Chapter 35 — Please Don’t Ignore Me
On the ride home, Chen Jingshen checked the time and sent Yu Fan a message.
【s: Can we still video chat tonight?】
Sent successfully.
So he had not been blocked.
When he got home, the housekeeper had already finished dinner. The middle-aged woman wiped her hands on her apron and gave a nervous smile. “You are back… I made dinner. Eat while it is hot?”
She had been cooking for this family for over a year, but the child of the house, or rather the entire household, was very cold and their way of interacting was strange. She still felt uneasy every time she spoke to them.
After all, in all her years working, this was the first home she had seen with so many surveillance cameras. Aside from the bathroom, almost every room had one, so she spent her shifts on edge.
Maybe that is just how rich families are.
“Mm.” The boy gave her his usual glance. “Just leave it on the table. You can head out.”
After dinner, Chen showered. When he came out, his phone was still empty.
The group chat, though, was buzzing.
【-: Nine o’clock, who is up for a few games?】
【Wang Lu’an: Huh?】
【Zuo Kuan: Did I read that right, is the future No. 1 of Nancheng No. 7 personally calling a game? I am in.】
【Wang Lu’an: I will force myself to play a bit.】
【Zuo Kuan: @- Where are you? Five minutes to nine. You set this up and vanished?】
Yu Fan dropped a line then disappeared. It did not look like he truly wanted to play. More like he had found a way to tell someone that he would not be showing up at nine.
Chen stared at that sentence for a while, then slid open his drawer for a notebook. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the black-covered journal he had tucked in the very back.
His hand paused mid-towel. After a long moment he got up, tossed a piece of black cloth over the camera above his bedroom door with practiced ease, and blocked it.
He returned to the desk, drew out the black notebook, and flipped it open.
Several slips of paper fell out.
Long rectangles with roughly cut edges, two of the corners even torn.
But compared to the handwriting, the rest looked almost neat.
The writing was bad.
Penciled letters, crooked and lurching, characters mixed with pinyin, looping like little snakes. Even among primary school kids, it would have been the messiest of the messy. Show it to ten people and ten would struggle to make out what it said.
But Chen Jingshen could read it.
Because the kid who gave them to him had been kneeling on the ground as he wrote, muttering while he scribbled:
“Strength talisman, awesome talisman, no-crying talisman, brave talisman… How do you spell ‘brave’? Chen Jingshen?”
Chen told him, then pointed out another mistake. It was“You are wrong. It is nìhài. That is what the teacher said.”
Fresh from a fight and filthy from head to toe, the little boy had solemnly corrected him, then stuffed the slips into his hand. He rubbed his nose, lifted his chin, and declared,
“Stop crying, okay? So what if they tore your peace charm. Keep these on you. From now on I will bless you.”
A long time later, Chen finally moved. He gently rubbed the “talismans” between his fingers, then slid them back into the notebook and closed it.
Yu Fan sat on the balcony railing, facing the breeze. Even after chugging two cans of cold beer, his heart was still pounding.
This sneak-attack style of Chen Jingshen’s was nothing new.
So why did every time feel hotter than the last?
He took another sip and stared at the warm yellow light of the next building, which looked a little like the sunset behind Chen Jingshen.
“Big brother,” a clear little voice called from below.
Yu Fan tilted his head down. “What?”
It was the little girl who lived a floor above him, craning her neck at the stairwell and looking up at him.
After eating his wontons last time, she was not so scared of him anymore.
“Big brother, your face is so red. Are you drunk?”
Yu Fan’s face did not move. “Yes. When I am drunk I like hitting kids. Wait down there.”
The girl stared, horrified, then spun and thumped away up the stairs.
In the end Yu Fan still logged on to play.
He had said nine, and a promise is a promise. When he thought about ducking out, his three brothers were already online waiting.
Besides, he figured venting in a game would be better than sitting on the balcony trying to cool off.
He sprawled on his bed and played half-heartedly, died the moment he landed, then regretted it.
The breeze would have been better.
After he went down in a blaze for the third time, he checked the time and then WeChat.
No messages.
He glared at a certain avatar and cursed in his heart.
