Chapter 19 — Then I Will Like You in Secret
“Play my foot.”
“Out.” Yu Fan swallowed the urge to silence witnesses. “Close the door. Unless I call you, do not come in.”
“Yu Fan, you are not going to hit him, are you?” Zhang Xianjing said.
“How could he?” Wang Lu’an said. “Yu Fan never covers someone’s mouth when he fights. He likes hearing them yell.”
Zhang Xianjing: “…”
At the back, Zuo Kuan glanced between the two of them. “You two negotiating?”
“What is there to negotiate that the top student cannot sit and discuss properly—” Wang Lu’an began.
“Out,” Yu Fan said.
“Okay.” Wang Lu’an stepped back and pulled the door shut. Before it closed, he added, “Take your time. I will stand guard.”
Silence fell again.
Chen Jingshen’s eyes moved and lifted to the person in front of him. After carrying him up and down the building, Yu Fan’s skin was no longer so cold. The half-warm palm pressed against his face. There was even a faint sweet smell, like sugar.
Even after the other three left, Yu Fan still had him pinned.
“From now on, do not bring up that stupid long jump,” Yu Fan said, fierce. “And do not talk about liking or not liking. Hear me?”
Outside, the three could not keep quiet. Their chatter drifted in, broken by the door.
“No answer?” Yu Fan said.
Chen Jingshen’s lashes stirred. His eyes dropped.
Yu Fan followed the movement and looked down.
“…”
Both of Yu Fan’s hands released at once.
“Why?” Chen Jingshen asked.
Why else. Yu Fan frowned and pulled the first excuse that came. “I do not want people thinking I am gay.”
Chen Jingshen pushed himself up with one hand and leaned back against the wall. His collar was still a mess where Yu Fan had tugged it. The disorder gave him a look he did not usually have.
He was quiet for a long time. “Got it.”
Yu Fan’s brows eased. He was just about to sit back down.
“Then I will like you in secret.”
Yu Fan nearly sat on the floor.
By lunch break, classmates began trickling in. Yu Fan had barely curled his fist when Wang Lu’an knocked and said people were coming back.
The moment he entered, Wang Lu’an checked Chen Jingshen. The top student sat with perfect composure, a pen between his fingers, the other hand straightening his collar. Not a mark on that handsome face.
So there had been no beating after all. As he had thought. The scene earlier had looked strange and a little scary, but he could tell Yu Fan had never meant to hit him. If he had, it would have happened ages ago.
Wang Lu’an tore open the plastic bag and set the braised beef brisket in front of Yu Fan. “Eat while it is hot. We have had it for a while.”
“Mm.” Yu Fan toyed with his snake game, not interested.
Zuo Kuan straddled the chair in front and opened his own takeout. “What happened to your face—”
“None of your business,” Yu Fan said. “Make noise and go back to your class.”
“…”
Feeling that eating alone was dull, Wang Lu’an carried his lunch to the desk in front of Chen Jingshen. “Top student, how did you get second in the 3000? Earlier you looked like four hundred was already tough.”
“Outperformed,” Chen Jingshen said, concise.
“Awesome.” Wang Lu’an grinned. “Why are you not going to the cafeteria?”
“My legs are sore. I cannot walk,” Chen Jingshen said.
Expressionless, Yu Fan devoured another player’s snake on his screen.
“Ah, that is on me. I should have brought you a meal. You ran the 3000 for me.” Wang Lu’an slapped his forehead. “Tell you what, I will go to the cafeteria now. Or do you want delivery?”
“No need.”
“Do not be polite. You just ran 3000 and your body is fragile. What if your blood sugar crashes?”
“It will not.” The expressionless person suddenly looked up. “I already had sugar water.”
“Uh… right. Okay.” Wang Lu’an blinked and dropped it.
Fed and watered, Wang Lu’an tied the trash bag and rubbed his stomach.
“Is the lighter with you?” Yu Fan asked.
“With me,” Zuo Kuan said. “What do you say? Restroom, one quick smoke?”
Wang Lu’an glanced at the untouched brisket. “Why are you not eating? Do you not like braised beef?”
“Not hungry yet.”
“In that case, let us go.”
At the doorway they noticed they were one short. Wang Lu’an turned back. “Yu Fan?”
“You two go first.” Yu Fan shoved his phone into his pocket and tapped the back of Chen Jingshen’s chair with his toe. “Move.”
Chen Jingshen set down his pen and stood.
