“Did you not sleep last night again?”

On Monday morning, feeling drowsy, Liu Sizhen faced the male lead’s question. He lifted his leg and kicked him, though it wasn’t hard—just a show.

Even though there were still two lessons before lunch, the male lead began asking Liu Sizhen what he wanted for lunch. Liu Sizhen found it strange but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He no longer needed the male lead to do anything for him; now, the male lead was even more proactive than him.

Liu Sizhen would give him orders, but the male lead seemed happy to oblige?

Looking at Lin Bosheng’s face, it wasn’t easy to tell, but in reality, the male lead was quite attentive. Before meals, he would always tidy up Liu Sizhen’s desk. Since sitting next to him, he’d even clean Liu Sizhen’s desk drawer. He’d also quickly pat Liu Sizhen’s back whenever he choked on his food.

Even when Liu Sizhen pretended to be very angry, Lin Bosheng didn’t react much. On two occasions, he even bluntly told Liu Sizhen that if he was unhappy, Liu Sizhen could slap him twice to calm down.

This kind of behavior was unheard of—who actively asks to be slapped? Liu Sizhen was left speechless, confused, and unsure how to react.

The stunned expression made Lin Bosheng narrow his eyes slightly.

It seemed… like he was even happier?

[…System, what’s going on with the male lead?]

[After testing, everything is normal.]

Is this really normal? It doesn’t seem normal at all! But since the system says it’s normal, it must be… normal… right?

Liu Sizhen thought this to himself, but at that time, he didn’t know.

That day would be the last time he saw the male lead as a teenager.

---

The weather in Changning was unbearably hot, even hotter than in previous years. Everyone was wearing short sleeves and shorts, yet still sweating buckets, complaining that they would rather freeze than die from the heat.

But Liu Sizhen remembered that earlier in the spring, people had said they would rather die from the heat than from the cold.

The fans in the classroom had started to whirr day and night, and it felt like the air blowing out of them was warm, though he couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination.

Because of the seating arrangement, Liu Sizhen was sitting a bit too close to the trash can.

When it was cold, the smell wasn’t too noticeable, but as the weather got hotter, the stench became more prominent. They had to empty the trash several times a day.

Sometimes, Liu Sizhen didn’t want to disturb the male lead, who was busy previewing the next chapter. The script simply mentioned, “He works hard,” but seeing it firsthand was far more impactful.

Thinking from the male lead’s perspective, Liu Sizhen also didn’t like being disturbed when he was focused on something, so he decided to take care of it himself.

Just as he stood up, the male lead also got up. Lin Bosheng casually said they should go together, just to take a break and get some fresh air.

The two of them walked out with the trash can between them, with Lin Bosheng at first wanting to carry it himself, but giving a rather lame excuse.

“Don’t get your clothes dirty.”

He said this.

“No.”

Liu Sizhen didn’t let go, so they both ended up walking down the stairs slowly with a trash can between them, making their way across the playground.

The two of them stayed outside for a while under the pretense of throwing out the trash. Although it was indeed warmer outside than in the classroom, there was an occasional breeze that made the temperature feel more bearable.

They weren’t foolish enough to stand directly under the sun, of course. They stayed wherever it was cooler. The two boys stood in the shade of a tree, with dappled sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves and shining on them.

From time to time, a refreshing breeze would brush past, while the hot sun blazed overhead. The noise from the classrooms during break time was loud, and in the distance, the smell of food from the cafeteria began to waft through the air.

It was strange. Even though the weather had been so hot at the time, when Lin Bosheng thought back to it later, he couldn’t remember any of the intense heat. All he could think of was the tiny spots of light on the other boy’s body.

His gaze lingered on the side profile of the boy beside him. While other students wore identical school uniforms, the boy wore a white shirt.

It was said to be custom-made, with the fabric so smooth that there wasn’t a single wrinkle. The breeze gently slipped in through the cuffs and collar, and his back puffed out oddly, almost as if small wings were about to sprout, as though he might disappear from in front of Lin Boshen in an instant.

Though the boy was close, their distance felt unprecedentedly vast.

“What do you like?” Liu Sizhen asked, casually picking a taro-flavored one for Lin Bosheng.

Lin Bosheng could tell he liked sweet things, so he naturally chose flavors based on his preferences. Liu Sizhen noticed that Lin Bosheng mostly picked sweet ones, so he assumed that Lin Bosheng also liked them.

The ice cream was a sandwich, with jam inside and a layer of white chocolate coating. Because of the heat, it had started to melt not long after being taken out.

“Hmm? Why are you looking at me?” Liu Sizhen touched his face, then instinctively licked his lips, just as a droplet of melted ice cream dripped from the corner of his mouth. The coolness spread through his mouth, and he narrowed his eyes in contentment.

A drop of melted creamy milk dripped onto the finger holding the ice cream. Liu Sizhen subconsciously lifted his hand and licked it off. The melted ice cream was quickly drawn into his lips and teeth, and he didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with the gesture.

It was actually Lin Bosheng who had a stronger reaction.

He suddenly coughed a few times, his face flushing red.

“You’re so clumsy! You almost choked on an ice cream!” Liu Sizhen teased him in a good mood. When he noticed the melted ice cream on Lin Bosheng’s hand, he instinctively reminded him.

“Hey, why aren’t you eating? It’s already melting.”

“…Oh, oh, oh.”

The young boy, who was only vaguely aware of his feelings, didn’t know how to hide them. It wasn’t until he was reminded that he seemed to wake up from a dream and shifted his gaze away from the other person.

