Guo Jingyu took his monthly exam results home, feeling like he had activated a cheat code and felt how awesome he was. But only he could estimate the combined score for the art major, while Mother Guo and Father Guo were not optimistic at all.
Slapping the exam paper onto the table with a triumphant face, he looked as if he had just rendered meritorious service.
Mother Guo scrutinized the exam paper for a while, putting effort into dissecting the questions he got wrong. Now that the child was in high school, she couldn’t assist him as effortlessly as before. But taking a look in advance would make it easier to communicate with the private tutor.
Father Guo, on the contrary, was quite very happy and kept on praising him, “It’s much better than last time, very good! Excellent! I’ll stew some spare ribs for you tonight to boost your energy!”
For once, Mother Guo didn’t dampen their enthusiasm and added, “Yes, make some more. Prepare the braised ones. Jingyu likes the sweet flavor.”
Guo Jingyu followed him to the kitchen, rolling up his sleeves, “Dad, let me help. Use a bit less cinnamon this time, and for the spare ribs, stick to the rib tips. Cut them into smaller pieces. I’ll take some to Li Tongzhou too.”
“Sure.” Father Guo chuckled, “Did he find it delicious last time?”
“He’s praising your cooking a lot! It’s been a while since we’ve had such a delicious meal. The last time we brought some over, not even a drop of soup was left. We cooked noodles with it, and it was really tasty.” Guo Jingyu assisted, working quickly.
Father Guo asked, “Is Xiaozhou still eating alone? If so, invite him over to our place. Sharing a meal is always better with more chopsticks.”
Guo Jingyu was very thoughtful and immediately made a request, “Dad, Li Tongzhou is a bit shy to come over. Even if he did, he wouldn’t loosen up. How about this? In the future, could you prepare an extra portion for me in the evenings, and I’ll take it over to his place to eat…”
Mother Guo happened to reach the kitchen doorway and overheard him. She couldn’t help but laugh angrily, “Guo Jingyu, you’ve got quite the thick skin. Instead of staying home, you’re always sneaking into Xiaozhou’s house!”
“We have a good relationship, and he’s helped me a lot at school. Didn’t you also say, being close to other families’ excellent students increases the learning atmosphere?” Guo Jingyu stated confidently, then smiled to please, “Mom, look, my grades have improved this time. Let me go over, okay?”
“But you can’t go there every day.”
“Can I go over on Sunday afternoon?”
“Are his parents really not at home?”
“Really, Li Tongzhou’s dad is never at home all day. His mom does come back, but she works in quality control, running around on-site and coming back very late. A few times when I went over on weekends, I saw Auntie and Li Tongzhou each with a box of instant noodles. Still, they didn’t complain. They enjoy it so much. Ah, it made me think of our home, where we even stir-fry a couple of dishes for breakfast. Compared to them, our family truly enjoys a prosperous middle-class life…”
Mother Guo couldn’t resist his teasing and playfully tapped his head, “All you know is how to talk. Go over on the weekend. Tell your dad in advance and bring some good dishes with you.”
“Ah!”
That day, Mother Guo had a very good attitude towards her son.
In the evening, taking advantage of the fact that the private tutor did not yet come, Mother Guo called her son over again. She began beating around the bush about his views on art.
Guo Jingyu listened with amusement. It was about time for this discussion. Around the same time last time, his mom started talking about the matter of taking the art exam.
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.
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Guo Jingyu deliberately put on a thoughtful expression.
Mother Guo sighed, her voice slowing down a bit, “You kids, you don’t understand how important a good university is now. You’ll realize it once you graduate and start looking for a job.”
Guo Jingyu leaned forward and hugged her, smiling, “Mom, I understand.”
Mother Guo pinched his nose, “What do you understand?”
Guo Jingyu laughed, “I know you care about me, Mom. You’re always thinking about me. Thank you for your hard work.”
Originally, Mother Guo was full of persuasive words, but she stopped in her tracks by her son’s words. Her eyes even welled up a bit. She feigned composure after quickly pushing him away, “If you know, then stop making me angry. Study hard. That’s better than anything else.”
Guo Jingyu nodded, promising with a smile.
