Ch 24

Other schools have three days off on New Year’s Day, while Liu Zhong high school only has one and a half days. Because it is the weekend, they are required to make up their lessons from when they should have taken a vacation.

On New Year’s Eve, other schools have activities and concerts, but the only thing waiting for Liu Zhong high school students are test papers that are falling like snow from the sky. After all, the exam is about to begin, followed by the final exam—they don’t have time to play at all.

Old Dou said: “I know you all want to relax, but now is not the time. You can relax after passing the college entrance examination and being admitted to the ideal university.”

“Okay, class is over, Happy New Year’s Day everyone.”

Ding Xuerun went out with his schoolbag on his back and planned to eat Yangzhou fried rice before returning to his dormitory to do his homework. The fried rice outside the school, on the other hand, is less expensive and more delicious than the one on campus.

When he was about to cross the street, a black Land Rover crossed in front of him and honking twice at him.

The back seat window rolled down, revealing Lou Cheng’s face wearing black sunglasses. “Get in the car,” he said as he pushed the door open from inside.

“Oh,” Lou Cheng’s little brother Piggy was sitting in the passenger seat. He was a little surprised to see Ding Xuerun, “Brother Cheng, top student Ding also go?”

Lou Cheng said, “Umm,” and Ding Xuerun asked: “Where are you going?”

“Get in first, we’re blocking people from crossing the street.” Lou Cheng reached out his hand and drew Ding Xuerun with it. He yanked him into the car, Ding Xuerun had no intention to struggle and got into the car in a few seconds. There were four people in the car, and the driver, Ding Xuerun, was aware that his name seemed to be Li Dong, the owner of the meal card.

He also noticed that there was a big sturdy man with a large bald head crammed into the back seat of the car.  He was asleep in the car with the pillow, taking up a lot of space in the back seat.

So Ding Xuerun could only sit next to Lou Cheng.

Lou Cheng said as he shut the car door, “I texted you in the afternoon, but you didn’t respond. I tried calling you, but your phone was also turned off; are you busy?”

“I was answering the question and the phones out of battery.” Lou Cheng is a student who refuses to attend class when it is time to study. Originally, today was the weekend. He believed the school was illegally making up classes, so he skipped class and school with integrity, believing he was perfectly appropriate.

The car started. “Where are you going?” Ding Xuerun asked again.

Lou Cheng said: “We will go to the concert held by the San Zhong high school, want to join us? It’s fun.”

“Yes, yes,” Piggy agreed. “It’s more open than you think. It does not look like a high school student festival. There are a lot of beautiful girls dancing like K-pop girls group.” 

The San Zhong high school has a completely different learning environment than the Liu Zhong high school. This school has a high enrollment rate and is well-known among art students. Art accounts for more than half of the total enrollment at the school.

Because of this, the style of study is very different. The girls at Liu Zhong high school have plain faces, whereas the girls at San Zhong high school must all wear make-up, and their school uniforms are more beautiful than those at other schools.

Ding Xuerun was not interested in “beauties” at all, and shook his head when he heard it: “Forget it; I’m just out for a meal, and I’ve got a lot of homework. Let me get off the car and I’ll go back to the dorm.”

“Back to where, write what homework, your grades are so good that whether you write it or not, it will stay the same?”

Piggy immediately said: “Of course it will be different. You don’t study, so you don’t know, Brother Cheng. Behind every successful student are efforts that are difficult for ordinary people to match. You are not required to do your homework, but top student Ding is unable to.”

Lou Cheng slapped him on the back of his head and said, “The top student hasn’t spoken yet, what’s the matter with you? You are uneducated and illiterate.”

Piggy who ranked 300th in the whole grade: “…”

Lou Cheng changed his attitude when facing Ding Xuerun, and his tone softened: “Will you come to my house to finish your homework tomorrow? Even if you finish your homework quickly, you won’t get it done today because I’m taking you to play.”

Ding Xuerun hesitated, and Lou Cheng moved closer and said: “If you want to go back later,  I will not let you walk back alone; I’ll send you back, okay?”

“Okay.” Ding Xuerun compromised, but he was pressed by Lou Cheng, almost his whole body was against the car door.

“Lou Cheng…you squeezed me.” Despite the fact that it is a large SUV, the back seat is only slightly larger. Du Zhi, the big bald guy, and Lou Cheng are both big. With such a squeeze, Ding Xuerun is really a bit unable to sit down and is a bit out of breath.

Lou Cheng quickly apologized: “It’s all Du Zhi fault, he is like a pig.” As he said, he raised his leg and kicked his big bald head, “Get up, what the hell are you doing with such a large area, Xiao Ding doesn’t have any room to sit.”

