Chapter 27
Han Shuo spent an afternoon pondering Meng Yuxiu's words, "If you want to be with someone, don't be fickle."
After returning the love letter to Jiang Xiaowen, he calmed down and began to ponder how Meng Yuxiu, who had been so displeased with him all this time, had suddenly accepted it. Oh, although it's pretty much the same now.
However, to Han Shuo, it was no different from accepting it, except that he felt Meng Yuxiu had put it more subtly.
If translated directly, it means: Meng Yuxiu wants to be with Han Shuo, so he will not accept anyone's advances.
He had previously refused to agree, so what happened during this period that made him change his mind?
Han Shuo decided to go find Meng Yuxiu after school to get his questions answered, but when the school bell rang, he went to find Meng Yuxiu, only to find that Meng Yuxiu still had a dark expression on his face, which left him completely bewildered.
"What's going on?" Han Shuo asked, tugging at Meng Yuxiu's sleeve as he followed him out of the teaching building. "Don't walk so fast, let's talk."
Meng Yuxiu impatiently shouted at Han Shuo to get lost.
Han Shuo shielded Meng Yuxiu with his body, like a thug harassing a female classmate at the school gate. If Meng Yuxiu moved to the left, Han Shuo would block him from the left. If Meng Yuxiu moved to the right, Han Shuo would block him from the right.
Meng Yuxiu looked up and glared at him.
"Tell me, what exactly is making you angry?"
Although Meng Yuxiu seemed more mature than his peers, he was still young and couldn't hide his emotions. In addition, he had been holding in his anger all afternoon. He could suppress it and slowly digest it on the second or third day, but it was still unpleasant.
Han Shuo's playful expression just happened to be the perfect target for his attack. He took a deep breath, stared at Han Shuo's face, and slowly asked, "Do you want to know why I'm angry?"
"Go ahead, I'm listening." Han Shuo immediately dropped his playful grin.
Meng Yuxiu really wanted to expose Han Shuo's fickle behavior, but he couldn't bring himself to say something like a complaining woman.
He could only grit his teeth and say, "Because you accepted the letter."
"Huh?" Han Shuo's lips twitched, speechless. "Didn't you tell me to take it back?"
"You take it back just because I told you to?"
"..." Damn! What kind of person is this? Han Shuo cursed inwardly, "This is really unreasonable."
"Just because of this?"
Seeing Han Shuo's nonchalant attitude made Meng Yuxiu even more uncomfortable. He continued through gritted teeth, "You didn't ask me to play basketball."
Looking at Meng Yuxiu's arrogant expression with his brows furrowed, Han Shuo really wanted to laugh. This guy was only seventeen years old, and he was already throwing a tantrum over such a trivial matter. It turned out he was just jealous that Han Shuo and Gao Ze played basketball every day.
He put his arm around Meng Yuxiu's shoulder, secretly squeezed his shoulder when no one was looking, and then whispered, "Okay, okay, I'll take you to play basketball next time. Sigh, I thought something terrible had happened to make you so angry, it made it impossible for me to concentrate in class today."
Han Shuo's intimate words, coupled with the long-awaited arm around Meng Yuxiu's shoulder, had almost melted Meng Yuxiu's heart. But Han Shuo, as if deliberately rubbing salt in the wound, added another sentence.
"When I go to see Gao Ze tomorrow, I will definitely call you."
The next second, Meng Yuxiu forcefully shook off Han Shuo's arm, but just as he was about to yell at Han Shuo, he suddenly caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye.
Before Han Shuo could even react, he saw Meng Yuxiu dash back into the teaching building like a rabbit.
"What's wrong with him? Why did he run away?" Han Shuo was completely confused when he suddenly heard someone calling him.
He turned his head and was immediately overjoyed, "Brother?!"
Han Hong and Han Ting arrived at their school at some point. When Han Ting saw Han Shuo, he ran very fast on his short legs. Before Han Shuo even got close, he had already opened his arms and pounced on him.
