translator: daisy
proofreader: jay
Later, when the others bombarded him with more questions, Xing Ye simply said that he had remembered again.
This kind of avoidance made people more and more curious, but since Jiang Jing and the others understood him well, they stopped asking.
Similarly, Sheng Renxing stared at him with a perplexed expression, but shoved his doubts to the bottom of his heart all the same.
To be honest, he couldn’t imagine Xing Ye speaking in a ruthless manner, as he didn’t seem like someone who would take the initiative to provoke another.
Instead, he reminded him of a smoldering ember.
Sheng Renxing buried the matter to stop thinking about it, and as a consequence, the pen he was twirling had almost become a blur with how quickly it was spinning.
The captain sitting next to him stared at his hand in a daze and wanted to follow along. Unfortunately, after a flick of his wrist, the pen flew from his fingers straight to Chen Ying’s head.
“Fuck!” Chen Ying clutched his head and turned around.
The captain quickly apologized by placing his hands on the desk in the imitation of a bow.
“Fuck who?” The teacher in front of the class asked slowly.
“…I was wrong.” Chen Ying replied honestly and pointed his finger at the captain before leaving to stand outside, indicating that the matter wasn’t over.
The person in question slowly lowered his head with a flushed face and fiddled with his pen.
Sheng Renxing thought it was a little strange: this was the first time he had seen a boy with the same sensitive skin and stared at him for a while.
The captain didn’t move his head, instead swiveling his eyes in Sheng Renxing’s direction and asked quietly, “What’s the matter?”
Sheng Renxing shook his head, “You can’t spin it like that.”
Similarly, Sheng Renxing’s face was very sensitive and would turn red even if he wasn’t doing anything. Most of the time, it would change color if the weather was hot, after exercising, and if the wind was blowing.
And at this time, if someone came to bother him with the question of “why are you blushing?”
Sheng Renxing would let them know why peach blossoms were so red.
He turned the pen in a circular motion with his right hand to demonstrate: “Do it this way.”
Then he turned around to find that the captain’s face was even redder.
“Oh.” Zhong Xiao looked away awkwardly, “Thank you!”
Sheng Renxing nodded and continued to look out the window.
Generally speaking, even though sometimes people would irritate others out of boredom, it mostly came from a place of anger.
So what exactly did the student with the middle-parted hairstyle do to make Xing Ye that angry?
Because their classes would often drag on long after the bell rang, the cafeteria was always close to full by the time they were dismissed.
So as Huang Mao went to find seats, Xing Ye waited for Sheng Renxing.
Jiang Jing didn’t say anything about his behavior, as if they had already tacitly approved of it.
Only Lu Zhaohua asked, “Do you want to wait for him together?”
“There’s no need. You guys can go first.”
Lu Zhaohua raised his eyebrows: “Then you two should hurry up, I’m afraid that everything will be taken by the time you come back.”
Xing Ye didn’t wait outside his classroom, but chose to stand at a large tree near the school’s entrance instead.
After their class was over, he could see Sheng Renxing and his classmates come out together some distance away.
In addition to the two people who had fought with them last time, there was someone else.
Xing Ye knew that person.
Although he was familiar with most of his classmates, Huang Mao had gossiped about this student in particular.
Currently, he was chatting with Sheng Renxing, who was replying while checking his phone.
Xing Ye squinted his eyes and called out, “I’m here.”
Sheng Renxing caught sight of the other, greeted his classmates and left.
Chen Ying and the others also saw Xing Ye, and after Sheng Renxing walked away, the captain asked curiously, “Did they know each other from before?”
“Mn, they did.” Chen Ying shrugged, shaking the schoolbag behind him, “If they didn’t know each other, it would be strange.”
“Huh?” They smiled at Sheng Renxing as he left the group and walked over to Xing Ye when the latter suddenly looked up and stared at Zhong Xiao.
The captain avoided his gaze habitually.
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.
Chen Ying, “Sheng ge has a lot of friends. Those that like cars, or those that like going out to play. Anyways, he has many circles, so it’s not too much of a surprise for them to have met up before.”
