Chapter 24

Xu Xiaoming was stunned by his own thoughts! Bed? His brain really needed a good wash under the faucet!

He was quite puzzled. The transfer student was definitely Yin Xiuzhu, but Yin Xiuzhu fighting with Brother Mu? The probability of Mars colliding with Earth was higher than that.

Xu Xiaoming rubbed his face, perked up, and went to the clock tower to check out the scene.

Guorui Middle School was very large, and with the expansion in recent years, it had doubled in size. Due to the mix of new and old buildings, it was unintentionally divided into two campuses. The clock tower was in the old campus and had been there for quite some years. The clock on it had already been replaced once. Although it was called a clock tower, it wasn’t actually a tower but a pavilion-like structure. The clock was on top, and beneath it was a vast open space, making it a perfect spot for shade and cooling off during summer on campus.

As soon as Xu Xiaoming arrived at the clock tower, his sharp eyes accurately assessed the situation.

A group of people pretending to pass by were actually waiting to see the spectacle, while another group, tense and holding their breath, seemed to be fearing significant “casualties.” There were even a few who were ready to dash off, likely planning to run to the academic office to fetch a teacher if things went awry.

Xu Xiaoming snorted disdainfully, “So much drama.”

It was a pity that Guorui Elementary School had such a sparse population. Most had moved to capital cities, and the remainder were diluted by the vast number of students in Guorui Middle School. Otherwise, there definitely wouldn’t be so many childish fools.

Yin Xiuzhu fighting with Qi Mu? That was the height of absurdity.

Even he couldn’t count how many times Qi Mu had fought with Yin Xiuzhu over the past ten years. From kindergarten to elementary school, and even when Yin Xiuzhu wasn’t around after they moved up to middle school, Qi Mu still managed to beat Wang Zhuo senselessly.

His brother Mu had been so righteous; if Yin Xiuzhu were to repay kindness with ingratitude, Xu Xiaoming would be the first to… to…

Damn, that was impossible!

The onlookers had no idea about the backstory. They were all anxiously watching, their minds so full of pits that even the moon would be embarrassed.

“Look! Qi Mu is here!”

“Oh no, he’s throwing a drink!”

“That’s ruthless, using a drink as a brick to smash someone’s head, striking first!”

“The transfer student is fighting back—will he throw the drink back?”

“He caught it…” A girl’s voice squealed softly, “So cool, the transfer student is so handsome!”

The subsequent development left the spectators dumbfounded.

Where was the promised fight? The provocation? The use of the drink as a brick to smash someone’s head?

Why was the transfer student opening the drink? Why was he drinking it? The atmosphere… was so strange, strangely enough, to make one’s throat feel tight!

Qi Mu bought two bottles of drink, one peach-flavored and one grape-flavored. He handed the peach-flavored one to Yin Xiuzhu and kept the grape-flavored one for himself.

It was the middle of summer, and the outside heat was intense, making a cold drink very refreshing.

Yin Xiuzhu said, “Thank you.”

Qi Mu was displeased by this and said gruffly, “Why did you go to Class 2?”

Yin Xiuzhu explained, “Class 2 happened to be short one person.”

Qi Mu was not happy about this, “The school doesn’t have a set class size, so why does it matter if they’re short one person?”

Yin Xiuzhu felt that this semester was as sweet as the peach soda, “There’s nothing I can do this semester, but I’ll try to join your class next semester.”

Qi Mu remained displeased, “You’ll fit in with the new class, why switch back and forth?”

Yin Xiuzhu replied, “I won’t…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Qi Mu sighed lightly and said earnestly, “There’s nothing I can do this semester, but I’ll try to join your class next semester.”

The exact same words Yin Xiuzhu had just said. Hearing them from Qi Mu’s mouth now carried a completely different tone. Yin Xiuzhu was stunned.

Qi Mu finally flashed a small, tiger-like smile and said, “Alright, don’t be afraid in Class 2. I’ll be right next door.”

Over the years, he had always kept his promise from when they were four years old, holding onto it until now.

