Some people clicked their tongues in amazement, then noticed that there were two people at the very back who hadn’t changed much. The only slightly rebellious one was the one with the small tuft of hair at the back of her head.
“You can’t stand it again,” Tang Bohu said. “Can’t stand what?”
Yang Feiwen: “I just can’t stand it, that’s all. What’s it to you?”
Liang Wen chuckled beside him. He glanced back and found the two who had consciously moved to the back of the crowd: “Who else could it be? There’s only that one couple in our class now.”
Yang Feiwen didn’t understand: “What? Which couple?”
Tang Bohu said, “Oh, I’m used to it. They’re fine.”
Yang Feiwen: “?”
He belatedly realized what was happening, his eyes widening: “Holy crap, how did you guys know?”
Liang Wen and Tang Bohu also just realized: “Damn? You don’t know we know?”
Yang Feiwen: “……”
Their voices weren’t quiet, attracting the attention of Yi Tian ahead.
Yi Tian glared at them, turned back, and dragged a few girls away.
Yang Feiwen asked with difficulty, “He told you?”
“It’s nothing special,” Tang Bohu said. “We’re not blind.”
Besides, Yu Sui and Yan Xiu hadn’t intended to hide it from them. Anyone who noticed anything amiss asked, and they didn’t hide it from them, probably knowing they weren’t the type to make a fuss or gossip.
The group walked on, reminiscing.
Yang Feiwen, tears streaming down his face, said, “When I was just egging them on, I never imagined they’d end up together.”
Yu Sui’s voice came from behind: “When you were chasing Tian Tian, I never thought you two would be hooking up.”
Yang Feiwen’s shoulders hunched. And with a bad feeling, he turned around, and sure enough, he saw Yan Xiu behind him.
Yan Xiu’s indifferent gaze swept over them, and the group immediately scurried back, laughing sheepishly, “We were wrong, we were wrong, Yan-ge, please have mercy!”
Only then did they realize they had graduated, and Yan Xiu was no longer wearing his red armband.
Yu Sui nudged Yan Xiu: “They’re waiting for you to deduct points.”
Yan Xiu said nonchalantly, “Then deduct two points.”
“Hey!” the group shouted urgently. “We’re in the same class!”
They burst into laughter.
They were still laughing, clutching their stomachs, even after entering the office, preventing Lao Gu from expressing his prepared reluctance to part.
When the holiday was long, what you did each day became blurry.
They played wildly for a while, and the noise only subsided slightly on the day the grades were released.
Yu Sui was called to the study again.
No one in the family followed his path. The four children, each with their own distinct personality, poured out their experiences like beans spilling out, regardless of whether Yu Sui truly needed them, letting him pick and choose what was useful.
Yu Liao had asked a friend to contact a music academy abroad—a school he had encountered while studying overseas and held in high regard, mentioning it to Yu Sui several times.
Yu Sui, clutching his pillow and phone, nodded vaguely, reluctantly agreeing to try if the opportunity arose.
Only then did Yu Liao let him go.
After settling on a school, he was completely free, spending his free time visiting Yan Xiu at the old house in Fucun.
He had considered renting a place, but such an action was too blatant and inexplicable, even Aunt Sun would inquire about it. Furthermore, Yu Jingyuan had finished his work and flown back to Yandu, so Yu Sui abandoned the idea.
He and Yan Xiu had visited several places, continuing their travels until just before the start of the school year. They finally returned to Yandu to retrieve their luggage.
While Yan Xiu was waiting for Yu Sui to unpack, the young master brought out his toy box and emptied out all the trophies and medals he had won over the years.
Yu Sui searched the room, found the M-competition trophy, and neatly placed it in the center.
Yan Xiu stood behind him, watching: “Where should we put it?”
He’d never seen Yu Sui treat these things with such seriousness before.
“Don’t just put them there, let’s air them out,” Yu Sui said. “Well?”
Yan Xiu: “Well what?”
Yu Sui clicked his tongue: “How do you think they are?”
Yan Xiu glanced down at them: “… Impressive?”
“Impressive is good.” Yu Sui breathed a sigh of relief and took out his phone to snap a picture.
Yan Xiu’s phone vibrated in his pocket. Yu Sui had sent him the photo.
Yan Xiu was confused: “Why?”
Yu Sui slowly stood up and moved closer to him, lowering his voice: “Post it on your WeChat Moments. Make sure Lao Yan and Aunt Tang can see it.”
Yan Xiu: “…”
He caught on to it quickly, understanding Yu Sui’s meaning, and was somewhat amused and exasperated.
Yan Xiu pulled up the casually taken photo, looked at it, then squatted down to rearrange the young master’s “proof of greatness,”. He then adjusted the angle to take another picture, making it appear numerous yet effortless.
He posted it on his WeChat Moments.
[From a certain fish]
Yu Sui was startled by this blatant “certain fish” and looked up: “There’s no need for this…”
“It’s fine.” Yan Xiu pressed him back down.
Yu Sui packed the things away and stuffed them back into the toy box, muttering, “…I just wanted to brainwash your parents first, to make them discover my good points… That’s how it’s portrayed on TV.”
A muffled chuckle came from beside him.
Yu Sui turned around, and Yan Xiu had already laughed so hard he collapsed onto his bed.
The young master was immediately embarrassed and angry, about to pounce on him, when Yan Xiu gestured with his chin, indicating he should look at his phone.
Yu Sui’s eyelids twitched. He looked down and swiped his phone screen. A barrage of photos popped up, showing the countless awards Yan Xiu had won since childhood, as well as his works. The number of awards was much greater than the single, explicit photo he had just shown.
Yan Xiu looked at him: “You post one too.”
Yu Sui was speechless for a long time before finally saying, “Actually, they already have a very good impression of you.”
“Lao Yan and Tang also like you very much.” Yan Xiu hooked his hand, squeezed it in his palm, and sighed softly, “No rush.”
From late August to mid-October, everyone’s destination became clear.
Yu Sui and Yan Xiu’s university were in the same city, boarded the plane on the same day, and only after arriving did they receive messages from many people saying that they had also come.
Class 3 Arts performed well this year, with high scores in the art exam and a significant improvement in their academic score—so everyone had ended up in the same city.
Yi Tian and Yu Sui were in the same music academy, so it was probably expected that they wouldn’t be too surprised when they met.
Yang Fei had high scores in the art exam and barely made it in.
Yu Sui’s initial thought that leaving Yandu would mean being unfamiliar with the place was disrupted, but it didn’t have a big impact. For the Yu family, this place was still far from their influence.
He rented a house near the Academy of Fine Arts, gave the key to Yan Xiu, and would go there with Yan Xiu whenever he had free time.
But even in university, they weren’t idle. Initially, their advisors dragged them around, but later they became more independent, and their visits to rented apartments became sporadic, as living on campus was more convenient.
The way they measured time went from anxiously counting the minutes each day to indifferently letting year after year pass by.
As another year approached New Year’s Day, Yu Sui suddenly received a red envelope from Tang Ying, and only then did he glance at his hastily drawn progress chart in his notebook.
His plan to lay a long line to catch a big fish seemed to be working.
Continuing with this plan, while not always smooth sailing, at least it wouldn’t cause any major damage.
A piece of good news arrived at the end of winter, lifting Yu Sui’s spirits after a period of hectic work. He took a screenshot, found Yan Xiu’s pinned chat box, and sent it to him.
However, before he could fully lay out and extend this plan, an unexpected gust of wind, called accident, swept in out of nowhere, snapping the line and even triggering a tsunami.
Author’s Note: Sigh, the countdown has begun.
SR On SGWCLC Chapter 126