Jiang Chen packed the books, homework, and uniform he needed for the next day as fast as he could. Throwing his backpack over his shoulder, he bolted for the door.
His older sister wasn’t home yet, and his younger brother was probably holed up in his room sneakily doing a livestream. That left only his parents in the living room, snuggled up together watching a melodramatic family drama.
His mom, sharp-eyed as always, noticed him immediately. Usually, it was the oldest who ran out every day, but now her second child was picking up the same habit.
The sweet affection on her face instantly hardened into suspicion. “Where do you think you’re going this late?”
Jiang Chen told the absolute truth. “I’m going over to Gu Xin’s so he can help me with my homework. I won’t be back tonight…I’ll head straight to school from his place tomorrow morning.”
His mom had a natural fondness for Gu Xin. The moment she heard his name, her expression softened completely. She was more than happy to see Jiang Chen and Gu Xin hanging out.
She called out to Jiang Chen just as he was about to slip out the door. “Wait a minute! Take some of that watermelon your grandmother sent over. Let Gu Xin have some. It’s not easy for him to tutor you.”
Jiang Chen hated carrying heavy things. “Oh, don’t give me too much. Watermelons are heavy.”
As she pulled a long, slender “Beauty” watermelon from the fridge, his mom couldn’t help but nag him. “You’re going to laze yourself to death. Gu Xin just moved back; can’t you treat him a little better?”
His dad just smiled. Once his mom’s back was turned, he subtly transferred some pocket money to Jiang Chen’s phone. “Go get something good to eat with Gu Xin tomorrow.”
“Got it,” Jiang Chen replied, feeling like Gu Xin was more their birth son than he was.
With his backpack in one hand and the watermelon in the other, Jiang Chen headed downstairs. By the time he reached the tenth floor, he was already breaking a sweat.
Gu Xin took the backpack and the watermelon from him. “You want to eat watermelon this late?”
Jiang Chen immediately collapsed onto the sofa. “Eat it? My mom made me bring it specifically for you. Give it a try.”
Actually, it wasn’t even 9:00 PM yet, so having some fruit was perfectly fine. Gu Xin carried the watermelon into the kitchen to slice it up.
Meanwhile, Jiang Chen slipped right into Gu Xin’s bedroom. The whole apartment had been completely renovated, and even Gu Xin’s room had a totally different vibe now. The old posters of basketball stars were gone, replaced by a single, scaled-down snowboard hanging on the wall. It bore the logo of a limited-edition series from a brand Jiang Chen knew had a starting price of at least ten thousand yuan.
The bookshelves were stacked with books, some pristine and others well-loved. The old comic books were nowhere to be seen, likely packed away.
Jiang Chen remembered that Gu Xin had loved reading ever since they were kids. Back then, if Jiang Chen was grounded and couldn’t play, Gu Xin could spend a whole afternoon reading at home. Jiang Chen, on the other hand, couldn’t sit still; whenever Gu Xin dragged him to read together, Jiang Chen would always end up curled up on Gu Xin’s bed, snoring away until he drooled.
But that wasn’t the point. Overall, Gu Xin’s room felt a lot more mature now.
Still, it was a space Jiang Chen knew inside out. After all, he had practically grown up sleeping in this room. Throughout kindergarten and elementary school, they frequently took naps together. Sometimes, when his mom was too overwhelmed managing his older sister and younger brother, she would drop him off at the Gu household…and a few times, she outright forgot to pick him up.
Come to think of it, Jiang Chen had spent more than half of his life right by Gu Xin’s side.
Gu Xin brought the sliced watermelon to the desk. “Eating too much before bed will keep you running to the bathroom, so I only cut a small portion.”
Jiang Chen sat in Gu Xin’s comfortable desk chair, contentedly prodding a piece of watermelon. “Your parents aren’t home again?”
Gu Xin nodded. He had just showered, and the crisp, clean scent of shampoo clung to him. “Yeah. My dad is away on business, and my mom has a social event tonight. She probably won’t be back until the early hours of the morning.”
Jiang Chen’s childhood had been entirely filled with Gu Xin, and Gu Xin’s had been just as occupied by Jiang Chen. Because Gu Xin’s parents were always busy running their respective companies, it was only during holidays that they would take him out. Most of the time, it was just Gu Xin and Jiang Chen. Gu Xin would also regularly crash at the Jiang house for meals…a perfectly balanced, back-and-forth friendship.
Sitting down, Jiang Chen had to look up at Gu Xin. “Did you grow taller again?”
