Evening self-study started at 7:30.
Coming out of the Academic Affairs Office, Ye Ran and Shen Shi each carried a stack of books. The evening breeze was gentle, the tree shadows faint and swaying.
The camphor trees gave off a faint fragrance, lingering at the tip of the nose.
The teaching building was brightly lit.
There weren’t many people in the corridors or on the stairs. Evening study was about to begin, and the students were all in their classrooms chatting and joking around.
Ye Ran walked neither fast nor slow. A few meters ahead, a Shen Shi who looked like he had swallowed a firecracker kept a cold face, deliberately keeping some distance from him.
Ye Ran looked at Shen Shi’s back with a smile. The shallow tree shadows swayed slowly, and in their movement, it felt as if years and years had passed.
The still-young Shen Shi wore a simple school uniform. His shoulders weren’t as broad as they would be in the future, and his personality wasn’t as steady as it would become. He walked in the shifting light and shadow, unable to hide his emotions in his eyes. He clearly feigned indifference, yet always stole glances at him, and occasionally slowed down at turns, waiting for him to catch up.
“Hey.”
The boy’s voice suddenly came. Ye Ran snapped back to himself and saw that Shen Shi had already stopped at a corner, turning slightly to the side to size him up. The youth’s bones were thin and sharp. His features were outlined half-bright, half-dim under the moonlight. His brows and eyes looked down from above with a hint of arrogance as he asked:
“Did you know me already?”
Ye Ran felt a little itch inside, like an unruly wolf pup had scratched him with its paw.
Light and airy, yet it made his eyes suddenly brighten.
He liked Shen Shi’s proud and unrestrained manner.
It was a version of the boy he had never seen before, a charming young rake of a youth.
“Yes,” he nodded with a squinty smile. Just as Shen Shi was about to curl his lips uncontrollably, Ye Ran added, unhurried: “Your self-reflection letter is still on the bulletin board. I saw it when I first came.”
Shen Shi’s smile froze. His pupils shrank sharply. He tightened his grip on the books in his hand. After a long while, his voice finally squeezed out from between his teeth: “…Oh.”
After spitting out that word, he turned around and walked off.
His expression was so dark it looked like it could drip water. His strides were long, as if he wanted to fling Ye Ran a thousand miles away immediately.
But Ye Ran seemed completely unaware. Hugging his books, he hurried after him, still smiling in his eyes. Tilting his head, staring at Shen Shi’s tense jawline, he asked: “What bad thing did you do? You even had to write a self-reflection.”
Shen Shi pressed his thin lips together, not wanting to answer him.
Ye Ran didn’t mind and asked tentatively, “Did you get into a fight?”
A cold snort escaped Shen Shi’s nose. His eyelids drooped, and he still didn’t look at him, allowing Ye Ran to walk right beside his arm, matching steps with him.
“Oh, not that,” Ye Ran blinked. “Then you must have skipped class?”
…Why was this person so concerned about him?
Shen Shi shot Ye Ran a sideways glance, his mood lifting a little for no reason.
Ye Ran walked very close. The late-autumn heat had yet to fade, and the night was still stuffy.
He must be afraid of heat, his nose beaded with a thin layer of sweat. Even his eyelashes seemed dampened, dark as if drawn with ink, outlining the lifted curve of his outer eyes.
Those always-gentle, always-smiling eyes watched him, as if carrying spring water so lush it could drown a person. His heartbeat sped up uncontrollably, thumping hard, the sound echoing in his ears. A strange restlessness rose within him.
His mood suddenly worsened again. He slowed down irritably, a dark expression on his face, and listened to Ye Ran continue asking questions about him with full focus.
“So it’s not skipping class either?” The person beside him drawled lazily, his smile deepening. Shen Shi didn’t lift his eyelids, but his fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of his book as he heard Ye Ran ask lightly: “Don’t tell me it was puppy love.”
Boom.
A thunderous sentence.
Shen Shi’s heart stopped for a moment. Without thinking, he snapped his head toward Ye Ran.
Ye Ran: “Was it with that… oh, Xu Qingshu—”
“Of course not!” Cutting him off abruptly, Shen Shi’s breathing turned rapid. His eyes were dark and heavy, a flash of coldness and ruthlessness streaking through them as he pressed down his temper and asked, “Who told you that?”
Ye Ran had only been here one day. How could his information be that well-informed?
Realizing something, Shen Shi narrowed his eyes. “Zhang Xuyang?”
Good old Zhang Xuyang. Quick-mouthed indeed.
Clinging to Ye Ran all day wasn’t enough, he even dared to spread rumors?
Seeing how anxious Shen Shi was to deny it, Ye Ran lifted a brow, the corner of his mouth curling slightly.
Around the next corner, they would reach Class Three.
At that moment, a figure stood at the back door of Class Three, quiet and motionless, seemingly watching them.
Ye Ran slowly withdrew his gaze and said, “It wasn’t Zhang Xuyang.”
Shen Shi’s anger surged even more. He had always been self-willed, independent, intolerant of even the slightest resistance.
