Chapter 23 P - Twins
“You have trespassed into my territory.” Xing Yu lifted his eyelids, the moonlit night like mist, blurring his deep eyes, making him look strong and domineering.
"Huh?" Chu Beiling was quite disgusted by Xing Yu's behavior of speaking without any embarrassment. He didn't hold back at all and directly retorted, "When did the small garden behind the dormitory become your territory? Have you paid the fees?"
The Xigao Art Class has its own small art park, with classrooms and dormitories not far apart, surrounded by flowers, plants and trees.
If they just slip inside and hide there, it's very difficult for teachers investigating early romantic relationships or rule violations to catch them in the act.
Therefore, this place is not only their art class area, but also another dating spot on campus, where many young couples hide to meet.
What kind of mindset does Xing Yu have to be able to say this is his territory without batting an eye?!
Absolutely amazing.
"So you've already paid the fees?" Xing Yu's face was cold and indifferent in the moonlight.
Chu Beiling blurted out, "I'm asking you."
He belatedly realized what was happening as soon as he finished speaking, and Xing Yu's counter-question was the answer.
He accused Xing Yu of shamelessly claiming this was his territory, but by the same token, this was not his territory either, so Young Master Chu could not possibly restrict his arrival.
Because he was most likely just passing by.
Even if that's not the case, he can't do anything about Xing Yu.
Xing Yu brought it up: "Did Aunt Li scold you again?"
"Yeah~" Chu Beiling's arrogance and self-esteem were probably worthless in Xing Yu's eyes, so he simply gave up and admitted it directly to Xing Yu. Actually, he was just too excited. Anyway, Xing Yu knew everything, so there was no point in hiding it.
"It's the same old thing~ Let me spend more time with you, learn more from you, and take you as my role model."
The boy's eyes were filled with disappointment, and his round, amber eyes held a thin mist of tears in the moonlight: "Xing Yu, let's switch places~ Since Ms. Li likes you so much, I won't have to keep up with her."
Xing Yu suddenly laughed: "What's so great about me? If you're going to trade, you shouldn't be trading with me."
Chu Beiling quickly realized that he seemed to have said something wrong again and hurriedly apologized.
Xing Yu glanced at him indifferently and gently comforted him, "No need to apologize, it's the truth."
His parents really didn't want him anymore.
Compared to Chu Beiling, he was indeed not much better.
Xing Yu gave a bitter smile, a self-deprecating remark and a consolation to Chu Beiling: "You really don't need to compare yourself to me. I'm only slightly better than you in academics, and you're not as good at many other things."
His lips were tightly closed, and after a moment, he uttered each word clearly and forcefully, his voice deep and steady: "And you yourself are an excellent person with boundless brilliance."
An untimely burst of laughter approached from afar and then gradually faded away. The sounds of students moving around in the dormitories, washing up, and playing around mingled together, stretching endlessly.
Suddenly—
A powerful beam of light shone down; the moment the bright flashlight shone, the whole world was illuminated, and everything was exposed.
The officer leading the group to catch the two boys for early dating and rule violations shone a light on them, and both boys instinctively shielded their eyes from the glaring light.
Maqiu walked over to the two men and sniffed them one by one to see if they smelled of cigarettes. His nose, which was more sensitive than a dog's, twitched, but he couldn't smell nicotine on either of them for a long time.
He then looked the two of them up and down with strange, squinty eyes.
It wasn't puppy love, nor were they hiding in a corner smoking together. Maqiu stared at them with a puzzled look: "What are you two doing here?"
Chu Beiling raised his chin towards the vast moonlit night: "Teacher Wu, the moon is beautiful tonight, I've come to admire it."
Maqiu turned her gaze to Xing Yu: "What about you! Are you also admiring the moon?"
Xing Yu glanced at Chu Beiling, who was not far away.
He stood with his head drooping under the bright moonlight, his whole body enveloped in a soft, silvery-white halo, looking inexplicably aggrieved.
Xing Yu looked away and said slowly, "I saw a pitiful little cat stumbling over here, so I came to check on it."
"..."
Maqiu was speechless. He pointed at the two of them and said, "You guys are really something. Lights out is coming soon. Instead of going back to your dorm to get ready for bed, one of you is admiring the moon and the other is watching the cat. You must have nothing better to do."
The two boys remained silent.
They weren't smoking, they weren't dating, and it wasn't bedtime yet. Ma Qiu said a few words to them to be mindful of the time and then let them go home.
Sixteen or seventeen-year-old teenagers have emotions that come and go quickly. One second they are at odds, and the next second they are caught by the director of the political education department for doing nothing, and a little bit of revolutionary friendship is formed.
Xing Yu let Chu Beiling go first, while he leisurely followed him up, stepping on his shadow.
