Song Qiang, with trembling hands, clicked into the CP thread and saw the first post written in colorful letters: [Fei Yu CP thread, group number: xxxxxxx, welcome to join!]
Goodness, they even have a group chat?!
Song Qiang’s trembling hands scrolled down slightly, and a photo of Lin Fei and Ji Leyu appeared. The two people in the photo were obviously very close; Ji Leyu was smiling brightly, almost leaning against Lin Fei.
This was a smile she had never seen on Ji Leyu’s face before.
Youthful, vibrant, exuberant, and happy.
Song Qiang was momentarily stunned, a bit surprised.
She certainly knew that Ji Leyu loved to smile. He was always good at using his smile to disguise himself, making himself appear gentle and approachable, which inevitably made people trust him.
However, this was the first time she saw such a smile on his face—not a fake smile, but a relaxed and genuinely joyful smile radiating from within.
He was very happy. He was very happy being next to Lin Fei.
Song Qiang continued to scroll down, looking at one intimate photo of the two after another.
The more she looked, the more confused she felt.
No way, no way, could Ji Leyu really be this close to her idol?
Wasn’t her idol supposed to be the coldest, most aloof, and unapproachable person?
How could he possibly allow anyone to get this close!
Song Qiang clicked on the photo, inspecting its details meticulously, trying to find any signs of Photoshop. However, she almost strained her eyes and still couldn’t find anything.
So, these are all real photos?
Her idol really has such a good relationship with Ji Leyu?!
Song Qiang felt utterly desperate!
What on earth is going on?
Why is everything different from what she remembered?!
Mom, she wants to go home QAQ.
Ji Leyu observed Song Qiang for two or three days. Seeing that she was still relatively well-behaved, although she sometimes secretly looked at him and Lin Fei, occasionally showing a very complicated expression, she only watched without taking a step closer. Satisfied, he finally moved his attention away from her.
There were many girls in this world who liked Lin Fei. He had always known this and had always felt it was only natural—Lin Fei was so good that even someone as cunning and deceitful as himself liked Lin Fei. How could others not?
It was those who didn’t like Lin Fei who should check their eyes.
But liking was just liking. Ji Leyu was happy for the whole world to like Lin Fei, but it could only stay at that stage. As soon as anyone took a step further, he wasn’t happy about it.
So, a secret crush was the best state.
Liking someone in their heart without getting close—this was Ji Leyu’s requirement for most people.
Unfortunately, not every girl acted as he wished. There were always a few bold ones who wanted to give their secret crush a chance. Some even approached him, hoping he would pass on their feelings.
Ji Leyu looked at the blushing girl in front of him, then glanced at the love letter in her hand. Reluctantly, he asked, “You said this is for Lin Fei?”
“Yes,” the girl nodded. “I know you two are close. If I give it to him directly, he might not accept it. So, could you please give this to him for me?”
Ji Leyu smiled, “You said we are close, and if you give it to him, he won’t accept it. So how could I force him to take it?”
“But…”
“He won’t accept it,” Ji Leyu said, a bit annoyed but still looking gentle on the surface. “You should keep it yourself.”
After speaking, Ji Leyu turned and walked toward the sports field not far away.
Shi Qi and the others instantly gathered around him, gossiping, “Tell us, tell us, did that girl just confess to you?”
“How many times has this happened now? Your luck with girls is amazing.”
“No kidding,” Dong Junbo glanced at Jian Hao. “If you looked like that, you’d have good luck with girls too.”
“She didn’t confess to me,” Ji Leyu said calmly. “She likes my brother.”
“Study god?” Jian Hao was surprised. “So that love letter was for Study God?”
“Yes.”
“As expected of Study God, so aloof yet so popular.”
“So, you didn’t accept it?”
“Even if I took it, would I give it to you? My brother has never accepted a love letter,” Ji Leyu said with disdain.
