A boy in the front row immediately booed, “How is that good news?! My online romance! My love! Now I won’t get a chance to defile Che-ge’s profile picture, sigh!”

His sorrowful complaint was drowned out by laughter.

Lu Che leaned against the wall, casually smirking as he spun a pen in his hand. “Oh, a perfect score, huh.”

The girls in the class secretly glanced at him, their eyes sparkling with admiration and joy.

Lu Che fit the mold of a romance novel’s male lead perfectly: his looks were flawless, his demeanor was cool and aloof, he skipped class and got into fights, yet he excelled in science subjects.

Unfortunately, the lovestruck girls didn’t know that Lu Che wasn’t following the script of a romantic lead.

Lu Che then asked, “Homeroom teacher, how much did the class president score?”

The teacher replied, “I haven’t graded the president’s paper yet.”

Xu Xing, the class president, glanced back at Lu Che, who smiled and said, “President, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I can’t guarantee everything, but this exam wasn’t too bad. I just love helping classmates understand problems.”

Lu Che’s voice wasn’t loud, but Fu Dai and Ke Di, sitting nearby, both heard him.

Fu Dai mercilessly exposed him, “President, when Che-ge explains something, it’s always the same: ‘Come back and ask me once you’ve brought your brain.’”

And the one who Lu Che dissed like that was none other than Ke Di himself, who clearly hadn’t been serious when he asked questions.

Xu Xing: “…”

Lu Che chuckled softly, “The president’s definitely not like Ke Di.”

Fu Dai shrugged and agreed, “That’s true. Compared to the president, Ke Di’s definitely brainless.”

Ke Di turned to Zhou Mang with a look of grievance, “They said I have no brain!”

Zhou Mang calmly replied, “You still have a little.”

Ke Di: “… Excuse me??”

During the break.

Tang Mian sat at Xiong Huan’s desk, facing Xu Xing and Wang Zicong, and asked, “Do you guys have any plans for National Day?”

The midterm had just ended, and a four-day holiday was coming up. Of course, it had to be spent having fun!

Wang Zicong, busy stuffing hollow fries into his mouth, replied, “No idea, I’ll listen to my girlfriend ~”

“…”

That topic, with so much room for expansion, was suddenly divided by Wang Zicong’s comment into a comparison of the single versus non-single during the holidays.

Xu Xing didn’t join their conversation.

When the next break came.

Xu Xing left his seat to get some fresh air in the hallway. He had barely stood there for a moment when someone hugged him from behind.

Xu Xing didn’t turn around or struggle, letting the person mess around, too lazy to deal with him.

Lu Che leaned on Xu Xing’s back and asked, “President, come to City A during the break, okay?”

Xu Xing replied in an annoyed tone, “No, what’s so fun about City A?”

Lu Che grinned mischievously and said, “You could come play with me, any way you want.”

Lu Che’s home was in City A.

Xu Xing: “…”

Lu Che hugged Xu Xing, clinging to him and whining, “Come home with me, okay? I’ve met your family already, so I want to take you to meet mine.”

Xu Xing instinctively resisted as soon as he heard that, “Meet your family? Are you crazy…?”

Lu Che held him tighter, rubbing against him and swaying, “Come on, come on, I’ll take you to see my grandparents. I’ll be with you the whole time—eating, drinking, playing, and even sleeping.”

Xu Xing frowned and refused, “No way…”

Then he added in explanation, “I need to spend Mid-Autumn Festival with my family.”

Lu Che rested his chin on Xu Xing’s shoulder, carefully planning, “I’ll stay at your place tonight, and tomorrow at noon we can catch the bus. We’ll just go for a day, and I’ll bring you back the next day. How does that sound?”

Xu Xing remained silent, torn inside: Going for one day wasn’t impossible, but…

After much internal struggle, Xu Xing finally came up with a reason, “Forget it, there are probably no tickets left by now, right?”

Lu Che smirked and said, “There are. I bought them a long time ago ~”

Xu Xing: “…”

After school, Lu Che and Xu Xing stood at the school gate, waiting for Xu’s dad to pick them up.

Xu Xing had his hands in his pockets, silently wrestling with whether or not to go to City A with Lu Che—should he go, or shouldn’t he? Could he, or couldn’t he?

