Chapter 105

Chapter 105

Ji Mian attended his graduation ceremony in early June and returned home early.

On a weekday, everyone at home was tied up. Ji Mian had already shipped his luggage home, so he didn’t bother with a suitcase this time and just took a taxi back.

No one was home since Auntie Lin had gone back to her hometown for vacation. The house was too big, and it felt oddly lonely when empty.

Ji Mian thought of Luo Ye. With Auntie Lin gone, Luo Ye was probably eating at the school cafeteria.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a message from Xiang Yanming.

"Dad": Are you home yet?

"Xiang Nian": Just got home.

"Dad": Alright. Take a break after you’ve settled in. Auntie Lin is on vacation back home today, so have a good dinner outside.

Right after reading the message, Ji Mian got a bank notification.

He opened it and paused for a moment.

What kind of meal costs that much?

"Dad": Bring your brother along too.

Ji Mian replied, "Okay."

It was still early, so Ji Mian dropped his bag, rested for a bit, and headed out twenty minutes before the high school let out.

*

The only advanced class for the second-year high schoolers was in its last lesson.

The physics teacher, in his fifties, was serious and a bit old-school, but he was a top-tier teacher in the province and gave stellar lectures.

He was scribbling away on the blackboard, going over the final problem from the monthly exam, while most students paid close attention.

Sitting in the back row, a good-looking kid was working on his homework, sticking out among the sea of raised heads.

After wrapping up the problem, the teacher turned around and spotted Luo Ye zoning out in the back row.

He frowned, set down the marker, and while the students were jotting down notes, scolded, "Guys, don’t tune out just because you got it right... Going over it again helps lock it in."

The kid in the back row didn’t budge, like he hadn’t even heard the comment.

The teacher cleared his throat and went on, "I once had a student who aced every test, but in class, he still..."

The guy in the back row stopped writing and actually looked up, paying close attention.

The teacher gave a satisfied smile. But when he wrapped up the tangent and got back to the problem, Luo Ye’s head dropped again.

"..."

The dismissal bell rang, to the physics teacher’s frustration.

Kong Yuzhen, sitting in the middle of the room, gathered up her physics exam paper and glanced toward the back.

Thinking about how her friend kept bugging her to find out Luo Ye’s type, she couldn’t help but feel a little helpless.

She’d told her friend that chasing Luo Ye was a lost cause.

She had known Luo Ye for five years, and he simply had no romantic inclination!

Kong Yuzhen and Luo Ye had been in the same class for three years during middle school. At the start of high school, they were in different classes, but because of their top grades, after the first semester, both were moved to this elite experimental class.

Thinking of her friend's request, Kong Yuzhen stood up after the students left and walked over to Luo Ye.

He was reviewing a physics problem in his hand.

Kong Yuzhen carefully sized him up.

Since middle school, Luo Ye had been a bit of a loner. Back then, he still had friends like Hu Li who had been friends with him since elementary school, so it wasn't very noticeable in class. But in high school, this became more obvious.

However, with his status as the top student in the grade, most classmates still admired and revered him.

Luo Ye usually didn't talk much in class, and Kong Yuzhen was one of the few he would talk to.

Because of this, her close friends would tease her about Luo Ye, and it took her many rebuttals to get them to stop.

After checking the answer, Luo Ye closed his book calmly.

"Luo Ye," Kong Yuzhen finally said.

Seeing him look at her, she started, "That..."

After uttering two words, she trailed off.

How exactly should she ask this...

Taking a deep breath, she decided to just say it directly, "That, what type of girls do you like? Don't get me wrong, I'm asking for someone else!"

She knew that asking such a question would come off as awkward. But then again, Luo Ye probably wouldn't care about the reason, and dancing around the question would only waste time.

Luo Ye was a bit confused and replied, "None."

He stuffed his phone into his desk and prepared to go to the track for a run.

"You must have an ideal type, right?" Kong Yuzhen pleaded, "Just say anything, please! It'll only take thirty seconds!"

"..."

Luo Ye paused for a moment and casually said, "Good grades."

"Uh..." What kind of answer is that?

"Anything else?" she asked.

"Good-looking," he added.

Kong Yuzhen looked at him with a mix of surprise and disbelief.

Luo, the top student, so that's your type?

Her friend was also in the top 100 of the grade, which was impressive, and she was also good-looking.

"What about personality? Gentle or lively?"

"She's gentle."

Well, that settles it. Her friend is not only lively but also humorous, has nothing to do with being gentle. Kong Yuzhen thought for a moment and decided not to relay this bad news to her friend.

"Are we finished here?" Luo Ye stood up, his patience running thin, "I'm going to the track field."

Kong Yuzhen was taken aback and quickly responded, "...Yes, we're done."

Luo Ye nodded and left.

With the exclusive info she had gathered, Kong Yuzhen breathed a sigh of relief.

Honestly, she also felt that Luo Ye's attitude seemed a bit gentler with her than with others. If someone else had asked him such a question, it would've likely ended with a simple "No."

But after knowing Luo Ye for five years, she was well aware that this slightly different attitude had nothing to do with any romantic implications.

Was it just because they'd known each other for so long?

Setting her thoughts aside, Kong Yuzhen replied to a few messages from her friends and started thinking about whether to study in the classroom or head straight home.

Studying in the classroom might be more productive... but she really wanted to go home and eat watermelon.

After a brief hesitation, Kong Yuzhen decided to grab her bag and go home.

*

Ji Mian, afraid of disturbing Luo Ye during class, purposely waited a few minutes after the bell, when students started to come out, before dialing.

After a minute, there was no answer.

Ji Mian waited a bit longer and called again, but still no answer.

He sent a message.

