Chapter 12: Being hyped by the whole school
The sun sets in the west and smoke from cooking rises.
It was already six or seven o'clock when Ren Yizi returned home in the bumpy car.
As soon as he entered the yard, he shouted, "Grandma, I'm back to see you!"
Yang Ruyi was cutting vegetables and cooking in the kitchen. Through the boiling sound of the corn and pork ribs soup, she could hear Ren Yizi's youthful shouting.
When she heard this, she immediately wiped her apron with her hands with joy and walked quickly to the lobby to greet her grandson: "My darling grandson is back!"
"Yes, I'm back," Ren Yizi said quickly, "Grandma, please walk slowly and watch your step."
Yang Ruyi looked at him and patted his shoulder: "I haven't seen you for a few weeks. You've grown a bit taller. Are you used to living in school?"
"Everything is fine," Ren Yizi dragged his luggage back to his room to put his things. "I'm used to it. Grandma, let me tell you, I'm very lucky to live in a double room and have a very good roommate who helps me a lot."
Yang Ruyi frowned and went back to the kitchen, bringing out the steaming, fragrant corn and pork ribs soup and placing it on the wooden table. "That's good. What's your roommate's name?"
When Ren Yizi thought of Wen Siru's face, he smiled naturally. "Wen Siru, he's handsome, tall, and a top student. Next time I have a chance, I'll bring him to our place to play."
Like countless other parents, Yang Ruyi's eyes lit up when she heard the word "student tyrant." "Oh, he's a top student, after all. Then, Azi, you need to interact with him more and learn from him. Got it?"
"I see. Actually, what I said wasn't quite accurate. He's not even a top student. At this level, everyone in his class calls him a genius." Ren Yizi finished cleaning up and sat down at the dining table. He took the bowl and chopsticks handed to him by Yang Ruyi and dug into the soup. "I asked him any questions about his studies, and he patiently answered them one by one."
Yang Ruyi nodded and handed Ren Yizi a large piece of bone. "Then you should seize this opportunity and become friends. If you have any conflicts in the dormitory and he makes you unhappy, just speak up and don't hit him."
Ren Yizi nearly choked as he ate the meat from the ribs, his neck flushed red. "How could I hit him, grandma? He's so well-behaved and gentle. One punch would probably cripple him. You can tell from his appearance that he's a well-loved, wealthy young man who stays away from trouble. He's helped me so much, I already consider him a friend."
"Some of it is for you to eat, don't eat so hastily." Yang Ruyi was startled by his appearance and quickly put down her chopsticks to pat his back to comfort him. "Grandma is just reminding you. You've been called to school several times for fighting. I'm just worried that you'll lose a worthwhile friend because of your temper. Have you had any fights this semester?"
"Without grandma, I just want to study hard." Ren Yizi said words to make the old lady happy.
Yang Ruyi patted his head and said, "That's good. Is your living expenses enough? If not, tell grandma."
Ren Yizi nodded, as if he had thought of something, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Grandma, Yu Minzhen is going to come to see me again soon..."
At this moment, there was a hint of solemnity in the air.
Before he could finish his words, Yang Ruyi interrupted him, her expression agitated: "Why did she come to you again? Didn't you agree that you wouldn't support her after her senior year? What on earth does this woman want?"
"What else could she want from me? She's just asking me for money."
When the grandfather and grandson mentioned this woman, their happy and relaxed mood quickly took a turn for the worse.
Yang Ruyi looked serious: "Did you lend it to her?"
"How could that be?" Ren Yizi said, taking out the white jade Buddha that was strung together with a red string from his chest, "But she came to ask me for this white jade Buddha."
The sound of insects was irritating. The residual heat of the autumn heat seemed to still linger in the room, making people feel wrapped in a layer of heat.
"Yu Minzhen is truly shameless," Yang Ruyi snorted coldly. This usually gentle and kind old man was rarely so disdainful of others. "My dear grandson, remember, this white jade Buddha of yours is our family heirloom. Unless it's a matter of life and death, you must never pawn it. When you get married, you must pass it on to your wife."
Ren Yizi nodded. He certainly knew that this white jade Buddha was very important, otherwise his father would not have spent a lot of money to find someone to repair the broken jade Buddha.
Yang Ruyi carefully stroked the white jade Buddha that Ren Yizi was holding, and then put it back into Ren Yizi's clothes: "Okay, let's eat, let's not talk about this woman anymore."
-
After dinner, Ren Yizi helped Yang Ruyi wash the dishes and sweep the floor, then he sat aimlessly scrolling through his phone at the table. Suddenly, his mind started to replay what Yin Zhongjiu had said on the bus today: "That picture of Wen Siru and Ren Laodi at the flag-raising ceremony at the beginning of the school year is so gay."
Ren Yizi was led by some unknown instinct to search on WeChat for the article on the school's official account titled "The First Day of School in Handang".
