Xu Xingzhe hadn’t planned on catching a cold, but after returning from the arcade that night, he spent the whole night brainstorming methods to seem casually detached. Ultimately, he failed to come up with a strategy and instead found himself tossing and turning until he felt a chill. Consequently, he caught a cold, with a stuffy nose, a heavy head, and light feet. He felt utterly wretched.
Lu Zhaoshen didn’t even call him to comfort him, which made Xu Xingzhe even more miserable.
The evening sunlight was gradually fading in the city, leaving only an orange hue. The curtains in the room were half drawn and no lights were on. Lu Zhaoshen could barely make out Xu Xingzhe’s expression.
“I didn’t go to school yesterday afternoon so I missed two math classes and one English class. I had a hard time keeping up in class today, so I had no choice but to ask you for help. Sorry.”
Lu Zhaoshen turned on the light in the room without saying a word. He saw Xu Xingzhe’s drooping eyes and his expression, which was as dejected as his tone. Such Xu Xingzhe seemed unfamiliar to Lu Zhaoshen.
He didn’t respond to Xu Xingzhe’s nonsensical apology and only said, “Put on a jacket.”
Xu Xingzhe froze for a few seconds, then turned to the closet and dug out a cardigan to put on. Most of the time his clothes were flashy and oversized, which combined with his baby face, covered any hint of thinness. Today, Lu Zhaoshen saw him wearing thin pajamas for the first time, exposing his slender white neck and ankles, looking even a little pitiful.
“It’s not that I couldn’t keep up at all. I could understand most of what the math teacher explained, but I couldn’t solve the exercises,” Xu Xingzhe spread out the textbook in the middle of the table. Then he obediently sat on the side and waited for Lu Zhaoshen to explain it to him.
He sat a little far away from Lu Zhaoshen, not like before when he seemed to want every cell in his body to be attached to Lu Zhaoshen.
Lu Zhaoshen explained the formulas first, then the example problems. Before he could go into more examples, Xu Xingzhe said he understood.
“You really get it?” Lu Zhaoshen was surprised, then frowned, “This lesson is important, it’s tested every year in the college entrance exam.”
Xu Xingzhe took the scratch paper from Lu Zhaoshen’s hand and looked at it carefully, “Can you give me an exercise to try?”
Lu Zhaoshen agreed and came up with two exercises for him. The second one was based on a question on the college entrance exam mock paper he did yesterday, which was too difficult for Xu Xingzhe. Lu Zhaoshen put down his pencil, not understanding why he was giving Xu Xingzhe such a difficult question.
Perhaps he couldn’t stand Xu Xingzhe’s sudden confidence and wanted to teach him a lesson.
Xu Xingzhe didn’t throw a tantrum when he got the questions nor said, “If I get them right, I’ll get a kiss.” He just picked up the pen and started solving them. Lu Zhaoshen watched from the side and wondered: Why does he seem like a different person when he’s sick?
Five or six minutes later, Xu Xingzhe took a deep breath and handed the paper to Lu Zhaoshen, eagerly waiting for him to check it. However, Lu Zhaoshen just stared at it blankly. Xu Xingzhe nudged Lu Zhaoshen’s finger, and only then did Lu Zhaoshen come to his senses.
“…All correct.”
It was only then that Xu Xingzhe showed his first smile of the day. He habitually hugged Lu Zhaoshen’s arm, pressed his face against it, and proudly said, “I’m so awesome.”
Lu Zhaoshen was still looking at Xu Xingzhe’s solution steps and forgot to break free from him. It was Xu Xingzhe who remembered that Qian Sijia had said “You must hold back,” and then overreacted and let go of Lu Zhaoshen’s arm.
Lu Zhaoshen glanced at him without saying a word.
“You’re still amazing, you’re clearer than the teacher’s explanations,” Xu Xingzhe said. He put the textbook aside and copied the formulas into his notebook before closing the book and pulling tonight’s homework out of his bag.
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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Lu Zhaoshen felt a wave of anxiety washing over him, but it was difficult to pinpoint or describe. He interrupted Xu Xingzhe, “It’s okay.”
“I don’t know why, I was crazy, my mind was filled with all kinds of nonsense. These past two days of being sick have cleared my head. I realized that I did so many stupid things. Lu Zhaoshen, I promise! Starting today, I’ll study hard and never mess around again.”
“Mn.”
“If we can get into the same university, would you be willing to date me then?”
