When Jiang Chen and Gu Xin finally stepped out of the school gates, the sun had fully dipped below the horizon, leaving behind nothing but a biting autumn breeze and the rustle of plane tree leaves drifting off their branches.
Gu Xin pulled his jacket out of his backpack, intending to toss it to Jiang Chen. But remembering that his friend’s right hand was out of commission, he held the jacket open instead. “Put it on.”
Like a seasoned patient, Jiang Chen smoothly slid his arms into the sleeves, enveloping himself in a school uniform jacket that carried Gu Xin’s distinct, familiar scent.
Gu Xin wheeled out Jiang Chen’s bicycle. Jiang Chen hopped nimbly onto the back seat, his hand habitually coming to rest on Gu Xin’s waist. The Alpha teenager’s waist was firm and athletic, yet surprisingly lean.
Jiang Chen gave it a playful squeeze. “Hey, I only just noticed today, but your waist is actually pretty slender.”
Gu Xin’s hand on the handlebars trembled slightly, causing the bike to swerve. “Stop messing around. You’re going to make us crash again.”
“Heh, has no one ever touched your waist before?” Jiang Chen had only pressed through the thick fabric of the uniform jacket, barely feeling anything underneath. “So sensitive~”
Gu Xin kept his eyes glued to the road ahead, his face burning as he warned Jiang Chen in a low, gravelly voice, “We’re on the main road. Behave.”
Jiang Chen reluctantly gave up. Teasing Gu Xin had been his favorite pastime since childhood; it was his ultimate source of amusement, and he had no intention of changing that now. Besides, being able to commute to and from school together like this was a genuine comfort.
He reached into Gu Xin’s pocket, fished out the AirPods, and connected them to his phone. “Want to listen to some music?”
Conveniently hitting a red light, Gu Xin nodded and took one of the earbuds from Jiang Chen, popping it into his ear.
Sharing the pair of headphones, they listened to the music drifting from Jiang Chen’s phone. His playlist was an chaotic mix…everything from soulful ballads to heavy rap.
Gu Xin usually used his headphones for English listening practice, only occasionally playing music. Their tastes were remarkably similar, and they often shared new tracks with one another.
As darkness blanketed the city, the streetlights flickered on one by one, as if welcoming them home after a grueling day of studying.
The ride home felt unexpectedly brief. Gu Xin brought the bike to a halt at the bottom of the steep incline leading to their neighborhood…it was far too vertical to ride up, so they both dismounted.
The music in their ears abruptly cut out.
Gu Xin turned to Jiang Chen. “Can you manage a shower tonight by yourself? If you can’t, come over to my place after you finish your homework, and I’ll help you wash up.”
The Jiang siblings were a mix of genders, and their parents were notoriously laid-back, meaning Jiang Chen would definitely be left to fend for himself at home. With his wounds still fresh and unscabbed, Gu Xin couldn’t quite bring himself to feel at ease letting him handle it alone.
“I’ll head down to your place later tonight then. I need to go home and eat first. Are your parents eating with you tonight?” The only reason Jiang Chen could practically live at the Gu household was because Gu Xin’s parents worked unpredictable, grueling hours…each seemingly competing to see who could come home later.
Gu Xin replied, “They’re eating at home tonight, but my dad has a late-night flight to catch for an overseas trip, and my mom has to drive him to the airport.”
Guardedly dropping all pretense, Jiang Chen said naturally, “Then I’ll head down after they leave and sleep over at your place.”
“Mm, I’ll text you when they’re gone.” Gu Xin leaned down to lock Jiang Chen’s blue bicycle at the foot of the building, parking it right next to his own black one. The two bikes looked remarkably well-matched sitting side by side.
They parted ways at the elevator doors, Jiang Chen still wearing Gu Xin’s jacket as he walked into his own apartment. It reminded him that he still had the other set of uniforms he’d borrowed last time sitting in his room; he needed to remember to return them later, or Gu Xin would literally have nothing to wear.
Mama Jiang was already in the kitchen whipping up dinner. His older sister, Jiang Xin, was hunched over her desk in her bedroom, aggressively battling a practice exam, while his younger brother, Jiang Zheng, lounged on the sofa. Jiang Zheng was glued to his phone, his thumbs flying across the screen as he typed at lightning speed. He alternated between letting out bizarre, creepy giggles and twisting his face into terrifying grimaces, wearing every single emotion raw on his face.
Jiang Chen flipped through the TV channels for a bit, but finding nothing interesting, he leaned back to browse through their class group chat. Before dinner was even served, he let out a string of heavy yawns. The more he read, the sleepier he got, and drowsiness quickly pulled at his eyelids.
Mama Jiang called out from the kitchen, “Jiang Zheng, go scoop the rice!”
