Chapter 133

This is a minibus. The teacher in charge stands at the front, calling on students who get motion sickness to move forward.

Mo Yin and Li Xiu sit in the back row, where there is no one behind them anymore.

Li Xiu’s medicine works well. Mo Yin slept deeply last night, but woke up still feeling exhausted, unsure if it was a genuine physical sensation or purely psychological. It’s a dangerous state, Mo Yin reminds himself, fearful that even this reminder might be another form of neurosis, caught in a profound dilemma.

His palms sweat unknowingly, always feeling like something bad is about to happen.

Mo Yin leans his head back; his heart beats uncomfortably.

“Wanna listen to music?”

He tilts his head slightly to the left.

Li Xiu looks at him and takes out an earbud from his right ear.

Mo Yin considers for a moment before nodding lightly.

Li Xiu gives him one earbud. Mo Yin puts it on, and the music flows smoothly into his ears, a song sung in a language he doesn’t know.

Mo Yin doesn’t ask about the meaning of the lyrics; he feels it’s just right this way, feeling as if he’s drifting in the universe, small and unknown.

Slowly, Mo Yin relaxes.

He turns his head again to look at Li Xiu, who feels his gaze and turns to meet it.

“Thank you,” Mo Yin says.

Li Xiu looks slightly moved, doesn’t respond, not even with his usual smile.

Mo Yin thought he might regret thanking him, but he doesn’t. Instead, he feels somewhat relieved, realizing it happened naturally, without overthinking.

Mo Yin looks away. After a while, he hears Li Xiu say, “Thank you for your thanks.”

It’s a strange sentence, but Mo Yin feels he understands it.

The whole competition process goes smoothly. Mo Yin doesn’t daydream during the exam, but he sweats a lot. He doesn’t know how well he did; after hours of written tests, he’s almost exhausted, silently glad that the practical test is the next day.

Coming out of the exam room, Mo Yin doesn’t walk straight out; he stands at the exam room door for a while before realizing he’s waiting for Li Xiu to come find him.

Li Xiu doesn’t keep him waiting long. When Mo Yin hesitates whether to leave, Li Xiu runs up to him.

“How did it go?” Li Xiu asks.

Mo Yin doesn’t answer, not wanting to discuss answers with Li Xiu.

Li Xiu continues, “Is your body okay?”

So that’s what he was asking. Now Mo Yin really doesn’t want to answer, feeling his feet slide on the ground. “Let’s go, back to assembly.”

At noon, Shengzhong, responsible for the exam venue, also provides meals. The students from the affiliated school are seated at one table. Mo Yin sits down; Li Xiu sits next to him, everything seeming natural. Zhong Jiaming observes from the sidelines, unsure of his feelings.

After lunch, they take the bus back to school. Zhong Jiaming sits in the back row, and Mo Yin and Li Xiu are in the same row, with an aisle between them.

Mo Yin and Li Xiu share earbuds. Both rest with closed eyes and crossed arms, their auras strangely harmonious.

It’s really strange. From Zhong Jiaming’s understanding of Li Xiu and Mo Yin, they shouldn’t get along at all.

It shouldn’t concern him, but he can’t help but watch them.

During the two-hour return journey, Zhong Jiaming spends most of the time observing the two, though Mo Yin and Li Xiu simply rest with closed eyes, listening to music without any special actions.

When they arrive at the school, the driver brakes, and Zhong Jiaming is lost in thought, suddenly jerking forward, nearly hitting the front seat.

Special actions? What is he thinking? Could he really have been brainwashed by Liang Jianhao’s jokes?

Zhong Jiaming shakes his head, his gaze involuntarily shifting to the side again.

Mo Yin hands over the earphones. Li Xiu takes them, saying something to Mo Yin with a gentle expression. Mo Yin lowers his head. Zhong Jiaming’s view is blocked by Li Xiu, seeing only the sharp chin of Mo Yin, his lips moving as he quietly responds to Li Xiu. It doesn’t seem like unpleasant words; the two really get along well.

