Chapter 98 Rebellion

Chapter 98: Rebellion

That night, Shen Ci did not go home but squeezed onto the same hospital cot as Shen Shiyan, lying very close.

The pressure of the upcoming Gaokao and Shen Shiyan's steady breathing made him want to blurt out "I like you," but Zhong Yurong was still there. Shen Ci desperately wanted Zhong Yurong's blessing because she was Shen Shiyan's only family.

Moreover, Shen Ci wasn't sure whether Shen Shiyan could accept his feelings.

Anxiety mixed with a sweet anticipation for the future banished all traces of Shen Ci's sleepiness. He carefully shifted positions several times before finally calming down when Shen Shiyan held him firmly in a strong embrace.

"Go to sleep," Shen Shiyan coaxed in a whisper, loosening his grip slightly while patting Shen Ci's back in a random, gentle rhythm.

It was hard to tell if he slept well or not—Shen Ci had been in the same state since returning to Yunjing Mansion, all the way until the day before the exam.

Staring at the four words "Good luck on the exam" that Shen Shiyan had sent him, Shen Ci couldn't fall asleep at all. It wasn't until the early hours that he drifted into a hazy dream where he was taking an exam paper. He even remembered the question type—it was the final exam of his first year of high school.

He quickly finished the remaining questions while the invigilator paced the aisle between desks with his hands behind his back. In the dream, Shen Ci found the pacing a bit annoying. So he lowered his head and wrote the name "Shen Shiyan" on the scratch paper that would be collected by the school. The pen tip scratched against the paper with a rustling sound. When he had written it thirty-three times, the bell rang.

......

"The exam has ended. Candidates, please stop writing immediately. If any candidate..."

Shen Ci stood up straight and watched the invigilator collect the last exam paper of his high school career.

The Gaokao was over.

It drizzled all three days of the exams. Outside the classroom, the air was cool and fresh, and the lush campus greenery seemed to have been layered with a filter. Everything within sight appeared clear yet melancholic. On his last walk through Yunxi with Song Qiuchi, Shen Ci couldn't quite describe what he felt.

It was as if, in an instant, he had become an adult. Despite his naivety, he held his umbrella and slowly trudged toward the school gate, which was both an ending and a starting point.

"Before graduation, I should have challenged you to a skateboard match at school," he said as they shared a large umbrella, with Shen Ci holding it straight.

"We can still do it outside," Song Qiuchi shrugged. "Over a year has passed. So, how are you? Have you figured out whether to confess?"

Shen Ci's worries were like the light rain—fine and dense, soaking the world in a blurry haze. Amid the scattered water stains, he could only see his own heart clearly, not Shen Shiyan's.

"Not yet. I tried testing him before, but he didn't seem to have any particular reaction," Shen Ci said, inhaling the air and tasting a hint of the rainy season's sourness.

Song Qiuchi thought for a moment and boldly suggested, "I think maybe you've been too well-behaved in front of him. How about trying to be less obedient? More rebellious."

Shen Ci thought to himself that he wasn't exactly well-behaved—he often threw inexplicable tantrums at Shen Shiyan.

Song Qiuchi continued, "Be a bit rebellious and see if Shiyan Ge gets angry, or rather, if he gets jealous."

A path he had never considered before.

Shen Ci found it somewhat feasible, but the unknown risks were also high.

"Tomorrow, there's a class gathering, probably at a bar. Do you want to go?" Song Qiuchi asked him.

Shen Ci hesitated, walking very slowly.

If God truly existed, from God's perspective, He wouldn't be able to see which umbrella handle among the layered, colorful moving umbrellas was held by Shen Ci. It was just like how Shen Ci now didn't know which decision would be best for him and for Shen Shiyan, and which decision would ruin the happy life he had.

On the night beach of Ethereth, the question of whose heart Shen Ci's heart was beating for had now been answered clearly.

