When the message delivery notification flashed as successful, a pang of sadness still tugged at him.
Although he did not like Zuo Xingyun, there was no one else at the moment who would pay him any mind.
Ever since he was a child, it had seemed like he was surrounded by a crowd of brothers and peers, but in reality, he had very few true confidants. He spoke bluntly, his thoughts rushing to his lips without any detour or filter, popping out all at once and always managing to make others angry.
The speaker may mean nothing by it, but the listener takes it to heart. Gradually, no one was willing to seek him out of their own accord.
His family, of course, showed him infinite tolerance. His older brother was so much older than him that his mindset, words, and actions were far more mature; he had no desire to play around with the childish Hua Sheng. His sister was entirely absorbed in her academic pursuits, and on top of that, she consumed anime, novels, and video games without missing a single one, squeezing every second to do the work of two. Naturally, she had no spare time to deal with him either.
Loneliness was the greatest obstacle Hua Sheng encountered on his path of growth, which was why he kept so many animals.
Because of the unique circumstances of the Hua family, the children of the Hua household were taught from a young age that they were never allowed to go out entirely alone. Even if they did go out, their wandering time could not exceed two hours, and they had to report their destination to the family.
There was no other reason than the fact that more than a decade ago, several child abduction cases had occurred, and all the kidnapped victims happened to be the young masters and misses of wealthy families. Hua Sheng wasn’t as quick-witted as his older siblings; he was foolish and had plenty of money, easily persuaded away by a few sweet words. It was completely understandable that his parents worried about his safety.
Later on, so that Hua Sheng wouldn’t feel quite so lonely, Father Hua and Mother Hua brought home a Labrador for him to raise, fostering in their son a sense of love and responsibility toward small animals. When he wanted to go out and play, walking the dog at the same time would also make things a bit safer.
Thus, Hua Sheng discovered a brand-new hobby: raising pets.
Whether it was a stray cat or a stray dog, regardless of breed, color, how filthy they were, or even if they were disabled, as long as they were willing to follow Hua Sheng, he would take them in.
Anyway, the house was huge. The lawn, the backyard, the garden, the utility room, dogs could be raised literally anywhere.
Before long, the number of stray cats and dogs he led back home grew and grew, eventually reaching a staggering total of sixteen! The moment anyone opened the front door, the air was thick and foul, a mixture of cat litter stench and dog odor. Just cleaning the kennels, scooping cat poop, and feeding the animals took the cleaning lady more than half a day.
During the holidays, Hua Sheng didn’t even have enough hands to walk them all. Holding three dogs in his left hand and three in his right, six different dogs would get distracted by six different things and bolt wildly in six separate directions. Hua Sheng couldn’t hold them back and ended up getting hauled down to the ground flat on his face.
Returning home was even more chaotic. The backyard was plenty spacious, but keeping sixteen cats and dogs living together was still a handful. Cats were relatively low-maintenance; they usually rested quietly inside the cattery, keeping to themselves. Dogs, however, would chase each other around and bark from time to time, ruffling the cats’ fur and causing them to stress out.
Whenever a conflict broke out, they would form gangs and fight. It wasn’t just a dispute between cats and dogs; given the scale, it looked like a full-blown tribal war.
Things would only quiet down when Hua Sheng was actually present. The moment he walked away, it immediately reverted back to a noisy, bustling bird and flower market.
Situations like this hadn’t happened just once. He simply lacked the bandwidth to manage everything, and in the end, he decided to give a portion of the cats and dogs away for adoption.
Now, there were only two large dogs left at home: the very first Labrador he had raised and a Border Collie. As for cats, there was only a single Sichuan Jianzhou cat, which he had found abandoned in a box by a trash can on a rainy day.
Two dogs and one cat were about enough, and he had no intention of keeping any others.
Yet no matter how good or obedient cats and dogs were, they couldn’t speak, meaning they couldn’t keep him company in conversation.
By comparison, as annoying as Zuo Xingyun could be, at least he could relieve some of the boredom in his monotonous life.
Holding his phone in one hand, he stared blankly at the sky for a moment while his thoughts drifted back and forth between childhood and the present.
His legs were growing somewhat numb from the cold, so he decided to find a warm place to sit down.
Zuo Xingyun still hadn’t replied to him. He probably didn’t want to bother with him anymore.
Hmph, if he didn’t want to reply, then he wouldn’t. What was so great about him anyway?
He thumped his lower calves, pulled off his school uniform jacket to put it back on, and stood up from the bench that had just been warmed by his weight.
