Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Yuan Ting rolled up his sleeves, narrowing his eyes at Mo Yikai: “Dare to play 'Fight the Landlord' with a triple wager?”

Xiao Zhang: “...” From his stance, he thought he was about to commit murder.

But why drag him into their duel?

Isn’t earning a living hard enough for a working person?

After lunch with Cheng Nanyi and sending him off to the pre-booked hotel for rest, the three of them continued their card game.

After two days of playing 'Fight the Landlord', the college entrance exams finally ended.

Watching the students burst out of the exam halls like the rising sun, Yuan Ting wondered if the bond between him and Cheng Nanyi would gradually fade once Cheng went to university. Could everything then get back on track?

That evening, Yuan Ting returned home looking more exhausted than Yuan Xiao, who had just finished two days of exams.

“What happened to you?” Yuan Xiao, biting into a tomato, kicked at Yuan Ting slumped in the chair, “Did Mo Yikai beat you up?”

“If anyone did the beating, it’d be me,” Yuan Ting sighed, “Ah, 'Fight the Landlord' really drains the brain.”

Saying this, he slapped 300 yuan on the table: “Look, this is what I won in these two days.”

Yuan Xiao: “...” Is this just showing off?

Thankfully, he was now free from the grind, while his younger brother had just stepped into high school, soon to be spending nights gaming – how enviable.

“By the way, bro, who was that classmate we ran into at the school gate yesterday?”

“Which classmate? I met a lot of them today.”

“The one named Li Yichao.”

“Li Yichao? Why do you ask about him?”

“Just because he’s handsome.”

Yuan Xiao was speechless. Li Yichao was indeed good-looking, but Yuan Ting was surrounded by handsome guys and was especially narcissistic, admiring himself in the mirror daily. Apart from perfunctorily praising Cheng Nanyi's looks, he never complimented anyone else's appearance. This was clearly just a casual remark.

“So, what do you want to know?” Yuan Xiao was curious.

“Are you close with him?”

“Not really, he’s shorter and sits in the front row, while Cheng Nanyi and I sit at the back, quite far from him.”

“Then why did he specifically come to greet you?” Yuan Ting knew about high school life: everyone buried in studies, large class sizes, and the division of classes into arts and sciences in the second year, which meant many students barely interacted outside their immediate surroundings. Some might even graduate without having spoken a word to each other.

“Oh, sometimes he comes to ask me or Cheng Nanyi questions,” Yuan Xiao pointed at his nose, “He asks me more often. I’m approachable, unlike Cheng Nanyi who often rebuffs people. There’s a seventy percent chance of hitting a wall with him. But if someone asks me, I’m always sincere.”

Yuan Ting: “…”

“Actually, Li Yichao is quite interesting. Both his parents are teachers at our school, and they live in the faculty apartment next to the school. He’s the closest non-boarding student to the school, yet he’s almost always late. The teachers criticize him daily, but he’s unfazed. So, he’s quite well-known in the class.”

Quite a character.

Yuan Ting lay back on the bed, propping up his legs, deep in thought.

Li Yichao, a classmate, was assigned to the same examination center as Yuan Xiao. Yuan Ting encountered him when he went to drop Yuan Xiao off for the exams and later saw him again outside Cheng Nanyi's examination center.

Right, the student who greeted Cheng Nanyi later was indeed Li Yichao.

At the time, Yuan Ting was momentarily puzzled but didn’t think much of it, assuming Li Yichao was just passing by. However, it struck him during their card game that afternoon that he had actually seen Li Yichao before.

He found Li Yichao’s face familiar but didn't know him personally.

Over the past couple of years, Yuan Ting often visited No. 1 Middle School to see Cheng Nanyi, which is how he recognized Li Yichao.

Occasionally glancing at someone often enough can make their face familiar.

Yuan Ting never pondered why, out of ten visits to see Cheng Nanyi, he would inadvertently see the same person about half the time.

Each occurrence on its own seemed normal, something people would call a coincidence.

Yet the consistent presence of the same person in so many coincidences seemed intriguing.

Did Li Yichao intentionally run from his examination center to another just to cheer on Cheng Nanyi yesterday morning?

Yuan Ting found it preposterous, considering it was during the crucial college entrance exams. Who would have such a mindset?

Perhaps he was overthinking it.

Hopefully, he was overthinking it.

“Bro, do you have a girl you like?” Yuan Ting, propping his head up, asked Yuan Xiao.

Yuan Xiao’s face suddenly flushed red.

Yuan Ting suddenly sat up, pointing at him: “You do.”

“I, I, I... I don’t.”

“You do, your face is all red.”

“Alright, I do,” Yuan Xiao admitted shyly, lowering his head.

Yuan Ting leaned in, surprised: “Bro, are you in love?”