He desperately wanted to have the ability to read hearts, because he couldn't wait to understand whether Shen Shiyan's heart was beating for him.

The rain seemed to be getting heavier, pounding the umbrella surface with a crackling sound. Song Qiuchi pulled him across one puddle after another, weaving through the bustling crowd past the school gate.

Shen Ci saw Shen Shiyan holding an umbrella in the rain.

The tall figure found him precisely in the beaded rain, as if those eyes were born to see Shen Ci no matter where he was.

Their umbrellas slowly drew closer, and Shen Ci's heart pounded wildly from the raindrops. He tugged at the sleeve of Song Qiuchi's jacket and said, "I'll go."

"Good," Song Qiuchi said quickly, then ducked under Song Xianghan's umbrella.

Shen Ci and Shen Shiyan held each other's gaze for a few seconds in the rain before Shen Ci weakly looked away.

Although he hadn't achieved any great success yet, that evening, a few people held a small celebration banquet for the two graduates.

Zhong Yurong smiled happily in the hospital room, and even her sickly appearance seemed to fade. Shen Ci held her thin, cold hand and told her with a smile that now that he was on break, he could be with her every day. He also said that hospital gowns were too ugly—he wanted her to wear pretty dresses every day and put on the most beautiful makeup.

As the party was breaking up, Shen Ci finally brought up his request to attend the class gathering the next day. Shen Shiyan looked at his glimmering eyes in the light and didn't ask where the gathering was. He just said okay and told him to call if anything came up.

Actually, it was because Shen Ci had told him in the car last time that he could handle many things on his own.

Shen Shiyan thought that he couldn't accompany Shen Ci forever, nor could he help him solve everything. He had been in the Shen family for nearly ten years, yet he still hadn't managed to establish himself. Honest with himself, he didn't dare entrust Shen Ci to such a failure.

The party started at seven in the evening, and Shen Ci hadn't yet told Shen Shiyan that he was going to a bar.

Coincidentally, the company had a meeting, so Shen Shiyan didn't have time to drop him off. This actually made Shen Ci relieved.

The bar was dim, but as long as you stayed away from the dance floor where the music was deafening, the atmosphere wasn't too chaotic. Occasionally, the lights swept over the bar counter, accompanied by the clinking of glasses.

Shen Ci was pulled by Chen Bufan and Song Qiuchi into a large private room. Most of the people there were just casual acquaintances, sitting in small groups, talking about funny stories of Teacher Lin from Yunxi catching students dating. The room was full of laughter. Song Qiuchi and Chen Bufan kept their heads low, plotting something about Shen Ci's lifelong affair.

During a break, a quiet boy in the class confessed to a girl, his face flushed red as he grew louder to boost his courage.

The room was filled with cheers, and Shen Ci joined in, clapping along.

Shen Ci hoped that when he next saw Shen Shiyan, he would be as brave as that male classmate.

The two embraced in the dim light and then very lightly touched lips. Watching this scene, Shen Ci inexplicably wanted to cry.

But he didn't have much chance to cry, because everyone gathered around to play a dice-rolling drinking game.

Shen Ci felt that this game was very unsuitable for him—after all, the memory of losing his New Year's red envelope money in the group chat was still fresh in his mind.

He picked up a piece of watermelon and took a bite. It was very different from any watermelon he had eaten before—sweet and moist with a hint of wine. Song Qiuchi said it was wine-soaked fruit.

The wine flavor wasn't strong, and Shen Ci thought eating this wouldn't make him drunk, so he ate quite a bit. Then he joined a few rounds of games. Sure enough, as expected, he lost three out of five rounds. Six glasses of alcohol was a bit much for Shen Ci, who never drank.

Just as Song Qiuchi was about to drink for him, Shen Ci stopped her.

Then he picked up a glass of liquor he didn't even recognize and downed it in one gulp. He hoped to get slightly tipsy as a means to boost his courage.

Six glasses in a row, and even Chen Bufan couldn't stop him.