Chapter 55

In the after-school hours, the school radio station played some warm, youthful songs.

One of the speakers was set up right by the bleachers, so anyone walking past had to talk a little louder.

Right now, the broadcast was playing Landy Wen's 'Summer Wind'.

When it got to the line 'I see your cool smile has its shy moments too,' the class labor commissioner couldn't help turning around for the nth time to look at the person sitting a few steps behind her.

'Class Monitor, are... are you sure everything's okay?' Her voice trembled. 'Yu Fan's still got Chen Jingshen by the collar...'

Class Monitor Gao Shi sat with his legs apart, wiped the sweat off his forehead with a hand, and said, 'It's fine, they're really close.'

'Huh? But Yu Fan's face is really red, and his expression is so fierce...'

'He's definitely just hot, he was working so hard cleaning just now.' Gao Shi laughed a little. 'See, I told you before, Yu Fan's actually a really good guy, you just didn't believe me.'

But Chen Jingshen's ears were red too — could that be from exhaustion? The labor commissioner wanted to say something else, but then she saw Chen Jingshen turn his face away and laugh.

The labor commissioner stared blankly for a while, her heart racing from watching, until Yu Fan fiercely and domineeringly yelled at a student who'd littered below the bleachers. Only then did she snap out of it and turn back around.

'What are they talking about? Even the top student laughed.' Gao Shi also looked back, then after a few seconds said, 'The top student has a really nice smile, he just doesn't smile much, right?'

'Yeah, I guess...' The labor commissioner blinked and said, 'I don't know, I can't hear either. The music's too loud.'

When the song finished, the Student Council people finally showed up. The moment they looked up and saw that devilish face on the bleachers, they quickly lowered their heads and frantically checked off boxes on their clipboards, notifying them they'd passed inspection and could leave.

'Alright, give me the broom, I'll take it back to the classroom. You guys just head home, you'll have to come back tonight anyway.' Gao Shi stood up and patted the dust off his pants.

The labor commissioner shook her head. 'No need, I have to go back to the classroom to get my homework anyway, so I won't have to bring my bag here tonight to pack stuff.'

'True. Then Yu Fan, you coming back to the classroom with us too?'

'No need, I've already brought his homework.' Chen Jingshen stood up. 'We'll head back.'

Yu Fan: '...'

By this time, there weren't many students left on campus. Some were only leaving now after finishing their duty, walking alone with hurried steps; others had just finished playing ball with classmates, a few guys shoving and pushing each other as they headed toward the School Gate.

The last small group was pairs walking together — mostly one boy and one girl, maintaining a delicate and ambiguous distance between them, silently slowing their pace, inching toward the gate like snails, talking quietly and secretly.

Of course, there were also those who didn't say a single word.

Yu Fan walked forward with both hands in his pockets, not turning his head. His mind was still bubbling and fizzing, feeling belatedly embarrassed by what he'd just said, so his pace unconsciously quickened.

Until he got stuck behind two people walking slowly ahead of him.

The school's automatic sprinkler system had timed on, making half the adjacent path unusable, so Yu Fan was forced to follow behind them. After trudging along awkwardly for a while, he finally couldn't take it anymore, furrowing his brows in irritation just as he was about to speak—

The boy in front suddenly edged a little closer to the girl, his hand brushing against the back of hers.

The girl's laughter stopped instantly. She lowered her head, and then, in shy silence, they linked their hands together.

Yu Fan: '...'

How dare they be this blatant right on the school path?

Where's Fatty Hu? He's usually pretty fast when he's catching me.

Yu Fan's face was expressionless. After a few seconds, he pulled his hand out of his pocket, letting it dangle in the slightly stuffy air.

Normally, walking with his hands at his sides never felt like a problem, but now no matter how he positioned them, they felt stiff.

Fuck, am I losing it...

After fidgeting for a bit, Yu Fan couldn't help cursing himself internally. Just as he was about to shove his hand back into his pocket, the back of his hand was suddenly brushed.

Yu Fan instinctively grabbed back—

And caught something made of paper.

'?' He paused, looked down, and saw his physics workbook.

