TWSITAOCP Chapter 57

The movie abruptly cut to an empty shot, and the noises vanished without a trace.

Given the film’s strangeness from the start, its sudden shift to something eerie went unnoticed.

Yan Xiu: “For what?”

“You tell me.” Yu Sui wrinkled his nose, too embarrassed to say anything inappropriate in such a quiet moment, even though they were sitting in the last row, back against the wall, with no one around.

The next scene changed again. Yu Sui quietly put on his hood, turned to the side, and pulled up his collar to show Yan Xiu the mosquito bite on his neck, whispering, “I have to get this back. I can’t be the only one embarrassed.”

Yan Xiu raised an eyebrow.

Whether it was who provoked first is another matter, but Young Master Yu’s ability to twist the truth is his second nature. However, Yu Sui always loved to tease him with his words, and when he needed to be cowardly, he was more thin-skinned than anyone else. While he looked handsome as he spoke, his eyes were constantly darting towards the few audience members in the front row.

He swiftly reached out and caught the fish that had been teasing and running away.

When the two finally calmed down and settled down to watch the movie, the protagonist had changed ages several times and disguised himself countless times, becoming someone neither of them recognized.

“Who’s she?” Yan Xiu asked casually.

Yan Xiu hadn’t recognized the female lead, and Yu Sui, who was face-blind, was even less likely to: “… The male lead’s sister?”

Yan Xiu nodded, then after a moment remembered: “The male lead doesn’t have a sister.”

“Maybe adopted?” Yu Sui made up on the spot, “Or maybe his mother had her later?”

Yan Xiu remained silent, wearing a look of utter exasperation that said, “My boyfriend is too naive.” Fortunately, the theater was dimly lit, so Yu Sui couldn’t see it.

Yu Sui, still seated, pulled out his pack of tissues and started fiddling with it. After a moment, he remembered where he got them: “This cinema is nice. They even give out tissues. Cinemas in Yandu never do.”

They entered relatively early, and there was already a group of people ahead of them when they came in. Yan Xiu remembered clearly: “Not all of them give out tissues.”

“What do you mean?”

“Those people in front didn’t get any.”

“Only the two of us?”

“Yeah.”

“…” The young master fell silent. Yan Xiu noticed and turned to look at him. Yu Sui was tucked into his hood, leaning back in his seat, his ears bright red.

Yan Xiu was stunned for a moment, then, as if possessed, connected with Yu Sui’s train of thought, his expression instantly becoming very subtle. Yu Sui’s eyes were still fixed on him, trying to drag someone down with him in his embarrassment.

Without a word, Yan Xiu reached out and pulled the young master’s hood down, completely blocking Yu Sui’s dreadful view.

Because of their improper movie-watching behavior, the two of them still didn’t understand where the female lead had gone, why she kept flipping her hair, or why the male lead kept yelling.

They overheard people in the front row of the same show chatting: “Luckily I brought tissues so my eye makeup didn’t get smudged. I almost went with Jinjin when she passed away.”

Yu Sui exchanged a silent glance with Yan Xiu, then left the area with a grim expression.

Malls were all pretty much the same, and there’s not much variety in shopping. What you’re really shopping for is psychological satisfaction.

Yi Tian and her group bumped into them, chattering and insisting on going to a local bar. They were ultimately turned down on the grounds of a sore throat and had to head home.

On the way back to Yandu, the group of boys finally quieted down and slept the entire way.

Upon arriving, Lao Gu from Class 3 Arts waited for them in the school’s shuttle bus and drove them back to school. The driver was a chatterbox, and so was Lao Gu. However, as they chatted, they realized everyone except them was asleep, so they fell silent.

Lao Gu was in the mood of a father whose children had finally returned. He didn’t like playing on his phone on the bus, but having nothing else to do, he took his phone and walked along the front and back of the bus, holding onto the railing.

The sleeping figures were in all sorts of positions. Professor Xu was one of them, chin tilted back and mouth open. Two girls were still clutching bags of snacks in their sleep.

In the back, where the luggage was piled up, there was only one cramped spot. A slightly stern-looking boy’s hat brim covered half his face. His head was against the window, his eyes closed. A well-behaved boy had a U-shaped pillow around his neck, his head tilted back slightly. They slept separately, their close relationship evident only by their adjacent seats and the leashes connecting their wrists.

Lao Gu took a picture with a loving expression.

Unaware that after he turned and returned to his seat, the two students in the back row listlessly opened their eyes. Yu Sui put a U-shaped pillowcase on Yan Xiu, then leaned back, before finally managing to fall asleep.

During the annual few days when No. 26 High School was deserted, the return to school coincided with the second-year students moving their belongings upstairs to the already emptied third-year classrooms.

Though two grade levels were gone, the school still had about a thousand students. Aside from the quieter atmosphere outside when leaving the building, it didn’t feel like much of a difference.

A dozen or so students went upstairs just as class was ending. Those who had heard the news and came out to see what was going on cast long, blank stares at them. They sighed, “They just dodged the final exams like that?”

These students looked up in confusion and counted the floors, equally incredulous to each other: “Damn, they’ve moved up a year again?”

When they were away from school, no matter how many messages and pictures they heard or saw on their phones, the sense of recognition was nothing compared to the shock of returning after a short time and finding the classrooms rearranged.

The two at the back glanced subconsciously in the direction of the person who had spoken first, then casually moved away.

Amidst a murmur of surprise in the hallway, they walked towards the classroom.

