Chapter 34

One day during the winter break of his sophomore year, Song Wenzhou left the home of one of his tutoring students and walked to the nearest bus stop.

There were seats available at the bus stop, but he didn’t sit down. Instead, he stood to the side, pulling up his mask, tightening his collar, and rubbing his palms together to warm them before slipping his hands into his coat pockets.

His phone, tucked in his pocket, vibrated twice at that moment. Song Wenzhou felt it and pulled it out to check, seeing a message on the screen:

【Qi Ling: Check the message】

While giving his lesson, Song Wenzhou had kept his phone on vibration mode. Thinking that he might have missed a message from Qi Ling, he unlocked his phone with one hand and opened WeChat. Apart from the two red dots on the subscribed public accounts, there was nothing else from Qi Ling.

【Song Wenzhou: ?】

【Qi Ling: Class group message】

Realizing what Qi Ling meant, Song Wenzhou opened another chat app. The group chat at the top had a colorful name, with “Class 8” in the middle, and the number on the right showed that the chat had over 99 new messages, constantly updating.

The group hadn’t been this active in a long time.

During the period right after high school graduation, the group was the most active, with students chatting almost constantly. But as everyone went off to university and joined more groups, they gradually stopped visiting the old one. Occasionally, a few people would pop in for a casual chat, or there would be more activity during holidays when they discussed class reunions.

Before he even entered the group chat, Song Wenzhou heard the announcement that the bus had arrived at the station. He put his phone away, adjusted his mask on the bridge of his nose, and followed the crowd onto the bus.

There were still plenty of empty seats on the bus, and Song Wenzhou walked to the back, finding a seat by the window.

He half-leaned against the backrest of the seat and the side of the bus, then took his phone out again to check the messages.

Song Wenzhou didn’t read through everything but just skimmed the key details. As he thought, the group was discussing the semi-annual class reunion. The class president had previously asked for a list of students who would attend, and now they were deciding on the location.

After reading the last message, Qi Ling’s message popped up again:

【Qi Ling: Are you going or not?】

Song Wenzhou glanced at the date with the most votes in the group and thought about his tutoring schedule. Unfortunately, he had a class that afternoon, so he replied to Qi Ling that he couldn’t attend.

No sooner had he sent the message than Qi Ling immediately asked why.

【Song Wenzhou: I have to tutor that afternoon】

【Qi Ling: You can go after your class】

Qi Ling knew about Song Wenzhou’s tutoring job. During the winter break, sometimes when he asked Song Wenzhou to hang out, he’d check if he had any lessons that day.

At this point, the group had decided on the restaurant for the reunion, which was not on the way to Song Wenzhou’s home. He found it troublesome to run back and forth. Plus, since he transferred to this class in his second year of high school, and being a slow starter, he hadn’t made many close friends, so he didn’t feel there was any need to attend the reunion.

【Song Wenzhou: It’ll be too late after my class, so I won’t go. Have fun!】

This time, Qi Ling’s messages took a while before they came through, with several sent one after another:

【Qi Ling: Just go.】

【Qi Ling: It’s just dinner, it won’t be too late.】

【Qi Ling: You haven’t seen your old classmates in so long, don’t you miss them?】

Song Wenzhou’s finger, hovering above the phone screen, hesitated for a moment. Although it wasn’t very kind, he honestly didn’t feel much of a longing.

What puzzled him even more was that Qi Ling seemed to be unusually enthusiastic today. Normally, when inviting him out, Qi Ling would only be polite and never this persistent, trying multiple times to persuade him.

Thinking of this, Song Wenzhou asked out of curiosity.

【Qi Ling: Uh…】

【Qi Ling: It’s just that I haven’t seen you in a while, and I wanted to take the chance to catch up.】

Song Wenzhou thought to himself that it had only been half a month since they last had a meal together, so it wasn’t really a long time.

But seeing how Qi Ling had been so persistent even after he had rejected him several times, Song Wenzhou felt a bit embarrassed to turn him down again. He agreed, saying he would try to make it after his tutoring session.

“Phew…” Qi Ling sighed in relief and turned to give a thumbs-up to the man beside him who had been watching him intently. “It’s done.”

The man smiled slightly, clearly satisfied, and murmured a contented “Mmm.”

