Within a two-meter radius centered on Bo Jin and Xie Ruan’s table, silence fell.
Sun Haoxiang, watching Bo Jin’s expression, held a piece of crispy chicken between his teeth, not daring to bite down. He just let it sit in his mouth.
He Mingjie, already hunched over, now wished he could crawl into an eggshell and hide every last strand of his hair.
Pan Yu kept his head down, spooning his food as quietly as possible, terrified of making any noise.
In the eerie silence, Bo Jin finally spoke calmly, adding a jab as he did so.
“Yeah, he’s great in every way, just a bit contrary. Don’t take him too seriously.”
Sun Haoxiang, He Mingjie, and Pan Yu, who were all trying to maintain as low a profile as possible: “???”
Bo Jin reached out, pulling Xie Ruan, who was still oblivious to the situation, into his arms and playfully ruffled his hair. “He’s just sulking, being a little petty with me.”
Xie Ruan: “…”
He looked up, bewildered. “Who’s being petty with you? Bo Jin, do you have—”
Before he could finish, Bo Jin pushed his head back down.
“Shh—just help me out,” Bo Jin leaned close to his ear and whispered. “We’re all competition team members, so I can’t reject him outright.”
At first, Bo Jin had thought Xie Ruan was just being playful, but looking closely, he seemed genuinely indifferent.
What was going on? Was Xie Ruan really so magnanimous that he didn’t care if someone else tried to make a move on him?
Bo Jin thought about it—if some guy had asked for Xie Ruan’s WeChat in front of him, that guy would leave limping.
He put aside his doubts for now, focusing on locking down their public image as a couple. He didn’t want shameless people on the forum calling him “husband” all the time.
Xie Ruan wasn’t exactly happy about being used as a shield. Being someone’s cover wasn’t as easy as it seemed—it could come back to haunt him.
He muttered under his breath, “Aren’t He Mingjie and Pan Yu here too? Why use me?”
Bo Jin looked at the stray lock of hair poking out from Xie Ruan’s head as he squirmed in his arms, his heart melting a little. He reached over to smooth it down, chuckling softly, “Because you look good.”
Xie Ruan froze, unable to stop the smile creeping up his face.
Bo Jin said he looked good!
Guess even this jerk could give a compliment.
Happiness and excitement quickly replaced his frustration over the question he’d changed.
Feigning modesty, Xie Ruan adjusted his expression. “I guess that’s true.”
Fine, since he was being sincere, he’d help him this once. What could he do? He was big-hearted and generous.
He lifted his head, his fine-featured eyes shining with a bit of pride. Leaning close to Bo Jin’s ear, he whispered, “Just this once.”
Bo Jin chuckled softly. “Mm, thank you.”
“No problem.”
Feng Qiao, still standing there with his phone in hand: “???”
Hello? Did anyone remember he was the one asking for WeChat?
He was still standing here, and these two were already getting all cozy? Didn’t they know not to hurt others if they didn’t intend to return their feelings?!
With a bitter look, Feng Qiao glanced at them one last time before turning and leaving.
If the door was shut, and even the window was closed, what was he standing around for? To watch them show off?
As he left, he opened the school forum and clicked into the top post, pouring out his heartbreak word by word—
“To everyone up there calling them ‘just friends’—die already! D*mn it, Bo Jin and Xie Ruan are real! Don’t ask how I know. Just know that I sacrificed myself for the public good.”
At that time, the cafeteria was packed, and there was no way to hide what had happened. His reply quickly attracted a lot of comments.
“Hahaha, I know who posted this! Got it, thanks for the heads-up!”
“Live from the cafeteria, just watched the two of them hugging. Yep, they’re definitely dating.”
“I don’t care about anything else, but their visuals are a perfect match.”
“Still, Xie Ruan’s change of heart sure is impressive.”
…
After releasing Xie Ruan, Bo Jin scrolled through the thread and nodded in satisfaction at the responses.
Yes, his efforts hadn’t been in vain.
Xie Ruan, unaware that this incident had permanently linked him to Bo Jin, mentally prepared himself to continue the charade, only to look up and see that Feng Qiao had already left.
Xie Ruan: “…”
He suddenly felt like he’d thrown a punch into thin air.
He picked up his spoon and said to Bo Jin, “It’s not that I didn’t want to help you. He left on his own.”
Bo Jin hummed, letting him eat without further interruptions. “Next time, then.”