The dim motion-activated lights in the area they passed by flickered on and off. Large chunks of the poorly made white paint on the dormitory building had fallen off, revealing rough, dark gray cement surfaces that looked particularly jarring against the swaying dim light.
I don't know which floor's fire door wasn't closed properly, but it was making a creaking sound.
Everything around had a mysterious, eerie atmosphere reminiscent of a campus ghost story.
Chu Beiling had a wicked idea and wanted to turn around and scare Xing Yu behind him, but he found that Xing Yu was following behind him and stepping on his shadow.
He suddenly stopped, but fortunately Xing Yu, who was behind him, was watching him the whole time and didn't bump into him because of his sudden stop.
Young Master Chu lowered his eyes and looked at Xing Yu, who was slightly tilting his head back, and said, word by word, "What are you doing?"
The voice-activated lights went out, plunging the area into darkness. Xing Yu took a step up and came to the same level as Chu Beiling.
The whole world lit up once again, illuminating Xing Yu's sharply defined face.
"Go upstairs." He uttered two words indifferently, his coldness carrying a seductive quality.
Up close, the cinnabar mole on Xing Yu's brow looked even more alluring; he truly had the face of a charming scumbag.
Deserve a fight.
Chu Beiling met his deep, indifferent gaze: "Either come with me, or I'll follow behind you, but you're not allowed to step on my shadow."
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Xing Yu laughed, a rare and genuinely happy laugh like that of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy: "So competitive, you even want to compete with me on this?"
Of course.
Chu Beiling raised her chin, looking both proud and agile like a kitten: "I want to walk with you, or you can go ahead of me."
Xing Yu's narrow eyes curved slightly, as if he were somewhat helpless: "Alright, let's go together then."
Chu Beiling continued upstairs. Apart from the chaotic noise of the men's dormitory, all he could hear was the sound of his and Xing Yu's footsteps crossing. The shadows of the two young men were elongated by the motion-activated lights.
One shadow intimately overlapped with another.
When the two of them returned to their dormitory together.
Xu Tunan, who was having a late-night snack, looked up and asked, "Where did you two go on a date, no, a fight, instead of us again?"
"Go to hell." The moment the curse escaped, Chu Beiling guiltily glanced back at Xing Yu, only to see him smile faintly. Under the fluorescent light, his dark eyes appeared even more profound, subtly revealing a hint of danger.
He glanced away for just a moment, acting as if nothing had happened.
Suddenly, a chill ran down Young Master Chu's spine. He could only manage a couple of dry laughs before awkwardly explaining, "I wasn't talking to you, so it doesn't count, right?"
"There will be no next time," Xing Yu said coldly.
Chu Beiling was furious, but there was nothing he could do. His life was in Xing Yu's hands, so he could only let Xing Yu do as he pleased, completely powerless to do anything about it.
Young Master Chu smiled slightly and said in a somewhat ingratiating tone, "There will definitely be no next time."
Xu Tunan, who was eating rice, was almost speechless with shock when he saw Chu Beiling's obedient yet timid appearance: "What's going on between you two?!"
"What happened?" Chu Beiling quickly changed the subject: "We bumped into each other on the way and came back together."
“You two didn’t get along well before, and I was so afraid you’d fight and end up arguing that I couldn’t even eat,” Xu Tunan continued eating. “At least I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
Chu Beiling didn't hold back in criticizing him: "You ate too little that day!"
"No, that's the question I asked?" Xu Tunan belatedly realized.
One person was enough to control him; Young Master Chu didn't want another ancestor, so he quickly changed the subject: "Hu Tutu, let's talk less on the phone, so you can eat a few more bites."
Xu Tunan ate one small steamed bun after another, his mouth stuffed full, and his speech was unclear, just babbling incoherently.
If Bei Ling didn't hear clearly, she pretended not to know and sat down next to him as if nothing had happened. She found all the monthly exam papers that had been handed out and pointed out all the mistakes one by one.
He has a bad habit of finding all the wrong questions and compiling them into a mistake notebook, then punishing himself by reviewing the mistakes again and again to find out the reasons for them.
With Ms. Li's expectation that he should be in the top fifty in the next monthly exam, Chu Beiling's demands on himself will only become higher and more extreme.
Seeing that he was still organizing the collection of wrong questions from the monthly exam, Xu Tunan craned his neck to look at him and said, "You're not even drawing today."
The school has a set bedtime. When the bell rings, the lights must be turned off. Students can continue studying in the dormitory with a small desk lamp, but if other students in the same dormitory want to rest, they cannot disturb them.
Therefore, the time before going to bed late is especially precious.
Their art class combined academic and artistic courses, making their studies demanding and demanding. They also had to find time to manage their personal lives amidst their busy schedules. Despite this hectic academic life, Chu Beiling still managed to squeeze in time to paint.
Having been roommates for over a month, they've gotten to know each other's habits pretty well. Chu Beiling usually spends her time drawing before bed, even before the monthly exam.