Hearing Ye Ran refuse to name the person, he pulled at his lip. His eyes darkened to something frightening, carrying an unconscious depth not meant for someone his age. Yet his voice was indifferent as he said, “Tell me who it was. I won’t go after him.”
Ye Ran didn’t notice anything off.
He was watching the figure ahead with interest. When the figure swayed, stepped slowly out of the shadows, and blocked the only path back to their classroom, Ye Ran finally spoke:
“Oh, I guessed it myself.”
“I saw you sitting quite close to someone in the cafeteria earlier—”
“Yo,” he suddenly stopped, curled his lips, “it’s this classmate, isn’t it?”
…
The noisy sounds from Class Three drifted over with the wind.
As they turned the corner, the classroom lights, blocked by the windows, spilled slanted shapes onto the corridor floor.
A boy he didn’t know stood amid the shifting light and shadow. His face was pale. His thin wrist looked so fragile it seemed like it would snap with one bend. He held a black insulated food bag with a logo.
“Shen Shi…” His voice was thin and soft. His eyes never once landed on Ye Ran. With lowered lids, he completely ignored Ye Ran. “Where did you go?”
Hearing him, Shen Shi frowned. He didn’t understand why Xu Qingshu, a student from the humanities class, came to the science class building. “What do you want?”
His tone was not polite.
But Xu Qingshu seemed not to notice. He lifted the insulated bag slightly, raising his eyes. His sickly pale face was tinged with a faint red, as if he had walked a long way. “I remember you didn’t eat much for dinner, so I asked my family’s driver to bring something over…”
“It’s Song Ji’s private dishes. I remember you like them,” he said softly.
Xu Qingshu had delicate features. Because he was sickly, his lips were always pale.
This sickly look made many people keep their distance. Yet he himself didn’t know that, in the two years of high school, many who had spoken badly of him behind his back would mysteriously find themselves unlucky afterward.
Either a teacher scolded them for not being united, or after school someone would suddenly drag them into a sack for a beating.
Over time, everyone could vaguely guess why, and disliked him even more.
Shen Shi was completely immune to his sickliness. He only slowly lowered his eyelids, glancing at the insulated bag in Xu Qingshu’s arms, and asked with unreadable emotion: “How did you know I’ve been to Song Ji?”
Xu Qingshu: “I saw you there once.”
Seeing him once was enough to know exactly what he ate?
The feeling of being watched returned in full force.
Shen Shi was completely disgusted, and when he thought of how Ye Ran actually suspected he had something going on with Xu Qingshu, that breath stuck in his chest, turning into raw hostility.
His gaze grew dark, his thin lips pressed into a straight line, and with no expression at all, he was about to walk past Xu Qingshu into the classroom.
For someone like Xu Qingshu, ignoring him was the method he found the most unbearable.
Sure enough, Xu Qingshu suddenly began coughing violently. He coughed so hard his whole body trembled; the watching classmates all silently cursed in their hearts, knowing he was once again pretending to be pitiful.
But Shen Shi didn’t even spare him a glance and walked straight into the classroom.
From beginning to end, he didn’t show Xu Qingshu even the slightest special reaction.
Only at the last second before entering the room did Shen Shi, who had been icy and indifferent to everyone, suddenly turn his head, pressing down his brows, restraining his temper, and impatiently urging, “Are you coming in or not?”
The classmates all froze.
Following his line of sight, they saw Ye Ran quietly standing in the shadows.
Xu Qingshu also slowly stopped coughing, straightened up, and stared unblinkingly at Ye Ran with those pitch-black eyes.
Ye Ran was holding a stack of books that were clearly far too light, just workbooks and practice papers.
He replied obediently, “Oh, coming.”
Shen Shi’s expression was still terrible, but he didn’t move. He simply stood there, silently waiting for him.
No one else noticed his reaction.
Only Xu Qingshu’s expression changed. A stagnant, death-water sort of smile slowly surfaced in his eyes, and for the first time, he truly looked at Ye Ran.
As if he wanted to carve every feature on Ye Ran’s face into his mind.
Light flowed across Ye Ran’s body like water.
He stepped out from the shadows, dressed in his loose school uniform, black hair, red lips, white teeth, his figure slender like a bending willow branch, so fresh and tender it seemed he could drip water. His entire aura was unique as well, a soft, slow, water-like gentleness.
Even doing nothing at all, he made it impossible to look away; one simply wanted to quietly keep watching him.
Xu Qingshu’s heart instantly tightened. Trembling, he stepped sideways, blocking Ye Ran’s path.
Ye Ran stopped walking and asked him, “Is something wrong?”
“A little,” forcing down the unease and anger in his chest, Xu Qingshu also smiled, speaking in a soft, gentle voice: “Are you Shen Shi’s classmate?”
“Yeah, I just transferred today.”
“These books are yours…?” His eyes moved slightly, looking at the books in Ye Ran’s arms.
“Oh, I couldn’t carry them all myself,” Ye Ran said with a squinty smile. “So I had Shen Shi help me.”
“Is, is that so?” Xu Qingshu’s breathing became uneven. He forced himself to stand straight, his face extremely pale. From an angle invisible to others, with his eyelids lowered, he whispered very quietly, “This is really not good. From now on… you should stay away from Shen Shi.”
