Due to his health issues, Jiang Chen had spent the entire National Day holiday stuck at home from day one. He felt constantly drowsy, and whenever he managed to stay awake, he would drag Gu Xin along to watch movies or team up with Wei Meng and Jiang Yibai for four-player matches in PUBG.
By the third day of the holiday, Gu Xin had left for a family trip. Rumor had it they went to a seaside resort, staying at a luxury hotel with a private beach, completely avoiding the usual holiday crowds.
Jiang Chen suddenly realized how utterly boring it was to be stuck at home with absolutely nothing to do.
When Jiang Chen’s parents returned from his grandparents’ house, both of their faces were sullen. It was highly unlikely to be from traffic; it was a hundred percent guaranteed that things had gone sour at the grandparents’ place, where they had gone to discuss family matters.
His dad was one of four siblings. Perhaps because the grandparents were notoriously biased, the relationships among the brothers and sisters weren’t great. The main issue this time was the family home back in their hometown. The grandparents wanted to leave the entire house to the eldest brother, who would in turn take care of them in their old age. However, the two sisters were furious. They were the ones constantly looking after the elderly couple, yet Grandpa and Grandma Jiang showed such blatant favoritism toward the oldest son’s family. The family had argued for two full days without reaching a resolution.
Since Jiang Chen’s dad wasn’t highly valued by his parents anyway, he and Jiang Chen’s mom left as soon as they had stayed long enough to be polite.
However, before they left, Jiang Chen’s mom had been thoroughly insulted by Grandma Jiang, who kept nagging about how the other three siblings were completely useless and lacked any real success.
Unable to take the insult, his mom had a massive argument with Grandma Jiang before storming out with his dad.
Naturally, upon returning home, her mood was atrocious, and she found fault with absolutely everything she looked at.
Jiang Chen wisely kept his distance.
Fortunately, his mom’s temper came fast and went just as quickly. By the next day, she acted as if nothing had happened and announced she was taking the family out to a seafood buffet.
Good food truly is the ultimate mood lifter.
Jiang Chen was just about to text Gu Xin a photo of the crab he was eating when Gu Xin beat him to it, sending over a picture of his own dinner.
The photo featured a massive lobster sitting on the table. Feeling entirely outclassed, Jiang Chen sent back a thoroughly pitiful picture of the tiny shrimp floating in his personal hotpot.
Gu Xin replied, promising to treat him to a proper meal once he returned.
During dinner, Jiang Chen’s parents chatted, eventually bringing up Gu Xin’s family.
His dad passed along some recent gossip to his mom. “By the way, I heard lately that there’s a specific reason Gu Xin’s family moved back here.”
His mom didn’t think much of it. “Of course there’s a reason. Didn’t Gu Xin bomb his high school entrance exams? He ended up at Third High, so the whole family moved back.”
His dad sighed and shook his head. “That’s only part of it. There’s another major reason.”
His mom’s inner gossip engine immediately fired up. “What reason?”
Noticing that Jiang Xin and Jiang Zheng were loudly squabbling over a crab leg and that Jiang Chen was staring down at his phone, his dad lowered his voice to speak to his wife.
“A while back, someone spotted Gu Chengming abroad at an amusement park with a woman and a child around three or four years old.”
Gu Chengming was Gu Xin’s father.
His mom countered, “Now that you mention it, I know he did go abroad recently. But who can prove he went out with another woman? Gu Xin’s mother is elegant and beautiful. If this is true, it’s a classic case of never truly knowing a person. Besides, he took Gu Xin and his wife out for a holiday right now.”
“I only heard rumors,” his dad admitted. “Can’t say for sure if it’s true.”
“Then don’t repeat it,” his mom warned. “It’s fine if just the two of us know, but who knows if it’s real? If it’s a lie, it could really hurt them.”
His dad shook his head. “Well, where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.”
Jiang Chen caught every word of their supposedly quiet conversation.
Gu Xin’s dad had an affair?
In his memory, Gu Xin’s father had always been the epitome of a social elite soft-spoken, incredibly reasonable, highly articulate, and someone who never clashed with the neighbors.
It seemed impossible. It was probably just some baseless gossip his dad had picked up somewhere.
Jiang Chen stopped texting Gu Xin. Feeling like he was keeping a massive secret from his childhood friend, he suddenly didn’t know what to talk about anymore.
For the rest of the National Day holiday, while Gu Xin traveled with his family and Wei Meng was dragged back to his ancestral hometown by his parents, Jiang Chen killed time at home playing video games and binge-watching shows.