Xie Ruan swallowed his stuffed tofu, looking at him with a strange expression. “Bo Jin, could you stop being so narcissistic?”
“Next time? How do you know someone else will ask you for WeChat?”
“I can,” Bo Jin raised an eyebrow, meeting his gaze with a smile. “Then it’ll be you in love.”
Xie Ruan took a second to realize what he meant, then kicked him under the table. “Get lost!”
Sun Haoxiang, He Mingjie, and Pan Yu: “…”
They hadn’t eaten much, but somehow, they suddenly felt full.
After changing the correct answer to an incorrect one on the language exam, Xie Ruan had a moment of clarity and reflected on it for an entire evening. He decided that from now on, if he was unsure about an answer, he’d trust his first instinct and not change it, no matter how much he second-guessed himself.
In the next few exams, he stuck to this principle and, sure enough, got two fewer questions wrong.
When he finished his last chemistry exam, Xie Ruan packed up and returned to the classroom.
The room was filled with laughter and chatter. No one was talking about the just-finished monthly exams; everyone was busy discussing where they planned to go during the upcoming two-day break.
“My dad’s friend invested in a resort,” Sun Haoxiang said, crunching on a chip. “It’s famous for hot springs. The water comes directly from the volcano—not just boiled tap water. I’m planning to go soak in it.”
He brushed the crumbs off his hands, opened a bottle of mineral water, and took a sip. “Are you guys in? It’s a bit far, at the foot of a mountain, but it should be worth it.”
He Mingjie asked, “How much does it cost?”
Pan Yu, looking intrigued, raised his head from his book.
“It’s pretty cheap since it just opened,” said Sun Haoxiang. “A hundred and eighty for the hot springs, and if you want to stay, it’s just under two thousand a night.”
“Just under two thousand…” He Mingjie rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to smack him. “No thanks! I’d have to think twice even if it were two hundred.”
“Think bigger,” Sun Haoxiang said, throwing an arm around He Mingjie and pulling Pan Yu’s arm. “You really think I’d make you guys pay? I have tons of coupons for the hot springs and accommodations at home, so I figured we could just use them all up together.”
He Mingjie’s attitude changed in a second. “Brother Haoxiang, count me in!”
Sun Haoxiang shivered, annoyed. “Get lost!” Then he turned to Pan Yu. “What about you, Old Pan?”
Although Pan Yu was studious, he wasn’t a total bookworm, so he didn’t hesitate. “I’m in!”
“Alright!”
Before asking, Sun Haoxiang had worried they’d think it was too far and wouldn’t want to go. Going alone wasn’t much fun, so now that he had two on board, he felt confident. He turned to Xie Ruan, who’d just entered the room, and asked, “Little Xie, you want to come? The more, the merrier.”
Xie Ruan found it odd that he was being asked before Bo Jin, so he thought about it and turned to Bo Jin instead of answering. “Are you going?”
He’d been wanting to ask Bo Jin about his plans for the break but hadn’t found the right moment.
In the original story, it only mentioned that Bo Jin took his own life before graduation, but there were no details on when or where.
With less than a year left before senior year, Xie Ruan had been feeling unsettled.
If Bo Jin went, he’d be able to keep an eye on him, and even if Bo Jin’s emotions spiraled, nothing serious would happen. If he didn’t go, then he’d have to find out his whereabouts in detail.
Bo Jin had been pondering over Xie Ruan’s attitude toward Feng Qiao that day. He sensed something was off.
If someone else showed interest in your crush, wouldn’t you feel a little jealous?
But Xie Ruan hadn’t shown a single sign of that.
Was it that he trusted him too much, or was there some other reason?
Just as he was about to turn to Google for answers, he heard Xie Ruan’s question.
Bo Jin smiled, “I’m going. What about you?”
He figured he’d been overthinking it; if Xie Ruan didn’t want even two days apart, wasn’t that love? His reaction in the cafeteria must have been out of shyness.
Sure enough, in the next second, Xie Ruan replied, “I’ll go too.”
“Perfect!” Sun Haoxiang snapped his fingers. “Then how about meeting at the school gate at two o’clock tomorrow afternoon?”
“Sounds good.”
With his doubts resolved, Bo Jin’s mood improved, and he asked Xie Ruan, “Where do you live?”
As Xie Ruan packed his books to take home, he replied, “Tianming Garden in New Town, West Station.”