Lu Zhaoshen remained silent for a long time. When Xu Xingzhe hung his head to continue working on his homework, he finally spoke, “Xingzhe, ten of me combined is not as important as your own future.”
It was the first time he called him “Xingzhe” and spoke in such a gentle tone.
Xu Xingzhe felt like crying, but his nose started running first. He hurriedly looked for a tissue, not forgetting to nod in his fluster.
The night was unusually calm and harmonious. Before leaving, Lu Zhaoshen reminded Xu Xingzhe to wear socks. Xu Xingzhe reverted to his old ways and grinned, “The first time we met, you even took off my shoe to apply ointment. If you hadn’t been so gentle then, I wouldn’t have liked you so much.”
A subtle smile was hidden in Lu Zhaoshen’s eyes, “When Duoduo was injured and I saved it, I took care of it the same way.”
Xu Xingzhe grunted and turned away.
The next day, Xu Xingzhe was a little impatient. Seeing Lu Zhaoshen treat him kindly, he felt the urge to act up again. While waiting for Lu Zhaoshen in the car after school, he almost clung to the door, staring at the crowd at the gates, waiting for his Lu Zhaoshen to appear at any second.
But when he saw him, his heart started pounding, and he felt conflicted. He still sat back in his seat, leaning against the car door and pretending to play with his phone as if nothing had happened. When Lu Zhaoshen got in, he raised his head and smiled at him.
Their relationship suddenly changed from being incompatible like fire and water to “treating each other like guests“. With Xu Xingzhe’s calculated moves of pushing and pulling, they passed the midterm exams in the blink of an eye.
*
Xu Xingzhe ranked 29th in his class and successfully secured his allowance.
However, because of his rapid improvement in grades, he was summoned to the class teacher’s office. The teacher flipped through his math papers, examined his solution steps, and subtly asked if he had cheated. Xu Xingzhe’s temper flared up and he almost flipped the desk in front of the class teacher. After a long argument, he finally ended it by refusing to write an explanation.
As Xu Xingzhe was leaving the office with his exam paper in hand, he happened to bump into Lu Zhaoshen around the corner. Xu Xingzhe glanced at him, then lowered his head and said dejectedly, “I got 130 in math.”
Lu Zhaoshen wasn’t surprised and raised an eyebrow. He took the paper from Xu Xingzhe’s hand and looked at the deductions for him, “Why aren’t you happy?”
“The class teacher said I cheated.”
“You didn’t,” Lu Zhaoshen said unhappily.
“Of course I didn’t! I studied extensively before the exam. I did every question you marked as important twice.”
Lu Zhaoshen said, “I believe you.”
As Xu Xingzhe felt greatly wronged, he didn’t care about anything else. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, he threw himself into Lu Zhaoshen’s arms and buried his face in his chest. Although he didn’t cry, he felt miserable.
This time, Lu Zhaoshen surprisingly didn’t push him away. After a moment of stiffness, he even reached out and rubbed Xu Xingzhe’s nape.
When Xu Xingzhe returned to the classroom, he still hadn’t recovered. Chen Xiaoming came to settle the score with him first, “Dude, didn’t you say you despise cheating? What real man quits halfway through when we agreed to be underachievers together?”
Xu Xingzhe was so angry that he almost tore him apart with his hands.
After school, as Xu Xingzhe and Lu Zhaoshen sat in the car, they overheard Lu Guoyuan talking to Xu Chengshan on the phone, “Tonight? Yeah, I picked up the two kids. Well almost. Twenty minutes to the company.”
“What’s up?” Xu Xingzhe asked.
Lu Guoyuan hung up the phone. He turned to look at Xu Xingzhe and his expression changed, then he smiled, “Your father is attending an event in Changhua City tonight. I’ll drop you guys home first.”
“Uncle, you won’t be able to come back tonight?”
“Mn, it’s about a 4-5 hour round trip.”
“What about the fact that Lu Zhaoshen is alone at home?”
“What about it? He’s often alone at home. He’s independent and can take care of himself.”
Xu Xingzhe’s eyes lit up, and he tugged at Lu Zhaoshen’s sleeve, “Why don’t Lu Zhaoshen stay at my house today? We can go to school together tomorrow.”
Lu Zhaoshen said, “No.”
“Come on! Come on!”
Under Xu Xingzhe’s relentless pestering, Lu Zhaoshen was set up by Lu Guoyuan so plainly. Xu Xingzhe got carried away with excitement and reached over to hold Lu Zhaoshen’s hand. But Lu Zhaoshen caught it and slapped the back of his hand.
