Chapter 21
Note: Not proofreaded.
Because Shi Bufan’s words were too shocking to Zhen Yuanbai’s ears, he didn’t even have time to stop Shi Bufan from kissing his face.
What was Shi Bufan saying?
He liked him? He took the opportunity while Shi Bufan lost his memory to get closer to him? When did this happen?
Zhen Yuanbai subconsciously shook his head and said, “No, no. I didn’t…”
Shi Bufan continued to smile as if he had seen through everything. “If you don’t like me, why were you the first one to visit me?”
Because I…am scared of you dying… Zhen Yuanbai was confused and puzzled, feeling numbness in his fingers and held a dumbfounded expression.
Shi Bufan continued to ask in a gentle tone, “If you don’t like me, why did you pretend to be my good friend, but ended up hinting at our relationship?”
No, I’ve never hinted him once before.
“You think that you’ve hidden yourself, but you left too many clues. You said you want to be my good friend, but you said we ‘confirmed our relationship’ and that no one else knows about this. You said that I kept you as a secret from everyone else…From the start, you’ve been lying to me.” Shi Bufan smiled a pampering smile and said, “Later on, I noticed that whenever I tried to get closer to you, you would avoid me. What you say and what you do is completely different. Although you want to get closer to me, you reject me also well…You’ve been in a dilemma and I’ve been thinking about it. What is my Congming thinking about?”
Zhen Yuanbai held in his breath.
“After a while, I finally figured it out…You want to be with me, but you’re also that I might beat you up once I recovered my memory and realized that you were lying to get closer to me, right?”
“…” Zhen Yuanbai couldn’t say anything.
The conclusion sounded about right, but what exactly went wrong with the process? Why did Shi Bufan think he was scared that he found out he liked him?
He swallowed his saliva and took his time to mumble, “No, no…”
Shi Bufan squinted his eyes and said, “You’re saying that it’s all just one-sided love?”
Zhen Yuanbai wanted to nod his head, but his head seemed to be rigid. He looked at Shi Bufan terrifyingly while the latter rubbed Zhen Yuanbai’s delicate and soft face. “I’ve already said all of this. Aren’t you going to tell me the truth?”
If Zhen Yuanbai was brave enough, he would’ve mocked and laughed at Shi Bufan, telling him that he was just lying to him about being good friends, since he couldn’t come up with any other explanations. After that, the other lies were built upon the original lie and he was forced to keep up the act. You did think too much into my words. Not only don’t I like you, but I was the one who had hit your head!
But he wasn’t brave enough.
Shi Bufan had already noticed his swindle and even gave all the unreasonable parts to the story an explanation. Now, Zhen Yuanbai had two options. The first one was to say the truth and try his best to not make it sound like he was mocking him. But, speech was a type of art…It depended on the contents of Zhen Yuanbai’s words. As long as he was able to explain himself, no matter how tactful he tried to be, Shi Bufan would definitely smash his head in.
Don’t mention how Shi Bufan was injured because of him, but telling Shi Bufan that he was just thinking too much into this, would make him infuriated.
Second, he’d just follow along Shi Bufan for now and delay the beating he would receive. He’d pretend Shi Bufan was correct and Zhen Yuanbai could act as if he really did like Shi Bufan. Then, before the college entrance exam, he could find a reason to break up and steadily find and go to a college. The two would separate and do whatever they want. That way, as long as Shi Bufan didn’t recover his memory, he would never know about this.
But there was a flaw right now. Shi Bufan had lost his memory, so everything was based upon his guess. Even more, he might make this conclusion due to his first impression. Therefore, once Shi Bufan recovered his memory, he would know that not only wasn’t Zhen Yuanbai wasn’t his good friend, he had even dated someone who didn’t feel the same for him. When that day comes, Zhen Yuanbai might not just have his head smashed in.
Shi Bufan breathed on Zhen Yuanbai’s face and this made the latter feel goosebumps appearing on his body. He subconsciously trembled and listened to Shi Bufan say, “Why aren’t you saying anything? Am I wrong?”
“…Yes.” Zhen Yuanbai looked up and his eyes glanced around like a little animal, saying softly, “You, you are right.”
Shi Bufan laughed delightfully and he held Zhen Yuanbai in his arms. He could feel Shi Bufan’s chest vibrating, listening to Shi Bufan say in a pleasant tone, “Now that we’ve explained everything, what do you want to say to me?”