Han Shuo caught him and picked him up.
"Brother, what brings you here?" Han Shuo instinctively looked at Han Ting with concern. "Is Tingting sick again?"
Seeing that Han Ting looked well, he immediately relaxed.
"Don't you remember it's your birthday today?" Han Hong said with a smile. "When you left on Sunday, you said you wouldn't be going home this week because you were going to have tutoring at school. It just so happens that the village tractor is coming to the county town today and you'll be back at 8:30 tonight, so I thought I'd give you a birthday celebration."
Han Shuo was deeply moved, but then he was troubled: "The food in my lunchbox might not be enough for the three of us."
Han Hong chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Silly boy, the three of us are going out to eat today. I'll take you to a noodle shop."
"Okay!" Han Shuo immediately picked up Han Ting and was about to leave with Han Hong, but after taking only two steps, he stopped and said, "I almost forgot to ask for leave. I'll go ask for leave."
Han Hong: "What leave do you need? Come back for evening self-study after you finish eating."
Han Shuo exclaimed, "I was in such a rush that I didn't even get to eat properly. Besides, it's my birthday today, so I should be allowed to relax, right?"
Han Hong smiled indulgently and said, "Alright, alright, you're the boss today."
Han Shuo put Han Ting down, ran back to the teaching building to ask his homeroom teacher for leave, and then left the school with Han Hong to go to the county town.
Actually, we just randomly picked a noodle shop and ordered three bowls of noodles, but for rural people who rarely eat out, it was already quite good.
The weather was cold, and the noodle shop was packed. When I went in, I had to wait a while before a table became available.
The three sat down. Since it was Han Shuo's birthday, Han Hong asked the owner to put two golden-fried eggs in Han Shuo and Han Ting's noodles, while he himself had a bowl of plain noodles.
Han Shuo knew that Han Hong wouldn't be willing to add an extra fried egg, and he also didn't want Han Hong to spend more money. He currently had the money he earned from collecting recyclables, and after deducting some previous expenses, he still had two yuan left.
He had originally planned to save up slowly and give it to Han Hong at a suitable opportunity, but on this special day, he couldn't resist taking it out. However, if he gave Han Hong two pieces at once, Han Hong would definitely ask him all sorts of questions.
"Eat your noodles, what are you thinking about?" Han Hong urged the two people sitting opposite him, one big and one small.
Han Shuo quietly slipped his hand into his pocket. He hesitated for two seconds, then suddenly had an idea. He took out a dollar, put it on the table, waved to the shop owner, pointed to Han Hong's bowl of noodles, and said, "Boss, please add another poached egg for us."
Seeing this, Han Hong quickly grabbed Han Shuo's outstretched hand, "Where did you get the money?"
Han Shuo pulled Han Hong's hand down and put a dollar in his hand. Fortunately, the money he got from the recycling station was all in small change, a few cents and dimes. So he lied and said, "It's cold, isn't it? My classmates can't get up in the morning, so I help them get hot water. It's five cents a time. I not only cover the hot water for our dormitory, but also for the other classes' dormitories."
Han Hong was relieved to hear this, and his tone was filled with pride: "I didn't expect you to be so good at business, even though you can't concentrate on your studies. Alright! I'll take advantage of you today and add some dishes to the menu."
The owner quickly fried an egg and put it in Han Hong's bowl. Watching Han Hong happily eat the egg, Han Shuo felt extremely satisfied.
He turned his head and asked Han Ting, "Tingting, does it smell good?"
Han Ting clumsily held the chopsticks with his five little fingers, his nose and chin covered in oil as he ate. He nodded happily, his eyes crinkling with laughter, "Delicious!"
Han Hong reminded him, "What did your father say to you when you came?"
Han Ting opened his round eyes, then suddenly remembered something. He looked up at Han Shuo and said, "Happy birthday, Uncle!"
