Shao Bohan woke up.
After both of them had finished getting ready, they changed their clothes. At around nine o’clock, they got in the car and headed towards Fudan University campus.
Ning Er turned to look out the window.
After passing through the picturesque villa area, they entered Pudong, where the bustling metropolis came before their eyes. Yancheng had a saline-alkali soil landscape. The soil was loose, so buildings over 40 stories high couldn’t be constructed. Ning Er rarely saw so many tall buildings. E
Shao Bohan had been unusually patient and not at all bad-tempered recently. Whenever they passed a landmark building in Haicheng, he would point it out and tell Ning Er the name and purpose of the building.
As the car approached the Haicheng Grand Theater, Shao Bohan leaned closer to Ning Er, sitting down beside him and whispering, ‘this is the Haicheng Grand Theater. There are many performances here every day. I remember there’s a famous orchestra performing here the day after tomorrow. Xiao Er, should we go and listen?”
Ning Er had never been to a concert before. He really wanted to go, but when he turned to see Shao Bohan’s face so close to his, he realized they were only five or six centimeters apart.
Ning Er felt a bit shy and quickly moved aside, saying, ‘sure, let’s go. But I’m not sure if I’ll understand it…”
Ning Er didn’t realize that when he had turned his head just now, his soft hair had brushed against Shao Bohan’s cheek. He just washed his hair yesterday, and so the fresh shampoo scent made its way into Shao Bohan’s nostrils. It was his own shampoo, one he used frequently, but when that scent wafted from Ning Er’s body, it unexpectedly stirred something within him.
Shao Bohan gazed steadily at Ning Er, smelling the faint fragrance and swallowing a mouthful of saliva. “No… I don’t understand it either.”
Ning Er instantly forgot his nervousness. “You don’t understand either?” Shao Bohan, who seemed to understand everything, didn’t understand this? Ning Er had thought Shao Bohan knew even German, that he understood everything.
Shao Bohan raised the corner of his mouth and quietly moved his body back. Though he was a bit disappointed, he didn’t want to be too close to that scent for too long, as it might start his desires. He calmly said, “I’ve never been interested in this kind of advanced music. I prefer popular music. I remember that Mayday is performing at the sports arena on Friday night, but by then, we’ll already be in school.”
“I also like Mayday!”
Shao Bohan, who didn’t particularly care for the band, raised an eyebrow in response, ‘the concert on October 8th… Xiao Er, how about we skip class for a day? I can help you and your aunt come up with an excuse. Then, we can go to the concert?”
Ning Er thought for a while and then shook his head saying, “Let’s just go home.”
Shao Bohan tried to tempt him a few more times, but Ning Er resisted all the temptations. His obedient appearance both pained and pleased Shao Bohan.
Because of traffic, they arrived at Fudan University around 10 o’clock.
Ning Er was visiting Fudan University for the first time. On the other hand, Shao Bohan seemed to have been there a few times before. He confidently led Ning Er through the campus gate, and the security guard didn’t stop them. At first, Ning Er found this strange, but as he observed several high school students being guided around the campus by their parents, he realized that Fudan probably allowed visitors.
Perhaps due to his young age, Ning Er felt a bit timid walking around the university campus.
Most of the people there were college students. Shao Bohan was fine because he was tall and had a strong presence, so almost no one found it strange. But Ning Er, with his youthful appearance, clearly didn’t fit in as a college student. As he walked through the campus, many students would give him curious glances, which only made him feel more self-conscious and shy.
Shao Bohan commented, “They think you’re good-looking.”
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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… So it really wasn’t because they thought he looked young?
Ning Er realized he might have misjudged the situation.
The campus tour was supposed to be the plan for the day, but there wasn’t much to see.
Yancheng University was indeed a prestigious school with a history of over a century, and its old campus was equally old, with its towering trees and century-old buildings. Although its ambiance and architecture couldn’t compare to Fudan, after about half an hour of wandering, Ning Er had seen enough.
As they reached the school’s sports field, they noticed many people playing badminton.
Ning Er glanced from a distance. They were about to leave when they heard a surprised voice call out, “Shao Bohan?!”
Ning Er stopped and looked in the direction of the voice.
A tall guy in white sportswear was excitedly walking towards them, holding a badminton racket.
He walked up to Shao Bohan with large strides and cheerfully said, “Shao Ge, it’s been about half a year since we last met, right? You disappeared without a word. The teachers said you suddenly transferred, and didn’t even say goodbye. What happened?”
Shao Bohan laughed, “I transferred, that’s what happened. Where else would I go?”
The guy playfully nudged Shao Bohan’s shoulder with his fist. “You transferred, but where did you go?” His gaze leisurely shifted from Shao Bohan to Ning Er. Ning Er was standing quietly, and when someone suddenly stared at him, he felt a bit nervous. The guy’s eyes lit up when he saw Ning Er. “Shao Ge, is this your friend?”
Shao Bohan replied, “He’s my childhood friend.”
“Oh, I see. What’s your name? I’m Zhao Haicheng. Shao Ge and I were classmates during junior high, and we continued in the same school in our first year of high school,” Zhao Haicheng said.
Seeing Zhao Haicheng’s radiant smile, Ning Er no longer felt nervous. He extended his hand with a smile, saying, “Hello, I’m Ning Er.”
Zhao Haicheng shook Ning Er’s hand and exclaimed, “Wow, your hand is so smooth, even smoother than Lin Jie’s hand!”
Shao Bohan kicked Zhao Haicheng away. “Let go, or I’ll tell Lin Yuan.”
Zhao Haicheng chuckled and finally released Ning Er’s hand.
Ning Er’s face had turned bright red by then.