“…” Besides wanting to cry, Zhen Yuanbai was speechless.
He felt as if he was in a dead-end, the type where he narrowly escaped death. The doctor said that Shi Bufan had lost his memory due to external injuries. He is very young, so the cells could regenerate rapidly.
Zhen Yuanbai could only pray that Shi Bufan would not remember anything before they had gone to college. After all, with Shi Bufan’s current grades, he would definitely not be able to get into the same college as him. Even if Shi Bufan had high grades, wouldn’t there be numerous prestigious universities for him to choose from? If Shi Bufan chose Tsinghua University, he would choose Peking University. If Shi Bufan chose Fudan University, he would choose Jiaotong University…Plus, Shi Bufan’s family was wealthy and he might end up going to university abroad! That’d be even better!
Though Zhen Yuanbai’s dream was beautiful, when he thought about being forced to fake date Shi Bufan, he felt incredibly upset.
Shi Bufan hadn’t heard Zhen Yuanbai’s answer for a while and pushed him away from his arms to see Zhen Yuanbai pursing his lips and about to cry. Shi Bufan paused and knitted his eyebrows, asking, “Why are you crying?”
“Happy, happy to the point I want to cry, ok?” Zhen Yuanbai said this and held in the urge to choke with sobs. Heaven’s watching them. Why’d he have to do this?… Zhen Yuanbai had endured the countless times Shi Bufan had bullied him. So, why couldn’t he control himself from saving him? Shi Bufan had lost his face. Normally, he was able to skate normally as if he was on level ground, so why did he act below average that day? That shouldn’t be!!
Shi Bufan reached over and cupped Zhen Yuanbai’s face, feeling a tingle when he saw Zhen Yuanbai’s teary and glistening eyes. He reached over and kissed Zhen Yuanbai’s tears, saying, “Ok, don’t cry. This boyfriend will give you a kiss.”
Zhen Yuanbai immediately felt goosebumps rising on his body again. He pushed Shi Bufan and said, “Stop talking.”
Shi Bufan chuckled lowly and said, “Why don’t you shut my mouth then?”
It was clear what Shi Bufan meant by that. Zhen Yuanbai looked at Shi Bufan’s beautiful pair of lips and pursed his lips in dislike. He walked around him and out, saying, “I’m not going to talk to you.”
He’d already said this, so why was he still so shy?
Shi Bufan shoved his hands in his pockets and easily caught up to him, placing his arm around Zhen Yuanbai’s waist. He said, “What do you want to eat tonight? After dinner, I’ll take you home.”
“I don’t want to eat anything.” Zhen Yuanbai pushed Shi Bufan’s arm off his waist and said in a muffled voice, “Stop touching my waist.”
Shi Bufan withdrew his hand and said, “What do you want to do then?”
“Go home and do my homework.”
Shi Bufan invited him, saying, “How about you do your homework in my house?”
“No.”
Shi Bufan’s heart itched and softly said, “Why are you acting cute again?”
“Who, who’s acting cute?” Zhen Yuanbai glared and his voice has always been soft. When he finished crying, his voice became softer and it was extremely pleasant and cute to hear. Shi Bufan felt as if Zhen Yuanbai was a candy personally customized for him and he couldn’t help but lick him.
But they weren’t out of the school door yet, so Shi Bufan had to control himself. He said, “How about we do homework in the library then?”
“Noisy.”
“Then, we can find a high-quality restaurant and do our homework while eating?”
“I wouldn’t be able to stay awake after I’m done eating.”
Shi Bufan raised his brows. Why’d Zhen Yuanbai give him an attitude already when they just started dating? He placed an arm on Zhen Yuanbai’s waist and pulled him over, saying, “Let’s go watch a movie tonight, otherwise, I’ll kiss you right now.”
Zhen Yuanbai became quiet for a moment before saying, “But I’m not done with my homework yet.”
“Why do you always have so much homework?”
“You think it’s that easy to get first place?” Zhen Yuanbai said unhappily, “Besides the teachers, I even gave myself some homework to do.”
“Fine.” Shi Bufan didn’t want his treasure to neglect his duties like him either, saying, “Then, I’ll give you some homework too.”
Zhen Yuanbai’s beautiful eyes sparkled and he pursed his lips; he revealed a rare faint mocking smile, saying, “What homework are you giving me?”
“Kiss me.”