When Liu Sizhen took the last bite of his ice cream, some ice cream liquid had stuck to his hand earlier. He had tissues in his pocket, but his fingers were a bit sticky, and he didn’t want to reach into his pocket. So, he gestured to Lin Bosheng to help him get a tissue.

Lin Bosheng slowly reached into his pocket and took out the tissue, but instead of handing it to him, he took his hand and carefully wiped each of Liu Sizhen’s fingers.

“……”

Liu Sizhen’s fingers were long and slender, with distinct joints.

Since when had his gaze always been focused on Liu Sizhen? Lin Bosheng wasn’t oblivious. He was more aware than anyone else of the changes in his heart and understood what kind of feelings he had for Liu Sizhen.

But he couldn’t tell Liu Sizhen about this yet. Even a hint would feel like an overstep. At the very least, he should wait until he had grown enough to stand beside him before saying anything.

Until that time…

“What’s the next class?” Liu Sizhen asked.

“…According to the schedule, it’s art, but it might be the main class.”

“Oh, oh.”

This wasn’t the first time this kind of scene had happened, and Liu Sizhen never thought it would be the last.

After returning to the classroom, Liu Sizhen did as usual, resting on his desk and listening to the teacher’s lecture. He could glance out the window and see the tree outside. The tree, which had just sprouted tender buds when he first arrived, was now lush and green.

Because of the heat, even the wind from the ceiling fan seemed to carry warmth.

It had only been a month since the Dragon Boat Festival break, and there wouldn’t be any extra holidays in the coming two months. Even so, there were still people talking about how to spend the National Day holiday.

The male lead, dressed in a clean short-sleeve shirt, was focused and serious. Occasionally, he would stop to take notes and glance at the boy next to him. He subtly shifted his position to block the sunlight that was shining directly on Liu Sizhen’s face.

And Liu Sizhen had no idea about any of this.

For Liu Sizhen, it was just an ordinary day.

After school, Uncle Zheng, as usual, waited for him at the school gate. When they got home, Aunt Wang had made dinner and refreshing drinks to beat the heat, just like before.

And that evening, he went out to have fun, just like he always did.

The Changning traffic police had stopped a few underage street racers again.

Teenagers in their teens just don’t seem to value their lives. One of them was even more outrageous—he not only broke the rules and hit the road, but he wasn’t wearing a helmet. From behind, his slightly longer hair was blowing in the wind. From that angle, it looked like a young girl, but it turned out to be a boy.

When they saw his face, the traffic cop almost blurted out.

“How is it you again?!”

Liu Sizhen was wearing a black leather short jacket. His black sunglasses were slightly oversized, making his face look small. The sunglasses nearly covered half of his face, and his beautiful eyes were slightly squinted. Even when stopped by the cops, he wasn’t angry.

He casually swept his hair back, using his fingers as a comb. Slowly, he took a hair tie from his wrist and began tying his hair. Soon, a playful little bun appeared at the back of his head, with a large deep red heavy motorcycle behind him.

That scene was actually quite pleasing to the eyes.

And honestly, his outfit was quite good.

“Haha, what a coincidence… we meet again…”

The boy had clearly dyed light-colored hair, and his pale face stood out in the night. There was still a hint of childishness in his expression.

At this point, he was still smiling widely.

It seemed as though being caught by the traffic police was something to be happy about.

His peach blossom eyes sparkled, looking particularly excited.

He slowly pulled out his phone from his pocket, not sure who he was calling, but his tone was very casual.

“Yeah… yeah… it’s me, it’s me. This time, I didn’t really cause trouble… yeah… just got caught by the traffic police. You can come pay the fine… Where am I? I don’t know either…”

After he hung up, the boy continued chatting with the traffic cop, speaking with a slightly mischievous tone but unexpectedly cooperating, answering whatever he was asked, even politely responding when asked questions.

Because of his good mood, his tone was light and upbeat.

“Hello, may I ask which road this is… or could you tell me which substation you’re from?”

The well-dressed young boy was holding a brand-new phone that had just been released, one that hadn’t even hit the domestic market yet. Most people had only heard of it, but here he was, casually using it.

It was 2007, and at that time, Changning was not far from the Olympic Games venue. The mascot dolls had been on the market for two years already, and by 2007, various Fuwa dolls could be found on the streets. If you squeezed them, they would even play pre-recorded sounds.

That year, the natural disaster hadn’t happened yet. Lin Bosheng, in his second year of high school, was still unaware, waiting for the next day. In the evening, he helped at a relative’s stall until night, and when he came home and opened the door, he saw the middle-aged man on the sofa sleeping like a dead pig. His mood was extremely depressed.

He lowered his eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed himself down.

He needed to think of something happy. Oh, right. Tomorrow, he’d leave a bit earlier, get to school early, and go buy those shengjianbao from that shop. It would be hot in the weather, and by the time Liu Sizhen arrived, they wouldn’t be as hot anymore.

Meanwhile, Liu Sizhen was lying on a soft, spacious bed, sleeping.

The faint fragrance in the air and the perfectly adjusted air conditioning temperature made him feel comfortable. Just as he was drifting into a sleepy haze, he still thought that the previous day had been nothing special, just another ordinary day.

Then, he just slept through the night, not really remembering what he dreamt about. It seemed like he dreamed of the male lead, Lin Boshen, but couldn’t recall the specific details…

When Liu Sizhen woke up again,

He suddenly heard the cold, mechanical voice of the system beside his ear:

— Eight years later

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