Yu Sui flipped his homework over, drawing a clear line on the blank paper before slowly erasing it with correction fluid.
On the last day before returning to school, Yu Sui carried his bag back to Tianluowan to pack his things.
Aunt Sun bustled around helping him pack while chattering nonstop. She frowned when she saw Yu Sui hadn’t taken enough clothes and scolded him if he forgot any snacks.
“Who knows if it will get cold again? If you don’t pack enough clothes, you’ll catch a cold.” Aunt Sun said, putting away the small suitcase Yu Sui had just taken out and pulling out a larger one instead. She patted his arm reproachfully, “If you catch a cold and then feel miserable, it’ll be too late.”
Yu Sui didn’t stop her, lowering his eyes as he listened to her lecture. But once Aunt Sun left to attend to other tasks, he quietly pulled out the thick winter coat from the suitcase and stuffed it back under the wardrobe.
When Aunt Sun came back to check, the young master had already fastened the combination lock on the suitcase, with his bag hanging on the handle, looking neat and tidy.
At this age, boys have a strong sense of privacy, so Aunt Sun didn’t want to physically check his belongings. But, she remained suspicious that Yu Sui hadn’t packed properly, so she gave him a suspicious look before hesitantly heading downstairs to find Yuan Yu to reason up with him.
Yuan Yu was on a phone call next to the garden swing set.
During the colder months, the swing creaked and groaned constantly in the wind, disturbing the peace. The housekeeper had tied both sides of the swing with vines to keep it from moving.
Yu Sui swiped away the messages at the top of his phone and walked to the bay window, glancing down. He saw his mother, on the phone, unconsciously fiddling with the vine, her expression somewhat unsettled.
This was around the time Yu Jingyuan woke up from his afternoon nap, and Yuan Yu usually chose this moment to call his father.
A moment later, likely after Aunt Sun went downstairs, Yuan Yu slightly turned her face away, her back facing the house.
Yu Sui hesitated for a moment, then put down his phone and opened the window. A gentle breeze brushed against his hair.
Unfortunately, Yuan Yu had a delicate, soft-spoken type, and even at her age, she never raised her voice. Yu Sui couldn’t hear a thing from upstairs.
He peeked out the window, gripping the windowsill, but still couldn’t hear a sound. He did, however, see the tips of Aunt Sun’s shoes peeking out from under the eaves.
Aunt Sun seemed to notice the movement above and looked up. Before she could see him, Yu Sui quickly pulled back and closed the window.
Aunt Sun didn’t wait for Yuan Yu to finish her call. After standing there for a while, she turned and went back inside, making a mental note to bring it up with Yuan Yu later—though she eventually forgot.
Meanwhile, Yu Sui took out his stack of certificates and trophies, arranging them out on the bay window to bask in the sun. After a while, he dragged over an empty toy box, put everything inside, and then placed it at the bottom of the wardrobe along with his winter coat.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Yuan Yu finally finished her call and headed back inside. Yu Sui glanced down, then slowly walked to the door to listen for any sounds.
The footsteps approached slowly, then passed his room, probably heading towards Yu Zhen’s.
Yu Sui opened the door and silently followed.
Yuan Yu went into Yu Zhen’s room to talk to her, unaware that her younger son was trailing behind. She either didn’t think to guard against it or didn’t mind if he overhead.
Yuan Yu had come to confide in Yu Zhen.
Yu Jingyuan’s venture into new markets was outside the Yu Family’s familiar territory, and he had to learn about the local customs and practices on the fly. With a busy schedule this year, they hadn’t managed to connect with the local officials. As a result, this brief oversight attracted the attention of local bullies who feared that the arrival of Fu Lai Dao would disrupt their market. They colluded with the officials, constantly using various indicators to make things difficult for them.
Yuan Yu could only worry helplessly, unable to offer any real assistance, so she sought out her daughter to talk, hoping to express her support with her husband.
Yu Sui, hearing this, stopped listening and strolled back to his room with his phone.
It’s a crucial period before returning to school, and at times like this, 98 out of 99 messages in the class group are about sharing answers.
Those who have finished their homework were particularly relaxed.
As soon as Yu Sui sent a game invitation to the group, the students who were frantically catching up on homework immediately erupted in chatter.
