“By the way, Brother Yu, when are the finals?” Zhou Wei asked.
“He runs in the afternoon,” Zhao Che replied casually. Pulling a pack of tissues from his pocket, he pulled one out, raised his hand, and touched Gu Yu’s forehead directly, gently wiping away the thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
Gu Yu clearly stiffened. Just as he was about to frown and speak, Zhao Che had already pulled his hand back, chuckling twice as he handed over the half-pack of tissues: “Any more and it’s gonna drip into your eyes; do it yourself.”
The look Gu Yu gave him carried an indescribable nuance, but in the end, he remained silent and reached out to take it.
Standing beside them, Zhou Wei’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. He thought to himself that with Brother Yu’s temper, if anyone else touched him like that on a normal day, he would have dodged with a cold face long ago—yet today he actually just endured it? As he was scratching the back of his head in confusion, Zhao Che pulled his thoughts back with, “Let’s go, back to class,” and he quickly caught up with their footsteps.
The moment the three returned to the bleachers, they heard Chen Shuang say with great delight, “Look at you three covered in sweat—how did the competitions go?”
“That goes without saying!” Zhou Wei slapped his hands together with a loud clack, his voice brightening up. “I got third in the long jump! Just two centimeters shy of second!” As he spoke, he even made a measuring gesture with his hands, then puffed out his chest, his tone even more proud. “Brother Che broke the school record right off the bat in high jump! That height, tsk-tsk, the folks from the other classes were completely dumbfounded watching it! And Brother Yu left second place half a track behind in the 200 meters, securing a solid spot in the finals!”
Hearing this, the crowd instantly blew up, breaking into a loud round of applause. The wrinkles at the corners of Chen Shuang’s eyes squeezed into a blooming flower from her smile as she praised, “Good boys! Li Changlin just came back from the 100-meter finish line, clutching his silver medal and telling me his legs went soft! You guys really are hiding your light under a bushel! You’ve truly given me so much pride!”
Several boys in the back row whistled, and even the usually quietest girls couldn’t help but laugh and clap.
Not long after, two girls were seen walking over arm in arm. One was clutching her waist and panting heavily, while the other held a crumpled bib number, her voice raspy from running out of breath: “Teacher! We… got a ranking too!”
Chen Shuang quickly had them sit down to rest, handing each a bottle of mineral water: “Hey, where’s Anran?”
One of the girls replied, “She said she went to the restroom and told us to come back first.”
Chen Shuang let out an “mm” to acknowledge it, then suddenly slapped her thigh: “Almost forgot the main event! Zhao Che’s mom specially ordered boba milk tea today! Wei Junjie, Zhou Wei, you two go with Zhao Che and Gu Yu to the side gate security room to haul it over!”
“Woah—” A collective cheer erupted from the crowd. Zhou Wei bounced up from his seat with a zing, grabbing Wei Junjie, who was munching on bread beside him, and charging outward: “Let’s go, let’s go! Iced milk tea!”
Seeing Gu Yu about to stand up right after sitting down, Zhao Che quickly pressed his arm down: “You just finished running the 200 meters; rest here for a bit. I’ll just call Black Lin to go with us.”
Hearing this while secretly playing on his phone to the side, Li Changlin played the pity card: “Aiya, Brother Che, you’re way too biased! I just finished running too, you know.”
Zhao Che gave him a speechless glance and perfunctorily replied, “Oh, then you rest too.”
As if completely deaf to it, Gu Yu tugged at his school uniform collar to let air in, the skin on his neck flushed a light red. Brushing Zhao Che’s hand aside, his knees bent slightly as he stood up before straightening, saying with unyielding stubbornness, “I’m fine.”
Looking at the resilient, unyielding grit in him, Zhao Che let out a bright laugh and quickly caught up: “Aiya, I know you’re fine, I just wanted you to rest a bit more, okay?”
“Oh, then how thoughtful of you.”
The side gate of No. 2 Experimental High School was located in front of Boxue Grove, very close to the “Mediterranean” Dean’s office.
