Chapter 54

In the dozen or so steps it took Han Inspector to walk toward her, Lu Qingmo felt the scholarly shirt on his body fade, become a youthfully bright white T-shirt, those legs too become healthy — as if in an ordinary between-classes break, Han Inspector had come to wait for her class to end.

The Multimedia Auditorium was not its now-renovated form either; stepping onto the platform one could hear the wooden floor creak. They had conducted many a diplomatic rehearsal on that platform, and after each one, Han Inspector would smile at Lu Qingmo and say: 'My questioning is complete, thank you for your answer, dear diplomat.'

They might originally have become colleagues, if not for Han Inspector's leg having become this way.

'Came over as soon as class ended, but only caught a bit of the ending.' Han Inspector stopped in front of Lu Qingmo. 'Everyone had been looking forward to this lecture for a long time.'

She did not know who 'everyone' referred to — the dean, the students, or someone else.

'It can only count as sharing a little experience.' Lu Qingmo avoided Han Inspector's eyes. 'I didn't speak very well.'

'If even a League diplomat doesn't speak well, then no one could do better than you.' Han Inspector looked at Lu Qingmo. 'Last time we were pressed for time, I didn't get to chat with you more.'

He paused, then asked: 'Work must be very tiring.'

Lu Qingmo's hand on her bag tightened little by little: 'It's all right.'

Still unable to chat more, both fell silent. One quietly watching the other, one avoiding the gaze — though there was much that could be said, only it could not be spoken.

Blood mingled with mud, pleas shouted hoarse in a rainy night — that night one always refused to recall, refused to remember, had already passed so long ago.

Long enough to grind away every spirited edge, drown out all the youthful recklessness, leaving only the meter of distance and the silence of reunion.

'I have class next period, need to head to the classroom.' Han Inspector glanced at his watch. 'What about you?'

'Going to a meeting.'

'Then be careful on the road.'

'Mm.'

The first swimming class of the semester — Class One and Class Two together. The two classes' athletic schedules overlapped heavily; every event needed to be tested within a month, to serve as the physical education score reference for Early Admission.

Gu Yunchi had, quite rarely, come to school this afternoon, but his complexion was terribly poor, dragging his desk-mate Lu Heyang into looking unusually gloomy as well.

'Anyone who didn't know would think they'd had a fight.' He Wei, returning with Xu Ze from the office after submitting materials, glanced toward Class Two's back door and remarked.

Only after He Wei said this did Xu Ze realize that Lu Heyang and Gu Yunchi had not had a fight.

'So they haven't fought.' Xu Ze said.

'What would the two of them have to fight about.' He Wei sat down in his seat, draped an arm across Xu Ze's back and leaned close. 'Since you definitely won't spread it around, let me tell you secretly.'

'In half a month is Grandpa Gu's birthday banquet, they'll probably announce Yun Chi's engagement at that time.'

Xu Ze was startled: 'An engagement now?' — they had only just started their final year of senior high.

'Of course it won't be a proper ceremony, just bringing that omega out to meet the Gu Family. But Grandpa Gu carries the most weight in the whole family — introducing someone specifically at his birthday banquet is no different from a direct engagement.'

'So fast.' Xu Ze couldn't think of another adjective, only felt it was too fast.

He had thought Gu Yunchi should be the least constrained of the three — in family background, in personal temperament, in every respect. But after only one summer, the freest among them was the first to be shackled; it was rather startling — or perhaps he was simply seeing too little of the world. In families like Lu Heyang's, authority had always stood above kinship; elders were not purely elders, but the embodiment of another kind of power.

'That omega is also at Preparatory Academy. I hear his family's company is nearly bankrupt — if not for his high match with Yun Chi, the Gu Family wouldn't consider this marriage. But there's no helping it, who made Yun Chi's constitution so…' He Wei stopped himself mid-sentence. 'Ah, forget it, forget it. Swimming class soon, let's warm up.'

He Wei had lately taken to arm-wrestling with Xu Ze; though he had never once won, it didn't stop him from wanting to compete with Xu Ze every day.

He extended his hand toward Xu Ze, and Xu Ze took it. Xu Ze had not touched many people's hands — among alphas, probably only Lu Heyang and He Wei's, both beautiful, smooth, finely shaped, the look of lives pampered, untouched by any hardship.

Elbows propped on the desk, He Wei watched their hands intently, while Xu Ze seemed to be off somewhere in his mind. The fist slowly tilted toward the right, He Wei's eyes lit up, his expression excited — but Xu Ze came back to himself, added pressure at the wrist, and pressed He Wei's arm down to the desk on the left.

'Doesn't matter, losing to a boxer isn't shameful.' He Wei always consoled himself this way. He pulled Xu Ze's hand over to look at the calluses in his palm. 'Little Ze, let me ask you — if it weren't for your good relationship with Heyang, would you arm-wrestle with me every day?'

He had expected Xu Ze to at least hesitate, but Xu Ze only paused for half a second, then answered: 'Probably not.'

'At least you said 'probably' — thank you for your consideration.' He Wei smiled.

'Xu Ze.'

The classroom was a bit noisy; He Wei heard nothing, but Xu Ze immediately turned his head and saw Lu Heyang standing at the back door.

'Heading to the Swimming Pool.' Lu Heyang said to him.

Xu Ze nodded, drew his hand out of He Wei's, picked up his bag. Only then did He Wei turn and find Lu Heyang looking at him.