Jian Hao nodded, “True, Study God doesn’t seem like someone interested in dating.”
Zheng Binbai, listening in, asked curiously, “But speaking of which, what kind of girl does Lin Fei like?”
Instantly, everyone looked at Ji Leyu again.
Ji Leyu looked at their curious faces and said speechlessly, “My brother doesn’t like girls.”
“So, he likes boys?” Shi Qi was surprised.
Ji Leyu: …
“He doesn’t like boys either.”
“Then what does he like?”
“He likes reading.”
“That’s not what I meant. Of course, I know he likes reading. I mean, doesn’t he have any preferences? Like, what kind of person does he want to date?”
It was the first time Ji Leyu was asked this question, and he instinctively felt a bit annoyed. “He doesn’t have one. He doesn’t want to date.”
“And what about you?” Zheng Binbai asked with a smile. “What kind of person do you want to date?”
“I don’t want to date either,” Ji Leyu replied without hesitation. “If my brother doesn’t date, I won’t either.”
Zheng Binbai: …
“What does your brother’s dating have to do with you?”
“If he doesn’t date, why should I?” Ji Leyu said confidently. “Anyway, neither of us wants to date right now.”
Zheng Binbai: …
“Alright, since neither of you is dating, the girls are all ours,” Shi Qi said with a laugh, giving Ji Leyu a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Let’s go play basketball.”
With that, he put his arm around Ji Leyu and headed toward the basketball court.
Ji Leyu played basketball with them for a while. Near the end of class, he voluntarily left the court, letting another boy take his place, and walked towards the parallel bars where Lin Fei was sitting.
“I’m thirsty,” he said, patting the bar in front of Lin Fei.
Lin Fei closed his book and, as usual, got down from the bars to accompany him to the convenience store outside the sports field.
Walking beside him, Ji Leyu recalled what had happened before they played basketball and said to him, “Today someone came to me and said she likes you. She wanted me to give you her love letter, but I didn’t take it. I told her to give it to you herself.”
Lin Fei responded calmly, “Hmm.”
Hearing his voice, Ji Leyu couldn’t help but feel curious as well. “What kind of girl do you like?”
“I don’t want to date,” Lin Fei replied calmly.
“I know, I’m just asking. Quiet, lively, sweet, or cooler?”
Lin Fei: …
Lin Fei turned to look at him. “If you have this much free time, why don’t we go to the bookstore after school tonight? I can help you pick out some practice books.”
Ji Leyu: !!!
“I’m just curious!”
“If you have time to be curious about such meaningless things, why not be curious about why you only came third in the last final exam? This time, in the monthly exam, the person sitting behind me wasn’t you, you know that?”
Ji Leyu: …
Ji Leyu puffed up his cheeks in frustration. “Just wait, I’ll definitely get back to second place in this month’s exam.”
Lin Fei nodded slightly. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Ji Leyu didn’t get the answer he wanted. Thinking about the love letter, his curiosity got the better of him again. “Why do you think they all like writing love letters so much?”
“I don’t know.” Lin Fei clearly wasn’t interested in such things.
Ji Leyu’s eyes shifted, and suddenly, he turned around to face him directly. “How about we write one too?”
Lin Fei: ???
“You’ve never received a love letter, and I’ve never received a love letter. If we graduate and look back on our youth, wouldn’t it be a pity? So why don’t I write you one, and you write me one? That way, we’ll know what love letters are like.”
Lin Fei: …
Lin Fei thought his little brother was truly a genius.
“Then why don’t you wait until the next time someone confesses to you and accept it to see for yourself?”
“That wouldn’t work,” Ji Leyu argued confidently. “I don’t like her, so if I accept it just to see, she might misunderstand and think I’m willing to accept her. Then, if it gets back to Teacher Zhao, she’ll want to talk to me.”
“It’s settled then,” Ji Leyu said, looking as if he had already made up his mind. “When we get back, I’ll write you a love letter, and you can write me one in return. One letter each.”
