Chu Tao and Chu Xingning were riding their bikes to school. When they passed the last intersection, Chu Tao slowed down, hesitated, and said, “Ge, why don’t you go ahead to school? I’ll buy something.”

Chu Xingning still looked exhausted, his eyes barely open.

But he stopped his bike, one leg resting on the ground. “I’ll wait for you. No rush.”

Chu Tao froze, gripping the handlebars tightly and pressing his lips together.

He wanted to check if the clothes had been washed. Last night, the shopkeeper had promised they would be ready. If everything went as planned, he could pick them up this morning. He wanted to return them to Jiang She as soon as possible to avoid any trouble.

But with Chu Xingning there, it was a bit awkward.

Chu Xingning weakly raised his eyes, clutching his stomach, and said in a tired voice, “What’s wrong?”

Chu Tao’s gaze flickered, and he instinctively touched the tip of his nose. “It’s nothing. I won’t buy anything now, don’t want the classmates to eat it all. Hmm… but it seems Tao Song’s clothes are being washed here, I’ll check on them.”

Chu Xingning lowered his head, shaking it lightly. “Then go ahead.”

Chu Tao asked, “Are you okay?”

Chu Xingning shook his head, holding his stomach, unwilling to say another word.

Chu Tao had no choice but to ride quickly to the laundry. The morning wind was cold and strong, and the area was a windy corner, so strong that it made his eyes water and hard to open.

When he was almost there, he rode up onto the curb, the bike jolted, and he stopped at the laundry shop.

The grey glass door had a white sheet of paper stuck to it. The glue wasn’t strong enough, and half of the A4-sized paper was stuck to the glass, while the other half flapped in the wind, making a rustling sound.

In bold black characters, the paper read, “The shop owner had an urgent matter and went back to his hometown. Will return next Monday. If necessary, please contact by phone.”

Chu Tao: “……”

Chu Tao: “!!!”

The iron gate was closed, and there was no light inside.

Chu Tao didn’t believe it and jumped off the bike, banging on the door twice.

No response.

He wasn’t sure how many school uniforms Jiang She had, but he knew most students had two sets to alternate. If Jiang She didn’t hoard uniforms or was particularly unclean, he would have changed into a different set of clothes over the weekend.

It was over.

It was really over.

Where the heck was he supposed to find a school uniform pant now?

Even if he did find one, what if Jiang She figured out it wasn’t his original pair? Wouldn’t that make things worse?

What if this big shot had some kind of mark on his pants to identify them?

He sighed deeply, lifted the bike, and quickly rode back.

He had to hurry, or he’d be late for class.

Chu Xingning saw him and asked, “Did Tao Song’s clothes get washed?”

Chu Tao’s face turned pale as he shook his head. “The shop owner had an urgent matter, went back home. Won’t be back until next Monday.”

Chu Xingning frowned. “Why didn’t he wash them at home, why send them to the laundry?”

Chu Tao shook the collar of his school uniform, sighed, and muttered to himself, “He’s an idiot.”

Even if he took Jiang She’s uniform home, his mom wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

He was sure that Song Mian’s attention hadn’t reached that level yet.

If only he had just taken it home.

When they arrived at school, they locked their bikes at the familiar alley entrance. Chu Xingning suddenly stopped in place, hunched his back, and held his stomach, silent.

Chu Tao was startled and quickly supported him. “Ge, what’s wrong? Should I take you to the infirmary?”

It took Chu Xingning a while to straighten up. His lips were pale as he said, “I’m fine, just need to go to the bathroom.”

Chu Tao accompanied him to the bathroom door. Chu Xingning urged him to hurry back to class.

Chu Tao hesitated, unwilling to leave, but at that moment, the bell for morning self-study rang, and the class monitors started returning to their classrooms.

Chu Xingning said, “I’m really fine, can you stop acting like I’m fragile?”

Chu Tao reluctantly said, “Then if you feel unwell, have someone come to Class 3 to find me.”

Once the class monitors left, the hallway was quiet.

Some classes had already begun their morning reading.

As Chu Tao passed by the regular class, he stood at a distance and quietly looked for a couple of seconds.

The door to the class was not fully closed, and through the gap, he could see them having their morning reading.

Everything was orderly, with everyone working hard for the goal of getting into a good university.

The sunlight filtered through the clean glass, casting slanted streaks across the desks. The light was so dazzling that some students squinted, and the ones by the windows drew the curtains with a “swish,” blocking out all the light.

The sound of the fluorescent lights clicking on echoed. The homeroom teacher knocked on the blackboard and, without losing patience, muttered, “We’ll have a dictation in a moment, so keep reviewing. You’ve got five more minutes.”

