Mai Dong’s aloof reputation preceded him; everyone assumed he didn’t want to talk to others. After exchanging thanks, they each went their own way with their milk tea.
Mai Dong didn’t know how many people were there before he arrived, and he had bought too much milk tea. There were still four or five cups left in the box. Feeling a bit guilty, he tugged on Yan Xuming’s sleeve, “Do you… do you want to pick a cup?”
Yan Xuming seemed somewhat surprised, “Oh? There’s still a share for an ordinary friend like me?”
Mai Dong immediately looked regretful, his face falling, “I’m sorry, I misspoke. Don’t be angry.”
Yan Xuming wasn’t actually angry. He had read Mai Dong’s diary. Mai Dong was too afraid to even hold his hand in a dream. He couldn’t expect him to admit their relationship in front of so many people so soon. He casually picked up a cup and took a sip, finding it surprisingly sweet.
Yan Xuming glanced at the label on the milk tea cup and found it was a full-brown sugar bubble milk tea.
After another sip, his mouth felt coated in sugar, sticky, and greasy. Before Mai Dong could reach for another cup for him, Yan Xuming stuffed his milk tea into Mai Dong’s hand.
Mai Dong: “What’s wrong?”
Yan Xuming’s voice sounded sticky, “Sweet.”
Mai Dong naturally took a sip, “…Hmm, I didn’t know full sugar could be this sweet. Well, I’ll drink this cup then.”
Mai Dong was a bit naive and awkward, and not easy to deal with. Although his public persona was that of an aloof xueshen, internally, he was like a fool who could short-circuit with just a flick of his head.
Just now, he had said they were only friends as if he had been stepped on the tail, and now he was casually drinking from the milk tea that Yan Xuming had already drunk.
Mai Dong held his milk tea and squatted next to Yan Xuming by the Christmas tree.
Assembling the Christmas tree wasn’t too difficult. The tree trunk came in segments from the store. Before assembling each segment, they needed to spread out the branches to the appropriate angles. Each of them took a segment of the trunk and sat on the ground, adjusting the branches.
Mai Dong worked diligently, carefully examining the angle of each branch after bending it out. After all, this was a task for the student union, and the Christmas tree would be on display for the whole school to see.
However, Yan Xuming seemed somewhat absent-minded, casually bending branches and occasionally glancing over at Mai Dong.
One moment, Mai Dong was proudly showing off his handiwork, and the next, he hurriedly exchanged his segment with Yan Xuming’s.
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.
Mai Dong muttered to himself, “Aiya, what are you doing ya? You need to check the angles and fill in every gap to make it look big and lush. Hurry up and hold onto this. Pretend you did it, or else they’ll say you were lazy. I’ll redo this for you.”
Tjc Wewlcu vlvc’a gfoerf ja jii; lcrafjv, tf ifjcfv lc, obmerlcu lcafcais bc Zjl Gbcu.
Zjl Gbcu kjcafv ab mbcmfcagjaf bc tlr kbgx, yea Tjc Wewlcu’r ujhf kjr abb vloolmeia ab lucbgf.
Zjl Gbcu’r fjgr aegcfv gfv reyais. “Qts jgf sbe ibbxlcu ja wf ilxf atja?”
Tjc Wewlcu jrxfv, “Qts vlvc’a sbe pblc atf raevfca eclbc lc atf olgra qijmf? P atbeuta sbe kbeiv pblc obg wf.”
Mai Dong instantly became nervous, glancing around to see if anyone was listening to their conversation. When he saw everyone was busy with their own tasks, he answered in a low voice, “I actually thought about coming to find you. We’re in different majors and different grades, so joining the student union would give me more time with you. But… um, I don’t know, maybe I felt more timid about being close to home?”
Yan Xuming chuckled.
Mai Dong didn’t know why he was laughing. “What’s so funny…”
Yan Xuming said, “You truly live up to your reputation as a xueba. I asked you a question wanting to hear you say more, but you just give me a proverb and brush me off?”
Mai Dong kept his eyes fixed on the Christmas tree in his hands. “My diary is in your hands. What else do you want to hear from me?”
Yan Xuming replied confidently, “It’s different.”
Mai Dong asked patiently, “So what do you want to hear then?”
Yan Xuming replied, “Translate the meaning of feeling timid about being close to home.”
Mai Dong took out his phone, “Look it up yourself.”
Yan Xuming leaned in, refusing to take his phone, just staring at Mai Dong.
Mai Dong resigned himself to the situation. How could Yan Xuming not know the meaning of feeling timid about being close to home? He also understood what Yan Xuming wanted to hear. It was the trial period. After all, he had to perform well. He retrieved his phone again. Plucking a branch from the Christmas tree, the texture felt somewhat rough in his palm; this Christmas tree was obviously not real, probably made of plastic.
After hesitating for a while, Mai Dong finally spoke with a tinge of inherent disappointment in his voice, “Even if I had joined the student union, it doesn’t necessarily mean I could have gotten closer to you. Wouldn’t that have been even more disappointing? If expectations are too high, the disappointment would be even more painful. Maybe I would have seen you getting along well with others every day. In that case, it’s better to maintain the distance we had before, like in high school. You wouldn’t know who I am, and I’d be happy just seeing you every day.”
Yan Xuming corrected him, “I do know who you are.”
Mai Dong was coaxed by this statement. “En! You’ve always known who I am.”