Ten years… Yin Xiuzhu was no longer the same person he used to be, but Qi Mu remained the same as ever.

In the turbulent year, Yin Xiuzhu never once shed a tear. Even after finally experiencing what could be called fatherly love, even with his mother, who was undergoing rehabilitation, hitting him, and even after severing the last connection himself, his heart remained relatively undisturbed.

But now, his nose was tingling, and a wave of warmth surged up, making his vision blur.

Fate was fair; it had cruelly taken away half of his life but granted him a new half. This new beginning was tied to Qi Mu.

“Don’t cry,” Qi Mu said, somewhat flustered seeing him like this. “Should I transfer to Class 2 now? I could, you know. I’ll talk to my dad—school just started anyway…”

“No need…” Yin Xiuzhu had already managed to compose himself. “Don’t trouble Uncle Qi.”

“What’s the trouble in it?” Qi Mu, thinking it was a feasible idea, was eager to go home and talk to his father about it right away.

Yin Xiuzhu replied, “Class 2 and Class 3 are not related. I’ll come find you after class.”

Qi Mu chuckled, “Forget it. How can a good student like you just switch classes so casually?”

Yin Xiuzhu said, “I don’t care about that…”

Qi Mu replied, “Just wait in the classroom. I’ll come find you.”

Yin Xiuzhu wanted to say something more, but Qi Mu continued, “You’ve missed a year’s worth of lessons. You need to catch up properly. You can just wait for me.”

Yin Xiuzhu stopped insisting, pressed his lips together, and smiled, “Okay.”

After a year, he finally showed his true smile—a gentle lift at the corners of his eyes, as if scattering all the stars in his gaze into the night sky, dazzling and heartfelt.

Qi Mu was momentarily stunned by the sight and cleared his throat, saying, “The girls in your class all say you’re very handsome.”

Yin Xiuzhu didn’t catch it clearly: “Hmm?”

“It seems like you’ve become even more handsome,” Qi Mu leaned closer to Yin Xiuzhu, staring at him for a while, “Even more handsome than me, can you believe that?”

Yin Xiuzhu’s heart raced with Qi Mu’s sudden proximity.

Qi Mu then asked, “Haven’t you noticed any changes in me after a year?”

They were so close that their noses were almost touching, making it hard for Yin Xiuzhu to focus on what was being said.

Qi Mu pressed on, “Haven’t you noticed?”

Yin Xiuzhu gripped the soda bottle tightly, nearly crushing it.

“You two…” Xu Xiaoming couldn’t shake the feeling he might have said this before, “What are you doing, about to kiss?”

Yin Xiuzhu: “……”

Qi Mu finally distanced himself from Yin Xiuzhu and cursed at Xu Xiaoming, “Get out of here.”

Xu Xiaoming yawned, “Our Class 2 and Class 3 students are all waiting to see your world showdown. If you two aren’t going to fight, that’s one thing, but getting this close without having a proper clash? Aren’t you letting down the crowd of spectators?”

Qi Mu didn’t pay any attention to his words. He said, “Yin Xiuzhu hasn’t seen me in a long time. I want him to have a good look at me.”

Xu Xiaoming picked up on that and asked, “Look at what?”

“Of course, it’s to see if I’ve become more handsome,” Qi Mu replied.

Yin Xiuzhu finally snapped back to reality and said softly, “You look good.”

Qi Mu was pleased, “Right? I played basketball all summer, so I’ve finally gotten a bit tanned.”

Xu Xiaoming thought to himself: That’s barely tan. Our female students would be crying in the bathroom if they saw that.

Yin Xiuzhu’s voice was slightly hoarse as he added, “You look good no matter how.”

Qi Mu felt a strange warmth in his ears. There was something oddly pleasing about Yin Xiuzhu’s voice, though it sounded a bit unusual. He grinned and said, “You look good too. You’ve grown taller and even more handsome!”

Xu Xiaoming, observing from the side, felt a shiver down his spine: these two were worse than kissing—so nauseatingly sweet!

