Cheng Shuoning did not miss a single shifting expression on Zhou Xundu’s face. Regrettably, the man’s countenance was no different from when they were alone, maintaining that unvarying, seamless gentleness. It was like a carefully manufactured mask of amiability. Worn for too long, it had thoroughly fused with his original features.
Nearby, Cheng Meng continued detailing his flaws, hoping to elevate his own image in Zhou Xundu’s heart by disparaging him, but Zhou Xundu persistently ignored him. Those voices were grating and hideous. Cheng Shuoning had no desire to watch further, turning around to re-enter his room.
The three individuals who had accompanied him since childhood each put on a front of having no association with Cheng Meng, uttering words of absolute aversion on the surface, yet in reality, they all maintained ambiguous, unclear relations with him, keeping it hidden from him all this time. Cheng Shuoning did not know their true objectives, nor could he fathom what benefits such deception could possibly bring.
He locked the front door from the inside, leaning his spine against it. The moment he closed his eyes, Zhou Xundu’s tender demeanor from earlier filled his mind, ultimately overlapping with the face the man displayed when confronting Cheng Meng. A surge of fury rushed from the depths of his heart straight to his throat, leaving his mouth dry and bitter. He clenched his fists tightly.
Zhou Xundu’s hand slid from Cheng Meng’s head down to his throat, lightly caressing the vulnerable neck before gradually tightening his grip. Witnessing Cheng Meng’s expression of absolute agony, Zhou Xundu let out a low laugh, releasing his hold to push him away as his countenance turned thoroughly cold and detached.
“Who permitted you to come here?” His voice remained exceedingly tender, as though addressing a romantic partner, inducing a momentary trance.
Massaging his throat and letting out a succession of low coughs, Cheng Meng spoke with a trace of underlying fear upon hearing his words, “I missed Brother Zhou. Watching Brother Zhou act so intimately with Cheng Shuoning, I simply couldn’t restrain myself.”
“So you have been trailing me?” Zhou Xundu patted down his coat, precisely where Cheng Meng had pressed tightly against him a moment ago. Turning it over in his mind, he said flatly, “Recognize your own position. You bear absolutely no comparison to Ningning.”
Cheng Meng’s face turned stark white, asking with sheer stubbornness, “But Brother Zhou, you didn’t refuse me either.”
“Therefore, you ought to express gratitude to Ningning,” Zhou Xundu said with a slight smile. “Express gratitude that he is your younger brother.”
These words functioned like a blade of absolute ice, piercing Cheng Meng to the point where his pupils constricted, close to breaking into tears. The identity he had detested all this time, the person he loathed, was dismissed so casually by Zhou Xundu, declaring that he ought to offer thanks.
Zhou Xundu was an individual he could never see through or fathom. Their dynamic resembled a moth drawn to a flame. Even knowing it was an absolute impossibility, he still desired to throw himself toward Zhou Xundu, this ball of warm, scorching fire. After all, before a definitive outcome arrived, anything remained possible.
“Am I inferior to him in any way?” Cheng Meng lowered his eyes, gripping his clothes tightly to present a display of being deeply aggrieved as he said, “Why can’t Brother Zhou accept me completely?”
The tall man offered no reply, merely lifting his head to gaze at the open window on the third floor, his eyes narrowing slightly. Immediately following that, he turned around to head upstairs. When Cheng Meng threw his arms around him securely from behind, his tone spiked with coldness, “Release me.”
This was the man’s truest demeanor, shedding the tender, considerate neighborly older brother persona he displayed before Cheng Shuoning.
Cheng Meng tightened his grip, refusing to let go, only to have his hands pried open forcefully a moment later. Stumbling slightly to regain his footing, he watched Zhou Xundu’s retreating figure, his eyes filled with obsession. “Can’t you let me take Cheng Shuoning’s place?”
“Do you like Cheng Shuoning’s face, or do you like his person? Whichever you like, you can simply treat me as him. I will replace him perfectly. Brother Zhou, grant me an opportunity.”
His pleading failed to make the man pause for a single second, and he could only watch helplessly as the man stepped into the elevator.
Cheng Meng lifted his head to stare up at the third floor, his gaze turning vicious and sinister. Was it truly the case that only through Cheng Shuoning’s death could he secure what he desired?
The corridor was entirely dim. Zhou Xundu pulled the window closed once more, turning his head to glance at the tightly shut door. Raising his hand to knock lightly, his voice rose low and soft, “Ningning, are you asleep?”
No sound issued from within.
Zhou Xundu retracted his hand, guessing that Cheng Shuoning had witnessed the scene just now. However, he felt no anxiety or worry, merely leaving behind a phrase, “I will come fetch you tomorrow morning,” before preparing to depart.