“…” Zhen Yuanbai’s mocking smile faded and he said, “Students should act like students. I need to do my homework first.”
“Couples should act like couples too. Why don’t you understand the basics?”
“What basics?” Zhen Yuanbai refused to listen to his nonsense, saying, “Stop blurting nonsense.”
“Your boyfriend is pampering you, so why don’t you consider pampering your boyfriend?”
Zhen Yuanbai mumbled.
While speaking, the two had arrived at the bus platform. It seemed like Shi Bufan was going to escort him home again. When they were originally good friends, Zhen Yuanbai was already afraid of being noticed by his parents. With this extra layer of relationship, he was even more afraid. He tugged Shi Bufan and said, “You don’t need to bring me home.”
“At least one of us needs to do the homework. Since you don’t want to, I’ll have to do it.”
Zhen Yuanbai’s face flushed and said, “But didn’t you…do that already?”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
Zhen Yuanbai looked left and right. It was rush hour right now and students wearing school uniforms were all around, chatting noisily. He didn’t dare to talk in a loud voice, so he tugged on Shi Bufan’s clothes. The latter didn’t cooperate with him and stood up straight. Since Zhen Yuanbai wasn’t as tall as him, he had no choice but to tippy toe and whisper in his ears, “Before, at the stairs, didn’t you…me?”
After he finished, he looked left and right guilty, scared that someone had heard him.
Shi Bufan held in the urge and softly said in Zhen Yuanbai’s ears, “You also know I had…you. I’ve turned in my homework, so where’s yours?”
Zhen Yuanbai knitted his eyebrows while Shi Bufan stood tall. Zhen Yuanbai had no choice but to stand on his tippy-toe and his soft breath sprinkled on Shi Bufan’s ears. “Then after turning in my homework, can you not bring me back home?”
From other people’s perspectives, it looked like two people talking secretly to one another. Shi Bufan’s lips almost touched Zhen Yuanbai’s ears and he said, “I can consider it.”
Zhen Yuanbai fiddled with his fingers in a dilemma and finally reached over to tug on Shi Bufan’s sleeves; the latter raised his brows and purposefully said, “Where are you going?”
“Go…” Zhen Yuanbai said while observing, “…to a place no one is at.”
At this time, Shi Bufan’s heart tingled, watching Zhen Yuanbai looked around sneakily. He held in his urge to laugh and allowed Zhen Yuanbai to tug him over, moving away from the crowd. They returned to the slope again and during this time, people would occasionally pass by it, but there were rarely any people. Then, they turned a corner of the slope. Even if someone had walked by, it was really difficult for people to find them.
While Zhen Yuanbai remained guilty, Shi Bufan leaned against the wall calmly and said, “You want to turn in your homework here?”
Zhen Yuanbai nodded, treating this seriously.
Shi Bufan looked around. By the other side of the slope was a forest and there were weeds and bushes here. It seemed like a good spot to “turn in his homework.”
He bent over and said, “Can we start now?”
Zhen Yuanbai took a step back.
Although Shi Bufan was very handsome, he was still a man. When Zhen Yuanbai thought about kissing him, he had to get himself in that mindset. Shi Bufan moved back and said, “Fine, we can do it slowly.”
He didn’t mind giving his friend a bit of time to act shy.
Zhen Yuanbai finally prepared himself and he looked over, slowly moving over. Shi Bufan cooperated and slightly bent down, seeing Zhen Yuanbai’s eyelashes flickering. One could tell that he was considerably anxious. Although Shi Bufan found this funny, he was also a bit nervous.
When their lips were about to touch, they heard a voice from above the slope, making Zhen Yuanbai take a step back.
Shi Bufan was speechless.
His heart tightened and then relaxed, as Shi Bufan licked his lips.
The person above the slope was on an electric bicycle and they quickly came down. The students talked while slipping off quickly.
The two on the bottom of the slope met each other’s eyes and their faces flushed. Zhen Yunabai prepared himself again and rapidly kissed him, saying, “Ok, let’s go back.”
Zhen Yuanbai turned around and ran off, making Shi Bufan unhappy. “I’ve turned in so much homework and you’re only planning on doing a little bit?”
“You said to just kiss you once. You didn’t say how I should kiss you.” Zhen Yuanbai had already run up and he turned around, saying, “Don’t you dare escort me. I’m going home now.”
Zhen Yuanbai ran to the bus platform and coincidentally, a bus came over. He didn’t wait for Shi Bufan to come over when he eagerly squeezed inside.