Mother Guo acted quickly, applying for the art class for him. The school had recently organized a specific class for art students, but it was still in its early stages and not well-established. They managed to form an arts and humanities class, as there were too few science students pursuing art. The art students were still scattered across different classes, attending as auditors. When there was a need for specialized training, they would join the art class for external activities, and their original class positions were reserved for them.
Guo Jingyu was quite satisfied with this arrangement. This way, even if he went out to study painting for half a year, he could still be in the same class as Li Tongzhou when he returned, and the two of them would still be deskmates.
Guo Jingyu enrolled in the professional courses for the next semester, spending the first half of the second year of high school diligently reviewing academic subjects.
Li Tongzhou had carefully analyzed it for him, considering scores from previous years. To get into the art academy, you’d probably need around 550 points in the academic subjects. This relieved Li Tongzhou.
Guo Jingyu teased him, “Why are you more nervous than me?”
Li Tongzhou replied, “I don’t have experience, so I’ll look for more art exam materials.”
Guo Jingyu was sweetly amused by his serious expression and quickly said, “No need. My family is already searching for them. Just focus on your studies. you don’t have to worry about the rest.”
Li Tongzhou nodded, “You should study hard and not think about other things.”
“What do you mean?”
Li Tongzhou lowered his gaze and, after a moment, said, “Puppy love is not good.”
If Guo Jingyu didn’t know that Li Tongzhou was planning to confess to him in the second half of the semester, he would have been easily fooled. What an upright and exemplary top student, speaking so seriously. But who was the one standing in the snow, asking if they could be together?
Seeing him not responding, Li Tongzhou frowned slightly. “Jingyu, you need to focus, don’t let yourself be delayed by other things.”
Guo Jingyu leaned in, “You won’t let me date, what about you?”
Li Tongzhou quickly replied, “I won’t either.”
Guo Jingyu looked at him for a moment, then suddenly laughed, teasingly saying, “I’m not sure yet. Let’s wait and see. I’ll let you know when I’ve made up my mind.”
The school basketball team organized two matches in November, one against Experimental High School and the other against No.4 High School.
Experimental High School’s basketball skills were quite ordinary, essentially ranking at the bottom among the high schools in the vicinity. The match against them was more of a warm-up.
The coach didn’t let Guo Jingyu play. Instead, he had Li Tongzhou get some experience and feel the atmosphere of the game.
For the first time, Guo Jingyu sat on the cold bench, but he sat there with a contented smile.
Leaning on his chin, he squinted at the people running back and forth on the court. He always managed to spot his favorite one at the first glance. Li Tongzhou commanded with calmness, winning the game without making a big show, giving the opposing school some face. The score didn’t end up looking too bad either.
Guo Jingyu wasn’t worried about the score. Instead, he began casually looking around. First, he observed the figures from behind, then he glanced at the long legs of his little boyfriend.
If the circumstances allowed, Guo Jingyu really wanted to take out pen and paper to sketch a few drawings.
The person in the back row had brought a camera and was taking photos. Guo Jingyu thought, maybe bringing a camera next time wouldn’t be a bad idea. Li Tongzhou might not like taking pictures, but that wouldn’t stop him from sneakily capturing a few shots!
They quickly won this match. Guo Jingyu stood up, intending to bring water to his teammates. Just as he got up, someone from behind called out, “Guo Jingyu?”
He turned around and saw a familiar face, Song Zhuoran.
Song Zhuoran was dressed in sportswear, looking quite professional. His attire made him seem like an external member of their school’s basketball team in the crowd. Class monitor Song smiled and extended his hand, “Jingyu, long time no see.”
Guo Jingyu was momentarily stunned, shook his hand, and asked, “Why are you here? I thought top students preferred studying in school during self-study sessions.”
Looking at the basketball court, Song Zhuoran smiled, “There are exceptions. Isn’t there someone there passionate about playing ball?”
Guo Jingyu asked, “Did you come to find Li Tongzhou?”
Song Zhuoran thought for a moment, shook his head, and smiled, “Not really. I just came to have a look. Actually, I really like playing basketball too.” He looked straight at him, his gaze sincere, “If I apply to join the school team, I wonder if the captain would agree?”