Inside the apartment, Cheng Shuoning sat squarely upon his chair, furrowing his brows as he caught the sound of the man’s retreating footsteps. Rising to open the door, he placed the prepared jacket on the floor outside, before shutting the door once more without a single word.
Zhou Xundu hadn’t even caught a clear glimpse of his face. Spotting the jacket on the floor, he stepped forward to retrieve it before departing.
The room returned to absolute quiet. Cheng Shuoning sat upon the sofa, curling his legs tightly against his chest. Zhou Xundu was altogether too calm. Cheng Shuoning even felt that Zhou Xundu already knew he had witnessed Cheng Meng embracing him, which was precisely why he had knocked to inquire if he was asleep. But why was he so calm? Did he also maintain that he was easy to manipulate?
His phone vibrated twice, signaling incoming messages. One was from Zhou Xundu, and the other was from Xu Wangzhi, both arriving at the exact same moment. Without a shred of hesitation, Cheng Shuoning tapped open the message from Xu Wangzhi.
“Checked in?”
“Mm,” Cheng Shuoning typed his reply.
Xu Wangzhi: “Sleep early.”
Cheng Shuoning offered a slight smile. It was highly bizarre; the suffocating gloom in his heart dissipated completely whenever he chatted with Xu Wangzhi.
Retrieving his test papers, he sent a message to Xu Wangzhi, “Are you finished with your homework?”
Xu Wangzhi: “Finished.”
Cheng Shuoning: “I am still missing one test paper. I can only sleep once it is finished.”
Xu Wangzhi: “Is there anything you don’t understand?”
Cheng Shuoning skimmed the test paper quickly, replying to Xu Wangzhi with an expression of absolute agony: “Mathematics is too difficult. I feel like I don’t know how to solve a single problem. TAT.”
Xu Wangzhi offered no further reply. Cheng Shuoning checked his phone every few minutes, his expression turning slightly troubled and dejected. Could it be that he had exposed his own stupidity, prompting Xu Wangzhi to ignore him? Or was there an issue with the emoji he sent?
Just as he was staring intently at his message while running through various conjectures, Xu Wangzhi finally sent a reply: “Sorry, I was taking a shower just now.”
The phrase “taking a shower” caused a loud hum to echo through Cheng Shuoning’s brain, recalling how Xu Wangzhi had asked if he wanted to feel his abs a few days ago. He hadn’t even refused at that time, pressing his hand against them as though he had never seen them before. What had he been thinking? How did he simply go ahead and touch them? It was altogether too embarrassing.
The scene buried in the depths of his memory was unearthed once more. The more Cheng Shuoning turned it over in his mind, the more his cheeks burned with heat, unable to resist burying his face in his hands to halt his erratic thoughts.
Xu Wangzhi: “Asleep?”
Cheng Shuoning replied sluggishly: “No, there are just a few problems I don’t know how to solve. I am thinking them over.”
He took a photo of the difficult problems and sent them over.
Xu Wangzhi: “Voice call?”
Cheng Shuoning paused, taking the initiative to place the call. It was connected in a single second.
The youth’s cold voice sounded exceptionally striking in the quiet surroundings, “Hello, can you hear me? A voice call makes it a fraction easier to explain.”
“Mm, mm. I can hear you,” Cheng Shuoning said softly.
His heart beat with immense speed, the hand holding his pen trembling slightly. Cheng Shuoning couldn’t resist using his other hand to steady his grip. For some unknown reason, listening to Xu Wangzhi speak induced a strange sensation of dry throat.
“Then let us begin.” Xu Wangzhi retrieved his completed test paper, commencing his explanation for Cheng Shuoning. He spoke very slowly, fearing Cheng Shuoning wouldn’t understand, explaining the more difficult analogies multiple times.
Ultimately, Cheng Shuoning had no idea when he drifted off to sleep. When he woke up, he discovered it was already two o’clock in the morning, and his voice call with Xu Wangzhi hadn’t been disconnected.
“Awake?” The person on the other end of the line seemed to catch the movement, asking in a low voice.
Cheng Shuoning, who was hovering on the brink of falling back asleep, offered a dazed answering sound. Snapping fully awake, he noted that only the final problem remained on the test paper, forcing himself to complete it.
“Sorry for taking up so much of your time.” Cheng Shuoning picked up his phone. “Hurry and sleep, thank you for helping me with the problems.”
Xu Wangzhi said, “Good night.”
The call disconnected. Cheng Shuoning headed into the bathroom to wash up, and unable to bear it any longer, collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.
He woke up at half past five in the morning, packed his belongings, and headed downstairs to consume breakfast at a staircase stall. Boarding the bus at six o’clock, he spotted Zhou Xundu’s vehicle parked squarely at the entrance of the residential estate. He retracted his gaze, clenching the hanging strap in his hand securely. In the next second, his phone chimed with an incoming text.