Yang Feiwen: [Leave the homework, take yourself away]
Tang Bohu: [Leave the homework, take yourself away]
Yi Tian: [Leave the homework, take yourself away]
Yu Sui flipped through the assignments and generously shared the answers. However, Class 3’s homework didn’t rely heavily on answers, as many assignments even had reference answers printed plainly on the back.
The teachers, well aware of these teens’ actions, focused their assignments on comprehensive questions requiring extensive written work. The reference answers for a single test paper were as long as a short essay.
While the young master eagerly jumped into play games, the others were already copying until their heads spun and they lost their minds.
Yu Sui, always eager for drama, tagged the person who had most likely finished their homework.
Fish Not Idle: [@Shu Yi. Want to play games?]
Shu Yi: […]
Shu Yi: [I don’t know how]
Yang Feiwen: [???]
Yang Feiwen: [Admin, kick him out!]
The admin was catching up on homework and couldn’t pay attention.
Yu Sui watched and laughed, which infuriated everyone.
Yi Tian: [Minister, please control your deskmate!]
Fish Not Idle: […]
The class monitor’s words inspired everyone, and the screen was immediately filled with “Minister” and “Yan Xiu”. Yu Sui’s heart skipped a beat, realizing that he had gone too far and might be punished.
He scrolled through his emojis, planning a tactical retreat.
However, before he could find a suitable emoji, “punishment” arrived early.
Ren Mu: [Can’t be controlled]
The class group was silent for two seconds, then a chorus of sighs filled the air.
“……”
“Another one stirring things up.” Yu Sui thought to himself, annoyed.
He stared blankly at “Ren Mu” for a while, realizing he had nothing to say, and silently retreated.
Aunt Sun seized the opportunity to pass the word to Yuan Yu, who went upstairs that evening to check on Yu Sui’s suitcase.
But she wasn’t as obsessive as Aunt Sun and didn’t fuss over whether her son packed one more or one less piece of clothing.
Yuan Yu took out her phone and transferred money to Yu Sui, telling him to buy clothes according to the weather.
The amount this time was unusually large—so large that even the well-off Yu Sui raised an eyebrow and glanced at his mother. “Mom, I have enough money.”
Yuan Yu tapped her screen. “The other half is for you to buy water and snacks for your classmates. And for Xiao Xiu—after all, he looks out for you at school. Don’t always bully him.”
As she spoke, Yuan Yu placed two protective protective charms she had been holding in her palm onto Yu Sui’s desk, tapping the surface lightly. “I got these at the temple on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. The master blessed them. This one is for Xiao Xiu, and the other is for you. Put it in your school ID card holder to protect you both during your school days.”
The Yu family had a tradition of visiting the temple once a year to obtain such protective charms. Each was made by folding a piece of prayer paper into a triangle, sealing it inside a thin plastic.
The young master had been lazily sprawled across his desk, playing on his phone. When the two protective charms were pushed right under his nose, he merely let out a drawn-out “Oh.”
Only after that did he suddenly recall the mention of “Xiu” in what he had just heard. Yu Sui belatedly straightened up. “What thing for who?”
“Protective charms, for Xiao Xiu.” Yuan Yu looked at him strangely. “What’s wrong? Did you two have a fight?”
“…No.” Yu Sui pursed his lips silently, reluctantly saying, “Why get one for him?”
This was a bit unreasonable.
Exchanging gifts among prominent families wasn’t unusual, and protective charms weren’t particularly hard to come by. The Yu family giving one to Yan Xiu was simply a gesture of treating the Yan family’s child as a close junior.
And since Yu Sui happened to be in the same school and class as Yan Xiu, it was perfectly natural to ask him to pass it along.
Yu Sui had rarely thrown unreasonable tantrums at home in recent years, so Yuan Yu was somewhat surprised as she stroked the two protective charms, increasingly suspecting that Yu Sui and Yan Xiu had argued.
Yuan Yu: “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Yu Sui snapped out of his reverie, glancing at the two protective charms on the table. “I just thought it would be more convenient to have Xiao Ying deliver them.”
Yuan Yu had even prepared one for Yan Xiu; he wouldn’t believe she hadn’t prepared one for Yan Ying.
Yu Sui fell silent, feeling that Madam Yuan was deliberately messing with him.