With that, he turned and ran toward the convenience store, not giving Lin Fei a chance to refuse.
Lin Fei watched him run off quickly and shook his head helplessly. He really did act on whims like a child.
Oh well, Lin Fei calmly walked after him. Ji Leyu is younger and more childish than him, so it makes sense he acts like a kid.
When Ji Leyu finished buying water and returned to the sports field with Lin Fei, they heard the PE teacher blowing the whistle for assembly.
They quickly went to their class’s gathering spot, and sure enough, the bell rang just as they arrived.
The PE teacher said a few words, waved his hand, and dismissed the class.
Thinking about the love letter, Ji Leyu immediately started searching for how to write one as soon as he got back to the classroom.
He looked at various tutorials online, finding them mostly similar. Quickly, he took out his workbook, tore out a page, and started writing.
—-border—-
Dear Classmate Lin Fei,
Hello, I am Ji Leyu from Class 1, Grade 3. Perhaps you don’t know me, but your figure has long been buried in my heart.
I’ve heard your speech under the national flag on the playground, seen the corner of your coat as you turned in the hallway, chased your shadow in the morning light kissing the earth, and in countless thoughts, I’ve repeated your name.
I like you, even though you may not care. But I still want to tell you about my feelings.
You walk through the high mountains,
Pure as snow,
Graceful as pine.
You come under the night,
Bright as the moon,
Gentle as the wind.
You are the heartbeat of the morning bell and evening drum,
The silent admiration of the peach and plum blossoms,
The budding love cherished in my heart.
— Ji Leyu from Class 1, Grade 3
—border—
After Ji Leyu finished writing, he folded the paper and handed it over.
Lin Fei looked at the neatly folded paper suddenly appearing in front of him. As he turned around, he saw Ji Leyu looking at him with hopeful eyes.
Lin Fei: …
Silently, Lin Fei opened the paper and read this concise love letter.
He read through it word by word and thought Ji Leyu really needed to read more books, especially poetry.
Lin Fei tore out a piece of paper from his workbook, picked up his pen, and wrote a love letter in return.
Seeing Lin Fei start writing, Ji Leyu waited eagerly with excitement.
Not long after, before the end of the class, Lin Fei folded his completed love letter neatly and placed it on Ji Leyu’s book.
Ji Leyu immediately unfolded it and saw three paragraphs of classical Chinese writing neatly written on it. Translated, it said: “Younger brother, read more books. Without reading, your love letters are too simple. They lack sincerity and elegance. Read more books. Here are a few modern poetry collections recommended by Lin Fei.”
Ji Leyu: … So, all his hard work writing a love letter only got him a study advice?
Is that appropriate?
Lin Fei, take a look for yourself, does this seem appropriate?!
Ji Leyu, infuriated, tore off a piece of paper and wrote a note with Lin Fei: [What is this? Advice on studies??? Do you think what you did is appropriate?]
He angrily crumpled the paper into a ball and flicked it over to Lin Fei’s side.
Lin Fei unfolded the small paper ball, read it, and replied: [What’s inappropriate about it?]
Ji Leyu: [I was writing a love letter!!! A love letter!! I want a love letter!!]
Lin Fei: [But this is one.]
Ji Leyu: [How is this one?]
Lin Fei: [Every word is sincere, expressing genuine feelings.]
Ji Leyu: [… But it’s still not a love letter!]
Lin Fei: [Then what is it? Every word reflects true emotions, heartfelt words. After school this afternoon, let’s go and find a suitable workbook for you.]
Ji Leyu: !!!
Ji Leyu choked on his own blood.
Lin Fei silently crumpled a new small piece of paper and rolled it over to him: [Black hair doesn’t know the diligence of early study, White head regrets the tardiness of reading. Youth is not diligent, old age will be filled with regrets. Don’t be idle, or your youthful head will turn white in vain. Keep going!]
