Chapter 63.1 – Study Hard

Xie Sui’s eyebrows went up. He stared at him and asked, “What happened between you and Qin Mo?”

Song Yu breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and shook his head, “Nothing.” He and Qin Mo were like enemies who hated each other on sight. They’d directly gone up against each other the first time they had met and felt disgusted seeing one another. What else could happen? If anything was to happen, it would be bloody.

It was for the best if Bai Xuexin hadn’t spoken about Qin Mo.

Song Yu muttered and came up with a sentence, “I hope you don’t meet this person in your lifetime. It’s best if you don’t even hear his name.”

Xie Sui’s heart softened, his eyebrows showing his smile, “Mm. I won’t like anyone you hate.”

Song Yu’s light-colored pupils lit up in an instant, but the corners of his lips stopped rising halfway as his brain thought of the inexplicable awkwardness from earlier. It was like a basin of cold water had suddenly been poured over him.

He felt that Song Wanying might’ve been right… He was someone who liked to make problems out of nothing, and he was impatient.

“I…” He looked up with some awkwardness and hesitation, staring at Xie Sui as he opened his mouth and then closed it again, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Xie Sui quietly watched him, then suddenly smiled, “Actually, I still haven’t thought clearly about what you said the other day.”

Song Yu was surprised, “Ah?”

Xie Sui: “What we talked about last time—whether or not my ‘like’ is real.”

What we talked about last time—whether or not my ‘like’ is real.

Song Yu almost face-planted onto the chair of the person in front of him. His face heated up and he grew flustered, “About that, I feel that what I said should be right. That’s not ‘like’. It certainly isn’t liking someone.”

Xie Sui paid attention to every detail about him.

His shifting gaze, chaotic breathing, and how his ears grew slightly red when he was nervous.

A smile skimmed across his dark eyes and gentleness spread. Why was this child still so oblivious?

While Song Yu was spluttering and didn’t know what to say—

Xie Sui focused on him and slowly said, “In fact, it doesn’t matter.”

Song Yu: “Huh?

Xie Sui blinked at him, then smiled slightly, “Whether or not it’s ‘like’ isn’t important. How we get along together now is already quite good, isn’t it?”

Song Yu was in a daze and obligingly nodded his head.

Xie Sui’s voice held a somewhat helpless smile, “So take it as though nothing happened that night. Don’t be caught up over it, okay? It makes me feel bad watching you stew over it.”

Song Yu: “……” Why was it that, in everyone else’s eyes, he was the one stewing over it?

It was just that when he heard Xie Sui’s words and looked at his eyes, which were as deep as a black pool, Song Yu immediately and unnaturally lowered his head and vaguely responded with, “Alright then.” Forget it. Who cares? They’d just skim over it and move on.

It was at this time that the teacher came in and stood up on the stage. First, she touched the microphone, and the sound of her ‘hello’ rang out in the open auditorium, causing the chattering voices to stop instantly. The psychology teacher smiled and said, “Alright, it’s 8PM. Everyone, please be quiet. Before we start today’s lecture, I’ll show you all a video first.”

The lights above the auditorium dimmed when she finished speaking, and soft and beautiful music rang out. On the screen, there was a train whistling as it passed through a canola field. The sky was blue, and a paper plane swept past a telephone pole. The scene was warm and beautiful.

Song Yu was concentrating on watching when he suddenly heard Xie Sui’s lazy laughter, “However, I figured out something that day.”

Song Yu’s ears twitched in the darkness as Xie Sui’s words triggered a little doubt. In order to not disturb the others, he leaned over and softly asked, “What did you figure out?”

Xie Sui leaned in against his ear and quietly said, “What ‘the long years now hold hope’ means.”

Song Yu was stunned for a moment.

That last sentence from their KTV dare came to mind again.

Ever since I met you, the stars in the sky have all been eclipsed. Ever since I kissed you, the long years now hold hope.

Song Yu: “……”

F*ck.

Fortunately, Xie Sui couldn’t see his burning face in the dark. In order to prove himself, Song Yu restrained his surging emotions and calmly replied, “Really?”

Xie Sui: “Mm.”

Song Yu learned from him and acted just as casual, “That’s great. With hope, your days can pass by a bit more happily. So, how are you going to repay me?”

Xie Sui chuckled.

Song Yu had learned to be clever, “I’m going to say it first—I don’t want you to repay me with your body. If you repay me with your body, it’s getting revenge in return for kindness, wu—”

His eyes widened.

A cold, slender hand touched his lips and a piece of candy was placed into his mouth. It was a mint, cool and sweet.

His entire person was stunned.

Xie Sui’s voice held faint laughter, “This is the flavor I tasted that night. Is this enough of a reward?”

Song Yu felt like his entire soul had been strung up. His breathing was tight, and the mint taste in his mouth was unable to calm his heart.

