Chapter 60

Ji Lianyi held that pose for a long time.

She was wearing a simple silk blouse and white dress pants. She'd just wrapped up nearly half a month of intense work and been through a ten-plus-hour flight, but she still looked polished and put-together.

She saw the band-aid on Yu Fan's cheek and his hair, longer than it had been at parent-teacher conferences, and couldn't help frowning. Then she saw Yu Fan's hand pressed against her son's face, and that initial flicker of distaste hardened into seriousness.

'Were you two fighting?' Ji Lianyi asked after a long moment.

Only then did Yu Fan realize how stiff his expression was.

He breathed a quiet sigh of relief, let his features slacken into something even more careless than usual. 'Just came to get something from him...'

Before he could say the word 'money,' someone grabbed Yu Fan's wrist and lowered it back to his side.

Chen Jingshen had just showered. His palm was a little cool. They touched briefly, then let go. Chen Jingshen said flatly, 'He came over to do homework with me.'

...

Ji Lianyi knew exactly what kind of student Yu Fan was. Her expression turned even more complicated. Her narrow eyes lifted slightly, flicked to the band-aid on Chen Jingshen's neck, then dropped to scan the shorts Yu Fan was wearing.

Yu Fan's lips had just parted when Ji Lianyi suddenly relaxed her brow and nodded. 'I see.'

'It's late. You should be done by now.' She looked at Yu Fan. 'Do you need me to have the driver see you out?'

Yu Fan shoved one hand in his pocket. 'No need.'

The driver behind Ji Lianyi, silent as a mouse, was holding the luggage. When Yu Fan walked up to him, he stepped aside. Yu Fan brushed past his shoulder and left without looking back.

'Lao Wu, you can head back too.'

'Okay.' The driver set the luggage down immediately. 'I'll pick you up at nine tomorrow evening sharp.'

The door closed. Ji Lianyi put her handbag on the shoe cabinet and casually tapped open the surveillance feed for the security door, watching Yu Fan leave as she changed her shoes.

Chen Jingshen looked away and silently went to pick up Ji Lianyi's luggage case.

'Why is Yu Fan wearing your pants?' Ji Lianyi asked suddenly.

'I got his dirty, so I gave him a pair.' Chen Jingshen asked flatly, 'Did you eat dinner?'

'I had a little on the plane.' Ji Lianyi asked gently, 'You really didn't fight?'

'No.'

'Then what happened to your neck?'

'I scratched it by accident.'

Ji Lianyi thought back to the two boys' expressions just now. They really didn't seem like they'd been in a conflict. She nodded and didn't ask more.

She'd been busy with work and the divorce proceedings lately, had been a bit neglectful of her son, which was why he'd ended up hanging out with a student like Yu Fan.

But it was fine. Once this busy period was over, things would be okay. She calculated in her head: there were only about ten days left in the semester. It'd be a hassle to switch his class now.

'That's fine.' Ji Lianyi said. 'Why did you cover up all the surveillance cameras at home these past few days?'

'They're uncomfortable.' Chen Jingshen said flatly.

Ji Lianyi was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. 'You're grown up. Mom can understand that. But I didn't install the cameras to spy on you. It's for your personal safety. Can you understand that? Mom is doing this for your own good.'

Chen Jingshen looked down at her and said nothing.

'Don't block the cameras outside the rooms from now on.' Ji Lianyi gave the order lightly, her hand resting gently on Chen Jingshen's shoulder. 'Mom's going to cook herself some noodles. Want me to make some for you?'

'No need.'

'Okay. Tomorrow I'll have the housekeeper come over to do a deep clean and make a pot of chicken soup. I'll have dinner with you before I leave in the evening.' Ji Lianyi headed toward the kitchen, then suddenly thought of something and turned back. 'Oh, and you don't need to get those pants back either.'

On the way home, Yu Fan chewed through an entire pack of gum.

He sat in the last row of the bus, staring blankly out the window, his mind a mess. He checked his Mobile Phone every few minutes, but still hadn't gotten a reply from Chen Jingshen.

It wasn't until he got home and was showering that his phone, sitting on the bathroom counter, finally gave a slow ping. Yu Fan didn't even dry his hands before grabbing it.

[-: Got caught?]

[s: No.]

One word. Yu Fan's tense nerves suddenly relaxed. His shoulders slowly dropped. He tossed the phone onto the counter and stepped back under the shower.

With his mind at ease, Yu Fan realized belatedly that it had been a long time since he'd felt that panicked.

Ever since it was just him and Yu Kaiming at home, he'd been indifferent to a lot of things. He was alone, with no attachments, no worries. He didn't care what people said, didn't fear any consequences.

So if he was with Chen Jingshen, then he was with him. Early romance, gay, whatever — it didn't matter.

But Chen Jingshen wasn't like him.

Just now, the thought of anyone finding out Chen Jingshen was gay and dating someone like him made his scalp prickle and his mind churn.

He'd have to be more careful from now on. At least, he couldn't go to Chen Jingshen's house anymore.

Coming out of the bathroom, Yu Fan hesitated for a moment, then put Chen Jingshen's shorts back on. They felt too big to wear out, but for sleeping they were fine — roomy.

[s: But we can't watch the movie tomorrow.]

With one worry off his mind and a shower under his belt, Yu Fan was feeling pretty good now.

Cicadas were chirping outside the window. He lay on the bed, one hand behind his head, typing lazily.

