Yu Sui flipped his draft notebook over, mixed it in with his reference books, and tucked them all behind the bay window. Slipping into his sandals, he went to open the door.
He was now much taller than Yu Zhen. Even in high heels, Yu Zhen had to look up to see him.
Yu Zhen had probably come because of what happened this week. She looked through her call logs and saw the missed call from the Director of the Moral Education Department.
Yu Sui casually sat down at his chair, pulled a comic book from the shelf, and idly flipped through it.
“How’s school?” Yu Zhen asked.
Yu Sui said, “Pretty good.”
Yu Zhen wasn’t much older than Yu Sui. She had joined the company early to help Yu Jingyuan and later gained the ability to work independently, making every year pass in a rush.
But teenagers change rapidly with each passing year. In Yu Zhen’s memory, Yu Sui was still that delicate and naive younger brother, yet somehow he had already grown so tall without her noticing.
She fell silent, her gaze sweeping over the wind-fluttered window curtains and the toy box beside the desk.
“Jie,” Yu Sui sensed something off about Yu Zhen today, “Did someone say something to you?”
“Oh, nothing.” Yu Zhen glanced at his hair. “… Is it allowed to have hair this long in your school?”
Yu Sui immediately touched his hair, replying nonchalantly, “I’ll cut it right away.”
The moment Yu Zhen left, Yu Sui grabbed a pair of scissors from the pen holder and headed to the bathroom. He examined his hair from all angles but ultimately didn’t dare to make the cut.
It really is a bit long, Yu Sui thought.
As Yu Zhen was leaving, Yuan Yu was spraying water on flowers on the coffee table. Yuan Yu casually asked, “Heading out already?”
Yu Zhen nodded, then suddenly remembered something and asked Yuan Yu, “Mom, do you know which classmates Xiao Sui is close to at school?”
“A-wen,” Yuan Yu answered without hesitation. “I always hear him calling that name all the time when he’s playing games. Probably one of the three kids in the dorm. That A-wen is quite noisy.”
Noisy.
Yu Zhen instantly dismissed this A-wen, frowning in confusion.
When she called back the missed number, the person who answered had a somewhat hoarse voice—clearly not what you’d expect from a forty or fifty-year-old department head, but more like a random student who happened to pick up the phone.
“Hey, why are you still here?” Yuan Yu looked up after spraying water. “If you don’t leave now, you’ll be late again.”
Yu Zhen acknowledged, putting the matter behind her for the time being.
The end of the semester weighed heavily on Class 3. Students who had been fooling around all semester suddenly grew tense as exams approached.
Even Tang Bohu and Liang Wen were occasionally seen glancing at their textbooks.
Yi Tian brought back a stack of graded tests from the office. As she passed by Yang Feiwen, they exchanged a look before both cast suggestive glances toward the two deskmates in the corner.
That day, Yu Sui posted on WeChat Moments. It was the first time he posted Yan Xiu—two photos at once—causing an uproar in the comments sections.
Someone shared this on the CP forum, causing a lot of excitement and forgetting about the final exams.
[I remember that day—wasn’t the student council having a meeting? Did Yan Xiu go to see Yu Sui after the meeting?]
[Minor student council member here confirming that our beloved President Chen Zhanni has been putting up with the Discipline Inspection Department’s early departures for a long time. Who knew it was to meet his boyfriend?]
[Are they dating?]
[Be more confident—they definitely were.]
[wsl1我死了(wǒ sǐ le) means I died or I’m dead., weren’t they avoiding each other a while ago? Avoiding #￥%#￥%2T/L: to be honest, I am not sure about this one. Might be the author’s random keyboard smash or was it a slang? If you know, you can comment it down or ping me at discord! Thank you ^^? The real deal is carrying the flag!]
[When I first started shipping them, they hadn’t even met.]
[Let me tell you a story: what we see is only one ten-thousandth of their reality.]
Yu Sui was called out of the classroom amid the chorus of students reciting texts. The lyrics teacher came over and called him to hand in his homework.
