Shi Zhen's feelings were complicated.

Guan Baiyu's feelings for him might not be the same as a younger brother's feelings for an older brother.

He wasn't sure, but the more he thought about it, the more something seemed off.

However, he didn't show it. The next day, he even took Guan Baiyu to rent a house in Changxi City.

Changxi City is different from Anshan Town. There are quite a few nice new houses built here in recent years. However, these new houses are all occupied by the owners, or they are intended for their children's weddings. They are not rented out to others. The houses that are rented out are all houses that the owners no longer live in.

So it's really not easy for Shi Zhen to rent a decent house.

Even finding a house with two bedrooms is difficult for Shi Zhen.

For example, the apartment they're looking at right now only has one bedroom; it used to be a dormitory for a wool sweater factory.

The house faces south and has five floors. The house they were looking at was on the third floor.

There was a long corridor on the north side of the building, with a door at intervals. Behind each door was a dormitory room, and the layout of each room was the same.

Upon entering, there is a room of no more than ten square meters, used as a kitchen and dining room.

Next is a hallway and a bathroom, and at the very back is a bedroom of about ten square meters.

It's very small overall, but the advantage is that... it has everything you need, like a flush toilet.

Shi Zhen had hired a middleman to bring him here. After looking around, he asked the middleman, "Is this a house with two bedrooms?"

The kitchen/dining room outside the house was already small, and with the addition of a stove and a cupboard, there wasn't even enough room for an eight-person octagonal table. Instead, there was only room for a small square dining table for four people... In such a place, there was no room to add a bed for him to live in.

“Brother, isn’t this house pretty good? I’m mostly staying at school and only come over occasionally. We can sleep together then,” Guan Baiyu said.

Guan Baiyu really liked this house. The original owners were a young couple, and the house was decorated very warmly.

The main reason is... although it's a bit much, he really wants to share a room with his brother.

“Yes, you are just two brothers, so this house is already very good,” the man said. “Many of these dormitories are for young couples with children; there are three people in some of them!”

Shi Zhen glanced at Guan Baiyu and said to the middleman with certainty, "I like to sleep alone... Do you have a house with two bedrooms?"

“I don’t actually have any on hand, but I heard a few days ago that someone is moving and has a big house to rent out…why don’t we go ask together?” the middleman suggested.

“Okay,” Shi Zhen said.

The place that Zhongren took Shi Zhen to surprised him; it turned out to be the dormitory building that had been allocated to government staff in the past.

This place... is considered a geomantically auspicious location.

More than 20 years later, the best public junior high school and the best public elementary school in Changxi City have both included this area in their school districts.

Therefore, even the most dilapidated houses here are extremely expensive.

After asking around, the middleman learned that there were indeed houses for rent here.

The apartment was on the fifth floor and belonged to a retired elderly couple.

The elderly couple had been climbing stairs for many years, but they could no longer manage, so they wanted to move to a different house.

This house is very large, a full 140 square meters, the same size as the house the Shi family is building, but the layout... is not flattering.

Upon entering, there is a very small kitchen and a very small toilet on the south side, a dining room on the north side, and a long corridor in the middle with two bedrooms on each side of the corridor, facing each other.

That is, the layout is four bedrooms, a small dining room, and a mini kitchen and bathroom.

Those four bedrooms are really big, and there are even rooms with two bunk beds... The previous owner's family must have been very large.

“This house is big enough to be rented out to several families… Of course, the landlord doesn’t want to rent it out like that. If you want to rent it, the rent will be two hundred a month,” the middleman said.

"Let's rent this one," Shi Zhen said confidently.

The man looked at Shi Zhen with surprise.

There are only two brothers, one of whom is still in school and doesn't come home often... yet they rent such a big house?

The previous apartment only cost a hundred yuan a month in rent, which he felt was more suitable than this one.

Shi Zhen insisted on having a room with two rooms because he didn't want to get too close to Guan Baiyu.

Although the house has a lot of rooms, it still meets the requirements.

Moreover, the landlord was willing to leave the furniture for them to use, which saved them a lot of trouble.

