ABMSI Chapter 23
by Suxxi“I’m at the library entrance.”
Duan Wei’s vision went dark for a second—he almost tumbled down the stairs along with his phone.
What the hell did that mean? Were they about to meet in person?!
But—but he hadn’t prepared for that yet!
His brain froze for a few seconds before reality slammed back in—he absolutely could not let Fu Duqiu find out about any of this right now. So, trembling, he turned and bolted back upstairs.
In his panic, he ran smack into several students coming down the stairs, causing a ruckus in the otherwise silent library.
While running, he apologized to everyone he bumped into, finally ducking into a reading room and collapsing into a chair, heart still pounding. He stared at his phone screen—after Fu Duqiu’s last message, there had been no further reply.
He didn’t dare go to the entrance to check, so he could only play dumb and reply:
[What do you mean, senior?]
He didn’t even know why, but he suddenly felt guilty, even though he knew there was almost no way he’d been found out.
Several minutes later, Fu Duqiu replied:
[It’s nothing. I’m looking for a classmate.]
Seeing that, Duan Wei let out a long, shaky breath of relief. He quickly locked his phone screen, but before he could even calm down, it started buzzing again.
This time it wasn’t a short message vibration—it was an incoming call. Duan Wei flinched like a startled cat. Seeing the unfamiliar number on the screen, he stepped out toward the restroom and picked up.
“Hello?” Duan Wei said. “Who is this?”
“It’s me. Fu Duqiu.”
The familiar voice made Duan Wei snap to attention, standing a little straighter. Still nervous, he asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Where are you?” Fu Duqiu’s tone was clipped, carrying some unreadable emotion Duan Wei couldn’t quite place.
“I’m at the li—” The words slipped out before he could stop them. Realizing what he’d just said, he mentally slapped himself, stomped a foot, and quickly corrected, “I mean, I’m in the teaching building. Why? What’s up?”
Fu Duqiu stood alone at the library entrance, sweat still sliding down from his temple to his jaw after a game of basketball. A few students walked past, glancing at him curiously.
He looked ahead calmly, then turned slightly, saying into the phone, “I just finished playing. Didn’t you say you haven’t memorized ‘The Song of the Pipa’ yet? Come find me now.”
And with that—he hung up.
“I—wait—”
The busy tone hummed in Duan Wei’s ear. He was speechless.
A moment later, he shoved his phone into his pocket, cursed under his breath, and dashed out of the reading room. The library was a good distance from the teaching building—it’d take at least five minutes to run there. He had no idea what kind of karmic punishment he’d earned, but apparently just going to the bathroom now involved life-or-death drama.
He practically flew down the stairs, pausing at the library exit to peek outside. After confirming that Fu Duqiu wasn’t lurking nearby, he finally dared to step out.
If this were a movie, he thought bitterly, he’d be the undercover spy in Infernal Affairs.
He sprinted all the way to the teaching building, arriving within five minutes. It was still class time, so from the literature block came the steady sound of students reciting texts. Duan Wei rushed up the stairs, out of breath, and slipped into the classroom.
Thank God—Fu Duqiu hadn’t arrived yet.
Since his differentiation, Duan Wei’s stamina had been low, and that sprint had drained him completely. He bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for air. Then he slumped into a seat, took out his Chinese textbook, and pretended to study.
By the time he’d nearly finished reciting The Song of the Pipa, Fu Duqiu finally showed up.
You little bastard, Duan Wei cursed silently.
Fu Duqiu, however, didn’t look surprised to see him there. He paused for a second at the door, then remarked, “You’re actually here memorizing it?”
“???” Duan Wei almost choked on his own breath. “Didn’t you tell me to memorize it?”
A soft laugh came from the doorway. Fu Duqiu walked in, placed a bottle of lemon water on the desk, sat across from him, and picked up his book. “Go on, recite.”
Duan Wei shot him a look but, after a moment’s calculation, decided it wasn’t worth offending his group leader right before the monthly exam. So he took a deep breath and began reciting.
Fu Duqiu kept his head lowered, long lashes casting faint shadows under his eyes. His gaze stayed on the book, but his peripheral vision kept drifting toward Duan Wei.
He’d learned that Duan Wei couldn’t tolerate noise while memorizing—if there was any distraction, he’d instantly lose his place.
So Fu Duqiu simply watched quietly, only speaking when Duan Wei made a mistake.
Duan Wei propped his chin on his hand, staring up at the ceiling like the words of the poem were carved there.
