Chapter 49
As soon as school started, the days passed by as fast as a fart. I just studied and played every day. In the blink of an eye, the midterm exams for the second half of the second year of high school were over.
At the same time, in the past few months, Secretary Wang appeared more frequently. Not only did he start delivering meals to Zhang Xiaotian, he also picked up and dropped off Zhang Xiaotian from school every few days, and even filled up his free time on weekends, under the pretext of not wanting to waste Zhang Xiaotian's study time.
There is no need to guess who instructed her to do this. Zhang Xiaotian sighs every time he thinks about it.
This did give him a lot more time to study, but at the same time, he also lost most of the time he could spend alone with Lu Bai.
After all, Zhang Xiaotian and Lu Bai were no longer deskmates, so even after class, they could talk together, surrounded by classmates. As for the weekends, he had never thought of asking Lu Bai to meet him.
The reason was simple. Starting this semester, Secretary Wang had increased the intensity of his extracurricular tutoring. Zhang Xiaotian felt that even if he invited Lu Bai to his house and the two of them sat together, they would probably only be able to do homework.
As for doing other things, he probably doesn't even have time to think about it.
"So, this is why you didn't come out even when I asked you to on the weekend?"
After every class, Lu Bai would randomly commandeer the seat of a classmate next to Zhang Xiaotian. He sat astride the chair, facing the backrest, his chin resting on his arm resting on Zhang Xiaotian's desk. He looked a little sleepy. "Lu Yibo is still taking three extra classes, and he came out when I called him. You're not convincing enough."
"Then how can I say it convincingly?" Zhang Xiaotian turned a page in the exercise book in his hand.
"Hmm..." Lu Bai tapped the table lightly with his index finger and said thoughtfully, "At least it should be something like forgetting the old love when you find a new one..."
Even though he already knew Lu Bai's irrelevant and unfocused nature, Zhang Xiaotian's heart still skipped a beat when he heard this. He took a sip of water and looked at Lu Bai in silence.
"Why are you looking at me? You don't really have a new love, do you?"
Lu Bai's eyes rolled, and he squeezed out an exaggerated crying face. He pinched his voice and pretended to be crying and wiping tears: "Oh, you are a scumbag who is still alive, hugging your new love and going around freely, leaving me alone to stay in the cold kiln. How can you be worthy of me like this? Oh..."
The classmates around him all looked at him and laughed.
"Okay, stop talking nonsense."
Zhang Xiaotian was so tired that he couldn't do the exercises, so he simply closed the exercise book and focused on talking to him.
"So what do you say we should do?"
"Then let me stay with you all day!" Lu Bai immediately saw the cloudy sky turn sunny. "This weekend, no matter what you do, you must take me with you."
"That's all?"
Zhang Xiaotian was a little surprised: "No other requests? Like...playing games with you for a day or something?"
"That's enough. I can't really let you play with me all day." Lu Bai folded his arms and sat up. "That would make it seem like I only know how to play. I am also ambitious, okay?"
"You really are..." Zhang Xiaotian wanted to laugh when he saw his somewhat arrogant expression.
"I understand. Don't be too touched." Lu Bai shook his head, and the tufts of hair on top of his head swayed with it. "After all, there aren't many people as considerate and easy to satisfy as me."
"Hey Lu Bai, class is about to start, go back!"
The bell rang again, and the students who had left the classroom began to appear at the front and back doors. Zhang Xiaotian's deskmate also returned, standing next to Lu Bai and pushing him. Lu Bai then reluctantly stood up, rubbing the back of Zhang Xiaotian's neck before leaving.
"Then agree to it and wait for me at home this weekend!"
Lu Bai seemed to have been waiting for this moment. He arrived at around seven o'clock in the morning on the weekend, but he came at an unfortunate time because Zhang Xiaotian was about to go out for extra classes.
"We agreed on a whole day, so of course it starts in the morning?" Lu Bai looked at him with a look that showed concern for his intelligence.
Zhang Xiaotian thought he was exaggerating. He was standing at the doorway, carrying his schoolbag, looking at Lu Bai in front of him, feeling somewhat troubled. After a moment's hesitation, he stepped aside slightly and said to Lu Bai:
"Why don't you... wait for me at home?"
"No." Lu Bai shook his head. "You don't even have anything to entertain yourself at home. If you want me to stay here alone waiting for you, I'll be bored to death."
"Then how..."
"Why are you so worried? It's easy." Lu Bai weighed the schoolbag on his shoulder and pointed to the door with his chin. "Aren't you going to make up for the lessons? Just take me with you."
"Ah?" Zhang Xiaotian was stunned.
"Ah what?"
Lu Bai smiled, reached out and pulled Zhang Xiaotian out of the door, and walked out with him. He looked very happy, as if the two of them were not going to a cram school, but to an amusement park.