Yu Sui carried his notebook and a small can of milk as he left. He finished it as he passed through the hallway and threw it into the trash can.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yan Xiu being called out as well.
Students with unfinished homework wandered around the hallway all morning before finally settling down.
“Lao Chen is pushing me too hard! I’ve fallen way behind.” Yang Feiwen came back, completely dejected, and slumped over Yu Sui’s desk.
Yu Sui was rummaging through his old drafts.
He never really organized his desk, so his test papers and notices from various subjects were mixed together. He pulled out a stack of colorful papers.
Just then, Yan Xiu had returned.
The previous period had been Lao Gu’s homeroom session, where he’d gone over the various student groups’ progress. Some students would need to come back to school during the holidays to attend arts and physical education classes.
Seeing Yan Xiu reminded Yu Sui something. He handed over his phone and whispered, “Lao Gu just mentioned whether you were going back to school at the beginning or end of the year. He wrote it on the blackboard, but erased it afterward. It should be on the first photo in the album. You can check yourself.”
Yan Xiu took the phone and glanced at Yu Sui’s frantic movements. Yang Feiwen leaned over to help with the test papers, causing white sheets to flutter everywhere.
Yu Sui had already unlocked the phone, leaving it on the photo album page.
Yan Xiu, not paying attention at first, swiped casually, and a chibi character suddenly appeared on the screen. It was a boy, with his ahoge3呆毛 (dāimáo) is a single strand of hair that sticks up from the top of the head, often in an anime or manga character. drooping, staring blankly at the test papers.
“…”
Yan Xiu found it somewhat familiar, staring at it for a moment, then suddenly remembered that it was fan art from the CP forum—even in the fan book he’d stumbled across.
Because it depicted the little Minister with reddened ears beside it, Yan Xiu had dismissed it with disdain.
Yan Xiu, for some reason, flipped over to another picture; it was a landscape photo.
Young Master Yu hadn’t saved that paired illustration of the little department Minister.
Yan Xiu felt strangely conflicted.
Probably most people would only save fanart of themselves when they came across it—saving others’ would be weird.
He didn’t say anything, found the photo of Lao Gu’s blackboard covered in writing. He then noted the information and returned the phone to Yu Sui.
Final exams were approaching, and extra quizzes were added every day.
When Yu Sui encountered questions he didn’t understand, he’d peek at Yan Xiu, then use his finger to circle the question number on the test paper, waiting for Yan Xiu to explain during the free period.
The Director of the Moral Education Department had summoned Yu Sui once during this period, showing him three photos—exactly the three troublemakers.
The incident had serious repercussions, so the school decided to contact them privately.
Yu Sui didn’t hide anything from the school—omitting any personal grudges and recounted the events of that day in detail.
The Director, having initially been stern, now addressed Yu Sui with warm concern, asking him about his well-being. His questions made Yu Sui’s eyelids twitch and his scalp tingle.
“If it weren’t for the disciplinary committee hadn’t resolutely sought the truth, I would have wronged a good student.” The Director of Moral Education wiped his eyes and sighed. “This year’s Discipline Inspection Department still has its merits.”
Yu Sui looked bewildered.
“Those students from the Discipline Inspection Department camped outside my office every day, insisting I withhold this disciplinary action,” the Director complained. “Did I say I was going to punish you? I just wanted to talk to your parents to understand the specific situation…”
The Director added, “Why are they treating me like a villain?”
He touched his somewhat bald head and sighed, “I used to be quite dashing too, you know.”
Yu Sui pursed his lips, suppressing a laugh.
The classroom was in brief break time, with students coming and going to fetch water.
The class monitor and the student council member were reciting their lessons, mumbling to themselves with their eyes closed, already feeling sleepy from reviewing.
Yan Xiu glanced at the empty seat next to him and was about to text him to ask if he’d returned when he caught a glimpse of him entering from the back door.
Yu Sui seemed to notice Yan Xiu slipping his phone back into his desk.
“The Director wants to give you a commendation banner.” Yu Sui said as walked up behind him, glancing casually into his desk.
