“What Ge Jiabao?”
“Who are you trying to court?”
Having completely missed each other’s frequencies, it took both of them a moment to process what the other had said.
When Shen Siyang finally grasped the meaning, his face—which had barely cooled down instantly flared red again, burning even hotter.
Shen Siyang looked at Sang Xiaoshi in total shock: “Why me?”
A look of confusion crossed Sang Xiaoshi’s face: “Who else could it be but you?”
Seeing that Shen Siyang still seemed completely out of it, and remembering the person he had just brought up, Sang Xiaoshi also found it strange: “Why did you think of Ge Jiabao?”
Shen Siyang’s face turned bright red with embarrassment.
He, too, was immensely curious about which wire in his brain had crossed back then to make him think Sang Xiaoshi liked Ge Jiabao.
Seeing that Shen Siyang couldn’t answer, Sang Xiaoshi didn’t press him. Looking at Shen Siyang with a hint of nervousness, he brought the conversation back on track: “Brother Siyang, you haven’t answered my question yet. Can I court you?”
“No, why do you want to court me.”
Shen Siyang blurted out instinctively. But catching the ripples of vulnerability in Sang Xiaoshi’s eyes as the words left his mouth, he immediately corrected himself: “I didn’t mean that you can’t court me. You don’t need to at all, I—”
Shen Siyang couldn’t construct his next sentence for the life of him.
Sighing inwardly, he asked, “Xiaoshi, do you like me?”
Looking at Shen Siyang with a serious and unwavering expression, Sang Xiaoshi nodded: “I like you.”
Shen Siyang heard his own heart thumping wildly.
It was louder than the wind and rain during a typhoon.
He lowered his eyes, attempting to calm himself down inside.
It was completely useless.
Sang Xiaoshi must have taken his shower not long ago, as he still carried a very faint, fresh scent of body wash.
The fragrance was somewhat like green tea brewed with jasmine flowers.
When Sang Xiaoshi had carried him into the room earlier, Shen Siyang had caught a whiff of it from up close.
After mulling it over again and again, Shen Siyang asked a redundant question: “Is it the kind of like where you want to kiss?”
Sang Xiaoshi blushed.
For a moment, Shen Siyang felt as though he had flashed back to a few nights ago when they were soaking in the hot springs.
Sang Xiaoshi had been just like this then: his handsome face so red it looked like it was about to bleed, his chin tilted up because of a nosebleed, his glistening eyes veiled in mist, and his long, thick eyelashes trembling uncontrollably while keeping his gaze locked onto Shen Siyang.
No matter how dense Shen Siyang was when it came to romance, he wasn’t so oblivious as to keep asking questions upon seeing this reaction.
Once again, he fell into silence.
Perhaps noticing that Shen Siyang had been silent for too long, Sang Xiaoshi spoke up again.
His voice was very soft and gentle: “Brother Siyang, do you not like me?”
Shen Siyang reflexively replied: “How could I not like you? I cherish you like a precious treasure.”
Sang Xiaoshi looked at Shen Siyang with a soft gaze and gently filled in the unsaid half of the sentence for him: “But it’s not the kind of like that wants to kiss.”
Shen Siyang looked at Sang Xiaoshi.
The moment their eyes met, Shen Siyang felt as though his heart was being squeezed tightly by an invisible hand, making even breathing difficult.
He confirmed a single thought.
If this were his original world, if his mind weren’t loaded with a system that felt like a ticking time bomb, he would have agreed to Sang Xiaoshi right away.
Not just agreeing to let him court him, but agreeing to date him.
Shen Siyang truly didn’t know what kind of affection qualified as romantic love.
Nor did he know what kind of affection gave someone the credentials to be in a relationship.
He didn’t understand love, but he understood that he couldn’t refuse Sang Xiaoshi.
From the bottom of his heart, he was willing to accommodate every single request Sang Xiaoshi made.
At least in his past thirty-five years of life, no one other than Sang Xiaoshi had ever enjoyed such a privilege with him.
Shen Siyang raised a hand and rubbed his face, finally offering a response: “Xiaoshi, give me some time to think it over carefully.”
Sang Xiaoshi had actually anticipated that Shen Siyang might reject him.
In fact, in his expectations, the probability of rejection was much higher than acceptance.
Therefore, the response Shen Siyang gave was a pleasant surprise to him.