As he recited, his Adam’s apple moved slightly. Fu Duqiu’s gaze swept over him briefly, then he turned toward the window.
At some point, the sun had come out. Its warmth spilled across the balcony, and a gentle breeze stirred the curtains, scattering shards of light across the desk.
It was getting warm.
“Whose tears fall most among those present? The Prefect of Jiangzhou’s robe is soaked!”
Duan Wei slapped the table after finishing that line, pulling Fu Duqiu’s wandering mind back.
Fu Duqiu glanced up. “Jiangzhou.”
“Oh,” Duan Wei chuckled. “No wonder it sounded familiar—I thought it was an ad for digestive pills or something.”
Fu Duqiu calmly wrote “memorized” in neat handwriting on the top corner of the book and handed it over.
Then he looked up and asked thoughtfully, “So why did you suddenly go back to the teaching building?”
“Had to go to the bathroom.” Duan Wei had his excuse ready and shot it out fast.
“The sports field’s restroom is closer to the library,” Fu Duqiu said mildly. “Why’d you run all the way here to pee?”
Whether intentional or not, there was a hint of probing in Fu Duqiu’s tone. Duan Wei quickly sensed something off and blurted out, “I was just taking a walk, ended up at the teaching building… why do you care so much?”
After speaking, he tried to change the subject, pointing to the unopened lemon water in front of Fu Duqiu: “Just bought it?”
“Mm,” Fu Duqiu replied, “someone gave it to me.”
Duan Wei, of course, knew it was from someone else but pretended to be surprised, opening his mouth: “A girl gave it to you, right? Who?”
He secretly rejoiced in his heart, waiting for Fu Duqiu to name the person so he could embellish a bit and report positively to Xu Jianian.
“Xu Jianian said you bought it for me.”
“……”
Duan Wei froze for a moment, his gaze visibly flustered, but quickly masked it, tugging at the corner of his mouth: “Must be joking. Everyone says ‘so-and-so sent it through me’ nowadays. Maybe she really did give it to you.”
“Really? Maybe he did give it to me,” Fu Duqiu said, noticing Duan Wei’s uneasy yet pretending-to-be-calm expression. His gaze fell on the drink, and he nodded: “Too shy to give it directly.”
Seeing him play along, Duan Wei let out an internal sigh of admiration, feeling slightly at ease, and seized the opportunity to continue: “See, I’m telling you, Xu Jianian is really nice. She even made me watch you play basketball just now!”
Fu Duqiu didn’t respond but gazed thoughtfully out the window. In the distance, the library rooftop stood with a pointed emblem, the steel tip glinting in the light.
The reason it took him so long to reach the teaching building was that after calling Duan Wei, he hadn’t left immediately but instead found a hidden spot to observe the library entrance.
Sure enough, as he suspected, Duan Wei came rushing out of the library, looking like a thief who had stolen the crown jewel.
Fu Duqiu stood in an unseen corner, expressionless, watching Duan Wei hastily head to the teaching building, disappearing from his view.
The winter wind lightly blew, and he raised his hand to unlock his phone, checking the few brief messages on screen, further confirming his thoughts.
The person on the other end of the phone was Duan Wei.
Returning his gaze from the library, Fu Duqiu looked at Duan Wei, still talking animatedly. Usually so methodical, Fu Duqiu suddenly had a new question: why was Duan Wei acting like this?
Any normal person would immediately come up with an answer, but Fu Duqiu unusually fell into thought. Finally, after discarding all other guesses, the only answer surfaced:
“If you want that thing, I think you could consider it.”
“Consider what?” Fu Duqiu’s train of thought was interrupted; he hesitated before asking.
Duan Wei grew excited, leaning forward with his hands on the table, saying, “Dating, of course.”
The moment the words fell, Fu Duqiu’s pupils shrank sharply, and realization dawned on him. The question that had lingered in his mind now lay before him openly.
He hesitated, wondering if Duan Wei remembered who he was.
Seeing no reply, Duan Wei tilted his head in confusion. Close by, the scent of honeyed orange hit him, bringing a touch of sweetness to the dry winter. Duan Wei simply stared at Fu Duqiu without concealment, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
Fu Duqiu’s gaze flickered slightly. Duan Wei’s figure instantly captured all his attention, and for a moment he didn’t know where to look, so he fixed his gaze on the beauty mark at the corner of Duan Wei’s eye.