By the time Xu’s dad arrived to pick them up, Xu Xing still hadn’t come to a conclusion, and dazedly went home with Lu Che.

That evening.

As soon as Lu Che sat down at the dinner table, his face lit up with a smile—

Although Xu Xing had been quiet all afternoon, not giving a clear answer, the dishes Xu’s mom prepared were all to Lu Che’s taste.

Clearly, Xu Xing had already informed his family in advance.

Xu’s mom mentioned, “Your sister said a few days ago that she couldn’t get a ticket and won’t be coming home. Festival tickets are always the hardest to get.”

Xu Xing didn’t comment, eating his meal as if nothing had happened.

After dinner.

Xu Xing and Lu Che walked into the room one after the other. As soon as Xu Xing sat down at his desk, he couldn’t help but ask, “When did you buy the tickets?”

Hearing this, Lu Che chuckled softly, “Tickets to my hometown aren’t hard to get. It’s close, and there are plenty of buses.”

Xu Xing frowned and asked, “So, when exactly?”

Lu Che responded, “About a week ago ~”

Xu Xing didn’t reply.

After a moment of silence.

Lu Che didn’t mind much, lowering his head to pull out some clothes from his bag. Then he heard Xu Xing ask, “What time tomorrow?”

Lu Che paused, a smile creeping onto his lips as he looked at Xu Xing’s back. “How about the 10 o’clock bus? Or maybe 10:30?”

Xu Xing frowned slightly, then turned around to face Lu Che, holding out his hand. “Let me see the tickets you booked.”

Lu Che hesitated for a moment, holding his phone with some reluctance, but he eventually opened the ticket app and handed it to Xu Xing.

Xu Xing had assumed Lu Che booked bus tickets, but it wasn’t that at all. He frowned when he saw the name on the ticket, suppressing his mixed feelings. He looked up and asked, “How do you even know my ID number?”

Lu Che rubbed his nose guiltily, “I saw it last time when we were checking the class list.”

“…”

Xu Xing opened the ticket details, scrolling down the screen—Lu Che had booked two tickets for two different buses on the same day. Each booking had two seats.

The user information showed two names: Lu Che and Xu Xing.

Whenever Lu Che felt embarrassed, he would grin shamelessly. Hugging Xu Xing, he said, “I wasn’t sure when you’d be free, so I had to make sure we’d have tickets no matter what time.”

Xu Xing replied quietly, “You couldn’t have just asked me?”

But Lu Che laughed, “If I asked, you’d definitely say no ~”

Xu Xing was left speechless.

Lu Che knew him better than he knew himself.

Xu Xing silently canceled all the buses except for the one at 10 a.m., and after some hesitation, he also canceled the return tickets for the next day, leaving only the last evening bus.

The cancellation process incurred several fees.

Xu Xing shoved the phone back into Lu Che’s hand, got up, and grabbed his clothes to take a shower.

That night.

The lights in the bedroom were off, and Xu Xing lay on his side, resting his head on his arm, his back facing Lu Che. He opened his eyes in the darkness, unable to resist breaking the silence. “Hey.”

Lu Che turned over, now facing Xu Xing. “Hmm?”

His night vision was good, allowing him to make out Xu Xing’s silhouette even in the dark.

With his back still to Lu Che, Xu Xing asked, “Don’t you think there’s something wrong with you?”

Lu Che was puzzled, “Huh?”

Xu Xing continued, “Normal people wouldn’t put up with me. You’re not normal.” Which meant, this was probably all because of fate or destiny.

Lu Che chuckled softly, drawing out his words lazily, “Is that your way of complimenting me for loving you so much?”

Xu Xing: “… Get lost.”

Xu Xing shut his eyes tightly, effectively ending the conversation.

But the quiet didn’t last long before Lu Che’s deep voice broke through from behind, “To be honest, your personality pushes people away. Sometimes, it really hurts. Especially for those who want to get close to you—it feels like their warmth is being met with cold indifference.”

Xu Xing: “…”

Lu Che said, “But still~”

His voice was filled with laughter, “I know that even if you’re worried enough to cry, you’d never admit it. You’re really not great at expressing yourself, or rather, the way you express yourself is exhausting. It tires you out, and it tires others too.”