“Efjiis?” atf mjqajlc jrxfv mjrejiis. Ds atf alwf tf ibbxfv eq, atf akb bo atfw kfgf jigfjvs ubcf.
Wlcu Tf ifv atf kjs ab atf gfrajegjca.
Lf kjr j ilaaif delfa jibcu atf kjs, ktlmt mbeiv tjnf yffc vef ab tlr lcpeglfr.
Pa kjrc’a ecali atfs tjv kjixfv obg jybea afc bg rb wlceafr atja Vtfcu Efczlcu uijcmfv ja atf rffwlcuis cfnfg-fcvlcu ragffa jcv jrxfv, “Lbk wemt ibcufg klii la ajxf?”
Xing Ye returned to his senses and checked the road markers, “Around ten more minutes.”
This long? Sheng Renxing was a little surprised: “Why didn’t you call a cab?”
Riding a car would be better for Xing Ye’s injury.
“…I forgot.” Xing Ye pursed his lips, and seeing Sheng Renxing’s surprised expression, he said, “Do you want to call one now?”
As he spoke, he raised a hand.
Sheng Renxing pressed it down, “It’s fine. There’s only a few minutes left.”
Naturally, the two started chatting.
“Does it still hurt?”
“It’s okay now.”
“Oh.” Sheng Renxing glanced over his shoulder, “Where’s your school bag?”
“I didn’t bring it. No need.”
“Did you not have homework?”
Xing Ye thought for a while before responding, “The last time I did my homework was in elementary school.”
“…Does the teacher not care?”
Seeing that Xing Ye was just staring at him, he nodded in understanding, “Ah, I see, of course they do.”
Xing Ye smiled, “Did you bring all your books back?” Glancing over at Sheng Renxing’s backpack, and the string of grades the other sent on QQ before, he suddenly became a little worried that he was delaying him from studying.
Sheng Renxing tilted his head: “Do you want to try picking it up?”
Xing Ye really stretched out his hand to carry it.
While it was very light for him, he felt the weight of knowledge all the same.
“Did you bring homework?”
Sheng Renxing nodded: “I’ve already finished it.” He had only received his practice books today, and the lack of questions to do was truly pitiful.
“Did you bring books too?”
“I need them.” Sheng Renxing laughed.
The other followed his example and broke out into a grin.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I thought that you were the same as me before.”
Sheng Renxing “oh-ed” with narrowed eyes, “Then you were surprised to see my score?”
Xing Ye exaggerated his response, “I did somersaults in fright.”
After he finished speaking, he felt that something wasn’t right and squinted his eyes, “Wait. Did you also see my results?”
The other had just managed to calm down when he remembered how Xing Ye had blurted “It was okay” back in the makeup exam room, and began laughing uncontrollably again.
After a while, Sheng Renxing sighed in relief as his laughter finally subsided, “I saw it by accident, but I didn’t make fun of you!”
“…If you laugh a little more softly, I can pretend not to hear you.”
After a while, Sheng Renxing could see that the other was in a good mood and brought up the topic they discussed at noon again.
“I didn’t.” Xing Ye denied it at first.
“So what did you tell him?” Sheng Renxing pursued the line of questioning relentlessly.
Xing Ye looked on helplessly.
Sheng Renxing was already one step ahead: “Yes, my curiosity is so strong, it won’t ever die unless you tell me the answer.”
“…”
After being silent for a long while, he replied slowly, “I started fighting because of a girl.”
“?”
Xing Ye was silent again, “That guy likes her.”
Sheng Renxing “oh-ed”and immediately guessed the follow-up, “But she likes you?”
The other nodded slightly.
“So he was out looking for trouble because of that?” Sheng Renxing casually turned around so that he was walking backwards but was still able to see Xing Ye.
“More or less…” Xing Ye didn’t really want to discuss this topic, but in the face of the other’s steady pursuit, he asked jokingly, “Is it funny?”