At that moment, his internal speculation became chaotic, and he asked impulsively, “With whom?”
“Xu Jianian,” Duan Wei tilted his head, frowning, “Bro, did all that I just said go in one ear and out the other?”
He was truly baffled. Normally, when Fu Duqiu was lost in thought, he could quickly pick flaws from his recited poetry. How could he now get distracted in a one-on-one conversation?
“……”
Fu Duqiu remained silent for a while, furrowing his brows as if faced with a question that deeply puzzled him.
He looked at Duan Wei, trying to find an answer in the prolonged eye contact, but of course, it was useless.
So he leaned back in his chair and said, “I’m not planning to date early.”
As the words fell, it was Duan Wei’s turn to be speechless, but thinking carefully, not dating early did fit Fu Duqiu’s top-student image. Could the original story’s bittersweet ending be because of this?
Thinking that over, Duan Wei returned to his seat, feeling he shouldn’t rush things, and nodded: “True, studying is important.”
In just that short while, the classroom fell silent. Duan Wei crossed his legs and suddenly remembered something, asking Fu Duqiu, “How did you know my number?”
“Peng Yan gave it to me,” Fu Duqiu replied.
“Oh…” Duan Wei nodded and turned back to continue his exercises. After solving two problems, he felt it would be a waste not to ask a couple more questions in this situation: “The question I asked a few days ago, you still haven’t answered.”
Fu Duqiu looked up and asked, “What?”
“What kind of girl do you like?” After pausing, he added, recalling Fu Duqiu’s previous extraordinary answer, “Or what kind of Omega do you like?”
In Duan Wei’s view of love, it didn’t matter whether male or female; the compatibility in personality was key. He thought he could take this opportunity to get Fu Duqiu to reveal a few more things, make a “Fu Duqiu ideal partner template,” and let Xu Jianian gradually develop from it, ensuring everything would fall into place.
But Fu Duqiu remained silent. Right now, he truly had no idea what Duan Wei was thinking.
He looked away. “Why are you asking these things?”
“Keeping an eye out for you, of course,” Duan Wei said matter-of-factly. “Look at you, studying all the time. By the time you get into university, other boys and girls will already be taken. You won’t have so many choices like now. I know a lot of people, all kinds. Why don’t you tell me what you like?”
“……” Fu Duqiu glanced at him calmly. Sitting across, Duan Wei smiled sincerely, waiting for a response.
Then he saw Fu Duqiu take out a thick notebook and couldn’t help exclaiming, “What the heck? You actually wrote it down yourself? That’s… flashy?”
Opening it, he realized the notebook was filled with all sorts of math problems.
“Write,” the top student Fu Duqiu put on his usual cold mask again. “If you don’t finish, you can’t go home today.”
Duan Wei: ???
After a whole night of tackling math exercises, Duan Wei decided to set math aside for now and focus on the subjects he was good at.
At this moment, he was very grateful the original student had chosen the liberal arts; otherwise, he felt he might never get along with a smart device in his life.
On exam day, before going to school, Duan Wei ate a perfect full-score breakfast prepared personally by Qiao Ying and pulled a bright red padded coat from his wardrobe, wrapping himself so tightly he looked like a character from a traditional New Year painting.
At school, Peng Yan was startled by his festive appearance. “What’s up, Duan Wei? Celebrating something?”
“Wedding night, top of the class,” Duan Wei replied with an expression that said, “You wouldn’t understand,” adding dismissively, “I’m celebrating early.”
Peng Yan squinted, thinking for a moment. “These two things… what exactly are you celebrating? The second one is impossible. Are you… getting married?”
“Your ass!”
Duan Wei laughed and swore, then suddenly leaned toward Peng Yan, a smile spreading across his face: “Xiao Yanyan…”
From experience, Peng Yan knew that when his Duan Wei smiled like this, trouble was imminent. Alarm bells went off in his mind, and he instinctively put his hands on his chest defensively. “What are you doing?!”
“Come celebrate my wedding night with me!” Duan Wei said, quickly moving closer and slipping his hand into Peng Yan’s jacket.
For a small southern town in winter, thick clothing was the only physical defense against the cold. Walking from home to school, the wind had almost frozen Duan Wei’s hand—but as soon as he touched Peng Yan, the latter shivered.
Peng Yan had never been wary of Duan Wei. Even with their current height difference, he wouldn’t really strike back.
