This chapter is for ‘fish sis’. Enjoy~
Yun Ci, faced with his direct “confession,” felt his restlessness transform into something else, then suddenly extinguished.
“You.”
He couldn’t continue, unsure of what he wanted to say.
He let go, stood up straight, and deflected, “Do whatever you want, delete it or not.”
Having said that, he clumsily climbed back to the top bunk.
Lying on his bed with his eyes open, he couldn’t fall asleep for a long time.
Occasionally, there were slight noises from the lower bunk. Though he couldn’t see, he was certain that Yu Xun hadn’t slept either.
The two of them, separated by just one bedboard, spent the night sleepless together, sharing the distance between the top and bottom bunks.
At one o’clock in the morning, his phone lit up.
A message from the black profile picture, two words.
yx: [Good night.]
Before falling asleep, Yun Ci glanced at this person’s Moments again and found that the confession post, visible only to him, was still not deleted by Yu Xun.
*
Midway through the semester, it was soon the end of November.
Early that morning, Yun Ci was woken up by a call from Yan Yue: “No classes this morning, right? I checked your schedule. If you don’t have any, come home for a bit. We can celebrate your birthday.”
Yun Ci looked at the calendar and realized it was November 20th.
Following the word “birthday,” he thought of someone’s phone password: “…”
Yan Yue noticed the brief silence on the other end of the line and said, “Did you hear me? Answer.”
Yun Ci coughed, got out of bed, and started dressing: “I heard you.”
Yan Yue asked again, “Is the signal bad at the school?”
“No,” Yun Ci said, “I just got distracted.”
Then he changed the subject, “Don’t you have classes today?”
Yan Yue: “The school organized an activity today, visiting a military base. Nothing much, I took half a day off.”
Yun Ci made an “oh” sound.
Such visits were often organized by their high school, and for some reason, Class One and Class Seven always seemed to bump into each other. Each time they met, they would exchange a few sarcastic remarks.
Looking back, as the class president of Class Seven, Yu Xun probably led the team to look for him during those years of secret crush.
And all those countless confrontations.
So during the competition, he was actually there to cheer him on with Liu Zi.
…
Thinking about this, Yun Ci couldn’t help but mentally complain: Who the hell has a crush like this?
After agreeing with Yan Yue, he quickly freshened up, put on a coat, and headed out.
He walked down the central avenue of the school, boarded a bus near the school gate, and sat in the back. After the bus had passed about ten stops, the scenery outside the window became familiar.
Especially the scenery around their high school.
Familiar plane trees, streets, and convenience stores outside the school.
And the back gate of the high school, where he had never noticed the barbecue stand before. The stand was closed, with wooden benches and plastic tables placed messily and a few crates stacked beside it.
This was where Yu Xun and Liu Zi worked.
Yun Ci looked at it through the window. By the time he realized why he was looking, the stand was out of sight.
“…”
“I haven’t seen it before,” Yun Ci muttered to himself while fiddling with his phone, “It’s normal to be curious.”
On his phone, there were many unread WeChat messages.
One from Li Yan: [Happy birthday, brother. I’m running low on this month’s living expenses. Since your birthday is at the end of the month, I don’t have money to buy you a gift, so I can only wish you verbally.]
Similar messages were from Zhou Wenyu and other old classmates.
The black profile picture, which usually kept messaging non-stop, was silent today.
Last time there was silence, this person was writing a love letter.
This time, who knows what he is up to.
Yun Ci didn’t dare to think further.
When the bus reached the stop, he tightened his coat and got off.
It had been a long time since he had been home. Since the start of university, he had been busy adapting to school life, even spending the National Day holiday in the dormitory. Yan Yue was also busy, and their schedules rarely aligned.
Before entering the house with his key, the elderly neighbor lady came out and greeted him, “Xiao Ci, back from school today?”
Yun Ci nodded.
The lady said, “You should come home more often. You kids, once you leave home, you never come back. My grandson is the same… Your dad, though he always looks stern, actually misses you a lot but is too shy to say it.”
Opening the door, the home’s furnishings were just as before.
This home only housed him and Yan Yue. It couldn’t be called cozy, as there were no signs of a woman’s touch. Everything was neatly arranged, and the table didn’t even have a tablecloth. The wooden furniture had an old-fashioned feel, looking very sturdy.
The living room was mostly filled with bookshelves, even the TV cabinet was full of various books.
Most of these books he had read; Yan Yue kept them at home, and he would read them when he had nothing to do.
When he entered, Yan Yue was watering the spider plant on the balcony that he had been nurturing for a long time.
“Dad,” he called.
“You’re back?” Yan Yue put down the watering can. “I’ll make a few simple dishes. Wait a moment.”
Yan Yue’s cooking skills were average. Externally, he was always the stable head teacher, but internally, he often lost his composure. When he was in a normal state, his cooking was passable, but when he had something on his mind, the food he made was hard to describe.