Du Zhi seemed to wake up from his sleep, and then raised his head, but without opening his eyes, his head dropped crookedly and the corners of his open mouth leaked water, which makes him really looked like a pig.

Lou Cheng’s entire body numb with nausea when he saw it, and he quickly hid towards Ding Xuerun. He wants to kick the drooling and filthy Du Zhi out of the car, but he doesn’t want to touch him; he wants to avoid him, but Ding Xuerun is right next to him. He is still squeezing Ding Xuerun.

Lou Cheng was embarrassed for only two seconds, so he made a decision: “Xiao Ding, you sit on my lap and I will hold you, okay?”

“Come on, put your schoolbag in the front, and you just sit on my lap.” Lou Cheng didn’t wait for him to answer yes or no, so he grabbed his schoolbag and tossed it to Piggy in the front seat. He reached out his long arms to Ding Xuerun’s waist. His two arms holding his waist, which was so thin he could feel the bones. He led him to his thighs.

Ding Xuerun sat on a high place with his head very close to the roof of the car. He was particularly uncomfortable. He was only in the car, and his parents held him like this when he was very young, that is already a very long time ago memories

The two people in the front seat looked at them in surprise.

Everyone knows Lou Cheng’s cleanliness. Although he is not really a cleanliness addict, he is also very particular about it. He thinks that all boys stink of sweat. For example, if they are close to each other, he can smell it when they don’t have a bath. He is disgusted and requests that they keep their distance from him.

Another example, when they going out to eat together, he must bring his own chopsticks. They occasionally order their own food to eat on the side, as if there is something wrong with it.

Everyone knows he has this personality, and even his ex-girlfriends avoid hugging him. Why would he hug his deskmate?

Piggy took a serious look in the rearview mirror, um… he was quite white and looked clean, no wonder Lou Cheng, who is accustomed to cleanliness, is willing to hug him.

Lou Cheng put one hand on his waist, held him steady, and took out his phone to play with the other hand. He was a little distracted, thinking that Ding Xuerun looked thin, but his buttocks were quite upturned.

Ding Xuerun sat on Lou Cheng’s lap, afraid to lean back for fear of pressing against Lou Cheng. As a result, the car stopped for three seconds after hitting the yellow light. Ding Xuerun leaned forward at first, but because Lou Cheng, an artificial seat belt, had one hand on his waist, he quickly rebounded and leaned back.

He slammed into Lou Cheng’s arms, who Lou Cheng hugged him very tightly. With this leaning, their heads were close together and Lou Cheng’s lips were pressed against Ding Xuerun’s ears: “Xiao Ding, Are you okay?”

Ding Xuerun said in a low voice, “Did I hurt you?”

Lou Cheng laughed and said, “I’m fine.” The tip of his nose was itchy, but Ding Xuerun’s hair smelled good.

Piggy touched his nose as he held top student Ding’s schoolbag, sensing a strange atmosphere spreading in Lou Cheng’s Land Rover car.

When they arrived at  San Zhong high school, Piggy handed out school uniforms to everyone, and said, “Outside the school trousers, just take it off after you go in.” 

“Thank you for your sponsorship,” they said as they applauded.

However, there was no one that told him, and Lou Cheng didn’t hear it, because he was looking for a portable battery to charge Ding Xuerun’s dead cell phone: “They have a concert, and there are so many people. When my brother goes to the toilet and he won’t be able to find you when they come back. What are you gonna do?” 

When the big bald head awoke and heard it, he smiled and said, “Brother Cheng, look at what you said, don’t you look like his father?”

“Get lost.”

They changed into school uniforms and entered the school in a group.

There is another person to meet them at San Zhong high school. When Ding Xuerun looked up, he saw a pretty girl with white skin and big eyes, bright stage makeup, and a long white down jacket over her dress. It’s seemed that she is the San Zhong high school’s school beauty, who was recently thanked for her sponsorship by Piggy.

The relationship between school beauty and a few people is most likely still fairly familiar. After a few chattering words, she called out in a delicate voice: “Lou Cheng… You didn’t come when I called you last year. Why did you decide to come this year?”

Lou Cheng spoke in a nonchalant or alienated tone. “I heard your school is nice, so come take a look.”

The school beauty said: “I’ll take you there first, but I have a show tonight; maybe I can’t take care of you, you guys have fun.”

Lou Cheng said it’s better not to take care of them.

The school beauty took them to the school gymnasium. San Zhong high school’s overall hardware facilities are not as new as those of Liu Zhong high school, but the gymnasium is very large, can accommodate the entire school’s teachers and students, and has a 4,000-person stand.

