Chu Tao didn’t expect to sleep through until the afternoon after school.

He groggily opened his eyes, and Jiang She was still holding him. He was completely wrapped up in the blanket.

The sun had set, but it wasn’t completely dark yet. The sky outside was a deep, clear blue, with white clouds stretched thin like delicate willows.

Chu Tao was sweating, but it seemed like he had completely recovered from his illness. He lifted the blanket and tried to get out of bed.

Jiang She immediately woke up. At first, his eyes were still hazy, but within a few seconds, he was fully awake.

He sat up, hunched over, and rubbed his face hard, mumbling, “How did I sleep for so long?”

During the senior year revision phase, even students who weren’t studying would feel exhausted from spending all day at school. Not to mention, he had actually put in some effort.

Although it didn’t feel like much at the time, once he let his guard down, the fatigue in his body immediately hit back.

And the feeling of holding Chu Tao in his arms was too comfortable. Once the mind is at ease and unburdened, the body can’t help but relax as well.

Although he had wasted the entire day, Jiang She felt his spirit had recovered quite a bit.

Chu Tao was also annoyed. With his messy hair, he reached for the bedside clock and saw that it was already 5:30 PM.

He had said this morning that he was going to school, but now he hadn’t gone all day.

“Give me my pants. I need to wash my face,” Chu Tao said, wrapping the blanket around his waist, leaning against the headboard, and commanding Jiang She in a nasal tone.

His school uniform had been thrown carelessly by Jiang She on the storage cabinet by the door, not even folded properly. It felt so reckless and indulgent.

Jiang She got out of bed, walked to the door, grabbed the pants and sleeves of Chu Tao’s uniform, and tossed them back onto the bed.

But he didn’t forget to tease him, “Just go without them, you afraid I’ll see?”

Chu Tao shot him a glare, turned away, draped the blanket over his shoulder, and turned his back to Jiang She while putting on his pants.

He dressed quickly, almost too fast to notice, then tossed the blanket aside and got out of bed.

He went to the bathroom, washed his face, and rinsed out the lingering taste of medicine from his mouth before making room for Jiang She.

“We can still catch the evening self-study session at school.”

Jiang She, feeling lazy, walked toward the sink and said, “Forget the self-study, I’ll take you to dinner.”

Chu Tao stopped in his tracks and said seriously, “No, do you know the first mock exam is coming up soon? If I slack off now, it’ll be hard to get back into the groove. I have to go to the evening self-study.”

“Okay, okay, you’re the boss,” Jiang She replied, turning on the faucet, splashing some cold water on his face.

The water droplets slid down the side of his face, along his jawline, and down to the marked collarbones on his neck.

Chu Tao was looking around for his phone. He had been dizzy earlier and forgot where he had put it when he walked in.

He had no choice but to lean against the bathroom door and ask Jiang She, “Can you use your phone to call me? I can’t remember where I threw mine.”

Jiang She was wiping his face, the water stains still on his freshly changed shirt.

Hearing Chu Tao’s words, Jiang She couldn’t help but laugh. He tossed the towel aside and teased, “Don’t we look like a married couple living together now?”

Chu Tao pursed his lips and looked up at Jiang She, pausing for a few seconds. “I haven’t even had a proper relationship yet. I don’t want to get married so early.”

Jiang She raised an eyebrow. “What’s the difference between dating and marriage?”

Chu Tao swallowed, his Adam’s apple moving, and slowly said, “When dating, you can do everything except sleep together. But when married, you’ll be pinned to the bed.”

Jiang She’s eyes lit up when he heard this. He walked over to Chu Tao, his hand still cold from the water, and slid it into the collar of Chu Tao’s shirt. “You know me well.”

Chu Tao’s skin was smooth, with a healthy warmth to it, and his muscles were firm.

The touch made Chu Tao shiver slightly, and he grabbed Jiang She’s wrist, pulling his hand away. “Stop messing around, help me find my phone. I’m worried my mom and brother will call me.”

Jiang She muttered in annoyance and rubbed his fingertips, then went out to grab his phone to call Chu Tao.

Eventually, he found Chu Tao’s phone in the corner of the sofa, probably dropped there when Chu Tao had leaned over it earlier.