The moment he took two steps, however, his foot began to cramp. Perhaps from sitting too long, the sour, tingling sensation grew increasingly intense, and he instinctively braced himself against a stone pillar.
I swear, this hurts so much.
Truly, when a person’s luck goes bad, even walking can give you a cramp.
He stood in place, waiting until the agonizing spasm passed before limping forward. All the way along, he leaned against the stone pillars for support, looking like an ancient, weathered senior citizen.
Nothing suited him better than the description of an empty-nest senior.
However, just as he stepped out of the corridor, he spotted a tall, slender, upright figure standing not far from the stairs.
At first glance, Hua Sheng didn’t see his face clearly, but feeling that the silhouette looked somewhat familiar, he turned his gaze back to look closer.
Once his eyes focused on those distinct facial features, Hua Sheng’s pupils gradually dilated.
The neat school uniform, the semi-rimless glasses, the peach-blossom eyes, the thin lips, and that fake watch on his wrist!
“Zuo Xingyun!” Hua Sheng blurted out.
Zuo Xingyun strode toward him with steady strides, looking bold and spirited.
Clutching the straps of his schoolbag tighter, Hua Sheng bolted toward Zuo Xingyun, carrying with him a buoyant excitement that he himself couldn’t quite understand. “You really came to look for me! How did you know I was here?”
“Haha, I knew you would definitely come looking for me. Ow, shit!”
As Hua Sheng swaggered and gloated, joy turned to sorrow. Right at the very last step of descending the stairs, he stepped on a patch of moss, his footing slipped, and completely losing his balance, he pitched forward!
Zuo Xingyun instinctively raised his hands to catch him, but he was too slow to match the speed of Hua Sheng’s fall, grabbing nothing in midair and watching helplessly as Hua Sheng took a sprawling tumble right in front of him.
Hua Sheng grimaced in pain for a moment, then picked himself up with Zuo Xingyun’s assistance.
Zuo Xingyun soothingly patted his back. “Run slower.”
“Minor details, minor details.” Hua Sheng waved a hand, pressing one hand against his lower back as he straightened up. “Hiss. Why didn’t you reply to my messages earlier? Did you go looking for me?”
Zuo Xingyun ruffled his hair. “Isn’t the result self-evident?”
Hua Sheng felt a warm glow inside, though he deliberately put on an indifferent front. He let out a scoff from his nose. “Well, you searched way too slowly. Another minute later and I would have walked right out of the school.”
“First I checked the restrooms, then the library, the cafeteria, the office, the sports field, the equipment room, and finally that storage shed,” Zuo Xingyun said, looking straight into his eyes. “I couldn’t find you anywhere, so I came here. This is the first place we ever spent time alone together.”
Hua Sheng paused. “Are you stupid? Running to all those places. Why would I go to places like that? Wait, you even went to the haunted house? In the middle of the night like this, aren’t you scared?”
Zuo Xingyun nodded thoughtfully. “It was pretty dark, and I was a bit scared. But as long as I could find Hua Sheng, I wasn’t scared anymore.”
At the second half of that sentence, heat rushed to Hua Sheng’s face, and he choked slightly. “Ahem, what kind of illogical nonsense are you talking about, seriously.”
“Hua Sheng, you always refuse my tutoring,” Zuo Xingyun said, lowering his eyelashes with a disappointed look. “If every time is just spent killing time casually like this, then to you, it is just a burden.”
He sighed, his handsome brow furrowed slightly. “If you really don’t want to study, then let us just forget it. I will go talk to the head teacher and ask to cancel our peer tutoring relationship so you won’t be my group partner anymore.”
Hearing this, Hua Sheng felt a knot of discomfort in his chest, only for Zuo Xingyun to continue.
“Lately, a lot of people have been telling me they want to form a group with me. Their study attitudes are great, and they are very cooperative, so I was thinking…”
“No way!” Hua Sheng caught his drift, his attitude turning fiercely defensive as he flat out refused. “What do you mean by that? You were the one who dragged me into this mess in the first place, and now you want to dump me?”
Zuo Xingyun shook his head and explained, “No, I don’t want to force you anymore. Every time I bring this up with you, you are extremely resistant, and it just makes you resent me even more. I don’t want you to hate me.”
“Bah! What are you acting all innocent for? When have you ever stopped forcing me?” Hua Sheng indignantly retorted, “You casually proposed it to the teacher and tied me to yourself, and now that you find out you can’t squeeze any benefits out of me, you want to cut me loose? Absolutely not! I am the only one who gets to dump you, you don’t get to dump me!”
“It’s not dumping you, it’s just using this time to study and discuss with someone else.”