Because each class has its own seat, the school beauty transports them to the empty grandstand, where no one is present. They notice the dark gray school uniform when they look down: “This is further away, but it is better because it is quiet and empty, so you can sit here and then go stand in front when the show begins. Okay, I’ll go backstage now.” She extended her gloved hand and waved it slightly. “Bye,” she said as she looked at Lou Cheng with burning eyes.

Lou Cheng didn’t say a word, but Piggy said to her, “Bye-bye, see you later.” 

As soon as the school beauty left, Piggy said: “How can you ignore Tang Xiaorong? She has been chasing you for so many years, now? From junior high school to the present, she hasn’t had a boyfriend through that years.”

“I don’t like her; if I still care about her, am I not a jerk?”  said Lou Cheng confidently.

Ding Xuerun said that he needed to use the restroom after several people had sat down, Lou Cheng immediately said, “I’ll go too.”

“I’m going to smoke, you also go?”

Lou Cheng choked, “There must be a lot of people in the toilet right now. Make sure you don’t get caught smoking there. What class are you going to say if you are caught by a teacher?”

Ding Xuerun rummaged through his school bag for a few moments before pulling out a cigarette and a lighter, standing up, and left.

Lou Cheng watched him leave. He became concerned after a while. “I’ll go, too,” he said as he stood up.

“Brother Cheng, you started smoking?”

“Can’t I have a swollen bladder?” When Lou Cheng noticed that Ding Xuerun had not taken the phone he was charging, he took it for him. He was wondering why Ding Xuerun hadn’t brought his cell phone when there were so many people. What would he do if he gets lost later?

Lou Cheng chased him, and Piggy sighed: “Brother Cheng is very attentive to his deskmate. Isn’t it possible for him to pay half attention to Tang Xiaorong?”

“His grades are good, he has a good temper, he isn’t arrogant, and he likes to be clean. Who doesn’t like such a deskmate?” said Big bald head.

“The school beauty also has good grades, a good temper, is respectful, and a love of cleanliness.” The piglet looked sad and said, “If only I’m the one she liked.”

Lou Cheng didn’t find Ding Xuerun in the toilet, so he cursed secretly. He scolded secretly and ran out to find him.

The New Year’s Concert was about to begin, and it was getting late. There was no one outside because everyone was squatting inside to watch.

Lou Cheng looked around and eventually noticed a man smoking a cigarette against the wall beneath a dim street lamp. The smoke engulfed him in a haze, and his stature was frail and lonely. He was a little far away, but he recognized Ding Xuerun at a glance.

Lou Cheng stood there and didn’t move.

The phone in his hand suddenly lit up; it was a phone call from “Dad.”

Lou Cheng seemed to be holding a piece of hot potato. He didn’t know what to do. He picked up the phone and looked at it. He was about to send it to Ding Xuerun, but his hand slipped a little to answer.

“Hello? Runrun?” An elegant male voice came across. Ding Zhaowen teaches Chinese and does not speak local dialects with Ding Xuerun on weekdays. Their family has spoken Mandarin since they were young.

Lou Cheng had to put the phone to his ear and walked in the direction where Ding Xuerun was smoking.

There was a TV voice on the other end of the phone, mixed with a male voice: “Runrun, school is over? Are you doing homework in the dormitory?”

Lou Cheng coughed embarrassingly: “Hello, uncle, this is Ding Xuerun’s roommate. He is in the bathroom. Wait. I’ll take the phone to him now.”

He rushed over, ignoring the smell of cigarettes, and handed the phone to Ding Xuerun: “Your dad called.”

“Thank you.” Ding Xuerun took the phone over with one hand, dusted the cigarette ash with the other, and finally dropped the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out with his foot.

He was talking on the phone and said: “I have eaten, fried rice…” while pointing to the cigarette butt on the ground, he motioned to Lou Cheng: “Help me pick it up.”

Lou Cheng’s face was dark-you’re quite brave ordering Lao Zi.

“Well, I will have an exam in two days.”

Seeing Lou Cheng didn’t move, Ding Xuerun also thought about his dislike of cigarettes. He took out the tissue from his pocket and was about to bend over to pick it up when he saw Lou Cheng’s stinking face. Holding a few sheets of paper in disgust, squatted down and picked up his cigarette butt.

Lou Cheng ran to the trash can next to him and threw the cigarette butt away. When he went back to Ding Xuerun, he had already finished the call.

“You didn’t eat dinner, are you hungry?”

“It’s okay.”

Lou Cheng found that he likes to use the word “okay” to deceive people. He put his hands in his pockets and said, “Let’s go, there’s a cafeteria next to it, let’s go and see.”

