Chapter 34
"Chengcheng..."
In math class, the teacher was about to review the test paper, and Yin Li took the opportunity to talk to Han Chengcheng while she was taking out the test paper. Seeing Han Chengcheng looking at her, she immediately pointed at Zhang Xiaotian and Lu Bai behind her, and then asked in a whisper, "What's wrong with these two?"
Han Chengcheng shook his head.
The two of them had walked in at the bell for morning self-study. Two periods had passed since they'd sat down, and surprisingly, not a single word had been exchanged. It had become a daily occurrence, but Han Chengcheng and Yin Li were not used to suddenly not hearing the chatter behind them.
"Didn't they reconcile yesterday?" Yin Li couldn't help but want to turn around to look at them, but every time she turned around, she felt a chill on the back of her neck. "What's the reason for this today?"
"...Could it be because of sleeping habits?" Han Chengcheng said thoughtfully.
"Sleeping habits?"
Han Chengcheng explained, "Didn't they say yesterday that because Xiaotian injured his foot, Lu Bai would temporarily stay at Zhang Xiaotian's house? Obviously, nothing happened at school yesterday, and they got home late enough. At most, they would study a little more and then go to bed. There's nothing else they could do. So, other than different sleeping habits affecting each other's rest, what other reason could there be..."
At this point, Han Chengcheng's voice stopped abruptly. After listening to it, Yin Li didn't speak for a long time. After a while, she suddenly said "Damn" again. The sound was neither loud nor soft, which attracted many people in the class to look at her.
"What are you doing?" Han Chengcheng was also startled.
"It's all your fault, Han Chengcheng!" Yin Li blushed for some reason. She buried her face in her arms and turned her head to speak to Han Chengcheng, "It's all your fault for what you said to me yesterday. It made me think of some bad things..."
"What..." Han Chengcheng was at a loss for words, "How can you blame me?"
Zhang Xiaotian listened to the entire conversation between the two without Lu Bai's reminder. He was a little amused. Although he didn't understand what they were saying, he probably thought it was different from what he had thought.
If only it were just a matter of sleeping habits. Zhang Xiaotian worried about how things would develop next, thinking that his pretense of not being familiar with Lu Bai in front of his mother might have been in vain. Admittedly, he might be worrying too much, but based on his mother's repeated warnings and her reaction after meeting Lu Bai, Zhang Xiaotian didn't think his worries were groundless.
Secretary Wang must have seen the house by now. When had that house, which no outsiders had ever visited, ever been so messy? Zhang Xiaotian felt a sense of guilt for no reason when he thought of this. He kept telling himself that it was just a matter of inviting a classmate to stay at his home for two days. It wasn't a big deal. He secretly decided to reduce his contact with Lu Bai outside of school in the near future.
As soon as the get out of class was over, Yin Li rushed over and wailed, "I beg you two, please make peace! Can two boys keep quarreling for this long?"
"Then go ask him! What does asking him mean?" Lu Bai curled his lips, wanting to slam the table but holding back, and finally patted his thigh. "How can you chase someone away just because you've gotten out of the field? Aren't you so cold and heartless, Tian'er?!"
"I didn't mean that at all!" Zhang Xiaotian was also a little angry.
"Then why did you suddenly kick me out?"
Seeing Lu Bai frowning as he spoke to him, Zhang Xiaotian opened his mouth, but ultimately offered no explanation. It was all just his suspicion, stemming from his inexplicable intuition. He couldn't use such excuses to justify himself, nor could he discredit his mother like that before anything happened.
Seeing Zhang Xiaotian fall silent again, Lu Bai grew even angrier. He glanced at the table, picked up an English dictionary, shook it, and then put it down. Finally, he took a stack of bound papers and slammed it hard on the table. The papers didn't make much noise, but Zhang Xiaotian found it quite jarring.
"What are you doing?!" Yin Li grabbed the test paper first, "Xiaotian wouldn't kick you out for no reason."
Seeing the test paper being taken away, Lu Bai didn't say anything, and it didn't seem like he was going to throw it again. He rubbed his hair vigorously and said, "I know that, but every time I ask this, Tian'er stops talking, just like now, you see." He then pointed at Zhang Xiaotian.
Zhang Xiaotian himself felt very uncomfortable. Seeing Lu Bai pointing at him like that, he couldn't help but turn his face away.
"Maybe Xiaotian is embarrassed to say it?" Han Chengcheng said.
"Right!" Yin Li slapped her thigh. "Maybe it's because you snore and grind your teeth at night, keeping me awake. Xiaotian didn't tell me because he was afraid you'd lose face after hearing it."
"I snore?" Lu Bai glared. "Impossible! My family never told me I snore!"
"Maybe if we were in another place, he would beat me," Yin Li said. "My dad sometimes beats me and sometimes doesn't."
Obviously, this statement convinced Lu Bai to some extent. Lu Bai touched his chin and recalled for a moment, but he really couldn't figure out whether he snored or not. Zhang Xiaotian didn't expect that he could say that, and what he didn't expect was that Lu Bai actually believed it. He saw that Lu Bai was actually seriously recalling whether he snored or not, and he almost couldn't help laughing out loud. He quickly lowered his head deeply, and covered his face again for fear of being exposed. Lu Bai wanted to ask Zhang Xiaotian if it was true, but when he turned around, he saw that he buried his head and his shoulders shrugged. He bumped Zhang Xiaotian with his shoulder: "What are you doing, do I snore or not?"