Before he knew the true nature of his illness, he would have loved to go out and play. But now, given how unstable his condition was, he preferred to sleep at home.
He didn’t sleep all day, though. In the evenings, he would head downstairs to skateboard, hanging out with the neighborhood kids who looked up to him as the ultra-cool older brother.
In the blink of an eye, the seven-day holiday came to an end.
Gu Xin arrived home from the island so late on the final day that he didn’t drop by to see Jiang Chen. The next morning at school, Jiang Chen noticed he had tanned by a noticeable shade.
Having spent the holiday lounging indoors, Jiang Chen who was still as fair and pale as ever couldn’t stop laughing. “How did you get so dark?”
Gu Xin didn’t think it was a bad thing for a guy to have a tan. “Got it at the beach. My dad insisted on teaching me how to surf. Sunscreen felt completely useless.”
Jiang Chen asked, “You didn’t get sunburned, did you?”
Thinking back to the past few days, Gu Xin sighed. “How could I not? The skin on my back is literally peeling.”
Jiang Chen reached out from behind, tugging at his shirt. “Let me see how bad it is.”
Gu Xin fiercely guarded his modesty. “We’re outside! Don’t pull at my clothes.”
Laughing and fooling around, the two made their way into the school.
Unsurprisingly, most of their classmates had tanned significantly, a clear sign that everyone had spent the holiday outdoors. Even Jiang Chen’s desk mate, Liu Sen, had gotten darker.
Yang Xiu looked at Jiang Chen in sheer disbelief. “How are you not tanned at all?”
Jiang Chen, of course, started talking nonsense. “I’m just naturally resistant to tanning. Our Beta skin can handle UV rays.”
Yang Xiu glanced over at Liu Sen, who was also a Beta. “Ha. Why don’t you ask Liu Sen if he agrees with that theory?”
Liu Sen blocked his face with his exercise booklet, looking annoyed. “You guys are so irritating, leave me out of this.” Because he, too, had tanned.
With the holiday over, the classroom was filled with students chatting about their vacation adventures, though Jiang Chen didn’t really envy them.
As classes resumed, the teachers began reminding everyone to snap out of the holiday mindset and focus on their studies.
Life as a freshman was still quite vibrant. Aside from daily classes, the school hosted a variety of club activities.
Jiang Chen, however, had zero interest. He was still on medication; joining a crowded club was the last thing he needed. He preferred staying away from large groups of people.
The excitement surrounding clubs only lasted a short while in class. Since Jiang Chen found none of it appealing, he figured he might as well just play basketball at least Gu Xin would be there to hand him a bottle of water.
Right after the club craze died down, the sports representative brought another piece of news: the school sports meet was scheduled for early November, and sign-ups were officially open.
Wei Meng actively signed up for events, but Jiang Chen remained completely unmoved, determined to stick to his lazy, relaxed lifestyle.
However, certain events were strictly reserved for Betas. Out of the fifty-six students in their class, the majority were Alphas and Omegas, meaning Betas were in short supply. The sports representative stared at the empty slot for the Beta 1,500-meter race, completely stressed out over how to distribute the remaining events among the dozen or so Betas.
Swallowing his pride, the sports representative approached Jiang Chen.
He was also on the basketball team and had been involved in the previous fight, so he shared a bit of camaraderie with Jiang Chen.
“Jiang Chen, between the Beta high jump and the 1,500-meter race, which one do you want to pick?”
Jiang Chen knew he couldn’t dodge it forever. “Do I look like someone who wants to pick either of them?”
The sports representative pleaded, “But these are the only two left.”
Jiang Chen suggested, “How about giving me the shot put instead?”
“Everything else is taken,” the sports representative replied, “except for the two I just mentioned.” One required technical skill, the other required pure endurance. The other Betas had been incredibly shrewd, leaving the most grueling events for their classmates.
Jiang Chen thought both sounded exhausting and flatly refused. “Not choosing.”
The sports representative immediately turned to Gu Xin. The six-foot-tall Alpha student shamelessly whined to the class monitor, intentionally putting on a dramatic act. “Class Monitor, look at Jiang Chen! He refuses to sign up~”
By now, everyone in the class knew how close Gu Xin and Jiang Chen were. They were practically at the stage of holding hands on stage together!
Jiang Chen felt a wave of goosebumps break out. “Wang Minmin, are you trying to disgust your class monitor or disgust me?”
The sports representative’s name was Wang Min, but everyone affectionately called him Minmin.
Gu Xin smiled at Wang Minmin and said, “I can’t help you with this one.”