The cover is a photo of him and Wen Si Ru standing next to the national flag.
Ren Yizi clicked on it. The text inside was the same old opening-of-school proclamation. He finally scrolled to the end and came across the photo of him and Wen Siru. He clicked on it, enlarged it, and thought to himself, "Isn't this normal? They just didn't mean to look at each other. They just met. Can't they just make friendly eye contact?"
Thinking of this, Ren Yizi couldn't help but click to save the picture.
He continued to scroll down and came to the selected comments section:
"Ahhh, it feels so good! Mom, I'm so good!"
"They're both so handsome! They're a perfect match, a match made in heaven!"
"Taking it well, taking everything will only help me achieve a balanced diet."
The following comments are basically the same, but there are also some sensible ones:
"Can you guys, those crazy people up there, please be a little more normal? They're just raising the national flag, and you're already imagining all these weird things."
Ren Yizi gave this message a thumbs-up, while internally raging: Exactly, what have you guys imagined of my normal friendship with Wen Siru? You're tarnishing our revolutionary friendship!
At this time, grandma pushed open the door and walked in, bringing him a plate of strawberries: "Come, Ah Zi, eat some fresh strawberries."
Ren Yizi didn't know why he felt guilty, so he quickly turned off his phone and picked up the pen: "Okay, Grandma, you put it here."
Grandma looked at him holding the pen with satisfaction, and without disturbing him too much, she quietly closed the door and said, "Don't study too late, go to bed early."
Ren Yizi picked up the strawberry with water droplets on it from the glass plate and ate it. His throat felt sour and sweet. He suddenly felt a little guilty, thinking that he had wasted a lot of time playing with his mobile phone. He should study hard for his grandmother.
He picked up the copybook that was easiest for him to get into the mood, and thought of reciting "Pipa Xing" to Wen Si Ru, so he picked up his phone to make a voice call to Wen Si Ru, but he didn't expect that he slipped and pressed the video call button.
He quickly tried to hang up, but the other party picked up.
Ren Yizi and Wen Siru looked into each other's eyes.
Wen Siru's eyes lit up: "Brother Zi, are you looking for me?"
Ren Yizi was a little embarrassed. He laughed and said, "Well, um... didn't the Chinese teacher ask you to supervise me memorizing the text?"
Wen Siru nodded immediately: "You carry it on your back."
Ren Yizi saw that Wen Siru was probably in the study. Behind him was a whole wall of bookcases. He guessed that Wen Siru was studying. "Is that okay? What are you doing now? Will it bother you if I recite?"
Wen Siru's peach blossom eyes curved: "How could that be? Just recite it."
Ren Yizi began to recite it haltingly. As he recited, his face turned red because he made many mistakes. Wen Siru corrected him in a gentle voice every time without any impatience.
He started to play it off: "Oh, forget it, let's take a break and chat for a bit?"
Wen Siru was doing his math Olympiad homework while listening to Yi Zi recite it. Hearing what he said, he looked up and stopped writing: "Okay, what do you want to talk to me about?"
Ren Yizi wanted to confirm once again whether Wen Siru was so nice to him because he had a crush on him, a straight man.
This is not something he can just believe. In his seventeen years of life, there are countless men and women of all ages who like him. He doesn't want to lose a friend like Wen Si Ru, so he wants to confirm his background.
Thinking of Wen Siru's obedient face, Ren Yizi began to doubt whether he understood these things and began to carefully test him: "Do you know...what is a gay?"
Wen Siru was stunned for a moment, then said with a half-smile, "I know, why are you asking me this all of a sudden?"
"Then answer me first, do you know that we are a couple that the whole school is hyping?"
Wen Siru didn't hesitate: "Of course."
"So what's your attitude towards this matter?"
"What's the big deal? ICBC and CCB can both form a couple. I think it's fun for them to do that, but I don't take it seriously. Do you take it seriously, Brother Zi?"
Wen Siru's eyes suddenly widened and he looked at Ren Yizi. Even through the phone, his pupils were as pure as a bright window, spotless.
"Of course not!" Ren Yizi was caught off guard by Wen Siru's sudden question. He was stared at by those innocent and pure eyes and his heart trembled for an inexplicable reason. He spoke louder and louder for emphasis, "What a joke! Everyone knows that I, Ren Yizi, scolded those dirty gays not long ago. It's too late to stay away from them."
Wen Siru lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, the youth's uniquely clear voice echoing in this old house: "You don't look like someone who would curse."
"Who said that? I'm really good at cursing!" Ren Yizi became more and more excited as he talked. He put one foot on the chair and continued, "You don't know, I can grab those people, with their ancestors as the center and their parents as the radius, and then I can rant about the essence of Chinese culture until they become autistic..."
Wen Siru listened and suddenly asked sincerely, "Brother, will you scold me?"
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