The disappointment in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a spark of light. Looking at Shen Siyang, he asked softly, “How long?”
Shen Siyang was taken aback, then chuckled: “Student Sang Xiaoshi, do you know what you’re doing right now?”
The corners of Sang Xiaoshi’s lips curled up as his eyes crinkled slightly into crescents. He answered honestly: “I know. I’m pushing my luck.”
Setting the heavy topic aside for the moment, Shen Siyang stepped forward and placed Sang Xiaoshi in a light headlock: “Since you know you’re pushing it, your punishment is to walk me home.”
Pulled down slightly by Shen Siyang, Sang Xiaoshi tilted his head up a little to look at him, whispering: “Last year, you slept at my house.”
Shen Siyang laughed in utter disbelief: “Have you ever seen anyone invite their crush to sleep over right after confessing?”
Sang Xiaoshi thought about it seriously: “Can I be the first?”
Left speechless, Shen Siyang directly nudged him down the stairs.
Stepping out into the yard, he caught sight of the gap in the courtyard wall. Pointing a finger at it, he said, “Tomorrow I’ll tell Aunt Xuan not to bother getting cement to patch this gap. We’ll just use your thick skin—there’s more than enough of it.”
Sang Xiaoshi didn’t stand on ceremony either, nodding with a smile: “Okay.”
Shen Siyang couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
The two walked past Ge Jiabao’s front door.
It was September, and the peach trees were laden with heavy fruit.
Ten years ago, Sang Xiaoshi had abandoned the thought of setting a fire and running away. Sitting in his yard feeling helpless and exhausted, he had accidentally drawn over a worried Shen Siyang because he called an ambulance for Ge Jiabao.
That night, Shen Siyang had put a hand on his shoulder, and he had looked up at Shen Siyang with complete focus as they walked under a row of peach and plum trees.
Ten years later tonight, the people hadn’t changed, and the trees hadn’t changed.
Just like ten years ago, Sang Xiaoshi looked up attentively at Shen Siyang, his eyes filled with an exceptionally soft light.
It took only three minutes to walk from Sang Xiaoshi’s house to Shen Siyang’s.
Three minutes later, as they stood outside Shen Siyang’s front door, Shen Siyang released his hold on Sang Xiaoshi’s neck.
He gave a serious answer to the question Sang Xiaoshi had asked back at his house: “Wait until the monthly exams are over at the end of this month.”
It took Sang Xiaoshi a few seconds to realize which question Shen Siyang was answering. His eyes instantly lit up: “Okay.”
Shen Siyang instructed him solemnly: “During this time, don’t let yourself get distracted or troubled by this issue. Eat when you should, sleep when you should, and study when you should. Got it?”
Sang Xiaoshi’s eyes curved into crescent smiles as he nodded obediently: “Got it.”
Looking at Sang Xiaoshi’s well-behaved appearance in front of him, Shen Siyang felt his heart turn soft and tingly.
Resisting the fluttering in his chest, he waved his hand: “Head back.”
Sang Xiaoshi didn’t move, looking at him: “I’ll watch you go in.”
Shen Siyang insisted: “I’ll watch you leave.”
The two engaged in a silent standoff for half a minute.
“Fine, let’s walk away together. No playing tricks on me,” Shen Siyang proposed.
Sang Xiaoshi accepted the proposal, replying with a warm smile: “Okay.”
It didn’t go so far as looking back every three steps.
However, after stepping inside the house, Shen Siyang still couldn’t resist turning around to glance at Sang Xiaoshi.
He happened to catch Sang Xiaoshi stopping in his tracks to look back at him.
He raised a hand and waved.
Only then did Sang Xiaoshi obediently turn around and leave.
Shen Siyang locked the door and returned to his bedroom, the smile on his face completely fading away.
Normally, he would be exhausted and sleepy by this hour, but tonight he was exceptionally wide awake.
He sat on the edge of the bed with a blank mind, remaining motionlessly quiet for a long time.
Over the past ten years, Shen Siyang had thought about it over and over countless times.
Between friends, what kind of tragic fall-out would force a person to grow up rapidly?
Now that Sang Xiaoshi’s love had been added to the scales of this relationship, he no longer needed to overthink that question.
Because no matter what kind of departure it was, even the gentlest and most peaceful, it would inflict immeasurable damage on Sang Xiaoshi.