The other two had already gone out the back door and were out of sight. Yu Fan drew his eyes back. As he brushed past Chen Jingshen, he reached to his own desk and hooked a finger under the plastic bag.
The braised beef brisket swung once in the air and dropped onto the neighboring desk.
“Eat,” he said, cool as ever, and headed for the restroom without looking back.
-
That afternoon’s 4×400 relay brought Zhuang Fangqin to the track in person.
Reason: after almost a full day of events, she had discovered that Yu Fan had taken second in long jump, Chen Jingshen had taken second in the three thousand, and their lone sports student, Guan Feiyuan, had won the hundred meters. Add in several other top-six finishes and, tallying the points…
“You mean our class is fourth overall right now?” Wang Lu’an gaped.
As check-in neared, the relay four gathered.
“That is right,” Gao Shi said, excited. “If we can score five points here, meaning a top-two finish, we can crack the top three.”
“Run it well,” Zhuang Fangqin said, moved. “I have led you for more than a year and we have never been this close to a top-three finish in any extracurricular event.”
“Can you even manage it?” Zhang Xianjing eyed Wang Lu’an. “You have never practiced four hundred or handoffs.”
That morning, with the entire school watching, Chen Jingshen had been carried off the field. Even though he said he could still run the relay, Zhuang Fangqin refused and put Wang Lu’an in for the third leg.
“Relax,” Wang Lu’an said. “Every afternoon I went to watch them train. I may not have eaten pork, but I have seen pigs run—”
Yu Fan lobbed a bag of chips at him. “If you cannot talk, be quiet.”
“Joking.” Wang Lu’an turned to the person resting beside them. “Top student, do not worry. You took second for me this morning. I will run my best now.”
“Mm.” Chen Jingshen lifted his eyes. His gaze skimmed over Wang Lu’an and landed on the big boss behind him. “Good luck.”
The big boss, one hand in a pocket, ignored them and headed for the check-in.
At the line, Wang Lu’an warmed up the way Guan Feiyuan had taught him. He turned his head and bumped into Zuo Kuan’s stare.
“What are you doing here?” Wang Lu’an said, baffled.
“Surprised?” Zuo Kuan cocked a brow. “Same as you. Running as a sub.”
“Your class has no one left?”
“You know nothing. I run ridiculously fast. You will be behind me breathing exhaust in a minute.” Zuo Kuan snorted. “Then again, you had better at least keep up, or you will not even catch a whiff.”
“You have no manners,” Wang Lu’an said. He nudged Yu Fan. “Come on, Yu Fan, tell him. Our goal this time is—”
“First,” Yu Fan said, giving them both a look like they were fools.
Wang Lu’an: “?”
“Dream on. First?” Zuo Kuan laughed. “We have two sports students in our lineup. Watch your mouth.”
“No problem,” Yu Fan said. “You are here, after all.”
“…”
The runners took their handoff marks. The race was about to begin.
Several girls in Class 7 stood on the stands and peered into the distance.
“Can we really make top two?”
“I do not know. Honestly, if you asked yesterday, I would not even have expected our class to show up for all the events.”
“…”
“At least we have Guan Feiyuan. He is the fastest of our school’s sports students and a national high school champion. Last year he had training and only ran two individual events. Otherwise we would not have been dead last.”
“But will Yu Fan run properly?”
Silence. No one could say.
Chen Jingshen followed their gaze.
Near the start, Guan Feiyuan was as calm as ever, waiting for the whistle. Gao Shi was slapping his own cheeks as hard as he could. Seeing this, Wang Lu’an slapped his twice as well.
The last runner stood with both hands in his pockets, slouched and lazy. When the referee took position, he even stretched.
Everyone in Class 7: “…”
He really was not going to run properly.
The gun cracked. All the first legs surged forward.
Guan Feiyuan did not disappoint. The two lanes farthest from him also had sports students, but he still opened a gap.
He handed off with a lead and retreated, job done.
Gao Shi exploded out. Less than a hundred meters later, Class 8’s sports student blew past him.
“I am off,” Zuo Kuan said, setting up to receive the baton. He threw a smirk at Wang Lu’an. “You wait a bit longer.”
“Showing off never ends well,” Wang Lu’an muttered.
By the time Wang Lu’an took the stick, they had fallen from first to fourth.
“Wang Lu’an!” Zhang Xianjing’s voice sailed from the stands. “Fight for first, keep second. Pass one person.”
