After making up with Xu Qichen, Xia Zhixu seemed to have come back to life, doing everything with great enthusiasm, and regaining his previous sunny charm.
During the second class break, Chen Fang was asked by Xia Zhixu to help carry math worksheets. This southern city is famous for its harsh weather. On a hot day, the sun can almost scorch people, but when it gets cold, it’s even more unbearable, with the damp and cold air piercing into people’s bones. In order to prevent the students from freezing, their school even stopped the usual break time activities.
As they left the office, they happened to encounter the students from the next class who were practicing their item for school’s anniversary. The student leading the team had a saxophone in his hand.
Chen Fang suddenly grabbed Xia Zhixu’s shoulder and said, “Hey, why don’t you prepare an item too?”
“What item?”
“For the school anniversary ah,” Chen Fang patted his shoulder. “This is your chance to be promoted from the level grass to the school grass ah!”
Xia Zhixu pushed him, “Not interested, not going.”
“Really? But you’re so good at singing, and you can play the guitar and the piano. Just pick an item and perform.”
Xia Zhixu said word by word, “I’m. Definitely. Not. Going. To. Perform. Just. Give. Up.”
He meant it. Xia Zhixu had been forced to attend countless parties since he was young, but he didn’t really enjoy the feeling of standing on stage with the crowd’s attention on him. This kind of high level of attention put a lot of pressure on him, but he still has to pretend not to care and simply smile back at all the people staring at him.
No matter what kind of stares he was getting, he had to accept them gracefully.
This was a performer’s destiny. Although Xia Zhixu would not admit it, in everyone else’s eyes, he was a natural performer who ought to be seen.
Seeing that he would not give in, Chen Fang changed the topic and said, “Hey, you have such a good relationship with Xiao Xu now, why didn’t you ask him to carry the worksheets with you?” Chen Fang sniffed, and the wind in the hallway made his head ache.
“He has been in the heated classroom all morning. If he comes out in this cold, he will probably catch a cold.”
Xia Zhixu’s answer was reflexive, but choked Chen Fang heavily. “Hey, what do you mean? He has been in the heated classroom all morning? What about me? Am I not human too?” Chen Fang tutted a few times. “I don’t understand why you treat your best buddy like this, while that friend gets such special treatment!”
Xia Zhixu coughed a few times to conceal his discomfort, “You have rough skin and thick flesh, perfect for hard labour.”
“These days, even how your friends treat you is all about your face. It’s really despairing. No, no, I have to find some friends to chip in.”
“What for?”
“For plastic surgery ah. Should I go to Japan or Korea?”
Xia Zhixu pushed open the classroom door, and a warm breeze swept over his face. His tone was serious, with a hint of teasing, “Thailand.”
After distributing the large pile of papers to the group leaders. Xia Zhixu walked back to his seat and saw Xu Qichen reading alone, and it was not an extracurricular book.
He could tell by just looking at his expression, how his eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes were puzzled. It was completely different from the relaxation and engagement he had when reading literary books.
It was probably math.
His glutonnous desk mate was not here. She probably went to the snack bar again. Xia Zhixu sat in her seat and leaned his head towards Xu Qichen, “What are you looking at? So serious.”
Xu Qichen lifted his head in a daze before noticing that Xia Zhixu was next to him, and had a chill on his body.
“Oh. I’m trying to remember whatever I can before the final math exams.”
Xia Zhixu rested his chin on his hands, “Your math isn’t too bad.”
Xu Qichen sighed and said, “A mathematical genius like you wouldn’t understand it.”
“If exchange is possible, I would also be willing to exchange your literary talent with my so-called mathematical talent.”
Xia Zhixu spoke very sincerely, but Xu Qichen didn’t take it seriously. “At this stage, having math talent seems to be more practical.”
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.
“Obbx oegatfg jtfjv jt,” Wlj Itlze rjlv klat j ijeut. “Po P tjv sbeg ajifca, P mbeiv yfmbwf j ojwber kglafg bg rbwfatlcu lc atf oeaegf. Gbfrc’a atja rbecv ilxf j ilof bo ogffvbw?”
We Hlmtfc rlutfv. Kb tlw, la kjr abb fjgis ab rqfjx bo atf oeaegf, ifa jibcf tlr ilof vlgfmalbc.
He felt like ‘living well right now’ was already a task that many fail at.
When he did not reply, Xia Zhixu did not continue the topic. Seeing Xu Qichen’s desk mate return, he also returned to his seat and patted Xu Qichen’s shoulder. “There’s another way to think about the problem you’re studying, why don’t I explain it to you? I think it’s simpler than this.”
Xu Qichen nodded. He turned around to face Xia Zhixu and handed him the pen.
“Actually, this problem is not that difficult. I think that proof questions are simpler than others. After all, you can’t make calculation errors.”
Xu Qichen paused, then frowned again, “But I can’t find the right thought process.”