Unaware of her son’s inner grumbling, Yuan Yu reminded him once more before leaving his room. Yu Sui responded with a series of perfunctory “Mm-hmms” and stuffed the protective charms into his backpack.
Yu Sui was quite relaxed. He had finished his homework early and even packed his luggage in advance. His schedule for tomorrow morning was already planned: wake up at 6:20, have breakfast in ten minutes, then Uncle Doli would be waiting for him at the door and take him to school before the opening ceremony.
This was the first time in his sixteen or seventeen years of life that the young master had planned the start of school so meticulously. Logically, he should have felt no pressure about the start of school.
But he was still nervous, staying awake for half the night.
Eventually, he must have passed out from exhaustion. When his alarm woke him the next morning, his head felt as if it were stuffed with paper.
His aunt came to wake him, startled by the boy’s face in the morning: “Oh my goodness! What happened to you?!”
“…”
Almost all the primary and secondary school students in the entire city of Yandu started school on the same day, with more than half of the pedestrians on the sidewalks dressed in school uniforms.
Thanks to his insomnia, the young master was so drowsy he was completely disoriented. Forget about being nervous; he simply slept soundly at his desk after sitting down in the classroom until the opening ceremony began, not even noticing when Yan Xiu arrived.
The weather was exceptionally fine that day. The classroom windows were half-drawn, letting in soft light that fell precisely on the area in front of Yu Sui’s desk.
The student in front of him had moved his seat forward, creating some space.
The school building was bustling with activity. Students, fresh from their long holiday, had plenty to talk about.
The uniforms of No. 26 High School showed off their figures, and the extra weight they’d gained couldn’t be hidden. Yang Feiwen had gained quite a bit of weight this month, and while tugging at his collar, he shouted, “Which subjects need to be handed in first? Pass them in first! Can we have some order here?”
Yi Tian was the opposite. She gestured around her waist and said, “I think I’ve lost weight. Last semester, my uniform pants felt tight, but today I even had to use a safety pin to fasten them.”
“Don’t you know the elastic band on our school pants has always been poorly made?” Liang Wen chimed in, his voice low and teasing. “Or the washing machine stretched them out?”
The class monitor angrily shoved the test paper into the cabinet: “You wait, Liang Wen! I’m not sending you this homework. You’ll have to fend for yourself!”
Liang Wen scoffed at the threat, turning to Yu Sui: “Sui’er, did you finish those last two papers?”
Those two papers weren’t urgent, but they dreaded a surprise check by the teacher. It happened to be the math teacher’s assignment. They were assigned by the math teacher, who, despite his short stature, had a fiery temper and a perpetually stern expression during lessons, making him a formidable figure.
Yu Sui didn’t respond to Liang Wen, but Yang Feiwen did: “He probably didn’t bring it. I checked and didn’t see it. Ask someone else.”
They scanned the classroom, their gazes sweeping over Yan Xiu, but ultimately didn’t dare to speak to Minister Yan directly.
He was, after all, the Minister of Discipline Inspection Department. The fact that he was turning a blind eye to their blatant “crime” was already a huge act of leniency. Who would dare drag the department head into becoming an accomplice?
The only one who dared to challenge Minister Yan was now facing away from them, his elbow propped on the table, his wrist loosely draped over the back of his neck, lost in a deep slumber.
“He came pretty early,” a student in front said with a smile. “He probably played games all night.”
The girl next to him yawned: “Different people have different fates. I spent all night catching up on homework, and I have to keep doing it after I wake up…”
This chaotic homework-cramming session only temporarily ceased when Lao Gu knocked on the door to call them to the auditorium for the opening ceremony.
Yu Sui was sleeping soundly, looking as though he could maintain that state all morning.
Yan Xiu waited a while. Even Old Gu had poked his head in and pointed at the two of them before Yan Xiu finally reached out to shake Yu Sui awake.
Fortunately, Yu Sui still remembered he was at school. Though his eyes were filled with reluctance, he managed to sit up. “What is it?” Yu Sui rubbed his temples. Yan Xiu paused. “The opening ceremony. We need to go to the auditorium.
Yu Sui sat there processing this for a moment, then slowly asked, “Just the two of us?”
“…” Yan Xiu was certain. This guy was still asleep.