Chu Tao unlocked his phone and found several missed messages and calls.

There were messages from Song Mian, Chu Jiangmin, Chu Xingning, and his homeroom teacher, Yang Liu.

Chu Tao felt a slight headache. He hadn’t shown up all day, so these people must have been trying to contact him multiple times.

Yang Liu probably knew that Jiang She had gone to find him, so to reassure Song Mian, she might have mentioned something about Jiang She.

Chu Tao was thinking while holding his phone when another call came in—it was from Song Mian.

He glanced at Jiang She, hesitated for a moment, then braced himself and answered the call.

Before he could even say “Mom,” Song Mian bombarded him with questions.

“Tao Tao, where are you? Why didn’t you go to school all day? I’ve been so worried, and you didn’t answer my calls. Your brother’s been trying to go out to find you too. How are you feeling? Is your fever worse? I told you to rest at home, but you didn’t listen. Your teacher said you weren’t there, and I was so scared. Your dad even postponed his business trip because of this.”

Chu Tao finally found a break in her rapid-fire questioning and quickly said, “I went to the hospital. I was feeling so sick on the way, someone took me to the hospital. After the checkup and the injection, I just slept, and I’ve been asleep until now. Sorry.”

Song Mian paused for a moment before slowing down her speech. “So… are you better? Is it serious?”

Chu Tao switched the phone to his other hand and signaled Jiang She to be quiet. “I’m completely better now. I’m about to go to school for evening self-study.”

Song Mian anxiously responded, “What evening self-study? Don’t go, I’m coming to pick you and your brother up. You both need to go home now.”

“Mom…” Chu Tao began.

“I’m on my way, I’ll be waiting for you across from the school,” Song Mian said, her tone final.

Chu Tao couldn’t argue with her. After hanging up, he looked at Jiang She.

Jiang She, now more rational, said, “You should go home. Your parents must be worried.”

Chu Tao felt reluctant and reached out, grabbing Jiang She’s hand. “What about you?”

Jiang She held his hand back. “I’ll just go back to self-study. I’ve had a rest today anyway.”

Mainly, Fang Sheng and Xu Yuan had been asking about him, and if he didn’t show up, they might come up with all kinds of wild ideas.

After getting dressed, Chu Tao and Jiang She walked together toward the school gate. The sky had not fully darkened yet, and visibility outside was still good.

The traffic at the school gate was slow, with the traffic lights changing in a steady rhythm. The willow trees swayed, their leaves rustling in the breeze.

As they got closer to the gate, Chu Tao and Jiang She had to part ways. There weren’t many students around, and the open space meant that once Song Mian arrived, she would surely spot him.

Slowly, the distance between them grew. Chu Tao walked ahead, and Jiang She followed behind, with each step taking them further apart.

When they reached the school gate, Chu Tao heard the sound of a horn honking. He turned around and saw Song Mian’s car.

Song Mian had parked by the roadside, opened the car door, and stood up, waving at him.

“Tao Tao!”

Chu Xingning was running out from the school with his backpack.

As soon as he approached, he put his arm around Chu Tao’s shoulder and looked him up and down, saying, “I was so worried! Mom texted me this morning saying you went to school, but when I went to your class, you weren’t there. I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer, and I thought something had happened to you.”

Chu Tao could only give a vague explanation. “I had a really high fever and was sent to the hospital.”

Chu Xingning was surprised. “There are still good people around?”

Because of all the “scam” incidents around the country, people were becoming less willing to help others, and Chu Tao had gone out during the rush hour, when everyone was hurrying to work. Yet, someone had still been kind enough to take him to the hospital.

Chu Tao pursed his lips and looked away. “Yeah, there are still some.”

Chu Xingning put his arm around him as they crossed the street and approached Song Mian’s car.

Before Chu Tao got into the car, he paused and couldn’t help but glance back.

On the opposite side of the street, under the school wall, Jiang She was lazily leaning against a tree, waving at him.

Chu Tao couldn’t see Jiang She’s expression because he was standing at just the right distance, not too close nor too far, so that Song Mian and Chu Xingning wouldn’t notice him.