“Do you want to go over the answers?” Li Xiu asks.

Mo Yin says, “No need.”

“Really? Last time when I discussed answers with someone else, you seemed to be eavesdropping.”

“…Stop making things up.”

Mo Yin pushes Li Xiu lightly. Li Xiu stands up, and Mo Yin squeezes past his bent knee to walk out first. Li Xiu follows, taking a couple of steps before turning back to look. Zhong Jiaming falls behind, his gaze inexplicably fixed on them. Their eyes meet briefly, and Zhong Jiaming immediately looks away, as if to conceal something.

Back in the dormitory, Mo Yin rarely feels exhausted. He lies back on his bed, not bothering to close the door. Perhaps it’s intentional. Anyway, Li Xiu comes over and closes the door behind him, walking up to Mo Yin’s bedside.

“Really don’t want to go over the answers?” Li Xiu asks, his tone sounding slightly provocative in Mo Yin’s ears.

Actually, whether to review the answers or not entirely depends on mindset.

If he’s confident enough, then there’s no need to review. On the other hand, if he’s truly confident, he shouldn’t fear reviewing either. Who cares, reviewing answers is just reviewing answers. Maybe Li Xiu got more wrong than him.

Mo Yin sits up suddenly. He’s too tired, losing his usual caution. His head hits the bed frame unguardedly with a loud “thud”. Mo Yin silently opens his mouth wide, covering his head and curling up on the bed.

The bed shakes heavily for a moment, and there’s extra weight pressing down. His hand covering his head is pulled away, and Mo Yin squints, seeing the buttons on Li Xiu’s shirt.

“Swollen,” Li Xiu says, his breath directly spraying onto Mo Yin’s forehead, warm and slightly ticklish.

“It’s fine,” Mo Yin says. He pulls his wrist away from Li Xiu’s grasp. He doesn’t move abruptly this time. Li Xiu’s hand is large, with considerable strength. Mo Yin looks up and finds Li Xiu staring at him.

Li Xiu had been standing by his bedside just now. So when Mo Yin bumped his head, Li Xiu’s knee sank down onto his bed to check on him. Li Xiu’s entire back almost pressed against the bed’s top, creating a triangular cover over Mo Yin, radiating body heat.

They’re too close. Mo Yin feels a bit uncomfortable. “I’m fine,” he says flatly, pulling his wrist away again. This time, he gauges the force needed and smoothly pulls his wrist out of Li Xiu’s grip.

Li Xiu looks at Mo Yin with a slight slant of his eyes. Due to fatigue, Mo Yin’s complexion is paler than usual, but his expression is sharp. His facial features are somewhat delicate, looking like the type who could harm both himself and others.

Then Li Xiu does something that could very well get him punched.

As Mo Yin bends over to climb out of bed, Li Xiu leans in and gently kisses the corner of Mo Yin’s mouth.

Mo Yin freezes in the midst of getting out of bed. He stays still for a few seconds, turning his head to look at Li Xiu.

Li Xiu watches him quietly. Mo Yin also gazes back at Li Xiu calmly. Strangely, although Li Xiu kissed him, Mo Yin doesn’t feel the disgust one would expect from being invaded.

Just like when Li Xiu handed him the earphones on the bus, Mo Yin senses no ulterior motives or added emotions. It’s a simple, profound intimacy shared between two odd people. Everything was bound to happen sooner or later. Deep down, they both had a premonition, perhaps since long ago, when Mo Yin first noticed his unusual attention towards this person.

Li Xiu doesn’t get punched, so he kisses Mo Yin a second time, his lips lightly touching Mo Yin’s.

This time, it’s a complete kiss on the lips. Both keep their eyes open because they’re so close they can’t see each other’s features clearly, only the world reflected in each other’s pupils.

