Yan Xiu quietly observed him for a while, then lightly patted the back of his head, showing a subtle displeasure at the troublemaker’s attempt to engage in shady dealings even at a time like this. However, if he hadn’t nodded with such indulgence, he might have appeared more intimidating.
Unfortunately, Yu Sui’s hard-earned gold card hadn’t even been used before they were all loaded onto a bus and taken to participate in a competition.
The warm-up competition held in Yandu before G7 had an exceptionally long name: The 4th Yandu City Middle School Something-Competition, followed by a long list of supervising teachers, each with various credentials attached to each name.
When filling out the off-campus activity form, Young Master Yu got tired after copying only the words “Yandu,” and handed the pen and form to Yan Xiu.
This year, spring in Yandu was particularly brief. The cold air lingered for a long time, and the pleasantly mild weather lasted so short that there was no need to buy clothes for the season. Before they could even properly determine if spring had truly arrived in their hearts, signs of heat began to appear.
Yu Sui was afraid of both cold and heat. As soon as the temperature showed signs of rising, he boldly changed into a loose short-sleeved shirt. Little did he know that the weather would play a trick on them that morning. Shortly after the morning assembly, a light drizzle fell for two minutes, and the air suddenly turned chilly.
He squatted beside the decorative artificial hill. As a cold breeze swept past, he shivered and drifted into aimless thoughts “spring is here, spring is here.”
“Spring is here… Several of us children take off our cotton-padded jackets, rush out of our homes, and run toward the fields to search for spring!” The recitation group stood in two rows, facing the fake waterfall cascading down the hill, and began their performance with passionate voices.
Even though he was cold, the young master was too lazy to open his suitcase and dig out his jacket. He preferred to squat by the artificial waterfall, letting the mist spray all over his face.
Seeing how pitiful Yu Sui looked and remembering that he had been bedridden in his dorm for three classes before they left due to what seemed like a cold, Yang Feiwen said, “Why don’t you put my jacket on first?”
“No need,” Yu Sui said slowly. “It’ll be warm in a bit.”
Seeing his confidence, Yang Feiwen suspiciously pulled out his phone: “Does the weather forecast say it’ll get warm up soon?”
“…”
Before Yang Feiwen could see anything from the weather forecast, Minister Yan’s aloof figure flashed past under the bus and walked straight over, a jacket draped over his arm.
He walked behind Yu Sui, pulled up the jacket’s hood, and hauled Yu Sui’s up to his feet, frowning as he did so.
Yan Xiu raised his chin: “Wait inside the bus.”
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yang Feiwen’s phone screen and glanced at it slightly.
Yang Feiwen held out his phone to show Yan Xiu the temperature: “Sui’er said earlier that it wouldn’t be cold in a while, but I see today’s highest and lowest temperatures haven’t changed…”
“It won’t be cold in a while?” Yan Xiu repeated, glancing at the person next to him.
Yu Sui’s lips twitched slightly. He’d spent two minutes acting pitifully cold, finally managing to trick Yan Xiu into giving him a jacket, only to have his scheme exposed right afterward.
But when facing Yan Xiu, his expression remained unchanged. He reached out and grabbed Yan Xiu’s arm, gave a small sniff, and looked up at him.
Yan Xiu clicked his tongue and led Yu Sui back to the bus.
The professional troublemaker followed closely behind them.
The last row of seats was piled with other people’s backpacks and luggage, leaving two empty spots that formed a very secluded space. These two spots were then occupied by Yu Sui and Yan Xiu. As the two of them walked toward the back, someone started whistling, and soon, snickers erupted all around.
Professor Xu, who was leading them, was in his fifties and of mixed Chinese and Swiss descent. The generational gap between him and the students was vast, so he couldn’t understand what these troublemakers were up to. However, he loved lively and energetic atmospheres. Instead of stopping them, he clapped along and even whistled.
The group laughed even louder.
Yu Sui glanced up and memorized several of the loudest instigators. He pointed at them, then shoved Yan Xiu towards the seat in a particular cool manner.
“Ooh,” a girl giggled, covering her mouth. “Sui’er’s so alpha!”
Another girl sitting nearby immediately chimed in, “That’s why I’ve always supported Sui on top, Xiu on bottom.”
Hearing this, Yan Xiu finally realized why this guy had been making him move to the front. He glanced at him, then looked away.
The young master had insisted on pulling off that cool move earlier, but while pushing Yan Xiu, he bumped into a nearby box. Now, he was rubbing the sore spot. Noticing Yan Xiu’s reaction, Yu Sui turned his head sharply, just in time to catch the faint smile Yan Xiu hadn’t managed to hide in time.
Laughing, huh? He’s laughing!
Yu Sui clicked his tongue in annoyance.
After the bus started, Yu Sui put on his headphones and started searching for music. When a message popped up at the top of the screen, he clicked on it immediately.
It was the class group chat, buzzing with activity.
Since it wasn’t appropriate to make noise once the bus started moving, they had shifted their banter online. Because they were all familiar classmates, the jokes were particularly bold.
Liang Wen: [@Fish Can, should we pretend we didn’t hear you two making such a big commotion in the back?]
Yang Feiwen: [What else can we do?]
Yi Tian: [Be more reserved.]
Shu Yi: [This isn’t appropriate! We’re on the bus.]
Shu Yi: [@Ren Mu, is peeping against school rules?]
Yi Tian: [? You’re really bold!]
Yang Feiwen: [You win, I definitely don’t dare look.]
Yu Sui: […]
Yan Xiu glanced at his screen, noticing Yu Sui’s exasperated expression.
Yu Sui looked back at him, clutching his phone. “They’re making us sound so uncivilized. I’m going to criticize them right now.”
