IF-School Story (Middle)

08

An Yi returned to the classroom.

Lin Yuming didn’t have time to ask what had happened. He saw the small cakes in An Yi’s hands and widened his eyes in surprise. “Did he give those to you?”

Equally surreal, An Yi was still dazed and couldn’t come back to his senses.

He didn’t want to accept them, but Yan Chen simply placed the cakes on the railing in front of him. That spot was only two palms wide, and the boy, in a cold tone, said, “If they fall and hit someone, it’s your responsibility,” then walked away, leaving An Yi to quickly pick up the cakes and bring them back.

“…It’s probably to thank you for your essay,” Lin Yuming smiled and asked, “Can you finish eating so many?”

An Yi smiled and shared one with him.

He thought his interaction with Yan Chen would end there, but a few days later, when he finished lunch and returned to the classroom, he found four more pieces of cake on his desk. The class duty student said that at noon, when the sun was scorching, the person who delivered the cakes had their head covered by the school uniform, and left as soon as they put them down, so no one saw their face.

But judging from the logo on the cake packaging, An Yi could only think of Yan Chen.

When he got home in the evening and took out his phone, he found the newly added friend, edited and deleted for a while, and sent a message: Did you send the cake?

There was no response to the message, and An Yi sat at his desk to study. It wasn’t until almost midnight that the screen of his phone lit up.

The profile picture of the boy was a cool and handsome back view in a black ski suit, and his reply was very brief. An Yi could even imagine the cold tone in his mind: Bought too many.

An Yi twitched his lips and replied: You can buy less in the future.

[Yan Chen: Oh]

[Yan Chen: What if I specifically buy them for you in the future?]

[An Yi: ?]

[Yan Chen: .]

Not knowing how to respond to this, An Yi squeezed out a sentence after half a minute: No need to buy them for me if there’s no reason.

There was no response from the other side for a long time. An Yi checked the time and saw that it was late, so he packed up his books, washed up, and prepared to go to bed. When he saw the screen of his phone light up again.

He unlocked the screen and saw that Yan Chen had sent a question: Must one give gifts to someone because they’ve done something “good”?

An Yi was puzzled for a moment, then casually typed a question mark and sent it over.

Yan Chen replied: Bookworm.

An Yi completely froze.

09

Yan Chen indeed did not continue to “buy too many” cakes, but An Yi would receive oranges, chocolates, and other items every now and then. Lin Yuming was also curious and would calculate the time to speculate what would appear on An Yi’s desk that day.

What was especially miraculous was that despite so many deliveries, not once did An Yi catch him in the act.

An Yi would ask Yan Chen on WeChat, but the replies he received were often irrelevant. A few sentences exchanged, and An Yi would involuntarily be led off track by the other party.

During lunch break, An Yi gathered his courage to go downstairs to the freshman building to find Yan Chen once. At that time, Yan Chen was chatting with a few friends in the corridor. As soon as he appeared, Yan Chen’s gaze fixed on him, making An Yi a bit nervous. Before he could take a step forward, the people beside him suddenly reached a consensus and started making noise, causing An Yi to feel embarrassed. He sweated nervously on his forehead and walked away with his head down.

That evening, Yan Chen sent him a message on WeChat teasing him: Why so red?

An Yi denied it: No, you’re mistaken.

Yan Chen replied: Oh, my mistake.

After a while, Yan Chen said again: If you want to see me, draw a heart on the door of the rooftop during the morning break.

[An Yi: Why draw a heart?]

[Yan Chen: It’s a secret code. When I see it, I’ll wait for you on the rooftop at noon.]

[An Yi: …Seems like something from a detective movie.]

[Yan Chen: Which detective movie uses a heart as a secret code?]

[An Yi: Then why draw a heart?]

[Yan Chen: Figure it out yourself, bookworm.]

10

An Yi intended to leave a mark on the rooftop door.

But the next day, he remembered that due to the incident at the broadcasting station last time, the school had suspended his duty for half a month. Now that the time was up, he had to go back and fulfill his duty. He didn’t have time to go to the rooftop during lunch break, and he would be on duty until New Year’s Day.

Two days later, the contact person came directly to the broadcasting station.

It was exactly the same as the first encounter. An Yi stood in the middle of the corridor, holding his lunchbox, looking at the figure standing at the door, feeling a bit dazed for a moment.

Yan Chen was sucking on a lollipop, and suddenly lifted his gaze from his phone screen, staring straight into An Yi’s eyes.

He asked, “Did you get a special recommendation?”

An Yi was stunned for a moment. “How did you know?” The teacher had just told him the good news this morning, and the school’s public announcement would be posted in two days.

Yan Chen didn’t answer, but walked up to him. He seemed to have grown taller since their first meeting, and An Yi had to lift his eyes to meet his gaze.

“After you get recommended, will you still come to school?” Yan Chen asked, his eyes lowered, staring at him without blinking.

Feeling unexpectedly nervous, An Yi pursed his lips and said, “Yes.”

“Really?” Yan Chen asked again, as if confirming.

“Yeah, I’ll attend classes as usual,” An Yi tightened his grip on the lunchbox and stared at the tips of their shoes, which were almost touching, “The teacher said to try not to do anything special, maybe preview university courses or prepare for the TOEFL exam.”

After a while, he heard Yan Chen make a low “hm” sound, and then a slender hand extended towards him, palm open, holding several lollipops—orange-flavored, strawberry-flavored, and milk-flavored.

An Yi looked up, and Yan Chen was still staring at him intently. The lollipop in his mouth curved slightly on the left side of his cheek. “Which one do you like?”

An Yi chose the strawberry flavor.

Yan Chen put the rest into An Yi’s school uniform pocket, then turned and walked away.

11

On the day the admission list was announced, An Yi was surrounded by classmates congratulating him, and the excitement lasted for most of the day.

His joyful mood didn’t calm down until noon.

The next time An Yi saw Yan Chen at the broadcasting station, there was a slight unusual flutter in his heart.

“So happy?” Yan Chen asked.

“Is it that obvious?” An Yi smiled, opening the door. According to the rules, Yan Chen couldn’t enter the broadcasting station, but he followed An Yi inside anyway. An Yi couldn’t just shoo him away, so he emphasized, “Don’t mess with anything here, and don’t talk nonsense later.”

Yan Chen nodded, and for safety, An Yi locked the door to the broadcasting station.

He heard Yan Chen chuckle.

An Yi turned to look at him. “So amused?”

Yan Chen raised an eyebrow, then after a moment, he said softly, “Is it that obvious?”