Every morning, there were people at the school gate checking everyone’s appearance. They were so strict that they even monitored how many buttons were fastened. Jian Song was only in the habit of fastening the top button, but everyone was used to it. The student council members at the gate did not record his name, merely offering a reminder.
“Brother Jian, please fasten your buttons.”
Jian Song looked down at his shirt, nodded, and said, “Alright.”
He made a gesture of fastening the buttons, but he did not actually do it. Once he was inside the school, his hand dropped back down. Lu Yingchi noticed that Jian Song’s buttons were still undone and asked, “Brother Jian, are you not going to fasten them?”
Jian Song replied, “Why should I? It is uncomfortable when they are fastened.”
Lu Yingchi frowned. “What if the student council deducts points?”
Before Jian Song could answer, Jiang Qi chimed in from the side, “Oh, it is fine. Do you know how much influence we have in school? They will not deduct Brother Jian’s points for something so trivial. Unless the teacher or the dean specifically orders them to record Brother Jian’s name, they will not dare to do it.”
Lu Yingchi had not expected Jian Song to have such status in school. “It seems I really need to stick close to Brother Jian if I want to get ahead.”
Jian Song touched his nose and laughed. “It is alright; Little Qi is exaggerating. But since you are my little brother, I will certainly treat you well.”
Watching Jian Song’s proud little expression, Lu Yingchi’s eyes filled with warmth.
Jian Song, Lu Yingchi, and Jiang Qi walked into the classroom. Morning study had not yet begun, so Jiang Qi and Jian Song started frantically catching up on their homework. Lu Yingchi took the breakfast he had packed in his bag and asked, “Brother Jian, are you not going to eat breakfast first?”
Jian Song and Jiang Qi were too busy to even lift their heads. “You eat first, you eat first. I am busy.”
Lu Yingchi leaned over to see how Jian Song was doing his homework, and the sight left him dumbfounded. When encountering multiple-choice questions, Jian Song’s pen did not even pause; he filled them in as ABCD, ABCD. For questions that required writing, he simply wrote the word omitted. Jiang Qi was slightly better than Jian Song; he would at least write something when encountering ancient poetry.
Lu Yingchi frowned. “Brother Jian, you do not even know what comes after ‘A bosom friend afar brings a distant land near’?”
Jian Song was too busy to lift his head. “I do not know, I do not know, I do not know! When have I ever listened in class? Oh, I am busy enough as it is, so do not add to the chaos.”
Lu Yingchi opened his mouth. “Brother Jian, did I not say I could teach you how to write it?”
Jian Song sighed. “Go eat your soup buns. By the time you teach me, the teacher will be here. Besides, Old Liu will not lecture me; my homework is just to meet the quantity requirement.”
Lu Yingchi did not expect Jian Song to say such things and stood there, stunned, not knowing what to say. Thanks to Jian Song’s high speed, his homework was finished quickly. He coolly capped his pen and threw it into his desk.
“Perfect.”
Lu Yingchi opened his breakfast but did not eat. Jian Song picked up a soup bun and popped it into his mouth. The fresh, sweet broth exploded inside, and Jian Song failed to catch it all; a bit spilled from the corner of his mouth. He panicked and hummed, trying to catch it with his hand, but he was not as fast as Lu Yingchi.
It was as if Lu Yingchi had practiced some sort of movement; his palm, which felt slightly rough, brushed over Jian Song’s mouth, sending a shiver through him. Jian Song did not expect Lu Yingchi to do such a thing; he was completely stunned, staring blankly at Lu Yingchi.