novel
| ← Ch.50 | Ch.52 → |
Note: not proofreaded
Zhen Yuanbai made his way back to his room, he was still nervous. After laying back in bed, he listened for any movements. Once he confirmed that his parents and Zhen Youxiu didn't notice him coming back home after curfew, he finally sighed in relief.
He received Shi Bufan's good night message and Zhen Yuanbai glanced at it before tossing his phone to the side and rolling over.
He wanted to close his eyes and sleep, but Shi Bufan suddenly filled his mind. What happened before was replaying in his mind over and over; he was unable to fall asleep at all.
He felt like a coward. He should've told Shi Bufan that he hated and disliked him. They should just break up and go on separate paths. After all, it wasn't like he cared!
But he touched his heart and felt a stiff feeling. It seems like he did care about Shi Bufan.
He kicked the blankets angrily and after that, he grabbed the blankets back and covered himself because he was afraid of the cold. The cold air seemed to have dispelled his anger. Zhen Yuanbai glanced at the ceiling for a while before thinking that it was as expected for him to like Shi Bufan. After all, he was handsome and had a cool temperament. By being with him, he didn't need to be afraid of being bullied.
Whenever people want to do something, they'll do their best to find excuses as justification. Whether it be twisted logic or real reasoning, thoughts like these quickly sprouted.
When Zhen Yuanbai didn't want to like Shi Bufan, all he thought about was the bad things he had done. When he liked him, he noticed that Shi Bufan was quite nice.
Although he was only nice to him after he lost his memory... a prodigal son returned home is worth more than gold. There's no point in holding onto the past when he had become a better person now.
As he thought about this, he persuaded himself to try liking Shi Bufan. If it didn't work out, he could just break up. After all, with Shi Bufan's personality, he probably won't settle old accounts with him after they broke up.
The snow from yesterday was quite big and the ground was white. Zhen Youxiu woke up at 5 and murmured about taking a picture of the sunrise. After he wore his coat, he ran over to call for Zhen Yuanbai and the latter was forced to peek out of the blankets after being pushed a few times. He angrily said, "Why are we climbing a mountain in this weather? What if we slip?"
"We're taking the cable car." Zhen Youxiu pushed him and said, "Hurry up. I want to catch the sunrise in the snow."
"I'm not going."
"Are you here on vacation or here to sleep? If I knew earlier, I wouldn't let you come."
"I'm here on vacation, not here to find trouble."
Zhen Youxiu had an idea and suddenly saw the biology exam on the table."Do you want to try doing an exam while watching the sunrise? It'll feel great!"
Just because Zhen Yuanbai brought exams along on vacation, it didn't prove that he was a passionate learner. He just enjoyed taking in knowledge in different surroundings just like how people must take pictures while on vacation. He must bring exams or books while he is on vacation because he believes that being in different environments, he'll comprehend the knowledge differently.
Zhen Youxiu waved the exam in front of him and said, "How about doing an exam up there and then coming back down?"
Half an hour later, the family gathered by the door.
Zhen Pingjin said rudely, "What's this strange hobby? Where can't you do the exam?"
Saying that, he picked up his camera and continued, "Later on, when the sun rises, let's find someone to take a family picture."
Qin Ying just nodded when she heard noises before her."You're the one with a strange hobby."
The whole family thought they heard wrong. What was this boy saying? He dared to retort. Qin Ying shockingly glanced over to see him saying, "Where can't you take the pictures? Why must you take pictures in these bizarre places? Could it be that if you take the pictures at another mountain, it's not a mountain anymore? But something bizarre?"
When Zhen Yuanbai finished, he didn't care how shocked the family was, but he ran off. Zhen Youxiu was the first to react and he hurriedly ran over, saying, "Wait for me!"
Zhen Pingjin said, "Did he run out of the house yesterday and got lessons on being brave or something? Hm?"
Zhen Yuanbai didn't. He just dated someone. One where he might be beaten to a pulp if someone found out. He felt very proud.
The wind was strong on the mountains and from high up, one only saw white. During this winter, however, there were quite a few people watching the sunrise. Zhen Yuanbai found a quiet place away from the wind and sat down, taking out his pencil and enjoying his time. He wore a snow-white coat and the huge hat hid his head. He wore mittens and from afar, he seemed like a plump snowball. He suddenly heard a soft rang and Zhen Yuanbai didn't even raise his head up to say, "Go over there to take pictures of your sunset. I'm almost done."
After a few more clicks, Zhen Yuanbai looked up to see the camera on him. When the camera shifted away from him, he realized that it wasn't Zhen Youxiu, but Shi Bufan. His heart skipped a beat and he asked, "Why did you come over?"
"Your hobby is still the same."
Afraid that Shi Bufan might think he was mental, Zhen Yuanbai silently rolled the exam up. Shi Bufan suddenly laughed and sat next to him, making Zhen Yuanbai shocked. He hurriedly stood up to search for his parent's figures, but Shi Bufan stopped him."What are you afraid of? My parents are here too. Your parents won't know that I followed you over."
Zhen Yuanbai felt comforted and then suddenly realized, "You saw me in the past?"
"Of course I've seen you before. Aren't we from the same school?" Shi Bufan curled his lips up and reached over to pinch his face. Yet, Zhen Yuanbai said, "No. You said that I still had this hobby. The last time I did my exam on the mountains was two years ago. How did you know?"
Shi Bufan paused and withdrew his hands, saying, "Your mother uploaded the picture to her social circle. What's the matter?"
Zhen Yuanbai confusedly took out his phone and scrolled over his mother's social circle. He noticed that a post was made an hour ago and Qin Ying uploaded a very innocent picture of him along with the caption "our Congming went to the top of the mountain to do his exam."