Han Shuo felt a warm glow in his heart, and he ruffled his hair vigorously, "Eat quickly!"
Fortunately, he had taken leave from evening self-study, otherwise he would have parted ways with Han Hong and his son after dinner. To be honest, Han Shuo was quite reluctant to leave them.
Having never eaten out since arriving in this world, Han Shuo found even the most ordinary noodles surprisingly delicious.
When Han Hong went to pay the bill, he looked at the price list on the wall with boredom.
When Han Hong returned after paying, he saw him lost in thought and assumed he wasn't full, so he asked if he wanted another bowl.
"Goodbye..." Actually, Han Shuo had drunk all the soup and was already stuffed, but as he touched his stomach, he suddenly remembered something and changed what he was going to say, "Ah, yes... I think I'm not full."
Han Hong smiled and said, "Then I'll ask the boss to make another bowl."
"Hey, wait." Han Shuo immediately stopped him, then said guiltily, "You guys need to take the bus back at 8:30, I'll take you first. I want to buy some to eat back at school later. Oh, by the way, did you bring a teacup, bro?"
"Yes!" Han Hong immediately took out an enamel cup from his cloth bag and handed it to Han Shuo, adding, "Why don't you just eat here? Don't bother bringing it back to us, or the noodles will get soggy."
Han Shuo: "It's okay, it's not far from the school. Besides, I wanted to give you a ride."
Han Hong could only laugh and say that there was nothing he could do about it. He took out some money from his pocket and gave it to Han Shuo to buy noodles.
Han Shuo refused to accept the money, so he had to lie again, saying that he actually earned two yuan from fetching hot water for his classmates. He had given one yuan to Han Hong and kept the remaining one yuan as his own private money.
How could Han Hong possibly blame him? He would only marvel at how Han Shuo had grown up and become sensible.
Since Han Shuo had taken leave from evening self-study, the three of them leisurely continued to sit in the noodle shop and chat for a long time until almost 8:30. Han Hong then said that he had to go to the agreed-upon intersection to wait for the village tractor.
The tractor came to the county to haul pig feed. A tarpaulin was used to build a canopy over the back of the truck, which was filled with burlap sacks of feed.
Han Hong first lifted Han Ting onto the truck bed, then climbed up himself. He pulled a woolen hat and a scarf from his cloth bag and wrapped Han Ting up tightly.
Han Ting lay on the truck bed, calling out to her little uncle with reluctance.
Han Shuo helped him tie the two strings hanging from his wool hat, which were adorned with balls of yarn. After tying them, he patted his bottom and said, "Sit properly with your dad, don't fall off."
They were about to leave when Han Hong helped Han Ting inside to sit next to the snakeskin bag, then waved to Han Shuo, "It's cold, you should go back!"
"Okay! I'll leave right away!"
Han Shuo verbally agreed, but when the tractor started up billowing black smoke and slowly drove out of the intersection, he still stood there. He waited until Han Ting's shouts were gradually carried away by the wind and the swaying tractor disappeared into the night. Only then did he take a deep breath of the cold air, pick up the empty tea cup, and run back to the noodle shop.
He asked the owner to fry an egg for him, and he brought the noodles to Meng Yuxiu so he could go back after evening self-study.
Meng Yuxiu was in a terrible mood today. He refused to believe that a bowl of noodles with a golden poached egg and piping hot aroma couldn't appease him.
After paying, Han Shuo put the lid on his teacup and walked out of the noodle shop. However, after taking a couple of steps, he thought for a moment, then unbuttoned his cotton-padded jacket and held the teacup close to his chest.
Luckily, I covered it with my clothes, and the teacup was still hot when I got to school.
Evening self-study had ended, and it was freezing cold. The students rushed back to their dormitories in droves. As Han Shuo passed through the corridor, there was a lot of clanging and banging coming from the bathroom in the dormitory.