The bus was packed with people and Zhen Yuanbai was stuck in between. He recalled how Shi Bufan had blocked him from other people every time they were together on the bus and Zhen Yuanbai pursed his lips at the thought. His heart pounded quickly when he recalled kissing Shi Bufan’s lips.
Because of this layer of relationship, Zhen Yuanbai was nervous whenever he heard Shi Bufan’s name. On the dining table, as usual, his dad asked, “Did Shi Bufan get into a fight today? What did you do with him? Did you guys violate school rules?”
As usual, Zhen Yuanbai casually answered and silently shook his head. He shoved food in his mouth while his mom placed food in his bowl. Zhen Youxiu had suddenly looked over.
The next morning, when Zhen Yuanbai had finished packing his things and prepared to leave, Zhen Youxiu suddenly called him. “Brother, wait for me.”
He quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth, pushing the electric bicycle out. He said to Zhen Yuanbai, “I’m going to take you to school.”
Zhen Youxiu had to pass Zhen Yuanbai’s school to get to his school. He wasn’t afraid of people damaging his bicycle, so he never squeezed on the bus with Zhen Yuanbai. Every day, he would dawdle in bed for a while before rushing to school, making it on the dot.
Zhen Yuanbai had to ride on Zhen Youxiu’s bicycle.
After Zhen Youxiu brought Zhen Yuanbai to school, he turned around to ask, “Do you have an evening study session tonight?”
“I’m not sure, why?”
“Whether you’re going to attend it or not, send me a message. I’m leaving now.”
Zhen Yuanbai thought that was random, but stayed until Zhen Youxiu left. He took out his phone to check the time out of habit when he suddenly noticed two WeChat messages Annoying Shi left him.
Annoying Shi: How come you aren’t here yet?
Annoying Shi: ?
“？”
Maybe Shi Bufan was impatient with waiting for Zhen Yuanbai’s response before the latter could click on reply, Shi Bufan called. “You woke up late today?”
“No.” Zhen Yuanbai then realized something and said, “You went to my house to pick me up again?”
“What’d you think?” Shi Bufan carried the breakfast and stood in front of the platform, in a bad mood from the cold breeze. “Where are you?”
“My brother woke up early today, so he brought me over. Didn’t I say for you to not pick me up?” He said the last part extremely softly.
Originally, he needed to walk in the opposite direction coming out of the house in order to take the bus. But today, he ended up coming to school on a bicycle, so they didn’t need to go by the bus station. They left Shi Bufan waiting there and this made Zhen Yuanbai feel guilty. When he heard no voice on the other side, he knew that Shi Bufan was angry. “Come over. I’ll buy you breakfast.”
“Come and pick me up.”
“…” Zhen Yuanbai glanced at the time on his phone and was shocked by his tantrum. “If I go over there now, I’ll definitely be late.”
“I don’t care.” Shi Bufan said. “Come and pick me up, otherwise, I’ll make sure to ‘hand in my homework’ when we’re in class.”
“…” Zhen Yuanbai felt his head exploding. He definitely won’t make it back on time if he took the bus right now. He looked around to see Song Mo holding his breakfast and coming over. Zhen Yuanbai rushed over and said, “Let me borrow your bicycle.”
Song Mo was carsick, so he usually rode his bicycle to school. Zhen Yuanbai grabbed the key from Song Mo’s hands and the latter brought him to his bicycle, saying, “Where are you rushing off to?”
“I forgot something.”
“Is it very important?”
Zhen Yuanbai welcomed the wind as he placed the helmet on him, pulling on the two straps by the side. He had teary eyes and said, “It’s very important.”
Song Mo hurriedly replied, “Then be careful on the way. Do you need me to buy you breakfast?”
“Not right now.” Zhen Yuanbai pedaled and hastily dashed back.
Shi Bufan kicked the pull-top can by his feet and had a gloomy expression. He would wake up early every day so that he could pick up his friend, but ended up missing him today. No matter who it happened to, they would be unhappy, especially after the two of them confirmed their relationship. Today, Zhen Yuanbai dared to stand him up; he has quite the courage.
He waited for about ten minutes or so before Zhen Yuanbai appeared in front of him. The helmet covered his ears and a bit of his black hair. Shi Bufan could only see some curly hair in front of his forehead and this made Zhen Yuanbai look bald since he had lost his hair behind the helmet. For some people, it made them look very ugly. However, it was different for Zhen Yuanbai, except for his pale lips from the cool breeze in the morning.
