Boy friend
Monday's morning reading class always carries a bit of laziness left over from the weekend. The sycamore tree outside the window has lost its last leaf, and the bare branches are covered with a thin layer of frost, which cuts the morning light into pieces.
Just as Xu Yang put his schoolbag into the desk hole, he saw Lu Jinyu poking his head in from the back door, holding a bulging thermal bag in his hand. His eyes lit up when he saw him, and he slid lightly to his seat.
"This is for you," Lu Jinyu pushed the thermal bag towards him, the tips of his ears still feeling a bit of the cold air from outside. "My mom made sweet potato porridge this morning with longan and red dates. Drink it while it's hot."
As he spoke, he pulled out a boiled egg from his pocket. The shell was peeled cleanly, leaving no scraps of skin on the egg white. "Eat this too. It's a protein supplement. I have two physics classes this morning."
Xu Yang opened the thermal bag, and the warm aroma immediately filled the air. The sweetness of sweet potato mixed with the fragrance of longan went through his nose and into his heart.
He picked up the spoon and took a sip. The porridge was soft and sticky, and the sweetness of the red dates was just right, not too cloying and not too bland. The warm liquid slid down his throat, dispelling the chill of the early morning.
"It's delicious." He looked up at Lu Jinyu with a faint smile on his face. "Thank you, boyfriend."
Lu Jinyu had been flipping through his physics textbook when he heard this. He immediately looked up, his eyes sparkling. "Really? Then I'll ask my mom to cook it tomorrow. If you want a different flavor, mung bean porridge or millet porridge will also be fine. I'll ask her to prepare it in advance." As he spoke, he gently rubbed his fingers along the edge of the textbook and added, "I'll peel the eggs for you tomorrow, so you don't have to do it yourself."
Xu Yang looked at his serious expression and felt soft in his heart. He handed the egg to him and said, "You eat one too. One is enough for me."
Lu Jinyu shook his head and pushed the egg back. "I've eaten it at home. This is specially brought for you. Eat it quickly, otherwise it will be cold and not tasty."
The bell for morning reading class rang, and the class monitor led everyone to read English words. Lu Jinyu's voice was clear, but he couldn't help but secretly glance at Xu Yang.
Seeing Xu Yang finish the porridge and eat most of the egg, he withdrew his gaze with relief and recited the words with everyone. However, the corners of his mouth could not help but rise, and even the boring words became pleasing to the eye.
In the first physics class, the teacher walked into the classroom with last week's test paper. Xu Yang saw Lu Jinyu's hands secretly clenched the corners of his clothes, and there was a hint of nervousness in his eyes.
It was not until the teacher read out "Lu Jinyu, 82 points, great progress" that Lu Jinyu suddenly raised his head, his eyes full of surprise, and subconsciously looked at Xu Yang, as if asking for praise.
Xu Yang made a "great" gesture towards him. The tips of Lu Jinyu's ears instantly turned red, but he sat up straighter. He listened to the teacher's explanation very carefully, and kept taking notes on the test paper with the pen in his hand. Occasionally, when he encountered something he didn't understand, he would secretly write it down on the draft paper and ask Xu Yang during the break.
As soon as the bell rang, Lu Jinyu immediately turned around and handed the draft paper to Xu Yang. There were two physics formulas written on it with a small question mark next to it.
"I still don't quite understand this friction problem," he said softly, scratching his head. "I can't seem to find the right direction when the teacher talks about force analysis."
Xu Yang took the draft paper, picked up the pen, and while drawing on the paper, he patiently explained: "You see, when an object moves on an inclined plane, gravity must be decomposed into two forces, one downward along the inclined plane, and the other perpendicular to the inclined plane..." He explained in detail, and Lu Jinyu listened attentively, with his head close to him. Their shoulders would occasionally touch each other, and the warmth of each other's body made Xu Yang's heartbeat quicken a little.
"So that's how it is!" Lu Jinyu suddenly understood, his eyes lighting up. "I used to confuse support and gravity, but now I finally understand." As he spoke, he remembered something and took out an orange from his schoolbag, peeled it, and handed the largest segment to Xu Yang's mouth. "Here, eat it. Thank you for explaining the problem to me."
Xu Yang opened his mouth and took it. The sour and sweet taste of the orange spread in his mouth, with a hint of the warmth from Lu Jinyu's palm.
He watched Lu Jinyu put the remaining orange segments into his mouth, and did not forget to carefully fold the orange peel and put it into the garbage bag in the desk. He felt particularly warm in his heart - this boy who always did small things very meticulously could always use the simplest way to make him feel full of love.
