Guan Baiyu arrived in Changxi City that morning.
Instead of going to find Liang Qinxuan, he went to a park in Changxi City and sat down.
He was conflicted for the past week, but he also figured out two things.
First of all, he likes men.
He felt no arousal when he saw a woman's body, and he was not interested in the other boys in his dormitory talking about women.
On the contrary, men sometimes take a few more glances.
Secondly, he liked Shi Zhen.
He had always liked Shi Zhen, but before, he hadn't realized that this liking was for a lover, or rather, he hadn't dared to think about it.
At that time, how could he dare to think in that direction?
He had always disliked Shi Zhen being close to others, but he always thought it was just possessiveness towards his family.
Putting aside other things, Guan Jinjin, as an only child who was pampered by her parents, had a strong possessiveness towards them. This was especially evident when she was four or five years old. For a period of time, Guan Jinjin even forbade him to call her "Dad" and "Mom".
On another occasion, when her adoptive father hugged another child, five-year-old Guan Jinjin also cried loudly, telling her father not to hug other people.
Later, his adoptive father really stopped hugging other people.
He had assumed that he felt the same way about Shi Zhen.
But in reality... that's not the case.
He wanted to see Shi Zhen every moment.
He was particularly miserable living at high school and would look at Shi Zhen's photo every day.
He also wanted to touch Shi Zhen and hug him.
He had a vague feeling that something was wrong, so he held back.
And now, everything has been laid bare.
Guan Baiyu sat in the park for a long time.
He thought about many things, and even couldn't help but have some dark thoughts.
For example... Shi Zhen values him a lot, so he could actually scheme against Shi Zhen, get something to happen between them, and then take advantage of Shi Zhen's guilt towards him to be with Shi Zhen.
For example, he could try to seduce Shi Zhen and make him follow the same path as him.
But in the end, all of these thoughts faded away.
Shi Zhen treated him very well, and he couldn't hurt Shi Zhen.
Besides, Shi Zhen is still young, and he might not get married for another ten years or so. By then, his thoughts might have changed... He doesn't need to think too much about it now.
The person closest to Shi Zhen is him, and that's enough!
Guan Baiyu checked the time, found a stone table, and did his homework on it. It was an open little park with no playground equipment, so there weren't many people there during the day, except for some elderly women and men taking a stroll.
People would occasionally glance at Guan Baiyu doing his homework in the park, then leave with a sense of satisfaction.
Guan Baiyu ignored them.
His mind was a little confused, but fortunately, he did more practice problems and gradually calmed down.
There's nothing he can do right now. The only thing he can do is study hard so that Shi Zhen will like him a little more, and then like him even more.
And in the future... he wants to earn more than Shi Zhen, so that he can help Shi Zhen and always stand by Shi Zhen's side.
Even if they can't be together, they can still be brothers for life.
"Guan Baiyu?" A voice rang out. Guan Baiyu looked up and realized that it was Teacher Fei who was calling him.
Teacher Fei was still the same as always, smiling and looking very kind. Beside him stood an elderly man with gray hair, but full of energy.
Professor Fei's children all live in Changxi City. He occasionally visits Changxi City to see his children, so it's not surprising to run into him there.
"Teacher Fei," Guan Baiyu greeted with a smile.
"Why are you doing your homework here?" Teacher Fei asked.
"Today is my classmate's birthday, and I came to Changxi City to celebrate with him, but I arrived too early," Guan Baiyu said.
"You really don't waste any study time," Teacher Fei laughed.
Guan Baiyu gave an embarrassed smile.
"Is this your student?" the elderly man who came with Teacher Fei asked.
“I’ve been retired for several years now, where would I get such a young student? He’s not my student, but he’s somewhat related to you,” Teacher Fei said.
The old man asked, puzzled, "What does this have to do with me?"
“The house you live in is rented by his brother,” Teacher Fei said.