“Ow!” He jumped from his seat, and several classmates turned to look. Duan Wei lightly stood on tiptoe, pushing his hand fully into Peng Yan’s jacket. Whether he touched Peng Yan’s back directly or not was unclear, but it made everyone shiver just watching.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry… Duan Wei, top of the class! First in grade! Full marks in every subject!” Peng Yan dodged while pleading.
“Hahaha… why didn’t you say that earlier!” Duan Wei laughed gleefully.
At that moment, Fu Duqiu walked in, followed by a classmate from their group.
He circled some mistakes on the classmate’s exercises and, hearing noise behind him, turned to see the two tangled up on their seats. Duan Wei’s hand was still inside Peng Yan’s jacket, and they were laughing so hard they were practically falling over.
Fu Duqiu paused mid-step.
The classmate standing nearby, seeing him silent, tentatively asked, “Are there any other mistakes?”
Fu Duqiu glanced back, scanning the problems from the doorway. He circled all remaining errors and said coldly, “Done. That’s all of them.”
“Oh, okay, thanks.” The classmate took the notebook and went into the classroom.
By the time Fu Duqiu sat down, Duan Wei and Peng Yan had stopped fooling around. Peng Yan had long been in awe of Duan Wei’s mischievous antics, constantly showering him with exaggerated praise without repeating himself.
Seeing Fu Duqiu arrive, Duan Wei quickly returned to his seat. “Group leader, the Chinese exam is about to start. Come quiz me a few lines to ease my pre-exam anxiety.”
Quizzing each other meant reciting ancient poetry. During exam prep breaks, they often tested one another—most of the time, Fu Duqiu quizzed Duan Wei.
Peng Yan, having nothing to do, turned to watch them.
Fu Duqiu looked at him, placed his backpack down, and then turned his gaze to Peng Yan. “You seem to be enjoying yourself, don’t look very anxious about the exam.”
“……”
Duan Wei had endured plenty of Fu Duqiu’s cold sarcasm these past few days. Compared to that, this remark was minor. “I was just bored waiting for you to come to school. Sitting still only made me more anxious. Don’t you think so?”
Peng Yan, sitting in front, turned away, keeping his mind clear.
Seeing that Duan Wei even used a respectful address, Fu Duqiu glanced at him and recited, “Do not let sorrow or hidden resentment grow within,”
“At this moment, silence is louder than words!” Duan Wei replied quickly.
“A gentleman understands righteousness,”
“A petty man desires profit!”
“Rotten wood cannot be carved,”
“Walls of dung cannot be plastered!”
After a few back-and-forths, Fu Duqiu finally nodded with satisfaction. “Not rotten wood anymore. You’ve now become a pillar of society.”
After nearly three days of intensive training, Duan Wei finally received praise from the sharp-tongued group leader. Proudly lifting his head, he thought to himself that his foundation hadn’t been lost—after all, his mental age was several years ahead of these people.
“Write neatly, don’t make mistakes in filling in the blanks for ancient poetry, and don’t make your essay openings or endings too cumbersome,” Fu Duqiu reminded him.
“Understood, understood!” Duan Wei replied.
Fifteen minutes before the exam, Old Tan walked into the classroom, clapped his hands, and said, “Start moving seats now. Spread all the desks apart, no desk should touch another chair. All books must be placed outside the classroom. No unrelated items can be on or inside the desks!”
At this, the whole class stood and started rearranging their seats. Duan Wei, sitting near the window, didn’t need to move his chair sideways, so he piled all his books on the windowsill outside the classroom.
Taking advantage of this moment, he sneakily pulled out his phone and sent a message to Fu Duqiu: [Senior, good luck with your exams!]
“Ugh, preparing for exams and flirting at the same time, truly a hardship,” Duan Wei sighed, putting his phone on silent as he entered the exam hall.
The morning exams were all in subjects Duan Wei was confident in. Having stayed up the past few nights memorizing everything he could, he tackled the papers like a pro, writing swiftly and confidently.
The invigilating teacher was a Chinese teacher from the neighboring class, naturally familiar with Duan Wei. Seeing him so focused, she thought she must be mistaken and couldn’t stop watching him throughout the exam.
The day passed quickly. All the subjects tested were Duan Wei’s strengths, leaving him exhausted but confident.
Tomorrow, however, would be math and English—the two subjects he was least familiar with and could not cram for. So he followed a Taoist principle: go with the flow, do nothing unnaturally.
