The class group chat flooded with a whole row of question marks.
A faint rustle came from the seats ahead, and one of the accompanying teachers scolded, “What are you standing up for? The bus is moving—don’t move around! What happened to the safety rules you learned?”
The person being scolded awkwardly protested, “I didn’t stand up, I just turned my head to look.”
“Look at what?” retorted one of the teachers who had been with these students since they started school. Familiar with them, he spoke more bluntly, “I’m talking about you, Yang Feiwen. Where’s your seatbelt? Is there some big news behind our seats that requires you, Reporter Yang, to cover it live? And you call it ‘just a look’—your head’s practically twisted 180 degrees… Ah, I’m getting old, I really can’t stand such a brutal sight!”
The bus finally quieted down, and the class group chat interface remained stuck on the expanse of comical question marks.
Yu Sui stared at the message Yan Xiu had sent for a long time, taking a screenshot and saving it. He suspected Yan Xiu had no idea what they were arguing about, so he raised his hand and waved his phone screen in front of Yan Xiu.
Then, suddenly regretting it, he silently tucked his phone back into his pocket.
This content was way out of line.
Yu Sui rubbed his ears: “Why are you joining in on the fun for no reason?”
The competition had rented a stage at a theater in Yandu, and many schools had chosen to arrive a day early.
Compared to them, No. 26 High School seemed to be the last to arrive. Students from other schools, wearing their respective school badges, could already be seen walking around downstairs at the reserved hotel.
But as they got off the bus, they saw another large-capacity bus pull up behind them. Behind the drawn curtains, the faces of students peered out.
“Shenghuang Affiliated High School, Yandu Branch-International Department is here,” said a boy who had paused halfway while carrying a large instrument to rest. Seeing the bus behind them, he curled his lip.
The student next to him turned around, his expression shifting from clear to overcast: “It really is them.”
“Let’s hurry up. I don’t want to run into them head-on,” another boy nudged his friend.
And so, they got off their bus much faster than before. All of them were rushing into the hotel before the bus could even find a parking spot.
Rooms were assigned for two people each, and the supervising teacher, Lao Ji, told them to pair up on the spot.
Yu Sui noticed Yang Feiwen hesitate and glance at him before picking up a room key. He scratched the tip of his nose and glanced toward Yan Xiu—Yan Xiu had already gone to get his key. Seeing that Yu Sui already had a partner, Yang Feiwen turned and paired up with another boy.
This time, coincidentally, each class had sent an even number of students, making the pairing process quick. By the time they had their room keys and headed upstairs in groups, the students from the International Department of Shenghuang Affiliated High School, Yandu Branch had just entered the hotel lobby.
Someone nearby let out a subtle, disapproving click of the tongue.
The Affiliated High School’s uniforms were designed in a British-style waistcoat, standing out conspicuously among the students still wearing loose, thick sportswear. In truth, aside from No. 26 High School, which had drawn them as opponents, the other schools also had mixed feelings toward the Affiliated High School.
On one hand, they looked forward to the performance of the Affiliated High School, wanting to see how they would crush No. 26 High School. On the other hand, they secretly hoped someone could take them down, so they wouldn’t walk around with their noses in the air, looking down on everyone.
“Sui’er, look at the one walking at the front of the class ahead—that’s Gou Yuda and Zhou Yijia. The one in the middle of the class behind is called Qian Ruichen…” Yang Feiwen squinted beside Yu Sui, providing live commentary. “Qian Ruichen seems to have transferred into the Affiliated High School this semester, the kind with a full scholarship waiver. He’s probably a dark horse!”
Yu Sui: “…”
He pushed Yang Feiwen from behind into the elevator. “I have eyes.”
These names had been repeated by everyone several times lately.
Even though they all admitted verbally that this was just a small, insignificant competition—even the rules were somewhat childish, just a warm-up friendly match as the name suggested, giving each school a chance to bring their students out for a show—once they drew the Affiliated High School, everyone became tense. They lurked on the school forums and message boards like spies every day, forcibly memorizing a lot of irrelevant details.
The elevator was full. Yan Xiu, standing beside them, reached out and pulled Yu Sui’s hand—which was hanging outside—down, then pressed the close button.
The Affiliated High School students had long noticed No. 26 High School getting off the bus ahead of them, but they had no intention of interacting. It wasn’t until a girl glanced over and saw the closing elevator doors that she hesitated, matching the faces she saw in last second. “Did I just see Yu Sui?”
“I saw him too,” another girl behind her said. “I also saw another familiar face… Do you know Yan Ying’s cousin, Yan Xiu?”
“Why would they be at No. 26 High School…”
Yu Sui was completely unaware of the murmurs below. His right hand hung down, still in the position Yan Xiu had pulled it into, while his other hand held his phone, scrolling through it.
Yan Xiu’s hand hadn’t moved either, his knuckles pressed against Yu Sui’s as he looked down at the time on his watch.
Yi Tian suddenly remembered that Yu Sui had graduated from the Affiliated High School’s middle school and asked, “Sui’er, do you know anyone there?”
Their attitude when entering the elevator had been quite unfriendly, clearly showing they didn’t want to interact with the Affiliated High School students. But if there were acquaintances among them, it would be different. Yi Tian felt a bit guilty for not thinking to give Yu Sui time to catch up with old friends.
Yu Sui’s reply was lazy and even more uncertain than hers. “…Maybe?”
“…” Yi Tian struggled to raise her hands in a resigned gesture.
The first day didn’t have any special tasks, only a brief welcome ceremony hosted by the competition organizers in the hotel conference room in the evening—an opening ceremony where half the time would be taken up by introductions from the leaders. It would start around seven, and after it ended, the school teachers would hold a separate meeting for them. The rest of the time was left for them to settle in and unpack.
