Chapter 30

Chapter 30

As the crowd around them began to stir, Xie Ci pressed his hand against Gu Yufeng's face and pushed him away.

"Always jumping into my arms without asking for my opinion?"

Gu Yufeng moved his hand aside, unperturbed. "It’s just a greeting; do I need to submit a written notice in advance?"

"This is in China," Xie Ci reminded him.

Gu Yufeng looked innocent. "But I’m a foreigner."

Xie Ci: "Are you being deliberately thick-skinned?"

Gu Yufeng smiled and pointed at his own face. "You haven’t returned the favor yet."

Xie Ci: "..."

Noticing a parent filming with their phone, Xie Ci had no interest in being gawked at like a monkey at the busy school gate and turned to leave.

On the way back, Jiang Chenyu was fascinated by the foreigner’s cheek kiss and wanted to try it out. He eagerly walked up to Gu Yufeng and extended his face.

As he passed by, Gu Yufeng glanced at him and casually slapped him across the face.

The slap wasn’t hard, but it was extremely insulting.

Jiang Chenyu, holding his face, was stunned. "Why did you hit me?"

Gu Yufeng: "You stuck your face out, didn’t you want me to hit you?"

Jiang Chenyu watched in shock as he walked away.

Zhang Ruochuan and Fang Size, walking behind, burst into laughter.

"You're still laughing!" Jiang Chenyu shouted in embarrassment.

Zhang Ruochuan put his arm around Jiang Chenyu's shoulder, still laughing, and said, "Young man, take some advice, being curious about everything will only get you into trouble."

Jiang Chenyu gritted his teeth, "I hate double standards!"

Not long after Xie Ci and the others entered the cafeteria, what happened at the school gate spread throughout the school. That evening, someone posted a photo of the school heartthrobs in the alumni group, sparking a heated discussion.

"Damn, it's actually true?! I didn't believe it when they said it, but Gu Yufeng really did that with Xie Ci?! What was I doing at that time, why wasn't I at the school gate?!"

"Rivals scoring big, I'm speechless."

"Wait, this photo is so blurry, is there an original version? I want to use it as my wallpaper!"

"Are they really dating? Didn't they say Gu Yufeng pinned Xie Ci against the wall several times before?"

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder, hehe."

"Don't get too excited, Gu Yufeng said it was just a cheek kiss, he's a foreigner after all."

"My mom and I were there, she asked if kids these days are so open, two boys dating so publicly, hahaha."

"I heard some parents are going to complain, saying homosexuality is indecent."

In the cafeteria, Xie Ci and the others found a corner table to sit down and eat, chatting about what had happened at school that week.

Zhang Ruochuan also reported the progress of each subject in passing.

Gu Yufeng responded intermittently, not particularly concerned about keeping up with the study pace.

"Lao Gu, you really picked the right time to take leave."

Jiang Chenyu chimed in, "You just happened to skip out right before the monthly exam, wasn't it on purpose?"

Gu Yufeng picked the leeks out of his eggs, secretly placing them in an inconspicuous corner, not missing even the smallest fragments, and followed up with a question, "What's so special about the monthly exam? Is it hard?"

Jiang Chenyu: "Hard! This time, math and physics were insanely difficult! The results are going to be announced tomorrow or the day after, and I bet Lao Xiang is going to scold us again."

"Physics was manageable, but math had several new types of questions, and the knowledge points were beyond the syllabus."

Fang Size said, looking towards Xie Ci, "Lao Xie, do you think it was hard?"

Gu Yufeng was about to start eating when he noticed the plate across from him moving towards him. He looked up in confusion.

"If you're not going to eat the leeks, give them to me."

Xie Ci said casually, answering Fang Size's question, "The additional questions were indeed challenging, similar to the competition questions from two years ago."

Zhang Ruochuan: "You even remember that?"

Xie Ci: "I just looked at them over the weekend when I had nothing to do."

Zhang Ruochuan and the others: "..."

Which serious academic prodigy looks at past competition questions for fun? That's too much!

Gu Yufeng looked at the leeks he had hidden under his eggs, puzzled as to how Xie Ci had discovered them.

