This is completely normal for teenage boys.
Sitting on the bed after his shower, Shen Siyang comforted himself for the forty-sixth time.
Sang Xiaoshi was currently taking a shower.
The steady sound of running water drifted continuously from the bathroom. The sound was clearly several meters away, yet multiple times Shen Siyang found himself dazed, hallucinating that it was right beside his ear.
It distracted him so much that he nearly lost count several times while trying to reassure himself.
Wrapped in the blanket, Shen Siyang rolled back and forth on the bed twice.
Not only did the sound of running water fail to recede, but it also seemed intent on drilling straight into his brain.
Deciding to end the distraction, Shen Siyang grabbed the projector’s remote control and picked a movie to play.
With other sounds filling the room, the noise of running water was finally covered up.
The film was a slow-paced art movie.
The soothing music relaxed Shen Siyang’s nerves, and the exhaustion built up from a full day of mountain climbing belatedly washed over him.
Wrapped snugly in his quilt, Shen Siyang grew groggy.
Through his daze, he heard footsteps, which stopped after only a few strides.
Moments later, Shen Siyang felt someone gently brush the hair off his forehead.
“Brother Siyang, dry your hair before you go to sleep.”
Sang Xiaoshi’s voice was warm and soft, like a gentle breeze passing by.
Shen Siyang could hear him, but he couldn’t force his eyes open.
Struggling painfully against his sleepiness, he buried his face deeper into the blanket and uttered a couple of muffled grunts.
Sang Xiaoshi’s voice, now laced with amusement, soon sounded again: “You don’t need to get up. Just shift a bit toward the edge of the bed, and I’ll blow-dry it for you.”
Forcing a remaining thread of consciousness, Shen Siyang rolled twice. Feeling the space under his head clear, he praised blindly with his eyes shut tight, “Our Xiaoshi is so good.”
Sang Xiaoshi rewarded his praise with a gentle, careful hand while blow-drying his hair.
Once finished, he set the hairdryer aside. This time, instead of asking Shen Siyang to move back on his own, he bent down, scooped Shen Siyang up in his arms, and shifted him right to the middle of the bed.
Shen Siyang wasn’t fully asleep yet. Relying on whatever awareness he had left, he blurted out praise again: “Xiaoshi is so good.”
Sang Xiaoshi gently pulled the blanket out from under his arms and covered him properly.
After tucked him in, Sang Xiaoshi didn’t head back to his own bed, nor did he pick up the hairdryer to dry his own damp hair.
Instead, he sat down right beside Shen Siyang’s bed.
Sang Xiaoshi quietly stared at the person in the middle of the bed for a long time before reaching out to gently push the hair away from Shen Siyang’s forehead.
“Brother Siyang,” he called out tentatively.
After a short pause, Shen Siyang let out a very faint, sleepy “Mm.”
Even though Shen Siyang hadn’t opened his eyes, Sang Xiaoshi shifted his gaze away from him before speaking again.
He lowered his eyelashes to conceal the complex emotions swirling in his eyes, speaking in a low voice: “I know what I want for my birthday present.”
“Mm, let me hear what our Xiaoshi wants for his birthday.”
Muddled with sleep, Shen Siyang sounded like he had a piece of candy in his mouth, every word slurred and indistinct.
Yet his tone carried the same unconditional indulgence he had shown over the last ten years—as if no matter how outrageous Sang Xiaoshi’s request was, he would agree to it without a moment’s hesitation.
Sang Xiaoshi’s gaze landed on Shen Siyang’s hand resting loosely at his side.
Having just taken a warm bath, his fingertips and palm were flushed a tender shade of pink.
Watching it, Sang Xiaoshi couldn’t resist reaching out to gently press the pad of Shen Siyang’s index finger.
“I’ll tell you on my birthday.”
The hand being pressed suddenly curled in, capturing Sang Xiaoshi’s finger.
Though half-asleep and half-awake, his financial awareness remained remarkably intact: “I only have five thousand yuan left in my piggy bank. Five thousand is the limit. Anything over that, you’re paying out of pocket.”
A soft, tender smile welled up in Sang Xiaoshi’s eyes. “That might be tricky. What I want is very expensive.”