Xu Tunan found it strange that, even though the exams were over, people were starting to shift their focus to academic studies.
Chu Beiling lowered her head and began organizing her collection of wrong answers: "My academic performance is too poor, I need to work on it."
Xu Tunan wanted to roll her eyes at him: "With your current grades, you'll definitely pass the undergraduate entrance exam. Besides, we're art students, so as long as our academic subjects are passable, it'll be fine."
Chu Beiling shook his head: "Not enough, not good enough."
Xu Tunan is very easygoing, and his family doesn't have high expectations for him. They just want him to get into a decent university, regardless of whether it's good or bad.
Nothing is more important than his happiness.
Therefore, he couldn't quite understand Chu Beiling's mentality of always wanting the best.
But we should just show respect.
Xu Tunan: "Then good luck."
Chu Beiling lowered her eyes, correcting his mistakes and reviewing them for the third time, without answering his question.
Sitting beside him, Xing Yu, who was as invisible as a man, spoke up: "Your method is useless except for ruminating and torturing yourself."
Chu Beiling slowly raised her eyes to meet his gaze, staring at him with a puzzled expression: "What?"
Xing Yu repeated it.
He did this to memorize the questions he got wrong again and again so that he wouldn't make the same mistakes next time. How could it be useless?
Chu Beiling's dissatisfaction with himself suddenly flared up, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "Then what are your thoughts?"
"Put it down, don't worry about it," Xing Yu said earnestly, staring into his eyes.
Chu Beiling stared at Xing Yu for a long time, then suddenly said in a low voice, "If you don't correct the questions you got wrong, you can just leave them alone and that will solve the problem!"
Xing Yu shook his head. It wasn't that he didn't care about the wrong questions, but he didn't agree with Chu Beiling's self-torturing approach to recalling them. However, considering Chu Beiling's feelings and his rebellious nature, he didn't point it out directly.
He asked, "Is your ultimate goal to improve your score or to avoid making the same mistakes?"
Chu Beiling tilted her head to look at him, her round amber eyes filled with doubt: "Isn't this a question!?"
“It’s different. With the former, you only need to put your heart into it, but with the latter…” Xing Yu paused for a long time before speaking, “It’s easy to lose your composure.”
Xing Yu's deep, slow voice was like a cool breeze on a summer night, possessing a magical power to calm people down, leaving Chu Beiling stunned.
After a long silence, he said, "Then tell me what to do."
Based on Chu Beiling's personality, Xing Yu suggested a more suitable approach: "Forget what has already happened, and continue studying as usual."
Chu Beiling glanced at him speechlessly, then lowered her head to continue organizing his collection of wrong answers.
For the next week, Chu Beiling devoted most of his time and energy to his academic studies, while also squeezing in time to draw whenever he could. He almost completely exhausted his time for eating and sleeping.
He's a stubborn mule; no matter who tries to persuade him, it's useless until he decides it's okay.
After school on Friday, young Master Chu, sporting dark circles under his eyes, went back to the entrance of Zhalong Lane with Xing Yu.
Xing Yu looked at Chu Beiling, who was so exhausted she could barely walk, and asked, "Are you planning to continue like this?"
"No~" Chu Beiling said with sleepy eyes, "I've already reviewed everything, there are no problems."
Xing Yu stared at him, without saying a word for a long time.
"What's wrong?" Chu Beiling stared at him, who seemed hesitant to speak, and asked directly.
Xing Yu: "Have a good rest this weekend."
Chu Beiling yawned and nodded, then called out to Xing Yu, who was about to head to the top floor: "If your hand is inconvenient, remember to call me when you come down."
Xing Yu nodded slightly, turned around and prepared to walk upstairs, but was stopped by him once again.
Chu Beiling looked at him and opened her mouth, but didn't say anything for a long time.
In the past two weeks, Xing Yu was injured. At first, Chu Shao Ye approached him out of guilt and a desire to make amends, but later he became disgusting and shameless, clinging to him relentlessly. The two were practically inseparable.
The relationship wasn't particularly close, but it wasn't as hostile or hostile as before.
At most, we were just school buddies and meal companions.
Given that one of them is rebellious and the other has a sharp tongue, the two still occasionally exchange barbs.
Of course, it was fine after a short while.
Young Master Chu struggled for a long time with whether or not to invite Xing Yu to continue being dining buddies during the weekend before finally condescending to ask, "What are you planning to do for dinner?"
Xing Yu: "Let's eat at Grandma Chen's house."
"Oh, okay, then call me if you need anything." Chu Beiling was a little disappointed. He thought that if he and Xing Yu were both alone, they could team up and have a meal together like they did at school.
Xing Yu opened his mouth to invite Chu Beiling to have dinner at Grandma Chen's house, but he had already slipped into the house like an eel.
Only the sound of the door slamming shut remained.
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