Sitting at his desk, after answering a few questions, he fell asleep, only to be roused by a commotion nearby.
Looking up, he saw many students standing in the hallway outside. The sky was pitch black, and small snowflakes had started to fall. Several classmates stretched their hands out, trying to catch the delicate flakes.
“It’s snowing! It’s snowing!”
Shouting were the southern students who had never seen snow before.
Not far away, Xu Jianian heard the commotion, stood up, and said to Duan Wei, “Xiao Wei, want to go see the snow?”
Duan Wei was about to agree but noticed Fu Duqiu remaining unmoving at his desk. Shaking his head, he said, “You go first. I’ll come in a bit.”
“Okay,” Xu Jianian replied and walked out of the classroom.
By now, only a few people remained inside. As usual, Fu Duqiu had several English papers sprawled on his desk. With the desks scattered and Duan Wei no longer chattering right beside him, Fu Duqiu was quieter than usual. Unlike other students, he didn’t take a break after the day’s exams but continued working like a perpetual motion machine.
Seeing this, Duan Wei walked over and crouched by his desk. “Group leader, let’s go out and have some fun?”
Fu Duqiu paused mid-stroke and looked at him. Duan Wei rested his chin on his folded hands, leaning on the desk, looking up at him. Stray hairs on his forehead were softened and messy from sleep, lightly resting on his head.
Fu Duqiu withdrew his gaze and looked out the window. “Let’s go.”
“Yay, yay, yay…”
Duan Wei laughed and pulled Fu Duqiu toward the door. They happened to spot Xu Jianian standing alone on the balcony, so they intentionally went over, standing nearby.
Xu Jianian was taking photos of the snow. Seeing Duan Wei approach, she said, “Check if my photos look good?”
She had always loved photography, and whenever she took a good picture, she would show Duan Wei. Taking her phone, he looked through it and repeatedly complimented, “Looks really good.”
Then he paused for a moment, tiptoed, and held the phone up to Fu Duqiu. “Take a look, does it look good?”
Fu Duqiu glanced at him, then looked at the screen and gave an official response: “Not bad.”
Duan Wei glanced at him sideways, holding back the urge to roll his eyes. Fortunately, the balcony was crowded now, and the other’s voice was drowned out by the crowd. He handed the phone back to Xu Jianian and smiled, “Go take your photos downstairs—there are more people down there.”
“Okay!” Xu Jianian smiled and headed down the stairs.
Below the teaching building stretched an open concrete space, opposite which was the flag-raising platform. The night wind rustled the red flag as it rose in the darkness. Everything below was pitch black, with only the lights of the first-floor corridor and a few classrooms illuminating small patches of the concrete ground.
The snow wasn’t like the fluffy feathers shown on TV—it was more like drifting catkins, turning into water droplets upon landing. In the darkness, it wasn’t eye-catching, but it added a delicate touch to the scene.
As soon as they reached the ground, Xu Jianian exclaimed “Wow” several times and began taking photos with her phone, while Fu Duqiu stood beside her.
Seeing this, Duan Wei didn’t stand next to them but ran down the steps and onto the open ground, creating a perfectly “unintentional” opportunity for the male and female leads to have some private moments.
At this moment, he finally felt the joy of snow. Being a typical southerner, he had rarely seen snow in real life. He tilted his head back, letting flakes land on his face, and raised his hand to feel the delicate touch of snowflakes melting on his palm.
Fu Duqiu, meanwhile, stood on the corridor with hands in his pockets, watching the scattered red figures amid the snow.
Suddenly, Peng Yan, who had been buying skewers, ran over. Seeing Duan Wei bundled up like a dumpling and completely mesmerized by the snow, he said, “Duan Ge, you look so girly right now.”
Duan Wei: “……”
Instantly, Peng Yan’s reverence for life surged, and he quickly corrected himself, “No, I mean… very artistic, very beautiful!”
But it was too late. Duan Wei dashed toward him, and before Peng Yan could react, he leapt and pinned him to the ground.
“You little brat! What did you just say? Say it again!?”
Peng Yan, pinned beneath him, couldn’t move. Even so, he still held the skewers protectively, shouting, “Artistic! Beautiful!!”
“Okay, okay, stop fighting,” Xu Jianian laughed from the side.
Duan Wei snorted, got off Peng Yan, and the two ran to the flag-raising platform, roughhousing again. With skewers stuffed in his mouth, Duan Wei’s speech was muffled and slurred.
