Chapter 122: Extra 1 – School Opening

September 1st, 7:00 AM.

Jiang Bei, with her backpack on, squatted beside the coffee table, holding a small dried fish and whispering, “Yoyo, yoyo.”

Yoyo – that’s the little black cat Jiang Ji brought back over half a year ago. At this moment, it was crouching behind the coffee table, only showing one eye alertly watching Jiang Bei, with a clear expression on its face saying, “There are always troublemakers trying to harm me.”

This cat might have clashed with the character “Jiang” in its fate. It always acted like it was facing a formidable enemy when it saw Jiang Ji and Jiang Bei, but it would beg for cuddles and attention from Qin Qingzhuo.

Jiang Ji stood at the door, slightly impatiently tapping his fingers on the nearby cabinet, “Stop dawdling, you’re going to be late.”

Qin Qingzhuo draped a windbreaker over his elbow and also said, “Off you go, Jiang Bei, time for school.”

“Can’t I skip school?” Jiang Bei turned around, asking pitifully.

“Nope.” Jiang Ji said firmly, “Hurry up.”

At this moment, Yoyo darted out from behind the coffee table, snatched the small dried fish from Jiang Bei’s hand, and ran off.

Jiang Bei sighed and stood up slowly, walking towards the two.

Leaving the house, getting into the car, Jiang Bei remained gloomy all the way.

She was used to the wildness, suddenly being confined to go to school felt like being sent to jail.

Qin Qingzhuo turned back to tease her, “Don’t be unhappy, look, even your brother has to go to school.”

“He’s going to college,” Jiang Bei wasn’t easily fooled, muttering quietly, “the kind where you can play every day.”

“You can’t play every day in college either…” Qin Qingzhuo chuckled, then thought for a moment and added, “Your brother will have military training this time, he won’t be back for half a month, standing under the scorching sun every day, half a day at a time, and can’t move at all. If he moves, he’ll get beaten. You wait, when he comes back next time, he’ll probably be as dark as charcoal. While your brother still looks good like this, let’s take a good look at him.”

TN: Always irritates the f*ck out of me when they make colorist comments like this.

Jiang Ji, driving beside him, glanced over at him, but said nothing.

Qin Qingzhuo had a smile on his face, intentionally exaggerating to amuse Jiang Bei.

This time, Jiang Bei believed it. “That’s so scary…”

Qin Qingzhuo nodded solemnly.

“In that case, I can’t get into college.” Jiang Bei concluded.

Qin Qingzhuo was taken aback for a moment, not expecting that those few words just now would have the opposite effect. “No, don’t…”

This time, it was Jiang Ji who chuckled.

In fact, Jiang Bei had attended school for more than a month in the past half year, but later the hospital suddenly received a notification about kidney donation, so Jiang Ji arranged for her to take a leave of absence from school and brought her to the hospital for a kidney transplant surgery.

The surgery was quite successful, and now she had passed the acute rejection period. During the recent hospital visits, Jiang Bei’s various health indicators had gradually returned to normal.

The car arrived at the school gate and stopped.

Although she had been complaining about not wanting to go to school, as soon as the car stopped, Jiang Bei pressed down the window and shouted “Qiuqiu” outside with a hint of excitement in her voice.

Qin Qingzhuo glanced outside and saw a little girl with double ponytails not far away waving her hand to Jiang Bei.

“Is that the best friend you mentioned before?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Bei nodded heavily and unbuckled her seatbelt, ready to get out of the car.

“Wait a moment,” Jiang Ji turned around and extended his hand to her, “your phone.”

“I didn’t bring it,” Jiang Bei looked at him, “it’s at home.”

Jiang Ji remained composed and didn’t retract his hand.

The child lock was activated in the back seat, preventing Jiang Bei from opening the door.

After a moment of stalemate, she sighed, took off her backpack, and took out her phone from the innermost compartment to hand it to Jiang Ji.

Jiang Ji took the phone and then unlocked the door for her.

Jiang Bei pushed open the car door, got out, and Jiang Ji lowered the window, saying to her, “If you don’t feel well, tell the teacher in time, or call me.”

“Call me over the next two weeks,” Qin Qingzhuo added, “Your brother will be in military training, and he might not be able to answer the phone.”

“Got it,” Jiang Bei responded hurriedly and then ran towards the little girl who had greeted her earlier.

The girl who had greeted her had already walked over and stood not far from the car, looking over curiously.

When the two children met, they huddled together and whispered to each other.

“Your brother is so handsome,” the girl with the double ponytails turned back and glanced at Jiang Ji before the car window went up again, “even more handsome than in the videos.”

“He’s alright.” Jiang Bei had a big grudge against Jiang Ji for confiscating her phone just now. “He’s too strict, and there’s someone even better-looking in the car.”

“Is that also your brother?”