“This is called admiring your charm, okay!” Sheng Renxing placed his right index finger and thumb at the corner of his lips and smiled, “So did you tell him about the girl today?”
“Yeah.” Xing Ye thought that his action was pretty handsome and nodded.
“But why did you suddenly provoke him?” Sheng Renxing tilted his head and glanced at the road behind him, “What happened?”
He finally managed to ask about the one thing he really wanted to know.
“If I tell you, will you use it as blackmail in the future?” Xing Ye stuffed his hands in his pockets and straightened his back.
“How is that possible!?”
Xing Ye lifted his hand to avoid a telephone pole, and answered casually: “What specifics do you want to know?”
After a while, they arrived at a Mala Tang restaurant.
Apparently, the entire lane was stuffed with these kinds of shops.
“So this is Alley One?” The restaurant they stopped in front of was the most popular; it was bustling with customers, and some people were even lining up outside.
“Yeah.”
“Is there a second alley?”
“Mn.”
Sheng Renxing waited for a second before asking, “Do you have toothpaste in your mouth or something ?”
Xing Ye glanced, and pointed his finger to the left, “Over there is the second alley. It’s full of fried rice shops.”
“On the right is Alley Four, where there’s a place to play billiards.”
After he finished speaking, he huddled closer towards the other to avoid the pedestrians walking by, where one person in particular was carrying a large bowl of soup.
Sheng Renxing followed his example and moved closer. Without paying attention, he ended up taking a whiff of the other’s hair.
His shampoo smelled like oranges.
Just like the candy Sheng Renxing liked to eat.
Similarly, Xing Ye was also rather stunned by this turn of events.
Noticing the distance between them—or lack thereof—he suddenly realized that Sheng Renxing was almost in his embrace, the other’s palm radiating warmth through the layers of clothing.
However, the person carrying soup left as soon as they came, and the cold winds of solitude showed its presence once more.
Xing Ye ran his fingers across the uneven embroidery on his clothing.
Studying Sheng Renxing’s expression, he seemed very nonchalant, as if he didn’t notice their closeness just now.
The person in question asked curiously, “What about the third alley?”
“There isn’t one.”
“What about Alley Three?”
As they got closer, Jiang Jing interjected their conversation smoothly.
They were at a long table with a few empty beer bottles scattered around.
True to his word, there were also two empty seats.
Xing Ye sat down in silence.
Sheng Renxing explained what they were chatting about.
Several people “oh-ed” in understanding.
Jiang Jing, “Originally, the area on the opposite side of here was Alley Three, but it was later demolished, and its name was changed.”
“Ah.”
As soon as Sheng Renxing sat down, Huang Mao filled their glasses.
Xing Ye lifted it up and drank it in one gulp.
“Speaking of this, do you guys still remember Xi Shi in Alley Three?” Dong Qiu smacked his mouth and chatted casually, “I don’t know where the restaurant is now.”
Sheng Renxing could see that the group was well acquainted with Alley Three as they all started chatting.
They had already ordered the mala hotpot before the two came, and were now just waiting for it to arrive.
As they drank, the chatting slowly evolved into bragging.
Sheng Renxing inched closer towards Xing Ye and whispered in his ear, “Can you drink?”
He had never experienced a fracture before, and wasn’t well versed in the activities that could or couldn’t be done afterwards.
Xing Ye slightly tilted his head, leaned forward to get the beer that was a little far away, and nodded slightly, “Yes.”
Satisfied, Sheng Renxing sat back and listened to their conversation.
Huang Mao and the others now moved on to today’s basketball game, and after bragging a bunch, he suddenly said, “Damn, that guy dared approach us today!?”
Dong Qiu immediately realized who he was talking about and tutted, “He’s probably the type that can’t restrain himself.”
Huang Mao turned to Jiang Jing, “Why didn’t you toss out your bottle?”
The other squinted in disapproval, “I’m not as childish as you guys.”
Lu Zhaohua raised his hand: “Ah, but I wasn’t deliberately bullying anyone, I just can’t be bothered to walk up to the garbage can.”