Mo Yin feels his heartbeat slightly quicken. He wants to say something, and his lips move slightly. Li Xiu’s lips move too, and he closes his eyes.

Their long eyelashes close, their eyes disappear. Mo Yin half-opens his eyes. His lips instinctively respond, opening and closing slightly. He’s never been this intimate with anyone before, kissing someone’s lips, touching someone’s tongue. It feels strange, yet he doesn’t really want it to stop…

Mo Yin slowly closes his eyes too. He grips the edge of the bed with both hands, and Li Xiu kneels beside him, one hand supporting the back of his neck. Both newcomers to kissing seem enchanted by this sensation, from initial awkwardness to gradually getting used to it, all within half a minute.

Mo Yin releases the bed board, lifts his hand, and hugs Li Xiu’s neck. Li Xiu’s knee moves forward, almost covering Mo Yin entirely.

They kiss for who knows how long. Mo Yin’s dry lips become extremely moist, accompanied by a slight tingling sensation from excessive licking. Their eyes meet again, one pair of black pupils, one pair of amber eyes, still incredibly clear.

“Let’s review the answers,” Mo Yin says.

Both have exceptional memory. They sit in separate chairs at a long desk, redoing their draft answers. They go through the answers from start to finish. Most are identical; for disputed parts, they discuss and calculate together, each having right and wrong answers.

“After calculating,” Mo Yin nibbles on the pen shaft, “our scores seem to be about the same.”

Li Xiu: “The gap won’t exceed two points.”

It was almost even, and the key was tomorrow’s experimental operation. After training together, Mo Yin was confident he wouldn’t lose to Li Xiu.

Mo Yin glanced at his phone; it was already four-thirty. Dinner at the cafeteria started at five, so he could go eat soon.

The dormitory suddenly became quiet. Mo Yin locked his phone screen and got up to pull the curtains closed. He usually didn’t bother during the day because he liked the sunlight, but evenings were different. Sometimes, seeing the sunset made him feel uncomfortable, a kind of emptiness that was almost like sadness, though he couldn’t quite understand why.

After closing the curtains, Li Xiu joined him. Standing beside Mo Yin, they both looked at the sunset through the curtains, just a blurry glow.

Maybe standing there was a bit boring. The cafeteria hadn’t opened yet, and with the experimental operation tomorrow, today was supposed to be a relaxed day, not too stressful. For various reasons, Mo Yin and Li Xiu ended up kissing again.

Because Li Xiu was slightly taller, Mo Yin tilted his head up slightly during the kiss. Their bodies felt light, as if they might lean over, so they also embraced.

Later that night, like yesterday, after washing up, Mo Yin wanted to sleep. Similarly to the night before, he couldn’t fall asleep right away. After tossing and turning in bed for a while, someone knocked on the door. Mo Yin got out of bed to answer it.

Just like yesterday, Li Xiu handed him a pill. They both dry-swallowed it. Yesterday, Li Xiu had offered him candy, which Mo Yin found childish and didn’t accept before turning and leaving.

The bitter taste of the pill residue lingered in his mouth.

Mo Yin and Li Xiu looked at each other for a moment. Neither knew who initiated it first; maybe both were equally eager. Compared to the daytime, they were more natural now, starting with a hug before kissing, rather than awkwardly starting with small kisses before finally managing to get their arms and shoulders together.

Mo Yin wore his pajamas, and so did Li Xiu. They explored each other’s lips gently, then gradually opened their mouths for more intimate interaction. Mo Yin’s arm was around Li Xiu’s shoulder, and Li Xiu’s arm was around his back. Their noses lightly touched as they kissed with focus and intensity, as if they were treating this as the purest form of entertainment.

“Are you tired?” Mo Yin asked.

“Not yet,” Li Xiu replied.

The bitter taste in their mouths had faded by now. It would take a while for the sleeping pill’s effects to kick in… but there were always reasons for everything. They continued this new and peculiar game until they were ready to sleep.