As they walked, Shi Ye suddenly saw a sign on the side of the road and asked, “Is there a school here?”

It was the first time Shi Ye had seen a school inside a tourist attraction.

“Yes, it’s my high school.”

Hearing that, Shi Ye had already started walking over there.

Sheng Xia suddenly became alert, “Teacher Shi Ye… there’s nothing much to see in this school. How about we go see the city wall ahead…”

“I want to see this school.”

Sheng Xia felt a bit awkward in his heart. He always felt a kind of indescribable shame about showing Shi Ye his high school. But Shi Ye insisted, so he could only follow.

When they arrived at the entrance, Shi Ye asked if they could go in for a visit.

Sheng Xia weakly advised against it, saying first that this high school was really run-down and had nothing scenic, then saying they would be kicked out if they went in and might even be reported to the police by the teachers…

As Sheng Xia’s words became more and more absurd, Shi Ye listened and became puzzled, “Is there hidden treasure or Voldemort hidden inside your high school? Why don’t you want me to go in and see?”

“We really can’t go in…” Sheng Xia really didn’t want to take Shi Ye to visit his high school alma mater, and indeed, his high school would not allow random people in, “Teacher Shi Ye, let’s… let’s just go around nearby.”

Shi Ye felt a bit regretful, “I was really curious about what a school built inside a tourist attraction looks like.”

“It’s just like an ordinary high school, nothing special, just a place for classes,” Sheng Xia said, lowering his head, “All schools are the same, just comparing and competing, taking exams… it’s boring.”

Shi Ye turned to see Sheng Xia looking down at his feet again.

He followed Sheng Xia’s gaze—white sneakers, red socks, and a strange doodle on the shoe, as if it were painted, looking like a little monster.

After holding back for so long, he finally couldn’t help it and pointed at the pair of socks, asking Sheng Xia, “How come your socks change colors every day?”

Sheng Xia seemed quite calm, as if he had been asked this question many times before, and answered slowly, “Because today they’re red.”

Shi Ye stood in the sunlight, looking towards Sheng Xia against the light. After a while, he suddenly felt the sunlight was a bit dazzling, so he moved closer to Sheng Xia, taking a couple of steps closer.

He looked at Sheng Xia. “Today is… red?”

Dealing with someone who was a bit slow in their reactions, even Shi Ye’s own speech became lighter and slower.

“Yeah, red,” Sheng Xia nodded. “Today is Monday, and Monday is red. I have to wear red socks.”

Shi Ye chuckled. “Do you like red?”

“…Not really, it’s just how it is, red is predetermined,” Sheng Xia replied somewhat nonsensically, but still tried to articulate, “It’s not about whether I like it or not, in my world, Monday is red. Regardless of whether I like it or not, Monday is Monday, red is red, it won’t change because of whether I like it or not.”

Shi Ye found it interesting and continued the conversation, “Then why do you have to use colored socks to represent the color of the day? Actually, you could wear red clothes, red pants, wear a red hat, or even red underwear…”

Shi Ye sounded earnest, not like he was joking with him, so Sheng Xia could only say, “I don’t know why socks were chosen. Maybe it’s more convenient.”

Quite interesting, Shi Ye thought. He had met many strange people, but rarely did he find someone interesting, which was quite rare.

He vaguely felt that something was off with this trend, so whenever this strange feeling entangled him, he would avoid those emotions that couldn’t be discerned and chat about something else.

“I haven’t really experienced normal high school or college,” Shi Ye laughed, “My adolescence was spent dropping out of school, wandering around… While my peers were taking exams in the classroom, I was betting in bars on whether I could break through sound barriers. At that time, I was like sixteen, following a few bands for gigs. Every gig I made a lot of money, could earn one or two hundred.”

Actually, Shi Ye couldn’t explain why he said these things or what kind of reaction he expected from the other person. After saying it, he regretted it.

But after listening, Sheng Xia pondered for a moment, then asked seriously, “Teacher Shi Ye, how about… after we go back, I lend you my school uniform to try? Or… maybe later I’ll see if we can sneak in unnoticed by the security guards to take a look…”

Initially, Sheng Xia didn’t want Shi Ye to visit the high school because he felt embarrassed, reminding him that he was still a student.

But when Shi Ye said that, he felt a bit sour, thinking it might be better to just take his idol to visit all the schools in Dali in the next few days.

After listening, Shi Ye was stunned for a moment.

Sheng Xia’s expression was very serious, not like he was joking. Because he was serious, Shi Ye felt a bit defenseless against it.

“No need, I just said it casually,” Shi Ye casually changed the topic, “I often see you carrying a notebook around to write and draw. It seems like you always carry a notebook with you. Do you like drawing? Or are you writing something else?”

“It’s just… it’s just about myself,” Sheng Xia felt a bit embarrassed, “It’s a habit from before. At first, when I couldn’t read music well, I always wrote lyrics to my favorite songs. Later, I started writing my own songs… When I’m bored, I draw life. I have a bad memory, if I don’t write it down, I’ll forget.”

Shi Ye was about to speak when Sheng Xia’s phone rang. He looked at the caller ID, apologized to Shi Ye, then slipped aside to answer, “Mom, what’s wrong?”

“You’re not with that Beijing girl, where did you go?” Zhao Wu asked one question after another, “Who are you with?”

“With…” Sheng Xia paused for a moment, then answered cautiously, “I’m with classmates, we went to the town to eat.”

