“Are you sick in the head?” Ye Jinyun’s good-looking brows furrowed. He turned around in disgust and went back to sleep.
Shen Guhan tapped lightly on the pen between his fingers twice, then suddenly raised his hand. “Teacher, I didn’t understand. Can you say it again?”
In the midst of the midsummer cicadas’ chirping, the classroom’s lecture voice seemed to stop abruptly. Everyone’s gaze once again fell on Shen Guhan, except for one person, the homeroom teacher of Class 9 in Senior Year 3, Teacher Huang. His gaze was locked onto Ye Jinyun, who was dozing sleepily beside Shen Guhan, almost at the very first moment.
Thunk.
The chalk struck Ye Jinyun’s head with pinpoint accuracy, followed by homeroom teacher Huang Zihe’s voice.
“Ye Jinyun, come explain it to our new student.”
Ye Jinyun once again struggled to sit up, rubbing at his eyes, which no matter how he tried could not open. In the next instant, he saw Shen Guhan, his lips curved in a smile and his whole face looking like he was enjoying the show. Good kid, he was setting him up.
He looked at the words on the blackboard. He could understand each one individually, but when put together, he could not understand a single word. The old, worn-out fan wheezed as it spun, and Ye Jinyun grew annoyed from listening to it. He directly said, “I don’t know.”
“Go stand outside.” Homeroom teacher Huang Zihe did not give Ye Jinyun so much as a glance. It seemed he had long since anticipated that Ye Jinyun simply would not know, and he went back to explaining tirelessly.
“You just wait.”
Ye Jinyun lowered his voice, and the fierce look in his eyes made Shen Guhan feel he was even more vivid, so Shen Guhan replied with a smile.
“Okay.”
The cicadas resumed their regular chirping. Ye Jinyun leaned alone against the wall, his eyes half-lidded, but no matter what, he could not fall asleep. It was hard enough for anyone to sleep while standing, let alone Ye Jinyun, who had been woken up many times.
Suddenly, half of the light dimmed. A figure walked out from the classroom.
Shen Guhan was in a great mood. He quickly walked over to Ye Jinyun’s side and blocked much of the glaring summer sunlight.
“Heh, heavenly justice has its cycle!”
Seeing that the culprit who had caused him to be punished to stand there had also come out, Ye Jinyun’s anger had eased quite a bit. He even had the mood to ask why.
“How did you get out?”
“The teacher asked me if I understood.”
Shen Guhan stood bathed in sunlight. His dark hair was like flowing black silk, creating a stark contrast with his cool, pale skin. His thin lips were almost bloodless, adding a trace of fragility.
Ye Jinyun suddenly felt that this person was not so annoying anymore, and asked, “Then what? What did you say?”
Shen Guhan lowered his head and pressed his lips together. Only after a long moment did he say, “I said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’”
“Hahaha.” Ye Jinyun clutched his stomach and laughed. He felt that Shen Guhan was truly something.
“Ye Jinyun, Shen Guhan, you two stay behind after school.”
A roar from the classroom startled away a large flock of sparrows, and at the same time made Ye Jinyun, who had just been laughing until tears came out, instantly turn green.
“What, staying behind after school is a very bad thing?”
Shen Guhan looked at Ye Jinyun, whose face had instantly gone green, and did not understand. Was this really that serious?
He had once been punished to cultivate in the forbidden ground and had not thought it was difficult. Could this be harder than staying in the forbidden ground?
“Bro, have you never gone to school?” Ye Jinyun also stopped standing there. He directly leaned against the wall, slid down it, and sat on the floor.
Shen Guhan did not understand, and sat down beside Ye Jinyun as well, saying, “What does that have to do with not going to school?”
“Ah, anyway, I’m done for. I only called my parents in last week. If they find out again this time, my pocket money will probably get deducted to zero again. Ah, I’m really going to die.” Ye Jinyun complained in a low voice.
Shen Guhan looked at the restless Ye Jinyun, listened to him shouting about dying, and unconsciously pressed his hand onto Ye Jinyun’s, promising, “You won’t die.”
Ye Jinyun was startled by Shen Guhan’s movement and yanked his hand back. “Are you crazy?”
But Shen Guhan still insisted, “Don’t worry, you won’t die.”
With him here, even if the illusion was still there, Ye Jinyun would not die. He had finally met someone like this, and he would not easily let Ye Jinyun die so casually.
“Are you an idiot? I was just making a comparison. My mom loves me so much she can’t even bear to let me go, she’s so afraid of holding me in her hands and melting me.”
Shen Guhan’s overly serious, earnest expression and tone made Ye Jinyun unable to help explaining, while also secretly showing off. Boys half-grown always loved showing off what they had, and his whole body brightened up.
Although Ye Jinyun was completely hidden in the shadows, even the tips of his hair carried vitality, his eyes shining. For some reason, Shen Guhan felt warm in his heart too, and he smiled along with him.
“I said my mom, why are you smiling too?” Ye Jinyun was like a child guarding his food, unwilling to share anything with Shen Guhan.
Shen Guhan did not mind and softened his voice. “I think you’re really interesting.”
Ye Jinyun saw himself reflected in Shen Guhan’s black eyes, and it felt as if the person before him was filled entirely with him. It was just like the girls at the end of class, chattering about, My eyes are full of you.
“Tch——” The boy dragged out the last syllable long and slow, then turned his head, showing only the back of it. “I’ve always been interesting.”
Outside Shen Guhan’s line of sight, he secretly flushed red and thought darkly.
Girls are so boring.
“Have you two talked enough?” The homeroom teacher, wearing a black expression, unexpectedly appeared in front of the two of them.