Xu Xing was embarrassed when he heard this and hurried to retort, “Shut up! You’re the one who’s crying!”

Lu Che couldn’t help but laugh, coaxing, “Alright, alright, you’re not crying. I’m just talking nonsense.”

“…”

The pre-bed conversation ended with Xu Xing feeling thoroughly displeased.

Lying on his side, Xu Xing felt uncomfortable with his pillow. He closed his eyes, trying to lull himself to sleep.

However…

After half an hour had passed, Xu Xing was still wide awake, and he could sense the person beside him, shifting silently in the quiet, slowly leaning closer.

Xu Xing’s right hand, resting outside the covers, instinctively gripped the bed sheet beneath him.

Without a doubt, a kiss fell upon his lips again—

Warm, soft lips lightly opened and closed, gently and lingeringly kissing his own.

Compared to their first kiss last Saturday, Lu Che wasn’t content with just a brief peck this time. He kissed Xu Xing tenderly, savoring the warmth and softness of his lips without waking him.

Xu Xing wasn’t sure how long Lu Che had been kissing him, only that his hand gripping the sheet was starting to hurt from clenching it too tightly.

As Lu Che kissed him, a random thought popped into Xu Xing’s foggy mind: Would Lu Che dare to wait until he was asleep next time to steal a kiss? The amount of self-control it took not to punch Lu Che right now was seriously testing his limits.

·

The next morning.

Xu Xing got up just after six. Since he hadn’t stayed awake half the night in frustration, he felt alright and thus didn’t feel the urge to kick Lu Che awake as soon as he got out of bed.

Xu Xing went to wash up first, drank a cup of warm water, and quietly packed his clothes for the trip while Lu Che was still asleep.

He had already briefly mentioned to his parents the day before that he might go back to City A with Lu Che, though at the time, he said he wasn’t sure yet. This morning, he confirmed the time with them. As a result, Xu’s dad didn’t leave for work and, just past nine, drove the two of them to the station.

When they arrived at the station, they still had more than half an hour before departure, so Lu Che took their IDs and exchanged the tickets.

They didn’t wait long in the terminal before they went to board. After finding their assigned seats, Xu Xing chose the one by the window.

Without hesitation, Lu Che leaned his head on Xu Xing’s shoulder.

Xu Xing felt a bit awkward and spoke up, “I’ve been to City A a few times, and I never really liked it.”

Lu Che chuckled shamelessly, “That’s because I wasn’t there yet. You were waiting for a reason. How does that saying go—”

“Falling in love with a city because of one person.”

Xu Xing: “Ha.”

Lu Che sighed, “When I first got to City C, I was so frustrated. I kept thinking how much better City A was, how there was nothing to do on weekends here. But now, with you in City C, it’s more than enough.”

Xu Xing rested his chin on his hand and snorted, “Aside from smoking, drinking, and fighting, what else can you do?”

The head resting on his shoulder suddenly turned, and warm lips pressed against his ear. Lu Che also reached out and gently cupped Xu Xing’s other cheek.

Xu Xing’s breath caught.

In this intimate position, with his lips brushing against Xu Xing’s ear, Lu Che lowered his voice and said, “I can love you.”

With each word, Lu Che’s lips brushed lightly against Xu Xing’s ear, causing a ticklish sensation.

Just then, Xu Xing’s left ear was filled with the soft, gentle lyrics of an English song: I found a love for me.

Moments earlier, while cupping Xu Xing’s face, Lu Che had slipped an earbud into Xu Xing’s left ear, with the other earbud in his own right ear.

The ears closest to each other were left for their whispered words.

But Xu Xing wasn’t in the mood to continue listening to the song.

Lu Che adjusted himself into a more comfortable position, resting his head on Xu Xing’s right shoulder, the light scent of shampoo wafting over as his hair lightly brushed against Xu Xing’s ear.

It was a little ticklish.

---

Author’s note: Luckily, Xu Xing didn’t keep listening to the rest of the lyrics [bows].

The next line in the song is “Well I found a girl,” which might have ruined the mood [covers face].

*

I tested it out—using one ID to buy tickets for different time slots on the same day (to the same destination) is totally possible~