"You already promised to stay with me for a day, don't go back on your word now!"
"Even if it's just for extra classes?" Zhang Xiaotian laughed.
"What's wrong with tutoring?" Lu Bai smiled back, "Doesn't that mean we're all together?"
"OK."
Zhang Xiaotian called the teacher and told him that one of his classmates needed extra lessons and wanted to go to a trial class with him today. This statement easily convinced the teacher, and Lu Bai was brought into the classroom smoothly. As soon as he entered, Lu Bai realized that Zhang Xiaotian had signed up for a one-on-one lesson.
"I thought there would be other students here." Lu Bai tugged at Zhang Xiaotian's sleeve and whispered in his ear, "It's just the two of us. How can I play with my phone then?"
"Didn't you say you'd accompany me to class?" Zhang Xiaotian took the stool from the tutor, thanked him, and stuffed it back into Lu Bai's arms. "I'm in class, and you're playing with your phone? How can that be called accompanying me?"
"Goodbye..."
Lu Bai said with a sad face: "I'm good at physics, so I don't need to take extra classes..."
"Learning never ends." Zhang Xiaotian tossed him a notebook and a pen. "Listen more. Who knows, you might get a perfect score next time."
"You have such high expectations, Tian'er." Lu Bai flipped open his notebook bitterly, "Even my mother doesn't ask me to do that."
Zhang Xiaotian smiled after hearing this.
After physics, chemistry came next. This morning passed neither quickly nor slowly, but it ended suddenly. When the teacher gave Zhang Xiaotian homework, he was actually a little dazed.
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
Lu Bai jumped up from the stool, grabbed the things on the table and put them into his backpack. He saw Zhang Xiaotian packing slowly, without even looking at him, and casually put all the things on his desk into his bag. Then he threw it over his shoulder, pulled Zhang Xiaotian up and was about to leave.
"Hey, wait a minute." Zhang Xiaotian staggered as he was pulled by him. "You took my books with you."
"We'll divide it when we get back to your house."
Lu Bai, like a man released from prison, pulled Zhang Xiaotian along at a trot, not slowing down until they were out of the cram school gate. Zhang Xiaotian endured being pulled and dragged along the way, and only now did he shake off Lu Bai's hand and lean against the outer wall of the building, panting.
"Why are you running? There's no dog chasing you." He asked Lu Bai.
"If I don't run, your teacher will drag me to the front desk to pay!" Lu Bai was also a little out of breath. "Don't tell me you didn't hear it. Just now, during class, your teacher asked me to answer questions and asked about my well-being. He almost wanted me to sign a contract with him right then and there to enroll in his class for life!"
"'Hey, did the student next to you understand? Do you want the teacher to explain it to you again?' I'm like, who found this teacher for you? The tone of his voice gives me goosebumps. I can't stand it!"
After saying this, he shuddered and rubbed his arms nervously.
It was him who said he wanted to come together in the morning, and now he is the one who can't stand it. How can this guy be so funny?
Zhang Xiaotian wanted to laugh at his reaction. He stretched out his leg and gently kicked the edge of Lu Bai's shoe. "This teacher's lessons are very expensive. Don't be so ungrateful."
"Why is it so expensive?" Lu Bai said with a tsk, "I think it's not as good as what I can teach you. If you just give me the money, I can teach you one-on-one."
"Teacher Lu, ever since you last explained the problem to Yin Li and the others, haven't you been calling yourself my master?" Zhang Xiaotian tilted his head and looked at him. "You've taught me for so long, and now you're thinking of charging me tuition?"
"I haven't heard you call me that seriously many times." Lu Bai crossed his arms and looked calm. "But you did remind me. I taught you for so long last semester, why haven't you shown any reaction yet?"
"You really don't want to suffer any loss."
Zhang Xiaotian stood up straight, dusted off his hands, and waved to Lu Bai: "Let's go, I'll treat you to lunch."
"Hey, rich man, you want to treat your master to a meal?" Lu Bai became interested. "Where are we going?"
"you guess."
"It's boring. I won't guess."
Lu Bai shrugged, thought for a moment, bumped Zhang Xiaotian's shoulder again, and said, "Well, let me ask you something."
"What?"
Zhang Xiaotian looked at Lu Bai.
"How many classes did Auntie sign you up for?" Lu Bai pursed her lips. "Do you spend every weekend like this? A whole day of make-up classes, and then you have to do all these workbooks. No wonder you don't have time to come out."
"It's not all day. I don't have classes this afternoon." Zhang Xiaotian smiled. "So you understand why I didn't contact you on the weekend?"
"I thought you were busy, but not this busy..." Lu Bai thought of something and said hurriedly, "What I just said wasn't all a joke. Just like you tutored me in English last year, I can tutor you in physics! I think my teaching is pretty good, and this way you can have more time to rest on the weekends."