So, when Yan Yue stayed up late for Yu Xun, he ended up eating dark cuisine for a long time.
In the end, he made three dishes and a soup.
Yun Ci sat in his usual spot and took a bite of the food.
Besides him and Yan Yue, there was an empty chair at the dining table, pulled out as if a family of three were celebrating a birthday together.
Yan Yue took off his apron and said, “The birthday cake is in the fridge. You can cut it after the meal.”
The conversation between father and son was always a bit serious, and sometimes even saying “happy birthday” was hard.
“How’s school?”
“Alright.”
“Can you keep up with the pace of the classes?”
“Yeah.”
“Gao Pingyang said you’re thinking about taking a break from school.”
“Oh, I was just joking.”
“You can’t joke about such things,” Yan Yue said. “And don’t always fight with Yu Xun.”
In high school, Yan Yue would often say this to him. Back then, he didn’t take it seriously, but now he realized that Yan Yue knew about his family situation.
The meal was quite ordinary. Following the usual routine, after eating the cake, he would head back to school as there were classes in the afternoon.
But before he left, there was a small incident.
Standing at the door, Yan Yue said, “I hope you won’t participate in activities like those game competitions in the future.”
Yun Ci felt like he was back at the dinner table, discussing his future at the beginning of the semester.
“Such activities don’t help you at all,” Yan Yue said calmly. “You could spend that time on more beneficial activities. Join the student council…”
Yun Ci kept his eyes down.
After a while, he suddenly interrupted, “Maybe, you think I’m quite obedient.”
His words were sudden and without context, making Yan Yue pause.
Yun Ci seemed to be talking to himself rather than conversing with Yan Yue: “You think I follow everything you say. Compete when you say so, and win first place when you ask for it.”
“It’s not exactly like that. All along, I haven’t been following your orders.”
“I was just—”
He glanced inside at the pulled-out, empty chair.
The word “Mom” stuck in his throat, choking painfully.
Then there was a long silence between him and Yan Yue.
Finally, he said, “Nothing.”
“I got it,” Yun Ci put the key back in his coat pocket, his face calm as if nothing had happened, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go.”
*
There were two professional classes in the afternoon.
He got on the bus back to school, and since he didn’t have time to get his books from the dorm, he went straight to the classroom after getting off.
Just in time for class, he saw a message from the black profile picture sent a few minutes ago.
yx: [You’re not in the dorm?]
Yun Ci hadn’t replied yet. This person must have seen him enter the classroom because he sent another two messages before he could put his phone away.
yx: [Come to the hallway after class.]
yx: [Got something for you.]
After a while, he added.
yx: [Or not, I can give it to you in the classroom.]
Yun Ci felt a twitch in his forehead.
Whatever it was, it couldn’t be given to him in the classroom.
After class, he slipped out through the back door unnoticed and saw Yu Xun waiting at the corner with a bag.
He was the first to say: “Whatever it is, don’t—”
Yu Xun, already familiar with ignoring his refusals, handed him the bag: “Birthday cake.”
“…”
Yun Ci was silent for a moment, but still refused: “Don’t give it to me.”
Yu Xun: “Oh, deaf, can’t hear.”
“…”
“Take it or not,” Yu Xun said, shaking the bag with his hooked finger, “If you don’t, I’ll sit next to you in class.” He added, “Two evils choose the lesser; better take it now.”
Two evils choose the lesser.
What kind of gift-giving talk is that?
“You sit,” Yun Ci said, “I’ll skip class.”
Yu Xun looked at him, tilted his head, and lightly emphasized his extensive experience in skipping class since high school: “When it comes to skipping class, I’m more practiced than you.”
Yun Ci didn’t want to admit it.
But he couldn’t find a way to defeat this person.
Yu Xun didn’t wait for him to reach out, and he directly shoved the bag into his hand.
Yun Ci didn’t want to take it. Having visited home today, he wasn’t in a good mood, but before he could give it back, he glanced at the cake in the bag.
It looked familiar—probably the same chocolate cake as before.
But this one was different; it was a bit crooked, showing it was made with care, but still a bit amateurish.
“I’ve made it myself,” Yu Xun said. “Made several, this one is barely passable.”
Yun Ci found it hard to refuse.
“Oh, do you have time tonight?”
Before the bell rang, Yu Xun added, “Liu Sheng plans to hold a dorm concert on the field tonight at nine. Don’t forget to come.”
Back in the classroom, Yun Ci checked the dorm group messages and found that Liu Sheng indeed planned this event.
【608 Brothers Group】
Liu Sheng: [Remember to come at 9:30]
Liu Sheng: [See you on the field.]
Luo Sifang: [Got it]
Wang Zhuang: [Should we pretend to be passersby? Like we don’t know each other, just attracted by the music.]
Peng Yiyuan: [Switch majors with me; performing arts suits you better.]
[…]
He skimmed through the messages, noticing Liu Sheng’s concert but missing that the time Liu Sheng mentioned differed from what Yu Xun told him by half an hour.