Assembling the Christmas tree seemed simple, but the tree was too tall and too large to be completed in just a few minutes. Yan Xuming went to get the wish cards, all of them Christmas-themed with red and green colors. He picked out two colors and handed one of each to Mai Dong.
Curiously, Mai Dong took them and asked, “Will everyone get a card?”
Yan Xuming nodded. “Yes, but not everyone will participate for sure. It’s cold outside, and most people are not willing to go out.”
Mai Dong smiled, “My roommates all said they wanted to participate. One of them even said they’ll write world peace.”
Yan Xuming asked him, “What about you?”
Mai Dong squeezed the two wish cards, pondering for a while. “I won’t tell you.”
December passed quickly, mainly due to the approaching finals week.
Everyone’s lives seemed to be on fast-forward, and Mai Dong’s notes were circulating among his peers in various majors these days. He wasn’t even sure whose hands his notes were in now, and the dormitory was bustling with activity. There was always someone coming in with course materials or homework to consult Mai Dong.
People were truly at their wits’ end. This year, one of the professors teaching a major course had a rather abstract teaching style. He didn’t emphasize key points, didn’t provide course materials, and his lectures were fragmented. If you lost focus for a moment, you wouldn’t know what he was talking about. If it weren’t for this course being required this year, no one would have dared to disturb the xueshen.
The first person to arrive was known for his thick skin. He could strike up a conversation with anyone, and with great confidence, he pushed open Mai Dong’s dormitory door. Upon entering, he began to praise Mai Dong, calling him the beacon of hope for the finals. He said that the passing rate for our class in this course depended on you, xueshen. Mai Dong’s face almost turned red by all the flattery.
After the person left feeling pleased with himself, he went back to the dorm and said that Mai Dong had a pretty good temper. If there was anything you didn’t understand, you could just go ask him, the xueshen would explain it to you clearly.
Meanwhile, Yan Xuming was also busy with the Christmas event preparations. He personally wrote the promotional materials, and several people carried the tall Christmas tree to the venue in the cold wind. They also bought several white holey boards to assemble on the field to hang the wish cards.
January was also approaching, and as usual, the school would hold a New Year’s Eve party. This was the most grandiose event after the welcoming party. The performance lists from various clubs were sent to the student union, screened by the Department of Arts and Literature for recommendations, and then all the finalized items were handed over to Yan Xuming.
The two didn’t meet much this month. Mai Dong spent his weekends in the International Debate Team’s activity room, while Yan Xuming spent his weekends in the Student Union’s activity room.
Until Christmas Eve, which fell on a Sunday, Mai Dong headed to the field after dinner. The event venue was already set up, and from a distance, one could see the sparkling Christmas tree in the middle of the field. It had snowed lightly during the day, a rare occurrence, but it quickly stopped, leaving no accumulation on the ground. The weather forecast predicted heavy snow later in the evening, although it was uncertain when it would arrive.
“Hey, Mai Dong, you’re here la? Look, how do you think we’ve done?”
The one who greeted Mai Dong was the head of the Department of Arts and Literature of the Student Union. She was a girl with pink hair, who had previously tried Mai Dong’s milk tea and recognized him this time, taking the initiative to say hello.
Mai Dong nodded quickly. “It’s amazing. Thank you for your hard work.”
The girl waved her hand dismissively. “No trouble, no trouble at all. Hey, initially, the plan was for the event to be all day tomorrow, but they said since it’s snowing tonight, and it’s Christmas Eve on a Sunday, we might as well start tonight. Have you written your wish?”
Mai Dong was pleasantly surprised, “Tonight? I haven’t got it yet. I’ll write it in a while.”
Yan Xuming was talking to a boy who was holding a notebook.
Mai Dong didn’t go over to interrupt. He planned to set up the stereo with everyone else. But before he could start, he saw Yan Xuming waving at him. Obviously, Yan Xuming was standing sideways, so he couldn’t see Mai Dong without turning his head. Mai Dong didn’t know how he noticed him.
When the boy saw Mai Dong, he paused halfway through his sentence, “Well, Chairman, let me go talk to Sun Li first. If there’s anything difficult to decide, I’ll come back and ask you.”
Yan Xuming nodded, “En.”
As the boy was leaving, he greeted Mai Dong, “Xueshen, good evening ah!”
Mai Dong showed some restraint, “Ah, good evening.”
Amidst the noisy surroundings, the boy shouted the name “Sun Li” and left. The sound system was being tested, and the Christmas songs were playing on the playground. Mai Dong stood still for a moment, watching Yan Xuming. Suddenly, he smiled, “Did I interrupt you guys?”
Yan Xuming took two steps to close the distance between them, frowning as he directly held his hand, “Why aren’t you wearing gloves?”
Mai Dong hadn’t even noticed until he mentioned it, probably because he was walking too fast and had left his gloves in the activity room. His hands were so cold that he couldn’t feel them anymore. It was only when Yan Xuming wrapped his hand around his that he realized how cold he was, “I forgot, I came in a hurry.”
Yan Xuming responded, “What’s the rush?”
Mai Dong turned and gestured to the Christmas tree behind them, “I came in a hurry to see my hard work ya. Two of the segments inside were done by me.”
Yan Xuming smiled and acknowledged, “En, thank you for your hard work.”
Thank you for the chapter! 🫶
just kiss please
Oh, they just moving on, okay
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
Thank You for the new chapter ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡)˚๐*˟ ♡