Zhang Xiaotian couldn't reply at this moment. He was already too busy trying to hold back his laughter. Seeing that he didn't say anything, Lu Bai simply pressed half of his body against Zhang Xiaotian and reached out to dig Zhang Xiaotian's face out of his arms: "Speak up, what are you doing? You little brat, stop trying to hold back your laughter! Damn it! If you laugh at me, you're done!"
"So you're allowed to snore but others can't laugh?" Yin Li laughed. "Xiaotian's quite considerate. If it were me, I'd record your snoring and post it in the class group chat, just like when you sang "The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau" during our study tour."
"How mean of you!" Lu Bai held Zhang Xiaotian down. After speaking to Yin Li, he lowered his head and spoke to Zhang Xiaotian again. "Let go of your hands! Let me see why your face is so red! You dare to laugh at me? You really deserve to be punished! I'm watching you!"
"Xiaotian, just tell me, is Lu Bai's snoring too loud? Hahaha!" Yin Li fell on Han Chengcheng with a smile. When Lu Bai heard Yin Li's words, he wanted to hear Zhang Xiaotian's answer, and even loosened his hands a little. Then he saw Zhang Xiaotian buried his head and nodded slightly.
"Fuck! He's really snoring! I'm dying of laughter!" Yin Li laughed even louder. Lu Bai didn't expect Zhang Xiaotian to actually nod. He let go of his hand in a daze and sat back on the stool.
"Did I really hit him?" he asked Zhang Xiaotian again.
It was funny, but Zhang Xiaotian didn't want to lie to him again, so he kept quiet. But Lu Bai obviously believed it. He didn't mention Zhang Xiaotian kicking him out again for the rest of the day. He just followed Zhang Xiaotian out of the classroom after school. When Zhang Xiaotian turned around to look at him, he explained, "I just went to your house to get something."
Seeing the two of them approaching the school gate, Secretary Wang poked his head out of the car and said, "Xiaotian! Over here!"
Zhang Xiaotian walked towards the car and heard Secretary Wang say to Lu Bai, "Student Lu Bai, come up too. I'll take you back as well!"
Look, in just one day, we even know where Lu Bai’s family is.
"No need..." Before Lu Bai could finish his words, Zhang Xiaotian held the car door open for him: "Let's go, don't we have to go to my house to get something?"
"Let's go, Aunt Wang." Zhang Xiaotian watched Lu Bai sit down and said to Secretary Wang, "Lu Bai wants to go back to my house to get his things."
"Okay, I'll wait for him downstairs for a while."
"Need not..."
Zhang Xiaotian spoke before Lu Bai could, "No need, Aunt Wang. His bicycle is still downstairs at my house."
"Oh, that's fine. That will save Auntie a lot of trouble." Secretary Wang chuckled.
Secretary Wang walked them downstairs and watched them go inside before leaving. Zhang Xiaotian changed his shoes and just as he entered the house, he saw the new refrigerator placed at the junction of the living room and kitchen. It had double doors and looked larger than the previous one, but its location was a bit odd, farther from the kitchen than the living room and his room.
As soon as Lu Bai entered the house, he immediately started to pack up. Zhang Xiaotian just watched him busy at first, then stood up and followed him. As Lu Bai was packing, he remembered something he had left in the living room and turned around and almost bumped into Zhang Xiaotian.
"Hey, why are you following me?" Lu Bai subconsciously stepped back, then remembered that Zhang Xiaotian was still not fully recovered. He quickly lowered his head to look at his feet and pulled him to the bed. "Don't mess with me. Just sit here quietly. I don't have much."
Zhang Xiaotian could only watch him come and go. He had only lived there for two days, but there were traces of Lu Bai everywhere. Every time he put something away, Zhang Xiaotian felt that the house was a little emptier. Watching Lu Bai pick up his last T-shirt, Zhang Xiaotian couldn't help but say, "You don't have to take everything..."
"Ah?" Lu Bai turned to look at him.
"What if... you come to live here again later?" Zhang Xiaotian felt that his mouth was a little out of control. "Besides, you can still come here to learn English on weekends, and you can also come here to study during the week..."
"Oh!" Lu Bai held the T-shirt for a moment, then turned around and put it in his bag. He took it out again as if he had just realized something. "Then put it with your clothes. I'll wear it next time I come."
"Oh, okay!" Zhang Xiaotian stood up quickly, took the T-shirt with both hands, walked to the wardrobe, and put it aside.
"I've packed it." Lu Bai called out to him from behind, "Then I'll be leaving first."
"Wait a moment!" Zhang Xiaotian ran over quickly.
Lu Bai quickly put on his shoes. He looked up and saw Zhang Xiaotian staring at him. Suddenly, he felt a sinking feeling in his heart. He tentatively asked, "So, I'm leaving? Come back this weekend?"
"Early..." Zhang Xiaotian cleared his throat, "Don't forget to do the exercises I left for you."
"Yeah!" Lu Bai looked much happier. He turned around and pushed the door open. Just as he touched the door handle, he said to Zhang Xiaotian, "I have one last question!"
Zhang Xiaotian looked at him.
"My... is my snoring really disturbing you and preventing you from resting?" Lu Bai asked sincerely.
Seeing that Zhang Xiaotian was about to laugh again, Lu Bai felt a little embarrassed and said quickly: "I won't ask anymore, I'm leaving!" After that, he pressed the door handle and stepped out with one foot, and heard Zhang Xiaotian calling him again.
"It's not that noisy." Zhang Xiaotian said with a smile, "That's not why I couldn't sleep."
Why is that?
Before Lu Bai could ask, he heard Zhang Xiaotian say goodbye to him. The word "goodbye" distracted him, and when he came to his senses, he was already sitting at home.
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