The boy carried Jiang Wu all the way to the cafeteria.
Yin Wuzhi followed them the entire way, though he couldn’t explain why he felt compelled to do so.
The cafeteria was packed, and Jiang Wu was finally set down at the long table in the back.
It was then that Yin Wuzhi noticed the boy who had carried Jiang Wu upstairs earlier in the morning was also there. Not only had he saved them a seat, but he had already gone ahead and brought Jiang Wu his meal.
Yin Wuzhi was about to sit down when a commotion came from behind.
“Excuse me.”
A third boy appeared.
He sat directly beside Jiang Wu and said, “The usual.”
Then, the three boys began playing rock-paper-scissors.
In the end, the newcomer, Boy C, won. He smirked triumphantly. “Today, I’m feeding him.”
Jiang Wu opened his mouth, and Boy C fed him a spoonful of red bean porridge.
Yin Wuzhi’s face darkened.
He sat down next to them, drawing wary looks from Boys A and B.
“What’s his deal?” Boy A asked.
“I think he’s Jiang Wu’s deskmate,” Boy B replied.
“Hey,” Boy A addressed Yin Wuzhi directly, “are you trying to get a piece of this too?”
“What?” Yin Wuzhi looked incredulous.
“Then get in line.” Boy C, still feeding Jiang Wu, said casually, “We’ve already claimed him for this semester.”
Yin Wuzhi: ….
Yin Wuzhi’s chest heaved.
What the h*ll was he getting so mad about?
This was exactly the kind of thing Jiang Wu, that lazy bum, would do.
Ever since they were kids, Jiang Wu loved being carried around, whether piggybacked or hugged. Back in elementary school, he had practically climbed all over the teachers. He’d have turned the whole faculty into his surrogate parents if he could.
Yin Wuzhi always looked down on Jiang Wu’s good-for-nothing behavior.
Now in middle school, Jiang Wu was still the same useless freeloader. And of course, freeloaders had their own survival tactics—nothing surprising there.
Yin Wuzhi’s gaze landed on Jiang Wu’s open mouth as he was being fed.
He saw Boy C’s doting expression, one that resembled that of a loving father.
…It pissed him off.
Jiang Wu was just too outrageous, wasting his parents’ money like this.
Hold it in.
Tonight, he’d tell Uncle Jiang everything and have all of Jiang Wu’s pocket money confiscated!
Hold it in.
Jiang Wu licked his lips and said, “Fruit.”
Boy A promptly peeled a grape from the tray nearby and popped it into his mouth.
Jiang Wu chewed, frowned, and said, “Seeds.”
“My bad.” Boy B raised a hand apologetically. “I bought these in a rush this morning and didn’t have time to check. Next time, it won’t happen.”
Jiang Wu’s lips glistened as he said, “Don’t let it happen again.”
Yin Wuzhi couldn’t hold it in anymore.
Suddenly, he snatched the spoon from Boy C’s hand.
Caught off guard, Boy C exclaimed, “What’s wrong with you?”
Yin Wuzhi had intended to slam the spoon down in front of Jiang Wu and order him to eat by himself.
But when he opened his mouth, the words got stuck in his throat.
After a pause, he looked at Boy C and said earnestly, “I want to join you guys.”
Boy C raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t want any money,” Yin Wuzhi added. “I just want to help him. Is that okay?”
Boy C set the bowl down and gave Yin Wuzhi an appraising look, like a CEO evaluating a new hire. Then he tilted his head toward Jiang Wu. “What do you think?”
Half an hour later, Yin Wuzhi followed Boy B, who had won the round of rock-paper-scissors, to Jiang Wu’s dormitory. Boy B thoughtfully removed the smartwatch from Jiang Wu’s wrist, tucked him into bed, and pulled the curtains shut.
“If you wake up, just give us a call,” Boy B said.
“Mm.” Jiang Wu closed his eyes, looking perfectly at ease.
Boy B turned to leave, preparing to close the door behind him.
Pausing, he glanced at Yin Wuzhi and said, “Hey, let’s go. Don’t bother him while he’s napping.”
Yin Wuzhi smiled kindly. “This is my dorm too.”
Boy B looked doubtful. Yin Wuzhi pulled out a key, walked over to a storage locker, and unlocked the door.
Boy B scratched his nose awkwardly and added, “Well, just don’t make any noise. Otherwise, we’ll have to find some punks from off-campus to beat you up. It’s a hassle.”