Ji Leyu: …
Ji Leyu instantly collapsed onto the table, lifeless.
Keep going, keep going… His brother is truly cruel!
How could he have such a ruthless and heartless brother!
Not far away, at the lectern, Teacher Zhao helplessly massaged her temples, ‘Are you two done yet? You haven’t played enough football in PE class, and now you’re playing table football with paper balls. Are you blind to the fact that I’m here?!’
‘Do you want to come up here and play on the lectern?!’
Teacher Zhao looked at her beloved two students, once again turning a blind eye, pretending not to see anything.
After school in the afternoon, Lin Fei indeed took Ji Leyu to a bookstore not far from the school as promised, and helped him pick out several extracurricular exercise books and test papers.
Ji Leyu looked at the stack of books in his hands and kept shouting, “Enough, enough, seriously enough! Give the kid a way out, please.”
Lin Fei looked up and saw Ji Leyu looking pitiful.
“These are for me,” he said calmly.
Ji Leyu finally relaxed, “Then big brother, buy a few more.”
Lin Fei: …
Ji Leyu casually grabbed two more books for him, “Here, you don’t have these two.”
Lin Fei: …
Lin Fei picked up the books, tapped him on the head, and turned to go to the checkout counter.
Near the shelves, a girl excitedly grabbed her friend’s hand, eyes shining, “Oh my gosh, how sweet!”
“Aww, they’re really cute together.”
“Quick, take a picture, let’s post a couple photo!”
Ji Leyu heard their commotion, looked over, and saw two girls standing not far away, watching them from a distance.
Seemingly caught off guard by his sudden awareness of them, both girls looked a bit embarrassed.
Ji Leyu smiled at them briefly, said nothing, and turned to walk towards Lin Fei.
The two girls instantly breathed a sigh of relief, then couldn’t help but exclaim, “Ji Leyu is really handsome!!!”
“And so cute!”
“So gentle.”
“He’s handsome, cute, and gentle, if I weren’t taken, I’d like him too.”
“Exactly.”
Lin Fei finished paying and walked out with the books and Ji Leyu.
Just as they stepped out of the bookstore, someone went to ask the store owner which books he bought, wanting to get the same ones.
Without hesitation, the owner listed a series of book titles, successfully increasing sales.
In the evening, after taking a shower, Lin Fei was sitting on his bed reading when he suddenly received a new message from Zhong Kou Shuo Jin—a nighttime cityscape photo indicating he had arrived in X City.
Lin Fei replied calmly: [Hmm.]
Seeing he showed no intention of meeting up, the sender didn’t say much either, just adding: [Then I’ll go pack up my things. I have to report to school tomorrow, so I might not be able to read tonight.]
Dragon: [Hmm.]
However, despite what he said, around 11 PM, seemingly done with his tasks, Zhong Kou Shuo Jin came online again and read for a while, leaving his comments on some of the passages Lin Fei had highlighted.
Lin Fei received a system notification and discussed it with him for a bit, then continued reading his unfinished book.
Ji Leyu was playing on his phone. When he opened WeChat, he saw that the class monitor in the senior class group mentioned that there would be a new transfer student coming to their class tomorrow.
There are quite a few transfer students this semester, Ji Leyu thought, but it doesn’t really concern him.
Unbothered, Ji Leyu put his phone aside, turned around, and hugged Lin Fei. “Sleep, sleep, it’s time to sleep.”
“Let me finish this part,” Lin Fei said softly.
Ji Leyu leaned over, looked at the text on Lin Fei’s phone, yawned out of boredom, and rested his head on Lin Fei’s shoulder.
After Lin Fei finished reading the entire chapter, he finally put down his phone and turned off the light to sleep.
“Good night,” Ji Leyu said sweetly.
“Good night to you too.”
Ji Leyu responded with a soft “Hmm,” hugged him tighter, and suddenly remembered something. He looked up at Lin Fei, “Where’s the love letter I gave you?”
