The student who had stumbled forward had no one to help him. He took large strides and barely managed to regain his balance, but he couldn’t control the water in the bucket.
Water splashed onto the ground, creating crown-shaped jets of water and causing chaos.
The other students, clutching their art supplies, turned away in surprise, staring at the spot. However, in such a crowded place, all sorts of accidents were common, so they only lingered for a moment before chatting and laughing as they walked away.
The cleaning staff came over with a mop from a distance. Although the student hadn’t splashed anyone, he felt he had made a big mistake. After searching around, he found Yu Sui and Yan Xiu.
They had just separated. One side was unmarked, but the other was covered in a large area of water.
Zhao Ru took out a pack of tissues and handed them to the two of them. Neither of them knew where to start wiping.
It’s hot outside, but the school made them wear formal attire. After they finished, they took off their jackets, revealing white shirts underneath. A patch of the shirt hem was wet and clung to their skin, with scattered patches of color. Luckily, they were wearing black trousers and black leather shoes underneath, so it wasn’t noticeable.
“I’m sorry…” the student stammered, approaching them to apologize.
He was a stranger, not a student from No. 26 High School.
Yang Feiwen patted him on the shoulder and pointed to the puddle of water: “It’s alright, help the auntie clean the floor first. We’ll do it ourselves.”
They shooed the student away, wiping their arms as they walked out.
Yu Sui poured the water down the drain, hastily rinsing the paint bucket clean before standing up. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Yan Xiu’s arm hanging by his side, then he grabbed it and started pouring water on it too.
Yan Xiu had to bend down to stand beside him: “What’s wrong?”
“Just taking precautions.” Yu Sui didn’t know what form his allergy was taking, only managing to scrape together this little bit of common sense from his meager knowledge, trying to wash Yan Xiu’s paint-stained arm clean.
The others had all gathered over there. Yang Feiwen and Zhao Ru stayed with the two of them.
Seeing this, Yang Feiwen couldn’t help but ask, “Does the paint smell bad?”
Yu Sui pulled Yan Xiu’s sleeve up a little and carefully rinsed it, explaining, “No, he’s allergic to paint.”
Sure enough, he received two more shocked looks.
“An allergic reaction?” Zhao Ru took a step closer, asking worriedly. “Is it serious? What will we do tomorrow?”
But Yan Xiu’s arm, which Yu Sui had been holding, was now smooth and flawless, with nothing visible except for the blue veins.
“It’s okay. It’s not serious.” Yan Xiu said, lightly grabbing Yu Sui. “It’s alright. The skin will peel off later.”
Yu Sui then let go of him.
Since the two of them had both gotten their clothes dirty while rinsing, they didn’t participate in the dinner at Wen San’s later event and went back to change.
They wouldn’t be out for long, so they hadn’t brought many clothes. They had originally planned to bring back the school uniforms they had washed the day before, but Yu Sui suddenly pulled a package of compressed short-sleeved shirts from his suitcase.
There were exactly two inside, both black and the same style. Aunt Sun must have slipped them into the suitcase when he wasn’t looking.
Yan Xiu swiped his room card to enter and tossed Yu Sui’s clothes over.
Yu Sui caught it, shaking out the two shirts as he asked, “Will you wear these?”
Yan Xiu followed his movements, glancing at the two identical clothes. He paused briefly, then looked at Yu Sui, and without hesitation, said, “Sure.”
The results were to be announced at dinner time, and Ji Jiangwu required everyone to be present.
The two of them had brought their boxed food back to their rooms to eat and now were going directly to the concert hall.
Ji Jiangwu waited for them at the door. Even before they approached, he could smell the damp scent of shower gel. Looking closer, he saw they had clear features, soft hair, and had even changed their clothes—they had clearly just showered.
While everyone else was nervously waiting inside, they had the leisure to take a shower first.
Ji Jiangwu pointed at them, unsure what to say, and after a long pause, managed to stammer, “You’re quite harmonious.”
Yu Sui was stunned. “You flatter us.”
Ji Jiangwu said irritably, “Flatter? Oh, I wouldn’t dare. Either of you who don’t make it to the end will be punished by standing with a textbook on your back when you get back.”
“Got it.” The two of them drifted past Ji Jiangwu.
These two, displaying impeccable sense of solidarity, entered the concert hall one after the other, driving both schools wild.
They were practically ready to stand up and whistle, as if the arrival of these two handsome guys was far more important than the results being announced.
