Xia Zhixu was actually pretty nervous.
In the queue to enter the auditorium, he reached across two boys in front of him and patted Xu Qichen’s shoulder, handing him the book he was holding that was almost deformed from how hard he was holding it.
“Help me look over it, here’s a pen.” Xia Zhixu smiled, “Thank you.”
Xu Qichen nodded slightly and turned back to the front.
They slowly entered the auditorium in two lines, as Zhang Zhengxin arranged for them to be seated.
This time, he was not so lucky. There were two boys and two girls between Xia Zhixu and Xu Qichen, and he had to lean forward to see the other.
Xia Zhixu attributed his unease to his unimpressive writing, ignoring that it was just an ordinary speech that even the most brilliant writer could not make overly impressive.
He glanced over, watching as Xu Qichen placed his notebook on his lap, held his pen in his right hand, read his draft seriously, and even scribbled something on it. When he was focused, his lower lip would curl up over his upper lip.
Suddenly, the boy beside him bumped his arm. Xia Zhixu turned to him and asked in a low voice, “What?”
With a playful expression, the boy handed him a light pink note. The handwriting on it was quite obviously a girl’s. “They passed it down the row and said it’s for you.”
Xia Zhixu glanced at it.
[Hi classmate, can you give me your number or WeChat ID? ^-^]
“Do you have a pen?”
The boy handed him a pen, and Xia Zhixu wrote at the bottom of the note, [Sorry, my mom confiscated my phone.]
He then passed the note back up the row and turned his head. Seeing that Xu Qichen was still in that position, reading over his draft for him, Xia Zhixu felt a certain sense of satisfaction.
He’d thought the incident with the note was settled, but after a while, the pink note came back.
[Then can you give me your number for now? I’m sure your mother will return your phone eventually.]
Now he was in a bit of a pinch… Xia Zhixu stared at the words for a while, then wrote Chen Fang’s number down.
He had been doing things like this since junior high. It has basically become his go-to reply now.
No one knew that Xia Zhixu, who was always a dazzling but approachable presence in the crowd, was actually a person who liked to use evasion to maintain surface peace. He seemed warm on the outside but was actually rather cold, and lacked patience. However, his visible significant advantages always made others overlook the fact that behind the light there was always deep darkness.
What about Xu Qichen?
Xia Zhixu couldn’t help but wonder if someone who looked so cold on the outside would also have an unexpected heart like himself.
Curiosity is the driving force of a Gemini.
On the stage, the principal talked for a long time. First he talked about the great achievements of this high school in the past and then the new highs set in the college entrance examination last year. He also invited several outstanding graduates to share their experiences, so that these ignorant freshmen can quickly find their goals and set a better direction for their efforts.
Xia Zhixu listened attentively to the speech, but his right arm was bumped again. As he turned around, his notebook was handed back. He happily took the notebook and leaned forward, smiling at Xu Qichen, but the other person didn’t look at him at all, just lowered his head and stared at his hanging arm.
“You’re so busy ah,” the boy beside him teased.
Xia Zhixu, who was not paid attention to by the other party, was disappointed and didn’t answer the boy. He just looked down and opened his book, saw the detailed comments on his speech by the red pen, and felt better all of a sudden.
[If you replace the saying ‘Not knowing to work hard when young, it will be too late to work hard when old.’ with ‘Knowledge is gained through diligence, by reading ten thousand books by firefly light.’, it may sound less overused.]
[This paragraph is well written, so I think it’s a pity to put it in the middle. You can add a few more lines of comparison and use it as your closing.]
[The overall theme of your speech is diligence, so I think this paragraph may not fit very well. You can choose to delete it.]
…
Xia Zhixu carefully read all his annotations.
As expected of someone who could write a full score essay, every suggestion he made was on the point, and even some seemingly insignificant words were carefully considered by him.
Focused and talented.
Xia Zhixu closed his notebook with satisfaction and pressed down the folds he had grasped with his palm, unconsciously raising the corner of his mouth.
The ceremony lasted until 6 pm. After the school leaders left, the homeroom teachers distributed the military training uniforms to everyone. At the end, there was no need to lead the team to the stage. Xu Qichen, who was sitting at the outermost seat, left his seat first and followed the crowd to the corridor. Xia Zhixu followed behind, unable to squeeze through the crowd to him. When he finally got out of the auditorium and was about to run forward, someone grabbed him by the neck.
He looked back to see Chen Fang, “You did it again!” He sneakily took out the phone in his pocket, “You gave someone else my number again!”
Xia Zhixu chuckled twice and said, “How would I know you secretly brought your phone? Just take it as me being a matchmaker for you.” As he spoke, he suddenly saw two unfamiliar girls watching him walk towards him. Xia Zhixu patted Chen Fang’s shoulder and said, “I need to go to the bathroom, it’s urgent, bye.”
