Seeing the person in front of him suddenly freeze in shock, Qin Zigui was furious but helpless.
He had planned it all out before he left yesterday. He was going to come back today and give this idiot a proper explanation of why he had tricked him into testing the Stone of True Love with him.
He thought of a thousand ways to gently and patiently persuade Sheng Yan so that he could understand. Before leaving, he even asked his grandmother to give Sheng Yan more walnuts to nourish his brain, just so that this blockhead would come to his senses sooner.
When I got back, I originally wanted to buy Sheng Yan a cup of milk tea, but through the glass door I saw that this troublesome little thing was fighting again.
And it would be one thing if he just beat up others, but he even got distracted halfway through.
The moment Qin Zigui saw Fu Yun slam the chopstick holder into Sheng Yan's shoulder, he wished he could teleport over and block it for him.
As a result, this heartless little brat actually said such heartless things, which made him so angry that he didn't care and blurted out what was on his mind, catching Sheng Yan off guard and leaving him stunned on the spot.
Seeing Sheng Yan's bewildered expression, Qin Zigui felt unable to get angry, otherwise it would be like bullying a fool. He simply pulled Sheng Yan closer with a sullen face, pulled down the collar of his T-shirt, and gently pressed his fingertip against the bruise, asking, "Does it hurt?"
"It's...it's alright." Sheng Yan, who was just moments ago irritable and impatient, now only dared to lower his head, purse his lips, and pretend to be calm, his ears turning red.
Seeing that he didn't mention a word about what he had just said, Qin Zigui knew that the silly, straight man was backing down again, so she asked, "Did you hear what I just said?"
Sheng Yan immediately began to play dumb: "Wh-what are you saying?"
She was so eloquent when she was criticizing herself just now, how come she's suddenly stuttering?
Qin Zigui looked down at him and asked in a low voice, "What did you say?"
His voice was naturally cool and low, which Sheng Yan found very pleasant to hear. When he leaned in and whispered, his voice was filled with helpless indulgence and tenderness, and his breath teased Sheng Yan's earlobe. Sheng Yan instantly felt a shiver run through his body, his brain began to go crazy, and his language system malfunctioned: "Wh-what, you say, I say, what did I say... Gou You!"
Just as Sheng Yan felt like he was about to explode from the heat, he caught a glimpse of Gou You, who was panting and chasing after Qin Zigui, carrying his schoolbag and thermos. He immediately called out as if he had seen a savior.
Taking advantage of Qin Zigui's momentary lapse in attention, she nimbly bent down and slipped under his arm. Then, she quickly ran to Zhu Peng and Gou You, took their backpacks, slung them over their backs, and fled at an unprecedented pace, her ears red.
Qin Zigui, who had tried to grab someone but missed, gritted his teeth and stood there, wanting to crush the little thing to death.
With such great athletic ability, he's wasting it on this kind of thing.
Is it an ostrich?
However, since they were at school, not at home, Qin Zigui couldn't really bring Sheng Yan back to give him a good talking-to. He could only suppress his anger, keep a cold face, and walk towards the fried chicken shop they had just visited.
The only person left in the store was Fu Yun, whose face was half red and swollen from being beaten, and whose lip had been punched by Sheng Yan. He sat in the corner, holding his phone to his face, touching his wound and grimacing.
Hearing the noise at the door, she looked up and saw Qin Zigui enter with a cold face. She instinctively stepped back and asked warily, "What are you doing here?"
Fu Yun dared to argue with Sheng Yan because he was certain that Sheng Yan's temperament would at most result in him beating him up, and then he would complain to Huang Shuliang, and Sheng Yan might not get away with it.
However, he was hesitant to provoke Qin Zigui.
He still remembers when he was a child, he followed behind that fat tiger in the yard and mocked Qin Zigui for not having parents. Qin Zigui just kept his head down and didn't say a word, like a gourd with a sawed mouth, but Sheng Yan would come up and bite him in a huff.
At that time, they all thought Qin Zigui was easy to bully and Sheng Yan had a bad temper.
One day, after they made Sheng Yan cry, Qin Zigui appeared in front of them the next day with an art knife and said calmly, "If you bully me and Sheng Yan again, I will cut myself and tell the teacher that you did it."
Even a tiny child is considered to have the sky falling if they bleed a little; who would believe that someone would dare to cut themselves?