“Here,” Yang Feiwen made room for them. “What are you doing, finally couldn’t resist pushing open the cabinet door?”
Probably because the first day was over, everyone’s mood had relaxed considerably. Compared to the quiet and cautious atmosphere when they first arrived, tonight was particularly lively.
Zhao Ru grabbed Yi Tian’s hand and placed it on her chest, insisting that she hear her heartbeat: “Class monitor. Listen, I know I can only go in the first round, but my heart is still beating very fast.”
“My heart is beating fast too,” Yang Feiwen continued. “Our class’s highest and lowest scores were very close this time, so our total score should be quite high. But the affiliated high school is ranked behind us, and they have some bonus points, so it’s really hard to say who will win.”
The results were quickly announced: No. 26 High School’s team event surpassed the affiliated high school by a mere 0.5 points.
The students from No. 26 High School exchanged bewildered glances, none turning back at that moment.
A deathly silence fell behind them. It was clear their spirits had plummeted.
“Second place isn’t bad,” someone said dismissively. “It’s not like we’re last. Last place is Taoli No. 1 High School. With them here, no one can dethrone them for now. Look at Taoli No. 1 High School; they cheered when the results were announced, didn’t they?”
“Because they’ve always been at the bottom,” someone sighed.
Leaving that aside for now, the fact that No. 26 High School’s cobbled-together recitation of elementary school text had unexpectedly won by a landslide was something even Ji Jiangwu hadn’t anticipated.
He scratched his ear before turning to the students, and asked, “Did they just say our school?”
A classmate replied, “Yeah, we’re second.”
Yu Sui was completely oblivious. He wasn’t on his phone. He was just drowsy, the kind of sleepy that’s neither fully awake nor fully asleep. He wanted to lean on Yan Xiu, but after staring at Yan Xiu’s shoulder for a while, he felt it was too arrogant, so he leaned on Yang Feiwen’s shoulder instead.
Before he could even nod his head, Yan Xiu pulled him back by his clothes.
Yu Sui closed his eyes, letting his consciousness drift aimlessly in the concert hall.
When he woke up again, he was walking with his head resting on Yan Xiu’s shoulder.
They made it to tomorrow’s finals as scheduled. The cheers around them could have lifted chairs, but they didn’t lift Yu Sui.
“Awesome,” Yu Sui said, lifting his head from his shoulder and lightly patting Yan Xiu’s arm.
Yan Xiu immediately grabbed Yu Sui’s fidgeting hands together and dragged him along.
More than half of the participants were eliminated in one day, and these people could not leave early, so that night the corridor could be heard, full of voices.
Yu Sui, still preoccupied with the half-bucket of paint splashed on Minister that afternoon, kept glancing at Yan Xiu’s arm and asked in a low voice, “What are your usual allergy symptoms? Give me a heads-up?”
Allergy is a rather vague and ambiguous term; anything can be an allergen. For some, it can be severe and even life-threatening, while for others it might be as mild as a fever.
Yan Xiu put down his mouthwash cup, wiped the water droplets from his face with a tissue, and glanced at the bed.
Yu Sui was exhausted today. He hadn’t even turned on any games, just idly swiping his phone screen.
He was aimlessly browsing social media.
News spreads quickly among students. Those in the school already knew their results, had seen the video of their performance on stage, knew what kind of formal attire they wore, knew that someone in the next competition area had stumbled and splashed Yu Sui and Yan Xiu with paint, and even knew that they had changed into identical outfits afterward.
The reaction on the forum was even more frenzied. This was a group that would even go so far as to compare school uniforms to matching outfits. Now that the only two official matching sets had been revealed, they felt they’d be doing themselves a disservice if they didn’t shout it out.
Floor #17889: [I hate that I wasn’t there]
Floor #17890: [Since they’re wearing matching outfits,dreaming of a hug isn’t too much, right?]
Floor #17891: [Not too much at all. You guys are shipping them so humbly! They share a room, you know?]
Floor #17892: [Then I’ll be a bit more aggressive and predict a dramatic romance]
Anything further down wasn’t fit to read.
Yu Sui quickly skipped this part, rapidly saving photos of him and Yan Xiu that others had taken to his album.
Before logging out, he glanced at that trending post one last time. They were always egging them on, but nobody knew they were actually together.
Yan Xiu seemed to have gone to bed at the perfect time, and pulled up one sleeve to show him his arm: “It’s nothing. Even if it flares up, it’s just a little itchy. And it’ll be fine if you don’t scratch it.”