The reactions from the adjacent classes of Class 3 Arts were more enthusiastic than those in the corridor. At least when Yu Sui and his two friends slipped in through the back door, the entire class dropped their notes and turned to greet them.

“I’ve missed you guys so much!” Yang Feiwen shouted, gesturing to his face with his hand.

“Save it,” Yu Sui said.

Liang Wen, sitting in the back row, stood up and gave Yu Sui, who had come in first, a hug. He actually wanted to hug Yan Xiu too, after all, he was the pride of Class 3 Arts, but the usually easier-to-talk-with Minister, after a year of getting to know him, was exuding cold aura at that moment, whether from exhaustion or something else, so he didn’t dare. Liang Wen also felt awkward about hugging Yi Tian, ​​so he awkwardly sat back down.

Yi Tian, ​​however, took the initiative to give him a high five.

As the only girl among the three Class 3 Arts students sent this time, Yi Tian received most of the girls’ envious glances. She was immediately pulled aside to chat as soon as she put down her things.

After tidying up the table, Yu Sui and Yan Xiu lay down and fell asleep, using the pile of test papers accumulated over the years as their pillows.

Those who tried to talk to them left, bewildered and confused. Someone chuckled and cursed, “Didn’t you sleep all night?”

“Yeah,” Yi Tian in the front row yawned. “We played games all night. I’m really tired.”

The whole class was envious again: “Damn, we’re here preparing for exams, have to study, and listen to the review, and you guys were out playing games all night?”

Yi Tian’s face stiffened. She realized she’d been so sleepy she’d accidentally revealed a secret she’d promised to keep. She quickly added, “Just kidding, Professor Xu was watching. How could I stay up all night playing games?”

She was the class monitor, after all, and everyone believed her.

Yi Tian soon joined the sleeping crowd.

The gossipy crowd had lost their source of information.

But their enthusiasm hadn’t waned. They huddled together, chatting animatedly, until the teacher came in to review the papers, and the classroom finally quieted down.

And aside from the gossip Yi Tian had mentioned, which didn’t spread, there was no other gossip.

The teachers had never heard that gossip. They counted the number of students who had returned home and were now asleep at their desks, automatically assuming they were incredibly stressed and exhausted, so they tacitly ignored those heads slumped over in class.

By the time they finally caught up on their sleep, the number of final exam papers in their desks was outrageous.

Lao Gu specifically spoke with them, giving them a general overview of the teaching progress over the past period, and then assigning them a task: “You don’t have to do the other homework or tests, but you should still take the final exam. Don’t take it in class today. Go home tonight and set your own time to answer it. I’ll grade it for you.”

Lao Gu meant well, although there wasn’t a trace of gratitude on the faces of these three students.

That evening, after showering, Yu Sui pulled out his final exam papers and began answering.

He started with the easier questions first, beginning with English.

The English answer sheet mostly consisted of multiple-choice questions, requiring at most one essay, making it the subject that saved him the most pen and time.

His roommates passed by him from behind, instinctively falling silent or putting on their headphones, while others curiously gathered around him to look.

As Yu Sui was writing, he caught a glimpse of Yang Feiwen leaving the dorm with his phone. Someone had probably called, and he was worried about disturbing Yu Sui.

Actually, Yu Sui wasn’t easily distracted when working on problems. He found it somewhat amusing, watching Yang Feiwen leave with his phone.

Yu Sui glanced at his phone. A new message had just popped up, horizontally on the screen.

Ren Mu: [.]

Yu Sui: “……”

He and Yan Xiu were having a problem-solving speed contest. Minister Yan had already reached the essay section and casually sent him a period as a challenge.

The young master clicked his tongue and quickly began drafting his essay.

He was at a disadvantage in this regard because his handwriting was messy. Without a second draft, his writing was very gibberish.

However, after writing two lines, he remembered that Yan Xiu sometimes wrote sloppily and didn’t have the habit of drafting. So Yu Sui abandoned drafting, his competitive spirit driving him forward quickly.

During this process, his train of thoughts ran on parallel tracks: one main line controlling his writing, while other automatically collected random sounds he heard due to his physiological functions.

His two roommates were both in bed; one accidentally kicked the corner of the bed.

Yang Feiwen was on the phone outside the door, his tone strange.

“No need, I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow.”

“Who dares say that!”

“What should I do? I miss you so much—”

“Don’t you miss me? We’ve been apart for an hour and thirty minutes, haven’t we?”

“No, hang up first!”

“Lady Luck will protect you today too~”

“……”

Yu Sui wrote the final period, then reached for his phone with his left hand, then sent the message almost simultaneously with Yan Xiu.

Fish Can: [.]

Ren Mu: [.]

Even.

Yu Sui curled the corners of his lips and opened the voice message: “What do we do now that we’re even? Are you coming downstairs or should I go up?”

They decided to take the next exam together, but hadn’t decided whose dorm to go to, so they used English as a bet.

Yan Xiu hadn’t replied yet.

Yang Feiwen walked in through the door, clutching his phone with a smug look on his face.

After the final exams, Tian Tian finally relented, probably because Yang Feiwen would be flying around after this academic year, and she suddenly felt reluctant to let him go.

Yu Sui wasn’t here during that time and could only see Yang Feiwen’s smugness when he was texting. This was the first time he had witnessed Yang Feiwen in a relationship firsthand.

He glanced at Yang Feiwen, rubbed the goosebumps on his arms, and said with disdain, “It’s just a relationship, why are you being so mushy?”

 

Translator’s note: We’re nearing the end! Only ten chapters left :<