“No, not that,” Yuan Xiao waved his hands hurriedly, “Studies come first. I won’t date before getting into university.”

“Oh, so it’s just a crush, huh? Who is it, do I know her?” Yuan Ting asked, curious.

Yuan Xiao hesitated, glancing towards the door before whispering, “It’s the top student in our class.”

“So it’s her…” Yuan Ting actually knew her.

She was the girl who surpassed Yuan Xiao and became number one when Cheng Nanyi didn’t participate in the exams.

Afterwards, Cheng Nanyi, Yuan Xiao, and this girl took turns being the top student in the ‘rocket class’, dubbed the 'three giants'.

The girl had won many awards and even secured a guaranteed university admission, truly an exceptional young woman.

His brother had quite high standards.

“Does she like you back?”

“How would I know, I never asked,” Yuan Xiao pushed Yuan Ting’s nosy face away, “Stop asking, I’m feeling shy.”

“Then I’ll ask Cheng Nanyi, does he have a girl he likes?” Yuan Ting finally, nonchalantly, broached the main topic.

“No,” Yuan Xiao said with certainty.

“How can you be so sure? What if he has a secret crush like you do?”

“Impossible,” Yuan Xiao smirked confidently, “I’ve observed him.”

“You’ve observed him?” Yuan Ting grabbed a chair, sat astride on it, and rested his chin on his hands, “How did you observe him? Come on, tell me.”

Yuan Xiao felt a bit uneasy, touched his nose, and coughed, “Well, you know, the top girls always have many admirers. I was worried Cheng Nanyi might like her too, so I observed him.”

“Do you know the most obvious sign of someone being in love?”

“What?” Yuan Ting’s interest was piqued.

Yuan Xiao raised his eyebrows and pointed at Yuan Ting’s eyes, “It’s where these eyes look. From my experience, if someone has a crush, the first person they look at when entering a classroom is their object of affection.”

Yuan Ting: “...” So it was a matter of experience.

But it did seem to make sense.

“So, I observed for a long time. Cheng Nanyi always keeps his eyes straight ahead. Then, when he enters the classroom, the first person he looks at is me.”

Yuan Ting grinned, “...What, he’s into you?”

Yuan Xiao rolled his eyes, “No, he was looking at the letter in my hand.”

Yuan Ting: “...”

“He never looks at the love letters he receives and barely interacts with girls. His attention is all on you. If you weren’t a guy, I’d suspect he had a thing for you.”

Yuan Ting, speechless: “Even if I were a girl, he wouldn’t be interested in me.”

“Why not?”

“Me.” Yuan Ting pointed at his nose, “I’m still a baby. Anyone interested in me would be a pedophile, right?”

Yuan Xiao: “...”

A baby? Are you mistaken about yourself? Which baby is 183 cm tall?

A giant baby, perhaps?

Yuan Ting felt helpless. At this age of budding romance, why was Cheng Nanyi's heart sealed like cement?

……

Soon after the college entrance exams, it was Yuan Ting’s turn for the middle school exams. To him, it wasn’t challenging, since he wasn’t chasing the top spot like Yuan Xiao.

Living again, what was he really pursuing?

Look at Yuan Xiao, striving to be number one and wanting the top girl to be his girlfriend.

Seeing Cheng Nanyi and Yuan Xiao waiting at the school gate, Yuan Ting strutted over, head held high: “It’s just a small exam, no need for such a big fuss, making two top students come to pick me up.”

“We’re on our way to a class gathering,” Yuan Xiao explained.

“A class gathering?” Yuan Ting frowned, “Both of you are going?”

Yuan Xiao: “Yeah, it's a task assigned by our class president. I have to bring Cheng Nanyi along, and he agreed to come.”

“I see…” Yuan Ting looked at Cheng Nanyi, “So you’re going?”

“Yeah,” Cheng Nanyi nodded and gestured to Yuan Ting, “Get on, you're coming too.”

“I don’t know, it’s your class gathering, and I’m an outsider.” While saying this, Yuan Ting quickly hopped onto the back of Cheng Nanyi’s bicycle, wrapping his arms around his waist.

Yuan Xiao: “...” Really, Cheng Nanyi? He didn’t know what to say; he seemed more like Yuan Ting’s brother than himself, always taking him along.

Riding his electric scooter beside them, Yuan Xiao said to Cheng Nanyi, “Since you invited him, you’re paying his share.” Class gatherings were usually split evenly, with each person paying over a hundred.

Yuan Ting: “...” Yuan Xiao, always thinking about money.

“Of course my brother will pay for me. Not like you, a penny-pincher.”

“How am I a penny-pincher?” Yuan Xiao retorted, “Aren’t you always calling Cheng Nanyi ‘Cheng Penny-pincher’ at home? Why are you blaming me now?”

“...” Yuan Ting hastily covered Cheng Nanyi’s ears, “Brother, don’t listen, it’s all rumors.”

