“Liu Ge!! Why haven’t you packed up yet?”

Because they were afraid the power might come back on and they’d be forced to return for more evening study sessions, not just the students from Class 11, but those from other classes ran out quickly as well. Within just a few minutes, there were hardly any people left in the classroom.

A few students from other classes came in through the door and headed straight for Liu Sizhen’s seat. About four or five boys surrounded him, each calling him “Liu Ge.”

These boys didn’t look like the “good student” type.

One of them, with bleached yellow hair, was Ren Liming. His family had become wealthy in recent years, but Liu Sizhen couldn’t remember exactly what they did. He only remembered that Ren Liming’s father was particularly fierce.

Liu Sizhen recalled that when Ren Liming’s father came to pick someone up at the police station, after hearing what the officer had said, the man immediately tried to hit someone with a belt. Several police officers tried to stop him, but the more he hit, the more rebellious his son became.

“Liu Ge, are we still going to that place we went to last time? We still have a lot of alcohol stored there…”

“Ah, but I think it’s too noisy there…”

The group of boys, talking about food, drinks, and fun, walked toward the classroom door. Liu Sizhen casually hung his bag on one shoulder, and as he was about to step out of the classroom, he glanced back at the male lead, who was slowly packing up his desk.

Maybe this was a required part of the script, Liu Sizhen thought, as he looked at his lonely figure with a bit of emotion, and blurted out:

“Want to come with us?”

After saying that, Liu Sizhen was already prepared for the system to remind him, but he waited for a long time without hearing anything.

It seemed like inviting him didn’t break the character setting?

[No, it doesn’t.] The system responded quickly. [There was always supposed to be this part in the male lead’s memories, but the purpose of inviting him last time was to…]

Liu Sizhen remembered now. Yes, it seemed there was such a thing.

But in the script, inviting Liu Sizhen was meant to humiliate him…

The male lead didn’t react at all. Ren Liming, who was standing next to Liu Sizhen, didn’t understand. He had taken a few days off after being beaten by his father, and now he was wondering when Liu Sizhen and Lin Bosheng had become so close.

He still had the impression that Liu Sizhen used to treat him like a little errand boy, so he assumed it was the same this time and waited with a mocking expression for Lin Bosheng’s reaction.

He had also heard about Lin Bosheng’s past and knew a little bit of the story, but they had never interacted before, so he didn’t know much.

“If you’re not free…”

Liu Sizhen wanted to give the male lead an out.

“I’m free.”

The male lead didn’t take the out.

Wearing an old-style school uniform and carrying a black messenger bag, the male lead seemed out of place among the others who dressed more flamboyantly. But instead of blending in, he stood out even more. While the others had slightly slouched postures, Lin Bosheng’s back remained straight and upright.

He had been closely following behind one of the boys.

As for the two bags on Lin Bosheng’s arm, one of them, which had various charms hanging from it, was not his bag. It was Liu Sizhen’s bag.

The male lead’s gesture of carrying the bag was so smooth that Liu Sizhen didn’t even realize what happened before the bag was already in his hand, and no one in the room seemed to think anything was off.

Liu Sizhen, a bit dazed, walked out of the school gate.

Outside, Uncle Zheng was already waiting at the door. It was a long limousine, and Liu Sizhen, who wasn’t very familiar with cars, didn’t know exactly what model it was, but he found it quite comfortable after sitting in it for a few days.

From the outside, the car didn’t look very special, but once the door was opened, it was clear what luxury meant. The seats inside weren’t like ordinary car seats; they were more like circular booths, and you could even sleep in them.

The car was equipped with sound systems, a projector, and a coffee machine, along with a mini fridge for cold drinks. Everything you could think of was available.

Having such equipment in this era was quite impressive.

For the first few minutes, Liu Sizhen could hear their chatter, but the sounds gradually became more distant. Seeing Liu Sizhen half-closed his eyes, about to fall asleep, the other four boys lowered their voices out of consideration.

Uncle Zheng, who was driving, had just adjusted the air conditioning when he heard a male voice behind him asking if there was a blanket. He looked back and saw it was the quiet boy.

After getting the blanket, the boy didn’t cover himself with it but quietly draped it over Liu Sizhen.

“…”

---

Uncle Zheng drove very steadily, and it was hard to feel any bumps. During the ride, Liu Sizhen had a dream. He dreamed he was back in the classroom.

It was when Lv Xu had just left, and Lin Bosheng had stubbornly asked him several times where he had been injured. Liu Sizhen had no choice but to point to his waist.

