“Why do you just hug me out of nowhere? Did you ask for my opinion first?”

Gu Yufeng moved his hand away, unimpressed. “It’s just a greeting. Do I need to give a written notice in advance?”

“This is the country,” Xie Ci reminded him.

Gu Yufeng looked innocent. “But I’m a foreigner.”

Xie Ci replied, “So you’re immune to everything, huh?”

With a smile, Gu Yufeng pointed to his own face. “You haven’t returned the favor.”

Xie Ci was speechless.

Noticing a parent taking photos with their phone, Xie Ci lost interest in being the center of attention at the busy school gate and turned to leave.

On the way back, Jiang Chenyu was very interested in the foreigner’s cheek-kissing greeting and wanted to try it out. Excitedly, he walked up to Gu Yufeng and leaned his face in.

As Gu Yufeng passed by, he glanced at him and casually slapped him across the face.

It wasn’t hard, but it was extremely insulting.

Jiang Chenyu covered his face, confused. “Why did you hit me?”

Gu Yufeng replied, “You leaned in, didn’t you want me to hit you?”

Jiang Chenyu looked shocked as Gu Yufeng walked away.

Zhang Ruochuan and Fang Sizhe, who were walking behind, burst into laughter.

“You guys are still laughing!” Jiang Chenyu fumed, feeling embarrassed.

Zhang Ruochuan patted his shoulder, still chuckling. “Young man, let me give you some advice: being curious about everything will only get you into trouble.”

Jiang Chenyu gritted his teeth. “I hate double standards!”

Not long after the five of them entered the cafeteria, the incident at the school gate spread throughout the school. That evening, someone in the alumni group posted a photo of the school heartthrob, sparking discussions.

“Wow, it’s actually true?! I didn’t believe it when they said it, but Gu Yufeng really is close with Xie Ci?! What was I doing at that time? Why wasn’t I at the school gate?!”

“My love rival is scoring big points; I’m freaking out.”

“Wait, this photo looks so polished. Is there an original version? I want to use it as wallpaper!”

“They can’t really be dating, right? Didn’t they say Gu Yufeng had pinned Xie Ci against the wall several times before?”

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder, haha.”

“Don’t get too excited; Gu Yufeng said it was just a cheek-kissing greeting. He’s just a little foreigner.”

“My mom and I were there; she even asked me why kids these days are so open. Two boys dating so openly, haha.”

“I heard some parents want to complain, saying it’s immoral for same-sex relationships.”

In the cafeteria, Xie Ci and the others found a corner table to sit down and eat while chatting about what had happened at school that week.

Zhang Ruochuan also reported on the progress of each subject.

Gu Yufeng was only half-listening, not really caring about whether he could catch up with the study pace.

“Old Gu, your timing for taking leave is just perfect.”

Jiang Chenyu chimed in, “You conveniently skipped out just before the monthly exam. It can’t be intentional, right?”

Gu Yufeng picked out the chives from his egg and secretly placed them in an inconspicuous corner, then asked, following Jiang Chenyu’s lead, “What’s so hard about the monthly exam?”

Jiang Chenyu exclaimed, “It’s hard! This time, the math and physics are ridiculously difficult! The scores will be announced the day after tomorrow; I bet Old Xiang will be yelling again.”

“Physics is okay, but there are several new question types in math, and the knowledge points are beyond the syllabus.”

Fang Sizhe said, glancing at Xie Ci, “Old Xie, do you think it’s hard?”

Gu Yufeng was about to dig in when he noticed the plate across from him moving closer and looked up in confusion.

“If you’re not eating the chives, give them to me.”

Xie Ci casually replied, answering Fang Sizhe’s question, “The extra questions are indeed challenging; they’re similar to the competition questions from two years ago.”

Zhang Ruochuan asked, “You remember that?”

Xie Ci replied, “I had some free time over the weekend and just looked at them once.”

Zhang Ruochuan and the others were speechless.

Which serious academic would have free time to look at past competition questions? That’s just too much!