Jiang Zheng clutched his phone like a lifeline, about to protest and ask why Jiang Chen couldn’t do it. But catching sight of the thick layers of gauze wrapped around his brother’s hand, he wisely shut his mouth. Looking closer, he realized his brother had already slumped against the sofa, fast asleep.
Jiang Zheng remarked casually, “Mom, look at my brother. Truly a master. He can literally fall asleep sitting up anywhere.”
“He’s probably exhausted from classes,” Mama Jiang seized the opportunity to lecture Jiang Zheng. “Only those who actually study hard get that tired. You should take a page out of your brother’s book.”
“But Brother Gu Xin doesn’t look like a zombie like him,” Jiang Zheng countered, pulling his ultimate shield.
“He’s an Alpha; his stamina is naturally bound to be more robust than a Beta’s. It’s a pity I didn’t manage to give birth to a few more of those,” Mama Jiang lamented with a dramatic sigh.
Jiang Zheng covered his ears, shouting for his sister to come out for dinner before heading over to rouse Jiang Chen.
His booming voice perfectly inherited Mama Jiang’s stellar vocal genes: “Brother! Dinner’s ready!”
“What are you screaming for? I’m not deaf,” Jiang Chen muttered, rubbing his ear to stop the slight ringing.
He had only meant to close his eyes for a quick second…how had he crashed so completely?
He didn’t dwell on it too much, though; his absolute devotion to sleeping wasn’t anything new.
“Where’s Dad?” Jiang Chen finally noticed his father’s absence.
Mama Jiang answered, “His department has a team-building dinner tonight, so he won’t be eating at home.”
Jiang Zheng immediately picked up his chopsticks and pleaded, “Mom, our school is going on an autumn field trip this weekend. Can I get some pocket money?”
Knowing Jiang Zheng’s track record of laundering his allowance to buy cosmetics, Mama Jiang leveled a warning glare at him. “If I find out this isn’t for a school trip, you’re dead meat.”
Jiang Zheng whined, “Why would I lie? Your homeroom teacher is definitely going to blast a text message to all the parents later anyway.”
Jiang Xin, utterly drained by her high school senior exam papers, didn’t even have the energy to chime in, focusing instead on shoveling food into her mouth at record speed.
Mama Jiang turned her attention back to Jiang Chen. “Xiao Chen, what about that performance for the school anniversary? Are you guys still on the roster?”
Jiang Chen was usually the quietest one at home, completely unlike his sister and brother who never seemed to run out of things to chatter about.
Jiang Chen nodded. “We’re on.”
Jiang Zheng chimed in, “With Brother Gu Xin on the team, how could we possibly get cut?”
Jiang Chen struggled awkwardly to feed himself using only his left hand, eating at a snail’s pace. “True. He’s incredible at the violin. It would be a massive waste if the school scrapped it.” Then again, the school wouldn’t dare drop it anyway; Gu Xin was practically a walking trophy for their PR department.
Mama Jiang caught onto the underlying implication. “So after all that grand talk, you’re just a filler to make up the numbers?”
Jiang Chen: “…” Wow, Mom. Thanks for cutting straight to the core.
The family chatted throughout the meal. In the end, because Jiang Xin was drowning in her college prep papers and Jiang Chen was an invalid, the dishwashing duty fell squarely on Jiang Zheng’s shoulders.
Jiang Chen melted into the sofa to let his food digest when his phone buzzed. It was a message from Gu Xin, letting him know his parents had just left and he could head down to shower.
“Mom, I’m heading down to sleep over at Gu Xin’s tonight,” Jiang Chen called out casually as he always did.
Mama Jiang was so used to their inseparable dynamic that she didn’t bat an eye, instead gossiping about Gu Xin’s parents. “Are his parents out again?”
“Auntie is driving Uncle to the airport,” Jiang Chen explained honestly.
“Those two… they’ve left Gu Xin to look after himself since he was a kid. Thank goodness that boy has immaculate self-discipline. Any other kid would have turned into a rebellious nightmare by now.” Thinking about it gave her a headache, leaving her wondering why their own family’s discipline genes seemed to go missing halfway through.
“Mom, you should probably worry about Dad instead. He’s definitely going to get plastered tonight,” Jiang Chen reminded her.
Mama Jiang paused, realizing he was right. But to save face as the matriarch, she waved a dismissive hand. “I know, I know. I don’t need a kid reminding me.”
The moment Jiang Chen turned his back, however, she immediately opened WeChat to text her husband, demanding to know if he was drinking, how drunk he was, and what time he planned to crawl home.
A voice note snapped back from the other end. The background music was deafeningly loud, and his dad’s slurred, intoxicated voice echoed faintly over the din: I’m not… hic… drunk!