They still couldn’t openly appear in front of his family.

Despite spending the whole day together, Chu Tao still felt reluctant to leave Jiang She.

He raised his hand, about to wave back, but Song Mian suddenly asked, “Tao Tao, what are you looking at?”

Startled, Chu Tao immediately pulled his hand back, his heart racing in his chest.

Once they got in the car, Chu Tao could only see Jiang She through the tinted window, but Jiang She couldn’t see him at all.

The phone vibrated, and Chu Tao lowered his head, shielding the screen with his palm, carefully pressing it to light up.

Jiang She: “Then I’m heading back to school. See you tomorrow.”

Chu Tao looked up again, and saw Jiang She walking slowly toward the school gate. As soon as Song Mian made a turn, he couldn’t see him anymore.

Chu Xingning couldn’t help but glance at Chu Tao, feeling like something was off. Chu Tao seemed distracted, staring out the window the whole time.

It was unusual that he hadn’t gone to school all day, but it wasn’t like he had such a strong attachment to the school.

While driving, Song Mian asked, “Who was it that took you to the hospital? Did they leave contact information? We should thank them properly.”

Chu Tao’s eyes shifted, and he slowly said, “Do we really have to thank them?”

Song Mian turned her head in disbelief. “Of course! They did a good deed without expecting anything in return, but we still can’t ignore it. You know how I’ve always told you, don’t owe anyone a favor.”

Chu Tao swallowed and casually said, “I was burning up so badly that I didn’t have the energy to think about it. After they took me to the hospital, I think they were in a hurry to go to a meeting. So, they had the driver stay with me for the checkup, and they left first. Later, when I was on the IV, I asked the driver to leave too.”

Song Mian sighed. “What a good person. It’s rare to meet someone like that. And they even had a driver—most likely, they’re doing well and don’t lack anything.”

Chu Tao murmured, “Maybe we’ll run into them again. I’ll thank them when I do.”

That was the end of the matter. Song Mian felt it was a bit of a coincidence but didn’t press further.

Chu Tao seemed well-behaved, and it was perfectly reasonable for a passerby to help him get to the hospital when he collapsed from fever.

Song Mian suddenly remembered something and brought it up. “By the way, next Friday, your dad’s college friend is coming to Huai City. He’s going to have dinner with us, and his child just came back from studying abroad in the UK last year. You two can ask him about studying abroad. He’s especially excellent, studied in a university abroad, and it’s ranked in the top 50 by QS. He’s here for a job interview in Huai City.”

Chu Xingning wasn’t particularly interested, but he nodded and said, “Mmm.”

Actually, with his current grades, if everything goes smoothly in college, applying for graduate school in a QS Top 10 university wouldn’t be an issue, so the top 50 didn’t really catch his interest.

Chu Tao was about to agree, but then suddenly remembered that Jiang She’s birthday was next Friday.

He blurted out, “Next Friday, I have something to do!”

Song Mian was stunned for a moment and asked, “What… could you possibly have to do?”

Chu Tao silently thought, celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday.

But he quickly made up an excuse. “It’s with Teacher Nian, the one who’s been helping me with extra tutoring. Jiang She and I planned to take him out for a meal to thank him, especially since we’ve improved so much in our grades. We scheduled it for next Friday, before the 11th.”

As soon as Song Mian heard it was Teacher Nian Li Hua, she seemed a bit troubled.

“Oh, how coincidental. Can’t you change the time? Your dad’s friend is only here for one day.”

Chu Tao calmly replied, “We made the appointment with the teacher first. He probably rearranged other work for this, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to change it now.”

Song Mian knew it wouldn’t be appropriate, but she agreed that thanking the teacher was more important.

Chu Tao continued, “You can still all have dinner together. Brother will be there too, and I’ve never met Dad’s friend before, so it doesn’t matter.”

—————

The author has something to say: The relationship will be exposed soon~

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2020-05-18 00:20:07~2020-05-19 20:22:14~

Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: Melly-su, loveblack, youth, ignorant love 1;

Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 10 bottles of Heijila; 5 bottles of Meow Meow Meow; 3 bottles of Want to Be a White Woman;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!