Yuan Xiao: “...” Impressed.

His brother, though not annoying, did have a habit of making snarky comments, usually aimed at Cheng Nanyi. Yuan Xiao thought if those remarks were directed at him, he might actually find them irritating.

How does Cheng Nanyi not get annoyed?

But then again, the only one who could handle his brother seemed to be Cheng Nanyi.

Like a pot finds its lid.

The saying 'every Jack has his Jill' really does hold true.

When the three arrived, they saw Li Yichao waiting at the hotel entrance. Spotting them, he came over: “The class president asked me to wait here for you, in case you couldn’t find the private room.”

Yuan Ting peeked out from behind Cheng Nanyi, and Li Yichao, without surprise, smiled at him: “Hello, little brother.”

Yuan Ting: “...Hello.” He really couldn’t take the title of ‘little brother’ seriously.

Today, over twenty classmates had come, filling a large private room. Everyone expected was already there, with Yuan Xiao and Cheng Nanyi being the last to arrive, delayed by picking up Yuan Ting.

Yuan Xiao introduced Yuan Ting, and everyone greeted him warmly. No one minded his presence, as several classmates had brought their boyfriends or girlfriends.

Everyone was seated, with two empty seats next to Li Yichao, reserved for Cheng Nanyi and Yuan Xiao. With Yuan Ting’s addition, the class president brought over another chair.

Li Yichao took the chair and placed it next to Yuan Xiao: “Little brother, sit here.”

“Sit here,” Cheng Nanyi hooked Yuan Ting’s shoulder, guiding him to sit next to Li Yichao.

Li Yichao paused for a moment, said nothing, just smiled, and then started unpacking and setting up the cutlery in front of Yuan Ting.

Yuan Ting: “...”

Since entering, Yuan Xiao’s gaze had been fixed on a girl across the room, oblivious to the events around him. Seeing Yuan Ting settled, he conscientiously gave up his spot to Cheng Nanyi and shifted to the side.

Li Yichao carefully sterilized Yuan Ting’s cutlery and then reached for Cheng Nanyi’s.

Cheng Nanyi stopped him, saying, “Thanks, but let him do it.”

Saying so, he placed the cutlery in front of Yuan Ting.

Yuan Ting: “...” So, he’s like a nanny.

Li Yichao didn’t seem embarrassed and, withdrawing his hand, smiled at Yuan Ting: “Looks like you’re well used to your brother’s service.”

Yuan Ting, adeptly unpacking the cutlery, also smiled: “Indeed, I’ve gotten used to it.”

Indeed, he had gotten used to it. These past few years, trying to earn money had been quite a heartache.

Yet, surprisingly, Li Yichao didn’t seem curious, even though Yuan Ting should ostensibly be Yuan Xiao's younger brother.

“Cheng Nanyi, why didn’t you bring your girlfriend along?” someone called out.

“What? Since when does Cheng Nanyi have a girlfriend?”

The question set off a wave of murmurs, instantly stirring up the room.

Yuan Ting also looked up at the speaker, curious. Was there gossip Yuan Xiao hadn’t noticed?

“You guys don’t know? A girl has been writing letters to Cheng Nanyi for over two years. I thought by graduation, they’d be together. Cheng Nanyi, did you accept her?”

Yuan Ting nearly spit out his tea, coughing uncontrollably.

Two hands simultaneously patted his back.

Their hands accidentally collided, and Yuan Ting saw Li Yichao's face flush red.

Yuan Ting: “...”

If he couldn’t see through this, then his two lifetimes were wasted.

Cheng Nanyi, however, didn’t move away, his hand still gently patting Yuan Ting’s back.

Yuan Ting sneakily glanced at Cheng Nanyi. Impressive, quite the charmer.

Cheng Nanyi looked expressionless at him, as if the recent events had nothing to do with him, focusing on Yuan Ting, “Why are you looking at me?”

Yuan Ting gave a sheepish smile and withdrew his gaze, fiddling with the cup in front of him.

Cheng Nanyi's reaction was either a sign of being emotionally oblivious or... painfully aware, like looking into a clear mirror.

Yuan Ting found it hard to decipher his thought process at the moment.

Author's note:

I miss writing about Yuan Ting’s mischief. Writing these scenes feels like constipation. Thanks to the little angels who supported me with overlord votes or nutrient solutions from 2023-09-09 22:28:01 to 2023-09-10 21:14:38~

Thanks to the angels nourishing with nutrient solutions: I Want To Know 25 bottles; Ain. 10 bottles; Yinzi. 5 bottles; Sweet Pear 3 bottles; A Single Star Fruit, 67593036 2 bottles; Manmi, Capsized Boat, Pufferfish Gourd 1 bottle each;

Thank you all for your support, I will continue to work hard!