Chapter 107

Chapter 107

Two weeks later, the final exams for the sophomores at the affiliated high school ended.

Ji Mian went to the parent-teacher meeting instead of Xiang Yanming.

Ji Mian had not yet started working at Xiang's company. Whenever there was something to handle at home, Xiang Yanming would leave it to him. This time, the parent-teacher meeting for the transition from sophomore to junior year was also delegated to him.

The students were waiting in the hallway, anticipating the arrival of their parents to lead them to their seats in the classroom.

Ji Mian knew the high school building well. Returning after several years, he felt a wave of nostalgia.

From a distance, he noticed the most striking figure leaning against the hallway wall and walked over. "Luo Ye."

Luo Ye appeared deep in thought, leaning against the wall, and didn't notice Ji Mian at first. He only looked up when he heard the voice.

Since last night, when he heard that Ji Mian would be attending the parent-teacher meeting for him, he had been distracted and absent-minded.

"Brother," he straightened up and led Ji Mian into the classroom.

Ji Mian couldn't help but look at him sideways.

His younger brother seemed upset.

Did he perform poorly on the exams?

Luo Ye sat in the last row. After leading Ji Mian to his seat, he pressed his lips together and left without a word.

On the desk were a few handouts for the parents, with one or two requiring signatures.

Luo Ye had left a pen next to them for him.

After a short wait, the parent-teacher meeting started.

The homeroom teacher started with some motivational words about the push towards junior year, followed by a summary of the final exams.

"The score slips are under the handouts, parents can take a look..."

Ji Mian's heart raced, feeling inexplicably nervous, more so than when he looked at his own grades.

Under the handouts, he found a narrow slip of paper.

English, 148, Math...

Ji Mian scanned each subject. Luo Ye's scores in nearly every subject were impressively high, with only the 102 in Chinese appearing somewhat average.

Under the final grade ranking was a bold "3".

Ji Mian's lips curved slightly, feeling quite proud. Every year when he returned, he heard Xiang Yanming boasting about Luo Ye's grades at the dinner table, often claiming the top spot in the grade.

This time, being third in the grade indicated very stable performance.

Maintaining a position within the top ten in a school like the affiliated high school, where top students gathered, was undoubtedly challenging.

Especially during the second half of the second year and the first half of the third year, when dark horses continuously surged forward, Ji Mian remembered that during his own first half of the third year, the top ten list changed dramatically each time.

Ji Mian neatly folded the score slip and slipped it into his pocket.

His younger brother's honor, to be treasured!

After the parent-teacher meeting ended, the homeroom teacher pulled Ji Mian aside for a private talk, her tone serious. She mentioned that Luo Ye’s grades had slipped compared to previous exams, and since it’s a crucial time in his senior year, she urged Ji Mian to keep a closer eye on his study habits and communicate with him to identify any issues.

Just like a few years ago, the teachers had high hopes for Luo Ye, hoping he’d score high on the college entrance exam. Like his older brother, he’d always been at the top of his class and had never fallen out of it.

"I’ll chat with him when I get home. Thank you," Ji Mian responded with a smile, though he didn’t give the teacher’s words much thought and had no intention of questioning Luo Ye.

It’s normal for grades to fluctuate. Except for a handful of prodigies, who could consistently rank first every time?

Luo Ye staying in the top ten of his class was already an outstanding achievement among top students.

It’s good to have drive in senior year, but Ji Mian didn’t want to put too much pressure on Luo Ye.

Ji Mian pocketed the report card and left the classroom, waving at Luo Ye, who was waiting outside. "Let’s go."

As they walked, Luo Ye was quieter than usual.

Ji Mian kept sneaking glances at him.

...He seemed really down.

Recently, Luo Ye had been very quiet at home, but today he was even more withdrawn. Ji Mian couldn’t quite figure out the reason.

Could it be his grades? Ji Mian frowned, took out the report card from his pocket, and looked at it again, confirming that the number under the grade ranking was "3."

This score is pretty solid; keeping it up would pretty much get him into most universities here.

"...Brother," Luo Ye suddenly spoke up, his dark eyes locked onto the report card in Ji Mian’s hand.

"Toss it."

Ji Mian’s hand hesitated. "Toss it?"

"Yeah, I bombed it. Just toss it."

"..."

This was considered bombing it!?

Ji Mian pressed his lips together, realizing that Luo Ye genuinely believed he had performed poorly.

He was proud of the score, but Luo Ye seemed to regard it as a disgrace.

Third place—what’s wrong with that?

Had the family been putting too much pressure on him when he wasn’t around?

As they passed a trash bin, Luo Ye stopped, waiting for him to throw it away.

Ji Mian clenched the strip of paper in his hand as if he were about to discard a gold medal.

Luo Ye, however, stubbornly watched him. After a moment, he took the report card from Ji Mian’s hand. "Next time, I’ll bring back a new one."

It will be first place, just like you.

It had just rained, and the air on this summer afternoon was stifling, making it hard to breathe.

Luo Ye felt hot and restless.