Zhou Xundu: “Are you awake, Ningning? I am waiting for you at the entrance of the residential estate.”
Cheng Shuoning stared at it for two minutes, offering no reply.
The bus let out a sudden, violent brake, and his phone close to flew out of his grip. Cheng Shuoning dared not hold it further, placing it inside his backpack.
Fifteen minutes later, the bus reached the school, and Cheng Shuoning stepped off. The phone inside his backpack began to vibrate. Having received no reply, Zhou Xundu placed a direct call. Retrieving his phone, Cheng Shuoning discovered that Zhou Xundu had sent him numerous additional messages.
“Are you not at home?” “Did you head to school early?” “Ningning? Why are you ignoring me?” “What happened? Ningning, are you simply leaving me stranded here like this?”
Cheng Shuoning connected the call, his tone flat: “Brother Zhou, I have already arrived at school.”
“Didn’t we agree that I would come fetch you today?” Zhou Xundu let out a low laugh, expressing some confusion. “Why did you head to school early? It feels precisely as though you are avoiding me.”
The familiar voice reminded Cheng Shuoning of the scene from last night, and Cheng Meng’s remarks echoed persistently beside his ears. Cheng Shuoning paused in his tracks, feeling a wave of aversion. He pressed his lips together tightly. The excellent breeding ingrained in his bones made it impossible for him to utter any hideous remarks, merely saying, “It’s nothing, I am heading to class.”
He disconnected the call directly.
Only a handful of individuals stood by the school gates. Cheng Shuoning entered his classroom, and as a wave of drowsiness hit him, he couldn’t resist burying his face on his desk to fall asleep.
Only when a sensation of underlying danger forced him awake did Cheng Shuoning rise from his desk, turning his head to look over with an intuitive awareness.
The man wearing glasses revealed a tender smile, handsome and scholarly, showing no indication of how long he had stood outside the window staring at him. Seeing him wake up, his eyes curved slightly behind his lenses as he reached out to pat his head, “Ningning is awake?”
An unspeakable dread spread through his heart, leaving Cheng Shuoning’s scalp tingling and his hands and feet freezing cold, finding the tender individual before him to be comparable to a malicious spirit. When did he arrive? How long had he been staring at him? What did he want from him?
Thinking of this, Cheng Shuoning slapped his hand away, “What did you come here for?”
Zhou Xundu lifted a breakfast bag, entirely unbothered by his action: “Fearing you hadn’t eaten breakfast, I came to deliver it to you.”
A few individuals inside the classroom cast envious glances over, all maintaining that Cheng Shuoning was highly fortunate to be surrounded by several people who treated him so well.
Cheng Shuoning glanced at his watch; it was only twenty minutes to seven, and the vast majority of students hadn’t arrived for lessons yet.
“I have already eaten, thank you.” He had no desire to look at Zhou Xundu, turning his head to look elsewhere.
Zhou Xundu paused, retracting the breakfast bag. His gaze landed on the youth’s pale neck, having already discerned his resistance. “What happened, Ningning? You sounded highly strange when I called earlier. I was worried about you, so I came over to check on you. Is it the case that you do not wish to see me? It doesn’t matter. Since Ningning has no desire to see me, I will depart first.” Carrying the breakfast, he turned around, yet couldn’t resist looking back at Cheng Shuoning after a few steps, his features filled with deep worry. Ultimately letting out a sigh, he departed helplessly.
Cheng Meng’s malicious remarks and the man’s tender actions intertwined inside his mind, causing Cheng Shuoning’s stomach to chew. He couldn’t resist asking himself: Could someone truly manufacture such a perfect disguise? What was the motive? Han Tian acted this way, Li Shengfei acted this way, and even the Zhou Xundu he trusted most acted this way.
“Are you alright? Your face is so pale.” When Zhang Xiuli entered the classroom and noticed Cheng Shuoning’s deathly pale complexion, she couldn’t resist inquiring with deep worry.
Cheng Shuoning lifted his eyes, his gaze cold and fierce, startling Zhang Xiuli to the point of silence for a long while. She had never witnessed this side of Cheng Shuoning before.
Hearing the commotion, the individuals inside the classroom looked over. Countless faces flashed before Cheng Shuoning, making it difficult for him to breathe properly. His body grew cold and his hands and feet trembled slightly, commencing to feel that every single person was fraudulent.
Until a blurred face entered his line of sight, and all his chaotic emotions anchored securely in a single instant. Cheng Shuoning pressed his lips together, staring straight at Xu Wangzhi. For some unknown reason, he only trusted Xu Wangzhi. Resembling someone lost in a raging desert storm, Xu Wangzhi functioned as the sole harbor, enabling him to set down all his defenses.