Just give you the questions
Afternoon math class had just ended, and the blackboard still had half a function graph left unerased. Chalk dust drifted slowly in the slanting sunlight, but the classroom was already bustling. A small circle of people suddenly gathered in the back row, their voices hushed, like a flock of sparrows pecking at each other. Xie Mo sat in the empty seat in the middle, a polished blue pen in hand, looking down at a classmate, Lin Nan, on a homework assignment.
Li Huaizhou sat diagonally in front of him, clutching an uncapped black pen, the tip hovering over the draft paper, not writing a single word for a long time. His gaze, as if tethered by an invisible thread, drifted involuntarily toward the crowd—Lin Xiao leaned in very close, his shoulder almost touching Xie Mo's arm, his fingernails still stained with pink polish as they touched the workbook. Xie Mo listened attentively, his head tilted slightly, his hair falling across his forehead, partially obscuring his eyes. His blue pen traced the auxiliary lines on the paper with gentle, slow movements. Even the tone of his explanation, "Here, we need to find the axis of symmetry first," was identical to the one he'd used a few days ago when explaining the problem to him.
A sudden feeling of distress welled up inside him, like drinking a mouthful of unbrewed herbal tea, bitter and astringent. Li Huaizhou's hand gripping the pen unconsciously tightened, his knuckles turning pale blue. He didn't even notice the ink stains from the pen rubbing against his fingertips—Li Huaizhou felt he'd never forget Xie Mo's words, "I like you, I thought it was obvious." These past few days during tutoring, he'd quietly pushed a lollipop to the corner of his desk as a reward, and patiently waited for him to redo simple additions and subtractions when he made a mistake. But now, wasn't he just as patient with Lin Nan? Wasn't he just as close? Even the tone of his voice didn't change a bit.
"What are you daydreaming about?" Ji Jiancheng suddenly came up from behind, gently nudging his arm with his elbow, a basketball spinning in his hand. "Want to go to the playground to play basketball after school?"
Li Huaizhou suddenly came back to his senses. The tip of his pen made a small hole in the draft paper, and the ink spread out into a small black mass. He raised his head and glanced at Xie Mo again - Xie Mo was still explaining the problem seriously. The boredom instantly turned into a thorn, piercing his heart and making his breathing heavier. Without thinking much, he grabbed the wrinkled school uniform jacket on the back of the chair and put it on. His voice was stiff.
"Go, go now."
Ji Jiancheng was stunned for a moment, followed his gaze to glance at Xie Mo who was still explaining the problem, then looked at Li Huaizhou's tense profile, and didn't dare to ask any more questions. He quickly hugged the basketball in his arms and followed him out of the classroom. When passing by Xie Mo, Li Huaizhou deliberately put his footsteps fast and heavy, and his heels knocked on the ground with a "dong dong" sound, without even glancing in that direction - he vaguely heard Xie Mo's explanation pause, and also felt a light gaze fall on his back, like a feather floating over, but he clenched the hem of his coat even tighter, and walked straight out of the classroom without looking back.
The evergreen leaves outside the teaching building rustled in the wind, and the sunlight filtered through the leaves onto the ground, shattering into a patchwork of spots. Ji Jiancheng followed Li Huaizhou, watching him walk so quickly that he couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong with you? You looked so gloomy just now, like someone owed you eight million.
Li Huaizhou kicked the small stone on the ground, and the stone rolled far away and hit the trash can on the side of the road with a "thump" sound. He pursed his lips and said nothing - he couldn't say that he felt uncomfortable when he saw Xie Mo explaining the problem to Lin Nan? It was too strange, like a child who got angry because he couldn't get the candy. It was too embarrassing to say it out loud. But that stuffy feeling was stuck in his chest and he couldn't get rid of it.
When they arrived at the playground, several members of the basketball team were already waiting. Li Huaizhou warmed up with them, but he kept getting distracted while dribbling the ball. Several times, he missed the ball and it rolled off the court. Captain Zhao Lei patted him on the shoulder: "Huaizhou, you're not in good shape today. Are you still sleepy?" Li Huaizhou mumbled "hmm" and picked up the ball to dribble again, but his eyes couldn't help but drift towards the teaching building - he wondered if Xie Mo was still explaining the problem to Lin Xiao, and whether he would give Lin Nan a lollipop like he did to himself?
The game was a dull one. Li Huaizhou missed eight out of ten shots, and even his signature three-step layup nearly tripped him. Ji Jiancheng noticed his inattention and, after half an hour, made an excuse: "Captain, I have a stomachache. I'm leaving with Huaizhou now. We'll catch up next time." He then dragged Li Huaizhou off the court.
