Lin Bosheng really didn’t like smoking, but his irresponsible father always seemed to love smoking, drinking, and playing cards. He never understood what was so good about that stinky stuff.

Even the group of kids around him seemed to like smoking, and even Liu Sizhen smoked, though Lin Bosheng rarely saw him actually light the cigarette he held between his fingers.

It seemed more like Liu Sizhen kept it in his mouth just for show.

Even the way he held it was a bit awkward.

Most importantly, Liu Sizhen didn’t have that heavy, smoky smell that Lin Bosheng often noticed on his dad. His scent was always fresh.

Sometimes, he’d pick up a faint trace of smoke from hanging around others, but that was all.

It was strange, though—what smelled so awful on other people didn’t bother him at all on Liu Sizhen.

In class, Liu Sizhen liked to prop his feet on the back of Lin Bosheng’s chair, and over time, Lin Bosheng got so used to it that he didn’t need to turn around to know that Liu Sizhen’s feet had crept onto his seat.

Sometimes, Liu Sizhen would brush the tip of his shoe against Lin Bosheng’s calf.

It wasn’t a kick or shove; it was just a gentle rub.

And every time, Lin Bosheng would feel a tickling sensation up his calf. It wasn’t just his leg that felt it; the tingling seemed to spread from his chest down to his fingertips.

It was like Liu Sizhen thought of him as his little errand boy.

Whether it was during breaks or lunch, he’d ask Lin Bosheng to buy things for him, take notes, even do homework, despite Lin Bosheng never actually seeing him hand any of it in.

And intentionally or not, every time Liu Sizhen sent him on errands, he’d ask him to buy way too much, only to eat just a little, leaving most of it behind for Lin Bosheng.

Others might have taken it as an insult.

But he always gave him unopened packages.

And he was strangely fussy in a way that only Lin Bosheng could sense.

---

Lin Bosheng didn’t like sweets, but Liu Sizhen seemed to really enjoy them. Not only did he like them, but he’d also sneak them into Lin Bosheng’s bag or desk drawer whenever he wasn’t looking.

“What candy? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

When asked, he’d play dumb, his gaze shifting, clearly guilty.

Once Lin Bosheng realized that Liu Sizhen was giving him his favorite sweets, he, who didn’t like sweets, carefully unwrapped a chocolate and put it in his mouth.

It was a filled chocolate, overwhelmingly sweet, almost cloying, filling his throat, and even making his eyes sting.

This chocolate didn’t seem like the cheap ones from the supermarket—he hadn’t seen anything like it before. It was likely something sent to Liu Sizhen from his family… it seemed really expensive.

And Liu Sizhen had claimed he didn’t like them.

But really, who wouldn’t realize that parents wouldn’t send their child something they disliked? It was obvious he must’ve loved them.

And, from what he’d observed, Liu Sizhen truly did seem to have a sweet tooth.

Due to his family’s poor financial situation, Lin Bosheng had been figuring out ways to make money on his own since middle school. He had attended a different experimental middle school before transferring to Changning No. 2 High School, as the former didn’t have a high school section.

If any classmates from Class 11 or Changning No. 2 High were to take the time to investigate Lin Bosheng’s reputation at his previous school, they would find that opinions about him differed greatly between the two schools.

At Changning No. 2, Lin Bosheng was seen as a quiet, aloof student from a poor family, who excelled academically.

However, at the experimental school, he had been known as one of the more notorious troublemakers—basically the “school bully”—and was infamous for extorting “protection fees” from other students.

Somehow, despite being a genuine “school bully” there, when he came to Changning No. 2, he transformed into a quiet, pitiful figure who seemed totally alone and harmless.

The two schools were far apart, and since students rarely interacted, few people knew about Lin Bosheng’s past. In this way, he managed to pull off his act successfully.

But since Changning was a relatively small place, and secrets are hard to keep, there were still whispers about Lin Bosheng’s past, as he had crossed paths with many people before.

Some classmates in Class 11 had heard rumors about him and were skeptical. Others didn’t believe them, but whatever they thought, Lin Bosheng genuinely just wanted to study hard.

That was, until one day, Liu Sizhen showed up—a strikingly pretty “peacock” of a boy who began trying to “bully” Lin Bosheng.

Some classmates were curious to see how Lin Bosheng would react to this, to test if the rumors about him were true. Yet, after days of watching, they still hadn’t seen him fight back.

Lin Bosheng, however, became more intrigued by Liu Sizhen each day. He could see through Liu Sizhen’s empty posturing at a glance.

In front of others, he acted like an angry little lion, but alone, he was surprisingly gentle—especially when he was asleep.

When Liu Sizhen was asleep, he looked nothing like he did when he was awake.

Lin Bosheng would quietly observe him, noticing how striking his features were, how long his eyelashes were, how perfect his skin was, with a faint layer of soft, translucent fuzz in the sunlight.

It was clear that Liu Sizhen wasn’t what he pretended to be, though Lin Bosheng wasn’t sure why he put on this act. He felt as though he had stumbled upon a secret that only he knew.

And just knowing that filled him with a strange sense of satisfaction.

Who knew what kind of dream Liu Sizhen was having?

His brows were furrowed, as if he wasn’t in a good mood.

Lin Bosheng hadn’t felt a stomach ache like this in a long time.

---

When Lin Bosheng was called to the restroom by the blond-haired guy who always trailed Liu Sizhen, he knew something was probably going to happen today. He’d sensed that Liu Sizhen was in a bad mood since the morning, and though he’d wanted to ask, he hadn’t found the right moment.