“That’s still a no!” Hua Sheng snapped back fiercely. “Cut down on doing things that make me lose face.”
“This isn’t about saving face. If we’re just not a good match, it’s better to end it sooner rather than later,” Zuo Xingyun said.
“What do you mean we’re not a good match? Huh? What are you implying?” Hua Sheng interpreted Zuo Xingyun’s words with maximum malice. “You’re saying I’m too stupid to be worthy of studying with you, so you’re looking for a smarter partner instead. Oh, so that’s how it is. Get over here!”
The more Hua Sheng thought about it, the angrier he grew. He grabbed Zuo Xingyun’s sleeve and dragged him straight into the corridor.
He didn’t even know where this surge of anger was coming from. Perhaps he had bottled up enough grievances over the past few days, and Zuo Xingyun’s words had acted as the spark that lit the fuse.
Zuo Xingyun offered no resistance, docilely letting Hua Sheng pull at his sleeve and following closely at his heels step for step.
Today, he had to make Zuo Xingyun experience his temper firsthand, to let him know that the Third High campus bully wasn’t someone he could provoke and tease on a whim.
He shoved Zuo Xingyun so that he sat down near the bench, pulled off his own school uniform jacket, and viciously slammed it down over Zuo Xingyun’s head.
Zuo Xingyun was momentarily dazed by the sudden garment, his glasses instantly fogging up beneath the fabric. Clueless about what was happening, he raised a hand to remove the jacket, but the very next second, Hua Sheng lifted the hem of the clothing and dove underneath.
That fair, pretty face suddenly magnified right before his eyes, and Zuo Xingyun gave a start. What surprised him even more was that he felt a heavy weight on his thighs. Hua Sheng had straddled his lap in a face-to-face position.
Just as he was caught in a daze, Hua Sheng’s arms naturally looped around his neck, and leaning in aggressively right before his eyes, he bit straight down on his lips!
When tigers get angry, they bite people. So biting Zuo Xingyun a little bit wasn’t a problem at all.
The reason he covered their heads with the school uniform jacket was to prevent the security cameras from catching them.
Even though it was a petty move that hurt others without benefiting himself, seeing Zuo Xingyun’s astonished expression made Hua Sheng feel like it was worth it.
He increased the pressure of his bite, mimicking the way Zuo Xingyun had forcibly kissed him before, and stuck out the tip of his tongue to lick along Zuo Xingyun’s lips.
A tingling, numbing pleasure spread from his lips all over his body. Feeling somewhat awkward, Hua Sheng tightened his hold around Zuo Xingyun’s neck, wedged his waist tighter, and shifted himself upward by a couple of inches. This stubborn block of wood, why isn’t he giving any reaction?
The best way to deal with a pervert was to act even more perverted than them. Even though he was the one who had started playing the rogue today, he couldn’t afford to lose his composure.
Why should Zuo Xingyun be the only one allowed to tease him, while he wasn’t allowed to fight back?
The more he thought about it, the more he felt like he had clawed back a point. The feeling of seizing the initiative put him in a great mood; for all of Zuo Xingyun’s icy exterior, he was actually quite warm to hold.
Perhaps Hua Sheng’s sudden aggressive kiss caught Zuo Xingyun off guard, leaving him no time to react as he instinctively parted his lips. Seizing the opportunity, Hua Sheng imitated Zuo Xingyun’s past technique, sliding his tongue all the way past the seam of his lips.
Trapped together under the school uniform, their heads were squeezed close, making it somewhat difficult to breathe. Especially since Hua Sheng only knew how to exhale and had no idea how to inhale while aggressively kissing, causing saliva to spill from the corners of his mouth and run down his chin onto his neck.
He abruptly jerked his head back for a split second, sucking in a huge mouthful of air and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
With the soft sensation on his lips gone, Zuo Xingyun looked at him with lingering reluctance, his eye rims slightly sour and red, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.
Hua Sheng’s hazy gaze shifted downward, and Zuo Xingyun quickly reined in the eager look in his eyes.
Pushing up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, he looked back at him with a pair of calm, dark eyes, the semi-rimless lenses fogged with a thin layer of mist.
That upright, unyielding, yet serious demeanor provoked an even stronger urge in Hua Sheng to bully him.
Obviously, this wasn’t an appropriate place. Hua Sheng patted his cheek and peeled back a corner of his pheromone blocker patch.
The scent of sweet oranges grew a fraction stronger, and Zuo Xingyun froze.
Hua Sheng had already played his trump card, looking down at him with an unhurried, leisurely air. “Fine, I will give you a chance. How about coming home with me today?”