Chi Wang carefully placed that hand back on the bedsheet, afraid of disturbing his sleep, but still didn't let go.
He stared at their intertwined hands, looking left and right, seeing only intimacy.
This feeling was quite marvelous. Before today, he had always thought he was purely straight, but in the time it took to smoke half a cigarette, he had unexpectedly bent like a mosquito coil.
However, this analysis of his inner feelings didn't seem all that surprising.
If the person he liked was Su Lian, who happened to be a boy just like him, what did it matter?
Love has nothing to do with gender, and even if society still held prejudices, his arrogant personality meant he didn't care at all.
Su Lian might look cold on the outside, but his heart was warmer than anyone's.
At first, he didn't want to tutor Gu Anjiu and the others, complaining they were stupid and annoying. But actions speak louder than words - he was just putting on a tough front while being soft-hearted, not letting them go even right before the exam.
Someone who usually went to bed so early had forcefully stayed up until midnight today.
Now thinking back to those strange health porridges and vegetable congees, they didn't seem so hard to swallow anymore.
Not to mention how he urged him to study and exercise - thinking about it, it was probably all for his own good.
Chi Wang gently squeezed the fingers he was holding, suddenly feeling a wave of tenderness in his heart.
To be able to like such a person, it seemed there was nothing to regret.
It's just that he didn't know what Su Lian was really thinking, and there was still an ex he couldn't forget - that was a bit troublesome.
For no reason, he felt quite envious of that person, who had occupied Su Lian's emotions and first love, enjoyed his unknown gentleness and care, and even shared kisses and embraces.
Chi Wang lowered his eyes, feeling sour in his heart.
However, if Su Lian liked girls, a rash confession would probably mean they couldn't even be friends anymore.
After pondering, he sighed softly, feeling the road ahead was long and difficult.
"Seeking, seeking... Cold, cold... Clear, clear... Sad, miserable, sorrowful..."
Chi Wang froze, turning his head towards the source of the sound. He found Song Jiaci in the next bed with his eyes tightly shut, mumbling non-stop.
Good grief, this kid not only stuttered in his sleep but also recited such heart-wrenching poetry.
Chi Wang lowered his head and smiled. On the eve of the monthly exam, suddenly realizing his own feelings was indeed quite miserable.
It had to be said, it was very fitting to the occasion.
He stood there for a while longer, his legs getting a bit numb, but he didn't move a step. The pillow by the headboard suddenly vibrated, disturbing the quiet night.
Startled, he quickly let go of the hand and dodged to the side just as Su Lian slowly opened his eyes.
"The alarm went off," Su Lian mumbled in a low voice, reaching out to turn off the vibration.
He groggily looked towards the edge of the bed and was almost scared into a heart attack: "Why are you standing there like a ghost? Have you finished memorizing?"
Chi Wang cursed under his breath, thinking to himself that he had been so preoccupied with romance that he hadn't even turned a single page of the book.
He licked his lower lip and said in a low voice, "No, I was just checking if you had fallen asleep so you could keep sleeping. Otherwise, you might not feel well tomorrow."
"I'm not sleeping anymore. I'll get up to supervise you guys," Su Lian said, supporting himself to sit up on the bed. He felt his palm was unusually hot.
He wasn't feverish or sick, but the temperature seemed too high. It was strange.
He rubbed his fingertips, climbed down the ladder, and as he passed by Chi Wang, he lowered his head slightly and sniffed.
A very faint smell of smoke clung to his jacket, even more noticeable in the air swept in from outside the window.
His expression cooled, and he questioned flatly, "Did you smoke?"
Even though it had dispersed for so long, his nose was indeed sharper than a dog's. Chi Wang uncomfortably grunted an affirmative: "I was tired and frustrated. Forgive me this once, I only smoked half a cigarette."
Su Lian snorted lightly but didn't say anything, walking towards the opposite side with a cold expression.
Chi Wang quickly followed, pleading, "I was wrong, don't be angry."