When they met again… sure enough, Liu Sizhen looked angry.

Based on past experience, Lin Bosheng could pretty much guess what Liu Sizhen’s “bullying game” would entail.

All bark and no bite.

Even when he got physical, Liu Sizhen avoided places that could cause real pain, and his touch felt far gentler than his outward display.

Compared to Lin Bosheng’s past experiences, this barely registered, and he was only mildly annoyed when his clothes got torn.

Just another expense to deal with.

While calculating how much he’d saved up for college and how much more he needed, he heard Liu Sizhen’s voice.

It was the first time he’d heard Liu Sizhen speak in such an angry tone.

Before, even when mad, his anger never went this deep; Lin Bosheng could tell this time, it felt real.

And there was something else mixed in with that anger.

Lin Bosheng heard him yelling at the others behind him to “get lost,” and he looked up to see Liu Sizhen’s eyes slightly red.

First thought: is he about to cry?

While Lin Bosheng had been subtly trying to provoke him, he hadn’t expected this reaction at all.

Then, suddenly, his head was covered by a jacket, plunging him into darkness—so that zipper sound had been Liu Sizhen taking off his coat.

Now, the scent of the jacket’s owner filled his senses.

The restroom was silent, with only the faint sound of their breathing.

“Put it on.”

Such a rare occurrence… he was actually being cared for?

This was Lin Bosheng’s first time wearing someone else’s clothes, especially from another guy. The fabric seemed to retain a hint of its owner’s warmth, and honestly… it didn’t feel bad.

Liu Sizhen crouched down halfway, in a boy’s restroom that wasn’t exactly filthy but certainly not pleasant either. It was on the fourth floor of the third building, at Changning City No. 2 High School’s northern campus—in a place where the conditions were particularly grim…

And without any warning, he hugged him.

It wasn’t a romantic setting, not by any stretch—it was quite awful, in fact. But Lin Bosheng knew he’d remember that moment for the rest of his life.

Liu Sizhen first placed his hands on Lin Bosheng’s shoulders, as if to comfort him.

“Lin Bosheng,”

He was calling his name with all seriousness.

“Even though your life right now is truly rough, really rough… you have to believe that one day… your future will be good.” He spoke with such conviction that his own voice wavered, sniffing slightly. “It’ll get better. Everything will get better for you. You absolutely can’t give up.”

This was their first hug.

It was strange, really, because at that moment, Lin Bosheng could feel this boy trembling slightly, as though Liu Sizhen was comforting not only Lin Bosheng but himself as well.

It was like he was trying to comfort someone else through him…

The other’s heartbeat, faintly separated by a thin layer of fabric, made its way to Lin Bosheng, and in some mysterious way, their two hearts, once out of sync, began to beat in harmony.

And that inexplicable phrase—

It felt like Liu Sizhen was saying it to Lin Bosheng, yet also, somehow, to himself.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

“Don’t cry, no one’s watching.”

But Lin Bosheng hadn’t been crying. This small, awkward scene was far from enough to bring him to tears. The one whose eyes were clearly red was Liu Sizhen.

Why? Was it because of him?

Thinking of this, Lin Bosheng suddenly felt a surge of an indescribable warmth. He reached back to embrace Liu Sizhen, gently patting his back, trying to comfort him.

And Liu Sizhen mimicked his actions, clumsily following his lead, his hand softly moving from Lin Bosheng’s nape down to his back, patting him gently.

His movements were stiff, a bit awkward, but Lin Bosheng could feel Liu Sizhen’s careful kindness. If the situation weren’t so out of place, he might have laughed out loud.

—Cute. So, so cute.

In truth, Lin Bosheng normally hated being touched on the back of his neck; it was the body’s most vulnerable, dangerous spot. With his alertness, he would never let anyone near there, nor did he enjoy being held this way.

But… at the moment Liu Sizhen’s hand touched his neck,

He felt no resistance.

He could feel Liu Sizhen’s intent to comfort him.

This boy, who looked like a rebel but couldn’t even pretend to smoke properly, was clumsily, carefully… trying to comfort him.

“It’s all over now…”

Lin Bosheng, who hadn’t shed a tear through tougher times, felt a sudden sting in his eyes.

What was going on? How utterly inexplicable.

He had always brushed off the past, thinking he didn’t feel pain anymore. Yet now, with just this gentle hug from the boy in front of him, all the hurt from the past seemed to come rushing back.

“I’m sorry…”

The defiance Liu Sizhen had worn as a mask was nowhere to be seen; his brows furrowed, his voice filled with obvious tenderness. He said, without context,

“It must’ve been… so painful back then…”

Lin Bosheng instinctively wanted to deny it. He didn’t care, did he? But really… did he truly not care, not even a little?

In that brief moment, Lin Bosheng felt the boy’s face, along with the world around them, blurring slightly, while a sharp ache radiated from his heart.

It was as though he’d been waiting to hear this very sentence.

His heart, after all, was flesh and blood, and constant blows would make it ache too.

At that moment, they glimpsed the “wounds” in each other.

And the distance between them had never felt so close.

“…”

258 was truly baffled.

Maybe because it was an intelligent machine and didn’t understand human emotions, it replayed the scene several times but still couldn’t figure out what went wrong… What exactly happened here?

How did Liu Sizhen, who was supposed to be the “bully,” end up hugging Lin Bosheng, the one who was “bullied”?

This atmosphere… it’s so strange…

And the male lead’s affection level is rising at an unusually fast rate…