Yan Xiu was immune to attacks, leaving Yu Sui with no choice but to suppress his frustration.
He seemed to realize his own unsettled state and decided to drop the topic, fearing it would circle back to those ambiguous and subtle jokes that made him uncomfortable.
When they passed through the city center, the bus grew more crowded. They gave up their seats to an elderly couple and stood by the rear door. After about ten minutes, they arrived at Fu Village.
Yu Sui had called Yan Wuyan earlier, but the line had been busy, and the call went unanswered. At the time, he thought Yan Wuyan was simply too occupied to pick up, never imagining that something had happened in Fu Village.
Fu Village had previously experienced several cases of old houses being demolished and land being seized by outsiders. Nearby schools had issued notices prohibiting students from approaching the area. Fu Village had a diverse population, and they had been careful to keep the details of what was happening inside from outsiders.
This time, however, Fu Village was cordoned off with police tape. Two police cars blocked the entrance, and a notice was posted outside on a red placard.
Inside, a crowd had gathered, venting their frustration and irritation at the disruption to their daily lives.
Yu Sui hung up the unanswered line and dialed another number.
Yan Xiu walked up to the notice and lowered his gaze to read it carefully.
This time, the call went through. On the other end, Su Su answered, voice groggy as if one had just woken from a nap. “What’s up?” asked sleepily.
“Su Su,” Yu Sui sighed in relief, glancing towards the village entrance again. “Where’s Gege?”
“Sleeping,” Su Su said, shuffling in slippers, sounding like she’d pushed open a door, then called out in a high-pitched voice, “Gege—cousin’s on the phone!”
After a slight noise on the other end, a different person answered, their voice still heavy with sleep: “What’s wrong?”
It sounded like they’d slept all day.
Yan Xiu walked over to Yu Sui and said, “They didn’t say what it was about, just a one-day lockdown for investigation. It started this morning, and they’ll release people tomorrow.”
Yan Wuyan, perhaps hearing Yan Xiu’s voice, asked, “Where are you guys?”
“At the entrance of the village,” Yu Sui paused. “We saw it was sealed off.”
Yan Wuyan seemed to think for a moment before slowly replying, “Oh, it’s something that happened at Lao Li’s place.They’ve sealed it off for a day.”
He asked Yu Sui why they had come and said casually, “Just hold onto it for now. Bring it over next time you come for a meal. It’s not urgent.”
“… Okay.”
Yu Sui hung up the phone, exchanged a glance with Yan Xiu amidst the noisy crowd, and shrugged, carrying the bag of fortune-telling sticks: “Shall we go?”
He turned and strolled away.
The area was located in a bustling part of the city, and with such a commotion, it had attracted a crowd of onlookers.
Yu Sui moved in the opposite direction, carefully avoiding the crowd to prevent some careless person from stepping on his newly changed shoes.
Yan Xiu followed him and gently placed a hand on top of his head. Yu Sui seemed startled for a moment before finally brushing the hand away.
Two figures overlapped on the ground, one on the left and one on the right, their height and build remarkably similar.
Suddenly, Yu Sui was reminded of a time long ago—so long ago that it was back when he first heard people pairing him with the Minister. Someone had once mistaken him for Yan Xiu on the staircase.
When the sunlight was glaring or the night was hazy, the two of them did bear some resemblance—not in appearance, but in their identical stillness.
Yu Sui was well aware of his many flaws; he wasn’t calm in the slightest. At that moment, he tilted his head to glance at Yan Xiu and smiled. “It would’ve been great if I’d met you a few years earlier.”
Yan Xiu lifted his eyes and slowly withdrew his hand. “Why?”
Yu Sui’s mood had been fluctuating between cold and warm all day, and by evening, he felt somewhat weary.
Unfortunately, because it was the weekend, all the nearby places to stroll were crowded with people. Many residents had gathered in the area, waiting for the light show.
Young Master Yu lazily drifted toward the less crowded spots, speaking in a rambling manner. “During my rebellious phase in middle school, my temper was terrible.”
Perhaps it hadn’t been that long ago, as Yu Sui could still vividly recall the details. Coincidentally, it happened during one of Yandu’s frequent thunderstorms.The car radio suddenly switched to a Yandu news broadcast, reporting that the bridge connecting two areas had collapsed due to the heavy rain. It was suspected to be the result of cutting corners and hidden human-caused risks, and all relevant personnel had been detained.
“Something happened at my cousin’s family.” Yu Sui stepped aside to let a father and son pass him, grabbing Yan Xiu’s arm to steady himself. “My dad didn’t help them, so I argued with him. We had a huge fight, and I’ve been angry for a long time.”