Did this guy ever pay this much attention to others before?

In their previous lives, they didn't spend much time together, but they did have many meals at home.

He didn't like the taste of parsley, though it wasn't completely inedible, and he would always secretly pick it out. But the next time, Xie Ci would still use parsley.

He thought that being picky was a very childish flaw and never mentioned it. He was certain that Xie Ci hadn't noticed it at all.

So, in their previous life, did Xie Ci just not see him, or did he deliberately pretend not to?

As this thought flashed through his mind, Gu Yufeng thought of that little Fang and suddenly felt a bit annoyed, so he decided to pick up the hidden leeks.

Xie Ci was discussing the math exam with the others when he suddenly saw Gu Yufeng holding a chopstick of leeks to his mouth.

Gu Yufeng: "Open your mouth."

Xie Ci's expression paused: "..."

Zhang Ruochuan and the other two turned their heads.

Now they're even feeding each other?

"I told you to put it on my plate."

Xie Ci tapped the table with his fingertip, with a warning tone, "I didn't tell you to feed me."

Gu Yufeng held the chopsticks steady: "What's the difference? You're going to eat it anyway."

The three of them, Zhang Ruochuan and the others, all turned their gazes towards Xie Ci, eagerly awaiting his reaction.

Passing students noticed the scene and turned their heads to look in their direction. People at nearby tables also caught on, nudging their companions and discreetly pointing over there.

"Look! A boy is feeding another boy!"

"Isn't that Xie Ci?!"

Under the curious eyes of everyone, Xie Ci spoke calmly and unhurriedly, "I meant for you to put it on my plate, so I can throw it away later. I don't eat leeks either."

Gu Yufeng: "..."

Not following the script?

Gu Yufeng looked down at Xie Ci's plate and indeed saw a few leeks set aside. Feeling somewhat disappointed, he grumbled as he placed the leeks on the plate, "You're such a picky eater for someone your age. Isn't that childish?"

Xie Ci retorted with a sharp edge in his voice, "Still better than someone who digs a hole to hide the food they don't eat."

Gu Yufeng: "..."

Was his mouth always this venomous?

After the meal, with some time left before evening self-study, Xie Ci and the others prepared to go for basketball practice. Since Gu Yufeng had nothing better to do, he decided to tag along and watch them play.

This season, as soon as the sun sets, the temperature drops sharply.

As the evening wind picked up, Xie Ci noticed Gu Yufeng was only wearing a thin shirt and jacket. Just as Gu Yufeng was about to sit on the ground, Xie Ci pulled him up and pointed diagonally across, "This is a wind tunnel. Go sit under that tree."

"Such a hassle."

Gu Yufeng complained but slowly moved over anyway. Just as he leaned against the tree and sat down, a school jacket was thrown over him, still warm from someone's body heat.

Xie Ci stretched his shoulders, back, and limbs, adjusted his wristbands, and instructed Gu Yufeng, "Hold this for me. Don't sit on it; it's just been washed."

Gu Yufeng smirked mischievously, "You just reminded me."

Xie Ci: "..."

Gu Yufeng deliberately picked up the jacket and sniffed it, teasing him, "No wonder it smells so nice."

Xie Ci turned and walked away.

He could flirt at any time and place; it was impossible to treat this guy like a normal high school student.

Seeing Xie Ci entrust his jacket to Gu Yufeng, Zhang Ruochuan and the others also took off their jackets and tossed them over, shivering as they did their warm-up exercises.

Gu Yufeng disdainfully placed these jackets on his backpack and leaned against the tree trunk, watching Xie Ci on the court exchanging tips with the players.

Xie Ci was wearing a loose shirt with a white T-shirt underneath. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his forearms, revealing black wristbands and a pair of long, well-proportioned hands. Perhaps due to long-term exercise, his posture was well-maintained, and there was a sense of controlled strength in his movements, making even simple actions particularly pleasing to the eye.

Gu Yufeng, accustomed to seeing Xie Ci in suits, found the sight of this young man before him not only novel but also stunning.