No. 26 High School arrived close to six o’clock, so they only had time to drop their luggage in their rooms, sit for a while, then head downstairs for dinner before going straight to the evening conference.
As soon as they entered the room, Yu Sui, who had been playing dumb and feigning amnesia in the elevator just moments before, hooked his arm around Yan Xiu’s neck and pulled him down: “Do you have an acquaintance at the Affiliated High School?”
Yan Xiu was even more puzzled than he was: “No.”
“Really?” Yu Sui said.
Yu Sui let go and stared at him.
Playing along with the young master’s occasional bouts of theatrical madness, Yan Xiu tugged lightly at the corner of his mouth. “I don’t know them.”
“Oh—” Yu Sui pointed at him, his expression clearly reading, “I never thought you were that kind of scumbag.”
He just wouldn’t let it go.
Yan Xiu straightened up, took the sports bag off Yu Sui’s waist, and placed it on the coat rack. Changing his tone, he simply went along with it: “Oh, I know them. We’re very close. We used to be on great terms.”
“……” Yu Sui actually froze for a moment, staring at him blankly. It took a while before he caught the exasperated look in Yan Xiu’s eyes and finally understood. He immediately lunged forward, reaching out to pinch him.
When two boys got together, it was a disaster—they could start fighting at any moment. In the end, they didn’t pack their luggage, nor did they rest. It wasn’t until other classmates came knocking on the door to hurry them up that they hastily wet their hands in front of the mirror, ruffled their hair, and headed out.
The ceremony was very boring, but fortunately, the spot for No. 26 High School was in the middle of the crowd. Teachers usually focus their supervision on the front and back rows and don’t pay much attention to the middle. As for Professor Xu and Lao Ji, they didn’t care at all how they messed around down there, as long as they weren’t too loud and didn’t disturb others. Yu Sui lowered his eyes, his fingers swiping rapidly across his phone screen.
He had originally wanted to check the forum to see if anyone had Floored the list of departments for the students participating from the Affiliated High School, but it was probably too early, and no one had managed to compile it yet.
So, he took a detour to the “official CP” thread.
It felt strangely surreal.
Two nights ago, when he couldn’t sleep, he logged into his alternate account and posted a GIF of a little bear dancing in place in this thread.
Along with a picture that says, “The CP you ship is real.”
These two images were everywhere and nothing special, quickly buried under countless replies without attracting any attention.
Just like their relationship, hidden in plain sight.
The only reply to those two pictures was from a low-level burner account, who replied two question marks.
Yu Sui had only found out earlier, when he took Yan Xiu’s phone, that the account with the keyboard-smash ID was Yan Xiu’s.
He took a screenshot of those two question marks, sent it to the pinned chat, and then went back to the forum to keep scrolling down.
Today, what caused a stir was Yan Xiu’s WeChat profile picture—the fishing boy with a fishing rod—and Yan Xiu’s follow-up comment in the group chat.
Yu Sui only glanced at it, first touching his ear before continuing to scroll down.
Floor 14555: [Where are the people who were trying to boldly compare the CP’s profile pictures?]
Floor 14556: [I suspect they were browsing the forum. I accidentally saw this app icon on Sui’er’s phone last time, you know—what—I mean—]
Floor 14557: [Don’t force a connection. They’re just brothers with a very good relationship.]
Floor 14558: [What kind of thing just slipped intro the thread above? Anyway, has our “Salted Fish Can” started exchanging gifts?]
Floor 14559: [Although I really want to agree, Yu Sui drawing… that’s just not okay.]
Floor 14510: [No way, no way! Is it really that hard to admit that the Minister just drew matching profile pictures?]
Floor 14511: [It’s hard. Something you see once in a lifetime.]
Floor 14512: [This profile picture is called “Fishing Master,” representing the Minister’s determination this semester to keep a close eye on Sui’er so he doesn’t break any rules.]
Floor 14513: [Who’s on top or bottom doesn’t matter, it’s just a position.]
Floor 14514: [Reasonable. Those who get triggered are just [censored].]
Floor 14515: [This is a harmonious campus forum. Please be careful with your comments.]
Yu Sui clicked open the pinned chat window again and stared at the profile picture for two seconds.
Yan Xiu, sitting beside him, glanced over and noticed him staring blankly at their chat window. “… What do you want to say?”
“Nothing,” Yu Sui said. “I’m just studying your profile.”
“…” Yan Xiu’s eyelids lifted slightly, landing on Yu Sui’s face. He stared for a few seconds before asking, “How is it?”
Yu Sui: “How is what?”
Yan Xiu paused, feeling like he might have misunderstood.
Yu Sui’s tone was sincere: “I was just thinking, could I trace my paws to resemble yours?”
That way, rounding up, it would count as him having tried his hand at it too. But Yu Sui quickly remembered his abysmal drawing skills and felt destined to have no connection with a paintbrush, so he was just casually joking.
Yan Xiu’s expression was subtle: “…”
After rambling on for a few minutes, the young master realized Yan Xiu wasn’t responding. He belatedly remembered the subtle caution in Minister Yan’s voice when he asked how it is, and abruptly shut his mouth.
A moment of silence ensued, and neither of them uttered a sound. Then, Yan Xiu turned his head away.
“Hey?”
Yu Sui raised his hand, subtly tugging at his clothes, and his tone even more sincere than before: “… It’s very well drawn, really, especially that fisherman—oh, the one whose chin you can only see—he looks a lot like the person in my profile picture.”
Prisha On IMMFBCG Chapter 2