Chapter 75 What else do I know? She... rides his bicycle...

Autumn had blown Jiang Yueming's hair long. He kept it as is, not feeling the need to cut it. Besides, Jiang Yueming felt he looked slightly better with long hair; he could straighten it a bit and tie it into a small bun at the back. He usually changed his hairstyle randomly when he woke up, with all sorts of little rubber bands, all done by Tian Tian.

The weather has been unusually cold lately, even though it's not yet the start of winter. Neither Jiang Yueming nor Li Leshan wanted the other to wait for them at the school gate, so their meetings, which used to be three times a week, were reduced to once a week, on Saturdays and Sundays.

Cao Fan's glasses prescription is 680 degrees. The cold lenses instantly fog up when they come into contact with the warm air, and the fog won't dissipate no matter what he does. If he's not careful, he'll stumble and fall.

Jiang Yueming stared at his thick glasses and said in a light tone, "The temperature difference is too big, even though it's not hot in the classroom."

"Indeed, the window in the toilet has been broken for three days and no one has fixed it. It's a huge hole, and every time I go to the toilet, a gust of cold wind blows through and I get really cold." Cao Fan had just come back from the toilet, and he wasn't shivering from the cold.

The window of the toilet next to the playground was teetering on the verge of falling. Jiang Yueming considered finding something to remove it and then putting it back in, otherwise he was worried it would fall and hit someone. But just as he was about to remove it with a wrench, he exchanged a glance with the dean of students. The two looked at each other, and then a shout made them come down. Luckily, they didn't mistake him for someone trying to steal the window.

Jiang Yueming laughed, "Who told you to pee so often? Going to the toilet every class, you must have kidney deficiency..."

Cao Fan choked abruptly, his drinking motion halting abruptly. He waved his fist, "I've noticed you've been particularly prone to making people choke lately. What's wrong, did you break up with your boyfriend?"

"...What are you doing?" Jiang Yueming hesitated for a moment. "Did I?"

“Yes!” Cao Fan protested.

“That’s because of too much academic pressure,” Jiang Yueming said nonsensically. “You’re just too aggressive, or maybe you’re just too sensitive.”

"The academic pressure is immense," Cao Fan said, clearly unconvinced. He lowered his voice and asked, "Hey, seriously, have you ever been in a relationship?"

Jiang Yueming was taken aback. He knew that with Cao Fan's persistent and inquisitive nature, he would probably not give up until he got some answers. If he spoke vaguely, Cao Fan would still ask; if he spoke clearly... Jiang Yueming then thought of Cao Fan's words from a while ago—"Homosexuality is disgusting."

This happened a while ago. That day, Cao Fan secretly told him that there was a pervert in the school. A guy went into the men's dormitory and masturbated on someone's bed. Regardless of whether this was true or not, it shocked the whole school and spread everywhere, especially to Cao Fan, who was turned into an extreme homophobe.

Thinking about this, Jiang Yueming couldn't help but hesitate. Could he tell Cao Fan that he was dating Li Leshan, that he was dating another man?

Hesitating for too long would only make things worse, so Jiang Yueming pursed her lips and said hesitantly, "No, no, I don't think so."

"'No way,' what does that 'way' mean?" Cao Fan felt his words were ambiguous, but he was still surprised. "Seriously, buddy? You're so handsome, don't any girls chase after you?"

"Why are you so curious?" Jiang Yueming asked. Actually, there were quite a few. On the day he graduated from middle school, he received several love letters in his drawer. In the first two days of school, some older female students asked him for his contact information, but Jiang Yueming just smiled and brushed them off.

“It feels so amazing. I have your face, and I can date seven different people a week, and every day is a different one,” Cao Fan said.

"You must have a lot of energy," Jiang Yueming retorted.

The bell rang for self-study class, and Liu Xijun entered the classroom carrying a thermos filled with goji berries. He was wearing a black cotton-padded jacket and cleared his throat, "There will be a grooming check next week. Remember, both boys and girls, to trim your bangs when you get home..."

Jiang Yueming flicked his bangs and glanced at Cao Fan beside him. This guy cherished his bangs like his life; his bangs were the most important thing for him to act as an artistic youth.

"Are you going to cut it or not?" Cao Fan asked, covering his bangs with a serious expression.

Jiang Yueming glanced at Liu Xijun furtively, then silently swept her bangs up a few more times. "I'm not cutting it."

"Are they going to inspect this thing all over the city? What's the point?" Cao Fan complained under his breath. "A national civilized city has nothing to do with a student's bangs, right?"

“I look like a student,” Jiang Yueming said, not too happy. “I feel like I look quite like a student.”

“Right? Then I really can’t have any more,” Cao Fan said. “My glasses are so thick they could stop bullets.”

That said, do children who love to play from a young age tend to be less nearsighted? Jiang Yueming has been sitting in front of the TV since he was a child, at most half a meter away, for at least eight or ten years, and he still hasn't become nearsighted. Both of his eyes are still 5.2, which is surprisingly good.

