“Hold on a second.”
Shen Siyang had just taken a step out of the hospital room when Shen Shiwu raised a hand to stop him.
Holding three flashy, bright floral bouquets, Shen Shiwu motioned to Sang Xiaoshi and Auntie Wenxuan. “Xiaoshi, Xiaoshi’s aunt, you two come over too. Stand right next to Yangyang.”
Because of his back injury, Shen Siyang had been hospitalized for a full month.
Today was his discharge day. Sang Wenxuan had taken Xiaoshi to get a haircut earlier, and both of them had put on fresh, new clothes before coming to the hospital with Shen Shiwu and Yuan Linfei to pick him up.
Pulled along by Shen Shiwu to stand beside Shen Siyang, Xiaoshi stood proudly as Shen Siyang noticed with a pleasant surprise that the boy seemed to have grown a bit taller.
The child who had been visibly malnourished a month ago was now fair-skinned and healthy. Today, he wore a brand-new, warm orange t-shirt. Naturally striking to begin with, a simple touch-up made him shine in the sunlight like the finest masterpiece carved by a master sculptor.
Sang Wenxuan’s complexion was also noticeably better than a month ago. However, having lacked contact with people for so many years, she was still inevitably somewhat reserved in front of Shen Siyang’s family.
Once the three of them were lined up at the door, Shen Shiwu passed out the bouquets with a wide grin.
After handing over the flowers, he clapped his hands together and proclaimed loudly, “Alright! From this moment on, as long as you step out of this hospital room, everything from the past is clean forgotten! From here on out, every single day will be smooth sailing, healthy, and happy!”
Shen Siyang popped his head out from behind the bouquet which was bigger than half his body and grinned at his dad. He was the first to hop across the threshold.
He then turned around, looking at Xiaoshi with a bright smile.
Meeting Shen Siyang’s eyes, Xiaoshi’s own lit up. Without the slightest hesitation, he walked right toward him.
Stopping next to Shen Siyang once more, Xiaoshi reached out and lightly caught the hem of his shirt, then turned back to look at Sang Wenxuan, who was still hesitating at the doorway.
Yuan Linfei stood by her side. Seeing how nervous Sang Wenxuan looked, unable to take that step forward, she offered gently, “Luo Qifeng won’t escape prison this time, and the court has already accepted your divorce petition. Wenxuan, every step you take from now on will be in the sunlight.”
With that, she extended her hand toward Sang Wenxuan.
Sang Wenxuan looked at the hand offered to her, then looked at Xiaoshi’s clear, trusting gaze.
Her eyes gradually glistened with tears. She murmured “thank you” several times in a row before finally taking Yuan Linfei’s hand, stepping forward into a future that had taken so much to reach.
July in Xianxi Town was so scorching hot that an egg cracked on the pavement could fry instantly.
The five of them got into the steaming vehicle, and the car slowly ambled onto the road.
Sitting in the back row, Shen Siyang let out five yawns in a row while watching the passing scenery outside. Knowing he was being discharged today, he had been so excited that he hadn’t fallen asleep until dawn. Pulled out of bed early in the morning by his parents, he was now so drowsy his head was bobbing.
As the car’s air conditioning slowly drove out the heat, Shen Siyang leaned against the window and gradually closed his eyes.
The car ambled along the town’s road, taking a turn. The sunlight shifted from the left side to the right.
In his groggy state, Shen Siyang felt a sudden flash of brightness. The harsh light chased away some of his sleepiness. Just as he knit his brows, the glare faded into shade once more.
Confused, he opened his eyes, only to find Xiaoshi leaning over, cupping both hands over his forehead to shield him.
Staring at the palms spread out in front of him, Shen Siyang fell silent for a long moment before turning to look at Xiaoshi. “Xiaoshi, do you remember when you started stuttering?”
Meeting Shen Siyang’s gentle gaze, Xiaoshi thought it through carefully. “Before, I-I spoke s-slowly, but d-didn’t stutter. The doctor s-said, it’s because, because I’m timid. If I b-build up m-my courage, don’t r-rush, and talk m-more, I’ll be f-fine when I g-grow up.”
Looking at Xiaoshi explaining so earnestly, Shen Siyang couldn’t help but chuckle. “Our Xiaoshi is timid?”
Xiaoshi smiled along, his handsome eyes curving into crescents. “Now, I’m brave.”
Shen Siyang pondered for a moment. “Then let’s set a small goal. Starting today, speak slowly and focus on not repeating words first.”
Xiaoshi’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Shen Siyang in the sunlight. “O-Okay. Xiaoshi, will work hard.”
Shen Siyang gave him an approving thumbs-up, wrapped his hands around Xiaoshi’s hands that were shielding his head, and leaned back against the window to close his eyes again. “I’m going to sleep for a bit. Call me when we get home.”
Xiaoshi nodded. “O-Okay.”
*
“Brother Siyang, Brother Siyang, wake up.”