What is that supposed to mean. I give a hint and you really do not call?
Why could you not listen when I told you not to confess?
Selective obedience, is that it?
Begging for a beating.
Yu Fan narrowed his eyes and shook a fist at that dog avatar, grumbling. He was just about to switch back to the game when
The avatar jumped to the top of the list. A “1” appeared in the corner of the Doberman.
Chen Jingshen had sent over a problem-solving video.
When Yu Fan popped back into the game, the other three were still fighting.
Seeing him return, Wang Lu’an said, “F***, Yu Fan, where did you go just now? You missed my god-descends massacre…”
“You guys play. I am out.”
“??” Zuo Kuan yelped. “You pulled us in and now you are leaving after one match? Where are you going?”
“Dog-watching,” Yu Fan said.
He quit, sat at his desk, and opened the video.
The moment Chen Jingshen’s voice came through, Yu Fan unconsciously lifted the phone a little higher.
Realizing his own face would not be on the screen, he rubbed his nose hard, ears going red again, and ducked his head to watch.
Saturday morning, seven-thirty. A pack of boys in sloppy uniforms loitered outside the milk tea shop.
The owner checked her phone again. Saturday, closed, right.
Zuo Kuan chain-smoked to stay awake. “You really do not want one? Not sleepy?”
Yu Fan scrolled lazily. “No. Hurry up. When you finish that one, we go in.”
“Got it…” Zuo glanced over, then nudged the guy next to him. “Hey, top student is here.”
Yu Fan’s head snapped up.
Nancheng’s winters are mild and springs go straight to hot. In May it was already warmer than most places.
Chen Jingshen had finally ditched the school jacket. His long arms and legs in the summer uniform made him look even cleaner, even sharper.
Before Chen heard them and looked over, Yu Fan had already ducked his head again.
Zuo Kuan had warmed to the top student these last two days. “Top student, can we copy yours later?”
Chen’s gaze flicked to the person beside him. “No.”
“…”
You could at least pretend to consider it.
There was no reaction from beside him, so Zuo Kuan turned and tried again. “Hey, your deskmate is here.”
“He is here, so what,” Yu Fan said without looking up. “Why report it to me.”
“…”
You two were getting along great yesterday. How did it turn into strangers overnight?
Yu Fan finished and kept his head down, not giving Chen a single look.
He had said it himself. If Chen dared say those two words again, he would never speak to him for the rest of his life.
A man’s word matters.
“F***!” someone hissed. “Hu Pang is coming!”
Cigarettes went out in a flurry.
Without his glasses, Hu Pang could not see what they were up to. He squinted from the gate and barked, “Twenty minutes until we start. Why are you still standing around? Move. Chen Jingshen, you too.”
They trailed the director toward the science building. Seeing Chen Jingshen walk in front, Yu Fan fell to the very back.
Which is how he ended up with the last open seat when he entered the room.
Right next to Chen Jingshen.
He clicked his tongue inwardly and sat with a blank face.
The room held a handful of bottom-rankers, plus one top of the year.
Hu Pang swept his gaze around and felt oddly sentimental.
Ten minutes to start, he set both hands on the stack of papers and said, “Your make-up test is different from everyone else’s. It is a bit harder. No way around it. That is how make-ups go. Let me be clear. Do not sleep. Do not think about using your phones. And do not even think about peeking at Chen Jingshen’s paper.”
As he spoke, his eyes moved meaningfully over the students to Chen’s left and right.
Yu Fan propped his chin and twirled his pen, face written with who wants to cheat.
“Director, is Ding Xiao not coming today?” Zuo Kuan called from the back, all bad intentions.
“Spit out your gum,” Hu shot back. “His family asked for leave… Enough. I said I will handle this after the exams. I will talk to him Monday. And do not you dare start anything. Let the school handle it.”
The last line was aimed squarely at Yu Fan.
He had signed too many discipline slips for this kid to not know the type.
You do not touch him, he will not touch you. If you do, he cannot sleep until he pays it back.
The person in question really had not slept well.
But not because of Ding Xiao.