After a while, he finally remembered the main point. With such a perfect opportunity, he felt he’d be failing himself if he didn’t see the pair snuggling on the corridor later.
With that thought, he looked confidently across.
Xu Jianian was focused on taking photos of the sky, while Fu Duqiu stood beside her like a tree stump, motionless, observing the snowy scenery.
What a perfect match of talents… uh, no—
What a pair of straight, oblivious people??
Duan Wei gaped at them, speechless. This wasn’t working. So he grabbed the struggling Peng Yan and moved toward them. Just before reaching the corridor, he heard Xu Jianian say, “Take a look at the new photos I took.”
He paused, hope lighting up his face.
Of course, the female lead had to make the move herself.
Sure enough, Xu Jianian walked toward him and handed the phone to Peng Yan. “Take a look.”
“……”
Duan Wei was more flustered than ever.
He didn’t notice when Fu Duqiu had moved beside him, silently watching the two of them look at the photos in the snow.
Peng Yan looked shy, occasionally glancing at Duan Wei, his expression almost saying, “A friend’s girl, don’t mess with her,” yet his mouth honestly praised Xu Jianian’s photos again and again.
“Tomorrow, let’s have a snowball fight together?” Duan Wei suddenly said.
I’m going to smash both of you.
Fu Duqiu glanced at the gently falling snow and concluded, “It’s light. It will probably stop in a few hours. No snowball fight today.”
As soon as he finished, Duan Wei fell silent again.
They stood for a while, and then a few girls and couples came down from upstairs. They pulled out their long-hidden phones and snapped photo after photo of the sky.
Fu Duqiu looked on thoughtfully and asked, “Why are you taking photos?”
“Because it’s the first snow,” Duan Wei shrugged, giving up on further discussion with Fu Duqiu. “Doesn’t matter. Nothing to do with us singletons.”
“……”
Suddenly, the class bell rang. Duan Wei felt this outing had been largely wasted and waved to Fu Duqiu as he headed for the stairs.
A few classmates brushed past Fu Duqiu as they left. He looked at the sky; snowflakes landed on his face, cold against his skin. He took out his phone and snapped a photo. Opening his social media, it was already filled with first-snow photos.
His fingers hovered over the screen for a while as he edited the post, finally choosing “Visible to selected friends only.”
Meanwhile, back in the classroom, everyone was about to start writing exams when a mocking sound came from the windowsill.
Duan Wei excitedly looked at the new post Fu Duqiu had shared and felt like screaming in delight.
He knew he had nailed it!
The next day, the supposedly invincible Duan Wei caught a cold.
He didn’t expect that running around in the cold for a few minutes would lead to coughing and a runny nose the next day.
According to Peng Yan, he had indeed become even more girly.
With the cold, Duan Wei’s already foggy brain shut down completely. While taking the math exam, he had to read each question two or three times before nervously putting pen to paper.
Luckily, the school had long exam periods and didn’t allow early submission, so he managed to finish just in time. The bell rang, and the exam was finally over.
“Done! Done!”
As soon as the papers were collected, the classroom erupted. Students moved chairs, grabbed books, and rushed out. If this were the college entrance exam, they probably wouldn’t even bother with books—just storm out.
After the monthly exam, the school had a rare open day, allowing students to leave campus for dinner before evening study. Peng Yan quickly stuffed all his books back into his desk and said, “Duan Ge, wanna hit Tian Shang Ren Jian?”
“Tian Shang Ren Jian” was an internet café near the school where they often went, sometimes narrowly avoiding Old Tan catching them.
Duan Wei blew his nose heavily with a tissue, looking pitiful.
Seeing this, Peng Yan frowned, “Maybe you should—”
Before he could finish, Duan Wei raised a hand to stop him, then flattened his palm in front of Peng Yan. “Help me up. I can still play.”
Peng Yan: ……
The two sneaked to the school gate. Maybe due to habit, they shivered subconsciously upon seeing Old Tan there.
“Going out for dinner?” Old Tan smiled warmly.
“Y-yeah,” Peng Yan replied with a smile.
“Be back early,” Old Tan warned, frowning and pointing at them. “Don’t go to the internet café. Don’t think I don’t know your little schemes!”
Duan Wei smiled innocently. “Understood, Teacher Tan… why are you here?”
Normally, after exams, teachers should be in the office grading papers.
Old Tan shook his head, “A parent just came to cause trouble. Sigh… never seen anything like it.”
