NASAY CH 29

Luo Xing rested one hand under his head, holding a pen in the other while pointing at the test paper to explain the questions to Huo Xingzhou.

These questions were easy for Luo Xing, but he was worried that Huo Xingzhou might not be at the same level and wouldn’t understand, so he slowed down his pace, explaining every step carefully.

Luo Xing’s voice was naturally soft. Lying in bed and explaining the questions, his delicate neck looked pale and tender, with a faint pink tint at the base of his ears. The more Huo Xingzhou looked, the drier his throat felt.

He propped up his head and watched, thinking to himself: Luo Xing doesn’t have friends, his mother doesn’t love him, and he hasn’t experienced even a shred of love since he was a child. He doesn’t have a scale in his heart to measure the boundaries between friends.

Maybe he couldn’t distinguish what kind of kindness he was receiving from Huo Xingzhou. In Luo Xing’s heart, he probably didn’t feel that there was anything wrong with the two of them sleeping on the same bed, holding hands, or even him coming to Beishi specifically for him.

Huo Xingzhou stared at Luo Xing’s rosy lips moving as he spoke, his thoughts drifting further away.

Yes, even when he invited him over through the excuse of playing games, Luo Xing didn’t think there was anything inappropriate about it. He might not realize until the very last step that what Huo Xingzhou felt for him was that kind of like.

That person.

Luo Xing finished explaining a question and looked up at Huo Xingzhou, only to find him staring at him the whole time. He panicked a little.

“Did I explain something wrong… or did you not understand? I’ll explain it again… here, if—”

“I understood.” 

Huo Xingzhou took the pen from him and lay beside him, quickly writing down the solution on the paper with his bold and messy handwriting. When he almost reached the end, Luo Xing pointed at a spot.

“You made a mistake here.”

“Where?”

 Huo Xingzhou scanned the paper, trying to recall the process Luo Xing had just explained.

Luo Xing gently took the pen from his hand. His soft fingertips brushed against Huo Xingzhou’s fingers, then quickly withdrew as if burned. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out again and pulled the pen away from the top.

He carefully rewrote the solution beside Huo Xingzhou’s messy handwriting. His neat and delicate handwriting made his rough scrawl seem even softer, just like him.

“I’ll explain it more slowly this time,”

 Luo Xing said softly, starting to explain again. Huo Xingzhou was focused at first, but later, he began to lose focus.

Luo Xing understood—it was a common issue for students when learning something new.

He bit his lip, suddenly recalling a tweet he had seen earlier in the car that afternoon. His heart started racing as he looked up at Huo Xingzhou.

Quietly, he slipped his hand under the blanket and clenched his palm tightly to calm his chaotic emotions. His back began to sweat, and he hesitated over and over again before deciding not to say anything.

Huo Xingzhou noticed his strange expression and felt a bit puzzled.

Luo Xing suddenly got out of bed, rummaged through his coat pocket, and pulled out two colorful fruit candies before crawling back into bed. He tore open one of the candies and held it up to Huo Xingzhou’s lips.

Huo Xingzhou glanced down at the candy.

Luo Xing closed his eyes briefly, his eyelashes fluttering slightly before he reopened them. Looking straight at Huo Xingzhou, he whispered softly, 

“Xingzhou gege, be good.”

!!!

Huo Xingzhou felt his heart tighten sharply, a rush of heat surging through him, almost unable to resist pressing Luo Xing down onto the bed. He clenched his teeth, struggling to control himself for a long moment.

After saying that, Luo Xing didn’t dare to look at him. Embarrassed, he lowered his head until it almost touched Huo Xingzhou’s chest. His hand trembled slightly as he held up the candy, too shy to urge him to eat it.

Huo Xingzhou took the candy with his mouth, crunching it and swallowing it all at once. His unruly and defiant demeanor instantly transformed into a well-behaved, obedient wolf pup. He picked up the pen and seriously finished writing the questions Luo Xing had just explained.

Luo Xing breathed a sigh of relief, calming his chaotic heartbeat. Seeing that all the answers were correct, he relaxed and continued explaining the remaining questions.

Huo Xingzhou was very smart. Sometimes, he could figure out the rest of the question before Luo Xing even finished explaining. In less than an hour, he had completed an entire test paper.

Luo Xing checked his answers and found no mistakes. He carefully folded the paper and put it into his school bag, feeling very happy about Huo Xingzhou’s progress.

If this continued, they would be one step closer to attending the same university.

Seeing that it was almost eleven o’clock, Huo Xingzhou stood up and turned off the main light, leaving only a warm yellow night lamp by the bed.

“Time to sleep. You have an early match tomorrow.”

They hadn’t gone to bed too late the previous night, and neither of them was the type to sleep in, so they woke up early.

Luo Xing found himself waking up in Huo Xingzhou’s arms again. He gently pushed him away, sat up, and tiptoed to the bathroom with his clothes to change.

Huo Xingzhou woke up as soon as Luo Xing moved. He opened his eyes behind him, rubbed his slightly numb right arm, and got up as well.

After washing up, Luo Xing noticed that he was already awake and stammered, 

“M-morning.”

“After you’re done washing up, go have breakfast with Ye Qiaoqiao and the others. I won’t be sending you.” 

Huo Xingzhou rotated his wrist and said,

 “I didn’t tell Teacher Cheng I came to Beishi. If Teacher Qiao sees me and tells him, I’ll have to leave early.”

Luo Xing nodded.

The competition was held at the experimental building of Beishi First High School. Teacher Qiao led the students from No. 2 High School inside.

There was a registration desk at the entrance. Luo Xing walked behind Ye Qiaoqiao. After she signed her name, he picked up the pen to sign his. The teacher at the registration desk froze when they saw him.

“…”

Luo Xing didn’t hear anything. After signing, he followed the crowd inside.