In the second Chinese class, the teacher asked everyone to read the text aloud freely, and the classroom was filled with the sound of reading.
After reading for a while, Lu Jinyu felt a little cold, so he shrank his neck and wrapped his scarf tighter.
Xu Yang noticed his little action and quietly handed him his hand warmer - it was the one Lu Jinyu gave him last week. There was a little bear printed on the pink shell. Xu Yang always carried it with him and charged it before going out in the morning.
"You hold the hand warmer," Xu Yang whispered, "I'm not cold." Lu Jinyu shook his head and pushed the hand warmer back. "Your hands are colder than mine, so you hold it. My scarf is enough." As he spoke, he took off his own scarf and wrapped it around Xu Yang's neck. "This way you won't be cold. My scarf is very warm."
Xu Yang's neck was instantly wrapped in warmth. The scarf carried the faint scent of laundry detergent from Lu Jinyu, and his body temperature made Xu Yang's cheeks slightly hot.
He wanted to take off the scarf and return it to Lu Jinyu, but Lu Jinyu held his hand. "Don't take it off," Lu Jinyu said softly, with a hint of pleading, "If you are cold, I will feel bad."
Looking at his serious eyes, Xu Yang had no choice but to give up and let the scarf wrap around his neck. The warm feeling spread from his neck to his whole body, and even his heart felt warm.
He lowered his head to look at the textbook, but couldn't help but think of the kiss by the river last night, Lu Jinyu's soft lips with the sweet scent of fruit wine, and his ears that turned red when he was shy, which made Xu Yang's heartbeat begin to accelerate uncontrollably again.
During the break, the wind outside was very strong and it felt like a knife blowing on my face.
Lu Jinyu took Xu Yang's hand and put it in his pocket. His pocket was very warm. He held Xu Yang's hand tightly with his fingers, fearing that the wind would cool his hand.
The two stood in the line, doing radio gymnastics following the broadcast. Their movements were not standard, but they couldn't help but secretly look at each other. Occasionally, when their eyes met, they couldn't help but smile, blocking out the cold wind.
After the exercises, everyone rushed to the classroom, but Lu Jinyu took Xu Yang and walked around to the small garden behind the teaching building. There were a few wintersweets planted there, and small buds had already appeared on the branches, with a faint fragrance.
"I discovered wintersweets here yesterday," Lu Jinyu's eyes were full of anticipation. "I thought of bringing you here to see them. They'll definitely look even better when the flowers bloom in a few days."
Xu Yang looked at the flower buds on the branches, then looked at Lu Jinyu beside him, his heart filled with happiness.
He took the initiative to move closer and kissed Lu Jinyu gently on the cheek. It was as light as a feather, but it made Lu Jinyu freeze instantly. The tip of his ears was so red that blood seemed to be dripping out, and he even forgot to move his hands.
"You... why suddenly..." Lu Jinyu's voice was a little trembling, his eyes were dodging, but he couldn't help but look at Xu Yang with a shy smile on his lips.
Xu Yang looked at his shy look and couldn't help but smile: "This is a reward for you. You did well in the physics test and you still care about me so much." He said, holding Lu Jinyu's hand again, "Hurry back to the classroom, otherwise you will be late for the next class."
Lu Jinyu nodded, but walked very slowly, holding Xu Yang's hand tightly, and his heart was like a little rabbit, jumping around.
He secretly glanced at Xu Yang's profile. The sunlight fell on his face with a soft halo, making Lu Jinyu feel that this winter became especially warm because of Xu Yang.
At lunch time, Lu Jinyu took Xu Yang to the second floor of the school cafeteria and found a seat by the window.
"My mom brought me some braised pork this morning," he said, opening the insulated box, which was filled with brightly colored, fragrant braised pork. "Try it! My mom's braised pork is the best."
Xu Yang picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. The meat was stewed until soft and tender, the sauce was rich, and the sweetness and saltiness were just right. It was indeed delicious.
He watched Lu Jinyu put the best pieces into his own bowl while he ate the vegetables beside it. He felt a little touched: "You eat too, don't give it all to me."
"I've eaten at home," Lu Jinyu shook his head and picked up another piece of meat for Xu Yang. "You're growing, so you need to eat more."
As he spoke, he remembered something and took out a bottle of hot milk from his schoolbag. He unscrewed the cap and handed it to Xu Yang, "This is hot too. Drink it to warm yourself up."
Xu Yang took the milk, and the warm touch spread from his fingertips to his heart. He looked at Lu Jinyu busying around, and suddenly felt that the so-called happiness was probably like this - there is someone who takes your little things to heart, leaves the best things for you, and gives you full warmth in the cold winter.