The sports representative clicked his tongue, tore off two slips of paper, wrote “High Jump” on one and “1,500m” on the other. “Fine, draw straws. Whichever you pull is the one you get.”
Jiang Chen simply buried his face on his desk, choosing to ignore the whole thing.
Gu Xin walked over and picked one for him. The sports representative happily jotted it down on the signup sheet. “Jiang Chen, 1,500 meters!”
Jiang Chen shot Gu Xin a fierce glare from the side, annoyance visibly bubbling up. “I’m not running.”
Gu Xin coaxed him gently, “I’ll run with you. I signed up for the 3,000 meters.”
Jiang Chen let out a breathless chuckle. “Gu Xin, you’re getting a bit spoiled by my favor lately, aren’t you? How dare you sign up on my behalf.”
Gu Xin tapped him lightly on the head. “Yeah, I am. Got a problem with that?”
Jiang Chen acted incredibly magnanimous. “Fine, fine, fine. You’re the favorite consort, so you call the shots.” Having stayed home all holiday, he had spent his time binge-watching historical palace dramas out of sheer boredom.
In his mind, Wei Meng was the little palace eunuch, Xiao Wei-zi; Gu Xin was his favored imperial consort; and he, naturally, was the master of the harem.
Gu Xin played along, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
His desk mate, Liu Sen, snorted out loud. “Then what am I?”
Jiang Chen replied, “You? Some minor official, probably.”
Liu Sen was thoroughly unsatisfied. “I’m your desk mate, for crying out loud!”
Just as the words left his mouth, Gu Xin walked over to the bulletin board and pinned up a newly rearranged seating chart.
It was currently a ten-minute break between classes, and everyone began moving their desks. Liu Sen immediately rushed to pack his things.
Jiang Chen and Liu Sen shifted their seats. This time, Jiang Chen was no longer by the window; he had moved to the second row of desks, putting him directly in front of Gu Xin.
Before he could even turn around to talk to him, Gu Xin tapped his shoulder with the tip of his pen. “Have you taken your medicine?”
Jiang Chen adjusted his desk, leaning back against Gu Xin’s. “Not yet.”
Gu Xin handed him a brand-new thermos. “Just bought it. Go get some water yourself.”
Left with no choice, Jiang Chen took the new thermos Gu Xin had prepared for him and went to fetch hot water.
Each floor of the school provided two water stations for students. Seeing that the closer station had a massive line, he chose to walk to the further one.
There was still a queue here, but it was slightly shorter.
The freshly dispensed water was scalding hot. He would have to bring it back and wait for it to cool down before he could take his pills. He really wanted to just buy a bottle of mineral water to get it over with, but Gu Xin firmly remembered the doctor’s orders the medicine had to be taken with warm water, and cold water was absolutely forbidden.
Jiang Chen walked back holding the thermos, letting out a yawn from skipping his morning medication. Suddenly, a sharp clatter jolted him wide awake.
Looking down, he realized he had accidentally kicked a water bottle that had been left on the floor, shattering it completely.
He happened to be walking past Class 1-3. Hearing the sound of shattering glass, a group of students poked their heads out of the classroom.
Jiang Chen hadn’t done it on purpose. Who would leave a glass bottle out in the hallway like that?
He called out, “Whose bottle is this? I accidentally kicked and broke it.”
The moment he appeared, several Alphas from Class 1-3 burst into knowing chuckles and began to jeer playfully.
A girl slowly raised her hand. “Mine.”
Right then, the warning bell for class rang. The next period was with their head teacher, and anyone caught stepping into the classroom late would be forced by Teacher Tang to stand up and recite texts.
Jiang Chen said quickly, “I’m really sorry for breaking your bottle. Could you give me your WeChat? I’ll transfer the money to you later.”
The girl immediately pulled up her WeChat QR code with incredible speed.
Jiang Chen sprinted back to his seat just before the final bell rang, completely ignoring the growing cheers and catcalls echoing from Class 1-3.
However, during the lesson, Gu Xin, sitting right behind him, noticed Jiang Chen looking down at his phone multiple times to reply to WeChat messages, clearly engrossed in a conversation with someone.
Gu Xin poked Jiang Chen’s back lightly with his finger. Staring at his friend’s fair, slender nape, he whispered, “Put your phone away. Focus on the lesson.”
Jiang Chen reached behind his back and grabbed Gu Xin’s poking finger. Gu Xin tried to pull his hand away, but Jiang Chen held on tight, secretly fooling around with him under the desk.
Unbeknownst to Jiang Chen, who couldn’t see behind him, Gu Xin’s ears had completely flushed crimson.