Part 2
Although he had just drunk half a bottle, Luo Shizhen could always drink water, and he appreciated his classmates’ thoughtfulness. He happily accepted it and gulped down the entire bottle in a few swigs.
“Thank you, Ying He.”
Ying Liu watched his brother get thanked and felt a bit annoyed.
No wonder. He had wondered why Ying He suddenly went to buy water.
If he had known, he would have bought one too.
However, his gaze soon landed on Lu Qiujin:
“We got the roommate too. Let’s go.”
Luo Shizhen quickly told Lu Qiujin:
“Ying He and Ying Liu are so nice. They accompanied me to find you earlier and waited here the whole time.”
As he spoke, two small feathers, one red and one white, stood proudly on Luo Shizhen’s shoulders, parading their presence.
Luo Shizhen marveled:
“Hey, Lu Qiujin, your face isn’t red anymore. Are you not hot now?”
Ying Liu leaned against his brother with a grin.
“I think he’s more than not hot; he’s practically freezing.”
Lu Qiujin pulled the corners of his mouth, flashing that standard perfect smile again.
“Maybe I’ve recovered after resting. I’m not as afraid of the heat as before.”
He looked at the Ying brothers with feigned curiosity. “Shizhen, when did you get familiar with them?”
He had clearly sent everyone hovering around Luo Shizhen into confinement.
Where did these two pop out from?
Luo Shizhen was cheerful. “Just now. Ying He used his Qi to help me learn how to sense other people’s Qi.”
“Ying Liu was very enthusiastic too; he even let me take notes on his Qi.”
Lu Qiujin: “…”
Just now. That would be while he was at the training grounds.
These two really knew how to pick their timing.
Luo Shizhen was completely oblivious to the silent battle in the trio’s eyes. He looked down at the time.
“I’m going to eat. Are you guys going?”
“Going.” The three voices were almost simultaneous.
Chen Heyan, however, came over leisurely from behind.
“Shizhen, have dinner with me tonight. There was a point I didn’t explain clearly during your tutoring earlier. I’ll explain it again tonight.”
Between classmates and the teacher, the choice was obvious.
Luo Shizhen nodded immediately. “Okay, Teacher.”
He said to the three somewhat apologetically, “Then I’ll go eat with Teacher Chen. I won’t join you. You three eat together.”
The three: “…”
Luo Shizhen was a bit worried about Lu Qiujin and pulled him aside to whisper:
“Rest early after eating. When we get back to the dorm, let’s study together.”
Lu Qiujin was pleasantly surprised. He hadn’t expected Luo Shizhen to give him such a promise.
Although Luo Shizhen still couldn’t drop his studies, at least he was willing to study with him now.
“Okay.”
As he agreed, he glanced at the Ying brothers. The look seemed devoid of meaning, yet Ying Liu felt provoked.
Before Ying Liu could speak, the black-haired boy stepped forward first.
“Student Luo, I took some notes in class before. They might help your current study progress. If you need them, can I bring them to you tomorrow?”
Luo Shizhen was thrilled. “I need them! Thank you! I really need them!”
Although the teacher was helping him with make-up lessons and he was studying hard himself, Luo Shizhen’s pursuit of learning always seemed endless because his ceiling was so low.
Having notes to read was, of course, the best.
After Luo Shizhen left with Chen Heyan, the atmosphere, which had been fairly peaceful, instantly became tense.
Ying Liu’s gaze fell on Lu Qiujin’s bandaged arm. From the amateur technique, he recognized it as Luo Shizhen’s handiwork at a glance.
After all, except for Luo Shizhen, getting injured was a daily occurrence for everyone else in the class, and no one wanted to go to the infirmary.
Awakeners healed fast, but serious injuries still needed bandaging, so every Awakener student had mastered skilled bandaging techniques.
“Interesting.”
Ying Liu still had a smile on his face, but there wasn’t much genuine emotion in it.
“How does someone who usually ranks at the top in training suddenly get injured during training today?”