The boy left.
Yin Wuzhi sat on his bed with a sour expression, thinking about how Jiang Wu had flatly said, “No.”
He had willingly offered to help, yet that lazy bum had the nerve to reject him.
Yin Wuzhi narrowed his eyes, stood up, and approached Jiang Wu’s bed, determined to teach him a lesson.
Jiang Wu had high standards for sleep. Before leaving, his classmates not only closed the room curtains but also drew the bed curtains.
He closed his eyes peacefully and soon fell into a deep sleep.
After fourteen years, his body had developed a precise biological clock. Jiang Wu woke up just half an hour before class was set to start.
Still groggy, he fumbled around for his smartwatch. Suddenly, the bed curtain was pulled back, and in the dim light, a familiar face peeked in.
Jiang Wu hazily recalled Yin Wuzhi often watching over him by his bedside in the past.
Unfortunately, that was a lifetime ago.
Feeling melancholy, Jiang Wu raised his smartwatch, only to have his wrist caught by Yin Wuzhi.
Yin Wuzhi felt deeply disappointed in himself.
He had intended to disturb Jiang Wu’s rest on purpose, to make him uncomfortable.
But as he crouched behind the bed curtain, listening to Jiang Wu’s steady breathing, he inexplicably found himself quietly keeping watch instead.
“How much money do you think you have to waste like this every day?” Yin Wuzhi said. “If you keep this up a few times a day, do you think your parents can afford it?”
Jiang Wu: “.”
“Your parents didn’t make their money out of thin air. You can’t just squander it like this.”
“…”
Good. It seemed the lazy bum was actually listening.
Yin Wuzhi shifted his grip on Jiang Wu’s wrist, lightly removing the smartwatch from his hand. “Transactions like this shouldn’t be happening at school. You wouldn’t want your parents or teachers to find out, would you?”
In truth, Jiang Wu didn’t care.
“Give it back,” he said.
“I’m holding onto it for now,” Yin Wuzhi said, tucking the smartwatch into his pocket. “Alright, get up, wash your face, and we’ll go to class together.”
“Give it back.”
“Why don’t you listen?”
“Give it back.”
“…Alright, how about this?” Yin Wuzhi sighed dramatically. “Your dad and mom watched me grow up, so for the sake of their wallets, I’ll carry you this once today. But just this once—don’t expect it again.”
Jiang Wu’s expression softened slightly. Perhaps his ex-boyfriend wasn’t entirely hopeless.
Seeing this, Yin Wuzhi raised his chin. “Hurry up and get up, or I won’t carry you.”
“?” Jiang Wu, who had been about to get up, slumped back down.
“I’m counting to three,” Yin Wuzhi said. “If you don’t get up, I really won’t carry you.”
Jiang Wu stared at him.
“One.”
He continued staring.
“Two.”
Still staring.
“Two and a half…”
Jiang Wu didn’t budge, his gaze fixed.
“….” Yin Wuzhi sighed, reaching out to lift Jiang Wu up and carry him on his back. Exhaling heavily, he muttered, “Three.”
On Yin Wuzhi’s back, Jiang Wu quietly curled his lips into a smile.
But the smile quickly faded.
He noticed that Yin Wuzhi was deliberately avoiding others while carrying him, as though it were some shameful act.
Yin Wuzhi carried Jiang Wu all the way to the classroom door, setting him down. “You go in first. I’ll come in later.”
In the neighboring classroom, a student—Student A—poked his head out to watch.
Someone tugged at him. “What are you looking at?”
Student A pulled his head back with a serious expression. “Someone’s trying to compete with us for Jiang Wu.”
Jiang Wu slumped over his desk. Nearly five minutes later, Yin Wuzhi strolled in nonchalantly, as if nothing had happened, and plopped into the seat next to Jiang Wu. He casually pulled a book out from the desk compartment and asked, “Those guys—why don’t you fire them?”
Jiang Wu: “No.”
“It’s not like you’re missing any limbs.”
“I am.”
“…” Yin Wuzhi gave him an exasperated look. “Did you finish this morning’s classwork?”
“…”
“Of course you didn’t.” Yin Wuzhi finished scribbling the last answer in his own notebook, then handed it to Jiang Wu. “Here, math. Copy it.”
Jiang Wu closed his eyes.