A considerable number of new students rushed out of the auditorium, and everywhere he looked, there were white shirts. Xia Zhixu kept looking around as he went, but was not able to find the one he was looking for.
Feeling a little down, he glanced down at the green military uniform in his hands, and felt even worse.
They could go home now that they have been dismissed. Maybe he had already reached the school gate.
Forget it. He just wanted to thank him properly.
After taking a few steps in frustration, he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. With the noisy environment, that voice was too small and light.
Xia Zhixu thought it was that girl, so he pretended not to hear and instead walked faster.
Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm.
It was a very cold hand.
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.
He turned back, frowning, and jumped in surprise.
Pa kjr We Hlmtfc!
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Wlj Itlze’r fzqgfrrlbc lwwfvljafis mtjcufv, jcv obg j wbwfca tf kjr ja j ibrr obg kbgvr.
Qbgvifrris, We Hlmtfc ifa ub bo tlr jgw, jcv tjcvfv tlr qfc yjmx ab Wlj Itlze.
Stunned, Xia Zhixu took the pen and watched as he held the bag with his hand and said belatedly, “I forgot to return your pen.”
“Oh, no, no problem, I forgot about it as well.” Xia Zhixu scratched his head in embarrassment. The atmosphere between the two suddenly became awkward.
The other students coming out of the auditorium crowded towards the direction of the school gate, and the two of them, standing still, became like rocks in rushing water. Several boys messing around with each other passed by Xu Qichen and accidentally bumped into him.
“Sorry!” They shouted an apology but carried on joyously.
Xia Zhixu saw Xu Qichen’s eyebrows furrow and knew that the collision was not light. He walked around behind Xu Qichen and took away the military training uniform in his hand, “I’ll hold it for you.”
Xu Qichen was not given the chance to refuse. He stood on Xu Qichen’s left to block his arm from further accidents.
“Let’s go home together.”
His tone sounded final.
Xu Qichen did not refuse. Despite his unapproachable air, rejecting someone’s kindness was a difficult task for him.
Just like the last time, Xia Zhixu squeezed onto the bus first and occupied a seat for him. However, today they were more fortunate and he managed to take up two empty seats side by side, leaving the window seat for Xu Qichen.
“Military training starts tomorrow, what will you do? Can’t you be excused from it?”
Xu Qichen, who was looking out the window, replied in a calm tone, “No, I’ll be fine.”
So he was quite stubborn.
“Thank you for your help today.” Xia Zhixu didn’t feel that Xu Qichen’s attitude was cold at all. He carried on with a passionate expression, “You edited it so carefully, I’ll go back and rewrite my speech accordingly.”
Xu Qichen continued to stare out the window.
“To be honest, you had already written it very well. I didn’t help much at all.”
It was clearly a tone without much emotion, but to Xia Zhixu’s ears it sounded like praise. “Really? I didn’t sleep all afternoon just to write this.”
He did not receive another reply.
When Xia Zhixu looked at his profile, he felt that there was always a thick grey cloud above his head, ready to rain cats and dogs at any moment.
“To repay you, I’ll treat you to something after training tomorrow, how’s that?”
“No need.”
That was a fast rejection.
“No, I have to do it. I don’t like owing anything.” Xia Zhixu was good at making decisions for others. He did not know if this would annoy Xu Qichen, but he just wanted him to be a little happier.
A person who was always silent and alone surely can’t be very happy.
Xia Zhixu glanced at the top of his head.
He wouldn’t be able to get rid of the cloud, but at least he should be able to hold an umbrella for him.
The week-long military training began like this. On the morning of the first day, all the freshmen came to the stadium to participate in the military training mobilization conference. In other words, they stood there and listened to the principal’s speech, followed by the military training instructor’s speech, and finally, the freshmen representatives came up to give a speech.
As a representative, Xia Zhixu was brought to the end of the line after the chief instructor gave a speech, and was getting ready to walk around from the back to give a speech on the podium.
Zhang Zhengxin, who was standing at the front of the line, walked to the back during the chief instructor’s speech.
“Let me see your script.”
Xia Zhixu handed the file in his hands to Zhang Zhengxin.
“En… Not bad. Was this written with the language representative’s help?”
Xia Zhixu nodded, “He corrected many areas for me.”
Zhang Zhengxin nodded approvingly, “It’s really not bad. Now go, don’t be nervous. Impress them; you’re our class’s face.”
After speaking, the homeroom teacher from the next class also came to the end of the row. The two homeroom teachers began chatting. Xia Zhixu looked down at his script and then looked up at the assembled students.
Xu Qichen was in the military uniform, with his injured arm still in a sling.
The two homeroom teachers chatted, and the people on the podium also spoke, but Xia Zhixu couldn’t hear a word. The morning sun shone on him, warm and making him unconsciously lazy.
“Ai, why is your student attending the training with a sling?”