The next moment, the male lead’s hand cautiously reached over and touched the rough bandage. His movements became even more careful, like he was touching a fragile porcelain item.

The injury wasn’t serious; it just looked a bit more obvious because of Liu Sizhen’s pale skin. At the time, when the male lead saw him bleeding, his face turned pale, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.

At that moment, Liu Sizhen had seized the chance and pinned him to the ground, delivering a fierce punch to his face. That was his first real fight, and he actually found it not bad. After all, it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen or heard of fights before.

He didn’t even need the bandage, but Aunt Wang was worried about him…

Back then, the male lead had been like a mother hen, constantly asking questions. Liu Sizhen hadn’t seen him so talkative before, and his tone was strangely off.

“Who did this?”

Liu Sizhen didn’t say anything, but Lin Bosheng, having overheard snippets of his conversation with Lv Xu, had already guessed a few names, quickly pinpointing the culprit based on Liu Sizhen’s reaction.

“Got it.”

His tone was a little scary—calm and eerie, with an almost imperceptible chill. The weather was still a bit warm at the time, but Liu Sizhen felt a faint coldness.

At that moment, Liu Sizhen’s hand had wandered towards his waist and abdomen, a naturally sensitive area. Initially, Lin Bosheng had only touched the bandage, which didn’t feel much, but as he gradually shifted, it was different when he touched the skin.

Liu Sizhen, who was sensitive to tickling, felt the roughness of Lin Bosheng’s finger pads, which made it… ticklish.

Liu Sizhen suddenly realized that this scene didn’t seem right. Why was he the one dodging? He was the one bullying the male lead, wasn’t he? If anyone should be dodging, it should be the male lead, not him.

After realizing this, Liu Sizhen reached out, and through his clothes, he pinched Lin Bosheng, applying some force with a hint of warning.

But the male lead didn’t seem to feel any pain at all, continuing to press against him.

Oh no, it seemed like the male lead might have a masochistic tendency…

---

Even after a long time, whenever Liu Sizhen thought back to it, he could still feel that cold sensation.

Sitting next to him, Lin Bosheng was focused on the lesson, his eyes intently fixed on the blackboard, looking like the perfect student. But little did anyone know, under the desk, his hand was gently caressing the back of the boy next to him. The male lead’s hands were probably cold due to anemia, and they felt like a snake with no warmth at all…

This made Liu Sizhen, who was asleep, shiver slightly. Lin Bosheng, thinking he was cold, carefully adjusted the blanket around him.

As Liu Sizhen lifted his head and glanced at the rearview mirror, he met the driver’s gaze. Uncle Zheng might not have meant anything by it, just looking at Liu Sizhen with a different classmate, but Lin Bosheng, who had always been sensitive to others’ gazes, immediately noticed. Without avoiding it, he stared straight back.

That was the first time Liu Sizhen invited him.

In the past, every time school ended, Lin Bosheng had seen boys from other classes waiting for him at the door. Perhaps Liu Sizhen didn’t remember them as clearly as Lin Bosheng did, but Lin Bosheng remembered it very well.

Since the incident in the boys’ restroom, Lin Bosheng had felt that his relationship with Liu Sizhen had slightly changed. Lin Bosheng, who had never been in a romantic relationship, couldn’t quite explain what had changed.

He just felt uneasy whenever he saw Liu Sizhen walking off with his arm around someone else’s shoulder. It made him feel uncomfortable, irritated, and anxious in a way he had never felt before.

This was an experience he had never had before.

Lin Bosheng tightly pressed his lips together, not understanding what was happening to him.

The turbulent emotions swirling in his chest were so unfamiliar, a mix of sourness and pain, stronger than anything he had experienced before. It was even harder to bear than the time he was caught stealing, or when his father borrowed money, and the creditors came to beat him up.

Liu Sizhen had many friends, and he was surrounded by a lot of people. He probably just played around with him… For a brief moment,

he even thought that Liu Sizhen might come back and hit him.

At least at that moment, his attention was on him.

In the empty classroom, the black-haired boy buried his face in his arms, looking as if he were sleeping, but the slight trembling of his shoulders made it seem like he was crying.

But in reality, neither was true…

He was trying to take deep breaths. It was a new school uniform, one that was usually neatly folded by its current owner, but now Lin Bosheng wanted to catch a faint trace of its previous owner’s scent from the clothes.

Even just a little bit… would be fine.