“Hurry up and copy it. When you’re done, I’ll even turn it in for you.”
“I’ll do it tomorrow.”
That sounded oddly familiar to Yin Wuzhi. He flopped over his desk and asked, “Be honest—did you find someone else to do your homework again?”
Jiang Wu: “.”
“You’re unbelievable,” Yin Wuzhi said.
“Humph.”
A humph.
Yin Wuzhi gritted his teeth. “Was it those same guys helping you with it?”
“.”
“How much do they charge?”
Jiang Wu opened his eyes, lazily rummaged through the desk, then looked at him quietly. “They don’t charge.”
“Don’t charge?!” Yin Wuzhi exclaimed. “Impossible.”
“It’s part of a package deal—free.”
This had to be a scam.
Yin Wuzhi realized that Jiang Wu was probably coordinating with them during breaks. Over the next few breaks, he declined invitations from his friends to go to the field, keeping an eye on Jiang Wu instead.
Although Yin Wuzhi left his seat occasionally, it was only to make room for others to approach Jiang Wu.
Sure enough, during the last break, a round-faced girl walked over to Jiang Wu, who was lying on the desk, feigning sleep.
The girl quietly sat on the stool in front of his desk. She brushed her hair behind her ear, looking shy and hesitant, and tilted her head to sneak a glance at Jiang Wu’s face.
Yin Wuzhi took two steps forward and sat at his seat, coldly staring at her.
Startled, the girl turned beet red and hastily tried to act casual. “Jiang Wu, wake up.”
Jiang Wu reluctantly sat up, leaning back lazily. Groggily, he reached under the desk and pulled out two notebooks—one completed by Yin Wuzhi, the other his own.
Yin Wuzhi: “.”
So every time Jiang Wu said he’d turn it in tomorrow, he was having the girl copy the answers onto his own notebook.
Before the girl could take the notebooks, Yin Wuzhi snatched his own away.
Girl: “…”
Yin Wuzhi declared, “My homework is not for others to copy.”
Jiang Wu tilted his head. “Yin Wuzhi.”
“No copying means no copying.”
“Yin Wuzhi.”
“I said no.”
“Yin—”
“Forget it,” the girl interrupted Jiang Wu, smiling sweetly. “I already know how to solve these problems. He can copy from me instead.”
Jiang Wu thought for a moment and nodded.
Yin Wuzhi immediately grabbed Jiang Wu’s notebook too. With a blank expression, he said, “If you write his homework for him again, I’ll report your puppy love to the teacher.”
The girl: “!!!”
Jiang Wu peeked open one eye.
That afternoon, after school, Yin Wuzhi didn’t drag Jiang Wu to the arcade as usual.
Instead, he followed Jiang Wu onto the same car home, sitting silently with a brooding expression as he stared out the window.
Once they arrived, Yin Wuzhi was the first to get out. The driver circled around to open the door for Jiang Wu, who stepped out leisurely and headed toward his house.
Yin Wuzhi followed closely, not letting him out of his sight.
Inside Jiang Wu’s room, Yin Wuzhi threw his bag onto the desk and confronted him.
“A package deal? Free? You’re quite the storyteller.”
Jiang Wu flopped onto his bed, not sparing him a glance.
Yin Wuzhi crouched down in front of him, cupped his face, and asked, “Are you in a relationship?”
Jiang Wu ignored him.
Yin Wuzhi’s expression turned fierce as he pinched Jiang Wu’s cheeks into a duck-like pout. “Spill it!”
With his lips puckered, Jiang Wu continued to ignore him.
It felt like punching a pillow—completely futile. Frustrated, Yin Wuzhi grumbled, “Don’t let her do your homework anymore. It’s not a good look.”
Finally, Jiang Wu glanced at him.
Realizing Jiang Wu responded better to softer tactics, Yin Wuzhi softened his tone. “Alright, how about this? If you really don’t want to do it, I’ll help you in the future—for free.”
Jiang Wu teased, “She’s free too.”
“That’s just part of the package deal,” Yin Wuzhi retorted. “Fire those guys who carry you and feed you. I’ll handle it all for free.”
Jiang Wu sighed. “The money’s already paid. Non-refundable.”
Yin Wuzhi racked his brain. “Think about it—you’re not at school every second of the day anyway. Just write off that loss. At home, I’ll help with everything too.”
“Housemaids. Parents. Don’t need it.”