Glancing at the two missed calls, he thought: Maybe his brother forgot his phone and went straight to the cafeteria after class?

A boy exiting the school gate casually glanced toward Ji Mian.

Ji Mian was deep in thought when he suddenly heard a thunderous shout:

"——Big brother!!"

He didn’t even think the shout was for him, merely startled, until the tall, burly boy strode up to him.

Hu Li, with his backpack, looked at Ji Mian excitedly: "Big brother!"

Ji Mian took a moment to recognize him. "You're Xiao Ye's classmate?"

"It's me!!" Hu Li was even more thrilled, "Big brother, you remember me!"

Ji Mian smiled.

It was hard to forget.

"Are you waiting for Luo Ge?"

"Yes, hasn't he come out yet?"

Hu Li shook his head, regretful that he couldn't help the big brother: "I don't know, we're not in the same class anymore."

After answering, his expression turned to excitement, with a ton of questions he was eager to ask Ji Mian.

At this moment, a sweet, soft voice of a girl sounded beside them, tentatively: "Xiang Nian, senior?"

Ji Mian turned his head and saw a girl who looked sweet and well-behaved, but her face was completely unfamiliar to him.

He thought for a while but couldn’t place her, and hesitantly said, "...Do you know me?"

The girl’s eyes lit up with excitement, "My name is Kong Yuzhen, I’m a classmate of Luo Ye’s!"

Ji Mian didn’t recognize the name, but upon hearing that she was his younger brother's classmate, his expression softened a bit. "Hello."

But why did Luo Ye’s classmates all seem to know him?

"Senior, are you waiting for Luo Ye?"

"Yes, do you share a class?"

"Yeah!"

"Is he still in the classroom studying? I called, but no one answered."

"Ah, Luo Ye is running on the playground right now, probably left his phone behind."

Running? Ji Mian was taken aback.

Running...

His mind drifted to Xie Hang, leaving him momentarily speechless.

Duan Zhuo actually also runs in the morning, though not often. Ji Mian had encountered him a few times in high school. After all, a full day at the wood carving shop was exhausting enough.

As far as he knew, Lu Ge didn’t run outdoors, but the Lu family had a home gym. Usually, after Lu Ge finished work and brought him food at the hospital, he’d work out at home.

Though he wasn’t sure if it was running.

Ji Mian pondered but wasn’t sure. "It's okay, I'll wait here then."

Hu Li eagerly raised his hand, "Big bro, I’ll run to the playground and get him for you."

Kong Yuzhen chimed in: "I’ll go call him too!"

Ji Mian was taken aback by their eagerness, "No need, I'll just wait here for him."

Both of them stopped in their tracks, staring at Ji Mian, their eyes shining brighter than the other.

Ji Mian: "..."

"If you’re busy, you can head back to study."

"—Not busy!"

"—Not busy!!"

They spoke in unison.

"..."

Seeing that they indeed had no intention of hurrying back, Ji Mian had no choice but to chat with the two juniors for a while.

The two of them didn’t leave for a long time, just stayed at the school gate chatting with him. The three of them talked, mostly with the two asking questions, about Ji Mian's study experiences, university, major, teachers, and various trivial matters.

After nearly an hour, Ji Mian felt his scalp tighten, thinking that if Luo Ye didn’t show up soon, his whole life story before turning twenty-two would be laid bare by these two kids.

Finally, the phone in his pocket rang.

He quickly checked and saw it was Luo Ye. He answered immediately.

The voice on the other end was slightly out of breath, probably just back from a run to the classroom.

"Brother?"

The brothers only called each other a few times a year, mostly because they had no choice but to call.

Ji Mian replied curtly, "I'm at the east gate of the affiliated school."

There was a brief pause on the other end, and without asking when Ji Mian had returned, Luo Ye said, "I'll be right there," and didn’t hang up.

Ji Mian only heard a faint rustling noise.

Within two minutes, Luo Ye showed up at the school gate, backpack in tow. He had sprinted over, his black hair swept back by the wind, fully exposing his face.

Ji Mian instinctively compared the Luo Ye before him to last year’s version. There were noticeable changes. He had shot up, even taller than Hu Li now, and his eyes looked more intense than last year.

As Luo Ye approached, Ji Mian adopted his elder brother’s air, distant and composed: "Dad asked me to take you to dinner."

His tone, no longer arrogant, was neutral. After all, the brothers had never been close, even as their relationship had thawed recently.

"Okay," Luo Ye replied, still panting. "I didn’t know... you were coming back today."

He apologized promptly: "I’m sorry, brother."

Ji Mian, however, was at a loss for words.

Luo Ye glanced at Ji Mian’s face but saw no trace of annoyance. Yet, this did little to calm his own feelings.

Ji Mian’s thin ankles, peeking out from his pants, caught his eye.

Just how long had he waited?

Ji Mian’s first missed call had come fifty-seven minutes earlier.

He’d been waiting here for over an hour.

Luo Ye’s lips pressed into a thin line. "I’m sorry."

"..."

"It’s fine. Your classmates kept me entertained for a while, so it wasn’t dull."

Luo Ye turned to look at the two of them, still with a bit of sweat on his face, his eyebrows lowered deeply: "Thank you."

Hu Li: "..." Holy crap!

Kong Yuzhen: "..." What the hell?

It wasn’t that they had never heard Luo Ye say thank you, but it was the first time they had seen him lower his posture so much.

Luo Ye’s entire aura was subdued, giving the illusion that one could easily reach out and ruffle his hair, making him seem very easy to bully.

This change was all because of the young man beside him.

Because of Ji Mian...

Kong Yuzhen was struck by a wild thought: Could it be that Luo Ye’s good attitude towards her was because she had once mentioned that her idol was his brother?!