Shi Bufan peered over and said, "You look so delicate."
Zhen Yuanbai hurriedly covered it and said, "You're not any mature."
Shi Bufan laughed and kissed Zhen Yuanbai's cheeks. He got kicked by the latter and he said, "Turn around."
"Why?"
"I have one more question. I'll write it on your back."
Shi Bufan unhappily turned around and looked down, playing on his phone."I think that you're spoiled."
Zhen Yuanbai directly placed the test on his back and secretly curled his lips up.
The first time Shi Bufan saw Zhen Yuanbai was actually at the peak of the Northern Mountain. At that time, he just transferred to the city Zhen Yuanbai was at and registered at Shengyi High School. At that time, he was a complete stranger with Zhen Yuanbai and always in a bad mood. Countless times, he wanted to run off to a desolate place. Therefore, even though he was dragged out by Ye Lian and the others, he didn't have any interest in watching the scenery.
He wore sunglasses and lazily left the crowd when he was attracted by a strange person. He never thought that someone would be up the mountains, but not admiring the scenery. Rather, they'd be working on an exam. They must be mental.
He took out a cigarette and watched that little mental case. He was secretly guessing whether or not the boy had a tragic background such as a stepmother or a stepfather who didn't allow him to study which is why he was spending every second he could, studying.
Then he unavoidably thought of himself who had nothing to do with the good student. He couldn't help but laugh and then he walked off.
After that, it seemed like his family wanted to make the most of the fine learning environment, so that he would become a better student, so they transferred him to Shengyi High School. Before entering, he saw the banner the school held up saying: Welcome Zhen Yuanbai for entering the school with full marks.
Obviously, he didn't connect this name with a random little mental case at the peak of the mountain, but he quickly saw Zhen Yuanbai's picture on the screen. He had very soft and short curly hair and when he faintly smiled, he smiled a precise smile. He's clearly a model student. No matter the teachers or parents, they would all like him.
He spent a long time before connecting Zhen Yuanbai with that little mental case. He spent a while to process how perfect Zhen Yuanbai's family was and how he clearly went to the mountains to work on the exam as enjoyment.
The strange good student caught Shi Bufan's eyes just like this. When Shi Bufan noticed that something was wrong, he was already thinking about choking the girls who gave him love letters.
He looked down, gazing at the phone, but his thoughts weren't on there at all. His little classmate's hands were on his back, writing. If he dared to even slightly move, Zhen Yuanbai would complain and say, "It's crooked."
"Only you dare to write on me."
"Humph."
When Zhen Yuanbai placed his exam away with satisfaction, Shi Bufan finally sat up straight and asked, "Where are you going in the afternoon?"
"We're going to the hot spring."
Shi Bufan looked him up and down and hummed, a bit eager.
"Elder brother?" Zhen Youxiu's voice rang from behind and Zhen Yuanbai hurriedly stood up in order to avoid Zhen Youxiu from seeing Shi Bufan."What's the matter?"
"Come and take pictures."
Shi Bufan purposely revealed his head, but Zhen Yuanbai pushed it down. He said, "Coming right away." Then he smacked Shi Bufan hard again."He'll be angry if he finds out. Don't move around, otherwise I'll stop talking to you."
"Want to take a walk on the streets?"
Zhen Yuanbai hurriedly agreed and rushed towards his family.
Shi Bufan sat on the ground for a while before he heard a soft voice, "Fanfan, let's take a family picture as well."
Shi Bufan gazed up and when he saw Ling Xuan's gentle expression, he felt like something sharp stabbed his eyes. He expressionlessly stood up and left.
Ling Xuan's hand froze in mid-air and after a moment, she gently sighed.
She returned to Shi Xian's side while the latter's expression was a bit nonchalant."I said that you can't spoil him, but you must come over. As expected, he didn't give us a good attitude even though we came here."
Ling Xuan wanted to explain when Qin Ying suddenly saw her."Fanfan's mother! You guys came as well!"
She hurriedly turned around and smiled kindly. Seeing the two sons not far from her, she smiled and said, "You came with your family?"
"Mhm. Since they're done with the exams and the grades are out, we decided to take the kids out for vacation. Hey, how are Fanfan's grades?"
"Pretty good." Ling Xuan softly said, "Your son has taught him well and Fanfan improved a hundred or so ranks during the final exam. Congming is still first place right?"
"Yes." Qin Ying said with pride."This kid isn't good at anything, but he has good grades."
"How about Youxiu?"
"Youxiu scored 7th." Qin Ying said unhappily, "He refused to learn."
It was hard to conceal the sadness on Ling Xuan's face. Qin Ying detected something and looked around, asking, "Where's your son?"
"I don't know where he ran off to." Ling Xuan sighed and said, "He refuses to even take a picture with us."
She just finished saying this when Zhen Youxiu and Zhen Yuanbai walked over. The latter politely greeted them while Zhen Youxiu immediately held a taut face. Qin Ying suddenly said, "Yuanyuan, did you see Shi Bufan? Call him over and both families can take a picture together?"
Zhen Yuanbai originally wanted to see he didn't, but when he met Ling Xuan's eyes, he nodded."I'll go find him."
Zhen Youxiu suddenly stubbornly said, "I don't like taking pictures with people with bad grades."
Qin Ying immediately scolded him, but Ling Xuan didn't take this to heart. Instead, she said, "Who said our Fanfan doesn't have good grades? He used to have better grades than you in the past." This shocked everyone.
Zhen Yuanbai subconsciously stopped and behind him, Ling Xuan said properly to Zhen Youxiu, "Shi Bufan attended middle school in this city and it had the same quality of education as the one you're in right now. At that time, he was as good as your elder brother. No matter big or small tests, he scored full marks."
| ← Ch. 50 | Ch. 52 → |