“I wanted to let him off, but that kid refused. He’s very stubborn.” Zhang Zhengxin’s voice suddenly pulled Xia Zhixu back from his state of laziness.
They were talking about Xu Qichen!
“That’s impressive, he’s willing to endure hardships. Many other children would love the excuse to skip the training,” the other teacher said appreciatively. “But what happened to him? His face and neck are also injured. Did he fight with someone?”
Zhang Zhengxin sighed. “Ai, that poor child. I heard his results were very good, so his family, the three of them, went on a trip to celebrate. Then they got into an accident.” His voice suddenly lowered, “His parents are both gone, leaving him alone.”
“Then… where is he living now?”
“The day before school started, it was a very young lady who brought him here. She said she’s his mother’s sister. She’s only in her twenties and just graduated from college.”
“Does he not have any other relatives?” The teacher shook his head sadly, “Only in her twenties… she’s still a child herself.”
“His paternal grandparents are in another province and their health is not good either. His maternal grandparents left early and all the other relatives are hiding. This little aunt said she wants to take care of him for her sister, that she must raise him into an adult no matter what.” Zhang Zhengxin sighed again, “This child is a real talent in literature, and I feel heartbroken. The other day, I appealed to the school to approve a scholarship for him, so he’s exempted from school fees.”
“Losing his parents suddenly like that, it must be terrible for him ah.”
Zhang Zhengxin’s voice became even lower. “I heard that during his month-long stay in hospital, he didn’t say a single word, didn’t cry and didn’t even make any noise. He was in a daze the whole time. His aunt was worried about him, so she quit her job to watch over him in the hospital every day. Only when school was about to start a few days ago and she took him back to her place of residence did he start talking again. Only then did she look for a new job.”
Xia Zhixu’s palms was sweating profusely.
He saw Xu Qichen’s injuries all the time, but was afraid to ask. Who could have known that this was why?
Waking up and finding that you are suddenly alone… What kind of feeling must that be?
He did not even dare to imagine it.
His gaze hesitatingly drifted towards that person’s back. He was still standing straight and upright. His heart felt as if someone had tugged at it fiercely, causing a suffocating pain. Xia Zhixu felt strange, as this was the first time in his life that he had felt pain for someone else.
But with his empathy he could only feel a tiny fraction of Xu Qichen’s pain.
Feeling someone tap his shoulder, Xia Zhixu turned back suddenly.
“Stop dreaming.” Zhang Zhengxin pointed at the podium, “Class 10 has already gone up. Go, go.”
“Oh… okay.” Xia Zhixu went around all the assembled classes to the front with his folder in hand.
Just by standing on the steps, shrouded in shadows, he had already caught the attention of the girls in the front row before truly stepping onto the podium. But he himself was still immersed in the conversation between the class teachers just now, and his feelings were very complicated.
“… At this turning point in our life, with hard work and sweat, let’s compose a wonderful movement! Thank you all!”
Hearing the applause, Xia Zhixu took a deep breath and went up the podium one step at a time.
As he turned around to face the audience, he showed a habitual and iconic smile and calmly walked to the microphone, paying a stern and powerful salute to everyone below the stage.
“Respected leaders, teachers, and dear classmates, Good morning…”
The applause from below was significantly more enthusiastic than the previous representative from Class 10. Although Xia Zhixu always mocked himself for his weak language expression ability, as a Gemini, eloquence was his talent.
He completed the opening according to his script.
The final line was the line from a poem that Xu Qichen had suggested.
[Knowledge is gained through diligence, by reading ten thousand books by firefly light.]
Xia Zhixu glanced at the audience, seemingly making eye contact with everyone, but in reality, he was only looking for that pair of amber colored pupils.
When their eyes met, he closed the folder with a small smile.
“The patriotic poet Qu Yuan once wrote this line: ‘Truly brave, tenacious, and courageous, always strong and resolute, and not to be insulted.’
“As the previous student representative said, as high school students at a turning point in our lives, we bid farewell to the past and now stand before one another with a brand new self.
“In addition to tireless perseverance and a studious and inquisitive attitude, we should also have the courage to be strong and unyielding, to draw an end to past hardships, and to challenge the unknown future. We must firmly believe that adversity and pain, defeat and embarrassment, are all gifts of fate!”
Xia Zhixu’s voice became louder and louder. Unlike the representatives who had spoken before him, his every sentence was sonorous and powerful, and every word had a resounding sound.
The students who were still laughing and murmuring to themselves in the audience were also attracted by his naturally charismatic aura, raising their heads and listening attentively to his speech.
“Finally, let me end my speech with a line from one of my favourite songs: ‘Everything that kills me makes me feel alive.’
“Thank you.” Xia Zhixu walked out in front of the microphone stand and gave a deep bow. In the midst of thunderous applause, he walked down the observation platform and made his way back to the end of his class.