Wei Junjie and Zhou Wei had long run out of sight. Gu Yu and Zhao Che hurried from behind, taking a shortcut through Boxue Grove and chatting as they walked.
“My mom actually ordered milk tea for our class—I didn’t hear her mention it at home at all,” Zhao Che said leisurely.
Gu Yu remained silent for a few seconds before opening his mouth: “Aunt Xue probably only planned it today.”
“True. She’s just like that, acting on whatever pops into her head.”
A gentle breeze blew past. The shade of the trees in Boxue Grove was lush and thick, carrying a hint of coolness in the wind that lifted one corner of Zhao Che’s bib number, which was held by only two safety pins. Pomegranate flowers bloomed fiery red—vibrant and bright, exceptionally eye-catching hidden amid the green shade.
Walking deep into Boxue Grove, a few faint sobs suddenly drifted over. Though weak, the sound was heard by Gu Yu and Zhao Che as they passed by. The two exchanged a glance and tacitly followed the sound to search.
“How many times have I told you, Wang Anran, I really like you! I beg you, give me another chance.” It was a boy’s voice, carrying urgency and restraint.
“Can you stop pestering me? I’ve already said, I don’t like you anymore—ah!” Wang Anran’s voice was choked with tears, and as she spoke, she suddenly let out a sharp scream.
This scream was extraordinarily piercing in the quiet Boxue Grove. Were it not for the sports meet keeping everyone at the track right now with rarely anyone coming over here, this single shout would have definitely drawn a crowd of curious onlookers.
“Don’t like me? Then who do you like? Do you like Gu Yu and that dead-dad face of his?!” Sun Hao grabbed Wang Anran, whose face was covered in tears as she tried to leave, speaking furiously.
“What the fuck did you just say?!” Zhao Che charged through a small gap between spreading tree branches, pulled away the trapped Wang Anran, raised his hand, and threw a punch straight out.
Stunned on the spot by this sudden heavy blow, Sun Hao stared blankly at the towering rage of Zhao Che. Immediately following was another punch—this one landing right square on his face with undiminished force.
At this point, he couldn’t care less about grabbing Wang Anran anymore, raising his foot intending to kick back. As if predicting his next move, Zhao Che grabbed his leg directly and shoved him onto the ground.
Sun Hao grimaced in pain: “Fuck your mother! Zhao Che, what the hell do you want?!”
Zhao Che squatted down, grabbed his school uniform collar, and threw another punch: “Can’t you fix that loose-lipped habit of yours?! Did I let you off too easily last time, so that even now you still don’t know how to write the words ‘watch your tongue and mind your actions’?!”
Grit-toothed, he said every word emphasizing each syllable before landing another punch, beating Sun Hao to the point where he couldn’t speak another word, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.
At this moment, his rationality was completely consumed by rage. Just as he was about to strike again, raising his clenched fist into the air, ready to smash it down—
Suddenly, an icy hand grabbed his wrist. The grip wasn’t heavy, yet it was enough to intercept his movement.
“Enough.”
Gu Yu’s voice was pressed extremely low, yet his tone lacked its usual indifference. Zhao Che instinctively turned his head, coming face to face with Gu Yu’s tightly furrowed brows and somewhat pale lips.
The two remained at a standstill for a second.
The bones in Zhao Che’s wrist throbbed with pain from the grip, yet he felt strangely a bit more sober. Panting heavily, he slowly released his force; when his fist uncurled, the knuckles were still flushed red.
His eyelashes trembled. Heart filled with regret and bitterness, he closed his eyes tightly in guilt. Reopening them after a few seconds, he spoke in a raspy voice: “I’m sorry…”
Standing on the side, Wang Anran was so frightened she remained motionless, trembling as she asked, “…Are you alright… Zhao Che?” Seeing Zhao Che shake his head lightly, she pointed at Sun Hao on the ground and asked, “What about him then…”
“Hmph! He brought it on himself.” Zhao Che’s rage hadn’t completely settled down, and he spoke with disdain.