“You’ve been saying you’re going to eat for the past two days, not coming back to eat all day, taking a break after the exam and running wild.” After scolding, Zhao Wu brought up something else, “Baby, Mom is going out these days, you have to be obedient, and prepare for your college application. I asked Uncle Zhang today, he works in the school we have in mind, I asked him, with your situation, applying for a boarding school is completely feasible…”

Sheng Xia couldn’t stand the topic these days. He hurriedly interrupted, “Mom, the results haven’t come out yet, there’s no rush.”

“I know there’s no rush, anyway, we’re just staying in Dali to study. Mom doesn’t expect you to go to Tsinghua or Peking University, you’re not really cut out for studying, having a diploma is good enough.” Zhao Wu started her theory as usual, “I want to talk to you about Uncle Zhang’s matter, he works in the school we have in mind…”

Sheng Xia felt like if he didn’t interrupt Zhao Wu, he would explode. He took a deep breath and said, “My classmate is calling me, I’ll talk to you later,” and hung up the phone.

On the other end of the phone, Zhao Wu was also very puzzled. Sheng Xia had always been obedient since he was a child, rarely hung up on her phone, and usually had a good temper. But these days, he seemed a bit unusual.

As they walked back, Sheng Xia saw Shi Ye standing in the light, looking up at the gate of his school, his expression very focused.

Shi Ye was tall, very eye-catching. According to the internet, his height was 189 cm. From Sheng Xia’s position, Shi Ye appeared very tall and imposing, as if he could touch the sky with his hand.

At that moment, Sheng Xia felt like the function of making words in his brain had malfunctioned. He couldn’t organize his words to express himself at this moment. He just felt that Shi Ye was really tall, very tall.

Under Shi Ye’s black shirt, he seemed to see ripples of a rainbow, waiting for the wind to blow and disperse the rainbow, falling onto Shi Ye’s body. The air was fragmented, refracting into colorful colors.

Actually, Sheng Xia wasn’t very afraid of the heat, but as he looked, he soon broke into a sweat. When Shi Ye noticed his gaze, Sheng Xia finally came to his senses, replaced his earlier infatuated expression with a smile towards him

“How are your grades?” Shi Ye looked at the school gate in front of him and casually asked, then smiled at himself, “It’s so strange, I think it’s the first time I’ve asked someone this kind of question. Are your grades good? What rank are you in the class? Do you have any university you want to go to…? Like a strange uncle, right? It’s okay if you don’t want to answer, just ignore me.”

Sheng Xia found Shi Ye’s accent very soothing, the tone of a northerner, a kind of unfamiliar freshness.

Just listening to Shi Ye speak made him forget the unpleasantness Zhao Wu had brought him just now, so he happily replied, “My grades aren’t good because I didn’t need to study well. Nobody demanded that I score a certain amount. I basically daydreamed during class, read comic books, and secretly listened to music.”

“…To speak so calmly about not studying well.” Shi Ye chuckled, “But you don’t seem like someone who would study well… Have you thought about what you want to do in the future?”

After listening, Sheng Xia blankly stared for a moment, his lips moved as if to answer, but ultimately he shook his head and didn’t say anything.

Shi Ye thought he might have been too intrusive, so he used a soothing tone and said, “It’s okay if you haven’t thought about it. People always take it one step at a time. When I was your age, I didn’t think I would rely on performing to make a living in the future. At that time, I just thought about how to improve my piano skills and show off to girls I didn’t know.”

Sheng Xia didn’t quite agree with what Shi Ye said, “No way, Teacher Shi Ye… When you were my age, didn’t you just form a band and start working on the ‘Aviator’ album?… How could I be like you?”

After the release of the album “Aviator,” Shi Ye and his band became famous overnight, becoming well-known to the world. At that time, Shi Ye was only nineteen years old.

Shi Ye had heard plenty of rainbow farts over the years and had long been immune to those genuine and false praises.

However, every time Sheng Xia praised him, whether directly or indirectly, there was a sudden surge of both self-satisfaction and humility in his body…

“I have a question for you—” Suddenly, Shi Ye wanted to confirm something, so he tilted his head slightly and asked, “Is it your mom who likes ‘Aviator,’ or is it you who likes ‘Aviator’?”

His tone didn’t sound like a question but more like a statement.

Sheng Xia was stunned by the question, his brain went blank, and he instinctively avoided Shi Ye’s probing gaze.

In the corner of his eye, Shi Ye’s black shirt seemed to ripple with rainbow waves again, and the rainbow began to move and twist, as if it had exploded into colorful fireworks. Something unfamiliar to Sheng Xia began to lurk and grow in his mind…

He decided to confess.

“I like ‘Aviator.'”

Shi Ye looked at Sheng Xia, his smile seeming knowing yet ambiguous, as he asked, “Just like the band?”

Sheng Xia was stunned for a moment.

But Shi Ye had already turned his head to look at the clouds in the sky.

In that moment of hesitation, Sheng Xia didn’t have the courage to say, “I also really like you.”

The air became uncomfortably still.

He began to blabber about something else, “Teacher Shi Ye, do you… want to go to Xiaguan and see my junior high school? I can sneak you in from behind and show you around my old classroom. I used to sit by the window and could see a row of wind turbines on Cangshan Mountain, it was very beautiful. The school is just one more bus stop away, and there’s a windmill square there too. I used to go there to smoke, it was very quiet…”

Unbeknownst to Sheng Xia, he blushed.

Shi Ye lazily smiled, seeming to understand everything and see through everything.

He interrupted Sheng Xia, “Alright, let’s go see your junior high school.”