Chapter 14: It's not that he can't leave me, but that I can't leave him.

Xu Xiaoming was also at the Yin family’s residence. The Xus and Yins couldn’t be considered close friends, but they had engaged in some collaboration over the past couple of years. Yin Zhenggong had invited Xu Xiangyou. Since it was a “family banquet,” Xu Xiangyou had brought his wife and children along.

The Xu family was relatively peripheral; the Yin family was influential and wealthy, inviting numerous powerful and prestigious guests. Xu Xiangyou didn’t take a prominent position, and naturally, neither did Xu Xiaoming. After staying indoors for a while and feeling bored, he slipped out.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Yin Xiuzhu, completely drenched.

“What… happened to you?” Having been classmates for many years, Xu Xiaoming naturally knew that Yin Xiuzhu was afraid of water. Seeing him so soaked, could he have fallen into the water?

He hurried over in a few steps, asking urgently, “Should I call your… family to come over?”

Before Xu Xiaoming could finish speaking, he suddenly choked up. It felt like he was a bird being strangled, experiencing an indescribable sense of horror.

The young man before him was dressed in a black tailcoat, completely drenched in icy water. Even his hair was soaked through, with strands falling onto his forehead. His naturally fair complexion now appeared even paler, as if all his blood had been drained, leaving only the icy coldness akin to snow.

He lifted his gaze. His dark eyes were deeper than the night itself, resembling an unfathomable black hole that swallowed everything, even light.
Xu Xiaoming trembled, feeling a terrifying sensation as if he had encountered a ghost.

“Don’t tell anyone,” Yin Xiuzhu rasped.
Xu Xiaoming quickly nodded in understanding. “Okay, okay.”

Yin Xiuzhu walked past him. As they brushed shoulders, the icy mist from his cold, wet body froze into a bone-chilling coldness in the crisp night air, piercing straight into Xu Xiaoming’s heart.

Then, he heard Yin Xiuzhu’s voice again, even lower this time, warning him, “Especially do not tell Qi Mu.”

Xu Xiaoming stood stiffly straight, nodding rigidly. “Okay.”

After a while, Xu Xiaoming finally turned around. He saw Yin Xiuzhu’s figure gradually disappearing into the night. At that moment, he felt as though Yin Xiuzhu had walked into boundless darkness.

When the holidays ended, Qi Mu hurried to Yin Xiuzhu’s desk after class.

Yin Xiuzhu’s desk mate was a girl who immediately made space as soon as Qi Mu approached.

Qi Mu took something out of his pocket. “Here.”

Yin Xiuzhu coughed softly.

Qi Mu frowned. “You caught a cold again?” He reached out to feel Yin Xiuzhu’s forehead. “Are you running a fever?”

Yin Xiuzhu gently pushed his hand away. “I’m fine.”

“If you have a fever, go back and rest.”
“We have final exams coming up soon. I don’t want to waste time.”

Qi Mu disagreed. “You’ll definitely get a perfect score anyway. What difference does it make if you take a break?”

Yin Xiuzhu paused, then said, “I don’t want to go home.”
His words pricked at Qi Mu’s heart like a needle. “Then I’ll accompany you to the infirmary to rest.”

A hint of a smile touched the corner of Yin Xiuzhu’s eyes. “Don’t skip your classes.”

“Forget about that damn class. Let’s go.” Qi Mu grabbed Yin Xiuzhu and pulled him out.

Xu Xiaoming, across the two aisles, couldn’t help but glance over. He wondered if he had been hallucinating the past few days. Why did he find Yin Xiuzhu terrifying? Wasn’t he still the same as always, obedient and listening only to Qi Mu?

As this thought crossed his mind, Xu Xiaoming suddenly felt a chilling gaze fall upon him. He shuddered, seeing the warning in the corner of Yin Xiuzhu’s eyes.

Xu Xiaoming immediately straightened his textbook, his heart pounding. Damn, could Yin Xiuzhu be thinking of silencing him for good?

Qi Mu skipped a class with Yin Xiuzhu, feeling satisfied. Every time he returned to school, he brought chocolates for Yin Xiuzhu, all kinds without exception.