This was far too improper.
Xu Qingshu’s fingers clenched tightly, barely suppressing the jealousy boiling inside him.
How… how could someone get close to Shen Shi like this?
It was too wrong… far too wrong.
Ye Ran’s smile slowly faded, and he stared at him calmly.
From a distance, Shen Shi seemed to sense something as well. He clicked his tongue irritably and was about to walk over, but after Ye Ran cast him a cool, indifferent glance, he furrowed his brows and forcibly stayed where he was, not moving.
Ye Ran lowered his head again, looking at the boy in front of him.
Xu Qingshu’s face turned visibly red. A sickly smile appeared on his face, and just as he was about to cough again while clutching his chest, Ye Ran suddenly interrupted him, speaking calmly: “I advise you not to do that.”
Xu Qingshu’s smile froze.
He saw the extremely indifferent look in Ye Ran’s eyes.
Ye Ran stood in the light and shadow near the wall, his features delicate and gentle, an undeniably heart-stirring face, yet the way he looked at Xu Qingshu was like an adult looking at a child, bored and composed.
There was even a hint of amusement.
“Classmate Xu,” he slowly bent down a little, he was half a head taller than Xu Qingshu, and when his voice softened, it had a natural warmth Xu Qingshu could never imitate: “Use the same trick too many times, and it gets boring.”
Xu Qingshu’s pupils shrank, the black depths trembling. He gripped the clothes over his chest tightly, his face flushed red from holding back, staring blackly at Ye Ran. He opened his mouth: “You, you…”
Ye Ran withdrew his gaze. As he walked past him, his voice remained gentle: “Put away those little schemes of yours. If you keep pestering Shen Shi, I won’t just talk next time.”
Ordinary high schoolers might be intimidated by Xu Qingshu’s frail condition.
But in Ye Ran’s eyes, Xu Qingshu was nothing more than someone taking advantage of an information gap, using the fact that Shen Shi had fallen out with his family and wouldn’t report him to Father Shen or mother to push his luck.
Even in the real world, Shen Shi could have handled him in ways his parents would never find out about.
Not to mention that Ye Ran was here now as well.
His little Shen Shi should remain proud and arrogant, just like his little peacock.
Everything else, Ye Ran would handle.
Thinking this, Ye Ran’s mood grew even better.
But Xu Qingshu’s body trembled uncontrollably.
Even though his rational mind told him this Ye Ran shouldn’t have such ability, his subconscious produced a deep fear.
Even when Ye Ran safely reached Shen Shi’s side, he still stood there blankly, unable to return to himself.
…
In the classroom, due to the viewing angle, everyone had only vaguely seen Xu Qingshu and Ye Ran exchange two sentences. Then Ye Ran walked away with a smile, his expression unchanged, steps light, looking completely unbothered.
The girls in the class immediately let out a sigh of relief and all began criticizing Xu Qingshu.
Shen Shi, face cold, waited until Ye Ran reached him. Then he lowered his head and stared at him expressionlessly: “What did Xu Qingshu say to you?”
The shadow cast from his body spilled across the floor. His expression was hidden in the dimness, a kind of calm that was unnerving.
“Nothing much,” Ye Ran thought for a moment. “But I asked him a few questions.”
“You asked him questions?” Shen Shi’s brows furrowed. A moment later, he remembered Ye Ran earlier asking whether he and Xu Qingshu were dating. His heart instantly filled with hostility, his eyes going dark as ink, and he said in a cold, mocking voice: “What could you possibly ask him? Ask him if I’m dating him?”
…What?
Ye Ran finally realized something was off about his mood.
Just as he was about to explain, Shen Shi fixed his gaze on him, those dark eyes thick as ink. In the noisy classroom, his voice was chillingly clear and disgusted: “Ye Ran, I’m not gay.”
Even just thinking of that word made intense revulsion and repulsion spill into Shen Shi’s eyes.
His scalp tingled; it was a physical, visceral discomfort.
Ye Ran’s explanation halted. He slowly lifted his head and looked at Shen Shi with an expression that made it difficult for Shen Shi to meet his gaze, strange, quiet, unreadable. “Oh, you’re not gay.”
That’s right.
So there was no way he and Xu Qingshu would have anything between them.
Shen Shi let out a cold laugh, looking at him leisurely, waiting for him to soften again like before, smiling as he coaxed him.
This time, no matter what Ye Ran said, he wouldn’t be fooled.
If Ye Ran dared ask for anything again, he would—
“That really is a coincidence.” Ye Ran suddenly spoke.
Shen Shi looked at him suspiciously.
Coincidence? What coincidence?
“You’re not gay,” Ye Ran said with a smiling squint, “but I am.”
As if he didn’t sense the instant silence in the air.
Ye Ran’s smile was as soft and gentle as always. He watched Shen Shi with interest, very curious about his reaction. So he added, “Tell me, isn’t that quite a coincidence?”
Shen Shi: “…”
Shen Shi: “…………”
Shen Shi: “…Huh?”
Author’s note: Little Shen: Who am I? Where am I?