The afternoon class ended quickly. When school was over, it started to drizzle outside. The fine raindrops fell on the ground, splashing small water droplets.
Lu Jinyu pulled out an umbrella from his schoolbag. It was a large black umbrella, big enough for two people to hold together. "I saw the weather forecast this morning and it said it was going to rain, so I brought an umbrella," he said, opening the umbrella and leaning it towards Xu Yang. "Stay close to me so you don't get wet."
The two walked side by side in the rain. The space under the umbrella was very small. Their shoulders were pressed tightly together. They could hear each other's heartbeats. The raindrops hit the umbrella, making a rustling sound, as if singing a gentle song.
Lu Jinyu walked very slowly, and occasionally lowered his head to tell Xu Yang some interesting things about school, such as his deskmate being caught sleeping in class by the teacher, and the embarrassing things that happened to the boys while playing basketball in physical education class, which made Xu Yang laugh uncontrollably.
When they reached the downstairs of Xu Yang's house, the rain had not stopped yet. Lu Jinyu handed the umbrella to Xu Yang: "You hold the umbrella, and give it to me when you go to school tomorrow." Xu Yang shook his head and pushed the umbrella back: "Your house is far away, you hold it, I'll just run up, it's not raining hard anyway."
"No," Lu Jinyu insisted, stuffing the umbrella into Xu Yang's hand. "You'll catch a cold if you get wet in the rain. It's okay for me. I can run home quickly."
As he spoke, without waiting for Xu Yang to retort, he turned and rushed into the rain. After running a few steps, he stopped, turned around and shouted to Xu Yang, "I'll wait for you under the old locust tree tomorrow morning and bring you pumpkin porridge!"
Xu Yang watched his back disappear in the rain, holding the umbrella that still carried Lu Jinyu's body temperature in his hand, his heart filled with warmth.
He looked up at the window of his house, and thought of Lu Jinyu's appearance just now, and couldn't help laughing - this boy who always put him first, with his gentleness and care, turned this cold winter into the warmest season.
After returning home, Xu Yang put away his umbrella, took out his physics notebook, opened the last page, and wrote below yesterday's handwriting: "On December 9th, Lu Jinyu scored 82 points in physics. Very impressive. He brought me sweet potato porridge and boiled eggs, helped me with physics problems, gave me his scarf to wear, and held my hand to warm it. It rained in the afternoon, and he left his umbrella with me while running home in the rain. It turns out that when you like someone, you give them all the good things, think about them, and can make even the cold winter feel warm. I have to go down early tomorrow so he doesn't have to wait too long. I also have to tell him that his scarf is warm and his porridge is delicious. I like it very much."
After finishing writing, he closed the wrong answer book, walked to the window, and watched the rain outside gradually getting smaller. Thinking that he would be able to see Lu Jinyu tomorrow morning, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise.
He knew that in the days to come, there would be more such warm moments, and more stories about them, slowly unfolding this winter and in every season thereafter.
The next morning, Xu Yang went downstairs ten minutes early. As soon as he reached the old locust tree, he saw Lu Jinyu standing there, holding a thermos bag in his hand and wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket. His ears and nose were red from the cold, but he still smiled and waved at him: "Xu Yang, here! The pumpkin porridge is still hot, drink it quickly."
Xu Yang walked over and handed him the umbrella: "Thank you for your umbrella yesterday. Are you okay with a cold?"
"No, I'm fine." Lu Jinyu took the umbrella and handed him the thermal bag. "Drink the porridge quickly. It won't taste good if it gets cold."
Xu Yang opened the thermal bag and the aroma of pumpkin porridge hit him. He took a sip and the sweet and sticky taste spread in his mouth, warming his heart.
He looked at Lu Jinyu's ears, which were red from the cold, and couldn't help but reach out and touch his ears gently: "Your ears are red from the cold, why don't you wear more clothes?"
The tips of Lu Jinyu's ears instantly turned redder, but he leaned closer and spoke in a low voice: "I'm afraid I'm too late and you're getting anxious waiting."
Xu Yang looked at his serious expression, and his heart softened. He passed the porridge to Lu Jinyu's mouth: "Take a sip too, it's delicious."
Lu Jinyu opened his mouth to take it, his eyes lit up: "Really? Then I'll ask my mother to cook it tomorrow."
The sun slowly climbed over the treetops and fell on the two of them, stretching their shadows very long and tightly together. Xu Yang knew that this winter, because of Lu Jinyu, would be especially warm; and their story would be like the sun in this winter, continuing to warm them until a long, long time later.
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