The gossip continued at the table.
“Your gossip isn’t as exciting as mine. Pregnancy is nothing.”
“But my gossip is directly related to our interests. If I didn’t tell you, would you have known that our chemistry teacher is pregnant? If I didn’t tell you, would you have known that we’d have a substitute teacher coming in next week? I heard that the substitute teacher is very fierce and has Class Four completely under control.”
“I can’t believe it, this is like the Miejue Abbess.”
Afterwards, the boys and girls separated. One of the girls, named Qiuqiu, was sitting at the side with a few of her friends, shopping online. Her phone was casually placed on the table. Xu Sheng remembered her; she was the short-haired girl who had run for the arts committee. Qiuqiu was distressed, asking, “Which one looks better? I feel like this colour complements my skin tone.”
Xu Sheng was sitting close to them, resting his hand on a glass cup. He could easily see the content on their phone screens with a slight turn of his head.
“Who’s wearing it?” Xu Sheng suddenly asked.
Qiuqiu instinctively answered, “Me.”
Xu Sheng glanced at the picture and then looked back at her, saying, “The second one, it suits you.”
At first, Qiuqiu was horrified by the school tyrant suddenly joining the girls’ conversation, and she became even more shocked when he offered his opinion. She had seen the terrible straight male aesthetics of Hou Jun’s group of boys. She initially wanted to ignore the school tyrant’s suggestion, but she didn’t expect that the one Xu Sheng mentioned was the one she had been leaning towards.
Qiuqiu’s personality was the complete opposite of her appearance. She slapped her thigh and directly called Xu Sheng big brother. “Brother ge, great minds think alike.”
“Then, can you help me look at another set?” Qiuqiu didn’t mince her words. “I think you, sir, are much more reliable than they are.”
Xu Sheng,”Sure.”
As he watched Xu Sheng seamlessly join the girls’ conversation, Shao Zhan couldn’t help but feel troubled.
He became even more worried.
Xu Sheng had said he was fine, but after a few glasses of alcohol, Shao Zhan suspected that he hadn’t really drunk much before. Xu Sheng had clearly overestimated his alcohol tolerance, and the evidence of that was when he began calling Qiuqiu his deskmate.
Xu Sheng didn’t appear heavily intoxicated.
If it weren’t for his increasingly incoherent words, Shao Zhan wouldn’t have noticed.
Xu Sheng rarely drank alcohol. In the past, he had stolen a can of beer from the studio refrigerator with Kang Kai. After downing the can, he thought he could handle alcohol well, but in reality, he would get tipsy after just two or three drinks with a higher alcohol content.
Finally unable to bear it any longer, when Xu Sheng asked Hou Jun to “fill it up again,” Shao Zhan pressed down on his hand.
Shao Zhan sighed. “Stop drinking.”
Hou Jun didn’t know whether the wine should be refilled or not. In the end, he saw through everything and sat back down with the wine bottle in hand.
“I can still drink,” Xu Sheng listened to the noisy chatter at the dining table, combined with the overhead chandelier light, and felt that his head was spinning. Yet he refused to admit it and said, “Let go of me.”
“Your ears are already red, and you still want to drink.” Shao Zhan slowly pried open Xu Sheng’s hand gripping the glass, and held Xu Sheng’s slender fingers in his hand, saying coldly, “Let go.”
Xu Sheng had indeed drunk too much, and his mind couldn’t keep up. After hearing what Shao Zhan said, he merely said blankly, “Oh.”
He looked exceptionally well-behaved, different from his usual playful and outgoing demeanour. Not only were his ears red, but the fingertips that Shao Zhan pried open were also red. Perhaps the wine was too cold, so the redness extended to the slightly protruding knuckles, making it look like someone had just bullied him.
Xu Sheng’s hands were almost as slender as Qiuqiu’s, but his fingers were even longer.
After someone took away his wine glass, Xu Sheng remained quiet for a while. He really did feel dizzy, and his head was throbbing. In the end, he simply lay down on the table.