The moment he stopped the bicycle, he immediately hollered, “Quickly, quickly get on. We’re going to be late.”
When Shi Bufan saw him his anger vanished. He followed Zhen Yuanbai’s orders and got on. As they arrived at school, the remote-controlled door was slowly closing. Zhen Yuanbai puffed his cheeks and increased his speed, rushing in just as the bell rang.
Zhen Yuanbai hadn’t stepped into a class on the dot that many times in his life and ran in. The teacher wasn’t here yet and Song Mo sighed, saying, “Did you get your thing…”
Before he finished, he saw Shi Bufan behind Zhen Yuanbai. After realizing the “thing” Zhen Yuanbai went to pick up, Song Mo immediately swallowed his words and looked at Zhen Yuanbai in pity.
Zhen Yuanbai returned the key and laid on his desk, sighing as if he had nothing to live for.
It was tiring to fake date someone. So imagine if he was actually dating someone?
He rested for a bit while Shi Bufan touched the breakfast that had already lost its warmth. He had Ye Lian toss it into the garbage can for him.
The school provided breakfast from 5:30 to 8:30am. Because there were some juniors who pull all-nighters for studying, the school provided midnight snacks as well. But there were specific times; after all, the people in the cafeteria needed to rest too. Shi Bufan suddenly asked Zhen Yuanbai, “Did you eat breakfast?”
“When would I have the time to eat?” Zhen Yuanbai complained. He spent the rest of the time picking Shi Bufan up.
Shi Bufan walked out of the classroom before the morning study session was over. While the class was on break, he carried a bowl of warm and delicious dumplings into the classroom, giving it to Zhen Yuanbai. “Here, your reward.”
Zhen Yuanbai immediately sat up straight and he followed Shi Bufan’s gaze, asking, “You climbed over the wall again?”
“What are you scared of? It’s not like you came along with me.” Shi Bufan raised his chin and said, “Eat quickly. We’re about to start class.”
The people surrounding them had heard this clearly and they all started to gossip with the person next to them. The news had spread and within two minutes, everyone’s gazes were on Zhen Yuanbai.
They knew that Zhen Yuanbai and Shi Bufan had a nice relationship, but how good was their relationship? Shi Bufan even climbed over the wall to buy food for Zhen Yuanbai. They recalled how the two had to stand out of class because Shi Bufan had climbed over the wall as well. Someone started to gossip, “He went to buy food for Zhen Yuanbai last time too?”
“Shi Bufan is good at repaying favors…”
“How come I didn’t get a chance to call the ambulance for Shi Bufan? Look at how good Zhen Yuanbai is treated!”
There was not a single person in the room who wasn’t jealous. After all, who didn’t like eating “junk food” outside of school? But they weren’t as brave and daring as Shi Bufan. They were scared of violating the school rules and if someone would do that for them, they would’ve been extremely delightful!
But Zhen Yuanbai didn’t dare to eat. He said softly, “We’re not allowed to eat in the classroom.”
“What are you scared of?” Shi Bufan took out something from the bag carrying the dumplings and shook it. He sprayed it between the isles of the desks and came back after spraying the entire room in it. The room was filled with a strong sense of perfume and someone was able to differentiate the brand of the perfume and they cursed. “Shi Bufan is rich!”
Zhen Yuanbai stared at this in confusion as Shi Bufan said, “Unless someone tattletales, the teacher won’t find out.”
Everyone finally understood that Shi Bufan was covering the scent of the dumplings with perfume. Shi Bufan glanced at everyone in the class and everyone all looked away when they heard Shi Bufan say, “If someone dares to tattletale, I’ll beat them up. If I can’t find the culprit, I’ll beat everyone up.”
Everyone was speechless.
Why are you so bold?
Qiu Jing and Ming Mai laid on their desks, silently closing their eyes.
Ye Lian looked up and then back down, trying not to laugh.
Zhen Yuanbai was still hesitating when he heard him threaten, “If you don’t eat, I’ll even beat you.”
When Shi Bufan said this, someone immediately noticed that Shi Bufan was placing the blame on himself. Even if someone tattletales, the teacher would know that he had forced Zhen Yuanbai to eat.
Yet, Zhen Yuanbai didn’t notice. Whenever he heard that Shi Bufan was going to beat someone up, he genuinely started to tremble in fear.