But Li Leshan isn't nearsighted, Jiang Yueming thought. However, he didn't know much about Li Leshan's childhood, especially his younger days before he met Li Yueshan. He only knew that Li Leshan hadn't originally lived in Shengping, but had come to Shengping for some reason and lived in the Third Alley.

Jiang Yueming never asked, and Li Leshan never mentioned it either. All they knew was that Li Leshan couldn't speak because he was sick when he was a child, but why wasn't such a serious illness treated?

The questions in his heart were like a fog, shrouding his mind. But he was determined not to ask about things that would inevitably reopen Li Leshan's wounds. If one day Li Leshan was willing to tell him himself, if one day Li Leshan was willing to tell him what had happened, Jiang Yueming vowed that he would be the best listener.

He obtained several sets of test papers from Liu Xijun, covering almost all the high schools in the county. These were supposedly confidential test papers that Liu Xijun had painstakingly obtained. Jiang Yueming also took the confidential test papers to the printer at the convenience store near the school gate and had a copy made. Although these questions might be child's play for Li Leshan, Jiang Yueming's biggest motive was not actually to give away the test papers.

Auntie said she was inviting Leshan home for dinner this week. Although she could tell Li Leshan over the phone, Jiang Yueming wanted to meet him in person and talk more, so she pinned her hopes on these test papers.

Jiang Yueming squatted listlessly on the steps next to Shigao High School, not blocking the way. He glanced at the time; there were still twenty minutes until ten o'clock, and his toes were already starting to go numb. Students passed by, but Jiang Yueming wasn't paying attention to them. He heard a lot of chatter, but he couldn't make out the specifics of the conversation.

Unable to bear it any longer, Jiang Yueming stood up and paced back and forth, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards Shishi High School. The principal of Shishi High School was quite interesting, exaggerating the school's environment to the point of being beautiful. In reality, Shishi High School didn't occupy a large area; it was just long. But he couldn't blame anyone else, given how expensive land was in the county center.

The small open space between the basketball court and the teaching building was given a trendy name by the principal: New Era Square. Judging from the name, one might assume it's as big as Leshan Square. In reality, it wouldn't even qualify as a "grandson" of Leshan Square.

As Jiang Yueming's gaze swept across the school's pavilions, it suddenly focused on one of them. However, the distance was too great, and he couldn't see it clearly, only two blurry figures. But he was certain that the boy opposite him was Li Leshan, because he knew Li Leshan's figure too well; it was practically etched in his mind. He could recognize him from just a silhouette.

Jiang Yueming couldn't quite make out who the smaller girl was. From the scene before him, he only knew that the two were very close together.

"Hey, hey, student, you need to show your student ID to come in." The gatekeeper stopped Jiang Yueming.

Before he knew it, Jiang Yueming had reached the school gate. Wanting to get a closer look, he could only walk forward.

"I'm sorry, Uncle," Jiang Yueming said quickly, "I left my student ID at the classroom, so I went back to get it. I'm in Class 15, and my homeroom teacher is..."

He could only temporarily assume the name Han Jiang. Fortunately, Han Jiang complained about that devilish homeroom teacher every week, so he knew almost everything about him.

Seeing his sincerity, the gatekeeper waved him off, signaling him to hurry back.

After receiving permission, Jiang Yueming took off running towards the pavilion at Shigao High School. He ran all the way to the flower bed and finally saw the two people in the pavilion through the narrow lake.

The girl is Xu Qing.

Li Leshan stood opposite, his gaze fixed quietly on Xu Qing's face. Xu Qing's shoulders trembled slightly, but with her back to Jiang Yueming, he couldn't see their expressions.

Doubt, confusion, and an indescribable feeling overwhelmed Jiang Yueming. Finally, when she saw Li Leshan's hand slowly stroking Xu Qing's hair, Jiang Yueming froze on the spot.

Why?

What are they doing?

A series of questions occupied Jiang Yueming's mind, leaving him unable to think. His eyes were fixed on Li Leshan, and even at this moment he still felt that Li Leshan was dressed too scantily.

It's unclear what she was feeling, but Jiang Yueming left the place, far away from the pavilion. Leaving the school gate was much simpler than entering; Jiang Yueming no longer needed to show that fictitious student ID.

The backpack with the test papers on my shoulder suddenly felt incredibly heavy, and my heart felt heavy as well.

He should have realized sooner that he didn't know which class Li Leshan was in, which floor he was on, how he was doing, or who was around him. There was so much he didn't know. More and more, almost burying Jiang Yueming.

What else do I know?

A deep sense of powerlessness welled up in Jiang Yueming's heart. He gripped the handlebars tightly and rode as fast as he could, crossing three bridges without stopping. The cold wind lashed against Jiang Yueming's face, but he didn't feel cold at all.

I don't know how much time passed, but the bicycle came to a stop with a "brake" in front of the tenement building.

Under the dim yellow light, on the quiet street, Jiang Yueming's figure appeared particularly lonely. His gaze drifted towards Li Leshan's house not far away, and he unconsciously picked at the hangnails on his hands, wondering if Li Leshan would take Xu Qing home, given that her house was so close to Third Alley.

Will she... ride on the back of his bicycle?