“Then you just have to make a little change in the way you think,” Xia Zhixu said with a smile. He pointed to the question with his pen, “Existing problems like this are generally classified as exploratory. I think the most effective and fastest method is to first assume existence, whether the conditions are sorted out or not. After assuming, the question has an additional condition, so it becomes much easier to deduce contradictions.”
Xu Qichen, who was holding onto the back of his chair with both hands, nodded earnestly, like an incredibly obedient student.
No, not ‘like’. That’s exactly what he is, Xia Zhixu corrected himself.
“So here, if we first assume that a number a exists that fulfills the conditions, and we already know that f(1)=1…”
As Xia Zhixu explained step by step, Xu Qichen’s frown relaxed and morphed into a sudden expression of joy. “I understand! The proof method in this tutorial book is so complicated, I have read it several times but I haven’t understood it.” The amber pupils flickered beautifully under the incandescent light in the classroom, “You’re so much better at explaining.”
Being praised by Xu Qichen, Xia Zhixu’s heart was filled with a small flower that fluttered in the wind. He suddenly realised that today was Friday, so he said to Xu Qichen, who was writing the proof process with his head down, “By the way… this weekend, you…”
“Xu Qichen.”
Hearing someone say his name, they both looked up. It was a female classmate, Cen Xi. She was smiling, obviously about to make a request.
Xu Qichen is not very familiar with her. To be precise, Xu Qichen is not very familiar with anyone, so he widened his eyes in confusion and asked, “Looking for me?”
“En! There’s… something I need your help with.”
Previously, when Xia Zhixu participated in the Olympiad math competition, Cen Xi also participated. The two of them had had several conversations. In his impression, Cen Xi was a quiet and studious girl, with a pleasant voice and good manners.
But for some reason, seeing her smiling at Xu Qichen and showing a slightly shy expression, Xia Zhixu’s impression of her diminished slightly.
“What’s the matter?” Compared to the beginning of the term, Xu Qichen had already become much more approachable. Cen Xi hesitated and said, “Can we… talk outside?”
Xia Zhixu immediately said, “It’s so cold outside, just talk here.”
Seeing Cen Xi clearly feeling embarrassed, Xu Qichen stood up from his seat with great consideration.
“Ai, it’s really very cold outside.” Xia Zhixu tugged on his arm, but he simply nodded and put on his jacket before following Cen Xi out.
Not long after the two of them walked out, Xu Qichen’s desk mate turned around and started gossiping with Xia Zhixu’s desk mate, “Hey, could it be that Cen Xi wants to ask that?”
“Ask what?”
“Aiya, that!”
Xia Zhixu could not listen any further, “Can’t you two just speak normally?”
Xu Qichen’s desk mate clicked her tongue and whispered, “I think Cen Xi likes Xu Qichen.”
“No way!” Xia Zhixu interrupted.
“Ai? Why are you so excited? Could it be…” his desk mate covered her mouth, making an expression of extreme surprise, “that you like Cen Xi!?”
“I like your grandfather,” Xia Zhixu rolled his eyes. “You spend all day gossiping instead of studying hard.”
The two girls completely ignored his criticism, continuing their gossip business. “Cen Xi usually looks quiet and gentle. I didn’t expect her to be so proactive.”
“That’s because of who the other person is. My desk mate is one of the best looking in our class, no, in our grade. He looks a little weak, but, some girls nowadays like this kind of white, clean, and gentle person.”
“I also think that Xu Qichen is the kind of person you like the more you interact with him. Even if he doesn’t speak much, it’s okay. His face makes up for it.”
Xia Zhixu’s patience finally snapped, “Are you two done!?”
“What’s the matter with you? Getting angry so suddenly,” his desk mate looked at Xia Zhixu and thought he was dissatisfied with their praise of Qichen’s good looks. “You’re also handsome, you’re the most handsome in the whole grade.”
“You two are distracting me from studying.”
His desk mate looked at his book. “Studying? You didn’t even flip the book over. Look, his results are good and he can even read books upside down!”
Xia Zhixu awkwardly turned the book around.
At this moment, the two people who had just left pushed open the door and came back.
“They look good together.”
“I know, right?”
Just because of that statement, Xia Zhixu was upset the whole morning. He felt like there was an injured rabbit in his chest, trying to jump but unable to, making him feel stifled and frustrated.
In the last class of the day, geography, he could not concentrate on the lecture at all. His mind was full of thoughts about what Xu Qichen and Cen Xi had said to each other when they went out. He had already imagined the scene of their wedding, the two of them walking together like they had done earlier, but in a suit and a white dress.
Crazy.
Crazy. Crazy. He’s going crazy!
“Okay, that’s all for this class. Go back and draw this diagram yourself. Dismissed.”
Xu Qichen packed his backpack and when he turned to pick up his cotton jacket, he saw Xia Zhixu still in a daze. So he poked his finger at his forehead and said, “What are you thinking of?”