Seeing no response, he added another apology: "I absolutely won't touch it at all next week."
The two bystanders just happened to hear the last sentence. Touch what? Surely he didn't just grab and kiss him, right?
After wildly imagining a series of scenarios in their minds, Gu Anjiu widened his eyes: "No way, no way, what did you do? We told you not to be so rash, but you didn't listen."
"What did I do?" Chi Wang glared at him, making a slicing motion across his neck from afar, signaling him to shut up.
Su Lian, unaware of the undercurrents, scanned the room and asked softly, "Who wants to go first?"
With this question, everyone fell silent.
"One passage at a time, come on," Su Lian said slowly, his voice tinged with sleepiness.
Chi Wang thought to himself that he hadn't even had time to memorize one passage. His mind was completely blank now, unable to recall a single word.
He took the initiative to admit his mistake again: "I was distracted earlier. I'll recite now."
Gu Anjiu: "I was distracted too."
Lin Yan was even more concise: "Me too."
Su Lian laughed in exasperation: "Were you three playing a mental game of Connect Four? Not one of you remembers?"
"Give me half an hour, I'll be done right away," Chi Wang didn't dare to joke around, quickly sitting down at the desk and burying his head in studying.
The other two stopped wasting time and hurriedly followed the leader's pace, starting to nod and mumble, the scene looking like they had joined a multi-level marketing organization.
Su Lian pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed slightly, truly at a loss with these people.
He had been supervising their tutoring sessions these past few days, reviewing all the key points himself in the process, leaving him with almost nothing left to study.
Looking around, his gaze fell on the ashtray on the balcony, where half a cigarette remained next to the ashes.
It really was half, just as said.
Su Lian knew that quitting smoking wasn't easy, and being able to reduce the amount was progress. Gradual improvement would eventually lead to quitting completely.
He took out his phone and searched: "How to quit smoking quickly," and a flood of comments popped up.
They mostly suggested using candy as a substitute or doing more exercise to divert attention.
Eating too much candy wasn't good for health, but exercise was a good choice.
Su Lian thought for a moment. After the monthly exam would be the sports meet, with various long-distance runs that could be arranged for him.
Having finished planning in his mind, he dozed off leaning against the small sofa. When he opened his eyes again, three pairs of eyes were staring intently at him.
Gu Anjiu looked at him pitifully, clasping his hands together: "We've memorized ten passages, we tried our best. We wanted to wake you, but Chi Wang wouldn't let us."
His tone was sour, implicitly criticizing someone for forgetting his friends when faced with a romantic interest.
However, Su Lian didn't catch the undertone and simply nodded: "Alright, let's begin."
So they started reciting the model essays haltingly. This time, Chi Wang had truly put in effort, reciting all ten passages almost word for word with very few mistakes.
Apart from mispronouncing a few unfamiliar words, there weren't any major issues.
"See, you're clearly capable," Su Lian looked up, his tone serious. "If you put in a little more effort, your grades would improve dramatically."
Praised by his crush, Chi Wang smiled lazily: "It's all thanks to teacher Su's excellent teaching."
Even at a time like this, he didn't forget to flatter a bit.
After the other two finished reciting, Su Lian closed the materials and yawned: "Let's sleep for now, we need to get up early tomorrow. We'll continue with Biology and Chemistry tomorrow night."
"What! There's still tomorrow!" Gu Anjiu lamented, looking at the ceiling light, "Can I hang myself?"
"Hang yourself after the exam. Go to sleep," Su Lian stood up from the sofa, glancing at Chi Wang, "Don't stay up late again."
Chi Wang's mood had changed drastically by now, finding everything Su Lian said sweet to his ears. He smiled and said, "Alright, I'll do as you say."
His words were sweet as honey, and his heart was just as saccharine.
-
At eight in the morning, a group of people came out of Class 6's classroom, dispersing to their respective floors to prepare for the exam. Last time, Su Lian's grades had improved dramatically, propelling him into the first exam room.