Shao Bohan’s friend was exceptionally outgoing. He warmly led the two to the sports field, saying, “Perfect timing, my friend and I came to play. We brought two extra rackets. So, Shao Ge, how about a doubles match? Since you left Haicheng, I’ve become unbeatable in badminton, and I’ve been as lonely as snow!”
Shao Bohan teased him, “You’re quite the character.” He then turned to Ning Er and asked, “Xiao Er, do you want to play a game?”
Ning Er knew how to play badminton, and he didn’t know how to refuse people. He simply nodded.
Zhao Haicheng and his friend handed them two rackets.
For the next hour, Zhao Haicheng’s life took a turn for the worse.
When the match ended, he shook hands with Shao Bohan in frustration, “Shao Ge, you’re ruthless. Not only are you strong, but your friend is also surprisingly good at badminton. Xiao Er, are you doing this on purpose? You play so well in badminton!”
Afterward, Zhao Haicheng attempted to shake Ning Er’s hand.
Shao Bohan immediately pushed him away. “Why call him Xiao Er? it’s Ning Er.”
Zhao Haicheng was at a loss.
At lunch, they all ate together. When it was time to part ways, Zhao Haicheng looked serious and asked, “Shao Ge, where did you actually go?”
Shao Bohan calmly replied, “I said I transferred, didn’t I?”
Zhao Haicheng grew a bit anxious. “You even changed your phone number and refused to talk about where you went on WeChat. Are you ever coming back to Haicheng? Even after you left, the girls at our school noticed my good looks and crowned me the school hunk. But you still have to tell me where you went.”
Shao Bohan waved his hand. “We’ll talk about it later, Zhao Hunk.”
No matter how much Zhao Haicheng insisted, Shao Bohan ignored him and remained focused on explaining every building at Fudan to Ning Er. They weren’t just visiting Fudan today, but also Jiao Tong University, Tongji University, and others.
Ning Er saw Zhao Haicheng and his friends turning away. He hesitated for a moment and asked, “Did you tell your old friends that you were transferring schools?”
Shao Bohan looked at Ning Er and smiled, “I did, but they didn’t take it seriously.”
“Why didn’t you tell them that you were transferring to Yancheng?” Ning Er asked.
Shao Bohan replied, “There was no need to go into so much detail.”
Ning Er looked at Shao Bohan’s mischievous smile and had a feeling that he wasn’t very happy.
Shao Bohan didn’t want to talk anymore and changed the subject, “Zhao Haicheng’s dad is a professor at Fudan University. I didn’t expect him to be on break and was playing here. Quite a coincidence.”
It was only then that Ning Er realized why a high school student could casually play in a university campus, but then he thought, “Aren’t you looking forward to running into him?”
Shao Bohan originally didn’t want to answer this question. He lowered his gaze and looked at Ning Er, his eyes flashing as he leaned in closer and said, “Do you know why I transferred schools?”
Ning Er felt something in his heart tightened. He had always wanted to know the truth about this matter. When they first met, he had asked, and Shao Bohan had casually mentioned that he missed Ning Er, but he hadn’t expected Shao Bohan to be willing to talk about it now.
Ning Er held his breath and shook his head, saying, “I don’t know.”
Shao Bohan looked at Ning Er with a serious expression.
Ning Er returned his gaze just as seriously.
Shao Bohan’s expression turned solemn. After a moment, he sighed and said, “I was too good-looking. Back in Haicheng, the girls couldn’t focus on their studies because of me. So, for their own good, I transferred.”
“…”
Ning Er, who was now ready to accept the truth, exclaimed, “Shao Bohan, you’re insane!”
“Hahaha.”
After visiting the university campus, Ning Er’s mom had completed all the tasks she had for Ning Er. In the following days, Shao Bohan took Ning Er on a tour of Haicheng to have a great time. On the afternoon of the sixth day, they returned home early. Then, for the first time Ning Er met the legendary Aunt Wang.
The Shao family had dedicated servants and gardeners, but they never lived at the Shao residence. They worked during the day and went back home at night. In the previous days, Ning Er hadn’t seen them because they were always been away. Today, he finally met Aunt Wang, who prepared their supper every evening.
Aunt Wang was a well-dressed and lively woman. She was in the process of preparing supper when she saw Shao Bohan and Ning Er return. She quickly wiped her hands and approached with a smile, “Xiao Han is back. Is this Xiao Er? Tell me what you’d like to eat tonight, and I’ll make it for you.”
Ning Er smiled and nodded, “Anything is fine. Thank you, Aunt Wang.”
Since Shao Bohan and Ning Er were having dinner at home that evening, Aunt Wang prepared an extra meal.
After tidying up the house, she changed her clothes and prepared to leave. Just before she left, Shao Bohan loudly said, “Aunt Wang, take the lunch I prepared in the fridge for tomorrow with you. We’re heading back to Yancheng tomorrow morning.”
Aunt Wang was surprised and asked, “Why are you leaving in the morning?”
Shao Bohan took a sip of soup and replied, “We have evening self-study sessions, so we need to leave early. We’ll be gone by 8 a.m.”
Aunt Wang’s face turned serious and said, “But Xiao Han, didn’t your father return from the United States this afternoon?”
Ning Er was in the middle of eating when he heard this. He suddenly froze and looked at Shao Bohan. However, Shao Bohan remained calm. He continued drinking his soup, and said in a nonchalant tone, “No time to meet. We’ll talk about it later.”
***
The author has something to say:
Ning Er: Why is Shao Bohan always so shameless? [Blushing.jpg]
Shao Bohan: Well, don’t you like my shamelessness, Xiao Er ~~ ?
Aww we even get a badminton date, these two are so sweet ~ and shao bohan control that vinegar jar of yours from spilling too much XD