Chu Tao’s former seat was now occupied by someone from the back row, and Tao Song was crouching under the desk, busy with something.

Only Chu Tao knew he was writing a cheat sheet.

When Chu Tao was still there, Tao Song never had to make cheat sheets because Chu Tao would always tell him the answers, sometimes even secretly writing one or two for him.

Now, his desk, his chair, his tablecloth, even his deskmate—all had new owners. None of it belonged to him anymore.

Chu Tao suddenly felt like crying.

The life that once felt so routine, seeing classmates almost every day for hours, had now become a thing of the past.

He didn’t know how long Class 3 would continue to exclude him, nor did he know how Jiang She would handle the situation once he found out the school uniform couldn’t be retrieved.

Lost in thought, Chu Tao sniffed, forcing himself to hold back the tears.

What Teacher Yang said wasn’t without impact.

He too wanted to change classes, but… when he mentioned it yesterday at home, Song Mian immediately interrupted him.

If he brought up changing classes again, it would probably just cause more trouble for his parents.

He couldn’t rely on anyone but himself.

Even in this difficult class, he had to overcome the challenges and aim for a good university.

But who would willingly level up in difficult mode, unless it was absolutely necessary?

Chu Tao sighed lightly and carried his bag up to the fourth floor.

Class 3 still hadn’t had many students show up, or maybe the ones who had come had joined the cleaning team and gone out to play.

To them, the morning self-study was like an invisible break between classes.

He looked at his old seat.

There were shoe prints on the chair.

The outlines of the shoe treads were clear, with wet dirt that hadn’t dried, showing that it had just been stepped on.

He didn’t even know who had done it.

Chu Tao stared at it for a few seconds, then calmly set down his bag and walked to the water dispenser to grab a cloth, heading to the bathroom.

He rolled up his sleeves, turned on the faucet, and threw the cloth under the running water.

The early spring weather was still chilly, especially in the morning, with the temperature around ten degrees.

The water wasn’t warm, and the cold water quickly numbed his hands, taking away the heat in his palms.

Chu Tao pressed his reddened fingertips against the sides of the sink, trying to ease the numbness in his nerves.

The water gushed, and he looked up at the mirror.

His hair was messy from the wind, the wind he had been exposed to from home to school. His stomach wasn’t feeling very well either.

The school uniform hadn’t been picked up, and he didn’t know how many times his seat had been stepped on.

Chu Tao gave a bitter smile, biting the inside of his cheek, and vaguely tasted blood in his mouth.

---

Meanwhile…

Jiang She finished his breakfast and, disgusted by the smell of spring onions on his hands, decided to wash them in the bathroom.

Before he pushed the door open, he vaguely heard the sound of someone sniffing.

He frowned.

At school, Omegas and Betas shared a bathroom, while Alphas had their own.

It was clear that the one crying inside was an Alpha.

Jiang She felt a bit annoyed.

He just wanted to wash his hands and had no intention of witnessing some melodramatic scene in the restroom.

Originally, he planned to turn around and leave, but then he thought it was just a quick hand wash, and he didn’t want to bother turning around.

Without hesitation, he lifted his leg and kicked the door open, glancing inside.

Chu Tao was startled by the loud noise and instinctively looked toward the door.

He met Jiang She’s gaze.

Jiang She immediately noticed the red corners of Chu Tao’s eyes.

This was the first time he saw a moment of vulnerability in those peach blossom eyes.

But it wasn’t the first time he thought Chu Tao’s eyes were beautiful.

Chu Tao’s eyelids were so thin, they almost seemed transparent, revealing fine blood vessels underneath. His long eyelashes curled slightly and ended neatly at the corners of his eyes.

His pupils were tinged with a red glow, sparkling with moisture, resembling a full moon hidden behind clouds—pure, mysterious, and stubborn, making one helpless before them.

You knew how beautiful it was, and how rare it was.

Jiang She was momentarily stunned.

Chu Tao froze for a second, then hurriedly lowered his head.

He took a deep breath, then suddenly scooped some cold water into his hands and splashed it on his face.

The sudden chill made him shiver, but the slight feeling of grievance inside him disappeared in an instant.

Water droplets trickled down his face, following the curve of his slender neck, past his rounded Adam’s apple, and into the collar of his shirt.

Chu Tao gasped slightly, quickly wringing out the cloth.

He didn’t have time to wipe the water from his face and tried to walk around Jiang She to pull the door.

But Jiang She grabbed his arm.

Jiang She’s heart skipped a beat, and he frowned as he asked, “Why are you crying?”

---

Author’s note:
Jiang She: Seeing you cry makes my heart hurt.