A familiar voice sounded behind me.
Gu Yuxiao opened a black umbrella and raised his chin towards him: "I'll take you to the subway station."
Li Zhou hesitated for a moment: "No, I'll wait until the rain subsides..."
"Come on," Gu Yuxiao put his arm around his shoulders, "This rain won't stop anytime soon."
The umbrella wasn't big, so the two of them had to get very close. Li Zhou could smell the faint mint scent on Gu Yuxiao, mixed with the dampness of the rain.
"Move over there," Li Zhou dodged to the side, "My shoulders are wet."
Gu Yuxiao hugged him tighter instead: "Why are you being so pretentious? We're two grown men."
Li Zhou's ears felt hot and he stopped struggling.
When he reached the school gate, Gu Yuxiao suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" Li Zhou asked.
Gu Yuxiao looked ahead, his face darkening.
Several thugs from vocational high school were blocking the intersection. The yellow-haired guy in the lead sneered, "Gu Yuxiao, we've been waiting for you for a long time."
Li Zhou frowned: "Your enemy?"
Gu Yuxiao stuffed the umbrella into his hand: "You go first."
"And you?"
"Dealing with some personal matters." Gu Yuxiao moved his wrist, his eyes sharp.
Li Zhou didn't move.
The yellow-haired man spat: "I have to put you in the hospital today!"
Just as Gu Yuxiao was about to step forward, Li Zhou suddenly stopped him.
"Together."
Gu Yuxiao was stunned.
Li Zhou threw his umbrella aside, and the rain instantly soaked his school uniform. He said calmly, "I'm good at fighting."
Gu Yuxiao stared at him for two seconds and suddenly laughed.
"Okay, good student."
In the rain, the two young men stood back to back, surrounded by approaching enemies.
Gu Yuxiao lowered his voice: "Are you scared?"
Li Zhou wiped the rain off his face: "A little."
"It's still not too late to run."
"No." Li Zhou clenched his fists. "That's not how we act as friends."
Gu Yuxiao was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud: "Okay!"
That day, they won.
And became real friends.
In his senior year of high school, Gu Yuxiao suddenly became interested in astronomy.
One summer night, he climbed into the school observatory and dragged Li Zhou up with him.
"Are you crazy?" Li Zhou lowered his voice. "If you're caught, you'll be punished!"
Gu Yuxiao didn't care: "What are you afraid of? I'm here."
He skillfully picked the lock and pulled Li Zhou into the observation room. Through the telescope, the stars in the night sky were clearly visible.
"I heard there will be a meteor shower tonight." Gu Yuxiao adjusted the focus with an excited tone.
Li Zhou was helpless: "So you dragged me to look at the stars in the middle of the night?"
Gu Yuxiao turned to look at him, his eyes shining with stars: "Is it not possible?"
Li Zhou was speechless.
The two sat side by side on the edge of the rooftop, feeling the cool night breeze.
"Li Zhou," Gu Yuxiao suddenly asked. "What do you want to do in the future?"
Li Zhou thought for a moment and said, "I'll get into a good university and find a stable job."
Gu Yuxiao sneered: "You really have no ambition."
"Then what are you pursuing?" Li Zhou asked back.
Gu Yuxiao looked towards the brightly lit city in the distance, his eyes dim and unclear: "I want everyone to remember my name."
Li Zhou looked at him sideways.
Gu Yuxiao raised the corners of his lips and smiled ostentatiously: "Not as the 'Young Master of the Gu Family', but as—Gu Yuxiao."
At that moment, Li Zhou saw burning ambition in his eyes.
At two o'clock in the morning, the meteor shower arrived as expected.
Gu Yuxiao suddenly grabbed Li Zhou's wrist and said, "Make a wish!"
Li Zhou was at a loss for words: "You believe this?"
"Who cares?" Gu Yuxiao closed his eyes and said seriously, "What if it comes true?"
Li Zhou looked at his childish appearance, shook his head helplessly, but also closed his eyes.
———I hope Gu Yuxiao’s wish can come true.
He muttered to himself.
After the college entrance examination, Gu Yuxiao was admitted to a prestigious foreign university without any suspense, while Li Zhou stayed in a local university.
On the day of the graduation ceremony, Gu Yuxiao slipped a note to Li Zhou: "My new number, don't lose it.
Li Zhou took it, folded it and put it in his wallet: "When are we leaving?"
"Next week." Gu Yuxiao said in a relaxed tone, "I can finally leave this damn place."
Li Zhou was silent for a moment: "...very good."
Gu Yuxiao stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly reached out and ruffled his hair: "Why do you look like that? It's not like we won't see each other again."
Li Zhou slapped his hand away: "Don't touch me."
Gu Yuxiao laughed.
However, after Gu Yuxiao left the country, their contact became less and less frequent. At first, they would send occasional messages, but later they would just exchange holiday greetings, and finally, they stopped communicating altogether.
Li Zhou tried to dial the number, but only heard a cold tone: "The subscriber you dialed has been disconnected."
———Just like a youth that ended without a disease.
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