As a result, that very night, the wailing and howling of children, their bottoms bruised and battered, echoed from all their houses.
Qin Zigui and Sheng Yan, however, each received a small candy gift bag from their teacher, which touched their hearts.
At that time, Fu Yun realized that Qin Zigui was definitely not the kind of well-behaved student who appeared to be on the surface, let alone a good person. Moreover, he was particularly ruthless to both himself and others.
So when Qin Zigui said that if he dared to provoke Sheng Yan again, he would have a thousand ways to kick him out of the school, Fu Yun was a little scared.
Qin Zigui saw his reaction and felt a little contemptuous. He pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down slowly: "Don't be afraid, I just want to talk to you."
"What do I have to talk to you about?" Fu Yun guiltily avoided eye contact.
Qin Zigui laughed and said, "What, you have something to talk about with Sheng Yan, but nothing to talk about with me?"
He wasn't a cheerful person; usually, except when he was in front of Sheng Yan, he always had a blank expression. Now, seeing him with a forced smile, Fu Yun felt a chill run down his spine.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Qin Zigui lowered his eyelids and said, "Speak, what did you say about me in front of Sheng Yan this time?"
Although Sheng Yan has a bad temper, he never fights for no reason. In fact, if someone is just mocking him, he will just retaliate with even more sarcastic remarks.
If it's a fight, it's either because they can't stand seeing others being bullied and they're acting out of a sense of justice.
Or someone said something about me.
If the opponent in the fight is Fu Yun, then it's basically the latter.
As expected, Fu Yun's expression changed upon hearing this.
Qin Zigui tapped the table with his fingers: "Even if you don't say it, Sheng Yan will, and the consequences will be different then."
How can this guy be such a phony?
Fu Yun gritted his teeth and said, "I only told him that someone from your dad's side came to see you and caused trouble in the neighborhood every day. I also mentioned that you are the son of a mistress, and I didn't say anything else. Besides, I told the truth. Why are you all making such a fuss?"
Qin Zigui didn't care about the last few sentences.
Because his mother didn't know that the man was married when he was born, and he never used a penny of that man's money or took away any of his feelings or time, he didn't think he had anything to be criticized for.
He only cared about the first sentence. His knuckles, which were tapping the table, stopped. Then he lifted his eyelids and glanced coldly at Fu Yun: "Who told you to tell him?"
Fu Yun found it outrageous: "No, I don't know he doesn't know about this. How could you keep something like this from him? He'll find out sooner or later, won't he? Or are you planning to tell him when you leave with your dad?"
Qin Zigui's expression turned cold as he recalled Sheng Yan's angry and aggrieved look.
No wonder Sheng Yanjin, who had promised him yesterday not to fight, suddenly told him not to meddle in his business.
She felt wronged because she thought she might be leaving without telling him.
Realizing this, Qin Zigui, recalling his earlier outburst, lost all interest in arguing with Fu Yun and said coldly, "It's none of your business how other people behave. I'm here today to remind you of two things. First, don't mess with Sheng Yan. I've said it before, if you provoke him again, I have plenty of ways to get you kicked out of Shiwai. Second, come up with a reasonable excuse for the injury on your face. Anyway, if Sheng Yan has been mistreated by Huang Shuliang, I guarantee you'll suffer more, not less. You know what I mean, I keep my word, understand?"
Fu Yun gritted his teeth, unable to speak.
Qin Zigui said in a calm tone: "If you don't understand, you can try again. If you do understand, then let's keep to ourselves and you can decide for yourself."
After saying that, he got up and left.
After taking a couple of steps, remembering that Sheng Yan always liked to drink something iced and sweet on summer nights, she returned to the counter: "One milk tea, less ice, full sugar."
Meanwhile, Sheng Yan had already bought a bottle of ice water from the convenience store at the school gate and gulped it down in one go.
After finishing, he wiped his mouth.
Damn, my heart is still burning with anxiety.
Sheng Yan had never felt so hot in his life. He turned around and asked the shop owner, "Do you sell ice?"
"???" The proprietress looked at the handsome young man in front of her, whose face turned red all the way down to his ears and neck, and couldn't help but ask, "Young man, is it that hot? If it's really hot, go back to the classroom and enjoy the air conditioning. Otherwise, what if you get diarrhea from eating cold food like this?"
Zhu Peng, who was standing next to him, couldn't stand it anymore: "Yeah, Brother Yan, is it really that hot?"