Guo Jingyu replied, “You should ask the coach. What I say doesn’t count.”
Song Zhuoran shrugged, “That’s a bit heart-wrenching. Look, I’ve even prepared my own clothes.”
Guo Jingyu saw Li Tongzhou walking over, but didn’t chat much with Song Zhuoran. Li Tongzhou quickly moved the water, and when Song Zhuoran saw, he immediately went over to help, “I’ve got this. This one’s heavy.”
Guo Jingyu was puzzled, “I can handle it.”
Song Zhuoran gritted his teeth and moved two boxes of water, “I’m strong too.”
Guo Jingyu had never seen someone so eager to do the work, so he decided to let him handle it.
When distributing water to everyone, Song Zhuoran rushed to the front, almost not letting Guo Jingyu get involved. Even the usually slow-witted He Xiangyang could sense that something was off. He frowned, looked for a while, and suddenly exclaimed, “Hey, Song Zhuoran, your clothes look really familiar. Isn’t it the same set as the one you wore last time when you played ball with Yu Ge?”
Guo Jingyu couldn’t remember what he wore in the last game. He just glanced at it when he heard someone nearby choke on water. Turning around, he saw that Li Tongzhou had accidentally squeezed the mineral water bottle too hard, causing an overflow that soaked his clothes.
Guo Jingyu reached out to wipe him, “What’s going on? Be more careful.”
Li Tongzhou stood still with the bottle in hand, letting Guo Jingyu tidy him up. He whispered, “I was too thirsty. I drank in a hurry.”
Guo Jingyu smiled, “Why are you acting like a child? If you keep this up, next time I’ll buy you one of those water bottles with a straw.”
As expected, Song Zhuoran brought up the matter of joining the school basketball team with the coach again. But this time, the coach took a moment to consider before ultimately rejecting the request.
Song Zhuoran looked at those packing their sports bags and then turned his gaze towards Guo Jingyu. He questioned, “Coach, why can’t I join? Li Tongzhou just joined recently, didn’t he?”
“We’re currently not planning to accept any more sophomores. Your subject teacher has already discussed it with me, and accepting Li Tongzhou was already an exception.”
“You can give it a try. My physical fitness is really good!”
“I really can’t accept it. We have a match against No.4 High School at the end of the month. There’s not much time left, and even if you join now, you won’t be able to participate.”
…
Despite Song Zhuoran’s efforts, he couldn’t make the sale and left feeling a bit discouraged.
Guo Jingyu stared blankly at his departing figure. Searching his memory, he couldn’t find any impression of Song Zhuoran. It seemed like Li Tongzhou had never mentioned having someone like him hanging around before.
He was only thinking about Li Tongzhou and looked at Song Zhuoran as if he was here to compete with him. He didn’t notice that Li Tongzhou was also looking at him.
On the way back on the school bus, Guo Jingyu and Li Tongzhou sat side by side in a row. Guo Jingyu continued to asking subtle about Song Zhuoran.
Li Tongzhou’s responses were always the same three words: “I don’t know,” “Not sure,” “Didn’t pay attention.” The more Guo Jingyu asked, the more Li Tongzhou would tilt his head, rest it on Guo Jingyu’s shoulder, close his eyes, and softly say, “I’m a bit tired.”
Guo Jingyu’s attention immediately shifted. He asked, concerned, “Did you get hurt anywhere? I told you those few balls you fought for this afternoon were too intense. Next time, let He Xiangyang and the others handle this kind of strenuous activity. You don’t need to overexert yourself.”
Li Tongzhou handed his hand to him, and it was almost immediately held. Then, Guo Jingyu carefully kneaded it.
Without moving away, he hummed softly, resting his head on Guo Jingyu’s shoulder.
K: GJY fam is just so warm and sooft ~~ ANND our lowkey little vinegar LTZ is waving hiii
ANND~! Merry Christmas Eve to my fellow Christians and Happy Holidays to everyone! ~~ ◝(ᵔᵕᵔ)◜ Who would’ve thought this would land exactly on the 24 Dec?? For sure its not mee ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ I hope you all have a great food ٩(⸝⸝ᵕᴗᵕ⸝⸝)و*̣̩⋆̩*
Thank you for the update! 😘🎄