The school field was a bustling place, especially at night, with couples walking, and friends sitting on the stands chatting.
As the weather cooled, fewer people ran, though some students still jogged at night. And there were those playing soccer.
There were many, like Liu Sheng, who came to showcase their skills. For students who loved music, this place was a natural outdoor “stage,” and everyone strolling on the track was an audience.
In the center of the field, there was professional electronic equipment, black square return speakers, an acoustic guitar, and a microphone set up on a stand.
When Yun Ci arrived at nine o’clock, he didn’t see Liu Sheng and the others near the equipment.
He only saw one person.
Dressed lightly, seemingly deliberately, he stood next to the speaker, fiddling with the microphone stand.
This simple action had already attracted a lot of onlookers.
After adjusting the microphone stand, his gaze passed through the crowd and landed on one person. He slightly tilted his chin, approached the microphone, and with a bit of a smile, his voice came through the microphone boldly: “——Good evening, everyone.”
After the “buzz” of electric current.
The voice through the microphone was amplified several times and spread across the entire field.
“Today is a special day.”
“I want to wish someone very important to me a happy birthday here.”
Yu Xun wore a thin windbreaker that might not block the wind but looked stylish. He stood there lazily, holding the microphone, and said, “I’ll sing a birthday song for him. If anyone knows the song, you can sing along.”
The onlookers, not knowing where this “important person” was, just joined in the fun and let out a loud “woo” sound.
The entire field instantly became his stage.
Unlike the secret love letters received on WeChat moments, this time it was extremely flamboyant, in front of everyone.
The birthday song had no accompaniment; it was sung a cappella.
If anything, the applause from the crowd could be considered accompaniment.
Yu Xun sang the first line softly, and gradually, others joined in for the next lines, turning it into a big chorus: “Happy birthday to you——”
In the end.
After the singing and the cheering stopped, Yu Xun added, “I hope you are happy, not just today.”
Yun Ci stood on the track, surrounded by such a warm birthday wish for the first time.
Since entering university, the sharpness in Yu Xun seemed not to have worn out. He was still the same Yu Xun from high school, the one who would lean against the back window of the classroom, occasionally coming to cause some trouble.
He didn’t know how to react, whether to remain hidden in the crowd or to leave.
At this moment, three or four students suddenly ran over from the other side of the field: “Who are you——why are you using our equipment?”
Yun Ci: “?”
Holding someone else’s microphone, Yu Xun shouted back, “Isn’t this Liu Sheng’s equipment?”
The students running over shouted as they ran: “…What Liu Sheng? Oh, Liu Sheng, no, only that acoustic guitar is his! Everything else is ours. Who are you? Don’t move!”
“…………”
Seeing this, Yun Ci fell silent.
Yu Xun was silent for a moment too, obviously considering what to do next.
Then Yun Ci saw Yu Xun let go of the microphone stand, walk accurately through the crowd towards him.
“Run.”
“?”
Yu Xun grabbed his wrist and pulled him along: “If we don’t run, they’ll come over and hold us accountable.”
“……”
No one could have predicted such an unexpected twist. The person who had just been the center of attention on the field, leading everyone in song, was now pulling him along in a hasty retreat.
“Damn,” Yun Ci said while running, “You used someone else’s equipment?”
Yu Xun, also running, replied: “Liu Sheng said his equipment was on the field.”
“……”
“Who knew only the acoustic guitar was his, and it was placed so close.”
Behind them, the students were still trying to chase them across the field: “——Don’t run, you guys.”
The two of them ran into the night wind.
As they ran, the lights on both sides of the street seemed to flicker, and the shadows of the trees kept retreating. Yun Ci, getting hot from running, took off his coat and held it in his hand. The wind blew into his sweater, making it feel like it could lift him up.
After they had run a distance away from the field, Yun Ci gradually slowed down.
He bent over, hands on his knees, panting. The breath he exhaled turned into white mist.
He cursed again, but this time with a slight smile, feeling something in his chest gradually disperse.
Yu Xun, also catching his breath beside him, suddenly elbowed him and asked, “Feeling better?”
“?”
“Your mood.”
He said, “You seemed to be in a bad mood today.”
Yun Ci asked in return: “How could you tell?”
Yu Xun: “During class, you were distracted.”
The night at Nanyang University campus was actually beautiful, with bright streetlights and even visible stars when looking up.
It was rare for Yun Ci and Yu Xun to have such a quiet chat.
For once, Yun Ci didn’t avoid the conversation or refuse in another way. After a while, he said, “Nothing much, thanks.”
Soon.
The quiet was quickly broken.
Yu Xun, adjusting his breath, stood up and asked him: “So, when will you like me?”
“……?”
He chased after Yun Ci’s gaze, not letting him escape, his pupils illuminated by the streetlights, shining as he continued to ask: “……Or, do you like me a little bit now?”
