Chapter 63
In the first semester of the second year, the school was divided into Science and Humanities streams. Class 1 was the Science stream, and Class 2 was the Humanities stream.
When Chi Aibei first transferred to Class 1, no one cared whether he should study Humanities or Science. But looking at his grades now, Chen Jiang felt the need to discuss this issue with him.
Chi Aibei fell into a rare silence. Chen Jiang didn’t push too hard. “Go home and discuss it with your family. Think it over yourself.”
Though he said that, Chen Jiang didn’t truly want him to transfer. Although his Science scores weren’t as good as his Humanities, he could see Aibei making progress. His scores improved with every exam. There was still a year left; if he insisted on staying in Class 1…
“I’ll choose Humanities,” Chi Aibei said.
Chen Jiang was stunned. “Hum—Humanities? You’ve decided? You don’t want to discuss it with your family first?”
Chi Aibei shook his head. He didn’t need to discuss this with anyone because he had known what he should study for a long time. Even if Chen Jiang hadn’t brought it up, he would have eventually approached the teacher himself.
Upon hearing that Chi Aibei wanted to switch to Humanities, the homeroom teacher of Class 2 couldn’t hide his grin. Just as he was about to step over and claim the student, he heard Chi Aibei say, “Teacher Chen, can I wait until next semester to transfer?”
The Class 2 teacher quickly intervened, “How would that be in time? The progress for Humanities and Science is different!”
Chen Jiang agreed. “My advice is that if you’ve made up your mind, you should transfer sooner to adapt. Transferring next semester is indeed too late. Besides, the pressure in the third year is already high; spending half a semester getting used to a new class is too exhausting. What if—”
“I can do it,” Chi Aibei interrupted.
A light breeze blew in through the window. The pages of the textbook on Chen Jiang’s desk flipped several times. The hair on Chi Aibei’s forehead was gently lifted by the wind.
Seeing his determined expression, Chen Jiang sighed. “You child… why must you be so headstrong? What if this affects your college entrance exams?”
Chi Aibei smiled. “Don’t worry, Teacher Chen. I will definitely get into B-University.”
Chen Jiang didn’t ask what he wanted to study in the future. Hearing that he already had a goal, Chen Jiang was curious. “Why B-University?”
Chi Aibei replied, “Because Lin Xiu Gege is going to B-University, so I have to go too.”
…
By the time Chi Aibei returned to the classroom, class had already started. Zhou Xia heard him call out “Reporting” and waved him in.
Ever since Chi Aibei’s English scores stabilized at full marks, Zhou Xia’s temper had improved significantly. It had been a long time since she last lost her cool in class.
Chi Aibei returned to his seat. Lin Yang turned around and asked, “What did the old man want?”
“Nothing much,” Aibei replied. “Just said I did poorly in math.”
Lin Yang nodded. He figured as much. Since their homeroom teacher taught math, seeing Aibei’s weakest score in that subject must have stressed him out.
Lin Xiu looked at Chi Aibei, who was busy flipping through his English book. “He didn’t say anything else?”
Chi Aibei shook his head with a beaming smile, not looking at Lin Xiu. Lin Xiu kept his gaze on him, but Aibei never met his eyes.
The topic ended with the English class, and no one brought it up again.
During the lunch break, Lin Yang sat backward on his chair, narrowing his eyes at the two. “Did you two have a fight?”
Jiang Yu glanced over from behind.
“No,” Chi Aibei said.
Jiang Yu told Lin Yang, “Why are you always staring at them? You look like a creep.”
Lin Yang couldn’t explain it, but he just felt the atmosphere between them had been strange ever since English class ended. “Don’t you think they’re acting weird?”
Jiang Yu didn’t see it. They had just gone to the cafeteria together for lunch, and Lin Xiu had even brought a carton of yogurt for Aibei.
After Jiang Yu yanked Lin Yang back around, Chi Aibei let out a quiet sigh. Suddenly, a hand pressed down on his head. He looked up to see Lin Xiu leaning against his chair, one hand resting on Aibei’s head, his eyelids slightly lowered as he looked at him.
Lin Xiu’s fingers moved slightly, a faint patting motion that seemed to be comforting a bewildered little rabbit.
Chi Aibei looked at Lin Xiu. He knew Lin Xiu had guessed the reason Teacher Chen called him to the office. Furthermore, Lin Xiu saw through his lie.
His lie also signaled his decision. At this moment, Lin Xiu’s eyes were full of encouragement, as if saying, “Follow your own decision.”
He hadn’t wanted to leave in the first place, and now he wanted to even less. He didn’t want to go to a class without Lin Xiu.
After school, as soon as they entered the courtyard at home, Lin Xiu asked, “When are you moving to Class 2?”
Chi Aibei turned back and smiled at him. “Next semester.”
Lin Xiu was momentarily stunned. “Next semester?”
“Mm.”
Though people say distance makes the heart grow fonder, that didn’t apply to this “father-son” dynamic. Besides, He Chenjiang was still in Class 1; Aibei was not only reluctant to leave but also uneasy.
Chi Aibei ignored the strange pang of bitterness he felt in his heart when Lin Xiu looked at him at noon—an indescribable feeling curled up somewhere in his heart, making him feel a bit uncomfortable.
Lin Xiu ran through the possibilities in his mind. Based on Chi Aibei’s logic, he eliminated several options until only one reason for staying in Class 1 remained: He Chenjiang.
It was already late to switch to Humanities in the third year, let alone waiting until the next semester. Lin Xiu said, “If you’ve decided, it’s best to transfer early. Time will be too tight next semester.”
Chi Aibei shook his head. “I’ve already settled it with Teacher Chen. He agreed.”