Qi Ling casually tossed his phone onto the sofa and, while munching on sunflower seeds, complained, “Why didn’t you just say it yourself? You didn’t even let me speak the truth.”

Mu Chi lazily leaned against the backrest of the sofa, smiled, but didn’t answer Qi Ling’s question.

He had wanted to speak for himself, but he hadn’t been in contact with Song Wenzhou for seventeen days and five hours. Even before that, their communication had been sporadic, and he wasn’t sure about the situation.

—

On the day of the gathering.

After finishing his tutoring session, Song Wenzhou took a blank math test paper from his bag and handed it to his student.

“I’ve marked a few questions on this paper. Do them when you have time. If you have any questions, I’ll explain them next lesson.”

His student was a second-year high school boy, somewhat introverted. He obediently took the paper and nodded in agreement.

Song Wenzhou smiled, his gaze particularly kind as he packed his books and adjusted his backpack. “Alright, class is over.”

The boy relaxed and smiled, “Goodbye, Teacher Song.”

“Goodbye,” Song Wenzhou said with a helpless glance at him before turning and leaving the room.

Actually, Song Wenzhou was only two years older than the boy. Moreover, Song Wenzhou’s casual style and gentle appearance made him look no different from a high school student himself. When he first came to interview for the tutoring job, he was worried that the parents would think he was too young, so he dressed a bit more maturely. However, the student’s parents had praised him, saying that he looked like someone with great academic ability. After a trial lesson, they were even more satisfied.

This was Song Wenzhou’s first tutoring student. At first, the boy called him “Teacher” in a very serious manner, which made him feel uncomfortable. He had suggested that the boy just call him by his name, but the boy nodded and agreed, yet the next time they met, he still called him “Teacher.”

After hearing it so many times, Song Wenzhou eventually got used to it.

After leaving the student’s house, Song Wenzhou tightened his collar and hurried to the bus stop.

The gathering place was in the opposite direction of his home, so Song Wenzhou went to the station on the other side, where he used to wait for the bus.

On the way, Qi Ling sent a message letting him know he had saved him a seat, along with the room number.

When Song Wenzhou arrived at the restaurant, he followed the waiter’s directions to find the private room.

Perhaps because not everyone had arrived yet, the door to the room was wide open, and it was quite noisy inside.

As soon as Song Wenzhou stepped in, someone saw him. Qi Ling waved his right hand high in the air and loudly called his name, asking him to come over.

There was a large round table in the private room, probably for about twenty people, but there were more than twenty people from their class attending this gathering, so they had probably asked the waiter to add extra chairs. At this point, it was getting a bit crowded.

Two seats were vacant to Qi Ling’s left. After hearing Qi Ling call his name, Song Wenzhou slowly walked over. Along the way, a few familiar classmates greeted him, and he nodded and smiled in response.

The reason he called them familiar faces wasn’t because he had a bad memory or had forgotten what his classmates looked like after more than a year of graduation, but because some of them had changed so much that he almost didn’t recognize them.

Especially the female classmates. After going to university, their dressing style had become much more fashionable compared to high school, completely shedding their youthful innocence.

When Song Wenzhou reached Qi Ling’s side, he pulled out the chair next to him and sat down. Qi Ling opened his mouth, looking as though he wanted to say something but stopped.

“Hmm?” Song Wenzhou made a questioning sound.

Qi Ling cleared his throat and shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

Song Wenzhou didn’t think much of it. The heating in the private room was on high, and with so many people, he immediately felt warm when he sat down. After hanging his backpack over the back of his chair, he unzipped his jacket. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Qi Ling lowering his head to type a message, his fingers moving rapidly.

At this moment, Zhang Feiyu, who was sitting to the right of Qi Ling, greeted him from across Qi Ling and Song Wenzhou. As soon as Song Wenzhou turned his head to look, Qi Ling quickly flipped his phone over.

Song Wenzhou: “…”

He made eye contact with Qi Ling, who probably realized his reaction was a bit excessive. Qi Ling awkwardly laughed a couple of times.

“Talking to your girlfriend?” Song Wenzhou thoughtfully offered an explanation.

“Uh…” Qi Ling’s mind seemed to short-circuit. “Is that so?”

Song Wenzhou said nothing and decided to change the topic, making small talk with Zhang Feiyu through Qi Ling.