"Is he the younger brother of the brothers who rented the house? He got into the top high school, right?" The old man looked at Guan Baiyu, seemingly trying to give him a kind smile.
But he has a very serious face and an imposing presence, making him seem unapproachable.
"Hmm," Guan Baiyu responded, his heart churning with turmoil.
He didn't know much about his grandfather's family, but he knew a little bit about them.
His grandfather's surname was Sun, and his name was Sun Pingfu. He initially worked as a cadre in Anshan Town and was later transferred to Changxi City.
His biological father was named Sun Qingshu. He grew up in Guanjia Village from a young age. Later, his biological father took him away and sent him to work in an engineering team. He died in an accident while repairing a water tower.
Guan Baiyu had always kept his distance from the Sun family.
He had discussed this with Shi Zhen. After confirming his attitude, Shi Zhen told him something—the house where the Shi family lived was the same house where the Sun family lived in town back then.
These days, houses are scarce, and it's not uncommon for several families to squeeze into a small apartment. It's even more common for a young couple and their child to live in a one-bedroom apartment.
Houses in town are hard to rent, so even though Shi Zhen knew about it, he still rented one.
The Sun family members have already settled down in Changxi City and will not return to Anshan Town, so they will not run into them.
Of course, it doesn't matter if we run into each other... He and the Sun family actually have no connection.
The Sun family never raised him, so he will not acknowledge any members of the Sun family.
Not to mention that Shi Zhen had specifically told him to stay away from the Sun family and not to associate with them.
Changxi City is neither too big nor too small. Guan Baiyu had always thought that he would not encounter the Sun family, or if he did, he would not recognize them. He did not expect to encounter them so soon and even get to know them.
However, people didn't react at all when they heard his name, which shows they don't take him seriously at all... He really should stay away from these people and avoid associating with them.
“No. 1 High School is very good. Study hard and go to university,” Sun Pingfu said.
"I will." Guan Baiyu smiled and looked at the time on his wrist before packing his things. "Teacher Fei, it's almost time for my appointment with my classmates, so I'll be going now."
"Go on, go on, have fun!" Teacher Fei said.
Guan Baiyu packed his schoolbag and left.
He hadn't actually made plans with Liang Qinxuan, but he knew where Liang Qinxuan was taking tutoring classes.
The teachers' dormitory of No. 1 Middle School is right next to the school. In another half hour, Liang Qinxuan will finish his morning classes.
Guan Baiyu walked towards the direction of No. 1 Middle School with his schoolbag on his back.
When he arrived outside the teachers' dormitory at No. 1 Middle School, he found a place to wait. After waiting for a while, he saw Liang Qinxuan come out of there looking very listless.
"Liang Qinxuan!" Guan Baiyu called out.
Liang Qinxuan immediately looked over.
Guan Baiyu then said, "Happy birthday."
After he finished speaking, he handed Liang Qinxuan a plastic bag containing his birthday gift to Liang Qinxuan.
This is a scarf.
This scarf was a gift from Shi Xingchao, and it was also knitted by Shi Xingchao himself.
His brother had learned from the driver who delivered the wool sweaters that the factory often sold off the yarn it didn't need for a lower price than outside, so he bought some and planned to resell it to the villagers.
His brother completely handed over the yarn-selling business to Shi Xingchao, and even let Shi Xingchao take a cut of the profits.
Shi Xingchao was overjoyed, and since the temperature had dropped, he knitted two scarves and gave one to him and one to his brother.
His brother didn't like wearing scarves and didn't want them, so he gave him both scarves.
These two scarves, one gray and one black, are different in color and style. Originally, the black one was for his brother and the gray one was for him. After he got both, he wore the black one and is now giving the gray one away.
The yarn used for this scarf is quite good. Shi Xingchao is also good at handicrafts. In order to encourage people around him to buy yarn to knit sweaters, he even borrowed a book on knitting and learned the patterns in it. So this scarf is very beautiful.
"Guan Baiyu! Did you come to surprise me?" Liang Qinxuan was very happy and was about to hug Guan Baiyu.