Yuan Ziqiang and the others started ordering the second round of dishes.
“Let’s order more dishes. We ordered too little earlier. Speaking of which, can this meal be considered as lao Meng’s treat?”
“Lao Meng said it himself. This meal is his treat and Gu Yanwang’s.”
“Lao Meng is so generous,” Hou Jun took out his phone from his pocket, opened the class group chat where they affectionately teased each other, and then clicked on the profile picture of their homeroom teacher, Meng Guowei. It was typical of middle-aged people to use their own close-up photos for profile pictures. Thus, a kind and amiable middle-aged man with small eyes appeared on the phone screen. Hou Jun placed the image next to him and said, “Although lao Meng has a meeting today and can’t celebrate with us, he must be with us during this meal!”
Xu Sheng, who loved to make a mess of things, actually didn’t join in on their banter for once.
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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There was still half a glass of alcohol in front of Shao Zhan.
Their other classmates were busy toasting Meng Guowei through messages on their phones, laughing and having a good time. Some even recorded videos to send to Meng Guowei. Nobody noticed the commotion next to them.
Xu Sheng used two fingers to prop the glass by its rim, and with the other hand supporting his chin, he forced himself to sit up straight. He intentionally waited for Shao Zhan to notice before shaking the glass a bit, and with a somewhat childlike expression, he said lazily, “I stole it.”
But it didn’t end there. Xu Sheng leaned closer to the glass, his lips touching the rim as he lifted his wrist and took a sip. When he tilted his head back, the curve of his chin looked especially attractive. His Adam’s apple moved slightly, and he didn’t even care whether Shao Zhan had taken a sip from that spot or not.
Shao Zhan’s words reached his lips, but suddenly he fell silent.
After successfully stealing the alcohol, Xu Sheng’s mood visibly improved. Although he wasn’t entirely clear-headed, he knew that the drink was from one of their classmates. So after finishing it, he pestered for more, saying, “I want more.”
Shao Zhan stared at the hand that was so close to him, even suspecting that Xu Sheng was doing this on purpose, having seen through him and thereby deliberately teasing him. He said, “There’s none left.”
Xu Sheng persisted for a while before giving up.
The dinner lasted until almost 8 o’clock.
It wasn’t just Xu Sheng who got drunk; Shen Wenhao was also intoxicated.
Hou Jun said, “I’ll go to the front desk to settle the bill. Kai zi and Zhan ge, you two take care of one person each. Zhan ge, you’re responsible for carrying Sheng ge back. Everyone, be safe on your way back to the dorm.”
The others replied with a chorus of “Okay.”
The girls’ dormitory and boys’ dormitory were in separate locations. The girls left together, while the boys gradually made their way back to the school.
Xu Sheng was more difficult to deal with than the other drunk person in the class. Even when intoxicated, he refused to be docile. On the other hand, Shen Wenhao was very cooperative, having no will of his own. Tan Kai lifted him up directly and said, “Zhan ge, you two live on the same floor. Take care.”
Only Shao Zhan and Xu Sheng remained in the empty room.
“Can you walk?”
Xu Sheng’s thoughts were slow at the moment. He had to repeat those three words in his mind several times before he could comprehend their meaning. His sitting posture was very improper; one leg was bent, with his foot resting on the edge of the chair. Due to his dizziness, his chin pressed against his knee as he said, “…I can’t.”
After getting drunk, a person’s thought process could indeed become scrambled, and then they could suddenly be directed onto a different track. When Xu Sheng saw Tan Kai carrying the other person, he wanted to say, you should just lug me back like that.
But with a slight change of mind, his thoughts redirected onto a strange path.
So almost involuntarily, Xu Sheng blurted out, “You should carry me back.”
His voice was a bit hoarse, and his pronunciation was slightly unclear. But it was like a hook that scratched intensely at Shao Zhan’s heart.
Fortunately, Xu Sheng was drunk and didn’t realise what nonsense he had just said.
Only Shao Zhan was tormented by those words.