He had just placed his pencil case on the desk when he felt curious gazes falling on him from all directions.
To say they were curious was putting it mildly; there was more speculation and doubt.
Su Lian sat down expressionlessly. Before his back could touch the chair, someone grabbed his wrist.
He looked up slightly to see a burly guy holding his hand: "Classmate, do you need something?"
"Nothing much, just wanted to touch the holy light of the perfect Integrated Science score before the exam," the boy chuckled, scratching his head embarrassedly.
Su Lian imperceptibly withdrew his hand and said flatly, "The first subject is Chinese. I scored 97 last time. Are you sure you want to touch?"
The boy choked for a moment, thinking to himself that the legendary study god was indeed aloof, his words cold enough to freeze hell over.
"Go back to your seat. The exam is about to start," Su Lian lowered his eyes and said no more.
Most people in the first exam room knew each other, having sat together for exams for years, at least enough to be familiar faces.
Nearby, people gathered and whispered, their voices low but faintly audible.
"Let's see how much he scores this time. Then we'll know if he cheated or not."
"I still find it strange. How can someone improve so dramatically over one holiday?"
"Maybe they were pretending before and only showed their true ability in the last bet."
"That's possible. Otherwise, it's like they suddenly gained divine insight. I saw their answer sheet - it was like looking at the standard answers."
Su Lian couldn't be bothered to explain. He just lazily swung his pen, lost in thought.
There aren't that many miracles in the world. It's all the result of previous hard work. All those nights of burning the midnight oil were spent thinking only of making life easier for Su Huasheng in the future.
They didn't understand. When a person's determination is strong enough, anything becomes possible.
"D-don't talk b-bad about others." Song Jiaci stammered, his face red as he quietly rebuked those gossiping.
Su Lian, from a distance, mouthed to him: "It's okay."
The exam bell rang and test papers were handed out. The surroundings fell into silence, filled only with the sound of pens scribbling answers.
Being an exam for top students, the teachers were more relaxed in their supervision. After a cursory glance, they began grading papers.
Turning the pages of the exam, Su Lian's lips curled slightly when he saw the classical Chinese and ancient poetry sections. He was in luck; he had correctly guessed four questions from last night's review.
He imagined Chi Wang's expression when reaching this part - probably arrogant and cocky.
He could even picture his casual tone: "I'm definitely getting all of these right."
After daydreaming for a while, Su Lian realized he had been distracted for too long. He lowered his head again and continued to carefully write out each answer.
Since his grades had already been exposed last time, there was no need to hide anymore. He filled in every question he could answer, leaving none blank.
The morning exam flew by. After handing in the papers, Su Lian left the first exam room, walking side by side with Song Jiaci down the stairs. They stood at the bottom, waiting for the others.
Chi Wang came out arm in arm with Gu Anjiu, waving at him from afar. The young man's smile was brilliant in the sunlight.
"Teacher Su, your guessing skills are truly unparalleled," Gu Anjiu said in a fawning tone as he approached. "I can probably get at least half of that section right."
"We're different. I'm definitely getting all of them right this time," Chi Wang said lazily, looking up at the sky, his whole body exuding an irrepressible confidence.
Su Lian lowered his head and laughed. It was exactly as he had imagined.
Chi Wang turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow slightly: "What are you laughing at? Is it funny? Don't you believe me?"
Su Lian shook his head, holding back his amusement: "No, I just think your lines are quite predictable."
"What riddles are you talking about?"
"Nothing. Let's go eat. The braised pork will be gone soon."
Chi Wang stared at his retreating figure. Because he was walking so fast, the hem of his school uniform lifted slightly, revealing the white shirt underneath.
He stared for a moment, involuntarily raising the corners of his mouth: "What a little glutton. So cute."
"Wang, you're really hopeless," Gu Anjiu followed behind, his features exaggeratedly scrunched together as he complained. "If I had known you'd be this disgusting after realizing your feelings, I should never have pointed it out to you."