Shi Zhen decided to rent a house, so the middleman took him to find the landlord.

At this time of year, most people don't sign contracts when renting a place.

Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu both spoke the local dialect, and Guan Baiyu even mentioned that he studied at the No. 1 Middle School in the city... The elderly couple readily rented the house to them.

Shi Zhen paid three months' rent and one month's deposit and then got the keys.

Actually, according to the elderly couple, he only needed to pay one month's rent and one month's deposit to move in, but Shi Zhen felt that paying rent every month was too troublesome, so he did not choose to do so.

"Brother, why do we need to rent such a big house..." Guan Baiyu didn't like the house.

Shi Zhen said, "Isn't this house pretty good? I was planning to buy it when I had the money... With so many rooms, you'll have plenty of room when you get married and have children."

Shi Zhen had no intention of buying the house. The school district was good, but it was too old.

Most importantly... he doesn't need the school district.

He said that just to test the waters.

Guan Baiyu turned his head away from Shi Zhen: "Brother, I'm the same as you, a non-marriage advocate."

Shi Zhen said, "You're still young, don't say that."

"You act like you're that old." Guan Baiyu was speechless.

Shi Zhen didn't continue the topic: "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, let's clean up."

"Okay," Guan Baiyu said.

Shi Zhen smiled and said, "We only have two south-facing bedrooms. I'll sort out the things we don't need, and you can go and clean the kitchen and dining room."

After saying that, Shi Zhen went into a south-facing bedroom, took a deep breath, and rubbed his temples.

It's very likely that Guan Baiyu has some different feelings for him.

When he was with Guan Baiyu in his previous life, he was actually a little insecure and unsure whether Guan Baiyu really liked him.

But after Guan Baiyu passed away, he kept reminiscing...

Regardless of how Guan Baiyu initially got together with him, she definitely came to like him later on.

Although they lived together back then, they rarely spoke their minds, and they never talked about feelings or love.

Besides... he couldn't understand what Guan Baiyu was learning, and Guan Baiyu couldn't understand what he was doing either.

There are differences between them, and a lack of communication has created barriers.

He often wondered, if Guan Baiyu hadn't died, and they had talked things out, could they... have been able to be together properly?

It was precisely because he knew this and considered this possibility that he felt even more pain and guilt.

However, after his rebirth, he did not intend to be with Guan Baiyu.

His current mindset is wrong.

He also thought that, given their kinship, Guan Baiyu would no longer fall for him.

But if you think about it carefully, many of the things Guan Baiyu did were the same as in his previous life.

Shi Zhen felt he was having some difficulty breathing.

He stood there for a while, then moved all the unused furniture out of the room and put it in a north-facing room.

He planned to use one room for storage, and of the remaining three rooms, two would be used as bedrooms and one as a study.

Regardless of Guan Baiyu's feelings for him, Shi Zhen planned to... pretend he didn't know.

Guan Baiyu is about to enter his senior year of high school, so at this crucial moment, it's best to maintain the status quo.

As for the future... Guan Baiyu will definitely go to university in another city, while he will stay in Changxi City to develop his career. In this way, they will be far apart.

Guan Baiyu is still young. Even if he had some feelings for the men around him when he was young, they should gradually fade away in the future.

Even if Guan Baiyu still likes men... there are so many good guys in college, Guan Baiyu might not still like him.

Shi Zhen was not feeling well.

But in his past life, he had experienced far worse things, yet he was still able to control his expression.

Guan Baiyu's vacation this time was actually only two and a half days, just like a regular long weekend. In these two days, they completed the move.

Given the location and floor of their house, thieves shouldn't be able to break in.

If thieves really come... then they can only leave through the main gate, and there is a security door with welded iron bars on the outside of the house.

Guan Baiyu went back to school right after moving.

He stayed at Shi Zhen's rented house for a while longer, and when he returned to school, evening self-study had almost already begun.

Guan Baiyu sat down at the table, somewhat absent-minded.