After saying that, he clicked his tongue and said, "But it is indeed a bit stuffy today, I guess it's going to rain."
Sheng Yan couldn't explain it to them clearly; this heat was not the same as that heat.
He was just really agitated.
How could Qin Zigui like him? He had grown up with Qin Zigui like a brother since childhood, so how could he say he liked him?
He knew Qin Zigui was gay, but although he was handsome, rich, and had a good physique, he had a bad temper, was prone to anger, was often willful and unreasonable, couldn't do housework, and was picky and difficult to please. Qin Zigui knew all of this perfectly well, so was he blind to like him?
With Qin Zigui's looks and qualities, he could find any celestial beauty, so why would he like a straight man like me?
The key point is that after Qin Zigui told him he liked him, this straight man didn't feel any rejection, discomfort, or aversion. He just felt... he just felt...
Damn, he couldn't figure it out.
Sheng Yan couldn't describe the state he was in right now—his heart was racing, his body was burning hot, and the thought of Qin Zigui liking him made him so nervous that he couldn't think of anything else.
He dared not see Qin Zigui, fearing that if he did, his heart would race or his body temperature would rise too high and he would die.
But he had no choice but to face Qin Zigui, because Qin Zigui was sitting right behind him and the room was right across from him, so he couldn't escape.
Thinking of this, Sheng Yan irritably ran his fingers through his hair, as if he wished he could shave himself bald.
Startled, Gou You quickly grabbed his hand: "No, no, Brother Yan, let's not ruin such a handsome face."
"Do you think I'm handsome?" Sheng Yan suddenly looked at Gou You upon hearing this.
Gou You: "Huh?"
Sheng Yan said impatiently, "I'm just asking you, do I look handsome?"
"Handsome!" Gou You replied without hesitation.
Sheng Yan then asked, "Do you like me?"
Gou You replied without hesitation, "I like it."
Sheng Yan: "..."
Why did I feel nothing when Gou You said he liked me, and just want him to leave as soon as possible?
That means you're not gay either.
Is it only Qin Zigui who is treated this way?
Sheng Yan felt even more annoyed; his soft hair was practically standing on end from his own styling.
Gou You couldn't stand it anymore: "Brother Yan, what happened to you?"
"It's nothing, I just feel like I might start dating too early." Sheng Yan said this with an extremely irritable expression and tone.
Zhu Peng and Gou You: "???"
Is there really such a good thing?!
Before they could express their shock and envy, a loud, energetic shout came from behind them: "Early love?! Who among you wants to have early love?! Under my leadership, Huang Shuliang, early love will be impossible at our school!"
With a roar, Gou You quickly came up with a solution: "No, Director Huang, Sheng Yan said he would never date early!"
"Really, Sheng Yan?" Huang Shuliang looked at Sheng Yan with suspicion.
Sheng Yan guiltily avoided eye contact and mumbled, "Anyway, studying is more important."
Seeing that Sheng Yan had such awareness, Huang Shuliang was very pleased: "That's right, not bad, he really is a good kid, he has turned over a new leaf so quickly. I also have some good news to tell you, come to my office to tell you."
Sheng Yan still harbors some lingering fears about Huang Shuliang's office.
He felt that the good news Huang Shuliang was going to tell him in his office was definitely not good news. Just as he was about to refuse, he caught a glimpse of Qin Zigui walking towards the school gate from across the street, carrying a cup of milk tea.
So he quickly replied, "Okay, Director Huang, let's go right away. I haven't heard your teachings in a long time, and I miss them dearly."
After saying that, right under Qin Zigui's furious gaze, she grabbed Huang Shuliang's chubby little hand and quickly ran away again.
Huang Shuliang never expected that his relationship with his former problem student Sheng Yan could develop so rapidly, but he was still very pleased with Sheng Yan's reformed behavior.
Back in his office, he sat down at his desk, looked at the young man standing ramrod straight in front of him, and smiled, "I remember you said last time that you wanted to apply to the China People's Public Security University, right?"
"Huh?" Sheng Yan snapped out of his reverie about Qin Zigui and nodded. "Yeah, I want to take the exam, but I probably won't pass. My current goal is just to get into a decent university."
"I don't think you'll fail the exam."
Huang Shuliang smiled mysteriously.
Sheng Yan, however, felt that he had ill intentions.
