YMW CH 54

Misunderstanding

“Yeah, yeah, you got me, I’m just jealous of you,” Ji Changyu said with a deadpan face, not even bothering to pretend to be respectful. His voice dripped with sarcasm. “Jealous that when you wanna kiss someone, you gotta take a slap first.”

“He should’ve hit you harder—how else is he supposed to show that he loves you to death?”

Xie Guilan shot him a dark glance but didn’t respond, just lowered his head and drank. The bar’s cool blue lighting cast deep shadows around his eyes.

Cold. And menacing.

Ji Changyu wasn’t scared of him in the slightest and kept going. “You two are perfect for each other. If he doesn’t like you, who else could he possibly like? Go chase him already. Who knows, maybe he was secretly in love with you in a past life.”

Still, Xie Guilan said nothing. He didn’t speak until he finished his last bottle of liquor. Then, all of a sudden, he said, “I think you’re right.”

He never planned to give up anyway. So what if Cen Wu didn’t like him? It’s not like Cen Wu liked anyone else either. He could just keep going after him. No big deal.

Worst case? Even if Cen Wu liked someone else—he’d wait for them to break up. If they got married, he’d wait for the divorce.

After all, he’d spent ten years in the Xie family. If there’s one thing he’s good at, it’s enduring.

Ji Changyu: “…”

He’s hopeless. Someone discharge this patient already.

He really thought Xie Guilan was the cold, indifferent type. After all, at Blue Night, both guys and girls had tried chasing him, and not once had Xie Guilan looked twice at any of them. Who would’ve thought the guy was actually a hopeless romantic—and in the final stage?

Once Xie Guilan had his epiphany, he downed his drink and got ready to go home.

Ji Changyu, meanwhile, looked constipated. Being friends with Xie Guilan—he couldn’t tell if it was a blessing or a curse.

Huai Jing No.1 High’s three-day fall trip ended in a flash. School was starting again the day after tomorrow.

Cen Wu stayed home for two days to catch up on homework. He didn’t go to Blue Night and didn’t go looking for Xie Guilan either.

Xie Guilan would send him a message every now and then. Cen Wu, seeing he was fine, didn’t worry much. Instead, the awkwardness hit him after the fact.

After what happened between them… how the hell was he supposed to face him at school? Just thinking about it gave him secondhand embarrassment.

He almost considered faking sick just to avoid going back. But if he did that, he had zero doubt that shameless guy Xie Guilan would show up at his house that same night.

So Cen Wu wilted at home, even wearing a face mask and pretending he had a cold. Good thing Cen Junshan and Guan Xingxue were out of the country for an art exhibition—otherwise they’d definitely sense something was off.

Cen Xiao, however, was still at home. And there was no fooling him.

When they were alone, Cen Xiao yanked off his mask.

Cen Wu pressed his lips together—his mouth was still a little red from being kissed too hard. It didn’t take much imagination to guess what had happened.

Cen Xiao’s anger flared. He gritted his teeth and lowered his voice. “Look at your lips. You let him suck your face off or something?”

“I…” Cen Wu knew it was pointless to explain. Cen Xiao had clearly made up his mind: he thought Cen Wu and Xie Guilan were dating.

So Cen Wu gave up and admitted it with a blank face. “If I don’t kiss him, I feel weird.”

Screw it. Xie Guilan started it, he can deal with the consequences. Let him explain it when the time comes.

Cen Xiao couldn’t accept Xie Guilan unless he cut ties with the Xie family. Still, he wasn’t going to force them apart either. Feelings at that age—who knows how long they’d even last?

For all he knew, they might break up before he even had to step in. Interfering now would just stir up more drama.

So now, all of a sudden, Cen Wu had a boyfriend. He went to school early the next morning, hoping to avoid bumping into Xie Guilan at the classroom door.

No such luck.

Xie Guilan had beaten him there.

By October, the days were shorter and the nights longer. It was still dark when he arrived.