Zhang Zhengxin took the folder from his hand in confusion and carefully looked at it. “Why didn’t you follow your own script?”
Xia Zhixu revealed his sharp teeth and said, “Teacher, it’s so boring to talk about only studies. Suddenly, I had a flash of inspiration and did it freestyle. How was it?”
Zhang Zhengxin helplessly patted his shoulder with the folder, “You didn’t embarrass our class, but don’t be so spontaneous next time.”
“En!” Xia Zhixu took his folder back and turned to face the front. He happened to catch Xu Qichen looking back at him, but before he could give him a smile, Xu Qichen had turned around again.
Looking at his back, Xia Zhixu felt a little satisfaction in his heart.
But it was just a little bit.
As soon as the mobilization meeting was over, each class was taken to the designated military training venue by the assigned instructors for training. Initially, they only stood in a military formation, but after just having stood for half an hour, more standing in place was frustrating for energetic teenagers their age.
Xia Zhixu didn’t think it was much. He was tall and placed in the last row. He looked at Xu Qichen standing right in front of him, his left arm in a sling, and his right arm pointing straight down, completely motionless.
He’s really persistent.
“Good, take a break.”
At the command, the students relaxed slightly and walked to the unified water discharge area with a sigh.
Chen Fang unscrewed a bottle of sports drink and walked to Xia Zhixu. “You little guy, you did it again. Now all the girls in our year know you.”
Xia Zhixu frowned slightly, “You’re exaggerating.”
“Sheesh, I’ve been your classmate for nine years, and you’ve participated in at least twenty activities. This is the first time I’ve seen you so passionate,” Chen Fang turned the cap back. “You should have seen how proud the girls in our class were, like you’re their son.”
… Son?
Xia Zhixu shook his head, “You really perfectly inherited your mother’s expressive talent.”
He took the drink from Chen Fang’s hand and was about to open it when he suddenly stared blankly at his own hands.
“What is it? Sir Class Grass is so touched by my willingness to share the drink that he’s lost the strength to open it? Don’t worry, big brother is here to save the day!”
He gave the drink back to Chen Fang and looked around before finding Xu Qichen who was standing alone, with his back to him.
“Ai ai, I opened it for you, where are you going!?”
Xu Qichen held the thermos he had brought from home in his right hand, looked at it, and silently sighed. Just as he was about to put it down, a hand suddenly reached out beside him.
He turned his head and was met with that bright smiling face and that eye-catching pair of tiger teeth.
He took the thermos bottle from him and held it in both hands, intending to open it for him. But, unexpectedly, the cap would not budge.
…
That was a little embarrassing.
He held the bottle against his abdomen and bent over slightly to twist it vigorously, gritting his teeth and saying, “This cap is on pretty tight.”
It finally opened.
“Here,” Xia Zhixu handed the bottle back to Xu Qichen. “Hey, take it, aren’t you thirsty?”
Xu Qichen blankly took the thermos, staring at his kind classmate’s red palm.
He didn’t drink. Instead, he lifted the corners of his lips slightly and asked lightly and without much emotion, “Do you pity me?”
Xia Zhixu thought he had heard wrong. He looked at Xu Qichen in confusion.
But Xu Qichen met his eyes straight on. “Are you doing this because you pity me?”
He could not answer.
Because he had not even thought of the reason himself.
Xia Zhixu finally opened his mouth, about to say something, but the instructor called out, “Break’s over, fall in!”
The next part of the training was marching.
The space allocated to each class was limited, so they could only march in a single file, going back and forth.
Xu Qichen’s arm was fixed in the sling so he couldn’t swing it normally like other classmates. The instructor walked up to him and said, “If it’s uncomfortable, you don’t need to participate in this segment of the training.”
Xu Qichen shook his head, “I’m fine, Instructor Yang.”
As Xia Zhixu watched him take a serious step forward, his legs stretched straight, his heart was filled with discomfort.
His question from earlier continued to ring in his ear.
[Do you pity me?]
“Left right left, left right left, left right left… Halt!”
The instructor’s voice was sonorous and powerful.
The boy at the front had reached the end of their area.
“To the rear, march!”
“Left right left, left right left, left right left…”
Xu Qichen marched towards him step by step with a serious look.
Closer and closer.
Just one more step.
“Halt!”
[Are you doing this because you pity me?]
He stopped right in front of him.
“No,” Xia Zhixu suddenly said. He did not say it very loudly, but Xu Qichen could hear it clearly.
“It’s because you’re very good, very talented, that I want to be your friend.”
“To the rear, march!”
Xu Qichen did not react on time, so he missed a step when he turned around.
The person behind him caught him.
“I mean it.”
His voice was very clear, with a hint of youthful stubbornness, and filled with natural charm.
ai this is so nerve wracking for me, I keep feeling like something tragic is gonna happen…