Yan Xiu turned and looked at him: “What?”
“The Director wants to give you a banner,” Yu Sui repeated.
Yan Xiu withdrew his gaze and placed the test paper he had taken from Yu Sui’s desk back where it belonged.
Yu Sui’s test paper was marked with several red circles. He was too lazy to review the teaching materials himself, so he just waited for Yan Xiu to go through it for him.
Yu Sui immediately changed his tune: “No, he’s not giving you a banner. He just wanted to thank your disciplinary committee for working day and night to clear my name.”
Yan Xiu lowered his eyes and let out a soft scoff.
Yu Sui thought Yan Xiu was actually quite easy to please. As long as no one deliberately provoked him, the Minister was generally a very easy person to talk to.
That evening, Yu Sui and Yang Feiwen carried their test papers upstairs to study with Yan Xiu.
In Yan Xiu’s dorm room, four desks were pushed together, incredibly clean. Zheng Zi’an was still in the room, while Hu Fan and another roommate had gone to another dorm.
When Yu Sui arrived, he noticed Yan Xiu seemed to be drawing something on his tablet. He remembered the portrait of himself drooling with his mouth open, and his heart itched with curiosity.
Yan Xiu put away his tablet, his eyes flickering past him, and then he paused. “What’s wrong?”
Yu Sui’s voice was a bit hoarse as he stared eagerly at Yan Xiu’s hand and said, “When will you draw me a proper portrait?”
Yan Xiu was stunned for a moment. “You want one?”
“Yes,” the young master nodded honestly, curling his fingers and making a gesture. “Do you charge for commissions?”
Yang Feiwen glanced over from the side, thinking, if you really want one, why don’t you just call around the school? There are plenty of people willing to draw for you. But he glanced at Yan Xiu and didn’t say it out loud. Then, belatedly, he became excited.
Yan Xiu drawing Yu Sui? That’s a major sugar!
The two of them had no idea what Yang Feiwen was thinking. Yu Sui was still waiting, looking like he could whip out his phone and transfer money to Yan Xiu at any moment.
Yan Xiu paused for a long time, unsure what was going on.
He looked up at Yu Sui’s hand, which was extended out before him, and gently brushed it aside, “In a few days.”
Before Yu Sui could say anything, Yang Feiwen couldn’t help but exclaim, “Yeah!”
Yu Sui: “…”
Yan Xiu: “…”
The two looked at him with a “What the hell is this idiot doing?” expression. Yang Feiwen coughed and looked away: “Yeah—cough, cough—the night is too beautiful—”
Everyone: “…”
Zheng Zi’an pulled a chair to Yang Feiwen and said curiously, “You guys in Class 3 only act decent during finals season.”
Yang Feiwen forced a laugh: “Actually, we look decent all the time.”
With that, he and Yu Sui sat down next to Yan Xiu, waiting for Yan Xiu to help them review today’s study points.
Yu Sui was too lazy to review on his own and preferred to listen to the teacher’s summaries. Yang Feiwen simply tried to review the material himself, but he couldn’t understand it.
After Yan Xiu finished a section, he glanced at them, and Yu Sui nodded.
Yang Feiwen said subtly, “Could you go into a bit more detail?”
Yan Xiu: “…”
Eventually, Zheng Zi’an couldn’t stand it anymore and took the initiative to pull Yang Feiwen over to his side: “Tell me what you don’t understand. I’ll explain it to you.”
With Yang Feiwen gone, Yan Xiu and Yu Sui’s review speed doubled. Yan Xiu focused on feeding information, and Yu Sui focused on memorizing.
Yu Sui was face-blind and directionally challenged, so he didn’t look like someone with a good memory. Yet, he could digest every point in the textbook, and even if he didn’t understand it, he could memorize it and retain it for a long time until he finally understood it.
At first, Yan Xiu would adjust his pace to match Yu Sui’s understanding, but later he stopped holding back, which surprisingly made their study sessions highly efficient.
