Some time had passed since the military training. Ke Bu tapped his pen lightly against the desk, glancing now at the textbook in front of him, now at the teacher on the podium, and now at the group-chat notifications popping up on his phone. Not long ago, Chu Hao Yu had dragged him into this seven-person group. The simple era of passing paper notes had somehow drifted away without anyone noticing. Time raced forward without brakes, like an ignorant fool charging eagerly toward his own destruction.
Ke Bu scrolled through the completely pointless conversation. At that moment, a beautiful woman around twenty-five or twenty-six appeared outside the classroom. Her hair was dyed light red, and she wore a black lace-trimmed dress with red high heels. She was gorgeous and striking enough to draw murmurs from the boys in class. The woman waited outside while the teacher stepped over. After the two spoke quietly for a moment, the teacher nodded and called into the classroom, “Ke Bu, someone is here to see you.” Ke Bu did not look surprised. He stood and walked outside. He knew this beautiful woman, the kind who could make any man’s heart stir, a woman who had suddenly appeared in Ke Bu’s life one day and whom he could not resist.
“What are you doing here?” Ke Bu did not know what expression to wear and looked a little uneasy.
“I was a little worried about how you were doing at your new school, so I came to take a look.”
“Oh. Is that so? I’m doing fine.” The woman handed him a paper bag. “I picked up a few clothes for you on the way. Don’t say you don’t want them unless you think spending my money is embarrassing. I can’t stay long. I only took half a day off. I just came to see you, and then I have to leave.” Ke Bu accepted the bag. “Mm. Thanks.” The woman smiled gently and reached out with slender fingers to straighten his wrinkled collar. Such an intimate gesture in front of everyone made Ke Bu somewhat uncomfortable, but he stayed where he was and did not pull away.
“I’m going, then. Remember to eat properly. And whether you have something to say or not, call me once in a while.”
“Got it.” Ke Bu watched her leave with a complicated expression. After hesitating, he suddenly called after her, “B-be careful on your way.”
The woman’s red lips parted in a satisfied smile. “Should I be happy that you care about me this much?” Teased like that, Ke Bu blushed with the embarrassment of a child. Carrying the bag, he stepped back into the classroom and immediately received a number of suggestive looks. Almost unconsciously, Ke Bu glanced at Zhi Li. Zhi Li was simply propping his chin on one hand and listening to the lesson without any particular expression. The moment he noticed Ke Bu’s gaze and turned to meet it, Ke Bu quickly looked away. The phone inside his desk drawer was vibrating so violently it was almost about to fall. Gong Zhu and Chu Hao Yu had already started bombarding the group chat.
【Ke Bu, who was that just now?】 Gong Zhu asked. To make sure the three people in the other classes saw it, Chu Hao Yu had even posted a secretly taken photo to the group.
【That’s so sneaky. You were hiding such a beautiful girlfriend!】 Without even seeing Chu Hao Yu’s face, Ke Bu could imagine how indignant he looked.
【Huh? You didn’t know either?】
【Ke Bu and I were only in the same class for one year of high school. Someone like me, basking in the radiance of goddesses’ breasts every day, doesn’t have time to pay attention to a gloomy person like Ke Bu.】
【So Ke Bu likes the mature-woman type.】 Ying Xiu Jie joined in too.
【That’s an unexpectedly heavy preference.】
【I thought Ke Bu had already seen through the mortal world and had absolutely no positive expectations for life. I didn’t expect him to have this side too. That’s too much. You never even told me.】
【He hasn’t seen through the mortal world at all. He’s just cynical and bitter.】
Ke Bu’s hand trembled around his phone. What was with this endless string of judgments? He did not want to talk about matters involving women, nor did he want anyone else talking about them. 【Why are all of you ganging up on me? What exactly is there in life that I’m supposed to face positively? As long as I don’t die, that’s enough.】
【You have absolutely no sense of romance. Don’t you ever miss the feeling of holding a woman’s soft breasts in both hands?】
【They’ll sag eventually anyway.】
【Stop. Don’t make me picture that. I can’t take it.】
The teacher on the podium coughed lightly. “Ke Bu, if you don’t want to pay attention in class, that’s your choice, but don’t disturb the people around you. I can’t control what you do in other classes, but in mine, please try not to use your phone.” Ke Bu awkwardly put his hand back into the drawer. Does he think my grades will suddenly shoot upward just because I stop using my phone?