Gu Yufeng looked at the chives he had hidden under the egg, puzzled about how Xie Ci had noticed.

Did this kid used to pay this much attention to others?

In their previous life, they spent little time together, but they had shared quite a few meals at home.

He didn’t particularly dislike the taste of parsley; it wasn’t that he couldn’t eat it at all. He would always secretly pick it out, but by the next time, Xie Ci would still use parsley.

He thought being picky was a childish flaw and never mentioned it. He was sure Xie Ci hadn’t noticed it at all.

So, in their previous life, did Xie Ci just not see him, or was he pretending not to see?

As this thought crossed his mind, Gu Yufeng suddenly thought of that little Fang and felt a bit annoyed, so he decided to pick up the hidden chives.

Xie Ci was chatting with the others about the math exam when he suddenly saw Gu Yufeng shove a bunch of chives toward his mouth.

Gu Yufeng said, “Open your mouth.”

Xie Ci paused, “……”

Zhang Ruochuan and the others turned to look.

What’s with the feeding now?

“I told you to put it on my plate.”

Xie Ci pointed at the table, warning him, “I didn’t ask you to feed me.”

Gu Yufeng held his chopsticks still. “What’s the difference? You’re going to eat it anyway.”

Zhang Ruochuan and the others all looked at Xie Ci, waiting for his reaction.

Students passing by turned their heads to look, and people at nearby tables noticed too, whispering and pointing.

“Look! A boy is feeding another boy!”

“Isn’t that Xie Ci?!”

Facing everyone’s curious gazes, Xie Ci calmly said, “I meant for you to put it on my plate so I can throw it away later. I’m not eating chives.”

Gu Yufeng was speechless.

Not following the script?

Gu Yufeng looked down at Xie Ci’s plate, and sure enough, there were a few chives pushed aside. He felt a bit disappointed and grumbled as he placed the chives on the plate. “You’re already so grown up, and you’re still picky. How childish.”

Xie Ci replied lazily, with a sharp edge to his words, “Better than some people who dig a hole to hide the food they don’t eat.”

Gu Yufeng was taken aback. “…….”

When did his mouth become so sharp?

After finishing their meal, with a bit of time before evening study, Xie Ci and the others prepared to go to basketball practice. Gu Yufeng, having nothing else to do, decided to tag along to watch them play.

At this time of year, as soon as the sun went down, the temperature would drop sharply.

In the evening, the wind picked up, and Xie Ci saw that Gu Yufeng was only wearing a thin shirt and jacket. As Gu Yufeng was about to sit on the ground, he pulled him up and pointed to a spot diagonally across. “This is the wind tunnel; let’s go under that tree.”

“Such a hassle.”

Gu Yufeng complained but still slowly moved over. Just as he leaned against the tree, a school uniform jacket was thrown at him, still warm from someone’s body.

Xie Ci stretched his shoulders and limbs, adjusted his wrist guards, and instructed Gu Yufeng, “Hold this for me; don’t sit on it; it’s just been washed.”

Gu Yufeng smirked, “You reminded me.”

Xie Ci was speechless.

Gu Yufeng deliberately picked up the jacket and sniffed it, teasing him, “No wonder it smells so good.”

Xie Ci turned and walked away.

He couldn’t treat this kid like a normal high school student; he was always flirting.

Zhang Ruochuan and the others saw Xie Ci give his jacket to Gu Yufeng to hold and took off their own jackets, shivering as they warmed up.

Gu Yufeng disdainfully placed the jackets on his backpack, leaning against the tree while watching Xie Ci, who was exchanging tips with the players on the court.

Xie Ci was wearing a loose shirt over a fitted white T-shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. Under the black wrist guards were a pair of long, well-proportioned hands. Perhaps due to long-term exercise, his physique was well-maintained, and even simple movements exuded a sense of balanced strength, making even the simplest actions pleasing to the eye.

Gu Yufeng was used to seeing Xie Ci in a suit and tie, and now looking at the young man in front of him, he felt a mix of novelty and admiration.

The cunning Xie Zong in the office and the commanding Xie Captain on the court were so different yet equally captivating.