Lu Guoyuan saw this scene in the rearview mirror and chuckled, “It’s been a long time since Zhaoshen has gotten so close to someone his age.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s been almost three years, back when he was in 2nd grade of middle school, there was a boy in his class who said he liked him. He followed him every day, wrote him love letters, and gave him chocolates. One time, he even lost his mind and ran up to the flag podium in front of the whole school to confess to him. Bothering Zhaoshen this much, isn’t that perverted? There’s no logic in boys liking boys. I went to see the boy’s parents and suggested they take the kid to the city’s mental hospital for treatment. But the parents stubbornly refused to admit it and let the child do as he pleased. I couldn’t do anything about it. Zhaoshen couldn’t stay at that school, so I got him transferred. Maybe he has some psychological trauma. Later, he didn’t make any friends at the new school.”
After finishing his words, Lu Guoyuan waited for Xu Xingzhe to babble a response, but when he turned to look, he saw Xu Xingzhe frozen still as if struck by lightning, his eyes filled with confusion and panic.
Lu Guoyuan wanted to ask him, but Lu Zhaoshen stopped him, “Enough, Dad, you still have to go pick up Uncle Xu.”
Back at home, Xu Xingzhe ate, did his homework, and even washed up, all in a daze. Qin Jiazhen told him to do something, and he did it without a word as if he had lost his soul. When Qin Jiazhen rewarded him with a game console, he wasn’t excited. He thanked his mom while holding the gift and then went back to his room.
“Xu Xingzhe, are you cold?”
Lu Zhaoshen looked at the ceiling and then turned to see Xu Xingzhe huddled by the bed.
Xu Xingzhe didn’t answer. Lu Zhaoshen sighed, leaned over, and pulled the blanket over Xu Xingzhe. Before he could cover Xu Xingzhe, Xu Xingzhe suddenly turned around, tears streaming down his face, and buried himself in Lu Zhaoshen’s arms, “I’m not a pervert.”
Lu Zhaoshen wanted to pat Xu Xingzhe’s back, but just as his fingertips were about to touch Xu Xingzhe’s pajamas, he stopped. His hand was left hanging in midair without any further movement.
Xu Xingzhe sobbed uncontrollably, feeling even more wronged than he had in the afternoon. “In your eyes… am I like that boy?… I’m not a pervert…”
After a long time, Lu Zhaoshen gave him an answer, “You’re not like him.”
“What’s different?” Xu Xingzhe lifted his head and sniffled.
The dim yellow night light, the fluffy blanket, and Xu Xingzhe drenched in tears, all led Lu Zhaoshen to drop his defenses and soften his heart. He lay down, allowing Xu Xingzhe to climb onto his chest and bury his face in the crook of his neck to wipe away his tears.
“Xu Xingzhe, I don’t think you’re a pervert.”
He was just a troublemaker who loved to act spoiled and mischievous. Of course, Lu Zhaoshen wouldn’t say it like that.
Xu Xingzhe straddled Lu Zhaoshen’s legs and turned off the light. In the darkness, illuminated by a few beams of moonlight, he leaned down to kiss Lu Zhaoshen. Lu Zhaoshen turned his head away, but Xu Xingzhe held his face in his hands and kissed him again.
The moment they pressed against each other, Xu Xingzhe felt a little lost and forgot what to do next. Lu Zhaoshen turned over and pressed him down, his tongue probing straight in with a hint of anger. Xu Xingzhe still didn’t know how to breathe correctly while kissing. His small face flushed red and soft pleas escaped from his throat.
Lu Guoyuan’s words had triggered unpleasant memories for Lu Zhaoshen, almost like the detestable disturbance from a few years ago had returned. But Xu Xingzhe was crying as if he was the victim.
Xu Xingzhe’s cow pajamas were pushed up by him, revealing half of his waist. His pajama pants were gradually taken off as well.
He wasn’t the victim.
…
When released, Xu Xingzhe hugged Lu Zhaoshen’s neck and cried, “I’m not the pervert, you are.”
t/n: So infuriated by the dad’s words 
Me too! >< I can understand his point, but still, how could he said that?
Thank You for the new chapter (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)
Of course any dad would be protective of their kid but saying that in front of xingxing who is also his son’s pursuer is just… sighs poor dad, your son will be bent anyways but hopefully he’ll be understanding when their secret is out 😐