Shao Zhan stared at him for a while and thought to himself, you’re playing me to death.
Shao Zhan took a step forward, rare emotions boiling in his heart. Although he maintained his usual cold and icy expression, he teased out loud, “How can I carry you like this?”
Xu Sheng didn’t react, continuing to ponder Shao Zhan’s words with the mindset of a drunk.
In a drunk’s thought process, Shao Zhan’s sentence was too long and difficult to understand. However, the keyword “carry” was clearly grasped.
Then he blinked his eyes and let his thoughts extend, eventually arriving at a rather strange place. The youth, in his current position, opened his arms and made a gesture of wanting to be hugged.
“…”
Xu Sheng repeated, “…Hug me.”
After switching back, their perspectives had returned to normal, and it felt strange to have looked at each other’s faces previously in that way.
The embrace on the rooftop had been the same.
But this time, what appeared in his view was the real Xu Sheng—the one who disliked wearing school uniforms, had a piercing on one side, and a mischievous look about him.
At this moment, Xu Sheng’s eyes were half-closed and he looked somewhat tired.
Shao Zhan couldn’t control himself and briefly hugged him through the fabric of their clothes. His heart skipped a few beats, and when he managed to regain his composure, he let go.
The reason was simple. He was afraid of losing control.
Shao Zhan was quite certain that in his seventeen years of life, he had never shown any signs of being attracted to the same sex.
Nan Ping had a weak educational system, and the environment was chaotic, so early romance was common. Many love letters had been sent to him, but he had never been moved by any of them.
He had never had feelings for anyone.
Xu Sheng was the first.
Thankfully, Xu Sheng wasn’t so drunk that he had lost control of his movements. He could still walk, albeit unsteadily. From his perspective, he couldn’t tell if he was swaying or if the world was swaying. He even wanted to comment on how round the moon looked tonight when he saw the streetlights on the roadside.
Xu Sheng’s remaining rationality was focused on grabbing Shao Zhan’s outstretched wrist.
Shao Zhan was afraid he might trip halfway. “Hold on.”
“Be careful, students. Walk slowly,” the restaurant’s landlady said from behind as they reached the door.
As they walked out of the restaurant, only a few eateries were still open around them; other shops had already closed for the night. Streetlights lined the roads on both sides.
Xu Sheng was led by Shao Zhan like this as they made their way back to the school.
The hottest month of summer was coming to an end. The dry wind blew, making Xu Sheng feel somewhat light-headed.
Because he was holding onto a drunk person who couldn’t speak coherently, Shao Zhan didn’t expect him to answer. He asked casually, “Do you still know who you are?”
Xu Sheng, acting pretentiously in his drunken state, said very slowly, “I… I am your big bro Xu Sheng?”
Shao Zhan: “…”
After a moment, Shao Zhan laughed out loud.
It was quite amusing to talk with a drunk person, so Shao Zhan asked a few more unrelated questions.
“Do you know who I am?”
“I know.”
“Who am I?”
“…My deskmate.”
Then, unable to control himself, Shao Zhan asked, “Have you ever been in a relationship? Is there someone you like?”
Xu Sheng’s appearance was too eye-catching.
No matter how you looked at it, his appearance didn’t seem like that of someone who had never been in a relationship; instead, he seemed like someone who had had numerous partners.
After being asked a few questions in a row, Xu Sheng seemed a bit bewildered and didn’t respond for a while.
Shao Zhan sighed and let it go.
They chatted as they walked.
Xu Sheng had initially walked behind Shao Zhan, but later on they walked side by side. Shao Zhan caught a glimpse of the T-shirt Xu Sheng was wearing, black with a bold graphic design. He was quite familiar with this piece of clothing, as he had worn it himself before returning to his own body.
The dormitory building was right in front of them.
Although Shao Zhan had been rebellious during junior high, he had followed the rules almost self-destructively since entering high school. The only thing he had done in the past year that went against the rules was to become Xu Sheng, and helping him maintain his facade.
