Lin Xigu went to see Zhou Cheng in his office that very day and claimed that his farsightedness was making him too nauseated to read the blackboard properly. As soon as he returned to the classroom, he grabbed his things and moved back to his old desk.
She Xiao’s backpack was still blocking his chair. Lin Xigu didn’t think twice as he hung the backpack on the back of She Xiao’s chair and sat down. She Xiao had been napping and was startled awake by the commotion, his forehead creasing. The first thing he saw was Lin Xigu shoving piles of books back into the drawer next to him.
She Xiao’s dazed expression sent a thrill through Lin Xigu’s body.
Ah, ah, ah, he was seeing She Xiao all frazzled from sleep again! The world was a beautiful place! Why had he been such a coward before? Lin Xigu, what were you so afraid of, exactly? It’s not like She Xiao would ever beat you up!
“Go back to your nap. It’s okay!” Lin Xigu shot him a wide smile. “I’m just putting my books away. You can sleep!”
Li Balei and Fang Xiaoshan both gave him a warm welcome from the row ahead. “Hullo, xiao-Xigu.”
Lin Xigu beamed at them. “Hullo, Ballet Grrrl. Hey, Shanzi.”
Li Balei winked at him. They shared a conspiratorial chuckle.
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Lsv xkplayczl sa bwav.
“Fbl Dkys, bso nsxl usw’hl zspv ps xwnb olktbv?” Nkd Dktw ypjle, pvyakdt yv vbl pbyar vyrla sq Fbl Dkys’p nbkd.
She Xiao kept his eyes on the board, as if he had not heard his question.
“And why were you walking that way the other day anyway?” Lin Xigu suddenly remembered how She Xiao had run over to him as soon as he had slipped on that memorable rainy night. The memory of She Xiao’s concerned frown was sweet enough to make his heart tingle, but also stirred his curiosity. He wondered why She Xiao had unexpectedly appeared on a street that he had never walked before.
She Xiao kept his head lowered as he continued writing his math homework, as if he had put Lin Xigu on mute.
Lin Xigu’s face suddenly turned red as he remembered something else. He buried his face in his arms, and there was finally a momentary reprieve from his constant chatter.
He had just remembered that he had kissed She Xiao’s neck in the rain.
The memory of that brazen, stolen kiss under the cover of a summer storm made him blush every time.
His face was buried in his arms for a long time as he lay hunched over his desk. She Xiao glanced at him; the swirl of Lin Xigu’s hair was perfectly centered on the the back of his head with a few stray strands of hair sticking up in the middle that swayed mischievously whenever a breeze blew by.
Lin Xigu was giddy. Unable to contain his enthusiasm, he talked nonstop for the rest of the day. After school ended that evening, Li Balei confronted him. “Xiao-Xigu, if you keep this up tomorrow, I’ll have no choice but to report you to Zhou Cheng and demand that you be moved back. Have you developed Big Mouth Syndrome or something?”
Smiling happily, Lin Xigu replied, “I won’t talk this much tomorrow. I’ll try to control myself.”
“No wonder you said She Xiao was annoyed that you talk too much!” Li Balei leaned in and whispered in his ear, “You weren’t like this last year! Can you please also control that look in your eyes and try not to look like a lovesick idiot?”
Lin Xigu nodded, “All right.”
Li Balei shook her head and walked away.
Lin Xigu turned to look at She Xiao, who had already packed up his bag. Normally, at this time, She Xiao would have long disappeared, but he couldn’t leave because Lin Xigu was blocking his way. Lin Xigu smiled and asked him, “She Xiao, can I walk with you today?”
She Xiao looked at him without saying a word.
Which meant “yes”.
Lin Xigu quickly packed up his books, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked out of the classroom with She Xiao. It had been too long since they had last walked together and Lin Xigu didn’t know how close he was allowed to get. He was worried that he would annoy She Xiao if he walked too close, but he also didn’t want to leave too wide a gap between them.
They followed the same route Lin Xigu took every day. He wanted to ask, “Which streets have you been walking all this time? Why haven’t I seen you?”
Lin Xigu didn’t say much on the way. The two walked quietly, with Lin Xigu keeping pace about 20 centimetres away from She Xiao. Lin Xigu could feel his cup overflowing, glad that he was able to walk home like this beside She Xiao in comfortable silence.
“She Xiao.” They were nearing the entrance of his compound when Lin Xigu called out to him.
She Xiao turned to look at him.
Lin Xigu smiled, his face radiant as his eyes curved into crescents. After some thought, he announced, “I’m not afraid of anything, so long as you let me stay by your side.”
The summer night’s breeze was gentle against their skin.
The smile worn by the boy in front of him was also gentle.
She Xiao blinked once, slowly, before turning and walking away.