Guan Baiyu dodged away, holding the plastic bag containing the scarf against Liang Qinxuan's chest to prevent him from getting closer.
Liang Qinxuan smiled and took the plastic bag, opened it, and immediately liked what was inside.
"This scarf is so beautiful! Did you knit it?" Liang Qinxuan asked. The scarf looked so good that it was obviously not bought.
"I didn't knit it."
Liang Qinxuan suddenly realized something: "Did your cousin knit it?"
“It wasn’t my cousin who knitted it, it was my cousin’s cousin…you’ve seen him before.” Guan Baiyu described Shi Xingchao’s appearance.
Liang Qinxuan immediately remembered the person who looked extremely poor and whose clothes were tattered.
He was touched when they even knitted him a sweater!
"He's such a nice person!" Liang Qinxuan said.
“Although he wove it, I gave it to you,” Guan Baiyu said.
"You're so kind!" Liang Qinxuan laughed heartily. "By the way, do you have a scarf? Do you want me to buy one for you?"
“I have one, I have a black one.” Guan Baiyu took out another black scarf from his schoolbag and wrapped it around his neck with some care.
It's already December, and he's been outside for a while now, so it's getting a bit cold.
Liang Qinxuan immediately wrapped the gray scarf around his neck, beaming with delight.
Liang Qinxuan took Guan Baiyu to dinner, and it turned out to be the same restaurant where Guan Baiyu had first met Liang Qinxuan.
After Liang Qinxuan went in, he ordered four meat dishes and... one vegetable dish.
He doesn't like eating vegetables, but Guan Baiyu seems to like them.
"The food here is pretty good, and most importantly, it's all prepared in advance, so it's quick and we don't have to wait... I'm starving!" Liang Qinxuan invited Guan Baiyu to eat with him, and then said he would take Guan Baiyu to tutoring in the afternoon.
Guan Baiyu agreed; he had nowhere else to go.
In the afternoon, Guan Baiyu went to tutoring with Liang Qinxuan.
Liang Qinxuan's tutoring was one-on-one, and he paid the teacher by the hour. Taking on more students wouldn't make much of a difference, especially since Guan Baiyu didn't need a teacher to explain the problems to him.
While Liang Qinxuan was studying, Guan Baiyu was doing his homework next to him.
Then... Guan Baiyu understood everything the teacher said, but Liang Qinxuan was still completely confused.
Guan Baiyu: "..."
There was nothing he could do; the teacher was teaching first-year high school material, which he had previewed, but Liang Qinxuan had forgotten it all…
They attended a three-hour class with this teacher and didn't leave until four in the afternoon. As soon as they stepped outside, they saw five members of the basketball team waiting where Guan Baiyu and Liang Qinxuan had been earlier.
They were all very happy to see Guan Baiyu, and then headed straight for the nearby roller skating area.
To roller skate here, you need to rent skates from someone. They are roller skates with two rows of four wheels on each side of the sole. A pair of skates costs one yuan to rent for one hour.
The price is a bit high, but poor people wouldn't come to a place like this anyway.
Before Guan Baiyu, he didn't even know what roller skating was, let alone know how to roller skate.
He believed that probably no one in his village knew what roller skating was.
There is no such place in Anshan Town!
They paid a deposit, watched the person collecting the money write down the time they would be renting the shoes, and then... slowly, holding onto the railing, they walked into the roller skating rink.
Of them, only Liang Qinxuan knew how to skate; the others had never been to such a place before.
Those who could hold onto the railing were considered lucky; as they walked forward, some people lost their grip and fell.
This skating rink isn't actually very big; it's only about 120 square meters in total.
There's a 20-30 square meter area at the entrance where shoes are rented out, and there are also some small tables selling various snacks. If you get tired of skating, you can go there to buy something to eat and rest.
The area for roller skating is a square rink of about 90 square meters. In the middle of the rink are two cement pillars covered with foam and surrounded by railings. There is also a railing along the wall around the rink.