Xie Guilan sat by the back door of the classroom. Outside, the sky was still a cold gray. Inside, the lights were bright and sharp.

His head was lowered, focused on doing practice problems. His features were striking—high nose bridge, deep-set eyes—half his face cloaked in shadow.

Cen Wu stood there, holding breakfast in his hand, stiff as a robot. Giving it to him felt awkward. Not giving it to him felt even worse.

Xie Guilan heard his footsteps, turned his head, and automatically reached for the food. He even played dumb on purpose. “Young Master, is this for me?”

Cen Wu: “…”

What else would it be for?

“No,” Cen Wu snatched it back. He carried five or six meat buns and two large cups of soy milk to his seat, stubbornly saying, “I—I’m eating it all myself.”

“I see,” Xie Guilan looked up, lips curving slightly. “I almost misunderstood.”

Cen Wu’s ears turned a little red. He took a big bite of a bun to hide it. But his appetite was small—one was enough. He wanted to give the rest to Xie Guilan, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He’d even asked the old butler to make his favorite braised pork buns—the kind so juicy the oil seeped through the soft, white skin.

Dammit. Couldn’t he at least give me a way out of this?

He hesitated for another minute.

Then Xie Guilan let out a sudden, low cough. Cen Wu turned to look—and saw him holding his stomach, looking very dramatic.

“…My stomach hurts,” Xie Guilan said pitifully.

Finally—an excuse.

Cen Wu shoved all the buns into his hands. “That’s what you get for skipping breakfast.”

“All my fault,” Xie Guilan agreed smoothly.

Only then did Cen Wu look satisfied.

Lu Wang: “…”

Watching from the side, Lu Wang was completely confused. He felt like he’d just witnessed a brand-new kind of flirting.

That day, Meng Liangping arrived unusually early. The moment the first bell rang for morning study hall, he was already hounding them to recite their textbooks.

The short holiday was over, and the midterm exams were just around the corner.

“Everyone, focus!” Meng Liangping paced the classroom with his hands behind his back. “Fun time’s over. Keep messing around and you’ll fail the midterms too. And when the principal comes, I won’t be able to save you.”

Zhang Yuanzhou, sitting in front of Cen Wu, sighed and opened his book with pain written all over his face. When would he finally get to stop taking exams, stay up late playing cards with his buddies every night, and live a free life?

Pretty much the only person still sitting upright was Zhou Wenqing—the class monitor—who was always serious, glasses on, studying like a model student.

Cen Wu blinked slowly behind his long lashes. He remembered the original novel—and how badly Class 3 of Grade 11 ended.

Zhou Wenqing, the class monitor, jumped off a building in senior year.

Xu Lingling faced casting couch demands while acting, couldn’t take it, and ended up dropping out to pursue entertainment full time. Zhang Yuanzhou bombed his college entrance exam.

Lu Wang always thought people saw him as a fool. Then he found out the original protagonist had scammed him for money—and it hit him so hard he had a breakdown, ending up worse than before. His family arranged for him to take medical leave.

As for the guys who’d insulted Xie Guilan—after he was brought back to the Cen family—they all turned up dead in an alley outside school.

The book never said if it was Xie Guilan or the Cen family who did it.

Everyone else either left or drifted apart.

Meng Liangping already had a heart condition. With everything happening in class, he turned gray-haired within the year. He hung on just long enough to get the students to their college entrance exams—then collapsed. No one knew if he ever made it.

Ten years later, in the novel’s final chapter, Xie Guilan drove past Huai Jing No.1 High at night. By then, Meng Liangping had passed away, the head of academics had retired, and all that was left was a cold, empty school gate.

“You good?” Lu Wang nudged Cen Wu, noticing he’d been staring at his open book without moving.

Zhang Yuanzhou, still not ready to get serious, whispered from the next row while Meng Liangping wasn’t looking: “You guys going to Whale Bay tonight or what?”