Yu Fan did not know what was wrong with him this time. He had been mad when they blocked him, but after that it had fallen out of his head. If Wang Lu’an and the others had not kept bringing it up, he would have forgotten the guy.
While Hu Pang droned on, Yu Fan yawned and, without thinking, glanced to the side.
He froze.
Why am I looking at him?
He was about to look away when Chen suddenly reached for the water bottle at the edge of his desk and tried to twist it open.
The first try did not budge.
Chen was wearing short sleeves. The bruising on his hand had faded to yellow, the cut bare without a bandage, an inch of dried scab. Maybe he pulled the wound, or something else, because his brow tightened.
The second try still did not move.
Just as he went for a third, the bottle vanished.
He looked up. His deskmate, face turned away as if bored, twisted the cap once. It popped open easily.
Then his deskmate screwed it shut again, set it down with a solid thump, and turned back to his seat.
Startled mid-lecture by the boy popping up, Hu Pang stared.
He opened his mouth to say what is that attitude, then saw Chen Jingshen pick up the bottle calmly and take a drink.
The make-up began.
Yu Fan had to admit it, Chen Jingshen really did predict problems like a master.
On questions he usually could not even parse, he recognized a surprising number this time. He still could not do most of them, but getting this far in a little over a week was already very, very good.
Thirty minutes in, everyone else was staring at the ceiling or playing with their pens.
Only two people were still working.
Hu Pang paced behind Yu Fan several times, stunned, hands clasped behind his back, unable to believe his eyes.
The bell rang for collection. At Hu Pang’s call, the papers traveled forward from the back.
Sitting behind Yu Fan, Zuo Kuan whispered when he passed his paper up, asking if they should take a walk to the neighboring school and grab someone.
The tech school had dorms, most of its students from nearby counties or out of town, and many lived on campus all term.
Weekends, no one was watching them, which made the streets their favorite place.
Yu Fan clicked his pen closed and was about to answer when a chair scraped beside him.
Chen Jingshen stood and handed in his paper.
“How did it go, was it hard?” Hu Pang asked.
“It was fine.” Chen paused, then added, “Thank you for giving us this make-up.”
“This time is an exception because of the situation. Remember the lesson. Life does not hand you many do-overs,” Hu said, then raised a brow with a sly edge. “Although if you want to thank someone for getting this make-up, you should thank Yu—”
Thud.
A stack of papers slammed onto the desk in front of him, cutting him off.
Hu Pang’s eyes bulged, the words “Yu Fan, grow a conscience” on the tip of his tongue, when Yu Fan lifted an arm and hooked it around Chen Jingshen’s neck.
“Goodbye, Director.”
He threw the words down, cold as a blade, and dragged Chen straight out of the room.
Chen Jingshen was a touch taller. He bent his head and let himself be led.
Yu Fan’s strides were long. He did not stop until he felt even if Hu Pang had eight legs, he still could not catch up.
Tch. Why did Hu Pang have to run his mouth like that. Was it such a big deal that he had to bring it up again the next day?
That was close.
Heart still thumping from the near-miss, Yu Fan realized he had hauled Chen under the giant banyan tree.
“Yu Fan,” Chen Jingshen said.
Yu Fan swore at him twice in his head. Hand in your test and leave, why stick around to chat with Hu Pang? But he did not intend to speak to Chen either. He shot him a frosty look instead, planning to make him get the hint.
He turned his head.
And stopped with his cheek only a few centimeters from Chen Jingshen’s.
Their faces were so close they might have touched.
Sunlight filtered down through overlapping leaves and broke into flecks on the crown of Chen’s hair.
Yu Fan forgot he had the other boy in a headlock and did not realize how near they stood.
He stared at Chen’s cool eyes, blanked for a beat, and was just about to let go.
“When I learned we could do a make-up, I was happy. I slipped,” Chen said in a low voice, looking down as if he were negotiating. “That is why I said I like you. Please do not ignore me.”
The breeze stirred behind them and the leaves whispered.
Yu Fan held his breath. The heartbeat that two beers, one round of gaming, three hours of problem sets, and a night’s sleep had finally soothed, surged back into his ears.
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