The shrewd CEO in the office and the commanding captain on the basketball court—one static, one dynamic—were so different, yet both captivated his attention.

Not long after Xie Ci and the others arrived, Wang Hao hurried over, looking much more relaxed than he had in the past few days.

"Sorry, I was on duty today and I'm late!" Wang Hao quickly put down his things and started warming up.

Fang Size: "It's fine, a few minutes won't make a difference."

Wang Hao greeted Zhang Ruochuan and the others, glanced over at Xie Ci, and walked over to whisper, "Captain, thank you. I'll repay the money as soon as possible."

On Monday, Wang Hao suddenly received a call from Xie Ci, who wanted to meet up.

As soon as they met, Xie Ci offered to lend him money.

Honestly, he had never thought of borrowing money from classmates or friends. Everyone was a student, and even pocket money had to be asked from parents. He never expected Xie Ci to lend him such a large amount.

He wanted to refuse, but Xie Ci was right—this wasn't the time to be overly sensitive.

"I'm not in a hurry. You can take your time to repay it," Xie Ci said calmly. "Lao Fang consulted some medical insurance policies. Your father's situation can be reimbursed quite a bit, so don't stress too much."

Wang Hao nodded, "Thank you."

Xie Ci patted his arm, "With the trouble resolved, you should focus on playing basketball now."

Wang Hao, "Yeah!"

Zhang Ruochuan, overhearing their conversation, was puzzled. He grabbed Jiang Chenyu, who was passing by, "Did you go with Lao Xie to do something last Sunday? Why did you send that message in the group?"

Mentioning the terrifying experience from Sunday, Jiang Chenyu's face slightly changed. It was something that still gave him nightmares.

Following Lao Xie to the temple, they caught a wealthy, tough-looking uncle and swindled him out of a million dollars with an unknown oil painting.

No one would believe it if it was told.

Usually, he only thought Lao Xie was great at basketball and had strong learning abilities. Otherwise, he was just like them—reluctant to get up early when it was cold, and saving up dirty socks to wash together.

But that Sunday made him deeply realize that Xie Ci was a ruthless, black-hearted giant!

He was on a completely different level from him, Lao Fang, Lao Zhang, and everyone else around!

After returning home that day, he searched online for Jian Yan's paintings. There was very little information, and the first few pages of search results were just lists of various art awards. It wasn't until dozens of pages later that he found a post from a collector who said they bought Jian Yan's painting for eighty thousand yuan—and that was over three years ago.

Paintings by the same artist, bought by others for eighty thousand, and Lao Xie sold one for a million dollars!

He hoped that uncle from that day was an idiot who didn't know how to use the internet, otherwise, he and Lao Xie were in trouble.

"Can't talk about it yet," Jiang Chenyu sighed. "Success lies in secrecy, failure in leaks. If we lose, both Lao Xie and I are screwed."

Zhang Ruochuan, "...??"

What exactly did you do?

Training continued until fifteen minutes before evening self-study. Xie Ci called the other players over for a brief summary.

Zhang Ruochuan went to get his clothes, turned his head, and exclaimed softly, "Why is Lao Gu asleep against the tree?"

Xie Ci, who was talking to Fang Size, turned around. Gu Yufeng was sitting there, already sound asleep, with his school jacket still on his lap.

"Probably hasn't adjusted to the time difference yet," Fang Size said, putting on his glasses that were hanging on the fence. "When I saw him this afternoon, his eyes were bloodshot. He probably hasn't been resting well lately."

Zhang Ruochuan, "He's always working after evening self-study. He seems really busy."

Jiang Chenyu pondered, "Compared to this, am I, as a member of the wealthy second generation, too idle? Should I also ask my dad to give me something to do?"

Zhang Ruochuan was almost rolling his eyes, "Forget it, if you fail the college entrance exam, you'll be the one crying."

Xie Ci tiptoed over, squatted in front of Gu Yufeng, "Lao Gu?"

After calling several times without waking him, Xie Ci handed the jacket to Zhang Ruochuan behind him, signaling them to leave first.