Not long after they arrived, Wang Hao hurried over, looking much more relaxed than a few days ago.

“Sorry, I’m late today because I had duty!” Wang Hao quickly set down his things and started warming up.

Fang Sizhe said, “It’s fine; a few minutes won’t make a difference.”

Wang Hao greeted Zhang Ruochuan and the others, then looked over at Xie Ci and walked over to whisper, “Captain, thank you. I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

On Monday, Wang Hao had received a call from Xie Ci asking to meet.

As soon as they met, Xie Ci offered to lend him money.

To be honest, he had never thought about borrowing money from classmates or friends; they were all students, and even pocket money had to come from their parents. He never expected Xie Ci would suddenly lend him such a large sum.

He wanted to refuse, but Xie Ci was right; this wasn’t the time to be picky.

“I’m not in a hurry; I can pay you back slowly.”

Xie Ci replied calmly, “Old Fang consulted some policies regarding medical insurance; your dad’s situation can be reimbursed quite a bit, so don’t feel too pressured.”

Wang Hao nodded, “Thank you.”

Xie Ci patted his arm, “Now that the trouble is resolved, you should focus on playing ball.”

Wang Hao replied, “Yeah!”

Zhang Ruochuan, hearing their conversation, looked puzzled and grabbed Jiang Chenyu, who was passing by. “Did you go with Old Xie to do something last Sunday? Why did you post that message in the group?”

Mentioning that terrifying experience from Sunday, Jiang Chenyu’s expression changed slightly; it was the kind of thing that still gave him nightmares.

Following Old Xie to the temple, they caught a wealthy, tough-looking uncle and conned him out of a million dollars with an unknown oil painting.

This was something that would be hard to believe if he told anyone.

Usually, he only thought Old Xie was great at basketball and had strong learning abilities; otherwise, he was just like them, reluctant to get up early in the cold and would save up his stinky socks to wash together.

That Sunday made him deeply realize that Xie Ci’s mom was a ruthless big shot!

He and Old Fang and Old Zhang were not on the same level as him!

After returning home that day, he searched for information about the painter online. There was very little information available, and the first few pages of search results were filled with various art award winners. It took him dozens of pages to find a post from over three years ago where a collector said they bought a painting by the same artist for eighty thousand.

For the same artist’s painting, someone else bought it for eighty thousand, while Old Xie sold it for a million!

That uncle that day must have been a clueless idiot who didn’t know how to use the internet; otherwise, he and Old Xie would be in trouble.

“I can’t say anything yet.”

Jiang Chenyu sighed, “Secrets can’t be leaked; if we lose, both Old Xie and I will be in big trouble.”

Zhang Ruochuan asked, “……???”

What on earth did they do?

Training continued until fifteen minutes before evening study, and Xie Ci called the other team members over for a brief summary.

Zhang Ruochuan went to grab his clothes, turned around, and exclaimed, “How did Old Gu fall asleep leaning against the tree?”

Xie Ci was talking to Fang Sizhe when he heard this and turned around. Gu Yufeng was sitting there, not knowing when he had fallen asleep, with Xie Ci’s jacket draped over his legs.

“Has he not adjusted to the time difference?”

Fang Sizhe put on the glasses hanging on the net. “I saw bloodshot eyes when I saw him this afternoon; he probably hasn’t been resting well lately.”

Zhang Ruochuan said, “He usually works after evening study; he really does look busy.”

Jiang Chenyu pondered, “Comparing this, am I too idle as a rich second generation? Should I get my dad to give me something to do?”

Zhang Ruochuan rolled his eyes. “Forget it; if you fail the college entrance exam, you’ll be the one crying.”

Xie Ci quietly approached and squatted down in front of Gu Yufeng. “Old Gu?”

After calling him several times without waking him, Xie Ci handed the jacket to Zhang Ruochuan and the others, signaling them to leave first.

The sleeping person leaned slightly against the tree, breathing lightly, and the quietness made Xie Ci feel a bit unaccustomed.