Jiang Bei was about to nod, then suddenly had an epiphany, “He’s my sister-in-law.”

Although the little girl didn’t get a clear look at what Qin Qingzhuo looked like, she vaguely saw a man sitting inside the car through the window. Curious about Jiang Bei’s words, she asked, “Can men also be sisters-in-law?”

“Male sister-in-law,” Jiang Bei said nonchalantly, “What’s so strange about that.”

“Oh…” The little girl nodded as if she understood, “Male sister-in-law.”

Qin Qingzhuo, sitting in the car, naturally had no idea what the two children were whispering about.

After seeing off the little girl, it was time to drop off the big one.

Jiang Ji wasn’t in a hurry. He had already registered a few days ago. Today’s visit was just to collect his military training uniform, attend the opening ceremony, and tidy up the dormitory.

Watching Jiang Bei and her good friend walk into the school gate together, Qin Qingzhuo turned back to Jiang Ji and said, “Let’s go to Central Conservatory.”

“Can I skip school?” Jiang Ji turned his head to look at him.

He had just shown a stern brotherly attitude towards Jiang Bei, but now he deliberately imitated Jiang Bei’s tone. With a dark gaze, he actually bore a slight resemblance to her.

“No, you can’t.” This time it was Qin Qingzhuo who was decisive, though his tone wasn’t as stern as Jiang Ji’s, with a hint of amusement. “Drive.”

Jiang Ji sighed and started the car.

On the way to the Central Conservatory, Qin Qingzhuo took out his phone and opened the official website of the conservatory, then clicked on the “Faculty Overview” section.

He majored in cello in the orchestral department, while Jiang Ji majored in composition in the composition department. Although their respective teachers didn’t overlap at all, he had attended quite a few composition classes with Jiang Ji when they were in school. He had experienced most of the teachers’ classes.

Initially, he wanted to chat with Jiang Ji about each teacher’s teaching style, but it turned into a guide on how to skip classes.

“This teacher you have to be careful with. Duan Chong almost failed his class because he skipped one to go to a music festival…”

“If you want to skip class, you have to do it with this teacher. Just say a few nice words to her, and she won’t bother you…”

“This teacher’s class is so boring, and he loves to brag. Skipping his class is also an option…”

At a traffic light intersection, Jiang Ji stepped on the brakes and reached out to pinch Qin Qingzhuo’s face, “Qin Qingzhuo, will you teach me something good? Teaching me how to skip classes even before school starts.”

“Well, why not,” Qin Qingzhuo also sensed that something was off, chuckled, and said, “How could I not teach something good.”

Back when he was in school, he was tormented by boring classes every day, always thinking about how to skip class and go to music festivals. He had quite a bit of experience in this regard, and he inadvertently passed it on to Jiang Ji.

After reminding him that the car was still in the straight lane, he said, “Aren’t we supposed to turn left?”

When the traffic light turned green, Jiang Ji crossed the intersection. “Let’s go to the supermarket.”

“Is there something you need to buy?” Qin Qingzhuo asked.

Jiang Ji’s luggage was packed according to an online guide they both followed. In theory, everything should have been prepared in advance. But when Jiang Ji responded with a “yes,” Qin Qingzhuo didn’t ask further and continued chatting with Jiang Ji while browsing the official website of the composition department.

It wasn’t until they entered the supermarket that he realized Jiang Ji didn’t actually need to buy anything.

Wearing masks, the two pushed the supermarket cart through the household goods section. Jiang Ji raised his hand and grabbed a bottle of shower gel.

“Don’t we already have shower gel?” Qin Qingzhuo glanced at what Jiang Ji was holding.

“Mmh, we do.” Jiang Ji looked at the shower gel in his hand, then put it back on the shelf.

After a while, they walked to the shampoo area, and Jiang Ji picked up a bottle to look at it.

“You already got shampoo,” Qin Qingzhuo reminded him.

So Jiang Ji put it back.

“What’s going on with you?” Qin Qingzhuo chuckled, “You don’t need anything, you just want to stroll around the supermarket?”

Jiang Ji didn’t say anything. He took a few steps forward, found a place with no one around, and lightly pinched Qin Qingzhuo’s wrist, whispering, “You don’t feel reluctant to leave me at all, do you?”

Qin Qingzhuo smiled with his eyes downcast. When they first entered the supermarket, he actually thought Jiang Ji wanted to buy something. But after this lap, he understood without Jiang Ji saying anything—”needing to buy something” was a pretext; wanting to spend more time with him was the truth.

“It’s just two weeks of isolation,” Qin Qingzhuo chuckled, “After military training ends, you’ll be a day student, coming back every day. Plus, it’ll be National Day in another half month. What’s there to feel reluctant about?”

“Okay.” Jiang Ji let go of his wrist, pushed the cart towards the exit, and said, “Let’s go, back to school.”