Lu Qiujin also smiled. It was the standard perfect smile that made him look very noble, yet very fake.
“I didn’t know you were so curious.”
Although they had traded “brother’s arms,” there was no affection between them.
One could only say they enjoyed watching each other’s drama.
But they shared a similarity: no matter how cold they were internally, they could maintain a smile on the surface and exchange pleasantries politely.
Even if their pleasantries sounded a bit hellish.
Ying Liu giggled. “Just showing concern. If you die, where will I earn extra money next time I want to?”
Lu Qiujin smiled. “Thank you. I’m very concerned about you too. I heard you have a tendency to become a Fallen Angel. I wonder if your red feathers will turn black, and if they will still be as beautiful as they are now?”
Ying Liu’s smile widened. “Thank you for caring about me. Don’t worry, no matter what color my feathers turn, they will be beautiful.”
“As for you, maybe do some maintenance on your ugly little tree root. Didn’t you see? The moment Student Shizhen saw my and my brother’s feathers, he completely ignored your ugly root.”
Lu Qiujin: “Compared to me, perhaps you should focus on yourself. If you have any method to maintain Qi, maybe you can dye those feathers of yours, which are fast turning black, back to red.”
The two finished their mutual concern and ended the topic.
Lu Qiujin left alone.
Ying He looked at his back and reminded his brother, “Lu Qiujin is on the verge of alienation. Provoke him less.”
Ying Liu didn’t care. “Lu Qiujin has endured for so many years; he won’t fall short at a time like this.”
“But Brother, did you see? In the past, no matter how I pricked Lu Qiujin, he had no reaction. Just now, when I said his Qi was ugly, he actually paused.”
Curiosity shone in his eyes. “What is it? What made Lu Qiujin, who was like a pool of stagnant water, suddenly change?”
Ying Liu looked at his brother. “Brother, do you think it’s because of Luo Shizhen?”
Ying He: “I can’t control how you play usually, but don’t get any ideas about Luo Shizhen.”
“Why? You like him?”
As a twin, Ying Liu certainly knew his brother’s sexual orientation.
“He is very cute. Too bad he’s a boy.”
Ying He’s eyes were calm. Knowing he couldn’t hide it, he admitted it frankly.
“Yes, I like him. I want to pursue him. You don’t like men, so just this once, consider it a favor to me—don’t cause trouble.”
“I refuse.”
Ying Liu smiled like a wicked fox. The two brothers had fox eyes naturally, but this feature wasn’t very obvious on Ying He. On Ying Liu, with his red hair, it was displayed vividly.
“We are brothers. We share everything. How can you bypass me and possess a person all by yourself?”
Ying He: “But you don’t like men.”
Ying Liu didn’t care. “I can like them. Brother, you have good taste. Luo Shizhen is indeed very cute. Doesn’t the way he looks at people remind you of that little lamb we raised when we were kids?”
Ying He’s expression was no longer calm. “Ying Liu, that’s different.”
“How is it different? Aren’t they both things we like?”
“The lamb’s eyes were big and watery, looking at us with trust. Do you remember how much we liked that lamb? When I was taken away by Grandpa, I told you to protect the lamb. But later? When I came back, the lamb had been eaten.”
Ying Liu’s face still held a smile, but it seemed to carry a trace of obsession.
“Brother, from that moment I knew, if we like something, we brothers must protect it together.”
His voice suddenly darkened. Rather than an angel, he sounded more like a demon crawling out of hell, his voice winding around his twin brother’s ear:
“You failed to protect the lamb back then, Brother. But this time, we can protect Luo Shizhen together.”
“Besides, have you forgotten that our bodies share a connection? Your pain is my pain, my injury is yours. If you bypass me to pursue Luo Shizhen, when you two reach a happy ending, surely you’ll go to bed, right?”
Ying He closed his eyes. “You need to clear your pollution. If this goes on, you will definitely alienate into a Fallen Angel.”
“The physical connection is just caused by the Awakening. I will ask Eternal Day to help deal with it.”