During their basketball game earlier today, he had realized Gu Xin was getting harder and harder to handle. With his long arms and legs, he could steal the ball at any moment.
“Yeah,” Gu Xin said. “I’m 181 cm now. Sometimes my bones ache when I’m sleeping.”
Jiang Chen reached up, trying to touch the top of Gu Xin’s head, but couldn’t reach. “Rough. I’ve never had that problem. Your parents are both pretty tall, so you’ll probably clear 185 cm.”
Gu Xin agreed, gently placing a hand on Jiang Chen’s head. His freshly washed hair felt fluffy and soft. “How tall are you now?”
“Stop pressing down on my head, I won’t grow anymore,” Jiang Chen grumbled, not entirely satisfied with his height. “According to the physical exam at the start of the semester, I should be 175 cm.”
Gu Xin smiled, lifting his hand. “You’ll make it to 180.”
“I definitely will, okay?” Jiang Chen pulled a new Nintendo Switch off Gu Xin’s shelf. “I’m going to play this. Go ahead and do your homework.”
True to his lazy nature of avoiding effort wherever possible, even mobile games felt tedious to him lately…teaming up meant talking to people and waiting around for teammates. Single-player games were much better.
Jiang Chen yielded the desk chair to Gu Xin, then nimbly and familiarly climbed onto Gu Xin’s bed. He wriggled toward the side against the wall, where a large backrest pillow sat. He leaned heavily against it and started gaming…the absolute pinnacle of comfort. He suddenly regretted being angry with Gu Xin for the past two weeks; otherwise, he could have been enjoying this lifestyle much sooner.
Compared to his own 1.5-meter bed, Gu Xin’s 2-meter bed was practically his dream oasis!
Whether playing single-player or mobile games, Jiang Chen had a habit of drifting off mid-game. The bed was just too tempting.
Gu Xin read his foreign-language book for a while. By the time he tucked a bookmark between the pages, Jiang Chen was already fast asleep, slumped sideways on the bed.
Lately, Jiang Chen had been incredibly deep in his sleeping phase. Gu Xin had never seen anyone who could sleep as much as him…at least twelve to thirteen hours a day, and even then, he’d still doze off during class from time to time. His sleeping skills were truly unmatched.
Gu Xin finished brushing his teeth before climbing into bed. By now, Jiang Chen had buried his entire head between two pillows, leaving only the back of his head visible.
This was a lifelong sleeping habit of Jiang Chen’s that he just couldn’t shake.
Back in kindergarten, the school provided a cot for every student. But back in daycare, Jiang Chen had always shared a small pillow with Gu Xin. Once they were separated into different cots in kindergarten, he had nothing to anchor him and fell out of bed onto the floor every single afternoon nap. In the end, the teachers had no choice but to push Gu Xin’s and Jiang Chen’s cots together. With Gu Xin sleeping on the outside, Jiang Chen never fell to the floor again.
They had been separated for nearly four years, not attending the same school or napping together. Gu Xin didn’t know if Jiang Chen still fell out of bed, though probably not, considering beds get wider as you grow up.
He gently nudged the pillow aside a bit so Jiang Chen wouldn’t suffocate.
The closer he got to Jiang Chen, the more Gu Xin could catch a faint, subtle fragrance drifting off him. Truthfully, Betas didn’t have very strong pheromones, especially nowadays with Beta scent-suppressing liquids available; after drinking one, they wouldn’t have a single trace of scent left. This was probably just body wash or shampoo, but it smelled incredibly pleasant.
Gu Xin twitched his nose slightly, leaning closer to Jiang Chen’s pillow. Inhaling that faint, ethereal scent, he drifted off to sleep.
Just like that, naturally lying on the same bed again, their bond remained unchanged. They were still the best of friends.
A single thin blanket covered them both, making it feel just like those childhood afternoon naps. Slowly, Gu Xin’s eyelids grew heavy, and he slipped peacefully into a dream.
The next morning.
Jiang Chen was awoken by Gu Xin. Without even opening his eyes, he frantically yanked the blanket over his head. He had just been dreaming about sleeping on a soft cloud…how could anyone wake him up? He refused to wake up!
“Chenchen, time to get up!”
Jiang Chen rolled over, resolutely staying put.
Gu Xin kept calling. “Chenchen, Jiang Chen. If you don’t get up, I’m going to school without you.”
Jiang Chen felt the blanket being ripped away, and for a brief second, he thought he was free. But a moment later, a sudden shock of icy cold hit his face.
It was Gu Xin. He had wrung out a cold towel and slapped it right onto Jiang Chen’s face…his ultimate weapon for getting Jiang Chen out of bed.