Liang Qinxuan had been here many times before and knew how to slide, but Guan Baiyu and the basketball team could only move slowly while holding onto the railing, and they had to be very careful...
They don't.
"Each pair of shoes has four wheels, it's so slippery, it's hard to walk in them!"
"It looks so difficult."
"I was holding onto the railing, and I still slipped and fell twice."
...
The basketball team members were all a bit helpless.
Just then, Guan Baiyu suddenly released the railing and rushed out.
"Guan Baiyu, what are you doing?" The basketball team members were dumbfounded.
Liang Qinxuan was also stunned: "Guan Baiyu, slow down, be careful..."
Before Liang Qinxuan could finish saying "Be careful not to fall," Guan Baiyu tripped and fell.
Liang Qinxuan skated over to his side and said, "Guan Baiyu, should I pull you along? Hmm, never mind, it's easy for both of us to fall... Don't rush, learn slowly."
"Okay." Guan Baiyu responded, stood up, and slid forward without hesitation.
A short while later, he fell again.
Liang Qinxuan felt pain just watching it: "It's your first time here, don't rush to slide, hold onto the railing and walk around first... It took me three tries to learn!"
"I just wanted to give it a try." Guan Baiyu smiled, got up again, and continued forward.
Of course, he fell again.
But he didn't care; he would get up after falling and continue skating.
He even felt quite exhilarated by the fall; with his body aching, he no longer had time to think about anything else.
And... this little bit of pain is nothing to him.
He was actually more afraid of going hungry than of the pain.
Guan Baiyu fell again and again, but got up again and again.
They weren't the only ones rollerblading here; there were many others.
At first, when Guan Baiyu wrestled, many people pointed and laughed, but gradually, no one laughed anymore.
Guan Baiyu looks very well-behaved. No one would be surprised if he cried after falling, but his expression was resolute, and he got up again and again.
And... every time he gets up, he slides even further.
After only about ten minutes, Guan Baiyu, who had fallen more than ten times, was able to slide steadily on the ground.
But he didn't give up and tried to speed up.
Going too fast makes it easy to fall, and he fell again.
But he got up again.
Then he started skating faster and faster...
Liang Qinxuan can skate, but he's afraid of pain and hardship, and he can't stand falling even once. He learned very slowly at first, but of course, he didn't fall much while learning.
And now... he doesn't dare to skate too fast.
Guan Baiyu's speed has now surpassed his.
He was dumbfounded—the top student was too terrifying!
Does Guan Baiyu always strive to learn something as quickly and effectively as possible, no matter what it is?
Liang Qinxuan was dumbfounded, not to mention the basketball team members. These tall guys were even taller after putting on roller skates, and the railings of the skating rink were even a bit short for them.
So they could only bend over and hold onto the handrail. These were tall and strong men, but at this moment they looked... weak, pitiful and helpless.
Previously, although they admired Guan Baiyu's achievements, they always thought Guan Baiyu was a weakling. They even told Guan Baiyu things like, "We'll protect you in the future, and if anyone bullies you, just tell us."
But look at it now...
Guan Baiyu probably doesn't need their protection at all!
Look! In just a short while, Guan Baiyu has become even faster. He's spinning around the ice rink at lightning speed and is even accelerating!
That's so cool!
They want to do that too!
One of the basketball players gritted his teeth, let go of the railing, and slid off...
He fell to the ground in a flash, the pain making him question his existence. He quickly scrambled back to the side and stood up, holding onto the railing.
A top student... is not something that can be easily imitated.
Liang Qinxuan, needless to say, shouted, "Guan Baiyu! You pull me up to slide! You pull me up!"
He wants to be carried by Guan Baiyu!
Guan Baiyu glanced at Liang Qinxuan, rejecting him with her eyes.
He didn't want to hold Liang Qinxuan's hand at all.
His brother's hands were large and warm, which was what he liked.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com