“Hey… don’t,” sensing something wasn’t right, Qin Qingzhuo grabbed him and coaxed, “Let’s stroll a bit longer.”

“I thought you were reluctant?” Jiang Ji glanced at him.

There was no one around, so Qin Qingzhuo reached for his hand. “I’m reluctant, and I also want to spend more time with you…”

Jiang Ji was easy to coax, and Qin Qingzhuo had a knack for it. This time was no different. The two of them wandered around the supermarket for a few more rounds.

When there were no people around, they would secretly hold hands, and when there were people, they would let go.

Having been together for so long, Qin Qingzhuo could feel that Jiang Ji enjoyed going to the supermarket with him. He could probably guess the reason—during the first nineteen years of his life, Jiang Ji had experienced many ups and downs. Going to the supermarket was something that gave him a sense of stability in life.

So before being with Jiang Ji, Qin Qingzhuo always avoided crowded public places. If he needed something, he usually bought it online. But after being together, whenever there was something to buy, he would take Jiang Ji to the supermarket.

At first, they were often photographed by paparazzi and the pictures were posted online. But later, this happened too many times, and the paparazzi probably got tired of it, so there weren’t many people following them anymore.

After wandering around for a while and buying some odds and ends, the supermarket became a bit crowded. Jiang Ji’s class group also sent a message. The class assistant informed everyone to collect their military training uniforms for a fitting as soon as possible, and to exchange them early if they didn’t fit. So they stopped strolling and pushed the cart towards the checkout counter.

While queuing to pay, Qin Qingzhuo lowered his head to reply to messages on his phone. Jiang Ji, standing next to him, reached out and grabbed something from the shelf next to the checkout counter and threw it into the cart.

Following his gaze, Qin Qingzhuo saw the brightly colored box with a few words printed on it, “Ribbed, Warming Sensation.”

“…” Qin Qingzhuo’s mind went blank.

There were quite a few people queuing around, and he wasn’t sure if anyone recognized them.

But during their stroll earlier, he could feel several people looking their way.

For a moment, even trending topics flashed through his mind—”Qin Qingzhuo and Jiang Ji Buy Condoms Together.”

He felt guilty, but Jiang Ji seemed natural. A few seconds later, Jiang Ji reached out and grabbed another box and threw it into the cart—this time it was “Ribbed, Cooling Sensation.”

As they were checking out, Jiang Ji scanned the QR code to pay, while Qin Qingzhuo, holding a hot and a cold box, felt his fingertips slipping and sensed the cashier girl’s gaze wandering on their faces.

When the voice prompt of “xx yuan has been paid” sounded, the cashier girl handed over the shopping receipt, wanting to say something but hesitating.

At that moment, Qin Qingzhuo’s guilt reached its peak. Before the cashier could speak, he picked up the shopping bag, grabbed Jiang Ji’s wrist, and quickly walked to the escalator, almost fleeing.

They didn’t stop until they reached the escalator. Jiang Ji took the items from him and asked, “Why are you walking so fast?”

“What do you think?” Qin Qingzhuo glanced at him, “Don’t we have them at home? Why did you suddenly want to buy condoms?”

“I saw them on the shelf next to us,” Jiang Ji said, “Itched my curiosity, so I wanted to buy them.”

“You haven’t used them much anyway…”

“Just because we bought them doesn’t mean we have to use them.”

“Why buy if you’re not going to use them…”

“Because I want to experience buying condoms with my boyfriend,” Jiang Ji turned his face to look at him, “We’ve never bought them together before.”

This statement left Qin Qingzhuo momentarily stunned. The reason was indeed… innocent.

He didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

He had to admit, watching Jiang Ji toss those one warm and one cool box into the shopping cart, the feeling of being a bit guilty and sneaky was quite subtle, unlike when buying other things.

“How does it feel?” he curiously asked.

“Feels pretty good,” Jiang Ji said bluntly.

“So, you grabbed another box from the shelf?”

Jiang Ji nodded and added in a low voice, “And, I haven’t tried these two before, so we can try them out later.”

Qin Qingzhuo smiled with his eyes downcast and softly said after a while, “Alright then.”

Exiting the supermarket, this time they drove straight to the Central Conservatory without any stops along the way.

Qin Qingzhuo glanced and saw a familiar figure, “Hey, isn’t that Zhong Yang?”

Following his gaze, Jiang Ji saw Zhong Yang being dragged by a man in a suit and stuffed into the passenger seat of an SUV.

“That person,” Qin Qingzhuo said again, “Seems to be my senior brother…”

Jiang Ji thought Zhong Yang had gotten into some trouble and was about to get off the car to check, asking, “Your senior brother?”