Lin Xigu watched his retreating figure. The white shirt was loose on She Xiao. Lin Xigu could almost see the scars on She Xiao’s body through the thin layer of fabric. Under the streetlight, his shadow stretched into a needle. She Xiao’s silhouette always seemed so lonely. Lin Xigu took a deep breath, feeling braver than he ever had.
Lin Xigu tried his best to restore their relationship to the way it had been the previous term. He orbited around She Xiao, not as talkative as he had been, but always lingering within She Xiao’s field of vision so that his presence could be clearly felt.
Lin Xigu realized that She Xiao didn’t actually hate him at all.
There was no disgust in his gaze, and he wasn’t cagey or detached. Although he never spoke, his eyes never held an ounce of rejection. Lin Xigu’s mood soared to new heights and he returned to being his usual energetic self.
“She Xiao, you should eat some.” Lin Xigu took the lid off the plastic container he had prepared and offered it to She Xiao, stuffing a clean fork that he had dusted off with a napkin into his hand. “I prepped it myself this morning. You could use the vitamins since you’ve lost so much weight.”
Brightly coloured fruits of every type were crowded inside the clear container in a tantalizing rainbow. She Xiao shook his head and didn’t accept his offer.
“Don’t shake your head…” Lin Xigu held the container closer to him. “They’re sweet. You don’t have to eat all of it if you can’t finish it.”
She Xiao had not been drinking much water lately. He sometimes went entire days without drinking. His lips were always chapped, which, along with the pallor of his skin, only accentuated his sickly appearance. Lin Xigu was about to say something else to convince him to eat the fruit when Li Balei turned around and said, “Give it here if he doesn’t want it. It’ll go bad if no one eats it, right? Shanzi and I will finish it for you, otherwise your hard work will go to waste.”
Lin Xigu didn’t even consider her proposal. “No.”
“Xiao-Xigu, you’ve changed!” Li Balei knocked on the book on his desk. “What happened to being besties?”
”You don’t need any more vitamins,” Lin Xigu informed her, “You’re already fit as a fiddle.”
Li Balei snorted a laugh. “You’re just trying to call me fat. Hurry up and hand that fruit over, Lin Xigu, or else our friendship is over, I swear to —“
She Xiao pierced a piece of dragon fruit with his fork and brought it to his mouth under her stunned gaze.
Lin Xigu’s eyes brightened instantly.
He balanced the container on She Xiao’s leg so that he could help himself. He waved at Li Balei, motioning for her to turn away.
Li Balei shot the two of them an exasperated look before shaking her head and saying to Fang Xiaoshan, “You’re gonna have to bring me fruit tomorrow too. Look at She Xiao’s tongzhuo, now look at you.”
“Mn,” Fang Xiaoshan obliged.
She Xiao did not eat all of the fruit. Lin Xigu took the fork that She Xiao had used and finished the rest.
As he ate, Lin Xigu wondered if they would ever get to share a water bottle again.
They started walking home together every day again. Lin Xigu was already beyond content with this arrangement. However, he was even more delighted when he glimpsed She Xiao walking by one morning as he was leaving for school. His heart leapt with excitement as he shouted, “She Xiao!”
She Xiao turned to look at him.
Lin Xigu ran over, “Good morning!”
She Xiao bit his lip and stopped, waiting for him to catch up.
Lin Xigu resumed walking with She Xiao in the mornings again. From the outside, it seemed as though everything had returned to normal, but Lin Xigu knew that things were not so simple.
She Xiao still did not like to speak.
He was passively permissive about everything Lin Xigu did, but he never opened his mouth to say a single word. She Xiao used to spend every day trying his best to speak, but Lin Xigu hardly ever heard his voice anymore.
It was as if he had finally managed to step out in the light, only to have shrunk back into his cage.
He never spoke and never smiled. He spent increasingly more of each school day sleeping.
Lin Xigu was fanning him idly as always. She Xiao’s face was turned to the window as he napped. Their Chinese Lit teacher was droning on about reading comprehension and half the class had fallen asleep.
The end-of-class bell woke She Xiao. He slowly sat up with the pattern of his sleeve imprinted on his face. Lin Xigu couldn’t help but laugh.
She Xiao looked at him and raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
“You have a mark on your face,” Lin Xigu explained, stretching out his hand. His fingertips came close to grazing She Xiao’s cheek before he paused and lowered his hand.
She Xiao had crumpled his eyelashes in his sleep. They were tangled and creased every which way. It was easily noticeable given how long his eyelashes were. From a short distance away, he looked like a little boy who had just stopped crying.
Lin Xigu drank in this adorable version of She Xiao, his heart as soft as wool.
Talk about your feelings quickly please I’m dying over here 😔 already kissed once and still being so stubborn
Thank you for the tl as always~ the translation quality is excellent!
It’s not slowburn without the slowww ಠ∀ಠ
Thanks for reading and commenting!