Yu Sui always knew he lived in a luxurious, sturdy fortress. When people are carefree, it’s hard to imagine someone experiencing misfortune.
Yu Sui couldn’t understand Yu Jingyuan’s indifferent attitude back then. After that period, Yu Sui insisted on passing the exams that had been assigned to him.
Later, he thought about it again: Yu Jingyuan’s situation was such that he could have intervened, but the entire Yu family would have suffered heavy losses. To him, Yan Wuyan’s family was nothing more than distant relatives they weren’t close with— people you could lend a hand to when they were down, but not worth risking everything for.
It was just a matter of closeness and distance. Yu Jingyuan was simply making a choice other people would make.
“If you were there back then,” Yu Sui thought for a moment, considering the best way to phrase it. “You might have given me a hand. I think I would listen to what you say.”
Hearing this, Yan Xiu turned his face slightly. The wind brushed past his shoulders and neck, rustling his collar. The light and shadow outlined the features of his face with exceptional clarity, his slightly pursed lips carrying a hint of tenderness.
Yu Sui averted his gaze and casually pointed to two skewers from a roadside vendor. “Boss, how much for these?”
Fucun was unsealed the next day, but Yan Wuyan was too lazy to retrieve the sticks, and Yu Sui didn’t take them back either, leaving them at home for the time being.
The student council was having a meeting, so Yan Xiu returned to school the night before.
As he left, Tang Ying stood on the stairs watching him pack his art supplies, then called the driver to wait for him at the door.
Yan Xiu passed by her, receiving an encouraging gesture.
He paused slightly, placed his art supplies at the bottom of the stairs, and turned to look at Tang Ying: “How was the parent-teacher meeting?”
“The parent-teacher meeting?” Tang Ying repeated.
After the parent-teacher meeting that day, Yan Xiu didn’t go home at all. During his overnight stay at Yu’s house, Tang Ying didn’t have a chance to talk to Yan Xiu about it, and after a day, she simply forgot about it.
Tang Ying thought back and felt that this parent-teacher meeting was no different from previous years. If she had to say something, it was that their homeroom teacher was particularly enthusiastic this year, so enthusiastic that he couldn’t wait to grab each parent and analyze their child’s future development direction.
Additionally, it seemed the teacher must have consumed plenty of motivational speeches in his spare time. During the two-hour conference, he served up one inspirational cliche after another without pause.
Aside from that, her son was as excellent and worry-free as ever; every teacher who came to her had to praise Yan Xiu.
Nothing particularly noteworthy, really.
Tang Ying couldn’t think of anything and smiled innocently at her son: “Mom can’t think of anything, why don’t you just tell me?”
“…”
Yan Xiu’s expression was somewhat complicated. He bent down to pick up his art supplies, shook his head, and seemed to sigh: “It’s okay. Mom, I’m leaving.”
Tang Ying was left, completely bewildered.
No. 26 High School opened its evening self-study classrooms a day early, but few students were willing to return ahead of schedule. The classrooms often remained empty.
After the student council finished discussing the scheduled agenda, the topic shifted to successors. Chen Zhanni arrived late, seemingly having given up hope on Yan Xiu. Her eyes darted around the others before she said aimlessly, “How about letting Yu Sui from Class 3 of Arts take over my position?”
Leaving aside other departments, everyone in the Discipline Inspection Department was familiar with the name. They immediately looked up and stared directly at Chen Zhanni, probably wanting to know how she came up with this idea.
Yan Xiu, who had just finished the last stroke of his sketch, deftly covered the casual portrait with a corner of his notepad and voiced the question on everyone’s mind: “Why him?”
“He has a good image—well-behaved and handsome. His grades and overall evaluations are excellent. Plus, he has relatively more free time.” Chen Zhanni answered without hesitation, then suddenly gave Yan Xiu a cold laugh, “Most importantly, he can keep you in check.”
Everyone: “…”
Hu Fan muttered quietly, “Another woman driven mad by pressure.”
A few members grew slightly restless, their lips twitching as they glanced at Chen Zhanni. They wondered inwardly how even the student council president had started shipping Yan Xiu and Yu Sui. Wasn’t she supposed to be busy? Did she still find time to browse the internet aimlessly?
Yan Xiu, once again the target of indirect criticism, remained unfazed. He didn’t even bother refuting Chen Zhanni’s remark, leaning back lazily in his chair as he said, “We can give it a try.”
“Give what a try?” Chen Zhanni asked.
Yan Xiu replied, “Try inviting him to join.”
Chen Zhanni fell silent.
After the meeting, none of the student council members stayed in the self-study classroom, all returning to their dormitories. The dormitory building was also largely empty, with only the student council floor showing signs of activity.