Huang Mao snorted, “Well, it was deliberate on my part. Seeing that trash makes me feel sick all over.” He exaggerated his expression and did an impression of vomiting in disgust.
“Fuck, shut your mouth, we’re still eating!” Jiang Jing looked at Xing Ye.
Huang Mao stopped talking obediently and glanced at Xing Ye as well.
The person in question lowered his head to eat.
When Sheng Renxing was listening in on their conversation, he glanced at the group, “What are you guys chatting about?”
“Ah, you already left when it happened.” Huang Mao was very enthusiastic with his explanation, “It’s about that student, Saint Jiang Jing thinks that we’re bullying him.”
Jiang Jing slapped his back fiercely, “Shut your mouth!”
“Tsk!” Huang Mao slapped down his chopsticks and seemed ready to start a fight.
Sheng Renxing’s chopsticks were at the bottom of his bowl, “Did that guy provoke you?”
“I feel angry whenever I look at him. If I wasn’t already tired from the basketball game today, I’ll go and beat him up again.” Dong Qiu curled his lips, “Damn gay.”
Sheng Renxing paused, tapped his fingers on the chopsticks and raised an eyebrow, “Because of that?” One couldn’t tell if he was angry or pleased by the tone of his voice.
Huang Mao had finished fighting with Jiang Jing and replied in a disgusted tone: “You can disregard the homosexual part, because—” he glanced at Xing Ye, and seeing that the other wasn’t speaking, he continued, “That fucker stole Xing ge’s clothes last time.”
Sheng Renxing was stunned and turned to Xing Ye.
He swallowed the vegetables in his mouth and looked up at Huang Mao, “Stop talking.”
Upon mentioning a person that everyone wasn’t fond of, their “celebration banquet” ended shortly after that.
Standing at the entrance of the store, Sheng Renxing asked Xing Ye, “Where are you heading?”
“Home.”
Sheng Renxing raised an eyebrow, “Are you ready to reconcile with your mother?”
The other glanced up at the gloomy gray sky and shook his head: “I’m going to pick up some of my clothes.”
“Where are you staying tonight?”
Xing Ye didn’t speak, and with his eyebrows wrinkled, his jawline became especially apparent.
“I’ll accompany you back?”
Xing Ye turned his head in surprise, “Don’t you need to supervise the workers at your house?”
Sheng Renxing checked his phone, “I still have time,” and tugged on Xing Ye’s sleeve without giving him another chance to refuse, “Let’s go.”
On the way, a period of silence stretched out between them.
And they forgot to call a taxi again.
By the time they arrived at Yanjiang Street, the sky was already dark.
Sheng Renxing followed him into the alley.
When they were at one of the intersections, Xing Ye suddenly stopped and turned to glance at the other.
Sheng Renxing looked up at the narrow space between the two buildings, “Do you want me to come with you to get them?”
Xing Ye shook his head, “…”
Before he could finish speaking, a person suddenly rushed out, like she had been waiting here for a long time. Rushing in front of them in the darkness, she shouted in a voice full of hate: “Xing Ye!!!”
daisy: hai i’m very sorry. this chapter was supposed to be done on saturday but i refused to translate the last two pages even though i had the time, so it sat in google docs for three more days until i…finished translating it…and it only took twenty minutes… 🤡
Thank you for the chapter!
Thanks for the update.
I felt like banging Huang Mao face on the table when he made that homo remark.
thanks for chapter ＼(^o^)／❤️❤️
Thanks for the chapter!
Thank you! But oh oh some homophobia in the friend group and XY’s mom at the end?
I’m guessing that the boys know xing ye is gay when he glanced at xing ye after making that homophobic remark?
thanks for the chapter <3
Thanks for the chapter!
Yeye is slowly realizing it!! Also i’m confused, what person are they talking about? And i hope they’re not actually homophobic… or at least they won’t be after they know Xingxing and Yeye are gay….
Ty for the chapter!!💜💜💜