Before Bo Jin could respond, He Mingjie piped up, “Wow, isn’t that the complex that’s always on the news?”
Remembering all the quirky things about his complex, Xie Ruan chuckled, “Yeah, that’s the one.”
He Mingjie laughed, explaining to the confused Sun Haoxiang, “Their complex has lots of slopes because it’s near a mountain. It’s nicknamed ‘Little Chongqing.’ The first floor leads to a road, the second floor leads to a road, and even the third floor leads to a road. People get lost in it all the time, haha.”
“No way, that’s so cool?” Sun Haoxiang was wide-eyed with excitement. “Little Xie, we gotta check out your place sometime.”
Xie Ruan pressed his lips together, a bit awkward as he changed the topic. “By the way, do we need to bring anything to the resort?”
Not noticing, Sun Haoxiang answered without a second thought, but Bo Jin picked up on it.
Xie Ruan wasn’t usually reserved, so something about his home must make him uncomfortable.
Bo Jin watched him tightly purse his lips, lost in thought.
As they spoke, their homeroom teacher, Sun Fuan, walked in.
He handed a stack of test papers to the class representative and told him to distribute them, then announced from the podium, “Over break, stay safe, don’t wander off, and if you have nothing to do, stay home and work on your homework. Finals are coming up, and if you don’t work hard now, you won’t even want to attend family gatherings over New Year’s.”
Knowing the students were eager to leave, Sun Fuan didn’t linger.
He asked the class rep if other teachers had assigned homework, and after getting confirmation, he waved his hand to dismiss the class.
Xie Ruan’s home wasn’t close to Shijia High School, but luckily there was a direct subway line. However, it was rush hour, and the station was packed. After missing two trains, he finally squeezed onto one, arriving at his complex around 7:30 p.m.
As he crossed the small garden downstairs and was about to head to the lower level to take the elevator, he saw his stepfather, He Jinqing, standing outside the convenience store, chatting with a few neighbors while sipping sweet soup.
He Jinqing was a local of Shencheng. He had come into possession of two apartments and a shop after some demolition compensations. Not wanting to work anymore, he opened a convenience store in the neighborhood to make ends meet.
Xie Ruan walked over and greeted him, “Uncle He.”
“You’re back, Little Xie,” He Jinqing said, giving him a lukewarm glance. “Head upstairs; your mom’s waiting for you.”
Xie Ruan nodded and turned to leave, but He Jinqing stopped him.
“Oh, right, the store’s stock needs replenishing today. Take the items from the storage to the shop. I’ve already organized everything.”
Having long since grown used to being ordered around by He Jinqing, Xie Ruan wasn’t surprised and nodded. “Sure.”
He bypassed the convenience store to enter the basement parking lot.
From a distance, the voices of He Jinqing and his neighbors drifted into his ears, unmuted.
“Old He, your kid here is pretty obedient, huh?”
“Obedient? Nah, His grades are terrible; there’s no way he’ll get into college. He’s just cut out for carrying bricks on a construction site in the future. Since he’s not my biological son, I don’t really have much say. I can only let him do more work so he can get used to it early.”
“You’re a great stepdad. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to raise someone else’s kid for free.”
“What can I do? His real dad lost everything and committed suicide. There weren’t any relatives on that side, so I couldn’t exactly send him off to an orphanage.”
“So, what happened to his dad? I remember hearing bits and pieces about it.”
“Oh, it’s just the usual rich-kid story. Made some bad investments, lost the family fortune, and couldn’t take it anymore. That’s all.”
“Tsk, tsk, that’s really something…”
Xie Ruan clenched his fists, quickened his pace into the elevator, and shut out those voices full of gossip and schadenfreude.
“Xingxing’s back!” Seeing Xie Ruan, Chen Wei was delighted. She put down her younger son, He Chen’s, workbook and got up. “Why so late? I’ll fix you something to eat.”
She wore a simple almond-colored wool sweater, and under the living room lights, she looked like a lily in quiet bloom—gentle and serene. Even at over forty, she was still beautiful in a way that made it hard to look away, and Xie Ruan had inherited much of her looks.
“The subway was crowded, and I couldn’t get on,” he replied, looking down as he changed his shoes. Noticing the fatigue on her face, he didn’t want to trouble her, so he volunteered, “After a day of exams, I don’t have much of an appetite. Just a bowl of noodles will do.”