The young master slowly replied, “Oh—”
Then, Yu Sui grabbed his wrist, leaned down, and kissed him. He immediately tried to run away, but the bed was so big and he couldn’t run far.
Yan Xiu half-pressed him down, leaned in, and smacked him once on the lower back—just as a knock came at the door.
The knock was perfectly timed. The two instantly let go of each other, exchanging a silent glance from a very close distance.
Who would come at this time?
Yu Sui reached for his phone, but didn’t see any messages.
Ji Jiangwu? Professor Xu?
The person outside spoke: “… Yu Sui? Minister?”
Zhao Ru.
Yu Sui slammed down on Yan Xiu’s shoulder: “I’ll open the door. You pretend to be asleep.”
Yan Xiu: “?”
Too stupid. Yan Xiu refused: “Why should I pretend to be asleep?”
“If you’re asleep, she won’t have a reason to come in,” Yu Sui said.
Yan Xiu: “…”
This kind of emotion was rare with Yu Sui. Yan Xiu raised an eyebrow and silently lay down under Yu Sui’s piercing gaze.
Yu Sui stared at him as he lay down before opening the door.
Outside the door stood Zhao Ru, who had changed into casual clothes. It was evening, and she hadn’t tied her hair up. Her long hair was loose, reaching her shoulders and tucked behind her ears.
She seemed a little nervous, holding a black plastic bag in her hand.
“Yu Sui,” Zhao Ru called out.
Late at night, it’s rare for a girl to dare knock on a boy’s door alone. Yu Sui pretended not to see the heads peeking out from under the corner near the hallway, his expression unwavering as he looked at Zhao Ru: “Hmm.”
Zhao Ru didn’t look into their room: “Is Minister’s allergy okay?”
“It’s fine.” Yu Sui thought for a moment, then rephrased, “He’s fine now.”
“…Oh.” Zhao Ru nodded, taking a pink medicine bottle and a long, thin tube of ointment from a black plastic bag and handing it to him. “I also have skin allergies. These two medicines won’t cure the root cause, but they can relieve the itching temporarily.”
Yu Sui wanted to peek into the room. He remembered that Yan Xiu had a whole set of medicine packets, and might have even used them today, since he smelled particularly strongly of herbs.
But this kind of help was harmless. Refusing would make him seem stingy and would also embarrass the girl in front of her friends. Besides, Yan Xiu might actually need these.
So Yu Sui took it: “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. We were worried about the Minister too.” Zhao Ru smiled, then took a small bottle of milk from the plastic bag and gave it to him. For some reason, Yu Sui felt her fingers were trembling slightly.
Yu Sui took the milk back, and under Yan Xiu’s slightly questioning gaze, lay down on top of him through the blanket.
“Get up,” Yan Xiu said, trying to get him to get up.
Yu Sui refused: “I won’t.”
Yan Xiu, his face expressionless, said, “Then, lie up a little.”
“…”
Yu Sui reacted, silently rising to lie down on Yan Xiu’s lower back.
At times like these, the air always needs a moment of silence before moving on to the next topic, but with his interruption, Yu Sui didn’t know whether to continue. He simply put the things Zhao Ru had given him aside: “Keep them. They might come in handy.”
Yan Xiu, hearing the muffled sound in his voice, glanced at the two bottles of medicine and the milk: “Are you unhappy?”
“Not really,” Yu Sui said listlessly. “It’s just that it feels like someone’s trying to steal your boyfriend right to your doorstep, and you have to pretend you don’t know.”
He heard Yan Xiu’s “oh,” which was unusually cold.
“…” He probably didn’t want to continue.
“What’s your reaction?” Yu Sui rolled over to reach him, only to see Yan Xiu take the small bottle of milk.
The whole class knew Yu Sui liked sweet drinks, while Yan Xiu didn’t, so Zhao Ru’s small bottle of milk was for him.
Yan Xiu propped himself up on the bed, bending one leg to block Yu Sui’s side.
He glanced at Yu Sui, then looked down at the bottle of milk that Yu Sui had carefully brought in the whole time.
Then, with a gentle flick of his finger at the bottom, he pulled out a tiny keychain taped to the base.
It was shaped like a cello.
Yu Sui froze: “…”
Then he heard Yan Xiu whisper, “A reaction of feeling it first hand.”
Maria Lian On CFRFGC Chapter 104