'The math test paper is tucked in there too. The school has an activity tonight, and it's due the day after tomorrow.' Chen Jingshen said.

'...'

Chen Jingshen watched him stare down without speaking for a long time and asked, 'What's wrong?'

Yu Fan woodenly bundled the homework together and carried it, saying stiffly, 'Nothing.'

As they neared the School Gate, the path finally widened. Yu Fan was about to go around the two people ahead when his clothes were suddenly tugged.

'Are you coming to watch the movie tonight?' Chen Jingshen asked.

Watching the movie was a task assigned by the Education Bureau — the school organized it once every semester, always showing positive, uplifting films.

To avoid taking up class time, their school always held it in the evening. They'd just set up a big screen on the School Playground, and students would carry their own chairs downstairs to sit. Supervision was lax; in the darkness, they couldn't really enforce discipline anyway.

Zhuang Fangqin always threatened Yu Fan with roll call, but Yu Fan was hard to scare and never went.

But Chen Jingshen couldn't possibly not go. If he went, there'd be no recording problems tonight, no video call, and no going to his house—

'I'll come.' Yu Fan mumbled vaguely in response.

He felt Chen Jingshen glance at him, and only after a long moment did he answer, 'Okay.'

-

After getting home, Yu Fan tossed the empty Cola can into the drawer and went into the bathroom to take a long shower.

Cold water pounded against the top of his head and slowly trickled down to his feet. Yu Fan held his breath and stood under the water for a long time, until he was almost suffocating before stepping forward to pull away. Then he leaned forward and smacked his head straight into the bathroom wall.

After that, he just pressed his forehead against the wall, lowered his head, and rubbed his face hard.

He and Chen Jingshen were dating.

Chen Jingshen even called him his boyfriend.

Fuck...

Even cold water couldn't stop the heat on his face. Yu Fan's head was burning, so he stepped back under the cold water again.

The movie started at seven in the evening, leaving the students with not much time in between. Yu Fan came out of the shower, changed clothes, and headed straight to School.

By the time he got to School, it was almost seven. Gao Shi was already at the Classroom door organizing the students to carry their chairs downstairs.

Since there was no evening study session, discipline was looser. Zuo Kuan had come straight to their classroom to sit and wait to go downstairs with Wang Luan'an.

The first thing Yu Fan did when he entered the Classroom was look at his deskmate's seat — empty, no one there.

'Yu Fan? Damn, I thought you weren't coming.' Seeing him, Zuo Kuan was startled. 'Why are your lips so pale.'

'Nothing.' Yu Fan asked, 'Time to go downstairs?'

'Hold on, no rush. The hallways are packed right now, it'll take forever to squeeze down. We'll wait until everyone's gone.' Wang Luan'an said with the air of experience.

Yu Fan grunted in acknowledgment, lazily sat down in his seat, picked up a pen, and spun it a couple of times before asking in a deliberately casual tone, 'Chen Jingshen didn't come?'

'Haven't seen him yet.' Just as Wang Luan'an finished speaking, he caught something in his peripheral vision and craned his neck to call out the window, 'Zhu Xu!'

The person outside stopped walking. 'What?'

'What are you doing?' Wang Luan'an asked. 'You're carrying two chairs to watch a movie? What, is your ass that big?'

'Wang Luan'an, are you brain-dead or something?' Zhang Xianjing was playing on her Mobile Phone nearby; she turned her head at that and said, 'Obviously he's carrying one for his girlfriend.'

Wang Luan'an: '...'

Zhu Xu, a burly athlete, gave a shy smile, dropped a 'I'm going, she's waiting for me downstairs,' and squeezed into the crowd on the stairwell with two chairs in hand.

Wang Luan'an muttered, 'We're only on the third floor, it's just one chair, isn't that a bit much?'

'You don't know shit. That's what they call boyfriend material.' Zhang Xianjing rolled her eyes at him, stood up, and tossed her phone into her pocket. 'Tingbao, let's go downstairs.'

