Chapter 27

Chapter 27

At the school gate, Zhang Yu, with his good looks and smooth talk, successfully sweet-talked the security guard into opening the gate without calling the homeroom teacher.

Under the guard’s cheerful smile, he pulled He Xu through the gate, one leading the other. Only after making sure He Xu couldn’t bolt did he let go, happily touching the scarf around his neck.

The scarf had been bought by He Xu on the way.

At the time, after much badgering, he had finally managed to get He Xu to relent and agree to accompany him to school. As they walked, He Xu suddenly stopped.

Zhang Yu turned back warily, thinking he was about to go back on his word, only to find him staring at a clothing store by the roadside. After a brief glance, He Xu turned to him and said, “Stay here,” before walking inside.

Not long after, He Xu came out, holding a thin, folded blue scarf in his hand.

As soon as he reached Zhang Yu, he shoved the scarf at him and walked ahead without another word.

Zhang Yu caught up with him, holding the scarf curiously. “For me?”

He Xu grunted in response.

Zhang Yu examined the scarf, puzzled. Scarves were something humans wore when they were cold, weren’t they? He wasn’t cold—why had He Xu bought this for him?

Thinking this, he voiced his confusion honestly. “But I’m not cold.”

The human in front of him paused, huffing through his nose. “Suit yourself,” he muttered.

Why was he upset again?

Zhang Yu sighed, fondly exasperated, but soon brightened up and wrapped the scarf around his neck.

He didn’t feel cold, but he wasn’t bothered by heat either. Since He Xu had given it to him, he might as well wear it. Besides, the scarf was blue, resembling the color of the ocean—he quite liked it.

He Xu walked behind with his arms crossed, watching the boy bounce along ahead, his curls bouncing, occasionally reaching up to touch the scarf around his neck like a prized possession. He couldn’t help but curl his lip.

Just moments ago, he’d said he wasn’t cold and didn’t want it—now he was wearing it like he’d won the lottery.

He hadn’t bought one for himself. His collar was high enough to cover his neck completely, and the split lip had mostly healed by now, so it wouldn’t draw attention.

Besides, that store only had one nice pattern. He couldn’t possibly wear the same one as this kid, could he? If people saw, they might think the two of them were actually close.

He shot Zhang Yu a disdainful glance, then, after a moment, looked again.

Late autumn was approaching, and the weather was growing colder. Many had already switched to thick coats and pants, so a thin scarf around the boy’s neck didn’t look out of place.

The sea-blue fabric wrapped around his neck not only concealed faint traces of marks but also accentuated his fair, translucent skin, making him look even more like a bishounen straight from anime.

“…”

It actually looked… pretty good.

This impression was further confirmed when they entered the classroom.

As Zhang Yu walked in, He Xu noticed at least ten girls sneaking glances at him.

Pfft. Shallow much? What was the point of just having a pretty face?

Boss He clicked his tongue in disdain, completely ignoring the fact that he, too, had been staring just minutes ago.

Their timing was perfect—morning reading session had just ended, and there were still a few minutes before class.

Most of the students noticed Zhang Yu and He Xu entering one after the other, and their appearance together drew some surprise.

It had only been a little over a week since Zhang Yu transferred, and everyone still remembered the incident where he accidentally spilled water on He Xu.

Based on what they knew about He Xu and the rumors circulating in school, they had expected him to gather his gang and beat Zhang Yu half to death—maybe even bully him relentlessly until he dropped out.

But now, the two of them seemed… weirdly chummy?

Even standing so close, He Xu wasn’t scowling—just a bit expressionless. As for Zhang Yu, the baby-faced transfer student was practically radiating cheer, bouncing as he walked, making it impossible to miss his good mood.

Still, it wasn’t their business. Most only spared them a curious once-over before returning to their own affairs—some buried themselves in last-minute cramming, while others seized the moment to chat.

Senior year was hectic, with heavy workloads and tight schedules. Whether they were secretly studying to outdo everyone or squeezing in time to relax, every second counted!

Only Sun Ran and his group approached.

The moment Zhang Yu took his seat, Sun Ran’s booming voice boomed from behind.

“Boss, you’re here!” Sun Ran greeted. “We thought you weren’t coming today. Boss, you wouldn’t believe what went down after you left that day! Yu Ling was savage—she took pictures of Xiao Changjiang and his lackey kissing, had full-color prints made, and passed them around right in front of Xiao Changjiang! You should’ve seen the look on that dickhead’s face—I was wheezing, hahaha…”

Zhang Yu glanced back at the first few words, giving Sun Ran a sympathetic look before scooting his chair forward, putting distance between them.

Yikes. Hopefully, he wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire when fists start flying.

The others burst into laughter after Sun Ran, but only Chang Jie noticed the look Zhang Yu had given.

He froze, then glanced at their boss’s expression. Instantly, he wiped the smile off his face, coughing awkwardly while subtly kicking the others’ shins.

The rest took the hint and quickly stifled their laughter—all except Sun Ran, who kept cackling like a dumbass.

As their boss’s scowl deepened by the second, Chang Jie couldn’t bear to watch. He lifted his foot and—wham!—kicked hard.

“Hahaha—OW! Lao Chang, what the hell?!” Sun Ran yelped, clutching his shin and hissing in pain.

Chang Jie: “…”

He was signaling so hard his eyes might pop, and this idiot still hadn’t noticed!

He coughed loudly again, raising a hand to fake covering his mouth while subtly pointing to the side.

Sun Ran, baffled, finally took the hint—and locked eyes with his boss’s darkening expression.

“…”

Cold sweat instantly drenched his face.

Right… that night, aside from Xiao Changjiang, their boss had also… kissed a man…

Sun Ran gave a nervous chuckle. “Boss, uh… you look great today.”