His deskmate had changed long ago, and the new deskmate was also a boy who got along well with Guan Baiyu. At this moment, he asked Guan Baiyu curiously, "Why do you look so listless? Are you not feeling well?"

"No," Guan Baiyu said, sighing as he spoke.

"Something on your mind?" the man asked again.

"I suppose so," Guan Baiyu said.

He had just left Shi Zhen and was somewhat unhappy.

Also, Shi Zhen is very busy now, and he spends very little time with him, which makes him feel depressed.

"Wait, you didn't break up with your boyfriend, did you?" Guan Baiyu's deskmate thought of something.

The student in front of him recently broke up with his girlfriend, and he looked similar to Guan Baiyu.

"I guess so... What do you think you should do if the person you like is much more outstanding than you?" Guan Baiyu had always thought Shi Zhen was exceptional. Although he hadn't received much formal education, Shi Zhen had clear goals and was willing to put in a lot of effort to achieve them.

He always felt that his brother could do whatever he wanted.

Although he had good grades in school and even started his own company, he recently felt that there was a big gap between him and his brother.

His company was actually started entirely by chance! His brother's business, on the other hand, was built up step by step through hard work.

"You like someone exceptionally outstanding? It can't be someone from Class Two..." The top student in the grade is in Class Two.

"No!" Guan Baiyu interrupted his deskmate without thinking. "He's not from our school."

"Isn't she older than you?" Guan Baiyu's deskmate was shocked. She wasn't from their school, and she was more outstanding than Guan Baiyu…she must be quite old, right?

“Yes,” Guan Baiyu said.

He actually wanted to talk to someone about this, but Liang Qinxuan was too familiar with him. Liang Qinxuan knew almost everyone he knew, so he couldn't bring himself to tell Liang Qinxuan.

"You're awesome!" Guan Baiyu's deskmate gave him a thumbs up. He never expected Guan Baiyu to like a woman older than him... Guan Baiyu said there was a big gap between them, was it because that woman was already working, and doing well at that? "Guan Baiyu, don't underestimate yourself. Although you can't compare to her now, when you go to university and graduate, you won't be worse than her... I think what you should worry about is whether she'll already be married by then."

He said he wouldn't get married.

"She's willing to wait for you? Then she must truly like you."

Guan Baiyu knew his deskmate had misunderstood, but he liked hearing those words.

He was hoping his deskmate would misunderstand.

Guan Baiyu said, "He's really good to me, he takes good care of me, he knows everything I like to eat." He then mentioned a few small things that happened between him and Shi Zhen.

Shi Zhen was genuinely good to him, so any interaction between the two of them, no matter what you look at, is full of affection.

"She definitely likes you!" Guan Baiyu's deskmate was very certain.

Guan Baiyu laughed upon hearing this.

"Wow, you're so handsome! You're already the school's undisputed heartthrob! No wonder that older sister likes you." Guan Baiyu's deskmate looked at Guan Baiyu with envy.

"Don't tell anyone," Guan Baiyu whispered.

"I definitely won't tell!" Guan Baiyu's deskmate patted his chest and promised.

Guan Baiyu knew that his deskmate was tight-lipped and didn't like to gossip, which was why he told him.

However, although his deskmate didn't tell others about this, he often asked him about his progress.

Guan Baiyu had absolutely no progress to share with him.

After they moved, Shi Zhen became even busier.

Although Shi Zhen would come back to eat and sleep whenever he was on vacation, they actually spent very little time together.

He went to Shi Zhen's construction site to look for Shi Zhen, but Shi Zhen was always busy, talking to people using various technical terms that he couldn't understand and couldn't join the conversation.

However, even without progress... there's still a lot to say about him and Shi Zhen, and if he really runs out of things to say, he can make something up.

As time went by, Guan Baiyu's deskmate got to know the person Guan Baiyu liked better and better.

She was a strong woman three years older than Guan Baiyu, exceptionally capable, and very caring towards him.

She's only three years older, that's really not that old! Not to mention, Guan Baiyu kept saying she was good-looking!

Guan Baiyu's deskmate was particularly envious of Guan Baiyu.