Regarding Xu Sheng not wearing the school uniform, even Gu Yanwang had accepted it as inevitable. However, Shao Zhan suddenly wondered why he didn’t wear it.
In fact he ended up asking, “Why don’t you wear your school uniform?”
Perhaps because the wind had blown away some of the effects of the alcohol, or it may have been that the question touched upon a sensitive nerve. Xu Sheng fell silent for a moment. Surprisingly, he managed to keep his thoughts on track and instinctively tried to hide the real reason, only saying, “It doesn’t look good.”
Was it not good-looking?
Shao Zhan recalled the first day he had transformed into Xu Sheng and worn the school uniform with his body.
The next day, Xu Sheng woke up very early. When he checked the time, it was only 5 o’clock.
Yesterday, Shao Zhan had stayed in Xu Sheng’s dorm until the early morning, comforting him and giving him something to sober up. He was also afraid that Xu Sheng would feel uncomfortable lying down, so he had stayed until he was sure Xu Sheng was fine and had fallen asleep before leaving.
Xu Sheng did sleep relatively well that night, without much tossing and turning.
Drinking too much alcohol had left Xu Sheng’s throat feeling as if it were on fire. He propped himself and sat up, his mind momentarily blank before a dull headache set in.
Xu Sheng thought that he had definitely drunk too much yesterday; his memories only went as far as discussing clothing colours and styles with Qiuqiu.
As the pain subsided, some fragmented memories flooded back. First, he remembered using a teasing tone to drink with Shao Zhan. Then he recalled clinging to Shao Zhan and asking him to carry him back.
Damn it.
These two segments shocked Xu Sheng so much that he forgot about the headache.
What had he done last night?
Off-brand alcohol was harmful.
Xu Sheng got up, intending to wash his face. As he turned on the water and buried his face in it, he recalled the last part—Shao Zhan asked, “Why don’t you wear your school uniform?”
And then the next sentence.
“You look really good in the school uniform.”
Xu Sheng’s heart pounded wildly. He shook his head to get rid of the water in his hair and turned off the tap.
The fact that Xu Sheng didn’t wear the school uniform was related to how he had to give up on his desire to attend Li Yang.
In addition, Gu Yanwang kept pestering him about this matter, constantly nagging him about ‘rules’. As human nature would have it, the more Gu Yanwang nagged, the less Xu Sheng wanted to comply.
However as time passed, Xu Sheng realised that he was no longer fixated on the school uniform. After becoming Shao Zhan, he not only wore the school uniform all day but was also compelled to study. However after experiencing life in a different identity at Lin Jiang Sixth High, he had discovered that although he hadn’t attended Li Yang, he had found a different world at Lin Jiang.
Even studying had become less repulsive to him, so what else couldn’t change?
Perhaps it had already changed.
It was just that he had made such a big fuss about the school uniform before, and now he couldn’t back down.
Besides, did he really look that good in the school uniform?
Xu Sheng had truly believed that the school uniform at Lin Jiang Sixth High was ugly. However, Shao Zhan, who had the ability to turn things around, had brought the uniform back to life. At present, Xu Sheng had only ever encountered a person like Shao Zhan once.
After receiving the school uniform in the first year of high school, Xu Sheng had never touched it, let alone worn it.
Shao Zhan had worn it with Xu Sheng’s body before, but at that time, he had been too stunned and uncomfortable with his own face appearing in front of him. He had simply pushed the image back and was preoccupied with the idea of ‘maintaining his image’. He had had no time to see what he looked like in the school uniform.
“Good-looking people should look good in anything,” Xu Sheng mumbled to himself. “Like me.”
The dormitory was still very quiet at this hour, and no one else was awake this early.
Xu Sheng unlocked his phone and found Zhang Feng’s contact. Without caring about Zhang Feng’s potential reaction—whether he would be startled and fall out of bed, or think that he was still dreaming—he typed a few words and sent them: Are you awake? Do you have any more school uniforms.
Thank you for the chapter! ❤️
They so cute haha