Yan Xiu’s four roommates were all in the Discipline Inspection Department, and at that moment, everyone was present.
Yan Xiu was immediately stopped as soon as he entered.
“Minister, we need to talk,” Zheng Zi’an said seriously.
Yan Xiu replied listlessly: “No.”
“No way!”
“…”
Yan Xiu lifted his eyelids and sighed rather helplessly.
He was led to a table and sat down. Zheng Zi’an asked with a serious expression, “Xiu, tell me honestly, do you have a thing for that, uh, you-know-who?”
Hu Fan turned his head: “Don’t be so shy, what “thing”? Who are you talking about?”
Zheng Zi’an: “Well… you know! The one Zhanni was talking about today!”
His voice grew louder with each word, then he guiltily sat back down, his expression strange.
Yan Xiu actually understood.
But at first, he didn’t react, letting these impatient people exchange glances among themselves. Hu Fan pulled a sticky note from his pocket—folded several times and quite dirty, with only a faintly visible cloud and rainbow sketched in the center. The name had been torn off.
Yan Xiu was taken aback to see the sticky note he had written last Friday emerge from Hu Fan’s pocket, and his temple twitched.
Finally, he realized why Tang Ying had shown no reaction at all.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t understood, nor was it that she was thick-skinned or good at acting; she simply hadn’t seen it.
Hu Fan scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, “It just so happened that it was my shift that day, and I happened to walk right up to the entrance of your Class 3 Arts. That’s when I found out you were having a surprise parent-teacher meeting. I even showed two parents the way. And that’s how I saw this sticky note with your signature.”
Yan Xiu: “So you tore it off?”
“Yeah!” Hu Fan said, “It really scared me. You could have drawn a sun, but you drew a rainbow, it’s so conspicuous. Even if we don’t misunderstand, your mom definitely won’t.”
Yan Xiu’s face clearly said, “Do I look like I care?”
Zheng Zi’an, however, had a sudden inspiration: “You did it on purpose? Damn, you really are that … that person.”
This time, Yan Xiu didn’t deny it. He snatched the sticky note back from Hu Fan, folded it in half, and tucked it into his book.
With G7 approaching, Class 3 Arts’ academic subjects were severely impacted.
The advantage of the subject teachers’ initial assignment of memorizing the entire book became apparent.
“Math this afternoon, then cello,” Yang Feiwen shoved the new timetable into Yu Sui’s hands.
This had been their routine for the past few days. The classrooms were practically empty.
The cello teacher almost always ran overtime. Yu Sui had contacted Yan Xiu on WeChat, telling him not to wait for them for dinner.
But that day, the teacher wasn’t feeling well, so he doubled the efficiency and then left early.
The students, whose classes had been delayed for days, experienced leaving early for the first time, and they all vanished in an instant.
Yang Feiwen and Yu Sui still had to wait for Yan Xiu to eat. After hesitating for a moment, they turned and headed toward the art studio.
For students not in the arts, the art studio was a mysterious and sophisticated place. A student came out carrying a palette to wash it and, seeing the two at the door, gestured casually inside: “It’s free practice now. Go on if you want.”
Yan Xiu, sitting in the corner, only looked up when the student approached. “Didn’t you say you were going to go overtime?”
Yu Sui: “But the teacher wasn’t feeling well today, so we ended early.”
Yan Xiu nodded. “Wait a moment.”
“No rush. It’s fine if later,” Yu Sui quickly said.
Yan Xiu responded.
Minister Yan’s easel was facing the wall and cabinet, out of their sight. Yang Feiwen, finding it boring, turned to look at other classmates he knew.
Yu Sui pulled up a small stool and sat down to wait.
The young master sat with an air of nonchalance, his hand casually fiddling with his phone.
At one point, Yan Xiu inadvertently glanced in that direction, and the young master immediately turned his phone screen away, sensitive to the attention.
Yan Xiu looked away and stopped drawing.
Yu Sui glanced at Yan Xiu, amused by his frozen face: “What’s wrong? Did you mess up the drawing?”
“No.” Yan Xiu dipped his brush into the paint and added a stroke. For a moment, he wanted to ask something—like who Yu Sui was chatting with, what they were talking about, or why the conversation had made the back of his neck flush red. Or perhaps something else entirely.
But as soon as he met Yu Sui’s dark eyes, he gave up. He set the brush aside, gripped the bottom of the easel, and turned the entire frame around.
“I drew a portrait for you,” he said.
Yu Sui looked up in surprise and saw a boy holding a dried salted fish.
Yan Xiu always managed to make him look so adorable.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152