He first went to Meng Yuxiu's dormitory, but when he heard that Meng Yuxiu had not returned yet, he took his teacup and prepared to go to the teaching building.
Unexpectedly, he was intercepted halfway through the journey.
Meng Yuxiu glanced at him expressionlessly and strode forward.
"Don't go." Han Shuo grabbed his sleeve, and he mysteriously pulled out his hand, which had been holding a teacup inside his clothes, as if presenting a treasure. "I'll show you something good, I guarantee it will make all your anger disappear!"
Meng Yuxiu thought Han Shuo was playing some trick again, and as usual, he subconsciously tried to shake off Han Shuo's hand. However, he did not expect that when he shook off Han Shuo's hand, there was a crisp "clanging" sound.
"Holy crap! What the hell are you doing?!" Han Shuo yelled as he brushed the sweater off his body with both hands.
Meng Yuxiu was immediately startled. He quickly looked over and saw a white enamel teacup lying on the ground with the lid off, thick soup spilling out. Han Shuo's sweater was also soaked with soup.
Han Shuo didn't have time to brush off the scalding soup. He hurriedly grabbed the enamel teacup from the ground with a pained expression. Fortunately, only some soup had spilled, and the noodles and poached egg were still there.
Meng Yuxiu's eyelashes trembled slightly as he reached out to touch Han Shuo. However, Han Shuo suddenly stood up.
Han Shuo was usually all smiles, but this time his eyes were sharper than Meng Yuxiu had ever seen before. If you looked closely, you could see a hint of hurt mixed in with that sharpness.
Meng Yuxiu felt inexplicably panicked and at a loss.
Han Shuo could no longer maintain his composure. Perhaps his expectations of Meng Yuxiu were too high, or perhaps he was overconfident in himself. While feeling sorry for the spilled soup, he also felt a surge of anger rising to his head.
But the thought of him walking on a cold night, a flashlight in hand, a teacup of soup and noodles tucked into his pocket, the anticipation he felt even while groping his way in the dark, made him feel incredibly sad.
Yes, his initial intention was simply to appease Meng Yuxiu. But on the way back, he looked down at the teacup in his arms countless times, and what he kept imagining was Meng Yuxiu receiving the noodles, and how his cold eyes melted because of the steaming noodles.
In that instant, even though he had taken the initiative to do these things, Han Shuo still felt a chilling sensation as if his passionate heart had been crushed on the ground.
“…Han Shuo.” Meng Yuxiu hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
"Get out!" Han Shuo grabbed his teacup, turned around coldly, and ran to his dormitory.
Tonight, Meng Yuxiu felt heavy-hearted. After washing up and climbing into bed, as he lay in the covers, the image of Han Shuo's injured expression kept replaying in his mind.
After Han Shuo returned to his dormitory, he went to their dormitory not long after. However, he hesitated at the door and did not dare to go in. He did not know what to say if he went in, or if there were many people in the dormitory, he would not know what to say.
He lay on the bed and sighed softly without making a sound.
"Meng Yuxiu." Just then, someone came over and patted his blanket.
Meng Yuxiu looked up and saw Gao Ze.
"how?"
The lights were about to go out, and Gao Ze spoke quickly, "Hey, today is Han Shuo's birthday. Aren't you two pretty close? I wanted to ask what gift you gave him so I could have some ideas."
"What?" Meng Yuxiu's heart skipped a beat. "Han Shuo's birthday?"
"You didn't know?" Gao Ze said. "But I only found out today. I ran into him at the stairwell after school. He said he was going to ask for leave because his brother came to celebrate his birthday today..."
Meng Yuxiu was about to say something when the lights-out bell rang.
Gao Ze could only hurriedly climb back to his own bed.
Han Shuo's birthday...
As the dormitory grew dark and quiet, Meng Yuxiu tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.
He had run out of bicycles to lend Han Shuo, so Han Shuo would have to walk back to school after celebrating his brother's birthday. Meng Yuxiu closed his eyes, seemingly able to imagine Han Shuo's joyful and excited journey back...