Zuo Kuan suddenly stood up, putting on a cocky expression. 'Can your arm even lift a chair? Forget it, I'll help you—'

Zhang Xianjing lifted her chair with one hand and gave him a look that said, 'What the hell are you talking about?'

Zuo Kuan: '...'

People kept passing by in the hallway. Yu Fan sat there blankly for a while, then finally took out his phone and sent a message.

[-: Where are you?]

Soon, only the three of them were left in the Classroom, and the noise from the hallway had died down a bit.

The School Playground soon echoed with the sound of equipment being tested. Wang Luan'an put away his phone and jumped off the desk. 'Let's go too, or Fangqin's gonna yell at us.'

Yu Fan glanced at his perfectly clean phone screen. He was about to tell them to go ahead when his palm suddenly buzzed — a message popped in.

[s: School Playground. Got held up by the physics teacher on the way to the Classroom.]

Zuo Kuan had taken two steps carrying his own chair when his leg was suddenly nudged by a chair leg. He turned around. 'What?'

'Don't you like carrying chairs?' Wang Luan'an said. 'Here, you can carry mine down. I permit it.'

'Fuck off, I'll throw you and your chair off the third floor!'

'Damn, you favor women over men, you dog!'

The two of them traded insults for a while until the person behind them got impatient. 'Are you going or not? If not, move.'

'Fuck, Yu Fan, you be the judge — isn't this bastard favoring women over men...' Wang Luan'an turned around and stopped.

'I fucking wasn't...' Zuo Kuan turned around and also stopped dead.

-

At seven in the evening, the sky was completely dark.

Students from all three high school grades were crammed onto the School Playground, everyone pressed close together, which meant a lot of whispering. Hu Pang tried to maintain order through the microphone several times, but it was still rowdy.

'I know some of you don't like attending intensive training, but you should still think it over, alright.' After talking for about ten minutes, the physics teacher finally delivered his closing line.

'Okay.' Chen Jingshen said.

After parting ways with the teacher, Chen Jingshen glanced at his class's formation but didn't see the person he was looking for.

He checked his phone — no messages — so he decided to go back to the Classroom to find him and grab a chair. But the moment he turned around, he froze in place.

The School Playground was lit only by the streetlights and the faint glow from the screen. In the half-darkness, his deskmate was walking toward him carrying two chairs, expressionless.

Yu Fan shoved the chair onto the ground in front of him. Before he could speak, Wang Luan'an cut in, 'Top student, if your arms aren't strong enough to carry a chair, just tell me! Next time, I'll carry it down for you!'

Chen Jingshen: '.'

He glanced at his deskmate, who quickly looked away.

Chen Jingshen accepted the chair and said flatly, 'Okay.'

Because space was tight, their class was practically pressed up against Class Six and Class Eight.

The school administrators were all sitting up front, and since it was an extracurricular activity, the teachers turned a blind eye to what was happening in the back rows.

The movie was an old one from many years ago, with a serious and stiff tone — not many people were actually watching it. The boys in the last few rows had their chairs arranged all over the place, clustered together in a group, chatting and joking openly, lively and loud.

Another athlete from Class Eight said, 'Man, you guys missed it since you came down late — you don't know how disgusting Zhu Xu and his girlfriend were!'

Zhu Xu and his girlfriend were sitting together. The girl's face instantly turned red at the comment, and Zhu Xu covered her ears, laughing. 'Damn it, stop talking, you guys!'

'How disgusting? Spill it, spill it!' Wang Luan'an asked eagerly.

'So Zhu Xu carried her chair down for her, right? And his girlfriend was like, ahem — thank you, Baby Xu~'

'Fuck! Blegh!!!' Zuo Kuan laughed so hard he nearly threw up.

'Haha, and then Zhu Xu just ruffled her hair and was like, mm — you're welcome, that's what Baby's supposed to do.'

'HAHAHAHAHA!!!' Wang Luan'an laughed so loud it felt like Zhuang Fangqin's high heels were about to fly over from the front row.

Yu Fan couldn't help laughing along too, so when Chen Jingshen called his name, he only spared a moment to say, 'What?'

'Help me hold something.' Chen Jingshen said.