Those light brown eyes slightly widened in the darkness, covered with a damp sheen. Song Yu finally concealed his confusion a long time later and said, “It’s enough.”

He sat up straight and stopped thinking about provoking Xie Sui. His expression was cold and his brain empty as he quietly sat there listening to the lecture.

The lights came on again after the video finished playing. The people in the auditorium sat there idly and some people were already bored, sleepy and yawning. The pressures of high school and the communication gap between parents were also discussed at the front during the psychology lecture. Later, when the topic shifted to interpersonal communication between students, the psychology teacher started to talk about puppy love.

She stepped down from the stage when she came to this topic, smiling as she said, “When it comes to puppy love, I used to always encounter children blinded by love in the consultation room who’d tell me about their confusion and how lost they felt. Girls make up 80% of these visits. Regarding whether or not to fall in love, in fact, Teacher doesn’t recommend that you fall in love right now. The main thing is that you’re still too young to distinguish between love and like.”

Song Yu’s interest was caught.

Damn, these words went straight to his heart.

Teacher, keep talking. Tell it to the person beside him.

The psychology teacher: “‘Like’ and ‘love’ are two different things. What is ‘like’? There are always shiny people around you. Maybe they’re handsome, humorous, or have good grades, which makes them involuntarily attract you with their light. You’ll subconsciously pay attention to them and want to get close to them.”

Song Yu was more excited than anyone else, “Right, right, right!”

Handsome, humorous, good grades; damn it, he had them all!

The psychology teacher, “This kind of hazy feeling is ‘like’, but it’s very simple, just like liking a flower. You can enjoy it slowly from the side, but you don’t necessarily have to have it.”

Song Yu: “Yes, yes, yes!”

Simple and pure—don’t think too much about it, Student Xie.

The psychology teacher smiled and looked at them, “Liking a person is normal during your student days. They can even become a driving force for you to become better. This is a light and unburdensome matter for youths, and an unforgettable memory on the road to growing up. But love is different. Love is accompanied by responsibility and represents a set of feelings that need to be managed. And at your age, you can’t afford this responsibility, and you don’t have time to manage these things. After all, you’re still on your way toward fighting for your future.”

Song Yu: Clap clap clap.

His palms had already begun to rise up and clap.

The psychology teacher had noticed this youth a long time ago. He’d watched her from start to end with a light in his eyes while the rest of the whole audience was either playing on their cell phones, sleeping, or whispering amongst themselves. It made the psychology teacher very pleased to have such a supportive audience, so she looked gently and kindly at Song Yu and smiled, “The handsome boy on the left side of the seventh row seems to agree with Teacher very much! Come, transfer the microphone to this little handsome brother. You can share your views on puppy love with Teacher.”

Chapter 63.2 – Study Hard

Song Yu’s hands froze in the clapping position, “……”

Xie Sui, who’d been watching his performance the whole time, couldn’t help laughing out loud, “Hahaha.”

The psychology teacher passed the microphone over to the people in the first row.

The whole auditorium fell quiet for a few seconds as everyone subconsciously looked over to see who the unlucky student was. Yet as a result, their lines of sight froze and then they were scared into dropping their gazes.

—F*ck me! It’s Brother Yu!

After a brief collective sucking in of breaths, a perfect silence prevailed.

The microphone was passed on to Song Yu’s hands. He was under the attention of thousands of people and stood up.

The youth wore his school uniform and held the microphone in his hand. His pale face was frozen, and his expression was very stiff. But he’d always been a ruthless scum man in the rumors, so the crowd didn’t notice anything wrong.

The psychology teacher laughed, “There’s no need to be nervous. Just talk casually about the matter of puppy love.”

Song Yu: “… Can I say whatever I want?”

The psychology teacher replied, “Yes.”

For a moment, there was a wave of giggling and laughing voices. Some people even started calling out, “This fellow student, can you please tell me what your criteria is for choosing a partner.” Then someone beside them scolded them laughingly, “Are you asking to get beat up?”

Immediately after that came a girl who excitedly asked, “Little handsome brother, have you ever been in love?”

After everyone burst out laughing, the phrase ‘little handsome brother’ seemed to become a friendly joke and shouts came from all directions.

“Little handsome brother, do you like short hair or long hair?”

”Little handsome brother, wanna date?”

The psychology teacher was very satisfied seeing the atmosphere so active and engaged, and the more she looked at Song Yu, the more she liked him. She joked, “Just casually say a few words. I saw that you were very supportive of my speech just now. You should’ve benefited a lot from it.”

… In fact, he hadn’t benefited much.

Song Yu bowed his head, glanced indifferently at the audience, then lifted the microphone and said, “Regarding the matter of puppy love?”

The psychology teacher smiled and nodded.

Song Yu’s expression was solemn and serious, “Personally, I really don’t agree with this kind of behavior.”

The auditorium: “Wow!”