In his sleep, Shen Siyang felt someone gently shaking his arm. He subconsciously raised a hand to brush the distraction away, but before his hand could touch anything, his earlobe was lightly pinched and tugged.
Because his mother had used that exact gesture every morning for years to pull him out of bed like a turnip, he opened his eyes out of pure reflex.
Before his groggy mind could clear, a face so stunning it could take one’s breath away entered his field of vision.
The boy wore his hair short—just long enough to meet school guidelines with soft bangs scattered across his forehead. His jet-black eyes were like polished jade, without a single flaw even up close.
Watching those perfectly contoured lips move softly in front of him, Shen Siyang’s consciousness slowly drifted back.
In his twenty-five years of past life plus ten years in this world, he couldn’t think of a single person as handsome as the boy in front of him.
He sat up and rubbed his face, which had gone numb from sleeping on it, as Xiaoshi asked, “Brother Siyang, did you go to sleep very late last night?”
“A bird with an injured foot landed on my windowsill last night, so I gave it a quick bandage.”
A soft light glinted in Xiaoshi’s eyes. “Is that why you slept late?”
Shen Siyang stretched his arms. “Mm, not entirely. My bandaging skills were so terrible I almost finished the job, so I had to spend the night finding a 24-hour vet clinic.”
Xiaoshi froze for a moment, the light in his eyes softening even further once he realized what happened.
It was only the first week of their senior year of high school, so the coursework wasn’t too heavy yet.
The last two periods on Friday were self-study. Shen Siyang spent the first period working on homework, but unable to hold out through the second, he asked Xiaoshi to keep an eye out while he took a nap on his desk.
By now, most of the students in the classroom had left—class had clearly been over for a while.
Packing up his unfinished assignments, Shen Siyang casually asked Xiaoshi, “Did any teacher drop by during class?”
Helping him retrieve his backpack from the desk drawer, Xiaoshi shook his head. “Principal Xu came by.”
Shen Siyang paused his movements. “Then why didn’t you wake me up?”
“He was only here for a short bit to talk about an extracurricular activity, so I didn’t wake you.”
“What extracurricular activity?”
Seeing that Shen Siyang had stopped packing, Xiaoshi took the book from his hand and placed it neatly into the backpack. “He said our class and Class 5 are having a joint event this weekend. We’re taking a bus into the city—leaving tomorrow morning and coming back Sunday afternoon.”
Shen Siyang’s expression crumpled. “Why so sudden?”
Noticing he had stopped, Xiaoshi took the book from his hand and tucked it neatly into the backpack. “Principal Xu said it’s the Senior Year Kickoff Ceremony.”
Shen Siyang went silent for a moment. “Yeah, that’s very Boss Xu of him. What time do we gather tomorrow?”
“Six o’clock.”
“Six o’clock?”
Shen Siyang stared at Xiaoshi as if his soul had left his body. After a long moment, he said in a low tone, “You should’ve woken me up. If I were awake, I would’ve battled Boss Xu for at least two rounds.”
Xiaoshi let out a quiet laugh and handed the packed backpack to Shen Siyang.
Resigned to his fate, Shen Siyang sighed and slung the backpack over his shoulders.
Xiaoshi put on his own backpack, which had been packed long ago.
As soon as they stepped out of the classroom, Shen Siyang suddenly reached out and wrapped an arm around Xiaoshi’s neck. “Student Sang Xiaoshi, you are hereby notified that you’ve been commandeered by me tonight.”
Xiaoshi had grown rapidly over the past few years; he was already taller than Shen Siyang when they started high school, and now he towered over him by more than half a head.
With Shen Siyang’s arm hooked around his neck, he had to stoop slightly and lean toward him.
The intimate posture caused the earlobe on Shen Siyang’s side to gradually flush red. Glancing at Shen Siyang’s face so close to his own, Xiaoshi subconsciously bit his lip. “Commandeered, to do what?”
Shen Siyang grinned at him. “To perform hard labor.”
The tip of Xiaoshi’s other ear turned red as well. He murmured, “Huh? I don’t do shady work.”
It took Shen Siyang two seconds to process the joke before putting him in a gentle headlock. “Well look at you, Sang Xiaoshi! You’re still ten days away from turning eighteen! You need to have a proper understanding of yourself—you’re still strictly restricted to Teen Mode!”
Xiaoshi let Shen Siyang mess around with him, his handsome eyes curving into bright crescents.
The two fooling around all the way to the bike shed before Shen Siyang finally let go.
“Come straight over to sleep at my place tonight after you finish packing. I’ll provide wake-up service tomorrow morning.”
Xiaoshi seemed to give it serious thought. “Is there pay?”
Shen Siyang was feeling generous. “Breakfast is on me.”
Nodding quite convincingly, Xiaoshi thoughtfully pushed Shen Siyang’s bicycle out of the shed and chuckled softy. “Alright, customer. What time should I wake you up tomorrow morning?”