Starting yesterday, the cold winter has clearly faded, and the sun has reappeared, with temperatures beginning to warm up.

Noon

Lu Che is sleeping in the classroom, holding Xu Xing’s coat, while Xu Xing stands in the hallway, staring at a chat window labeled “Xu kun kun” on his phone.

Two minutes ago, Xu Xing sent a message to Xu Yin:

“Xu Xing: Sis, I want to be with Lu Che.”

Xu Xing lifts his head, his gaze going past the window to land on Lu Che, who is lying sideways on his desk, looking especially sweet in his sleep. Xu Xing has seen Lu Che’s sleeping face many times, but never gets tired of it. On weekend mornings, he’s used to waking up to see Lu Che’s face, but during the two weekends they were apart, Xu Xing realized that without Lu Che next to him, even Sunday held no appeal.

Snapping back to reality, Xu Xing looks down at his phone, where Xu Yin has replied.

“Xu kun kun: …”

“Xu kun kun: Since when weren’t you two together?”

Thanks to some meddling with the red thread, Xu Yin has long assumed that Xu Xing and Lu Che have a complicated relationship, believing that Xu Xing’s feelings for Lu Che started earlier. Xu Yin feels both pity for her brother and sympathy for Lu Che, and rather than reprimanding him, she finds the situation oddly delightful. As Xu Yin recalled how Xu Xing had initially panicked, she, as his older sister, wanted to pull him back onto the right path, yet felt that if Lu Che was the one he ended up with, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Xu Xing smiles helplessly. The misunderstanding Xu Yin held about them has now become reality, sparing him the need to explain. He simply replies, “I want to be with him forever.”

“Xu kun kun: Well, that depends on fate. I can’t help you with that. How are your grades recently? I won’t scold you for dating, but if being with him affects your studies, I’ll be the first to oppose it.”

Xu Xing feels a bit guilty.

His midterm ranking dropped nearly ten places from his last test, and the reason was undeniably Lu Che. After letting go of Lu Che, he thought he would be fine on his own, but without Lu Che, he found himself struggling with everything.

Xu Xing replies: “My grades are stable, I guess.”

“Xu kun kun: And Lu Che?”

“Xu kun kun: Couples usually like to plan to go to the same university, don’t they?”

Xu Xing: “…”

Xu Xing recalls that Lu Che did once suggest going to the same university and asked Xu Xing to keep him focused. But at that time, Xu Xing refused.

His phone lights up with another message.

“Xu kun kun: You need to improve together.”

Reflecting on this, Xu Xing feels a warm presence press against his back, as an arm wraps around his waist. Lu Che, holding a box of milk, leans on his shoulder, half-asleep, sipping through a straw, and his lips are stained with milk.

Xu Xing reaches out, cupping Lu Che’s face to wipe off the milk stain with his thumb.

Lu Che snuggles against Xu Xing’s neck, looking content as he rubs his face gently against him.

“Che-ge~”

Hearing footsteps, they turn to see Ke Di and Zhou Mang approaching from down the hall, cheerfully greeting them from afar.

When they’re closer, Xu Xing notices that the red thread around Zhou Mang’s heart has faded, while the one wrapped around Ke Di’s hand remains as red as blood.

Xu Xing remains unbothered, knowing that Zhou Mang’s red thread, which is tied to Ke Di’s girlfriend, is a bad connection destined to break.

Lu Che, indifferent to others’ love lives, casually hands Ke Di the milk carton to throw away.

Ke Di hesitates, saying, “Che-ge, about that fight last night… how do we settle it?”

His voice trails off as Lu Che’s warning look reminds him to be discreet in front of their class leader.

“Aha, haha.”

Ke Di laughs awkwardly, quickly nudging Zhou Mang back into the classroom.

Clearing his throat, Lu Che shifts the conversation, “By the way, class leader~ Yi Ze is dating your sister, right?”

Xu Xing replies, “Yeah, I guess.”

Or maybe he’s her ex.

Xu Xing didn’t remember Yi Ze much, but after seeing him yesterday, he realized they’d actually crossed paths before: during a flag-raising ceremony where Xu Yin fainted, and on Mid-Autumn Festival when Yi Ze angered her. He was standing under the streetlight, tall but his face unclear.

Lu Che clicks his tongue, smirking, “Class leader, let’s tell your sister that Yi Ze was a fool for backing the wrong side and opposing me.”

Xu Xing raises an eyebrow, asking, “What’s the story between you two?”

Lu Che and Yi Ze originally had no interaction. However, since both had bold reputations in the grade, they had heard of each other. Normally, they stayed out of each other’s way, until a recent dispute among Ke Di’s sports friends sparked a conflict. Lu Che got a cut on his left hand, while Yi Ze got one on his right—though Lu Che came out slightly ahead. Now, Yi Ze is still sore over the incident and recently declared he’d “break both of Lu Che’s hands.”

Xu Xing: “…”

Xu Xing remembered that on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Lu Che still had a bandage on his hand. Yi Ze probably hadn’t managed to hide the fight from Xu Yin, which is why she got angry.

Xu Xing said, exasperated, “Are you guys seriously still so immature? High schoolers fighting?”