The sleeping person leaned slightly against the tree trunk, breathing lightly, so quiet that Xie Ci felt somewhat unaccustomed.

At times like this, he finally looked somewhat like a teenager.

Xie Ci observed for a long time, reached out and gently brushed past Gu Yufeng's cheek, the hair lifted by the evening breeze brushed his index finger, his fingertip curled slightly, then he came to his senses and patted Gu Yufeng's shoulder, "Wake up, it's time for class."

Gu Yufeng had already woken up when Xie Ci approached, just wanted to see how this guy would wake him up.

He could feel Xie Ci right in front of him, silent, not knowing what he was thinking.

Suddenly, his ear hurt, Gu Yufeng opened his eyes, moved Xie Ci's wrist away, and looked over with sleepy eyes, displeased, "Is this how you wake someone up?"

Xie Ci withdrew his hand and stood up, his tone indifferent, "What could I do if you wouldn't wake up?"

Gu Yufeng followed his movement and looked up, deliberately provoking him, "If I wouldn't wake up, couldn't you kiss me? Wouldn't that wake me up?"

Xie Ci was amused, "I'm not like you, who can kiss and hug anyone."

Gu Yufeng picked up his schoolbag and stood up, as he passed by Xie Ci, he casually replied, "Forgot, you don't like humans."

Xie Ci watched him leave speechlessly, finally understanding why some parents couldn't help but want to spank their children.

He now wanted to press Gu Yufeng on his lap and give him a good spanking.

Zhang Ruochuan and the others went to the classroom first, helping the class representatives distribute papers, seeing Xie Ci come in alone, they asked, "Where's Lao Gu?"

Xie Ci pulled out his chair, "I told him to go back to the dorm to sleep, it doesn't make much difference whether he comes or not."

Before he could sit down, Lao Xiang quietly slipped in from the back door, patted Xie Ci, "Come with me to the office!"

Xie Ci: "..."

Zhang Ruochuan and a few boys in the back row patted their chests in fear, "Scared me to death!"

In the office, Xiang Haibin glared at Xie Ci standing in front of him, "A parent reported that you and Gu Yufeng were being intimate at the school gate! What's going on?!"

Other teachers secretly looked up, pricking up their ears to listen.

Xie Ci was speechless, it was Gu Yufeng who was causing trouble, but he was the one being questioned in the office.

"What intimacy? Even if we were intimate, we wouldn't stand at the school gate for everyone to see, are we that stupid?"

"That's true."

Xiang Haibin nodded halfway, then suddenly felt something was wrong, and glared at Xie Ci again, "So you really have that kind of relationship? I'll say it upfront, no early romance is allowed in my class! Your grades have just improved and you're causing trouble, can't you let me relax a bit!"

Xie Ci: "He suddenly came close, it has nothing to do with me, the class monitor and others can testify."

Xiang Haibin: "Where is he, call him over."

Xie Ci: "He's adjusting to the time difference in the dorm, you can talk to him tomorrow."

After setting Gu Yufeng up, Xie Ci left the office without a hint of guilt.

When the evening self-study session ended, Xie Ci and Zhang Ruochuan returned to the dormitory. The first thing they saw upon turning on the light was a large lump lying on Xie Ci's bed.

Xie Ci approached and, sure enough, found Gu Yufeng curled up in his blanket, sound asleep with his face buried in Xie Ci's pillow.

Ever since he had allowed the guy to borrow his bed last time, it seemed to have become a coveted spot.

Xie Ci had no intention of indulging him. He bent down and patted him awake, "Go sleep in your own bed."

Gu Yufeng pulled the blanket over his head, clearly refusing to budge.

Xie Ci propped himself up with one hand beside Gu Yufeng and yanked the blanket down, looking down at the person who was clearly annoyed at being disturbed. "Go back now, or I'll take the blanket away."

Gu Yufeng, utterly exhausted, squinted irritably, staring at the face so close to his.

After a brief stare-down, Gu Yufeng simply spread his arms and lay flat, "The shirt I'm wearing is also yours. You might as well take that off too."

Xie Ci: "..."