Zhen Yuanbai opened the lid of the bowl and hot air assaulted his face.
He hesitated for a few minutes, leaving him not that much time to eat. Zhen Yuanbai scooped a dumpling up and blew at it, eating the first one under everyone’s watchful gazes. Then, he eagerly went to scoop the second one. He needed to finish before the teacher entered the class.
Seeing this, Shi Bufan knitted his eyebrows. He suddenly kicked the tables of the two lazy pigs and Qiu Jing immediately sat up, asking, “What’s the matter?”
“You guys go keep squat near the stairs and stop Teacher Liang from coming here.” After that, he said to Zhen Yuanbai, “Eat slowly. Don’t burn yourself.”
Zhen Yuanbai suddenly coughed and his snow-white face gradually turned red.
Qiu Jing and Ming Mai both stood up and when they walked to the stairs, Liang Xiude arrived. The two students suddenly smiled widely, revealing their white teeth. “Teacher Liang is here for class?”
Liang Xiude stopped walking in alarm and the bell rang at this time. He paused and was alert. “What do you guys want?”
Did these two students want to hit him? He thought about it and didn’t think he had offended them lately. Plus, he kept a blind eye to them. So what did they want?
“No, we don’t want to do anything.” Qiu Jing rummaged through his pocket and found half a box of cigarettes, immediately shoving it back in his pockets. Ming Mai followed suit and took a few steps downstairs, saying genuinely, “We suddenly remembered that we haven’t given you a gift for teacher’s day yet. So, we wanted to talk about our feelings for you.”
Ming Mai rummaged for a while and finally found an Alps candy, saying, “Here. For you.”
Liang Xiude reached over and took it, wanting to walk around them when Qiu Jing suddenly walked up too. “Um, it’s nice weather today. Teacher Liang is also very handsome.”
Liang Xiude was speechless.
He was indeed a handsome teacher in a school and he subconsciously lifted his glasses, saying, “Ok guys. Stop flattering me. We should go to class.”
“I heard that you don’t have a girlfriend yet, right?” Ming Mai added and walked over, smiling. “Teacher, I have a cousin who is around your age and also has a Ph.D. How about you guys meet up one day?”
“…” What do you guys want to do?
Under everyone’s watchful gazes, Zhen Yuanbai finally finished the dumplings. It was approaching winter, but sweat appeared on Zhen Yuanbai’s forehead. Shi Bufan put the takeout box away and tossed it into the garbage can behind them, spraying the perfume again. He peeked out and called for Qiu Jing. “What are you guys doing?”
Qiu Jing and Ming Mai got the message, hurriedly moving to the side and gesturing for the teacher to walk. “Teacher, quickly go to class. We will escort you there.”
“…” Liang Xiude was speechless and was invited into the classroom full of perfume scent by two very scary and bad students.
To speak the truth, no matter how expensive the perfume was, it didn’t smell good if it was sprayed often.
The teacher sneezed and knitted his brows, glancing around the class in confusion. “Who sprayed it? Why are you making the room that sweet-smelling?”
The students all looked down.
With “Unoffendable” in the class, who dared to say that Zhen Yuanbai was eating in class?
Shi Bufan replied, “I sprayed it.”
Liang Xiude felt a headache rising from his words, and after smelling the perfume, the headache became worse. “What are you doing?”
“CLK launched this new Cherry Rain set of perfumes which cost 680 for 10 millimeters of it. I want to let everyone know that our class is wealthy, willful, and can all afford this.”
Everyone started laughing. Liang Xiude and the students all bathed in this perfume and the teacher’s lips twitched. “Well, aren’t I lucky?”
Shi Bufan said, “You should feel so.”
Zhen Yuanbai quietly looked down and couldn’t help but laugh.
Everyone bathed in this smell and happily paid attention in class. In just an afternoon, everyone had this special scent on them. In this place where people could only get in through their abilities or spending money, everyone found out that Class 1 was full of wealthy and willful people who liked to flaunt their wealth.
The School Magazine Department came to interview them and someone told them what Shi Bufan had said. That night, the department had set the draft. The next day, there were other classes that mimicked Class 1, buying an even more expensive perfume. When Zhen Yuanbai and the others were sitting together in the cafeteria, Qiu Jing was laughing. “Look what happened now. Class 10 is LO’s Forest Light while Class 3 is FLAO’s Babila. In the future, would we be able to differentiate who is from which class-based on scent?”