Lu Che grinned sheepishly and said, “I won’t fight anymore~”

Just then, Lu Che happened to spot Yi Ze walking from the front playground toward the teaching building. Yi Ze also had a red thread extending down from his chest, but since the other end was so far away, its endpoint wasn’t visible.

Lu Che clicked his tongue, “Tsk.”

Then, he called out, “Yi Ze—”

The shout startled Ke Di in the classroom and left Yi Ze downstairs baffled.

Yi Ze looked up at the third-floor corridor, his face expressionless. His gaze softened slightly when it landed on Xu Xing.

Then Lu Che said, “Brother-in-law, I’m counting on you to look out for me from now on~”

Yi Ze: “…”

Xu Xing: “…”

Lu Che grinned with a fake smile.

Yi Ze hesitated for a moment. People on the other floors were also watching, including a few sports students. After weighing the pros and cons, Yi Ze realized Lu Che’s words were a gesture of reconciliation. Even though he wanted to throttle Lu Che, he refrained, not wanting to act out in front of Xu Yin’s little brother. Finally, he casually signaled “OK” to Lu Che.

The watching sports students: “??”

Meanwhile, both Lu Che and Yi Ze had the same thought: whoever acts out first will be in the wrong. If he (Lu Che/Yi Ze) causes trouble in the future, that’s his excuse to get even.

…

After school.

Xu Xing stood by the school gate with Lu Che, holding a bag of dragon fruit, waiting for his Dad. It was the second time Lu Che offered to help carry it, and Xu Xing refused again.

Xu Xing: “It’s barely two kilos. I can carry it.”

Xu Xing, who was also around 1.8 meters tall and had a similar build to Lu Che, was the go-to for heavy lifting and changing light bulbs at home. Yet Lu Che insisted on doing everything heavy-duty in his presence.

Lu Che made as if to grab the bag, but instead, he lightly kissed Xu Xing’s hand, smiling cheekily. “These hands are precious, you know. Sometimes my… happiness depends on them~”

“…”

Xu Xing: “Get lost.”

Lu Che snickered, “I kind of missed it when you told me to ‘get lost.'”

Xu Xing rolled his eyes and stared off into the distance.

His Dad was delayed, likely caught in traffic, and with only a few students left near the empty school gates, things grew quieter.

Leaning against a stone pillar at the gate, Lu Che suddenly heard Xu Xing mutter, “If you make it into the top 200 by the end of the term… I’ll help you with my hands.”

Lu Che blinked in surprise and turned toward Xu Xing, who had his hand to his lips, coughing awkwardly to hide his embarrassment. Lu Che’s eyes sparkled as he asked, “What if I make it into the top 100? Will there be an even better reward?”

Xu Xing’s eyes darted nervously. He cleared his throat and, avoiding Lu Che’s gaze, said as calmly as he could, “If we both get into the same college… then… it’ll be up to you.”

Inside, Lu Che was overjoyed, though he pretended to bargain with a hurt expression, “College is so far away. Can’t we have smaller rewards along the way?”

Xu Xing: “Like what?”

With a smirk, Lu Che leaned in close, his voice low and husky, whispering playfully in Xu Xing’s ear, “End-of-term reward: you help with your hands; first mock exam reward: use your mouth once; second mock exam reward: you don’t wear clothes around me for a day; third mock exam reward: you have to, uh, pleasure yourself in front of me; and for the college exam reward, well, I’ll think of something fun~”

“…”

Xu Xing flushed with embarrassment and shoved Lu Che away, snapping, “Get lost!”

Xu Xing felt like he must have been out of his mind for even bringing it up with Lu Che.

Stumbling slightly from Xu Xing’s push, Lu Che coughed lightly. He had just been joking, but the images his words conjured were too vivid, making his imagination run wild.

He nearly… get turned on…

Thinking to himself that even a single instance of any of those scenarios would be unforgettable, Lu Che’s face was filled with a mix of self-indulgence and fantasy.

Suddenly, Xu Xing kicked him in frustration, snapping, “Recite The Hard Road to Shu right now, and stop thinking of anything else!”

Lu Che: “…”

Feeling guilty, Lu Che scratched his nose, cleared his throat, and obediently began reciting, “Ah! How high, how dangerous! The hard road to Shu is harder than ascending to the blue heavens…”

That afternoon, late-returning third-year students saw the famous campus heartthrob Lu Che at the school gates, diligently reciting classic texts. He started with The Hard Road to Shu, moved on to Ode to the Red Cliff, and whenever he forgot a line, he was promptly scolded.

Passersby: “…”

Poor thing!

When his Dad finally picked them up, Lu Che sat sulking in the back seat, quietly reciting On Teachers.

His Dad gave Lu Che a few glances in the rearview mirror, worried he’d interrupt his recitation, then gave Xu Xing, in the front seat, a thumbs up.

Xu Xing: “…”

Exhausted, Xu Xing gazed out the car window, listening as Lu Che in the back continued to recite ancient prose—

“Therefore, regardless of status or age, where there is the Way, there is a teacher.”

“Sigh…”

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Author’s Note: Let me introduce myself. My name is Kong Qingxin, a good friend of risheng, and a little fresh-style writer. My side job is selling air fresheners. Nice to meet you all. Bows