Shen Siyang collapsed backward onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling, and asked the question he had asked almost to the point of exhaustion once again:
“When should I leave, and in what manner?”
The answer remained the same.
No matter how many times he asked, the answer was always the same.
In the past, asking two or three times meant he would just drop it and wait for another day.
Tonight, however, as if possessed—like a terminally ill patient yearning for a one-in-a-million chance of a miracle to fall upon them, he kept feeling that if he asked just one more time, he might get a different answer.
Reality proved that miracles were extremely low-probability events.
However, spending the entire night asking wasn’t entirely without fruit.
Midway through, unable to vent his frustration, he cursed at the system twice, only to be shocked to discover that while this little thing knew nothing when asked, it actually talked back when insulted.
It was so astonishing that even under such gloomy circumstances, Shen Siyang surprisingly spared three minutes of his mind to ponder deeply what kind of entity could create such a useless device.
A sleepless night passed.
Watching the morning light stream into the room through the window, Shen Siyang took a deep breath and changed his question:
“What specifically does Sang Xiaoshi’s talent and potential—which fit the system’s capture criteria—refer to?”
After asking questions all night, he finally received a precise response:
“Proportion of Existing Assets: 10% | Proportion of Current Development Trajectory: 30%
Proportion of Business Talent (including undeveloped potential): 60%
According to system calculations, Sang Xiaoshi’s current rating is A+, meaning there is a 75%–85% probability that he will pioneer a brand-new business model capable of leading an era of transformation.”
The morning light fell on the edge of the bed, scattering across Shen Siyang’s light-colored pupils.
He stared quietly at the floating dust specks within the beam of light for a long time, then lowered his eyelids slightly, falling into deep thought.
*
“Shen Siyang, what are you moping about lately?”
Ge Jiabao, who had just finished his physical fitness test, held a bottle of iced water and sat down next to Shen Siyang.
Class 5 and Class 6 always had physical education class together. Although they had different PE teachers, the content of their classes was essentially identical.
Take today, for instance: both classes were conducting physical fitness tests.
Shen Siyang’s student ID number was near the front, so he had finished early and was sitting on the grandstand of the sports field.
Sang Xiaoshi’s ID number was toward the back, and he was still waiting in line among the crowd.
Staring at Sang Xiaoshi queueing in the distance, Shen Siyang was somewhat distracted and replied absently, “I’m not moping.”
Ge Jiabao didn’t believe him at all. Reaching over, he grabbed a loose strand of Shen Siyang’s hair and held out his hand in front of him: “You’re even losing hair from worrying so much. What are you trying to put on a brave face for?”
Snapping back to reality at the sight of the hair in Ge Jiabao’s hand, Shen Siyang was so startled that he immediately slid two seats away: “Stay away from me!”
Instead of staying away, Ge Jiabao scooted over two seats right back to Shen Siyang’s side and asked in a low voice: “Are you in love recently?”
Shen Siyang turned his head to look at him, keeping silent.
Ge Jiabao grinned with an air of experienced wisdom: “I know this whole routine. Before I started dating recently, I was in the exact same state as you.”
Just as Shen Siyang was about to ask what kind of “state” that was supposed to be, out of the corner of his eye he spotted something that made him jump up abruptly.
Out on the distant track, Sang Xiaoshi was still queuing in the middle of the line, waiting for his 50-meter dash test.
A tall figure, whom Shen Siyang was quite familiar with, was holding a water bottle while approaching Sang Xiaoshi to chat with him.
Sang Xiaoshi gave the boy a brief reply, then suddenly looked over in the direction of the grandstand where Shen Siyang was sitting.
Holding onto the back of the seat in front of him, Shen Siyang prepared to jump off the stand.
Perplexed, Ge Jiabao held him back: “What are you going for?”
“That kid harbors ill intentions toward Xiaoshi. I’m going to chase him away.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Ge Jiabao said with a look of complete confusion. “The guy talking to Sang Xiaoshi right now? Doesn’t he like Sang Xiaoshi?”
Shen Siyang’s movements froze. He turned around and gave Ge Jiabao a glare of pure death: “How do you know he likes Xiaoshi?”