The auditorium was quite a distance from the classroom. They had to pass through the Eight-Character Building1八字樓 /bā zì lóu/ literally translates to ‘eight-character building’, referring to the architectural layout that resembles the Chinese character ‘八’ (bā), meaning ‘eight’., and if they walked slowly, it would take over ten minutes. But the opening ceremony was about to begin. If they didn’t want to attract attention on the very first day of school, they had to hurry.
The young master had almost no recollection of how he got there. He was extremely tired, desperately seeking any opportunity to conserve his energy. He would close his eyes if he could, and lie down if he could.
This rascal had been sleeping all morning, and no one who spoke to him would get a serious answer.
The first day of school was usually busy: distributing new textbooks, handing in assignments, and getting to know the new teachers.
Yu Sui, half-asleep, tugged at Yan Xiu and pointed to himself: “I’m about to go offline.”
Yan Xiu held out his hand and waved it in front of his eyes: “Can you recognize people?”
Yu Sui grabbed his fingers: “Yan Xiu, stop fooling around.”
Then he closed his eyes briefly: “No, I’m really going offline. Help me collect…”
The young master “went offline” just like that, slumping onto the desk and lying perfectly still.
Yan Xiu looked down at him for a while, before resignedly moving the stack of textbooks from Yu Sui’s desk to his own. Eventually, he simply folded a sign, drew an arrow, wrote “AFK, Do Not Disturb,” and placed it on the table next to him.
Yu Sui slept between classes and spent class time staring blankly behind a propped-up textbook. During one period, he didn’t wake up at all, dozing through the entire lesson with his forehead pressed against the book.
Yu Sui felt as if only a sliver of his soul remained in his body.
It wasn’t until lunchtime, when he accidentally chewed on a piece of ginger mistaking it for potato, that he jolted awake
“Even if you finished your homework early, it doesn’t mean you have to play all night, does it?” Yang Feiwen said. “Look at these panda eyes, karma’s coming back.”
Liang Wen was also quite surprised: “You weren’t playing games, were you? I went online to check and didn’t see you online last night.”
Yu Sui frowned, silently waiting for the ginger taste in his teeth to dissipate.
A pair of chopsticks flashed beneath his eyes, landing on his tray and picking out a strand of ginger from the stir-fried potato shreds with pork, scallions, and ginger.
Yu Sui paused, belatedly noticing the undeniable, overwhelming presence of someone beside him
Strangely, he hadn’t felt anything amiss spending the entire morning, while clinging to Yan Xiu. It was as if his sleepiness had completely masked his true feelings, leaving him feeling innocent and at peace.
But now he was awake.
The chopsticks reached over again, picking up another ginger.
Perhaps finding the position inconvenient, Yan Xiu gently pulled Yu Sui’s tray closer to himself and began methodically picking out each strand of ginger from the dish.
“Eat slowly,” Yan Xiu said softly, his tone calm, as if accustomed to looking after others this way.
Yu Sui gently nudged his plate with his chopsticks, then after a moment, let out a heavy, nasal “Mm.” Then, in a rather obvious attempt to conceal his true feelings, he yawned and said, “So sleepy.”
He lowered his head, no longer looking to the side. He didn’t notice Yan Xiu’s slightly sidelong glance, a look of suspicion on his face, after he finished speaking.
Truthfully, Yu Sui had no appetite at all and was just forcing rice into his mouth. It took a while before he heard Yan Xiu respond, “Then get some extra sleep at noon.”
Yu Sui lowered his eyes, a heavy weight lifted from his chest. He sighed quietly to himself.
The dormitory still needs cleaning and bedding tidying up at noon.
However, since the holiday wasn’t long, the dormitory was still in decent condition, with little to clean. The dorm supervisor had already opened the windows for ventilation in the morning, so they didn’t need much tidying up before going to bed.
Yu Sui was extremely tired and fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.
This time, his dream was clean and pitch-black, devoid of anything. When he woke up, it was already time for afternoon classes.
“Going to class?” Yang Feiwen was waiting for him downstairs.
“…Yes.” Yu Sui jumped off the bed, quickly splashed his face at the sink, changed his shirt with a swift motion, and headed to the classroom with Yang Feiwen.