Generally, no teacher would agree to a stream change in the second half of the third year. Lin Xiu asked, “What sweet talk did you use to bribe him this time?”
“No sweet talk,” Aibei said. “I just told him I’d go to B-University with you.”
Chi Aibei spoke casually, as if B-University was already in his pocket.
Lin Xiu roughly understood why Teacher Chen agreed. After all, this statement was just like his earlier promise that gaming wouldn’t affect his grades—it was a guarantee he would definitely fulfill.
A few more days passed, and Jiang Yu finally couldn’t take it anymore. He glared at Lin Yang, who was constantly turning around like he had a stiff neck. “Have you got nothing better to do? Why do you keep looking at them?”
“Don’t you think they’re a bit strange?” Lin Yang asked.
Jiang Yu didn’t see it. Since he had lost to Lin Xiu again on the last exam, coupled with Chi Aibei’s skyrocketing progress, Jiang Yu felt a sense of crisis. He had been burying himself in practice papers lately, but the person next to him was constantly turning around, irritating him.
Lin Yang rubbed his chin. “It seems like their relationship has gotten… better.”
Jiang Yu glanced back.
Just like how he hadn’t seen the “fight” Lin Yang mentioned before, he still didn’t see anything different about them. If he had to point out something weird, it would probably be Lin Xiu’s current action of fanning Chi Aibei.
The weather had been hot lately. Chi Aibei always lacked energy at noon and would usually nap on his desk for a while. Lin Xiu was fanning Aibei with a notebook while simultaneously solving math problems.
Seeing that Lin Xiu didn’t even forget to study while fanning Aibei, Jiang Yu quickly turned back to continue his own battle.
Lin Yang whispered gossip to Jiang Yu: “Don’t you think Lin Xiu’s attitude toward Chi Aibei has improved these past two days?”
“Isn’t he always good to him?” Jiang Yu said as he wrote.
Lin Xiu was indeed better to Chi Aibei than to others, but the “good” Lin Yang was talking about wasn’t the ordinary kind. On the day Aibei was called to the office, he clearly felt the atmosphere between them was off. But starting from the next day, the direction of Aibei’s one-sided clinginess had changed.
Lin Xiu looked up and happened to meet Lin Yang’s eyes as he turned around again. “Something the matter?”
Lin Yang quickly shook his head. “Nothing.”
Lin Xiu glanced at the sleeping Chi Aibei and reached out to tug at the closed but not fully drawn curtains, blocking the single sliver of light that managed to hit the boy’s face.
Lin Yang: “…”
Is this not a bit too meticulous? Does no one else find this strange?!
Lin Yang couldn’t find anyone to sympathize with him. Mostly because no one else bothered to observe Chi Aibei and Lin Xiu. Those who hadn’t been overtaken by Aibei were struggling with all their might, while those who had been overtaken were dreaming of catching up. In the whole class, Lin Yang was likely the only one this leisurely.
Qin Wanpeng came to Class 1 to find He Chenjiang. He reached the door and was about to call out when he saw that He Chenjiang, like everyone else in Class 1, was scribbling furiously even at high noon. The classroom was so quiet the only sound was the scratching of pens on paper. Meanwhile, the person who made He Chenjiang decide to study hard in his final year was fast asleep.
What a sight!
He Chenjiang had stopped attending evening self-study lately. He had Chen Su find him a tutor so he could study at home every day. Qin Wanpeng originally thought he was just talking, but when he went to “audit” a session, he found He Chenjiang was serious. He was truly studying and even told Qin Wanpeng, “You should pick up the pace too; we’re in our third year.”
Looking at the students buried in their studies, Qin Wanpeng felt a bit of terror. Was this the world of top students? Did one have to become like He Chenjiang to fit in? Would he drive himself crazy?
In the end, Qin Wanpeng didn’t call He Chenjiang. He was about to leave when he saw the person sleeping by the window wake up.
Chi Aibei was covered in sweat. He tugged at his collar and muttered, “Hot.” Lin Xiu put down his pen, reached out to lift the hair from Aibei’s forehead, and picked up a cold Coke from the desk to press against Aibei’s skin. The sudden chill made Aibei shrink his neck. Just as Lin Xiu was about to pull the Coke away, Aibei pressed down on Lin Xiu’s hand, telling him not to take it.
Lin Xiu continued to fan him with the notebook. Chi Aibei sat there comfortably, narrowing his eyes lazily with the corners of his mouth tilted up, looking like a cat that had been stroked just right.
Qin Wanpeng was stunned. This was the first time he had seen Chi Aibei like this.
Over the past few years, Chi Aibei had always followed him and He Chenjiang. Qin Wanpeng never thought this fool was good-looking, yet in just a few months, the little fool seemed like a different person.
But thinking about it, being born into a family like the Chi’s, perhaps he was always meant to live so brightly and freely. It was only because he was a fool that no one noticed his original appearance.
They say a delicate flower needs nurturing to grow well. Neither the Chi family nor He Chenjiang had ever taken good care of him. Now, Lin Xiu was like a gardener pruning a landscape, allowing this small tree covered by overgrowth to gradually reveal its true form.
Qin Wanpeng looked at He Chenjiang again. The person who was just doing problems was now staring motionlessly at Chi Aibei and Lin Xiu, the tip of his pen pressing heavily into his notebook.
So that was it…
Qin Wanpeng finally understood why He Chenjiang transferred to Class 1 and why he suddenly wanted to study. Indeed, seeing this version of Chi Aibei, how could he not regret his actions?
To win the person back now, the only thing He Chenjiang could do was keep up with his pace. But as a bystander, Qin Wanpeng knew it was too late.
Even if He Chenjiang caught up to Chi Aibei, why would Lin Xiu easily give back the child he had raised so well?
It was all too late.
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