Huang Shuliang added, "Recently, many teachers have told me that you have become much more serious about your studies and have an excellent memory. You can remember many knowledge points after just one review, so your grades have improved very quickly. As long as you can maintain this momentum, getting into a top-tier university will definitely not be a problem."
"But it's still far from being as good as Zhonggong University." Sheng Yan still had some self-awareness.
Huang Shuliang laughed and said, "But didn't you beat Xue Yi in the competition when you made that bet last time?"
"?" Sheng Yan didn't quite understand.
Huang Shuliang smiled slowly: "Xue Yi is from the city team. The fact that you can beat him shows that you are still good at shooting. I also heard that you used to skip evening self-study sessions to train at the shooting range. So, people like you who have talent, diligence, and family resources are not many. It would be a pity to give up shooting like this."
Sheng Yan lowered his eyelids.
"But," Huang Shuliang changed the subject, "you're lucky, so I've come up with a solution for you."
As Huang Shuliang spoke, he pushed a stack of documents toward Sheng Yan.
Sheng Yan picked it up and looked at it, then stopped.
At the very top of the document was clearly written the "Application Form for Retraining of the Shooting Team of Xiacheng District, Nanwu City".
"This year, the police are holding a special recruitment drive. As long as you are a national first-class athlete, you can be admitted with a score lower than the first-tier university admission line. I asked around, and as long as you get into the top three in a competition at the provincial level or above, you have a good chance of applying for national first-class athlete status. Nanwu is a municipality directly under the central government, and there is a city-wide youth shooting competition in September. So I asked the school team coach to get a recommendation letter from the district team coach for you, recommending that you return to the district team and participate in this city-wide competition again. As for what happens after that, it all depends on your own efforts."
After Huang Shuliang finished speaking, he picked up his thermos, took a sip of tea, as if trying to conceal his achievements and fame.
Sheng Yan looked at the stack of admission brochures, recommendation letters, application forms, and various other materials in his hand, and pursed his lips.
He felt that he was incredibly lucky today.
"However," Huang Shuliang said after finishing his tea, "you should thank Qin Zigui and his aunt for this."
"Huh?" Sheng Yan looked up.
Huang Shuliang said, "You used to be in the district team, but you quit. Now you want to go back in, and the coach wasn't willing. But I don't know what his aunt did, but the coach managed to persuade her to agree. He brought the recommendation letter this morning. I have to say, your two families have a really good relationship. You and Qin Zigui are like brothers. You should learn from him."
"oh."
Upon hearing the words "brothers," Sheng Yan lowered his head in shame.
Huang Shuliang asked, puzzled, "Why are your ears red?"
Sheng Yan: "It's nothing, I just feel that I may have failed the director's teachings."
After all, no brothers would hug and kiss each other's necks or say "I love you" to each other.
He hadn't thought anything was wrong before, but ever since he heard Qin Zigui say, "If it weren't for liking you," and then thought about these actions, his ears started to burn.
His mind was filled with somewhat unhealthy images of romantic love between young men, but Huang Shuliang felt that he lacked confidence, so he immediately waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, as long as you can turn over a new leaf, that will be the best way to repay your teacher's good intentions. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, just do your best."
"Yes, Director."
Sheng Yan is very well-behaved.
Huang Shuliang was satisfied: "Okay, if there's nothing else, you can go back to the classroom and study on your own."
"..." The thought of Qin Zigui in the classroom suddenly made Sheng Yan less inclined to go back. After a brief silence, he said, "Director, can I study in your office today?"
Huang Shuliang: "?"
Sheng Yan said sternly, "As soon as I got back to the classroom, I wanted to chat with Chen Yubai, which greatly affected our learning efficiency. So I decided to finish reviewing physics here before going back."
"Hiss—" Huang Shuliang gasped, then nodded solemnly, "Not bad, a promising young man."
But the child only wanted to run away.
Sheng Yan cowered in Huang Shuliang's office, head down, watching Qin Zigui enter and leave five times with a dark face. Finally, he decided to leave the office ten minutes before the end of evening self-study, sneak to the grove, skillfully throw down his schoolbag, take a running start, jump, climb over the wall, and hail a taxi.
"To the family compound of government employees." After Sheng Yan slipped into a taxi using his espionage skills, he gave his address.