Ming Mai immediately said in a singsong tone, “I am from Class 1 — Cherry Rain’s perfume scent!”
Song Mo laughed out loud.
This competition didn’t last for long. Friday morning, everyone was to gather in the sports field. The old principal held a loudspeaker and criticized this competing atmosphere the students started in school. He said firmly, “Within three days, all the classes need to hand a self-criticism letter to me! Think about why you guys are coming to school! Next Monday, send a representative to read the letter out loud!”
The loudspeaker made his voice louder and it rang across the sports field. On the neat and straight line of classes, the classes who hadn’t participated in this competition clutched their stomachs and laughed out loud. Those that did all looked miserable as they gathered together to write the letters.
Regarding Class 1’s self-criticism letter, Zhen Yuanbai placed the blame on himself.
On his way back home, he trudged his steps as if he was defeated, keeping his head down. Shi Bufan was in high-spirit as usual. “Just write the letter as if it was homework. Talk about our class’s faults in the beginning then the plans for the class later on.”
“Easy for you to say.” Zhen Yuanbai glared at him and said, “Next Monday, I’m most likely the representative to read for the class. I’m going to lose face.”
“Why would you lose face? Who says you’re the one reading it?”
“But our class knows that it started because of me eating the bowl of dumplings!”
Shi Bufan held in the urge to laugh and the more Zhen Yuanbai thought about it, the more he wanted to laugh. He felt extremely ashamed and hit Shi Bufan, saying, “You’re still laughing! You only know to cause me trouble! Last time, I had to stand outside of class because of what you said. This time, it was because of what you said that I had to write a self-criticism letter too! I’m losing so much face.”
Shi Bufan grabbed his hands and pulled Zhen Yuanbai in his arms, curling his lips. “You’re not crying this time?”
Zhen Yuanbai’s eyes flickered.
Last time, he sobbed loudly when he had to stand outside of class. He wanted to crawl into a hole due to shame. But this time, he dragged the entire class down with him and he didn’t even cry. He moved out of Shi Bufan’s arms and turned around, walking ahead and murmuring, “I’ve become more and more shameless because of you.”
As he said this, the tip of his ears slightly turned red.
Shi Bufan was really trouble.
Zhen Yuanbai didn’t go straight to the bus station and Shi Bufan was a bit disappointed. He knitted his eyebrows and said, “Your brother’s picking you again?”
“Mhm.” Zhen Yuanbai looked to the side and he sighed in relief when Zhen Youxiu came to pick him up. At least, Shi Bufan didn’t need to bring him to school and back home every day now. His parents wouldn’t be able to find out that he was close to Shi Bufan as well. He stared for a while and then started to push Shi Bufan. “My brother’s here. Go quickly.”
Shi Bufan allowed him to push himself and smiled. “You always make it seem like we are having a secret affair. Even if nothing is going on between us, you’re making it seem like something is.”
Zhen Youxiu was almost here and Zhen Yuanbai hurriedly looked over. Shi Bufan stood by his side and met Zhen Youxiu’s eyes. The latter had a face like Zhen Yuanbai, looking coldly at Shi Bufan, but saying to Zhen Yuanbai, “Get on.”
Zhen Yuanbai sat on the bicycle and waved at Shi Bufan. Zhen Youxiu pedaled away without hesitation and he suddenly said, “I don’t have class tomorrow.”
“Oh right, tomorrow is Saturday.” Zhen Yuanbai said, “We probably only need to go to the first four classes tomorrow.”
“What’s the matter between you and Shi Bufan?”
Zhen Yuanbai was extremely guilty. “What, what’s going on?”
“Something’s not right.” Zhen Youxiu’s voice floated in the air. “Why did he bring you back home every day?”
Zhen Yuanbai’s heart skipped a beat and he said, “Since when?”
“I’ve seen it happen a few days, so I kept an eye on it.” Zhen Youxiu said, “You guys can’t keep away from one another?”
Zhen Yuanbai endured his anxiety and purposely confused him. “We are like glue stuck to each other.”
“Humph.” Zhen Youxiu said, “You better be careful. You’re the one who made him lose his memory and the moment he remembers this, you’re doomed.”
Zhen Yuanbai felt his hair standing up and he said, “Don’t mutter nonsense!”