Last summer, Zhang Feiyu had stayed near the school to work a summer job, and it had been almost a year since Song Wenzhou had seen him. There were many greetings and inquiries about each other’s well-being.

During their conversation, the chair next to Song Wenzhou, which had been left vacant, was pulled out. In the middle of hearing Zhang Feiyu’s words, Song Wenzhou felt someone sit down and instinctively turned his head to look—

Mu Chi, with a smile on his face, gracefully sat down. He first adjusted the hem of his coat and then looked at Song Wenzhou, giving him a playful wink with a wider smile that lit up his eyes.

Song Wenzhou was stunned.

How long had it been since he last saw Mu Chi?

It had been nearly three years since Mu Chi went abroad.

During the time right after Mu Chi left, Song Wenzhou, due to the small quarrel they had before his departure, hadn’t been in contact with him. Later, Mu Chi didn’t call him, and they both tacitly ignored the promises made before his departure, maintaining a friendship-like connection.

But things didn’t stay good for long. When senior year started, Song Wenzhou spent more time studying and adjusted his schedule. Due to the unavoidable time difference, he and Mu Chi hardly had time to chat anymore.

Gradually, their contact became sporadic, with each gap lasting longer than the last.

After starting university, Song Wenzhou had more free time, but by then, he had gotten used to this pattern. Unless it was something important, he was afraid that contacting Mu Chi out of the blue might disturb him, so he didn’t think about changing the situation.

“Long time no see.”

Song Wenzhou snapped out of his thoughts, suppressed the emotions stirring inside him, and quietly responded, “Long time no see.”

After saying this, neither of them knew what to say next. The other classmates at the table were still chatting excitedly, and some had already formed teams to play games. Only Song Wenzhou and Mu Chi, sitting in the corner, fell into an awkward silence.

A little awkward, Song Wenzhou thought.

He had always been a man of few words. When he went out with friends in the past, he often didn’t speak much, but he never felt any awkwardness. Why did he feel so uneasy now, unable to sit still?

Song Wenzhou’s fingers, resting on his thigh, unconsciously scratched at the stiff denim fabric of his jeans, suddenly feeling thirsty.

He had taught his student for over two hours, and by the time he was two-thirds into the lesson, the water in his thermos was gone. He hadn’t refilled it, and after the class, he came here without drinking a single drop. No wonder he was so parched.

There was a cup of water right in front of him on the table. Song Wenzhou glanced at it, then noticed that Qi Ling and Zhang Feiyu also had cups in front of them. He thought that the water must have been poured after they sat down. Extremely thirsty, he picked up the cup and drank it all in one go.

“Hey, hey, hey?” Qi Ling exclaimed.

With his thirst quenched, Song Wenzhou sighed in satisfaction and turned to look at Qi Ling with a questioning glance.

Qi Ling’s face showed that same hesitant expression, while Mu Chi, on the other hand, let out a soft laugh.

“What’s wrong?” Song Wenzhou asked, confused.

“This water…” Qi Ling pointed at the cup still in Song Wenzhou’s hand and reminded him, “It’s from Brother Chi. He was sitting in your spot before you came.”

Song Wenzhou’s fingers froze instantly, and his mouth felt hot where the water had passed.

No wonder Mu Chi’s arrival hadn’t caused any stir, it turned out that he had already been here. Song Wenzhou, who had come later, had taken his seat, used his cup, and drank the water he had already sipped.

“Eh, it’s fine,” Qi Ling waved it off carelessly, “After all, we’re all guys.”

After Mu Chi’s laughter subsided, he caught Song Wenzhou’s attention again, asking, “Want to switch cups?”

Song Wenzhou rubbed his thumb over the side of the cup, his ears turning warm, but he tried to appear calm, dismissing it with a nonchalant attitude. “No need, we’re all guys. What’s the big deal?”

Mu Chi nodded, saying no more, but his gaze seemed to unintentionally linger on the rim of the cup that Song Wenzhou had just drunk from. His eyes then casually darted to Song Wenzhou’s lips.

There were traces of the water he had just drunk on his lips. Upon hearing that it was Mu Chi’s water, Song Wenzhou unconsciously pressed his lips together a few times. His lips turned a bright red from the pressure, looking especially kissable.

“Ahem—” Mu Chi quickly averted his gaze and adjusted the hem of his coat again.