HTC 12

As evening self-study had just ended, the hallway outside was still bustling with students passing by.

Occasionally, students passed by the school doctor’s office, and their shadows were reflected on the glass windows.

The week was coming to an end, and the National Day holiday was approaching. The weather had gradually started to cool down.

Jiang Xu planned to take off his coat and put it on Xie Huai.

It was already night, and Jiang Xu was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt. Given the current temperature, Jiang Xu would definitely catch a cold if he gave him his coat.

“No, you can wear it, I’m not cold.” Xie Huai said quickly.

“I’m not cold either.” Jiang Xu didn’t argue and simply handed his jacket to Xie Huai. Then, he stood up and looked at Xie Huai, suddenly saying, “You’re a patient now.”

“Jiang Xu, would you please wear it?” Xie Huai’s voice suddenly softened, “I don’t want you to catch a cold.”

Jiang Xu’s fingertips paused. He couldn’t bear Xie Huai’s coquettish behavior.

But he didn’t agree.

“Behave,” Jiang Xu turned around, half bending down, and said to Xie Huai, “Get on.”

Outside, he noticed that it had become quiet at some point. It seemed like all the students had returned to their dormitories, and only a few classrooms had lights still on.

At this moment, Xie Huai heard the increasingly rapid beating of his own heart.

He hadn’t been carried by someone like this before, and all those previous instances were from his childhood memories. Since he could remember, no one had carried him like this.

The first time he was carried in a princess carry position was by Jiang Xu, and even this one was given by Jiang Xu.

Jiang Xu waited quietly for a moment without a hint of impatience.

After a while, Xie Huai slowly climbed onto Jiang Xu’s back.

Since Jiang Xu couldn’t see Xie Huai, he also couldn’t see the reddening of Xie Huai’s neck and ear tips. He carried Xie Huai out of the school infirmary room, closed the door, and started heading downstairs.

On the way, they occasionally ran into a few classmates who had just come out of the classrooms.

Jiang Xu carried Xie Huai on his back and walked to the school gate quietly.

When the wind blew, the branches of the yellow oak tree swayed, making a rustling sound and adding a touch of coolness.

“Jiang Xu, am I heavy?” Xie Huai gently leaned his head on Jiang Xu’s shoulder and asked Jiang Xu, “Am I heavy?”

Jiang Xu didn’t stop and answered Xie Huai calmly: “Not heavy.”

How can a one meter eighty-three man not be heavy, Xie Huai said in his heart.

“Are you tired then?”

“Not tired.”

“Oh really?”

“Um.”

“You didn’t lie to me, did you?”

“I did not lie to you.”

Xie Huai chuckled softly, sounding somewhat childlike.

Jiang Xu carried Xie Huai back to his home and helped feed Xiao Huaihuai.

He then entered Xie Huai’s room, closed the windows and door, and stood by the bed, looking at Xie Huai. He asked, “Do you want to stay at my place?”

“Huh?” Xie Huai didn’t know whether he heard it wrong or didn’t understand it. He opened his mouth, looking somewhat surprised, “Stay at your place?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Xu said, “Your foot isn’t convenient.”

But Xie Huai didn’t want to trouble Jiang Xu further. Besides, staying overnight at Jiang Xu’s house… Xie Huai felt somewhat embarrassed about it.

Xie Huai might not have hesitated as much if he and Jiang Xu had a purely brotherly relationship. However, now that he knew he had different feelings for Jiang Xu, he couldn’t go.

Jiang Xu could see Xie Huai’s hesitation, and he didn’t want to pressure Xie Huai too much. He said, “If you don’t want to go, I can come to pick you up tomorrow.”

As soon as Jiang Xu said this, Xie Huai immediately shook his head and said, “That would be too much trouble. You’ll have to run back and forth, and we’ll both be late for school.”

“Then let’s go to your house.” Xie Huai gave in. He didn’t want to take a leave of absence. He had finally started paying serious attention to his classes, and he didn’t want to miss out on those lessons. Besides, his foot really couldn’t bear any weight right now; it hurt even with the slightest touch. It probably won’t get better for at least ten days or so.

So, he had to rely on Jiang Xu.

“Let’s bring Xiao Huaihuai with us?” Jiang Xu held Little Huaihuai in his arms and asked slowly, “It’s lonely for a dog to be home alone, with both fathers away.”

Xie Huai couldn’t understand how Jiang Xu could say such pitiful and teasing words in such a serious tone.

In the end, Xie Huai brought a few pieces of his clothing and their son, Xiao Huaihuai, to Jiang Xu’s house.