“N-nothing.” Xia Zhixu grabbed his bag and stood up.
He could not tell Xu Qichen that was fantasising about his wedding, when the witness asked if anyone objected, he appeared and smashed the entire scene.
If he did, Xu Qichen might laugh to death or cut off their friendship.
Watching Xia Zhixu dumbfounded as he grabbed his bag and walked out of his seat, Xu Qichen let out a sigh and said, “You’re not wearing the jacket?”
“Oh, right, right,” Xia Zhixu went back and put on his jacket.
The two of them walked out of the building to a gloomy sky and no sun but thankfully there weren’t any more severe meteorological signs. They were in a gray ambiguous zone, neither good nor bad.
Xu Qichen was afraid of the cold, so he habitually withdrew his hand into his sleeve and let out a slight sigh, “I thought it would snow today.”
“Do you like snow?” Xia Zhixu asked him.
“I guess. When I was really young, it snowed very heavily one year. All the way up to here,” Xu Qichen raised his hand to his belly. “I remember it very clearly. We had three months of winter holidays.”
“I remember that too. I was so happy.”
“En.” Xu Qichen’s tone lowered, “But afterwards I learned that that snowstorm was a disaster.” He sighed, “After learning that, I felt so guilty about my happiness and excitement.”
“But it’s not your fault, and you didn’t know.”
“I know, it was precisely because I was unaware that I was really excited at the time, and I couldn’t even deny it.”
Xia Zhixu saw that he was still hiding his hand in his sleeves, looking like a pitiful little animal. So he took off his woolen gloves, grabbed Xu Qichen’s wrist, and stuffed the gloves into his hand. “Don’t think that way, you were still a child at that time, it was normal for you to be happy.”
While giving him literary talent, the heaven also endowed him with a sensitive heart.
Xia Zhixu wondered if that was a good or a bad thing.
In order to change the topic and to settle his curiosity, Xia Zhixu couldn’t help but ask, “What did Cen Xi come to you for just now?”
Xu Qichen was embarrassed to use his gloves and held them in his hand for half a day without putting them on. “It’s about the school anniversary. Cen Xi, wants to sign up for a program.”
“What program? Why does it involve you?”
The two of them got onto the bus, and Xu Qichen explained, “She wanted to read a poem, but she didn’t have a favorite poem. She wanted me to help her write one.”
Xia Zhixu immediately objected, “How could she!?”
He had protested too loudly, causing everyone around to turn their heads and look at him. Feeling a bit awkward, Xia Zhixu lowered his voice again and said, “You can’t write her a poem.”
Write her a poem? This phrasing was a little ambiguous…
Xu Qichen stuffed the gloves back into Xia Zhixu’s hand and held onto the pillar, feeling like laughing. “Don’t talk nonsense, I’m not writing her a poem. I’m writing a poem, and she’s just reciting it.”
In Xia Zhixu’s eyes, both seemed like the same thing. He released his grip on the hanging ring and grabbed Xu Qichen’s arm, saying, “Don’t write it for her. Look, she will be the only one performing on stage, and you will become a behind the scenes worker. It’s not worth it.”
Xu Qichen looked into his eyes and said, “There’s nothing wrong with working behind the scenes. There has to be people working behind the scenes, and besides, I’ve never been the type to perform.”
Xia Zhixu thought of himself.
But this was not what he is worried about at the moment. His tone was a bit urgent, “Anyway…”
Before he finished speaking, the driver braked sharply and Xia Zhixu, who had not grasped any support, was fiercely pulled by inertia and was thrown at Xu Qichen.
Unlike Xu Qichen’s ‘throwing himself into his arms’ last time, Xia Zhixu instinctively extended his arm to embrace Xu Qichen’s back, turning it into a complete and seamless embrace.
And the most awkward thing was that his lips even brushed Xu Qichen’s cheek.
It was too fast, barely enough to register the contact.
But, he still felt it.
Cool and soft.
It felt so nice that he couldn’t even admit that he felt it.
He just felt his heart beating fiercely, stronger than any abnormal vibration. Xia Zhixu tightly hugged Xu Qichen, his head rigidly resting against his ear, his mind blank, forgetting the first thing to do.
He should let go.
Xu Qichen’s hand was gripping the pillar tightly, causing his knuckles to turn white.
When the bus stopped moving, like a spell casted by a fairy, everything stopped.
When it moved again, the effect of the spell also ended.
Xu Qichen finally spoke up, “You… you’re hugging me too tightly.”
Thank you for the chapter!
thanks for the chapter!! ah too cute too cutee I will never recover
..they are both so innocent in love…ah ..
thanks fort he chapter
😍
Ehehe as a mathematics major that was born on May 21st that prefers proofs and especially likes to do proof by contradiction… I’m a big fan of Xia Zhixu!!! （≧∇≦）<3 <3 <3