In their senior year of high school, they basically stopped learning new material and focused on reviewing. For Guan Baiyu's deskmate, the only respite from the heavy review schedule was listening to Guan Baiyu tell his beautiful love stories.

Unfortunately, the older sister thought Guan Baiyu was still too young, so she wouldn't hold his hand. Guan Baiyu could only try to rub against her hand a few times.

The review period in the senior year of high school went by incredibly fast.

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed, and it was June 1997. There was only one month left until their college entrance examination.

June 1st is a Sunday, a short weekend.

Elementary school children happily celebrated Children's Day, while high school students in their first and second years also went out shopping and playing together in the afternoon.

But most of the senior high school students... didn't go out; they stayed at school and studied diligently.

Only a handful of students from Class 1 of Senior Three went out during the short weekend, and Guan Baiyu was one of them.

With evening self-study about to begin, Guan Baiyu's deskmate kept looking out the window, wondering when Guan Baiyu would return.

Guan Baiyu returned ten minutes before evening self-study.

He looked a little unhappy.

"Why are you unhappy again?" Guan Baiyu's deskmate asked him.

Guan Baiyu said, "He was very busy, so he just had a meal with me."

"It's been like this for weeks... Isn't she being too cold to you?" Guan Baiyu's deskmate felt sorry for Guan Baiyu.

At school, Guan Baiyu was always thinking about that person, but that person, no matter whether it was a weekday or a weekday, would never spend a long time with Guan Baiyu.

“No, he’s just busy,” Guan Baiyu said, not wanting to hear that, and opened her backpack to show her deskmate, “He even made me a pot of cola chicken wings in advance so I could bring them to school to eat…we can have them as a midnight snack together later.”

Guan Baiyu's deskmate: "..." He was already full even though he hadn't eaten anything.

Guan Baiyu added, "He even bought me new clothes... Sigh, I'd rather he spend more time with me than have new clothes..."

Guan Baiyu's deskmate: "..." Heh, he shouldn't have sympathized with Guan Baiyu!

"Oh, and he even installed an air conditioner for me, something he doesn't even have himself..."

Guan Baiyu's behavior is a bit much! Guan Baiyu's deskmate, seeing Guan Baiyu's conflicted yet happy expression, felt a mix of bittersweetness and genuine curiosity: "I've heard of air conditioners, they're supposed to be very expensive? How much did you buy it for?"

“Seven thousand, it’s a Mitsubishi,” Guan Baiyu said. “The air conditioner cools the room instantly when it’s turned on… but it’s not hot now, so we don’t need it yet. He said he bought this air conditioner so I could sleep well before the college entrance exam… He told me to go home and sleep when it gets hot.”

"She truly loves you!" That was all Guan Baiyu's deskmate could say.

Guan Baiyu sighed again: "It's just... he seems to be avoiding me a bit."

"What's this! Let's discuss it again. You can find a way to get closer to her," said Guan Baiyu's deskmate.

In the previous year, they had come up with many ways to help Guan Baiyu get close to the person he liked without leaving a trace.

This includes, but is not limited to, faking illness, pretending to fall and then throwing oneself into someone's arms, or casually holding hands while shopping.

Many of the ideas came from Guan Baiyu's deskmate. Every time Guan Baiyu succeeded, he felt a great sense of accomplishment and had said more than once that he should invite Guan Baiyu to his wedding banquet in the future.

Guan Baiyu had promised many times that he would definitely invite him to his wedding.

At this moment, the two began to discuss in hushed tones again. They opened a workbook and a draft paper, their expressions serious and their attention focused.

The teacher came in from outside, saw it, and nodded in satisfaction.

On the other side, Shi Zhen saw Guan Baiyu off, but felt somewhat helpless.

That year was quite difficult for him.

Guan Baiyu, perhaps out of youthful impulsiveness, always wanted to get close to him.

He was afraid that if he refused, Guan Baiyu would find out something, but if he didn't refuse... this couldn't go on!

He could only pretend nothing was wrong each time.