By two o’clock in the morning, the dormitory building was completely quiet. The occasional sound of someone getting up to go to the bathroom would create a rustling sound, muffled as if filtered through an eerie haze.
Yang Feiwen slumped over the table, eyes closed, his consciousness likely long gone.
Yu Sui clicked his tongue, “A-wen.”
Yang Feiwen: “…”
“Sorry to disturb,” Yu Sui pointed at Yang Feiwen. “I’ll drag him back now.”
Yan Xiu propped his chin on his hand, a hint of fatigue on his face. He rarely stayed up this late and was starting to feel exhausted.
He nodded, straightening up to help Yu Sui pull Yang Feiwen to his feet.
Hu Fan and the other roommate hadn’t returned from the other dorm yet, likely because they’d been studying too late and ended up sleeping there.
Yan Xiu and Yu Sui dragged Yang Feiwen back together.
Yu Sui suddenly remembered something: “Are you guys going to Cui’e Mountain for sketching after the exam?”
Yan Xiu hummed in agreement, his calm eyes glancing toward Yu Sui.
Yu Sui hesitated before asking: “Can I come with you?”
Yu Sui had postponed the deadline for his lyrics. And it was rare to come across a tune he liked, Yu Sui didn’t want to rush through it carelessly.
“Mm.” Yan Xiu didn’t think for long. He was already sleepy, and his usually cold expression softened a little in the warm hallway light. He pressed his forehead. “I’ll send you the schedule tomorrow.”
The two of them hoisted Yan Feiwen up, one on each side, and half-carried, half-dragged him stumbling back to their dorm room.
The other two roommates were asleep, and the lights were off. They could only maneuver in the dark to get Yang Feiwen to his bed.
Yang Feiwen was heavy, and as they tried to lay him down, his foot got stuck in the ladder of the bunk bed. Yu Sui tugged several times but couldn’t get it free.
“Bend his leg first,” Yan Xiu said, his voice low, coming from behind to assess the situation.
A sliver of light seeped through the gap in the curtains, splitting the bunk bed into two halves.
Yu Sui tilted his head to let Yan Xiu see, lowering his voice. “His legs are stuck and won’t bend.”
Just as he finished speaking, Yang Feiwen retracted his own legs back and rolled over onto the bed.
“This guy,” Yu Sui muttered under his breath as he straightened up. He stepped on something, producing a sharp, grating sound—causing him to stumble forward uncontrollably.
Yan Xiu instinctively reached out to catch him.
In the midst of the chaos, the two men bumped foreheads and chins together. Yu Sui plopped down on Yang Feiwen’s bed, momentarily dazed as he looked up in confusion.
The impact jolted Yan Xiu awake, clutching his chin and lowering his head.
The young master rubbed his own forehead, torn between nervousness, amusement, and guilt as he started at Yan Xiu.
“I’m sorry.” Yu Sui said, ever the first to apologize.
Yan Xiu lowered his eyes and sighed softly, “It’s fine.”
For once, both of them were wide awake. The overly quiet atmosphere felt somewhat awkward.
After a moment of silence, Yu Sui said: “Good night?”
Yan Xiu waved his hand: “Good night.”
Thanks to Yan Xiu, Yu Sui had an easier time than usual on this exam.
This time, Yu Sui and Yan Xiu sat near each other—one in front of the other.
After the exam staff posted the seating charts, many students came to witness the spectacle. Many took out their phones to take pictures, declaring they were documenting the historic moment when the official CP sat together for love of the exams.
“They were the ones carrying their own flag,” Yang Feiwen said confidently. “Studying together late into the night—you can’t say anyone pushed them into it. Oh, and Yan Xiu even said he wanted to draw a portrait for Sui’er.”
The CP forum erupted in excitement, and those who had used them as models for their drawings put down their brushes and quit.
Floor #7889: [Really? My crappy hands wouldn’t dare compete with Yan-ge. Yan-ge, please go easy on me. I don’t want to be publicly punished.]
Floor #7890: [??? What are you all doing? There are only ten minutes left until the exam starts.]