The driver seemed puzzled: "You study at Shishi Foreign Language School and live in the staff quarters of government agencies. Do you have enough time to get to school in the morning?"
"There's still time. I won't sleep tonight." Sheng Yan looked out the window, worried that Qin Zigui might catch up, and hurriedly urged his master.
Seeing his expression, the master laughed and said, "Young man, are you hiding from your debts?"
"..."
They were indeed hiding from debt collectors.
Avoiding romantic debts.
Sure enough, a light drizzle began to fall outside the window, explaining the source of the evening's muggy heat.
Sheng Yan hugged his schoolbag and shrank into the corner of the back seat.
Actually, he didn't want to avoid Qin Zigui; he just didn't know how to face her.
He grew up with Qin Zigui, so it was only natural that he felt Qin Zigui was the most important person to him.
He didn't want Qin Zigui to be absent from his future life, so even though he knew it was wrong, he would still unreasonably say that he had bought Qin Zigui for three yuan and two mao.
He hoped that Qin Zigui would always be good to him, so after learning that Qin Zigui liked boys, he told himself to be worthy of his brother while always finding fault with Chen Yubai.
He initially felt that there was nothing wrong with these things, because he was different from Qin Zigui, and different from everyone else.
But Qin Zigui actually said she liked him.
How could Qin Zigui like him?
How could his best friend say he likes him?
Is this the same kind of liking?
Moreover, I don't think I treated Qin Zigui quite well either.
For no apparent reason, my ears would start burning, my heart would race, and I'd think Qin Zigui was incredibly handsome, his voice was exceptionally beautiful, and I even had those kinds of dreams, but...
grass.
But I'm straight!
The thought of any other man touching him in an ambiguous way, or saying "I love you" to him like Qin Zigui did, made Sheng Yan want to smash the other man's head in.
But why didn't he treat Qin Zigui the same way?
Sheng Yan firmly believed he was straight for 18 years, but within a month, he first discovered that his best friend was gay, then he discovered that he wasn't so straight after all, and his best friend had even become gay with him. Sheng Yan was a little overwhelmed by the realization.
He feared that before he could figure things out, he would be bewitched by that male demon Qin Zigui, only to find out in the end that it wasn't true, and then he and Qin Zigui would no longer be able to be friends.
But he was also afraid that his careless nature might cause him to say something hurtful, and if Qin Zigui was truly heartbroken, what would happen if Qin Zigui left with his father?
The thought that Qin Zigui might leave, and that he had kept it from him, made Sheng Yan lower his eyelids.
The car stopped.
The raindrops pounded on the car roof, making a loud, almost frightening, pattering sound.
"Young man, we've arrived at the residential compound, but I can't drive in. It's raining so hard. Why don't you ask your family to come out and meet you?" the driver shouted.
Sheng Yan's thoughts returned, and he glanced out the window, noticing that the rain had indeed intensified.
It's that time of year again for the plum rain season in the south, and it looks like it won't stop for another month or two.
Sheng Yan felt sorry for his two elderly relatives and didn't want them to suffer in such heavy rain, so he said "It's okay," scanned the code to pay, and got off the bus.
However, as soon as he stepped out the door, he sensed something was wrong.
The raindrops did not fall on him as expected.
He looked up and saw Qin Zigui standing in front of him, holding a transparent umbrella, looking down at him, and whispering, "Still running?"
The dim streetlights behind him cast a gentle yet lonely halo around him.
I don't know how long I've been waiting here.
Sheng Yan originally wanted to ask Qin Zigui how he knew he would come here, but before he could ask, he felt that the question was a bit foolish.
There is probably no one in this world who understands him better than Qin Zigui.
They might even know themselves better than they know themselves.
You can't escape even if you want to.
Sheng Yan tugged at the strap of his backpack on his shoulder and said awkwardly, "I didn't mean to run away."
Qin Zigui then asked, "So you dare not see me?"
Sheng Yan lowered his head, pursed his lips, and remained silent.
Qin Zigui said, "I went to find Fu Yun."
Sheng Yan kept his head down and didn't say anything.
Qin Zigui continued, "I shouldn't have yelled at you today without knowing the reason, nor should I have kept those things from you."
Sheng Yan remained silent.
Qin Zigui finally whispered, "Ayan, are you really not going to give me an answer?"
Sheng Yan's knuckles, gripping the strap of his schoolbag tightly, turned white from the force.
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