Chapter 51: Liking is not betrayal

Chapter 51: Liking is not betrayal

Since the sports meet is tomorrow and the day after, and it's also the weekend, evening self-study has been suspended tonight. Dormitory curfew is 12 o'clock, which is three hours away. That's plenty of time to apologize.

After Fang Yuenian made Cheng Bing promise not to tell anyone about it, she told him what had happened.

"That's how it is, so isn't He Linjie going too far?"

The two of them sat at a table in front of the cafeteria across from their dormitory. It was dark, and Cheng Bing was opposite them; all they could vaguely see was his slightly lowered head and his long legs casually propped up. Fang Yuenian pursed her lips, not daring to speak, quietly waiting for his response.

Cheng Bing remained silent for several minutes before finally speaking: "Meng Xiaoyang... likes boys."

Fang Yuenian sighed inwardly, "This...this can't really be anything, right? Didn't we watch Farewell My Concubine together back in the second year of junior high?"

Although he couldn't see clearly, he still tried to observe Cheng Bing's reaction.

Cheng Bing didn't answer the question, but instead asked, "If you tell me this, does he know?"

"Yes, I know, and he agreed, but we can't tell anyone else in the future."

Cheng Bing nodded.

Fang Yuenian breathed a sigh of relief and leaned closer to him. "So there was a reason I fought this time. You can understand, right?"

Cheng Bing paused for a moment, as if considering his words carefully, and then said in a low voice, "Fang Yuenian, I have something to ask you."

Fang Yuenian sat up straight and said, "Go ahead and ask."

"You couldn't help but take action because Meng Xiaoyang is your friend, and He Linjie insulted your friend, right?"

“Yes,” Fang Yuenian said immediately, but then he felt something was off and frowned. “Actually, it’s not entirely true.”

"what else?"

Fang Yuenian was a little conflicted. "It's because He Linjie is unreasonable. Meng Xiaoyang didn't bother him afterward, didn't look for him, and didn't provoke him. He shouldn't have said those things. It was so disrespectful. I don't think Meng Xiaoyang did anything wrong."

Cheng Bing seemed to chuckle—but Fang Yuenian thought it was just a breath—and whispered, “That’s what He Linjie thinks, and you can’t change his mind even if you fight him.”

“I don’t intend to change his mind,” Fang Yuenian shrugged. “If he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t like it. If he can’t accept it, then he shouldn’t accept it. Nobody is forcing him. But why does he keep coming over to provoke us? However, today in front of the PE teacher, he admitted his mistake first. I really don’t understand what he’s thinking. Meng Xiaoyang said he didn’t want others to know about this. Maybe he doesn’t want others to talk about him.”

Cheng Bing seemed very interested in this matter, and he leaned closer, asking, "Have you considered that He Linjie might be angry?"

"Angry?" Fang Yue Nian asked, puzzled. "He is very angry. He even said that Meng Xiaoyang is disgusting."

"What I mean is, He Linjie is very angry because he wants to continue being good friends with Meng Xiaoyang, but Meng Xiaoyang can't take back what he said before."

Fang Yuenian was stunned.

This was indeed He Linjie's idea.

But he didn't say that just now, he didn't mention "betrayal".

He asked blankly, "How do you know what He Linjie is thinking? You don't even know He Linjie, do you? Have you ever seen him?"

“I just saw him a couple of days ago. My deskmate is pursuing him.”

"What?!" Fang Yuenian exclaimed in surprise. "Uh, um, your deskmate is, a girl, right?"

"Um."

Fang Yuenian felt relieved, but immediately felt something was wrong. "You're sitting next to a girl now? Isn't your homeroom teacher... isn't he afraid that you'll start dating early? There isn't a single boy and girl sitting next to each other in our class."

Cheng Bing was speechless for a moment, then asked, "Is this what we're talking about?"

"Oh, okay, alright," Fang Yuenian realized she'd gone off-topic. "Whatever he thinks, things are what they are. Maybe you're right, because He Linjie really did use the word 'betrayal,' saying Meng Xiaoyang betrayed their friendship. Anyway, fighting today really wasn't my fault, okay, I was wrong too. Even if he's stupid... even if he's acting crazy, I shouldn't have hit him. I'll restrain myself in the future, really, okay?"

Cheng Bing wouldn't budge an inch and say "let it go." After a long pause, he finally said, "He thinks this is... betrayal?"

Fang Yuenian suddenly became nervous and stared at Cheng Bing, "Then, what do you think?"