Lu Bai chattered on like an old woman for a while, then looked up and saw Zhang Xiaotian laughing again. He suddenly felt embarrassed. He wanted to cover his mouth and scratch his head, raising one hand for a long time without moving it. Finally, he punched Zhang Xiaotian in anger, knocking him forward.
"Hey!" Zhang Xiaotian yelled, "You're a master, why are you using corporal punishment?"
"I told you not to laugh at me!"
It was supposed to be a dinner treat, but in reality, it was just a quick bite at Zhang Xiaotian's house. Unfortunately, they didn't even finish their meal. After Lu Bai's English grades improved last semester, he became complacent and let his guard down. He ultimately stumbled on the class test and was called back by Old Zhang to retake it.
Lu Bai complained all the way: "I said I couldn't sit apart from you, look, it hasn't been long, and I'm backsliding again."
"Lee Ang doesn't teach me at all!"
"I suppose you didn't even ask him?"
Because they agreed to stay together for the whole day, Zhang Xiaotian also went to school.
"Even if I ask him, he won't be able to teach me clearly." Lu Bai shook his head in disdain. "Even if I use my toes to think, he definitely can't teach me as well as you, Tian'er! I don't want to ask him."
"If you don't ask him, what will happen to your English? How will you report to Lao Zhang?" Zhang Xiaotian asked him.
"Then...just teach me more!"
Lu Bai had already moved closer as he spoke. He clamped one hand around Zhang Xiaotian's arms, and with the other, he reached for his ribs. A few scratches later, the itchiness was unbearable. Zhang Xiaotian couldn't dodge, and he couldn't break free. The hand on his ribs seemed to have eyes, targeting his most ticklish spot. He was nearly laughing to tears, and even trying to stop was too much to breathe.
"Stop, Lu...Lu Bai!" Zhang Xiaotian laughed so hard his legs and feet went limp. He used his remaining strength to hide while shouting, "We still have to go to school! You're going to be late!"
"Then I'll take it as your consent!"
Lu Bai finally let him go. Zhang Xiaotian felt so weak that he took a long time to glare at Lu Bai. Lu Bai accepted it happily, and the two continued walking towards the school.
On weekends, there were few students walking around the campus except for the boarding students. After Old Zhang handed out the exam papers to the students who were taking the make-up exam, he saw Zhang Xiaotian and asked him to invigilate for him while he went back to his office.
No matter how much you complain at this point, you can't stand up and go home. Everyone is a self-disciplined person, and no one wants to spend the good rest time in school, so everyone is concentrating on answering questions seriously. You can hear a pin drop in the classroom, and all you can hear is the rustling sound of pen tips rubbing against paper.
Zhang Xiaotian watched for a while, then took out his own exercise book and started writing as well. He gradually got into the state, and he didn't stop writing until someone who wrote faster asked him to hand in his paper.
Zhang Xiaotian estimated the time and put away his workbook, finishing his work and waiting for the others to hand in their papers. He flipped through the papers he had handed in, doing a reading and cloze test. Once he had a good idea of what was going on, he became curious about Lu Bai's situation. Seeing that the others were still answering questions and no one was paying attention to him, Zhang Xiaotian quietly stood up and strolled over to Lu Bai.
Lu Bai was scratching his head. He had barely given Lu Bai any extra English tutoring since the beginning of this semester. He probably didn't ask Li An when he didn't know something, which was why he had to make up even the quizzes in class.
There weren't many students in the class who needed to retake the exam this time. Zhang Xiaotian counted the number of students and remembered that Lu Bai didn't seem very surprised when he received the notice to return to school for the make-up exam.
Zhang Xiaotian's old class didn't have class tests, but they still had to organize make-up exams. This was probably the difference between the elite class and the regular class. Lu Bai seemed accustomed to it, probably because he used to be a frequent visitor to the weekend English make-up exams.
Zhang Xiaotian walked over to Lu Bai's side, his eyes following the tip of his pen as he read a few questions. Lu Bai's vocabulary still couldn't keep up. Zhang Xiaotian would finish reading the same sentence while he was still underlining the new words.
“Tsk.”
Seeing that this person had read for a long time and still made the wrong choice, Zhang Xiaotian couldn't help but sigh. Lu Bai looked up at him and gave him a look of slight resentment.
But he is still promising. At least he knows to mark the ones he doesn't know. I just don't know if he memorized them one by one after class.
Zhang Xiaotian was about to quietly remind him of the questions he'd gotten wrong when he heard a whoosh from the front. The wind blew the half-closed window wide open, and the papers stacked on the podium were blown all over the floor. Zhang Xiaotian hurried over to pick them up. The students closest to the window stood up to close the window and looked outside: "It's blowing so hard, it's going to rain."