“You’re awake now?” Yang Feiwen teased. “I really wanted to take a picture of you this morning. You were like a zombie, you know? You were like a puppet being led around by Yan-ge.”
Yu Sui was sensitive to the name Yan Xiu right now: “Zombies are fine, but skip the puppet talk.”
Yang Feiwen persisted: “Sui’er, do you believe that once everyone gets over the stress of the start of school today, you two will be trending on forum again?”
Yu Sui was stunned for a moment: “…Why?”
His mindset when hearing people ship him with Yan Xiu before was completely different from now. He couldn’t stand Yang Feiwen blabbering about it in front of him anymore—it felt like being stripped bare and exposed to the sun, left to suffer.
Yang Feiwen gave him a look that said, “Don’t you know what you did?” “Who do you think helped you pack your textbooks? Who handed in your homework? Oh—and someone even helped you pick out the ginger shreds…”
“Enough.” Yu Sui twitched the corner of his mouth and made a zipping gesture, already feeling troubled inside.
That afternoon, Yan Xiu arrived at the classroom earlier than Yu Sui. As soon as Yu Sui entered, he met Yan Xiu’s gaze. He waved a casual greeting, then slipped into his seat behind Yan Xiu.
“Awake?” Yan Xiu asked.
“Yeah.”
After a while, Yu Sui politely said, “Thank you.”
“…” Yan Xiu seemed to glance at him: “You sure have a lot of ‘thank you’s.”
Yu Sui shut his mouth and didn’t reply.
Before the start of the semester, this guy made a big show of being well-behaved and obedient. But on the very first day, he slept all morning and then put on his headphones to catch up on his homework in the afternoon.
He seemed very busy, but he only acted so chaotically on the first day. For the rest of the week, the young master was remarkably positive and motivated.
He arrived at class on time, listened attentively, took notes, did his homework in his spare time after class, and if he had time during evening self-study, he might go to his music theory teacher for lessons.
He stopped being lazy, nor did he break any rules.
Only during PE class did he still sit quietly in the stands, engrossed in his phone, looking pitifully unwanted.
Yan Xiu didn’t have many duty shifts this week. Occasionally, when he did come out, it wouldn’t be for long.
Zheng Zi’an came up behind him: “Zhanni notified you about a meeting tonight.”
Yan Xiu stuffed his armband into his pocket, glancing at him: “I’m not going.”
“That’s not good. It’s this time of the year,” Zheng Zi’an said. “The president is just anxious to find a successor. This is her last semester.”
Yan Xiu pursed his lips and shook his head. He flipped over the notepad, pulled out a pen, and aimlessly drew a line on it.
This period happened to be a PE class for Wen San, but the people on the court weren’t the usual ones. Young Master Yu was feeling lazy, Tang Bohu had injured his foot, Yan Xiu wasn’t there, and Liang Wen had been detained by the teacher for not completing his homework.
Yang Feiwen was left alone, feeling bored playing by himself, so he followed Yu Sui around.
The two of them came out of the convenience store, carrying a bag of drinks, and happened to see Yan Xiu and Zheng Zi’an talking at the edge of the basketball court.
Yang Feiwen called out.
Yan Xiu turned around and quickly caught the cold drink tossed to him.
The young master stood three steps away, smiling casually. “Your Aunt Yuan bought it for you.”
There was also Zheng Zi’an nearby, but Yu Sui didn’t throw anything at him. Yu Sui approached them, opened the plastic bag, and let Zheng Zi’an choose for himself.
After Zheng Zi’an chose, Yu Sui called Yang Feiwen, and the two walked away.
“He’s really pale—” Zheng Zi’an twisted the cap and took a sip, turning to ask, “Xiu, how did you convince him to cut his hair?”
He paused for a moment and rephrased his question, “Wait, how did you persuade him to turn over a new leaf?”
Having followed Yan Xiu in arresting Yu Sui a few times, Zheng Zi’an vaguely remembered Yu Sui’s original appearance.
But after talking for a while, Yan Xiu showed no intention of responding.
“Minister?” Zheng Zi’an called him.
Yan Xiu snapped back to reality and finally responded. He lowered his eyes, unscrewed the cap, and clicked his tongue softly.
“I’d like to know too.”
Author’s Note: Goodnight
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Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152