“I’m awake…” Jiang Chen flung the towel back at him. “It’s been how many years, and you’re still using this trick to wake me up? Zero originality.”
Gu Xin caught the towel. “An old trick is a good trick as long as it works. I honestly don’t know how you manage to get up at your own house.”
Jiang Chen muttered as he climbed out of bed, “If you had a mother with a mega-decibel voice and a brother and sister who fight all day long, you’d understand.”
Right in front of Gu Xin, he stripped off his sleeping t-shirt and shorts, revealing his lean, pale teenage frame. He had a slender build, but it was toned; despite being incredibly lazy, a faint outline of abs was visible.
Jiang Chen dizzily pulled on his school uniform pants.
It was only after he stood up, ready to wash his face and brush his teeth, that he realized the shirt and pants were noticeably oversized.
He tugged at the collar in front of the full-length mirror. “Xin bao, did I accidentally put on your uniform?”
Gu Xin replied, “Yeah. Your uniform got watermelon juice on it when you took it out last night, so I washed it for you this morning.”
A wave of pure gratitude washed over Jiang Chen. He suddenly threw himself against Gu Xin’s back, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist with an expression of dramatic adoration. “Ah, Xin bao, you could totally be someone’s wife. So nurturing.”
Gu Xin caught a sudden whiff of that faint, sweet scent coming from Jiang Chen, and gently pushed him away. “Quit messing around. Go brush your teeth.” He could feel his skin heating up, his whole body practically smoking from the embrace.
“Look at you, acting like a shy little bride, not even letting me touch you,” Jiang Chen complained, tilting his head forward to peer at Gu Xin, thoroughly unimpressed by the rejection.
Gu Xin clapped a hand over Jiang Chen’s face. “Watch your metaphors.” Jiang Chen’s face was so small it was completely covered by Gu Xin’s palm, obscuring his view of the subtle, complicated shift in Gu Xin’s expression. Composing himself, Gu Xin casually tossed a textbook into his bag. “I’ll wait for you in the living room.”
“Fine.” Jiang Chen turned back to the sink, the brief roughhousing finally waking him up completely.
They grabbed breakfast on the way, arriving at school with ten minutes to spare before morning study period. With Gu Xin keeping an eye on him, it was practically impossible for Jiang Chen to be late.
Seeing Gu Xin and Jiang Chen walk in together again, the early-bird classmates were starting to get used to it. Some were even placing bets on how fast this plastic “friendship” would shatter, firmly believing Jiang Chen was only cozying up to Gu Xin to get closer to the school beauty.
Yang Xiu arrived early too. With five minutes left before the bell, almost everyone was in their seats. He walked up to the podium and cleared his throat.
“Excuse me, everyone! Who in our class knows how to play the piano? Our class wants to do a violin and piano duet for the festival. Our class monitor is the violinist, so we just need a pianist now.”
The moment he spoke, the classroom buzzed. Several Omegas boldly raised their hands, eagerly volunteering themselves to Yang Xiu.
“Me, me, me! Yang Xiu, pick me!”
“I’ve passed Level 12 in piano!”
“I’ve been playing since I was three, I can handle any piece!”
Yang Xiu started jotting down the names of the volunteers one by one.
He was about to write down the final name when he paused. “Wait… Jiang Chen?”
Jiang Chen was slouched back in his chair, posture entirely lacking elegance, looking effortlessly lazy and a little rebellious. “There’s no rule saying it has to be an Omega, right?”
Yang Xiu felt a mix of envy and sheer helplessness. This was tough. He knew a bit about the musical backgrounds of the other classmates, but he had absolutely no clue if Jiang Chen could even play. If it weren’t for the fact that his own instrument was the dulcimer, he would have just filled the slot himself instead of dealing with this headache.
The corners of Gu Xin’s lips ticked upward slightly. “Yang Xiu, why don’t Jiang Chen and I just do the duet together?”
Since the class monitor had made the executive decision, Yang Xiu could only agree. “Alright then. You two will need to stay behind for a bit after school this afternoon.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Jiang Chen became the target of a dozen envious glares from the Omegas. Caught up in the thrill of the moment, Jiang Chen shot Gu Xin a cheeky wink. The Alphas and Betas in the back rows burst into a collective roar of laughter, leaving the Omegas absolutely fuming.
Jiang Chen smirked inwardly.
Blocking Gu Xin’s path to a high school romance really is the ultimate high.
Meanwhile, the tips of Gu Xin’s ears quietly burned a bright, secret red.