June's weather is always cloudy, and before Zhang Xiaotian could collect his papers, the rain started pouring down. Zhang Xiaotian stood by the window, watching the heavy downpour outside, and began to worry about how he and Lu Bai would get home.
"What should we do?" Lu Bai walked up to him with the test paper. "We didn't bring an umbrella. How are we going to get back?"
"Let's wait and see if the rain stops." Zhang Xiaotian took his paper and said, "Who told you to write so slowly?"
"Oh my God!" Lu Bai complained, "I'm not the last one. Even if I write faster, we can't leave before the rain starts, right?"
That's true.
Zhang Xiaotian didn't really want to blame him. He looked out the window and didn't respond to Lu Bai's question.
"It's raining so fast, maybe it will stop soon." Seeing that Zhang Xiaotian didn't say anything, Lu Bai thought that Zhang Xiaotian was worried about not being able to go home, so he comforted him, "Let's take a taxi after we leave the school gate."
Zhang Xiaotian nodded.
But after all, taxis cannot drive into the campus, and the teaching building is some distance away from the school gate.
"Just run out!"
Lu Bai stood under the eaves, tightened the strap of his backpack, called out to Zhang Xiaotian, and was about to go into the rain when he was stopped by Zhang Xiaotian.
He turned around and looked at Zhang Xiaotian. Zhang Xiaotian was holding him, with his other hand holding the coat he had just taken off. He was afraid that he would not be able to stop Lu Bai in time before he reached out, so he held it a little tightly.
"Wear this and you'll get less wet." Zhang Xiaotian handed him the coat.
Lu Bai took it, shook it open, and draped it over his head, then pulled Zhang Xiaotian in. Zhang Xiaotian's body tilted and suddenly bumped into Lu Bai's chest. Then the coat fell down, enveloping him in Lu Bai's body warmth. Lu Bai's voice was muffled, passing through his chest and reaching his ears:
"Then we'll go together."
After saying that, he took Zhang Xiaotian and plunged into the heavy rain.
In the end, both of them were still soaked. After getting in the car, Lu Bai kept saying, "Luckily you wore a coat, otherwise we would be in a worse situation."
Zhang Xiaotian ran close to Lu Bai the whole way, his body numb and still trying to calm his pounding heartbeat. He took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress the slight trembling, and said to Lu Bai, "You go to my place first, change clothes, and come back after the rain stops."
"Then I hope the rain won't stop today." Lu Bai took out a tissue and handed it to Zhang Xiaotian with a playful smile on his face. "Let me stay at your house for the night."
"You wish." Zhang Xiaotian reminded him, "Your school uniform and homework books are all at home."
The taxi was congested on a rainy day, and the meter ticked twice more than usual before it finally stopped at Zhang Xiaotian's door. As soon as they got out of the car, they rushed into the house. Lu Bai walked into Zhang Xiaotian's room with ease, sitting on Zhang Xiaotian's chair while he found some clothes for him.
"Take off your clothes first." Zhang Xiaotian was about to open the wardrobe when he remembered Lu Bai's clothes he had hidden, and quickly added, "Go to the bathroom to take them off and take a shower."
"Okay." Lu Bai stood up, as if he couldn't even wait a few steps. He took off his shirt while walking towards the bathroom, hung it on the back of the chair, and went in without looking back.
Zhang Xiaotian changed his clothes, found another one for Lu Bai and placed it by the bathroom door, then took their newly taken-off clothes to the laundry room. Both of their clothes still retained their own warmth and the dampness of the rain. Zhang Xiaotian tossed them into the washing machine, turned it on, and then stood there in a daze.
The dripping sound of Lu Bai showering constantly irritated Zhang Xiaotian, and he felt as if he were back in the heavy rain outside. Whenever he closed his eyes, he couldn't help but recall the body he and Lu Bai had pressed together as they ran. This recurred so often that he felt like Pavlov's dog. The warm panting and the cold rain splashing on his trouser legs and shoes still tormented him.
Zhang Xiaotian felt a little dizzy and raised his hand to his forehead, then remembered that this hand had just taken Lu Bai's clothes. So he didn't let the hand fall on his forehead, but instead covered his mouth and nose.
Zhang Xiaotian took a deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling like a pervert.
The washing machine started to work, and Zhang Xiaotian came back to his senses. Just as he was about to return to his room, the door suddenly unlocked. The sound of rain rose and fell with the opening and closing of the door. Zhang Xiaotian turned around quickly and saw his mother standing at the door with a suitcase.
"Why are you standing here..." Before Zhang's mother finished her words, she suddenly frowned and looked towards Zhang Xiaotian's room.
"Who is taking a shower in your room?" she asked Zhang Xiaotian.
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