Twenty-five minutes before the exam, Yan Xiu and Yu Sui entered the exam room one after the other.
Yu Sui rubbed his exam slip: “… The edges are all frayed.”
People were talking about them, and it was impossible for the people involved not to know—they were just pretending not to know.
The proctor wouldn’t arrive until fifteen minutes before the exam, so they weren’t there yet. Yu Sui put his phone in his bag and played with it under the table.
His skin was pale, with a white patch visible at the back of his neck.
Yan Xiu took a bottle of drink from his shopping bag and placed it on his desk, then gently poked Yu Sui’s head.
Yu Sui put down his phone and looked up.
“Don’t fall asleep later,” Yan Xiu said.
Yu Sui hummed in response, then said after a moment, “I won’t. I can’t fall asleep during exams.”
His chin rested on the desk, and from that angle, he could see the small bruise on Yan Xiu’s chin.
It was tiny—you wouldn’t notice it if you didn’t look closely.
Yu Sui had a hard head and hadn’t been hurt by that collision, but Yan Xiu’s chin remained bruised for quite a while.
“Yan Xiu,” Yu Sui called out, stopping Yan Xiu as he was about to turn away.
Yan Xiu paused and glanced over.
Yu Sui subconsciously touched his forehead, “Let’s go buy some ointment after the exam.”
Right at the fifteen-minute mark, the proctor walked in. “Everyone, take your seats. Put all your belongings not related to the exam outside.”
There were the rustling sounds of desks and chairs being pulled and people stood up.
Yan Xiu didn’t pay much attention to it: “No need. It’s nothing serious.”
Yu Sui gave an, “Oh.”
They had lunch together at noon. After their lunch break, they went straight to the exam room.
To ensure the students were in good spirits, the break before each exam was quite long.
Yu Sui suddenly said he needed to go to the convenience store and asked Yan Xiu if he needed anything.
Yan Xiu straightened up: “I’ll go with you.”
Before he could even stand up, he was pushed back down. Yu Sui grabbed his jacket from his desk and put it on, muttering, “I’ll be back soon.”
Yan Xiu: “…”
He stared at him, puzzled, wondering why Yu Sui wasn’t lazily slumped in his seat as usual.
Yu Sui’s trip took only ten minutes, and he wasn’t even out of breath.
With one hand in his pocket, he casually tossed something into Yan Xiu’s arms, looking incredibly cool.
Yan Xiu recognized the item and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.
Ointment.
Much more direct than when Yan Xiu had given Yu Sui a medicine before.
Yan Xiu was silent for a moment. “You went there just to buy this?”
His thoughts were subtly confused, but before he could follow that train of thought, Yu Sui nodded matter-of-factly. “Could you please have a little self-awareness as a fellow handsome guy? Be a little gentler with that face of yours?.”
Yan Xiu’s expression went blank. “Huh?”
Yu Sui took good care of himself and couldn’t stand it when others were not cherishing their own faces. He reached out to point, but before he could touch Yan Xiu, the other dodged.
Yan Xiu’s gratitude was wasted; he even snatched back the eraser he’d lent Yu Sui.
“…”
As the new exam papers were handed out, Yu Sui took the one passed to him, staring at the back of someone’s head. He thought, so childish.
The proctor for this exam was surprisingly up-to-date, picking up on some of the students’ gossip and recognizing Yu Sui and Yan Xiu. “Those two were making eyes at each other before the papers were passed around,” he remarked. “I heard everyone calling you the ‘official couple’ —is that right?”
The classroom fell silent for a moment, followed by muffled snorts of laughter as everyone covered their mouths and bowed their heads, trying to suppress their amusement.
The proctor nodded. “Both of you have good grades, sitting one in front of the other. Do well on the exam. But if you keep exchanging glances during the exam, I can’t pretend to not see you.”
“…” Yu Sui slumped his arms—his face mirroring Yan Xiu’s deadpan expression.
Author’s Note: Every time I want to say something, I end up typing a long paragraph only to delete it out of laziness. Then, feeling so bad, this line appears.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152