Wang Lu’an ran a hand through his hair, posing by reflex, and gave her a thumbs-up. He took the baton, tripped on his second step, and almost went to his knees.
Runners passing him had to choke back laughter.
Zhang Xianjing: “…”
See? Showing off never ends well.
A girl beside her said, “It is over. We may not even place top six.”
“It is only the third leg.” Zhang Xianjing cupped her hands to her mouth. “Yu Fan, run it right. Take first.”
Across the track, every other anchor was tense and coiled. Yu Fan was… not. His face was indifferent as he glanced back to see where Wang Lu’an was.
Wang Lu’an had slipped to fifth, but in his final drive he clawed the gap smaller and, handing the baton over, said, “Brother, I am counting—”
The stick was already gone. The figure in front of him shot out like an arrow.
“—on you,” Wang Lu’an finished weakly, blinking.
When Yu Fan blew past the runner in fourth, even Class 7’s section did not realize it was their own teammate. The runner he passed felt a gust of wicked wind and then saw nothing but the boy’s back flying free.
Yu Fan tore along the curve. The wind raked his hair back. Teachers and students who had never managed a proper look at him finally saw his face and thought, all at once: so handsome.
By the banyan tree, a campus guard halted the urge to light a cigarette and looked up in awe. Right. This was exactly how the kid ran every time he caught him scaling the wall.
“Has he trained?” Guan Feiyuan asked, dazed by the sight.
“No,” Wang Lu’an said after a beat. “I think.”
When Yu Fan passed third, Class 7 snapped awake. Class 8, stunned to see a dark horse on the anchor, hoisted their banner and screamed at their runner not to get caught by last year’s bottom-ranked class.
Class 7’s section shot to their feet. Whatever their usual feelings about Yu Fan, voices tore loose now.
“Yu Fan, go!”
“Quick, pass him!”
“Just a little more.... passed! Now one more! One more and we are top two!”
Yu Fan roared on, slid past second, and only picked up speed toward the line.
Neck to neck with first, the stadium fell silent.
They hit the tape almost together.
Both sections waited two stunned seconds. Someone called out, “Who got it? Who got it?”
The two judges compared notes. “Class 7, Grade 2.”
Class 7’s stands exploded.
The finish line was close to their seats. Having just finished, Wang Lu’an was there drinking water. He sprang up and hip-checked the person beside him. “Ha! Eat my brother’s dust!”
Zuo Kuan: “…”
Out on the track, Yu Fan ran a few steps past the line before he stopped. He bent toward the ground, hands on his knees, breathing in silence. His jacket clung to his back, outlining a lean frame. His shoulders rose and fell.
As he stopped, three girls on the sideline had the same thought at the same time. They looked at one another, shy, and each almost stepped forward.
Catching his breath, Wang Lu’an counted from the stands. “Wow. Yu Fan is something else. Four hundred meters and he gets three waters.”
“Normal,” Zuo Kuan said sourly. “If I were a girl, I would bring him water too.”
“Hey, that girl from Class 4 is here again,” Wang Lu’an said, craning his neck. “I am telling you, she has probably had a crush on my brother for ages.”
Chen Jingshen withdrew his gaze and spoke suddenly. “You can bring water to a secret crush?”
“Huh?” Wang Lu’an blinked. “I guess so. Why—”
“Wang Lu’an!” Gao Shi shouted from below. “Down here. Sign the result sheet.”
“Coming!” Wang Lu’an dropped his chips and clattered down the steps after Gao Shi.
A figure hurried past behind him.
Chen Jingshen descended, bent, and pulled a bottle from a crate. Without looking back, he walked toward the track.
“Classmate Yu, are you okay? Do you want some water?” The third girl held out her bottle, stealing a glance at Yu Fan’s face.
He dipped his head, avoiding her gaze. “Sorry,” he said stiffly for the third time that day. “I am not thirsty.”
It was a refusal, but his tone was gentler than when he read self-criticisms. The girl suddenly felt he was not as fierce as rumor had it. Maybe she still had a chance. Her fingers tightened around the bottle. “Then…”
A shadow fell over her.
She flinched and turned. She was face-to-face with the grade’s number one.
Chen Jingshen lifted a hand and held the water to Yu Fan. “Yu—”
“Leave.”
The boy who had kept his head down snapped it up, face cold, and fired a single word.
“?”
The girl jolted. Quietly, she drew her own bottle back.
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