“Wow, Sang Xiaoshi,” Shen Siyang scolded in all seriousness with his eyes closed, “you can’t be too greedy in life.”
A brief pause followed his scolding, after which he mumbled softly under his breath, “You might as well just wrap me up as a package and give me to you.”
Sang Xiaoshi’s expression froze.
His breath hitched uncontrollably for a moment, his long eyelashes fluttering repeatedly against his cheeks like tiny brushes.
It was impossible to tell how much time had passed before he found his voice again, asking softly, “Can I really?”
No response came to that question.
The person on the bed was resting his cheek against the pillow, already fast asleep.
*
Lunch break at Xianxi High School lasted for two hours—from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM.
However, students were not allowed to return home or go back to their dormitories during this time. Everyone was required to stay in the classroom, free to either work on homework or nap.
Shen Siyang walked to the back door of Class 5 and tapped Ge Jiabao, who was sitting in the last row right next to the door.
Since hall monitors checked discipline during lunch break, neither of them spoke at the door. They stepped out of the classroom and didn’t stop until they reached the end of the hallway on that floor.
“Are you free tonight?” Shen Siyang cut straight to the point.
“What’s up?” Ge Jiabao threw the question back.
“Tomorrow is Xiaoshi’s birthday. We’re going to stake out tonight to give him a surprise right at midnight,” Shen Siyang whispered.
Ge Jiabao instantly perked up with interest: “Stake out for a surprise? Like, hiding under his bed in advance?”
Shen Siyang went silent for a second. “That’s called a jump scare, isn’t it?”
Ge Jiabao stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Well, you can’t just knock on his door at midnight and tell him to come downstairs either. That way, there wouldn’t even be any surprise left.”
Shen Siyang revealed his plan: “There’s a tree in his yard. If you climb up, it leads right to his bedroom window.”
Now it was Ge Jiabao’s turn to go silent.
He stayed silent for so long that Shen Siyang asked in confusion, “Is my idea really more absurd than hiding under his bed?”
“No,” Ge Jiabao looked at Shen Siyang with sudden enlightenment, “so the ‘monkey’ I saw on his tree in the middle of the night last year was actually you!”
Shen Siyang: “?”
“I thought I was just seeing things because I was half-asleep!”
“Are you looking for a fight?”
Ge Jiabao threw his head back and burst into laughter. “No, no! I thought about it seriously, and I actually think your idea works. But why did you suddenly think of bringing me along this year?”
Shen Siyang choked on his words.
The real reason was definitely something he couldn’t tell Ge Jiabao. He couldn’t let Ge Jiabao get ahead of himself too early.
So, he made up a plausible excuse on the spot: “This year is his eighteenth birthday—a once-in-a-lifetime birthday that marks becoming an adult. Looking around, the only people who are really close to Xiaoshi are you and me. Naturally, everyone needs to be there this year.”
Ge Jiabao didn’t doubt him. Rubbing the back of his head, he smiled sheepishly. “We should definitely all be there, but this is so bad, I happen to have plans tonight.”
“Why didn’t you say so when I asked if you were free in the first place?”
Ge Jiabao grinned foolishly. “I just wanted to see what you needed me for first! How about this: tomorrow after school, I’ll buy a cake and go celebrate Sang Xiaoshi’s birthday with you. What do you think?”
Celebrating in the afternoon was completely different from staking out to surprise him at midnight.
A midnight stakeout surprise would make Sang Xiaoshi extraordinarily happy—the kind of happy where his eyes would curve into crescents and his tone would stay cheerful for weeks to come.
Shen Siyang thought about it, but ultimately didn’t voice those thoughts. He simply asked, “What plans do you have tonight?”
Rarely looking bashful, Ge Jiabao put on a sweet, giddy smile. “My girlfriend finally doesn’t have tutoring tonight! I already booked a date with her to hang out at the mall.”
Shen Siyang pondered: “Does hanging out at the mall last until midnight?”
Ge Jiabao gave a silly chuckle. “After hanging out, I have to walk her back home. Her family lives downtown.”
Hearing that, Shen Siyang couldn’t force the matter. “Alright then, hope you have fun.”
Just as he turned around to leave, a sudden realization hit him. He froze in his tracks and whipped back to stare at Ge Jiabao: “Wait a second. Who did you say you were going on a date with tonight?”