Despite saying this, Yu Sui spent a long time “criticizing” them without typing a single word. All that appeared in the chat box were endless ellipses, which only encouraged the troublemakers to escalate further. Even students from Class 3 who weren’t present joined in, eager to see what new drama the “official CP” had stirred up.
Of course, those troublemakers wouldn’t actually come to the back row, and Yu Sui and Yan Xiu certainly weren’t making any big commotion.
But Yu Sui still didn’t know what to say.
He just felt it was unfair! He hadn’t done anything wrong.
Just then, a pair of plain white earphones were handed to him from under his nose.
Yan Xiu was wearing one earphone, the white cord hanging between them. He held the other earphone in front of Yu Sui, and seeing that Yu Sui didn’t object, he reached out and took Yu Sui’s earphone, replacing it with his own.
Low, soft music started playing.
Worried the cord might get pulled out, Yu Sui leaned closer to the middle, his arm brushing against Yan Xiu’s. “What song is this?”
Yan Xiu simply showed him his phone, then reached out and tapped the screen Yu Sui had been tapping for a while, deleting all the dots.
The car went over a slope, and Yu Sui, following the inertia, ended up half-draped on Yan Xiu’s arm.
He held onto his earphones with one hand and Yan Xiu with the other, glancing toward the window.
The window was drawn; it was a really secluded spot.
Actually, he hadn’t planned anything when he chose this spot. But maybe because of all the commotion, he felt like he’d be missing out if he didn’t do something.
Yan Xiu glanced at him too: “Not planning to get up?”
Yu Sui leaned lazily against him for a moment, then silently straightened up and closed his eyes for a second.
He was still riding the afterglow of satisfaction, but he hadn’t once mustered the courage to properly say that title out loud. He just suddenly found himself lost in thought, pondering over many previously overlooked, trivial details.
He thought of the fortune-telling sticks still lying in his room, and of the “I’m not a god, I just don’t need fortune-telling.” that had troubled him for a while—that was a long time ago, Yan Xiu had… you know… with him a long time ago. As Yu Sui thought of this, he felt his phone being taken away. He leaned over, wanting to see what Yan Xiu was going to send.
But Yan Xiu didn’t send anything, just held it in his palm, removing the other earphone that were now useless.
Then, he tilted his head slightly, his gaze peeking through half-lidded eyes, almost as if luring him in.
Yu Sui suddenly understood his meaning. He braced his hand against the seatback in front, paused briefly, and leaned in.
They couldn’t make big movements, but they could do something quiet.
The classmate in front seat seemed to be binge-watching a drama the whole way, and at some exciting moment, they excitedly bumped against the seatback.
In the midst of their mingled breaths, both of them trembled, breaking apart as quickly as they’d met. It was brief, but more than enough to be thrilling.
Yu Sui transformed from a white dumpling back into a red one, sitting there somewhat dazedly, his fingers tightly clutching the hem of Yan Xiu’s shirt.
Yan Xiu glanced at him a few times, feeling that the young master was about to ascend to heaven, and couldn’t help but ask, “Is it that hard to bear?”
“…”
Yu Sui licked the corner of his lips—a subconscious attempt to savor the moment—and without looking at Yan Xiu, said: “… Minister, this is called shyness.”
Yan Xiu: “…”
Of course, that wasn’t what he was asking. He just felt like Yu Sui was scheming something. After a moment’s thought, Yan Xiu propped himself against the seatback, his dangling fingers lightly brushing the back of Yu Sui’s neck. It looked as if he wanted to lean in again, to see if the young master could turn even redder.
But the road wasn’t smooth, and the car kept bumping around. If he leaned in like that again, he might bump Yu Sui’s front teeth.
The earphone cord connected the two of them, swaying their soft, floating hearts.
In the group chat, someone belatedly exclaimed: [Hey, I just checked the forum and saw the official CP thread exploded again.]
But it didn’t cause much of a stir. Yi Tian even seemed used to it: [Well, that’s why it’s called the official CP.]
The person said: [I don’t know who took that photo of Sui’er grabbing the Minister away, but now everyone’s saying “Sui’er is so cool”.]
Yang Feiwen: [@Fish Can Look, they’re praising you.]
Yang Feiwen: [The one with “Sui on top, Xiu on the bottom”? I saw it!]
Yi Tian: […]
Yi Tian: [Everyone, please think carefully before you speak. Who has the score sheet?!]
Shu Yi: [I’m on the Minister’s side!]
Yu Sui glanced sideways at Yan Xiu and, seeing no reaction from him, decided to chime in when the class chat exploded with messages: [I stand with Yu Sui.]
The main character stepped in, and the class group burst into laughter, showering Yu Sui with a row of “You’re great, Sui’er!” messages.
Yan Xiu looked at what he had sent, and gave the young master an indifference, fleeting glance.
Everyone in the group was calling for Yan Xiu.
Yi Tian: [@Ren Mu Yan-ge, we can’t let them get any more arrogant!]
Shu Yi: [Yan-ge! Show them who’s the boss!]
Liang Wen: [Why are you guys so stubborn?]
Yang Feiwen: [Yan-ge. I’m sorry, but I have to support Sui’er at a time like this.]
For some reason, they found endless amusement in this, and the argument quickly escalated. No one actually expected Yan Xiu to speak up—he was notoriously low-key in the class chat, only appearing for official announcements or to make a brief statement.
So when the new message popped up, they didn’t immediately recognize who it was.
The profile picture was unfamiliar to everyone. It was a fisherman wearing a straw hat, with a fish dangling from the hook below.
The fish, however, was recognized. They had just seen Yu Sui’s avatar holding a fish.
The person seemed utterly relaxed, not even bothering to type properly. Instead, they took a screenshot and cropped out the part that had flooded the chat earlier.
Ren Mu: [Stand with Yu Sui]
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1