Ding Xuerun followed him.

The cafeteria was still open, and students were eating there. Lou Cheng asked a student to lend them a meal card, then served Ding Xuerun a meal with chicken legs and returned the cash to the student who had lent them the meal card.

Lou Cheng had nothing to do, and said: “Your father’s voice is quite gentle.”

“Well, he is a teacher.”

“It’s no wonder that your grades are so good. It turns out to be from your family…”

Ding Xuerun smiled and ate quietly with his head down.

The noisy sound of a concert not far away came over, and an internet celebrity song was played.

“It’s a holiday at the end of the month, isn’t Guilin far away? Are you going home? “

“I’ll see it then.”

Lou Cheng saw Ding Xuerun eating chicken legs instead of chewing them, he was very gentle and picked them off bit by bit with chopsticks. 

After eating this meal for a long time, Lou Cheng ran outside the cafeteria to buy two cups of milk tea. San Zhong high school milk tea was stationed in the milk tea shop outside and it tasted very good.

With milk tea in hand, the two returned to the gym. The concert has been going on for a long time, and it has now changed into a street dance performance. They couldn’t find their original seats in the dark gymnasium, so they took any empty seat they could find. Lou Cheng said, “I will let Piggy take care of your school bag. Don’t worry, let’s watch it here. “

Ding Xuerun nodded and asked: “How long will this end?”

“I don’t know, it seems to be late. If you don’t want to watch it anymore, we’ll leave.” 

The show at San Zhong High School is well-organized; street dance, singing; it’s pretty awesome, but it’s also a little boring. It is estimated that only those in the school will be able to enjoy it fully. After all, they are students at the school, which is not particularly large. Everyone knows about it, so you can gossip in the stands if you’re that loud.

Ding Xuerun was probably sleepy and fell asleep with his eyes closed after listening for a while.

When Lou Cheng found out, he saw his head tilted to the other side, and his glasses almost slipped off the bridge of his nose.

He was concerned that Ding Xuerun’s neck would hurt while he slept, so he reached out and removed his glasses before gently placing his hand on the side of his head to correct his position.

Ding Xuerun’s head tilted to the side again after a while, but this time he was leaning toward Lou Cheng.

When he leaned his head,  Lou Cheng’s heart was about to stop.

There was so much weight on his shoulders suddenly, but Lou Cheng didn’t dare to move.

He took a deep breath and looked down. When the lights on the stage are bright, it shines on Ding Xuerun’s face. When the lights are dimmed, he can see the outline of his delicate and white facial features, and his long eyelashes hang down quietly.

Ding Xuerun looked stunning from his point of view. He was in a daze and had been staring at him for a long time without realizing it.

Ding Xuerun had a long dream, and when he woke up, he heard a deafening sound.

“What time is it?” He may not have fully awakened yet, so he still leans against Lou Cheng, reaching out and rubbing his eyes.

Lou Cheng’s shoulders were numb, so he took out his phone with the other hand and looked at the time: “It’s almost ten o’clock.”

“How long is the show going to run?” Ding Xuerun finally realized he was sleeping on Lou Cheng’s shoulder. He sat up straight, apologized, and asked, “Are your shoulders tired?”

Lou Cheng said he was not tired.

It would be nice if he could rely on him for a little longer.

“The show will most likely take a while. “He cast a sidelong glance at Ding Xuerun. “I’m not sure how you slept with all that noise.”

“Sometimes it’s easier to fall asleep when it’s noisy.” Ding Xuerun was wide awake, but without his glasses, he squinted when seeing the solo performance on stage.

Lou Cheng: “Is the show boring? I’ll call Li Dong and the others, let’s go home.”

Ding Xuerun said yes.

Lou Cheng started to call. Because of the noises, he kept yelling to the phone: “I said go, go! Go home! Fuck!” 

After hanging up the phone, Lou Cheng said, “They said they are going to have supper, Xiao Ding, do you want to eat?”

“All right, let’s go.” San Zhong high school is a long distance away from Liu Zhong high school. Taking a taxi back to school takes at least an hour. The school gate time is up, and he has nowhere to go.

“That’s great, but it’s too late in this case, and you can’t go back to school, otherwise…” Lou Cheng turned his head, looked at his eyes, and said in a low voice, “… Runrun, will you stay at my house tonight?” 

The princess room has been cleaned for you.

Upon hearing this name, Ding Xuerun raised his eyes and looked at him: “Why do you call me that?”

“Just now your father …… called so on the phone, I heard it. It’s nice and warm, I didn’t mean it.” 

The author has something to say: 

Lou Cheng: Your father called you so, I also called you so. To summarize, I’m your father, right?