On the way back, the two of them didn't talk much. When they were about to reach the teaching building, Li Huaizhou suddenly saw Xie Mo standing under the street light at the entrance of the stairs, carrying a light gray canvas bag, holding a lollipop in his hand, and gently rubbing the wrapping paper with his fingertips. Seeing them coming, Xie Mo took a step forward, but quickly stopped and stood there without moving.
Li Huaizhou's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously wanted to avoid it, but Ji Jiancheng pushed him away. Ji Jiancheng squeezed his arm and whispered, "I'll go back to the classroom first." Then he slipped away.
With only the two of them left, the air suddenly became a little stuffy. Xie Mo spoke first, his voice very soft and a little uncertain: "Are you...unwell?"
Li Huaizhou clutched the corner of his school uniform jacket, not looking at him, staring at the overlapping shadows of the two people on the ground: "No..."
"Then why didn't you wait for me?" Xie Mo asked again, taking a half step forward. "I called you just now, didn't you hear me?" The thorn in Li Huaizhou's heart surfaced again, and his tone couldn't help but become aggressive: "What does it have to do with you? I can leave if I want to. Why should I wait for you?" He regretted it as soon as he said it - Xie Mo's eyes darkened obviously, and his hand holding the lollipop tightened. The tips of his ears slowly turned red, but he didn't refute, just whispered: "Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you."
Seeing Xie Mo like this, Li Huaizhou felt a little nervous again, but the awkwardness had not yet passed. He stiffened his neck and said nothing, then turned around and walked towards the classroom. Xie Mo did not follow him, but just stood there. Li Huaizhou took a few steps and could not help but look back - Xie Mo was standing there quietly.
That night, Li Huaizhou lay on the small bed on the second floor of the bar, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He remembered Xie Mo's serious look when he was explaining the problem, the candy he handed over, and the whispered "I'm sorry" at the stairs. His heart felt like it was being pulled by something, sour and bitter. He even felt a little regretful, thinking that his reaction in the afternoon was too much, but when he thought of Xie Mo's smile at Lin Nan, that regret turned into awkwardness, and he couldn't figure it out.
——
The next morning, when Li Huaizhou entered the classroom, the sun had just risen, shining through the window onto the desks, making them feel warm. As soon as he put his schoolbag on the desk, he saw Xie Mo stand up from his seat, holding a light blue folder, and quickly walked towards him.
"Um..." Xie Mo still had that expression on his face and handed him the folder. "This contains the math questions I sorted out. They are all the types of questions you got wrong in the last monthly exam." He paused and added, "I don't mean to bother you."
"Why didn't you wait for me after school yesterday?" Xie Mo asked again. This time his tone was lighter than yesterday, and his eyes were a little cautious. "Did I make you unhappy?"
Li Huaizhou's face instantly felt hot. He tightened his grip on the folder and didn't dare look at him. He pretended to tidy up his desk. "Someone...someone is unhappy. I'm in a hurry to go play basketball." Xie Mo didn't expose his lie. He just said "Oh" softly. After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly said, "From now on, I will only give you extra lessons every week and won't teach others." His voice was very serious. "From now on, I will only teach you questions, okay?"
Li Huaizhou suddenly looked up at him - Xie Mo still had a faint smile on his face. The boredom and awkwardness in his heart suddenly seemed to be blown away by the wind, and even his breathing became smoother. But he still felt a little awkward, and he frowned deliberately, saying in a hard tone: "I don't want it"
Although he said so, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly. He lowered his head and opened the folder - the wrong questions in it were neatly sorted, with the key points marked in red pen and the analysis written in blue pen. Seeing that he didn't refuse, Xie Mo curled his lips and said, "Then let's make up lessons in the empty classroom after school today, okay?"
"Got it." Li Huaizhou replied vaguely and put the folder on the desk, but he couldn't help but take it out and take a look at it again - his heart seemed to be filled with something warm. During the make-up class after school that day, Li Huaizhou listened very carefully. Even the geometry problems that always distracted him in the past, he gradually figured them out by following Xie Mo's thinking. When Xie Mo explained the problems, he would still come very close, still push the lollipop to the corner of his desk, and still curl his lips into a shallow arc when he got the answer right.
After finishing his make-up class, Li Huaizhou walked towards the bar with his schoolbag on his back, still clutching the light blue folder in his hand. When he reached the alley, he suddenly stopped and leaned against the wall. Thinking of his awkwardness and temper yesterday, and the way Xie Mo cautiously asked him "Are you unhappy?", his face instantly became a little hot - why was he like a little kid, throwing a tantrum over such a small matter?
He raised his hand and patted his face, feeling both annoyed and secretly pleased—annoyed at his own childishness, pleased by Xie Mo's words, "From now on, I'll only give you extra lessons every week." The wind blew in from the alley, carrying a hint of the aroma of the barbecue stall. Li Huaizhou clutched the folder and couldn't help but smile. He walked briskly towards the bar. Even the dark alley that usually felt depressing seemed a little brighter.
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