The teacher stared at the neat handwriting and the phone number on the sign-in sheet. Once everyone had left, they took out their phone to snap a picture of it before turning in the sheet.

The classroom was large, and the students who arrived early had already found their seats according to their assigned numbers, sitting nervously and watching the teacher.

Soon after everyone was seated, the broadcast announced some details and rules about the exam. Luo Xing couldn’t hear it, so he just sat there waiting for the test papers to be handed out.

The competition paper was much harder than a regular exam. Some students were sweating from anxiety as they struggled to read the questions, scratching their heads, or unconsciously tapping their pens.

The teachers who brought their students were even more nervous. Among these students sat the pride of their schools—any honor the students earned would also bring glory to their schools.

After the exam, Luo Xing silently packed up his pencil case at his seat.

“Luo Xing.”

Xue Jian walked over and smiled at him. When Luo Xing ignored him, his smile faltered slightly, but he walked to the front of his desk and tapped it.

“I noticed you were really fast at answering questions. When I was still reading the questions, you were already writing. Have you done this kind of question before?”

Luo Xing didn’t know him and wasn’t interested in chatting.

“No.”

“You’re really smart. I saw that even Lu Qinghe hadn’t figured out what to do yet, and you were already solving the problems.”

Xue Jian smiled casually. 

“I wasn’t convinced back during the high school entrance exams, but now I completely admire you.”

Luo Xing didn’t understand why he was trying to make small talk. He didn’t know this guy at all. Even the few words they exchanged before were in the classroom, and at that time, Xue Jian had been looking for Huo Xingzhou.

“Do you need something?”

Xue Jian’s face stiffened a little at Luo Xing’s cold tone, but he chuckled and said, “There’s another competition in the afternoon. Ye Qiaoqiao and Lu Qinghe are a pair. Why don’t we have lunch together and invite Jiang Xu as well?”

Luo Xing shook his head. “No, you guys go ahead.”

Xue Jiang laughed. 

“Not joining us—are you planning to have lunch with Huo Xingzhou?”

Luo Xing paused while packing his things, slightly furrowing his brows without responding. Xue Jian continued, 

“I heard from Qiaoqiao that Huo Xingzhou came to see you. You two have such a great relationship. I’m a little jealous.”

Luo Xing pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Xue Jian smiled and said, 

“We used to have a great relationship too. We played basketball, ate, fought, and gamed together. The teachers used to say that we were always together, except when we were sleeping or using the restroom.”

“Classmate.” 

Luo Xing looked at his moving lips, frowning. 

“What exactly do you want to say?”

Xue Jian didn’t answer but smiled instead. 

“I know you probably have a bias against me. Huo Xingzhou hates me so much…”

Luo Xing interrupted him, looking directly into his eyes and speaking calmly, 

“Huo Xingzhou has never said anything bad about you. So, there’s no need for you to come here and talk bad about him to me.”

Xue Jian was stunned.

“Don’t use your intentions to measure others.”

 Luo Xing packed his stationery, raised his eyes, and looked at him. 

“If you hadn’t said anything, I wouldn’t have been sure you were that kind of person.”

Ye Qiaoqiao and Lu Qinghe turned their heads. Luo Xing’s voice wasn’t too loud or too soft, but it was just enough for them to hear.

“I’m not interested in whatever grudge you and Huo Xingzhou had in the past. I’m just his classmate. I don’t know what your purpose is, but I can’t help you.”

The corners of Luo Xing’s mouth lifted slightly as he looked at him calmly, enunciating each word, 

“It’s really unlucky for Huo Xingzhou to know you.”

Ye Qiaoqiao froze for a moment, surprised that the usually soft-spoken Luo Xing could say something like that. But on second thought, it was already mild.

Who did Xue Jian think he was? If it weren’t for Min Yao’s dying plea, Huo Xingzhou would’ve beaten him to death. And now he had the nerve to come crying to Luo Xing, claiming that Huo Xingzhou bad-mouthed him?

Ye Qiaoqiao sneered. Huo Xingzhou never spoke ill of others behind their backs. He always used his fists, not his mouth.

After Min Yao died, Huo Xingzhou never even mentioned her or Xue Jian’s names again. How could he have possibly talked about them to Luo Xing?

Ye Qiaoqiao knew how deeply Huo Xingzhou treasured Luo Xing. There was no way he would let something dirty like this taint his ears.

Xue Jian clenched his fists, the gentle expression on his face crumbling in an instant. He glanced at Ye Qiaoqiao, who stood not far away, then withdrew his gaze and turned to leave.

Luo Xing’s phone rang—it was an unfamiliar number, showing a local area code.

He didn’t have his earphones with him and was worried he wouldn’t hear clearly, so after a moment’s thought, he hung up and sent a text message:

“Hello, I’m not available to take a call right now. May I ask who this is?”

About a minute later, the person replied.

“Is your mother Zhao Jiulan?”

When Luo Xing walked out of the school gate, he felt a little dazed. The message kept replaying in his mind—did this person know his mother?

He sent another message asking who they were, but there was no reply. After thinking for a moment, he tried calling back, but the phone was already turned off.

Who was this person…?

Just as he was lost in thought, his phone vibrated again. He glanced down and saw it was Huo Xingzhou. Looking up, he noticed Huo Xingzhou standing across the street under the bus stop.

The wind was strong today, tugging at the hem of Huo Xingzhou’s coat. His hands were in his pockets, and it was hard to tell if he was smiling. He looked like a tall, well-trimmed pine tree.

Luo Xing hung up the call, checked for cars, and quickly ran across the street.

 “How long have you been here?”

“Just got here.” 

Huo Xingzhou rubbed his hands and wrapped them around Luo Xing’s. 

“How did the exam go?”