Ever since they got caught by the dean last time, it had been a whole month since they last snuck off to Whale Sea to play games.

Lu Wang was tempted, but before he could say anything, Cen Wu cut him off. “Not going.”

He made Zhang Yuanzhou turn back around and focus on his book. Zhang shrank his neck like a scolded puppy, confused, but obediently did as told.

Then Cen Wu scribbled a few more math problems with a scowl and told Lu Wang to learn from him. He was determined—there was no way he’d let Lu Wang get scammed again.

“Wu-wu, you’re so fierce,” Lu Wang scratched his cheek but still followed along like a good student.

Xie Guilan lowered his cold eyes, hiding the gloom behind them. Cen Wu was always so good to everyone.

Cen Wu kept mumbling as he taught Lu Wang, when suddenly he remembered something. Without even looking, he reached a hand behind him and handed a tube of ointment to Xie Guilan—specifically for burns.

Xie Guilan accepted it, lightly brushing Cen Wu’s fingertips in the process. He got a smack on the hand right after.

But the corners of Xie Guilan’s lips lifted slightly.

Cen Wu was still the nicest to him.

Later in class, Cen Wu noticed Xie Guilan hovering around his seat more than usual. He had bought a bag of lychee-flavored candy and had just poured out half when Xie Guilan reached his hand out without a word.

Cen Wu’s face immediately flushed. He snapped, “Th-these aren’t for you!”

“Oh?” Xie Guilan didn’t seem disappointed. He pulled his hand back and slouched lazily in his seat, his peach blossom eyes slightly downcast. “Almost misunderstood again.”

Cen Wu: “…”

Misunderstood your ass.

He was starting to miss Xie Guilan’s cocky attitude. That guy taking things on his own just didn’t feel the same as Cen Wu giving it to him.

Now it looked like he cared way too much.

At lunch, he went to the cafeteria and instinctively ordered two servings of steamed pork ribs. He turned around—and froze.

Before he could react, Xie Guilan had already taken one portion. When he looked up and saw Cen Wu standing there like he’d been caught red-handed, he actually gave it back. “Ah, my bad. Not for me?”

Cen Wu: “…”

He kicked Xie Guilan’s shoe and turned away in frustration.

After lunch, the sky had gone grey, a chilly rain falling steadily. Xie Guilan was still using that broken black umbrella from the racetrack night—its frame bent and only good for covering half a person.

Cen Wu hesitated. He stood still under his own umbrella, clearly wanting Xie Guilan to come over—but too stubborn to say it aloud.

He had given him a new umbrella before. Who knew why Xie Guilan was still using the old one.

Xie Guilan caught his gaze, then walked over without a word. Despite Cen Wu’s weak protests, he squeezed under his umbrella, practically wrapping Cen Wu in his arms as he held it for them both. The boy’s tall frame blocked out all the cold rain.

Cen Wu had felt chilly before, but once Xie Guilan pulled him close, he didn’t feel a drop of cold anymore.

“I don’t think I misunderstood this time, right?” Xie Guilan’s voice was low and lazy. He was more than a head taller, and when he leaned in, his warm breath brushed Cen Wu’s ear. “Didn’t Young Master want me to come over?”

Cen Wu instantly turned red with anger. “Can you shut up for once?”

Xie Guilan took the hint and obediently held the umbrella, walking him back to class.

When they got there, Cen Wu still couldn’t resist punching him lightly on the shoulder.

At first, the class had been stunned when they saw Cen Wu hit Xie Guilan—no one even dared to breathe too loudly.

But after seeing it happen a few more times, their reactions shifted from Damn, school violence? to Damn, domestic violence?

Neither was okay, of course—but Xie Guilan never looked upset. A faint smile always lingered in his dark eyes. When Cen Wu got really mad, Xie Guilan would even stand up and coax him in front of the whole class. Eventually, no one tried to interfere anymore—it just felt like butting into a couple’s fight.