“Let’s go, time to eat.” Qi Mu grabbed Yin Xiuzhu’s hand and led him to the cafeteria.

Xu Xiaoming followed along and, glancing at their joined hands, said wistfully, “Bro, why don’t you ever hold my hand?”

Qi Mu replied, “Don’t you know the way to the cafeteria?”

Xu Xiaoming put on a dramatic act, “Nope, I don’t!”

Qi Mu, with a look of disgust, retorted, “Get lost!”

With the commotion, Qi Mu let go of Yin Xiuzhu’s hand. They weren’t kids anymore, and he couldn’t always treat Yin Xiuzhu like a girl; it wasn’t respectful.

Yin Xiuzhu didn’t say anything, relieved that Qi Mu had let go, as his palm was sweaty and his hand felt numb.

The three of them headed to breakfast together and ran into Fang Xiaopang on the way.

Fang Junqi greeted Yin Xiuzhu and asked, “Why is Yin Xiuzhu in Class 2 now?”

Qi Mu finally found a kindred spirit and said, “Yeah, how could he not be in the same class as me?”

Fang Junqi paused, then explained, “I meant, shouldn’t Yin Xiuzhu be in Class 1?”

Qi Mu’s eyebrows lifted in amusement: “What’s up, Fatty? Are you trying to steal someone from me?”

Fang Junqi was both amused and exasperated: “Yin Xiuzhu scored full marks in all subjects. Shouldn’t he be in Class 1? Class 1 is for top students. If Yin Xiuzhu hadn’t taken a break from school, he would naturally be in Class 1.”

Qi Mu was taken aback: “…” That’s a blow!

Yin Xiuzhu picked out some roasted meat from his plate and handed it to Qi Mu, saying, “I took a year off from school, which set me back a lot. I can’t make it to Class 1.”

Fang Junqi added, “You could have skipped straight to middle school back in fourth grade…”

Qi Mu was intrigued: “Really?”

Fang Junqi explained, “Our old teacher Wang said so. He made the questions, and Old Xu asked Yin Xiuzhu to solve them. He turned in a perfect paper.”

Qi Mu looked at Yin Xiuzhu: “You were that amazing even in fourth grade?”

Yin Xiuzhu replied, “I was lucky. There were a lot of multiple-choice questions.”

Qi Mu’s thought process was beyond saving, “You’re quite lucky; you always guess the questions accurately in exams.”

Xu Xiaoming & Fang Junqi: “……” They didn’t even know where to start with this. Guessing questions wasn’t about luck, Brother Mu!

Fang Junqi also had to swallow the words, “I did that set of questions; there were fewer than ten multiple-choice questions, and they were all free-response questions.”

Yin Xiuzhu could have gone to Class 1, but he wanted to be in the same class as Qi Mu, so he deliberately chose wrong answers on the entrance exam, barely maintaining a score that was high enough for Class 2 but not suitable for the top class.

To his surprise, Qi Mu’s class was full, and he was assigned to Class 2.

Although Yin Zhenggong and he were now in a “loving father and filial son” relationship, Yin Xiuzhu couldn’t make too many demands; this “loving father” had its limits.

After lunch, Fang hurried back to the classroom, while Xu Xiaoming had a little side activity, like browsing the internet or something after meals.

Usually, Qi Mu would join him in such idle pursuits, but now that Yin Xiuzhu had returned, he felt that time was too short to waste.

The two of them wandered towards the teaching building, with Qi Mu enthusiastically explaining the layout of the school.

Yin Xiuzhu listened carefully, mentally noting every word and phrase to savor later in the quiet of the night.

In the scorching heat, Qi Mu talked non-stop and was incredibly thirsty.

Having finished his drink long ago, he saw that Yin Xiuzhu still had more than half of his left and said, “Let me have a sip.”

Yin Xiuzhu was momentarily taken aback. Before he could react, Qi Mu had already taken the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and started drinking greedily.

Yin Xiuzhu’s pupils contracted, and he felt a warmth in his heart as if someone had set it on fire.