At this moment, he finally looked a bit like a teenager.

Xie Ci stared for a long time, then reached out to gently brush Gu Yufeng’s cheek. The strands of hair blown by the evening breeze brushed against his fingertips, causing him to curl his fingers slightly. Coming back to his senses, he patted Gu Yufeng’s shoulder. “Wake up, it’s time for class.”

Gu Yufeng had already woken up when Xie Ci came over; he just wanted to see how this kid would wake him up.

He could feel Xie Ci right in front of him, silent, not knowing what he was thinking.

Suddenly, his ear hurt, and Gu Yufeng opened his eyes, moving Xie Ci’s wrist away, his sleepy eyes looking displeased. “Is this how you wake people up?”

Xie Ci withdrew his hand and stood up, his tone cold. “What can I do if you can’t wake up?”

Gu Yufeng followed his movements and raised his head, deliberately provoking him with words. “If you can’t wake me up, can’t you just kiss me? That would wake me up, right?”

Xie Ci laughed in anger. “I’m not like you; I can’t just kiss and hug anyone.”

Gu Yufeng picked up his backpack and stood up, casually replying as he passed by Xie Ci, “Oh right, I forgot. You don’t like humans.”

Xie Ci looked at him speechlessly as he left, finally understanding why some parents couldn’t help but want to hit their kids.

Right now, he just wanted to pin Gu Yufeng down and give him a good smack.

Zhang Ruochuan and the others had already gone to the classroom, helping the class representatives distribute papers. When they saw Xie Ci come in alone, they asked, “Where’s Old Gu?”

Xie Ci pulled out his chair. “I sent him back to the dorm to sleep; it doesn’t make a difference whether he comes or not.”

Before he could sit down, Old Xiang quietly slipped in through the back door and patted Xie Ci. “Come with me to the office!”

Xie Ci was taken aback.

Zhang Ruochuan and a few boys in the back row patted their chests, feeling relieved. “You scared me to death!”

In the office, Xiang Haibin had a serious expression, glaring at Xie Ci standing in front of him. “A parent reported that you and Gu Yufeng were being affectionate at the school gate! What’s going on?!”

Other teachers secretly raised their heads, listening intently.

Xie Ci was speechless; it was Gu Yufeng who was causing trouble, yet he was the one being called in for questioning.

“What affection? Even if we were being affectionate, we wouldn’t do it at the school gate for everyone to see. How stupid would that be?”

“That’s true.”

Xiang Haibin nodded halfway, suddenly feeling something was off, and glared at Xie Ci. “So you really do have something going on? I’ll say this upfront: no early relationships are allowed in my class! Your grades just improved, and now you’re causing trouble. Can you let me have some peace?”

Xie Ci replied, “He suddenly leaned in; it has nothing to do with me. The class monitor and others can testify.”

Xiang Haibin said, “Where is he? Call him over.”

Xie Ci replied, “He’s in the dorm adjusting to the time difference; you can find him tomorrow.”

After throwing Gu Yufeng under the bus, Xie Ci left the office without any psychological burden.

After evening study ended, Xie Ci and Zhang Ruochuan returned to the dorm. As soon as he turned on the light, he saw a big lump lying on his bed.

Xie Ci walked over and indeed found Gu Yufeng curled up in his blanket, buried in his pillow, sound asleep.

Ever since he agreed to let this kid borrow it, this bed had been on his mind.

Xie Ci didn’t plan to indulge him and bent down to wake him up. “Go sleep in your own bed.”

Gu Yufeng covered his head with the blanket, clearly refusing.

Xie Ci supported himself on the side of Gu Yufeng, pulling the blanket down and looking down at the person who was clearly unhappy about being disturbed. “Hurry back; if you don’t get up, I’ll take the blanket away.”

Gu Yufeng was dead tired, squinting his eyes in annoyance, staring at the face so close to him.

After a brief eye contact, Gu Yufeng simply spread his arms and lay flat. “The shirt I’m wearing is also yours; you might as well take that off too.”

Xie Ci was speechless.