Chapter 50: Graduation Season is Confession Season
Pushing open the heavy door of a hot pot restaurant, you're greeted by a roiling heat, the pungent aroma of butter, the gurgling simmer of boiling pots, and the deafening roar of youth. It's another world entirely, a carnival for young souls, fresh from the burden of the Gaokao, eager to be liberated.
Chu Yan, clutching a bouquet of white roses that stood out against the clamor, a look of relief still lingering on his face, walked through the hall, awash in clutter and bustling with voices, towards the two large tables joined together for his class. The atmosphere had already been ignited by alcohol and excitement.
Ah Liang was sharp-eyed and shouted, waving his chopsticks stained with red oil. There was a seat next to him that was left empty, obviously for Chu Yan. And next to that empty seat sat Gu Ye.
Gu Ye was holding a glass of wine, talking to another boy with his head tilted to one side. His cheeks were slightly flushed from the alcohol, and his eyes seemed a little vague. Only when Chu Yan approached did he turn his head, as if startled. When his eyes fell on the bouquet of white roses in Chu Yan's arms, still pure and dazzling under the greasy lights of the hot pot restaurant, his pupils shrank almost imperceptibly, and his fingers tightened slightly around the wine glass. Who sent those flowers? The answer was about to come out, like a tiny thorn, gently pricking him.
"Hey, Brother Chu brought flowers? So romantic." The yellow-haired man shouted in surprise, attracting laughter and curious glances.
Chu Yan smiled, without explaining, but carefully placed the flowers on a chair against the wall to avoid being splashed by the soup. Then he calmly sat down in the specially reserved seat next to Gu Ye. "I bought it on the way, just for the occasion," he said casually, picking up the beer glass in front of him that had just been refilled by the waiter.
By this time, the dinner had entered its throes. The boys and girls, imitating the adults, began toasting one another. Congratulations on the Gaokao, wishes for a bright future, gratitude for the friendship of their classmates—all sorts of reasons. Beer bottles emptied one after another, the atmosphere almost blowing the roof off.
Chu Yan was undoubtedly the center of attention. His top grades, impeccable looks, and gentle, composed demeanor, coupled with his enviable background, made him the unattainable, undeniable love interest of countless women. At this moment, slightly tipsy with alcohol and the uniquely uninhibited atmosphere of graduation season, many of the women who usually only dared to secretly gaze at him finally mustered the courage to approach him, glasses in hand.
"Chu Yan, congratulations on finishing the college entrance examination! Here's a toast to you!"
"Chu Yan, thank you for helping me with the questions before! I'll do it, you can do whatever you want!"
"Chu Yan, I wish you a bright future! Let's keep in touch in the future!"
The girls' cheeks were flushed, their eyes sparkling, filled with shy yet bold anticipation. Their words might have been a little clumsy, but their pure hearts were particularly moving. Chu Yan accepted everyone who came, always with that gentle and proper smile on his face. Whether the other party was sincerely congratulating or harboring feelings, he responded one by one, clinking his glasses and drinking them all. He drank beer after beer without changing his expression, his eyes clear, as if he was drinking water instead of alcohol. This bottomless drinking capacity once again attracted howls of admiration from the boys.
Gu Ye sat beside Chu Yan, silently watching him surrounded by one girl after another, watching those gazes, some shy and some bold, glued to Chu Yan. He mechanically clinked glasses with A Liang, played dice, and laughed loudly, trying to blend in with the clamor, but his heart felt like a ball of wet cotton, stuffy and a little breathless. Chu Yan's effortless smile when he was toasted was inexplicably dazzling to Gu Ye. He could only tilt his head back and chug the cold beer in his glass, trying to quench the inexplicable irritation in his heart.
At this moment, a louder noise and booing suddenly broke out from the table next to them, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
"Promise him! Promise him!"
"Together! Together!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a usually reserved, bespectacled boy, his face flushed red, clearly having drunk quite a bit. He stood awkwardly before a shy, equally blushing girl in a ponytail. The boy had no flowers in his hand, only a beer that was about to spill. He mustered all his courage, his voice trembling with nervousness: "Li...Li Wei, I...I've liked you for a long time! Can you give me a chance?"
The girl who was called lowered her head even lower, clutched the corners of her clothes tightly with both hands, and the tips of her ears were red as if bleeding. Amid the deafening cheers of the students around her, she nodded quickly and almost imperceptibly.
"Wow!!" A louder roar of cheers and applause erupted instantly. The purest, most moving confession of youth was reciprocated at that moment, like a stone dropped into a lake, sending ripples across it. Under the combined influence of alcohol and hormones, the atmosphere in the hot pot restaurant grew even more ambiguous and agitated. Many people's eyes began to wander, glancing towards the figure they had silently observed for so long, their eagerness no longer suppressed.
Chu Yan also watched this scene with great interest, his chin propped up on one hand, a lazy smile on his lips, as if he was watching a play. This pure, reckless, and hopeful youthful atmosphere was very lively and interesting to him.
Gu Ye and A Liang's dice game also stopped. A Liang slammed the table and joined in the booing. Gu Ye was a little absent-minded, his eyes occasionally glancing at Chu Yan, who was watching the show beside him, and then at the classmates around him who were clearly starting to make a commotion. His inner irritation intensified. He grabbed the bottle and poured himself another glass.
At this moment, a figure, encouraged and nudged by his companions, stood up nervously, walked through the noisy crowd, and walked straight to Chu Yan's table. Everyone's eyes were instantly focused on him.