Suddenly, Meng Yuxiu was filled with remorse.
After tossing and turning several times, he suddenly sat up in bed. Everyone else in the dormitory was fast asleep. He quietly put on his clothes and pants, then quietly got out of bed, put on his shoes, and opened the door.
Taking advantage of the cool light in the corridor, he glanced at his watch. It was 12:30. He didn't know if Han Shuo was asleep. Maybe he was, because Han Shuo always slept very well.
But he couldn't stop himself from walking, and he arrived at the door of Class 7's dormitory.
Each dormitory room door had a key in the lock, and Meng Yuxiu slowly turned the key. Then he walked in in the dark, found his seat, took off his shoes, and climbed up the ladder to the top bunk.
Han Shuo was indeed asleep, wrapped up in a long strip because of the cold. Meng Yuxiu quietly slipped through the gap between the two blankets, then squatted down and gently patted Han Shuo's shoulder.
Han Shuo was sleeping soundly when he was suddenly awakened by a slight noise. He opened his eyes groggily and almost screamed when he saw a dark figure above him.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, a warm, large hand covered it.
Then he heard someone deliberately lower their voice and say, "Don't shout, it's me."
Han Shuo recognized the voice as Meng Yuxiu's. He grabbed Meng Yuxiu's hand from his mouth and instinctively wanted to ask him why he was there.
However, just as he was about to speak, the events that happened on the playground that night suddenly flashed into his mind, and he immediately felt very unhappy again.
So he said irritably, "What are you doing here?"
In the darkness, Meng Yuxiu did not answer immediately. Han Shuo listened to his breathing rise and fall slowly. After a few seconds, Meng Yuxiu leaned down slightly, getting closer to him.
A softer voice came from beside them, as if they were feeling guilty or afraid of disturbing others, so it became a whisper, as if only the two of them could hear it clearly.
Meng Yuxiu said, "Han Shuo... I'm hungry..."
Han Shuo was stunned for a moment, not expecting him to say that.
Then Meng Yuxiu asked again, "Do you...do you still have your noodles?"
In fact, Han Shuo is not a vengeful person. He was just in a bad mood at the time, and it was just a momentary outburst. After he finished washing up and went to bed, he was no longer so bothered by it.
Now, hearing Meng Yuxiu speak to him like a puppy, sneaking up to him in the dead of night and trying to please him, Han Shuo's heart softened instantly.
He was a little uncomfortable with the sudden change in expression, so he said stiffly, "The noodles are all soggy, what's the point of eating them?"
Meng Yuxiu: "I can eat."
Han Shuo remained silent.
Meng Yuxiu reached under the blanket and found his hand, then gently squeezed his knuckles. "I want to eat noodles..."
"Can I eat this?..."
"Damn! I give up! Looks like I'm the kind of person who responds better to gentleness than force." Han Shuo cursed under his breath, then put on his clothes and got out of bed.
After returning from the playground, Han Shuo put the teacup on the washstand. Pi Dan smelled the aroma and told him he wanted to eat noodles. Han Shuo scolded him with a sour face.
Han Shuo cursed inwardly, thinking he would rather feed a dog than give Meng Yuxiu another noodle.
But now, touching the teacup, frozen solid like an ice cube, he couldn't bear to do it. Meng Yuxiu said it was fine and he could eat it, but Han Shuo found a thermos that still had some hot water left, pulled out the cork, poured a little into the teacup, stirred it with chopsticks, and then gave it to Meng Yuxiu.
To avoid disturbing others, Meng Yuxiu ate standing in the corridor.
Han Shuo stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. He turned his head and saw Meng Yuxiu enjoying his tea even in the drafty corridor. His last bit of annoyance from the evening almost vanished with the cold wind.