Ye Jinyun immediately lowered his head, looking like he was ready to be dealt with. Anyway, he was used to it. His skin had long since been trained up, and he had few rivals at this age. As long as he stayed silent, Old Huang would have nothing to do with him.
Unexpectedly, Shen Guhan said, “Pretty much.” He glanced at Ye Jinyun beside him and answered calmly.
That one sentence once again touched Teacher Huang Zihe’s nerves, and Teacher Huang was so angry that he was actually left speechless for a moment.
Six eyes just looked at one another like that, when ding-ling-ling.
Then Shen Guhan once again, with perfect understanding, said, “Teacher, class is over.”
…
Looking at the furious back as he went off to make a phone call, Ye Jinyun silently lit a candle for the brave Shen Guhan in his heart, only to see that Shen Guhan was already standing there with a calm, unfazed air, not the least bit anxious.
“Hey, aren’t you scared? Old Huang is calling your parents.”
Shen Guhan asked in confusion, “Calling my parents?”
“You don’t even know what calling your parents means. Could it be that you were always a good student before? That shouldn’t be right. You’re this awesome, how could that be?”
Suddenly, Ye Jinyun leaned close to Shen Guhan and asked in a low voice, “Is your family especially rich? Your parents don’t care about you at all. You’ve always done whatever you want, so you’re not afraid of Old Huang.”
Feeling Ye Jinyun’s closeness, Shen Guhan also caught a faint fragrance seeping out from Ye Jinyun’s skin, as if it were sweetened with honey. He wanted to taste it.
“Could it be true?” Seeing that Shen Guhan did not speak, Ye Jinyun thought he had tacitly admitted it and asked half-believingly.
“My family… is indeed very rich.”
Shen Guhan thought of Taihe Palace, where he had grown up, and the wealth accumulated by the demonic cult through the generations. He really was very rich.
“No wonder,” Ye Jinyun said, envy mixed with jealousy, “no wonder you’re different from us ordinary people, daring to go head-to-head with Old Huang.”
“Not bad.” Shen Guhan said.
Ye Jinyun suddenly felt like punching Shen Guhan. Absolutely not because he was jealous of wealth.
After making more than a dozen calls, all of which failed to connect, homeroom teacher Huang Zihe had completely lost his patience. He turned around and asked, “Why aren’t your parents answering the phone?”
“They’re dead, I’m alone.”
Shen Guhan’s words were like a bolt of thunder that split the heavens and the earth, cutting off all of homeroom teacher Huang Zihe’s dissatisfaction. His eyes filled with apology and shame, as if he himself were some ancient sinner, and he blamed himself, saying, “You just transferred here, Teacher doesn’t know your situation. You…”
“It’s fine.” Shen Guhan still said lightly.
The more indifferent Shen Guhan seemed, the more guilty the homeroom teacher became. He kept trying to comfort him until the class bell rang again.
Back at his seat, Ye Jinyun bumped Shen Guhan with his shoulder. “You really have guts. That trick was ruthless. You even came up with parents being dead. If I dared say that, my mom would definitely split me open.”
“They really are dead.” Seeing Ye Jinyun’s entire face freeze, Shen Guhan added, “They’ve been dead for a long time.”
“Ah.” Ye Jinyun was at a loss. “Sorry, uh, I didn’t mean it.”
“It’s fine.” Shen Guhan did not care at all. His parents meant nothing to him, and he did not value them.
“Alright, I get it.” Ye Jinyun gave Shen Guhan a bear hug.
Feeling Ye Jinyun’s sudden embrace, and taking in Ye Jinyun’s unique fragrance, Shen Guhan’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. He seemed to think this illusion was pretty good too. If he ever found it boring in the future, he could make one himself and play with it.
“If you need anything in the future, come find me.” Ye Jinyun said generously.
“Can I stay at your place for one night? I just transferred here, and I’m alone. I’m lonely.” Shen Guhan seized the opportunity and pressed onward.
“Ah, what’s the big deal? My bed is big enough. You can stay there every day.”
Ye Jinyun was very carefree and did not realize at all what consequences this might have.
“Yezi, I want to go too, is that okay? Let’s form a team and play games.” The fat guy in front turned around excitedly and said.
Ye Jinyun curled his lip and rolled his eyes, showing the whites. “Get lost. If you come, the whole bed will be yours.”
“That’s not fair. The transfer student can go, so why can’t I? We’re childhood friends.” Fatty said unhappily.
“Who told the other guy to be good-looking? If you lose some weight, I might agree.” Ye Jinyun said, swinging his legs.
“You’re discriminating against fat people. I hate you.”
After talking with Fatty, Ye Jinyun completely lost his sleepiness. He glanced toward the podium now and then, preparing to cultivate drowsiness and strive to sleep through another class.
“I’m good-looking?” Shen Guhan tugged on Ye Jinyun’s pants and asked.
Looking at Shen Guhan’s eyes, Ye Jinyun thought of that line again.
My eyes are full of you.
Instantly, goosebumps rose all over him, and the sleepiness he had just cultivated vanished again.
“I was just talking nonsense.”
At once, Shen Guhan’s brows furrowed. Was he not good-looking in Ye Jinyun’s heart?
“Not good-looking?” he asked again.
That face, once again brought close, did not have a single visible pore. Ye Jinyun felt that he had no culture and could only think, Holy shit, he’s really handsome.
Shen Guhan felt that he had asked the question wrong, and asked again, “Do you like it?”
“Pretty much, I quite like it,” Ye Jinyun said perfunctorily, while not forgetting to be self-admiring. “It’s just a bit worse than me.”
Shen Guhan withdrew in satisfaction, sat up straight again, and the smile at the corners of his mouth showed his good mood.
Author’s note:
Thank you all very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!