Yin Xiuzhu didn’t like eating them but appreciated the gesture greatly. He understood Qi Mu’s intentions – Qi Mu simply wanted to share his favorite things with him.

This gesture was incredibly precious to him.
During the afternoon swimming class, Yin Xiuzhu was called to Mr. Xu’s office.
Mr. Xu heard his faint cough and asked, “Are you catching a cold?”

Yin Xiuzhu replied straightforwardly, “I’ve taken medicine.”

Mr. Xu said, “I have a set of problems here. I intended for you to work on it, but since you’re not feeling well…”

“It won’t affect me,” Yin Xiuzhu said. “I can do it.”
If he didn’t attend swimming class, Qi Mu could enjoy his time in the water. That was fine.

Mr. Xu hesitated for a moment. “This set of problems is quite important. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

Yin Xiuzhu affirmed, “No problem.”

Perhaps due to his cold, Yin Xiuzhu’s voice carried a slight hoarseness. But Mr. Xu felt that something was different about him. He seemed quieter now, not in the cautious way before, but with a determined, composed calmness.

What had he decided on?

Mr. Xu couldn’t tell, but he still gave him a set of problems to work on.

After reviewing the papers, Yin Xiuzhu paused with the pen in his hand. Mr. Xu kept watching him closely and naturally noticed his hesitation. He didn’t think Yin Xiuzhu found the problems difficult; he knew the young man before him understood the purpose behind this set of problems.

Mr. Xu prepared himself to explain, but Yin Xiuzhu didn’t ask anything. He started writing, the smooth tip of his pen drawing beautiful lines, composing each character perfectly.

If watching Qi Mu write was heart-wrenching due to the carelessness, watching Yin Xiuzhu write was also heart-wrenching.
One felt pity for how the paper and pen were marred by such sloppy handwriting, while the other felt pity for how such fine handwriting could be paired with such mediocre tools!

Mr. Xu enjoyed watching him for the entire class period. Yin Xiuzhu handed in his paper.

Three sheets of paper, completed in forty minutes, and to make matters worse, all perfect scores with not a single punctuation error.

Mr. Xu examined the three exam papers over and over. “Excellent, very good!”

Yin Xiuzhu set down his pen and sat quietly.

Mr. Xu paused and confessed, “These are exam papers sent from the junior high department. As long as you can score at least eighty points, you can skip ahead to junior high.”

Now, Yin Xiuzhu had scored three perfect hundreds.

Yin Xiuzhu looked at him and said, “Teacher, I want to stay in our class.”

Upon hearing this, Mr. Xu surprisingly didn’t show any hint of astonishment. In fact, he even thought to himself, “As expected.”

Considering his best interests, Mr. Xu explained, “Our school doesn’t allow grade skipping before the fourth grade. It’s to ensure your comprehensive growth. But after the fourth grade, that consideration doesn’t apply. I believe you can take care of yourself well by now, and skipping a grade would be a good choice for you.”

Yin Xiuzhu shook his head and repeated, “I want to stay in our class.”
After a moment of consideration, Mr. Xu continued, “If you skip a grade, I’m sure your father would…”

Before he could finish, Yin Xiuzhu interrupted, “I’m not studying for him.”

Mr. Xu hesitated, unable to find the right words—his heart was conflicted. On one hand, he didn’t want Yin Xiuzhu to skip a grade because the child was too introverted; he feared he would struggle to adapt to a new environment. On the other hand, he wished for Yin Xiuzhu to skip a grade because such outstanding academic performance would surely make any parent proud. For a child so young, receiving attention from parents would boost confidence.

However, Yin Xiuzhu had already made up his mind. He had completed the test out of respect for Mr. Xu.

Mr. Xu sighed softly. “Is it because of Qi Mu?”

Yin Xiuzhu nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”

Mr. Xu said, “His grades are good enough now. I’ll pay more attention to him. You don’t need to worry about him.”

Speaking of Qi Mu seemed to bring a glimmer to Mr. Xu’s eyes. He said, “It’s not that he can’t live without me, but that I can’t without him.”

That statement stunned Mr. Xu. At that moment, a frightening thought arose in his mind.