But Zhen Youxiu’s words made Zhen Yuanbai traumatized. That night, he dreamed of Shi Bufan recovering his memory and pressing him against the floor, beating him up. As he said so, he fiercely said, “I usually beat someone until they cry, but you’re different. Today, I’ll beat you up until all your pores are bleeding…all of them!”
Zhen Yuanbai woke up from the nightmare.
He only heard his pounding heart echoing in this quiet room. He rubbed his sore chest and deeply sighed, shivering and laying back in. He grabbed his phone and saw Shi Bufan’s message.
Annoying Shi: Is your brother still taking you to school tomorrow?
Zhen Yuanbai replied, “Yes.”
Then, he pulled his blankets up and stared at the ceiling, thinking about random things before falling into a deep sleep.
When Zhen Youxiu didn’t have class, there was no chance of him taking Zhen Yuanbai to school. The latter walked downstairs and ran to the bus station when a fiery red motorcycle suddenly stopped in front of him. Shi Bufan wore a large jacket over his school uniform and took off his helmet, raising his eyebrows. “Didn’t you say your brother is taking you?”
Zhen Yuanbai shocking retorted, “Are you 18 yet?”
“Almost.” Shi Bufan curled his lips and patted the seat behind him. “Is this motorcycle cool?”
“…” Cool, but this is a motorcycle! Can a minor like you drive a motorcycle?!
Shi Bufan tossed Zhen Yuanbai a helmet and said, “Get on.”
“No.” Zhen Yuanbai rapidly rejected him and the helmet felt like a hot potato. The moment it touched his hand, the helmet bounced off. Zhen Yuanbai said in horror, “I refuse to sit in unlicensed vehicles.”
Shi Buhan made a tsk and he slowly drove the motorcycle, following Zhen Yuanbai. He said, “What unlicensed vehicle? Do you know what that means?”
“Your motorcycle is an unlicensed vehicle.” Zhen Yuanbai reprimanded, “You will be arrested!”
“We’ll be in school in 10 minutes.”
Zhen Yuanbai was afraid that Shi Bufan might pull him on. If the police had caught him, Zhen Yuanbai would definitely slap Shi Bufan a few times. He sprinted and he clutched the straps of his backpack, preventing it from bouncing up and down as if he was chased by a ghost. “Don’t follow me.”
“I only have class this morning and it’d be done this afternoon.”
Zhen Yuanbai clearly knew and he had no time to comprehend what Shi Bufan meant by that. He continued to run ahead and was incomparably afraid. “I’m not going on the motorcycle. Stay away from me.”
He passed the green bushes and ran inside, making it hard for Shi Bufan to follow. He had to start the engine and turn a corner in the front, waiting for Zhen Yuanbai. The latter ran near the bricks in the interior road and this was a place for pedestrians to walk. Right now, Shi Bufan really couldn’t follow them anymore. He wanted to laugh. “I won’t force you on the motorcycle. Come closer.”
“I won’t believe you.” Zhen Yuanbai said, “It’s one thing to violate the school rules, but do you know what you’re doing now? You’re breaking the law!”
Shi Bufan was convinced by him, saying in a helpless tone, “I’ll park the motorcycle in front of the supermarket and we can ride the bicycle to school, ok?”
Zhen Yuanbai stared at Shi Bufan in doubt and said, “Then go park first.”
Shi Bufan cupped his fist in the other hand as a sign of respect and drove the motorcycle ahead.
After Zhen Yuanbai saw Shi Bufan taking the keys out of the motorcycle and exchanging it for a bicycle, he finally sighed. While Shi Bufan grabbed the bicycle, he gave Zhen Yuanbai a mocking smile. But the latter pretended he didn’t hear it.
When they arrived, they locked the car and walked. Zhen Yuanbai asked him, “Why’d you bring that over?”
“Bring what?”
“The motorcycle.”
“Oh.” Shi Bufan reached over and hugged him, casually saying, “Don’t we only have half a day’s worth of class today?”
Shi Bufan had said this before too. Zhen Yuanbai was confused and asked, “What’s the matter?”
“I wanted to drive the motorcycle over and take you out for fun after class is over.”
Zhen Yuanbai thought he had heard wrong and he slightly stiffened, saying in an alarmed tone, “What are you saying?”
Shi Bufan tightened his grip on Zhen Yuanbai and purposely threatened him, chuckling and saying, “I said that after class is done, I will snatch you out, so we can fool around.”