The home of Zhou Fan was not close to First High School. Traveling back and forth took about half an hour by bus, which he found troublesome. Since his parents were also too lazy to pick him up, he usually spent his time after school at a coffee shop across from the campus and had lunch there. Over time, he became well-acquainted with the manager and eventually started taking afternoon naps in the shop.
As it was the first day of school, the shop was quite crowded. After finishing lunch, Zhou Fan greeted the manager and slipped into the back lounge to sleep. Just as he felt himself drifting off, he heard the door to the lounge open. He wondered why an employee would be coming in now, as they should all be busy in the front.
Zhou Fan squinted his eyes. Through his blurred vision, he saw a figure in a white shirt enter the room. A faint fragrance drifted into his nose that was familiar yet strange. He lifted his gaze and saw the cold and beautiful face of Chi Hanqing. He quickly realized the scent was what he had smelled while talking to Chi Hanqing earlier that day.
Zhou Fan asked why the other man was there after a few seconds of silence. Chi Hanqing watched him for a while before slowly stepping closer. Zhou Fan remained on the sofa with his lips curving into a half-smile as he watched the honor student. He wanted to see what the other man intended to do.
Chi Hanqing stopped a step away from the sofa. Zhou Fan saw his lips part as if he wanted to say something, but he closed them again as if he had not yet made up his mind. Those pale lips were pressed tightly together. Zhou Fan thought he was beautiful and felt a sudden urge to pull the man into his arms to kiss those lips until they were swollen and broken. He imagined holding the waist of the other man and unbuttoning that white shirt so he could lick his neck until he made tiny sounds while trapped in his embrace.
Despite these thoughts, Zhou Fan only allowed his smile to widen slightly. He asked how Chi Hanqing knew he was there. Chi Hanqing finally replied that he asked the manager. He noted he told the manager he was a classmate and was told that Zhou Fan was in the lounge. The shop manager likely assumed Chi Hanqing was just another one of the many friends who often came looking for Zhou Fan.
Zhou Fan asked what he wanted. Chi Hanqing pursed his lips again as if whatever he wanted to say was difficult to voice. Zhou Fan did not press him and waited patiently. He watched Chi Hanqing put a hand into his pocket as if to take something out, but the hand remained there with no further action. Eventually, Chi Hanqing pulled his hand back out empty.
Chi Hanqing told Zhou Fan to meet him tomorrow at noon in the science classroom of Teaching Building Number 2. Zhou Fan found the situation both amusing and mysterious. He noted that the man could tell him now since no one else was listening. Chi Hanqing shook his head and stood there for a moment before turning to leave the lounge.
With that interruption, the sleepiness of Zhou Fan vanished completely. Many boys had sought him out in the past to experience dating another male. While Zhou Fan enjoyed the attention, he did not appreciate being disturbed during his rest. His close friends knew this and never revealed his nap spot. He wondered how a new transfer student like Chi Hanqing knew where he was and what could be so important that it required waiting until tomorrow.
In the afternoon, when Zhou Fan returned to class, Chi Hanqing was already at his desk working on problems. A thick exercise book was spread out before him and filled with dense questions that seemed to pose no difficulty since his pen never stopped moving. Zhou Fan intentionally slowed his pace as he passed the desk, but he noted with disappointment that the honor student did not spare him a single glance.
This made him even more curious about the intentions of Chi Hanqing. After asking Dai Lin and Zhang Chifeng, he learned that the new top student had not spoken to anyone else except Zhou Fan. This ruled out the possibility of Chi Hanqing asking others for information. Unable to figure it out, Zhou Fan decided to stop overthinking since he would have the answer tomorrow at noon anyway.
After the evening self-study session, Zhou Fan returned home. As soon as he opened the door, a little girl ran over and hugged his leg. Miaomiao was just starting to learn how to talk, and her pronunciation was a bit blurred, but her sweet voice could melt the heart of anyone who saw her. Zhou Fan changed his shoes and picked up his sister as he walked into the living room. He saw his parents snuggling together while watching television and eating snacks.
Seeing him return, his mother pointed toward the refrigerator and noted there were fried chicken nuggets to heat in the microwave. Zhou Fan asked why Miaomiao was not asleep yet. His father replied that she refused to sleep and insisted on waiting for her brother to come back. He noted it was useless to coax her and told Zhou Fan to put her on the bed since she would fall asleep on her own. He added she was easier to fool than Zhou Fan was at her age.
Zhou Fan gave a muffled response and carried Miaomiao to the master bedroom. Since she was still small, she slept with their parents for easier care. When she grew older, she would move to the secondary bedroom that had already been renovated for her. Miaomiao leaned against Zhou Fan and was very well-behaved. Since she was already tired, she fell into a daze as soon as he placed her on the bed.
After tucking his sister in, Zhou Fan went to his own room. He felt tired enough from school and had no desire to continue his education at home. He ignored his backpack on the floor and opened his laptop at the desk. He was still curious about the things Teacher Jiang had told him regarding Chi Hanqing. Since he had nothing else to do and did not feel like gaming, he searched for information online.
Normally, a student with such outstanding looks and academic performance who transferred during their senior year would leave some trace on the school forums. However, Zhou Fan found nothing related to Chi Hanqing after searching for a long time. Even the name never appeared. He wondered if the students at this school were really that uninterested in gossip, but he scrolled through other posts and realized that was not the case.
He remembered Teacher Jiang saying the parents were not to be trifled with. Perhaps it was not a lack of gossip but rather that the parents of Chi Hanqing had blocked the information and cleared the internet. It seemed the family held significant power and was indeed dissatisfied with the decision to attend First High School.
However, this did not frighten Zhou Fan. His life was happy and full. His parents were affectionate, and his home atmosphere was relaxed and free of pressure. As an eighteen-year-old boy who had not yet experienced any major setbacks, he did not believe there was anything in the world he wanted to do but could not. He closed his laptop while thinking of the beautiful face of Chi Hanqing. A smile curled onto his lips as he thought about the meeting tomorrow and pondered how he could get this cold and straight boy into his hands.