“I put it away,” Lin Fei said calmly.
Ji Leyu was satisfied, “I put mine away too. I even found an envelope to keep it in. Did you put yours in an envelope?”
“Yes,” Lin Fei replied.
He hadn’t found a suitable envelope, so he folded one himself, placed the letter inside, and put it in his drawer.
Ji Leyu remembered how Lin Fei had said in class that it wasn’t necessary, yet now he had carefully kept it, which made Ji Leyu secretly happy.
But as he was feeling happy, he remembered something else.
He turned on the light, opened the drawer of Lin Fei’s bedside table, and took out a notebook and pen.
“Rule 374: No writing love letters to anyone else!!”
After writing it down, Ji Leyu turned the notebook to show Lin Fei, “You’ve now seen a love letter, written a love letter, and your youth is without regrets. So from now on, you can’t write love letters to anyone else, okay?”
Lin Fei raised an eyebrow, “So you admit now that what I wrote this afternoon was a love letter?”
Ji Leyu: …
Ji Leyu puffed his cheeks and reluctantly said, “It’s just barely acceptable”
After saying that, he added begrudgingly, “But your behavior is really cheating. How can a love letter have no emotions at all?”
“How does it have no emotions?” Lin Fei disagreed. “Emotions aren’t limited to just love; earnest advice is also an emotion. Limiting love letters to only romantic love is too narrow-minded.”
Ji Leyu: ??? Can you even say that?
Why is it that when you speak, you always argue like this!!!
Ji Leyu puffed his cheeks again, “So, do you promise me?”
Lin Fei raised his hand and pinched his cheek, thinking he really overthinks things.
“Other than you, no one else would dare ask me to write a love letter.”
Hearing this, Ji Leyu immediately felt proud, “Even if someone else asks, you can’t write it.”
Lin Fei: …
“Okay.”
“You’re also not allowed to listen to them.”
“…Okay.”
“And you can’t look at them either.”
Lin Fei: …
Ji Leyu leaned closer, “You’re not even allowed to touch them.”
Lin Fei: …
“Why don’t you just remove the word ‘love letter’ from my dictionary?”
Upon hearing this, Ji Leyu immediately extended his hand, “Give me your dictionary.”
Lin Fei: …
Lin Fei couldn’t help but laugh, looking down with a smile.
Although his younger brother was really selfish, unreasonable, and demanding, he was also truly adorable.
Lin Fei pulled up the blanket and lay down, “Let’s sleep.”
“So you promised me,” Ji Leyu quickly moved closer, his face near Lin Fei’s.
Lin Fei pinched his cheek, “If you delete those two words from my dictionary tomorrow, then I promise.”
Ji Leyu couldn’t wait until tomorrow. He immediately got out of bed, ran to his desk, opened the dictionary, and used a marker to thoroughly black out the words “情” (love) and “书” (letter), leaving no trace that those words had ever existed.
“Done.” He ran back to the bed, happy.
Lin Fei looked at his proud expression and couldn’t help but think how incredibly childish he was.
Silly.
But also very cute.
“Good night,” he said softly.
Ji Leyu put away the notebook, turned off the light, and lay back under the blanket, his tone cheerful, “Good night.”
A night of good dreams.
Author’s note:
Feifei: He’s so cute.
Xiaoyu: [Nods frantically.jpg]
[Mini Theater]
Xiaoyu to people who don’t like Feifei: My brother is so excellent, and you don’t like him? Are you blind?!
Xiaoyu to people who like Feifei and want to get close to him: My brother is so excellent, do you think you deserve him?!
Xiaoyu: I think unrequited love is just right. No way, no way, is there really someone who doesn’t secretly love my brother? Are they that blind?
Feifei: … That’s not really necessary.
[About love letters]
Feifei: Broaden your perspective.
Xiaoyu: !!! You’ve broadened it too much!