It was Lin Xue, vice-president of Class 3 (A), consistently ranked second in the class. She wore a neat ponytail and a crisp school shirt. She usually exuded a scholarly calmness, but now her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were intense yet resolute. Her presence quieted the already bustling atmosphere. The second-best student in the grade confessed to the best? This was big news!
Lin Xue took a deep breath and stood in front of Chu Yan. She tried to ignore the dozens of burning eyes around her. She mustered up all her courage, looked directly into Chu Yan's deep and gentle eyes, and said clearly and loudly:
"Chu Yan, I...I like you!"
The voice had the unique clarity of a young girl and a barely perceptible tremor, but it clearly penetrated the noisy background noise.
"If our college entrance exam results come out and we can get into the same university," she paused, as if gathering her strength, and then expressed her expectations more firmly, "Can you... give me a chance and be with me?"
“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!”
The entire hot pot restaurant instantly became lively, ten times more lively than the previous couple.
"Fuck, Lin Xue is awesome!"
"The second in grade confesses to the first in grade, a powerful alliance."
"Chu Yan, promise her! Promise her!"
"Together! Together!"
The atmosphere was completely ignited by the sounds of booing, whistles, and table-slapping. Everyone was watching this dramatic scene with excitement, and the post-college entrance exam carnival seemed to have reached its climax at this moment.
Gu Ye only felt a "buzzing" sound in his ears, and all the sounds seemed to be separated by a thick layer of glass. The wine glass in his hand stopped in mid-air, and the wine inside swayed slightly due to the force of his fingertips. He looked at Lin Xue who was standing in front of Chu Yan and bravely confessing her love, and looked at the undisguised admiration and expectation in her eyes, and then looked at Chu Yan. A strong feeling, mixed with sourness, anxiety and some indescribable panic, instantly seized him! He felt as if his heart was tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and he felt suffocated and almost unable to breathe.
He could only stare at Chu Yan's profile, frantically comforting himself over and over again in his heart: It's okay, it's okay, Chu Yan likes boys, he will never agree, he will definitely refuse, definitely.
Under the spotlight, Chu Yan's lazy smile faded a bit, as if he was a little surprised by Lin Xue's direct and brave confession. He looked at the outstanding and proud girl in front of him with a gentle gaze, but also with a clear sense of distance.
Chu Yan stood up. He was a head taller than Lin Xue, and his gentle gaze fell on her eyelashes, which were trembling slightly with nervousness. His voice was not loud, but it was clear above all the noise, with a soothing power, yet like a thunderclap, exploding in everyone's ears:
"Lin Xue, thank you for your love." His tone was sincere and serious. "You are a very outstanding girl. You will definitely be even more outstanding in the future."
He paused, and as everyone watched intently with bated breath, his lips still holding that gentle smile, he spoke the second half of his sentence with great force:
"But, I'm sorry. I already have a partner."
Boom——!!!
If Lin Wei's confession brought the atmosphere to a boiling point, then Chu Yan's words "I have a partner" were like a depth bomb, instantly silencing the entire hot pot restaurant.
Even the gurgling sound of the boiling pot can be heard clearly.
Everyone was stunned, as if they were collectively cast under a petrification spell.
Chu Yan, the top student in the grade... has a girlfriend?
When did it happen?
On campus or off campus?
A huge amount of information is impacting everyone's brain.
It took several seconds before someone gasped.
"F---" Ah Liang was the first to react, leaping up from his seat. His movement was so violent that it knocked over the chair, causing a sharp, grinding sound. His eyes widened, staring at Chu Yan as if he were an alien, his voice cracking with shock. "Brother Chu? When did you start dating? You've been hiding it for so long! There wasn't even a whisper!" He slammed his hands on the table, his words incoherent. "Brother Ye, Brother Ye, did you know? Chu Yan has a boyfriend?!"
Aliang's loud voice was like pressing the play button, instantly detonating the dormant volcano.
"Oh my god, is this true?"
"Chu Yan has a girlfriend? Who is it?"
"Isn't he from another school?"
"It's hidden so well, you can't see it at all."
"Lin Xue...Ah..." Someone looked at Lin Xue, who was still frozen in place, with sympathy.
The entire hot pot restaurant erupted in an uproar. Discussions, exclamations, and inquiries surged like a tsunami, a hundred times more intense than the previous booing. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Chu Yan, brimming with gossip.
However, amidst the explosive noise, there was one person who seemed to have been silenced.
He sat stiffly in his seat, still holding the beer that had long since stopped shaking. Ah Liang's "Brother Ye, do you know?" was like a heavy hammer, hitting his eardrums hard, making them buzz.
He knew the person whose name was "Mountain".
He knew the strange perfume that occasionally stained Chu Yan's body and did not belong to him.
He even vaguely guessed the origin of the bouquet of white roses.
But he didn't know either, he didn't know who that person was.
A bone-chilling chill shot up Gu Ye's spine from his feet all the way to his head, freezing him completely. The surrounding clamor, A Liang's excited hand shaking his shoulder, Lin Xue's distraught figure walking away, the inquiring gazes of his classmates...everything seemed to be pulled away, blurred, and mute.
Chu Yan was being questioned by A Liang and a group of gossipy boys. He had a helpless yet calm smile on his face, and seemed to be explaining something, but Gu Ye couldn't hear a word he said.
The wine glass in his hand finally gave way to the weight and landed on the greasy table with a clang. The amber liquid spilled out, soaking the cuffs of his school uniform and the few slices of tripe in front of him. The cool touch did nothing to awaken his numb nerves.
Gu Ye thought that he seemed to be drunk.
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