Yin Xiuzhu’s feelings for Qi Mu…

No, Mr. Xu quickly dismissed the thought. What would a child so young understand? Yin Xiuzhu was just too lonely, and grasping onto Qi Mu as a friend was like holding onto the only piece of driftwood in the vast ocean—he couldn’t let go.

With these thoughts in mind, Mr. Xu felt both guilty and tender-hearted. He gently said, “Alright then, that’s fine.”

Yin Xiuzhu left, and Mr. Xu carefully put away the three papers that could only be described as perfect. Did he make the right decision?

Mr. Xu felt he hadn’t made a mistake. Skipping grades five and six and being called a child prodigy—so what? What Yin Xiuzhu truly lacked was a stable environment.

For Qi Mu, skipping grades was a matter on a different plane; it had nothing to do with him.

He had no idea what test Yin Xiuzhu had taken, let alone what Yi Xiuzhu had declined. When Yin Xiuzhu returned from swimming class, Qi Mu asked him, “Did Mr. Xu bully you?”

Yin Xiuzhu looked up to see Qi Mu’s wet hair. Shaking his head, he took a towel and started drying Qi Mu’s hair. “Mr. Xu is very kind to me.”

Qi Mu, who hated drying his hair, simply lay down on the desk with his arms crossed, leaving only his head for Yin Xiuzhu.

“Giving you extra assignments all the time—is that being kind to you?” Qi Mu complained.

“Doing assignments is quite interesting.”

Qi Mu groaned, “Interesting, my foot!”

Yin Xiuzhu smiled.

Qi Mu, being his usual self, deflected with a few remarks, “…Hair is such a hassle, I feel like shaving it all off.”

Yin Xiuzhu paused for a moment and replied, “It’s fine as it is.” Qi Mu’s hair was soft and fine; once dried, it tended to stand on end, which annoyed Qi Mu greatly but Yin Xiuzhu liked it.

Qi Mu’s eyes twinkled as he chuckled, “You really think so?”

Yin Xiuzhu nodded, “Yes, I do.”

“Alright then,” Qi Mu said smugly, “from now on, I’m leaving the hair-drying business to you!”

Yin Xiuzhu remained silent.

To Qi Mu, this pause seemed like Yin Xiuzhu didn’t know how to respond to his teasing, but in reality, Yin Xiuzhu was overwhelmed with joy.

Qi Mu burst into laughter, “It’s settled then! Don’t you dare slack off!”

It took Yin Xiuzhu a while before he lifted the corners of his mouth, revealing a gentle and heartfelt smile. “Okay.”

— How could he possibly slack off? He embraced it wholeheartedly.

Winter passed, spring arrived, and summer returned as autumn approached. In the blink of an eye, a group of little radishes had grown into half-grown teenagers, about to face their graduation exams for sixth grade.

Transitioning from elementary to middle school was a foregone conclusion.

Guorui Elementary School had a middle school department, which simply meant moving classrooms together, changing locations, and continuing to study.

However, there was something new about it too. The middle school department admitted students widely, not only from Guorui Elementary School but also from many other elementary schools. It followed the compulsory education route, departing from the high-cost elite education.

The main reason was that many children from Guorui Elementary School went abroad directly after elementary, causing a shortage of students in the middle school department. So, they decided to open up admissions.

Qi Mu didn’t care much about all this. After all, he wasn’t going abroad, and neither was Yin Xiuzhu. That was all that mattered to him.

What he was more concerned about was…

“It’s settled then,” Qi Mu poked Yin Xiuzhu from behind. “We’re going to summer camp during the summer vacation.”

After waiting through all of elementary school, they had finally anticipated this day.

Yin Xiuzhu stood up and sat beside him to work on their assignments. “Hmm, it’s settled.”

Qi Mu had no intention of doing their assignments. He tilted his head and sized up Yin Xiuzhu, saying, “Why do I feel like you’ve grown taller than me?”

Yin Xiuzhu put down his pen and turned to look at him. “Really?”

“Get up,” Qi Mu beckoned him. “Let’s compare.”

Yin Xiuzhu smiled gently and replied, “Sure.”

He stood up, and the more Qi Mu looked, the more he wondered: How did his little sister lose all her cute looks??

Instead, he become quite handsome.