Lin Yan, who had broken out in goosebumps, nodded in agreement: "Really disgusting."
Chi Wang shrugged, walking slowly with an indifferent expression.
"What are you guys t-talking about? I don't understand," Song Jiaci, who had missed out on the night's drama, looked completely confused.
Lin Yan grabbed the back of his neck and pushed him forward: "Little kids shouldn't ask so many questions."
Because it was exam period, the cafeteria was especially crowded today. The window serving braised pork was particularly packed, with a sea of heads pressed tightly together.
Not wanting to get too close to others, Su Lian stood outside the crowd holding his tray, lost in thought.
Before he could come up with a solution, his tray was snatched away. Chi Wang turned back and said, "You go sit down. I'll get it for you."
"Thank you," Su Lian said, frowning as he returned to their usual spot. He thought to himself how strange this person had suddenly become, acting so oddly.
Usually, Chi Wang was quite considerate of others, but today felt somewhat different from usual.
If asked to pinpoint exactly what was different, he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Finally, when everyone was seated and started eating, Gu Anjiu began chattering about the latest gossip he had heard.
Chi Wang couldn't be bothered to listen. His gaze fell on Su Lian's left hand. That watch, so out of character, wrapped around his slender wrist. The strap was a few shades darker than the face, probably because it had been damaged in the last fight and repaired to be worn again.
Such beautiful, slender hands should be paired with a prettier watch.
Thinking this, he sped up his eating, finishing in five minutes before standing up to leave.
"Where are you going? The afternoon exam is at two," Gu Anjiu called out to remind him.
Chi Wang waved his hand without looking back: "Got some urgent business. See you at the exam room."
Su Lian stared at his retreating figure before lowering his eyes again. So mysterious, who knows what scheme he's up to now.
Chi Wang went straight out of the school gates, hailed a taxi to the nearby mall, and headed directly for the watch counter.
After browsing for quite a while, he still wasn't satisfied. He felt that none of the watches truly matched Su Lian's temperament.
The sales assistant, seeing a handsome young man, smiled even more brightly: "Do you need any help? Are you buying for yourself or as a gift?"
"It's a gift," Chi Wang said without even raising his eyelids, his gaze roaming over the glass counters.
"For... a girlfriend?" the sales assistant carefully asked.
Chi Wang paused for a few seconds: "For a boy."
"You might want to take a look at this moonphase watch. It's suitable for both men and women," the sales assistant took out a model from behind and placed it on the counter.
Chi Wang lowered his eyes to look. The watch face had a golden full moon set against a deep blue sky. It looked understated yet elegant.
Thinking of how much Su Lian liked to watch the moon, he nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, I'll take this one. Please wrap it up."
With a swipe of his card, the displayed amount showed the watch was quite expensive, using up a good portion of his savings. But Chi Wang didn't feel it was a waste.
After all, he enjoyed earning money. As for who to spend it on, he hadn't found anyone before. Now that he knew he liked someone, it was perfect timing.
After the watch was wrapped, he took out a card and carefully wrote a line: "I like you very much. This is a gift for you. Please accept it."
He didn't dare leave his name, wanting to first test Su Lian's reaction to a potential suitor.
After the math exam, the entire campus was filled with groans of complaint. Su Lian told them to go ahead and save seats in the cafeteria while he went back to the classroom to put away his schoolbag.
His fingertips randomly touched something hard. He pulled out the card, examining it back and forth with a puzzled look, feeling very confused.
He hadn't heard of anyone liking him recently. It must have been delivered to the wrong person.
Moreover, this brand looked expensive. He definitely couldn't accept it.
Su Lian pondered for a few seconds, then went straight to the school's broadcasting room.
There was a ten-minute broadcast time every evening at 6:20. The broadcaster was organizing scripts when she saw him and asked warmly, "Su Lian, do you need something?"
"I found a watch but don't know whose it is. Could you please announce it during the broadcast later? No need to mention my name."