The mushy noodles were definitely hard to swallow, and Meng Yuxiu had to catch his breath every now and then. Han Shuo then raised his chin at him and said, "If you can't eat it, then don't eat it."
"No," Meng Yuxiu smiled at him. "I just feel a little cold."
Han Shuo was silent for a moment after hearing this, then he suddenly walked behind Meng Yuxiu and opened his arms to encircle him.
Meng Yuxiu paused, his hand holding the chopsticks still.
Han Shuo said helplessly, as if he couldn't do anything with a child, "Didn't you say you were cold? Aren't you cold now?"
Meng Yuxiu's heart trembled slightly as the heat gradually warmed.
Han Shuo was half a head shorter than him, so he probably wanted to make it easier to hug him, so he rested his chin on Han Shuo's shoulder.
With just a slight tilt of his head, Meng Yuxiu could see Han Shuo's long eyelashes in the dim corridor light.
A sudden surge of emotion welled up within him, and he couldn't help but whisper, "Han Shuo, I'm sorry."
Han Shuo snorted through his nostrils.
Meng Yuxiu pursed his lips and said, "I didn't know it was your birthday today."
Han Shuo: "Sigh, it's all in the past. I was originally planning to treat you to noodles."
Meng Yuxiu lowered his eyes, feeling a tightness in his chest.
Seeing that he was silent, Han Shuo urged him, "Eat quickly, and go back to sleep after you finish eating."
Meng Yuxiu nodded and continued to eat his noodles slowly.
Actually, Han Shuo said he was helping Meng Yuxiu keep warm, but Meng Yuxiu was actually bigger than him, and by standing in front of him, he was also blocking the cold wind for him.
While Meng Yuxiu was eating noodles, Han Shuo almost fell asleep again.
But in his dazed state, Han Shuo heard Meng Yuxiu say something very softly. He thought he had misheard, but upon closer inspection, it seemed that Meng Yuxiu had said "Happy Birthday".
Tsk, how arrogant. She sneaked over in the middle of the night because she couldn't sleep, and then secretly wished him a happy birthday. Han Shuo couldn't help but smile slightly.
He lazily put his arm around Meng Yuxiu's body, closed his eyes and said, "Hmm, not bad, not bad, but if you don't throw tantrums every other day, I'll be even happier."
Meng Yuxiu hesitated for a moment, then mumbled, "I wasn't throwing a tantrum... I just..."
Han Shuo chuckled: "Just what? Just because I didn't call you when I played basketball?"
Meng Yuxiu paused for a moment, then said awkwardly, "I just feel that although you say you're closest to me, you seem to get along quite well with other people too."
Han Shuo: "You mean Gao Ze? Isn't that because you ignored me? Besides, it's cold and I'm bored now, so I went to play ball with Gao Ze. If you were willing to talk to me, I would go to Class 1 to find you every day."
"And..." Han Shuo opened one eye, looking at Meng Yuxiu's smooth profile, and smiled, "Can Gao Ze compare to you? If it was Gao Ze who spilled my noodles today, you'd see if I wouldn't beat him up! If it were Gao Ze standing here eating noodles right now, even if he was freezing like a dog, I would never hug him."
A slight glint appeared in Meng Yuxiu's dark pupils. "Only me?"
"Nonsense!" Han Shuo closed his eyes again, resting his chin on his shoulder. "So you still dare to say that I'm closer to others than to you?"
The noodles were finished and very cold, but Meng Yuxiu drank all the broth.
He tilted his head and lowered his eyes, and from his angle, he could just see Han Shuo's trembling eyelashes and slowly moving lips as he spoke to him.
Meng Yuxiu stared for a long time, then suddenly couldn't resist and lowered his head to kiss Han Shuo, who was leaning against his shoulder.
"..." Han Shuo was startled and opened his eyes.
Unfortunately, it was too dark, and he couldn't see Meng Yuxiu's bright red ears. He could only make out the other's bright, sparkling eyes in the dark shadows.
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