“From our class?” Peng Yan asked curiously.
Old Tan nodded. “Can’t tell you too much. Go on, it’s almost evening study time.”
The two laughed and said goodbye, heading to Tian Shang Ren Jian. Many familiar faces from Class 8 had gathered, everyone giving each other knowing looks before immersing themselves in games.
After several rounds, it was already night. Duan Wei glanced at the time, suddenly realizing, “Crap! It’s late!”
They set down their headsets and left together. By the time they returned, the school gates were closed. They exchanged a glance and nodded at each other.
There was actually a back gate less than ten steps from the street corner, far from the teaching building and unguarded. Duan Wei had used it before when late.
As they turned, a figure appeared in front of them.
Fu Duqiu stood against the light, hands in pockets, watching them. Peng Yan froze, instinctively asking, “Are you sent by Old Tan to catch us?”
“……” Fu Duqiu paused, then said calmly, “I’m late.”
This “I’m late” was even more shocking than thinking he’d been sent to catch them. Peng Yan’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Uh…” For some reason, Duan Wei felt Fu Duqiu seemed off, though he couldn’t pinpoint why.
He stepped closer. “Wanna sneak through the back gate? Going through the front would be recorded.”
As they got closer, Duan Wei noticed Fu Duqiu looked pale, even more so than a sick person, with faint bruising at the corners of his mouth.
Fu Duqiu glanced at him and nodded. “Let’s go.”
The three of them walked silently yet in unspoken sync to the back gate. The iron gate was indeed dark, with moss-covered walls that hadn’t been cleaned in ages, looking a bit grimy.
No matter—they weren’t worried.
Both Duan Wei and Peng Yan had plenty of experience climbing walls. Duan Wei turned to Fu Duqiu. “Want me to show you how we get over?”
“How?” Fu Duqiu asked.
Duan Wei, clearly an expert, said confidently, “One person sits on the other’s shoulders to lift them up.”
“……”
“Peng Yan is better at climbing, so he goes on the bottom. You can sit on my shoulders, I’ll lift you up!”
Duan Wei patted his own shoulder confidently, thinking nothing of lifting Fu Duqiu would be difficult.
Fu Duqiu looked at his frail frame and said nothing. He took a few steps back, ran forward, and leapt. Higher than his previous basketball jumps, he planted his hands on the mossy wall and flipped over with a long stride.
Duan Wei, still outside the wall, hadn’t reacted yet when he saw Fu Duqiu’s coat slip over to the other side.
“Awesome.” Peng Yan couldn’t help but praise, looking at Duan Wei with hopeful eyes.
Duan Wei grinned, patted Peng Yan’s shoulder, and said, “Your turn, little Yan Yan.”
“……”
Peng Yan obediently crouched down.
Duan Wei skillfully swung onto Peng Yan’s shoulders, grabbed onto the top of the wall, and just as he was about to steady himself, a voice came from below Peng Yan…
A chorus of pained groans rose up. “Are you done yet?!”
Hearing that, Duan Wei pushed himself up with his elbows. “Hold on, almost there!”
“Damn it, Duan-ge, have you been eating too well lately? You should lose some weight!” Peng Yan gritted his teeth as he spoke.
“Bullshit, I’m just wearing too many layers!”
Duan Wei said as he crawled forward. Half of his body finally made it over the wall, and he was a little surprised to see Fu Duqiu still standing on the other side, waiting for him.
Then, realizing how ridiculous he must look, Duan Wei cleared his throat and braced himself with one arm. “Alright, Xiao Yanzi, you can let go now.”
Hearing that, Peng Yan—still standing outside the wall—finally sighed in relief and released Duan Wei’s legs. He watched as his brother’s lower half dangled awkwardly outside while he struggled to climb over.
“Should I… give you a hand?” Peng Yan asked.
Thinking of how effortlessly Fu Duqiu had vaulted over the wall earlier, Duan Wei grew stubborn and kept climbing. “No need!”
With that, he didn’t even know where the strength came from—he pushed hard with both hands, swung his leg over the wall, and leapt down.
He landed on the ground with a thud, nearly tripping as his feet wobbled beneath him. Looking toward Fu Duqiu, who stood not far away, he asked, “Well? How was that?”
“Not bad,” Fu Duqiu commented.
Right after that, a heavy grunt came from the other side of the wall—Peng Yan had just managed to hoist himself up when a furious shout rang out from the darkness:
“What the hell are you kids doing there?!”
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