Thoughts that he couldn’t untangle had occupied his mind for a long time, and now they were only adding fuel to the fire. In his five years at the affiliated high school, this was the first time Ji Mian had attended a parent-teacher meeting, and he had faced him with his worst performance yet.

His Chinese essay was severely off-topic, and he scored only twenty out of fifty. He's been struggling with his studies lately, with his logical thinking barely holding up, but when it comes to reading comprehension, he falls apart, getting stuck on minor details.

Ji Mian nodded slowly, "...Yeah." His face was mostly expressionless, only his eyelids drooped slightly.

But to Luo Ye, it was unmistakable disappointment. Why would tossing a flimsy third-place slip make him feel so down?

Luo Ye couldn't just let it go.

He was silent for a moment, the hand holding the score slip poised to toss it, then he said in a low voice, "Here, brother."

Ji Mian said kindly, "If you want to toss it, go ahead."

Their roles had switched.

Luo Ye still pressed the score slip back into Ji Mian's hand, watching as his eyelashes lifted and he carefully tucked the slip into his pocket.

Luo Ye felt like he was being tucked into Ji Mian's pocket too. Imagining it felt pretty good.

*

During the summer break, Luo Ye would lie every other day about going to a classmate's house to study, then lug a backpack full of test papers to his scheduled psychologist.

After a few visits, Ji Mian couldn't help but worry, and finally asked him one time:

"Still heading to a classmate's place?"

"Yeah."

"...Is it a guy or a girl?"

Luo Ye hesitated, the tone sounding familiar. It reminded him of when he asked if his brother had a girlfriend, casual but curious.

"A guy."

This answer didn't make Ji Mian feel much better. But he soon joined Xiang's company, busy with tasks assigned by Xiang Yanming, and gradually forgot about this small matter.

Luo Ye's list of quack doctors grew by several more.

Their answers were not much different from the first doctor, and some even asked him about sexual impulses. After a long silence, Luo Ye said, "Yes."

That doctor advised him to clarify his sexual orientation, suggesting that a vague understanding of his orientation might be causing impulses towards people around him, even feelings akin to admiration.

When Luo Ye heard the word "admiration," he was stunned for a long time.

Luckily, it was just "akin."

His orientation was indeed as the doctor said, vague. But figuring it out was somewhat troublesome.

He only had those impulses towards Ji Mian, starting last summer.

That was when Ji Mian had just returned, occasionally touching his face, and once his fingers brushed against his neck, accidentally grazing his Adam's apple, and then it started.

At first, it felt strange, but after checking online, he found that some people's sexual awakening was triggered by someone close to them. It should be treated correctly, avoided rationally, and not overly blamed.

Luo Ye took the advice seriously, didn't blame himself, considered it a normal phenomenon, and had "rational avoidance," controlling himself from thinking about it again.

After the first suggestion, the doctor advised Luo Ye to make more friends, divert his emotions, avoid developing excessive attachment to his brother, and try to stay away temporarily.

Thus, he was also labeled a quack by Luo Ye.

At the beginning, he had clearly stated that he couldn't actively stay away. But for some reason, those doctors always ignored this, having no concept of the difficulty of staying away from Ji Mian, and just kept urging him to keep his distance.

Their tone made it seem like leaving his brother was no big deal.

It was way harder than acing a test.

*

Ji Mian hadn’t been back to the Xiang household for a week.

Luo Zhishu stopped by briefly but left in a rush.

A few days later around noon, Luo Ye heard noises from the next room and figured Ji Mian was back.

He’d been seeing doctors a lot lately and had grown a bit sensitive to Ji Mian. After hanging in his room for a bit, he went to check it out.

But it wasn’t Ji Mian—it was Auntie Lin.

She was digging around at the bottom of Ji Mian’s bookshelf. Usually, Auntie Lin wouldn’t go into the bedroom when no one was around.

“Auntie Lin?”

“Oh, did I bother you?” Auntie Lin stood up and quickly explained, “Mr. Xiang asked me to find some notebooks in Xiao Nian’s room for Xiang Chen to use for his third-year review. Mr. Xiang will have someone pick them up later to send to Xiao Chen.”

It was likely Liang Mingxuan’s idea.

Ji Mian was a top student, and his textbooks and notes were super detailed. Xiang Chen’s grades weren’t as strong, and since Ji Mian couldn’t tutor him, his notes were a big help.

“Did Dad check with my brother about this?”

“Yeah, Xiao Nian told me the third-year books are all on the bottom shelf.”

Luo Ye paused and said, “It’s too low—I’ll get it.”

Auntie Lin was pretty uncomfortable squatting, so she thanked him and stood up.

Luo Ye really wanted to help, but he didn’t want anyone else touching Ji Mian’s bookshelf.

That was his brother’s private space.

He often came in himself, and Ji Mian didn’t mind, so it was no big deal.

Ji Mian’s notebooks were arranged with OCD-level precision, all in solid colors, lined up like a set of books.

Luo Ye quickly found a few textbooks and notebooks in the neatly organized stack at the bottom.

He scanned the bookshelf and didn’t see anything else.

The bookshelf was packed, but a few textbooks were missing—physics and chemistry were nowhere in sight.