Cheng Bing looked at him in the darkness and slowly said, "I think liking someone is not betrayal."

Fang Yuenian lowered her hand from the table, slowly leaned back in her chair.

The October night air was a bit chilly. They sat at an empty table, surrounded by silence so profound that they could almost hear each other's breathing, even their heartbeats—a scene so very different from any other moment they had shared before. Cheng Bing's blurry figure was a little further away, but he could still clearly sense his presence.

"Cheng Bing." Fang Yuenian's throat was a little dry.

"Um?"

For a moment, Fang Yuenian really wanted to ask the question he had wanted to ask ever since he talked to Meng Xiaoyang, but for some reason, he held back.

Patience takes a lot of courage, and he endured it with great difficulty, his forehead almost sweating.

“…It’s nothing,” he managed to hold back. “I just wanted to say that I really won’t fight with other people anymore. I remember everything I promised you, so please don’t be angry.”

Cheng Bing remained silent for a long time.

"I'm not angry."

Fang Yuenian had been pestering him all night, just waiting for this sentence: "That's good. So, will you come cheer me on tomorrow?"

"Um."

In Fang Yuenian's mind, Cheng Bing was someone who rarely showed his emotions.

Often, even when he's unhappy, he'll just keep a blank, expressionless face, avoid eye contact when he speaks, and his tone will be completely flat. Conversely, when he's happy, his tone will be very soft, he'll look at people when he speaks, and sometimes he'll laugh, but not a loud laugh, just a stingy, soft laugh. So, Fang Yuenian was puzzled from a young age, thinking he was too dull. How could someone have such a personality? Anyone around him would probably be bored to death.

But as it turns out, he wasn't bored at all.

Not only was he not bored, but he was also persistent and enjoyed it.

But he never considered that Cheng Bing might feel annoyed when she repeatedly forbade him from swearing but always failed, forbade him from fighting but had no choice but to clean up his messes time and time again, and used both soft and hard tactics to force him to take the entrance exam for the top high school.

Because it was only the first time he realized that dependence could be annoying, and liking could be repulsive.

The next day, when Li Peixiang met Fang Yuenian and Meng Xiaoyang, he spent some time carefully observing their appearance and was relieved to find that there were no obvious injuries.

Fang Yuenian was speechless and asked him, "Why are you so sure we're going to fight? You don't even know why He Linjie and I are fighting, do you?"

Li Peixiang: "You still need to ask this? It must be that idiot He Linjie talking nonsense again."

Fang Yuenian realized something was wrong.

After Meng Xiaoyang went down from the stands to get busy, Li Peixiang also said he needed to check in. Fang Yuenian then grabbed Li Peixiang and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, asked, "Li Peixiang, do you know about He Linjie and Meng Xiaoyang?"

Li Peixiang's expression turned strange. "I... I already told you, we all know about this."

Fang Yuenian glared at her: "Don't pretend, you know what I'm talking about."

Li Peixiang shifted his shoulders awkwardly, glancing around before saying, "Well, actually..."

"You just said He Linjie was talking nonsense again. What, did he say those things to you too? Meng Xiaoyang clearly said he wouldn't mention that matter to anyone unless you..."

Li Peixiang quickly stopped him: "Don't talk nonsense. I didn't do anything. If Meng Xiaoyang hears this, I'll be out of a job."

Fang Yuenian was about to be driven crazy by these people. "Hey, bro, what do you guys mean? Damn, I feel like an idiot."

Cheng Bing wasn't there, and he inadvertently swore again, then regretted it and slapped his face.

Li Peixiang misunderstood his action and quickly grabbed his arm, saying, "No, no, no, why are you hitting yourself? You did nothing wrong. I'm telling you the truth, even if you can't accept it, please don't show it in front of Meng Xiaoyang, okay? He's already pitiful enough, stuck with that idiot He Linjie."

Fang Yuenian pulled her arm away, "Which eye of yours saw me discriminating against Meng Xiaoyang?"

Li Peixiang opened his mouth wide, "Ah, that's good, hehe, I'm awesome every year, don't worry, He Linjie is sick, he can't stand Meng Xiaoyang getting close to others all day long, but he won't say anything nonsense."

Fang Yuenian still couldn't stand being called "Niannian" by him, so she kicked him and said, "Alright, let's go. Are we still going to compete?"

Li Peixiang laughed and said, "Then I'm off. Don't wander off. After the 4x200 relay in the morning, it's your school heartthrob Cheng's 4x400 relay. Don't miss it again."

"Okay, okay," Fang Yuenian said. "Let's go now."