Afraid of exposing someone's secret admirer, Su Lian stuffed the card back into the box and handed over the bag.
"Of course, no problem," the broadcaster smiled sweetly at him and gave an OK gesture.
Su Lian nodded and turned to leave for the cafeteria.
Chi Wang watched him approach from afar, feeling a wave of nervousness. Su Lian had gone back to the classroom and probably saw the watch by now. The style should be to his liking; there shouldn't be any issues.
As he sat down, Chi Wang's gaze fell on his slender wrist, his expression freezing.
Damn it, why was he still wearing that childish cartoon watch?
Where was the watch? The watch that cost him tens of thousands?
Feeling the stare, Su Lian turned to look at him and asked flatly, "How did you do on the math exam?"
"It was okay," Chi Wang responded absent-mindedly, his mind full of thoughts about where things had gone wrong.
He cleared his throat and said slowly, "After the exam, I think I saw someone put something in your desk drawer."
"Mm, it was probably put there by mistake," Su Lian said, taking a sip of the egg drop soup.
Not hearing the answer he expected, Chi Wang was quite frustrated: "How could it be a mistake? They specifically waited until after the exam and before evening self-study. It must be for you. Maybe someone likes you."
Su Lian looked up, pausing for a few seconds: "It did seem like a gift from an admirer, but it probably wasn't meant for me."
Little Teacher Su had likely underestimated his own attractiveness far too much, Chi Wang thought, resting his chin on his hand and sighing inwardly.
Gu Anjiu sensed something amiss and jumped in to help his friend: "You're so handsome, how is it not possible for someone to pursue you?"
After thinking for a moment, Su Lian replied, "Because I'm aloof and don't seem very approachable. No one dares to confess to me."
Chi Wang: "..."
Gu Anjiu's eyes widened: "Wait, not even in your years at Eighth High School?"
Su Lian shook his head and answered honestly: "No."
He wasn't lying. At first, he was a delinquent student who skipped classes to sleep and always kept to himself. With his famous history of beating five guys at once, no one dared to mess with him.
Later, his grades improved, and he spent all his time either in the classroom or the library. He received a few love letters but never actually met the senders. After a few years, indeed no one had ever stood before him to confess their feelings.
Chi Wang rubbed his face, realizing he had made a mistake from the very first move. It was absolutely maddening.
He stretched out his long legs and leaned back in his chair. "So, for someone like you, how did you even manage to have an ex?"
Su Lian paused, pondering hard for a moment, but couldn't come up with an answer. "I don't know. I find it strange too. Maybe it was just a lucky coincidence?"
Chi Wang felt a surge of jealousy, but maintained a calm exterior. "Oh, fate, huh?"
He thought to himself, 'We have quite a fateful connection too. We met on the first night, celebrated a birthday, and even slept side by side.'
Cupid must have been blind, not knowing he had tied Su Lian to some clueless idiot.
He lowered his head to take a few bites of food, then looked up again. "So, how did you handle the gift?"
Before Su Lian could answer, a voice from the cafeteria's loudspeaker came through the broadcast room.
"Good evening, everyone. We have a lost and found announcement. A sophomore has found a Cartier watch. There's a card inside the watch box with a confession message. Would the secret admirer please come to the broadcast room to claim it? Thank you."
"Once again, a sophomore has found a watch... Would the secret admirer please..."
"Holy crap, Cartier? Who's that rich?"
"I'm so jealous. Can I go claim it? I really want it."
"Is it a guy or a girl? Let's see who in our grade is loaded and narrow it down."
"With this nouveau riche way of pursuing someone, it must be some rich kid!"
Upon hearing this romantic gossip, the crowd around them instantly erupted, focusing collectively on the keyword "secret admirer." They began wildly speculating about which big shot was so generous as to pursue someone to this extent.
They guessed from first-year students all the way to seniors, making a list, but no one could figure it out.
The actual secret admirer, Chi Wang: "..."