Ji Mian never threw out books. He’d tossed his middle school exams, but the textbooks and notebooks were still around.

Auntie Lin remembered something and said, “Earlier, when space got tight, Xiao Nian rearranged the bookshelf twice. He probably moved some stuff to the art room.”

The art room…

“I’ll go downstairs to get the key.” Auntie Lin would occasionally open Ji Mian’s art room to dust it, which he allowed because he knew she wouldn’t touch the cabinets. She was worried about messing things up.

Although the art room door was usually locked, Ji Mian had never mentioned that no one could enter.

Aside from Auntie Lin, no one would voluntarily enter his art room, which was filled with the smell of paint.

Auntie Lin brought the key upstairs, and Luo Ye thought for a moment before saying, “Take a break outside. I’ll handle it.”

Auntie Lin was getting on in years, traditional and down-to-earth, and Luo Ye was worried that she might not take well to seeing those Western-style paintings with scantily clad figures in the studio.

"Hmm," Auntie Lin replied.

She had never gone to school, and when she saw that row of books in Ji Mian's bedroom earlier, she had no idea where to start. It was better not to go in and make a fuss.

The studio was quite spacious, with several cabinets lined up against the wall to the right of the entrance, holding some painting supplies and Ji Mian's previous works.

Luo Ye had only been in here twice since he joined the Xiang family.

He checked a few of the larger cabinets. The first one was filled with Ji Mian's paintings. Luo Ye caught a glimpse of the one on top and paused for a moment.

He looked away for a moment and opened the second cabinet, where he saw two neatly stacked piles of books. He crouched down and leafed through them; they were mostly preserved test papers and textbooks from middle school.

He picked out the ones that were useful, rearranged the books, and closed the cabinet door.

He placed the books by the cabinet, Luo Ye returned to the first cabinet, sat down on the floor, and picked up the top sheet of drawing paper to look at it.

Luo Ye didn’t know much about painting, but he thought it was really well done.

His brother was good at everything—except cooking.

A faint smile flickered in his dark eyes beneath his long lashes, and he smiled slightly, placing it back in its original position. Then he randomly pulled out another sheet from the pile, marked its position with a pen in the gap, looked at it, and put it back. He repeated this many times.

When he got to a certain sheet at the bottom, Luo Ye took it out.

At a glance, his whole body froze.

On the drawing paper, a slightly youthful profile was sketched in pencil, the eyelashes lowered, and the expression calm. Wearing a loose short-sleeved shirt.

It was unmistakably Luo Ye from a few years back.

After studying it carefully several times, it was indeed him.

Luo Ye pressed his lips together, his ears turning red.

His brother had actually drawn him.

He felt the urge to flip through the whole stack of drawings to see.

If there were more...

Luo Ye thought of something and tentatively pulled out the next sheet.

Then, the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

Sure enough, the person in the drawing was still him. He had to thank Ji Mian’s obsessive-compulsive organizing, as all the drawings related to Luo Ye were placed together.

Luo Ye just pulled out the next few dozen sheets.

He flipped through them one after another.

They were arranged chronologically, and as he went further down, the facial lines gradually became sharper and more distinct. And...

Luo Ye paused. There seemed to be more exposed skin, and he didn't remember wearing those clothes. The expressions were also odd, looking somewhat pained.

The drawings contained vague, implicit meanings, slowing down his flipping movements. He spent a long time looking at each one.

His shoulders shook. It was like the feeling last summer when Ji Mian's fingers brushed over his Adam's apple. Before he could fully understand, a chaotic, hazy impulse surged up first, and his heart raced with unease.

Luo Ye went straight to the last one.

It was recent—just one piece. The style, unlike the earlier hesitant strokes, had suddenly turned decisive. It was as if the artist had recently crossed some psychological barrier.

The image shattered Luo Ye’s long-held perceptions, his dark pupils frozen in place.

"Xiao Ye?" Auntie Lin called from outside, "Are you done? Someone’s here..."

Luo Ye quickly gathered the paintings and grabbed the books at his feet.

Suddenly, he remembered something and set the textbooks back down, flipping through them one by one from top to bottom. He checked for any odd papers tucked inside or casual doodles Ji Mian might have left on the pages.

As he checked, he rubbed his burning ears.

After flipping through and confirming the pages were clean, he carried a stack of books downstairs.

The courier arrived with a box, spent five minutes packing the books, and left with it.

Only then did Auntie Lin head upstairs to retrieve the studio key.

"Auntie Lin," Luo Ye called, "I’ll return the key later. You go ahead with your work."

At this, Auntie Lin nodded and stayed on the first floor to prepare dinner.

Luo Ye climbed the stairs, his pace slow and deliberate.

He took the key from the studio door and slipped it into his pocket, just in case someone tried to enter.

He turned the handle, stepped inside, and flicked the lock with his finger. His movements were oddly calm.

He sat back down, opened the cabinet, placed the paintings he had hastily put in earlier and hadn’t finished viewing on his lap, and continued to flip through them unhurriedly.

...

Affection Points +1000, contributed by Luo Ye.