the structure of his speech.
His mother brought a plate of cut fruits to his room and knocked on the door. Not hearing a reply, she knocked again. When he replied, she opened the door, “Have some fruits. What are you doing?”
Xia Zhixu did not even look up, “The teacher asked me to be the freshman representative, so I have to make a speech before the military training tomorrow. I’m writing a draft now.”
“Really?” Mrs. Xia patted his head and put the plate on his desk. “As expected of my son.” Then she held his shoulder, “But you’ve been a representative many times before, why are you so serious this time? Even writing a script yourself.”
Xia Zhixu pushed her away playfully, “I’m in high school now, can’t I become more competent? Shoo, shoo, let me focus.”
“Fine fine fine, I’ll stop bothering our family’s freshman representative, light of tomrrow~”
His mom was right. He had never been so serious before.
Xia Zhixu, who had no interest in language classes, thought that thinking about the context of the speech and the proper tone and diction to use, and using verbose and redundant rhetorical techniques was a waste of time.
But.
Xia Zhixu frowned, bitting the pen.
He didn’t want to be looked down upon by that person.
This can be considered an excuse to barely cover up his nervousness.
Just for this speech, Xia Zhixu didn’t take a nap that noon. As soon as he put down his pen, he looked up and realized that it was already two o’clock in the afternoon.
Mrs. Xia was sitting in front of the TV watching Korean dramas when she saw her son rushing out of the room, and knew he was about to be late again.
“Walk, don’t run! No need to rush!”
He was out of breath when he reached bus stop and did not see the figure he had been anticipating.
Isn’t it expected to not see him when they did not agree on a time? After such a long noon break, what were the odds that they took the same bus back?
Xia Zhixu held the notebook in his hand and watched the green bus approach. He turned his neck, but still didn’t see anyone else. He got on the bus alone.
Perhaps this bus was driving relatively slowly, or perhaps it stopped for a longer time at each stop.
Xia Zhixu, who was holding the notebook tightly, realised that the journey to school from home really was pretty long.
Time really was a clever scammer.
Thanks for the chapter <3
thanks for the chapter! is this all a flashback? I thought theyd go back to the real world then try reconnect or something