Yep. That was his family.
Jiang Chen packed his backpack. Because of his injured hand, he was exempt from submitting homework for the next few days, so he only needed to bring his textbooks. He packed the uniform jacket he needed to return, along with a fresh change of clothes for tomorrow. As for pajamas, he’d just raid Gu Xin’s closet like always.
Humming happily, he organized his bag until it felt reasonably light, then headed downstairs.
A dripping, sweat-drenched Gu Xin pulled open the door for him, a towel draped over his neck as he wiped his brow. “What took you so long?”
Jiang Chen shoved his backpack into Gu Xin’s arms. “I was packing. Your school uniform is inside, take it out yourself. Were you running?”
“Yeah. Ate a bit too much at dinner, wanted to burn it off.” Gu Xin closed the door behind them.
“Did you not get enough exercise this evening?” A literal one-against-three brawl. Just a moment ago, Wei Meng had been violently singing Gu Xin’s praises in their chat, looking like he was about two days away from formally adopting Gu Xin as his father.
Gu Xin replied mildly, “It was alright.”
Jiang Chen asked, “Finished your homework?”
Gu Xin: “Yeah, all done.”
“Sweet! I don’t have any homework tonight, let’s watch a movie!” Jiang Chen flashed a brilliant, dimpled smile, his bedroom eyes crinkling with the pure joy of slacking off.
Gu Xin asked, “What movie?”
Jiang Chen pointed to his phone. “Wei Meng shared a cloud drive link with me. He swore it’s an absolute masterpiece of a Western film.”
Gu Xin: “…” Of course it’s Wei Meng. Does that guy literally have nothing better to do? “Let me shower first. I’m covered in sweat.”
Jiang Chen followed him into the bedroom’s en-suite bathroom with absolute, shameless familiarity. “Help me strip. Let’s wash together.”
Gu Xin felt a sudden, heavy wave of heat wash over his skin. “…Okay.”
Given their decade-plus of friendship, showering together was as mundane as breathing.
Jiang Chen shimmied out of his pants with practiced ease…he knew his way around Gu Xin’s room like the back of his own hand.
He cranked on the water, calling out to accelerate the process: “Xin-bao, hurry up and get in here to help me with my shirt.”
Gu Xin let out a slow, steadying breath. “Coming.”
Jiang Chen raised his arms, and Gu Xin meticulously, gently peeled the shirt over his head, mindful of the bandages.
“Squirt some body wash for me. Yours smells great,” Jiang Chen said, completely unbothered by standing stark naked in front of his best friend. “I need to wash my hair today, too.”
“You are incredibly high-maintenance. Tilt your head back,” Gu Xin grumbled, though his hands moved to comply automatically.
After rinsing the shampoo, Gu Xin began running a soapy cloth down Jiang Chen’s back. It was then that he noticed the area that should have been scabbing over had split wide open again. “Why is this bleeding again? What did you bump into?”
If he hadn’t brought it up, Jiang Chen wouldn’t have noticed, but the moment it was mentioned, a dull throb radiated from his back. “Ah, I think I scraped it when I was squeezing through that chain-link fence earlier.”
Gu Xin’s fingertips stiffened against the towel, terrified of hurting him. “You need to be more careful. I’ll put on that medicated ointment the doctor prescribed later; it’ll speed up the healing.”
Jiang Chen huffed, “Well, if you hadn’t run off to fight those three idiots, I wouldn’t have had to climb fences.”
Gu Xin paused. “So this is my fault now?”
Jiang Chen countered, “Keeping secrets from me is absolutely your fault.”
Gu Xin sighed softly. “Fine. Next time I won’t hide things from you. Happy?”
Jiang Chen grinned. “Hold onto that promise. Anyone who lies is a dog.”
Gu Xin murmured, “When have I ever lied to you?”
A few moments later, Gu Xin finally finished scrubbing Jiang Chen down, pulling a clean shirt over his friend’s head and telling him to head out. As Jiang Chen stepped away, Gu Xin finally turned to strip off his own clothes, tugging his sweat-soaked shirt up over his head.
But just as the fabric blinded his vision, a pair of warm, damp fingertips lightly traced a slow line across his bare spine.
An electric jolt shot straight through Gu Xin’s nervous system, causing his entire back to snap taut!
Jiang Chen hadn’t left the bathroom at all. Instead, he was leaning in close, his fingers lingering on Gu Xin’s skin. “Whoa, Xin-bao… I just noticed, but the skin on your back is ridiculously smooth!”
Gu Xin froze into a rigid statue. Trapped beneath the collar of his shirt, his entire face flushed a violent, blistering crimson, turning him completely red from head to toe.