Cen Wu hated how spineless he was. He managed to hold out all day, refusing to give Xie Guilan anything. Even during a pop quiz, when the papers were being passed back, he made Lu Wang hand it over instead.

But just before evening study hall, he noticed Xie Guilan still hadn’t removed the bandages on his hand—and the medicine remained untouched. Cen Wu finally couldn’t take it anymore. “You’re supposed to apply that ointment… twice a day,” he muttered.

He’d even gone out of his way last night to get it from Dr. Lu—it worked better than the one he’d bought before.

“Hm?” Xie Guilan lifted his head from the chemistry worksheet. The provincial chemistry finals were next weekend, and he’d been grinding problems nonstop.

The second half of every year was Xie Guilan’s busiest—provincial science competitions, national math leagues, training camps… He’d be gone for a week soon.

Cen Wu was a little worried. Xie Guilan had burned his right hand. He was probably aggravating the injury by writing so much. What if it got infected? Normally, he’d just grab the hand and check it himself.

But thanks to Xie Guilan’s antics, everything felt weird now.

Cen Wu held back as long as he could. Then finally, before class started, he rushed to the back row and plopped down beside Xie Guilan. Without a word, he grabbed his hand and began unwrapping the bandages.

His expression was fierce, but his movements were careful, afraid to hurt him.

“Young Master,” Xie Guilan’s heart softened completely, but he still lifted his eyes with a teasing tone. “If you keep doing this, I’ll get the wrong idea again…”

Cen Wu slammed the ointment on the desk, blushing furiously. “What now?!”

“That you like me,” Xie Guilan replied smoothly.

Cen Wu: “…”

“I overthink things easily,” Xie Guilan tapped his worksheet with a finger. “So it’s better to clear it up.”

Cen Wu stiffened and stayed silent.

“Bringing me breakfast every day,” Xie Guilan’s tone was unhurried, his naturally cool voice calm as ever. “Picking out fish bones for me. Knowing exactly what I like to eat. Doesn’t that mean you like me?”

“…” Cen Wu’s ears turned red. He glared. “Don’t be so full of yourself.”

Xie Guilan pressed on, “Chasing me up a mountain in the middle of the night from the racetrack—doesn’t that mean you like me?”

“N-no, it doesn’t.”

Cen Wu honestly felt like getting eaten by sharks would be better than enduring this. He didn’t want to argue anymore. He just pulled Xie Guilan’s hand over and quietly applied the medicine.

Then, without thinking, he lowered his head and gently blew on it.

Cen Wu: “…”

Cen Wu suddenly realized what he was doing. The pale skin around his ears flushed so red it looked like it might bleed—he wished he could just slam his head into the wall and disappear.

“I see,” Xie Guilan’s lips curled into a faint smile, his tone dripping with mock grievance. “So this still doesn’t mean you like me.”

Cen Wu was frozen. His fingers yanked the bandage tight, almost too tight, and he stammered, “A-as long as you know.”

Xie Guilan felt the vengeance in that tug—his hand nearly got crushed. He shut his eyes without a word, then suddenly asked, “Then what is it like when you like someone?”

“…” The question threw Cen Wu off. He thought Xie Guilan was genuinely curious, so he actually started to think about it.

But then Xie Guilan leaned in close, catching him completely off guard. Cen Wu flinched and scrambled to push him away—after all, it was between classes, and he was terrified their classmates might see. “W-what are you doing?”

But then he realized—he didn’t need to feel this guilty. It wasn’t like there was anything between him and Xie Guilan.

“Young Master,” Xie Guilan murmured. Cen Wu refused to look up, so he stayed silent. That only made Cen Wu more flustered, his entire body burning with heat. His eyes grew misty with panic until he was finally forced to lift his gaze—and met Xie Guilan’s.

Xie Guilan gave a half-smile and said teasingly, “Your ears are red.”