As class was about to end, the teacher clapped his hands and began giving instructions. “National Day is in ten days. Although this school is strict about university academics, we also care about creating a festive atmosphere. Your class adviser asked us to put up some letter boards and hanging decorations in the classroom. Does anyone want to volunteer?” Everyone looked at one another. Only an idiot would volunteer for something like that.
“Since nobody is volunteering, Ke Bu, you’ll do it.” This was obviously malicious retaliation. Ke Bu nodded stiffly, then pressed his face against the desk until it squashed out of shape. When the bell rang, students grabbed their books and poured out of the room. Ke Bu stood at the front and saw Chu Hao Yu wearing a smug expression of delight at someone else’s suffering, with Zhi Li behind him. As Zhi Li passed, Ke Bu reached out and caught the corner of his clothes. Zhi Li turned around. Ke Bu lowered his head. “You’re helping too.” Zhi Li said nothing. At last, only the two of them remained in the classroom. Ke Bu let go of Zhi Li’s clothes and asked hesitantly, “So… what’s the exchange condition this time?”
Zhi Li walked over, picked up one of the letter boards from the podium, casually dragged over a stool, stood on it, and stuck the first board above the blackboard. “No need.” Ke Bu looked up at Zhi Li’s back: clean canvas shoes, sleeves rolled to his wrists, strands of hair against his neck.
“Pretty rare for you to help without demanding an equal exchange. Do you know how hard I used to work paying back everything I owed you? I’d finally clear the debt, then somehow end up owing you again without even noticing.”
“Next one.” Zhi Li held out a hand, and Ke Bu passed him the second board.
“You have no idea how horribly those beasts in the group chat were talking about me. You saw it too, right?” Ke Bu was grasping for something to talk about.
“No. I muted the group.”
“Then what was the point of joining the group at all?!!!”
After that, neither of them spoke. When they were almost finished, Ke Bu said, “I’ll handle the smaller decorations. If I let you do everything by yourself, even someone like me would feel guilty. It’s getting late. You should head back first.” Ke Bu did not even look at Zhi Li. The space behind him fell silent. When he finally turned around, Zhi Li was already gone. A faint disappointment caught at Ke Bu’s chest, but he shook his head and kept working. After finally finishing everything, he let out a breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and went back to his seat to collect his books before returning to the dormitory. Then he froze. He froze in surprise. Zhi Li was asleep at a desk in the far corner of the last row. The breeze coming through the window lifted the curtains and brushed lightly against his body. The corner of Ke Bu’s mouth curved into a soft smile. He walked over, sat in the seat in front of Zhi Li, then laid himself across the desk too, resting his chin on the back of his hand as he watched him.
Half an hour later, Zhi Li woke. The moment he opened his eyes and lifted his head, he saw Ke Bu staring at him.
“Why haven’t you left yet?” Ke Bu asked lightly. Zhi Li reached toward Ke Bu’s forehead, curled his thumb and middle finger, and flicked him. “Because you had the expression of someone who wanted me to comfort him.”
Ke Bu wrinkled his nose and rubbed the spot on his forehead that stung. “I did not.”
Zhi Li stood and lightly pressed a hand onto Ke Bu’s hair. “With an expression like that, how could I just leave you behind?” His beautiful fingers moved away, but the warmth remained. He was still like this, soothing every trace of unease with straightforward words.
“If you keep saying things like that, even if you don’t mean them, I’m going to force you to take responsibility for all the debts you owe me for making my heart race.” Ke Bu murmured the joke under his breath, too quietly for anyone but himself to hear.
“Hm?”
“Nothing. Let’s go. Since you helped me, I’ll repay you by carrying your books back to the dorm.” Ke Bu snatched the books from Zhi Li’s hands and hugged them to his chest.
“Your repayment is tiny.”
“You should be grateful you’re getting any repayment at all!!”
A quiet warmth had always existed between them.