Chen Wei paused, a bit surprised—this was the first time he’d mentioned anything about school at home.
She smiled happily and quickly went into the kitchen.
“Hey, bro.” He Chen greeted Xie Ruan with a serious look. At first glance, you might think he wasn’t happy to see his brother, but the little guy was actually thrilled inside.
“Yeah.” After hearing what he had downstairs, Xie Ruan wasn’t in the mood to cheer anyone up. He simply acknowledged him and sat down on the sofa, closing his eyes to rest.
Children are naturally perceptive, and He Chen sensed his brother’s low spirits. He kept quiet and didn’t disturb him, even turning his workbook pages gently.
Chen Wei was quick; soon, a steaming bowl of noodles was ready.
The noodles were stir-fried with shredded lean pork, topped with two poached eggs, and sprinkled with a light layer of scallions, making it very appetizing.
Xie Ruan thanked her, quickly finished his food, washed his dishes, and grabbed the storage keys, ready to head back out.
“It’s so late—where are you going?” Chen Wei frowned almost imperceptibly. Her older son was fine in most ways, but he had a rebellious streak.
“Uncle He asked me to move the stock.”
Chen Wei’s lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she didn’t. She simply watched her son’s slightly thin figure and reminded him, “Come back up early when you’re done.”
“Okay.”
The storage room held a lot of heavy items that needed to be moved to the store, mostly things like bottled water.
Xie Ruan knew that He Jinqing had probably held off restocking just so he could do it during his short holiday.
He gave a slight, sarcastic smile, dragged the handcart over, and began loading the bottled water onto it.
The warehouse was close to the store, but the path was sloped. Going downhill wasn’t bad and saved some effort, but going back up was a struggle, and he had to exert several times more force to haul a full cart uphill.
Though Xie Ruan was reasonably fit, he was exhausted and barely felt like moving a finger by the time he’d finished moving everything, soaked in sweat from head to toe.
He wiped his sweaty hair, adjusted his expression to look as relaxed as possible, and opened the door to his home.
A delicious aroma greeted him instantly, and he paused, glancing toward the source of the smell.
He Chen sat on the sofa, holding a bowl of noodles, nibbling away slowly.
The portion wasn’t large, but the ingredients were generous. It was full of beef balls and shrimp—completely different from the simple stir-fried noodles he’d had earlier.
Chen Wei gave an awkward smile when she noticed her older son’s gaze. “Your little brother’s still growing, so he needs to eat well.”
Xie Ruan lowered his eyes and said nothing.
“Bro, you want some?” He Chen offered a shrimp with his chopsticks.
He remembered that his brother liked shrimp.
After a few seconds, Xie Ruan said, “No, thanks,” and walked quickly to his room.
Behind him, he heard Chen Wei’s gentle voice: “Alright, Chenchen, your brother doesn’t want any, so just eat by yourself. Don’t pick at it; you’re dripping soup everywhere.”
“Okay.”
Sitting in his chair, Xie Ruan felt a tightness in his chest, like something was stuck—an uncomfortable, bitter feeling. He needed a distraction, or he felt like he’d burst.
He fumbled for his phone and sent a message to Song Xinghe:
[Your bro Xie]: What’re you up to?
It took a few minutes for Song Xinghe to reply.
[Rank-Up Little Song]: Gaming.
[Rank-Up Little Song]: I’ll talk to you later. Let me finish this match first.
Xie Ruan pursed his lips, closed their chat, went back to his contact list, and thought about finding someone else to talk to.
“Anything would do, just someone to chat with.
Yet, after looking around, he couldn’t find a suitable person.
His finger swiped back and forth on the screen, pausing once more on Bo Jin’s icon. Xie Ruan hesitated for a moment but finally tapped on it.
The cursor blinked in the chat box as Xie Ruan stared at his phone screen, wanting so badly to chat but not knowing what to say.
Forget it. Xie Ruan let out a small smile and was just about to lock his screen when his phone suddenly buzzed.
He instinctively looked down—
It was a voice call from Bo Jin.
Xie Ruan hesitated but accepted it.
Bo Jin’s warm voice came through the speaker, “Want to talk about something?”
Xie Ruan was startled. “W-What?”
How did he know I was about to message him?
“I saw you were typing for a while,” Bo Jin said, his voice gentle and indulgent in the quiet of the night. “When you didn’t send anything, I had to call you.”