He walked ahead first. Ying Liu shrugged and chased after him as if nothing had happened.
“By the way, Brother, when did you start taking notes? I don’t recall you having notes.”
“Tonight.”
“Oh~ Then I want to take notes too. My grades aren’t worse than yours. If you won’t team up with me, it’s not certain whom Shizhen will choose.”
It was originally just a subconscious snarky remark, but as he spoke, he suddenly recalled Luo Shizhen’s touch.
That feeling was really good.
If Luo Shizhen really didn’t choose his brother, but chose him… just thinking about it made his Red Feather bristle with excitement.
Ying Liu raised his slender fingertips and touched his lips.
“Like a little lamb.”
Gentle, earnest, and cute.
Ying Liu’s train of thought changed instantly.
Right. Why must I wait for my brother to agree to share with me?
I can totally pursue Luo Shizhen myself, snatching him before my brother.
He looked at his brother ahead. What’s the point of taking notes? No sincerity at all.
Doesn’t pursuing someone require the greatest sincerity?
Luo Shizhen finished his meal and make-up lesson with Teacher Chen and prepared to return to the dorm.
The school’s streetlights were bright, unlike the dim ones at No. 3 High School. Even if there were any special circumstances, with an Awakener’s vision, everything could be seen clearly.
He walked brick by brick, replaying Teacher Chen’s teachings in his mind.
Suddenly, a huge black shadow descended from the sky.
Luo Shizhen was so scared he squatted down, instantly prying up a brick in a defensive posture.
“Shizhen, it’s me.”
The red-haired boy spread a pair of huge red wings. His eyes had also turned red, and his face was filled with excitement.
Luo Shizhen actually didn’t see his expression clearly.
Because he was blinded by the flashing light.
He covered his eyes and adjusted for a moment before realizing that Ying Liu was adorned with various gems, large and small, flashing blindingly under the streetlights.
Luo Shizhen: “Ying Liu, are you taking a walk?”
“No, I’m waiting for you.”
Ying Liu flapped his wings excitedly, signaling Luo Shizhen to look at the tallest tree in the school.
“Look there. Do you see that nest?”
Luo Shizhen’s vision after reaching Level 2 was amazing. Even in the middle of the night, he actually saw that on a tree about thirty meters high, a huge nest had appeared out of nowhere.
“I spent hours building it. I flew so far to find all the materials.”
Ying Liu was excited. “I even slept in it for a bit. It felt great, very comfortable. I lined it with lots of cotton, soft grass, gems, and my feathers. It’s much more comfortable than a blanket!”
“Shizhen, let’s sleep in the nest together tonight!”
Luo Shizhen looked at Ying Liu waving his red wings in front of him, then looked at the huge nest.
“You already slept in it? In that nest?”
Ying Liu nodded. “I tried it. Don’t worry, it’s very comfortable.”
Luo Shizhen looked at his feathers, then at his hair. “Ying Liu, are you in a clear state of mind right now? Have you been drinking?”
Ying Liu was confused. “Clear? Of course I’m clear. I’ve never been as clear-headed as I am now.”
Luo Shizhen breathed a sigh of relief.
“Then come with me.”
Ying Liu had wanted Luo Shizhen to go with him, but following Luo Shizhen seemed okay too.
He flapped his wings and agreed.
“Sure. Are we going to your dorm? Although there’s someone else’s scent, it doesn’t matter; I can kick Lu Qiujin out.”
“No.” Luo Shizhen was serious. “We are going to the infirmary.”
Ying Liu: ?
Five minutes later, Luo Shizhen pulled Ying Liu down to sit and explained earnestly to the doctor:
“He built a nest with branches and grass, and even slept in it for a while. There must be lice!”
“Doctor Teacher, please help him deworm quickly.”
Translator’s Note: Ying Liu’s behavior of building a nest and collecting shiny objects (gems) mimics bird behavior, specifically referring to bowerbirds or magpies, which fits his bird/feather-based abilities. To Luo Shizhen, however, sleeping in a tree just means bugs!
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