Unsettled by his intense stare, Ge Jiabao let go of his grip and laughed awkwardly: “He asked me about Sang Xiaoshi many times. It seems he took a liking to Sang Xiaoshi not long after the first semester of freshman year started. He just always felt Sang Xiaoshi was too ethereal and didn’t dare get close, nor was he sure if Sang Xiaoshi liked guys. That’s why he only built up the courage now that he’s leaving for intensive training this semester.”
Shen Siyang put on a pleasant smile: “Brother Jiabao, why didn’t you tell me about something like this?”
Shen Siyang’s smile sent a cold shiver down Ge Jiabao’s spine: “I only found out a few days ago myself, and why should I tell you?”
This counter-question left Shen Siyang slightly stunned.
Before he could answer, Ge Jiabao had an epiphany on his own: “I get it! You’re dating Sang Xiaoshi!”
Shen Siyang was taken aback: “No, I’m not.”
Ge Jiabao stated with absolute certainty: “Then that means you like Sang Xiaoshi!”
Shen Siyang’s first instinct was to think of the kind of “like” he was used to, almost blurting out, “What do you think? How could I not like him?”
Catching himself just in time, he remembered Sang Xiaoshi’s confession from a few nights ago and immediately swallowed the words that were about to spill out.
Turning his head to look toward Sang Xiaoshi’s position, he saw that the tall boy had already left.
Empty-handed, Sang Xiaoshi was already standing on the track, waiting to start his run.
Seeing this, Shen Siyang simply sat back down in his seat and asked Ge Jiabao: “Why do you think I like Sang Xiaoshi?”
This was the very first time Ge Jiabao had been consulted for advice by Shen Siyang, so he instantly felt immensely proud, pulling out all the stops to analyze it for him: “If you don’t like Sang Xiaoshi, why were you so anxious when you saw someone who likes him getting close to him?”
Shen Siyang offered a natural explanation: “Because I was worried he’d get taken advantage of. Isn’t that normal between friends?”
Ge Jiabao pulled a classic “confused Nick Young” face: “Of course that’s not normal! A normal friend would be like me—sitting on the sidelines watching the drama unfold, or happily egging them on with a whistle or two. Ask yourself honestly: is that normal?”
So, Shen Siyang took a brief moment to honestly search his soul.
He mentally reviewed how he used to act around his old group of best buddies back in the day.
Alright, yeah. It’s definitely not normal.
Seeing Shen Siyang fail to respond for a long while, Ge Jiabao pressed on: “Or try the simplest test: imagine Sang Xiaoshi kissing someone else—let’s use my classmate as a ready example. Do you feel pissed off?”
There was no need to even imagine it. The moment Ge Jiabao’s words left his mouth, Shen Siyang felt a sudden surge of fiery irritation rise in his chest. He flashed Ge Jiabao a picture-perfect, eight-toothed smile: “Brother Jiabao, are you looking for a fight?”
Ge Jiabao instantly raised both hands in surrender: “Calm down, calm down! If that doesn’t work, just cool off by imagining yourself kissing Sang Xiaoshi.”
Those words were like magic.
Before Shen Siyang could even process it, his brain automatically conjured up that exact mental image.
Feeling his face instantly flush hot, he raised a hand to stop Ge Jiabao from saying anything even more lethal: “Stop right there! End this topic.”
After taking a moment to think it over, he asked again, “Then, do you think Sang Xiaoshi likes me?”
“Does that even need asking?” Ge Jiabao blurted out. “It’d be a miracle if he didn’t like you!”
Shen Siyang was puzzled: “How can you tell?”
“Does that even need looking?” Ge Jiabao blurted out yet again. “It’s so blatantly obvious! In Sang Xiaoshi’s eyes, there are only two categories of people: you, and everyone else. Everyone else automatically has a blur filter over them in his eyes, no matter who they are.”
Once again, Shen Siyang felt the sensation of his heart drumming against his chest.
After calming down a fraction, he couldn’t help but sigh with emotion: “Brother Jiabao, you suddenly know so much.”
Ge Jiabao stared up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle: “This, I suppose, is the magic of love.”
Having finished his grand declaration, he looked back at Shen Siyang: “So what on earth are you moping about anyway? Do you know how low the chances are of mutual affection in this world? Even people with unrequited crushes aren’t as gloomy as you, so what are you worrying about?”