Gu Yu also cast a cold glance at the person lying on the ground, speaking with frost-like indifference: “Get up. After all, there are no security cameras here.”
“Fuck you guys, I’ll remember you!” Sun Hao’s lips trembled with hate, his eyes wide and angry as he stared straight at Gu Yu’s loftily aloof face.
“Talk after you can win in a fight.” Gu Yu pulled Zhao Che up in one swift motion, then said to Wang Anran: “Let’s go?”
“Okay!” Wang Anran wiped her tears and followed Gu Yu all the way out of Boxue Grove. Pinching the corner of her shirt, she said nervously, “Thank you guys… if it weren’t for you two, he might have kept pestering me…”
“Mm,” Zhao Che replied faintly. “You head back first; we have business at the side gate.”
If Sun Hao had merely been picking on a classmate, Zhao Che might have just given him a verbal scolding without making a move where things could easily get out of hand. But when it involved Gu Yu, he could never allow it to pass easily—not to mention that idiot’s insult happened to target what Gu Yu was most unwilling to bring up.
Once Wang Anran had walked far away, Zhao Che looked at Gu Yu beside him, who was exuding a “don’t mess with me” aura all over, his tight side profile writing “displeased.” Ever since leaving Boxue Grove, his face had remained stiff.
The hand at Zhao Che’s side released and clenched again. He hesitated before saying, “You… don’t care about what that idiot said.”
Gu Yu ignored him.
“Gu Yu, you’ve always been a part of my family! My dad is your dad, my mom is your mom!” Zhao Che explained eagerly again.
Gu Yu stopped in his tracks and turned his head. His dark pupils stared at him quietly, the emotions in his eyes dark and unclear. His lips and brows hadn’t relaxed even now, making Zhao Che’s heart ache terribly inside.
“Don’t look at me like that… It makes my heart hurt.” Zhao Che withdrew his gaze, looking aimlessly toward a distant corner, avoiding those eyes that were as deep as a quiet well.
“Mm.” Gu Yu let out a breath, yet his gaze didn’t move away from Zhao Che. He said in a low voice, “It wasn’t necessary…”
“What wasn’t necessary?” Zhao Che didn’t understand.
“Those words were just a joke, there’s no need to take them seriously.” Pausing, he added, “Fortunately, there were no surveillance cameras. If it got escalated to the teachers, you’d get a disciplinary mark.”
!!!
Zhao Che turned around abruptly, feeling as if something had slammed into his chest—stuffy and burning hot.
I am already someone who has died once. Starting over again, seeing the seventeen-year-old you once more, seeing the you who makes my heart beat frantically—what does a disciplinary mark even count for…? How could I ever bear to let you suffer even a single bit of harm?
“You’re only worried about this?” His voice tightened slightly. He reached out wanting to touch Gu Yu’s shoulder, but stopped mid-air, his fingertips curling slightly.
When Gu Yu raised his eyes, the turbulence deep within had subsided a bit, leaving only a faint layer of cool composure: “Otherwise? Getting a disciplinary mark for someone like that isn’t worth it.”
“But he insulted you…” The line “dead-dad face” echoed in Zhao Che’s mind, making him instantly feel that those few punches were way too light on Sun Hao!
Gu Yu was silent for a moment. Suddenly, the corners of his lips twitched into a faint smile, two shallow dimples appearing on his cheeks. They were as faint as thin ice, disappearing in a flash: “Used to it long ago. Doesn’t matter.”
Those words were like a needle, stabbing into Zhao Che’s heart without warning.
Ever since Gu Yu’s parents passed away, he had been living at Zhao Che’s house. Although Zhao Che knew that in his past life there were always blind idiots in school gossiping behind his back, he had never imagined that Gu Yu digested this malice in such a way.
How could it not matter? Gu Yu was clearly swallowing this stone quietly and then forcing it down into his stomach…