[-: Oh, then next week]

Chen Jingshen replied with an 'mm,' then sent a picture. [I'll bring it to you Monday.]

Yu Fan opened the picture and saw the black pants he'd taken off and tossed into a corner, completely forgotten until he left. His nerves jolted.

He closed the picture and opened it again. After three times, he still couldn't help zooming in for a closer look.

The pants were lying in a basin full of water. To take the picture for him, Chen Jingshen had lifted a corner of the fabric out of the water with one hand.

Yu Fan looked at the tastefully decorated bathroom, then at the water in the basin, stained by the cheap pants. He really wanted to type and tell Chen Jingshen to throw that piece of crap away.

In the end, his gaze landed on Chen Jingshen's hand.

Chen Jingshen's fingers were long and slender, with prominent knuckles. They didn't show much when he held a pen, but when he exerted force, the veins would stand out slightly — like when he lifted the waterlogged pants, or when...

Fuck.

Yu Fan threw his phone aside, reached over to turn on the fan, and blasted his brain clean with the highest setting.

—

Yu Fan washed Chen Jingshen's shorts clean and brought them to school on Monday, swapping back for his own pathetic piece-of-crap pants.

To make it easier to carry the pants, Yu Fan specifically dug out that thing from his closet that he hadn't used in years.

So when first period ended, all his few buddies at school crowded around the window by his seat.

'Holy shit, so I wasn't seeing things during morning reading? That thing on Yu Fan's shoulder is really—' Zhu Xu asked in disbelief, '—a backpack?!'

Yu Fan: '...'

'I was fucking shocked too! When I saw it, I thought I was still dreaming, not awake yet,' Wang Luan'an said.

Zhang Xianjing: 'You're not the only ones. When Fang Qin passed by their seats, she thought the top student was carrying two backpacks today.'

Zuo Kuan reached through the window, picked up the backpack hanging behind Yu Fan's chair, and weighed it in his hand. 'Not heavy either. What's in it? You didn't stuff a bat or a knife in there, did you...'

Zuo Kuan had itchy fingers. As soon as he said that, he reached for the zipper.

Yu Fan was half-asleep. At that, he immediately turned around and slapped Zuo Kuan's hand. But because he moved too fast, he bumped the desk as he turned. The pen on the desk wobbled violently and rolled off the edge with a clatter—

Then it was caught midair and placed back on Yu Fan's desk.

Chen Jingshen glanced at the half-finished test paper on Yu Fan's desk and tapped a finger on one of the problems. 'Wrong step.'

Yu Fan's face was full of aggression from being provoked by Zuo Kuan, but when he saw Chen Jingshen's hand, his temper suddenly died down. '...Oh.'

When he turned back to the window, he was already lazy again. 'Touch my stuff again, and I'll cut your fingers off.'

Zuo Kuan: '...'

'Hey, while we've got time, tell us what really happened that day,' someone outside the window said. 'I heard Yu Fan stood up his girlfriend for Zuo Kuan?'

Yu Fan: '...'

Seeing the person next to him silently spin a pen, Yu Fan really wanted to wad up the curtain and shove it in their mouths. 'That was because he came through for me last time with Ding Xiao. I was just returning the favor. It wasn't my intention...'

'Shh.' Zuo Kuan put a finger to his lips. 'Stop fronting, Yu Fan. I get it. Brothers are limbs, women are clothes. I won't say more, but I've got this favor written in my heart.'

Yu Fan: 'I...'

'Oh, you guys reminded me.' Zuo Kuan pulled out his phone. 'Those assholes somehow got my number, sent me texts cursing us out, and said they want another fight.'

Yu Fan: '...'

Wang Luan'an immediately got excited. 'Damn! They still dare to come! That day was so sudden, I didn't have time to call a lot of my guys. This time we'll beat them into submission!'

Zuo Kuan: 'Of course! I already traded three thousand insults with him in texts last night. We're meeting this afternoon in the alley behind the school—'

'I'm not going,' Yu Fan said.

The heated discussion came to a halt.

Wang Luan'an was stunned. 'Why not?'

'I get it,' Zuo Kuan said, turning his phone around to show him. 'You must not have seen how that bastard insulted us. Look, he says if we don't show up this time, we're cowards, and from now on in Nancheng City, every time he sees us, he'll beat us up!'

'Haha!' Wang Luan'an let out an exaggerated snort. 'Reply to him right now. Tell him the last person who dared to say that to Yu Fan spent three months in the hospital. Tell them to reserve their beds in advance—'

Yu Fan was unmoved. 'I said I'm not going.'

'Why?' Zuo Kuan couldn't understand. 'You're not chickening out, are you?'

'Does it look like it?'

Yu Fan leaned back in his chair, pressing against someone's shoulder, and said flatly, mumbling, '...My partner won't let me.'

The back of the Classroom went dead silent for a few seconds. Everyone's eyes went wide.

Only his deskmate stopped writing and quietly tilted his head to the side.

'You...' Zhang Xianjing frowned in confusion. 'Didn't you say you broke up?'

'We made up,' Yu Fan said coldly.

Wang Luan'an: 'Didn't you say that person was ugly and annoying and clingy, and that dating him in the first place was you being blind...'

Yu Fan: 'I went blind again.'

Zuo Kuan: 'Then how about this: go fight secretly. He won't know. We'll definitely keep it a secret...'

Yu Fan: 'Thanks, but no thanks.'

If his partner didn't have sudden hearing loss, he probably already knew by now.