On the other side of the sports field, Sang Xiaoshi was already standing before the starting line, waiting for the PE teacher’s flag to drop.
Watching him sprint out, Shen Siyang bent down and buried his face into his knees.
After keeping his head buried for a while, he finally spoke up to ask: “A relationship that you know for a fact will end in a breakup, should you still pursue it?”
Ge Jiabao took a moment to process the question before automatically interpreting it in his own way: “Are you worried that if you two don’t get into the same university, a long-distance relationship will lead to a breakup?”
“You could put it that way,” Shen Siyang replied.
Ge Jiabao scratched his head: “My girlfriend and I worried about that exact issue before too. Later on, we both agreed: let’s create happy memories first, and worry about the future when it comes. Personally, I really can’t understand those tropes in TV dramas where someone lies to make their lover hate them just because they find out they don’t have many days left to live. If something like that happened to me, and I found out the truth one day, I’d be so consumed by regret that I’d want to join my dead lover immediately. On the flip side, if we made beautiful last memories together before parting ways, I’d actually be able to find some peace.”
As Ge Jiabao rambled on, he managed to make himself genuinely emotional, as though he himself were about to part ways with his girlfriend any minute now.
Sniffling, he wiped away a speck of tears from the corner of his eye and patted Shen Siyang’s shoulder: “Bro, if you ask me, stop moping all by yourself. Go ask Sang Xiaoshi what he thinks, and make a decision together. I feel like you’ve always treated him too much like a kid. You can’t be like that when it comes to dating. Falling in love is a two-person effort, and the best way to handle it is to sit down and talk it through together properly.”
With his eyes reddened from staying buried, Shen Siyang sat up straight and looked at Ge Jiabao.
Reaching out, he patted Ge Jiabao’s shoulder back, saying with absolute sincerity: “Brother Jiabao, you’re definitely going to be happy in life.”
Hearing those words, Ge Jiabao’s eyes turned red too. He gave Shen Siyang two heavy pats back on the shoulder: “Bro, you’re definitely going to be happy too!”
After a brief pause, he added another line: “And I wish you lose less hair in the future!”
Shen Siyang fell silent: “Well, thank you so much for that.”
Ge Jiabao didn’t stay much longer before leaving.
Having finished all his physical testing events, Sang Xiaoshi walked straight toward the grandstand.
Ever since Ge Jiabao left, Shen Siyang had been keeping an eye on Sang Xiaoshi’s movements.
Watching the figure who walked toward him without a moment’s hesitation, Shen Siyang’s memories unconsciously wound back to several years ago.
When he first arrived in this world, Shen Siyang had indeed treated Sang Xiaoshi with an attitude focused mostly on coaxing a child to be happy.
The biggest trait of a young child was short memory.
Happy things, unhappy things, or even things they held a grudge over—they might turn around and forget them entirely after a few days.
That was why he had carelessly made so many promises to Sang Xiaoshi without thinking them through.
It wasn’t until the day he took a blow from a beer bottle thrown by Luo Qifeng while protecting Sang Xiaoshi, watching Sang Xiaoshi cry and say that his deceased parents had also promised never to leave him that Shen Siyang began to realize one thing.
Sang Xiaoshi was different from ordinary children.
He had lost his parents at a young age, and after their passing, he was thrust into an exceptionally harsh living environment, forced to tread cautiously and painfully through life.
Because of that, he had no capacity for short-term forgetfulness whatsoever.
He cherished every single thread of kindness in his life like a precious treasure; no matter how small, he held onto it tightly, refusing to let go.
After realizing this, Shen Siyang had tried telling Sang Xiaoshi the reason he had come to this world.
Not only was he completely unable to speak the words aloud, but he was also hit with a severe warning that felt as if his soul were being ripped straight from his body.
Since he couldn’t speak of his reason for coming, he naturally couldn’t speak of his reason for leaving either.
As Shen Siyang lost himself in thought, Sang Xiaoshi had already arrived beside him and sat down.
When a bottle of water suddenly appeared in front of him, Shen Siyang paused for a second and instinctively asked: “Where did this come from?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he heard a soft chuckle.
Shen Siyang turned his head.
The afternoon sunlight fell squarely across Sang Xiaoshi’s face.
Having just exercised, Sang Xiaoshi’s cheeks carried a flushed glow, and a thin sheen of sweat glistened under the sun along his forehead.