'Why are you looking at me like that.' He Wei was baffled. 'You've been corrupted by Gu Yunchi.'

On the way to the Swimming Pool, He Wei suddenly patted Gu Yunchi's shoulder and pointed toward the equipment room: 'Hey.'

Xu Ze turned to look as well. On the corridor outside the equipment room, an omega carrying a backpack was walking. Xu Ze found he had a slight tendency toward nearsightedness; he narrowed his eyes slightly but still couldn't make out the omega's profile clearly — only knew that the other kept their head lowered, looking very pale and very thin.

The shift in alpha Pheromone in the air was plainly perceptible; He Wei promptly poked Gu Yunchi's Wristband, turned the setting up, then advised him: 'Murder is illegal, don't be impulsive — he's innocent too.'

'Kill you first if anyone's getting killed.' Gu Yunchi glanced at him and said coldly.

Swimming class ended; Xu Ze returned to the locker room. His training results today ranked first among all S-Class; the teacher only said 'keep it up' and readily let him leave first.

Xu Ze sat in the locker room for a while, until he heard the dismissal whistle sound from the venue, then stood up, took his clothes and went to the shower stall to rinse off.

Just as he hung up his clothes, the stall door was knocked a few times. Lu Heyang said from outside: 'You forgot your towel.'

Although he could have simply taken the towel over the top of the stall, Xu Ze still pulled the door open and said: 'Thanks.'

The locker room and corridor were noisy with chatter; the shower stalls were, for the moment, empty — very quiet. Xu Ze grabbed the towel, but Lu Heyang did not let go, was pulled a step forward by Xu Ze's force, and walked into the narrow stall.

He shut the door behind him with the back of his hand, did not give Xu Ze much time to be startled, and leaned in to kiss Xu Ze on the mouth — a greeting-like, brief kiss. Lu Heyang immediately tried to straighten up, but Xu Ze carefully chased the kiss upward; he always became the one to reach first at moments Lu Heyang did not expect.

Kissed Xu Ze — whose technique still had not improved — for several minutes. During those minutes, other alphas had already swiftly finished showering; the clamor converged on Lu Heyang and Xu Ze from all sides, then receded. In the end Lu Heyang pressed Xu Ze's hip bones, pushing him back against the wall, and reminded him in a very soft voice: 'Xu Ze, this is the Swimming Pool.'

Xu Ze looked at Lu Heyang for several seconds without blinking, then shifted his gaze away.

Since the start of the semester, he and Lu Heyang had not had much time alone, because Lu Heyang had also begun not coming to class often this term — sometimes arriving in the afternoon, sometimes not appearing all day. In He Wei's words, he had 'caught Gu Yunchi's bad habit,' but Xu Ze knew that was not the reason.

He did not even have time to feel panicked; he could only silently count, estimating when the countdown timer would be pressed.

'Heyang, are you done?' He Wei called out before leaving the shower area.

'No, you all go ahead, the driver will come pick me up.'

'Alright, what about Xu Ze?'

'He got out early, already left.' Lu Heyang's hand rested on Xu Ze's waist as he answered calmly.

He Wei 'oh'd and left. Lu Heyang turned back to look at Xu Ze and told him: 'This semester I probably won't come to school every day.'

Xu Ze did not seem to have any objection; he lightly nodded: 'Okay.'

He did not ask why, not even a trace of puzzled expression — only a very peaceful, obedient acceptance of this reality. Lu Heyang looked at Xu Ze's face. Once, Xu Ze would have asked him whether he was going abroad; now not a single word, as if he had already made full preparations, only waiting for Lu Heyang to wave and bid him farewell.

Xu Ze's various ways of doing things were all very simple — no entanglement, no demands, and he did not need others to explain to him or be responsible to him. Even if Lu Heyang drove him somewhere, dropped him off halfway, and left him alone on the roadside, he would only silently watch the direction the car had gone, wait a while at the spot, and if no one came, walk forward on his own. He would not chase after the car, much less call Lu Heyang to ask why you abandoned me.

'Also can't often text you or call you.' Lu Heyang said in a joking tone. 'If it gets monitored that wouldn't be good.'

'Okay.' Lu Heyang's words should be hinting that Xu Ze should not be the one to initiate texts or calls to him. Xu Ze gripped the towel in his palm, still nodded: 'I won't bother you.'

A few water droplets slid down from Xu Ze's temple; his face was somewhat pale, and he began to regret his having reached first a few minutes earlier, thinking he must have done many things that were unnecessary for Lu Heyang.

'Don't do this kind of reading comprehension, you'll get zero.' Lu Heyang's voice was even; he raised his hand to pinch the back of Xu Ze's neck, lifting his head up so that those deep gray eyes looked directly at him. 'That's not what I mean.'

Xu Ze slowly asked: 'Then what do you mean?'

Neither an accusation nor a retort, carrying no negative emotion — only because Lu Heyang had said that was not what he meant, Xu Ze wanted to seek an answer for his zero-score reading comprehension, wanted to understand the exact meaning. If Lu Heyang did not wish to answer, that was fine too.

He felt Lu Heyang's hand on the back of his neck tighten.

The shower stall of the Swimming Pool — this was not the best, most perfect place, nor was it the best time now. Not just this moment, this day; perhaps for several years to come, it would not be the right time to voice this question — but Lu Heyang asked it anyway.

'Xu Ze.' Lu Heyang let go, straightened his back, and looked at Xu Ze's quiet face — the one that still did not know what was about to happen — and asked him: 'Have you considered being with me?'