Song Yu: “What’s so good about dating and entering a relationship? Is it that there’s too little homework? The real joy and significance of life is to take the weekly exams, monthly exams, and mid-term exams, climbing up to the peak of learning.”

The auditorium: “……”

Xie Sui couldn’t hold back his laughter and stretched out his hands to clap.

The auditorium was too quiet, so this single burst of applause was extremely clear. The crowd followed the sound and sucked in another breath of cold air. Wasn’t that their school grass and learning god? It was just that their cold and aloof school grass was now smiling more happily than ever before, his eyes curved up and sparkling like stars.

Song Yu shot him a fierce glare; shouldn’t you feel too embarrassed to clap?

The psychology teacher was stunned for a moment, then her face filled with relief, “This fellow student’s ideological awareness is really very high. Did everyone hear him? I feel that his words are very correct. This is the goal that you should all have while you’re attending high school. Study hard, climb the peak of learning, and win a great future for yourselves so that you will be in a better place when you meet your love.”

Someone nearby laughed, “Climb the peak of learning—Brother Yu, are you going to take down the number one in the grade?”

Song Yu hadn’t yet had time to answer—

Someone from the same group had already repeated her words, “‘Taking down’ the number one in the grade, isn’t that too simple of a matter for Brother Yu?”

“Hahahahaha.”

Song Yu sat down and asked the number one in the grade, who was at the peak of learning and sitting beside him, “Is it very funny?”

The number one in the grade laughed and shook his head, his answer very unorthodox, “No, I feel that what you said is very correct. Study hard, and don’t fall in love.”

*

In the back seats of the auditorium, at the area where the sophomores sat. 

Qin Mo was leaning back in his seat and looked over with a sneer on his face when Song Yu stood up, wanting to watch him make a fool of himself. It was just that, with one glance over in that direction, his line of sight froze slightly, and he could no longer move his eyes away.

He wasn’t looking at Song Yu, but rather at the person beside him.

He stood out from the crowd even while just casually sitting there. He was tall and straight in his school uniform, his facial features delicate, but not soft. On the contrary, there was a kind of cold and sharp feeling, like a hidden sword on a snowy night. His eyebrows and eyes were slightly curved with his smile, dispersing that kind of aggressive and fierce momentum.

Song Yu sat beside him, gnashing his teeth as he said something.

And that person listened attentively, his eyes holding a gentle smile, like being drunk amidst the thousands of stars in the galaxy.

Qin Mo’s fingers briefly stilled and his amber pupils slowly darkened. At this moment, his always gentle but fake smile held a touch of extra meaning, “Who is he?”

There were a group of high school sophomores around him who were all trying to curry favor with him. They all had good family backgrounds in Jing City, which meant that they all felt that they were high and noble, so their voices were disdainful as they said, “Young Master Qin, are you talking about the one sitting beside Song Yu? His name is Xie Sui. He’s the study god from the Senior One group and is also No.1 High’s newly-acknowledged school grass.” They felt that their births weren’t ordinary, so they didn’t much appreciate those who were good at learning. It was even to the point where they vaguely looked down on this kind of nerd and treated Song Yu’s earlier speech like nothing but a joke.

Qin Mo’s mouth slowly formed around these two words, “Xie… Sui…”

The corners of his lips were raised up, and his line of sight was deep, like a hunter who’d locked in on their prey.

Very interesting.

*

Jing City No.1 High forums.

[ During today’s speech, Brother Yu: The real joy and significance of life is in climbing the peak of learning ]

Original post: I don’t know what to say. Fellow sisters below, you guys go for it.

1L: Does the original poster want to hear this kind of explanation?

Brother Yu: I want to take down the number one in the grade.

God Xie: In that case, I’ll go and be the number one in the grade.

2L: Hahahahahahahahahahaha I was desperately covering my mouth in the auditorium so that I wouldn’t laugh out loud

3L: The Happy Together CP is real. I’ve already said it so much that I’m tired of it

4L: The fujoshis have finished talking, so now let’s have the Yu Haters come up on stage. In any case, you guys are never far apart [dog head]

5L: This hater will politely make a statement. I’m begging him, please stop studying; he’s torturing himself and torturing us as well—isn’t it good being a proper school bully? Damn it, it’s like he doesn’t have anything better to do all day and goes to help the weak; this school bully is acting more like a security guard! Does the security department give him money?

6L: Hahahaha Brother Yu: I am a security guard and I only eat three meals a day.

7L: Brother Yu: I am a security guard and I have a dream—I want to climb up to the peak of learning!

8L: However, speaking of this, Brother Yu is really very low-key as a school bully. In the past, when Chen Zhijie was the school bully, he would go and find No.13 High next door and fight them on an average of once a week. That was really a storm of bloody rain.

9L: Actually, Brother Yu has never admitted to his identity as a school bully… He only cares about whether he’s a study god or not

[Old mother hates iron for not being steel] Sigh, this stinky little brother who isn’t striving for success