The others: “…”

Just shut up already!

Under Sun Ran’s terrified gaze, He Xu finally parted his lips and bit out his first word of the day: “Scram.”

Got it! Sun Ran booked it.

The others, not wanting to clean up Sun Ran’s mess, quickly followed suit, beating a hasty retreat.

Zhang Yu watched their retreating figures with regret. Tch... he'd thought Sun Ran would get beaten up like that green watch guy.

Missing out on a proper fistfight, Zhang Yu sighed in disappointment and shot He Xu a somewhat resentful glance.

He Xu raised an eyebrow. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." The marine creature grumbled, turning his head back.

The class bell soon rang.

The lesson dragged on painfully slow. Amid the teacher's explanations and the rhythmic tapping of chalk on the blackboard, Zhang Yu fought a losing battle against his drooping eyelids. Unfortunately, he was no match for them—losing ground until total surrender.

Just as he was about to surrender completely and start his happy little snores, his seat suddenly jolted violently, kicked from behind.

Startled awake, Zhang Yu turned around to see He Xu leaning back in his seat, arms crossed. When their eyes met, He Xu curled his lips into a shit-eating grin and mouthed the words:

"Stop sleeping. Pay attention."

Zhang Yu turned away, pouting.

Well, it couldn't be helped. After all, he was the one who had insisted on studying hard and dragged He Xu back. He couldn't exactly blame the guy for reminding him to focus, could he?

He struggled to keep his eyelids open, but the brain-draining power of class was too overwhelming. Before long, they began drooping again.

And then he got kicked again.

This scenario repeated several times throughout the class. Thanks to He Xu, he didn't actually fall asleep and managed to listen to the entire lesson—but the effort drained him completely. The moment class ended, he slumped onto the desk, a deflated octopus.

Xiang Yiming beside him couldn't help but steal a worried glance.

He was a little worried.

When Zhang Yu had walked in with He Xu earlier, he had breathed a sigh of relief, thinking He Xu had finally dropped that grudge and stopped bothering Zhang Yu. But now, it seemed that was just his imagination.

In just one class, Xiang Yiming had stopped counting how often he'd heard disturbances.

With He Xu watching from behind, he didn't dare look over, so he could only rely on sound—clearly hearing his deskmate's seat being kicked repeatedly.

Though he hadn't experienced it himself, Xiang Yiming could easily imagine how terrifying it would be to suddenly get kicked like that in the middle of class. He'd probably jump out of his seat and spend the rest of the lesson too jumpy to focus.

Yet despite being kicked so often, Zhang Yu hadn't made a single sound the entire time. Xiang Yiming couldn't help but admire him—but admiration aside, he was still concerned.

Was he really okay? Zhang Yu had taken a day off yesterday, already missing a day's worth of lessons. With He Xu disrupting him like this today, could he even keep up?

Even though senior year was mostly revision, some of the teacher's explanations went deeper than before. If he didn't listen, he might not understand on his own.

Thinking this, Xiang Yiming pretended to organize his notes and stole another glance—only to grow even more worried.

Leaning against the wall, the boy rested his head on his arms. His usually lively dark eyes were now dull and unblinking, like wooden beads. His fluffy curls drooped lifelessly, and he looked completely exhausted, half-dead.

Xiang Yiming gulped and whispered, "Zhang Yu, are you okay?"

Zhang Yu slowly turned his head, staring at him with glazed eyes, his voice barely there. "No..."

He reached out and grabbed Xiang Yiming's arm, his voice fading. "D'you have..."

A sudden gaze fixed on his back. Xiang Yiming stiffened, forcing himself to ignore it as he mustered the courage to ask, "What?"

"...food." Zhang Yu widened his glazed eyes and murmured, "D'you have any food? I'm so hungry."

He had been too busy chasing and being chased by He Xu all morning and hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

Based on the energy reserves he'd built up since coming to human society, he technically wouldn't starve for another year. But studying was different—every time he studied, his brain cells seemed to die at an alarming rate, and he desperately needed food to comfort himself.

As for courtship or whatever, it was just a little food-sharing interaction like orcas did. No big deal. Didn't He Xu feed him too?

He just had to make sure he didn't give food to others or court anyone else.

"Uh, yeah." Xiang Yiming blinked, then pulled out the leftover dinner roll from his breakfast. "Here, want this?"

Zhang Yu's eyes lit up. He snatched it, tore open the packaging, and inhaled it in one bite—gone in less than a second.

That single bite was like a magic cure. The octopus immediately perked up, eyes lighting up as he beamed at Xiang Yiming. "Thank you! You're the best!"

He decided that even if the protagonist really did snitch on him later, he wouldn't hold it against him!

The boy's large dark eyes stared at him intently, his face lit up with an impossibly bright smile. The sunlight gilded his curls, making him look like a storybook prince.

Xiang Yiming got flustered under the attention, his face flushing as he stammered, "It's nothing! I'm glad you liked it. I-I'll bring more tomorrow."

"Really?" Zhang Yu lit up, his smile growing even brighter. "Thank you so much! You're amazing!"

Xiang Yiming grew even dizzier, a silly grin spreading across his face.

The atmosphere between them was warm and friendly, full of the pleasant camaraderie of classmates helping each other. But to someone else watching, it wasn't so pleasant.

He Xu sat at the back, watching the two of them all smiles, and couldn't help clenching his jaw.

Brat. Just a few days ago, he'd said he was nice. Now, suddenly, there was a *better* good person, and he was smiling so happily at someone else.

As if he didn't even exist, huh?!

Glowering, He Xu kicked Zhang Yu's seat hard. When the boy turned around in confusion, He Xu tilted his chin up and ordered arrogantly, "Oi. Get me some bread."

Zhang Yu: "..."

First the courtship thing, now this? Really now?