There was no one at Jiang Xu’s house. His parents often didn’t come home, and it was eerily quiet.

Jiang Xu carried Xie Huai to his own bedroom and gently placed him on the bed.

“These are all new, so you don’t need to worry,” Jiang Xu opened the closet and took out a light blue towel, placing it in the bathroom.

Dr. Qin had prescribed some medication for Xie Huai, and he hadn’t taken it yet that evening. Jiang Xu went to the living room, poured a glass of warm water from the automatic water dispenser, and returned to his bedroom. Xie Huai had already divided the pills into separate piles, one by one, in the palm of his hand.

“Thank you.”

Taking the glass that Jiang Xu handed over, Xie Huai swallowed the pills in one gulp.

Jiang Xu didn’t sleep in his room at night, and his guest room was untidy, so he slept on the sofa in the living room.

Xie Huai was lying on Jiang Xu’s bed, looking at the ceiling above his head. There was some light outside the window, filtering in through the glass, casting patterns that resembled the ripples in the glass sea of the South China Sea.

Jiang Xu was asleep on the sofa in the living room across the door. Xie Huai couldn’t sleep when he thought of this.

Jiang Xu had said that the sheets and bedding were all new, but Xie Huai noticed a faint scent of grass and wood, exactly the same as the fragrance he had smelled on Jiang Xu’s school uniform before.

He didn’t feel drowsy at first, but after smelling it, sleepiness gradually took over. He didn’t even know when he fell asleep.

Jiang Xu had already gotten up the next morning, when it was bright and clear. He made breakfast and put it on the table before he went to wake Xie Huai for breakfast.

Xiao Huaihuai also got up early and ran around Jiang Xu. It didn’t stop until Jiang Xu poured goat milk into Xiao Huaihuai’s bowl.

Both of them finished breakfast, and it was nearly 7 o’clock. The school had adjusted its schedule, and morning classes began at 7:40, leaving only 40 minutes.

Jiang Xu tidied up a bit, then carried Xie Huai to school.

The incident from the previous day had continued to escalate, and shortly after Xie Huai arrived in the classroom, not only did his own classmates come up to ask, “Is it painful?” “Does it still hurt?” “Is it really okay?” but students from other classes also came over to express their concern.

Jiang Xu sat in his seat and, whenever someone expressed interest in seeing how Xie Huai was doing, he blocked them from approaching.

“I’m really fine now, it’s much better,” Xie Huai answered their questions one by one, but after a few minutes, he didn’t feel like talking anymore.

“When did I become so popular at school?” Xie Huai found it strange.

As soon as Lu Yi came to the classroom, he saw Xie Huai sitting in his seat. He immediately dropped his schoolbag and ran towards Xie Huai.

“Brother Huai, are you okay?” Lu Yi looked genuinely concerned and then cursed, “Damn it, if we didn’t stop that prick Yuan Tao and teach him a lesson, he’d still be acting all high and mighty, thinking nobody could touch him.”

Jiang Xu’s face turned cold, but Xie Huai didn’t notice. He asked Lu Yi, “Has there been any outcome to this matter?”

“I reckon he’s going to be expelled,” Lu Yi replied, “This thing has blown up pretty big. Our school has a forum that hasn’t been used for centuries, and it crashed yesterday due to all the insults aimed at Yuan Tao.”

Lu Yi added, “After reading those comments, I just felt satisfied. He deserves it for causing his own problems. If I had known, I would’ve gone in harder. Going easy on him was too generous.”

Xie Huai sighed, “If only I could get up at that time, I would have liked to give him a good kick too.”

Xie Huai’s ankle wasn’t as red as it was yesterday. Upon seeing it, Lu Yi started cursing Yuan Tao again.

After school was over at noon, Jiang Xu brought back the food for Xie Huai and then disappeared. Xie Huai didn’t know where Jiang Xu had gone, so he decided to take a nap on his desk while waiting for Jiang Xu’s return.

It was almost time for class, and Jiang Xu finally came back.

“Where have you been?” Xie Huai asked.

Jiang Xu’s tone was very calm: “He got expelled.”

Xie Huai looked at Jiang Xu and asked with a straight face, “How do you know?”

“He said so himself.”

Xie Huai suddenly raised his head: “Did you go to find him at noon?”

“Yes,” Jiang Xu said, “He sought me out. He wanted to ask if you could help plead for leniency on his behalf.”

Then Xie Huai heard Jiang Xu sneer: “He ran away before my feet even touched him.”

“Trash, does he deserve it?”