“Yeah, a very capable senior brother. After graduation, he stayed at the school to teach and is now an associate professor, right? I remember he’s always been quite cultured. What’s going on? Did Zhong Yang offend him?”

However, it didn’t seem likely. Although his senior brother’s actions just now seemed a bit rough as he dragged Zhong Yang, Qin Qingzhuo intuitively felt that there was some subtle tension between the two.

Jiang Ji also realized this and said, “I’ll text him later.”

Seeing Qin Qingzhuo still looking at the SUV, and judging by his admiring tone when talking about this “senior brother” earlier, Jiang Ji called his name, “Qin Qingzhuo.”

“Yeah?” Qin Qingzhuo still looked in that direction.

“You’re not going to see your boyfriend for two weeks soon,” Jiang Ji reached out and turned his chin, “So, who should you be looking at now?”

“Oh, my bad,” Qin Qingzhuo retracted his gaze and turned to Jiang Ji with a smile, “I should be looking at my boyfriend.”

He leaned in as if to kiss Jiang Ji, but suddenly caught sight of someone with a camera at the school gate, aiming in their direction. He immediately paused and reminded Jiang Ji before he leaned in for the kiss, “Someone’s filming us.”

Jiang Ji glanced at the school gate, and the dark camera lens and the flashing lights made him furrow his brows.

“Let’s get off,” Qin Qingzhuo held his wrist and moved his hand away from his chin.

Actually, he wanted to kiss Jiang Ji, but Jiang Ji had just started school, and Qin Qingzhuo didn’t want their kissing to overshadow the news at the moment.

He hoped Jiang Ji could start his university life smoothly like other freshmen.

Opening the door and getting off the car, Jiang Ji went to the trunk to get the guitar, while Qin Qingzhuo stood by the car, watching the bustling school gate and the fresh-faced freshmen.

Often, he would unconsciously ignore Jiang Ji’s age because Jiang Ji showed so much maturity beyond his years. However, now he realized that the young man in front of him, his boyfriend, was so young

——Young enough that life had just begun, with endless possibilities for the future.

“Qin Qingzhuo,” Jiang Ji called his name as he got the guitar from the trunk, “Come over and take a look at the guitar.”

Qin Qingzhuo walked over to the back of the car, and Jiang Ji bent down slightly, as if there was something wrong with the old guitar.

“What’s wrong with the guitar?” Qin Qingzhuo walked over to him and bent down to take a look.

With the trunk raised high, blocking the nearby black camera, Jiang Ji turned his face and planted a kiss on his lips.

“The guitar’s fine,” Jiang Ji said softly as he looked at him, “It’s me who has something to say.”

Qin Qingzhuo’s eyes and eyebrows softened, “Go ahead, a new life is about to begin.”

“Aren’t you my new life?” Jiang Ji kissed him again.

Not far away, a paparazzo carrying a camera walked towards them.

Jiang Ji stood up straight, carrying the guitar behind him.

Facing the camera, the two of them didn’t whisper this time, speaking naturally.

“When you get to the dorm, get along well with your roommates, make some friends,” Qin Qingzhuo advised, “Don’t isolate yourself too much.”

Jiang Ji nodded and also reminded him, “Drive slowly on your way back, and if you can’t, call the driver to come pick you up, or call me.”

“Would you drop me off here and then drive back?” Qin Qingzhuo chuckled, “I can manage. You should go.”

After the college entrance examination, Jiang Ji accompanied him to the hospital for another check-up on his ears. After the examination, Xie Chengyun said that the recovery situation was better than before, and there shouldn’t be any problem driving. After that, Jiang Ji accompanied him to practice driving for quite some time until Qin Qingzhuo gradually overcame his psychological shadow about driving.

With the guitar on his back, Jiang Ji walked towards the school gate, while Qin Qingzhuo stood by the car watching him.

The paparazzi, well-trained, split into two groups. Some followed Jiang Ji, while others approached Qin Qingzhuo.

“Teacher Qin,” a paparazzo greeted him in a familiar and warm tone, “Are you here to send your boyfriend to school?”

Qin Qingzhuo knew the other party was trying to draw him into conversation, so he smiled but didn’t take the bait, keeping his gaze on Jiang Ji.

Jiang Ji took large strides and had already walked several meters away, entering the school gate, leaving the paparazzi trailing behind.

On campus, the incoming freshmen noticed Jiang Ji and looked at him.

Through the crowd, Jiang Ji glanced back at Qin Qingzhuo, who waved to him.

Even after Jiang Ji walked away, Qin Qingzhuo still didn’t take his eyes off him. The paparazzi came over again and started chatting, “You’ve been watching him the whole time. Can’t bear to let him go, huh?”

Only then did Qin Qingzhuo smile ambiguously at him, taking a step towards the car door. Before getting into the car, he left a sentence, “Can’t help it if I can’t bear to let him go…”