Yu Fan was still listening to the funny stories about Zhu Xu and his girlfriend. Without turning his head, he flatly held out his hand in Chen Jingshen's direction.

The next second, Yu Fan's laughter stopped.

Slender fingers threaded through the gaps between his, a warm palm pressing against his. Chen Jingshen held his hand intimately.

'Thank you, boyfriend.' Chen Jingshen said very quietly.

'...'

Yu Fan's laughter hadn't been loud to begin with, so no one noticed when it suddenly stopped.

But a moment later, Wang Luan'an said something else embarrassing about Zhu Xu, then suddenly turned around and asked, 'I saw it with Yu Fan, right, Yu Fan?'

Yu Fan paused, leaned back against his chair, stared at the big screen ahead, and answered distractedly, '...Yeah.'

Wang Luan'an turned back and kept complaining.

Their chairs were almost touching, their arms pressed together. Their intertwined hands were hidden between them, concealed in the secret darkness.

Even though he knew no one could see, Yu Fan still couldn't handle it.

It was just holding hands — how was he more excited than when he was fighting—

He stared stiffly at the big screen for a while, then couldn't help moving his fingers. 'Chen Jingshen... there are people everywhere.'

'Mm.' Chen Jingshen pressed his restless fingers back down. 'Your hands are really cold. Just a little longer.'

'...'

It wasn't until Zhuang Fangqin finally couldn't take the noise from the back rows anymore and came storming over from the front with murderous intent that their hands finally let go.

It had only been a few minutes, but by the time Yu Fan clumsily and stiffly shoved his hand back into his pocket, his palm and face were already burning hot.

The movie was about halfway through, and the boys had finally tired themselves out, falling into a brief silence.

Not long after, some people started getting restless, sneaking out of the School Playground when the teachers weren't looking. Half went in groups to goof off, and the other half...

The people in the very last row had an excellent view — they could see clearly who left and how they left.

When the first couple secretly slipped away, someone stirred up trouble and whistled.

Yu Fan blinked and didn't say anything.

The second couple, one after the other, lowered their heads and hurried away.

Yu Fan took advantage of a dark moment in the movie to sneak a glance beside him, then quickly looked back.

...

When Zhu Xu and his girlfriend got up to sneak off, Zuo Kuan couldn't hold it in anymore.

He leaned back in his chair, rocking it, and cursed, 'Fuck, the Experimental Building's probably completely taken over by these gross couples by now, right? Even Fatty Hu would be pissed!'

True.

Yu Fan didn't get it — how had he never noticed there were this many couples at their school??

After a little while longer, Gao Shi and the usually cold, aloof chemistry class rep from their class blushed as they scurried past him and Chen Jingshen.

Yu Fan: '?'

He watched Gao Shi leave the School Playground until he couldn't see him anymore, then slowly turned his head back — only to meet Chen Jingshen's gaze midway.

The light from the screen fell on Chen Jingshen's face, sharply outlining his features.

Chen Jingshen silently raised an eyebrow at him, the meaning clear: Us?

Yu Fan coldly narrowed his eyes, the meaning equally clear: Shut up, no way.

Chen Jingshen's eyes dropped, and he looked back at the screen. After a long moment, he said, 'Got it.'

Yu Fan was about to lower his head and keep playing on his phone when the person beside him said flatly, 'Two guys getting seen would make a bad impression, I know. It's fine.'

'...'

The movie was playing a thrilling scene — gunfire and explosions nonstop. The temporary speakers were poor quality, and the blast was grating on the ears.

Chen Jingshen frowned at the noise, then his arm was suddenly jabbed hard by an elbow.

He turned his head and saw his boyfriend scowling, gritting his teeth and whispering with the energy of someone about to start a fight, 'Come to the first floor of the Experimental Building in five minutes!'

Yu Fan stood up after saying that, but before leaving, he thought of something else, so he lowered his head again and gritted out through his teeth.

'You... walk naturally! Don't let anyone notice!'

Chen Jingshen said okay.

And then he watched his boyfriend walk toward the Experimental Building, body stiff, marching with the same arm and leg on each side.